Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Plural-contact coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-01
2001-08-28
Paumen, Gary F. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Plural-contact coupling part
C439S079000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06280255
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrical connector having a structure for firmly retaining a plurality of terminals, particularly to a battery connector for firmly and accurately positioning the terminals in the battery connector.
Since the trend in notebook computers is toward lighter weight and a smaller profile, battery connectors having a low profile above a printed circuit board (PCB) in notebooks are usually desired to allow the profile of the battery package used in the notebook to meet the space requirements of the notebook. A conventional battery connector is mounted on top of a printed circuit board, resulting in a conventional battery package profile which includes at least the height of the connector and the thickness of the PCB. Such a battery connector and related battery package are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,883. With reference to FIGS. 1, 8-10 and 12 of that patent, a battery connector 1 comprises an insulative housing 2, at least a cavity 3 defined in the housing 2 and an electrical contact 4 received in each cavity 3. Each cavity 3 comprises a first cavity portion 5 receiving the contact 4 and a second cavity portion 6 receiving a mating contact 7 of a mating connector 8. A first channel 24 has a stepped width defining a groove 26 and a shoulder 27. The contact 4 includes a thin blade 11 and a contact portion 15 forwardly and diagonally extending from a front edge of the blade 11. The contact portion 15 has a tip 17 which remains within the first channel 24 behind the shoulder 27. The housing 2 provides a pair of projecting posts 21 on a bottom thereof to be connected to a printed circuit board (not shown).
The connector is entirely mounted on the printed circuit board, thus, the profile of the connector above the printed circuit board is the whole height of the connector itself. Furthermore, the connector lacks a fixing means to effectively prevent an impact force from acting on the contacts 13 when a battery is inserted into the notebook and connected with the mating connector 8, so that over time, the electrical connection between the contacts 4 and the printed circuit board may mechanically break.
Therefore, an improved battery connector is necessary to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A main object of the present invention is to provide a battery connector having a plurality of terminals which can be firmly retained in an insulative housing of the battery connector.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery connector having a reduced profile above a PCB when the battery connector is mounted on the PCB.
An electrical connector according to the present invention comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of terminals received in the insulative housing. The insulative housing includes a plurality of partitions in a middle portion of the housing. The partitions are uniformly spaced apart from each other to define a plurality of cavity sections for receiving mating contacts of a mating battery connector. A groove and a recess are respectively defined in an upper portion of each partition and in a rear top wall adjacent each partition. The insulative housing has a mounting portion for mounting the battery connector on an upper face of a printed circuit board, thereby producing a lower profile above the printed circuit board.
Each terminal comprises a retaining body at a rear side thereof. A soldering leg downwardly extends at a rearward side of the retaining body. A contacting arm for electrically connecting with a complementary connector angularly extends from a lower front edge of the retaining body into a corresponding cavity section and a fixing tail rearwardly depends from an upper rear edge of the retaining body for being retained in a recess of the insulative housing. A clamping end extends from a lower edge of the fixing tail for being accommodated in a groove of the insulative housing. The clamping end and the fixing tail are generally perpendicular to each other for fixing the terminal in the housing.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5551883 (1996-09-01), Davis
patent: 6050858 (2000-04-01), Liu et al.
Shih Kelly
Wu Jerry
Chung Wei Te
Hon Hai - Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.
Paumen Gary F.
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