Abstract: A flatpack lead forming, cutting, and straightening machine. The flatpack is unloaded from the carrier and aligned for later processing by its leads, rather than the body portion. The first processing step forms the lead by bending them downwardly against an anvil, and then bending them outwardly to form the foot. The leads are cut by an upwardly-moving cutter to prevent downward flagging of the leads. The flatpack is then placed between two vertically mounted plates such that one set of plates contacts a pair of leads disposed on opposite sides of the flatpack body. The plates are moved upwardly and downwardly to flex the leads and remove the set therein. Adjacent lead pairs are flexed 180 degrees out of phase in this process. The formed, cut, and straightened flatpack is then loaded into a handling tube for storage or transport to the assembly area. A transport mechanism transports the flatpack from each stage of the process to the next stage.

Abstract: A connector arrangement for interconnecting a leadless integrated circuit package to a printed circuit board by means of a flexible solder socket, for eliminating the problems of thermal stress and vibration in the chip-to-printed circuit board connection. The arrangement includes a plurality of substantially L-shaped flexible connectors arranged in a pattern along the edge of an insulated substrate that coincides with the arrangement of chip contact areas on the periphery of the integrated circuit package that is to be connected to the printed circuit board. Bottom portions of the L-shaped flexible connectors are soldered to the conductor highways on the printed circuit board. The upper leg portion of the L-shaped flexible joint connector member is bent around the edge of the insulated carrier and contacts chip contact layers along the edge of the integrated circuit chip.