Printed circuit board finger connector

• US 4,572,604 A
• Filed: 09/10/1984
• Issued: 02/25/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Thomas & Betts International Incorporated (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: Elfab Corp. (TE Connectivity Ltd. (United Kingdom))
• Inventors: Ammon, J. Preston, Evans, Evan J., Weaver, Harry R.
• Primary Examiner(s): MCQUADE, JOHN P
• Application Number:
  US06/649,026
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 339/176 MP, 339/176 MF, 339/17 F, 339/17 LC, 339/276 SF, 339/278 C, 339/206 R, 339/59 M, 339/198 H
• US Class Current: 439/633
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/725 containing contact members presenting a contact carrying strip, e.g. edge-like strip
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/20 for assembling or disassembling contact members with insulating base, case or sleeve
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 439/931 Conductive coating

Abstract

An electrical connector for the terminating edge of a printed circuit board to form the portion of the printed circuit board adapted to engage bowed portions of contact fingers in a conventional card edge connector. The finger connector insulator includes a slotted head section for receiving the board edge and a blade section for engaging a conventional card edge connector. Each side of the insulator contains a plurality of spaced contact receiving sleeves formed by parallel, transversely extending recesses which face outwardly on the blade and inwardly from each wall of the slotted head and which are connected by coaxial apertures formed in the head section.

Claims

1. An improved electrical connector for a printed circuit board of the type having conductive circuitry areas formed thereon and terminating along one edge thereof in a transversely extending spaced relationship and wherein an insulating housing containing elongated contacts is secured to the edge of said printed circuit board for affording electrical interconnection between said conductive circuitry and mating connector member, characterized by

elongated contact members, each elongated contact member including a first contact region adapted for positioning in facing engagement with said conductive circuitry of said printed circuit board and a second contact region adapted for positioning in facing engagement with said mating connector member;

the insulating housing being generally Y-shaped and having contact receiving sleeves formed therethrough, said insulating housing having an upper slotted head portion for receiving the edge of a printed circuit board and a lower blade portion for engaging a mating connector member, said slotted head portion including opposed walls having a plurality of inwardly facing recesses provided in parallel transversely spaced relationship therein and forming an upper portion of said sleeves, each of said recesses receiving one of said contact members with said first region positioned for inwardly facing engagement with one of the conductive areas on the edge of a printed circuit board inserted into the slot of the head portion; and

said lower blade portion of said insulating housing having a plurality of outwardly facing recesses formed in generally parallel spaced relationship, each of said recesses forming a lower portion of said sleeve and receiving one of said elongated contacts with said second contact region adapted for outwardly facing engagement with said mating member, and each end of said lower blade portion having a recess half the size of one of said outwardly facing recesses so that two or more connectors when placed end to end from a full recess between two adjoining connectors.

2. An improved electrical connector for a printed circuit board as set forth in claim 1 characterized in that each of said elongate contact members (30) is formed with the longitudinal axis of the first contact region (34) lying at a slight angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the second contact region to produce a spring biasing force urging the first contact region into facing engagement with the conductive areas along the edge of a printed circuit board positioned within the slot of said head portion.

3. An improved electrical connector for a printed circuit board as set forth in claim 1 characterized in that the outwardly facing surfaces of said second contact regions (36) includes a band (32) of gold extending transversely thereacross.

4. An improved electrical connector for a printed circuit board as set forth in claim 1 characterized in that the contact receiving sleeves (44,45,48) are generally rectangular in cross sectional configuration and wherein the inwardly and outwardly facing recesses forming said sleeves are interconnected by generally rectangular apertures extending through the bottom of the slotted head portion, and that there is a generally rectangular half sleeve corresponding to each half resess on each end of the electrical connector.

5. An improved electrical connector for a printed circuit board as set forth in claim 1 characterized in that the lower blade portion of the insulative housing is adapted for engagement with a conventional printed circuit card connector and wherein the outwardly facing recesses are each separated from one another by parallel ribs (19), the height of said ribs being selected to produce an effective thickness of said blade portion which approximates the largest thickness of printed circuit card to be received by the card slot of said conventional card edge connector to align said blade in the connector.