Electrical connector with improved supporting devices

Details Electrical connector with improved supporting devices Electrical connector with improved supporting devices

2001-03-13

2002-04-02

Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

Electromagnetic or electrostatic shield

Shielding individually surrounding or interposed between...

Reexamination Certificate

active

06364708

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector mountable on a printed circuit board (PCB) and having a low profile over the PCB, and particularly to a connector having improved supporting devices for supporting a mating portion of the connector.
2. Description of the related art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,489 discloses a universal series bus (USB) connector which is mounted onto a printed circuit board (PCB). However, this connector is relatively large in size, so, when mounted onto the PCB, it occupies a large space of the PCB and has a high profile over the PCB. This design does not follow “light, thin, short and small” trends of a computer. Under this condition, an improved USB connector and an improved PCB are developed. The improved PCB defines a cutout at an edge thereof and the improved connector sinks a predetermined distance into the cutout to obtain a lower profile over the PCB.
Low profile as it is, the improved connector nevertheless has its disadvantages. For example, the improved connector only provides locking means at the portion mounting on the PCB, but does not provide any supporting means at a mating portion of the connector to prevent the mating portion from inclining about the locking means. Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the related art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector securely and reliably mountable on a printed circuit board.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus including an electrical connector and a printed circuit board, the connector being mounted on the printed circuit board by sinking a predetermined distance to obtain a low profile.
To obtain the above objects, a universal series bus (USB) connector of the present invention comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of contacts received in the housing and a metal shell enclosing the housing and the contacts therein. The metal shell includes a front shield and a rear shield engaging with each other. The rear shield has a pair of board locks at opposite sides thereof, which downwardly extend beyond a rear bottom surface of the housing for mounting to the PCB. The front shield has a rear edge confronting the rear shield. The front shield includes a pair of back plates rearwardly extending from the rear edge thereof and sandwiching the rear shield therebetween. The front shield further includes two supporting devices outwardly extending from the rear edge thereof and located at opposite sides thereof. Each supporting device is inverted L-shaped and has a pin portion mountable to the PCB.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 6095865 (2000-08-01), Wu
patent: 6203373 (2001-03-01), Lin

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