SUPPORTS FOR TELEPHONE JACKS AND CIRCUIT-BOARDS INCORPORATING SUCH SUPPORTS

SUPPORTS POUR JACKS TELEPHONIQUES ET CARTES DE CIRCUITS INCORPORANT CES SUPPORTS

English Abstract

SUPPORTS FOR TELEPHONE JACKS AND CIRCUIT BOARDS
INCORPORATING SUCH SUPPORTS
Abstract of the Disclosure
An electrical jack is supported, at its front end, on a
circuit board, by a thin flat member having an aperture therein which
is a sliding fit over a tubular extension on the front end of the
jack. The flat member has a tongue extending radially inward of the
aperture, the tongue being bent or deformed on insertion of the
tubular extension in the aperture. The tongue grips the extension
and sustains the flat member in position prior to attachment to the
board. Legs on the bottom edge of the flat member pass through the
circuit board and are attached to the back surface of the board, as
by soldering. Terminals at the rear end of the jack pass through the
board and are connected to a circuit. The flat member can have a
plurality of apertures, for the support of a plurality of jacks
positioned together.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:-
1. A circuit board assembly comprising:
a printed circuit board;
at least one circuit pattern on an undersurface of the
board;
a plurality of electrical components mounted on an
upper surface of the board, and connected electrically to said
circuit pattern;
at least one jack mounted on said upper surface
adjacent a front edge of said board, said jack connected to said
circuit pattern by terminals extending from a back end of the jack
through said board, said jack including a tubular extension at a
front end;
a support at said front end of said jack, said support
comprising a thin, flat, plate-like member having an aperture through
which extends said tubular extension, a deformable tongue extending
radially inward in said aperture in gripping engagement with the
outer surface of said tubular extension, at least two legs extending
from a lower edge of the plate-like member, the legs extending
through said board, said lower edge of the plate-like member resting
on an upper surface of the board.
2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, including a
face-plate extending along said front edge of the board and attached
thereto, said face-plate including a hollow boss on a rear face, the
tubular extension of said jack extending into said boss.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, including at
least two jacks mounted side-by-side on said board, said support
including two apertures, a tubular extension on each jack extending
through an aperture.
4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, including at
least two jacks mounted one above the other, tubular extensions on
said jacks extending through apertures in said support.
5. An assembly as claimed in claim 3 or 4, including a
face-plate extending along said front edge of the board and attached
thereto, said face-plate including hollow bosses on a rear face, the
tubular extensions on said jacks extending into said bosses.
6. A method of supporting an electrical jack on a
circuit board, comprising:
passing terminals from a back end of said jack through
holes in a circuit board and connecting said terminals to a circuit
pattern on an under surface of the board;
positioning a support on a tubular extension at a front
end of said jack, said support being a thin, flat, plate-like member
having an aperture for fitting over said tubular extension, and
including a radially inward projecting tongue in said aperture, said
tongue being deformed on insertion of said tubular extension into
said aperture to grip said tubular extension;
passing legs extending from a bottom edge of said
plate-like member through holes adjacent a front edge of said board
and connecting said legs to said undersurface of the board.

Description

l 1 ~1 5~9
This invention relates to supports for supporting the
front end of telephone jacks and similar devices, mounted on circuit
boards particularly printed circuit boards, and to a method of
supporting jacks on circuit boards.
On a printed circuit board (PCB) jacks are attached at
a back end by terminals which pass down through the board, to be
soldered to electrical circuit pat-terns on the back surface of the
board. The other end, the Front end, of a jack is supported in the
face plate attached to an edge of the PCB. The various electrical
and electronic components are generally attached to the PCB by
insertion of wires or terminals through the board, such insertion
often done automatically. The components are then flow soldered to
the circuit pa-tterns on the back surface of the board.
Conventionally the components are mounted and flow
soldered, prior to attachment of the face plate - which is usually of
plastic. As it would be too difficult to avoid damage, and
distortion, to -the jacks if they were attached to the board at only
the back end, with the front end unsupported until the face plate is
attached, it is usual to leave the jacks off until the face plate is
attached. Specifically, at attachment of the face plate, the jack is
mounted on the PCB by insertion of terminals through the PCB, the
face plate positioned on the edge of the PCB, extensions on the jack
passing through bosses on the face plate, and then the face plate
attached to the PCB. Finally, the terminals of the jack are hand
soldered to the support pattern. This hecomes fairly labour
intensive.

~ ~ ~15~g
The invention provides a suppor-t for positionin~ at the
front end of a jack, the support including extensions or legs
which pass through the PCB. By this means, the jacks can be mounted
on the PCB, prior to wave soldering, and the whole assembly9
including components, terminals of the jacks and the support
extensions or lègs flow soldered at the same time. It can he that
the support of metal, also acts as a connection to the circuit
pattern or to ground, or the extensions or legs of the support are
soldered to electrically isolated areas on the back surface of the
board. The front end of the jack includes a tubular member into
which the plug is inserted. This tubular memher fits in a boss on
the front plate. The support comprises a thin sheet having one or
more apertures which fit over tubular members of jacks. A support
can have a single aperture, to support one jack, or a plurality of
apertures to support a plurality of jacks. The support has a
deflectable tang in the aperture which retains the support on the
jack.
The invention will be reaclily understood by the
following description of certain embodiments, by way of example, in
conjunction with the dccompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is a top plan view of one end of a PCB withjacks mounted thereon;
Figure 2 is a view of the face plate, in the direction
of arrow A in Figure 1, but with jacks omitted;
Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line III-III of
Figure 1;
Figure ~ (a), (b) and (c) illustrates three forms of
support.

5 6 9
As seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, a PCB 10 is at-tached at
its front edge to a face plate 11. The PCB is located on the face
plate by three small ribs or protrusions 12 at the bottom edqe oF the
face plate and two large extensions 13, the PCB fitting between the
ribs 12 and extensions 13. On the rear face of the face plate 11 are
hollow bosses 14. The member, and disposition, of the bosses 14 will
vary wi-th requirements. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate, for
convenience, three arrangements of jacks, a single jack 15, a double
set of jacks 16, and a gradruple set of jacks 17.
Figure 3 illustrates the mounting of the jacks on the
PCB. At the back end of the jacks terminals 2n extend from the jack
and round and down, with reduced dimension ends 21 passing through
pre-drilled or punched holes in the PCB 10. At the front ends of the
jacks a support 22 fits over a tubular member 23 of the jack and
extends down to the PCB, with small extensions or legs 24 passing
through holes in the PCB. At this stage, on critical assembly, the
face plate would not be attached to -the PCB, only the components,
indicated diagrammatically at 25 in Figure 1, and the jacks~ The
components and jacks are then wave soldered in position to the
20 circuit, or circuits, on the undersurface of the board. The jacks
are held firmly in position by the soldering of the terminals ends 21
and by the soldering of the extensions or legs 24 of the support
22.
Figures 4(a), (b) and (c), illustrate -three forms of
support 22. A typical material For the supports is berylium copper
sheet or strip and they can readily be etch formed or stamped. The
supports are generally tin coated. The thickness is, for example,
about .010" but can vary,

g
Figure 4(a) illustrates -the basic arrangement, with the
support 22 being in the form of a thin, flat plate-like member having
an aperture 26 of a diameter to be a sliding fit on the tubular
member 23 of a jack. A small tongue or tang 27 extends slightly into
the aperture end when the support is pushed on to the tubular member
of a jack, the tongue is bent out slightly from the plane of -the
support and acts to retain the support on the tubular member and also
acts as a path to ground. The small extensions or legs 24 which pass
through the PCB are also seen.
Figure 4(b) illustrates an arrangement for supporting
the front ends of four jacks arranged as a unit, while Figure 4(c)
shows a support for supportinq two jacks. The positioning of the
apertures 26, and the relative positioning of the tongues 27 can be
varied to suit. For larqe supports, more than two legs 24 can be
provided.
The supports are conveniently formed in sheets or
strips, for easier manufacture, and plating. The individual supports
are then separated prior to use.
Use of the supports provides a considerable reduction
in labour costs. After insertion of components to a PCB, the jacks
are mounted on the PCB and then the whole flow soldered. The Face
plate is then attached, with the tubular members 23 of the jacks
sliding into the bosses 14 on the face plate. The jacks are firmly
positioned and held on the PCB after soldering and the operation of
hand soldering of the terminals is eliminated.