Patent ID: 7591924

Claim:
Apparatus for sealing circuit elements of an electrical circuit between a substrate upon which the circuit elements are mounted and a cover layer, at least some of the circuit elements on the substrate being temperature sensitive, said apparatus comprising: a press having a hollow interior adapted to be connected to a source of heated fluid, said press having an exposed surface that is heated by the heated fluid; a support which carries the substrate and the cover sheet, said support including: (i) a housing formed with a cavity and a plate having a first surface, said first surface of said plate supporting said substrate; (ii) a number of conduits mounted in said cavity, each of said conduits having a hollow interior that receives cooling fluid, said conduits each being located relative to at least one discrete area along said first surface of said plate so as to be effective to cool said at least one discrete area when cooling fluid is present within said hollow interior thereof; (iii) said plate having a second surface formed with a number of channels, said hollow interior of each of said conduits mounted in said cavity of said housing of said support including a first flow path and a second flow path communicating with one another through one of said channels formed in said second surface of said plate, one of said first and second flow paths forming an inlet adapted to receive cooling fluid from said source of cooling fluid and the other of said first and second flow paths forming an outlet adapted to return cooling fluid to said source of cooling fluid, the cooling fluid flowing though each of said conduits contacting one of said channels in said second surface of said plate and lowering the temperature of one of said discrete areas of said support in the course of movement along said first and second flow paths; a controller which is effective to direct cooling fluid into the hollow interior of individual ones of said conduits which are located at one or more discrete areas along said plate underlying the temperature sensitive circuit elements carried on the substrate, said individual ones of said conduits that receive cooling fluid providing localized cooling of said top plate and the temperature sensitive circuit elements at said discrete areas; said press, when at least partially filled with heating fluid, being movable relative to said support so that said exposed surface of said press contacts the cover sheet which overlies the substrate, said exposed surface of said press being effective to exert sufficient heat and pressure to cause the cover sheet and substrate to bond together while the heat sensitive circuit elements overlying said discrete areas of said top plate are cooled by said individual ones of said conduits receiving cooling fluid.