Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Coupling part for receiving edge of planar board moving...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-20
2001-02-06
Bradley, Paula (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Coupling part for receiving edge of planar board moving...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183283
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electrical connecting device and, more particularly, to a connector used for electrically connecting two circuit boards with each other. The present invention further relates to an electrical contact element used in such a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of connectors used for electrically connecting two circuit boards with each other are well known in the art. In such connectors, it is important that electrical contact elements, used therein as conductors for establishing the electrical connection between two circuit boards, are fixedly supported at appropriate positions in an electro-insulating body of the connector, to ensure and maintain the stable connection of the circuit boards.
FIGS. 1A
to
1
C show an example of a conventional electrical contact element used in such connectors. The electrical contact element
1
as illustrated includes two opposed contact ends, one
1
a
of which is fixedly bonded to a terminal on a first circuit board and the other
1
b
is slidingly engaged with a terminal on a second circuit board, and an intermediate section
1
c
integrally joining the first and second contact ends
1
a,
1
b
with each other. The intermediate section
1
c
is provided integrally with a projection
2
which is tightly press-fitted into a corresponding slit
4
formed in the electro-insulating body
5
of the connector. To ensure that the contact element is fixedly supported in the electro-insulating body
5
, a plurality of small bumps
3
are generally formed on a peripheral edge of the projection
2
.
When the electrical contact element
1
is formed by stamping a sheet metal material, it is difficult to precisely stamp the small bumps
3
into mutually identical dimensions. If the small bumps
3
have mutually different dimensions, as shown in
FIGS. 1B and 1C
, the electrical contact element
1
is supported in an angularly displaced position about the projection
2
in the electro-insulating body
5
, and the first contact end
1
a
of the contact element
1
is shifted from an appropriate position in a deviation
6
. As a result, the first contact ends
1
a
of the plural contact elements
1
disposed in an array in the electro-insulating body
5
are unevenly positioned, which makes it difficult to ensure an accurate electrical connection between the circuit boards. Therefore, the conventional connector using the above contact element
1
has problems in that the positional unevenness of the first contact ends
1
a
of the plural contact elements
1
should be corrected before the connector is mounted on the circuit board, and that the productivity of the electrical connecting system including the connector is thereby deteriorated.
Also, in the field of circuit board connectors, a connector used for a circuit board on both sides of which electronic devices are mounted and terminals are formed, such as a DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) substrate or a SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module) substrate, is known.
FIGS. 2A and 2B
partly show an example of such a conventional connector.
The connector as illustrated includes an electro-insulating body
6
which is provided with a base
7
for supporting electrical contact elements in a mutually isolated manner, and a pair of columns
8
extending in the same direction from longitudinally opposed ends of the base
7
. Each column
8
includes an inner resilient part
8
a
and an outer support part
8
b.
The inner resilient part
8
a
of the column
8
is elastically deformable and displaceable in a direction away from the opposed resilient part
8
b,
to permit a circuit board not only to be snap-fitted between the columns
8
and slidingly engaged with the contact elements, but also to be disengaged from the connector. A bracket
9
is attached to the outer support part
8
b,
to restrain the displacement of the resilient part
8
a
away from the opposed resilient part
8
b,
i.e., an outward displacement, to a certain degree.
In this type of connector, the inner resilient part
8
a
is prevented from being broken, or deformed in excess of the elastic limit of the material due to an external force applied thereto in an outward direction (shown by an arrow G
1
), by a projection
9
a
of the bracket
9
attached to the outer support part
8
b,
which extends toward the inner resilient part
8
a.
However, since the projection
9
a
of the bracket
9
can merely stop the outward displacement of the inner resilient part
8
a,
if the external force is inadvertently applied to the inner resilient part
8
a
in an inward direction (shown by an arrow G
2
) to displace it toward the opposed resilient part Ba when the circuit board is not inserted between the columns
8
, the problem arises that the inner resilient part
8
a
may be broken or deformed in excess of the elastic limit of the material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electrical contact element, for a connector, which can be easily and securely supported in an appropriate position in the electro-insulating body of the connector.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a connector, using such an electrical contact element, which can reduce the positional unevenness of the first contact ends of the plural contact elements, and thus can improve the productivity of the electrical connecting system including the connector.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a connector used for connecting a circuit board, on both sides of which electronic devices are mounted and terminals are formed, which can prevent the inner resilient part of the column to be broken or deformed in excess of the elastic limit of material in both directions toward and away from the opposed column.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an electrical contact element for a connector, comprising a first contact end; a second contact end opposed to the first contact end; and an intermediate section integrally joining the first and second contact ends with each other; the intermediate section being provided integrally with a first projection adapted to be tightly press-fitted into an electro-insulating body of a connector and a second projection adapted to be abutted onto a surface of the electro-insulating connector body to permit the contact element to be fixedly supported in the connector body against an angular displacement of the contact element about the first projection.
It is advantageous that the second projection of the intermediate section extends in the same direction as the first projection to securely hold a part of the connector body in a space defined between the first and second projections.
In this arrangement, the second projection may have a tapered shape including a slanted edge confronting the first projection, the slanted edge being adapted to be slidably abutted onto the surface of the connector body.
It is also advantageous that the contact element is stamped from a sheet metal, that the first contact end is formed along one stamped edge and is adapted to be fixedly bonded to a terminal provided on a circuit board, and that the second contact end is formed along another stamped edge and is adapted to be slidingly engaged with a counterpart electro-conductive material.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector for circuit boards, comprising a plurality of electrical contact elements, each including a first contact end adapted to be fixedly bonded to a terminal provided on a first circuit board, a second contact end opposed to the first contact end and adapted to be slidingly engaged with a terminal on a second circuit board, and an intermediate section integrally joining the first and second contact ends with each other; and an electro-insulating body adapted to be mounted on a surface of the first circuit board, and including a plurality of partition walls which define grooves therebetween for respectivel
Daikuhara Osamu
Futaki Kazuyuki
Kurotori Fumio
Bradley Paula
Fujitsu Takamisawa Component Limited
Hammond Briggitte R.
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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