International Business Machines Corporation

James T Holton

Jeffrey Scott Campbell

Lawrence A Stone

Floyd A Gregory

John Maliwacki

A molded structure formed in a mold having a space, the molded structure itself constituting a molding body when combined with an upper mold. The molded structure has a substrate which may be a carrier frame for an electrical connector. An insert which may be an elastomer is disposed on the substrate and formed in the space in the mold. A deformable (preferably elastic) molding seal is disposed directly on the substrate and under the elastomer, the molding seal preventing elastomer flash during molding. The molding seal may be a ridge surrounding the space of the mold in which the elastomer is formed. The substrate may also have a datum surface on which the mold locates, with the molding seal disposed in a plane which differs from the plane of the datum surface of the substrate. A process of molding the insert on the substrate is also provided.

Process of molding an insert on a substrate

Molded electrical connector with a deformable elastic ridge

A connection device interconnecting a pair of circuit cards or circuit boards or circuit card to a circuit board is provided for connecting the circuitry on one of the cards or boards to the circuitry on the other of the cards or boards and wherein each of the cards and/or boards has contact pads. The circuit device includes a sheet of flexible circuit having a first and a second end, and a first set of contacts arranged to correspond to the contact pads on one of said circuit boards or cards and a second set of contacts arranged to contact the contact pads on the other card or board. Circuit traces connect the first and second contacts. A flexible circuit support member is provided which includes a body and a frame slidably mounted on said body for movement toward and away from a first face on the body and having an elastomeric member carried thereby. The body also has a second face extending from and substantially normal to the first face, with an elastomeric member mounted thereon. The flexible circuit is carried by the frame and the second face. The first end of the flexible circuit terminates on the surface of the frame spaced from the terminate edge thereof, preferably by a lip extending along the terminate edge of the face. Fasteners interconnect the boards or cards to the connection device.

Flexible circuit connector with floating alignment frame

Deformable elastomer molding seal for use in electrical connector system

The present invention provides an electrical connector assembly and method for connecting a flexible circuit to a substate with the contact pads of each in precise alignment. The connector assembly has at least one floating frame member which has first and second exposed surfaces. At least one fine or precise alignment pin extends from the first surface which is configured to mate with an alignment opening in the flexible circuit. A support member is provided which has a support surface which slidingly engages the second surface of the floating frame member to permit sliding movement thereon by the sliding frame member. A registration or coarse alignment pin is provided which is operatively associated with the floating frame member and the support member and configured to engage the substrate to roughly align but allow relative sliding movement of the floating frame member with respect to the substrate when the registration pin engages the substrate.

Self-aligning flexible circuit connection

Apparatus for use with a printer which has a pair of tractors that engage sprocket holes in the paper to adjust for different paper widths or to adjust the lateral position of the paper. The apparatus comprises a pair of coaxial lead screws, one attached to a rotatable shaft and the second rotatable on the shaft adjacent to and relative to the one lead screw. One tractor is coupled to each lead screw. Rotation of the one lead screw is obtained by a knob keyed to an end of the rotatable shaft. Rotation of the second lead screw is prevented during rotation of the knob by spring loaded fingers with detent elements engageable with detention gearing on the end of the second lead screw. Rotation of both screws is obtained by rotation and axial movement of the knob on the shaft so that a cam surface on the knob engages cams of the spring fingers to disengage detent elements from the detention gearing and drive gearing on the knob engages drive gearing on the second lead screw.

Growing community of inventors

Endwell, NY, United States of America

James T Holton