Electrical connectors – With supporting means for coupling part – Flange on coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-07
2003-02-11
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With supporting means for coupling part
Flange on coupling part
C439S326000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06517378
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to card edge connectors, and more particularly, to a card edge connector mounted on a mother board that freely loads and unloads a daughter board.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Card edge connectors, such as those commonly used in personal computers, are mounted on a mother board and freely load and unload a daughter board such as a single inline memory module (SIMM) or double inline memory module (DIMM). An example of one such card edge connector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2000-208183 A and is shown in
FIGS. 8A through 8C
.
FIG. 8A
shows a card edge connector
101
comprising an insulating housing
110
mounted on a mother board A. The housing
110
has a daughter board receiving recess
111
extending in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of contacts (not shown) mounted in two upper and lower arrays along the longitudinal direction of the housing
110
that attach to the mother board A. After a daughter board B has been inserted at a first angle into the daughter board receiving recess
111
, shown in
FIG. 8A
, it is pivoted into a second angle, shown in FIG.
8
B. The daughter board B is held in place at the second angle by a pair of metal latch members
120
located at both ends of the housing
110
in the longitudinal direction.
Each latch member
120
is formed by stamping and forming a metal plate, and includes a press fit plate portion
121
and a daughter board holding portion
122
. Shown in
FIG. 8C
, the press fit plate portion
121
is press-fitted into a latch receiving recess
112
formed at the ends of the housing
110
in the longitudinal direction and is provided with an anti-overstress piece
123
extending forward from its front end. The anti-overstress piece
123
is provided with a fixing portion
124
bent inward from the bottom end thereof. The fixing portion
124
is soldered onto the mother board A, thereby fixing the latch member
120
to the mother board A.
The daughter board holding portion
122
comprises a plate portion
122
a
, a hook portion
122
b
, and a daughter board latching piece
122
c
. The plate portion
122
a
is bent substantially forward in the shape of a “U” from the back end of the press fit plate portion
121
. The hook portion
122
b
is in the shape of a hook and is located forward from the plate portion
122
a
and projects inward. The daughter board latching piece
122
c
is bent inward from the top end of the plate portion
122
a
. When the daughter board B is inserted into the daughter board receiving recess
111
and is pivoted from the first angle to the second angle, the elasticity of the plate portion
122
a
temporarily causes the daughter board latching piece
122
c
to shift outward. When it returns to its original position, the daughter board latching piece
122
c
makes contact with the upper surface of the edge of the daughter board B to fix it in position. The hook portion
122
b
enters the notch (not shown) formed in the edge of the daughter board B, further preventing the daughter board B from slipping off the card edge connector
101
when the daughter board B is positioned at the second angle.
Several problems, however, are associated with the card edge connector
101
. In the card edge connector
101
, the fixing portion
124
that is soldered to the mother board A is bent from the anti-overstress piece
123
that is integrally formed with the other portions comprising the latch member
120
. Thus, if the mother board A is warped, the warp of the mother board A can not be absorbed by the fixing portion
124
when it is soldered to the mother board A. As a result, the card edge connector
101
, including the latch member
120
, can not be properly soldered to the motherboard A if the warp is larger than a predetermined range, even though the coplanarity of the entire connector assembly is within the predetermined range.
In an effort to overcome this problem, devices such as Japanese Utility Model Laid Open No. 5-23429 U, shown in
FIGS. 9A through 9C
, have been developed.
FIG. 9A
shows a surface mount type connector
201
mounted on the surface of a circuit board (not shown). The connector
201
comprises an insulating housing
210
and a plurality of contacts
220
. The contacts
220
are attached to the housing
210
and have a solder connection portion
221
for attachment to the circuit board. Slots
211
penetrate in the vertical direction and are formed at both ends of the housing
210
in the longitudinal direction. Both sides of the slots
211
have shoulders
212
. A metal peg
230
in the shape of an “L” and having a slit
232
and barbs
231
at both edges is attached within the slots
211
. The metal peg is movable in a predetermined range in the vertical direction. The bottom surface of the peg
230
is soldered to the circuit board to reinforce the connection between the circuit board and the connector
201
. The peg
230
is inserted downward into the slot
211
and between the shoulders
212
. The upward movement of the peg
230
is thereby limited by the cooperation between the barbs
231
and the shoulders
212
. The downward movement of the peg
230
is limited by the cooperation between the upper edge of the slit
232
and a projection
213
projecting from the housing
210
to the slot
211
.
Because the peg
230
is movable in the vertical direction with respect to the housing
210
within a predetermined range, the peg
230
is also movable in the vertical direction with respect to the solder connection portion
221
of the contact
220
within a predetermined range. Therefore, when the contact
220
and the peg
230
are soldered to the circuit board, any warping of the circuit board can be absorbed. However, since the metal peg
230
is directly mounted in the slot
211
, the barbs
231
on the peg
230
can chip the sides of the slot
211
when the peg
230
is mounted. When the sides of the slot
211
are chipped, the peg
230
can become displaced within the slot
211
.
In view of the above-mentioned problems, it is therefore desirable to develop a card edge connector that is capable of absorbing the warp of a mother board when the entire connector, including the fixing member, is soldered to the mother board. It is further desirable to develop a card edge connector where the mother board fixing member is protected from displacement from the latch body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a card edge connector comprising an insulating housing mounted on a mother board and a latch member. The latch member comprises a latch body having a housing attaching portion attached to the housing and a daughter board holding portion for holding a daughter board. The fixing member is separated from the latch body and is attached to the mother board. The fixing member is mounted on a tab portion formed from the latch body that is moveable in a predetermined range in the vertical direction.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5591047 (1997-01-01), Yamada et al.
patent: 5827085 (1998-10-01), Yodogawa
patent: 6030245 (2000-02-01), Choy
patent: 6193547 (2001-02-01), Tung
patent: 6231364 (2001-05-01), Liu
patent: 6280247 (2001-08-01), Wu et al.
patent: 2562970 (1997-11-01), None
patent: 11085861 (1999-03-01), None
Barley Snyder Senft & Cohen, LLC
Paumen Gary
Tyco Electronics. AMP, K.K.
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