US 6,551,120 B2Granted

Card retention mechanism

AssigneeIntel Corporation

InventorsGeorge H. Daskalakis, Daryl J. Nelson

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A retention mechanism for securing an electrical connector of a printed circuit card to an electrical connector of a main circuit board is presented. The retention mechanism has a base, through which each of the connectors fit, having a number of snaplets and a number of guiding ledges. The snaplets secure the retention mechanism to the electrical connector of the main circuit board, while the guiding ledges support the positioning of the electrical connector of the printed circuit card in the electrical connector of the main circuit board. A locking feature secures the electrical connector of the printed circuit card in place by fitting into a slot between a card arm and the main body of the printed circuit card. A handle extends from the locking feature, allowing for easy manipulation, so that the locking feature may be locked and unlocked and the printed circuit card may be inserted or removed at will.

Claims8

Dependent claims

An apparatus for securing two electrical connectors together, the apparatus comprising:

a base, which essentially surrounds an electrical connected portion of an essentially upright printed circuit card and a circuit board connector when connected;
a snaplet arrangement, integrally attached to the base, which secures the base to the circuit board connector;
and
at least one guiding ledge which supports connection of an electrical edge portion connector of the printed circuit card to the circuit board connector;
and
a single means far locking the connectors together, the means for locking including a slider, which sits in a hollow formed by the base, a locking tab, integrally connected to the slider, which fits into a slot formed between a main body of the circuit card and an extension therefrom, and a handle, integrally connected to the slider, by which the slider may be moved back and forth in the hollow axially along the base so as to engage and disengage the locking tab with the slot, the slider having an index ball, integrally connected to the slider, which indicates whether the means for locking is in a locking position by fitting into a locking slot cut into the base.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/389,282Filed 2 Sep 1999
Published: US 2002/0142642 A13 Oct 2002
Granted: 22 Apr 2003
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G06F 1/185
Internal mounting support structures, e.g. for supporting printed circuit boards: mounting of expansion boards
G06F 1/184
Internal mounting support structures, e.g. for supporting printed circuit boards: mounting of motherboards
G06F 1/186
Mounting of expansion boards: securing of expansion boards in correspondence to slots provided at the computer enclosure
H01R 12/7005
Coupling devices: guiding, mounting, polarizing or locking means; Extractors