Electrical connector having contacts formed by metal plating

• US 5,626,483 A
• Filed: 08/11/1995
• Issued: 05/06/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Whitaker Corporation (Meggitt PLC)
• Original Assignee: The Whitaker Corporation (Meggitt PLC)
• Inventors: Naitoh, Takaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Pirlot, David L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BIGGI, BRIAN JOSEPH
• Application Number:
  US08/514,037
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: 439/931, 439/74, 439/660, 439/83, 439/592, 439/66, 428/209, 29/884
• US Class Current: 439/74
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/716 Coupling device provided on the PCB
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/73 connecting to other rigid printed circuits or like structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/035 Plated dielectric material
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/028 comprising means for preventing flowing or wicking of solder or flux in parts not desired
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/18 for manufacturing bases or cases for contact members
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 439/931 Conductive coating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49222 forming array of contacts or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24917 including metal layer

Abstract

The present invention is directed to presenting a connector which has conductor patterns in very narrow pitch. A frame 50, in which plural beams 52, which have the same cross-section as a connector 1, are aligned in parallel, is molded from a suitable resin which is good in heat resistance and accepts plating. After electroless plating over the surface of each beam 52, resist is coated uniformly thereon. The beam 52 is exposed three-dimensionally using mirrors and masks. After removing resist and unnecessary plated copper, it is gold-plated or solder plated, as needed. The beams 52, on which the conductor patterns are formed, are separated from the frame 50, and by cutting each beam into a designed number, connectors of narrow pitch are obtained.

Claims

1. An electrical connector comprising:

a dielectric housing made of a heat-resistant plastic that can accept metal plating and having a roughened surface covered with a metal layer, a conductor pattern formed by photolithography on the metal layer, excess metal removed from the housing leaving the conductor pattern thereon in the form of closely spaced contact members, the housing including a contact section and a soldering section, with the contact members extending along one surface of the contact section and along one part of the soldering section including a side surface and a bottom surface of the soldering section, and the side surface of the soldering section having arcuate depressions along which the contact members extend.

2. An electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing has a T-shaped configuration wherein a vertical leg defines the contact section and a horizontal leg defines the soldering section.

3. An electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the soldering section is indented relative to side surfaces of said contact section.

4. An electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein partitions are located on said housing along said soldering section between the contact members.

5. A method of making electrical connectors, comprising the steps of:

molding a rectangular frame from a heat-resistant plastic that can accept metal plating, the frame including housing members each having a contact section and a soldering section extending between side walls of said frame at spaced locations therealong;

providing a roughened surface on each of the housing members;

covering the roughened surfaces with a metal layer;

coating the metal layer with a resist material;

exposing the resist material thereby forming a conductor pattern along the contact section and the soldering section;

removing the metal that is not the conductor pattern;

removing the resist covering the conductor pattern; and

plating a metal onto the conductor pattern whereby contact members are formed along the contact section and the soldering section of the housing members thereby forming electrical connectors.

6. A method of making electrical connectors as claimed in claim 5, comprising the further step of removing the electrical connectors from the rectangular frame.

7. A method of making electrical connectors as claimed in claim 5, wherein the step of providing a roughened surface constitutes etching the surface.

8. An electrical connector comprising:

a dielectric housing made of a heat-resistant plastic that can accept metal plating and having a roughened surface covered with a metal layer, a conductor pattern formed by photolithography on the metal layer, excess metal removed from the housing leaving the conductor pattern thereon in the form of closely spaced contact members, the housing having a box-shaped configuration including a contact section and a soldering section, the contact section extending upwardly from a bottom wall which defines the soldering section, the contact members extending along the contact section and through holes in the bottom wall and along an outer surface of the bottom wall.