Texas Instruments Corporation

William J LaPlante

Henry J Boulanger

Salvatore P Rizzo

Andrew C McGuirk

A thermostat device comprises a thermostat unit having a surface which faces in a first direction and which is preferably disposed in thermally-coupled heat-transfer relation to an object whose temperature is to be monitored so that the thermostat unit is promptly responsive to an object temperature, the unit also having other surfaces which face in an opposite direction. A metal mounting bracket plate has a base portion, has a stud secured to the base portion to extend in one direction from the base for securing the plate to the object to be monitored in thermally-coupled heat-transfer relation to the object, and has integral spring portions upstanding from respective opposite ends of the base portion of the plate. The spring portions have openings fitted over respective portions of the thermostat unit so that parts of the spring portions around the margins of the openings engage said other unit surfaces for detachably attaching the bracket plate to the unit and for resiliently biasing the first unit surface against the base portion of the bracket plate to be thermally-coupled in heat-transfer relation to the object to be monitored.

Thermostat device having improved mounting means

A circuit board edge member includes an elongated body of electrically insulative material having front, back and inner wall member and a plurality of pairs of contact elements seated with one of each pair between the front and inner walls and the other of each pair between the back and inner walls. A tongue is integrally attached to the inner wall and extends from the body in line with a circuit board receivable at a circuit board seat formed in the body. The contact elements are formed with a gold inlay solid phase bonded to a portion of the contact element which is received on opposite faces of the tongue. The tongue has a reverse taper and may be slotted to provide polarization. Mounting ears may be provided on opposite ends of the base to facilitate attachment of the edge member to a circuit board using conventional screw fasteners or snap in devices. The edge member is assembled by inserting contacts while still attached to a carrier web in two opposite directions, severing the contacts from the carrier web and bending their pin ends to form two rows of contact pins receivable in two rows of holes in the circuit board. A flexible, U-shaped mask is placed over the tongue to prevent contamination during wave soldering.

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Rehoboth, MA, United States of America

William J LaPlante