Abstract:
An apparatus and method for establishing a reliable compressive electrical connection between an electronic package and surface mount pads (6) of the printed circuit board (4) are disclosed. Contact pads (2) are solderable to pads (6) of the printed circuit board (4) and have electrically compatible metallurgy on the contact surface (10). These contact pads (2) are solderable to the pads (6) on their mounting surface (12). The contact pads (2) are assembled to the printed circuit board (4) by first adhesively attaching an array of contact pads to a film (20) and then placing the array over the pads (6) of the printed circuit board (4) and finally reflowing solder (7) which was previously attached to the pads (6) to complete the attachment.
Abstract:
A tool accelerator is disclosed that is cooperatively disposed in a stamping and forming machine that is adapted to operate on a strip of relatively hard material. The tool accelerator generally includes a trigger punch having a proximal end and a distal end. A tool is coupled to the proximal end of the trigger punch and is adapted to perform work on a strip of relatively hard material. A spring is disposed between a portion of the stamping and forming machine and the proximal end of the trigger punch, the spring being capable of being compressed by a predetermined amount in response engagement of the distal end of the trigger punch with the strip of relatively hard material. Structure is provided for triggering the release of the compressed spring when the predetermined amount of compression is reached where the time period for moving the tool into engagement with the strip of relatively hard material coincides with a rate of travel sufficiently fast so that the forming operation is completed in less than the stress relaxation time constant of the material and without cracking the strip of relatively hard material.
Abstract:
The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for attaching balls to a substrate for forming a ball grid array. The apparatus consists of two pole pieces, a magnetizing coil, and an excitation coil. The first pole piece has an alignment plate having a plurality of openings, and a plurality of tips which can be magnetized by the magnetizing coil to attract a ball into each opening. Once the balls are attracted into the openings, excess balls are removed and the substrate is aligned with the balls such that each ball is in contact with a respective pad on the substrate. The first pole piece having the balls and substrate position thereon is then placed into a receiving area of the second piece. An excitation coil is excited with a high frequency signal to heat the balls and reflow solder that has been previously applied thereto. The assembly is then cooled and removed from the device and the ball grid array is complete.
Abstract:
A high speed stamping and forming machine (10) is provided having a ram (34) capable of sustained high speed operation. The ram (34) is pivotally attached to a connecting rod (36) which is eccentrically coupled to a drive shaft by means of an eccentric (40) and hydrostatic bearing (50). The drive shaft (30) is journaled in hydrostatic bearings (84, 86) in the frame (12) of the machine. The ram reciprocates toward and away from a bolster plate (20) within a ram bearing (138) having hydrostatic bearings therein. A source of high pressure hydraulic fluid is interconnected to the hydrostatic bearing (50) of the eccentric coupling by means of a fluid coupling (350, 352) consisting of telescoping tubes, one end of which engages a spherically shaped seat (356, 358) in the frame (12) that is in communication with the high pressure fluid source and the other end of which engages a spherical shaped seat (354) in the moving connecting rod (36), which is in communication via a passageway (60) with the hydrostatic bearing (50). A main counterweight (142) is provided on the drive shaft (30) to counterbalance the effects of the reciprocating ram and a two shaft (166), counter-rotating weight system counterbalances lateral loads imposed on the machine (10) by the main counterweight. The bolster plate (20) of the machine is provided with a deep support structure (24) and surrounding concrete (26) to form a stable base (28) to reduce vibrations caused by the impact of the tooling with the strip of material being formed or blanked.
Abstract:
An improved contact for use in a high density chip carrier socket mounted on a circuit member which utilizes a cover which to wedge the leads of the chip carrier into electrical engagement with a respective contact. A tool receiving recess is incorporated into the contact so that the forces exerted on the socket while pressing the cover into place can be opposed, minimizing the forces exerted on the connection between the socket and the circuit member, typically a solder joint. Providing a tool, that operates from one side of the circuit member, in order to press the cover into place while engaging the contact recess to oppose the insertion related forces, which can also pull the cover from the contacts, without exerting significant forces on the connection, by engaging a lip in the cover while pressing on the carrier.
Abstract:
A miniature circuit board edge connector assembly includes an insulative housing 2, electrical spring blades 12A in the housing, conductor portions 12B pivotally interlocked with the spring blades 12A and pivotally impinged against corresponding conductive post portions 11, a cam 30 resiliently flexes the spring blades 12A, causing the conductor portions to pivot and engage circuit conductors 37 of a circuit board 38, and to provide circuit paths, from this circuit conductors 37 to the post portions 11, that are shorter than the lengths of the spring blades 12A.
Abstract:
The array ferrule of the present invention has a main body having a fiber receiving cavity which extends therethrough from a mating face to a rear end. A pair of pin slots is formed in opposing side walls of the main body being precisely located with respect to the fiber receiving cavity. In communication with each pin slot is a retention member slot for receiving a pin retention member. A plurality of fibers is precisely positioned within the fiber receiving cavity and an encapsulant substantially surrounds the fibers to substantially fill the fiber receiving cavity.A method of making the array ferrule begins with providing a ferrule blank having a pair of preformed slots extending inward from the opposing side walls. The blank is precisely aligned on a mandrel which is placed within the fiber receiving cavity. Pin slots are broached in each side surface in the area of the preformed slots to form the ferrule main body. The ferrule main body is then positioned within a ferrule receiving opening of a central fixture such that locating pins of the central fixture are positioned within the pin slots. The fiber receiving cavity is then populated with a plurality of optical fibers which are accurately located using a plurality of combs over the ends of the optical fibers which protrude from the mating face. Finally, the fiber receiving cavity is filled with an encapsulant.
Abstract:
An improved ground plane for use in an electrical connector features a plurality of contact receiving openings (64) which are stamped into a sheet of conductive material. A spring contact (65) is disposed adjacent each opening (64) and is positioned to undergo both torsional and cantilever beam deformation upon insertion of a filter element (50) in order to urge the filter element (50) against a reference surface (66).
Abstract:
An electrical connector assembly 2 for use in connecting parallel printed circuit boards includes a receptacle connector 4 and a plug connector 6. The receptacle connector 4 includes receptacle contacts 8, each of which includes a surface mount solder tail 16 and a mating contact section in the form of a resilient arm 26 on opposite sides of a sealing pad 18 that seals a contact insertion opening 38 when the receptacle contact 8 is fully inserted. The mating contact portion is therefore isolated from contaminating materials, such as solder flux during surface mount solder operations. The height of the connector assembly 2 can be adjusted by using plug connectors 6 of different heights with a universal receptacle connector 4. The height of the side walls 60 on the plug housing 12, between a plug mating section and contact retention section is changed for different plug connector heights. The length of the plug contact 10 can also changed because the plug contact solder tail 56 is bent into its final position after the plug contacts 10 are mounted on the plug housing 12.
Abstract:
A substrate mating assembly has a first substrate with at least one socket mounted thereon. The at least one socket has contact retention points provided thereon which extend into a contact receiving opening thereof. A second substrate is provided with at least one mating contact mounted thereon. The at least one mating contact has an arcuate surface and is dimensioned to be received in the contact receiving opening of the at least one socket. As the first substrate and the second substrate are electrically mated together, the at least one mating contact is received in the contact receiving opening and maintained in position therein by the cooperation of the contact retention points with the arcuate surface of the at least one mating contact. The contact retention points are provided on resilient arms which are configured to allow for the elastic distortion thereof as the at least one mating contact is brought into engagement with the at least one socket, such that when the at least one mating contact is fully inserted, the resilient arms will return toward an unstressed position to cooperate with the arcuate surface of the at least one mating contact to maintain the at least one mating contact in position.