JPH08203583A - Connector and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a connector by which connection with large current capacity can be carried out without any adhesion to an electronic part, base plate and connection can be surely carried out even if the base plate is warped. CONSTITUTION: Plural through holes 15 are formed in a film 13, while on one surface of the film 13, plural linear conductive parts 14 are parallelly formed at the predetermined intervals in the positions in which the through holes 15 are opened, and then, the film 13 is bent into a U-shape to be joined together while putting a core material 11 consisting of insulating elastomer in the middle, and subsequently, the through holes 15 in the film 13 are filled with solder, and projecting electrodes 16 provided with projection parts 16a projecting on the surface of the film 13 are formed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector used for connecting circuits between electronic component boards and a method of manufacturing the same,
The present invention relates to a connector configured by combining an insulating elastomer and a flexible circuit board, and a manufacturing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a connector used for connecting a circuit between electronic component boards, a laminated type connector shown in FIG.
The metal thin wire type connector shown in FIG. 6b or the flexible board type connector shown in FIG. 6c is known. The laminated connector shown in FIG. 6a is a so-called S-shaped connector, in which a plurality of plate-shaped conductive silicone rubbers 51 and a plurality of plate-shaped insulating silicone rubbers 52 are alternately laminated in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Consists of Further, the thin metal wire type connector shown in FIG. 6b is configured by arranging thin metal wires 54 in the thickness direction thereof in a rectangular parallelepiped member 53 made of insulating silicone rubber. Further, the flexible board type connector shown in FIG. 6c is configured by forming a circuit pattern 56 on a film 55 made of an insulating plastic by etching or the like.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned laminated connector of FIG. 6a, the conductive silicone rubber 51 is made conductive by blending a conductive filler such as carbon black in the silicone rubber. , Not suitable for connection requiring high current resistance and large current capacity, and when the silicone rubber 51, 52 is pressure-contacted with the electronic component substrate for a long time, it adheres (bonds), and maintenance such as replacement of the substrate or electronic component There is a problem that it hinders Further, in the thin metal wire type connector of FIG. 6b, since the thin metal wire 54 is bent and connected, it must be compressed with a large force, and the electronic component board is bent, the circuit pattern is peeled, and the electronic component is destroyed. And the silicone rubber member 5 similar to the laminated connector of FIG. 6a described above.
There is a problem that 3 adheres to the electronic component substrate.

Further, the flexible substrate type connector of FIG. 6c has a problem that it is difficult to follow the warp of the electronic component substrate when one of the electronic component substrates is warped, which easily causes a contact failure or the like. . This invention has been made in view of the problems of the above-mentioned respective prior arts, a large current capacity can be obtained, and without adhering to an electronic component substrate,
Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a connector that can surely obtain an electrical connection even if the electronic component substrate is warped.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a connector according to a first aspect of the present invention is a flexible insulating film having through holes, wherein a plurality of linear wires made of a conductive material are provided on one surface of the flexible insulating film. A flexible circuit board is configured by providing conductive portions at predetermined intervals, and the flexible circuit board has a linear conductive portion side sandwiching a core made of an insulating elastomer.
The flexible circuit board is formed by bending it into a letter shape to be integrated with the core body, and provided with a protruding electrode that is electrically connected to the linear conductive portion through the through hole on the surface of the flexible circuit board.

In the connector according to the second aspect of the invention, a flexible circuit board is provided in which a plurality of linear conductive portions made of a conductive material are provided at predetermined intervals on one surface of a flexible insulating film having through holes. And a linear conductive portion side of the flexible circuit board is joined to a sheet-like member made of an insulating elastomer, and a projection electrically connected to the linear conductive portion through the through hole on the surface of the flexible circuit board. It was constructed by providing electrodes.

In the connector according to the first and second aspects of the invention, the spacing between the linear conductive portions of the flexible circuit board is 0.05 mm to 0.50 mm, and the protruding electrode is 0.0.
It has a hemispherical protrusion with a diameter of 2 mm to 0.10 mm,
In a mode (claim 3) in which the diameter of the protrusion is smaller than the interval between the linear conductive portions, a plurality of through holes that penetrate the insulating film in the flexible substrate and open to the linear conductive portions are provided. It is possible to provide a mode in which a hole is provided and the through hole is filled with solder to form the protruding electrode (claim 4).

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a connector in which a plurality of linear conductive portions and through holes which are open to the linear conductive portions are formed on one surface of a flexible insulating film. Thereafter, the insulating film is housed in a concave portion having a U-shaped cross section of a jig bent in a substantially U-shape so that the linear conductive portion is located inside, and the facing surface of the insulating film in the concave portion. Insulating elastomer material is filled in between to vulcanize and cure the insulating elastomer material to integrate it with the insulating film, and then through holes of the insulating film are filled with solder from the surface side to the surface side. A protruding electrode that protrudes is formed.

Further, in the connector manufacturing method according to the invention of claim 6, a plurality of linear conductive parts and a through hole opened to the linear conductive parts are formed on one surface of the flexible insulating film. At the same time, solder is filled in the through holes to form projecting electrodes projecting on one surface of the insulating film, and then the insulating film is formed into a substantially U shape so that the projecting surface of the projecting electrodes is located outside. The bent jig is housed in a concave portion having a U-shaped cross section, and the insulating elastomer material is filled between the facing surfaces of the insulating film in the concave portion to cure and cure the insulating elastomer material. Integrate with the film.

[0010]

According to the connector of the invention described in claims 1 and 2,
Since the core made of elastomer and the sheet-like member are deformed integrally with the flexible circuit board by a comparatively small compression force due to its viscoelasticity, electrical connection is made with a small contact pressure even if the electronic component board is warped. And the flexible circuit board and the electronic component board can be electrically connected to each other so that they are not bonded to each other. Further, since the linear conductive portion and the protruding electrode are electrically connected, a large current capacity is obtained. Is obtained. In particular, the connector of the present invention can be reliably protected without exposing the linear conductive portion by locating the linear conductive portion of the flexible circuit board on the joint surface with the core body.

In the connector according to the third aspect of the invention, not only the linear conductive portion can be easily formed by etching or printing, but also the protruding electrode can be easily manufactured by soldering or the like. In the connector of the invention described in Item 4, since the through holes are filled with solder to form the protruding electrodes,
Easy to mold and handle.

According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the invention, the method for manufacturing a connector according to the present invention comprises bending an insulating film into a U-shape, filling the inside of the bending with an insulating elastomer material, and adding the insulating elastomer. Since it is vulcanized and cured and integrated with the insulating film, it does not require adhesion and is easy to manufacture.
Can be firmly bonded. Particularly, the manufacturing method according to claim 5,
Since the protruding electrodes are formed by filling the through holes with solder after the insulating elastomer is vulcanized and cured, the protruding electrodes are not thermally deformed, and a higher quality connector can be obtained.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a connector according to an embodiment of the invention of claim 1, FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2a is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2b is BB of FIG. FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a core body whose side portion is formed in a semicircular cross section, 12 is a flexible flexible substrate, and the flexible substrate 12 is bent into a substantially U-shaped cross section and the cross section of the core body 11 is shown. It is attached to a semicircular side portion and a pair of opposing surfaces (upper and lower surfaces in the drawing) continuous to the side portion. The core body 11 has a Shore hardness of 30 to 60 ° H, preferably 40 to 5H.
An insulating elastomer having a hardness of 0 ° H and a compression set of 10% or less, preferably 3 to 8%, for example, an insulating elastomer made of a material such as a synthetic rubber such as silicone rubber, nitrile rubber, neoprene rubber, or the like. , Made of silicone rubber material insulating elastomer.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the flexible substrate 12 has a plurality of linear conductive portions 14 on the joint surface of the film (or sheet) 13 with the core body 11. A plurality of through holes 15 are formed facing each other,
Protrusion electrodes 16 are provided in these through holes 15.
The film 13 is made of an insulating and heat-resistant synthetic resin film such as polyimide, polyether, or polyester, preferably polyimide having excellent heat resistance and small heat shrinkage.
Although it is formed to a thickness of 125 μm, a thickness of 50 to 100 μm is preferable from the viewpoint of handleability and workability.

The linear conductive portion 14 is formed by adhering a copper foil to the film 13 and performing etching and then gold-plating the film 13, or by screen-printing the film 13 with a conductive ink. But film 13
It is desirable to form the former by etching because it bends integrally with. The linear conductive portions 14 have a width of about 0.25 mm and extend in the direction of arrow AA in FIG. 1 with an interval (pitch) of 0.05 to 0.50 mm from each other, and one surface of the core body 11 is formed. From one side to the other side. These linear conductive parts 14 are
The width and the pitch are determined in relation to the dimensions of the bump electrodes 16, and the width dimensions are larger than the diameter of the protrusions of the bump electrodes 16 described later.

At least 3 to 5 through-holes 15 are formed for each terminal at a position where the through-hole 15 is connected to a terminal portion of an electronic component board (not shown). The diameter of these through holes 15 is smaller than the width of the linear conductive portion 14 and is 0.02.
It is set in the range of 0.10 mm. The protruding electrode 16 is
The through-hole 15 is formed by embedding solder, and a substantially hemispherical projection 16a is projected on the surface of the film 13 (the surface opposite to the surface on which the linear conductive portion 14 is formed). This protrusion 16a
Has a diameter smaller than the width of the linear conductive portion 14,
In addition, it is formed so as to have a range of 0.02 to 0.10 mm, and its surface is plated with gold.

The connector of this embodiment is manufactured as follows. First, the linear conductive portion 14 is formed on the film 13 by the above-described etching or the like, and a plurality of through holes 15 facing the linear conductive portion 14 are formed through the film 13 on which the linear conductive portion 14 is formed. Next, as shown in FIG. 5, a molding jig 90 having a U-shaped recess 91 is used, and the film 1 is placed in the recess 91 of the molding jig 90.
3 was inserted in a bent state such that the surfaces on which the linear conductive portions 14 were formed faced each other, and the linear conductive portions 14 of the film 13 were inserted.
The insulating elastomer material is filled between the forming surfaces (hereinafter referred to as the inner surface), and the insulating elastomer material is vulcanized and cured to be integrated with the film 13 and taken out from the molding jig 90. The inlet / outlet of the molding jig 90 is sealed by a lid member during filling. That is, the core body 11 integrated with the film 13 is formed.

Next, the through holes 15 of the film 13 are filled with solder to form the protruding electrodes 16 having the protruding portions 16a on the outer surface of the film 13, and thereafter, the protruding portions 16a are formed.
Finish by applying gold plating on the surface of. The protrusion 16
The gold plating on the surface of a is effective in preventing the oxidation of the surface of the protrusion 16a made of solder and reducing the contact resistance with the electronic component substrate. It is also possible to form the protruding electrodes 16 on the film 13 in advance before bending the film 13 with a molding jig, but in order to avoid deformation of the protruding electrodes 16 during hot pressing, it is necessary to use the above-mentioned method. After hot pressing to the protruding electrode 1
It is desirable to form 6.

The connector of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As schematically shown in FIG. 3, the outer surface of the film 13 on which the protruding electrodes 16 are formed contacts the electronic component substrate P, and the core body 11 of the elastomer does not directly contact the electronic component substrate P. Therefore, the electronic component substrate P does not adhere or stick to the electronic component substrate P, and the electronic component substrate and components can be easily replaced during maintenance. In addition, this connector has a linear conductive portion 1 made of copper foil.
A large current capacity can be obtained because electrical continuity is obtained by the solder bump electrodes 4 and the solder bump electrodes 16.

Furthermore, in the connector of this embodiment, the core 11 made of elastomer has appropriate elasticity (viscoelasticity),
Further, since the film 13 has flexibility, even if the electronic component substrate P is warped or the like, the projecting electrodes 16 are deformed by the core body 11 and the like deformed following the warpage.
Highly reliable because it can surely contact the terminal part of. In addition, in particular, in this embodiment, the linear conductive portion 14 has the film 13
Since it is formed on the inner surface of and is covered with the core body 11 of the insulating elastomer, it is possible to reliably prevent short-circuiting of the linear conductive portion 14 due to the intruding conductive foreign matter.

The connector of the above embodiment is installed between the electronic component board on which the surface mount type LSI is mounted and the inspection board, and both boards are connected in a compressed state of about 10%. The test was continued for 1 year after leaving it to be energized for a month, then releasing the compression, connecting it again in a compressed state of about 10%, and leaving it for 1 month. In addition, it was not affected by the warp of the substrate.

FIGS. 3a and 3b show another embodiment of the connector according to the invention as defined in claim 1, respectively. In these embodiments, the same parts as those in the above-mentioned embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In the embodiment of FIG. 3a, the through holes 15, that is, the protruding electrodes 16 are arranged in a zigzag pattern. This embodiment is useful when the number of connection terminals on the electronic component substrate P is large and the pitch is small. In the embodiment of FIG. 3B, the linear conductive portion 14 is formed on the surface of the film 13, that is, both the linear conductive portion 14 and the protruding electrode 16 are exposed on the surface of the film 13. In this embodiment, it is also possible to form a convex portion on the surface of the linear conductive portion 14 without forming the through hole 15 to form the protruding electrode 16, and the through hole 15
In the case of forming the bumps, it is possible to form the protruding electrodes 16 with studs or rivet-like pins without filling the solder.

FIGS. 4a and 4b show an embodiment of the connector according to the invention of claim 2, where a is a perspective view and b is a sectional view taken along the line CC. The parts corresponding to those of the connector of the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, a rectangular plate-shaped flexible circuit board 18 is attached to one surface of a plate-shaped sheet body (sheet-shaped member) 19 made of an elastomer to form a plate-shaped connector.

The flexible circuit board 18 has the same film 13 as the flexible circuit board 12 of the above-described embodiment.
A plurality of linear conductive portions 14 extending in the long side direction are formed on one surface of the film at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of through holes 15 are formed on both side portions of the film 13, and the protruding electrodes are formed in these through holes 15. 16 are provided. In the flexible circuit board 18, the surface on which the linear conductive portion 14 is formed is the sheet body 1.
It is pasted on 9.

In the connector of this embodiment, as in the above-described embodiments, the linear conductive portion 14 is formed on one surface of the film 13 and then a plurality of through holes 15 are formed therethrough, and then the other surface of the film 13 is formed. The insulating elastomer material is applied and heated, and then the through holes 15 of the film 13 are formed.
It is manufactured by forming the protruding electrode 16 on the. However,
In the connector of this embodiment, it is also possible to form the sheet body 19 with an insulating elastomer in advance and bond the through hole 15 and the film 13 on which the linear conductive portion 14 is formed by using an adhesive or the like. is there.

In this embodiment, the electronic component substrate P is engaged with one side of the surface of the film 13 and the other electronic component substrate P is engaged with the other side of the surface of the film 13 to connect these substrates P. Therefore, similar to the above-described embodiment, there is no adhesion to the electronic component substrate P, reliable electrical connection is obtained, high reliability is obtained, and a large current capacity is obtained.

Next, specific examples will be described. The invention of claim 1 is embodied as the following specific example 1 and the invention of claim 2 is embodied as the following specific example 2. Specific example 1: 0.5 mm pitch in the horizontal direction and 0.2 m in the vertical direction on a rectangular polyimide film 13 having a thickness of 100 μm.
Through holes 15 having a diameter of 0.1 mm are formed at m pitches, a copper foil having a thickness of 25 μm is adhered to one surface of the film 13, and the copper foil is etched to form a 6 mm-width plate.
After forming 00 linear conductive portions 14 in the horizontal direction at a pitch of 0.5 mm so as to extend in the vertical direction with the centers of the through holes 15 aligned with each other, the film 13 has a horizontal dimension of 300 m.
m, and the vertical dimension was cut to a size of 10 mm. In this state, the length of the linear conductive portion 14 is 10 mm.

Next, the film 13 is attached to the linear conductive portion 14
Are bent so as to face each other, and are inserted into a concave portion 91 having an inverted U-shaped cross section of the molding jig 90 in a direction perpendicular to the linear conductive portion 14. Part 1
Silicone rubber KE-7020U (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) as an insulating elastomer material was filled between the four formed surfaces, and was molded into a U shape by a hot press at about 130 ° C. to be integrated with the film 13. Subsequently, the through holes 15 of the film 13 were filled with solder, and five protruding electrodes 16 having hemispherical protruding portions 16a with a diameter of 0.2 mm protruding from the outer surface of the film 13 were formed for each terminal of the electronic component substrate. . Then, the protrusion 16a of the protrusion electrode 16 has a thickness of 2
A μm gold plating was applied to obtain a connector having a length of 300 mm and a thickness of 2 mm.

Specific example 2: Similar to the specific example 1, 300 linear conductive portions 14 and through holes 15 are formed in the polyimide film 13 at the same pitch, and the film 13 has a lateral dimension of 150 mm and a vertical dimension. The size was cut to 100 mm (the length of the linear conductive portion 14 is 100 mm). In addition, silicone rubber KE- is used as an insulating elastomer material.
7020U (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.), thickness 3m
A sheet body 19 having a size of m and a size of 150 × 100 mm is formed. Then, a silicone adhesive KE-1800A / B (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) was applied onto the sheet body 19 by screen printing to adhere the film 13 thereto. Then, the through holes 15 of the film 13 adhered to the sheet body 19 are filled with solder, and the hemispherical projections 16 are formed.
The protruding electrode 16 having a was formed. Then, the protruding portion 16a of the protruding electrode 16 was plated with gold having a thickness of 2 μm to obtain a connector having a width of 150 mm, a length of 700 mm and a thickness of 3 mm.

In both the specific example 1 and the specific example 2 described above, even if the fatigue test for one year described above is performed, they are not bonded to the electronic component substrate P, and the electrical connection is surely obtained and the reliability is high. Was obtained, and further, a large current capacity was obtained.

[0032]

As described above, according to the connector of the invention described in claims 1 and 2, the core body made of the elastomer and the sheet-like member are integrally deformed with the flexible circuit board by viscoelasticity. Therefore, even if the electronic component board is warped, electrical contact can be reliably obtained with a small contact pressure, and the electrical connection can be made only by contact between the flexible circuit board and the electronic component board, so bonding is required. Moreover, a large current capacity can be obtained because electrical continuity is obtained by the linear conductive portion and the protruding electrode.

According to the connectors of Examples 1 and 2, since the linear conductive portion is formed on the joint surface of the flexible circuit board with the core body, the linear conductive portion is not exposed and the safety is high. Moreover, not only the linear conductive portion can be easily formed by etching or printing, but also the protruding electrode can be easily manufactured by soldering or the like. Since it is molded, it is easy to mold and handle.

According to the connector manufacturing method of the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, since the inside of the insulating film bent in a U shape is filled with the elastomer material and vulcanized and cured, adhesion or the like is performed. The process is not required, the manufacturing process can be shortened, and the elastomer and the film can be firmly fixed to each other. In particular, in the manufacturing method of the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the protruding electrode is formed after the elastomer is vulcanized and cured, thermal deformation of the protruding electrode can be prevented, and a higher quality connector can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector, in which a is A-A in FIG.
1 is a sectional view taken along the arrow B, and FIG.

3A is a perspective view of a connector according to yet another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a connector according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

4A and 4B show a connector according to another embodiment of the invention of claim 2, wherein a is a perspective view and b is a C-C sectional view.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing a step of manufacturing the connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional connector, in which a shows one aspect, b shows another aspect, and c shows another aspect.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 11 core body 12 flexible substrate 13 film 14 linear conductive portion 15 through hole 16 protruding electrode 16a protruding portion 18 flexible substrate 19 sheet body 90 molding jig 91 concave portion P electronic component substrate

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A flexible circuit board is formed by providing a plurality of linear conductive portions made of a conductive material on one surface of a flexible insulating film having through holes at predetermined intervals, and the linear shape of the flexible circuit board is formed. The conductive portion side is bent into a U-shape with a core body made of an insulating elastomer sandwiched between the conductive body side and the core body, and the conductive body side is electrically connected to the linear conductive portion through the through hole on the surface of the flexible circuit board. A connector provided with a protruding electrode. 2. A flexible circuit board is formed by providing a plurality of linear conductive parts made of a conductive material on one surface of a flexible insulating film having through holes at predetermined intervals, and the linear shape of the flexible circuit board. A connector characterized in that a conductive portion side is joined to a sheet-like member made of an insulating elastomer, and a protruding electrode is provided on the surface of the flexible circuit board so as to be electrically connected to the linear conductive portion through the through hole. 3. The interval between the linear conductive portions of the flexible circuit board is 0.05 mm to 0.50 mm, and the protruding electrode has a substantially hemispherical protruding portion having a diameter of 0.02 mm to 0.10. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a diameter of the protrusion is smaller than a space between the linear conductive portions. 4. The connector according to claim 1, wherein in the flexible circuit board, the through hole is opened to the linear conductive portion, and the protruding electrode is formed by filling the through hole with solder. 5. A flexible insulating film having a plurality of linear conductive portions and through holes formed in the linear conductive portions formed on one surface of the flexible insulating film, and the linear conductive portions of the insulating film are placed inside. The jig is bent into a substantially U-shape and is housed in a concave portion having a U-shaped cross section, and the insulating elastomer material is filled between the surfaces of the insulating film facing the linear conductive portions in the concave portion to form the insulation. Of the conductive elastomer material is vulcanized and cured to be integrated with the insulating film, and then through holes of the insulating film are filled with solder from the surface side to form protruding electrodes protruding to the surface side. Connector manufacturing method. 6. A flexible insulating film is provided with a plurality of linear conductive parts and a through hole opened to the linear conductive part on one surface, and the through holes are filled with solder to provide the insulating property. After forming a protruding electrode projecting on one surface of the film, the insulating film is housed in a recess having a U-shaped cross section of a jig bent in a substantially U shape so that the protruding surface of the protruding electrode is located outside. Then, the insulating elastomer material is filled between the facing surfaces of the insulating film in the recess, and the insulating elastomer material is vulcanized and cured to be integrated with the insulating film. .