Patent ID: 7535723

Claim:
An electronic assembly, comprising: a printed circuit substrate including a retentive through hole, a plurality of lands, and an electrical connector, comprising: a housing; a plurality of solder masses extending from a surface of the housing for electrically connecting the electrical connector to the lands of the circuit substrate; and a retentive structure extending from the surface of the housing, spaced apart from the plurality of solder masses, and positioned within the through hole, the retentive structure comprising a base material and a plating material disposed over at least a portion of the base material, the retentive structure having a cross-sectional area smaller than an area of the through hole so that a clearance exists between the retentive structure and a periphery of the through hole; wherein at least some of the plating material is for separating from the base material at a reflow temperature of the plurality of solder masses and combining with a solder composition within the through hole so that the solder composition and the plating material, upon cooling, form a bond between the printed circuit substrate and the retentive structure and the combination of the base material and the solder composition has a melting temperature that is higher than the melting temperature of the plurality of solder masses.