Flextronics Ap, LLC

Flex Ltd.

Future Wei Technologies, Inc.

Weifeng Liu

Anwar Mohammed

Murad Kurwa

Zhen Feng

William L Uy

Dongkai Shangguan

David Geiger

Jesus A Tan

Jie Lian

Dason Cheung

Christian Biederman

Dennis Willie

Dick Pang

Rui Niu

Robert Pennings

Gervasio Mutarelli

Alex Chan

Dick Tak Shing Pang

Methods, devices, and systems are provided for the encapsulation of electronic devices. The encapsulation includes positioning an electronic device in a cavity of a mold, and screen or stencil printing an encapsulant, in a liquid form, around the flexible electronic device. The mold is of a sufficient thickness to allow the encapsulant to completely cover electronic components mounted on a first surface of the electronic device.

Electronic encapsulation through stencil printing

Methods, devices, and systems for testing the flexibility of a sample such as an electronic device are provided herein. A testing system can have a motor operably connected to a mandrel such that the motor causes the mandrel to accurately and precisely rotate and cause the sample to conform to an outer surface of the mandrel. Moreover, a proximal end of the sample is secured to the outer surface of the mandrel, and the opposing distal end is controlled by a retractable holder such that the entire sample is subjected to a constant bend radius as the mandrel rotates. Other aspects and features such as controlling the environment around the mandrel and securing small samples to the mandrel are also described herein.

Testing system for flexible sample in electronics having a retractable holder configured to conform a sample by a mandrel

Methods, devices, and systems for producing a flexible electronic device that reduces stress and forces on electronic components are provided. In particular, one or more transition layers with intermediate flexibility, or flexural modulus, are positioned between rigid components and flexible outer layers. This gradually reduces the flexural modulus of the flexible electronics device rather than have an interface between a rigid material and a flexible material. Various materials and methods of forming the layers are described. In addition, an encapsulate layer can be cured to varying flexural moduli to gradually reduce the flexural moduli from the rigid component to the flexible outer layers or bulk structure of the flexible electronic device.

Stress relief encapsulation for flexible hybrid electronics

Methods, devices, and systems are provided for the molding and encapsulation of flexible electronic devices. The encapsulation includes providing a mold shell made from an encapsulation material, positioning a flexible electronic device in the mold shell, and dispensing an encapsulant, in a liquid form, around the flexible electronic device. The mold shell, the dispensed encapsulant, and the electronic device forms an integral encapsulation package when the encapsulant is cured. The mold shell and the encapsulant may be made from a same material and, once cured, become an integral part of the encapsulated flexible electronic device.

Methods, devices, and systems for electronic device molding and encapsulation

Methods, devices, and systems for encapsulating a flexible electronic device with a waterproof layer are provided. In some embodiments, a manufacturing process is provided where a hotmelt layer is positioned over a flexible substrate that has at least one electronic component. Then, heat and/or pressure are applied to the hotmelt layer causing the hotmelt layer to flow around the at least one component to encapsulate the at least one component and form a waterproof layer. Various embodiments for forming the hotmelt layer and various embodiments of the flexible electronic device with the hotmelt layer are described herein.

Electronics encapsulation through hotmelt lamination

An electronic module assembly and method of assembling an electronic module to a conductive fabric are provided. An electronic module assembly comprises a non-conductive fabric and a conductive fabric covering at least part of a first side of the non-conductive fabric. An electronics module is disposed on the conductive fabric, and a portion of the electronics module includes a wall defining a through hole. A fastener passing through the through hole and passing through the conductive fabric is configured to electronically couple the electronics module to the conductive fabric.

Method of integrating an electronic module with conductive fabric

An In-Mold Electronics (IME) device and method of manufacturing the IME device introduce a stretchable substrate laminated to a thermoplastic layer. The stretchable substrate has a screen printable surface for receiving printed conductive interconnects. This combination enables formation of an IME device with conductive interconnects oriented for hard to reach cavities and areas. The IME device eliminates the need to have additional mold features to enable deeper drawn cavities.

System and method for in-molded electronic unit using stretchable substrates to create deep drawn cavities and features

An electronic sensor device has one or more sensor electrodes and one or more electrical conductors printed on a substrate. Textile layers are attached on either side of the substrate with access to the electrical conductors provided by a conductive snap assembly. The substrate can be a TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) film. The sensor can be a biosensor, and the biosensor is attached to a compression textile, such as a compression shirt, and electrically interconnected using printed conductive ink interconnects to a conductive snap button.

Integrating biosensor to compression shirt textile and interconnect method

An electronic pressure sensor array has a plurality of conductive electrodes and interconnects selectively formed on a pressure sensor substrate to form a plurality of individual pressure sensor assemblies. The individual pressure sensor assemblies can be aligned in various configurations to form the electronic pressure sensor array. Each pressure sensor assembly is made of a plurality of layers including a pressure sensor substrate, insulating layers on either side of the pressure sensor substrate, and conductive ink layers on an outer surface of each insulating layer. A cavity is formed in each insulating layer, the cavity in one insulating layer being vertically aligned with the cavity in the other insulating layer, and conductive ink fills each cavity to form electrodes.

Pressure sensor array and the method of making

A conductive fabric includes a fabric with one or more electrically conductive wire braids woven into the fabric. The one or more wire braids are woven into the fabric such that one or more portions of each wire braid are exposed at one or more surfaces of the fabric, the exposed portions of the wire braid forming connection pads. Each connection pad provides an electrical connection point for attachment to a complementary electrical connection point on an electronic component, such as a bond pad, solder bump, or connection lead. A single wire braid can be used to electrically interconnect multiple electronic components. Multiple wire braids can be arranged, with appropriate spacing and alignment of exposed portions, to electrically interconnect multiple electronic components with multiple electrical interconnects between one or more electronic components. Each electrically conductive wire braid includes a plurality of individual electrically conductive wires braided together.

Fabric with woven wire braid

Attaching electronic components to a substrate can be challenging in certain applications. By utilizing printed conductive ink to fill vias, one or more conductive layers may be provided, which allow for fine pin pitches or other crowded substrates to utilize multiple layers for traces connecting the contact pad to the pins of an electronic component. By applying a substrate with conductive ink and then selectively applying a solderable ink on the conductive ink, and with conductive ink filling the vias, electronic components may be attached to a substrate that provides mechanical attachment and electrical connectivity which may also be formable or flexible.

Connection of multilayer printed conductive ink through filled microvias

Methods of and devices for coupling metal woven mesh or metal woven fabric with IC components to make flexible circuits are disclosed. The flexible circuits can be used to make wearable electronic devices, such as a garment with embedded IC chip.

Component attach on metal woven mesh

An electroluminescent display is flexible and stretchable, and therefore able to be attached to a textile. All interior layers of the electroluminescent display can be made using a screen printing process which can be scaled for volume production.

Electroluminescent display on smart textile and interconnect methods

A flexible and stretchable chain battery includes multiple individual batteries connected in parallel and/or in series via stretchable conductive interconnects. The positive terminals of each battery are connected to a first stretchable conductive interconnect and the negative terminals of each battery are connected to a second stretchable conductive interconnect. The stretchable conductive interconnects and the batteries are coupled to a stretchable substrate. The stretchable conductive interconnects provide electrical interconnection between the multiple batteries while enabling stretchability between the batteries.

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Dublin, CA, United States of America

Weifeng Liu