AU611271B2

AU611271B2 - Electric circuit board mounting

Info

Publication number: AU611271B2
Application number: AU31763/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Robert Allen Fitzgerald; Bryce Lindsay Nicholls
Original assignee: Krone GmbH
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Germany GmbH
Priority date: 1988-03-28
Filing date: 1989-03-28
Publication date: 1991-06-06
Anticipated expiration: 2009-03-28
Also published as: AU3176389A

Description

4 e I I, 1r S. COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENT ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION 7

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE 611271

CLASS

INT. CLASS Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: SPriority: C" Related Art-: NAME OF APPLICANT: ADDRESS OF APPLICANT: NAME(S) OF INVENTOR(S) ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: KRONE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT Beeskowdamm 3-11 D-1000 Berlin 37 FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY ROBERT ALLEN FITZGERALD, BRYCE LINDSAY NICHOLLS DAVIES COLLISON, Patent Attorneys 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: "ELECTRIC

CIRCUIT

The following statement is a rul including the best method of per j j! BOARD MOUNTING" 1 description of this invention, forming it known to us L _i ~cl -t.

-2- ELECTRIC CIRCUIT BOARD MOUNTING This invention relates to the mounting of an electric circuit board on a support structure.

The invention has for its object the provision of a mnanner of mounting an electric circuit board such that it can be removably mounted on a support structure, and includes an electric circuit board adapted to be so mounted.

According to the present invention, there is provided a generally channel shaped member comprising a substantially planar base portion having opposed flanges, and an electric circuit board adapted to be mounted to extend between the flanges, wherein the circuit board can be maintained in a position on the channel shaped member substantially parallel to the plane of the base portion, wherein the circuit board extends between and is held at the flanges, by engaging means at the flanges, each engaging means comprising an aperture having a projection positioned therein, either the flange or the circuit board being provided with the aperture and either the circuit board or the flange respectively being provided with the corresponding 4 projection of each engaging means.

For instance, there may be provided, in combination, a generally channel shaped member having opposed flanges with apertures therein, and an electric circuit board mounted to extend between the flanges with projections of the circuit board at r opposed ends thereof engaged in one of the apertures in the respective flanges to maintain the circuit board in a position on the channel shaped member at which it extends between and is held by the flanges.

910225,vrsspc.05,krone,2 -3- According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clip having a holding structure in the form of a generally shaped resilient formation with two arms which meet at adjacent ends thereof, which clip is capable of being passed into an aperture of said engaging means, so that the arms respectively engage a surface of a said projection, as positioned in the aperture and one, opposed, side of the aperture, to resiliently deform the arms whereby these exert resilient force between said one side of the aperture and the projection to thereby press the projection against a side of said aperture opposite said one side, to hold the projection in p- In accordance with the present invention, the engaging means may include a clip having a holding structure in the form of a generally shaped resilient formation with two arms which meet at adjacent ends thereof, which clip is capable S' of being passed into an aperture of each engaging means, so that the arms respectively S, engage a surface of a said projection, as positioned in the aperture and one, opposed, ole-forM -F-e anMS w/Aere r y !ese exert- resiierti S 15 side of the aperture, to resilientlyAforce between said one side of the aperture and the projection to thereby press the projection against a side of said aperture opposite said one side, to hold the projection in position.

SI 1 0 I t 0 9 i The invention is further described by way of example only with reference to t 0 20 the accompanying drawings in which: 0 Figure 1 shows a channel shaped member with which the circuit board of the 0i invention is adapted to be used; 4 Figure 2 shows the combination of an electric circuit board of the invention positioned on the channel shaped member of Figure 1; Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views illustrating the manner in which two or more electric circuit boards may be mounted on the channel shaped member of Figure 1;

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.910225,vrsspc.005,krone,3 ^oy Figure 5 is a perspective view of a clip useful in maintaining circuit boards on the channel shaped member on Figure 1; and Figure is a fragmentary cross sectional view showing how the clip of Figure 5 is used.

In Figure 1, the channel shaped member shown therein comprises a sheet metal channel which has an intermediate or web portion 12 with a pair of 0 O opposed upstanding flanges 14, 16 at either side.

o oThe member may be of any length.

°oe 0o The flanges 14, 16 are of castellated form, ,at the free lengthwise extending edges thereof, so as 09 a o to define a plurality of upstanding portion separated by spacer 18. The portions 20 have rectangular apertures 22 therethrough. The portions Ortt 9 20 on flange 14 are transversely aligned with ones of r the portions 20 on the other flange 16, and the apertures 22 of opposed portions 20, one on each flange, are correspondingly aligned transversely.

Figure 2 shows the member 10 fitted with a circuit board 30 constructed in accordance with the invention. This circuit board is formed from an electrically insulative base material of conventional form, such as a suitable planar substrate, and has a metallised underside portion which is suitably etched to form circuit tracks to which electrical connections from various components, such as the resistors 32, and capacitors 34 shown, are connected in a desired electric circuit configuration.

Alternatively, the circuit board may be double-sided, with conductive tracks on either side, in accordance with conventional practice. In either event, the circuit board has provision for connection of external wires to provide input and output signals and a power supply or the like to the circuitry incorporated thereon.

The circuit board 30 is of generally rectangular form having a width equal to the pitch distance between adjacent apertures 22 along each of the flanges 14, 16 and having a length over the major portion thereof, which is equal substantially to the distance between the opposed inner surfaces of the flanges 14, 16. However, at each corner, the circuit board 30 is provided with projections 38 formed in the plane of the board and which extend from respective end edges 30a, 30b in the direction of the length of the circuit board denoted by ProjecLions 38 are of small length, measured in the direction of the length L, and are so positioned and of such transverse width measured in the direction of the width of of the circuit board 30, as to permit the circuit board to be captured on the support structure 10 by inserting the two projections 38 at one end of the circuit board into adjacent ones of the apertures 22 on flange 14 and positioning the two projections at the other end of the circuit board into respective adjacent apertures on the flange 16, Insertion is permitted by virtue of the natural resilience of the member which permits some degree of outward flexing of the

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6 portions 20, on flanges 14 and 16, away from each other. Thus, to insert the board 30 two of the projections 38 may be inserted into apertures 22 of the flanges 14 with the circuit board then angled to extend from those apertures so that the projections 38 at the opposite end are immediately above a pair of the portions 20 on flange 16. Then, by resilient outward deformation of the latter two portion 20 are sprung outwardly sufficiently to enable the circuit board to be pivoted about the engaged apertures 22 in the flange 14 so that the projections 38 at the opposite end of the board 30 may be brought into alignment with the apertures 22 on the flange 16, these are resiliently returned to their initial position, under natural resilient bias, to capture the adjacent projections 38 in the openings 22 thereof.

In the finished condition, as shown in Figure 2, then, the circuit board 30 is securely but removably held in position on the structure 10 so as to extend from side to side thereof and in spaced parallel relationship above the web portion 12.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, it is possible to assemble a number of the circuit boards 30 in side by side relationship on the structure 10. In that regard, the width of the projections 38 measured in the direction indicated by W in Figure 2, is made to be slightly less than one half of the correspondingly oriented width of each of the apertures 22, to permit an adjacent pair of projections 38, one on each of an adjacent pair of boards 30 to accommodated within a single aperture 22.

7 While the circuit board 30 shown is of width in the direction W equal to the pitch spacing between two adjacent ones of the apertures 22 on flange 14 or flange 16, it is possible to make the circuit board of greater width than this, particularly of width equal to twice, three times, four times etc.

the pitch width of the apertures 22. In that case, the projections 38 may be arranged at each corner of the board or otherwise positioned at desired locations along the end edges of the board to interfit with ones of the apertures 22.

I In order to more securely position circuit board 30 on the channel shaped member 20, use may be made of clips of the form of the clip 80 shown in Figure 5. The clip 80 is formed from folded and stamped sheet metal so as to define two spaced apart parallel generally shaped resilient holding formations 82, each having two generally planar arms 82a, 82b meeting at a lengthwise fold line 84 of the blank from which the clip is formed. The two arms 82a are in connected by a bridging portion 86 of the clip, this having a planar part 86a which is coplanar with arms 82a and a planar part 86b which extends normally to arms 82b. Arms 82b are themselves interconnected by a colinear bridging portion 88.

The clip 80 is used in the manner shown in Figure 6. In Figure 6, a board 30 is shown at the location where one projection 38 extends through an aperture 22 on a flange 16 of member 10. First locating the arms 82b and portion 88 of the clip on the upper surface of the circuit board 30, the clip 8 is slid inwardly in the direction shown by the arrow to pass into the aperture 22 until the upper edge 22a of the aperture 22 is engaged by the upper surfaces of the arms 82a and, by further movement, the arms 82a are sprung downwardly against the natural resilient bias of the clip about the fold line 84, by camming action against the edge 22a of the aperture 22. Then, the natural resilience of the arms 82a, 82b of the two holding formations 82 causes resilient force to be applied downwardly against the upper surface of the circuit board 30 to firmly press this against a lower edge 22b of the aperture 22 and so hold the board 30 in position.

The desired extent to which the clip should be moved in the direction in order to exert sufficient bias against the circuit board to hold it in position, without causing undue forces to be directed against the board 30 or to cause the clip to be overly stressed, is of course dependent upon the thickness of the board 30. Common thickness for circuit boards, for the size of the circuit boards typically useful in practising this invention, are 1.6 mm Or 2.4 mm. The insides of the formations 82 are provided, at side edges of arms 82a, with first marker projections 90, and at the side edges of arms 82b, by second marker projections 92. The projections 90 are positioned such that when these are aligned with the outer surface 16a of the flange 16, during insertion of the clip 80, the clip 80 will be deformed to an extent which satisfactorily holds the board 30 it it be of 1.6 mm thickness. On the other hand, if the clips are positioned with the marker projections 92 so aligned, the clip is

A'

9 sufficiently moved inwardly through the aperture 22 to hold a circuit board 30 of 2.4 mm thickness.

Furthermore, in order to prevent excessive deformation of the clip 80 in the even that an attempt s'.ould be made to press it too far inwardly through the aperture 22, the portion 88 thereof is provided with an upstanding stop 100, which on excessive pushing of the clip 80 through the aperture 22, but before permanent deformation occurs, is engaged by the downwardly deflected portion 86a to limit bending of the clip. Although not visible in Figure 5, two such stops 100 are preferably provided one adjacent each of the formation 82.

The described arrangement has been advanced merely by way of explanation and many modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

For instance, it is not necessary that an electric circuit board be provided with projections and the support structure of the channel shaped member be provided with apertures. Instead, the electric circuit board may be provided with apertures, or with an aperture at one end and a projection at the other end, while the channel shaped member is provided with complementary projections and apertures.

The complementary projections of a channel shaped member may for instance be provided along the free lengthwise extending edge of the upstanding rl I riI portions 20 of the flanges 14, 16. An electric circuit board having apertures at either end may then be mounted so that the projections on the flanges 14, 16 extend through said apertures. The circuit board may be slightly different in length between the apertures than the distance separating the flanges 14, 16 and the flanges 14, 16 may again be resilient so that inward or outward pressure of the resilient flanges 14, 16 holds the board in place, and/or clips as described above may again be used.

I,

Claims

1. In combination, a generally channel shaped member comprising a substantially planar base portion having opposed flanges, and an electric circuit board adapted to be mounted to extend between the flanges, wherein the circuit board can be maintained in a position on the channel shaped member substantially parallel to the plane of the base portion, wherein the circuit board extends between and is held at the flanges, by engaging means at the flanges, each engaging means comprising an aperture having aprojection positioned therein, either the flange or the circuit board being provided-wi tthe aperture and either the circuit board or the flange respectively being provided with the corresponding projection of each engaging means.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the electric circuit board is mounted to aof r'vres extend between said flanges, the flanges being provided with said 4 pertfure of each engaging means and corresponding projections of the circuit board at opposed ends thereof being engaged in ones of the apertures in the respective flanges to maintain the circuit board in a position on the channel shaped member at which it extends between and is held by the flanges.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein the electric circuit board is mounted to extend between said flanges, the circuit board being provided with said apertures of each engaging means at opposed ends thereof and corresponding projections of the flanges being engaged in ones of the apertures in the respective ends of the circuit board to maintain the circuit board in a position on the channel shaped member at which it extends between and is held by the flanges. qn one op he

4. The combination of -eife- preceding elaim- wherein said opposed flanges are parallel. R 22 Ji/ 910225,vrsspc.005,kronc,ll

12- The combination claimed in either of claims 2 or 4 wherein the apertures in the flanges arc formed in upstanding portions of the channel shaped member, arranged at spaced locations along free edges of the flanges, whereby these free edges are of castellated form. 6. The combination claimed in any of claims 2, 4 or 5, the circuit board being of width, in the direction of lengthwise extent of the channel shaped member, equal to or slightly less than the pitch distance between the apertures along each flange and the projections are of width equal to or slightly less than one half the width of the apertures measured in the direction of lengthwise extent of the channel shaped member, whereby to permit said circuit board and a further like circuit board to be mounted adjacent one another on the channel shaped member, with adjacent projections one on each circuit board received in a respective one of said apertures. 7. The combination as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the channel shaped member is resilient whereby said flanges may be deformed to permit mounting the circuit board therebetween. 8. The combination as claimed in any preceding claim including a clip having a holding structure in the form of a generally shaped resilient formation with two arms which meet at adjacent ends thereof, which clip is capable of being passed into an aperture of each engaging means, so that the arms respectively engage a surface of a said projection, as positioned in the aperture and one, opposed, side of the eleAtl dleY~n -I ajr-#i w~ea,-by 41ese- -e ffen(ert aperture, tb resiliet force between said ohe side of the aperture and the projection to thereby press the projection against a side of said aperture opposite said one side, to hold the projection in position. 9. In combination, a generally channel shaped member and an electric circuit board substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to the accompanying drawings, .i t 910225,vrsspc.5,Kane,12 ~L -r I I~L Li 13 The combination as claimed in any preceding claim including a clip substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to Figures 5 or 6 of the accompanying drawings which is capable of being passed into an aperture of each engaging means. 11. The combination as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the electric circuit board is substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 25th day of February, 1991 KRONE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT By its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON 910225,vrsspeDOS5,krone, 13