Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With guide for directing panel circuit movement
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-14
2001-01-09
Patel, T. C. (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With guide for directing panel circuit movement
C439S377000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06171113
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to a card connector and more particularly to a card connector of the type which is used for mounting a card on a mounting board wherein the card has a plurality of contacting portions arranged along one side of the card and a plurality of grounding electrodes adjacent to the arrangement of the contacts.
Among various types of cards of the type described above, there are cards in which a transfer of a general signals to and from the mounting board and connection to the mounting board for the ground wires are divided from each other and conducted separately. This type of card has in general a plurality of contacting portions for a general signals arranged along one side of the card and, in addition, a plurality of grounding electrodes adjacent to the arrangement of the contacts. An example of this type of the conventional card connector will be explained first with reference to
FIGS. 6 through 10
.
The conventional card connector comprises a connector element
100
x
and a frame element
200
x
, the detail of which will be explained below.
The connector element has a plurality of pin contacts
110
one end side of which are correspondingly connectable with the arranged contacts mounted on the card and the other side of which are correspondingly connectable with the arranged pin contacts
110
through a terminal
150
, and an insulator
120
which hold the pin contacts
110
so that their axial direction is parallel with the insertion-withdrawal direction or a first direction and so that the insulator
120
is fixedly held to the mounting board
300
by a hold-down member
130
.
The frame element
200
x
has: (1) a guide portion
210
which are connected with opposite sides of the insulator
120
of the connector element
100
x
and extended in the insertion-withdrawal direction of the card and serves to guide the opposite surface portions of the card at the time of insertion-withdrawal of the card; (2) a metal frame portion
220
which serves to connect the card-guide portion
210
together at its upper side (that is, lower side of FIG.
7
); (3) a grounding metal plate
230
having a plurality of contacts
231
and connects the card guides
210
together at a portion which is adjacent to the connector element
100
x
of its lower surface side (an upper portion of
FIG. 7
) and serves to connect the contacts
231
with the grounding electrodes of the mounted card for connecting these grounding electrodes with the grounding wire of the mounting board
300
; (4) a card forcing device
240
which has a push button
241
disposed at an end portion of each of the guide portions
210
so that it is pushed by manipulation at the time of card withdrawal, an ejecting bar
242
disposed on the side portions of the card guides
210
for transmitting a pushing force of the push buttons
241
, a card forcing plate
244
which is disposed between the card guides
210
for forcing (or pushing) out the card from the connector element, and a lever
243
for transmitting a force of the ejecting lever
242
to the card forcing plate
244
; and (5) an earth lug portion
250
which is disposed on the lower surface of each of the card guides
210
for providing an unnecessary or excessive electric current of each part and portions of the device to the grounding wire of the mounting board
300
.
The conventional card connector described above has a structure that, as shown in
FIG. 9
, the connector element
100
x
is fixedly held to the mounting board
300
. The terminals
150
are connected by soldering or the like with the electrodes of the mounting board
300
and then the electrodes and the pin contacts
110
are connected with each other. Then, the frame element
200
x
is displaced from an obliquely forward portion of the connector element
100
x
(that is, from a tip end direction of the pin contacts
110
, which is shown at the right top direction in
FIG. 9
for the purpose of showing a fixedly holding position between the mounting board
300
and the frame element
200
x
in
FIG. 9
) so that the frame element
200
x
is slid or moved along a surface of the mounting board
300
. Thus, the frame element
200
x
is coupled with the connector element
100
x
and, at the same time, fixed to the mounting board
300
as shown in FIG.
10
.
When a card is required to be inserted into the card connector, the card is pushed into the card guide portion
210
. On the other hand, when the push button
241
of the card forcing device
240
is pushed by a fingertip operation, the pushing force is transmitted from the push button
241
to the card forcing plate
244
to permit the card to be removed from the connector element
100
x
. Therefore, the card can be withdrawn easily.
The conventional card connector explained above has the structure in that the grounding metal plate
230
is disposed for coupling the card guides
210
at the portion adjacent to the connector element
100
x
, the frame element
200
x
being coupled with the connector element
100
x
after the connector element
100
x
is previously fixed to the mounting board
300
. In this structure, when the connector element
100
x
and the frame element
200
x
are coupled together, the grounding metal plate
230
is disposed between the pin contacts
110
and the mounting board. Accordingly, as shown in
FIG. 10
, the pin contacts
110
and the grounding metal plate
230
are partly overlapped with each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. As a result, the overlapped portions are interfered with each other when the connector element
100
x
and the frame element
200
x
are coupled with or released from each other. Even if a care is taken to avoid such a overlapping when the coupling and releasing operation is conducted, the pin contacts
110
and the grounding metal plate
230
are hit against or collided with each other and results serious problems of damage and break of the pin contacts
110
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new card connector which can prevent interference between the overlapping portions of the pin contacts and the grounding metal plates at the time of coupling and releasing between the frame element and the connector element fixedly connected with the mounting board to prevent the pin contacts from being broken or damaged.
Other objects of the present invention will become clear as the description proceeds.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a card connector for use in connecting a card having a principal surface, an end surface adjacent to the principal surface, a contacting portion at the end surface, and a grounding electrode on the principal surface in the vicinity of the end surface. The card connector comprises a connector element fixedly mounted at a first position on a mounting board and a frame element detachably mounted at a second position on the mounting board. The connector element comprises a pin contact for becoming in contact with the contacting portion of the card, an insulator holding the pin contact in a form in which the pin contact extends in a first direction with a first space left between the pin contact and the mounting board in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a projection portion projecting from the insulator, with a second space left between the projection portion and the mounting board, in a third direction perpendicular to the first and the second directions. The frame element comprises a card guide extending from the connector element for movably guiding the card in the first direction, a grounding metal plate connected to the card guide and placed in the first space for becoming in contact with the grounding electrode of the card, and a projection guide extending from the card guide in the first direction and inserted in the second space for being engaged with the projection portion to prevent the frame element from being detached in the second direction.
According to anoth
Ito Manabu
Kimura Akira
Wada Takamitsu
Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Limited
Laff, Whitesel & Saret, Ltd.
Patel T. C.
Whitesel J. Warren
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