Electrical card-edge connector
AssigneeFCI Americas Technology, Inc.
InventorHung Viet Ngo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A card-edge connector has a housing that includes a housing body, and a plurality of electrical contacts carried by the housing body. The housing is devoid of mounting ears that would extend out from the housing body. Rather, the housing includes opposing mounting guides carried by opposed housing side walls that are configured to receive a complimentary circuit board that the card-edge connector is mounted to.
Claims19
A card-edge connector configured to be mounted to a first printed circuit board along a direction of insertion, the card-edge connector comprising:
- a connector housing including a housing body that defines first and second side walls and carries a plurality of electrical contacts that are arranged between the first and second side walls, the electrical contacts defining respective mounting ends configured to contact the first printed circuit board at respective connection locations, and opposed respective mating ends configured to be electrically connected to a second printed circuit board when the electrical connector is mated to the second printed circuit board, wherein the electrical contacts are arranged in first and second rows and define a gap between the mounting ends of the first and second rows, and the gap is less than a thickness of the first printed circuit board such that the electrical contacts straddle the first printed circuit board when the electrical connector is mounted to the first printed circuit board;
- and
- at least one mounting guide carried by a respective at least one of the first and second side walls, the at least one mounting guide configured to slidably receive a side of the first printed circuit board as the card-edge connector is mounted to the first printed circuit board along the direction of insertion,
- wherein at least a portion of forces that are generated when the second printed circuit board is misaligned with the electrical connector as the electrical connector is mated with the second printed circuit board is communicated from the connector housing to the received side of the printed circuit board at a location spaced from the connection locations.
A card-edge connector configured to mount to a first printed circuit board along a direction of insertion, the card-edge connector comprising:
- a connector housing including a housing body that defines first and second side walls and carries a plurality of electrical contacts that are arranged between the first and second side walls, the electrical contacts defining respective mounting ends having opposed prongs that are configured to straddle the first printed circuit board and electrically and physically attach to the first printed circuit board at respective connection locations, and an opposed mating end configured to be electrically connected to a second printed circuit board when the electrical connector is mated to the second printed circuit board,
- wherein the first and second side walls define respective first and second channels having an open end that receives a leading edge of the first printed circuit board so as to mate with the first printed circuit board such that the first and side walls capture opposed sides of the first printed circuit board in the respective first and second channels.
A method to mount a card-edge connector to a printed circuit board, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing or teaching the use of a first printed circuit board having a leading edge, opposed sides, and electrical contact pads;
- providing an electrical connector having a connector housing that includes 1) a housing body, the housing body defining first and second side walls and 2) carries a plurality of electrical contacts that are arranged between the first and second side walls, the electrical contacts respective mounting ends having opposed prongs that are configured to straddle the first printed circuit board and electrically and physically attach to the first printed circuit board at respective ones of the electrical contact pads, and an opposed mating end configured to be electrically connected to a second printed circuit board when the electrical connector is mated to the second printed circuit board;
- and
- teaching the step of inserting the first printed circuit board into the first and second channels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.