Abstract: In the manufacture of encapsulated hybrid circuits from a substrate having a plurality of such circuits contained thereon, individual devices are first mounted on the circuit, encapsulant having a yield point stress and viscosity so as not to creep or flow is applied around the periphery of each circuit on the substrate so as to form a wall or dam around each such circuit except for the bonding pads for external connection of each circuit, a second encapsulant is then flow coated over the circuit and devices contained thereon within the previously formed wall such that the second encapsulant is retained within the wall. The encapsulants are then cured or dried and the individual encapsulated circuit can then be further processed such as by separating the individual circuits on the substrate and applying external connectors to the bonding pads.

Abstract: A circuit board container assembly includes a box (10) with internal side wall slots (16 and 17) for receiving dividers (21 and 22) in which are formed vertical slots (28, 29, 31 and 32) and into which are placed printed circuit boards (11). Thee dividers are color coded to indicate discrete offset positionings of edge tabs (23, 24, 26 and 27) on the respective dividers. The offset positioning of the edges permits the selection of dividers which are mounted in the wall slots to provide spacings of the bottoms of the divider slots at distances closely proximating the width of the circuit boards placed in the slots so that the boards are snugly held during transport of the box.

Abstract: A process of reacting a selective area of an article with a heated liquid, such as by immersion in a heated electroless plating bath, utilizes a holder which is particularly suitable for use in retaining a plurality of printed circuit boards to be immersed in an electroless plating bath. The holder comprises a rigid base and a heat expandable foam bed mounted to the base, the foam bed having slits therein into which the printed circuit board is placed and held. Upon immersion of the article, the foam bed thermally expands to mask the article from the bath in the areas covered by the bed.

Abstract: A rotor (23) is mounted for rotation in a housing (10) having a pressure chamber (31) and an exhaust chamber (33) formed about the rotor. The rotor is provided with slots (36 and 37) which are moved sequentially in pairs into alignment with plungers (48 and 68). When a plunger (48) partially overlays a slot (36), pressurized air passes from chamber (32), through an exposed portion of a slot (36), through plungers openings (49, 44, and 43) to one end of an air cylinder (12) while exhaust atmospheric pressure is presented from chamber (33), through an exposed portion of a slot (37), through a plunger openings (71, 67, 64, and 63) to the opposite end of the air cylinder (12) to permit movement of a piston (83) to drive some external mechanism.

Abstract: A circuit board connector (14) is assembled to a printed wiring board (11) by first aligning a plurality of leads (18) by urging them into spaced guide grooves (49) of a workholder (41). The spacing of the guide grooves (49) corresponds to the spacing of terminals, also referred to as solder lands (19) on the printed wiring board (11). Within the guide grooves (49) the leads (18) are retained against a possible, lateral resilient stress while a deformable material, such as a solder, is formed across the leads and into spaces between the leads (18). The solder temporarily retains the spacing between the leads while the leads are removed from the workholder and become aligned with the lands (19). During the assembly of the connector (14) to the printed wiring board (11), the leads become resiliently deflected perpendicularly to the plane of the printed wiring board (11). The deflection generates a resilient force which frictionally urges the leads and the lands into contact with each other.

Abstract: A low-insertion force solder-bearing lead (10) includes a resilient clamping finger (20) having an inner planar surface (48) for engaging a planar surface (50) of a substrate circuit device (16) in parallel mating relationship. Respective portions (26 and 28) of a resilient contact finger (22) and a solder preform (12) define a noncircular camming surface (58) which extends relative to the inner planar surface (48) of the clamping finger (20) at an angle of not more that 45.degree. to facilitate flexing of the contact finger in the assembling of the lead (10) to the substrate circuit device (16). Portions (68) of the solder preform (12) smear across a contact pad (14) during the lead assembling operation to facilitate wetting of the preform to the contact pad in a subsequent soldering operation.

Abstract: A conveyor 21 rapidly advances a series of workholders to move printed circuit board connectors 10 mounted therein along a short insulating rail section 37 and a second long cooled rail 31. Presoldered leads 13 overlaying contacts pads 14 are heated to temperatures slightly above the melting point of solder during movement along the first rail 28 and are cooled to solidify the solder during movement along the second rail. A belt 44, moving at the same speed as the conveyor, presses the boards to ensure good contact of the leads with the pads during the melting and cooling of the solder.

Abstract: A progressively-increasing clamping force lead (10) includes a resilient contact finger (22) having an outer arcuate loop portion (26) and a locking tab (34) having a camming surface (70) projecting at an angle from an outer end of the arcuate loop portion toward a planar surface (56) of a clamping finger (20). In the assembling of the lead (10) to the substrate circuit device (16), as the locking tab (34) engages and rides up an adjacent edge (64) of the substrate circuit device, the locking tab causes progresive flexing of an inner connecting portion (36) of the contact finger (22) and progressive coiling of the arcuate loop portion (26) of the contact finger to cause the arcuate loop portion to engage a contact pad (14) with a progressively-increasing force. Subsequently, the arcuate loop portion (26) and the locking tab (34) seat firmly on the contact pad (14) to retain the lead (10) securely on the substrate circuit device (16). The lead (10) then may be soldered to the contact pad (14).

Abstract: A narrow beam of light (26) is directed at a beamsplitter (12) at an incident angle (.theta.) thereto. A portion (28) of the beam (26) passes through the beamsplitter (12) and is reflected from a first mirror (22) while a portion (29) of the beam (26) is reflected from the beamsplitter (12) and directed onto and reflected by a second mirror (24). The beams (28, 29) reflected from the first and second mirrors (22, 24) intersect at a reference plane (R). The incident angle .theta. of the light beam (26) is then varied until the reflected beams intersect on the surface of an object (32) along the plane of symmetry of the system. The known variation of the incident angle, .DELTA..theta., provides sufficient information to determine the distance of the surface of the object (32) from the reference plane (R). The object 32 is then moved in an incremental fashion and .DELTA..theta. determined for each step to ascertain the surface profile of the object.

Abstract: Individual ones of articles such as (LED) devices 10 are fed and positioned at one or more stations along a path traversed by the devices. A track 30 guidably advances the devices 10 in single file to and beyond stations 63 and 64 successively located along the path represented by a channel 35 in the track 30. An assembly 50 shuttles, transversely of the channel 35, a plurality of fingers 66-70 simultaneously from a working state to and from a transitory state with respect to devices 10 in channel 35. The fingers may be in the form of thin, upright blades 66-70 which are engaged to assembly 50 and extend substantially normally of and into channel 35 in response to the shuttling. An indexing blade 68 extends from the front of and into channel 35 when shuttling assembly 50 is in the working state to block a waiting file of devices 10.

Abstract: In a cable stub assembly (20) which is used to interconnect two cables (22 and 24), at least one of which is pressurized with a gaseous medium, a portion of a plastic jacket is removed from an interior portion of a length (31) of cable to expose conductors (33--33) of a core (32). Heat shrinkable sleeves (61 and 66) each of which comprises an irradiation cross-linked polyolefin material are positioned over the jacket of the cable on each side of the interior portion from which the jacket has been removed. The heat shrinkable sleeves are caused to contract about the cable jacket. Inner surfaces of the sleeves are coated with an adhesive material which is helpful in providing a sealed engagement of the sleeves with the jacket. A length of tubing (81) is disposed about the cable jacket and the contracted sleeves. A polyurethane filling material (82) is introduced into the tubing and is adhered sufficiently to the sleeves to prevent substantially the escape of the gaseous medium from the at least one cable.

Abstract: The disclosed bracket is attachable to an outrigger of a mobile home and is adapted to mount a service closure containing the protector device in a telephone lead-in connection to the home. The bracket comprises: a longitudinally extending base securable by beam clamps to a flange on the outrigger, a longitudinally extending plate disposed transversely to one side of the base and adapted to have the service closure mounted therein, an adjustable length strut means pivotally connected at opposite ends to longitudinally central parts of, respectively, the base and the plate, and first and second base-to-plate fastening means providing alternatively usable first and second pivotal couplings of the base and plate at locations longitudinally spaced from and on opposite sides of the couplings of such strut means to these elements.

Abstract: A substrate support module (10) includes a series of vertically arranged guide shelves (12, 14 and 16) having front, intermediate and rear circular bosses (34, 36 and 38) projecting from opposite ends thereof. The first and third bosses (34 and 38) are tangentially received in elongated horizontal slots (40 and 44) in side support plates (18) to position and lock the shelves (12, 14 and 16) against vertical movement. The intermediate bosses (36) are tangentially received in vertical elongated slots (42)in the side support plates (18) to position and lock the shelves (12, 14 and 16) against horizontal movement. During assembly, edges of the slots (40, 42 and 44) tend to flatten or shave off small peripheral portions (50) of the bosses when the bosses are slightly oversize, whereby the oversize bosses can readily be assembled into the slots.

Abstract: A sealed rotary joint and method are described wherein a purge fluid is passed over a tube rotating within an end cap and through a ball bearing component of the joint.

Abstract: An article such as a semiconductor wafer (12) is contacted for plating on an active surface (16). Disposed adjacent to and around the surface (16), there is a conductor such as an annular ring (58) which is adapted for connection to a current source. A composite member (62) has an outer portion (64) for contacting the conductor ring (58) and an inner portion (63) for contacting peripheral regions of surface (16) of the wafer (12). Each of the portions (64 and 63) have a substantially nonconductive matrix supporting a plurality of conductive elements having first and second ends. The first ends of the elements in the outer portion (64) are for contacting the conductor (58) and the first ends of the elements in the inner portion are for contacting the surface (16). A coupling member such as a compliant metal foil (66) is contacted to and interconnects the second ends of the elements in the inner and outer portions (63 and 64).

Abstract: A solder-bearing lead (10) includes a contact clamping finger (20) having an arcuate, reverse-bent clamping portion (34) which is wrapped about a solder preform (12) so that a surface portion (22) of the preform directly engages a contact pad (14) on a substrate circuit device (16) when the lead is mounted on the device. When the lead (10) is temporarily subjected to heat in a soldering operation, the solder preform (12) melts and flows directly over the contact pad (14) and then resolidifies to form a soldered connection (26) having an outer end portion (28) of the reverse-bent clamping portion (34) of the contact clamping finger (20) embedded therein.

Abstract: In order to control the fusion of a polyvinyl chloride plastic material which is being moved along a screw of an extruder from a feed section (36) through a compression section (37) to a metering section (39) and crosshead (26), the melt pressure is measured in the compression section. The melt pressure, which is indicative of the fusion qualities of the plastic material, is used to control the temperature of the plastic material in the feed section to cause it to be substantially homogenous at the crosshead.

Abstract: An article such as a semiconductor wafer (10) is cut by splitting along a line (22) in a plane known to facilitate splitting. Wafer (10) is supported in a laterally unrestrained manner in a holder (34) lined with preferred paper (26) and fitted with a reference plate (43). Paper liner (26) is of a type having a surface (25) capable of developing lateral restraint by friction between such surface (25) and a surface (13) of wafer (10). A resilient force is applied normal to and upon a top surface (11) of wafer (10) by a press (60) having members (75 and 76) applied along line (22). Separation stresses develop along line (22) of the splitting plane and friction forces develop along paper surface (25) providing lateral resistance to an expected cutting force. A cutter (80) has an elongate tool (92) which is advanced at a top edge (27) of wafer (10) where it abuts plate (43).