Method of assembling an EMI shield around an electronic component

• US 5,704,117 A
• Filed: 06/13/1996
• Issued: 01/06/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Northern Telecom Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Mok, Henry W.C., Bailey, Kevin J., Lindsay, Paul A., Sheffield, Robert C., Tencer, Michal S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Arbes, Carl J.
• Application Number:
  US08/662,966
• Time in Patent Office: 572 Days
• Field of Search: 29/840, 29/841, 174/35 R
• US Class Current: 29/841
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 9/003 made from non-conductive materials comprising an electro-conductive coating H05K9/0031 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 9/0035 with retainers mounted beforehand on the PCB, e.g. clips
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49146 with encapsulating, e.g., potting, etc.

Abstract

An EMI shield for a component mounted upon a printed circuit board. The shield is an open sided box made from plastic insulating material supporting an electrically conductive shield layer. A surrounding flange is provided by the plastic at the open side of the box, the flange having a surface facing outwards in the same direction as the open side. The conductive shield layer extends onto the outward facing surface.

Claims

1. A method of assembling an EMI shield around an electronic component comprising:

providing a substrate having one side carrying the component and a ground line on the side of the substrate carrying the component;

providing the EMI shield of a construction comprising a box of a plastic insulating material having wall means with free ends defining an open side to the box, the free ends provided with flange means extending at an angle to the wall means and surrounding the open side of the box with a surface of the flange means facing outwardly in the same direction as the open side, the box having an inner surface and an outer surface and carrying upon at least one of the inner and outer surfaces an electrically conductive shield layer extending to the outwardly facing surface of the flange means;

and locating the EMI shield upon the substrate in a desired position surrounding the component by guiding the shield into position with at least two alignment pins extending through alignment holes in the substrate and in the flange of the shield and securing the flange to the ground line with an electrically conductive adhesive to electrically connect the shield layer to the ground line.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the shield is assembled to the substrate by disposing the substrate upon a jig which is provided with the alignment pins so that the alignment pins extend through the alignment holes in the substrate, and then moving the shield onto the substrate so that the pins pass through the alignment holes in the shield and with the pins continuously in the alignment holes of both substrate and shield, pressing the shield to the substrate so that the adhesive is sandwiched between the flange means and the substrate and causes the flange means to bond to the substrate, the assembly then being separated from the jig accompanied by removal of the alignment pins from the aligned holes in both shield and substrate.