Magnetic devices and methods for manufacture using flex circuits
AssigneeAnalog Devices, Inc.
InventorCheck F. Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Magnetic devices, and associated methods of manufacture, using flex circuits. Conductive flex circuit traces, or combinations of such traces with conductive printed circuit board or other substrate traces, form windings around toroidal ferromagnetic cores. Bending the flex circuit into a partial loop or a full loop forms partial or full windings respectively. Bonding or flow soldering electrically connects the windings together and to a printed circuit board or other substrate. The methods yield transformers with high conversion efficiency, are compatible with conventional printed circuit boards and readily available high-volume assembly equipment, and avoid the higher cost of manually made windings.
Claims20
A magnetic device, comprising:
- a single-piece toroid;
- and
- at least one flex circuit comprising a first conductive trace, a second conductive trace, and a third conductive trace, the second conductive trace being between the first and third conductive traces, wherein an end of the first conductive trace aligns with an opposite end of the third conductive trace along a first direction and wherein the first, second, and third conductive traces have respective ends aligning with each other along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction,
- wherein the first, second, and third conductive traces form at least part of at least two distinct spiral windings around the toroid to inductively couple magnetic flux from at least one electrical current to the toroid.
A method of manufacturing a magnetic device, comprising:
- forming at least part of at least two distinct spiral windings around a single-piece toroid by wrapping a flex circuit around the single-piece toroid, the flex circuit comprising first, second, and third conductive traces,
- wherein the second conductive trace is disposed between the first and third conductive traces,
- wherein an end of the first conductive trace aligns with an opposite end of the third conductive trace along a first direction, and
- wherein the first, second, and third conductive traces have respective ends aligning with each other along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction.
A transformer, comprising:
- a substrate having first, second, and third trace segments formed thereon, wherein the second trace segment is disposed between the first and third trace segments, an end of the first trace segment aligns with an opposite end of the third trace segment along a first direction, and wherein the first, second, and third trace segments of the substrate have respective ends aligned with each other along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction;
- a toroidal magnetic core;
- and
- a flex circuit wrapping around the core, and having a plurality of trace segments formed therein,
- wherein at least one trace segment of the plurality of trace segments of the flex circuit is electrically coupled to the first and third trace segments of the substrate to form a first winding of the transformer and wherein a second trace segment of the plurality of trace segments of the flex circuit is electrically coupled to the second trace segment of the substrate to form a second winding of the transformer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.