US 6,981,315 B2
Method of manufacturing a flexure blank
Norimasa Fujita, Ushiku (Japan); Akira Tadakuma, Inashiki-Gun (Japan); Yasuji Takagi, Ebina (Japan); Ichiro Takadera, Sumida-Ku (Japan); Akira Nojima, Aikou-Gun (Japan); Masashi Shiraishi, Kitasaku-Gun (Japan); and Takeshi Wada, Saku (Japan)
Assigned to Nippon Mektron, Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); TDK Corporation, Tokyo (Japan); and NHK Spring Co., Ltd., Kanagawa-Ken (Japan)
Filed on Dec. 03, 2002, as Appl. No. 10/277,191.
Application 10/277191 is a division of application No. 09/513353, filed on Feb. 25, 2000, granted, now 6,500,011, filed on Dec. 31, 2002.
Claims priority of application No. 11-049760 (JP), filed on Feb. 26, 1999.
Prior Publication US 2003/0064636 A1, Apr. 03, 2003
Int. Cl. H05K 3/36 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 29—830 4 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of manufacturing a flexure blank which has a connecting portion comprising the steps of:
forming an insulating base layer in a pattern on an upper surface of a spring metal layer, said pattern having an opening portion which partially defines a connecting portion for a connection with a relay flexible circuit board used for connecting to an external circuit;
forming by sputtering a grounding conductive layer on the insulating base layer pattern and opening portion, said grounding conductive layer having an improved solder wetting property and not being corroded by an etching fluid in an etching step with respect to an unnecessary portion of said spring metal layer;
next, forming by sputtering a conductive layer on the grounding conductive layer, then forming a plating resist pattern at a position of said opening portion on an upper surface of said conductive layer, then successively forming a second conductive layer and an anticorrosive conductive layer in said connecting portion by electrolytic plating means at a stage of forming other plating resist patterns in accordance with the pattern to form the connecting portion;
thereafter, peeling and removing said plating resist pattern removing an unnecessary area of said spring metal layer;
further, etching and removing an unnecessary area of said grounding conductive layer and said conductive layer;
thereafter, peeling and removing an etching resist pattern; and
finally etching and removing an area of said conductive layer and said grounding conductive layer which are exposed to said opening portion so as to form a penetrating opening portion in said connecting portion.