Integrated wiring system for composite structures

• US 10,064,303 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2014
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Dalal, Hardik, Duce, Jeffrey Lynn, Rosillo, Yelina, Robbins, Brent A., Merriweather, Breana K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Courtney
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ervin, Jessey R
• Application Number:
  US14/282,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20150342077A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,561 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/00 Designing, manufacturing, assembling, cleaning, maintaining or repairing aircraft, not otherwise provided for; Handling, transporting, testing or inspecting aircraft components, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 4/01 Selective coating, e.g. pattern coating, without pre-treatment of the material to be coated
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 4/08 containing only metal elements C23C4/073 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 4/134 Plasma spraying
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0284 Details of three-dimensional rigid printed circuit boards H05K1/119 takes precedence; shaping of the substrate H05K3/0014
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09018 Rigid curved substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0999 Circuit printed on or in housing, e.g. housing as PCB; Circuit printed on the case of a component; PCB affixed to housing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/0528 Patterning during transfer, i.e. without preformed pattern, e.g. by using a die, a programmed tool or a laser
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/095 Plasma, e.g. for treating a substrate to improve adhesion with a conductor or for cleaning holes
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/1344 Spraying small metal particles or droplets of molten metal
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/14 using spraying techniques to apply the conductive material , e.g. vapour evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/388 by the use of a metallic or inorganic thin film adhesion layer
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/4673 Application methods or materials of intermediate insulating layers not specially adapted to any one of the previous methods of adding a circuit layer similar methods for protective coatings H05K3/28
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/06 on insulating boards , e.g. wiring harnesses for printed circuits H05K1/18, H05K3/30

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a composite part. Layers of composite material are cured to form the composite part. A primer is depicted on a surface of the composite part. A group of conductive elements is deposited on the primer to form an electronic device on the primer.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a composite part comprising:

curing layers of composite material to form the composite part;

depositing a primer on a surface of the composite part; and

forming a group of conductive elements on the primer such that an electronic device is formed on the composite part by using a direct-write process to deposit a conductive material directly onto the primer deposited on the surface of the composite part.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein depositing the primer on the surface of the composite part comprises:

depositing a layer of metallic material on the surface of the composite part; and

depositing a layer of ceramic material on the layer of metallic material.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein depositing the primer on the surface of the composite part comprises:

spraying the layer of metallic material on the surface of the composite part using a thermal plasma spray; and

spraying the layer of ceramic material on the layer of metallic material using the thermal plasma spray.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein depositing the conductive material to form the group of conductive elements comprises:

spraying the conductive material on the layer of ceramic material using the thermal plasma spray to form the group of conductive elements.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein depositing the conductive material to form the group of conductive elements on the primer comprises:

depositing conductive traces on the primer extending from one end of the composite part to another end of the composite part to form a power rail for supplying power across the composite part to power at least one connected device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the direct-write process is selected from one of a thermal plasma spray, a nano-particle ink-jet process, screen-printing, an atomized jetted ink process, and kinetic metallization.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein depositing the primer on the surface of the composite part comprises:

applying a number of layers of dielectric material to the surface of the composite part prior to depositing the conductive material to form the group of conductive elements.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

applying a number of layers of protective material on top of the group of conductive elements.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the group of conductive elements comprises:

at least one of an electrical trace, an interconnect, a wire, a transistor, an integrated circuit, or a conductive connector.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the composite part is an aircraft part.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing power from a power source through the group of conductive elements to a device connected to the composite part, wherein the device connected to the composite part is selected from the group of devices configured to use the power to perform operations consisting of a light, an appliance, a control system, a sensor, a display device, a computer, a field replaceable unit, an inflight entertainment system, a graphical indicator, a beacon, an emergency device, a door system, and an audio system.