JP5243712B2 - Electromagnetic welding method and conductor module - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electromagnetic welding method and a conductor module, and in particular, an electromagnetic welding method for welding conductors of a flat circuit body, or a metal plate and a conductor of a flat circuit body, and conductors of a flat circuit body, or a metal plate. The present invention relates to a conductor module in which a conductor of a flat circuit body is welded.

  Various electronic devices are mounted on an automobile as a moving body. In the automobile, a wire harness is routed to transmit electric power, a control signal from a control device, or the like from an electric wire such as a battery to the electronic device. The wire harness described above includes an electric wire and a terminal fitting as a metal plate attached to an end of the electric wire. The electric wire includes a core wire and an insulating covering portion that covers the core wire.

  The automobile described above is required to have more functions from users and the like. For this reason, the above-described automobiles tend to have more electronic devices installed. For this reason, of course, the electric wires of the wire harness mentioned above increase, and the mass and volume of the wire harness tend to increase.

  For this reason, in order to reduce the size and weight of the wire harness, it has been proposed to use a flat circuit body such as FFC (flexible flat cable) or FPC (flexible printed circuit) as the above-described electric wire.

  The flat circuit body includes a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of film-shaped covering portions that cover both sides of the conductor, and is formed in a flat strip shape. A plurality of conductors are provided. Each of the conductors extends linearly. The plurality of conductors are arranged in parallel to each other. The covering part insulates the conductors from each other.

  In general, joining of the conductors of the flat circuit bodies described above, and joining of the conductors of the flat circuit bodies and metal plates such as terminal fittings are performed using solder. In the case of joining using solder, there are problems such as a decrease in durability due to generation of an alloy layer, cracks, and environmental load. Further, a member (solder) other than the flat circuit body is required, which causes an increase in cost.

As a method of directly joining without using solder, for example, ultrasonic joining or laser joining is considered possible. However, in these methods, if bonding is performed with the covering portion covering the surface opposite to the bonding surface of the conductor remaining, bonding energy is applied to the covering portion, and thus the covering portion is damaged. For this reason, it is necessary to expose the surface on the side opposite to the joint surface of the conductor, which causes problems such as corrosion in the usage environment and failure to obtain electrical insulation.
JP 11-192562 A

  Therefore, the present invention pays attention to the above-described problems, and electromagnetic welding can join the conductors or the conductor and the metal plate in a state where the surface opposite to the joining surface of the conductor is covered with the covering portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a conductor module in which conductors or conductors and a metal plate are joined in a state where a surface opposite to the joining surface of the method and the conductor is covered with a covering portion.

The invention according to claim 1, which has been made in order to solve the above problem, is a conductor of a flat circuit body composed of a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of sheet-shaped covering portions covering both sides of the conductor. In the method of joining together, a step of removing the covering portion to expose at least one side of the conductor, a step of superposing one side of the exposed conductors, and a step of arranging the overlapped portions on a flat coil, And a step of welding the conductors by causing a current to flow through the coils and generating a magnetic field to generate eddy currents in the exposed conductors, and between the overlapped portion and the coils. In the electromagnetic welding method, the overlapped portion is arranged on the coil so as to sandwich the metal plate .

The invention according to claim 2 is a method of joining the conductor and the metal piece of the flat circuit body constituted by a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of sheet-shaped covering portions covering both sides of the conductor. A step of removing the covering portion to expose at least one side of the conductor, a step of superposing the one side of the exposed conductor on the metal piece, and a step of arranging the overlapped portion on a flat coil, A current is passed through the coil to generate a magnetic field to generate an eddy current in the exposed conductor, thereby sequentially welding the conductor and the metal piece, and the overlapped portion and the The electromagnetic welding method is characterized in that the overlapped portion is disposed on the coil so that a metal plate is sandwiched between the coil and the coil .

The invention according to claim 3 has two flat circuit bodies in which the conductors are joined to each other, which is composed of a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of sheet-shaped covering portions covering both sides of the conductor. In the conductor module, the one surface of the conductor exposed by removing the covering portion is overlapped, and the overlapped portion is placed on the coil so that a metal plate is sandwiched between the overlapped portion and the flat coil. In the conductor module, the conductors are welded to each other by causing a current to flow through the coil to generate a magnetic field and generating an eddy current in the exposed conductor.

The invention according to claim 4 is composed of a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of sheet-shaped covering portions covering both sides of the conductor, and the flat circuit body configured and the conductor of the flat circuit body are joined. In a conductor module having a metal piece, the one surface of the conductor exposed by removing the covering portion is overlapped with the metal piece , and between the overlapped portion and a flat coil that generates a magnetic field when a current is passed. The overlapped portion is disposed on the coil so that a metal plate is sandwiched between them, and an electric current is passed through the coil to generate the magnetic field, thereby generating an eddy current in both the conductor and the metal piece. In the conductor module, the conductor and the metal piece are welded to each other.

As described above, according to the first and third aspects of the present invention, since the conductors are welded together by causing a current to flow through the coil to generate a magnetic field and generating an eddy current in the conductor, the coating is not a conductor. No eddy current is generated in the part due to the magnetic field from the coil, and no joining energy is applied to the covering part. For this reason, a conductor can be joined in the state which covered the surface on the opposite side to the joint surface of a conductor with the coating | coated part, without damaging a coating | coated part. In addition, since the overlapped portion is arranged on the coil so that the metal plate is sandwiched between the overlapped portion and the coil, by using the metal plate, a stronger electromagnetic force is generated, the conductors of the flat circuit body, Alternatively, the bonding force between the conductor of the flat circuit body and the metal piece can be increased.

According to the second and fourth aspects of the present invention, the conductor and the metal piece are welded by causing a current to flow through the coil and generating a magnetic field to generate an eddy current in the conductor and the metal piece. No eddy current is generated in the part due to the magnetic field from the coil, and no joining energy is applied to the covering part. For this reason, a conductor and a metal piece can be joined in the state which covered the surface on the opposite side to the joint surface of a conductor with the coating | coated part, without damaging a coating | coated part. In addition, since the overlapped portion is arranged on the coil so that the metal plate is sandwiched between the overlapped portion and the coil, by using the metal plate, a stronger electromagnetic force is generated, the conductors of the flat circuit body, Alternatively, the bonding force between the conductor of the flat circuit body and the metal piece can be increased.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, since the overlapped portion is disposed on the coil so that the metal plate is sandwiched between the overlapped portion and the coil, a stronger electromagnetic force is generated by using the metal plate. The bonding force between the conductors of the flat circuit bodies or between the conductors of the flat circuit bodies and the metal pieces can be increased.

First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The electromagnetic welding method in 1st Embodiment of this invention assembles the conductor module 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conductor module 1 includes two FPCs 111 and 112 (= flat circuit bodies).

  Each of the FPCs 111 and 112 has a rectangular cross-sectional shape. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the FPCs 111 and 112 include a plurality of conductors 7 having a rectangular cross section, and a pair of sheet-like covering portions 81 and 82 covering both surfaces of the conductors 7. . The conductor 7 is made of a conductive metal. The conductor 7 has flexibility.

  The covering portions 81 and 82 are made of a synthetic resin having insulation and flexibility.

  In the FPCs 111 and 112 described above, the covering portion 81 of the terminal is removed, and the conductor 7 is exposed. The terminal covering portion 82 remains without being removed. In other words, only one side of the conductor 7 is exposed at the end. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, in the conductor module 1, the conductors 7 are joined to each other in a state where the one surfaces of the conductors 7 exposed at the terminal are overlapped with each other, and the conductor 7 is not exposed.

  The conductor module 1 is obtained by joining one side of the conductor 7 exposed at the above-described end to each other by an electromagnetic welding apparatus 10 (shown in FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4, the electromagnetic welding apparatus 10 includes a coil 11, a fixture 12, a power source 13, a capacitor 14, and a switch 15.

  The coil 11 is made of a conductive metal and is formed in a flat plate shape (that is, a metal plate). The coil 11 is integrally provided with a pair of wide portions 16 and a narrow portion 17. A pair of wide part 16 is arrange | positioned mutually spaced apart. The planar shape of the wide portion 16 is rectangular. The widths of the pair of wide portions 16 in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which a later-described current flows (indicated by an arrow K in FIG. 4) are equal to each other and are sufficiently wide to easily flow the current.

  The narrow portion 17 is disposed between the pair of wide portions 16, and both ends are connected to the pair of wide portions 16. The planar shape of the narrow portion 17 is a rectangular shape. The longitudinal direction of the narrow portion 17 is parallel to the above-described direction K in which the current flows. The width of the narrow portion 17 in the direction perpendicular to the direction K in which the current flows is narrower than the width of the wide portion 16 described above, and the width of the current described above is concentrated.

  The coil 11 described above generates a magnetic field when a current flows, and generates a magnetic flux (indicated by an arrow G in FIG. 5) centering on the axis P that bisects the thickness and width. In addition, the coil 11 can have the FPCs 111 and 112 described above on the surface.

  Note that the coil 11 described in this specification generates a magnetic field when a current flows. In other words, the coil 11 described in the present specification is an article of any shape such as a so-called coil in which a conducting wire is wound in a coil shape (spiral), a conducting wire formed in a straight line, or a flat metal plate. There may be.

  The fixing tool 12 is formed in a quadrangular prism shape, and its end face is opposed to the surface of the coil 11 with a gap. The fixing device 12 is provided such that the end face described above can be brought into contact with and separated from the coil 11. In addition, contact / separation means approaching or separating from each other. The fixing device 12 can sandwich the FPCs 111 and 112 with the coil 11. Of course, at this time, the end face of the fixture 12 is overlaid on the FPCs 111 and 112 and the like.

  The capacitor 14 is connected to the power supply 13 or the coil 11 via the switch 15. The capacitor 14 accumulates electric charges up to a predetermined electric energy. One contact of the switch 15 is connected to one wide portion 16 of the pair of wide portions 16 of the coil 11 described above, and the power source 13 and the capacitor 14 are connected to the other wide portion 16. Another contact of the switch 15 is connected to the power supply 13. The remaining one contact of the switch 15 is connected to the capacitor 14.

  The switch 15 supplies electric energy from the power source 13 to the capacitor 14, supplies electric energy stored in the capacitor 14 to the coil 11, does not supply electric energy from the power source 13 to the capacitor 14, and The state in which the electrical energy accumulated in 14 is not supplied to the coil 11 can be switched freely.

  When the switch 15 enters a state in which the switch 15 supplies the electrical energy accumulated in the capacitor 14 to the coil 11, the capacitor 14 outputs the accumulated electrical energy to the one wide portion 16 through the switch 15 at a time. For this reason, the capacitor 14 instantaneously passes a large current (current larger than the current from the power supply 13) through the coil 11.

  In the electromagnetic welding apparatus 10 described above, a pair of welding objects to be welded to each other are placed on the coil 11, and the electric charge from the power source 13 is charged by the switch 15 with the welding object sandwiched between the coil 11 and the fixture 12. A predetermined electric energy is accumulated in the capacitor 14, and a large current is instantaneously passed from the capacitor 14 to the coil 11 by the switch 15. And the electromagnetic welding apparatus 10 applies a magnetic flux to a pair of welding target object on the coil 11, sends an eddy current to both of this pair of welding target objects, and heats these pair of welding target objects. Further, the electromagnetic welding apparatus 10 generates an electromagnetic force that causes a pair of welding objects to approach (impact) each other instantaneously by the eddy current and the magnetic field described above. Thus, the electromagnetic welding apparatus 10 instantaneously collides the heated welding objects with the electromagnetic force described above, and welds (mechanically joins) these welding objects.

  When assembling the conductor module 1, that is, when fixing the conductors 7 of the FPCs 111 and 112, the end covering portion 81 is removed in advance to expose one side of the conductor 7 at the end. Keep it.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the exposed surfaces of the conductors 7 of the FPCs 111 and 112 are overlapped, and the overlapping portion is sandwiched between the conductive metal plates 18 on the narrow portion 17 of the coil 11 described above. Overlay on. At this time, of course, the switch 15 is set in a state where the electric energy from the power source 13 is not supplied to the capacitor 14 and the electric energy from the capacitor 14 is not supplied to the coil 11. That is, the metal plate 18, the covering portion 82 of the FPC 112, the conductor 7 of the FPC 112, the conductor 7 of the FPC 111, and the covering portion 82 of the FPC 112 are mounted on the coil 11 in this order.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the end face of the fixture 12 is overlapped with the covering portion 82 of the FPC 112 described above. Then, the switch 15 is switched to accumulate the charge from the power supply 13 in the capacitor 14. After predetermined electrical energy is stored in the capacitor 14, the switch 15 is switched to supply the electrical energy stored in the capacitor 14 to the coil 11 through the switch 15. Then, a large current (current larger than the current from the power supply 13) flows through the coil 11 instantaneously (abruptly).

  As shown in FIG. 5, each of the metal plate 18 and the conductor 7 is heated by the eddy current described above, and a force directed toward the fixture 12 is generated by the electromagnetic force described above. Thereby, the conductors 7 brought close to each other (collided) are brought into close contact with each other. The conductors 7 are metal-bonded and joined to each other by so-called electromagnetic welding. Further, the metal plate 18 prevents the covering portion 82 of the FPC 112 from being pushed toward the conductor 7 and peeled off. And the conductor module 1 of the structure mentioned above is obtained.

  According to the first embodiment, since the conductors 7 are welded together by causing a current to flow through the coil 11 to generate a magnetic field and generating an eddy current in the conductor 7, the covering portions 81 and 82 that are not the conductor 7. No eddy current is generated by the magnetic field from the coil 11, and no joining energy is applied to the covering portions 81 and 82. For this reason, the covering portions 81 and 82 are not damaged, and the conductors 7 can be joined in a state in which the surface opposite to the exposed one surface (that is, the joining surface) of the conductor 7 is covered with the covering portion 82. .

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the covering portion 82 is between the coil 11 and the conductor 7 of the FPC 112, an electromagnetic force is hardly generated on the conductor 7. Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the overlapped portion is arranged on the coil 11 with the metal plate 18 sandwiched therebetween. Thus, by using the metal plate 18, a stronger electromagnetic force is generated, and the bonding force between the conductors 7 can be increased.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The electromagnetic welding method in 2nd Embodiment of this invention assembles the conductor module 2 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the conductor module 2 includes a terminal fitting 3 as a metal plate and an FPC 111.

  The terminal fitting 3 is made of a conductive metal and has a flat plate shape. The planar shape of the terminal fitting 3 is rectangular. Since the configuration of the FPC 111 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the FPC 111, as in the first embodiment described above, the terminal covering portion 81 is removed and the conductor 7 is exposed. The terminal covering portion 82 remains without being removed. In other words, only one side of the conductor 7 is exposed at the end. In the conductor module 2, as shown in FIG. 6, the conductor 7 and the terminal fitting 3 are joined to each other in a state where one surface of the conductor 7 exposed at the terminal overlaps the terminal fitting 3.

  The conductor module 2 is obtained by joining one side of the conductor 7 exposed at the terminal and the terminal fitting 3 to each other by an electromagnetic welding apparatus 10 (shown in FIG. 4). About the structure of the electromagnetic welding apparatus 10, since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment mentioned above, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  When the conductor module 2 is assembled, that is, when the conductor 7 of the FPC 111 and the terminal fitting 3 are fixed, the covering portion 81 of the FPC 111 is removed in advance to expose one side of the conductor 7 at the end. deep.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, one side of the exposed conductor 7 of the FPC 111 is overlaid on the terminal fitting 3, and the overlapped portion is overlaid on the narrow portion 17 of the coil 11 described above. At this time, of course, the switch 15 is set in a state where the electric energy from the power source 13 is not supplied to the capacitor 14 and the electric energy from the capacitor 14 is not supplied to the coil 11. That is, on the coil 11, the terminal fitting 3, the conductor 7 of the FPC 111, and the covering portion 82 of the FPC 111 are mounted in this order.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the end face of the fixture 12 is overlaid on the covering portion 82 of the FPC 111 described above. Then, the switch 15 is switched to accumulate the charge from the power supply 13 in the capacitor 14. After predetermined electrical energy is stored in the capacitor 14, the switch 15 is switched to supply the electrical energy stored in the capacitor 14 to the coil 11 through the switch 15. Then, a large current (current larger than the current from the power supply 13) flows through the coil 11 instantaneously (abruptly).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the conductor 7 and the terminal fitting 3 which are overlapped with each other and heated by the eddy current described above and brought close to each other by the electromagnetic force described above and the terminal fitting 3 are in close contact with each other. To do. The conductor 7 and the terminal fitting 3 are metal-bonded and joined to each other by so-called electromagnetic welding. And the conductor module 2 of the structure mentioned above is obtained.

  According to the second embodiment described above, the conductor 7 and the terminal fitting 3 are welded by causing a current to flow through the coil 11 to generate a magnetic field and generating an eddy current in the conductor 7 and the terminal fitting 3. No eddy current is generated in the covering portions 81 and 82 other than 7 by the magnetic field from the coil 11, and no joining energy is applied to the covering portions 81 and 82. Therefore, the covering portions 81 and 82 are not damaged, and the conductor 7 and the terminal fitting 3 are joined together with the covering portion 82 covering the surface opposite to the exposed one surface (that is, the joining surface) of the conductor 7. can do.

In the second embodiment described above, the terminal fitting 3, the conductor 7 of the FPC 111, and the covering portion 82 of the FPC 112 are mounted on the coil 11 in this order, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the covering portion 82 of the FPC 111, the conductor 7 of the FPC 111, and the terminal fitting 3 may be mounted on the coil 11 in this order. That is, in a state where one side of the exposed conductor 7 is overlapped with the terminal fitting 3, the overlapped portion may be disposed on the coil. In this case, since the covering portion 82 is sandwiched between the coil 11 and the conductor 7 of the FPC 111, the bonding force may be weakened. Therefore, in the second embodiment , the metal plate 18 is welded between the coil 11 and the covering portion 82 of the FPC 111 as in the first embodiment .

  In the first and second embodiments described above, only one of the pair of covering portions 81 and 82 covering the conductor 7 is removed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, both sides of the conductor 7 may be exposed by removing both of the pair of covering portions 81 and 82.

  Further, the above-described embodiments are merely representative forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a perspective view of the conductor module assembled by the electromagnetic welding method concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the conductor module shown in FIG. 1. It is sectional drawing along the III-III line in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the electromagnetic welding apparatus used when assembling the conductor module of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which accumulated the conductor on the coil of the electromagnetic welding apparatus shown by FIG. 4 in a partial cross section. It is a perspective view of the conductor module assembled with the electromagnetic welding method which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing along the VII-VII line in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which accumulated the terminal metal fitting and the conductor on the coil of the electromagnetic welding apparatus shown by FIG.

Explanation of symbols

3 Terminal fitting (metal piece)
7 Conductor 11 Coil 81 Covering part 82 Covering part 111 FPC (Flat Circuit Body)
112 FPC (Flat Circuit Body)

Claims (4)

In the method of joining the conductors of a flat circuit body composed of a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of sheet-shaped covering portions covering both sides of the conductor,
(A) removing the covering and exposing at least one side of the conductor;
(B) superimposing one side of the exposed conductors and placing the overlapped portions on a flat coil;
(C) sequentially passing a current through the coil and generating a magnetic field to generate an eddy current in the exposed conductor, thereby welding the conductors to each other;
An electromagnetic welding method , wherein the overlapped portion is disposed on the coil so that a metal plate is sandwiched between the overlapped portion and the coil . A method of joining the conductor and the metal piece of the flat circuit body composed of a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of sheet-shaped covering portions covering both sides of the conductor,
(A) removing the covering and exposing at least one side of the conductor;
(B) superposing one side of the exposed conductor on the metal piece, and placing these superposed portions on a flat coil;
(C) performing a process of sequentially welding the conductor and the metal piece by causing a current to flow through the coil and generating a magnetic field to generate an eddy current in the exposed conductor;
An electromagnetic welding method , wherein the overlapped portion is disposed on the coil so that a metal plate is sandwiched between the overlapped portion and the coil . In a conductor module having two flat circuit bodies in which the conductors are joined to each other, which is composed of a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of sheet-shaped covering portions covering both sides of the conductor,
The one side of the conductor exposed by removing the covering portion is overlapped, and the overlapped portion is arranged on the coil so that a metal plate is sandwiched between the overlapped portion and a flat coil , A conductor module, wherein the conductors are welded together by causing a current to flow through the coil to generate a magnetic field to generate an eddy current in the exposed conductor. In a conductor module having a flat circuit body constituted by a strip-shaped conductor and a pair of sheet-shaped coating portions covering both sides of the conductor, and a metal piece joined to the conductor of the flat circuit body ,
The one surface of the conductor exposed by removing the covering portion is overlapped with the metal piece, and the metal plate is sandwiched between the overlapped portion and a flat coil that generates a magnetic field when a current is passed. The overlapped portion is disposed on the coil, and a current is passed through the coil to generate the magnetic field, thereby generating an eddy current in both the conductor and the metal piece, and the conductor and the A conductor module in which a metal piece is welded.

Images