THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE
NATURE OF THE INVENTION

BREAK AWAY DESIGN FOR PCB
numbered as dated
A) FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY:
1. This invention relates to design of electronics and specifically to Printed Circuit Board (hereinafter referred to as PCB) systems and, more particularly to effective strengthening for PCBs. The invention lays down a novel mechanism wherein the PCB unit is provided the extra strength and support to thin bridge connecting multiple large parts of a circuit board.
2. A PCB design with strengthening system using additional disposable and break away boards is disclosed in the present invention.
3. In the production of a printed circuit board, in a first (multi-step) stage a "bare board" is prepared and in a second (multi-step) stage, various components are mounted on the board. The present invention relates to the first stage in the manufacture of the bare board, in which the bare board is provided with additional disposable break away sections.
B) DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART:
4. This invention relates to a method and apparatus for electronic circuit board which provides extra strength to the connecting wiring bridges between two or more larger circuits.
5. For electronic devices the PCB needs to be designed in various shapes and sizes. The PCB acts as the base for the tracks, holding electronics components. The PCB needs to be rigid to prevent the damage of the track and the components soldered

on it. The printed circuit board assemblies are well known in the art; however, there exist several distinct disadvantages when designing PCBs with multiple connecting bridge shaped boards with larger circuitry structures. Most often the assemblies contain a relatively larger printed circuit board heavily populated with electrical traces and components. Furthermore, these assemblies must be internally connected to have a continuity and connection between themselves and various different circuits. The connecting bridges often carry very large soldered lines/wires passing through and connecting larger sections of PCBs on either side that increases the overall mass of the rest of the assembly compared to the bridges. These heavier parts of a given assembly makes the thinner bridges fragile and easily breakable, which is very much undesirable before mounting the device on to a rigid mounting device. Transporting/handling/testing PCBs before assembling leads to the potential problem of breaking the PCBs during transport. The flexibility of the PCB with respect to the thin bridge connecting the sections make the circuits tracks break or vulnerable
6. Conventional printed circuit board processing systems, manufacturing systems,
typically utili2e a conveyor system to move a printed circuit board from station to
station within the system. Often, the printed circuit board is supported or held in a
manner that is insufficient to prevent the board from warping, twisting, or bending
during processing. Accordingly, there is a need in the art of printed circuit board
handling and processing for an improved printed circuit board support
C) OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
7. It is the primary object of the invention to invent an extra strengthening method
for PCBs especially for PCBs with bridged structure of single layer or multilayer
PCB.

8. It is another object of the invention to invent a break away part for strengthening the PCBs which are disposable and solely utilized for the purpose of strengthening the PCBs.
9. It is another object of the invention to invent a method to prevent breaking of PCBs while transport and fixing to a device.
10. It is another object of the invention is to strengthen one or more bridge shaped connected PCBs.
11. It is another object of the invention is to increase the reliability of the PCB during manufacturing, soldering, handling and assembly.
12. It is another object of the invention is to invent a method of avoiding the need to use additional fixture or packing.
13. It is another object of the invention is to invent a method to reduce the vulnerability of the PCB from damage during manufacturing, soldering, handling, assembly etc.
D) PROPOSED SOLUTION WITH A BRIEF NOTE ON DRAWING:
14. We propose a novel manufacturing unit in the field of adding strength to the PCB.
This is especially applicable where the two larger portions situated on either side
marked as 1 in Figure A of a PCB designed with a thin portion forming a bridge
between two large portions, marked as 4 in Figure A in between. The drawback of
such design is that the middle portion is not rigid enough to sustain the pressure
exerted due to the components mounted on the PCB during the second level of
manufacture. This can lead to a permanent damage or deformation of PCB along

the thin area. In this design a breakable connecting member, which is herein referred to as the breakaway, marked as 2 in Figure A is integrated with the PCB design. The breakable members are designed anywhere on the PCB where reinforcements are required. A series of adjacent holes or perforation are designed along the intended path of breaking, marked as 3 in Figure A. This helps to twist and breakaway that particular portion whenever required. This increases the reliability of the PCB during manufacturing, soldering, handling and assembly. The PCB design becomes simpler and rugged with the incorporation of breakaway design. Also thinner PCBs can be used with the breakaway design to achieve the same physical characteristics required during the process of manufacturing, soldering, handling, testing and assembly. It is important to note that there is no need to use additional fixture or packing during the processes mentioned above. As the breakaway used in the present invention in the PCB is made of the same material as the PCB, there is no additional cost involved in improving, manufacturing, assembling any other material to the PCB component.
E) METHOD OF PERFORMANCE OF THE INVENTION:
15. The invention presented here is implemented by designing H shaped PCB for most
of the Medical equipments more so like an Ultra Sound scanner. The break away
portion of the PCB as described in Figure A is discarded after fixing the PCBs to
the firm hold of the scanner.
F) SCOPE OF THE INVENTION:
16. As the production of a printed circuit board, in a first (multi-step) stage a "bare
board" is prepared and in a second (multi-step) stage, various components are
mounted on the board. The present invention relates to the first stage in the
manufacture of the bare board, in which the bare board is provided with additional

disposable break away sections. The invention may be used in manufacturing PCBs for most of Medical Equipments like Ultrasound devices or any other like medical device components. The advantage(s) of this invention is to provide a simple but effective solution for PCBs by providing extra strength for PCBs especially for PCBs with bridged structure of single layer or multilayer PCB. It is also another advantage of the present invention to invent a method to prevent breaking of PCBs while transport and fixing to a device, which can strengthen one or more bridge H shaped connected PCBs. The present invention increases the durability and reliability of the PCB during manufacturing, soldering, handling and assembly. By adopting the disclosed method there is no need to invent a method of using any additional fixture and components to secure protection to the PCB during its usage of its transit. Accordingly the said disclosure is novel and carries wide public utility in the field of manufacturing of medical devices.
17. Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this invention is not to be construed in limiting sense. Various modification(s) of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternate embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplated that such modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined.

G) WE CLAIM:
The mechanism of perforated break away boards to support thinner section of PCBs presented above, which achieves rigidity, increases the reliability of the PCB during manufacturing, soldering, handling and assembly.
What is claimed is:
1. A PCB design constituting.
i) a perforated break away portion, marked as 2 in the Figure A..
ii) a perforated break away portion, marked as 2 adding strength to thinner
sections;
iii) a perforated break away portion, marked as 2 of the same material as
the rest of the structure preventing use of additional adhesive or
fixations; iv) a perforated break away portion, marked as 2 wherein the break away
portion adds strength to the thinner section of the PCB.
v) A perforated breakaway portion which reinforces the thinner sections
from permanent damage or temporary deformation
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of having perforation for breaking the unwanted parts after fixing the PCB.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the perforated breakaway connects to the point of PCB to form a series of adjacent holes or perforation, which are provided for along the intended path of breaking.

Dated this the 22nd day of August 2005.

To,
The Controller of Patents,
The Patent office,
At Chennai.