Electrical interconnection boards with lead sockets mounted therein and method for making same

Claim 2

An electrical interconnection device comprising: a flat generally rectangular sheet of electrically insulative compliant material; electrically conductive material secured in discrete areas on at least one side of said sheet, said sheet having a multiplicity of holes therethrough, at least some of said holes normally intercepting at least some of said areas of electrically conductive material; electrically conductive plating material on the inside surfaces of at least some of said holes thereby forming plated-through holes, said plating material being electrically interconnected with said respective intercepted discrete areas of electrically conductive material; a lead socket formed with a substantially non-compliant cylindrical body portion having a circumferential groove therein intermediate the ends of said body portion, an axial opening through said lead socket, a plurality of flexible fingers normally converging toward one another at one end of said body portion and a tapered entry opening at the other end, one of said lead sockets being mounted in each of at least some of said plated-through holes, said body portion having an external diameter larger than the internal diameter of said plated-through holes thereby forming an interference fit therewith, some of said plating material in said plated-through holes, which material is relatively compliant with respect to said body portion, being radially displacd by said body portion upon insertion thereof and partially filling said circumferential groove when said lead socket is fully seated with said groove positioned within said hole; whereby said tapered entry is adapted to receive an electronic component lead, said fingers are adapted to frictionally engage said lead as it projects through said lead socket, and air flow is permitted through said lead socket.

Claim 3

The device recited in claim 1 wherein the top of said lead socket surrounding said tapered entry is in the same plane as said electrically conductive material on said sheet.

Claim 4

The device recited in claim 1 wherein the top of said lead socket surrounding said tapered opening is below the surface of said electrically conductive material on said sheet.

Claim 5

The device recited in claim 1 wherein said body portion comprises substantially one-third of the length of said lead socket and said flexible fingers comprise the remaining two-thirds, the mass distribution thus resulting thereby facilitating automatic insertion of said lead sockets into said plated-through holes.

Claim 6

The device recited in claim 1 wherein said lead socket is further formed with a conical transitional surface between said flexible fingers and said cylindrical body portion, said surface facilitating the radial displacement of said plating material.

Claim 7

The device recited in claim 5 wherein said conical surface provides a relief area for longitudinally displaced plating material to gather free of said flexible fingers.

Claim 8

The device recited in claim 1 wherein the outside cylindrical surface of said body portion of said lead socket is formed with a plurality of longitudinal radially projecting splines, said circumferential groove passing through said splines and having a depth substantially equal to the radial thickness of said splines.

Claim 9

The device recited in claim 1 wherein the top of said lead socket surrounding said tapered entry is flared outwardly thereby displacing some of said plating material when said lead socket is inserted into one of said holes.

Claim 10

The device recited in claim 1 wherein said cylinder with said circumferential groove forms two cylindrical collars on the body portion of said lead socket.

Claim 11

The device recited in claim 1 wherein the top of said lead socket surrounding said tapered entry is above the surface of said electrically conductive material on said sheet.

Claim 12

The device recited in claim 1 wherein said cylindrical body portion is approximately one-third of the length of said lead socket.

Claim 15

The method recited in claim 12 wherein said inserting step proceeds until the top of said lead socket surrounding said tapered entry is substantially coplanar with the surface of said electrically conductive material secured to said sheet.

Claim 16

The method recited in claim 12 wherein said inserting step proceeds until the top of said lead socket surrounding said tapered entry is below the surface of said sheet.

Claim 17

An electrical interconnection device comprising: a flat generally rectangular sheet of electrical insulative compliant material; electrically conductive material secured in discrete areas on at least one side of said sheet, said sheet having a multiplicity of holes therethrough, at least some of said holes normally intercepting at least some of said areas of electrically conductive material; electrically conductive plating material on the inside surfaces of at least some of said holes thereby forming plated-through holes, said plating material being electrically interconnected with said respective intercepted discrete areas of electrically conductive material; a lead socket formed with a substantially non-compliant cylindrical body portion having a circumferential groove therein intermediate the ends of said body portion, an axial opening through said lead socket, a plurality of flexible fingers normally converging toward one another at one end of said body portion and a tapered entry opening at the other end, one of said lead sockets being mounted with said circumferential groove of said body portion within each of at least some of said plated-through holes, said body portion having an external diameter larger than the internal diameter of said plated-through holes thereby forming an interference fit therewith, some of said plating material in said plated-through holes, which material, together with the material of said sheet in contact with said plating material, is relatively compliant with respect to said body portion, being radially displaced by said transition surface upon insertion thereof and, due to said compliance, partially filling said circumferential groove when said lead socket is fully seated with said groove positioned within said hole; whereby said tapered entry is adapted to receive an electronic component lead, said fingers are adapted to frictionally engage said lead as it projects through said lead socket, and air flow is permitted through said lead socket.

Claim 18

An electrical interconnection device comprising: a flat generally rectangular sheet of electrical insulative compliant material; electrically conductive material secured in discrete areas on at least one side of said sheet, said sheet having a multiplicity of holes therethrough, at least some of said holes normally intercepting at least some of said areas of electrically conductive material; electrically conductive plating material on the inside surfaces of at least some of said holes thereby forming plated-through holes, said plating material being electrically interconnected with said respective intercepted discrete areas of electrically conductive material; a lead socket formed with a substantially non-compliant cylindrical body portion having a circumferential groove therein intermediate the ends of said body portion, an axial opening through said lead socket, a plurality of flexible fingers normally converging toward one another at one end of said body portion and a tapered entry opening at the other end, one of said lead sockets being mounted with said circumferential groove of said body portion within each of at least some of said plated-through holes, said body portion having an external diameter larger than the internal diameter of said plated-through holes thereby forming an interference fit therewith, some of said plating material in said plated-through holes, which material, together with the material of said sheet in contact with said plating material, is relatively compliant with respect to said body portion, being radially displaced by said transition surface upon insertion thereof and, due to said compliance, partially filling said circumferential groove when said lead socket is fully seated with said groove positioned within said hole; whereby said tapered entry is adapted to receive an electronic component lead, said fingers are adapted to frictionally engage said lead as it projects through said lead socket, and air flow is permitted through said lead socket.

Claim 19

An electrical interconnection device comprising: a flat generally rectangular sheet of electrically insulative compliant material; electrically conductive material secured in discrete areas on at least one side of said sheet, said sheet having a multiplicity of holes therethrough, at least some of said holes normally intercepting at least some of said areas of electrically conductive material; electrically conductive plating material on the inside surfaces of at least some of said holes thereby forming plated-through holes, said plating material being electrically interconnected with said respective intercepted discrete areas of electrically conductive material; a lead socket formed with a substantially non-compliant cylindrical body portion having a circumferential groove therein intermediate the ends of said body portion, an axial opening through said lead socket, a plurality of flexible fingers normally converging toward one another at one end of said body portion and a tapered entry opening at the other end, said fingers converging from a bend point at the lower end of said body portion of said lead socket, one of said lead sockets being mounted with said circumferential groove of said body portion within each of at least some of said plated-through holes, said body portion having an external diameter larger than the internal diameter of said plated-through holes thereby forming an interference fit therewith, some of said plating material in said plated-through holes, which material, together with the material of said sheet in contact with said plating material, is relatively compliant with respect to said body portion, being radially displaced by said body portion upon insertion thereof and, due to said compliance, partially filling said circumferential groove when said lead socket is fully seated with said groove positioned within said hole, said bend being normally within said plated-through hole and being longitudinally spaced from that portion of said body portion in interference fit with said plating material by a relief area, some of said plating material gathering around said relief area free from said bend; whereby said tapered entry is adapted to receive an electronic component lead, said fingers are adapted to frictionally engage said lead as it projects through said lead socket, and air flow is permitted through said lead socket.

Claim 20

An electrical interconnection device comprising: a flat generally rectangular sheet of electrically insulative compliant material; electrically conductive material secured in discrete areas on at least one side of said sheet, said sheet having a multiplicity of holes therethrough, at least some of said holes normally intercepting at least some of said areas of electrically conductive material; electrically conductive plating material on the inside surfaces of at least some of said holes thereby forming plated-through holes, said plating material being electrically interconnected with said respective intercepted discrete areas of electrically conductive material; a lead socket formed with a substantially non-compliant cylindrical body portion having a circumferential groove therein intermediate the ends of said body portion, an axial opening through said lead socket, a plurality of flexible fingers normally converging toward one another at one end of said body portion and a tapered entry opening at the other end, said fingers converging from a bend point at the lower end of said body portion of said lead socket, one of said lead sockets being mounted with said circumferential groove of said body portion within each of at least some of said plated-through holes, said body portion having an external diameter larger than the internal diameter of said plated-through holes thereby forming an interference fit therewith, some of said plating material in said plated-through holes, which material, together with the material of said sheet in contact with said plating material, is relatively compliant with respect to said body portion, being radially displaced by said body portion upon insertion thereof and, due to said compliance, partially filling said circumferential groove when said lead socket is fully seated with said groove positioned within said hole, said bend being normally within said plated-through hole and being longitudinally spaced from that portion of said body portion in interference fit with said plating material by a relief area, some of said plating material gathering around said relief area free from said bend; whereby said tapered entry is adapted to receive an electronic component lead, said fingers are adapted to frictionally engage said lead as it projects through said lead socket, and air flow is permitted through said lead socket.