Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – Distinct contact secured to panel circuit
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-23
2001-03-13
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
Distinct contact secured to panel circuit
C439S931000, C439S083000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06200146
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector and, more particularly, to a right angle electrical connector.
In a typical right angle connector the tails of the contacts that extend from the rear of the connector body are bent at right angles, so that the ends of the tails extend downwardly for engagement in plated-through holes in a printed circuit board on which the connector is mounted. Because of the long length of the right angle bent contact tails, it is difficult to maintain the ends of the tails in precise position for insertion into the plated-through holes. To facilitate the insertion of the vertically-extending legs of the tails into the holes, typically a flat alignment plate containing rows of holes corresponding to the pattern of the vertical legs of the contact tails is pushed upwardly over the tails. This assembly procedure requires an initial precise positioning of the vertical legs of the tails to allow the alignment plate to be mounted thereon. Generally, right angle electrical connectors contain no more than three or four rows of contacts. A greater density of contacts in the connector would make mounting of the alignment plate thereon difficult, if not impractical.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a right angle electrical connector that does not require the use of right angle bent contact tails.
It is another object of the invention to provide an adapter for a connector having conventional straight contacts to convert such connector into a right angle connector.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a principal aspect of the present invention, there is provided a right angle electrical connector in which a generally flat insulative plate extends rearwardly from the lower portion of the insulative body of the connector. The body contains a plurality of contact passages that extend from the front face to the rear face of the body. The rear portions of the passages contain conductive coatings therein which are engaged by the contacts mounted in the passages. A plurality of projections extend downwardly from the lower surface of the flat plate at the rear of the connector body. Conductive layers are provided on the projections. The projections are adapted to be mounted in plated-through holes in a printed circuit board on which the connector is mounted, or to have a surface mount connection to traces on the upper surface of the board. Conductive traces are formed on the connector body and the plate that extend from the conductive coatings in the contact passages to the projections to provide electrical paths from the contacts to the projections. With this arrangement, the need for right angle contacts is eliminated, and there is no need to mount an alignment plate over the vertical legs of right angle bent contact tails.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a generally L-shaped adapter for converting a conventional straight contact electrical connector into a right angle connector. The adapter includes a vertically-extending upper plate and a horizontally-extending lower plate. Plated-through holes in the upper plate are aligned with the contact passages in the connector. Contact tails that extend horizontally from the rear surface of the connector body extend into the plated-through holes in the upper plate of the adapter when the adapter is pushed against the rear of the connector body. Conductive traces extend from the plated-through holes over the surface of the adapter to projections on the bottom of the lower plate for making electrical connection to either plated-through holes or surface mount pads on a printed circuit board on which the connector is mounted. Because the tails on the contacts are typically short and relatively rigid, they are precisely positioned which facilitates mounting the adapter over the ends of the tails, even if the tails are disposed in more than four rows in a high density arrangement.
The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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ITT Manufacturing Enterprises Inc.
Nguyen Khiem
Nguyen Son N.
Turner Roger C.
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