Apparatus for the mounting and wiring of printed circuit boards

• US 4,542,442 A
• Filed: 06/17/1983
• Issued: 09/17/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Simmonds Precision Products, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Simmonds Precision Products, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Drexler, Rudolph A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Miska, Vit W.
• Application Number:
  US06/505,171
• Time in Patent Office: 823 Days
• Field of Search: 361/394, 361/395, 361/399, 361/412, 361/413, 361/415, 361/419, 211/41, 339/17 M, 339/17 N
• US Class Current: 361/787
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1434 for electronics exposed to high gravitational force; Cylindrical housings
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/18 Construction of rack or frame

Abstract

An apparatus adapted for the mounting and wiring of printed circuit boards includes front and rear supports which together define paired slots into which the circuit boards are receivable and thus transversely mountable relative thereto so as to maintain the boards in a substantially parallel, spaced apart relationship to one another. The boards can be securely locked in the mounted positions by a resilient ring or like structures which seats in a circumferential slot defined in the front and rear supports. An end bell housing is also disclosed whereby various electrical components can be assembled with the circuit boards by virtue of the locking engagement established with the rear support when the bell housing is rotated (e.g. as in a 1/4 turn) relative the rear support.

Claims

1. An apparatus adapted for mounting a plurality of electrical circuit boards of the type including indentations associated therewith, said apparatus comprising:

support means for supporting the circuit boards;

said support means including front and rear support members;

said front and rear support members including a plurality of paired slots, each pair for receiving respective portions of a circuit board therein and for thereby mounting plural circuit boards, when received in respectively corresponding ones of said paired slots, substantially transversely to said front and rear support members and for separating adjacent ones of said circuit boards by a predetermined dimension when received in said slots; and

removeable locking means engageable with said front and rear support members for removeably locking the circuit boards to said front and rear support members and for effecting substantially rigid interconnection therebetween, said locking means including (a) means defining recessed areas in said front and rear support members such that said indentations associated with the circuit boards are registrable with said recessed areas when the circuit boards are received in said slots, and (b) resilient means seatable in said recessed areas for engaging the circuit board indentations and thus locking the circuit boards in said slots.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said means defining recessed areas in said front and rear support members are located in a plane substantially transverse to said slots.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1 or 2 wherein said rear support member includes an interior edge and wherein said apparatus further comprises housing means for housing an electrical component and interconnecting means engageable with said interior edge for removeably interconnecting said housing means to said rear support member.

4. An apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said interconnecting means includes a pair of gripping fingers defining first gripping surfaces engageable with said interior edge upon effecting relative turning movement between said housing means and said interior edge.

5. An apparatus as in claim 3 further comprising electrical connection means for establishing electrical communication between said electrical component and the circuit boards, a portion of said electrical connection means defining opposing exterior edges engageable with said interconnecting means for permitting contiguous assembly of said housing means, electrical component and said electrical connection means with said rear support member.

6. An apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said interconnecting means includes a pair of gripping fingers defining first gripping surfaces on the exterior of said fingers engageable with said interior edge upon effecting relative turning movement between said housing means and said interior edge and defining second gripping surfaces on the interior of said fingers engageable with said exterior edges of said electrical connection means.

7. Apparatus comprising:

a plurality of electrical circuit boards;

a pair of substantially coaxial, parallel, spaced apart arcuate members for transversely mounting the sides of said circuit boards between said arcuate members in mated pairs of transverse slots formed in opposingly directed faces of the arcuate members, wherein said paired slots are parallel and spaced apart from one another to thereby separate adjacent ones of said circuit boards in respective parallel mounting planes; and

locking means removeably engaged with said arcuate members for removeably locking said circuit boards to said arcuate members and for effecting substantially rigid interconnection therebetween.

8. Apparatus as in claim 7 wherein said locking means comprises:

circumferential recessed areas in each of said arcuate members in a plane substantially transverse to said mounting planes,

indications associated with the ends of said circuit boards and registered with said recessed areas when said circuit boards are received in said slots, and

resilient means seatable in said recessed areas for engaging said indentations and thus locking said circuit boards in said slots.

9. Apparatus as in claim 7 or 8 wherein one of said arcuate members includes means defining a locking edge and wherein said apparatus further comprises:

housing means for housing an electrical component therein, and

interconnecting means removeably engaged with said locking edge for removeably interconnecting said housing means thereto.

11. An assembly comprising:

a front support member including means defining a first set of slots spaced apart by predetermined dimensions along a first direction;

a rear support member separated from and coaxially aligned with said front support member and including means defining a second set of slots also spaced apart by said predetermined dimensions along a second direction parallel to said first direction,

said second set of slots being paired with corresponding ones of said first set of slots to establish a plurality of substantially parallel mounting planes disposed transversely between said front and rear support members, adjacent ones of said mounting planes being thereby separated by said predetermined dimensions;

a plurality of electrical boards each having opposing ends respectively mated with a predetermined one of said slot pairs so as to be disposed in the respective mounting planes established therebetween, said circuit boards being substantially parallel to one another and separated from adjacent ones of said circuit boards by said predetermined dimensions, and including indentations formed in said opposing ends; and

first and second securing means engaged with said front support and one end of said circuit boards and said rear support and the other end of said circuit boards, respectively, for removeably securing said circuit boards to said front and rear support members and for effecting substantial rigid unity between said front and rear supports by virtue of the structural interconnection therebetween of said circuit boards;

each said front and rear supports defining recessed areas, said indentations in said opposing ends of said circuit boards being registered with said recessed areas when said circuit boards are received in said slot pairs; and

wherein

said securing means includes resilient means seatable in said recessed areas for engaging said indentations and thus locking said circuit boards in said slot pairs.

10. An assembly as in claim 11 wherein said interconnecting means includes a pair of gripping fingers including means defining gripping surfaces removeably engaged with said locking edge.

12. An assembly as in claim 11, wherein said front and rear supports define front and rear support planes substantially parallel to one another, said mounting planes being substantially transverse to said front and rear support planes.

13. An assembly as in claim 11 wherein said recessed areas are located in a plane substantially transverse to said mounting planes.

14. An assembly as in claim 11 or 13 wherein said rear support member includes an interior edge and wherein said assembly further comprises housing means for housing an electrical component therein and interconnecting means removeably engaged with said interior edge for removeably connecting said housing means thereto.

15. An assembly as in claim 14 wherein said interconnecting means includes a pair of upstanding gripping fingers including gripping surfaces removeably engaged with said interior edge.

16. An assembly as in claim 11 or 13 wherein said rear support member includes means defining a pair of locking recesses on the circumferential edge of said rear support member and wherein said assembly further comprises housing means for housing an electrical component therein, said housing means including means defining a pair of locking flanges engageable with said pair of locking recesses for removeably interconnecting said housing means and said rear support member when said housing means is rotated relative said rear support member.

17. Apparatus for mounting rectangular printed circuit boards in a cylindrical space, said apparatus comprising:

a front mounting plate having a circumferential arcuate groove and also having on one side thereof plural spaced apart transverse slots extending through the arcuate groove;

a back mounting plate having a circumferential arcuate groove and also having on one side thereof plural spaced apart transverse slots extending through the arcuate groove;

plural rectangular printed circuit boards each having a pair of opposed edge indentations at its opposite ends, the end of said boards and said edge indentations being dimensioned to fit within corresponding pairs of said transverse slots in the front and back mounting plates with the edge indentations in registry with the respective arcuate grooves of said front and back mounting plates;

a front arcuate spring clip dimensioned to resiliently engage the arcuate groove in said front mounting plate and the edge indentations in registry therewith; and

a back arcuate spring clip dimensioned to resiliently engage the arcuate groove in said back mounting plate and the edge indentations in registry therewith.

18. Apparatus as in claim 17 further comprising:

rear edge connector means at least partially disposed through an aperture in said rear mounting plate and electrically connected to at least one of said printed circuit boards.

19. Apparatus as in claim 18 further comprising:

a rear housing with internally projecting gripping fingers defining an annular space therein;

an annular shaped electrical component housed within said annular space such that said gripping fingers extend therebeyond;

the outwardly directed surface of said extended gripping fingers being physically engaged with an interior edge of the aperture in said rear mounting plate.

20. Apparatus as in claim 19 wherein the inwardly directed surface of said extended gripping fingers are physically engaged with an exterior edge of the rear edge connector means.

21. Apparatus as in claim 19 or 20 wherein said annular shaped electrical component is electrically connected to said rear edge connector means.

22. Apparatus as in claim 18, 19, or 20 wherein said rear edge connector means further comprises electrical connections at the center portion thereof adapted to mate with a removable electrical connector plug.

23. An assembly comprising:

a front support member including means defining a first set of slots spaced apart by predetermined dimensions along a first direction;

a rear support member separated from and coaxially aligned with said front support member and including means defining a second set of slots also spaced apart by said predetermined dimensions along a second direction parallel to said first direction,

said second set of slots being paired with corresponding ones of said first set of slots to establish a plurality of substantially parallel mounting planes disposed transversely between said front and rear support members, adjacent ones of said mounting planes being thereby separated by said predetermined dimensions;

a plurality of electrical circuit boards each having opposing ends respectively mated with a predetermined one of said slot pairs so as to be disposed in the respective mounting planes established therebetween, said circuit boards being substantially parallel to one another and separated from adjacent ones of said circuit boards by said predetermined dimensions; and

first and second securing means engaged with said front support and one end of said circuit boards and said rear support and the other end of said circuit boards, respectively, for removeably securing said circuit boards to said front and rear support members and for effecting substantial rigid unity between said front and rear supports by virtue of the structural interconnection therebetween of said circuit boards, wherein

said support member includes an interior edge and said assembly further comprises housing means for housing an electrical component therein and interconnecting means removeably engaged with said interior edge for removeably connecting said housing means thereto, said interconnecting means including a pair of upstanding gripping fingers defining gripping surfaces removeably engaged with said interior edge.

25. An assembly as in claim 23 or 24 wherein said front and rear supports define front and rear support planes substantially parallel to one another, said mounting planes being substantially transverse to said front and rear support planes.

24. An assembly comprising:

a front support member including means defining a first set of slots spaced apart by predetermined dimensions along a first direction;

a rear support member separated from and coaxially aligned with said front support member and including means defining a second set of slots also spaced apart by said predetermined dimensions along a second direction parallel to said first direction,

said second set of slots being paired with corresponding ones of said first set of slots to establish a plurality of substantially parallel mounting planes disposed transversely between said front and rear support members, adjacent ones of said mounting planes being thereby separated by said predetermined dimensions;

a plurality of electrical circuit boards each having opposing ends respectively mated with a predetermined one of said slot pairs so as to be disposed in the respective mounting planes established therebetween, said circuit boards being substantially parallel to one another and separated from adjacent ones of said circuit boards by said predetermined dimensions; and

first and second securing means engaged with said front support and one end of said circuit boards and said rear support and the other end of said circuit boards, respectively, for removeably securing said circuit boards to said front and rear support members and for effecting substantial rigid unity between said front and rear supports by virtue of the structural interconnection therebetween of said circuit boards, wherein

said rear support member includes means defining a pair of locking recesses on the circumferential edge of said rear support member, and wherein

said assembly further comprises housing means for housing an electrical component therein, said housing means including means defining a pair of locking flanges engageable with said pair of locking recesses for removeably interconnecting said housing means and said rear support member when said housing means is rotated relative to said rear support member.

26. Apparatus comprising:

a plurality of electrical circuit boards;

a pair of substantially coaxial, parallel, spaced apart members for transversely mounting the sides of said circuit boards between said members in mated pairs of transverse slots formed in opposingly directed faces of the members, at least one of said members including means defining a locking edge;

housing means for housing an electrical component therein, and

interconnecting means removeably engaged with said locking edge for removeably interconnecting said housing means thereto;

wherein

said interconnecting means includes a pair of gripping fingers including means defining gripping surfaces removeably engaged with said locking edge.

27. Apparatus comprising:

a plurality of electrical circuit boards;

a pair of substantially coaxial, parallel, spaced apart members for transversely mounting the sides of said circuit boards between said members in mated pairs of transverse slots formed in opposingly directed faces of the members, at least one of said members including means defining a pair of locking recesses on the circumferential edge thereof; and

housing means for housing an electrical component therein, said housing means including means defining a pair of locking flanges engageable with said pair of locking recesses for removeably interconnecting said housing means and said at least one member when said housing means is rotated relative to said at least one member.