Sci Systems, Inc.

Walter J Conroy

Alfred H Glover

Joseph T Betterton

Robert M DuRoss

Darwin E Phillips

William Katona

Electrical circuit components such as integrated circuit chips with plural closely-spaced mounting feet/terminals are mounted on surface-mount connection pads on a printed circuit board very simply and easily by mechanical means. An alignment pattern member having very precisely located holes matching the array of pads on the printed circuit board is used. The feet of the component first are fitted into the holes in the pattern to orient and locate them accurately, then the pattern and the component are separated from one another, and the component is placed with the feet on the pads. Preferably, the component is picked up with a vacuum pick-up device to remove it from the pattern, an is lowered onto the pads of the circuit board by the same mechanism. In an alternate embodiment, the printed circuit board and the pattern are secured to a sliding table which removes the pattern from beneath the vacuum pick-up device and moves a printed circuit board into position underneath the vacuum pick-up devices, which then lower the components onto the pads. Advantageously, the pattern member is made with a stencil used to apply solder paste to the pads.

Component location device and method for surface-mount printed circuit

The computer terminal controller makes it possible to operate a relatively large number of input-output terminals with a single mainframe computer. The controller has a basic configuration enabling it to control up to sixteen terminals. However, the user easily can increase its capacity by adding one or more expansion modules, each module consisting of a cable connector panel and a printed circuit card. Precise locating pins and support structure and hand-operable fasteners are used to mount the panel so that no tools or special skills are needed. Each circuit card preferably contains sufficient circuitry to handle a specific number of additional input/output terminals, and the panel has the same number of cable connectors. The card and the panel are connected to one another by simply plugging them together. The card is guided accurately into engagement with the panel by card guides. A comb-like cable holder structure is provided with flexible arms forming cable enclosures for holding and guiding the cables neatly and compactly within and into and out of the housing of the controller.

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Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Walter J Conroy