Electrical contact

Details Electrical contact Electrical contact

1998-11-23

2001-05-08

Donovan, Lincoln (Department: 2832)

Electrical connectors

Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...

Distinct contact secured to panel circuit

C439S876000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06227877

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical contact, and particularly to an electrical contact for surface mounting to a printed circuit board whereby excess solder will not hinder signal transmission.
2. The Prior Art
The trend of the computer industry continues toward miniaturization. Notebook and hand held computers both require an efficient use of internal space to include the necessary hardware within a housing of limited size. In desktop computers, a printed circuit board (PCB) is commonly provided with through holes for connecting components on one surface with components on the opposite surface of the PCB. However, such through holes occupy too much space on the PCB. Therefore, a surface mounting contact
4
, as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
, has been introduced for surface mounting to both sides of a PCB
3
.
The contact
4
includes a contacting end
41
for electrically engaging with a contact pad formed on an electrical card (not shown), a tail
42
opposite the contacting end
41
for surface mounting to the PCB
3
, and a retaining portion
43
formed between the contacting end
41
and the tail
42
for retention in a housing
33
of an SO DIMM connector. A continuous face
44
is formed between the tail
42
and the contacting end
41
opposite the retaining portion
43
. The tail
42
is electrically engaged with a contact pad
31
on the PCB
3
by means of solder
32
. After surface mounting of the connector to one side of the PCB
3
, the PCB
3
with the associated connector is handled in an upside-down manner to surface mount other components on the other side of the PCB, so that liquefied solder or excess solder
32
has a tendency, due to gravity, to flow downward along the continuous face
44
and cover a substantial portion of the contacting end
41
. Since the contacting end
41
is gold-coated for facilitating high speed signal transmission, the excess solder
32
formed on the contacting end
41
will hinder signal transmission.
Hence, an improved electrical contact is needed to overcome the disadvantages of surface mount soldering conventional electrical contacts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to provide an electrical contact defining a guiding slot in a main body thereof for increasing the surface area of the contact whereby excess solder will solidify within the slot and will not adversely affect signal transmission.
An additional objective of the present invention is to provide an electrical contact defining a cutout in a tail thereof for obstructing the flow of excess solder along the contact when the contact is surface mounted to a PCB.
To fulfill the above mentioned objectives, an electrical contact in accordance with the present invention electrically connects a connector with a PCB. The contact includes a main body having a contact arm extending from a lower portion thereof for engaging with a card inserted into the connector, a tail extending from an upper portion thereof for being surface mounted to the PCB, and a retainer projecting from the main body between the contact arm and the tail for supporting the contact within a housing of the connector. A cutout is defined in a surface of the tail opposite the surface which engages with the PCB. A guiding slot is defined in the main body of the contact between the tail and the contact arm opposite the retainer. When the tail is soldered to the PCB, any excess solder will flow downward from the PCB and along the contact. The cutout provides an obstruction and the guiding slot provides sufficient surface area for the solder to solidify on the contact without covering a portion of the contact arm and hindering signal transmission.
These and additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention taken in conjunction with the appended drawing figures.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4662694 (1987-05-01), Coller et al.
patent: 4808113 (1989-02-01), Kanesige et al.
patent: 5395250 (1995-03-01), Englert, Jr. et al.
patent: 5411420 (1995-05-01), Dennis
patent: 5632629 (1997-05-01), Legrady

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