Electrical connector having reinforcement plate

Details Electrical connector having reinforcement plate Electrical connector having reinforcement plate

2003-04-04

2004-08-24

Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

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

With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...

C439S330000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06780024

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector used for electrically connecting a land grid array (LGA) integrated circuit (IC) module to a printed circuit board (PCB), and particularly to an electrical connector having a reinforcement plate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An electrical connector used for electrically connecting an LGA IC module to a PCB is widely applied in the field of electronics, and a correlative article is found in
Nonlinear Analysis Helps Design LGA Connectors
(Connector Specifier, February 2001). Example of this kind of electrical connector are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,192,213, 5,199,889, 5,232,372, 5,320,559 and 5,362,241.
Referring to
FIG. 6
, an conventional electrical connector
9
used for electrically connecting an LGA IC module
8
to a PCB (not shown) comprises a base
91
receiving a plurality of contacts (not shown) therein, an actuator lever
92
having an action portion
95
assembled with one end of the base
91
, and a frame
93
hinged with an opposite end of the base
91
. The frame
93
is bent slightly at a middle portion thereof, and further forms an end sunken portion
94
. The frame
93
is used for pressing and fastening the IC module firmly on the base
91
. To fasten the IC module on the base
91
of the electrical connector
9
, the action portion
95
of the actuator lever
92
is actuated into the sunken portion
94
. The action portion
95
presses the frame
93
on the IC module and the base
91
. Because the middle portion of the frame
93
is bent, a middle portion of the base
91
is prone to warp, and the opposite ends of the base
91
are prone to be distorted upwardly where the base
91
joins with the frame
93
and actuator lever
92
. Thus the base
91
may partially detach from the PCB. When this happens, electrical connection between the LGA IC module
8
and the PCB may be impaired or even lost.
Hence, a new electrical connector having a reinforcement structure is desired to overcome the above-described disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having an effective reinforcement structure to ensure reliable electrical connection between an IC module and a PCB.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, an electrical connector in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base receiving a plurality of contacts therein, an actuator lever assembled with the base, and a frame hinged with the base. The base defines a plurality of orientation slots. Each orientation slot comprises a guide channel perpendicular to the base, and a fastening channel parallel to the base. A reinforcement plate forms a plurality of fastening locks corresponding to the orientation slots. Each fastening lock comprises a connecting portion, and a fastening portion extending from a distal end of the connecting portion. When the reinforcement plate is attached onto the base, the fastening locks are initially received in the guide channels. The reinforcement plate is then slid horizontally so that the fastening portions are interferingly received in the fastening channels. The reinforcement plate protects the base from bending or distortion by the frame when the frame presses down on an IC module received in the base. This facilitates reliable electrical connection between the IC module and a PCB on which the base is mounted.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3831131 (1974-08-01), Woodcock et al.
patent: 4204722 (1980-05-01), Yasui et al.
patent: 4502747 (1985-03-01), Bright et al.
patent: 5192213 (1993-03-01), Kosugi et al.
patent: 5199889 (1993-04-01), McDevitt, Jr.
patent: 5232372 (1993-08-01), Bradley et al.
patent: 5310350 (1994-05-01), Matsuoka et al.
patent: 5320559 (1994-06-01), Uratsuji et al.
patent: 5362241 (1994-11-01), Matsuoka et al.

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