Packard Hughes Interconnect Company

Delphi Technologies, Inc.

Hughes Aircraft Company

Raytheon Company

John Steven Szalay

Terry Shing Wang

Haim Feigenbaum

Blake F Woith

Edward Rudoy

Joseph A Wysocki

Chris M Schreiber

Eric Dean Jensen

Stephen W McCahon

Michael R Vince

Laurie Keiko Taira-Griffin

Everett Lacy Benze

Apparatus for holding and securing an electrical module, IC, or other electronic components to a PCB that is easy to use and manipulate. The apparatus utilizes a transitional element to hold the electrical module or IC and then secure itself to the PCB using fasteners or the like. Preferred methods for assembling and using the apparatus are disclosed.

De-mountable, solderless in-line lead module package with interface

An electronic interconnect includes a flexible circuit which has a plurality of contacts formed thereon. A plurality of springs is positioned so as to apply a compressive force to at least one of the contacts when the electronic interconnect is mated. A resilient material is configured to apply a compressive force to at least one of the springs.

Microelectronic contact assembly

A Z-axis electrical interconnect includes a flexible printed circuit folded into a U-shape. The Z-axis electrical interconnect also includes a plurality of raised interconnection members arranged on the flexible printed circuit in a predetermined pattern and a circuit trace interconnecting the pair of raised interconnection members. The Z-axis electrical interconnect further includes a spring fixedly positioned on the flexible printed circuit to maintain the U-shape.

Z-axis electrical interconnect

The connector assembly includes a housing that carries a flexible circuit member and two slide members with slide cam surfaces. A daughter board is secured to one surface on the housing and is electrically connected to the flexible circuit member. The cam surfaces on the two slide members engage cams on a mother board. Movement of the slide member cam surfaces relative to the cams on the mother board moves the housing relative to the mother board and forms an electrical connection between the flexible circuit member and the mother board. A linkage system moves both slide members to form and maintain the electrical connection between the flexible circuit member and the mother board.

Connector assembly

A connection system requiring little or no force to mechanically and electrically connect a printed circuit board to a flexible printed circuit. The connection system includes a flat and rigid carrier having an upper surface upon which is affixed a flexible printed circuit having an electrically conductive raised area in the form of a plurality of raised dots. At the upper surface, the carrier has a groove formed therein, wherein the raised dots are located in the groove. An elastomeric insert is situated in the groove in abutting relation to the flexible printed circuit behind the raised dots. A rigid printed circuit board has an electrically conductive area in the form of a plurality of pads. The printed circuit board is inserted into the groove, whereupon the elastomer resiliently compresses so as to press the plurality of raised dots into tight electrical contact with the plurality of pads. In a first preferred embodiment the printed circuit board is inserted vertically with slight force. In a second preferred embodiment, the printed circuit board is inserted at an acute angle with zero insertion force and then rotated to the vertical.

Printed circuit board to flexible printed circuit connection system

A clamping mechanism (10) for connecting a printed circuit board (12) having a plurality of electrically conductive pads (14) to a flexible printed circuit having a plurality of electrically conductive raised dots (18). A housing (20) having a mouth (22) is located upon the printed circuit board at the plurality of pads. A pair of L-shaped leaf springs (28, 28') are connected with the housing. A cam body (40) having a rounded cam surface (42), an opposite grasping lever (44), and a pair of opposing first and second flat surfaces (46, 48) therebetween is rotatably connected to the leaf springs. A first stiffener (58) is attached to the flexible printed circuit opposite the raised dots thereof which is configured to alignably fit with the shape of the mouth of the housing to thereby align the raised dots with the pads. A second stiffener (54) is provided at the printed circuit board opposite the housing.

Low profile clamping mechanism for connecting a printed circuit board to

The high power clip-on interconnection system of the present invention includes a terminal stud, clip terminal and cable. The clip is formed out of flat conductive material with good spring characteristics. The clip has a terminal end for securing to a cable, an adjustable diameter circular-shaped portion for securing to the stud, and an activation arm for adjusting the diameter of the circular-shaped portion.

High power clip-on interconnection system

The invention includes a testing apparatus for testing integrated circuit chips during vibration. The apparatus includes a vibration fixture base which is a table that can be vibrated vertically and/or horizontally. The base supports a holding fixture for supporting a flexible circuit having circuit traces whose ends terminate in raised dots or bumps. The flexible circuit is clamped to the holding fixture to properly position the raised features at the end of the circuit traces. A holder and clamp unit holds a plurality of integrated circuit chips and clamps the chips against the bumps on the flexible circuit with predetermined pressure to make electrical contact between pads on the integrated circuit chip and the bumps. The clamp unit can be raised and lower and rotated. Even pressure is assured by a compressible layer carried in the fixture and located beneath the bumps. The contact points of the bumps and the integrated circuit chip pads vibrate in unison during vibration testing. Firm clamping pressure provided by the compressible layer and the clamp eliminates damage to the chip under vibration testing.

Device for testing integrated circuit chips during vibration

The end face (32) of the optical fiber (24) of a fiber optical terminal (10) is finished by installing the fiber in a terminal ferrule (18), cleaving an end of the fiber close to the end face (54) of the ferrule, and heating the cleaved fiber end face so as to soften its end face and cause it to assume a smooth, rounded configuration. The heating is accomplished, for a glass fiber, by application of the beam of a carbon dioxide laser (60) to the optical fiber end face. The heat softened end face assumes a smooth, rounded configuration that minimizes back reflection. A system including a laser (105), shutter (102), beam expander (108) and parabolic mirror (110) heats the fiber end face that is positioned at the parabola faces by a three axis manipulator (156,158) and holder (152). Orthogonal viewing systems (126, 142) enable visual monitoring of the process.

Heat formed optical fiber end face

The present invention provides a power connector having three components. A pin contact is provided having a contact area in the shape of a cylinder with the front end in the form of a cone or other shape with an extended surface. A socket contact is provided that is similar to the pin contact, except the front end is shaped to conform to the front end of the pin. A wound torsion spring is provided for biasing the pin contact and socket contact together. The torsion spring, pin contact and socket contact are carried in a receptacle connector, plug connector and back shell respectively which can be mated and unmated with negligible force.

Negligible insert force power connector

A power connector system according to the present invention includes a pin contact having two blades that are located parallel and opposed to each other and attached to each other by an U-shaped bridge. A socket contact is provided having two U-shaped cavities for receiving respectively the two blades. The U-shaped cavities may be formed by a single piece of material formed in a S or W shape or other shapes producing U-shaped cavities. A spring member is received within each U-shaped cavity of the socket connector to provide a frictional fit when the blade is received in the spring member. The pin connector, socket connector and spring member may be stamped and formed from a flat conductive material.

Stamped and formed contacts for a power connector

A test probe including a flexible membrane (12) having an array of test probe contacts (14) capable of softly and gently contacting pads on a device under test is provided with a structure that effectively applies tension to the membrane while at the same time automatically leveling the membrane and removing distortions. A small pressure plate (30) is bonded to the inner surface of the membrane behind the test probe contacts. A pressure post (58) having a pointed or rounded end (64) is pressed against the pressure plate (30a) and makes pivotal contact with the plate. A spring (50) including an adjustment screw (56) that axially adjusts the compression of the spring, applies pressure through the pivot point to the pressure plate and thus to the membrane at its test probe contacts. When the probe contacts (14) are pressed against a device to be tested, the probe contacts and pressure plate (30) rotate about the pivot point (64) of the pressure post (58), and thereby both planarize the test probe contact array (14 ) and level the test contact array while appropriately tensioning the membrane.

Self leveling and self tensioning membrane test probe

A test probe for use in testing a liquid crystal display device includes a rigid carrier block (20) having a lower surface to which is secured a flexible circuit (44) having a free end (50) aligned with the free end (26) of the carrier block. A plurality of projecting probe contact features (54) are integrally formed on traces (56) of the flexible circuit (44) and project from the plane of the flexible circuit adjacent the free end. An elastomeric back-up pad (40) is interposed between the carrier block (20) and the projecting contact features (54). The lower side of the carrier block is recessed (30) and the flexible circuit is pre-formed to the configuration of the recess in which it is mechanically secured by a rigid clamp or pressure bar (60). Conductive traces (56) of the flexible circuit have inner ends (58) bearing electrical contacts (68) for connection to test circuitry. The rigid carrier block (20) is mounted to enable the projecting probe contact features to be pressed against a line of contacts (16) on a display device panel (12) while maintaining a clearance between the aligned free ends of the carrier block (26), elastomer (42) and flexible circuit (50) and the edge (70) of a member (18) that overlies the display panel (12) and extends closely adjacent to and parallel to the row of display panel contacts (16).

Growing community of inventors

Corona Del Mar, CA, United States of America

John Steven Szalay