Metal fusion bonding – Solder form
Patent
1990-11-08
1992-02-11
Heinrich, Samuel M.
Metal fusion bonding
Solder form
228246, H01R 472, B23K 300
Patent
active
050869671
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to devices for forming solder connections for example electrical connections between electrical conductors or mechanical connections between pipes and other equipment. In particular the invention relates to such devices that are dimensionally heat-recoverable.
Heat-recoverable articles are articles the dimensional configuration of which may be made substantially to change when subjected to heat treatment.
Usually these articles recover, on heating, towards an original shape from which they have previously been deformed but the term "heat-recoverable", as used herein, also includes an article which, on heating, adopts a new configuration, even if it has not been previously deformed.
In their most common form, such articles comprise a heat-shrinkable sleeve made from a polymeric material exhibiting the property of elastic or plastic memory as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,027,962; 3,086,242 and 3,597,372. As is made clear in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,027,962, the original dimensionally heat-stable form may be a transient form in a continuous process in which, for example, an extruded tube is expanded, while hot, to a dimensionally heat-unstable form but, in other applications, a preformed dimensionally heat-stable article is deformed to a dimensionally heat-unstable form in a separate stage.
In the production of heat-recoverable articles, the polymeric material may be cross-linked at any stage in the production of the article that will enhance the desired dimensional recoverability. One manner of producing a heat-recoverable article comprises shaping the polymeric material into the desired heat-stable form, subsequently cross-linking the polymeric material, heating the article to a temperature above the crystalline melting point or, for amorphous materials the softening point, as the case may be, of the polymer, deforming the article and cooling the article while in the deformed state so that the deformed state of the article is retained. In use, since the deformed state of the article is heat-unstable, application of heat will cause the article to assume its original heat-stable shape.
In other articles, as described, for example, in British Patent 1,440,524, an elastomeric member such as an outer tubular member is held in a stretched state by a second member, such as an inner tubular member, which, upon heating weakens and thus allows the elastomeric member to recover.
Heat-recoverable articles have become widely used for forming solder connections between electrical conductors in view of the ease of forming the connection and the quality of the connection so formed. For such applications the article, usually in the form of a sleeve, contains a quantity of solder for forming the electrical connection and a pair of fusible inserts for sealing the connection. These articles are described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,243,211, 4,282,396 and 4,283,596, and British Patent No. 1,470,049 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, and are sold by Raychem Corporation, Menlo Park, Calif. under the trade mark "SOLDER SLEEVE" amongst others.
Although such devices are satisfactory for many applications, in certain instances the quality of the connection formed may depend signifcantly on the skill of the installer, and, in particular, the devices may be sensitive to underheating or overheating or both. This may result in unreliable connections, or damage to the sleeve of the device or the insulation surrounding the conductors to be connected. In other fields of application, for example when mechanical joints are being formed, the existing devices may be unsuitable in view of poor or unreliable substrate penetration of the solder.
These problems have been overcome by means of the device described in our European patent application No. 172,072 which uses solder inserts formed from different solder materials. However such devices have proved difficult to manufacture because of the additional solder inserts required which must be installed in the correct order a
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Raychem Specification Control Drawing TSN 75 TA 07/29, 06, Sep. 1982.
Delalle Jacques
Lamothe Michele
Ouaniche Mahrez
Passa Frederic
Roucaute Philippe
Berkard Herbert G.
Heinrich Samuel M.
Rice Edith A.
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