Solderless Component Assemblies Suit Portable Device Interconnection

Solderless component assemblies using the STAX elastomeric surface-to-surface silicon rubber compression connectors minimize the space needed on a main pc board for a pair of contacts. They also eliminate the need to solder the entire assembly. The assemblies consist of the electronic component (a microphone, a vibratory motor, or a speaker), a rubber boot, and an elastomeric connector. The boot holds and aligns the electronic component to the elastomer while enabling the assembly to fit compressively into the front-cover housing of portables like a cell phone or PDA. Component-to-board height is as low as 0.5 mm. Pricing starts at $0.60 each for standard microphones in 100,000-unit lots.