Snap on flexible printed circuit connector
US6121701A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 14, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 19, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 14, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02K2211/03
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A connector assembly comprising a base portion which plugs into the base of the motor shaft and a connector body having electrical interface rods along an axial face thereof. A flexible printed circuit having one end connected to the stator has dedicated connector pads on a surface thereof which line up with and are intended to be pressed against the molded body connector rods. To maintain the pads and rods in tight electrical contact, a connector snap spring assembly is snapped in place over the connector body. The snap spring assembly is assembled in two parts comprising a first U-shaped connector snap having a base and two arms, the arms being sized and adapted to snap over shoulders of the molded body; and a connector spring which is pressed in place over the body of the connector snap and includes a plurality of flexible fingers which are aligned with the flexible printed circuit pads and the molded body connector rods so that when the arms of the snap spring assembly are snapped over the shoulders of the body, the springlike fingers tightly press the pads and connector rods together. A hole is formed in the printed circuit axially displaced from the connector pads; a finger e…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.