Terminal structure and process of fabricating the same

Abstract: A multiple-terminal unit comprises a first and a second group of teeth extending from one edge of a band-shaped connecting (11). The teeth in the first group (12) and the second group (13) are bent at different positions so that their stem parts are staggered. In another aspect of the invention, the part at which a terminal and wiring pattern on a substrate a fixed by resin, preferably thixotropic resin.

Description: The present invention relates to a multiple-terminal unit and a process of fabricating a hybrid IC device using such a unit. In prior-art hybrid IC devices of the type having a multiplicity of input and output terminals, components and input and output terminals are soldered to a substrate by reflow soldering. As shown in Figure 1, one end of each lead 71 is bent to have an inverted U-shape 73, and the tip 72 of the lead 71 is made to abut a soldering pad 75 substantially at right angles to permit soldering by reflow (Japanese Utility Model Application Kokai Publication No. 43,452/1988). In another method shown in Figure 2, in which input and output terminals are formed on one surface of the substrate, a lead frame 81 is formed substantially in a hat shape, a notch 84 is provided in part of the hat to clamp the substrate, and soldering is performed by dipping, and the connecting part 83 is later removed to form lead terminals (Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 266,856/1987). When the number of input and output terminals required in a hybrid IC device is large, it is not possible to connect all of them on one surface of the substrate, and it is necessary to connect them on both surfaces of the substrate. Moreover, the throughhole pitch of the mother board on which a hybrid IC device is mounted is standardized and is usually 2.54 mm for the reasons of strength, easy manipulation, etc. To obtain connection of input and output terminals in a limited length of mounting, it is necessary to arrange them in a plurality of rows. However, with the prior-art terminal structures, it is difficult to fix them, by reflow or dip-soldering, a multiplicity of terminals on both surfaces of the substrate. Other problems of the prior art will now be described with reference to Figure 3 to Figure 7. The input and output terminals of modules such as IC, LSI, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as modules) have such a structure shown in Figure 3 to Figure 7, and connected to the substrate in the module. That is, Figure 3 shows an example in which clip terminals are used. The substrate 101 of the module has a surface on which electronic components, devices, etc., not shown, are mounted, and these components, devices, etc. are electrically connected by means of a wiring pattern, not shown. The wiring pattern has terminal pads 102a for connection with the input and output terminals at an end of the substrate 101. When the substrate 101 is inserted in the clip terminal 109, the clip terminal 109 clamps the substrate 101 by virtue of its resiliency. The clip terminal 109 and the substrate 101 are fixed provisionally. In this state, the clip terminal 109 and the terminal pads 102a are electrically connected by solder 103a, so good values are obtained with regard to the reliability of the connection resistance and the pull strength. Moreover, in recent years, a greater demand exists for a higher density of mounting of electronic components. To meet this demand, wiring patterns 106a and 106b are provided as shown in Figure 4, or additional terminal pads 102b are provided on the he reverse surfaces of the substrate 101 as shown in Figure 5. In these cases, the clip terminals shown in Figure 3 cannot be used, so one-surface terminals 104c and 104e in abutment with one surface of the substrate 101 are used and fixed to terminal pads 102 with solder 103a. With the structure shown in Figure 3, the substrate is clamped on both surfaces, so wiring patterns and terminal pads cannot be disposed on the reverse surface of the substrate, and therefore the input and output terminals cannot be provided on both surfaces of the substrate. DE-A-3138285 discloses a multiple terminal unit comprising: a band-shaped connecting part; and a first group of mutually aligned teeth extending from one edge of the connecting part, wherein each tooth in the first group comprises a stem part having one end continuous with the connecting part and extending in the same plane as the connecting part, a lateral part having one end continuous with the other end of the stem part and extending at an angle to the stem part, and an end part having one end continuous with the lateral part. This document also discloses a process of fabricating a hybrid IC device provided with a plurality of terminals on a substrate, comprising the steps of: printing solder paste in pad regions on a substrate; providing a multiple terminal unit comprising a plurality of teeth extending from a connecting portion; soldering the multiple terminal unit in the pad regions of the substrate using the solder paste; and removing the connecting portion from the multiple terminal unit. According to the present invention, there is provided a terminal unit, as defined above with reference to DE-A-3138285, characterised by a second group of mutually aligned teeth extending from said edge of the connecting part alternately with the teeth of the first group, each tooth of the second group comprising a lateral part having one end continuous with the connecting part and extending at an angle to the connecting part, a stem part having one end continuous with the other end of the connecting part and extending parallel to the connecting part, and an end part having one end continuous with the stem part and extending in the same plane as the stem part, wherein the end parts of the teeth in the first and second groups are aligned with each other, the stem parts in the teeth in the first group are displaced relative to the stem parts of the teeth in the second group in the direction of the thickness of the connecting part and also in the direction of the rows of the teeth in the first and second groups, and the end parts of the teeth in the first group extend parallel to the stem parts of the teeth in the first group. The present invention also provides a method, as defined above, characterised in that the multiple terminal unit is a unit according to the present invention. Preferably, the step of removing the connecting part comprises cutting the teeth of the multiple terminal unit at said stem parts. Preferably, a pair of multiple terminal units are provided and their connecting parts made to confront each other and be clamped by use of a jig. This embodiment enables a plurality of terminals to be mounted on both surfaces of a substrate for a hybrid IC device and secured by reflow soldering. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to Figures 8 to 13 of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 and Figure 2 show prior art terminal units; Figure 3 to Figure 7 are side sectional views showing prior-art terminal mounting structures; Figure 8 is an oblique view showing a multiple-terminal unit of an embodiment of the invention; Figure 9 is a sectional view along line IX-IX in Figure 8; Figure 10 is a partial view of a comb-shaped pattern from which the multiple-terminal unit of Figure 8 is formed; Figure 11A to Figure 11E are side views showing various steps of the process for mounting terminals onto a substrate of a hybrid IC device; Figure 12 is an enlarged view showing how the multiple-terminal units are set on the substrate; and Figure 13 is an oblique view showing the terminals formed on the substrate. As illustrated, the multiple-terminal unit comprises a substantially band-shaped connecting part 11, and a first group of teeth 12 and a second group of teeth 13 extending from one edge of the band-shaped connecting part 11. Each of the teeth 12 in the first group has a first stem part 12a having one end continuous with the connecting part 11 and extending in the same plane as the connecting part 11, a lateral part 12b having one end continuous with the other end of the stem part 12a and extending at an angle, e.g., almost at a right angle, with the stem part 12a, and an end part 12c having one end continuous with the other end of the lateral part 12b and extending in parallel with the stem part 12a. Each of the teeth 13 in the second group has a lateral part 13a having one end continuous with the connecting part 11 and extending at an angle, e.g., almost at a right angle, with the connecting part 11, a stem part 13b having one end continuous with the other end of the lateral part 13a and extending in parallel with the connecting part 11, and an end part 13c having one end continuous with the other end of the stem part 13b and extending in the same plane as the stem part 13b. The end parts 12c and 13c of the teeth 12 and 13 in the first and second groups are all aligned with respect to each other along a single row, and the extremities 12d and 13d of the end parts 12c and 13c are all aligned with respect to each other. The stem parts 12a of the teeth 12 in the first group are aligned with each other and are arranged at a pitch equal to the throughhole pitch of the mother board on which the hybrid IC device is to mounted, and the stem parts 13b of the teeth 13 in the second group 13 are aligned with each other and are arranged at the same pitch as that of the stem parts 12a. The stem parts 12a and 13b of the teeth 12 and 13 are shifted in the lateral direction, i.e. the direction of the thickness of the connecting part 11, and are also shifted relative to each other in the direction of the rows of the teeth 12 and 13. The distance by which the stem parts 12a and 13b of the teeth 12 and 13 are shifted relative to each other in the lateral direction is the above-mentioned throughhole pitch of the mother board, and the distance by which the stem parts 12a and 13b are shifted relative to each other in the direction of the rows of the teeth 12 and 13 is half that of the above-mentioned throughhole pitch of the mother board. The terminal unit 1 shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 can be formed by continuous punching and bending. That is, a metal sheet is punched to form a comb-shaped pattern of metal sheet, as illustrated in Fig. 10. As illustrated in Fig. 10, the comb-shaped pattern has the connecting part 11 and teeth T which will later become the teeth 12 and 13. The comb-shaped pattern is then subjected to a bending process to result in the structure as shown in Fig. 8. During the bending, alternate teeth T are bent at about a right angle in a first direction to form a convex bend 14 at a first position B1 relatively far away from the connecting part 11, and also bent at about a right angle to form a concave bend 15 at a second position B2 at a height (position in the vertical direction as seen in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) close to the height of the convex bend B1. The intervening teeth T are bent at about a right angle to form a convex bend 16 at a third position B3 close to the connecting part 11, and also bent at about a right angle at a fourth position B4 to form a concave bend 17 at a height (position in the vertical direction as seen in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9) close to height of the convex bend B3. Each of the teeth 12 and 13 has two bends, one convex bend and one concave bend, so that if the lengths of the teeth T before the bending process are identical, the positions of the ends 12d and 13d of the end part 12c and 13c are aligned with each other provided that the angles of the bends 14, 15, 16 and 17 and the dimensions of the lateral parts 12b and 13b are identical. The end parts 12c and 13c form soldering parts, which will be fixed to terminal pads of a substrate 2 shown in Fig. 11D and Fig. 12. Fig. 11A to Fig. 11E show how a hybrid IC is formed using the terminal units of the above embodiment. Fig. 11A shows a substrate 2 with solder paste 3 having been printed on its reverse surface. Usually, solder paste 3 is printed only for the terminal pads 21 on the substrate 2. Then, as shown in Fig. 11B, solder paste 3 is printed on the component mounting surface (obverse surface) of the substrate 2, for the terminal pads 22, and component pads 23 and 24. Then, as shown in Fig. 11C, components 5 and 6 are mounted. Then, as shown in Fig. 3D, a pair of the multiple-terminal units 2 are set or fixed to the substrate 2. Fig. 12 shows in greater detail how the multiple-terminal units 1 are fixed onto a substrate 2. Two multiple-terminal units 1 are used in combination, and are made to confront each other, and their connecting parts 11 are held between a fixed block 43 and clamping parts 41 and 42 of a clamp jig 4. In this state, the soldering parts 18 of the multiple-terminal units 1 held by the clamp jig 4 are little widened and, the soldering parts 12 of the multiple-terminal units 1 are made to abut the terminal pads 21 and 22 of the substrate 2. By virtue of the resiliency of the spring 44, the substrate 2, the multiple-terminal units 1 and the clamping jig 4 are held. The assembly is then passed through a reflow apparatus, and the components 5 and 6, and the multiple-terminal units 1 are simultaneously soldered. As a result, the terminal pads 21 and 22 on the substrate 2 and the soldering parts 18 of the terminal units 1 are fixed and connected by solder 3. Then, the stem parts 12a and 13b of the teeth 12 and 13 of the terminal units 1 are cut at the same height (vertical position as seen in Fig. 12), and the parts below (as seen in Fig. 12) the cut line X-X′ in Fig. 12 which include the connecting parts 11 and the lower (as seen in Fig. 12) parts of the stem parts 12a and the stem parts 13b, and the lateral parts 13a are removed. The resultant structure is shown in Fig. 11E. The parts of the teeth 12 and 13 which remain fixed to the substrate 2 after the cut form the pins or terminals for the substrate 2. As is better seen from Fig. 13, the terminals can be divided into two groups, the first group consisting of terminals 32 at alternate positions and the second group consisting of terminals 33 at intervening positions. The terminals 32 of first group are formed from the teeth 12 of the first group. The terminals 33 of the second group 33 are formed from the teeth 13 of the second group. Each of the terminals 32 in the first group has a soldering part 32c which is formed of the end part 12c of each tooth 12, a lateral part 32b which is formed of the lateral part 12b, and a stem part 32a which is formed of the upper (as seen in Fig. 12) part of the stem part 12a of the tooth 12. Each of the terminals 33 in the second group has a soldering part 33c which is formed of the end part 13c of each tooth 13, and a stem part 33b which is formed of the upper (as seen in Fig. 12) part of the stem part 13b of the tooth 13. The ends 32e and 33e of the stem parts 32a and 33b form soldering parts, which will be inserted in and soldered to throughholes in the mother board, not shown. The stem parts 32a of the terminals 32 in the first group are aligned with each other and are arranged at a pitch equal to the throughhole pitch of the mother board, and the stem parts 33b of the terminals 33 in the second group are aligned with each other and are arranged at the same pitch as that of the stem parts 32a. The stem parts 32a and 33b of the terminals 32 and 33 are shifted relative to each other in the lateral direction, and are also shifted relative to each other in the direction of the rows of the terminals 32 and 33. The distance by which the stem parts 32a and 33b of the terminals 32 and 33 are shifted relative to each other in the lateral direction is the above-mentioned throughhole pitch of the mother board, and the distance by which the stem parts 32a and 33b are shifted relative to each other in the direction of the rows of the terminals 32 and 33 is half that of the above-mentioned throughhole pitch of the mother board. Thus, the extremities 32f and 33f of the terminals 32 and 33 are staggered or arranged in a zigzag manner. As has been described, according to the above embodiment of the invention, the input and output terminals of a hybrid IC device are formed, being staggered, and a high-density mounting is therefore possible. Because the terminals adjacent to each other are both bent at a first position and a second position in the same way, the layout size for the continuous punching and bending process can be minimized, and a high-precision is achieved in the dimension of the resultant structure. Moreover, the assembly of the terminals are reflowed simultaneously with the mounted components so that the cost for the multiple-terminal units are lowered. It is therefore possible to provide a multiple-terminal hybrid IC device of a low cost suitable for a high density mounting.

Claims: A multiple-terminal unit comprising: a connecting part (11); and a first group of mutually aligned teeth (12) extending from one edge of the connecting part (11), wherein each tooth (12) in first group comprises a stem part (12a) having one end continuous with the connecting part (11) and extending in the same plane as the connecting part (11), a lateral part (12b) having one end continuous with the other end of the stem part (12a) and extending at an angle to the stem part (12a), and an end part (12c) having one end continuous with the lateral part (12b), characterised by a second group of mutually aligned teeth (13) extending from said edge of the connecting part (11) alternately with the teeth (12) of the first group, each tooth (13) of the second group comprising a lateral part (13a) having one end continuous with the connecting part (11) and extending at an angle to the connecting part (11), a stem part (13b) having one end continuous with the other end of the connecting part (13a) and extending parallel to the connecting part (11), and an end part (13c) having one end continuous with the stem part (13b) and extending in the same plane as the stem part (13b), wherein the end parts (12c, 13c) of the teeth in the first and second groups are aligned with each other, the stem parts (12a) of the teeth (12) in the first group are displaced relative to the stem parts (13b) of the teeth (13) in the second group in the direction of the thickness of the connecting part (11) and also in the direction of the rows of the teeth (12, 13) in the first and second groups, and the end parts (12c) of the teeth (12) in the first group extend parallel to the stem parts (12a) of the teeth (12) in the first group. A process of fabricating a hybrid IC device provided with a plurality of terminals on a substrate, comprising the steps of: printing solder paste (3) in pad regions (21, 22) on a substrate (2); providing a multiple-terminal unit comprising a plurality of teeth (12, 13) extending from a connecting portion (11); soldering the multiple-terminal unit in the pad regions (21, 22) of the substrate (2) using the solder paste (3); and removing the connecting portion (11) from the multiple-terminal unit, characterised in that the multiple-terminal unit is a unit according to claim 1. The process according to claim 2, wherein said step of removing the connecting part comprises cutting the teeth (12, 13) of the multiple-terminal units at said stem parts (12a, 13b). The process according to claim 2, wherein a pair of multiple-terminal units are provided and their connecting parts made to confront each other, and be clamped by use of a jig (4).

Inventors: IIDA SABURO, KUSABA KAZUNORI, NARUMI ISAO, SIBUYA HITOSI, UTUNOMIYA JIRO, IIDA, SABURO, KUSABA, KAZUNORI, NARUMI, ISAO, SIBUYA, HITOSI, UTUNOMIYA, JIRO
Applicants: OKI ELECTRIC IND CO LTD, OKI ELECTRIC INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: H01R9
IPC codes: H01L23, H01L21, H01R12, H05K3