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US 10,856,409 B1Granted
Foldable board with flexible PCB coupling
AssigneeQuanta Computer Inc.
InventorsChun-Han Chuang, Ying-Che Chang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A junction between two circuit board segments can be made using a flexible printed circuit board (PCB), permitting the two circuit board segments to be movably positioned with respect to one another, while maintaining electrical connections between the board segments through the junction. Such a design with flexible PCB junctions can allow a single, foldable board with multiple board segments to be used in place of a set of multiple circuit boards that must couple together using connectors and cables.
Claims20
A foldable board, comprising:
- a mainboard segment of a printed circuit board for supporting one or more connectors couplable to a motherboard, the mainboard segment comprising a first set of circuit traces;
- a mezzanine board segment of the printed circuit board, the mezzanine board segment comprising a second set of circuit traces;
- a storage board segment of the printed circuit board for receiving one or more storage devices, the storage board segment comprising a third set of circuit traces;
- at least one flexible junction comprising at least one portion of the printed circuit board flexibly coupling the mezzanine board segment to the mainboard segment, the at least one flexible junction bendable to move the mezzanine board segment between a position coplanar the mainboard segment to a position parallel to and spaced apart from the mainboard segment;
- an additional flexible junction operatively coupling the first set of circuit traces and the second set of circuit traces to the third set of circuit traces, wherein the additional flexible junction comprises an additional portion of the printed circuit board flexibly coupling the mainboard segment to the storage board segment.
2 more elements
A foldable board, comprising:
- a first connector positioned on a mainboard segment of a printed circuit board;
- a component position on a mezzanine board segment of the printed circuit board;
- a second connector positioned on a storage board segment of the printed circuit board;
- at least one portion of the printed circuit board flexibly coupling the mezzanine board segment to the mainboard segment, the at least one portion of the printed circuit board bendable to move the mezzanine board segment between a position coplanar the mainboard segment to a position parallel to and spaced apart from the mainboard segment;
- an additional portion of the printed circuit board flexibly coupling the mainboard segment to the storage board segment such that the mainboard segment is rotatable about an axis of rotation with respect to the storage board segment;
- and
- circuit traces coupling the first connector and the component to the second connector, wherein the circuit traces pass through the additional portion of the printed circuit board.
4 more elements
A method, comprising:
- providing, in a storage configuration, a foldable board comprising a mainboard segment of a printed circuit board, the mainboard segment being flexibly coupled to a mezzanine board segment of the printed circuit board and a storage board segment of the printed circuit board by portions of the printed circuit board;
- manipulating the foldable board into a deployed configuration by flexing the portions of the printed circuit board, wherein flexing the portions of the printed circuit board includes moving the mezzanine board segment from a position coplanar to the mainboard segment to a position parallel to and spaced apart from the mainboard segment;
- securing the foldable board in a chassis, wherein securing the foldable board comprises securing the foldable board in the deployed configuration;
- and
- passing data signals between the storage board segment and both the mainboard segment and the mezzanine board segment, wherein passing data signals comprises passing data signals through the portions of the printed circuit board.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.