Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1996-04-17
2001-10-23
Gandhi, Jayprakash N. (Department: 2841)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S737000, C361S767000, C361S807000, C439S566000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06307753
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE
Applicant claims priority from German patent application 19514121.0 filed Aug. 20, 1995 and German patent application 19540540.4 filed Oct. 31, 1995.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connection assembly and to an electronic-equipment plug-in card provided with same.
The connection of a printed-circuit board and a connector necessitates accurate positioning of the two components in relation to one another, because on account of the general confined basic connection grid, the connecting lugs of the connector must coincided precisely in position with the connecting tracks of the printed-circuit board for soldering purposes. To date, this positionally accurate fixing of the connector on the printed-circuit board or vice versa is produced by moulding pegs onto the connector as position holders, which pegs can be plugged into locating holes in the appropriate areas of the printed-circuit board. Connectors referred to as MPC connectors can be considered known in this context.
This manner of holding or positionally fixing a printed-circuit board and connector relatively to one another prior to production of the soldered connection is relatively time-consuming and costly in terms of preparing for production and relatively imprecise with regard to contact positioning between the printed-circuit board terminal contact tracks and the connecting lugs of the connector.
Plug-in cards having such a connection are also known, for example of the kind supplied as memory cards, modem cards, fax cards or the like in PCMCIA Standard. Such plug-in cards have a plastic frame on which one or two connectors are fastened and within which the printed-circuit board inserted with electronic components mounted thereon is arranged and retained in a specifically predetermined position in the above-mentioned manner. Metal covers are attached to both sides of the plastic frame equipped in this way.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problem addressed by the present invention is to create a connection of a printed-circuit board and connector with an electronic-equipment plug-in card provided with same, each of the kind mentioned at the outset, in which the possibility accurate fixing of printed-circuit board and connector can be more easily produced and more precisely assembled.
The measures in accordance with the invention avoid the relatively imprecise and nonetheless complicated provision of location holes or punched holes in the printed-circuit board. In contrast with the foregoing, the printed-circuit board is provided with soldering track areas or soldering pads which can be more accurately dimensioned and positioned. This facilitates a more positionally accurate relative location of printed-circuit board and connector, because when soldering pads of the printed-circuit board to the soldering pins which are fixed to the spacing element, the printed-circuit board floats of itself, on the fluid solder between the areas to be soldered, precisely into the correct, prescribed position. Moreover, it is easier and less expensive to attach soldering pads to a printed-circuit board than to place accurately positioned drilled holes in the printed-circuit board.
In the aforementioned plug-in cards, it has been proposed, in order to utilize the free space between the enclosed parts in printed-circuit boards with differently sized components, that beginning from one support area on the connector or spacer, the position holders or pegs be provided in gradually smaller diameters, so as to produce annular support areas for the printed-circuit boards, arranged in several levels at a distance from one another. For this purpose, the relevant areas of the printed-circuit board are provided with locating holes whose diameters differ as a function of the printed-circuit board used or inserted and therefore as a function of the desired position in the plug-in card. This means that a printed-circuit board provided with full diameter-size holes is penetrated by the entire peg, so that printed-circuit board takes up the lowest possible level in the plug-in card and that a printed-circuit board provided with the envisaged smallest-diameter holes will lie on the uppermost annular support area of the peg and thus take up the uppermost possible level. One or more intermediate sizes of hole can be provided together with intermediate layers of printed-circuit boards. The invention makes it possible to combine the connection of printed-circuit board and connector based on soldering pads with the option of arrangement in different levels.
The soldering pins can be made of an appropriate metal. Alternatively, however, in accordance with the invention, the soldering pins are made of plastic and imprinted with a soldering pad.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the soldering pins can be connected to latch with the connector. This can be done by means of a simple plug-in connection.
The soldering pins can, for example, be designed in different lengths to obtain the different heights or levels. In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, however, the soldering pins are provided with several latching elements arranged at a distance, so the identically designed soldering pins can be used in all cases, being simply latched at different spacings onto or into the connector.
For example, the soldering pins can be latched as hollow pins onto corresponding pegs on the spacing element. However, the invention provides that the soldering pins be fitted to plug into latching holes in the spacing elements.
In addition to the supporting points with the soldering pins provide for the printed-circuit board, a plug-in card can be provided, in accordance with the invention, with additional support steps on the spacing elements for end tabs on the printed-circuit board.
Further details of the invention are provided in the description that follows, in which the invention is described and explained in greater detail with reference to the embodiments presented in the drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4423467 (1983-12-01), Shaheen
patent: 4628410 (1986-12-01), Goodman
patent: 4991666 (1991-02-01), Septfons et al.
patent: 5477421 (1995-12-01), Bethurum
patent: 5477426 (1995-12-01), Bethurum
patent: 5481434 (1996-01-01), Banakis et al.
patent: 5547384 (1996-08-01), Benjamin
patent: 5713126 (1998-02-01), Sakemi
patent: 2 404 991 (1979-04-01), None
“StarCard II PCMCIA I/O Card Kit”; ITT Cannon Sales Catalog; (no date).
Baginy Michael Duane
Biermann Werner
Learmonth Iain Thomas
Michaelis Sepp-Dieter
Gandhi Jayprakash N.
ITT Manufacturing Enterprises Inc.
Turner Roger C.
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