Connection assembly of printed-circuit board and connector and an electronic-equipment plug-in card provided with same

A plug-in card connector constructed for mounting on a circuit board that has a face, comprising:

• a molded plastic connector body having laterally spaced side portions and at least one row of contacts mounted on said body with said contacts having at least one laterally-extending row of flexible contact tails for solder connection to traces on the circuit board;
• a pair of solder heads and means for fixing said solder heads to said laterally spaced portions of said connector body, each solder head having a substantially flat solderable head area positioned to engage a face of the circuit board when said contact tails engage the same face of the circuit board, and with each of said solderable head areas having a lateral width that is at least twice the lateral width of each of said contact tails.

A method for mounting a connector that has at least one row of contacts that include a laterally-extending row of contact tails, on a circuit board that has a laterally-extending row of traces, with the traces being precisely spaced so each tail can engage and be soldered to a selected one of said traces, comprising:

• establishing at least two solder pin heads that each has a solderable pin head area, at laterally spaced locations on said connector, and establishing at least two solder pads on said circuit board at locations to engage said pin head areas when said tails engage said traces;
• placing said connector on said circuit board with said tails engaging said traces and said solderable pin head areas engaging said solder pads, establishing molten solder at said locations of engagement including floating said solderable pin head areas on said solder pads on molten solder, and laterally positioning said connector so said tails are precisely aligned with said traces.

A connection assembly in which a printed-circuit board and a connector can be fixed positionally accurately in relation to one another by means of a position holder, wherein:

• said position holder comprises soldering pins and said printed-circuit board has soldering pads provided on it which can be connected to the opposing soldering pins by soldering;
• said soldering pins are made of plastic with a soldering pad printed thereon.

A connection assembly in which a printed-circuit board and a connector can be fixed positionally accurately in relation to one another by means of a position holder, wherein:

• said position holder comprises soldering pins and said printed-circuit board has soldering pads provided on it which can be connected to the opposing soldering pins by soldering;
• said soldering pins are latchably connectable with the connector at different heights.

A connector assembly which includes a circuit board with a plurality of tail-engaging traces, and a component with a plurality of tails that are each soldered to on of said tail engaging traces and with a body that is mounted in said circuit board, wherein:

• said circuit board has a plurality of spaced solder pads;
• and including
• a plurality of spaced pins each having an upper end fixed to said body and having a lower face that is soldered to one of said plurality of solder pads on said circuit board.