PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9577397-B2
Application Number: US-201213878394-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector

Abstract:
Methods are provided for manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector. First and second shells of a shell assembly may be formed from metal sheets via a stamping process. The stamping process may produce a number of first shells attached to a section of metal sheet remaining after the stamping process—a guide rail—with the front end opening of the first shell being oriented at 90 degrees relative to the guide rail. A second shell may be formed and severed from a metal sheet as a result of the stamping process. One end of the first shells may be exposed after the stamping process such that the second shells may be assembled over the exposed end of the first shells to form a shell assembly. Additional operations can be performed on the shell assembly.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector, the method comprising:
 forming a plurality of first three-dimensional shells along a length of a first metal strip using a progressive stamping process, each of the first shells having a generally rectangular body attached to the first metal strip by a neck and arranged along the first metal strip such that a front end opening of each first shell is orthogonal to the length of the first metal strip; 
 forming a plurality of second three-dimensional shells along a length of a second metal strip using a progressive stamping process, each of the second shells having a generally rectangular body attached to the second metal strip and arranged along the second metal strip such that front and rear openings of each second shell are parallel to a length of the second metal strip; 
 attaching a second shell of the plurality of second shells to each shell of the plurality of first shells by: (i) severing the second shell from the second metal strip, (ii) sliding the rear opening of the second shell over the front end opening of the first shell so that a portion of the second shell overlaps the first shell and (iii) bonding the first and second shells together in the overlapping region to form a shell assembly; and 
 for each shell assembly, performing additional operations on the shell assembly while the first shell is attached to the first metal strip by the neck. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of manufacturing a shell for an electrical connector set forth in  claim 1  wherein the additional operations performed on each shell assembly while attached to the first metal strip by the neck comprise:
 a sandblasting operation; and 
 a plating operation. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector set forth in  claim 1  further comprising, for each shell assembly, severing the neck of the first shell to separate the shell assembly from the first metal strip after the additional operations are performed. 
     
     
       4. The method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector set forth in  claim 1  further comprising, for each first shell in the plurality of first shells, compressing the first shell around each of four sides of the front opening while sliding the rear opening of the second shell over the first shell. 
     
     
       5. The method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector set forth in  claim 1  wherein the progressive stamping operations for each of the first and second metal strips comprises shearing holes and shapes in the first and second metal strips and bending portions of the first and second metal strips to form the plurality of first and second three dimensional shells. 
     
     
       6. The method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector set forth in  claim 1  wherein the attaching step comprises feeding the first plurality of shells into a tool along a first feed direction and feeding the second plurality of shells into the tool along a second feed direction, perpendicular to the first feed direction. 
     
     
       7. The method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector set forth in  claim 1  wherein each of the first and second shells are bonded together in the overlapping region using a laser welding process. 
     
     
       8. The method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector set forth in  claim 1  wherein:
 for the first metal strip, after the progressive stamping process, each of the first shells is attached to a single guide rail of the first metal strip by the neck; and 
 for the second metal strip, after the progressive stamping process, each of the second shells is positioned between first and second parallel guide rails of the second metal strip and is attached to the second metal strip by a neck that is attached to a support rail that extends perpendicularly between the first and second parallel guide rails. 
 
     
     
       9. A method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector, the shell assembly including a first and second shell, the method comprising:
 feeding a length of metal strip in a first direction to a stamping line; 
 stamping, in a second direction, the metal strip, the second direction being orthogonal to the first direction, the stamping comprising: 
 shearing holes and shapes in the metal strip to define a first section of material to act as a carrier strip including one or more sheared holes, a second section of material for forming the first shell, and a neck connecting the first and second sections of material; and 
 forming the first shell with a mechanical press and forming cam, the first shell comprising: 
 a height, a length and a width; and 
 a first opening defining a cavity about the length of the first shell, the first opening being orthogonal to the first direction; 
 assembling the first shell with the second shell, the second shell having an opening defining a cavity that has a width and a thickness that are greater than the width and thickness of the first shell, respectively, the opening of the second shell being assembled over the first shell to form a shell assembly; and 
 performing additional operations on the shell assembly while the shell assembly remains attached to the carrier strip via the neck. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first shell is a rear shell of the shell assembly and the second shell is a front shell of the shell assembly. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first shell is a front shell of the shell assembly and the second shell is the rear shell of the shell assembly. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the additional operations include welding, sandblasting and plating the assembled plug connector. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the additional operations are performed via the carrier strip being routed via a reel to an operation station for performing the one or more additional operations. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising winding the carrier strip around a reel, the carrier strip still having the assembled plug connector attached thereto, for storing or routing one or more assembled plug connectors. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first shell includes one or more locking tabs and the second shell includes corresponding locking gaps, wherein the locking tabs extend into the locking holes when the second shell is assembled over the first shell and the locking tabs are positioned directly below the locking holes thereby holding the first and second shells in their assembled positions with respect to each. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising removing the shell assembly from the carrier strip. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , further comprising assembling a rear boot with the plug connector. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising affixing the rear boot assembled with the plug connector to the shell assembly by injection molding material between the rear boot and the shell assembly. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the rear boot includes a data and power transmission cable attached to an end thereof. 
     
     
       20. A method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector, the method comprising:
 forming a plurality of first three-dimensional shells along a length of a first metal strip using a progressive stamping process, each of the first shells having a generally rectangular body attached to the first metal strip by a neck and arranged along the first metal strip such that a front end opening of each first shell is orthogonal to the length of the first metal strip; 
 forming a plurality of second three-dimensional shells along a length of a second metal strip using a progressive stamping process, each of the second shells having a generally rectangular body attached to the second metal strip and arranged along the second metal strip such that a front end opening of each second shell is orthogonal to a length of the second metal strip; 
 for each first shell in the plurality of first shells, attaching a second shell to first shell by: (i) severing the second shell from the second metal strip, (ii) sliding the rear opening of the second shell over the front end opening of the first shell so that a portion of the second shell overlaps the first shell and (iii) bonding the first and second shells together in the overlapping region to form a shell assembly; and 
 for each shell assembly, performing additional operations on the shell assembly while the first shell is attached to the first metal strip by the neck. 
 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 20 , wherein the second shell is not severed from the second metal strip as part of attaching the second shell to the first shell. 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 21 , wherein the second shell is severed from the second metal strip after attaching the second shell to the first shell.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is the U.S. National Stage entry of PCT/CN2012/078560, filed Jul. 12, 2012, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference for all purposes. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for manufacturing an electrical connector, such as USB electrical connectors. 
     Many electronic devices mate with electrical connectors that receive and provide power and data, e.g., USB electrical connectors. These electrical connectors are often cable assemblies that are designed to mate with corresponding receptacle connectors on an electronic device. A cable assembly may include a plug connector that plugs into the receptacle connector of an electronic device, thereby forming one or more conductive paths for signals and power. 
     The plug connector of a USB connector often includes a shell that surrounds and provides mechanical support and/or electrical insulation for contacts, the shell having a housing assembled over a portion thereof. These housings may be on the end of a cable. A progressive stamping operation is often used to form shells for USB plug connectors from a sheet of metal. Typically, the shell is formed such that the direction of shell&#39;s opening is parallel to the length of the metal sheet and the direction in which the metal sheet is fed through the progressive stamping process. At the conclusion of the stamping process, the shell may be removed from the metal sheet and manually assembled with the other cable assembly components. 
     Within the electronic device market, there is an increasing demand for smaller devices and smaller corresponding accessories, e.g., USB cable assemblies. This demand for smaller electronic components is often coupled with a high-volume production requirement. To decrease the size of USB cable assemblies, the shell, among other components, may need to be reduced in size through a process that is suitable for high-volume production. 
     Many manufacturing systems and methods face challenges in producing reduced profile or slim USB connector shells while satisfying high-volume production requirements. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods for the high-volume manufacture of a slim profile USB connector shell. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Various embodiments of the invention pertain to methods of manufacturing shells for USB plug connectors. For example, the USB shell may include a front shell that is assembled over a rear shell that is smaller than the front shell such that the front shell partially overlaps the rear shell. The difference is size between the front and rear shell may allow for a housing or boot having a cable on one end to be assembled over the portion of the rear shell not overlapped by the front shell such that the outer surface of the housing and the front shell are flush or nearly flush. This connector design may be desirable because it may be aesthetically pleasing and smaller than typical USB connectors. 
     To manufacture this two-piece USB shell, front and rear shells may be formed from metal sheets via a stamping process that occurs in multiple stages. The stamping process may produce a number of rear shells attached to a section of metal sheet remaining after the stamping process—a carrier or guide rail—with the front end opening of the rear shell being oriented at 90 degrees relative to the guide rail. A front shell may be formed and severed from a metal sheet as a result of the stamping process. One end of the rear shell may be exposed after the stamping process such that additional operations can be performed on the rear shell while the other end of the shell remains attached to the guide rail. For example, the front shells may be assembled over the exposed end of the rear shells to form a shell assembly. The guide rail, now carrying a number of shell assemblies, may route the shell assemblies from one operation to the next, e.g., bonding operations, polishing operations, plating operations and others. This method of manufacture may reduce cycle time and increase efficiency as the guide rail may route the shell assemblies along a manufacturing line without manual intervention and without having to remove the shell assemblies from one transportation mechanism and putting them on another transportation mechanism for additional operations. 
     According to one embodiment, a method of manufacturing an electrical connector is provided. A plurality of first three-dimensional shells are formed along a length of a first metal strip using a progressive stamping process, each of the first shells having a generally rectangular body attached to the first metal strip by a neck and arranged along the first metal strip such that a front end opening of each first shell is orthogonal to the length of the first metal strip. A plurality of second three-dimensional shells are formed along a length of a second metal strip using a progressive stamping process, each of the second shells having a generally rectangular body attached to the second metal strip and arranged along the second metal strip such that front and rear openings of each second shell are parallel to a length of the second metal strip. For each first shell in the plurality of first shells, attaching a second shell to first shell by: (i) severing the second shell from the second metal strip, (ii) sliding the rear opening of the second shell over the front end opening of the first shell so that a portion of the second shell overlaps the first shell and (iii) and bonding the first and second shells together in the overlapping region to form a shell assembly. And for each shell assembly, performing additional operations on the shell assembly while the first shell is attached to the first metal strip by the neck. 
     According to another embodiment, a method of manufacturing an electrical connector is provided. A plurality of first three-dimensional shells are formed along a length of a first metal strip using a progressive stamping process, each of the first shells having a generally rectangular body attached to the first metal strip by a neck and arranged along the first metal strip such that a front end opening of each first shell is orthogonal to the length of the first metal strip. A plurality of second three-dimensional shells are formed along a length of a second metal strip using a progressive stamping process, each of the second shells having a generally rectangular body attached to the second metal strip and arranged along the second metal strip such that a front end opening of each second shell is orthogonal to a length of the second metal strip. For each first shell in the plurality of first shells, attaching a second shell to first shell by: (i) severing the second shell from the second metal strip, (ii) sliding the rear opening of the second shell over the front end opening of the first shell so that a portion of the second shell overlaps the first shell and (iii) and bonding the first and second shells together in the overlapping region to form a shell assembly. And for each shell assembly, performing additional operations on the shell assembly while the first shell is attached to the first metal strip by the neck. 
     Although aspects of the invention are described in relation to reduced profile or slim USB connectors, it is appreciated that these methods, features and aspects can be used in a variety of different environments, regardless of connector size or type. 
     The shells described herein can be used in a variety of different electrical connectors, which may use a variety of different connector technologies. The invention may apply to many commonly used data connectors including standard USB and mini USB connectors, FireWire connectors, as well as many of the proprietary connectors, e.g., Apple&#39;s proprietary 30-pin connector, used with common portable electronics. The invention may also apply to internal connectors or other connections between components within the enclosure of an electronic device. 
     To better understand the nature and advantages of the present invention, reference should be made to the following description and the accompanying figures. It is to be understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the scope of the present invention. Also, as a general rule, and unless it is evident to the contrary from the description, where elements in different figures use identical reference numbers, the elements are generally either identical or at least similar in function or purpose. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector according to embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 2A-2E  illustrate a metal strip at different stages of a progressive stamping operation for forming a plurality of rear shells according to embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 3A-3E  illustrate a metal strip at different stages of a progressive stamping operation for forming a plurality of front shells according to embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a mechanism for routing shells between various operations. 
         FIGS. 5A-5C  illustrate different stages of forming a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a laser welding operation performed on a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a polishing operation performed on a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a plating operation performed on a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an additional method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector according to embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known details have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention. 
     Embodiments can provide methods for manufacturing a shell assembly. A progressive stamping operation may be used to form a plurality of two different shells from two different metal sheets or metal strips. For example, one shell may be a rear shell that is formed having an opening perpendicular to the direction of the length of the metal sheet. One end of the rear shell may be accessible such that additional operations can be performed on the rear shell while the other end of the rear shell remains attached to a section of the metal strip remaining after the stamping process—a guide rail. The other shell may be a front shell that is formed and severed from the other metal strip. The front shells may be assembled over the rear shells that remain attached to the guide rail to form a plurality of shell assemblies that all may be accessible such that additional operations can be performed on the shell assemblies as the guide rail routes the shell assemblies to different operation stations. Allowing the shell assemblies to remain on a single transportation apparatus, e.g., the guide rail, for multiple operations may obviate the need to spend additional time and resources to manually route shells between operation stations. Embodiments of these methods are described in further detail below. 
     I. Method of Manufacture 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector according to embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the shell assembly may be used in a USB plug connector. Each step of the method of  FIG. 1  is discussed in detail below. 
     A. Forming 
     The first steps of the method of  FIG. 1 , steps  105   a  and  105   b , may take place concurrently or at different times. At step  105   a , a plurality of rear shells are formed. For example, the plurality of rear shell may be formed by a progressive stamping operation.  FIGS. 2A-2E  illustrate a metal strip at different stages of a progressive stamping operation for forming a plurality of rear shells according to embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 2A  shows a standard metal strip  205  that may be fed from, for example, a spool into a stamping machine to begin the progressive stamping operation—an arrow indicates a feed direction  210 . Metal strip  205  may be formed from a stainless steel or other metallic material. The dimensions of metal strip  205  may be varied depending on the size and structural requirements of the shell assembly. For example, the thickness of metal strip  205  may be 0.3 millimeters or may range from between about 0.1 millimeters to about 1 millimeter, but embodiments of the invention are not limited to the use of a metal strip having a particular thickness. The width of the metal strip  205  may be 19 millimeters or may range from between about 10 millimeters to about 100 millimeters, but embodiments of the invention are not limited to the use of a metal strip having a particular width. 
       FIG. 2B  illustrates metal strip  205  after the progressive stamping operation performs cutting operations according to embodiments of the present invention. Metal strip  205  may be fed from a spool or a reel into the stamping machine and positioned such that a cutting operation may be performed on a portion of metal strip  205 . The cutting operation may include shearing holes  215  and shearing an outline gap  220  that defines a rectangular section  225  connected to the rest of metal strip  205  by a small metal strip or neck  230 . Neck  230  may be one or more metal strips running between rectangular section  225  and the rest of metal strip  205 . Rectangular section  225 , as discussed below, may be formed into a shell via other operations. 
     In some embodiments, the number, shape and location of holes  215  may be varied based on whether the shell will be used in a USB, FireWire, DiplayPort or other connector. The shape defined by outline gap  220  may similarly vary based on the shell assembly&#39;s connector type. For example, holes  215  may include 2 holes or more than 10 holes and holes  215  may be circular, triangular or otherwise shaped. As another example, outline gap  220  may define a circle, polygon or other shape. Holes  215  and outline gap  220  may be cut out of metal strip  205  by a single step shearing operation or may occur in a multiple steps. Alternatively, shearing of some holes  215  and/or outline gap  220  may be done during this initial cutting operation while others may be sheared later in the progressive stamping operation, e.g., after the bending operations discussed below. 
     After the aforementioned cutting operations, the portion of metal strip  205  shown in  FIG. 2B  will proceed forward in feed direction  210  to the next operation. An example of the next operation is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 2C  illustrates metal strip  205  during a bending operation of the progressive stamping operation according to embodiments of the present invention. Following the cutting operations discussed above, strip  205  may be fed into a bending station where bending operations may be performed on rectangular section  225  of metal strip  205 . For example, rectangular section  225  be bent or folded about bend lines  235   a ,  235   b . To perform bending operations, portions of rectangular section  225  may be folded over a bend shoe by stamping. Alternatively, one or more cams may be inserted into and retracted out of the bending station during the bending operation to provide surfaces about which the rectangular section  225  may be pressed to form a shell. 
     In one embodiment, three cams may be applied to rectangular section  225 . A first cam is applied on the bottom side of rectangular section  225  and to the left of bend line  235   a . A second cam is applied to the bottom side of rectangular section  225  and the right of the bend line  235   b . A third cam is applied on the top side of rectangular section  225  and to the right of a bend line  235   a  and to the left of bend line  325   b . In this example, the third cam may hold its position while the first and second cams apply a force to the bottom side of rectangular section  225  and cause portions of rectangular section  225  to the left of bend line  235   a  and to the right of fold section  235   b  to bend about bend lines  235   a  and  235   b , respectively. During this bending process, rectangular section  225  may appear bent as shown in  FIG. 2C . Additional bending operation may be applied to rectangular section  225  to form the desired shell. 
     At the conclusion of the bending operations of the progressive stamping operation described above, a rear shell may be completely formed. An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 2D  illustrates a three dimensional rear shell formed through the progressive stamping operation discussed above according to embodiments of the present invention. Following the bending operations discussed above, metal strip  205  may now include a generally rectangular shell  240  that remains connected to other sections of metal strip  205  by neck  230  (not shown in  FIG. 2D ). As shown in  FIG. 2D , portions of metal strip  205  surrounding rear shell  240  that remain after the stamping and bending operation discussed above may be removed. For example, additional stamping operations may be applied to metal strip  205  to remove some portions of metal strip  205  surrounding rear shell  240 , e.g., portions  205   b - d  (shown in  FIG. 2C ), while leaving portion  205   a  (shown in  FIG. 2C ) connected to rear shell  240  by neck  230 . After these stamping operations, portion  205   a  may now serve as a carrier or guide rail  250 , which will be discussed in detail below. 
       FIG. 2D  shows rear shell  240  having a front end opening  245  that is orthogonal to the length of the remaining portion metal strip  205 —guide rail  250 —and feed direction  210 . The orientation of shell  240  and the removal of some residual material, as discussed above, leaves front end opening  245  unobstructed by portions of metal strip  205  and leaves shell  240  accessible by other operations as discussed below. That is, the progressive stamping process described above may produce a rear shell  240  connected to a guide rail  250  that may route rear shell  240  to other operation stations where additional operations may be performed on rear shell  240  while still connected to guide rail  240 . The methods for routing guide rail  240  to additional operation stations as well as details regarding the additional operations are discussed in detail below. 
     In embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of rear shells  240  may be formed concurrently on a length of metal strip  205 . For example, the various operations described above may be simultaneously performed on different portions of metal strip  205 . As the metal strip is fed in feed direction  210 , portions of metal strip  205  may be formed into rear shells  240  that are connected a continuous guide rail  250  by their respective necks  230 . An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 2E  illustrates multiple stages of a progressive stamping operation for forming a plurality of rear shells on a single metal strip according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2E , different portions of metal strip  205  are at different stages of the progressive stamping operation. Each portion of metal strip  205  may have different operations performed thereon simultaneously resulting in a flat rectangular section  225   a , a partially bent rectangular section  225   b  and a formed rear shall  240  at different portions of metal strip  205 . Accordingly, the progressive stamping operation described herein may form a plurality of rear shells  240  from a single section of metal strip  205 , each rear shell being separated in space but still connected to a common and continuous guide rail  250  via respective necks  230 . 
     For example, each of the stamping and bending operations described above may include ten or more separate operations that may be performed simultaneously. Portions of metal strip  205  may have discrete stamping or bending operation performed thereon, and then metal strip  205  may be moved forward by one position—to the next operation station—and all the stamping and bending operations may be simultaneously performed again on respective portions of metal strip  205 . This process may be until each portion of metal strip  205  is formed into rear shell  240  that remains attached to guide rail  250 . 
     As discussed above, rear shells  240  may be generally rectangular and have a length, width and height dimension. The orientation of each of the plurality of rear shells  240  may be formed such that the length dimension of rear shell  240  is perpendicular to feed direction  210 , as shown in  FIGS. 2A-E . This may allow for a plurality of rear shells  240  to be routed via guide rail  250  to additional operations without having to manually handle each rear shells and then perform operations on individual rear shell  240  or having to weld rear shell  240  to a carrier in different orientations for different operations to be performed on rear shell  240 . Accordingly, the progressive stamping operation described herein may be used as part of a repeatable and efficient manufacturing process. 
     In some embodiments, datum holes may be cut into guide rail  250  during the cutting operations described above and may be used by various routing mechanisms described below to move guide rail  250  through the manufacturing process describe herein. In some embodiments, these datum holes may have a circular shape with a diameter of 1.5 millimeters or the diameter may range from between about 0.5 millimeters to about 3 millimeters, but embodiments of the invention are not limited to the use of datum holes having a particular diameter. Datum holes may also be used to align rear shells  240  for the performance of different operations. For example, an operation station may include positioning pins that engage datum holes. The datum holes may be formed at a fixed distance from the neck  230  such that by aligning the position pins engaged with datum holes on a guide rail  250 , the rear shell  240  may be moved to the appropriate location for performing an operation. 
     In other embodiments of the present invention, the operations described above may be performed in various orders or sequences. For example, the order of the cutting operations and bending operations may be switched and/or divided into multiple cutting and bending operations that are performed in various orders. 
     At the conclusion of step  105   a  (shown in  FIG. 1 ), the plurality of rear shells  240  connected to guide rail  250  may be reeled onto a reel (not shown in  FIGS. 2A-2E ) for storage or directly routed to another operation station via a reel or other routing mechanism. 
     As mentioned above, step  105   a  may occur simultaneous with step  105   b  or at a different time than when step  105   b  is performed. In some embodiments, steps  105   a  and  105   b  may occur at the same time for reasons that will be discussed below with reference to step  110 . 
     At step  105   b  of  FIG. 1 , a plurality of front shells are formed. For example, a plurality of front shells may be formed by a progressive stamping operation. Although the process of forming of front shell may shave many similarities with the process of forming a rear shell as described above, there may be some differences in how the front shell is formed.  FIGS. 3A-3E  illustrate a metal strip at different stages of a progressive stamping operation for forming a plurality of front shells according to embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 3A  shows a standard metal strip  305  that may be fed from, for example, a spool into a stamping machine to begin the progressive stamping operation—an arrow indicates a feed direction  310 . Metal strip  305  may be formed from the same material that metal strip  205  (not shown in  FIG. 3A ) may be formed from, e.g., a stainless steel or other metallic material. The dimensions of metal strip  305  may be varied depending on the size and structural requirements of the shell assembly. For example, the thickness of metal strip  305  may be 0.3 millimeters or may range from between about 0.1 millimeters to about 1 millimeter, but embodiments of the invention are not limited to the use of a metal strip having a particular thickness. The width of the metal strip  305  may be greater than the width of strip  205  (not shown in  FIG. 3A ), e.g., 40.5 millimeters or may range from between about 10 millimeters to about 100 millimeters, but embodiments of the invention are not limited to the use of a metal strip having a particular width. 
       FIG. 3B  illustrates metal strip  305  after the progressive stamping operation performs cutting operations according to embodiments of the present invention. Metal strip  305  may be fed from a spool or a reel into the stamping machine and positioned such that a cutting operation may be performed on a portion of metal strip  305 . The cutting operation may include shearing holes  315  and shearing outline gaps  320   a  and  320   b  that define a rectangular section  325  connected to the rest of metal strip  305  by small metal strips or necks  330   a  and  330   b . Necks  330   a  and  330   b  each may be one or more metal strips running between rectangular section  325  and the rest of metal strip  305 . Although two necks—necks  330   a  and  330   b —are shown in  FIG. 3B , some embodiments may include only one neck, e.g., neck  330   a . Rectangular section  325 , as discussed below, may be formed into a shell via other operations. 
     In some embodiments, the number, shape and location of holes  315  may be varied based on whether the shell will be used in a USB, FireWire, DiplayPort or other connector. The shape defined by outline gaps  320   a  and  320   b  may similarly vary based on the type of connector the shell will be used in. For example, holes  315  may include 2 holes or more than 10 holes and holes  315  may be circular, triangular or otherwise shaped. As another example, outline gap  320   a  and  320   b  may define a circle, polygon or other shape. Holes  315  and outline gaps  320   a  and  320   b  may be cut out of metal strip  305  by a single step shearing operation or may occur in a multiple steps. Alternatively, shearing of some holes  315  and/or outline gaps  320   a  and  320   b  may be done during this initial cutting operation while others may be sheared later in the progressive stamping operation, e.g., after the bending operations discussed below. 
     After the aforementioned cutting operations, the portion of metal strip  305  shown in  FIG. 3B  will proceed forward in feed direction  310  to the next operation. An example of the next operation is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 3C  illustrates metal strip  305  during a bending operation of the progressive stamping operation according to embodiments of the present invention. Following the cutting operations discussed above, strip  305  may be fed into a bending station where bending operations may be performed on rectangular section  325  of metal strip  305 . For example, rectangular section  335  may be bent or folded about bend lines  335   a  and  335   b . To perform these bending operations, portions of rectangular section  335  may be folded over a bend shoe by stamping. Alternatively, one or more cams may be inserted into and retracted out of the bending station during the bending operation to provide surfaces about which the rectangular section  335  may be pressed to form a shell, e.g., a front shell. 
     In one embodiment, three cams may be applied to rectangular section  325 . A first cam is applied on the bottom side of rectangular section  335  and to the left of bend line  335   a  with respect to feed direction  310 . A second cam is applied to the bottom side of rectangular section  325  and to the right of the bend line  335   b  with respect to feed direction  310 . A third cam is applied on the top side of rectangular section  325  and between bend line  335   a  and  335   b . In this example, the third cam may hold its position while the first and second cams apply a force to the bottom side of rectangular section  325  and cause portions of rectangular section  325  to bend about bend lines  335   a  and  335   b  as shown in  FIG. 3C . Additional bending operations may be applied to rectangular section  325  to form the desired shell. 
     At the conclusion of the bending operations of the progressive stamping operation described above, a front shell may be completely formed. An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 3D  illustrates a three dimensional front shell formed through the progressive stamping operation discussed above according to embodiments of the present invention. Following the bending operations discussed above, metal strip  305  may include a generally rectangular shell  340  that remains connected to other sections of metal strip  305  by necks  330   a  (not shown in  FIG. 3D ) and  330   b . As shown in  FIG. 3D , portions of metal strip  305  surrounding front shell  340  that remain after the stamping and bending operation may include carriers or guide rails  350   a  and  350   b  as well as support rails  351   a  and  351   b  that may not be removed during the progressive stamping operation. 
       FIG. 3D  shows front shell  340  having a front end opening  345  and a rear end opening  346  that are parallel to the length of metal strip  305 , guide rails  350   a ,  350   b  and feed direction  310 . The orientation of front shell  340  shown in  FIG. 3D  may be the typical orientation of connectors and shells formed through a progressive stamping operation. Accordingly, the progressive stamping process described above may produce a front shell  340  connected to guide rails  350   a  and  350   b  that may route front shell  340  to other operation stations where additional operations may be performed on front shell  340  while still connected to guide rails  350   a  and  350   b . For example, front shell  340  may be severed from guide rails  350   a ,  350   b  and supports rails  351   a ,  351   b  such that front shell  340  may be assembled over a corresponding rear shell, e.g., rear shell  240  (not shown in  FIG. 3D ). The methods for routing guide rail  340  to additional operation stations as well details regarding the additional operations are discussed in detail below. 
     In embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of front shells  340  may be formed concurrently on a length of metal strip  305 . For example, the various operations described above may be simultaneously performed on different portions of metal strip  305 . As the metal strip is fed in feed direction  310 , portions of metal strip  305  may be formed into front shells  340  that are connected to continuous guide rails  350   a ,  350   b  by supports rails  351   a ,  351   b  and necks  330   a ,  330   b . An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 3E  illustrates multiple stages of a progressive stamping operation for forming a plurality of front shells on a single metal strip according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3E , different portions of metal strip  305  are at different stages of the progressive stamping operation. Each portion of metal strip  305  may have different operations simultaneously performed thereon resulting in a flat rectangular section  325   a , a partially bent rectangular section  325   b  and a formed rear shall  340  at different portions of metal strip  305 . Accordingly, the progressive stamping operation described herein may form a plurality of front shells  340  from a single section of metal strip  305 , each front shell being separated in space, but still connected to common and continuous guide rails  350   a ,  350   b  via respective necks. 
     In some embodiments, datum holes may be cut into one or both guide rails  350   a ,  350   b  during the cutting operations described above and may be used by various routing mechanisms described below to move front shells  340 . The datum holes may also be used to align rear shells  340  for the performance of different operations, e.g., a cutting operation to sever fronts shells from metal strip  305 . For example, an operation station may include positioning pins that engage datum holes. The datum holes may be formed at fixed distance from the necks  330   a  and  330   b  such that by aligning the position pins engaged with datum holes on guide rails  350   a  and  350   b , the front shell  340  may be moved to the appropriate location for performing an operation. 
     In other embodiments of the present invention, the operations described above with regards to  FIGS. 3A-3E  may be performed in various orders or sequences. For example, the order of the cutting operations and bending operations may be switched and/or divided into multiple cutting and bending operations that are performed in various orders. 
     As discussed above, front shells  340  may be generally rectangular and have a length, width and height dimension. The orientation of each of the plurality of front shells  340  may be formed such that the length dimension of front shell  340  is parallel to feed direction  310 . At the conclusion of step  105   b  (shown in  FIG. 1 ), the plurality of front shells  340  connected to guide rails  350   a ,  350   b  may be reeled onto a reel (not shown in  FIGS. 3A-3E ) for storage or directly routed to another operation station via a reel or other routing mechanism. An example is shown in the figure below. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a mechanism for routing shells between various operations. For example, at the conclusion of step  105   a , a plurality of rear shells  440  may be are routed via guide rail  450  to a guiding fixture  400 . Guide rail  450  may be fed into guiding structure  400  that includes wheels  405   a  and  405   b  that engage and push guide rail  450  in direction  410 . Wheels  405   a  and  405   b  may include positions pins as described above for interfacing with embodiments of guide rail  450  that include datum holes. The plurality of rear shells  440  may be fed into feed direction  410  such that the method outlined in  FIG. 1  may proceed to a next step. An example of a next step is discussed in the next section. 
     B. Assembling 
     The next step after steps  105   a  and  105   b  is step  110 . At step  110  of  FIG. 1 , a plurality of shell assemblies may be formed. For example, the plurality of front shells may be assembled over a plurality of rear shells to form shell assemblies in an assembly operation.  FIGS. 5A-5C  illustrate different stages of forming a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 5A  shows a rear shell  505  that has been fed in feed direction  510  into position to be assembled with front shell  515  which has been moved into position according to feed direction  520 . Rear shell  505  may be attached to guide rail  525  via neck  530 , guide rail  525  may be connected to a plurality of rear shells  505 . Front shell  515  may be attached to guide rails  535   a ,  535   b  via necks  540   a ,  540   b  which may be attached to support rails  545   a  and  545   b , respectively. However, in order to assemble rear end opening  550  of front shell  515  over front end opening  555  of rear shell  505 , front shell  515  must be severed from guide rails  535   a ,  535   b  and necks  540   a ,  540   b  and support rails  545   a  and  545   b . An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 5B  shows a front shell  515  severed from guide rails  535   a ,  535   b  and necks  540   a ,  540   b  and support rails  545   a  and  545   b . The severing of front shell  515  may be accomplished by a stamping operation, e.g., cutting. Then, the rear end opening  550  of front shell  515  may be assembled in feed direction  520  over front end opening  555  of rear shell  505 . For example, a robotic arm may grip the exterior surface of front shell  515  and slide front shell  515  over rear shell  505  such that front shell  515  partially overlaps the rear shell  505  such that shell assembly  560  is formed as shown in  FIG. 5C . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5A-5C , it may not be necessary to remove rear shell  505  from guide rail  525  to form shell assembly  560 . Accordingly, this would allow the shell assembly to be routed via guide rail  525  without manual intervention or having to attach the shell assembly to another guide rail to different operation stations. In some embodiments, this assembly step may also be done manually, but an automated assembly may be useful in some situations. 
     In some embodiments, it may be necessary or helpful to clamp or compress rear shell  505  prior to assembling front shell  515  over rear shell  505 . For example, there may be some interference between the rear shell  505  and front shell  515  during the assembling process, which may require clamping forces to be applied to four sides of rear shell  505  to allow front shell  515  to be assembled over rear shell  505 . For example, a clamp may be applied to rear shell  505  to apply forces to rear shell  505  in directions  565   a - d . Clamping may further prevent stresses from being applied to neck  530  during the assembly process as the clamp would absorb forces applied by front shell  515  to rear shell  505 , which may have otherwise been translated to neck  530 . 
     In other embodiments, multiple rear shells  505  and front shells  515  may be simultaneously assembled (e.g., two or three or more) to speed up the process for line balancing with later steps that are occur more quickly. For example, bonding operations may be able to process several parts quickly and simultaneously. Thus, if shell assemblies  560  are assembled one at a time, it may not be possible to produce shell assemblies  560  such that the bonding station can run at full capacity. Underutilized resources can result in lost time and money. Accordingly, simultaneously forming shell assemblies  560  connected to a common guide rail  530  may be useful in some situations. 
     In yet additional embodiments, front shells may be formed by a process not described herein. However, these front shells may be assembled with rear shells formed according to embodiments of the present invention. For example, front shells formed at another location may be arranged or put on a line such that a robotic arm can access these front shells and assemble them over rear shell  505  as described above. 
     The plurality of shell assemblies formed as described above may be fed, e.g., by a guiding fixture, in feed direction  510  to another operation station such that the method outlined in  FIG. 1  may proceed from step  110  to a next step. An example of a next step is discussed in the next section. 
     C. Bonding 
     The next step after step  110  is step  115 . At step  115  of  FIG. 1 , a plurality of shell assemblies may be bonded. For example, the front and rear shells of a plurality of shell assemblies may be bonded together in a bonding operation.  FIG. 6  illustrates a laser welding operation performed on a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 6  shows shell assemblies  605  being routed into a bonding station via guide rail  606  in feed direction  610 . The bonding station may include laser units  615   a  and  620   a  that each project three laser beams  620   a - c  and  625   a - c , respectively, onto portions of shell assemblies  605  where the rear shells and front shells overlap as the shell assemblies pass through the bonding station. For example, when shell assemblies  605  are in a first position, laser beams  620   a  and  625   a  may perform a laser welding operations on front and back sides, respectively, of shell assemblies  605  to create laser welds  630   a . Similarly, when shell assemblies  605  are in a second position, laser beams  620   b  and  625   b  may perform a laser welding operations on front and back sides, respectively, of shell assemblies  605  to create laser welds  630   b . And when shell assemblies  605  are in a third position, laser beams  620   c  and  625   c  may perform a laser welding operations on front and back sides, respectively, of shell assemblies  605  to create laser welds  630   c . Laser welds  630   a - c  on both sides of shells assemblies may serve to hold shell assembles  605  together. 
     In some embodiments, more or less than three laser welds may be applied to each side of a shell assembly  605 . For example, four welds or more may be applied to both sides of the assembled connector for strength additional strength. Multiple laser welds may be applied to each side of shell assembly  605  concurrently or in series as shown in  FIG. 6 . The laser pulse energy of laser units  615   a  and  615   b  may be between 10 joules and 100 joules. 
     In other embodiments, mechanical crimping, hot bar soldering, stir friction welding, metal bonding compounds, or interlocking features may be used to hold shell assemblies together. Additionally, in some cases, it may be useful to apply a clamping force to the shell assembly to press the overlapping sections of the front and rear shell together during the bonding process. 
     Inspections may occur after this step  115  as well as after the proceeding and preceding steps of the method of  FIG. 1 . This inspection may be optical or dimensional and non-compliant parts, not meeting optical or tolerance standards, may be removed from the plurality of shell assemblies connected to a guide rail. 
     Following the bonding operation described above, the plurality of shell assemblies may be fed, e.g., by a guiding fixture, in feed direction  610  to another operation station such that the method outlined in  FIG. 1  may proceed from step  115  to a next step. An example of a next step is discussed in the next section. 
     D. Polishing 
     The next step after step  115  is step  120 . At step  120  of  FIG. 1 , a plurality of shell assemblies may be polished. For example, a plurality of shell assemblies may be sandblasted.  FIG. 7  illustrates a polishing operation performed on a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 7 , a plurality of shell assemblies  705  may be routed via guide rail  710  that is unreeled from or routed about feed reel  715  into polishing station  720 , which may perform a sandblasting operation in some embodiments. For example, sandblasters contained in polishing station  720  may project sand on shell assembling  705  with, e.g., 0.3 megapascals of pressure. The pluralities of shell assemblies  705  may be continuously moving as they proceed into, through and out of the polishing station  720 . After shell assemblies  705  exit polishing station  720 , they may be reeled up by or routed around receiving reel  725 . This type of operation may be called a reel-to-reel operation which is an operation where parts, e.g., shell assemblies  706 , are unreeled at one reel and reeled up at another reel as part of an operation. 
     In some embodiments, one or more masks may be used to protection portion of shell assemblies  705  during the polishing process. For example, a plastic insert may be inserted into an opening of shell assemblies  705  or may be applied over the surface of sections of the shell assemblies  705 . The portions of shell assemblies  705  covered by the plastic insert may not be subjected to the polishing operation, e.g., sandblasting. 
     Following the polishing operation described above, the plurality of shell assemblies may be fed in feed direction  730  to another operation station such that the method outlined in  FIG. 1  may proceed from step  120  to a next step. An example of a next step is discussed in the next section. 
     E. Plating 
     The next step after step  120  is step  125 . At step  125  of  FIG. 1 , a plurality of shell assemblies may be plated. For example, a plurality of shell assemblies may be nickel plated.  FIG. 8  illustrates a plating operation performed on a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention. This plating operation may also be a reel-to-reel operation. For example, shell assemblies  805  may be unreeled from a first reel  810 , routed to a plating operation as represented by arrow  815 , and then reeled up on a second reel  820 . The plating operation may be a nickel plating operation wherein the nickel plating thickness may be a minimum of 2.53 microns. 
     In some embodiments, the plating process may be a nickel electroplating process using nickel sulfate or an electroless nickel plating process, e.g., high phosphorus electroless nickel. For nickel electroplating, the plating process make include a number of steps such as electrolytic degreasing, rinsing with pure water, activating acid, rinsing with pure water, nickel pre-plating, rinsing with pure water, nickel plating, rinsing with pure water, rinsing with hot pure water, cooking in an oven, and drying on a counter. Alternatively, other standard nickel electroplating processes and electroless nickel plating processes may be used for plating operation  815 . 
     As discussed previously, shell assemblies  805  may be reeled up on reel  820  after plating operation  815  is completed. In order to protect the pluralities of shell assemblies while they are being reeled up on and stored on reel  820 , a separating plastic film or guide may be used between the layers of shell assemblies  805 . In some embodiments, guide reel  825  may include L-shaped tongs that partially extend away from shell assemblies  805 . These tongs may provide a space buffer between the layers of shell assemblies  805  to prevent them from being scratched while being reeled up and stored on reel  820 . 
     Following the polishing operation described above, the plurality of shell assemblies may be fed to another operation station such that the method outlined in  FIG. 1  may proceed from step  125  to a next step. An example of a next step is discussed in the next section. 
     F. Separating 
     The next step after step  125  is step  130 . At step  130  of  FIG. 1 , a plurality of shell assemblies may be separated. For example, a plurality of shell assemblies may be separated from the guide rail to which they were attached via necks. The stamping operation may be used to sever the guide rail from the assembly connector after all the proceeding steps, steps  110 - 125 , have been completed. The guide rail may be severed at the point where the neck meets the three dimensional rear shell assembly. 
     In some embodiments, a v-shaped notch may be cut along the length of the neck of the rear shell during step  105   a . The v-shaped notch or v-cut on the neck may allow for removal of the assembly connector from the guide rail by hand. 
     G. Inspection &amp; Packaging 
     At step  135  of  FIG. 1 , a plurality of shell assemblies that were severed from the guide rail at step  125  may be inspected and packaged. For example, optical inspection and/or dimensional inspection of shelly assemblies may be used to identify non-compliant shell assemblies. The criteria for complaint shell assemblies may be based on the connector type with which the shell assembly with be used and/or the electronic device with which the shell assemblies may interface. For example, the optical inspection may be used to determine whether the surface the shell assembly is scratched, damaged or has other visual defects. Dimensional analysis may be used to determine whether the shell assemblies are properly sized to be assembled with a plug connector or mated with a corresponding receptacle connector. Non-complaint shell assemblies may be scrapped or have additional operations performed thereon. 
     The shell assemblies that pass inspection may be packaged in trays having slots for the shell assemblies and the trays may be stacked in boxes. These boxes may then be prepared for shipping or other transportation. In other embodiments, it may be beneficial to bypass step  135  of  FIG. 1  and leave shell assemblies attached to a guide rail so that they may be stored on reels for shipping. 
     H. Additional Operations 
     In embodiments of the present invention, additional operations may be performed on the shell assemblies between steps  105   a ,  105   b  and step  135 . These additional operations may also be used instead of some the other operations already described above. For example, cleaning operations may be implemented after the forming steps  105   a ,  105   b  to remove oils applied to the rear and front shells during the forming process. To remove these oils one or more of the following steps may be used: ultrasonic degassing, ultrasonic vacuum, and vacuum drying. This cleaning operation may be also performed after the bond operations or at any other time during the method of  FIG. 1 . 
     In some embodiments, the operations discussed in the sections above that were performed on the shell assembly may instead be performed on the individual rear and front shells. 
     In other embodiments, the method of  FIG. 1  may including the additional step of assembling a boot or housing over the rear shell of a shell assembly according to embodiments of the present invention and injection molding material in between the rear shell and the housing to affix the housing to the front shell. As discussed in the Summary section above, the housing may be assembled over the rear shell of a shell assembly such that it is flush or nearly flush with surface of the front shell as a result of the rear shell being thinner than the front shell. Accordingly, the housing may be at least as thick as the difference in height or width between the rear shell and the front shell while remaining flush with or slightly taller and wider than the surface of the front shell. This housing thickness allowed for by the smaller sized rear shell may be sufficient to prevent the housing from being prone to cracking or other forms of damage while still being flush or almost flush with the surface of the front shell. Again, this design may be desirable because it is aesthetically pleasing and may allow for smaller connectors. 
     In some situations, having a housing that is slightly larger than the front shell when assembled with the front shell may be useful. For example, if a strong force is applied to the plug connector while it is being inserted into a corresponding receptacle connector or after the plug connector is inserted into the corresponding receptacle connector of an electronic device, it may penetrate the electronic device beyond what was intended and into the mechanical enclosure of the electronic device. This could result in the motherboard or other components within the electronic device being damaged by the excessive penetration of the plug connector. Accordingly, shell assemblies according to the present invention may assembled with a housing just large enough that there would be enough of a profile between the front shell and the housing that the housing may engage the mechanical enclosure of the device and prevent the shell assembly from penetrating the electronic device to the point of damaging the electronic device while still remaining nearly flush with the shell assembly. 
     In situations where the front shell and the rear shell of a shell assembly are of the same height and width, a very thin housing may be assembled over the rear shell. However, the housing may be so thin that the housing may be prone to cracking or other forms of damage or the housing may be substantially taller and wider than the assembly shell but no longer flush or nearly flush with the shell assembly. One-piece connector designs are common, e.g., for USB connectors, and generally include front and the rear portions that have the same width and height dimensions. As discussed above, the only way to have a flush or almost flush boot assembled over this kind of one-piece connector would be to overmold a thin boot over the connector. The fallbacks of a reduced thickness boot have already been outlined above. Consequently, the one-piece design generally requires a larger overmold boot and may not result in the slim profile connector discussed above. 
     II. Other Methods of Manufacture 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an additional method of manufacturing a shell assembly for an electrical connector according to embodiments of the present invention. For example, front and rear shell of a shell assembly may both be formed according to step  105 A of  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , a plurality rear shells  905  and front shells  910  may both be formed such that their front openings are orthogonal to the length of the guide rails  915  and  920 , respectively, as well as feed directions  925  and  930 , respectively. In some embodiments, either shell may be severed from its respective guide rails and assembled with the other shell. In other embodiments, the rear shell  905  and front shell  910  may be assembled with each other while each is still attached to their respective guide rails. Additional operations may be performed after the shell assembly is formed and while the front and rear shells are attached to their respective guide or either may be severed from its guide rail before or after performing any of the operations discussed above. 
     Also, while a number of specific embodiments were disclosed with specific features, a person of skill in the art will recognize instances where the features of one embodiment can be combined with the features of another embodiment. For example, some specific embodiments of the invention set forth above were described as method for forming a plurality of rear and front shell. A person of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the methods described herein may also be used to form rear and front shells one at time and that the methods described above for forming rear shells may be used for forming front shells and vice versa. Also, those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the inventions described herein. Such equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the following claims

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20120712
Publication Date: 20170221
Grant Date: 20170221
Priority Date: 20110916
Inventors: COWAN WAYNE
ROSENTHAL BRETT A.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "B21D5/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/6581", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B21D28/10", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R24/62", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B23K26/0838", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R43/16", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49218", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49213", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B23K26/0619", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01M17/04", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49218", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49218", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49213", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49213", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R24/62", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/6581", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01M17/013", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B23K26/0838", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B21D5/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B21D28/10", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B23K26/0619", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B23K26/0619", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B23K26/0838", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B21D28/10", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B21D5/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/6581", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R24/62", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R43/16", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R43/16", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01M17/04", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 46763013