Method of connecting terminals of a plastic-encapsulated power transistor to a printed-circuit board

Method of connecting the terminals of at least one heat-sinked, plastic-encapsulated power transistor to circuits of a printed-circuit board, comprising the steps of:

• (a) adhering a main flat surface of the plastic-encapsulated power transistor to a first side of a heat sink;
• said transistor having a plurality of terminals projecting from one end of a transistor body in an orientation generally parallel to said main flat surface of the transistor and carrying power transistor-level currents during normal operation;
• (b) mounting on, and adjacent an edge, of a printed-circuit board mechanical coupling means having conductors with terminal-receiving apertures, for receiving and being connected to said terminals of said transistor with a sufficiently low contact resistance to permit conduction through the resulting connections of power transistor-level current;
• a longitudinal axis of each of said terminal-receiving apertures being oriented generally parallel to a major surface of said printed-circuit board;
• said conductors being for connection to circuits of said printed-circuit board;
• said printed-circuit board being adapted to be located on said first side of said heat sink in an assembled position;
• (c) forming an approximately perpendicular bend in each of said terminals along their length such that the ends of said terminals distal from said transistor body project away from said body at an approximate right angle to said main flat surface of the transistor;
• (d) positioning said heat sink, with said transistor mounted thereon, such that said distal ends of said terminals are each inserted into a different aperture in said mechanical coupling means;
• (e) affixing said heat sink to a support member that is in fixed relation to said printed-circuit board;
• and
• (f) mechanically securing said terminals in said apertures of said mechanical coupling means, including the step of moving tensioning devices from a non-pressing, to a sufficiently pressing, relation against said terminals that so-pressed portions of said terminals become substantially deformed in a manner that assures an adequately low ohmic contact resistance between said terminals and said conductors of said mechanical coupling means with respect to power transistor-level currents.