CN213093416U

CN213093416U - Electrical connector

Info

Publication number: CN213093416U
Application number: CN202021557848.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郭宝璨; 胡小东
Original assignee: Amphenol Commercial Products Chengdu Co Ltd
Current assignee: Amphenol Commercial Products Chengdu Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-31
Filing date: 2020-07-31
Publication date: 2021-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 2030-07-31

Abstract

The utility model provides an electric connector. The electrical connector includes: the insulation body comprises a pair of side parts extending along the longitudinal direction and a pair of tower parts respectively connected with two ends of the pair of side parts, the pair of side parts and the pair of tower parts surround to form a longitudinal clamping groove, and two ends of the clamping groove respectively extend into the pair of tower parts; and the reinforcing member is arranged in one or two of the tower parts, the cross section of the reinforcing member is U-shaped, the opening of the U-shape faces the clamping groove, and the end part of the clamping groove extends into the opening of the U-shape. When the electronic card is inserted into the card slot, the reinforcing member can keep the shape of the tower part from two sides of the electronic card along the transverse direction, and the deformation or the cracking of the tower part caused when the electronic card is impacted by external force is avoided.

Description

Electrical connector

Technical Field

The utility model relates to an electric connector.

Background

Card edge connectors (card edge connectors) are widely used as a transmission medium in electronic products such as computers, which can be used to connect electronic cards such as memory cards, video cards, sound cards, etc. to a circuit board, so that the electronic cards provide memory capacity for the electronic products and enhance the operation speed of the electronic products. With the advent of the information age, people have higher and higher requirements on the use frequency and functions of electronic products. New technology electronic cards and card edge connectors are better meeting the needs of people.

Card edge connectors typically include a pair of sides and a pair of towers that enclose to form a card slot. The card slot of the card edge connector includes one card insertion slot between a pair of side portions and a pair of card stopping slots in a pair of tower portions. The lower edge of the plate-shaped electronic card can be inserted into the card slot. And after being installed in place, the lower parts of the two sides of the electronic card can be locked in the card locking grooves of the tower part.

The insulating body is usually made of a plastic material. When the electronic card inserted into the card slot is impacted by external force, the insulating body is deformed or even broken at the tower part, so that the electronic card is in poor contact with the circuit board, and the operation fault of the electronic product is caused.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

To at least partially solve the problems of the prior art, the present invention provides an electrical connector. The electrical connector includes: the insulation body comprises a pair of side parts extending along the longitudinal direction and a pair of tower parts respectively connected with two ends of the side parts, the side parts and the tower parts surround to form a longitudinal clamping groove, and two ends of the clamping groove respectively extend into the tower parts; and the reinforcing member is arranged in one or two of the pair of tower parts, the cross section of the reinforcing member is U-shaped, the opening of the U-shape faces the clamping groove, and the end part of the clamping groove extends into the opening of the U-shape.

Illustratively, a slot is provided in the tower portion, into which the reinforcing member is inserted.

Illustratively, the slot extends to a top surface of the tower, and the reinforcing member is inserted into the slot from the top surface.

Illustratively, the bottom of the slot has a first step and a second step, the first step and the second step are spaced apart in a transverse direction to form a first recess and a second recess on both sides of the first step and the second step, respectively, and a third recess between the first step and the second step, the first recess and the second recess are located on both sides of the slot in the transverse direction, respectively, and a lower portion of the reinforcing member is fitted to the bottom of the slot.

Illustratively, the third recess is deeper than the first and second recesses.

Illustratively, the reinforcing member includes a lateral portion extending in the lateral direction, and first and second longitudinal portions extending in the longitudinal direction from both ends of the lateral portion, the first and second longitudinal portions being spaced apart to form the U-shaped opening, and the reinforcing member further includes an elastic portion bent from a top of the lateral portion toward a direction away from the card slot, the elastic portion abutting against the card slot.

Illustratively, the reinforcing member further includes first and second grip portions protruding upward from a top of the lateral portion, the first and second grip portions being located on both sides of the elastic portion in the lateral direction, respectively.

Illustratively, the reinforcement member further includes a first extension extending upwardly from the first longitudinal portion and a second extension extending upwardly from the second longitudinal portion.

Illustratively, the transverse portion and the first longitudinal portion are connected by a first rounded transition and the transverse portion and the second longitudinal portion are connected by a second rounded transition.

Illustratively, the card slot includes a card insertion slot located between the pair of side portions and extending in the longitudinal direction, and a pair of card locking slots located on sides of the pair of tower portions facing each other and extending in a vertical direction, lower ends of the pair of card locking slots being connected to both ends of the card insertion slot, respectively.

Illustratively, the electrical connector further comprises a pair of latches respectively connected to the pair of tower parts, wherein when the pair of latches are correspondingly latched to the pair of tower parts, the pair of latches respectively close the upper ends of the pair of latch grooves, and the reinforcing member is wrapped inside the corresponding latches and tower parts.

Illustratively, the reinforcing member is an integral sheet metal part.

Illustratively, the electrical connector is a card edge connector.

When the electronic card is inserted into the card slot, the reinforcing member can keep the shape of the tower part from two sides of the electronic card along the transverse direction, and the deformation or the cracking of the tower part caused when the electronic card is impacted by external force is avoided. In addition, because the vertical height of tower portion can be greater than the vertical height of lateral part, can share the impact force that receives on the lateral part effectively after the intensity increase of tower portion, can also play the additional strengthening to a pair of lateral part, promote its shock resistance, especially can promote the resistance to the impact force along transverse direction to protect insulator to a certain extent, avoid its deformation or fracture.

The advantages and features of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The following drawings of the present invention are used herein as part of the present invention for understanding the present invention. There are shown in the drawings, embodiments and descriptions thereof, which are used to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, there is shown in the drawings,

fig. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein the reinforcement member is not mounted to the insulative body;

fig. 2 is a perspective view of another angle of the electrical connector shown in fig. 1 with the reinforcement member mounted to the dielectric body;

fig. 3 is a perspective view of the insulator body shown in fig. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the insulator body shown in FIG. 3; and

fig. 5 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member shown in fig. 1.

Wherein the figures include the following reference numerals:

100. an electrical connector; 200. a reinforcing member; 201. an opening; 210. a transverse portion; 221. a first longitudinal portion; 222. a second longitudinal portion; 230. an elastic portion; 241. a first grip portion; 242. a second grip portion; 251. a first extension; 252. a second extension; 261. a first arc transition; 262. a second arc transition; 271. a first projecting portion; 272. a second projection; 273. a third projecting portion; 300. an insulating body; 310. a side portion; 320. a tower portion; 330. a card slot; 332. a card insertion slot; 334. a card locking groove; 340. a slot; 351. a first step; 352. a second step; 361. a first recess; 362. a second recess; 363. a third recessed portion; 400. and (5) locking.

Detailed Description

In the following description, numerous details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. One skilled in the art, however, will understand that the following description illustrates only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that the invention may be practiced without one or more of these details. In addition, some technical features that are well known in the art are not described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1-5, the present invention provides an electrical connector 100. The electrical connector 100 may include an insulative body 300 and a strength member 200. The electrical connector 100 may be a card edge connector. Card edge connectors may be used to connect electronic cards. The insulating body 300 may be mounted to a circuit board or the like.

As shown in fig. 1-2, the insulator body 300 may include a pair of sides 310 and a pair of towers 320. The pair of side portions 310 may extend in the longitudinal direction Y-Y. In the drawings, Y-Y denotes a longitudinal direction (i.e., a length direction) of the electrical connector 100; X-X represents a lateral direction (i.e., width direction) of the electrical connector 100; Z-Z represents the vertical direction (i.e., height direction) of the electrical connector 100. The transverse direction X-X, the longitudinal direction Y-Y and the vertical direction Z-Z are perpendicular to each other. The pair of tower portions 320 may be connected to both ends of the pair of side portions 310, respectively. The tower portion 320 may extend in a vertical direction Z-Z. The pair of sides 310 and the pair of towers 320 may enclose a longitudinal slot 330. The card slot 330 extends generally in the longitudinal direction Y-Y. Both ends of the card slot 330 extend into the pair of tower portions 320, respectively. That is, the length of the card slot 330 is greater than the length of the side portion 310 along the longitudinal direction Y-Y such that both ends of the card slot 330 extend beyond the side portion 310 into the tower portion 320. The card slot 330 is recessed inwardly from the top surface of the dielectric body 300 as a whole for receiving an electronic card. The top is the side away from the circuit board which is more convenient to operate. The bottom is the side close to the circuit board. The electronic card may be inserted into the card slot 330 in a vertical direction Z-Z. The electronic card may include any one of a video card, a memory card, a sound card, and the like.

The reinforcing member 200 is provided in one or both of the pair of tower portions 320. Illustratively, a slot 340 may be provided in the tower 320. The reinforcing member 200 may be inserted into the insertion groove 340. The reinforcing member 200 may be made of a strong material such as plastic, ceramic, metal, etc. Preferably, the reinforcing member 200 is made of a metal material. The metal material has higher strength and lower material and processing cost. Preferably, the reinforcing member 200 is an integral sheet metal part. Thus, the strength of the reinforcing member 200 is high, and the processing technology is simple and the cost is low. The cross-section of the reinforcing member 200 is U-shaped. The cross section is a section formed by cutting the reinforcing member 200 with a plane perpendicular to the vertical direction Z-Z. The U-shaped opening 201 may face the card slot 330. The ends of the card slot 330 may extend into the U-shaped opening 201. Along the transverse direction X-X, two ends of the U-shape are located at two sides of the card slot 330, respectively. That is, the reinforcing member 200 surrounds the end of the card slot 330 as viewed in the vertical direction Z-Z. The reinforcing member 200 may be adapted to the shape of the insertion groove 340. As shown in fig. 4, the insertion groove 340 surrounds the end of the card slot 330 such that the reinforcing member 200 surrounds the end of the card slot 330. Alternatively, the above-described reinforcing member 200 may be provided only in one tower portion 320; alternatively, the reinforcing member 200 may be provided in both the tower portions 320. Desirably, the reinforcing members 200 are disposed in both of the tower portions 320, and the two reinforcing members 200 surround both ends of the catching groove 330, respectively.

The protrusion of the card slot 330 into the tower 320 may affect the strength of the tower 320. By providing the reinforcing member 200 in the tower portion 320, the tower portion 320 can be reinforced to improve the impact resistance. Particularly, in the card edge connector, the longitudinal length of the entire card slot 330 is significantly greater than the lateral width, and when an impact force is applied in the lateral direction X-X, the tower 320 is easily deformed or cracked, and therefore, further, the end of the card slot 330 is inserted into the U-shaped opening 201 of the reinforcing member 200, so that when the electronic card is inserted into the card slot 330, the reinforcing member 200 can maintain the shape of the tower 320 from both sides of the electronic card in the lateral direction X-X, and the tower 320 is prevented from being deformed or cracked when the electronic card is impacted by an external force. In addition, because the vertical height of the tower portion 320 may be greater than the vertical height of the side portion 310, the strength of the tower portion 320 may be increased to effectively share the impact force on the side portion 310, and the tower portion may further reinforce the pair of side portions 310 to improve the shock resistance thereof, and particularly may improve the resistance to the impact force along the transverse direction X-X, thereby protecting the insulation body 300 to a certain extent and avoiding deformation or cracking thereof.

The stiffening member 200 may be inserted into the slot 340 in any suitable direction, such as a longitudinal direction Y-Y (not shown) or a vertical direction Z-Z (as shown). The slots 340 may have different shapes and configurations when the stiffening member 200 is installed into the tower 320 in different directions. When the reinforcing member 200 is inserted into the insertion groove 340 in the longitudinal direction Y-Y, the insertion groove 340 may extend to the outer side of the tower 320 in the longitudinal direction Y-Y. Thus, the reinforcing member 200 may be inserted into the insertion groove 340 from the outer side surface. When the reinforcing member 200 is inserted into the insertion groove 340 in the vertical direction Z-Z, the insertion groove 340 may extend to the top or bottom surface of the tower portion 320 in the vertical direction Z-Z. In this way, the reinforcing member 200 may be inserted into the insertion groove 340 from the top surface or the bottom surface.

The insulating body 300 and the reinforcing member 200 are made of different materials, the reinforcing member 200 is inserted into the slot 340, and the insulating body 300 and the reinforcing member 200 can be assembled after being manufactured in a split mode, so that the production, the manufacturing and the installation can be facilitated, and the cost of the electric connector 100 can be reduced.

Alternatively, the reinforcing member 200 may be installed in the tower portion 320 in a plug-in manner, but the reinforcing member 200 may be enclosed in the insulative housing 300 when the insulative housing 300 is molded. However, this may result in a high mold opening cost of the insulation body 300.

Further, as shown in fig. 1-2, the slot 340 extends to the top surface of the tower 320. The reinforcing member 200 is inserted into the insertion groove 340 from the top surface. Since the top surface of the tower 320 is the side of the electronic card inserted into the card slot 330, and the side has a larger view and operation space, the reinforcing member 200 can be inserted into the slot 340 from the top surface, so that the operation is facilitated and the use experience is better. Also, it can be checked from the top surface whether the reinforcing member 200 is properly inserted into the insertion groove 340.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 3-4, the bottom of the insertion groove 340 may have a first step 351 and a second step 352. First step 351 and second step 352 may be spaced apart along lateral direction X-X. Both sides of the first step 351 and the second step 352 may form a first recess 361 and a second recess 362, respectively. Third recess 363 is formed between first step 351 and second step 352. The first and second recesses 361 and 362 may be respectively located at both sides of the insertion groove 340 in the transverse direction X-X. The lower portion of the reinforcing member 200 is fitted to the bottom of the insertion groove 340. Correspondingly, as shown in fig. 5, the lower portion of the reinforcing member 200 may be provided with a first protrusion 271, a second protrusion 272, and a third protrusion 273. The first protrusion 271, the second protrusion 272, and the third protrusion 273 are inserted into the first recess 361, the second recess 362, and the third recess 363, respectively. The shape and size of first step 351 and second step 352 may be the same or different. The first and second recesses 361 and 362 may be the same or different. By providing the first step 351 and the second step 352, the thickness of the bottom of the tower 320 can be increased, the structural strength of the tower 320 can be improved, the reinforcing member 200 can be better supported, and the reinforcing member 200 can be prevented from impacting the circuit board. In addition, by providing the first recess 361, the second recess 362 and the third recess 363, the dimension of the reinforcing member 200 in the vertical direction Z-Z can be extended as much as possible, so as to protect the insulating body 300 to a large extent and prevent deformation or cracking thereof.

Further, as shown in fig. 3-4, the third recess 363 may be deeper than the first recess 361 and the second recess 362. Thus, the insertion depth of the main part of the reinforcing member 200 can be increased, which is beneficial to increasing the vertical height of the opening 201, ensuring the interference force of the reinforcing member 200, protecting the tower part 320 to a greater extent and avoiding deformation or cracking.

Optionally, the third recess 363 may also be shallower than or equal to the first and second recesses 361, 362.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 5, the reinforcing member 200 may include a transverse portion 210, a first longitudinal portion 221, and a second longitudinal portion 222. The transverse portion 210 extends in a transverse direction X-X. The first and second

longitudinal portions

221 and 222 extend from both ends of the transverse portion 210 in the longitudinal direction Y-Y. The first 221 and second 222 longitudinal portions may be the same or different. The first 221 and second 222 longitudinal portions are spaced apart to form a U-shaped opening 201. The aforementioned first protrusion 271, second protrusion 272, and third protrusion 273 may be provided on the lateral portion 210, first longitudinal portion 221, and second longitudinal portion 222, respectively. The reinforcement member 200 may further include an elastic part 230. The elastic portion 230 is bent from the top of the lateral portion 210 toward a direction away from the card slot 330. The radius of curvature of the elastic portion 230 may be arbitrary. The elastic part 230 may abut against the insertion groove 340. Illustratively, the first longitudinal portion 221, the second longitudinal portion 222, and the elastic portion 230 may be spliced with the transverse portion 210 by welding, bonding, or integrally formed. The elastic portion 230 can play a guiding role, when the electronic card is inserted into the card slot 330 along the vertical direction Z-Z, the elastic portion 230 can prevent the electronic card from being scratched, so as to effectively insert the electronic card into the card slot 330.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 5, the reinforcing member 200 may further include a first grip portion 241 and a second grip portion 242. The first and

second grip portions

241 and 242 protrude upward from the top of the lateral portion 210. The first and

second grip portions

241 and 242 may be respectively located at both sides of the elastic portion 230 in the transverse direction X-X. The first and

second grip portions

241, 242 may be the same or different. Illustratively, the first and second grasping

portions

241 and 242 may be joined to the lateral portion 210 by welding, bonding, or the like, or may be integrally formed. The first grasping portion 241 and the second grasping portion 242 may be used to connect the terminal material strips, and the relevant person may more comfortably insert the reinforcing member 200 into the insertion slot 340 by grasping the terminal material strips, which is convenient to install. The terminal strip is removed after installation.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 5, the reinforcement member 200 may further include a first extension 251 and a second extension 252. The first and

second extensions

251 and 252 extend upwardly from the first and second

longitudinal portions

221 and 222. The first extension 251 and the second extension 252 may be the same or different. Illustratively, the first extending portion 251 and the first longitudinal portion 221, and the second extending portion 252 and the second longitudinal portion 222 may be spliced together by welding, bonding, or the like, or may be integrally formed. The first and

second extensions

251 and 252 may increase the vertical dimension of the reinforcing member 200 as much as possible to enhance the resistance of the reinforcing member 200 against the impact force, so as to better protect the insulating body 300 from deformation or cracking.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 5, the transverse portion 210 and the first longitudinal portion 221 may be connected by a first rounded transition 261. The transverse portion 210 and the second longitudinal portion 222 may be connected by a second radiused transition 262. The radii of curvature of the first arc transition 261 and the second arc transition 262 may be arbitrary. Thus, the reinforcing member 200 is easily formed from one plate, and the manufacturing cost is low.

In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, card slot 330 may include a card insertion slot 332 and a pair of card locking slots 334. The card insertion slot 332 is located between the pair of side portions 310, and the card insertion slot 332 extends in the longitudinal direction Y-Y. Conductive members are typically provided within the side portion 310 for electrically connecting the electronic card with the circuit board. A pair of card locking grooves 334 are respectively located on the sides of the pair of tower portions 320 facing each other, and the pair of card locking grooves 334 extend in the vertical direction Z-Z. The lower ends of the pair of card locking grooves 334 are connected to both ends of the card insertion groove 332, respectively. Thus, a U-shaped card slot 330 is formed.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 1-2, the electrical connector 100 may further include a pair of latches 400. The pair of latches 400 may be connected to the pair of tower portions 320, respectively. The latch 400 may be removably or pivotably connected to the tower 320. When the latch 400 is snapped to the tower 320, the latch 400 closes the upper end of the card locking slot 334. The card locking slot 334 cooperates with the latch 400 to securely lock the electronic card to the electrical connector 100. Thus, the electronic card cannot be pulled out upward any more. In this state, the reinforcing member 200 is wrapped inside the corresponding lock catch 400 and tower 320. Therefore, the reinforcing member 200 can be prevented from being polluted by external dust and other dirt, the problems of oxidation and the like of the reinforcing member 200 are avoided, the structural strength of the reinforcing member is ensured, and the insulating body 300 is better protected.

Thus, the present invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, but it will be appreciated that numerous variations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art in light of the teachings of the present invention, and it is intended to cover such variations, modifications, and improvements as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. The foregoing embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration and description only and are not intended to limit the invention to the scope of the embodiments described.

Various changes may be made to the structures illustrated and described herein. For example, the stiffening member described above is used on a card edge connector, but the stiffening member may also be used with any suitable electrical connector, such as backplane connectors, daughter card connectors, stacking connectors (stacking connectors), mezzanine connectors (mezzanine connectors), I/O connectors, chip sockets (chip sockets), Gen Z connectors, and the like. When these connectors are subjected to a vibration shock, insufficient strength is encountered, and the strength of such connectors can be enhanced well by the reinforcing member.

Moreover, while many of the inventive aspects are described above with reference to a vertical connector, it should be understood that aspects of the invention are not limited thereto. As such, any of the inventive features, alone or in combination with one or more other inventive features, can also be used with other types of electrical connectors, such as right angle connectors, coplanar electrical connectors, and the like.

In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the orientation words such as "front", "back", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "horizontal", "vertical", "horizontal" and "top", "bottom", etc. are usually based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplification of description, and in the case of not making a contrary explanation, these orientation words do not indicate and imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore, should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present invention; the terms "inner" and "outer" refer to the interior and exterior relative to the contours of the components themselves.

Spatially relative terms, such as "above … …," "above … …," "above … …," "above," and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe the spatial relationship of one or more components or features shown in the figures to other components or features. It is to be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass not only the orientation of the component as depicted in the figures, but also different orientations of the component in use or operation. For example, if an element in the drawings is turned over in its entirety, the articles "over" or "on" other elements or features will include the articles "under" or "beneath" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term "above … …" can include both an orientation of "above … …" and "below … …". Further, these components or features may also be positioned at various other angles (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or other angles), all of which are intended to be encompassed herein.

It is noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments according to the present application. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and/or "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, and it should be understood that when the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" are used in this specification, they specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and claims of this application and in the drawings described above are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein are capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising:

the insulation body comprises a pair of side parts extending along the longitudinal direction and a pair of tower parts respectively connected with two ends of the side parts, the side parts and the tower parts surround to form a longitudinal clamping groove, and two ends of the clamping groove respectively extend into the tower parts; and

a reinforcing member disposed within one or both of the pair of tower sections, the reinforcing member having a U-shaped cross-section with an opening of the U facing the card slot and an end of the card slot extending into the opening of the U.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein a slot is provided in the tower portion into which the strength member is inserted.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the slot extends to a top surface of the tower, the reinforcement member being inserted into the slot from the top surface.

4. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the bottom of the socket has a first step and a second step spaced apart in a lateral direction to form a first recess and a second recess on both sides of the first step and the second step, respectively, and a third recess between the first step and the second step, the first recess and the second recess being on both sides of the card slot in the lateral direction, respectively, and a lower portion of the reinforcement member being fitted with the bottom of the socket.

5. The electrical connector of claim 4, wherein the third recess is deeper than the first and second recesses.

6. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the stiffener includes a lateral portion extending in a lateral direction, and first and second longitudinal portions extending in the longitudinal direction from both ends of the lateral portion, the first and second longitudinal portions being spaced apart to form the U-shaped opening, the stiffener further including a resilient portion that bends from a top of the lateral portion toward a direction away from the card slot, the resilient portion abutting the card slot.

7. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein the reinforcement member further includes first and second grip portions protruding upward from a top of the lateral portion, the first and second grip portions being located on both sides of the elastic portion in the lateral direction, respectively.

8. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein the stiffener further comprises a first extension extending upwardly from the first longitudinal portion and a second extension extending upwardly from the second longitudinal portion.

9. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein the transverse portion and the first longitudinal portion are connected by a first radiused transition and the transverse portion and the second longitudinal portion are connected by a second radiused transition.

10. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the card slot includes a card insertion slot located between the pair of side portions and extending in the longitudinal direction, and a pair of card locking slots located on sides of the pair of tower portions facing each other and extending in a vertical direction, lower ends of the pair of card locking slots being connected to both ends of the card insertion slot, respectively.

11. The electrical connector of claim 10, further comprising a pair of latches respectively connected to the pair of tower portions, wherein when the pair of latches are respectively latched to the pair of tower portions, the pair of latches respectively close upper ends of the pair of latch grooves, and the reinforcement member is wrapped inside the corresponding latch and tower portion.

12. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement member is a unitary sheet metal part.

13. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the electrical connector is a card edge connector.