Stacked connector assembly

Electrical connectors – With supporting means for coupling part – Supporting plural – independent coupling parts

Reexamination Certificate

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Reexamination Certificate

active

06179651

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, particularly to a stacked connector assembly.
2. The Prior Art
To economically use the limited space within the computer case, stacked connector assemblies are popularly used in the computer field. Some stacked connector assemblies were proposed in, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/651,565 and 08/746,246 assigned to the same assignee of the present invention. These stacked connector assemblies, though comprise more than one connectors stacked together, require a bracket interposed therebetween for combining the connectors as a whole, which increases the number of main components in the assemblies and thus involves a more complicated process to assemble these components. In addition, in the above-mentioned conventional design, the spacer is integral formed with the housing, which is not convenient in use. Hence, there is a need for a stacked connector assembly which involves less main components and can be assembled more easily than it was and which comprises a spacer formed separately from the housing and capable of being assembled to the housing easily.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a stacked connector assembly without requiring a bracket interposed therein for combining the connectors as a whole.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stacked connector assembly having a reduced number of main components and to simplify the assembling process.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a stacked connector assembly which has a simplified assembling process.
One more object of the present invention is to provide a stacked connector assembly which has a spacer that can be formed separately from the housing and assembled to the housing easily.
To fulfill the above-mentioned objects, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a stacked connector assembly comprises an upper and a lower electrical connector of the same type, and means having parts integrally formed with the upper and the lower connectors, respectively, for retaining the upper and lower connectors to each other. The upper and the lower connectors both include a first insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a first mating connector, a plurality of conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the first housing. The upper connector further comprises a pair of supports extending from a rear face of the first housing and a space defined under a bottom surface of the first housing in front of the supports for snugly receiving the lower connector.
According to another aspect of the invention, a spacer for an electrical connector is also proposed, which comprises a front thin bar and a rear thick bar integrally formed together, each bar defining two rows of staggered tapered apertures extending through a top and a bottom surface thereof for guiding and positioning conductive contacts extending therethrough. A pair of hooks are formed on opposite lateral sides of the spacer for locking into an electrical connector and a pair of up-standing keys taller than the hooks are provided on both lateral ends of the front bar for guiding attachment of the spacer to an electrical connector.
These and additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reading the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the appended drawing figures.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5044984 (1991-09-01), Mosser et al.
patent: 5290174 (1994-03-01), Woratyla et al.
patent: 5320555 (1994-06-01), Okabe
patent: 5709544 (1998-01-01), Savage, Jr.

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