Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-01
2001-05-01
Gaffin, Jeffrey (Department: 2841)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement
C174S262000, C439S084000, C361S792000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06225572
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the connection of a point on an electronics card to a metal substrate which carries the said card.
At present, there are essentially three known techniques for making such a connection.
One of them consists of making a soldered joint using a solder paste deposited on that face of the card which is intended to be opposite the metal substrate, the latter having previously been treated with a finish which can be soldered (nickel, for example).
However, particularly because of the finishing treatment, this technique is expensive.
Another technique consists of using a rivet which passes through both the card and the metal substrate.
This technique is not satisfactory either. In particular, it does not allow an impervious connection and requires an additional step for forming a seal, which is formed by depositing an adhesive and polymerising, for example. Furthermore, carrying out this riveting requires two machining operations: one for piercing and the other for recessing the riveting hole.
Consequently, the number of additional operations required by the riveting technique makes this technique impracticable.
Finally, another technique consists in driving a metal pin into the substrate, this pin passing through the electronics card, the substrate having previously been machined to the dimensions of the said pin.
However, this technique also has drawbacks. In particular, it is not an easy matter to manipulate the pin, and the dimensions of the latter can be altered during manipulation. In addition, this technique requires a hole to be pierced with high precision, this hole not opening out in the substrate. Consequently, this technique is not simple to implement.
The connection techniques using metal pins or rivets also have other disadvantages common to them.
They require the electronics card to be placed under stress around the rivet or pin, which mechanically weakens the said card.
Moreover, the electrical contact—which is provided solely by the mechanical pressure itself—is not thereby very reliable.
Equally, the additional thicknesses of the rivet or of the pin on the electronics card prove to be inconvenient for the operations of mounting the SMD components.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One aim of the invention is to propose a technique allowing an impervious electrical connection to be made between a point on an electronics card and the metal substrate which carries it, and which does not exhibit these various drawbacks.
To that end, the invention proposes an assembly comprising a printed-circuit electronics card mounted on a metal substrate, as well as means which connect the said card electrically to the said substrate, characterised in that the said means comprise a capsule which is crimped into a cavity of the metal substrate and which extends through a hole in the electronics card, the edges of the said hole being metallised, the said capsule being soldered to the metallised area of the said edges.
It also proposes a method for producing an assembly including a printed-circuit electronics card mounted on a metal substrate, as well as means which connect the said card electrically to the said substrate, characterised by the various steps below:
forming a cavity on the substrate by stamping;
fitting a capsule into the said cavity;
crimping the capsule, by stamping;
fitting the printed circuit to the substrate, by positioning over the capsule a hole formed in the printed circuit and the edges of which are metallised,
depositing solder paste by screen printing, on the one hand at the various points on the printed circuit card where surface components have to be soldered and, on the other hand, at the hole and the capsule;
positioning the various components on the printed-circuit card;
brazing in order to solder, on the one hand, the surface components to the printed circuit and, on the other hand, the capsule to the metallised area of the edges of the hole in the printed-circuit card.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2958926 (1960-11-01), Morison
patent: 3537176 (1970-11-01), Healy et al.
patent: 4649461 (1987-03-01), Matsuta
patent: 5416278 (1995-05-01), Ostrem et al.
Duarte Marc
Nicolaï Jean Marc
Cuneo Kamand
Gaffin Jeffrey
Morgan & Finnegan , LLP
Valeo Vision
LandOfFree
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