GB2314675A - Connecting leads to an electronic component - Google Patents
Connecting leads to an electronic component Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2314675A GB2314675A GB9624809A GB9624809A GB2314675A GB 2314675 A GB2314675 A GB 2314675A GB 9624809 A GB9624809 A GB 9624809A GB 9624809 A GB9624809 A GB 9624809A GB 2314675 A GB2314675 A GB 2314675A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- strip
- electronic component
- thermistor
- conducting
- conducting pads
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 239000011810 insulating material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 229910000679 solder Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 239000004642 Polyimide Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 229920001940 conductive polymer Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 229920001721 polyimide Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 23
- RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N Copper Chemical compound [Cu] RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 6
- 229910052802 copper Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 6
- 239000010949 copper Substances 0.000 claims description 6
- 239000013464 silicone adhesive Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000003795 chemical substances by application Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 5
- 229920001296 polysiloxane Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01C—RESISTORS
- H01C1/00—Details
- H01C1/14—Terminals or tapping points or electrodes specially adapted for resistors; Arrangements of terminals or tapping points or electrodes on resistors
- H01C1/148—Terminals or tapping points or electrodes specially adapted for resistors; Arrangements of terminals or tapping points or electrodes on resistors the terminals embracing or surrounding the resistive element
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Thermistors And Varistors (AREA)
- Apparatuses And Processes For Manufacturing Resistors (AREA)
Abstract
An electronic device such as a thermistor is formed by providing a strip of insulating material (2) having electrical conducting tracks (8, 10) extending to conducting pads (4, 6), and folding the strip of material along line A-A the electronic component (14) so that the conducting pads are brought into contact with the opposite faces of the electronic component. The material(2), which may be polyimide , may be coated with adhesive so that it can be secured to encapsulate the component. The pads (4,6) may be bonded to the faces of the component by solder, conductive polymer or ink.
Description
Thermistor Device
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thermistor or other electronic device.
Modern thermistors are typically fabricated from a material which has a large non-linear positive or negative temperature coefficient of resistivity. The thermistor has found a great number of applications as a component in the electronics industry. Such applications include compensation for temperature dependent variations in other components, use as a non-linear circuit element, and use in temperature and power measurements.
Thermistor devices are commonly formed as discs, having connecting leads soldered to their opposite faces. However, such devices tend to be both difficult and time consuming to manufacture. Also, the construction of the devices means that they can be unnecessarily bulky, this limitation becoming increasingly significant in modern high density electronic circuit manufacture where more compact devices are required.
We have now devised a method of forming a thermistor or other electronic device, which is simple and economic to perform and results in a device which is compact in size.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of forming an electronic device, said method comprising the steps of providing a strip of insulating material which is provided with electrical conducting tracks extending to conducting pads, and folding said strip of material over an electronic component so that said conducting pads are brought into contact with the opposite faces of said electronic component.
This straightforward process may be used to form a variety of electronic devices: the process is however particularly suited to the manufacture of thermistor devices.
It will be appreciated that the device which is produced is particularly thin, because the need to solder wires to its opposite faces is avoided.
Preferably a portion of the strip of insulating material is pre-coated with adhesive to secure together the two opposed portions of strip when folded, thereby encapsulating the thermistor or other electronic component. Preferably the adhesive comprises a high-temperature silicone adhesive.
Preferably the electrical tracks on the insulating strip comprise copper. Preferably the conducting pads also comprise copper. Preferably the insulating material of the strip comprises a high temperature polyimide material.
preferably the strip of insulating material is flexible.
Preferably the opposite faces of the thermistor or other electronic component are metallized and may be electrically bonded to each of the opposed conducting pads by means of a solder, or a conductive polymer or ink.
Preferably the area of each of the conducting pads is comparable to or substantially equal to that of the thermistor or other electronic component.
The device may include a number of thermistor or other electronic components, sandwiched between respective pairs of conducting pads of the folded strip. The conducting tracks for the various pads may be arranged to connect the components in parallel, or in series, or in series-parallel combination.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a thermistor device according to the present invention, shown prior to folding; and
FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the thermistor device, shown in its final form.
Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, a flexible, high temperature polyimide strip 2 is provided at longitudinallyspaced points with two printed copper conducting pads 4 and 6, which have respective connecting tracks 8 and 10, also of copper, extending parallel to each other lengthwise of the strip 2. An end portion 12 of the strip is pre-coated with a high temperature silicone adhesive which is normally covered by a piece of sheet material such as paper or plastic, coated with a release agent e.g. silicone. The pre-coated end portion 12 is shown shaded in Figure 1 and its boundary with the remainder of the strip 2 lies along a transverse line A-A.
In order to form a thermistor device according to the present invention, a flat thermistor element 14, having a large non-linear positive or negative temperature coefficient of resistivity and having each of its opposite faces metallized, is arranged within the region defined by the conducting pad 6 so that its reverse surface is in face-to-face contact with that pad. The silicone coated sheet material is then removed from the adhesive coated end region 12 of the strip 2 and the strip folded along the transverse line A-A, so that the conducting pad 4 is brought into face-to-face contact with the front surface of the thermistor element 14. The resulting structure is shown in Figure 2, where the adhesive has bonded the two superimposed portions 12, 13 of the strip 2 to one another, encapsulating the semiconductor element 14 therebetween.
Preferably the opposite faces of the thermistor element are electrically bonded to each of the opposed conducting pads by a quantity of molten solder, or a conductive polymer or ink, which is deposited within the region defined by the conducting pads 4, 6.
It will be noted that the connecting tracks 8, 10 of the device are arranged so that they do not overlap one another when the strip is folded, and therefore, their surfaces need not be insulated over the overlapping regions 12, 13.
Insulation may however be required over the connecting 'tail' portion 15 of the device.
The thermistor device, thus described, is a significant improvement over the existing devices, in that it is extremely compact and resilient and in that it requires only a very straightforward and economical process for its manufacture.
Whilst in the example shown in the drawing the device includes only a single thermistor element 14, the device may instead include a plurality of such elements. In this case, the portions 12,13 of the strip 2 are each formed with a number of conducting pads 4,6: the thermistor elements are then placed on respective ones of the pads 6 of the portion 13 of the strip, before the portion 12 of the strip is folded over to bring its pads 4 onto the other sides of the respective thermistor elements. The connecting tracks to the different pads may be arranged such that the thermistor elements are connected in parallel, or in series, or in a series-parallel combination. In particular, the different individual thermistor elements may have different temperature coefficients, selected such that the overall device has a desired temperature characteristic.
Claims (15)
1) A method of forming an electronic device, said method comprising the steps of providing a strip of insulating material which is provided with electrical conducting tracks extending to conducting pads, and folding said strip of material over an electronic component so that said conducting pads are brought into contact with the opposite faces of said electronic component.
2) A method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said electronic component comprises a thermistor.
3) A method as claims in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a portion of said strip of insulating material is pre-coated with adhesive to secure together the two opposed portions of strip when folded, thereby encapsulating said thermistor or other electronic component.
4) A method as claims in Claim 3, wherein said adhesive comprises a high-temperature silicone adhesive.
5) A method as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4, wherein said adhesive-coated portion of said strip is normally covered by a piece of sheet material, coated with a release agent, said piece of sheet material being removed from said strip prior to folding.
6) A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said electrical conducting tracks comprise copper.
7) A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said conducting pads comprise copper.
8) A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said strip of insulating material is flexible.
9) A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the insulating material of said strip comprises a high temperature polyimide material.
10) A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said opposite faces of said thermistor or other electronic component are metallized.
11) A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said opposite faces of said electronic component are bonded to respective said conducting pads by means of a solder, a conductive polymer or an ink.
12) A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the area of each of said conducting pads is comparable to or substantially equal to the corresponding face of said thermistor or other electronic component.
13) A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the device formed includes a number of thermistors or other electronic components, sandwiched between respective pairs of conducting pads of the folded strip.
14) A method as claimed in Claim 13, wherein the conducting tracks for said conducting pads are arranged to connect said thermistors or other electronic components in parallel, or in series, or in a series-parallel combination.
15) A method of forming an electronic device, the method being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBGB9613216.2A GB9613216D0 (en) | 1996-06-25 | 1996-06-25 | Thermistor device |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9624809D0 GB9624809D0 (en) | 1997-01-15 |
| GB2314675A true GB2314675A (en) | 1998-01-07 |
Family
ID=10795795
Family Applications (2)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBGB9613216.2A Pending GB9613216D0 (en) | 1996-06-25 | 1996-06-25 | Thermistor device |
| GB9624809A Withdrawn GB2314675A (en) | 1996-06-25 | 1996-11-28 | Connecting leads to an electronic component |
Family Applications Before (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBGB9613216.2A Pending GB9613216D0 (en) | 1996-06-25 | 1996-06-25 | Thermistor device |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (2) | GB9613216D0 (en) |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4138656A (en) * | 1976-11-15 | 1979-02-06 | Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. | Attachment of leads to electrical components |
| GB2217527A (en) * | 1988-02-03 | 1989-10-25 | Mcgavigan John & Co Ltd | Electrical connection strip |
| US5239745A (en) * | 1991-02-15 | 1993-08-31 | Hofsass P | Method for the manufacture of finished self-stabilizing resistors |
-
1996
- 1996-06-25 GB GBGB9613216.2A patent/GB9613216D0/en active Pending
- 1996-11-28 GB GB9624809A patent/GB2314675A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4138656A (en) * | 1976-11-15 | 1979-02-06 | Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. | Attachment of leads to electrical components |
| GB2217527A (en) * | 1988-02-03 | 1989-10-25 | Mcgavigan John & Co Ltd | Electrical connection strip |
| US5239745A (en) * | 1991-02-15 | 1993-08-31 | Hofsass P | Method for the manufacture of finished self-stabilizing resistors |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB9624809D0 (en) | 1997-01-15 |
| GB9613216D0 (en) | 1996-08-28 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |