BUNDLED FLEXIBLE FLAT CIRCUIT CABLE
A bundled flexible flat circuit cable includes a flexible substrate that forms at least one cluster section having an end forming at least one first connection section and an opposite end forming at least one second connection section. Both the first and second connection sections or one of the first and second connection sections form a stack structure. The flexible substrate can be of a structure of single-sided or double-sided substrate and may additionally include an electromagnetic shielding layer. A bundling structure is provided to bundle the cluster section at a predetermined location to form a bundled structure. The bundling structure can be made of a shielding material, an insulation material, or a combination of shielding material and insulation material.
Latest ADVANCED FLEXIBLE CIRCUITS CO., LTD. Patents:
- Circuit board structure incorporated with resin-based conductive adhesive layer
- Stacked flexible printed circuit board assembly with side connection section
- Attenuation reduction structure for flexible circuit board
- Attenuation reduction structure for flexible circuit board
- Attenuation reduction structure for flexible circuit board
The present invention relates to a single transmission flat cable, and in particular to a bundled flexible flat circuit cable with a stack structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA conventional flat cable comprises a plurality of conductors covered with insulation arranged to joint each other in a side-by-side fashion to form a cable having a flat structure. The flat cable is commonly used for transmission of signal in a variety of electrical appliances, electronic facility, computer facility, and communication facility.
Recently, flexible circuit board technology has also been applied to construct flat cables. The flexible circuit-board flat cables that are commonly used currently are constructed in different configurations that are either a single-sided board, a double-sided board, or a multiple-layered board, in order to meet the needs of applications that require different numbers of conductors for signal transmission.
Adopting a flat cable that has a flat structure to serve as a signal transmission line constitutes no severe problem in practical applications where the flat cable needs to extend through an elongate space. However, lots of existing electronic or communication devices use a hinge structure that has a bore. For example, in the structure designs of various consumer electronic devices, such as notebook computers, liquid crystal displays, digital cameras, mobile phones, touch panels, or other electronic devices, a cover or a screen is coupled to a body of the electronic device with a hinge structure. To allow a signal to be transmitted from the body of the electronic device to the cover or the screen, the state-of-the-art techniques use a miniaturized flat cable or bundled extra thin leads to serve as a signal transmission line. In the applications mentioned previously, adopting the conventional flat cable constitutes problems, for example, rotation of the hinge being negatively affected by the existence of the conventional flat cable, insufficient flexibility of the conductors or leads, poor durability against flexing of the conductors or leads. Due to these problems, the present inventor provided various flexible flat circuit cables that have a bundled structure and a cluster section. The cluster section is composed of a plurality of cluster strips formed by slitting a flexible substrate in an extension direction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONUsing a flexible flat circuit cable having a bundled structure and a cluster section meets most of the needs discussed above. However, certain problems exist. For example, in an attempt to set a flexible flat circuit cable in a hinge of an electronic device, extending a connection socket or a terminal plug provided at an end of the flat cable through the small diameter of the bore of the hinge becomes a problem that is hard to handle. Further, even though the connection socket or the terminal plug can readily extend through the small diameter of the hinge bore, the cluster of strips is susceptible to arbitrary distortion and external electromagnetic interference.
In view of the drawbacks of the known techniques, an objective of the present invention is to provide a bundled flexible flat circuit cable having a stack structure, whereby the stack structure allows the flat cable to reduce a width dimension of an end of the flat cable so that the end of the flexible flat circuit cable can easily extend through a bore defined in a hinge.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a bundled flexible flat circuit cable that exhibits excellent electromagnetic shielding characteristics, which when combined with the features of stacking and bundling of the flat cable of the present invention, allows for the formation of an electromagnetic shielding layer on a flexible substrate of the flat cable and may also allow for forming a bundled structure with electromagnetic shielding material.
The solution adopted in the present invention to overcome the problems of the conventional techniques comprises a flexible substrate that forms at least one cluster section. The cluster section is composed of plural cluster strips that are formed by slitting the flexible substrate along an extension direction of the flexible substrate. The cluster section has an end forming at least one first connection section and an opposite end forming at least one second connection section. Both the first and second connection sections or one of the first and second connection sections comprises a stack structure, which is formed by folding two opposite side stacking zones or one of the two opposite side stacking zones of the connection section along a respective fold line to have the side stacking zone stacked on at least a portion of a central zone of the connection section that is located between the two opposite side stacking zones.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible substrate can be of a single-sided or double-sided structure and may additionally comprise an electromagnetic shielding layer. A bundling structure is provided to bundle the cluster section at a predetermined location to form a bundled structure. The bundling structure can be made of a shielding material, an insulation material, or a combination of shielding material and insulation material.
According to the present invention, a stacked arrangement is selectively formed so that the configuration of a signal transmission flat cable can be made to reduce the width dimension of an end of the flexible flat circuit cable. Thus, the sized reduced end of the flexible flat circuit cable can be easily extended through a small diameter of a bore defined in a hinge when the flexible flat circuit cable is being mounted to the hinge structure. The bundling structure that bundles the cluster section of the flexible flat circuit cable together provides a function to restrict flexing of each cluster strip of the cluster section of the flexible substrate and also offers electromagnetic shielding to the cluster section.
The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
With reference to the drawings and in particular to
The flexible circuit substrate shown in
The flexible substrate 11 is divided in the extension direction I into a first connection section 2, a second connection section 3, and a cluster section 4 between the first and second connection sections 2, 3. In other words, the first connection section 2 is located at an end of the cluster section 4, while the second connection section 3 is located at an opposite end of the flexible substrate 11 that is opposite to the first connection section 2.
The cluster section 4 comprises a plurality of cluster strips 41 that is formed by slitting the flexible substrate 11 in the extension direction I. All or some of the cluster strips 41 is provided with a signal line to serve as an electrical signal transmission path between the first connection section 2 and the second connection section 3. The cluster section 4 may selectively form a plurality of tear stop holes 214 at suitable locations of terminals of all or some cluster strips 41 (for example, in the first connection section 2 and the second connection section 3) in order to protect the cluster strips 41 from damage caused by undesired tearing along the slitting during the assembling or use of the flexible substrate 11.
The first connection section 2 comprises a stack structure 20. With also reference to
In a practical application, the first connection section 2 and the second connection section 3 may be provided with different types of connection socket or terminal plug at predetermined locations thereof. For example, as shown in the embodiment of
Further, the connection sections and the cluster section of the flexible substrate can be arranged in a one-to-one fashion, or alternatively a one-to-plurality fashion can be adopted. For example, in the embodiment of
In an embodiment of the present invention, at least one bundling structure 5 is provided to loop around or bundle the cluster section 4 of the flexible substrate 11 at a predetermined location (see
In an alternative application, an outer surface of the electromagnetic shielding layer 51 may be further surrounded by an outer insulation layer 52 (see
The bundling structure 5 used in the previous embodiments is made in the form of a thin sheet, which is wrapped in a wrapping direction II around the predetermined location of the cluster section. Alternatively, a helical wrapping structure may be employed to form the bundling structure. As shown in
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A bundled flexible flat circuit cable, comprising:
- a flexible substrate, which extends in an extension direction and has a first surface and a second surface;
- a first conductive layer, which is formed on the first surface of the flexible substrate;
- at least a first connection section, which is formed on an end of the flexible substrate;
- at least a second connection section, which is formed on an opposite end of the flexible substrate that is opposite to the first connection section;
- at least a cluster section, which connects between the first connection section and the second connection section and comprises a plurality of cluster strips that are formed by slitting the flexible substrate in the extension direction; and
- at least a bundling structure, which bundles the cluster section at a predetermined location to wrap the cluster strips of the cluster section together to form a bundled structure;
- wherein both the first connection section and the second connection section or either one of the first connection section and the second connection section comprises a stack structure, which is formed by folding two opposite side stacking zones or one of two opposite side stacking zones of each of the connection sections along respective fold lines to have the side stacking zone or side stacking zones stacked on at least a portion of a central zone of the connection section that is located between the two opposite side stacking zones.
2. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first connection section comprises one of a terminal plug and a connection socket formed thereon.
3. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second connection section comprises one of a terminal plug and a connection socket formed thereon.
4. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first surface of the flexible substrate further comprises:
- a first insulation layer, which is formed on an external surface of the first conductive layer; and
- an electromagnetic shielding layer, which is formed on the first insulation layer.
5. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second surface of the flexible substrate comprises:
- a second conductive layer; and
- a second insulation layer, which is formed on the second conductive layer.
6. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bundling structure comprises a shielding bundling structure, which is made of a shielding material to wrap around the predetermined location of the cluster section.
7. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bundling structure is made of an insulation material to be wrapped around the predetermined location of the cluster section.
8. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bundling structure comprises:
- an inner insulation layer, which wraps around the cluster section; and
- an electromagnetic shielding layer, which wraps around an outer surface of the inner insulation layer.
9. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 8, wherein the electromagnetic shielding layer is further wrapped by an outer insulation layer around an outer surface thereof.
10. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bundling structure comprises:
- an electromagnetic shielding layer, which wraps around the cluster section; and
- an outer insulation layer, which wraps around an outer surface of the electromagnetic shielding layer.
11. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bundling structure comprises a sheet wrapped in a wrapping direction around the predetermined location of the cluster section.
12. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bundling structure comprises an elongate strap helically wrapped in an inclination direction around the predetermined location of the cluster section.
13. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein all or some of the cluster strips form at least one tear stop hole at a predetermined location close to the first connection section or the second connection section.
14. A bundled flexible flat circuit cable, comprising:
- a flexible substrate, which extends in an extension direction and has a first surface and a second surface;
- a first conductive layer, which is formed on the first surface of the flexible substrate;
- at least a first connection section, which is formed on an end of the flexible substrate;
- at least a second connection section, which is formed on an opposite end of the flexible substrate that is opposite to the first connection section;
- at least a cluster section, which connects between the first connection section and the second connection section and comprises a plurality of cluster strips that are formed by slitting the flexible substrate in the extension direction;
- a first insulation layer, which is formed on the first conductive layer; and
- an electromagnetic shielding layer, which is formed on the first insulation layer;
- wherein both the first connection section and the second connection section or either one of the first connection section and the second connection section comprises a stack structure, which is formed by folding two opposite side stacking zones or one of two opposite side stacking zones of each of the connection sections along respective fold lines to have the side stacking zone or side stacking zones stacked on at least a portion of a central zone of the connection section that is located between the two opposite side stacking zones.
15. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first connection section comprises one of a terminal plug and a connection socket formed thereon.
16. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 14, wherein the second connection section comprises one of a terminal plug and a connection socket formed thereon.
17. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 14, wherein the second surface of the flexible substrate comprises:
- a second conductive layer; and
- a second insulation layer, which is formed on the second conductive layer.
18. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 14, wherein all or some of the cluster strips form at least one tear stop hole at a predetermined location close to the first connection section or the second connection section.
19. A bundled flexible flat circuit cable, comprising:
- a flexible substrate, which extends in an extension direction and has a first surface and a second surface;
- a first conductive layer, which is formed on the first surface of the flexible substrate;
- at least a first connection section, which is formed on an end of the flexible substrate;
- at least a second connection section, which is formed on an opposite end of the flexible substrate that is opposite to the first connection section;
- at least a cluster section, which connects between the first connection section and the second connection section and comprises a plurality of cluster strips that are formed by slitting the flexible substrate in the extension direction;
- a first insulation layer, which is formed on the first conductive layer;
- an electromagnetic shielding layer, which is formed on the first insulation layer; and
- at least a bundling structure, which bundles the cluster section at a predetermined location to wrap the cluster strips of the cluster section together to form a bundled structure.
20. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first connection section comprises one of a terminal plug and a connection socket formed thereon.
21. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the second connection section comprises one of a terminal plug and a connection socket formed thereon.
22. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the second surface of the flexible substrate comprises:
- a second conductive layer; and
- a second insulation layer, which is formed on the second conductive layer.
23. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the bundling structure comprises a shielding bundling structure, which is made of a shielding material to wrap around the predetermined location of the cluster section.
24. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the bundling structure is made of an insulation material to be wrapped around the predetermined location of the cluster section.
25. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the bundling structure comprises:
- an inner insulation layer, which wraps around the cluster section; and
- an electromagnetic shielding layer, which wraps around an outer surface of the inner insulation layer.
26. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 25, wherein the electromagnetic shielding layer is further wrapped by an outer insulation layer around an outer surface thereof.
27. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the bundling structure comprises:
- an electromagnetic shielding layer, which wraps around the cluster section; and
- an outer insulation layer, which wraps around an outer surface of the electromagnetic shielding layer.
28. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the bundling structure comprises a sheet wrapped in a wrapping direction around the predetermined location of the cluster section.
29. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein the bundling structure comprises an elongate strap helically wrapped in an inclination direction around the predetermined location of the cluster section.
30. The bundled flexible flat circuit cable as claimed in claim 19, wherein all or some of the cluster strips form at least one tear stop hole at a predetermined location close to the first connection section or the second connection section.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 23, 2010
Publication Date: Mar 24, 2011
Applicant: ADVANCED FLEXIBLE CIRCUITS CO., LTD. (TAOYUAN COUNTY)
Inventors: GWUN-JIN LIN (TAOYUAN COUNTY), CHIH-HENG CHUO (TAOYUAN COUNTY), KUO-FU SU (TAOYUAN COUNTY)
Application Number: 12/729,677
International Classification: H05K 1/02 (20060101);