SIDE-EDGE CONNECTOR SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A connector for temporarily accessing a printed circuit board for electrical communication with the printed circuit board, the connector comprising:
- a connector body having a mating region configured to engage a side-edge surface of the printed circuit board, wherein the mating region includes at least one electrical contact protruding outwardly from the mating region so that each of the at least one electrical contacts engages a corresponding receiving contact disposed along the side-edge surface of the printed circuit board when engaged with the mating region; and
electronic circuitry within the connector body electrically connected with the at least one electrical contact so as to allow at least one of programming, debugging, configuring, monitoring, testing, or state configuring connection of the printed circuit board.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Described herein are devices, systems and methods for accessing devices, such as modules or printed circuit boards (PCBs), for electrical communications. Various connectors described herein utilize a side-edge surface of a device, such as a PCB, for connectivity in order to maximize the surface area on the PCB upon which electronic components can be mounted. Such connectors can be used to temporarily connect to devices (e.g., PCBs) for the purposes of debugging, testing and/or configuring circuitry, firmware and/or software. Each such connector utilizes the side-edge surface of a device along its thickness to provide connectivity, which is useful in many situations, including when the device (e.g., a PCB) is to be soldered as a part onto a larger board at a later point in time, or where multiple PCBs are stacked.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A connector for temporarily accessing a printed circuit board for electrical communication with the printed circuit board, the connector comprising:
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a connector body having a mating region configured to engage a side-edge surface of the printed circuit board, wherein the mating region includes at least one electrical contact protruding outwardly from the mating region so that each of the at least one electrical contacts engages a corresponding receiving contact disposed along the side-edge surface of the printed circuit board when engaged with the mating region; and electronic circuitry within the connector body electrically connected with the at least one electrical contact so as to allow at least one of programming, debugging, configuring, monitoring, testing, or state configuring connection of the printed circuit board. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of temporarily accessing a printed circuit board for transmitting electronic signals between the printed circuit board and an external device, the method comprising:
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aligning a connector with the printed circuit board, wherein the connector has at least one electrical contact protruding outwardly from a surface of a connector body and electronic circuitry within the connector body electrically connected with the at least one electrical contact, and the printed circuit board has at least one side-edge surface having at least one receiving contact disposed thereon; and mating the connector with the printed circuit board so that each of the at least one electrical contact engages one of the at least one receiving contact so as to allow transmission of electronic signals between the electronic circuitry and the printed circuit board for at least one of programming, debugging, configuring, monitoring, testing, or state configuring of the printed circuit board. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification