Raytheon Company

Hughes Aircraft Company

David A Milani

David L Fowler

David P Van Cleve

Ronald W Monk

Robert J Curry

Gerald T Emmert

Michael A Hobson

Joseph A Crisafulli

Dennis G Carpenter

A test fixture for making an electrical connection with electrical contacts of a circuit board includes jaws made of conductive material. The jaws may be monolithic pieces of copper, with a pair of sections that pivot along a thin hinged portion at one end. The jaws float freely within a test fixture housing, allowing the jaws to reposition themselves within the housing to adjust to variations in position of the electrical contacts. A clamping mechanism pushes free ends of the jaw sections toward one another, causing engagement between the sections and the electrical contacts. The test fixture provides a way to provide good contact area and good contact pressure, allowing large-current flows between the jaws and the electrical contacts, while at the same time providing substantially no force on the circuit board in a direction perpendicular to the circuit board.

Test fixture with high-current electrical connection

An apparatus (10) for testing an operational status of a missile interface system includes a portable control unit (16) having an interface panel (28). The interface panel (28) has a plurality of umbilical ports adapted to receive data from a plurality of missile stations (12) via a corresponding plurality of umbilical cables (18). The interface panel (28) is further includes a coaxial port (40), adapted to receive data from a radar trap (22) via a coaxial cable (20). The apparatus further includes a fixture assembly (116) having a main body portion (120). The main body portion (120) has a channel (122) through which a first end of the umbilical cable (18) is allowed to pass. The fixture assembly (116) is adapted to be releasably mounted to a missile station (12).

Method and apparatus for missile interface testing

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Tucson, AZ, United States of America

David A Milani