Boardlock for an electrical connector

• US 6,012,948 A
• Filed: 07/15/1997
• Issued: 01/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Wu, Kun-Tsan
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KHIEM M
• Application Number:
  US08/892,916
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: 439/79, 439/567, 439/607, 439/609, 439/901, 439/904
• US Class Current: 439/567
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/00 Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures printed connections to, or between, printed circuits H05K1/11
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/7029 not integral with the coupling device
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/7064 Press fitting
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/658 High frequency shielding arrangements, e.g. against EMI [Electro-Magnetic Interference] or EMP [Electro-Magnetic Pulse] coaxial coupling devices specially adapted for high frequency H01R24/40; for flat or ribbon cable connectors H01R12/774; for coaxial cable H01R9/05

Abstract

A boardlock for an electrical connector is disclosed. The boardlock comprises an attachment section for attaching to an electrical connector and an insertion section for inserting into a hole of a circuit board. The insertion section includes a leg plate and a spring piece laterally bulging from a lateral portion of the leg plate. The spring piece is a strip bending out of the leg plate in V shape from its middle portion with both ends of the spring piece connected to the leg plate. Also, a shielding device for an electrical connector comprising a pair of above-mentioned boardlocks integrally formed on it is disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for mounting at least one boardlock to a corresponding hole in a PC board, said boarlock including a leg plate with spring means perpendicular to said leg plate, the steps including:

initially inserting the boardlock into the corresponding hole wherein the spring means exerts little force against a wall of the hole so as to have the leg plate share a same semi-circle cross-section with the spring means; and

successively inserting the boardlock into the corresponding hole wherein the spring means exerts much force against the wall of the hole so as to have the leg plate move away from said semi-circle cross-section to another complementary semi-circle cross-section.