EP0975054A2 - Connecteur de bord de carte à haute performance - Google Patents

Connecteur de bord de carte à haute performance Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0975054A2
EP0975054A2 EP99113364A EP99113364A EP0975054A2 EP 0975054 A2 EP0975054 A2 EP 0975054A2 EP 99113364 A EP99113364 A EP 99113364A EP 99113364 A EP99113364 A EP 99113364A EP 0975054 A2 EP0975054 A2 EP 0975054A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
terminal
card
slot
cavity
signal
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP99113364A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0975054A3 (fr
Inventor
Shyh-Lin Tung
Harold Keith Lang
Augusto P. Panella
Irvin R. Triner
Alan S. Walse
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Molex LLC
Original Assignee
Molex LLC
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US09/120,527 external-priority patent/US6095821A/en
Application filed by Molex LLC filed Critical Molex LLC
Publication of EP0975054A2 publication Critical patent/EP0975054A2/fr
Publication of EP0975054A3 publication Critical patent/EP0975054A3/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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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
    • H01R12/72—Coupling devices for rigid printing circuits or like structures coupling with the edge of the rigid printed circuits or like structures
    • H01R12/721—Coupling devices for rigid printing circuits or like structures coupling with the edge of the rigid printed circuits or like structures cooperating directly with the edge of the rigid printed circuits
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/648—Protective earth or shield arrangements on coupling devices, e.g. anti-static shielding  
    • H01R13/658—High frequency shielding arrangements, e.g. against EMI [Electro-Magnetic Interference] or EMP [Electro-Magnetic Pulse]
    • H01R13/6581—Shield structure
    • H01R13/6585—Shielding material individually surrounding or interposed between mutually spaced contacts

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to electrical connectors for printed circuit boards, and more particularly to an improved card edge connector for removably connecting a circuit card to a circuit board.
  • the electrical connectors and the electrical terminals they include are smaller.
  • the terminals must nevertheless be sufficiently flexible and strong to provide reliable contact with a circuit card inserted into the connector.
  • US-A-5,161,987 discloses an electrical connector having a ground bus with a plurality of solder tails. A row of signal contacts is located on each side of the ground bus.
  • US-A-5,162,002 discloses a card edge connector with spatially overlapped terminals having relatively shorter and relatively longer contact elements.
  • This connector has important advantages such as reducing the peak card insertion force, but has electrical characteristics that are not optimized for higher speed digital signals.
  • US-A-5,192,220 discloses a dual readout socket wherein crosstalk is reduced by increasing the space between connectors. This approach defeats the goal of increased circuit density.
  • US-A-5,259,768 discloses an electrical connector having ground terminals with significantly larger surface areas than the signal terminals.
  • the ground and signal terminals alternate, and the shadowing effect of the ground terminals reduces crosstalk.
  • the ground terminals have both solder tails and grounding feet to reduce impedance generally, while non-functional stubs are sized to provide a specifically desired impedance.
  • US-A-5,259,793 discloses an edge connector with terminals arranged in an alternating array along the circuit card insertion slot. Circuit density is diminished because of the alternating array.
  • US-A-5,309,630 discloses an electrical connector wherein a desired impedance is obtained by selecting terminals having anchoring portions sized to correspond to the desired impedance.
  • Signal and ground terminals may alternate, and at least the ground terminals are provided with two feet to reduce impedance.
  • US-A-5,580,257 discloses a connector in which enlarged ground terminals are adjacent to pairs of signal terminals to reduce crosstalk. Although this arrangement has advantages, three different terminal shapes are required, and the operation of assembling terminals into the connector housing is complex.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide an improved card edge connector.
  • Other objects are to provide a connector with low inductance that can achieve an impedance match with associated circuit assemblies; to provide a connector having minimum cross talk between signal circuits; to provide a connector having high circuit density; to provide a connector that is robust although small; to provide a mechanically and electrically reliable connector that can be manufactured and assembled inexpensively; and to provide an improved card edge connector overcoming disadvantages of connectors used in the past.
  • a card edge connector for receiving a mating edge of a circuit card having a plurality of contact pads.
  • the edge card connector includes an elongated insulating housing having top and bottom walls and an elongated card slot in the top wall for receiving the mating edge.
  • a plurality of pairs of parallel, closely spaced terminal receiving cavities in the housing intersect and extend transverse to the slot.
  • One cavity of each pair contains at least one signal terminal for conducting high frequency digital signals and the other cavity of each pair contains at least one reference terminal for conducting a ground or power signal.
  • Each signal terminal includes a signal terminal body retained in the housing and a signal terminal card contact including a signal terminal flexible beam extending upward from the body and a signal terminal contact region in the slot.
  • Each reference terminal includes a reference terminal body retained in the housing and overlying the signal terminal body, and a reference terminal card contact including a reference terminal flexible beam extending upward from the body portion and a reference terminal contact region in the slot.
  • FIG. 1 there is illustrated a circuit assembly generally designated as 10 and including three card edge connectors, each generally designated as 12, constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
  • the circuit assembly 10 includes a printed circuit board 14, for example, a computer motherboard.
  • the card edge connectors 12 are mounted on the circuit board 14 and removably receive printed circuit cards 16, for example, memory modules with random access memory available to the motherboard 14.
  • the card edge connector provides circuit paths so that power, ground and digital signals can be transferred between the circuit board 14 and the circuit cards 16.
  • the pertinent structure of the circuit card 16 and the circuit board 14 are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
  • the card 16, of which a fragment is seen in FIG. 8, includes an edge 18 that mates with the card edge connector 12.
  • a series of conductive contact pads 20 is provided on both opposed surfaces of the card 16 along the mating edge 18.
  • Conductive traces on and/or within the card 16 provide power, ground and signal paths leading from the contact pads 20 to components (not shown) that are mounted on the card 16.
  • FIG. 9 A fragment of the circuit board 14 is shown in FIG. 9.
  • the upper surface 22 of the board includes an array of conductive regions 24.
  • the conductive regions 24 are plated through holes. Other arrangements, such as conductive pads for surface mount soldering connections, are also possible.
  • Circuit traces on and/or in the circuit board 14 provide power, ground and signal paths from the conductive regions 24 to other components (not shown) mounted on the circuit board.
  • the connector 12 provides circuit paths between the contact pads 20 and the conductive regions 22.
  • the card edge connector 12 includes an elongated housing 26 made of an electrically insulating material such as a molded high temperature thermoplastic, such as liquid crystal polymer plastic.
  • the housing has a top wall 28, a bottom wall 30 and opposed side walls 32.
  • An elongated card slot 34 in the top wall 28 receives the mating edge 18 of an inserted card 16.
  • Housing end posts 36 and latches 38 may be provided at the ends of the housing 26.
  • the bottom wall 30 includes stand off projections 40 for maintaining a space between the bottom wall 30 and the top surface 22 (FIG. 1) of the circuit board 14.
  • Hold downs 42 are generally known in the art and may be used to mechanically attach the housing 26 to the circuit board 14.
  • Numerous terminal receiving cavities 44 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and 46 (FIG. 5) are provided in the housing 26. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, there may be over fifty cavities 44 and a similar number of cavities 46. Every cavity 44 is immediately adjacent to a cavity 46, and in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cavities 44 and 46 alternate in position along of the length of the housing 26.
  • the cavities 44 and 46 are separated by internal separator walls or dividers 48 and extend transversely, perpendicular to the slot 34, between the side walls 32.
  • the cavities 44 and 46 intersect and extend to both opposed sides of the slot 34.
  • the bottom of the slot 34 has a stop surface 50 defined in part by the separator walls 48 and by terminal stop projections 52, spacers 54 in the cavities 44 and terminal retention walls 56 in the cavities 46.
  • the separator walls 48 are connected across cavities 44 by spacer 54 that extends only slightly downward from the stop surface 50 of slot 34.
  • separator walls 48 are connected across cavities 46 by terminal retention walls 5 that extend downward from the stop surface 50 of slot 34 substantially to the bottom of the housing 26.
  • the side walls of the slot 34 are defined by the inner edges of comb-like upper portions 48a of the separator walls 48.
  • the lower portions of the cavities 44 and 46 have opposed internal side walls 58.
  • Each cavity 44 and 46 has an open bottom through which terminals may be inserted into the cavities.
  • Reference terminals 60 are mounted in the cavities 44.
  • the term “reference terminal” is defined here to mean a terminal that provides ground or power connections between the circuit board 14 and the circuit card 16.
  • Signal terminals 62 are mounted in the cavities 46.
  • the term “signal terminal” is defined here to mean a terminal that provides a circuit path for the transmission of ac signals, typically high speed digital signals, between the circuit board 14 and the circuit card 16.
  • the reference terminals 60 are all identical to one another and the signal terminals 62 are all identical to one another.
  • the terminals 60 and 62 are flat, planar bodies of metal of uniform thickness, preferably made by stamping from metal sheet stock without any other forming or bending operations. This provides a more efficient manufacturing operation and a sturdier and more reliable terminal in comparison with electrical connectors having terminals that are both stamped and formed.
  • the terminals 60 and 62 are stamped of phosphor bronze and plated with tin and lead over nickel, with selective gold plating at electrical contact areas, though other alloys or conductive materials may be used.
  • the terminal 60 includes a generally rectangular, planar, plate like body 64 having upwardly extending retention arms 66 at both ends.
  • the arms 66 have barbs 68 that engage the internal side walls 58 and resist removal of the terminal 60 after the terminal 60 is loaded into the cavity 44 through the bottom wall 30. Terminal insertion may be limited by engagement of the arms 66 against the projections 52 or by engagement of a central span portion 70 of the body 64 against the spacer 54.
  • the reference terminal 60 extends across the full width of the cavity 44 and extends to both sides of the slot 34.
  • a pair of spaced apart board contacts 72 extend downward from the body 64. These contacts are received in the plated through conductive regions 24 of the circuit board 14 to connect the terminal 60 to the circuit board.
  • the conductive regions 24 connected to the reference terminals 60 are at a reference voltage of ground or power supply potential. It is important that the connections made to reference voltage be of low impedance.
  • the use of two spaced board contacts for the single reference terminal 60 results in parallel redundant circuit paths and low inductance.
  • a pair of opposed spring arms 74 extend upward from the body 64.
  • Each spring arm 74 includes a flexible beam with a vertical portion 76 and an inwardly sloped portion 78.
  • the end of the spring arm 74 includes a large segment 80 defining a lead-in surface 82 and a contact region 84.
  • Each signal terminal 62 includes a generally rectangular, planar, plate like body 86 having upwardly extending retention arms 88 at both ends.
  • the arms 88 have barbs 90 that retain the terminals 62 in the cavity 46.
  • the arms 88 and barbs 90 engage the internal side walls 58.
  • the arms 88 and barbs 90 engage opposite sides of the retention wall 56. Terminal insertion is limited by engagement of the arm 66 against the projection 52.
  • a board contact 92 extends downward from the body 86 of each of the terminals 62 in the cavity 46. These contacts 92 are received in the plated through conductive regions 24 of the circuit board 14 to connect the terminals 62 to the circuit board 14. The conductive regions 24 connected to the signal terminals 62 are used to communicate ac signals such as high frequency digital signals between the circuit board 14 and the circuit card 16. The board contacts 92 are transversely offset from the reference terminal board contacts 72 in a staggered pattern.
  • a spring arm 94 extends upward from each of the bodies 86.
  • Each spring arm 94 includes a flexible beam with a vertical portion 96 and an inwardly sloped portion 98.
  • the end of the spring arm 94 includes a lead-in surface 100 and a contact region 102.
  • the two identical signal terminals 62 are loaded into opposite sides of the cavity 46 in reversed positions relative to one another.
  • the two terminals 62 are at opposite sides of the slot 34, and because of the reverse orientation, the two opposed spring arms 94 slope toward one another at opposite sides of the slot 34.
  • the connector 12 of the present invention includes numerous terminal sets generally designated as 104, each including closely spaced and interfacing reference and signal terminals 60 and 62.
  • One of these many terminal sets 104 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 with the housing 26 omitted to reveal more of the structure of the terminal set.
  • each set 104 includes a single reference terminal 60 and an opposed pair of signal terminals 62 but principles of the invention can apply to other arrangements including two reference and two signal terminals or one reference and one signal terminal in each set.
  • the reference terminal cavities 44 alternate with the signal terminal cavities 46, but there could be other configurations such as two adjacent signal terminal cavities 44 between each pair of reference terminal cavities.
  • each terminal set 104 the reference terminal 60 is parallel to and close to the pair of signal terminals 62.
  • the reference terminal 60 substantially entirely overlies or shadows the signal terminals 62.
  • the reference terminal body 64 entirely overlies the signal terminal bodies 86.
  • the reference terminal body is enlarged beyond the extent of the signal terminal bodies 86 by the provision of the central span portion 70 and by downwardly extending the body 64 at the bases of the board contacts 72 as seen in FIG. 7.
  • the signal terminal inner retention arms 88 are overlaid by the retention arms 66 and by the span portion 70.
  • the signal terminal contact beams 74 are overlaid by the reference terminal contact beams 94 except for the small contact regions 102. This construction maximizes coupling of the signal terminals 62 to the reference terminal 60 and minimizes crosstalk between signal paths.
  • the relatively massive structure of the reference terminal 60 reduces inductive impedance.
  • the enlarged segments 80 of the reference terminal contact arms 74 provide a large surface area overlying the ends of the signal terminal contact arms 94. Because these segments are larger than required for the conventional mechanical and electrical functions of the contact arms 74, they are defined as "oversize”.
  • the oversize segments 80 provide several important functions. They increase coupling to the signal terminals 62 without significantly adding mass to functional parts of the terminal and possibly impeding mechanical operation. They provide a sturdy and rugged card lead-in area.
  • the use of numerous such reference terminals 60 all having oversize segments in a symmetrical array at both sides of the circuit card 16 provides increased electrostatic shielding of circuits on both sides of the circuit card 16.
  • the size of the segments 80 can be changed to adjust terminal impedance without interfering with the operation of the terminal.
  • the segments could be reduced in length by having them extend only to the broken lines designated as 106 in FIG. 6.
  • the resulting terminal would have an impedance different from a terminal as illustrated with larger segments 80.
  • this feature permits the terminal to be tailored or tuned to specific impedance requirements without interfering with the mechanical function of the terminal.
  • the reference terminal contact regions 102 are at a higher elevation than the signal terminal contact regions 84.
  • the card edge connector 12 of the present invention provides an advantageous array of circuit paths between the circuit board 14 and the terminals 60 and 62.
  • FIG. 9 illustrates a fragmentary portion of the circuit board 14 showing the array of plated through hole conductive regions 24 through which extend board contacts 72 and 92.
  • a reference line 108 identifies the longitudinal centerline of the array, coinciding with the longitudinal centerline of the slot 34 and the center of the inserted circuit card 16.
  • An important feature of the circuit path array is that all the circuits are symmetrical about this centerline 108.
  • the conductive regions 24 and the board contacts 72 and 92 inserted therein are located in four lines all parallel to the centerline 108, two inner lines 110 and 112 and two outer lines 114 and 116.
  • the inner lines 110 and 112 are closer to the centerline 108 than are the outer lines 114 and 116.
  • the lines 110, 112, 114 and 116 are equally spaced, but if desired the lines 110 and 112 could be spaced farther apart while maintaining symmetry around the centerline 108.
  • the inner lines 110 and 112 of conductive regions 24 receive only the contacts of a single type of terminal and the outer lines 114 and 116 receive only the contacts of the other type of terminal.
  • the inner lines 110 and 112 of through holes 24 receive only the reference terminal board contacts 72 and the outer lines 114 and 116 receive only signal terminal board contacts 92.
  • Every reference terminal board contact 72 is transversely aligned with and spaced an equal distance from the centerline 108 as another reference terminal contact 72.
  • a transverse line 118 intersects two contacts 72 and illustrates this relationship.
  • Every signal terminal contact 92 also is transversely aligned with and spaced an equal distance from the centerline 108 as another signal terminal contact 92.
  • Another transverse line 120 intersects two contacts 92 and illustrates this relationship.
  • the circuit path array resulting from the present invention can facilitate routing of conductive traces on the circuit board 14 in comparison with conventional asymmetrical circuit arrays.
  • the symmetrical array is a characteristic of a terminal pattern that facilitates connector manufacture and assembly.
  • the board contacts 72 and 92 are solder tails that are soldered to the plated through holes 24 of the circuit board 14.
  • Other types of board contacts such as surface mount feet may be used, while retaining the advantages of the present invention.

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  • Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)
EP99113364A 1998-07-17 1999-07-10 Connecteur de bord de carte à haute performance Withdrawn EP0975054A3 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US121316 1987-11-16
US120527 1998-07-17
US12131698A 1998-07-22 1998-07-22
US09/120,527 US6095821A (en) 1998-07-22 1998-07-22 Card edge connector with improved reference terminals

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0975054A2 true EP0975054A2 (fr) 2000-01-26
EP0975054A3 EP0975054A3 (fr) 2001-09-19

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP99113364A Withdrawn EP0975054A3 (fr) 1998-07-17 1999-07-10 Connecteur de bord de carte à haute performance

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Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1453152A1 (fr) * 2003-02-25 2004-09-01 Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited Connecteur dans lequel la diaphonie est atténuée par un contact de mise à la terre
WO2012138519A2 (fr) * 2011-04-04 2012-10-11 Fci Connecteur électrique

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1170256A (en) * 1966-09-02 1969-11-12 Painton & Co Ltd Improvements in or relating to Electrical Contacts.
EP0436943A1 (fr) * 1990-01-10 1991-07-17 The Whitaker Corporation Connecteur amélioré de bordure de carte de circuit
US5238414A (en) * 1991-07-24 1993-08-24 Hirose Electric Co., Ltd. High-speed transmission electrical connector
US5730609A (en) * 1995-04-28 1998-03-24 Molex Incorporated High performance card edge connector

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1170256A (en) * 1966-09-02 1969-11-12 Painton & Co Ltd Improvements in or relating to Electrical Contacts.
EP0436943A1 (fr) * 1990-01-10 1991-07-17 The Whitaker Corporation Connecteur amélioré de bordure de carte de circuit
US5238414A (en) * 1991-07-24 1993-08-24 Hirose Electric Co., Ltd. High-speed transmission electrical connector
US5730609A (en) * 1995-04-28 1998-03-24 Molex Incorporated High performance card edge connector

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
"STAMPED CONNECTOR FOR I/O CARD SYSTEM" IBM TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE BULLETIN,US,IBM CORP. NEW YORK, vol. 32, no. 7, 1 December 1989 (1989-12-01), pages 200-201, XP000078069 ISSN: 0018-8689 *

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1453152A1 (fr) * 2003-02-25 2004-09-01 Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited Connecteur dans lequel la diaphonie est atténuée par un contact de mise à la terre
US6910922B2 (en) 2003-02-25 2005-06-28 Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited Connector in which occurrence of crosstalk is suppressed by a ground contact
WO2012138519A2 (fr) * 2011-04-04 2012-10-11 Fci Connecteur électrique
WO2012138519A3 (fr) * 2011-04-04 2013-02-28 Fci Connecteur électrique
US8784116B2 (en) 2011-04-04 2014-07-22 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical connector
US9300103B2 (en) 2011-04-04 2016-03-29 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical connector

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0975054A3 (fr) 2001-09-19

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