Abstract A bus bar of laminar construction useful for power distribution systems and the like is disclosed which features an improved contact pin arrangement for providing input, output, and ground connections to the bus bar, together with an improved method of fabricating the bus bar and installing the contact pins or posts. The bus bar comprises a plurality of metallic conductors in sheet form separated by insulator films in a laminated structure, alternate conductor sheets serving as ground planes with the power signal conductors interleaved between the ground conductors. The conductor sheet - insulator film sandwich is clamped between cover members of phenolic or glass epoxy and the whole is encapsulated in a semi-rigid epoxy which extends between and under the conductor sheets at one end thereof. Finally, a series of holes is drilled through the laminated structure thus formed and particularly through the conductor sheets and semirigid epoxy and metallic pins or posts are inserted under force into these holes to effect a mechanical and electrical connection of high quality with the separate signal conductors and ground conductors for external access to the elements of the bus bar. The post or pin is larger in cross-sectional area than the hole and at least one cross-sectional dimension of the pin through the center of the cross-section is larger than the diameter of the hole. A bead of an epoxy adhesive is placed over the hole prior to pin insertion. Insertion of the pin then carries only so much epoxy therewith as will go into the hole to provide additional adhesion of pin to bus bar as well as hermetic seal.
A METHOD OF MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTION TO A LAMINATED BUS BAR ASSEMBLY ALTERNATE LAYERS OF RIGID INSULATOR MATERIAL AND ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE DIMENSIONS IN THE ASSEMBLY FORMING AN APERTURE OF UNIFORM DIMENSIONS IN THE ASSEMBLY TO A PREDETERMNED DEPTH NORMAL TO THE LAMINA AND EXTENDING THROUGH PREDETERMINED ADJACENT ONES OF SAID LAMINA, DRIVING INTO THE APERTURE OF THE ASSEMBLY A CONDUCTIVE POST HAVING ANGULARLY RELATED WALLS BITTING INTO THE APETURE WALL INCLUDING THAT OF THE CONDUCTOR AND DISTORTING THE MATERIAL OF THE CONDUCTOR LAYER IN ITS OWNPLANE WHILE THE REMAINER OF THE POST WALLS ARE WITHIN THE APERTURE AND SPACED FROM THE WALL THEREOF, PRIOR TO THE STEP OF DRIVING SAID POST INTO THE APERTURE OF THE ASSEMBLY PLACING GLOBULE OFUNCURED EPOXY ON ONE OF THE POST AND ENTRANCE TO THE APERTURE OF THE ASSEMBLY TO FILL THE SPACE BETWEEN THE POST AND APERTURE WALLS, AND ALLOWING SAID EPOXY TO CURE SUBSEQUENT TO DRIVING THE POST INTO THE APERTURE.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
158 words
A METHOD OF MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTION TO A LAMINATED BUS BAR ASSEMBLY ALTERNATE LAYERS OF RIGID INSULATOR MATERIAL AND ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE DIMENSIONS IN THE ASSEMBLY FORMING AN APERTURE OF UNIFORM DIMENSIONS IN THE ASSEMBLY TO A PREDETERMNED DEPTH NORMAL TO THE LAMINA AND EXTENDING THROUGH PREDETERMINED ADJACENT ONES OF SAID LAMINA, DRIVING INTO THE APERTURE OF THE ASSEMBLY A CONDUCTIVE POST HAVING ANGULARLY RELATED WALLS BITTING INTO THE APETURE WALL INCLUDING THAT OF THE CONDUCTOR AND DISTORTING THE MATERIAL OF THE CONDUCTOR LAYER IN ITS OWNPLANE WHILE THE REMAINER OF THE POST WALLS ARE WITHIN THE APERTURE AND SPACED FROM THE WALL THEREOF, PRIOR TO THE STEP OF DRIVING SAID POST INTO THE APERTURE OF THE ASSEMBLY PLACING GLOBULE OFUNCURED EPOXY ON ONE OF THE POST AND ENTRANCE TO THE APERTURE OF THE ASSEMBLY TO FILL THE SPACE BETWEEN THE POST AND APERTURE WALLS, AND ALLOWING SAID EPOXY TO CURE SUBSEQUENT TO DRIVING THE POST INTO THE APERTURE.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of forming an aperture comprises forming an aperture having a circular cross-section and said step of driving the post comprises driving a post which has a rectangular cross-section.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the step of driving the post comprises driving a rectangular post having a diagonal which is longer than the diameter of said aperture.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the step of forming an aperture comprises forming an aperture which has a circular cross-section and the step of driving the post comprises driving a post which has a triangular cross-section.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of placing a globule of uncured epoxy on one of the post and entrance comprises placing the uncured epoxy at the entrance to the assembly aperture before driving the post.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of placing a globule of uncured epoxy on one of the post and entrance comprises placing the uncured epoxy on the post prior to driving it into the assembly aperture.