The LB Connector Company, LLC (“LBC”) is pleased to present our latest offering for sale or license, patent #11394154, awarded on July 19, 2022, describing a compliant compressive connector pad capable of connecting fine pitch land grid arrays, and its associated method of manufacture. LBC has developed prototypes demonstrating the invention.
We found that strategically placing open space pockets adjacent to oriented wires embedded in silicone enables the production of reliable low-profile, nano-pitch connectors. In prior attempts by others to produce oriented-wire connectors, the end-of-wire contact areas moved relative to their original positions when mating compression was applied, making connectivity unreliable.
By contrast, locating pockets of open space adjacent to the insulated wires prevents deformation during compression from propagating lateral forces that could otherwise displace the wire ends from their original positions. This characteristic enables the application of low compression force to achieve reliable conductivity. See illustration.
Extensive Customizability
The patented process is highly adaptable to manufacture z-axis connectors to accommodate a wide range of applications that use mirror-image component design, e.g., PCBs. Customizable parameters include:
- Wide range of physical dimensions including pad thickness, shape, and size
- Pitch
- Silicone hardness
- Wire composition and dimensions
Impact of New Connector
This connector will help usher in the next level of electronics miniaturization for two reasons:
- The center-to-center pitch is at least 300% smaller than any board-to-board connector currently available
- The anticipated production cost is likely a small fraction of that of current high-density connectors. This aspect should enable much broader use of micro-pitch application in the high volume consumer device market.
Applications
- IoT
- Wearable devices
- Patient monitoring devices
- POS scanners
- Security systems
- GPS devices
- Smart phones
- Tablet PCs
- Ultraportable computers
- Laptop PCs
- Mobile media players
- Digital cameras
- Video cameras
- Game consoles
- Medical implants
HUMAN INTEREST
The inventor of this connector, Dr. Leonard Buchoff, PhD, is 96 years old and received this patent last year, when he was 95.
He holds other patents including that relating to the “Zebra” Elastomeric connector that was largely responsible for the popularization of inexpensive digital watches in the 1970’s. He established a company to manufacture the Zebra (although he used the tradename “Stax”) and other compliant connectors. The assets of that company were later serially acquired and combined with other elastomeric electronics that were eventually sold to TE Connectivity to form their elastomeric electronics division.
For inquiries, contact:
Jeff Buchoff
Product Development
LB Connector Company, LLC.
530-400-6697
