Flexible flat circuit

• US 9,504,142 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2015
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Hanazaki, Hisashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Thompson, Timothy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tso, Stanley
• Application Number:
  US14/629,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20150245469A1
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 174/254
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/0838 Parallel wires, sandwiched between two insulating layers
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0263 High current adaptations, e.g. printed high current conductors or using auxiliary non-printed means; Fine and coarse circuit patterns on one circuit board H05K1/0293 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0265 characterized by the lay-out of or details of the printed conductors, e.g. reinforced conductors, redundant conductors, conductors having different cross-sections
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/028 Bending or folding regions of flexible printed circuits H05K1/0283 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0293 Individual printed conductors which are adapted for modification, e.g. fusable or breakable conductors, printed switches
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0393 Flexible materials H05K1/038 takes precedence; specific organic compositions are classified in H05K1/0313 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/181 associated with surface mounted components
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0305 Solder used for other purposes than connections between PCB or components, e.g. for filling vias or for programmable patterns
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09281 Layout details of a single conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09727 Varying width along a single conductor; Conductors or pads having different widths
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09736 Varying thickness of a single conductor; Conductors in the same plane having different thicknesses
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10181 Fuse
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/107 Using laser light
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/101 by casting or moulding of conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/102 by bonding of conductive powder, i.e. metallic powder H05K3/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/125 by ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/1275 by other printing techniques, e.g. letterpress printing, intaglio printing, lithographic printing, offset printing

Abstract

A flexible flat circuit includes a pair of insulation sheets, and a plurality of conductors that are held between and covered with the pair of insulation sheets in a state that the plurality of conductors are separated to each other. Among from the plurality of conductors, at least conductors with different current capacities are different in thickness to each other.

Claims

1. A flexible flat circuit, comprising:

a pair of insulation sheets; and

a plurality of conductors comprising a first conductor and a second conductor disposed between and covered with the pair of insulation sheets such that the plurality of conductors do not contact each other, the first conductor has a greater width and thickness and current carrying capacity that the second conductor, and the top faces of the first and second conductors are flush with each other,

wherein the entirety of the first and second conductors are disposed between and covered with the pair of insulation sheets,

wherein the first conductor is embedded in one of the pair of insulation sheets and the second conductor is provided on a surface of the one of the pair of insulation sheets, and

wherein a fuse circuit is formed on the second conductor by stacking a metallic layer on an S-shaped section of the second conductor, the metallic layer having a melting point lower than a melting point of a material of the second conductor.

2. The flexible flat circuit according to claim 1, wherein a stereoscopic shaping method is used to form the plurality of conductors.

3. The flexible flat circuit according to claim 1, wherein the fuse circuit is formed using a stereoscopic shaping method.

4. The flexible flat circuit according to claim 1, wherein the pair of insulation sheets are stacked in a stacking direction and the thickness is a distance measured in the stacking direction.

5. The flexible flat circuit according to claim 1, wherein the pair of insulation sheets are stacked in a stacking direction;

and

wherein the plurality of conductors are not overlapped in the stacking direction.

6. The flexible flat circuit according to claim 1, wherein the pair of insulation sheets are stacked in a stacking direction;

and

wherein the plurality of conductors are overlapped in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction.