Patent ID: 7399185

Claim:
A method of providing substantially uniform contact force in an electrical contact assembly, comprising: arranging a first set of electrical contacts in opposition to a second set of electrical contacts to provide an electrical contact arrangement; arranging an intermediate component having an interconnecting set of electrical contacts within the electrical contact arrangement to provide a multi-layer contact arrangement; arranging a shape generating component proximate to the electrical contact arrangement, the shape generating component being comprised of a first insulating layer, a second insulating layer and a shape producing layer disposed between the first and second insulating layers; arranging a stiffening component such that the shape generating component is disposed between the stiffening component and the multi-layer contact arrangement; applying a heat treatment to the shape generating component to cause the shape producing layer to produce a desired shape; and clamping the stiffening component, the shape generating component having the desired shape and the multi-layer contact arrangement such that the shape generating component shapes the multi-layer contact arrangement to provide a positive contact force between the first, interconnecting and second sets of electrical contacts that is substantially uniform across the sets of electrical contacts clamping the stiffening component, shape generating component and the multi-layer contact arrangement such that the shape generating component shapes the multi-layer contact arrangement.