Bending printed circuit boards

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12590476-B2
Application number	US-202017121255-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2020
Priority date	Jun 12, 2018
Publication date	Mar 31, 2026
Grant date	Mar 31, 2026

Abstract

A printed circuit board having essentially a first region, a second region, and a third region. The first region and the third region can be used for the placement of electrical and/or electronic components. The second region located in the middle of the three regions is a bend region. A side edge of the printed circuit board is offset inward in this region in order to narrow the contour of the printed circuit board in the bend region. This region likewise has one or more through holes. Both the narrowing and the through holes facilitate a bending of the printed circuit board, namely a bending of the first region relative to the third region or vice versa.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A printed circuit board comprising:
a bend region that has a narrowing and at least one through hole; and a side edge set back inward for the narrowing of the printed circuit board in the bend region.

2 . The printed circuit board according to claim 1 , wherein the printed circuit board is an FR4 printed circuit board.

3 . The printed circuit board according to claim 1 , wherein the printed circuit board has at least three regions including the bend region, wherein the bend region is a middle region of the at least three regions.

4 . The printed circuit board according to claim 1 , wherein an antenna or parts of the antenna are arranged in the bend region of the printed circuit board.

5 . The printed circuit board according to claim 4 , wherein the antenna includes supply lines that are arranged in the bend region of the printed circuit board.

6 . The printed circuit board according to claim 4 , wherein the antenna is an NFC antenna.

7 . The printed circuit board according to claim 1 , wherein the side edge of the printed circuit board is provided with two of the narrowing, and wherein the at least one through hole is elongated to extend between the two of the narrowing at the side edge.

8 . A sensor group for a keyless entry system, comprising:
a carrier; electrical and/or electronic components; an interface for connection to a vehicle electronic system; and a printed circuit board comprising a bend region that has a narrowing and at least one through hole, and a side edge set back inward for the narrowing of the printed circuit board in the bend region.

9 . The sensor group according to claim 8 , wherein the carrier has first fastening elements in a first region to retain a first region of the printed circuit board and the carrier has second fastening elements in a second region to retain a second region of the printed circuit board, wherein the printed circuit board is bent in the bend region when the printed circuit board is retained by the first and second fastening elements, the bend region provided between the first and second regions of the printed circuit board.

10 . The sensor group according to claim 9 , wherein a bend radius for the printed circuit board is defined by the first and second fastening elements of the carrier.

11 . A door handle for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a housing; and a sensor group for a keyless entry system, comprising:
a carrier;
electrical and/or electronic components;
an interface for connection to a vehicle electronic system; and
a printed circuit board comprising a bend region that has a narrowing and at least one through hole, and a side edge set back inward for the narrowing of the printed circuit board in the bend region.

12 . The door handle according to claim 11 , wherein the sensor group has a shape in which an antenna, that is provided on the printed circuit board, is positioned a short distance from an outer surface of the door handle.

13 . The door handle according to claim 12 , wherein the antenna is positioned approximately parallel to the outer surface of the door handle.

Assignees

• Hella Gmbh & Co Kgaa

Inventors

• Scheibe Winfried
• Ritterswuerden Sandra
• Werner Stefan

Classifications

• H05K2201/10098

  Components for radio transmission, e.g. radio frequency identification [RFID] tag, printed or non-printed antennas · CPC title

• H05K1/028

  Bending or folding regions of flexible printed circuits (H05K1/0283 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01Q1/38

  formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support {(patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface  H01Q15/142)} · CPC title

• H01Q1/3241 Primary

  particular used in keyless entry systems · CPC title

• E05Y2900/531

  Doors · CPC title