Littelfuse, Inc.

Arnold E Gurley

Howard R Chapin

A method of mass producing plug-in diode units includes the steps of punching areas of metal from a sheet metal body and forming the remaining areas of the body to leave longitudinally spaced, confronting pairs of laterally extending terminal blades having plug-in terminal end portions extending in different planes and opposite diode-mounting end portions in the same plane connected by webs or links to the rest of the sheet metal body. Diode elements are then soldered or welded between the diode-mounting end portions of each pair of terminal blades, and an insulating housing is molded around the diode-mounting end portions of each pair of terminal blades and the diode element secured thereto. The connecting links of each pair of terminal blades then are severed, leaving exposed severed portions of the connecting links which form accessible test points for testing the continuity of the diode element within each housing even after the terminal blades are plugged into a connector block.

Method of making a plug-in diode device and diode device produced thereby

A sealed electrical device like a relay includes a support base, a relay device on the inner side of the support base through which extends longitudinally-exposed terminals for feeding current to the relay device, and a housing having a relay-enclosing portion, and a stepped intermediate portion forming a continuation of the device-enclosing portion and making a face-to-face sealing engagement with longitudinally and laterally outwardly facing surfaces on the support base so that there is no straight-on access of a water stream external to said housing into the interior thereof on the inner side of the support base from either a lateral or longitudinal direction. The intermediate housing portion terminates in a sealing skirt-forming end portion extending a substantial distance longitudinally beyond the sealed portion of the support base to act as a further barrier against the ingress of an external water stream into the interior of said housing on the inner side of said support base. The support base has longitudinally extending connector guide walls on the outer side thereof enclosed by the housing skirt portion. The housing is secured to the support base by interlocking means on the inside of the skirt portion and the outside of said longitudinally extending walls. Means are provided for interlocking the housing skirt portion with a releasable locking means on the connector unit.

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Evanston, IL, United States of America

Arnold E Gurley