Article and method of manufacturing an enclosed electrical circuit using an encapsulant
First Claim
1. A method for manufacturing an encapsulated electrical circuit comprising:
- forming a substrate;
forming an image on a surface of the substrate viewable through the substrate;
forming the circuit on the surface;
forming a barrier on the substrate to define a cavity surrounding the circuit; and
placing an encapsulant in the cavity.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An enclosed electrical circuit and method for manufacturing the electrical circuit are provided. Initially a flexible substrate is formed with a plurality of electrical circuits. By way of example, each circuit can contain a conductive trace, a battery and a die, all in electrical communication. During the manufacturing process, a barrier is placed on the substrate and a curable encapsulant is poured into a cavity formed by the barrier and the substrate to encapsulate each circuit. The barrier can be formed as a compartmentalized dam having a separate cavity for each circuit, as a perimeter dam having a single cavity, or as a spacer sheet having a separate cavity for each circuit formed by a pattern of cut outs. Following the encapsulation step, the electrical circuits can be singulated into separate encapsulated circuits.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method for manufacturing an encapsulated electrical circuit comprising:
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forming a substrate; forming an image on a surface of the substrate viewable through the substrate; forming the circuit on the surface; forming a barrier on the substrate to define a cavity surrounding the circuit; and placing an encapsulant in the cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for manufacturing an electrical circuit comprising:
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forming a substrate; forming a plurality of conductive traces on the substrate; mounting electrical components on the substrate in electrical communication with the conductive traces to form a plurality of separate circuits; placing a spacer sheet on the substrate comprising a plurality of separate cavities for the separate circuits; depositing a curable compound into the cavities to encapsulate each of the separate circuits; curing the compound; and singulating the substrate and spacer sheet to form a plurality separate encapsulated circuits. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An encapsulated circuit comprising:
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a transparent flexible substrate; an image formed on a surface of the substrate; an electrical circuit formed on the surface; and an encapsulating layer covering the surface and the electrical circuit. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An encapsulated circuit comprising:
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a transparent flexible substrate; an electrical circuit formed on the substrate; an ink layer applied to the substrate between the substrate and the electrical circuit to provide an image visible through the substrate; and an encapsulating layer covering the substrate and the electrical circuit with the electrical circuit encapsulated between the substrate and encapsulating layer. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A method for manufacturing an encapsulated electrical circuit comprising:
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forming a substrate; forming a plurality of circuits on the substrate; placing a barrier on the substrate to define a single cavity surrounding the circuits; forming an encapsulant in the cavity to encapsulate the circuits; separating the barrier from the encapsulant; and
separating the encapsulated circuit from a remainder of the circuits. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. A method for manufacturing an encapsulated electrical circuit comprising:
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forming a substrate; forming a plurality of circuits on the substrate; providing a compartmental dam comprising an opening for each of the circuits; placing the dam on the substrate; forming an encapsulant in the cavities to encapsulate the circuits; separating the dam from the substrate; and separating the encapsulated circuit from a remainder of the circuits. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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Specification