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US 7,607,350 B2Granted
Circuit board mounting for temperature stress reduction
AssigneeNorthrop Grumman Guidance and Electronics Company, Inc.
InventorYoungmin A. Choi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A circuit board mounting system in one example comprises an improved mounting system for a circuit board disposed between housing elements, wherein the improvement comprises a plurality of slots formed in the circuit board and a plurality of bushings disposed within the slots, such that the housing elements rest on opposed ends of the bushings, and the circuit board moves in a plane substantially parallel to its mounting surfaces in response to changes in temperature, thus reducing thermal stress.
Claims29
An improved mounting system for a circuit board disposed between housing elements, the improvement comprising:
- a plurality of slots formed in the circuit board;
- a plurality of bushings disposed within the slots, the slots being moveable relative to the bushings, wherein the plurality of bushings are formed from Kovar;
- such that the housing elements rest on opposed ends of the bushings, and the circuit board moves in a plane substantially parallel to the mounting surfaces of the circuit board in response to changes in temperature, thus reducing thermal stress during operation of the mounting system.
A method for mounting a circuit board, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a circuit board disposed within first and second housing elements;
- providing a plurality of slots in the circuit board;
- disposing a plurality of bushings within the slots;
- and the slots being moveable relative to the bushings, wherein the plurality of bushings are formed from Kovar;
- and
- resting the housing elements on opposed ends of the bushings;
- such that the circuit board moves in a plane substantially parallel to the mounting surfaces of the circuit board in response to changes in temperature, thus reducing thermal stress during operation of the mounting the circuit board.
4 more elements
An electromechanical assembly comprising:
- an upper housing element;
- an electrical connection header assembly;
- a circuit board disposed between the upper housing element and the electrical header assembly, wherein the circuit board further includes:
- a plurality of slots formed in the circuit board;
- and
- a plurality of bushings disposed within the slots, the slots being moveable relative to the bushings, wherein the plurality of bushings are formed from Kovar;
- such that the upper housing element and the electrical header assembly rest on opposed ends of the bushings, and the circuit board moves in a plane substantially parallel to the mounting surfaces in response to changes in temperature, thus reducing thermal stress during operation of the electro-mechanical assembly.
4 more elements
A hemispherical resonator gyro comprising:
- a resonator disposed within interior and exterior support structures;
- an upper housing element;
- an electrical connection header assembly making electrical contact with the resonator;
- a circuit board disposed between the upper housing element and the electrical header assembly, wherein the circuit board further includes:
- a plurality of slots formed in the circuit board;
- and
- a plurality of bushings disposed within the slots, the slots being moveable relative to the bushings, wherein the plurality of bushings are formed from Kovar;
- such that the upper housing element and the electrical header assembly rest on opposed ends of the bushings, and the circuit board moves in a plane substantially parallel to the mounting surfaces of the circuit board in response to changes in temperature, thus reducing thermal stress during operation of the hemispherical resonator gyro.
5 more elements
A hemispherical resonator gyro comprising:
- a resonator disposed within interior and exterior support structures;
- an upper housing element;
- an electrical connection header assembly operatively coupled to the resonator;
- a circuit board disposed between the upper housing element and the electrical header assembly, wherein the circuit board further includes:
- a plurality of slots formed in the circuit board, the slots being one of open-ended and completely surrounded by material of the circuit board;
- and
- a plurality of bushings disposed within the slots, the slots being moveable relative to the bushings and at least some of the slots having a plurality of bushings, wherein the plurality of bushings are formed from Kovar;
- a predetermined amount of a compliant epoxy disposed between each of the bushings and a respective slot;
- the header assembly being in close mechanical contact with respective bushings of the plurality of bushings rather than the circuit board, and the upper housing element being in close mechanical contact with respective bushings of the plurality of bushings rather than the circuit board;
- and
- the header assembly, the upper housing element, and the circuit board having different coefficients of thermal expansion;
- such that the upper housing element and the electrical header assembly rest on opposed ends of the bushings, and the circuit board moves in a plane substantially parallel to the mounting surfaces of the circuit board in response to changes in temperature, thus reducing thermal stress during operation of the hemispherical resonator gyro.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.