Electrical connectors – Metallic connector or contact having movable or resilient... – Spring actuated or resilient securing part
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-08
2001-08-14
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Metallic connector or contact having movable or resilient...
Spring actuated or resilient securing part
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273766
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic device, including a collet assembly having an improved mechanical connection mechanism for receiving electrical conductor wires.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The manufacture of electronic devices such as electronic filters, involves mass production assembly of a number of separate components. An example of such an electronic filter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,494, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. The '494 filter housing
1
shown in
FIG. 1
includes a female connector bore
2
, a pre-assembled collet assembly
3
positioned within the bore and having collet contact
4
extending from the collet assembly. The collet contact is secured to a circuit board
5
having discrete electronic components
6
A-
6
D. A conductor wire
7
is secured to the circuit board and extends from the circuit board through a male connector end
8
of the housing.
The filter is assembled using a multi-step process, comprising both efficient and inefficient assembly techniques. The discrete electronic components
6
A-
6
D and the conductor wire
7
are wave soldered to the circuit board
5
contemporaneously in their respective positions. This portion of the manufacturing process is highly efficient, as it is fully automated.
In order to complete the circuit board assembly of
FIG. 1
, the collet contact
4
, which is an integral part of the collet assembly, must also be soldered to the circuit board. The collet assembly
3
is a prefabricated unit from which the integrated collet contact
4
extends. Securing the collet contact
4
to the circuit board
5
requires a separate, hand-soldering step, because the heat generated during wave soldering would melt the plastic components of the collet assembly. This step is both inefficient and costly.
Although the overall structure of the filter in
FIG. 1
is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble, the requisite hand-soldering step to secure the collet contact to the circuit board creates an additional, inefficient manual step. The need for such an extra, manual manufacturing step limits the speed and efficiency of the process technique, and increases the costs associated with the manufacture of electronic devices of this nature.
It would be desirable to provide an electronic device with a collet assembly to be mated with a circuit board which does not necessitate the extra, inefficient manual step required in the conventional manufacturing technique described above. It would also be desirable to increase production speed and efficiency, and decrease overall production costs by achieving more efficient automated assembly of the circuit board.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art, particularly to provide an electronic device having a collet assembly that can be secured to a circuit board without a separate, manual soldering step during assembly of the electronic device.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device of the type including a threaded female connector adapted to mate with a cable connector is provided that includes a housing and a female connector bore extending from the housing. The filter also includes a circuit board which is positioned within the housing and has a first presoldered conductor wire extending therefrom toward the female connector bore.
The device of this preferred embodiment further includes a collet assembly which is positioned within the female connector bore and includes a generally cylindrical insulating body extending along a longitudinal direction from a first end thereof to an opposed second end thereof. The collet assembly also includes a collet contact which passes through the insulating body, and has a first end proximate to the first end of the insulating body and a second end proximate to the second end of the insulating body. The collet assembly further includes a first gripping member for gripping an external conductor wire introduced into the female connector bore, and a second gripping member for gripping a first presoldered conductor wire extending from the first end of the circuit board.
Since the second female socket receives the first presoldered conductor wire that extends from the circuit board, the first presoldered conductor wire can be wave soldered onto the circuit board along with the discrete electronic components and the second conductor wire in an automated manufacturing step. The first presoldered conductor wire can then be mechanically inserted into the second female socket of the collet contact. This eliminates the need for a separate hand-soldering step in the assembly of the electronic device.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first gripping member of the collet assembly is defined by a first female socket secured within the first end of the collet contact. More preferably, the first female socket comprises a band member having contact fingers extending therefrom in a longitudinal direction of the collet contact. The second gripping member is also preferably a second female socket secured within the second end of the collet contact. More preferably, the second female socket comprises a band member having contact fingers extending therefrom in a longitudinal direction of the collet contact.
As an alternative, one or both gripping members could be formed integrally with he collet contact in the form of an axially split and radially compressed bore.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the insulating body of the collet assembly includes a front insulator having inner and outer surfaces, and a rear insulator having inner and outer surfaces. More preferably, the rear insulator of the collet assembly further includes a first section having a first diameter, and a second section having a second diameter, wherein a portion of the first section of the rear insulator extends within the front insulator.
It is also preferred that the front insulator of the collet assembly has a cylindrical sidewall having inner and outer surfaces and an end wall substantially enclosing one end of the front insulator, wherein the portion of the first section of the rear insulator is surrounded by the sidewall of the front insulator. More preferably, the front insulator further includes a plurality of longitudinally extending ridges on the inner surface of the sidewall providing contact with the first section of the rear insulator.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4669805 (1987-06-01), Kosugi et al.
patent: 5484306 (1996-01-01), Mawby et al.
patent: 5601457 (1997-02-01), Le Gall
patent: 5662494 (1997-09-01), Zennamo, Jr. et al.
Maguire Joseph N.
Zennamo, Jr. Joseph A.
Burr & Brown
Dinh Phuong K T
Eagle Comtronics, Inc.
Sircus Brian
LandOfFree
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