Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Retaining means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-20
2001-12-11
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Retaining means
C439S630000, C439S079000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328590
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A typical circuit board includes layers of non-conductive material (e.g., fiberglass) and conductive material (e.g., metallic etching, metallic power supply planes, etc.). In general, circuit board components such as integrated circuits (ICs), resistors, capacitors and connectors fasten to mounting locations on the circuit board, and electrically communicate through the conductive material.
Circuit board manufacturers typically attach circuit board components to circuit boards using either a soldering approach or a press-fit approach. In the soldering approach, a circuit board manufacturer hard-mounts or solders electrical contacts (e.g., pins, pads, etc.) of a circuit board component to corresponding electrical contacts (e.g., plated-through holes or vias, pads, etc.) on a circuit board. There are a number of soldering technologies available to circuit board manufacturers including wave soldering, ball-grid array (BGA) mounting, etc.
In the press-fit approach, the circuit board manufacturer inserts pins of a circuit board component (e.g., an IC) into vias of a circuit board such that the pins and the vias form a compression fit. The press-fit component can then be removed and/or replaced. It is common for a circuit board manufacturer to manufacture circuit boards having both soldered and press-fit components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Unfortunately, there are deficiencies in both the conventional soldering and press-fit approaches to attaching circuit board components to circuit boards. For example, in the soldering approach, a technician responding to a field service call at a customer site may determine that replacement of a soldered circuit board component is warranted (e.g., a defective IC, a required configuration change, etc.). Since the component is soldered to the circuit board, the technician must replace the entire circuit board. If the technician does not have another circuit board readily available, the technician typically must place an order for a new circuit board and make another service visit to the customer site when the new circuit board becomes available. In either situation (requiring technician to stock new circuit boards, or requiring technicians to place orders and make return visits), the task of servicing the customer can be substantially expensive.
Once the technician has replaced an original circuit board with a new circuit board, the technician typically returns the original circuit board to the manufacturer. If the original circuit board still operates properly, the circuit board may be reused elsewhere. However, if the original circuit board operates improperly due to a defective soldered circuit board component, the original circuit board must then be reworked, salvaged or scrapped.
In the press-fit approach, the technician can simply replace a press-fit circuit board component at the customer site (e.g., in order to change a configuration, replace a defective IC, etc.) if a new component is readily available. However, customers can remove and/or replace press-fit circuit board components as well. Accordingly, a circuit board manufacturer under contract to support or service a circuit board at a particular customer site may encounter service calls resulting from customers attempting to replace press-fit circuit board components themselves (e.g., to upgrade or change a circuit board configuration). Such customer tampering often results in damage to the circuit board or formation of an improper configuration of the circuit board under contract.
In an attempt to prevent customer tampering of circuit boards, a manufacturer can solder all circuit board components to the circuit boards when making the circuit board. However, by doing so, the manufacturer loses the ability to replace press-fit circuit board components at the customer site. Furthermore, if the circuit board is capable of receiving a variety of different components at a particular mounting location (e.g., a variety of interface ICs), the manufacturer using the soldering approach will be inclined to avoid manufacturing such circuit boards (i.e., soldering components) until it has received a formal customer order for fear of manufacturing too many circuit boards with unpopular component choices, thus promoting manufacturing delays and prohibiting the manufacturer from manufacturing in larger quantities for better economies of scale.
In contrast to the above-described conventional approaches to attaching circuit board components to circuit boards, the invention is directed to techniques for controlling attachment of an electronic module (e.g., an IC) with a circuit board using a latching mechanism that requires a tool to de-latch the electronic module. As such, circuit board manufacturers can remove electronic modules from circuit board assemblies at customer sites, while preventing customers from removing the electronic modules themselves. Such selective use of the latching mechanism may provide the manufacturer with flexibility in enforcing non-tampering policies.
One arrangement of the invention is directed to a technique for controlling attachment of an electronic module with a circuit board connector mounted on a circuit board. The electronic module has (i) a module housing, (ii) a module connector and (iii) an electronic circuit which is housed within the module housing and which is electrically coupled to the module connector. The technique involves positioning the module connector of the electronic module to face the circuit board connector, and moving the module connector toward the circuit board connector such that the module connector electrically connects to the circuit board connector. The technique further involves latching the module housing of the electronic module and the circuit board connector together using a latch mechanism having a concealed actuator that requires indirect access using a tool to de-latch the module housing from the circuit board connector. Such a requirement deters those without the tool (e.g., customers) from de-latching the module from the circuit board assembly, i.e., from removing the module and/or reconfiguring the circuit board assembly.
In one arrangement, the circuit board defines a hole, and de-latching the module housing from the circuit board connector involves inserting the tool through the hole defined by the circuit board to actuate (e.g., to depress) the concealed actuator. In this arrangement, items that cannot insert through the circuit board hole (e.g., items that are too big to fit through the hole) cannot actuate the concealed actuator thus deterring customers without the tool from tampering with the circuit board.
In one arrangement, latching the module housing and the circuit board connector together involves applying, as the latch mechanism, a clip assembly around at least a portion of the module housing and at least a portion of the circuit board connector to latch the module housing and the circuit board connector together. This use of the clip assembly enables selective or discretionary latching. Accordingly, a circuit board having a module housing connected to a circuit board connector without the clip assembly enables removal of the module housing from the circuit board connector without the use of the tool (e.g., removal by a customer). However, a circuit board having the module housing latched to the circuit board connector using the clip assembly requires the tool for removal of the module housing from the circuit board connector.
In one arrangement, the clip assembly includes a clip, as the concealed actuator, and a clip housing which covers a portion of the clip and which defines a hole. In this arrangement, de-latching the module housing from the circuit board connector involves inserting the tool through the hole defined by the clip housing to actuate the clip. Accordingly, items that cannot insert through the circuit board hole cannot actuate the concealed actuator thus deterring customers without the tool from tampering with the circuit board.
In one arrangement, the electronic circuit o
Chapin & Huang , L.L.C.
EMC Corporation
Huang David E.
Leon Edwin A.
Paumen Gary
LandOfFree
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