Other

Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.

Cooper Industries, Inc.

Production Solutions, Inc.

Thomas A Gordon

Charles M Hevenor

Douglas T Farlow

Theodore J Gordon

Robert B Evans

Paul L Urban

Ronald B Webster

Joseph W Stempien

William J Tortora

Raymond J MacQueen, Jr

David P Boisvert

Barrett C Gray

Michael Baron

Michael L Raczkowski

K Scott Smith

William McKenna

Ken P Magnon

Kathleen Farlow

A system and method for manufacturing that provides for adjustable support of work pieces such as printed circuit boards includes an edge rail system having first and second edge rails, with at least one of the edge rails being adjustable, allowing the width of the system to be adjusted to accommodate various widths of work pieces. It also includes a set of support strips for supporting a lower side of the work pieces and a means for dynamically adjusting spacing of support strips to adjust to the width of the edge rail system.

Adjustable support tooling apparatus

An improved vacuum box assembly for use in printed circuit board manufacturing where the printed circuit board is supported during manufacturing operations on the second side of the board. The vacuum box uses a unique and improved side plate that securely retains commercially available substrate support devices within the vacuum box. The side plate has a retention cavity configured to receive one or more substrate support devices therein. The side plate retains the substrate support device in a desired position. Open or unoccupied regions of the retention cavity may be sealed by use of specifically configured vacuum blocking plates.

Apparatus for assembling printed circuit boards

A web and an associated web feeding and handling apparatus for performing a work operation on the web is disclosed. The apparatus feeds the web in a feed direction longitudinally of itself by means of a friction drive. The operation of the drive is controlled by lateral and longitudinal alignment indicia located on the web which insure that the web is properly aligned with the feed direction as the web is initially fed into and then through the apparatus, and to insure that any bowing of the web during the work operation is corrected or compensated for.

Web having alignment indicia and an associated web feeding and working apparatus

Web having alignment indicia and an associated web feeding and working

An apparatus and method for aligning fine pitch electrical components and for solder paste stenciling includes a template for aligning an electrical component and for aligning a solder stencil. The template has a window with shelves on opposite sides. Tape is adhered to the shelves across the window and is used to secure the template to the desired location on the printed circuit board. The template also includes upright tabs that engage notches in the edges of the stencil for aligning the stencil. A two headed vacuum lifting device is used to lift an aligned component and an aligned stencil from the template. With the template removed from the printed circuit board, the stencil is replaced in the aligned position for solder application. The stencil is removed and the electrical component is placed for soldering.

Stenciling method and apparatus for PC board repair

A method and apparatus allow securing of balls to ball grid array electronic components. A component having a surface with rows and columns of electrical contact solder pads is removed from a printed circuit board for rework. Excess solder is removed from the solder pads and the surface is pressed against a stencil having a pattern of holes corresponding to the component contact pad pattern. Each of the holes is filled with a solder ball. The assembly is heated to melt the at least the solder pads. Where lower melting solder balls are used, the pads and balls both melt. Where high melting temperature solder balls are used, only the solder pads melt. The assembly is cooled to solidify melted solder, the stencil is removed, the component is cleaned and is ready for reuse. Preferably, the stencil is formed from a material that bows in one direction when heated, so that when the stencil is held against the pad array surface and heated, bowing forces will very tightly press the stencil against the surface, preventing molten solder from migrating between surface and stencil.

Ball placement method and apparatus for forming a ball grid array

A method and apparatus enables the securing of balls to ball grid array electronic components. A component having a surface with rows and columns of electrical contact pads is removed from a printed circuit board for rework. Excess solder is removed from the pads and the surface is pressed against a stencil having a pattern of holes corresponding to the component contact pad pattern. The holes are filled with a paste continuing flux and solder particles. The assembly is heated to melt the solder particles, which agglomerate into generally spherical balls bonded to the contact pads. The assembly is cooled, the stencil is removed, the component is cleaned and is ready for reuse. Preferably, the stencil is formed from a material that bows in one direction when heated, so that when the stencil is held against the pad array surface and heated, bowing forces will very tightly press the stencil against the surface, preventing molten solder from migrating between surface and stencil.

Ball grid array ball placement method and apparatus

An apparatus for supporting a substrate such as a printed circuit board (PCB) having various electronic components installed on one side with that side down so that other components can be installed on the opposite side. An assembly of three perforated plates has deformable, typically rubber-like, pins projecting through the perforations. Springs below the assembly bias the pins to a position extending above the plate. When a PCB is laid on the pins with mounted electronic components downward, the components with pres the pins down distances corresponding to component thickness. The pins provide uniform support while working on the opposite side. The center perforated plate of the three is moved to the side, clamping the pins in position, so that the PCB can be removed and replaced with another identical PCB. Different devices for causing the plate clamping action and devices for indexing PCB position and for maintaining the PCB flat and level are also provided.

Substrate support system

A method and apparatus for aligning an electronic component with a base member where a pattern of contacts on the component are to be bonded to an identical pattern of contacts on the base member. Templates having indentations along one edge shaped to align with the contact pattern on the component and base member can be positioned in alignment with the base member contact pattern along two sides of the pattern and releasably secured in place, such as by tape. The component is placed over the base member with its contacts aligned with the template. This assures precise alignment of the two contact patterns. The assembly can be heated to the melting point of the solder and cooled to bond all of the contacts together. The templates are removed for reuse. With ball grid array components, the template indentations are preferably partially-circular to align with the edge row of round solder contact pads. With linear arrays of short elongated solder pads, preferably the template has plural spaced fingers configured to fit between the solder pads.

Alignment method and apparatus for mounting electronic components

A vertically looped ribbon cable having upper and lower lengths connected to one another by a 180.degree. bend for carrying power and control signals is attached at one end to a controller and at its other end to a plotter's tool head. The tool head is mounted to, and can move along the length of a tool head support. A cable support device is provided and includes a trough having an interior channel containing the ribbon cable and mounted to the plotter's frame. A vertically looped cable support strip is also positioned in the trough and has an upper support strip length positioned above and connected by a 180.degree. bend in the support strip to a lower support strip length. During movement of the tool head along the length of the support, one of the upper or lower support strip lengths will increase while the other decreases. The ribbon cable is positioned relative to the support strip so that the upper length of the cable overlies and is vertically supported by the upper support strip length.

Cable support device

Improved marine VHF radio antennas systems are provided that can be installed on sailboats to position a whip antenna or other radiation unit aloft from the boat deck, even while underway. The antenna system includes an elongated flexible plastic extrusion that internally carries the coaxial cable for the radiation unit and has a longitudinal channel accessed through a side slit. The radiation unit when slideably installed on the boat's backstay is then carried aloft on the backstay as the extrusion is threaded on it via the side slit until the extrusion channel is completely filled by the backstay. The system is completed by electrical connection of the lower end of the coaxial cable to a hand held, battery operated transceiver or other electronic device.

Marine VHF antenna system and method

An electro-mechanical detection system for measuring the point of impact of a missile such as a sports projectile on a target and for measuring the velocity and force of impact. The detection system is contained in a large plastic envelope, on which a target is displayed and in one embodiment, the detector is a wire or plastic grid that is instrumented to measure changes in stress in the individual grid elements that occur when the missile impacts the target. In another form of this invention, the detector is embedded in an elastomeric mat contained within the plastic envelope with electrical conductors within the mat subject to movement in a magnetic field when the mat compresses in response to the impact of a missile on the target. In either form of the invention, suitable electronic circuitry is used to convert the signals generated at impact to a display.

Electrical device for detecting the location and speed or force of

A method and associated apparatus for use in an automated sign generator to produce enhanced special effect graphics and single layer multi-color signs on a vinyl sheet material uses a paint pen carried by the tool head of the generator which in coordinated movement with the vinyl sheet traces the shape of the sign. In one embodiment, the sheet material is cut along a line falling within the painted stripe defining the graphic. The cut graphic having the desired visual special effect is removed from the sheet material along the cut line. The apparatus further includes a guide wheel assembly located between a material deflector and a feed roller for riding along the marginal portions of the sheet material causing it to move along a broken plane path to prevent buckling as it moves relative to the tool head and to prevent smudging of the painted graphic. A cam clip assembly is located behind the feed roller and intermediate the feed roller and a cam shaft and rides along the marginal portions of the sheet material to cause the material to move along a broken plane path to prevent its buckling and avoid smearing of a painted graphic on the surface. A paint pen which is interchangeable with a cutting tool is carried by the tool head and includes a number of interchangeable paint nibs.

Method and associated apparatus for use with an automated sign generator

A sheet material support system includes a floating box having upwardly extending leading edges defining a plane extending parallel to said base in which sheet material is caused to conform to by applying downward pressure to it and causing the sheet material to become tautly drawn over the box upper edges. The system includes a locating block and clamps which allow frames to be located uniformly along X and Y coordinate axes so that successive frames can be loaded in uniform registration in the system.

Growing community of inventors

South Glastonbury, CT, United States of America

Thomas A Gordon