The present invention involves a grounding clip. More specifically, the invention provides a contact pressure grounding clip used in connection with CATV hybrids mounted in broadband telecommunication nodes and amplifiers.
Production of a highly reliable grounding system for CATV hybrids, which are attached to PC boards, is a constant problem for the cable television industry. Despite numerous attempts at different designs, problems still remain with providing adequate reliable grounding for these systems. Typical systems use two grounding lugs which are attached to a PC board through soldered connections and are then screwed to the CATV hybrid housing to provide a ground. In these systems, excessive time is spent connecting the lugs to the board and then installing screws to provide the grounding connection to the CATV hybrid. These known connectors can cause inductive coupling and insufficient grounding to the PC board, affecting the overall performance of the system. This inductive coupling can lead to short circuiting of the board itself, damage to the circuit subsystems, decreased circuit component life, and diminished performance of the board. In current lug designs, attempts have been made to solve inductive coupling issues by varying the size and geometry of the grounding lugs. While these attempts have been partly successful, the known lugs do not alleviate these inadequacies.
In addition to electrical concerns, existing systems also have mechanical related problems. Transmitting networks or systems are expected to have long service lives and extremely high reliability. As a result, fatigue and the mechanical strength of the known grounding lugs often becomes critical to system reliability. If a constant force is not maintained between the grounding lug and the attached component, proper grounding may be lost.
The current invention provides a hybrid grounding clip formed from a single piece of material. The clip comprises a base having opposing ends, opposing sides and a slot defined therethrough. A set of attachment legs is formed from downwardly bent portions of the base, and at least one contact flange is formed from a portion of the base which is bent at an angle of less than 90xc2x0 with respect to the base located inwardly from at least one of the opposing sides along the slot.
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