Compliant Pin Connector Mounting Tool for Stress-Free Press Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional solderless connectors face stress damage and misalignment issues during mounting on circuit boards, leading to reliability concerns and high production costs due to complex geometries and insert molded components.
Innovation Solution
A compliant-pin-connector mounting system with a specialized tool that applies direct downward force to load-bearing surfaces of contacts, aligning them with substrate holes for press-fit installation, reducing stress and misalignment, and using a mounting tool with interdigitated rows to secure contacts efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional solderless contacts are used for mounting connectors to circuit boards, then mounting speed is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to stress damage and thermal expansion issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by designing compliant portions in the contacts that can elastically deform to absorb mounting stresses and thermal expansion forces before they cause damage. The compliant portions act as pre-configured stress absorption mechanisms that protect the rigid contact portions from damage during mounting and operation.
2Reliability
If compliant pin configurations are used to compensate for stresses, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost deteriorates due to larger size and buckling susceptibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing each contact into distinct portions: a compliant portion designed to deform elastically, an intermediate portion that transitions between compliant and rigid characteristics, and a rigid contact portion that maintains structural integrity. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized for its specific function while using minimal material, reducing manufacturing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by giving different mechanical properties to different portions of the contact. The compliant portion has lower stiffness to absorb stress, the intermediate portion has transitional properties, and the contact portion has high rigidity for reliable electrical connection. This localized differentiation of material properties optimizes performance while minimizing overall material usage.
3Manufacturing precision
If insert molded components are used for fine geometries and small contact pitches, then manufacturing precision is improved, but cost deteriorates significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by replacing expensive insert-molded components with a cost-effective mounting tool that achieves precise alignment through mechanical guidance features. The mounting tool with its guidance surfaces and positioning mechanisms provides the necessary precision without requiring costly insert molding processes, making high-precision mounting accessible for standard manufacturing operations.
4Manufacturing precision
If separate loads are applied to each individual solderless contact during mounting, then alignment precision is improved, but mounting time deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining multiple alignment and loading functions into a single integrated mounting tool. The tool simultaneously provides guidance for multiple contacts, applies downward force to all contacts at once, and ensures proper alignment through its structural design. This consolidation achieves precise alignment for all contacts in a single mounting operation rather than requiring separate operations for each contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting tool embodies universality by performing multiple functions simultaneously: it guides contact alignment, applies mounting force, and ensures proper positioning all in one operation. The tool's design with guidance surfaces, positioning features, and force application mechanisms makes it a multi-functional device that replaces multiple separate operations.
5Device complexity
If a simple block mounting tool is used for connectors with simple geometry, then tool complexity is reduced, but adaptability deteriorates for complicated geometries
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting tool achieves universality through its modular design that can accommodate various connector geometries. The tool includes adjustable components and guidance features that can be configured for different contact arrangements, making it adaptable to both simple and complicated geometries without requiring completely different tools for each connector type.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting tool applies dynamics through its ability to adjust and adapt its configuration based on the specific connector geometry being mounted. The tool incorporates movable or adjustable elements that can be positioned to match different contact patterns and geometries, allowing a single tool design to handle a variety of connector types effectively.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides reliable solderless mounting, reduces thermal stress, and increases positional tolerance, while minimizing tool size and production costs by ensuring secure and accurate contact alignment and retention.
Implementation Method 1
applying a downward force directly to each of the plurality of contacts, the compliant portion of each of the plurality of contacts is press fit into the respective hole in the substrate
Implementation Method 2
a variety of compliant pin configurations have been used in order to provide a structure that can compensate for the stresses applied to the contacts during mounting of the connector to the circuit board and to compensate for the additional stresses caused by thermal expansion during operation
Data Source
AI summary
A compliant pin connector mounting system includes a connector housing, a plurality of contacts each disposed in the connector housing and each including a compliant portion and at least one load bearing surface, and a mounting tool arranged to fit into the connector housing and to contact the at least one load bearing surface of each of the plurality of contacts so as to apply a downward force directly to each of the plurality of contacts. The compliant portion of each of the plurality of contacts is arranged to be aligned with a respective hole in a substrate such that when the downward force is applied directly to the at least one load bearing surface of each of plurality of contacts by the mounting tool, the compliant portion of each of the plurality of contacts is press fit into the respective hole in the substrate.