CONFIGURATIONS OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENT-CARRYING APERTURES IN A TERMINATION BELT

摘要

A miniature component carrier (50) includes a thin, resilient mask (100) through which are formed multiple spaced-apart apertures each of which is sized and shaped to compliantly receive and hold a miniature component (106) in a controlled orientation during termination processing such that the side margins (102) of the aperture primarily contact and grip the corner regions (110) of the miniature component. At least some of the apertures have side margins that form rhomboidal (104) or elliptical (120) apertures. The shape and size of the multiple spaced-apart apertures confine within an operational tolerance contact between the side margins of the aperture and the side (22, 24) or end (26, 28) wall surfaces of the electronic component. This reduces mechanical damage to the side and end wall surfaces that results from their contact with the side margins during receipt and gripping of the miniature component in the aperture.