RF connector

• US 20050031840A1
• Filed: 08/05/2003
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Wallace, Stanley J., Swift, Joseph A.
• Application Number:
  US10/634,983
• Publication Number:
  US 20050031840A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/292.100
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 3/07 otherwise than in a plane, e.g. in a tubular way
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249924 Noninterengaged fiber-containing paper-free web or sheet which is not of specified porosity

Abstract

An RF apparatus includes at least one of an exterior periphery surface and an interior periphery surface, and a plurality of conductive members including a plurality of conductive fibers. The plurality of conductive fibers are situated in a polymer forming a conductive region situated in relation to at least one of the exterior periphery surface and the interior periphery surface.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a member having at least one of an exterior periphery surface and an interior periphery surface, and a length; and

a plurality of conductive members comprising a plurality of conductive fibers having a length, the plurality of conductive fibers situated within a polymer forming a conductive region situated in relation to at least one of the exterior periphery surface and the interior periphery surface;

wherein the plurality of conductive fibers each having a first end, a length, a second end, and a diameter in the range of from 0.5 microns to 25 microns, the plurality of conductive fibers situated in a conductive composite member having a length and a diameter in the range of from 1 microns to 2 meters; and

a metal coating having a thickness in the range of from 0.001 microns to 25 microns disposed on at least a portion of the outside surface of at least one conductive member;

wherein the plurality of conductive members are disposed in the member and are selectively situated with respect to each other and form a matrix configuration including at least one selected dimension between the imaginary axis of a plurality of conductive members; and

wherein a polymer of the member is solidified about at least a portion of a periphery of the plurality of conductive members forming an integral structure.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of conductive fibers are pultruded within the polymer.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the plurality of conductive fibers include fibrillated ends extending from a surface of the member.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the apparatus and the conductive member is not straight along its length and extends in more than one direction.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus includes a lumen.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus includes an opening in a wall between the interior and exterior periphery surfaces.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conductive region is for communication with a circuit.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conductive region is exposed at a periphery surface.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a plurality of conductive fibers are at least partially coated with an electrically conductive material.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conductive region is at least partially coated with an electrically conductive material.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conductive members comprise a thermally conductive material.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further includes a plurality of non-conductive members comprising non-conductive fibers, the plurality of non-conductive members being disposed in the member and associated with the plurality of conductive members.

13. The connector of claim 1 wherein the metal coating is formed by at least one of vacuum deposition, vapor deposition, electroplated, sputter coating, and electroless plated process.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conductive member includes at least one of a metal and metal alloy.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conductive member includes a material selected from at least one of nickel, copper, gold, platinum, tungsten, silver, palladium, tin, iron, aluminum, zinc, chromium, lead, brass, nickel/boron, gold/carbon, palladium/nickel, and silver carbon.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the metal is an eutectic metal alloy including tin/lead and solder.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conductive fibers include carbon and the metal coating has a weight in the range of from 2% to 50% of the weight of the carbon in the conductive member.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conductive region is within 25 microns of at least one of the exterior periphery surface and the interior periphery surface

19. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the metal coating has a weight in the range of from 1% to 90% of the weight of the conductive member.

20. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of fibers are metal coated and are pultruded in a resin binder to form a selected cross-sectional shape.

21. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of fibers include carbon and are metal coated and separated from another by at least one of the polymer and an insulating fiber.

22. An apparatus comprising:

a composite member comprising a plurality of conductive fibers, each conductive fiber having a length, outside surface, a diameter in the range of from 0.5 microns to 25 microns, a first end and a second end, the composite member having an outside surface and a length; and

a metal coating having a thickness in the range of from 0.001 microns to 10 microns disposed on at least a portion of the outside surface of a plurality of the conductive fibers;

wherein at least one conductive fiber is spaced from another conductive fiber along at least a portion of the length of the composite member; and

wherein the composite member includes a polymer resin solidified about at least a portion of a periphery of the plurality of conductive fibers forming an integral structure.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising a plurality of conductive fibers bundled together forming at least one set of conductive fibers in association with the composite member, the at least one set of conductive fibers having a length and cross sectional area in the range of from less than 0.01 square microns to 1000 square microns wherein a metal coating having a thickness is disposed on at least a portion of an outside surface of the at least one set of conductive fibers.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising fibrillated fibers extending from a surface.

25. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the fibrillated region has a length in the range from 0.001 mm to 100 mm and is substantially flexible.

26. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the fibrillated region comprises an exposed plurality of conductive fibers extending from the member.

27. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the apparatus is suitable for use in an RF electric circuit to conduct current in the range of 1 hertz to 100 giga-hertz.