Board retainer system for active electrical connector assembly
AssigneeThe Whitaker Corporation
InventorsCharles J. Rodriguez, Rajagopalan Chandrasekhar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A retainer system for holding a board (14) with active electrical components in an electrical connector assembly includes a boss (50,66) secured to the housing (48,64,84) of the connector assembly, with the boss having an elongated slot (52,68) open toward the other end of the housing. The slot is sized so that one end of the board is receivable therein with sufficient clearance to allow pivoting motion of the board toward and away from the housing about that one end within the slot. At the other end of the connector assembly housing is a retainer (54,72,82,100). After the one end of the board is inserted into the slot and the board is pivoted toward the housing, the retainer overlies the opposed end of the board.
Claims15
In a connector assembly which electrically interconnects a first plurality of conductors on the surface of a dielectric substrate (14) with respective ones of a second plurality of conductors on the surface of a dielectric housing (48, 64, 84) and which includes
- a resilient contact element (30) including an elongated cylindrical elastomeric body member and a flexible film wrapped around said body member, said film having a third plurality of parallel straight line conductors on the surface of said film facing away from said body member so that said third plurality of conductors extends around said body member, there being at least as many of said third plurality of conductors as there are of each of said first and second pluralities of conductors, and
- said dielectric housing having an elongated open channel (24) on its surface and supporting said contact element therein, said second plurality of conductors on said housing surface being within said channel;
- an arrangement for securing said substrate to said housing, comprising:
- at least one substrate receiving means (50, 66) secured to said housing for receiving one end of said substrate in overlying relation to the surface of the housing, said receiving means being arranged to allow pivoting movement of said substrate toward and away from said housing surface about an axis substantially parallel to the direction of elongation of said open channel;
- and
- at least one retaining means (54, 72, 82, 100) secured to said housing on the side of said channel away from said receiving means for holding the opposed end of said substrate after said substrate one end is received by said receiving means and said substrate is pivoted toward said housing surface, with each of said retaining means thereafter overlying the opposed end of said substrate;
- said receiving means and said retaining means being so configured that when said substrate is received by said receiving means and thereafter held by said retaining means, said contact element is deformably compressed by said substrate within said channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.