In-Situ Fold-Assisting Frame for Flexible Substrates

Abstract

A method for manufacturing devices built on flexible substrates employs an in-situ, fold-assisting device frame. The fold-assisting frame conforms to a portion of the interior volume within the package, such that one or more pivoting members of the frame may be used as an in-situ, bending jig, in place of conventional bending equipment, to support and fold the planar flexible substrate into a desired three-dimensional configuration. The frame may accommodate placement of an unfolded or partially folded flexible circuit board so that a fold-assisting feature, such as a hinge, incorporated into the frame attaches to the flexible circuit board and closes around a pivot point to gently bend the circuit board into place, thus creating a three-dimensional folded circuit. Such a fixture and method facilitate packaging electronic devices in a compact form, with application to a wide range of mobile consumer electronics, including, for example, implantable medical devices.

1 . A fixture for use in folding a planar, flexible substrate to fit an interior volume within a package, the fixture comprising:
 a fold-assisting frame that conforms to a shape of a portion of the interior volume within the package, such that a fold-assisting feature of the frame may be used as an in-situ, bending jig to fold the planar flexible substrate into a desired three-dimensional configuration.   
     
     
         2 . The fixture of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible substrate forms a support structure for a flexible electronic circuit, and wherein the package is an electronic device housing. 
     
     
         3 . The fixture of  claim 1 , wherein the fold-assisting feature is a hinge. 
     
     
         4 . A fixture for folding a planar flexible circuit board to fit into a space within an implantable medical device (IMD) housing, the fixture comprising:
 a flexible, pivoting device frame that conforms to at least a portion of a shape of the IMD housing,   wherein the pivoting device frame is used to align and bend the flexible circuit board into a desired three-dimensional configuration within the IMD housing.   
     
     
         5 . A method of folding a flexible substrate, in-situ, within a device frame, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a flexible frame of which at least a portion conforms to an interior shape of a device housing;   aligning a pivoting portion of the flexible frame to a corresponding portion of the flexible substrate;   securing the pivoting portion to the flexible substrate portion; and   bending the pivoting portion of the flexible frame and the flexible substrate portion together into a desired three-dimensional configuration to fit conformally within the housing.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising the step of latching the pivoting portion of the flexible frame and the substrate portion to maintain the desired three-dimensional configuration.