Apparatus for engaging a substrate

Abstract

An apparatus (10) for engaging a printed circuit board (12) positioned in rough alignment therewith comprises a housing (14) having a bore (16) which is partially tapered (20). Loosely mounted within the bore is a sleeve (24) having a tapered portion (30) complementary to the tapered portion (20) of the bore. A pin (36) is spring-biased within the sleve and extends therefrom beyond the housing for insertion into a tooling hole (76) in the printed circuit board upon movement of the sleeve into the bore in the housing. While the tapered portion (30) on the sleeve remains spaced from the tapered section (20) of the bore, the pin is capable of limited lateral movement about the axis of the bore which virtually eliminates wedging or sticking thereof in the tooling hole. Once the sleeve is fully inserted into the housing, the tapered portion on the sleeve nests with the tapered section of the bore, rigidly locking the pin in place.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.