U.S. patent application number 09/805888 was filed with the patent office on 2001-11-29 for antenna device.
Invention is credited to Moren, Stefan.
Application Number | 20010045915 09/805888 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26153826 |
Filed Date | 2001-11-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010045915 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Moren, Stefan |
November 29, 2001 |
Antenna device
Abstract
The present invention facilitates the manufacturing of devices
comprising printed circuits on flexible substrates. The objects of
the invention are obtained by a device for feeding items to a
manufacturing machine, where said device comprises a long flexible
film arranged in a roll, said film comprising a first protective
layer for carrying each of said items. An adhesive agent, applied
between said item and said protective layer, attaching said item to
said protective layer, said first protective layer and said agent
cooperating so that when said item is detached from said first
protective layer substantially all of said adhesive agent is
disposed on said item and where said item comprises a printed
circuit.
Inventors: |
Moren, Stefan; (Kista,
SE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JACOBSON HOLMAN PLLC
400 SEVENTH STREET N.W.
SUITE 600
WASHINGTON
DC
20004
US
|
Family ID: |
26153826 |
Appl. No.: |
09/805888 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09805888 |
Mar 15, 2001 |
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09249776 |
Feb 16, 1999 |
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6281842 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
343/895 ;
343/702 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 1/095 20130101;
H05K 3/061 20130101; H01Q 1/36 20130101; H05K 1/0393 20130101; H05K
3/0097 20130101; H05K 3/007 20130101; Y10T 29/49016 20150115; H01Q
1/38 20130101; Y10T 428/1495 20150115; H05K 2203/0156 20130101;
H05K 3/0052 20130101; H05K 2203/0264 20130101; H05K 2203/1545
20130101; H05K 3/1216 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
343/895 ;
343/702 |
International
Class: |
H01Q 001/24; H01Q
001/36 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 10, 1999 |
EP |
99850020.1 |
Claims
1. Dispensing device for feeding items for use in an automatic
assembly process, said device comprising: a band of flexible
composite film (101) arranged in multiple turns forming a roll
(102) having essentially a circularly cylindrical shape, said film
including a plurality of items to be fed, and a continuous carrier
layer (107) for carrying each of said items, characterized in that,
said items include a first conductive circuit (103), forming a
radiator for transmitting/feeding information-carrying radio
signals in the UHF range.
2. Device of claim 1, wherein said items are stickers, and said
conductive circuits are disposed on said stickers.
3. Device of claim 1, wherein an adhesive agent, located between
said items and said carrier layer, attaching said items to said
carrier layer, said adhesive agent having a greater adhesion to
each of said items than to said carrier layer, so as to attach to
each of said items as it is separated from said carrier layer.
4. Device of claim 1, wherein said conductive circuit is composed
of at least one element in a group consisting of: a dried
conductive paint, an etched metal plate pattern produced in a
positive pattern printing process, an etched metal plate pattern
produced in a photo process, a punched metal plate pattern.
5. Device of claim 1, wherein said items further include at least
one further conductive circuit forming at least one element
selected from a group consisting of: a radiator, a parasitic
resonator, an inductor, a capacitor, a connector, a marking.
6. Device of claim 5, wherein said at least one further conductive
circuit being conductively coupled to said first conductive
circuit.
7. Device of claim 5, wherein said at least one further conductive
circuit being capacitively coupled to said first conductive
circuit.
8. Device of claim 5, wherein said at least one further conductive
circuit being inductively coupled to said first conductive
circuit.
9. Device of claim 3, wherein said items are arranged to be
adhesively attachable to a cylindrical surface.
10. Device of claim 3, wherein said items are arranged to be
adhesively attachable to a spheroid surface.
11. A device according to claim 3, wherein said item comprises a
flexible substrate, that said adhesive agent is disposed on a first
side of said flexible substrate facing said protective layer, that
said first conductor is disposed on a second side of said flexible
substrate opposite said first side.
12. A device according to claim 1, wherein said first conductive
circuit comprises a first contact area arranged for being in
electrical contact with RF circuitry in a radio communication
device, said radiator having radio frequency characteristics so as
to be operative in at least a first frequency band.
13. A device according to claim 1, wherein said first conductive
circuit comprises at least a first part having radio frequency
characteristics so as to match said radiating member to a
predetermined impedance.
14. A device according to claim 1, wherein said items are arranged
for receiving at least a first discrete component conductively
connectable to said first conductive circuit.
15. Method for manufacturing a roll of sticker items including a
radiator, said method being characterized by the steps of: screen
printing a long flexible first carrier having a metallic layer
disposed thereon according to a first pattern with a protective
paint, said long flexible first carrier being arranged in a roll,
etching away the part of said conductive substrate, not covered by
the protective paint, is etched away so that a printed circuit is
obtained, a long flexible protective layer, an adhesive agent and
said first carrier are laminated together, with said adhesive
agent.
16. A method according to claim 15, wherein a first contour is cut
on said first carrier
17. A method according to claim 15, wherein excess material of said
first carrier is removed so that a long flexible film is formed
with said long flexible protective layer carrying items comprising
said printed circuit having said first form.
18. A method according to claim 15, wherein said screen paint is
removed,
19. A method according to claim 15, wherein at least two patterns
are screen printed side by side on said first carrier, said long
flexible film is cut in at least two parts with one of, said at
least two patterns, on each part.
20. A method according to claim 15, wherein said first carrier is
arranged in a first roll, said long flexible protective layer is
arranged in a second roll, said painting, said etching, said
washing, said laminating of said protective layer and said punching
is continuously performed while unrolling said first carrier from
said first roll to a third roll.
21. A method according to claim 15, wherein said first carrier is
arranged in a first sheet, said long flexible protective layer is
arranged in a second sheet, said painting, said etching, said
washing, said laminating of said protective layer and said punching
is performed on one sheet at a time producing a third sheet, said
third sheet is arranged in a roll.
22. A method for manufacturing an antenna device, characterized in
the steps according to claim 15, said printed circuit having a
pattern operative in at least a first radio frequency band and
further comprising the steps of: unrolling said long flexible film
over a first edge so that said items, comprising said printed
circuit, is detached from said protective layer and protruding over
said edge, fetching of said protruding item by a mounting machine,
mounting of said fetched item on an antenna device support
structure using said adhesive agent.
23. Method for manufacturing a roll of sticker items including a
radiator, said method being characterized by the steps of: printing
a long flexible first carrier according to a first pattern with a
conductive paint and letting it dry so that a printed circuit is
obtained, said long flexible first carrier being arranged in a
roll, a long flexible protective layer, an adhesive agent and said
first carrier are laminated together, with said adhesive agent.
24. A method according to claim 23, wherein a first contour is cut
on said first carrier
25. A method according to claim 23, wherein excess material of said
first carrier is removed so that a long flexible film is formed
with said long flexible protective layer carrying items comprising
said printed circuit having said first form.
26. A method according to claim 23, wherein at least two patterns
are screen printed side by side on said first carrier, said long
flexible film is cut in at least two parts with one of, said at
least two patterns, on each part.
27. A method according to claim 23, wherein said first carrier is
arranged in a first roll, said long flexible protective layer is
arranged in a second roll, said painting, said etching, said
washing, said laminating of said protective layer and said cutting
is continuously performed while unrolling said first carrier from
said first roll to a third roll.
28. A method according to claim 23, wherein said first carrier is
arranged in a first sheet, said long flexible protective layer is
arranged in a second sheet, said painting, said etching, said
washing, said laminating of said protective layer and said cutting
is performed on one sheet at a time producing a third sheet, said
third sheet is arranged in a roll.
29. A method for manufacturing an antenna device, characterized in
the steps according to claim 23, said printed circuit having a
pattern operative in at least a first radio frequency band and
further comprising the steps of: unrolling said long flexible film
over a first edge so that said items, comprising said printed
circuit, is detached from said protective layer and protruding over
said edge, fetching of said protruding item by a mounting machine,
mounting of said fetched item on an antenna device support
structure using said adhesive agent.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a production method for,
and a device for facilitating the production of, printed circuits
for radio communication equipment in general, and more particular
to a production method for, and a device for facilitating
production of, printed circuits disposed on a flexible carrier.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
[0002] The rapid expansion in the mobile telecommunication market
and specifically in the radio communication market has led to a
tremendous increase in the demand for radio communication devices.
Thus the production of such devices increases. For a player on this
market to stay competitive it is vital to have competitive products
and a smooth manufacturing process for these products.
[0003] A specific, important, such product, in the radio
communication area, is the antenna device. It is important for the
antenna device to adhere to strict requirements of radio frequency
characteristics, for instance electric length etc., in the
particular radio frequency bands in which it is designed to be
operative. These requirements in turn set requirements for the
manufacturing process of these devices. For antenna devices
designed with a conductive wire formed as a helix the production
might result in devices which vary somewhat in the aforementioned
characteristics. These devices are however robust, low-cost and has
proven to be, once tested to adhere to said requirements, a
successful approach in the design of antenna devices for radio
communication devices.
[0004] An antenna device designed as a conductive pattern on a
flexible substrate has proven to be a design with very stable radio
frequency characteristics. This is dependent on the accuracy with
which it is possible to design the pattern on the flexible
substrate. There is also a number of other advantages with using a
flexible substrate. It can however be a problem to handle these
thin flexible items in the manufacturing process. These problems
might include that the items adhere to each other, that they hook
in to slits in each other, difficulties in applying them to a coil
neck (e.g. the antenna support), that they get stuck in fissures in
the manufacturing machines etc. it would therefore be beneficial to
have a manufacturing process to use the advantageous flexible
substrates which do not have the above mentioned problems in the
manufacturing.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0005] One object of the present invention is thus to achieve a
device for facilitating the manufacturing of devices comprising
printed circuits on flexible substrates. This object is obtained by
a device for feeding items to a manufacturing machine, where said
device comprises a long flexible film arranged in a roll, said film
comprising a first protective layer for carrying each of said
items. An adhesive agent, applied between said item and said
protective layer, attaching said item to said protective layer,
said first protective layer and said agent cooperating so that when
said item is detached from said first protective layer
substantially all of said adhesive agent is disposed on said item
and where said item comprises a printed circuit.
[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
method for manufacturing of a device which facilitate the
manufacturing of devices comprising printed circuits on flexible
substrates. This object is obtained by providing a method for
manufacturing a roll of printed circuit diagrams wherein a long
flexible first carrier having a conductive substrate and being
arranged in a roll, is screen printed according to a first pattern
with a screen paint; the part of said conductive substrate, not
covered by the screen print, is etched away so that a printed
circuit is obtained; said screen paint is washed away; a long
flexible second carrier, comprising on a first side an adhesive
agent, is laminated together with said first carrier, with said
first side facing said first carrier; a first form is punched on
said first carrier; excess material of said first carrier is
removed so that a band is formed with said first carrier carrying
items comprising said printed circuit having said first form.
[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
method for manufacturing an antenna device comprising at least one
printed circuit on a flexible substrate, where said printed circuit
comprises at least one radiating element.
[0008] An advantage with the present invention is that a smooth and
efficient manufacturing process is achieved for the production of
printed circuits on a flexible substrate.
[0009] An advantage, according to one embodiment of the invention,
is that the above mentioned problems are avoided.
[0010] An advantage, according to one embodiment of the invention,
is that each printed circuit item is well protected from damage and
is fed in a controlled manner to a mounting machine.
[0011] An advantage, according to one embodiment of the invention,
is that the orientation of the printed circuit items can be chosen
to fit the specific application or mounting machine.
[0012] An advantage, according to one embodiment of the invention,
is that it is easy to produce several different printed circuit
layouts in one batch.
[0013] Further scope of applicability of the present invention will
become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter.
However, it should be understood that the detailed description and
specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the
invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various
changes and modifications within the scope of the invention will
become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed
description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying
drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are
not limitative of the present invention and wherein
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a roll according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a roll according to a preferred
embodiment of the invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a top view of a long flexible film comprising
printed circuit items according to a preferred embodiment of the
invention;
[0018] FIG. 4 shows a top view of a long flexible film comprising
several parallel printed circuit items according to a preferred
embodiment of the invention;
[0019] FIGS. 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d and 5e, discloses a long flexible film
after different process steps of in a method according to a
preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0020] FIGS. 6a, 6b disclose the final long flexible film after all
steps in FIG. 5
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0021] FIG. 1 shows a long flexible film 101 arranged in a roll
102. The film 101 comprises antenna elements, whereof four 103,
104, 105 and 106 are visible, and a protective carrier layer 107.
The antenna elements consist of etched printed circuits, having
specific radio frequency characteristics, applied on a flexible
substrate. Between the antenna elements and the protective layer
107 is an adhesive agent present (not shown). The roll 102 is
mounted on a stand 108 according to known methods and the film 101
is fed over an edge 109 to a dispose roll 110 which collects the
protective layer 107. When the film 101 is fed over the edge 109
the antenna element 103 detach from the protective layer 107. The
film 101 is fed so that a convenient part of the antenna element
103 protrudes out from the edge 109. This enables a mounting
machine 111 to easy grab the antenna element 103 for mounting on a
antenna support structure (not shown). The mounting machine 111 is
depicted in a schematic manner in FIG. 1. Several different
arrangement are possible for the mounting machine in dependence of
the specific requirements for the specific application.
[0022] FIG. 2 shows the roll 102 comprising antenna elements in a
side view.
[0023] FIG. 3 shows a part of a long flexible carrier film 301,
which is to be arranged in a roll, comprising antenna elements 302.
The antenna elements in this application are dual band elements
having a first and second radiating element 303 and 304,
respectively. It is of course also possible to include other types
of printed circuits than radiating elements such as for instance a
matching circuit etc.
[0024] FIG. 4 shows a part of a long flexible carrier layer 401,
which is to be arranged in a roll, comprising several parallel
antenna elements 402 of different size, with different patterns and
arranged in different directions. The arrow 403 indicates the
direction of roll out. In the production process it might be
beneficial to process and manufacture several rolls of printed
circuits simultaneously. The different parallel structures 404 are
at a later stage in the production process cut in individual
rolls.
[0025] FIGS. 5-9 show a small part of a long flexible film 501
after different process steps in a method according to a preferred
embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5a shows a side view, and FIG. 5b
shows a top view, of the long flexible substrate 501 before the
first step of the present method. The substrate 510 comprises a
first flexible polyester substrate 502 and on top of that a
conductive copper layer 503. On the conductive copper layer 503 is
a pattern 504 printed, as shown in FIG. 5c, one after the other,
along the long flexible substrate 501, with a paint, which is
resistant to the etching fluids later used. Of course, as been
previously mentioned, several, different or alike, patterns may be
printed in parallel to produce several rolls in one batch. For sake
of clarity only one is shown in this preferred embodiment. The
substrate 501 is next exposed to etching fluids, which etches away
excess copper not covered by said paint so that a conductive
pattern, a printed circuit 505, is achieved as shown in a side view
in FIG. 5d. The paint is washed away and a protective layer 506
having an adhesive agent 507 is laminated with the polyester layer
carrying the printed circuit 505 as shown in FIG. 5e to produce the
long flexible film. In FIG. 6a, which shows a side view, and 6b
which shows a top view, is the final long flexible film disclosed
after the form for the printed circuits 601 has been punched out
and excess material removed. The printed circuit item consists of a
conductive pattern 602, a flexible carrier 603, and an adhesive
agent 604. The printed circuit item are attached to the protective
layer 605 under the influence of said adhesive agent 604. Thus has
a flexible printed circuit been created which is easily detachable
as previously discussed.
[0026] In FIG. 7 is another preferred embodiment according to the
invention disclosed. In this embodiment is a conductive circuit 701
and a carrier 702 formed from the same flexible conductive metallic
sheet by punching out a predefined pattern. Said pattern
constitutes a radiating antenna device operative in at least a
first frequency band and adapted for being coupled to RF circuitry
(not shown). The conductive circuit 701 is hold in place on the
carrier 702 through small retainer parts 703. The retainer parts
703 are firm enough to hold the conductive circuit in place but
weak enough to indestructibly release the conductive circuit 701 in
the manufacturing process. Of course may more than two retainer
parts be used to hold each conductive circuit 701.
[0027] It shall be realized that while a very specific and concrete
example has been given the theme may be varied. For instance may a
silver-polymer be used as the conductive circuit, other methods for
achieving the printed circuit may be used, for instance may the
printed circuit be printed on the flexible carrier using a
conductive paint.
[0028] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that
the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be
regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,
and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in
the art are intended to be included within the scope of the
following claims.
* * * * *