AU600026B2 - Zero insertion force connector - Google Patents

Description

1 J 6000

,AUBTRALIA,..-

PATENTS ACT 1952-1973 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE P/00/011 6Form Form Class: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: LODGED A7 SUB.c 6 H&rp1%198? i tId 1.

Related Art: ;j dF I r SuName of Applicant: i.

Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT E.I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, of Wilmington, Delaware, 19898, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Fred Christian SITZLER Address forService: Care of JAMES M. LAWRIE CO., Patent Attorneys of 72 Willsmere Road, Kew, 3101, Victoria, Australia.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: ZERO INSERTION FORCE CONNECTOR The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:-' *Note: The description is to be typed in double spacing, pica type face, in an area not exceeding 260 mm In depth end 160 mm in width, on tough white paper of good quality and it is to be Inserted inside this form.

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TITLE

Zero Insertion Force Connector

BACKGROUND

This invention relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to connectors into which the edge of a printed circuit card can be inserted with zero insertion force.

It is known in the art that such connectors can be provided with cams and followers for spreading opposed rows of terminals when a card is to be inserted or removed. For example, cams for tensioning as well as spreading the terminals have been disclosed by Hamsher et al. in U.S. Patent 4,428,635. In this connector, all of the normal contact force must be supplied at the terminal block, thus requiring thick, costly material in the terminals to obtain that force.

Also, the frictional force of the cam followers on the 20 insides of the free ends of the cantilevered arms must be counteracted before a normal force is applied.

o SUMMARY The above and other difficulties have been

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overcome in an edge card connector of the type having °0:o opposed rows of elongated terminals having spaced contacts at their free ends, a cam extending lengthwise of the rows and an an elongated cam follower for each row of terminals. The followers are located outside the rows, beneath outwardly bowed portions in the lengths of the terminals, and are adapted to engage the bowed portions and move them into engagement with an inserted card. Then, the bowed portions are stressed to achieve a contact wipe. Shank portions of the terminals extend through a terminal block and present

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rows of projecting tails below the block adapted for connection to a circuit board.

The cam followers are enclosed within a one-piece, non-moving housing. The housing has walls attached to the sides of the terminal block and has top and end walls which are slotted to receive the card. The terminals emerge from the top surface of the terminal block in two rows, and the cams are longitudinally movable in channels defined by the rows of terminals, the housing and the top surface of the terminal block. A bar extends from end wall to end wall of the housing beneath the slot in the top wall. The shank portions of the terminals are spaced slightly from the bar before the followers are raised but contacting the bar as the followers are raised whereby first flexing of the terminals as the followers are raised is adjacent the terminal block but when the terminals contact the bar the bowed portions are stressed and the contacts at the free ends are brought into wiping contact with the card.

DRAWINGS

t i Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the edge card connector of the present invention Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of the relationship between Figs.

2A and 2B.

Fig. 2A is a fragmentary side view of the connector shown in Fig. 1, parts haigbeen broken away and shown in section. The sections have been taken on irregular line 2A-2A in Fig. 3.

Fig. 2B is a similar view, the sections having been taken on line 213- 2B in Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken on line 3-3 in Fig. 2A.

Fig. 4 is a transverse, sectional view taken on line 4-4 in Fig. 2B.

Figs. 5 and 6 are side and end views of the long terminals shown in igs 3 and 4.

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DESCRIPTION

Referring to Fig. 1, the edge card connector is shown to include a housing 10 for a terminal block 12 and cams 14, 15. Housing 10 has openings 16 for detents 17 on terminal block 12. A handle 18 is pivotally attached at 19 to block 12 and has pins i t t t St t t t S

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4I 4 N. V -2a 3 fitted into slots 20 in the cams. Handle 18 is grooved, as shown at 22. to receive one edge of a printed circuit card 24 when the handle is down to a horizontal position. From there, card 24 can be pushed laterally into an open-ended slot 26 in the top wall of housing 10 to the point where it is stopped by a pin 28 and another pin 30 on the card is seated in notches at the other end of housing 10. Then, cams 14,15 are moved to the positions shown in Fig. 1 by raising handle 18.

As shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, cam 14 has ramps 32 which coact with similarly but oppositely configured projections 34 on a cam follower 36 in housing Fingers 38 on follower 36 limit the movements of cam 14 which movements raise and lower the follower. Follower 36 is shown in its lowered position in Fig. 2A and in l, the raised position in Fig. 2B.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that there is another follower 40 associated with cam 16. Thus, there are two rows of opposed terminals and 4 *of an elongated follower located outside each row. At its top, each follower is recessed to present a comb-like array of thin blades 42 adapted to engage and stress bowed portions 44 of terminals 46 when followers 36,40 are raised from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4. Seats between the blades 42 r engage and stress the bowed portions 48 of terminals In each row, the bowed portions are at different levels, alternately high and low, with a high bowed 30 portion 44 in one row opposite a low bowed portion 48 in the other row. The tops of blades 42 present high S surfaces and the space between the blades present low h surfaces positioned to engage the bowed portions of the terminals 46,50.

4 Within and extending from end wall to end wall of housing 10, there is a bar 51 beneath slot 26. As shown in Fig. 3, the shank portions of terminals 46 are spaced slightly from the bar 51. Thus, the first flexing of the terminals 46,50, when the followers are raised, is adjacent terminal block 12. When the terminals contact bar 51, the bowed portions 44.48 are then stressed and the contacts at the free ends are wiped as shown in Fig. 4.

Terminals 50 are relatively short and have straight shank portions 52 leading to solder tails 54.

Although solder tails have been shown herein, other configurations such as wire wrap tails, pins or posts could be used. Longer terminals 46 have shank portions 56 bent outwardly (Figs. 3-5) to solder tails 58.

Shank portions 52.56 are embedded in the molded terminal block 12 and tails 54,58 project therefrom.

Tails 54,58 are adapted for placement in an apertured printed circuit board 59. At its opposite end, each terminal has a card-engaging contact 60 in the form of a coined dimple and is rounded to facilitate entry into the space between partitions 62 in housing 10 as the connector is assembled and as the contacts are spread.

Blades 42 on followers 36,40 are also confined between 4 25 the partitions to insure alignment with the bowed ,44, portions. In addition, they prevent longitudinal 4 i movement of the followers as they are raised and lowered by cams 14,16.

As best shown in Fig. 6, each long terminal 46 has its tail 58 offset laterally from shank portion L 56. The short terminals 50 have similarly offset tails 54. From side-to-side of terminal block 12, the terminals in adjacent longitudinal rows have their 3 tails offset longitudinally in opposite directions.

Because of that feature and because of the outwardly 4 extending shank portions 56 in the long terminals 46, there are four tails in each lateral row, for two rows of opposed terminals, there are four longitudinal rows of tails.

As shown in Figs. 1-4 cam followers 36,40 are enclosed within one-piece, non-moving housing having side walls attached to the sides of terminal block 12 and having top and end walls which are slotted to form slot 26 for the receipt of card 24. The end walls also have openings to accommodate longitudinal movement of cams 14.15 within the housing. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4 terminals 46,50 emerge from the top of terminal block 12 in two rows. and the cams 14,15 are longitudinally movable within longitudinal channels defined by the 15 rows of terminals, the housing 10 and the top surface Ie of the terminal block 12.

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Claims (6)

1. A zero insertion force connector for connecting the edge of a printed circuit card to a circuit board, having opposed rows of elongated terminals having shank portions which extend through a terminal block and present rows of projecting tails below the block adapted for connection to the circuit board, (ii) outwardly bowed portions above the block, and (iii) contacts at their upper free ends, and two cams extending lengthwise of said oo,° 15 rows, one for each row of terminals, and an elongated cam follower for each row of 1* terminals, each follower being positioned outside the rows and beneath the bowed portions of the terminals in one row and :00 20 being adapted to engage the bowed portions when the follower is raised by the cam and to force the contacts in the two rows toward each other and into °p wiping contact with the edge of a printed Bo 25 circuit card placed between the rows, a. characterized in that the cam followers are enclosed within a one-piece non-moving housing having side walls attached to the sides of the terminal block and having top and end walls which are slotted to receive the a a. °o 30 card, ,the terminals emerge from the top surface of the o04... terminal block in two rows, and the cams are O longitudinally movable within longitudinal channels defined by the rows of terminals, the housing and the 1 top surface of terminal block. 6 -i and wherein a bar extends from end wall to end wall of the housing beneath the slot in the top wall, the shank portions of the terminals being spaced slightly from said bar before the followers are raised but contacting the bar as the followers are raised, whereby first flexing of the terminals as the followers are raised is adjacent the terminal block but when the terminals contact the bar the bowed portions are stressed and the contacts at the free ends are brought into wiping contact with the card. c C 0 0 0 *0 0 @0000 00* 00 090000

2. The connector of claim 1, further characterized in that the terminal block is a molded block and shank portions of the terminals have offset portions which are embedded in the terminal block.

3. The connector of claim 1 or 2 wherein the cams have a series of ramps on their surface which coact with similar but oppositely configured projections on the lower surface of the followers whereby the followers move vertically as the cams are moved longitudinally.

4. The connector of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the terminals in each row are two different lengths, alternately long and short, and wherein the bowed portions in each row are at different levels, alternately high and low, with a high bowed portion in one row opposite a low bowed portion in the other row and wherein each follower has a top interrupted by recesses presenting high and lower surfaces positioned to engage the bowed portions in the terminals.

The connector of claim 4 wherein the shank portions of the long terminals within the terminal block are bent outwardly so as to provide four longitudinal rows of trails and wherein the terminals in adjacent longitudinal rows have their offset longitudinally in opposite directions so as to provide lateral rows of four tails each.

6. A zero insertion force connector for connecting the edge of a printed circuit card to a circuit board, substantially as hereindescribed with -7- ,t I .1 s V. h *Lr reference to any one of the accompanying drawings. DATED this 11th day of April 1990. E.I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS COMP'ANY By their Patent Attorneys: CALLINAN LAWRIE '-It, 1 4 tIlt II I I -8