Motor boot for a circuit board

The present invention provides a motor boot for mechanically and electrically connecting a motor to a circuit board and includes a vibrational damping housing constructed of elastomeric material. The housing has a slot formed therein and a receptacle for slidably receiving and releasably securing the motor therein by interference fit. The receptacle includes a cut-out in fluid flow communication with the slot for receiving the electrical pad of the motor. A vibrational damping connector disposed in the slot and contacts the pad of the motor thereby creating electrical communication between the motor and circuit board. The connector is constructed of an electrically conductive elastomeric material, absorbs mechanical energy of the motor, transfers electrical energy of the motor to the circuit board. The connector is integrally formed with the housing thereby making the motor boot of one piece construction or is slidably received and releasably secured within the slot by interference fit.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
 In general, the present invention relates to motor boots and, in
 particular, the present invention relates to a motor boot for mechanically
 and electrically connecting a motor to a circuit board.
 BACKGROUND
 Typical motor boots and the associated motors take a great number of steps
 to install, which usually consist of the following. First, a motor is
 fitted with a boot. Second, motor lead wires are soldered to a Printed
 Circuit Board (PCB) for electrical operation of the motor. Next, the boot
 and motor are mounted in an electronic device, such as a mobile phone or
 pager. This type of motor boot is difficult to install, labor intensive
 during installation, and makes a large "footprint" on the circuit board,
 thereby taking up precious space within the electronic device. In
 addition, the connection method of these motor boots are soldered to the
 PCB thereby causing difficult rework procedures in manufacturing.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention eliminates the above difficulties and disadvantages
 by providing a motor boot for mechanically and electrically connecting a
 motor to a circuit board that has an electrical contact with the motor
 having an electrical pad and a nob, disposed thereon. The motor boot
 includes a vibrational damping housing constructed of elastomeric
 material. The housing is U-shaped and includes a first support leg with a
 slot disposed therein. A second support leg is spaced apart from the first
 support leg, and a base is integrally formed with the first and second
 support legs.
 The motor boot further includes a substantially cylindrical receptacle that
 is formed in the housing for slidably receiving and releasably securing
 the motor therein by interference fit. The receptacle includes a cut-out
 in fluid flow communication with the slot for receiving the electrical pad
 of the motor therein, and a port for receiving the nob of the motor
 therein.
 The motor boot also includes a vibrational damping, electrically
 conductive, connector disposed in the slot that contacts the electrical
 pad of the motor and the contact when the motor boot is connected to the
 circuit board. This creates electrical communication between the motor and
 circuit board. The connector is constructed of an electrically conductive
 elastomeric material, absorbs mechanical energy of the motor, and
 transfers electrical energy of the motor to the circuit board. During
 installation, the motor boot is preferably connected to the circuit board
 by compression being applied to the housing by a wall of the device.
 In one embodiment, the connector is integrally formed with the housing
 thereby making the motor boot of one piece construction. In yet another
 embodiment, the connector is slidably received and releasably secured
 within the slot by interference fit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
 The above and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present
 invention will now be discussed in the following detailed description and
 appended claims, which are to be considered in conjunction with the
 accompanying drawings in which identical reference characters designate
 like elements throughout the views. Shown in FIG. 1 is a motor boot 10 for
 mechanically and electrically connecting a motor 40 to a circuit board 18.
 The motor boot 10 of the present invention is preferably constructed of
 SANTOPRENE 101-55, having a 55 shore A durometer of hardness and
 manufactured by Advanced Elastomer Systems of the United States;
 SANTOPRENE 101-45 having a 45 shore A durometer of hardness and
 manufactured by Advanced Elastomer Systems of the United States; LIM 6050,
 having a 55 Shore A durometer of hardness and manufactured by General
 Electric Company of the United States; LIM 6061, having a 60 Shore A
 durometer of hardness and manufactured by General Electric Company of the
 United States; or LIM 6071, having a 70 Shore A durometer of hardness and
 manufactured by General Electric Company of the United States. It is
 understood, however, that the motor boot 10 could also be constructed of
 other non-electrically conductive elastomers such as silicon rubber and
 that the above list is exemplary rather than limiting.
 As shown in FIG. 3, the motor 40 has a surface mounted, electrical pad 48
 disposed thereon for receiving an electrical signal for operation of the
 motor 40, a cylinder 42 that contains inductive windings of the motor 40,
 and a nob 50 disposed at one end of the cylinder 42. The motor 40 is
 preferably manufactured by the Namiki Company of Japan and further
 includes a rotating shaft 44 that extends outward from the cylinder 42 and
 a counter weight 46 secured to the shaft 44. Common mobile devices in
 which the circuit board 18, boot 10, and motor 40 are typically installed
 in, but that are not limited to, are pagers, mobile telephones, and other
 electronic devices.
 The motor boot 10 further includes a vibrational damping housing, as shown
 in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6, which is constructed of the elastomeric
 material as described above. The housing is U-shaped 32 and includes a
 first support leg 12 with a contact 20 surface 16 and a slot 14 disposed
 therein. A second support leg 22 is spaced apart from the first support
 leg 12 and includes a brace surface 24. The first and second legs support
 the boot 10 as it is compression fit against the circuit board 18. A base
 34 is integrally formed between and spaces apart the first and second
 support legs.
 Formed in the housing is a receptacle 28 as shown in FIG. 2 and 6 for
 slidably receiving and releasably securing the motor 40 therein by
 interference fit, allowing for the motor 40 to be easily installed and
 uninstalled in the boot 10. The receptacle is preferably cylindrical in
 shape to receive the cylinder 42 of the motor 40 but could also be other
 configurations, such as rectangular or conical, depending upon the shape
 of the motor 40. The receptacle includes a cut-out 30 that is in fluid
 flow communication with the slot 14 for receiving the electrical pad 48 of
 the motor 40 therein, and a port 36 for receiving the nob 50 of the motor
 40 when the cylinder 42 is inserted into the receptacle. As is best shown
 in FIGS. 4 and 6, the receptacle longitudinally extends through the
 housing.
 A connector 26, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is disposed in the slot 14 and
 contacts the electrical pad 48 of the motor 40 and the contact 20 when the
 motor boot 10 is connected to the circuit board 18, thereby creating
 electrical communication between the motor 40 and circuit board 18. In
 another embodiment of the present invention, the connector 26 is slidably
 received and releasbly secured within the slot by interference fit.
 Therefore, just as the motor 40 is easily inserted into and removed from
 the receptacle because of the interference fit, so to is the connector 26
 easily inserted into and removed from the slot 14 in this embodiment. The
 interference fit of the connector 26 allows for it to be easily replaced
 in a manufacturing setting, or in the field, if a connector 26 of
 differing height is needed for varying clearances within different devices
 in which the boot 10 is installed. This interchangeability prevents the
 entire motor boot 10 from being discarded when the boot 10 is used in a
 different device. The connector 26 is constructed of an electrically
 conductive elastomeric material, which is preferably a STAX elastomeric
 connector manufactured by Thomas & Betts Corporation of Memphis, Tenn.
 Because the connector 26 is elastomeric, it provides for absorption of
 mechanical energy emitted by the motor 40 such as vibrational damping and
 the transfer of electrical energy from, or to, the circuit board 18.
 During installation of the motor boot 10 in the device, the motor boot 10
 is connected to the circuit board 18 by compression force being applied to
 the housing by a wall of the device such that the connector 26 abuts the
 contact 20. In particular, the brace surface 24 of the second support leg
 22 is preferably compressed against the circuit board 18 as the integrally
 formed housing is compressed by a wall of the device. Moreover, the
 connector 26 abuts and is compressed against the contact 20 of the circuit
 board 18 thereby allowing electrical signals to pass through the connector
 26 between the circuit board 18 and motor 40. Because the present
 connector 26 is an electrically conductive elastomer, the connector 26
 will compress when the housing is compressed into the device such that the
 contact surface 16 of the first support leg 12 will come in contact with
 the circuit board 18 thereby giving the motor boot 10 a low height profile
 in the device.
 In one embodiment of the present invention, the connector 26 is integrally
 formed with the housing thereby making the motor boot 10 of one piece
 construction. This is easily accomplished in the present invention because
 both the housing and connector 26 are constructed of an elastomeric
 material. During manufacturing of the housing, the slot 14 is doped with
 the electrically conductive elastomeric material that makes up the
 connector 26 as described above. Alternatively, an elastomeric adhesive
 can be placed in the slot 14 such that the connector 26 becomes chemically
 bonded to the elastomeric material of the housing. It is possible to
 insert mold the connector into the boot, therefore eliminating the need
 for adhesive.
 Although the invention has been described in detail above, it is expressly
 understood that it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art
 that the invention may be modified without departing from the spirit of
 the invention. Various changes of form, design, or arrangement may be made
 to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the
 invention. Therefore, the above description is to be considered exemplary,
 rather than limiting, and the true scope of the invention is that defined
 in the following claims.