US 6,142,793 AGranted

PC card saddle connection

AssigneeITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc.

InventorsAndreas Schremmer, Werner Biermann, Roland Schmid

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Abstract

A molded plastic saddle (19) lies at the front of a PC card (10), the saddle connecting to the front connector (18), the front of the circuit board (16), and the front of the lower cover part (12) in connections that are easily performed by the PC card maker who assembles the components. The saddle has laterally spaced opposite saddle side portions (120, 122) connected by a laterally-extending crossbar (28). Each saddle side portion has a cutout (38) in its side, and the sheet metal lower cover part has upstanding side rails (51, 52) with front portions forming holdown tabs (53) that are bent to extend into the cutouts to lock the front of the lower housing part to the saddle and thereby to the front connector and the front end of the circuit board.

In a PC card with longitudinally spaced front and rear ends and laterally spaced opposite sides, said PC card including a circuit board with front and rear ends, a front connector lying at the front end of said circuit board with said front connector having laterally opposite sides, and a sheet metal cover that includes upper and lower cover parts with primarily horizontal portions lying respectively above and below said circuit board, the improvement comprising:

a saddle having laterally spaced opposite saddle side portions and a laterally-extending crossbar that connects said saddle side portions, with each saddle side portion having a forward mount region that is fixed to a corresponding one of said front connector sides and with each saddle side portion having a rear mount region mounted to a corresponding side of said circuit board front end;
each of said rear mount regions has a wall (37) with a top surface and with said upper cover part lying over said top surface, and with each rear mount region having a cutout (38) forming a primarily upwardly-facing surface (154) lying below the level of said top surface, with said cutouts at said rear mount regions each having a height that is a plurality of times as tall as the thickness of the sheet metal of said lower sheet metal cover part;
said lower sheet metal cover part having a front end lying under said front connector and under and against the said saddle, and said sheet metal cover part having a pair of upstanding side rails, and with each side rail having a front end portion with a tab that is permanently bent at a height below the top of the corresponding side rail to project laterally into one of said laterally opening cutouts, with said tab having a portion lying against said primarily upwardly-facing surface, for locking the front end portion of the side rail to said saddle, with said tab portion that lies against said surface having a lateral dimension that is at least about the height of said tab portion above the bottom of said side rail of said lower sheet metal cover part.

Abstract

Claims4