Littelfuse, Inc.

Gregory G Stumpo

James J Beckert

Michael Schlaak

Derek Lasini

Ken Venhaus

William P Brown

John Adamczyk

Jeffrey John Ribordy

Stephen R Shierry

Edwin J Harris

Douglas Fischer

Andrew J Saarnio

Approaches herein provided surface mounted devices each configured as a stand-alone component suitable for attachment to a substrate such as a printed circuit board (PCB). In some embodiments, a method includes forming a base housing, coupling an electronic component to the base housing, and forming a cover over the electronic component, wherein the cover is coupled to the base housing. The electronic component may include a fusible link/element extending between terminals, the terminals wrapped around an exterior of base housing. The device may then be coupled to the PCB, for example, by attaching the terminals to an upper surface of the PCB.

Surface mounted protection device

A fuse including a fuse body defining an inner cavity and having at least one fuse body aperture formed therethrough, a fuse element including a first terminal and a second terminal, a first endbell and a second endbell coupled to the fuse element, the first endbell having at least two grooves formed in a surface thereof and having a first O-ring seal disposed in at least one of the grooves, the second endbell having at least two grooves formed in a surface thereof and having a second O-ring seal disposed in at least one of the grooves, an adhesive securing the first and second endbells to the fuse body, an arc quenching material disposed within the inner cavity and contacting at least a portion of the fuse element, and end caps coupled to the fuse body, the end caps sealing a portion of the fuse element within the fuse body.

High-current fuse with endbell assembly

A fuse includes a fuse element and a fuse body. A portion of the fuse element is housed in a fuse body. The fuse element includes a first terminal and a second terminal disposed outside of the fuse body. The first terminal and the second terminal electrically connects the fuse element to a circuit to be protected and a power source. A first endbell and a second endbell is coupled to the fuse element. A predetermined amount of arc quenching material is disposed within the fuse body. The arc quenching material contacts at least a portion of the fuse element. The predetermined amount of the arc quenching material is less than a total volume size of the fuse tube. The arc quenching material is compacted. A remaining air gap in the fuse tube is filled with a liquid adhesive and cured to a solid state.

An improved surface mount electrical fuse including a first fuse terminal; a second fuse terminal spaced apart from the first fuse terminal; and a fuse element formed from a conductive material, the fuse element having a support bridge for supporting the fuse element, the fuse element electrically connecting the first fuse terminal and the second fuse terminal.

Surface mount electrical fuse with a support bridge

A convenient, cost-effective method for manufacturing low-current fuse elements. The method may include the steps of stamping a substrate out of a sheet of material and stamping at least one hole in the substrate. The method may further include the steps of bonding a layer of fuse material to a surface of the substrate with a portion of the fuse material covering the hole, stamping a fuse element out of the portion of fuse material covering the hole, and separating an individual fuse from the fuse material and the substrate. A low-current fuse can thereby be obtained using an easily performed stamping process.

Low-current fuse stamping method

A fuse for a high voltage/high current application, such as a hydro-electric vehicle ('HEV') application is provided. The fuse employs a variety of arc quenching features to handle a large amount of arcing energy that is generated when such fuse is opened due to a fuse opening event. In one embodiment, an insulative substrate, such as a melamine substrate, is metallized with a fuse element. The fuse element extends to multiple surfaces of the substrate. A fuse opening portion of the element is located so that the arcing energy is forced to travel along multiple insulative planes, increasing an impedance across the opening of the element and decreasing the likelihood of a sustained arc. Also, the substrate and element are disposed in a sealed housing, which is packed in one embodiment with an arc quenching material, such as sand.

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Schaumburg, IL, United States of America

Gregory G Stumpo