Collapsible electrical leads for engaging a substrate

Details Collapsible electrical leads for engaging a substrate Collapsible electrical leads for engaging a substrate

1999-12-10

2001-12-04

Bradley, Paula (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

Metallic connector or contact having part permanently...

Adapted to be secured to conductor formed on printed circuit...

C439S083000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06325682

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to the field of electrical leads and connectors for engaging, and establishing electrical communication with, circuit bearing boards, chips, chip carriers or other substrates. More specifically, the present invention relates to a collapsible lead designed to capture or clamp onto the substrate and firmly hold the substrate in place, while also establishing electrical communication with the substrate.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Conventional circuit connectors for engaging a substrate are well known in the art. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,892, issued Feb. 28, 1984 to the assignee of the present application, discloses a lead having a clip for mounting a subsidiary substrate vertically on a base substrate, the lead having a terminal portion adapted to be retained and soldered in a hole in the base substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,865 issued Oct. 6, 1987 to the present assignee also discloses a clip lead for mounting a subsidiary substrate on a base substrate, in a within-the-hole manner, but parallel to the base substrate. A similar arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,617 granted Jun. 3, 1986 to the present assignee. The contents of these patents are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Another form of electrical lead is designed to allow the substrate to be inserted into it (an insertion-type lead). One example of such a lead is shown in FIG.
1
. The lead is formed having an inclined plane lead-in to facilitate insertion of the substrate into the lead. To accommodate the lead-in, the lead must have a relatively large throat depth T (i.e., the depth of the lead opening). For the substrate to be properly engaged to the lead, it must be inserted a significant distance into the lead.
However, as electrical components become smaller and smaller, the space between components becomes smaller and smaller. Many substrates are formed with caps or components mounted on top of them, with the distance between the substrate edge and the cap edge being very small, typically on the order of a few mils. Thus, the available portion of the substrate (i.e., the distance between the substrate edge and the edge of the cap) is often not deep enough to allow a lead-in type lead to properly engage the substrate. The lead abuts against the edge of the cap before it can securely engage the substrate.
Accordingly, it will be apparent that there continues to be a need for an electrical lead which is of the insertion type to receive a portion of a substrate body to engage and securely hold the substrate to establish electrical communication with the substrate. In addition, a need exists for an electrical lead of the insertion type that has a small throat depth to accommodate substrates having small uncovered perimeter regions. The present invention addresses these needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an insertion-type electrical lead which is designed to engage substrates having very little available area for connection to the lead.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical lead which is collapsible or capable of bending to engage or clamp onto a substrate, such that the lead may be formed with a relatively small throat depth and still securely engage the substrate.
In one illustrative embodiment, the electrical lead according to the present invention includes a substrate-receiving clip which has a collapsible (or compressible) rear plate and a plurality of outwardly projecting, spaced apart prongs which define a gap (or intermediate space) between them, the gap being slightly larger than the thickness of the substrate to be engaged. Thus, the substrate may be inserted into the clip so that the prongs are disposed on either side of the substrate. The clip is then forcibly compressed (in a controlled manner) so that the prongs engage and tightly grip the substrate from opposite sides. In this manner, the throat depth of the lead can be made relatively small and will still engage a substrate, even one having a small uncovered perimeter region.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5310367 (1994-05-01), Seidler
patent: 5334059 (1994-08-01), Seidler
patent: 5569056 (1996-10-01), Raimond

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