U.S. patent application number 13/249253 was filed with the patent office on 2012-04-26 for apparatus for transporting flexible printed circuit board strip.
This patent application is currently assigned to ZHEN DING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Tao-Ming Liao, Chia-Hung Shen.
Application Number | 20120097784 13/249253 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45972135 |
Filed Date | 2012-04-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120097784 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liao; Tao-Ming ; et
al. |
April 26, 2012 |
APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING FLEXIBLE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD STRIP
Abstract
An apparatus for transporting an FPCB strip includes a feeding
spool, a collecting spool, and a buffer device between the feeding
spool and the collecting spool. The feeding spool is configured for
feeding an FPCB strip. The collecting spool is for collecting the
FPCB strip from the buffer device. The buffer device includes a
container, a redirection cylinder and an air pump. The redirection
cylinder has a cavity defined therein, and a plurality of air exit
holes defined in a side wall thereof. The air exit holes are in
communication with the cavity. The air pump is in communication
with the container and the cavity of the redirection cylinder for
evacuating the air in the container so as to retain the bent
portion in situ in the container and blowing air into the cavity,
so as to form a cushion of air at the air exit holes.
Inventors: |
Liao; Tao-Ming; (Tayuan,
TW) ; Shen; Chia-Hung; (Tayuan, TW) |
Assignee: |
ZHEN DING TECHNOLOGY CO.,
LTD.
Tayuan
TW
|
Family ID: |
45972135 |
Appl. No.: |
13/249253 |
Filed: |
September 30, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
242/530.1 ;
242/538 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 20/32 20130101;
B65H 2408/215 20130101; B65H 20/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
242/530.1 ;
242/538 |
International
Class: |
B65H 18/08 20060101
B65H018/08; B65H 23/24 20060101 B65H023/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 20, 2010 |
CN |
201010513625.X |
Claims
1. An apparatus for transporting an FPCB strip, comprising: a
feeding spool for feeding an FPCB strip unwound therefrom; a
collecting spool; and a buffer device between the feeding spool and
the collecting spool, the collecting spool configured for
collecting the FPCB strip from the buffer device; the buffer device
comprising: a container for receiving a bent portion of the unwound
FPCB strip from the feeding spool, a redirection cylinder having a
cavity defined therein, and a plurality of air exit holes defined
in a side wall thereof, the air exit holes being in communication
with the cavity, the container arranged below and between the
redirection cylinder and the feeding spool, and an air pump in
communication with the container and the cavity of the redirection
cylinder, the air pump being configured for evacuating the air in
the container so as to create a suction force to retain the bent
portion in situ in the container and blowing air into the cavity of
the redirection cylinder, so as to form a cushion of air at the air
exit holes.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the air exit holes are
arranged in a plurality of rows, and each row of the air exit holes
is parallel to the central axis of the redirection cylinder.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each row of the air exit holes
comprises at least twenty air exit holes.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein all the air exit holes are
distributed at a quadrant of the side wall of the redirection
cylinder.
5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of the air exit holes has
a diameter smaller than 1 mm.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the buffer device further
comprises a suction pipe and an exhaust pipe, the air pump being in
communication with the container through the suction pipe, and
being in communication with the cavity through the exhaust
pipe.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the collecting spool comprises
at least one winding roller and a rotation driver, the rotation
driver being connected to one end of the at least one winding
roller, thereby driving the at least one winding roller to
rotate.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the rotation driver comprises
a rotating axle, the at least one winding roller defines a fixing
hole in an end face of the at least one winding roller, and the
rotating axle has an interference fit in the fixing hole.
9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one winding
roller comprises two winding rollers connected with each other and
coaxially aligned with each other.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the central axis of the
feeding spool, the central axis of the collecting spool and the
central axis of the redirection cylinder are parallel to each
other.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for
transporting a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) strip.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Microphones, portable computers and other electronic
products have achieved ever greater levels of miniaturization,
thereby requiring thinner FPCBs having a plurality of fine
electrical traces.
[0005] At present, FPCBs are generally produced by a roll-to-roll
processing method. The roll-to-roll processing method is a process
carried out on flexible plastic or metal foil. The roll-to-roll
processing method for producing FPCBs involves starting with a roll
of unfinished FPCB strip and collecting the finished FPCB strip
after etching, electroplating, electrolyzing, screen-printing or
other processing steps. The finished FPCB strip is then cut into
pieces to form a plurality of FPCBs. In the roll-to-roll processing
method, a reverse wheel is used to change the direction of movement
of the FPCB strip. The reverse wheel is rotated by a motor. The
FPCBs contact the rotating reverse wheel, thus the FPCB strip is
subjected to tension. In the processing steps of the FPCB strip,
the motor may be frequently started and stopped. This may result in
constantly changing the tension in the FPCB strip and too much
friction occurring between the reverse wheel and the FPCB strip. In
this case, the tension in the FPCB strip is difficult to control.
Too much friction may cause damage to the FPCB strip, such as the
breaking of conductive traces in the FPCB strip.
[0006] Therefore, a method for an apparatus for transporting an
FPCB strip is needed to overcome the above-described problems.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood
with reference to the following drawings. The components in the
drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead
being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of
embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals
designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic, isometric view of an apparatus for
transporting a FPCB strip according to an exemplary embodiment, the
apparatus comprising a reverse wheel.
[0009] FIG. 2 is cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1
taken along line II-II, showing the structure of the reverse
wheel.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic, side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1
which is transporting an FPCB strip.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0011] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an apparatus 10 for the carriage
of an flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) strip during the
manufacturing process, according to an exemplary embodiment,
includes a feeding spool 11, a buffer device 12, and a collecting
spool 13. The feeding spool 11 is cylindrical, and rotates. An FPCB
roll (such as the FPCB roll 100 shown in FIG. 3) is already wound
on the feeding spool 11.
[0012] The buffer device 12 is arranged between the feeding spool
11 and the collecting spool 13, and transports an FPCB strip (such
as the FPCB strip 102 shown in FIG. 3) from the FPCB roll on the
feeding spool 11 onto the collecting spool 13. The buffer device 12
includes a container 120, a redirection cylinder 121 and an air
suction member 122.
[0013] The container 120 is an open rectangular box. A recess 1200
is defined in a surface 1201 of the container 120, and is blind. In
this embodiment, the recess 1200 represents the hollow interior of
the rectangular box, and is dimensioned to allow the FPCB strip to
loop in and out. The container 120 has a side face 1202 adjacent to
the surface 1201. A first through hole 1203 is defined in the side
face 1202, in communication with the recess 1200. The container 120
is positioned below the feeding spool 11.
[0014] The redirection cylinder 121 is cylindrical and hollow, and
includes the cylindrical side wall 1210 and two end walls 1211,
1212 fixed to two opposite ends of the cylindrical side wall 1210.
The cylindrical side wall 1210 and the end walls 1211, 1212
cooperatively define a cylindrical cavity 1213. A second through
hole 1214 is defined through the end wall 1211, and is in
communication with the cavity 1213. The side wall 1210 defines a
number of air exit holes 1215 therein. The air exit holes 1215 are
fine-gauge holes. Each of the air exit holes 1215 has a diameter
smaller than 1 mm.
[0015] The air exit holes 1215 are in a straight line, and one or
more lines of holes 1215 is distributed at one quadrant of the side
wall 1210. In other words, referring to FIG. 2, in a sectional view
of the side wall 1210, all of the air exit holes 1215 are
distributed in an arc range R of one quarter of the circumferential
section of the side wall 1210. In this embodiment, the air exit
holes 1215 are arranged in a plurality of lines or rows along the
circumferential direction of the side wall 1210. Each row is
parallel to the central axis of the side wall 1210, and includes a
number of air exit holes 1214. The air exit holes 1214 may be
divided into at least two lines, and each line includes at least
twenty air exit holes 1214. The redirection cylinder 121 is
positioned above the container 120, which stands below and between
the feeding spool 11 and the redirection cylinder 121.
[0016] The air suction member 122 includes an air pump 1220, a
suction pipe 1221 and an exhaust pipe 1222. The air pump 1220 has
an air inlet 1223 and an air outlet (not shown). One end of the
suction pipe 1221 is connected to the container 120 and in
communication with the first through hole 1203, and the opposite
end of the suction pipe 1221 is connected to the air pump 1220 and
in communication with the air inlet 1223. One end of the exhaust
pipe 1222 is connected to end wall 1211 of the redirection cylinder
121 and in communication with the second through hole 1214, and the
opposite end of the exhaust pipe 1222 is connected to the air pump
1220 and in communication with the air outlet. The air pump 1220
evacuates air from the recess 1200 of the container 120 via the
suction pipe 1221, and blows the evacuated gas into the cavity 1213
of the redirection cylinder 121 via the exhaust pipe 1222.
[0017] The collecting spool 13 includes a rotation driver 130 and
two winding rollers 131 connected to the rotation driver 130. The
rotation driver 130 can be a motor, and includes a rotating axle
132. The winding rollers 131 are connected with each other by a
shaft 1310, and are coaxially arranged with each other. The
rotating axle 132 is coaxially connected to one of the winding
rollers 131. In this embodiment, a fixing hole 133 is defined in an
end face of one of the winding rollers 131. One end of the rotating
axle 132 has an interference fit in the fixing hole 133, thereby
connecting the rotating axle 132 and the winding roller 131 with
each other. In the present embodiment, the winding rollers 131 are
cylindrical. The winding rollers 131 are driven by the rotation
driver 130 to rotate. The rotation axes of the winding rollers 131
are parallel to the central axis of the side wall 1210 and the
rotation axis of the feeding spool 11. The winding rollers 131 can
also be driven by a drive belt, a gear wheel or other driving
mechanism, not being limited to the motor of the present
embodiment. The number of the winding rollers 131 can also be one
or more than two.
[0018] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a method for cutting an FPCB strip
using the apparatus 10 is provided as follows.
[0019] Firstly, an FPCB roll 100 is installed on the feeding spool
11. A cutter 200 is positioned between the feeding spool 11 and the
collecting spool 13. The FPCB roll 100 has a free end 103.
[0020] The, the FPCB roll 100 is arranged between the feeding spool
11 and the collecting spool 13. The cutter 200 is positioned after
the redirection cylinder 121 and above the free end 103, and must
contact the free end 103 for cutting the free end 102 into
different lengths and/or widths.
[0021] In detail, the FPCB free end 103 is moved along a
predetermined path between the feeding spool 11 and the collecting
spool 13. The predetermined path is described as follows. First,
the free end 103 is moved downward into the recess 1200 of the
container 120 from the feeding spool 11, then bent upward to the
redirection cylinder 121, thus exiting from of the recess 1200.
Further then, the free end 103 is bent round the redirection
cylinder 121 to the cutter 200. In this embodiment, the redirection
cylinder 121 changes the direction of movement by 90 degrees. In
other words, the free end 103 and the strip of FPBC following is
changed from vertical direction to horizontal direction by the
redirection cylinder 121. A quarter of the circumference of the
roller 21 is in contact with the FPCB strip. Finally, the FPCB
strip may either be cut across or may be cut longitudinally or
both, to be wound onto one or more of the winding rollers 131.
Alternatively, the number of the cutter 200 can be more than one,
thus the FPCB strip can be cut longitudinally into three or more
pieces. Accordingly, the number of the winding rollers 131 may be
three or more.
[0022] Finally, the air pump 1220 is started, and the rotation
driver 130 starts to drive the winding rollers 131 to rotate. The
FPCB strip is continuously wound onto the winding rollers 131, thus
the FPCB strip is taken from the feeding spool 11 and gathered onto
the collecting spool 13. In this step, the air pump 122 evacuates
the air in the recess 1200 of the container 120 via the suction
pipe 1221, and then blows the suctioned air into the cavity 1213 of
the redirection cylinder 121 via the exhaust pipe 1222. Therefore,
a negative air pressure is formed in the recess 1200 of the
container 120, and a positive air pressure is formed in the cavity
1213. The portion of the FPCB strip in the recess 1200 is evacuated
further into the recess 1200 because of the negative air pressure,
thereby preventing the loop of the FPCB strip from exiting out of
the container 120.
[0023] The rotation of the winding rollers 131 pulls the FPCB strip
out of the recess 1200. The downward force below and the upward
force above cooperate to flatten the FPCB strip. The air in the
cavity 1213 exits from the exit holes 1215 because of the positive
air pressure, thereby forming airstreams adjacent to the exit holes
1215. The airstreams create a cushion of air which maintains a
distance between the FPCB strip and the surface of the redirection
cylinder 121, thereby preventing the FPCB strip from being broken
or damaged by any change of direction or rate of movement in the
redirection cylinder 121. The FPCB strip may be continuously cut by
the cutter 200, and the thinner strips are then wound onto the
winding rollers 131, thereby forming one or more FPCB rolls on the
winding rollers 131.
[0024] It is understood that the apparatus 10 can also be used in
other manufacturing processes, such as the formation and punching
of electric traces, and is not limited to this exemplary
embodiment. In this embodiment, the air being blown into the cavity
1213 is suctioned from the recess 1200 of the container 120. There
is no need to use compressed air in supplying the cavity 1213,
thereby reducing the cost.
[0025] While certain embodiments have been described and
exemplified above, various other embodiments will be apparent to
those skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure. The present
disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described
and exemplified but is capable of considerable variation and
modification without departure from the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *