Combination axial and surface mount cylindrical package containing one or more electronic components

A combination axial and surface mounted cylindrically-shaped package containing at least one electronic component and being surface mountable to a printed circuit board with electrical lands by the use of conventional axial component through hole mounting machinery, comprising:

• a) a hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing having a longitudinal axis, and a generally cylindrically-shaped longitudinal surface with an outer face;
• said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing replicating a conventional cylindrically-shaped electronic axial component and thereby allowing a normally non-cylindrically-shaped electronic component to be packaged in said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing to be surface mounted to the printed circuit board by use of the conventional axial component through hole mounting machinery;
• said generally cylindrically-shaped longitudinal surface of said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing being cylindrical and thereby allowing said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing containing said at least one electronic component to be mounted to the printed circuit board with any part of said generally cylindrically-shaped longitudinal surface of said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing being positioned adjacent to the printed circuit board, so that said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing can be surface mounted to the printed circuit board with 360 degrees of rotational freedom about said longitudinal axis of said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing;
• b) at least one electronic component being contained in said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing and having a plurality of electrical terminals;
• c) a pair of electrically-conductive axial leads extending outwardly from said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing along said longitudinal axis of said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing and being in electrical communication with at least a portion of said plurality of electrical terminals of said at least one electronic component being contained in said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing;
• said pair of electrically-conductive axial leads being in electrical communication with the electrical lands of the printed circuit board, so that said at least a portion of said plurality of electrical terminals of said at least one electronic component that is contained in said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing is in electrical communication with the electrical lands of the printed circuit board;
• and
• d) at least one circumferentially-disposed, laterally-oriented, and electrically-conductive ring being positioned on, concentric with, and encircling said outer face of said longitudinal surface of said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing and being in electrical communication with at least a portion of a remaining portion of said plurality of electrical terminals of said at least one electronic component being contained in said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing;
• said at least one circumferentially-disposed, laterally-oriented, and electrically-conductive ring being in electrical communication with the electrical lands of the printed circuit board, so that said at least a portion of said remaining portion of said plurality of electrical terminals of said at least one electronic component that is contained in said hollow, electrically-insulated, and generally circular-cylindrically-shaped housing is in electrical communication with the electrical lands of the printed circuit board.