Electrical connectors – Self aligning contact – Contact mounted in floating nonconductive holder
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-15
2001-11-27
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Self aligning contact
Contact mounted in floating nonconductive holder
C439S564000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322382
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to back-plane connectors and more specifically to a bay for receiving a removable computer peripheral device, such as a hard disk drive or a CD-ROM drive, configured for instance according to the Intel-Microsoft-Compaq “Device Bay” standards.
2. Description of the Related Art.
FIG. 1
schematically shows a removable peripheral device
10
being inserted into a bay
12
. Bay
12
includes a back-plane
14
provided with a connector
16
adapted to mate a corresponding connector (not shown) on the back of device
10
. Cooperating guiding means (not shown) of device
10
and bay
12
ensure that, when device
10
is fully pushed into the bay, the connectors of the back-plane and of device
10
engage each other. In practice, the two connectors will not exactly face each other, whereby they may be damaged upon engagement.
Some connectors are specifically designed to bend to a certain extent for compensating a misalignment. However, in some cases, the bending of the connectors may not be sufficient for compensating a misalignment. In other cases, although a misalignment may be compensated by the bending, an intensive use will make the connectors have a short life time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,695 discloses a removable hard drive carrier and bay assembly wherein the hard drive carrier has a floating connector for compensating a misalignment with a mating connector. The carrier connector is mounted on a printed circuit board, or PCB, which is held in slots with lateral and longitudinal clearance.
A drawback of this floating connector mechanism is that the connector does not have a known rest position, since all the positions within the floating range are stable. As a consequence, if the connector is in a limit rest position where one edge of the PCB is fully engaged in a slot, a misalignment which would lead the connector to go in an opposite limit position may not be compensated.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a particularly simple self-centering floating connector mechanism.
This object is achieved by a floating connector attached to a frame, at a predetermined distance therefrom, by resilient fasteners.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the connector is mounted on a printed circuit board which is attached by said fasteners to the frame.
According to an embodiment of the invention, each of said fasteners is in the form of a nail adapted to pass through holes of the printed circuit board and of a plate of the frame, having grooves for axially holding the printed circuit board and the plate apart from each other.
According to an embodiment of the invention, each nail has a conical portion extended by a tail.
The present invention also provides electronic apparatus having a bay for receiving a removable peripheral device, the bay comprising a floating connector as mentioned above.
In practical implementations, for instance to personal computers, it is preferable for reasons of cost and reliability that the floating connector be mounted in the bay, rather than on the removable peripheral device. Moreover, if the floating connector is mounted in the bay, the fact that the removable device is already at least to some extent mobile within the bay allows a further degree of relative movement between the mating connectors which provides for easier and more convenient mating. Nevertheless, the possibilities that the floating connector be mounted on a removable peripheral device, or on both a removable peripheral device and within the bay are not excluded.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4214505 (1980-07-01), Aimar
patent: 4731925 (1988-03-01), Tanishi et al.
patent: 4988308 (1991-01-01), Toedtman
patent: 5088935 (1992-02-01), Dise et al.
patent: 5316423 (1994-05-01), Kin
patent: 5652695 (1997-07-01), Schmitt
patent: 549960A3 (1992-12-01), None
patent: 549960A2 (1992-12-01), None
patent: 555733A1 (1993-02-01), None
European Search Report, EP 98 40 1863, Nov. 26, 1998.
Hewlett--Packard Company
Prasad Chandrika
Sircus Brian
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