Permanently connecting a set of conductive tracks on a substrate with a co-operating set on a printed circuit

Claim 1

A method of making electrical and mechanical connection between a first set of conductive tracks on a non-conductive flexible printed circuit and a second set of co-operating conductive tracks on a rigid substrate, which method comprises: providing channels on said flexible printed circuit defined by the edges of said first set of conductive tracks, interposing between the printed circuit and the substrate an excess of an adhesive compound including a dispersion in an electrically insulating adhesive matrix material of not more than 10% electrically conductive fibre fragments predominently by weight of a length greater than their mean diameter and not significantly greater than the minimum separation of the tracks in the region covered by the adhesive, said mean diameter being less than the depth of said channels and compressing the printed circuit and the substrate together to produce a flow of said adhesive compound concentrated along said channels thereby aligning at least the longer ones of said fibre fragments longitudinally in the direction of said channels and minimizing the risk of any fragments bridging adjacent tracks, to trap at least portions of said fibre fragments between said first and second set of tracks and to electrically connect each track of said first set of tracks with an associated co-operating track of said second set of tracks by means of the conductive fibre portions compressively trapped therebetween.

Claim 2

A method of making electrical and mechanical connection between a first set of conductive tracks on a non-conductive flexible printed circuit and a second set of co-operating conductive tracks on a rigid substrate, which method comprises: providing channels on said flexible printed circuit defined by the edges of said first set of conductive tracks, interposing between the printed circuit and the substrate an excess of an adhesive compound including a dispersion in an electrically insulating adhesive matrix material of not more than 10% electrically conductive fibre fragments predominently by weight of a length greater than their mean diameter and not significantly greater than the minimum separation of the tracks in the region covered by the adhesive, said mean diameter being less than the depth of said channels and compressing the printed circuit and the substrate together to produce a flow of said adhesive compound concentrated along said channels thereby aligning at least the longer ones of said fibre fragments longitudinally in the direction of said channels and minimizing the risk of any fragments bridging adjacent tracks, to trap at least portions of said fibre fragments between said first and second set of tracks and to electrically connect each track of said first set of tracks with an associated co-operating track of said second set of tracks by means of the conductive fibre portions compressively trapped therebetween.