JPH09282955A - Method of manufacturing flat circuit body and vacuum forming mold - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To fabricate a flat circuit body by laying wires so that they do not overlap each other. SOLUTION: A first film is arranged on a molding surface 7, an electric wire is arranged on the first film, and a second film covers the electric wire and vacuum suction is performed. By vacuum suction, the first and second films are bonded in a close contact state to form a flat circuit body. Protrusions 10, 10a, 10b for preventing mutual contact of the electric wires are provided on the molding surface 7 for arranging the electric wires to prevent the electric wires from overlapping each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a flat circuit body and a vacuum molding die used in this method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A flat circuit body has a structure in which a plurality of electric wires are arranged in parallel between two films to be joined, and the manufacture thereof is performed by using a vacuum forming die for vacuum suction of the films. Be seen. FIG. 5 shows a conventional method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-500378 for producing a flat circuit body.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 100 is a vacuum forming die, and a forming surface 110 is formed on the upper surface thereof. A first film (not shown) is set on the molding surface 110, and the electric wire 120 and the connector 130 are arranged on the first film as shown in (b). After this placement,
As shown in (c), the second film 140 is covered on the vacuum forming die 100 and vacuum suction is performed.

By this vacuum suction, the first film and the second film
And the electric wire 120 is sandwiched between the two films, and the two films are joined by heating in this state by the hot-melt type adhesive applied to the films. By this joining, the electric wire 120 is fixed between the films.
After that, as shown in (d), an excessive portion of the film is cut off by a cutter 150 or the like, and a product 160 is cut out from the film as shown in (e).

[0005]

The above-described method can be favorably performed when the electric wire is arranged in a straight line, but has a problem when the electric wire is arranged in a curved shape. FIG.
Shows the problem in this case.
A curved molding surface 210 is formed at 00, and a plurality of electric wires 220 are arranged in parallel with the molding surface 210. 230 is a connector connected to the end of the electric wire.
In this wiring, it is ideal that the electric wires 220 shown in (a) are separated from each other.

However, when the molding surface 210 has a curved shape, the electric wires 220 are concentrated and overlap each other at the corners of the curved molding surface 210, and the overlapping portion 240 protrudes from the molding surface 210 as shown in FIG. When such protrusion occurs, the electric wire cannot be sandwiched by the film, resulting in a defective product. In addition, there is a problem that the wire length of the electric wire also varies, which makes it impossible to fit the electric component.

The present invention solves such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method capable of preventing the electric wires from overlapping each other when the electric wires are arranged in a curved shape. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum forming die that can be suitably used in this manufacturing method.

[0008]

According to the manufacturing method of the invention of claim 1, a plurality of electric wires arranged in parallel are sandwiched by upper and lower films, and the films are joined by vacuum suction to form a flat circuit body, It is characterized in that the electric wires are constrained from overlapping each other when the electric wires are routed, and vacuum suction is performed in this constrained state.

By restraining the overlapping of the electric wires with each other, the electric wires can be routed in parallel with each other while being separated from each other. For this reason, there is no protrusion from the molding surface,
The required wire length can be secured.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a protrusion for restraining the mutual overlapping of the electric wires is formed on the forming surface of the vacuum forming die, the first film is arranged on the forming surface, and the first film is vacuum-sucked. After that, an electric wire is arranged between the protrusions, a second film is covered on the electric wire, and vacuum suction is performed.

By vacuum suction of the first film placed on the molding surface, the first film comes into close contact with the molding surface and the protrusions. As a result, the film has the same shape as the molding surface having the protrusion. By arranging the electric wires between the protrusions on the molding surface via this film, it is possible to give a habit of keeping the electric wires apart from each other. Therefore, a flat circuit body having a structure in which the electric wires are prevented from overlapping can be obtained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a protrusion is formed on the forming surface of the vacuum forming die to restrain the electric wires from overlapping each other, and the electric wire is pushed between the protrusions with the first film placed on the forming surface. After that, the second film is covered on the electric wire and vacuum suction is performed.

By pressing the wire between the protrusions, the first
The film can be adhered to the molding surface, and the wires can be given a habit of being separated from each other, so that a flat circuit body having a structure in which the wires are prevented from overlapping can be obtained. In this method, the number of times of vacuum suction is reduced, the number of steps is small, and the manufacturing is easy.

The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that, in the manufacturing method of claim 2 or 3, the first film having slits corresponding to the protrusions is arranged on the molding surface. The first film having the slits corresponding to the protrusions is placed on the molding surface and is brought into close contact with the molding surface at the same time. Therefore, it does not become bulky on the molding surface and does not interfere with the subsequent wiring of electric wires. Moreover, it is not necessary to perform vacuum suction or pushing of the electric wire in order to bring the first film into close contact with the molding surface.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum forming die used in the above-mentioned manufacturing method, characterized in that the forming surface is provided with projections which are inserted between the electric wires and restrain the mutual overlapping of the electric wires. And

By forming the protrusions, the electric wires can be routed in a state of being separated from each other, and it is possible to apply the manufacturing method to the flat circuit body.

[0017]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a "T" -shaped flat circuit body 1 is manufactured. This flat circuit body 1 has a plurality of electric wires 2 arranged in parallel so as to have a "T" shape, and a connector 3 to which the ends of the electric wires 2 are connected.
And a portion of the electric wire 2 excluding the connector connection portion is sandwiched by upper and lower insulating films and fixed so as not to move with each other. In FIG. 1, 4
Is a first film located on the lower side of the upper and lower films, and 5 is a vacuum forming die.

FIG. 2 shows a vacuum forming die 5. Vacuum mold 5
Has a block-shaped main body 6 in which a plurality of small holes (not shown) for suction are formed, and a “T” -shaped flat molding surface 7 formed on the upper surface of the main body 6. A connector accommodating recess 8 into which the connector 3 is fitted is provided at each end of the molding surface 7.
Is opened. The first film 4 is placed on the forming surface 7 of the vacuum forming die 5 and the electric wire 2 is arranged so as to be located on the first film 4. The electric wires 2 are arranged in parallel with respect to the molding surface 7 without overlapping each other. In order to perform such wiring, a plurality of small piece-shaped projections 10 are formed on the molding surface 7.

The protrusions 10 restrain mutual contact of the electric wires 2 and are arranged so as to match the shape of the flat circuit body 1 to be manufactured. In the illustrated example, it is provided at a portion close to each connector accommodating recess 8 and at a portion where the “T” crosses. In addition, the "T" that guides the electric wire to be bent in the bending direction is provided at the portion where the "T" crosses.
An L-shaped guide protrusion 10a is provided which is continuous with the L-shaped guide protrusion 10a and the guide protrusion 10a. These guide protrusions 10a and 10b, like the protrusion 10 on the connector accommodating recess 8 side, restrain the electric wires 2 to be routed from contacting each other, and form a part of the protrusion 10.

In the manufacture of the flat circuit body 1 using the vacuum forming die 5, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the first film 4 is arranged along the forming surface 7 of the vacuum forming die 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the first film 4 in this form is formed into a “T” shape as a whole, and the guide protrusion 10 is formed.
A slit 12 is formed at a portion corresponding to the protrusion 10 including a and 10b. Therefore, the molding surface 7
When the first film 4 is placed on the slit 12, the protrusions 10, 10a, and 10b penetrate through the slits 12, so that the first film 4 can be brought into close contact with the molding surface 7.

After arranging the first film 4, the connector 3 is fitted into the connector accommodating recess 8 and each electric wire 2 is routed along the molding surface 7. This wiring is performed so that the electric wire 2 is introduced between the protrusions 10, 10a, and 10b, so that the adjacent electric wires 2 are prevented from contacting each other and are restrained from overlapping each other. Also, the wire 2 is the protrusion 1
By being inserted between 0, 10a, and 10b, a habit is attached to the bent state or the state where they are separated from each other.

After the wiring of the electric wire 2, a second film (not shown) is put on the electric wire 2. Then, the cap 9 (see FIG. 1) is fitted into the connector accommodating recess 8 and vacuum suction is performed in this state. As a result, the second film is brought into close contact with the first film 4, and these films are bonded to each other. Such joining is achieved by applying a hot melt type adhesive to the opposing surface of either one or both films,
It can be performed by heating the film during or before the close contact.

In such manufacturing, since the electric wires 2 are restrained from overlapping each other, the electric wires do not protrude from the molding surface 7 due to the overlapping. Therefore, the flat circuit body 1 can be manufactured without defective products.
Further, the required wire length can be secured from the place where the electric wire does not stick out, so that the electric component can be assembled well.

Although the first film 4 having the slits 12 is used in the above embodiment, the flat circuit body 1 may be manufactured by using the first film having no slits. In the manufacture in this case, the first film is arranged on the molding surface 7 of the vacuum molding die 5, and vacuum suction is performed in this arranged state. By this vacuum suction, the first film comes into close contact with the molding surface 7 and the projections 10, 10a, 10b, and thus has the same shape as the molding surface 7 having the projections. After that, the electric wire 2
Is arranged between the protrusions 10, 10a and 10b in the same manner as described above,
The second film is covered on this electric wire, and vacuum suction is performed again to bring the film into close contact with each other to join them.

In the case of using the first film without the slits 12, the following method can be performed in addition to the above-mentioned manufacturing. That is, the first
Place the film of and place the electric wire 2 on the projection 1
Push between 0, 10a and 10b. By this pushing, the first film can be brought into close contact with the molding surface 7. Therefore, after that, the second film is covered on the electric wire and vacuum suction is performed to bond the first and second films in a close contact state. In this method, the vacuum suction only needs to be performed once, and the number of times is reduced, so that the process can be simplified and the manufacturing becomes easy.

FIG. 4 shows another example of the vacuum forming die 5, and the same elements as those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. In this vacuum forming mold 5, the projection 20 for arranging the electric wires 2 so as not to overlap each other has a pin shape, and even if the projection 20 has such a shape, it is similar to the above. 2 can be routed well.

In the above embodiment, the case where the "T" -shaped flat circuit body 1 is manufactured has been described, but the flat circuit body having the other shape can be manufactured in the same manner by operating in the same manner. .

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the electric wires can be arranged in parallel with each other by restraining the overlapping of the electric wires. Therefore, the protrusion from the molding surface is eliminated, and the required wire length can be secured.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the first aspect of the invention is arranged on the molding surface.
Since the first film is brought into close contact with the molding surface and the protrusions by vacuum suction of the film, the first film has the same shape as the molding surface. By laying the wires between the protrusions on the molding surface via this film, it is possible to create a habit of keeping the wires apart from each other, and to obtain a flat circuit body with a structure that prevents the wires from overlapping. it can.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by pushing the electric wire between the protrusions, the first film can be brought into close contact with the molding surface, and the electric wires can be given a habit of becoming separated from each other. A flat circuit body having a structure that prevents

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the slits corresponding to the protrusions on the molding surface are formed in the first film, the first film is placed on the molding surface and is brought into close contact with the molding surface at the same time. Therefore, it does not become bulky on the molding surface and does not interfere with the subsequent wiring of electric wires. Moreover, there is no need to push in the wires.

Since the vacuum forming die of the invention of claim 5 has a protrusion on the forming surface for restraining the mutual overlapping of the electric wires,
The electric wires can be routed in a state of being separated from each other, and it can be applied to the manufacture of a flat circuit body.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an arrangement in manufacturing of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vacuum forming die.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of a vacuum forming die.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another vacuum forming die.

5A to 5E are perspective views showing a conventional manufacturing process.

FIG. 6A is a plan view showing an ideal installation state, and FIG. 6B is a plan view showing an undesired installation state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Flat Circuit Body 2 Electric Wire 3 Connector 4 First Film 5 Vacuum Forming Mold 7 Forming Surface 10 Protrusion 10a 10b Guide Protrusion

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method of sandwiching a plurality of electric wires arranged in parallel with upper and lower films and joining the films by vacuum suction to form a flat circuit body, wherein mutual overlapping of the electric wires is restrained when the electric wires are arranged. A method for manufacturing a flat circuit body, wherein vacuum suction is performed in this restrained state. 2. A protrusion for restraining mutual overlapping of electric wires is formed on a forming surface of a vacuum forming die, a first film is arranged on the forming surface, and the first film is vacuum-sucked, and then the protrusions are separated from each other. A method of manufacturing a flat circuit body, comprising: arranging an electric wire on the electric wire, covering the electric wire with a second film, and performing vacuum suction. 3. A projection for restraining mutual overlapping of electric wires is formed on a molding surface of a vacuum molding die, and the electric wire is pushed between the projections with the first film arranged on the molding surface,
After that, the second film is covered on the electric wire and vacuum suction is performed, and the method for manufacturing a flat circuit body. 4. The method for manufacturing a flat circuit body according to claim 2, wherein a first film having slits corresponding to the protrusions is arranged on the molding surface. 5. A vacuum forming die for performing vacuum suction on a film sandwiching a plurality of electric wires arranged in parallel on a forming surface from above and below, and is inserted between the electric wires to restrain mutual overlapping of the electric wires. A vacuum forming mold, characterized in that a protrusion is formed on the forming surface.