Electrical connectors – Contact separation by snap or quick-break action
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-23
2001-12-04
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Contact separation by snap or quick-break action
C439S267000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325649
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of mounting electronic components or modules, in particular electrooptical modules (so-called transceivers). In order to mount such modules on carriers, in particular printed circuit boards provided with conductor tracks and terminal contacts, the user requires modules which can be placed on the printed circuit board, and contact-connected, in a comparatively free and unrestricted manner. It may thus be necessary, for example, for it to be possible for a module to be disposed centrally on a printed circuit board and, in particular, once the printed circuit board has been otherwise completely fitted out, to be mounted and/or removed again.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,281 discloses a module which can be positioned (mounted) on a printed circuit board vertically from above and which slides in the process, by way of electrical contacts projecting perpendicularly to its underside, into a corresponding connection base of the printed circuit board. During the mounting or demounting of the module, a comparatively large clearance is necessary above the top side of the printed circuit board in order for it to be possible for the module to be gripped and mounted or removed vertically. In many applications, however, a very closely adjacent configuration of a plurality of parallel printed circuit boards fitted out with modules is provided. As a result, the necessary vertical clearance is at least not readily available (e.g. is not available without a considerable number of adjacent printed circuit boards being demounted).
In such applications, it is desirable for it to be possible for the module to be mounted essentially by a horizontal push-in movement running parallel to the top side of the printed circuit board. However, in particular with an electrical connection between the module and the printed circuit board through a multiplicity of electrical contacts, that may result in a problem where resilient contacts of the printed circuit board rub against correspondingly associated terminal contact surfaces of the module or on the underside of the module, during the mounting or demounting operation. That is particularly problematic with a multi-row terminal configuration, which is desirable with respect to a comparatively narrow construction of the module. Although it would indeed be possible, in principle, to ensure that the module is raised during the movement over the corresponding contacts, and to set the module down only when it is over the contacts, that would require complicated guidance and/or a reduction in size of the module at least in the region where contact is made. As a result, the overall volume available for electronic components would be considerably reduced in the module interior.
German Utility Model G 89 01 711.0 discloses contact-making devices which ensure that contact is reliably made without damaging metal-conductor tracks of an electronic component, in particular of a liquid crystal display. For that purpose, contact elements which are formed between two housing halves, in single row as bow springs, are provided at one end with a bow-like bearing bracket. In order to mount the components, it is possible for free ends of the bow springs to be temporarily drawn back out of, or forced away from, the region at risk. That requires a separate, manual movement, for example, through the use of a cam shaft, of a wedge or of a push rod. Those auxiliary devices each form part of a separate comb-like tool, which is used independently of the mounting operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,140 discloses a device of the generic type which is intended for releasably mounting a component on a terminal part and in the case of which rows of contacts that are located one behind the other as seen in the mounting direction are provided on the outer side of the component and on the terminal part. Guides of the component and the terminal part bring about a guided relative movement between the terminal contact surfaces of the component and the contacts of the terminal part during the mounting operation into an end position, in which the contacts are in contact with the terminal contact surfaces. The guided relative movement is such that the contacts of all of the contact rows are raised at the same time in relation to the contacts of the component. That disadvantageously requires a relatively large amount of space to be made available.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a device for releasably mounting an electronic component, which overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and which, in the case of a component of comparatively small construction, allows optimum utilization of the interior of the component along with careful contact-connection of terminal contact surfaces on the component, even with multiple mounting/demounting.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a releasable mounting device, comprising an electronic component having an outer side and terminal contact surfaces disposed on the outer side in at least two rows located one behind the other as seen in a mounting direction. A terminal part is to be releasably mounted to the component in the mounting operation and includes a basic part and an actuating element. The basic part has contacts assigned to the terminal contact surfaces and disposed in contact rows corresponding to the at least two rows of the terminal contact surfaces, for making electrical contact between the terminal contact surfaces and the contacts during the mounting operation. The component and the terminal part have guides interacting during the mounting operation for guiding a relative movement of the terminal contact surfaces and the contacts into an end position in which the contacts contact the terminal contact surfaces. The actuating element moves the contacts of each of the contact rows away from the outer side of the electronic component. The actuating element has parts assigned to each of the contact rows for temporarily moving the contact rows away from the outer side of the component one after the other during the mounting operation.
In this case, guides of the component and the terminal part interact in such a way that, during the mounting operation, a guided relative movement takes place between the terminal contact surfaces and the contacts of the terminal part into an end position, in which the contacts are in contact with the terminal contact surfaces.
An essential aspect of the device according to the invention is that two or more preferably parallel contact rows may be provided, as a result of which the overall width of the module can be kept small, with a high number of contacts. However, the sequential actuation (forcing down the contact rows as the terminal contact surfaces cross over the contact rows) ensures very careful contact-connection of the component. It is thus an essential aspect of the invention that contact with the contact rows can be made and broken individually. In this case, the contacts of each contact row are moved jointly out of the introduction path of the module. The module interior for electronic component parts thus need not be reduced in size for mounting-related reasons and can be utilized optimally.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the component has at least one guide track, which moves the actuating elements during the mounting operation.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the contacts of a contact row are each enclosed by a common frame as an actuating element.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, a contribution is made toward further reducing the number of individual parts of the terminal part if the frames are constructed as constituent parts of an overall frame. The leading moving-away action of the first contact row, as seen in the mounting direction and/or demounting direction, may advantageously be realized in this c
Schulz Klaus
Stockhaus Andreas
Greenberg Laurence A.
Infineon - Technologies AG
Lerner Herbert L.
Nguyen Khiem
Stemer Werner H.
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