JPH09282956A - Vacuum forming structure of flat cable and vacuum forming method of flat cable using this mold structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: [PROBLEMS] To provide a vacuum forming mold structure and a vacuum forming method capable of forming flat cables of different scales without a large increase in cost. A first insulating sheet, a flat circuit body, and a second
Recesses 53 and 55 in which an insulating sheet is arranged in this order,
A vacuum forming die having recesses 53 and 55 and a plurality of vacuum drawing holes which are opened in the peripheral portions thereof and are vacuum-sucked to tightly join both insulating sheets with a flat circuit body sandwiched therebetween to form a flat cable. The main body block 43 and the sub-blocks 45 and 47 which are replaced by the placement holes 49 are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat cable for manufacturing a flat cable having a complicated pattern shape by vacuum-molding a flat circuit body sandwiched between two insulating sheets. And a vacuum forming method for a flat cable using this vacuum forming mold structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a cable for connecting on-vehicle electric equipment.
A flat cable is used for the cables, especially for the wiring inside the door to save space.

FIG. 6 shows a conventional vacuum forming die 1 used for forming such a flat cable.

The vacuum molding die 1 is provided with a recess 3 having a shape corresponding to the pattern of the flat cable, and insertion holes 5, 7, 9 for the connector. A large number of vacuum suction holes are provided in the concave portion 3 and its peripheral portion.

In forming the flat cable, a resin sheet 11 made of a thermoplastic material as shown in FIG. 7 is set on the upper surface of the vacuum forming die 1 and is heated and softened to form a vacuum drawing hole. Then, the resin sheet 11 is molded into the shape of the recess 3 by drawing a vacuum.

Next, in the concave portion of the molded resin sheet 11,
A hole for passing the connector on the lower surface side of the flat circuit body 13 and a hole for passing the connector 15 on the upper surface side are opened and then returned to the concave portion 3, and the brackets 17, 19, 21 are inserted in the insertion holes 5, 7, 9, respectively.
And the connector 15 is capped, and then the flat circuit body 13 and the resin sheet 23 are set on the resin sheet 11 in this order, and the resin sheet 23 is heated and softened. The air between the resin sheets 11 and 23 is sucked through the vacuum suction hole to bring them into close contact with each other. A hot-melt adhesive material is previously applied to the contact surface of the resin sheet 23, and the resin sheets 11 and 23 are bonded to each other at the time of contact.

After that, the excess resin sheets 11 and 23 on the peripheral portion of the flat circuit body 13 are cut off, and the connector-1
The cap 5 is removed together with the resin sheet 23 to obtain the flat cable 25.

The flat cable has various pattern shapes, and the pattern-shaped flat cable having a size smaller than the recess 3 can be formed by such a method.

[0009]

However, when the flat circuit body 27 of FIG. 8 which is smaller than the flat circuit body 13 of FIGS. 6 and 7 is molded using the vacuum molding die 1, a molded flat cable 29 is formed. Is disadvantageous in that it has a blank space 31 and has the same outer shape as the large flat cable 25.

Therefore, the same vacuum forming die cannot be shared by the flat circuit bodies having extremely different scales and shapes, so that a large number of vacuum forming dies are required and the cost is greatly increased.

In consideration of such circumstances, the present invention provides a flat cable vacuum forming die structure capable of forming flat cables of different scales without a large increase in cost.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum molding method for a flat cable using this mold structure.

[0012]

A flat case according to claim 1
The vacuum vacuum forming structure of the bull is formed in conformity with the pattern shape of the flat circuit body, and the first insulating sheet, the flat circuit body, and the second insulating sheet are arranged in this order in the concave portion. And a plurality of vacuum drawing holes which are opened in the concave portion and the peripheral portion thereof, and air is sucked from these openings so that the insulating sheets are closely joined to each other with the flat circuit body sandwiched therebetween to form a flat cable. And a vacuum forming mold structure of a bull, comprising a plurality of divided blocks, and forming the recess by combining these divided blocks.

As described above, in the vacuum molding die structure according to the first aspect, unlike the conventional example, the vacuum molding die is not integrated, but the combination structure is composed of a plurality of division blocks that can be combined. The molding recesses can be sized and shaped according to different flat circuit bodies.

Therefore, the flat cable formed by this vacuum forming die can have an outer shape and dimensions without a blank portion depending on the scale and shape of the flat circuit body, and does not require an extra placement space. Yes, small and lightweight optimum design is possible.

Further, as described above, one vacuum forming die can widely support flat circuit bodies of different scales and shapes, and it is not necessary to prepare another vacuum forming die for each flat circuit body of different scale. The cost can be reduced significantly.

It should be noted that each of the divided blocks may be, for example, a frame for accommodating the whole and may be freely combined in the frame.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the flat cable vacuum forming die structure according to the first aspect, wherein one of the plurality of divided blocks is a main body block having an arrangement hole. Alternatively, a plurality of other divided blocks are sub-blocks that are arranged in the arrangement holes to form the recesses for the flat circuit body, and an effect equivalent to the configuration of claim 1 is obtained.

In addition to this, one of the divided blocks is a main body block, and the sub-blocks are replaced by the arrangement holes to make various combinations, so that a frame for accommodating all the blocks is unnecessary, Block replacement work is also easy. Therefore, the cost is lower,
Workability of vacuum forming is also good.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the flat cable vacuum forming mold structure according to the second aspect, wherein a communication chamber is formed between the main body block and the sub block, and a vacuum drawing hole of the main body block is formed. The vacuum suction hole of the sub block communicates with the vacuum chamber through this communication chamber, and an effect equivalent to that of the second aspect is obtained.

In addition to this, by forming a communication chamber for communicating the respective vacuum suction holes between the main body block and the sub block, the vacuum suction holes of the main body block and the sub blocks are aligned with each other. Is unnecessary,
The cost of the sub-block can be reduced accordingly.

[0021] The invention of claim 4 is from claim 1 to claim 3.
The vacuum molding structure of a flat cable according to any one of the above items, wherein the divided block is provided with a concave portion for a flat circuit body, and the divided block is used in place of the divided block. It is characterized by having a divided block having only a vacuum drawing hole.By using a divided block having a concave portion, it is possible to correspond to a flat cable using a large-scale circuit body. By using the divided block having only the vacuum drawing hole at the peripheral portion of the circuit body, it is possible to cope with a flat cable using a small-scale circuit body.

In addition to this, the same effects as those of the first to third aspects are obtained.

The invention of claim 5 is the invention of claims 1 to 4.
The vacuum molding structure of the flat cable according to any one of the above items, characterized in that a storage unit for storing the connector attached to the bent end of the flat circuit body is provided in the divided block, The same effects as those of the configurations of claims 1 to 4 are obtained.

In addition to this, the divided block has a connector-
Connector that is bent to the bottom side of the vacuum forming die on the flat circuit body by providing the storage part (or through hole) of
Even if there is, vacuum forming is possible. Further, the connector bent on the upper surface side of the vacuum forming die can be vacuum formed by, for example, covering the cap with the second insulating sheet set thereon.

Thus, it is possible to vacuum form a flat circuit body having connectors on both sides, and therefore it is not necessary to greatly bend the flat cable in order to connect it to the mating connector, and vibration and friction of this bent portion are required. This prevents electrical troubles such as poor insulation and the generation of abnormal noise.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum forming method for a flat cable, which has a concave portion formed in conformity with the pattern shape of the flat circuit body, and a large number of vacuum drawing holes opened in the concave portion and its peripheral portion. The first insulating sheet is placed in the recess of the vacuum forming mold to perform vacuum drawing, and the flat circuit body and the second insulating sheet are further placed on the recess of the formed first insulating sheet. Are arranged in this order, air is sucked from each of the openings, and each insulating sheet is tightly joined with a flat circuit body sandwiched therebetween to form a flat cable by vacuum forming. The vacuum forming die is characterized by using the flat cable vacuum forming die structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

As described above, in the vacuum forming method according to the sixth aspect, by using the vacuum forming die structure according to the first to fifth aspects, as described above, one vacuum forming die has different scales and shapes. Since it can be widely applied to the flat circuit body of No. 1 and there is no need to prepare a separate vacuum forming die for each flat circuit body of different scale, the cost can be significantly reduced.

[0028]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a vacuum forming structure for a flat cable according to the present invention and a vacuum forming method for a flat cable using this mold structure will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment has the features of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. In the following description, members without reference numerals are not shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum forming die 41 of this embodiment comprises a main body block 43 (divided block) and two sub blocks 45 and 47 (divided block).

A disposition hole 49 is provided in the main body block 43, and the sub-blocks 45 and 47 are arranged in the disposition hole 49 by interchanging each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, the combination of the main body block 43 and the sub block 45 is used for vacuum forming a large scale flat circuit body 51.

Recesses 53 and 55 are formed in the blocks 43 and 45, respectively.
When the blocks 43 and 45 are combined, these recesses 53 and 55 form a recess 57 in which the entire flat circuit body 51 can be arranged.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main body block 43 is provided with receiving holes 63 and 65 for the connectors 59 and 61 of the flat circuit body 51, and the sub-block 45 is provided with a receiving hole 69 for the connector 67. Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main body block 43 is provided with a vacuum evacuation hole 71 opening to the recess 53 and a vacuum evacuation hole 73 opening to the peripheral edge of the recess 53. In addition, the sub block 45 has a vacuum suction hole 75 that opens to the recess 55.
And a vacuum suction hole 77 opening to the peripheral edge of the recess 55.

A communication chamber 79 is formed between the main body block 43 and the sub block 45, and the main body block 43 is formed.
The vacuum evacuation hole 81 is communicated with the vacuum evacuation holes 75 and 77 of the sub block 45 through the communication chamber 79.

In the first step of forming the flat circuit body 51 by vacuum forming into a flat cable, first, a porous first resin sheet (insulating sheet) made of a thermoplastic material is placed in both blocks 43. , 45 and heat it to soften it. In this state, air is sucked from the vacuum suction holes 75 and 77 through the vacuum suction holes 71 and 73, the vacuum suction hole 81 and the communication chamber 79 to mold the first resin sheet into the shape of the recess 57. .

In the second step, the connectors 59, 61, 67 are attached to the molded first resin sheet removed from the recess 57.
The holes for vacuum and the vacuum holes corresponding to the vacuum holes 73, 77 at the peripheral edge are processed.

In the third step, the processed first resin sheet is returned to the concave portion 57, and the flat circuit body 51 and the second resin sheet (insulating sheet) are formed in the concave portion formed in the first resin sheet. And) are set in this order, and the receiving holes 63, 65, 69 are sealed with a bracket. In this state, when the second resin sheet is heated to be softened and vacuum-sucked, air between the resin sheets is sucked and adheres to each other. The lower surface of the second resin sheet (on the side of the first resin sheet) is coated with a hot-melt adhesive material, and when the resin sheets come into close contact with each other, they are joined by the adhesive material.

In the fourth step, the joined resin sheets are removed, the resin sheets of the connectors 59, 61 and 67 are separated, the gap between the separated portions is sealed with a seal material, and further flat. Excess resin sheet around the circuit body 51 is cut off to obtain a flat cable.

Next, when the sub block 45 is removed from the main body block 43 and the sub block 47 is placed in the placement hole 49, this combination is used for vacuum forming the flat circuit body 83 having a small scale as shown in FIG. .

Unlike the sub-block 45, the sub-block 47 has no recess. As shown in FIG. 5, the sub-block 47 is provided with only a vacuum drawing hole 85 that opens to the peripheral edge of the recess 53 of the main body block 43. The connectors 87 and 89 of the flat circuit body 83 are housed in the housing holes 63 and 65 of the main body block 43, respectively.

A communication chamber 91 is formed between the body block 43 and the sub block 47, and the body block 43 is formed.
The vacuum drawing hole 81 of the sub block 4 is connected via the communication chamber 91.
7 to the vacuum suction hole 85.

The first step of forming the flat circuit body 83 by vacuum forming into a flat cable is the same as the vacuum forming of the flat circuit body 51, that is, a porous first resin sheet of a thermoplastic material.
A sheet (insulating sheet) is set on both blocks 43 and 47, and this is heated and softened. In this state, air is sucked from the vacuum suction hole 85 through the vacuum suction holes 71, 73, the vacuum suction hole 81 and the communication chamber 91 to mold the first resin sheet into the shape of the recess 53.

In the second step, holes for the connectors 87 and 89 and vacuum evacuation holes corresponding to the vacuum evacuation holes 73 and 85 in the peripheral portion are formed in the molded first resin sheet removed from the recess 53. To process.

In the third step, the processed first resin sheet is returned to the recess 53, and the flat circuit body 83 and the second resin sheet (insulating sheet) are inserted into the recess formed in the first resin sheet. -G) are set in this order, and the receiving holes 63 and 65 are sealed with a bracket. When the second resin sheet is heated and softened in this state and vacuum suction is performed, the air between the resin sheets is sucked and adheres to each other, and the adhesive material applied to the second resin sheet causes the resin sheets to adhere to each other. To join.

In the fourth step, the joined resin sheets are removed, the resin sheets of the connectors 87 and 89 are separated, the gap between the separated portions is sealed with a seal material, and further the flat circuit body is formed. Excess resin sheet around 83 is cut off to obtain a flat cable. As described above, in the vacuum forming die 41, the entire structure is divided and the two sub-blocks 45 and 47 are replaced with respect to the main body block 43, so that a large scale flat circuit body 51 (dimension L1) is obtained.
Both the small scale flat circuit body 83 (dimension L2) can be vacuum formed.

Therefore, since the flat cable of the small-sized flat circuit body 83 formed by the vacuum forming die 41 has no blank portion, no extra space is required, and an optimum design of small size and light weight is possible. Become.

Further, in this way, one vacuum forming die 41 can widely support flat circuit bodies of different scales and shapes,
Since it is not necessary to prepare a separate vacuum forming die for each flat circuit body having a different scale and shape, the cost can be greatly reduced.

In addition to this, since the main body block 43 is provided with the arrangement hole 49 for substituting the sub-blocks 45 and 47, a frame for accommodating all the divided blocks is unnecessary.
The replacement work of the sub blocks 45 and 47 is also easy.
Therefore, the cost is reduced accordingly, and the workability during vacuum forming is also good.

Further, the main body block 43 and the sub block 4
By forming the communication chambers 79 and 91 for communicating the vacuum suction holes with the vacuum suction holes 5 and 47, respectively, the vacuum suction hole 81 of the main body block 43 and the vacuum suction holes 75, 77 and 85 of the sub blocks 45 and 47 are formed. It becomes unnecessary to position the sub blocks 45 and 47, and the cost of the sub blocks 45 and 47 is reduced accordingly. In the present invention, the number of divided blocks to be replaced when molding different flat circuit bodies is not limited to two, and may be three or more. Furthermore, it is configured to replace two or more divided blocks at the same time, and by combining the changed divided blocks in various ways, one vacuum forming die can be used.
It is possible to deal with a wide range of flat circuit bodies that differ greatly in scale and shape, and the cost is greatly reduced.

[0051]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, unlike the conventional example, the divided structure is composed of a plurality of divided blocks in which the vacuum forming dies can be combined, so that different flat circuit bodies can be accommodated. A molding recess having a large size and shape is obtained.

Therefore, since the flat cable formed by this vacuum forming die has an outer shape and dimensions without a blank portion according to the scale of the flat circuit body, an extra placement space is required.
This eliminates the need for a space and enables the optimal design of small size and light weight.

Further, since one vacuum forming die can widely support different flat circuit bodies, it is not necessary to prepare a vacuum forming die for each different flat circuit body, and the cost can be greatly reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the same effect as that of the first aspect is obtained, and one of the divided blocks is a main block, and the sub-blocks are replaced in the arrangement holes. No frame to store,
Subblock replacement work is also easy. Therefore, the cost is reduced and the workability of vacuum forming is good.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the same effect as that of the second aspect is obtained, and the main body block is formed by forming the communication chamber between the main body block and the sub-block for communicating the respective vacuum suction holes. It is not necessary to align the vacuum evacuation hole of the sub-block with the vacuum evacuation hole of the sub block, and the cost of the sub block can be reduced.

The invention of claim 4 is the first to third aspects of the invention.
In addition to obtaining the same effect as in the above configuration, by using the divided block having only the vacuum drawing hole at the peripheral portion of the flat circuit body, the flat cable using the minimum scale flat circuit body can be dealt with.

The fifth aspect of the present invention includes the first to fourth aspects.
In addition to obtaining the same effect as the configuration of (1), the divided block is provided with a housing for the connector and a through hole, so that both the connector bently arranged on the lower surface side and the connector bently arranged on the upper surface side are provided. It is possible to vacuum-form the flat circuit body it has.

The flat cable vacuum forming method according to claim 6 uses the vacuum forming die structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, so that, as described above, one vacuum forming die has different scales and shapes. Can be widely applied to the flat circuit body, and it is not necessary to prepare a separate vacuum forming die for each flat circuit body having a different scale, and the cost can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vacuum forming die of a flat cable according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a combination of divided blocks when vacuum-forming a large-scale flat circuit body in the embodiment of FIG.
It is a perspective view which shows the vacuum forming method of the flat cable by this combination.

3 is a cross-sectional view of both divided blocks combined as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a combination of divided blocks when vacuum-forming a small-scale flat circuit body in the embodiment of FIG.
It is a perspective view which shows the vacuum forming method of the flat cable by this combination.

5 is a cross-sectional view of both divided blocks combined as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional vacuum forming die and a method of vacuum forming a flat cable using the same.

7 is a sectional view of a large-scale flat cable vacuum-formed in the conventional example of FIG.

8 is a sectional view of a small-scale flat cable vacuum-formed in the conventional example of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

41 vacuum forming die 43 main body block (divided block) 45 sub block (divided block having concave portions) 47 sub block (divided block having only vacuum suction holes that open to the peripheral portion) 49 arrangement hole 51, 83 flat circuit body 53, 55, 57 concave portion 71, 75 vacuum evacuation hole (opened in the concave portion) 73, 77, 85 vacuum evacuation hole (opened in the peripheral portion) 79, 91 communication chamber

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A recess formed in conformity with the pattern shape of a flat circuit body, in which a first insulating sheet, the flat circuit body and a second insulating sheet are arranged in this order, A flat cable having a large number of vacuum holes which are opened in the concave portion and the peripheral portion thereof, and air is sucked through these openings so that the insulating sheets are closely joined to each other with the flat circuit body sandwiched therebetween to form a flat cable. A vacuum forming die structure of a flat cable, comprising a plurality of divided blocks, wherein the recesses are formed by combining these divided blocks. 2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of divided blocks is a main block having an arrangement hole, and one or a plurality of other divided blocks are provided.
A vacuum molding die structure of a flat cable, which is a sub-block arranged in the arrangement hole to form the recess for the flat circuit body. 3. The invention according to claim 2, wherein a communication chamber is formed between the main body block and the sub block, and the vacuum suction hole of the main body block and the vacuum suction hole of the sub block connect the communication chamber. A vacuum forming structure of a flat cable, which is characterized by being communicated with each other. 4. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a divided block in which a concave portion for a flat circuit body is formed, and a flat circuit used in place of the divided block are used. A vacuum forming mold structure of a flat cable, comprising: a divided block having only a vacuum drawing hole at a peripheral portion of a body. 5. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a storage unit for storing a connector attached to a bent end of the flat circuit body is provided in the divided block. A vacuum molding structure of a flat cable characterized by the above. 6. A first insulation is provided in the concave portion of a vacuum forming die having a concave portion formed in conformity with the pattern shape of the flat circuit body, and a large number of vacuum suction holes opened in the concave portion and the peripheral portion thereof. A sheet is placed and vacuum drawing is performed. Further, the flat circuit body and the second insulating sheet are arranged in this order on the recessed portion of the molded first insulating sheet, and the openings are formed. A flat cable that sucks air from the unit and tightly joins the insulating sheets with the flat circuit body sandwiched between them to form a flat cable.
7. A vacuum forming method for a flat cable, characterized in that the vacuum forming structure of a flat cable according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is used for the vacuum forming mold. Vacuum forming method.