CA1177551A - High density connector - Google Patents
High density connectorInfo
- Publication number
- CA1177551A CA1177551A CA000400343A CA400343A CA1177551A CA 1177551 A CA1177551 A CA 1177551A CA 000400343 A CA000400343 A CA 000400343A CA 400343 A CA400343 A CA 400343A CA 1177551 A CA1177551 A CA 1177551A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- block
- connector
- printed wiring
- wiring card
- connection
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R12/00—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
- H01R12/70—Coupling devices
- H01R12/71—Coupling devices for rigid printing circuits or like structures
- H01R12/712—Coupling devices for rigid printing circuits or like structures co-operating with the surface of the printed circuit or with a coupling device exclusively provided on the surface of the printed circuit
- H01R12/714—Coupling devices for rigid printing circuits or like structures co-operating with the surface of the printed circuit or with a coupling device exclusively provided on the surface of the printed circuit with contacts abutting directly the printed circuit; Button contacts therefore provided on the printed circuit
Landscapes
- Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
A new design for a high density connector is disclosed for connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane. The connector provides for a sliding connection interface between the printed wiring card and the connector, and a pressure connection interface between the connector and the back plane. The connector does not require a permanent physical mounting on the printed wiring card. The design discloses a single connector which can be used to provide the aforesaid connections on one or both sides of printed wiring cards of varying thicknesses.
A new design for a high density connector is disclosed for connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane. The connector provides for a sliding connection interface between the printed wiring card and the connector, and a pressure connection interface between the connector and the back plane. The connector does not require a permanent physical mounting on the printed wiring card. The design discloses a single connector which can be used to provide the aforesaid connections on one or both sides of printed wiring cards of varying thicknesses.
Description
BACKGR~UN~ OF THE INVENTI~N 1 17 7 5 ~1 Fie~d of the Inven~ion This invention relates to the field o~ e~ectrical connectors1 and more particularly to electrical connectors or connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane.
Desc~iption of the Prior ~t Various types of connectors currently exist in the marketplace for electrically and physically connecting a printed wiring card on which electrical components are mounted to a back plane. Perhaps the most common type of connector is the edge-on connector. The edge-on connector provides a sliding contact interface to the printed wiring card, yielding a quick and relatively easy means of installing or removing printed wiring cards.
The edge-on connector, while quite popular, does contain several drawbacks inherent in its design. First, repair or replacement o a damaged connector pin can be a very difficult and time consuming task due to the often resulting congested wiring on the back plane. In addition, the fact that the individual pins of the edge~on connector are soldered in place on the back plane further complicates this task. A second drawback of the edge-on connector i9 the fact that any one edge-on connector type is restricted to accommodating printed wiring cards of a fixed thickness. A variation in the thickness of a printed wiring card, as a result in a variation of the number of individual layers of printed wire runs on the printed wiring, card, requires edge-on connectors of varying si~es~
A second type oE connector for electrically and physically I ~ ~7~$~
connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane is the plug-on connector. Typically, the plug-on connector is restricted to being mounted on only one side of a printed circuit card, and can employ either a single or multiple rows of connecting pins.
An advantage of the plug-on connector is a higher density of connections per linear inch due to the use of an individual connection pin for each connection as opposed to a linear portion of the printed wiring card as is used with a printed wiring card used with an edge-on connector. This feature provides even greater density of connections when multiple rows of connection pins are used. While the plug-on connector does yield a higher density of connections per linear inch, it suffers from the same problem inherent in the edge-on connector with respect to repair or replacement of connection pins physically attached to the back panel.
Due to the relatively large number of connection pins that are customarily present in large systems, and the great difficulty associated with the repair or replacement of a damaged connection pin, it is desirable to separate a portion of the connection pins affixed to the back plane which are used for wiring purposes from that portion of the connection pin which serves to electrically connect the printed wiring card to the back plane. This approach is used with a pressure-pressure connector type.
The pressure-pressure connector functions to connect a printed wiring cad to a back plane by a plurality of single electrical connections~ As the pressure connector type does not , ., - 1 17~
involve the physical interconnecting with a pin on the back plane, the risk of damaging a pin which in the case o the edge-on or plug-on connector is soldered in place beneath a large amount of congested wiring on the back plane, does not exist. A
drawback of the pressure-pressure connector, however, is the fact that the pressure-pressure connector must be rigidly mounted to both the printed circuit card as well as the back plane. This results in a somewhat inconvenient arrangement with respect to removal of the printed wiring card.
1o SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thereforel there is provided by the present invention, a connector for electrically connecting terminal points of a printed wiring card to corresponding terminal points of a backplane which comprises a first block of a dialectric material having embedded therein a plurality of connection pins of an electrically conducting material, a first end of each of the connection pins protruding from a first surface of the first block and a second end of each of the connection pins protrudiny from a second surface of the first block, wherein the first and second surface are essentially at right angles to each other.
The connector also includes a second block of a dialectric material, a spacer element having a first predetermined thickness, and an element for fastening the first block to the second block. ~ -> (continues) l ~7~1 The spacer element is po~itioned between the Eirs~ block and the second block causing a space of the first predeter~lined thickness to exist between the first block and the second block, the space adapted to receive the printed wirin~ card having a second predetermined thickness. The place of protrusion of each of the first end of the connection pin ~rom the first surface o~ the first block aligns with the corresponding terminal point of the printed wiring card when the printed wiring card is inserted in the space, and the amount of protrusion of each of the first end of the connection pin from the first surface of the first block is essentially a fixed amount such as to cause a first pressure contact between each of the first end of the connection pin and the corresponding terminal point of the printed wiring card when the printed wiring card is inserted in the space. A second element for fastening the first block to the backplane, such that the place of protrusion of each of the second end of the connection pin from the second surface of the first block aligns with the corresponding terminal point of th~ backplane! and the amount of protrusion of each of the second end of the connection pin rom the second surface of the first block is sufficient to make an electrical connection when held in pressure contact against the terminal point of the backplane.
In the preferred embodiment disclosed herein, the connector described herein provides a high density of electrical connections by employing a double tier arrangement of electrical contacts.
~ ` ! .
1 ~75~1 Accordingly, it is an object o~ the present invention to provide a highly versatile connector which can be used to provide electrical connections to one or both sides of a printed wiring card.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector which can accommodate printed wiring cards - of varying thicknesses, It is a further object of the present invention to provide a highly versatile connector which can be used to provide electrical connections to one or both sides of printed wiring cards of varying thicknesses.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a connector for connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane which cannot reflect damage to the back plane pins and associated wiring.
It is still a further object to provide a connector which offers a high degree of flexibility and application, as well as a high density of electrical connections while remaining economic in use.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embocliment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF DP~A~INGS
The various novel features of this invention, along with the foregoing and other objects, as well as the invPntion itself both as to its organization and method of use, may be more fully understood from the following description of an illustrated embodiment when read in con~unction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective vies of an edge-on connector and an . ~ -6-1 1~7~ ~
associated printed wiring card oE the prior art Figure 2 is a side view of an edge-on connector affixed to a back plane of the prior art;
Figure 3 is a side view of a plug-on type connector affixed to a printed wiring card adjacent to a back plane of the prior art;
Figure 4 is a side view of a pressure-pressure type connector affixed to a printed wiring card and a back plane of the prior art;
Figure 5 is a side view of the connector made the subject of the present application affixed to a back plane providing electrical connections to one side of a printed wiring card;
Figure 6 is a side view of the connectors made the subject of the present application affixed to a back plane providing electrical connections to both sides of a printed wiring card;
and Figure 7 is a view of a portion of an edge of a printed wiring card illustrating a double tier of offset electrical connections as used in connection with the preferred embodiment of the invention herein.
DES(~RIPTION QF TEIE ~EFERRED ErqBODI~lENT
In order to more easily understand the features of the present invention, some connectors of the prior art will first be discussed. Perhaps the most common type of connector is the edge-on connector, as illustrated in Figure 1. With the edge-on connector arrangement, an edge 101 of the printed wiring card 102 has a plurality of electrical contacts 103 fabricated along one edge. The edge-on connector 104 has a matching number of electrical contac~s 105 arranged along an inner gap 106 of edge-on connector 104 which mate with electrical contacts 103 on 7 ~ __ _ 3 :~77~1 printed wiring card 102 when the edge 101 o~ the p~lnted wi~ing card 102 is inserted into the gap 106 of edge-on connector 104.
A side view of the edge-on connector is illustrated in Figure 2.
The edge~on connector is composed of a housing 201, connection pins 202 which extend ~rom the point of connec~ion to the printed circuit card 203 through the connector housing 201 to the rear of the connector housing, and a mounting of the connector housing 2G1 to the back plane 104 by mounting means 205.
The edge-on connector can provide connections to a printed wiring card on either one or both sides of the printed wiring card by appropriate connection pins 203~ The connection pins 203 can be made individually removable from the connector housing 201 for repair and replacement purposes.
The edge-on connector provides a sliding contact interface to the printed wiring card, yielding a quick and relatively easy means of installing or removing printed wiring cards.
The connection pins 203 are electrically connected to the back plane by individually soldering each pin to its respective location on the back plane. Thereafter, the numerous pins of the various edge-on connectors soldered to the back plane are interconnected by individual wires. The resulting wiring on the back plane is often quite congested.
It is observed that the edge-on connector requires an edge of the associated printed circuit card to serve as a male type connector, with the edge-on connector serving as the female connector.
The edge-on connector, while quite popular, does contain several drawbacks inherent in its design. First, repair or replacement of a ~
~ ~ ,. ..................... . ..
75~ ~
damaged connector pin 203 can be a very di~ficult and time consuming task due to the often resulting congested wiring on the back plane. In add~tion, the fact that the individual pins of the edge-on connector are soldered in place on the back plane further complicates this task.
A second drawback of the edge~on connector is the fact that any one edge-on connector type is restricted to accommodating printed wiring cards of a fixed thickness. A variation in the thickness of a printed wiring card, as a result in a variation of the number of individual layers of printed wire runs on the printed wiring card, requires edge-on connectors of varying sizes.
A second type of connector for electrically and physically connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane is the plug-on connector, a side view of which is i-llustrated in Figure 3. The plug-on connector is composed of two parts: a male portion 301 which is mounted on the associated printed circuit card 302, and a female portion 303 which is mounted on the back plane 306. The individual connection pins 304 of the female portion ~03 extend through the back plane in a similar fashion as the edge-on connector connection pins, and are soldered in place on the back plane.
Typically, the plug-on connector is restricted to being mounted on only one side of a printed circuit card, and can employ either a single or multiple rows of connecting pins 305.
An advantage of the plug-on connector is a high~r density of connections per linear inch due to the use of an individual connection pin for each connection as opposed ~o a linear portion of the printed wiring card as is used with a printed wiring card used with an edge-on ~ ~ ~
. .
~`$~ -8a-1~ ~7~1 connector. This Eeature provides even greateL density o~
connections when multiple rows of connection pins 305 are used.
While the plug-on connector does ~ield a higher density of connections per linear inch, it suffers from the same problem inherent in the edge-on connec~or with respect to repair or replacment of connection pins physically attache~ to the back panel 306.
In addition, the plug-on connector requires the use of two separate connectors for each connection, i.e., a male connector 301 permanently mounted on the printed wiring card 302, and a female connector 303 permanently mounted on the back plane 306.
Consequen~ly, the cost assGciated with the use of the plug~on type connector is necessarily greater than that of the edge-on connector type.
Due to the relatively large number of connection pins that are customarily present in large systems, and the great difficulty associated with the repair or replacement of a damaged connection pin, it is desirable to separate a portion of the connection pins affixed to the back plane which are used for wiring purposes from that portion of the connection pin which serves to electrically connect the printed wiring card to the back plane. This approach is used with the pressure-pressure connector type. A side view of the pressure-pressure connector type is illustrated in Figure 4.
The pressure-pressure connector Eunctions to connect a printed wiring card 401 to a back plane 402 by a plurality of single electrical connections 403. The electrical connections 403 are in pressure contact with the desired electrical connec~ion points on both the back plane 405 and the printed wiring card 404 The pressure-pressure connector housing 406 is affixed to the printed wiring card 401 by mounting means~
-~b-407. The printed wiring card is affixed to ~he back plane 402 by mounting means 408. A~ the pre.ssure-pres~ure connector type does not involve the physical interconnecting with a pin on the back plane, the risk of damaging a pin which in the case of the edge-on or plug-on connector is soldered in place beneath a large amount of congested wiring on the back plane, does not exist~ A
drawback of the pressure-pressure connector, however, is the fact that the presure-pressure connector must be rigidly mounted to both the printed circuit card as well as the back plane. This results in a somewhat inconvenient ~rrangement with respect to removal of the printed wiring card.
A side view of an embodiment of the invention made the subject of this application is illustrated in Figure 5.
Connector 501 is affixed to back plane 502 by mounting means 503, and connects points 505 and 506 on printed wiring card 504 with points 507 and 508 respectively on back panel 502. Connector retaining bar 509 functions to aid in retaining printed wiring card 504 in position adjacent to connector 501, and is secured in place by mounting means 512 which is affixed to connector 501 and retaining bar 509, passing through a slot 513 in printed wiring board 504. A space means 514 functions to define and maintain the desired distance between connector 501 and retaining bar 509 for the appropriate thickness of printed wiring board 504.
Several points are noted with respect to Figure 5. First, the connection interace between connector 501 and printed wiring card 504 is a sliding interace, i.e., electrical connections are made between connector 501 and printed wiring card 504 when printed wiring card 504 is slid into place between connector 501 and connector retaining bar -8c-7 5~ 1 509, thereby bringing connection pins 510 and 511 of connector 501 into electrical contact with the desired connection points 505 and 506 on printed wiring card 504.
Secondly, the electrical connection interace between connector 501 and back panel 502 is a pressure interface, i.e~, electrical connection between back panel terminal points 507 and 508 and connection pins 510 and 511 of connector 501 are held in pressure contact with back panel 502 by mounting means 503. Consequently, connector 501 furnishes an electrical interface between printed wiring card 504 and back panel 502 without the necessity of connector 591 connection pins being soldered to back panel 502. By so providing for a pressure interface with the back panel, the very difficult practical problem of dealing with the ramifications of damaged connector pins on the back panel has been elLminated.
It is also observed from Figure 5 that connector 501 physically mounts only on the back plane and the associated retaining means, retaining bar 509, or, as is subsequently described herein, the corresponding connector for providing electrical connections to the opposite side of the printed wiring board. Connector 501, while providing a sliding interface to printed wiring card 594, does not require a physical mounting to printed wiring card 504, as was reguired with the pressure-pressure connector illustrated in Figure 4.
Consequently, printed wiring card 504 is easily removable from connector 501.
Another feature inherent in ~he connector made the subject of the present ap~lication is the fact that the identical type connector can be used to provide electrical connections to either or both sides of the printed wiring card. As illustrated in Figure 6, printed wiring card 601 has connector 603 and 604 positioned on opposite sides adjacent to back panel 602. By so providing electrical connections along an edge of the connector, the identical connector can provide electrical connec-tions between either or both sides of a printed wiring card and back plane.
An additional feature which naturally follows from the design of the connector is the capability of providing electrical connections to either or both sides of a printed wiring card, independently of the thickness of the printed wiring card. m is feature would be particularly attractive to manufacturing facilities where the thickness of the printed wiring cards may vary due to the layers of printed wiring present on printed wiring cards. With the present connector, variations in board thicknesses do not impact the use of the connector, as would be the case with the edge-on connector. To the contrary, the same connector can be used, with adjusting only the connector-to-connector distance to reflect the change in thickness of the printed wiring card~
m is function is accomplished by spacer means 609 which serves to define and maintain the desired distance between connectors 603 and 604 for the appropriate thickness of printed wiring board 601. Conse~uently, the same connector can be used, to provide electrical connections to one or both sides of printed wiring cards of varying thicknesses.
me invention made the subject of the present application also provides for the use of offset multiple tiers of electrical contacts on the sliding electrical contact interface with the printed wiring cardO
1 1775~1 Figure 5 illustrates a side view of the connector employing an offset double tier 510 and 511 of electrical contacts. Figure 6 illustrates the connector made the subject of the present application employing an offset double tier of connections 605, 606 and 607, 608 to provide electrical connections to both sides of printed wiring board 601.
In the preferred emb~diment of the connector herein, the offset between adjacent tiers of electrical connection points was chosen to be equal to one-half of the width between adjacent electrical connection points. This is illustrated in Figure 7, which illustrates a portion of one edge of a printed wiring board used with the connector described herein.
In the preferred embodiment of the connector made the subject of the present application, the connective elements 510 and 511 shown in Figure 5 between the printed wiring card 504 and the back plane 502 are solid metalic connectors.
m e above description is included to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims. From the above discussion, many variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art that would yet be encompassed by the spirit and scope of the invention herein.
Desc~iption of the Prior ~t Various types of connectors currently exist in the marketplace for electrically and physically connecting a printed wiring card on which electrical components are mounted to a back plane. Perhaps the most common type of connector is the edge-on connector. The edge-on connector provides a sliding contact interface to the printed wiring card, yielding a quick and relatively easy means of installing or removing printed wiring cards.
The edge-on connector, while quite popular, does contain several drawbacks inherent in its design. First, repair or replacement o a damaged connector pin can be a very difficult and time consuming task due to the often resulting congested wiring on the back plane. In addition, the fact that the individual pins of the edge~on connector are soldered in place on the back plane further complicates this task. A second drawback of the edge-on connector i9 the fact that any one edge-on connector type is restricted to accommodating printed wiring cards of a fixed thickness. A variation in the thickness of a printed wiring card, as a result in a variation of the number of individual layers of printed wire runs on the printed wiring, card, requires edge-on connectors of varying si~es~
A second type oE connector for electrically and physically I ~ ~7~$~
connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane is the plug-on connector. Typically, the plug-on connector is restricted to being mounted on only one side of a printed circuit card, and can employ either a single or multiple rows of connecting pins.
An advantage of the plug-on connector is a higher density of connections per linear inch due to the use of an individual connection pin for each connection as opposed to a linear portion of the printed wiring card as is used with a printed wiring card used with an edge-on connector. This feature provides even greater density of connections when multiple rows of connection pins are used. While the plug-on connector does yield a higher density of connections per linear inch, it suffers from the same problem inherent in the edge-on connector with respect to repair or replacement of connection pins physically attached to the back panel.
Due to the relatively large number of connection pins that are customarily present in large systems, and the great difficulty associated with the repair or replacement of a damaged connection pin, it is desirable to separate a portion of the connection pins affixed to the back plane which are used for wiring purposes from that portion of the connection pin which serves to electrically connect the printed wiring card to the back plane. This approach is used with a pressure-pressure connector type.
The pressure-pressure connector functions to connect a printed wiring cad to a back plane by a plurality of single electrical connections~ As the pressure connector type does not , ., - 1 17~
involve the physical interconnecting with a pin on the back plane, the risk of damaging a pin which in the case o the edge-on or plug-on connector is soldered in place beneath a large amount of congested wiring on the back plane, does not exist. A
drawback of the pressure-pressure connector, however, is the fact that the pressure-pressure connector must be rigidly mounted to both the printed circuit card as well as the back plane. This results in a somewhat inconvenient arrangement with respect to removal of the printed wiring card.
1o SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thereforel there is provided by the present invention, a connector for electrically connecting terminal points of a printed wiring card to corresponding terminal points of a backplane which comprises a first block of a dialectric material having embedded therein a plurality of connection pins of an electrically conducting material, a first end of each of the connection pins protruding from a first surface of the first block and a second end of each of the connection pins protrudiny from a second surface of the first block, wherein the first and second surface are essentially at right angles to each other.
The connector also includes a second block of a dialectric material, a spacer element having a first predetermined thickness, and an element for fastening the first block to the second block. ~ -> (continues) l ~7~1 The spacer element is po~itioned between the Eirs~ block and the second block causing a space of the first predeter~lined thickness to exist between the first block and the second block, the space adapted to receive the printed wirin~ card having a second predetermined thickness. The place of protrusion of each of the first end of the connection pin ~rom the first surface o~ the first block aligns with the corresponding terminal point of the printed wiring card when the printed wiring card is inserted in the space, and the amount of protrusion of each of the first end of the connection pin from the first surface of the first block is essentially a fixed amount such as to cause a first pressure contact between each of the first end of the connection pin and the corresponding terminal point of the printed wiring card when the printed wiring card is inserted in the space. A second element for fastening the first block to the backplane, such that the place of protrusion of each of the second end of the connection pin from the second surface of the first block aligns with the corresponding terminal point of th~ backplane! and the amount of protrusion of each of the second end of the connection pin rom the second surface of the first block is sufficient to make an electrical connection when held in pressure contact against the terminal point of the backplane.
In the preferred embodiment disclosed herein, the connector described herein provides a high density of electrical connections by employing a double tier arrangement of electrical contacts.
~ ` ! .
1 ~75~1 Accordingly, it is an object o~ the present invention to provide a highly versatile connector which can be used to provide electrical connections to one or both sides of a printed wiring card.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector which can accommodate printed wiring cards - of varying thicknesses, It is a further object of the present invention to provide a highly versatile connector which can be used to provide electrical connections to one or both sides of printed wiring cards of varying thicknesses.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a connector for connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane which cannot reflect damage to the back plane pins and associated wiring.
It is still a further object to provide a connector which offers a high degree of flexibility and application, as well as a high density of electrical connections while remaining economic in use.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embocliment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF DP~A~INGS
The various novel features of this invention, along with the foregoing and other objects, as well as the invPntion itself both as to its organization and method of use, may be more fully understood from the following description of an illustrated embodiment when read in con~unction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective vies of an edge-on connector and an . ~ -6-1 1~7~ ~
associated printed wiring card oE the prior art Figure 2 is a side view of an edge-on connector affixed to a back plane of the prior art;
Figure 3 is a side view of a plug-on type connector affixed to a printed wiring card adjacent to a back plane of the prior art;
Figure 4 is a side view of a pressure-pressure type connector affixed to a printed wiring card and a back plane of the prior art;
Figure 5 is a side view of the connector made the subject of the present application affixed to a back plane providing electrical connections to one side of a printed wiring card;
Figure 6 is a side view of the connectors made the subject of the present application affixed to a back plane providing electrical connections to both sides of a printed wiring card;
and Figure 7 is a view of a portion of an edge of a printed wiring card illustrating a double tier of offset electrical connections as used in connection with the preferred embodiment of the invention herein.
DES(~RIPTION QF TEIE ~EFERRED ErqBODI~lENT
In order to more easily understand the features of the present invention, some connectors of the prior art will first be discussed. Perhaps the most common type of connector is the edge-on connector, as illustrated in Figure 1. With the edge-on connector arrangement, an edge 101 of the printed wiring card 102 has a plurality of electrical contacts 103 fabricated along one edge. The edge-on connector 104 has a matching number of electrical contac~s 105 arranged along an inner gap 106 of edge-on connector 104 which mate with electrical contacts 103 on 7 ~ __ _ 3 :~77~1 printed wiring card 102 when the edge 101 o~ the p~lnted wi~ing card 102 is inserted into the gap 106 of edge-on connector 104.
A side view of the edge-on connector is illustrated in Figure 2.
The edge~on connector is composed of a housing 201, connection pins 202 which extend ~rom the point of connec~ion to the printed circuit card 203 through the connector housing 201 to the rear of the connector housing, and a mounting of the connector housing 2G1 to the back plane 104 by mounting means 205.
The edge-on connector can provide connections to a printed wiring card on either one or both sides of the printed wiring card by appropriate connection pins 203~ The connection pins 203 can be made individually removable from the connector housing 201 for repair and replacement purposes.
The edge-on connector provides a sliding contact interface to the printed wiring card, yielding a quick and relatively easy means of installing or removing printed wiring cards.
The connection pins 203 are electrically connected to the back plane by individually soldering each pin to its respective location on the back plane. Thereafter, the numerous pins of the various edge-on connectors soldered to the back plane are interconnected by individual wires. The resulting wiring on the back plane is often quite congested.
It is observed that the edge-on connector requires an edge of the associated printed circuit card to serve as a male type connector, with the edge-on connector serving as the female connector.
The edge-on connector, while quite popular, does contain several drawbacks inherent in its design. First, repair or replacement of a ~
~ ~ ,. ..................... . ..
75~ ~
damaged connector pin 203 can be a very di~ficult and time consuming task due to the often resulting congested wiring on the back plane. In add~tion, the fact that the individual pins of the edge-on connector are soldered in place on the back plane further complicates this task.
A second drawback of the edge~on connector is the fact that any one edge-on connector type is restricted to accommodating printed wiring cards of a fixed thickness. A variation in the thickness of a printed wiring card, as a result in a variation of the number of individual layers of printed wire runs on the printed wiring card, requires edge-on connectors of varying sizes.
A second type of connector for electrically and physically connecting a printed wiring card to a back plane is the plug-on connector, a side view of which is i-llustrated in Figure 3. The plug-on connector is composed of two parts: a male portion 301 which is mounted on the associated printed circuit card 302, and a female portion 303 which is mounted on the back plane 306. The individual connection pins 304 of the female portion ~03 extend through the back plane in a similar fashion as the edge-on connector connection pins, and are soldered in place on the back plane.
Typically, the plug-on connector is restricted to being mounted on only one side of a printed circuit card, and can employ either a single or multiple rows of connecting pins 305.
An advantage of the plug-on connector is a high~r density of connections per linear inch due to the use of an individual connection pin for each connection as opposed ~o a linear portion of the printed wiring card as is used with a printed wiring card used with an edge-on ~ ~ ~
. .
~`$~ -8a-1~ ~7~1 connector. This Eeature provides even greateL density o~
connections when multiple rows of connection pins 305 are used.
While the plug-on connector does ~ield a higher density of connections per linear inch, it suffers from the same problem inherent in the edge-on connec~or with respect to repair or replacment of connection pins physically attache~ to the back panel 306.
In addition, the plug-on connector requires the use of two separate connectors for each connection, i.e., a male connector 301 permanently mounted on the printed wiring card 302, and a female connector 303 permanently mounted on the back plane 306.
Consequen~ly, the cost assGciated with the use of the plug~on type connector is necessarily greater than that of the edge-on connector type.
Due to the relatively large number of connection pins that are customarily present in large systems, and the great difficulty associated with the repair or replacement of a damaged connection pin, it is desirable to separate a portion of the connection pins affixed to the back plane which are used for wiring purposes from that portion of the connection pin which serves to electrically connect the printed wiring card to the back plane. This approach is used with the pressure-pressure connector type. A side view of the pressure-pressure connector type is illustrated in Figure 4.
The pressure-pressure connector Eunctions to connect a printed wiring card 401 to a back plane 402 by a plurality of single electrical connections 403. The electrical connections 403 are in pressure contact with the desired electrical connec~ion points on both the back plane 405 and the printed wiring card 404 The pressure-pressure connector housing 406 is affixed to the printed wiring card 401 by mounting means~
-~b-407. The printed wiring card is affixed to ~he back plane 402 by mounting means 408. A~ the pre.ssure-pres~ure connector type does not involve the physical interconnecting with a pin on the back plane, the risk of damaging a pin which in the case of the edge-on or plug-on connector is soldered in place beneath a large amount of congested wiring on the back plane, does not exist~ A
drawback of the pressure-pressure connector, however, is the fact that the presure-pressure connector must be rigidly mounted to both the printed circuit card as well as the back plane. This results in a somewhat inconvenient ~rrangement with respect to removal of the printed wiring card.
A side view of an embodiment of the invention made the subject of this application is illustrated in Figure 5.
Connector 501 is affixed to back plane 502 by mounting means 503, and connects points 505 and 506 on printed wiring card 504 with points 507 and 508 respectively on back panel 502. Connector retaining bar 509 functions to aid in retaining printed wiring card 504 in position adjacent to connector 501, and is secured in place by mounting means 512 which is affixed to connector 501 and retaining bar 509, passing through a slot 513 in printed wiring board 504. A space means 514 functions to define and maintain the desired distance between connector 501 and retaining bar 509 for the appropriate thickness of printed wiring board 504.
Several points are noted with respect to Figure 5. First, the connection interace between connector 501 and printed wiring card 504 is a sliding interace, i.e., electrical connections are made between connector 501 and printed wiring card 504 when printed wiring card 504 is slid into place between connector 501 and connector retaining bar -8c-7 5~ 1 509, thereby bringing connection pins 510 and 511 of connector 501 into electrical contact with the desired connection points 505 and 506 on printed wiring card 504.
Secondly, the electrical connection interace between connector 501 and back panel 502 is a pressure interface, i.e~, electrical connection between back panel terminal points 507 and 508 and connection pins 510 and 511 of connector 501 are held in pressure contact with back panel 502 by mounting means 503. Consequently, connector 501 furnishes an electrical interface between printed wiring card 504 and back panel 502 without the necessity of connector 591 connection pins being soldered to back panel 502. By so providing for a pressure interface with the back panel, the very difficult practical problem of dealing with the ramifications of damaged connector pins on the back panel has been elLminated.
It is also observed from Figure 5 that connector 501 physically mounts only on the back plane and the associated retaining means, retaining bar 509, or, as is subsequently described herein, the corresponding connector for providing electrical connections to the opposite side of the printed wiring board. Connector 501, while providing a sliding interface to printed wiring card 594, does not require a physical mounting to printed wiring card 504, as was reguired with the pressure-pressure connector illustrated in Figure 4.
Consequently, printed wiring card 504 is easily removable from connector 501.
Another feature inherent in ~he connector made the subject of the present ap~lication is the fact that the identical type connector can be used to provide electrical connections to either or both sides of the printed wiring card. As illustrated in Figure 6, printed wiring card 601 has connector 603 and 604 positioned on opposite sides adjacent to back panel 602. By so providing electrical connections along an edge of the connector, the identical connector can provide electrical connec-tions between either or both sides of a printed wiring card and back plane.
An additional feature which naturally follows from the design of the connector is the capability of providing electrical connections to either or both sides of a printed wiring card, independently of the thickness of the printed wiring card. m is feature would be particularly attractive to manufacturing facilities where the thickness of the printed wiring cards may vary due to the layers of printed wiring present on printed wiring cards. With the present connector, variations in board thicknesses do not impact the use of the connector, as would be the case with the edge-on connector. To the contrary, the same connector can be used, with adjusting only the connector-to-connector distance to reflect the change in thickness of the printed wiring card~
m is function is accomplished by spacer means 609 which serves to define and maintain the desired distance between connectors 603 and 604 for the appropriate thickness of printed wiring board 601. Conse~uently, the same connector can be used, to provide electrical connections to one or both sides of printed wiring cards of varying thicknesses.
me invention made the subject of the present application also provides for the use of offset multiple tiers of electrical contacts on the sliding electrical contact interface with the printed wiring cardO
1 1775~1 Figure 5 illustrates a side view of the connector employing an offset double tier 510 and 511 of electrical contacts. Figure 6 illustrates the connector made the subject of the present application employing an offset double tier of connections 605, 606 and 607, 608 to provide electrical connections to both sides of printed wiring board 601.
In the preferred emb~diment of the connector herein, the offset between adjacent tiers of electrical connection points was chosen to be equal to one-half of the width between adjacent electrical connection points. This is illustrated in Figure 7, which illustrates a portion of one edge of a printed wiring board used with the connector described herein.
In the preferred embodiment of the connector made the subject of the present application, the connective elements 510 and 511 shown in Figure 5 between the printed wiring card 504 and the back plane 502 are solid metalic connectors.
m e above description is included to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims. From the above discussion, many variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art that would yet be encompassed by the spirit and scope of the invention herein.
Claims (2)
- Claim 1. A connector, for electrically connecting terminal points of a printed wiring card to corresponding terminal points of a backplane, comprising:
a) first block of a dialectric material having embedded therein a plurality of connection pins of an electrically conducting material, a first end of each of said connection pins protruding from a first surface of said first block and a second end of each of said connection pins protruding from a second surface of said first block wherein said first and second surface are essentially at right angles to each other;
b) second block of a dialectric material;
c) spacer means having a first predetermined thickness;
d) means for fastening said first block to said second block, said spacer means being positioned between said first block and said second block causing a space of said first predetermined thickness to exist between said first block and said second block, said space adapted to receive said printed wiring card having a second predetermined thickness, wherein the place of protrusion of each of said first end of said connection pin from said first surface of said first block aligns with the corresponding terminal point of said printed wiring card when said printed wiring card is inserted in said space, and the amount of protrusion of each of said first end of said connection pin from said first surface of said first block is essentially a fixed amount such as to cause a first pressure contact between each of said first end of said connection pin and the corresponding terminal point of said printed wiring card when said printed wiring card is inserted in said space; and e) second means for fastening said first block to said backplane, such that the place of protrusion of each of said second end of said connection pin from said second surface of said first block aligns with the corresponding terminal point of said backplane, and the amount of protrusion of each of said second end of said connection pin from said second surface of said first block sufficient to make an electrical connection when held in pressure contact against the terminal point of said backplane. - Claim 2. A connector, for electrically connecting terminal points on the first side and second side of a printed wiring card to corresponding terminal points of a backplane, comprising:
a) first block of a dialectric material having embedded therein a first plurality of connection pins of an electrically conducting material, a first end of each of said connection pins protruding from a first surface of said first block and a second end of each of said connection pins protruding from a second surface of said first block wherein said first and second surface of said first block are essentially at right angles to each other;
b) second block of a dialectric material having embedded therein a second plurality of connection pins of an electrically conducting material, a first end of each of said connection pins protruding from a first surface of said second block and a second end of each of said connection pins protruding from a second surface of said second block wherein said first and second surface of said second block are essentially at right angles to each other;
c) spacer means having a first predetermined thickness;
d) means for fastening said first block to said second block, said spacer means being positioned between said first block and said second block causing a space of said first predetermined thickness to exist between said first block and said second block, said space adapted to receive said printed wiring card having a second predetermined thickness, wherein the place of protrusion of each of said first end of said connection pin from said first surface of said first and second block aligns with the corresponding terminal points on the first side and second side of said printed wiring card, respectively, when said printed wiring card is inserted in said space, and the amount of protrusion of each of said first end of said connection pin from said first surface of said first and second block is essentially a fixed amount such as to cause a first pressure contact between each of said first end of said connection pin and the corresponding terminal point on the first side and the second side of said printed wiring card when said printed wiring card is inserted in said space; and e) second means for fastening said first block to said backplane, such that the place of protrusion of each of said second end of said connection pin from said second surface of said first and second block aligns with the corresponding terminal point of said backplane, and the amount of protrusion of each of said second end of said connection pin from said second surface of said first and second block sufficient to make an electrical connection when held in pressure contact against the terminal point of said backplane.
Claim 3. A connector, according to Claim 2, further comprising:
a) third means for fastening said second block to said backplane, -14a-
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US28043681A | 1981-07-06 | 1981-07-06 | |
| US280,436 | 1994-07-28 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1177551A true CA1177551A (en) | 1984-11-06 |
Family
ID=23073082
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000400343A Expired CA1177551A (en) | 1981-07-06 | 1982-04-01 | High density connector |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0070136A1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS5810381A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU553463B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1177551A (en) |
Families Citing this family (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2142477B (en) * | 1983-07-01 | 1987-07-29 | Philips Electronic Associated | Electrical circuit assembly |
| EP0341872A3 (en) * | 1988-05-09 | 1990-08-08 | AT&T Corp. | High density connectors |
| JP2536676B2 (en) * | 1990-07-30 | 1996-09-18 | 日本電気株式会社 | Micro pin assembly and manufacturing method thereof |
| US5585138A (en) * | 1991-07-30 | 1996-12-17 | Nec Corporation | Micropin array and production method thereof |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2942229A (en) * | 1956-01-31 | 1960-06-21 | Rca Corp | Multiple contact connector |
| FR1324810A (en) * | 1962-06-13 | 1963-04-19 | Brown Engineering Company Inc | Printed circuit modules |
| US3290636A (en) * | 1963-09-30 | 1966-12-06 | Northern Electric Co | Thin-film circuit connector |
| DE2119567C2 (en) * | 1970-05-05 | 1983-07-14 | International Computers Ltd., London | Electrical connection device and method for making the same |
| US3762040A (en) * | 1971-10-06 | 1973-10-02 | Western Electric Co | Method of forming circuit crossovers |
| IT958626B (en) * | 1971-10-06 | 1973-10-30 | Teledyne Inc | CONNECTOR FOR CIRCUIT PANEL AND RELATIVE MANUFACTURING METHOD |
-
1982
- 1982-03-16 AU AU81581/82A patent/AU553463B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1982-04-01 CA CA000400343A patent/CA1177551A/en not_active Expired
- 1982-04-20 JP JP57064850A patent/JPS5810381A/en active Pending
- 1982-07-05 EP EP82303511A patent/EP0070136A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0070136A1 (en) | 1983-01-19 |
| AU553463B2 (en) | 1986-07-17 |
| AU8158182A (en) | 1983-01-13 |
| JPS5810381A (en) | 1983-01-20 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |