Patent 7554040 was granted and assigned to Panasonic on June, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A printed circuit board suitable for dip soldering of component leads in through holes using lead free solder. The printed circuit board includes a plurality of via holes arranged around each through hole in which a component lead is inserted, whereby solder wicking up into the through hole is enhanced and air entrapment is prevented during the dip soldering operation, and heat fatigue resistance of solder joints is improved.