A connector-fitting structure of flexible printed circuit includes: a flexible printed circuit on which a wiring pattern is formed; an electronic component connected to the wiring pattern of the flexible printed circuit; and a connector to which one end part of the flexible printed circuit is fitted. The one end part of the flexible printed circuit is fitted to the connector to cause the electronic component to be housed in the connector.

A fusible via is disclosed. The fusible via includes an upper contact. The fusible via further includes a handle portion having a first end and a second end. The upper contact is disposed on the first end of the handle portion. The handle portion comprises an alloy and a blowing agent. The alloy melts above a predefined solder reflow temperature but below a thermal degradation temperature of the blowing agent. The fusible via further includes a lower contact disposed on the second end of the handle portion.

A power relay assembly is provided. A power relay assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises: an upper case having at least one electric element mounted on one surface thereof; a lower case coupled to the upper case; and at least one bus bar electrically connected to the electric element, disposed between the upper case and the lower case, and including a bottom portion that is in surface contact with at least one of the upper case and the lower case, wherein at least one side of the bottom portion contacts a portion made of a plastic material having heat dissipation and insulation properties in the upper case and the lower case.

A wiring module including a flexible printed wiring board to be electrically connected to a plurality of power storage elements, wherein the flexible printed wiring board includes: a base film that has insulating properties and has a first surface and a second surface; an adhesive layer that has adhesive properties and is stacked onto the first surface of the base film; a conductive path that is stacked onto the first surface of the base film using the adhesive layer; and a coverlay that is stacked onto the first surface of the base film using the adhesive layer, and covers the first surface of the base film and the conductive path, the conductive path has a fuse portion forming a part of a circuit and having a smaller cross-sectional area than another part of the conductive path, and a resin portion that includes a synthetic resin with insulating properties.

A method for increasing the protection range of a thermal fuse, which includes the following steps: disposing the thermal fuse on a circuit board including a circuit loop, a first heat generating element and a second heat generating element; the second heat generating element is electrically connected to the circuit loop; electrically connecting the first heat generating element to the circuit loop; and disposing the heat conducting material on the circuit loop and making the heat conducting material cover the thermal fuse, the first heat generating element and the second heat generating element.

A voltage source watchdog comprising a passive device is placed in series between a voltage source and a load. The passive device includes an electromigration (EM) joint of known materials that will create an electromigration void after a specified amount of current passes through the EM joint. After a known amount of current as passed through, a void is created and a voltage will no longer be sensed, thus providing a sure safety mode situation. When the voltage source is a battery, the battery life may be extended by selectively enabling voltage measurement operations for the proposed watchdog.

Provided are interconnects for interconnecting a set of battery cells, assemblies comprising these interconnects, methods of forming such interconnects, and methods of forming such assemblies. An interconnect includes a conductor comprising two portions electrically isolated from each other. At least one portion may include two contacts for connecting to battery cells and a fuse forming an electrical connection between these two contacts. The interconnect may also include an insulator adhered to the conductor and mechanically supporting the two portions of the conductor. The insulator may include an opening such that the fuse overlaps with this opening, and the opening does not interfere with the operation of the fuse. In some embodiments, the fuse may not directly interface with any other structures. Furthermore, the interconnect may include a temporary substrate adhered to the insulator such that the insulator is disposed between the temporary substrate and the conductor.

An electronic assembly, has at least one circuit board with conductor tracks, at least one current-limiting arrangement in the form of a thermal predetermined breaking point in at least one of the conductor tracks, and a fire-containment device in the region of the current-limiting arrangement.

Structures of and methods for fabricating fine-scale interconnects and fuses are disclosed. A mushroom-type structure with a narrow stalk supporting a wider cap can be used for fine-scale interconnects with widths on the scale of hundreds of nanometers that have low resistivity. Micro-air bridges can be introduced by omitting the stalk in sections of the interconnect, allowing the interconnect to bridge over obstacles. The mushroom-type micro-air bridge structure can also be modified to create fine-scale fuses that have low resistivity overall and sections of significantly higher resistivity where the micro-air bridges exist. The significantly higher resistivity results in preferential fusing at the micro-air bridges. Both mushroom interconnects and mushroom fuses can be fabricated using electron beam lithography.

A fuse holder includes a holder base comprising a plurality of protrusions each having a mounting hole formed therein to provide for mounting of the holder base to an external component and one or more mating protrusions and one or more mating slots formed on each of opposing side surfaces. The fuse holder also includes an input stud coupled to or formed on the holder base and a cover configured to attach to the holder base to at least partially enclose one or more fuses positionable on the fuse holder. The one or more mating protrusions and the one or more mating slots formed on each of the opposing side surfaces of the holder base comprise dovetailed protrusions and slots of a matching profile capable of receiving such a dovetailed protrusion, so as to enable a side-by-side stacking and interlocking of fuse holders with such mating protrusions and mating slots.