Apparatus for holding printed circuit board assemblies in manufacturing processes
First Claim
1. A universal tool for holding printed circuit board assemblies populated with components, comprising:
- a base;
a plurality of support members moveably attached to the base to project away from the base along support paths, at least some of the support members being independently positionable along the support paths when the support members engage a side of a printed circuit board assembly to selectively configure the support members at heights corresponding to a topography of the side of the printed circuit board assembly; and
a locking mechanism operatively engageable with at least one of the biasing element and the support members to fix the height of each support member when the mechanism is engaged.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A universal fixture for holding printed circuit board assemblies during stencil printing, pick-and-place processing, and other PCB assembly processes. In one embodiment, a universal printed circuit board holder has a base and a plurality of support members movably attached to the base. The support members may project away from the base along support paths, and the support members are selectively positionable along the support paths when the support members engage a side of a printed circuit board assembly. Accordingly, the support members may be selectively positioned at heights corresponding to a topography of the side of the printed circuit board assembly to uniformly support the printed circuit board assembly.
130 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A universal tool for holding printed circuit board assemblies populated with components, comprising:
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a base; a plurality of support members moveably attached to the base to project away from the base along support paths, at least some of the support members being independently positionable along the support paths when the support members engage a side of a printed circuit board assembly to selectively configure the support members at heights corresponding to a topography of the side of the printed circuit board assembly; and a locking mechanism operatively engageable with at least one of the biasing element and the support members to fix the height of each support member when the mechanism is engaged. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A universal fixture for holding printed circuit board assemblies populated with components, comprising:
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a substructure; a plurality of pins projecting away from the substructure, each pin being slidable along a path with respect to the substructure to be selectively positioned at a desired height so that the plurality of pins conforms to a topography of a side of a printed circuit board assembly; and a locking mechanism operatively engageable with at least one of the biasing element and the pins to fix the pins against moving along the support paths. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A universal fixture for holding printed circuit board assemblies populated with components, comprising:
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a substructure; a plurality of pins slideably attached to the substructure to move along support paths while engaged with points on a side of a printed circuit board assembly, each pin being selectively positionable at a height relative to the substructure to support a corresponding point on the side of the printed circuit board assembly; and a locking mechanism operatively engageable with at least one of the biasing element and the pins to fix the pins relative to the substructure. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A universal holder for supporting printed circuit board assemblies, comprising:
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a substructure having a first surface, a second surface, and a plurality of guide tracks extending with respect to the substructure at least substantially parallel to a support axis; a plurality of support members, each support member being individually coupled to a corresponding guide track to be moveable along the corresponding guide track and project away from the first surface by an adjustable distance; and a biasing element operatively engaged with the support members to individually bias the support members when the support members engage a populated side of a printed circuit board assembly so that the support members conform to a contour of the populated side of the printed circuit board; and a locking mechanism operatively engageable with at least one of the biasing element and the support members to hold the support members in positions where the support members conform to the topogaphy of the populated side of the printed circuit board. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, 37)
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33. A universal printed circuit board holder for supporting printed circuit board assemblies, comprising:
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a fixture having a first surface, a second surface, and a plurality of holes, the holes being open at the first surface and extending into the fixture; a plurality of support members positioned in the holes, the support members being individually moveable within the holes to project away from the first surface by variable distances along support paths; a biasing element operatively engaged with the support members, the biasing element individually biasing the support members along the support paths while the support members engage points on a side of the printed circuit board assembly to selectively position the support members in a configuration corresponding to a topography of the side of the printed circuit board assembly; and a locking mechanism operatively engageable with at least one of the biasing element and the support members to hold the support members in positions where the support members conform to the topography of the populated side of the printed circuit board. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A universal holder for supporting printed circuit board assemblies, comprising:
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a substructure having a first surface, a second surface, and a plurality of guide tracks extending with respect to the substructure at least substantially parallel to a support axis; a plurality of support members, each support member being individually coupled to a corresponding guide track to be moveable along the corresponding guide track and project away from the first surface by an adjustable distance; a biasing element operatively engaged with the support members to individually bias the support members when the support members engage a populated side of a printed circuit board assembly so that the support members conform to a contour of the populated side of the printed circuit board; and a locking mechanism operatively engageable with at least one of the biasing elements and the support members, wherein the engagement of the locking mechanism with at least one of the biasing elements and the support members fixes the support members at selected heights relative to the first surface of the substrate.
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Specification