Electrical connector

Details Electrical connector Electrical connector

1999-02-09

2001-02-06

Patel, T. C. (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...

Distinct contact secured to panel circuit

C439S541500

Reexamination Certificate

active

06183270

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector and particularly to an electrical connector having a pin holding member which secures terminal pins in position and protects the terminal pins against deformation when mounting the connector to a circuit board thereby facilitating assembly.
2. The Prior Art
Electrical connectors having a plurality of rows of terminal pins are now widely used. To minimize the size of the connectors, the terminal pins of the connectors are usually densely arranged whereby inadvertent contact between adjacent pins frequently occurs. To overcome such a problem, a pin holding member is provided which effectively retains the pins in position and spaces the pins from each other. Usually, the terminal pins of the connector are formed to have an L shape, with a horizontal section received in an associated channel defined in the connector and a vertical section extending from the horizontal section to engage with a the circuit board on which the connector is mounted. A portion of the horizontal section is exposed outside the channel from which the vertical section extends. Conventionally, the pin holding member is arranged to retain and prevent the vertical sections of the terminal pins from contacting each other.
However, for a connector having a plurality of aligned and stacked rows of terminal pins, the exposed portions of the horizontal sections of the terminal pins of the upper rows are usually longer than those of the lower rows in order to provide a space for accommodating the lower rows. The longer the exposed portion of the horizontal section of the terminal pin, the greater the chances of deformation resulting when mounting the connector to the circuit board since a vertical force is usually exerted on the exposed portions. The adverse effects of such an assembly technique may not be overcome by the conventional pin holding member.
Thus, it is desirable to have an electrical connector structure incorporating therein a pin holding device which overcomes the problem discussed above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector comprising a pin holding device for retaining the horizontal sections of pins in position.
To achieve the above object, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided an electrical connector comprising an insulative connector body with two arms extending from opposite sides thereof. A plurality of rows of pin receiving channels are defined in the connector body each receiving an L-shaped terminal pin having a horizontal portion and a vertical portion. The horizontal portion of each of the terminal pins is partially received in the corresponding pin receiving channel and partially exposed. A pin holding member is arranged between and mounted to the arms of the connector body and defines slots for receiving and retaining the exposed portions of the horizontal portions of the terminal pins therein for protecting the exposed portions against deformation when mounting the connector to a circuit board.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5336109 (1994-08-01), Hillbish et al.
patent: 5591036 (1997-01-01), Doi et al.
patent: 5601438 (1997-02-01), Ho et al.
patent: 5879171 (1999-03-01), Wu
patent: 5957705 (1999-09-01), David et al.

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