Boardlock clip

A combination of a circuit board having a plurality of cylindrical holes extending between its upper and lower surfaces with each hole having a plating, a connector mounted on said board upper surface, and a plurality of boardlock clips each having a vertical axis and a mount mounted on said connector and a plurality of beams projecting down from said mount and through a corresponding one of said holes, wherein:

• each of said beams has a lower portion extending through the level of the board lower surface, with said beam lower portions having substantially flat parts and having angled board-engaging parts extending at least partially radially outwardly from said flat parts and pressing against the intersection of said board lower surface and said hole walls;
• and including
• a quantity of solder that includes a plurality of solder fillets each directly bonding one side of each of said angled board-engaging parts to said hole plating.

A method for holding a connector to a circuit board that has walls forming plated cylindrical holes, which includes forming a piece of sheet metal into a clip with a vertical axis, with an upper portion in the form of a band and with a lower portion in the form of a plurality of vertical beams having upper ends joined to said upper portion and having free lower ends and having opposite side edge portions, and which also includes installing said clip upper portion in said connector and inserting said clip lower portion downwardly through one of said board holes to an inserted position characterized by:

• forming a lower part of each beam, in a region which lies at the bottom of the board hole in the inserted position, so the lower part is tapered to be widest at a position spaced below the bottom of the circuit board and to be narrower at locations both above and below said widest position, and bending the opposite side edge portions of said lower part at said position, to form a pair of tabs each extending with a radially outward directional component;
• said step of inserting includes inserting said clip until the edges of said tabs bear against the bottom of the walls of the corresponding holes.