Corrugated Solder Pre-form and Method of Use

Abstract

A solder pre-form for soldering a coaxial cable to a connector body is provided with a plurality of flux grooves on a cable side and a connector side. The solder pre-form may also have a plurality of holes between the cable and connector sides. In a method of use, flux is applied to the flux grooves and the solder pre-form applied to encircle the outer conductor which is then inserted into the connector body and the solder pre-form melted to complete the solder interconnection. Where holes are present, flux may be applied to the connector side, passing through the holes also to the cable side.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates to a solder pre-form. More specifically, the invention relates to a solder pre-form with improved flux application and distribution characteristics for soldering a coaxial connector to the outer conductor of a coaxial cable.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]Coaxial cables and coaxial connectors are used, for example, in communication systems requiring a high level of precision and reliability. To create a reliable and cost efficient electro-mechanical interconnection between the coaxial cable and the coaxial connector, it is often desirable to interconnect the cable and connector via soldering.[0005]Solder pre-forms may be utilized to improve interconnection quality when soldering coaxial connectors to coaxial cables. The use of a solder pre-form standardizes the location and amount of solder applied. Representative of this technology is commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,710 issued Sep. 8,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0029]When utilizing the prior solder pre-forms, for example with a smooth connector side or multiple solder pre-form ring configuration, inventor's testing has shown that during insertion of the prepared end of the coaxial cable into the connector body bore any flux that may be present on the connector side of the solder pre-form and / or that may have been manually applied to the connector body bore may be partially or entirely scraped off. Thereby, the flux is prevented from acting upon the aluminum oxide coatings on the aluminum material surfaces immediately prior to melting of the solder pre-form during the solder procedure resulting in degraded solder interconnection quality. In particular, circumferential uniformity of the solder joint around the inner diameter of the connector body bore and / or outer diameter of the outer conductor may be degraded, which can be a significant characteristic of interconnection quality for high frequency applications.

[0043]One skilled in the art will appreciate that a solder pre-form 2 according to the invention may improve connector body to outer conductor solder connection quality, especially where aluminum materials are being utilized. Thereby, the further adoption of aluminum material use in the coaxial connector and / or coaxial cable arts is enabled, which in turn may enable significant material cost savings for connector and coaxial cable manufacturers.TABLE OF PARTS

Problems solved by technology

Aluminum material exposed to air quickly oxidizes, forming an aluminum oxide coating that interferes with solder bonding.

However, such flux may be difficult to apply evenly within the interconnection area.

Images