NL1012361C2 - Connector has contact elements mounted in housing, in which grooves extend transversely - Google Patents

Abstract

Each contact element mounted in the housing, has a contacting portion received in corresponding groove of the housing. The grooves extend transverse to the longitudinal direction of the housing. Each contact element has a mounting portion fixed in the groove. The housing comprises two identical interconnected portions which are made of plastic material, and are selectively metallized at the surface opposing to the grooved surface. The contact elements are fixed in the grooves by insulating elements.

Description

Connectors and contact elements therefor.

The invention relates to connectors of the male and female type, with a housing and a number of contact elements mounted in the housing, and to contact elements for such connectors.

Connectors of this type are known in various embodiments. In view of the cost of components and the use of cabinet space in combination with an increasing requirement for a high density, high speed connector, there is an increasing need to miniaturize the connector. A limitation in the miniturization of a connector is the requirement for improved signal integrity combined with increased signal clock speed. US-A-4,734,060 discloses a connector and contact elements of the above-mentioned type, the contact elements being included partially in recesses of the housing aligned with the grooves and partly in the grooves, holding the contact elements takes place in the passages, where the contact elements are completely surrounded by plastic material. Attaching the contact elements 20 requires axial insertion of the contact elements, a significant axial length of the contact element must pass through the cavity. Furthermore, for flexibility purposes, the contact elements in both the male and female connectors have a longitudinal cross-sectional taper with a thickened contact dome at their free end. This form of the contact elements entails drawbacks in the sense of manufacture and moreover results in an internal stress. During the joining cycle, sufficient space must be available within the connectors so that the contact elements can bend by a distance corresponding to twice the size of the thickened part. The design of this connector and contact elements entails limitations in the 2 miniaturization and manufacture of the connector.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved connector that meets the above requirements. The invention is further directed to providing a contact element suitable for such improved connectors.

To this end, the female connector according to the invention is characterized in that the housing has at least a module 10 of two interconnected housing parts with an elongated, substantially rectangular flat shape defining an accommodation space located therebetween, each housing part having a series of open grooves in a main surface adjacent to the receiving space, which grooves extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing part over the entire transverse dimension of the main surface, the contact elements each being designed as single-strip flat contact elements, the fixing part of each contact element being fixed in a groove, while the attachment portion of the contact element also includes a contact bushing projecting toward the receiving space.

The male connector according to the invention is further characterized in that the housing has at least one module of two interconnected housing parts with an elongated, substantially rectangular flat shape, each housing part being provided with a series of open grooves in a main surface, which grooves extend extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing part over the entire transverse dimension of the main surface, the housing parts of a module being connected at their main surfaces opposite the grooved surfaces, while the contact elements are formed as single-strip flat contact elements fixed in the grooves each contact element having a spring portion which is received with play in the corresponding groove and a mounting portion secured in the groove.

In this way, a new connector design is obtained, in which the single-strip flat contact elements 3 extend partly in the air and even at the location of the fastening section are only partly enveloped by insulating material. The use of single-strip flat contact elements results in advantages with regard to the production of the contact elements. It also provides the ability to reduce the pitch between successive rows of contacts and additionally reduces the effective radiation contact area, thereby minimizing interaction and electrical coupling between contact elements. The contact continuity on the spring sections in the female connector ensures a good connection between corresponding contact elements of joined male and female connectors.

The invention provides a contact element which is manufactured as a single strip flat contact element with a tail section, an attachment section and a spring section.

The invention will be further explained with reference to the drawing, in which a number of embodiments of the connector according to the invention are shown.

Figure 1 shows a male and female embodiment of the connector of the invention, wherein the male and female connectors provide a back panel connector assembly.

Figure 2 shows a number of female contact elements used in the female connector of Figure 1; Figure 2A shows a top view of a number of interconnected contact elements and Figure 2B shows a side view of one contact element.

Figure 3 shows a number of male contact elements of the male connector of Figure 1; Figure 3A shows a top view of a number of interconnected contact elements and Figure 3B shows a side view of one contact element.

Figure 4 shows an exploded view of a housing part 35 of the female connector of Figure 1 and a number of interconnected female contact elements to be inserted into the housing part.

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Figure 5 shows an exploded view of two housing parts according to Figure 4 with the contact elements inserted.

Figure 6 shows the two housing parts according to Figure 5 in assembled condition.

Figures 7 to 9 show an alternative embodiment of part of a female connector in a manner corresponding to Figures 4 to 6.

Figure 10 shows two female contact elements 10 used in the female connector according to Figures 7 to 9.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a portion of an embodiment of a female connector according to the invention.

Figure 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the female connector of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is an exploded view of the female connector of Figure 1.

Figure 14 is a perspective view of the female connector of Figure 13 in assembled condition.

Figure 15 is a front view of the female connector of Figure 14.

Figure 16 is a rear view of the female connector of Figure 14 without a tail unit and with straight female contact elements.

Figure 17 schematically shows a cross-section of the female connector according to Figure 14.

Figure 18 shows an exploded view of a housing portion of the male connector of Figure 1 with a number of interconnected male contact elements to be inserted into the housing portion.

Figure 19 shows an exploded view of two of the housing parts according to Figure 18 with the contact elements inserted.

Figure 20 shows the two housing parts of Figure 19 in the assembled state.

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Figure 21 is a schematic cross section of the two assembled housing parts of Figure 20.

Figure 22 is an exploded view of the female connector of Figure 1 with four housing parts of Figure 5-18.

Figure 23 is a perspective view of the male connector of Figure 22.

Figure 24 is a lateral cross section of the male connector of Figure 23.

Figure 25 is a cross-sectional view of the male connector of Figure 23.

Figure 26 schematically shows a front view of two male housing parts prior to assembly with separately shown male contact elements.

Figure 27 shows a detail of the two housing parts according to figure 26.

Figure 28 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the male connector according to the invention.

Figure 29 shows another embodiment of the female connector according to the invention, which is designed as a cable connector.

Figures 30A-30C show a perspective view of three different male connectors according to the invention.

Figure 31 shows a perspective view of three male connectors according to the invention stacked with their ends side by side.

Figures 32A-32D schematically show the guidance and centering of the female contacts during the joining of the male and female connectors according to the invention.

Figure 33 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the assembled male and female connectors of Figure 1 illustrating the alignment of the female contact elements on the male contact elements.

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Figures 34A and 34B schematically show the male and female modules of a connector according to the invention, respectively. not merged and merged.

Figures 35A and 35B schematically show the male 5 and female connectors of Figure 1, respectively. not merged and merged.

Figures 36A and 36B show another embodiment of male and female connectors according to the invention in the same manner as Figures 35A and B.

Figure 37 illustrates, by way of illustration, a rear panel with two daughter cards, with the daughter card on the left connected to the back panel by a known connector assembly and the daughter card on the right connected to the back panel using a connector assembly according to the invention.

Figure 38 shows a perspective view of the female connector of Figure 1 with straight contact elements illustrating the manner of providing a solder reservoir on the tail ends of the contact elements, respectively. the connector hold-down holders.

Figure 39 schematically shows three steps in a side view, respectively. top view of the manner of providing a solder reservoir on the tail ends of the contact elements in Figure 38.

Figure 40 further shows the manner of providing a solder reservoir on the tail ends of the contact elements of Figure 38.

Figures 41A to 41C show the use of the sol-30 reservoir with the female connector of Figure 38.

Referring to Figure 1, a back panel 1 is shown with a male connector 2 and a daughter board 3 with a female connector 4. In this case, the male connector 2 is manufactured as a straight connector, while the female connector 4 is manufactured as an angled connector . The male connector 2 comprises a metal outer shield 5 which encloses four housing parts 6. Each housing part 6 has an elongated, substantially rectangular, flat shape, with a series of open grooves 7 being applied in one of the main surfaces of a housing part 6. The grooves 6 extend transversely of the longitudinal direction of the housing part 6. Male contact elements 8 are manufactured as single-strip 5 contact elements and, as will be described later, are secured in the grooves 7.

The female connector 4 also has four housing parts 9, each housing part having an elongated, substantially rectangular flat shape. A series of open grooves 10 is provided in one of the main surfaces 10 of a housing part 9. The female connector 4 further comprises a metal frame 11 and a tail unit 12. The metal frame 11 integrates the housing parts 9 and the tail unit 12 into the complete female connector 4.

Each housing part 9 of the female connector 4 is provided with a number of female contact elements 13, these contact elements 13 being designed as single-strip contact elements and fixed in the grooves 10.

The male and female contacts 8, 13 are shown in detail in Figures 2 and 3, each of which is a part of a strip of female contact elements 13 and 3, respectively. male contact elements 8. Since both the male and female contact elements 8, 13 are manufactured as single strip contact elements, the production steps of both types of contact elements are essentially the same. The female contact elements 13 comprise a neck or fastening section 14 with two small protrusions 15 for holding the contact element in the groove 10 of the housing part 9. The contact element 13 also comprises a tail section 16 and a spring section 17. The spring section 17 carries a first contact push-through 18, while in the preferred embodiment shown, the attachment section 14 carries a second contact push-through 19. The interaction of the contact piercing 18, 19 with the male contact elements 8 will be described later. It is noted, however, that in an alternative embodiment, the female contact elements can be manufactured with only the first contact embossing 18.

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At the end of the tail section 16, a recess 20 is provided to accommodate a solder reservoir. Furthermore, the end of the tail section 16 is provided with a chamfer 21 to improve the surface mounting connection with a printed circuit board. The female contact elements 13 are interconnected by carriers 22 with an intermediate pilot hole 23 and the carriers 22 are connected by a strip 24 with corresponding pilot holes 25.

As shown in Figure 3, the male contact elements 8 are similarly interconnected by carriers 22 and a strip 24. Each male contact element 13 is provided with an intermediate mounting section with two small protrusions 15 for holding the contact element in a groove of the housing part 6. The distance between the two protrusions 15 can be smaller than the distance shown in figure 3. The front section of the contact elements 8 between the tip and the first protrusion 15 functions as a contact spring section 61, as will be described later. The tail end of the male contact element 8 is also provided with a chamfer 21, while a recess 20 for a solder reservoir is also used.

During manufacture of the connectors 2, 4, the securing section of the contact elements 8, 13 is pressed into the respective groove 7 or 10 on the bottom thereof, the contact elements being held in the grooves at the location of their securing sections, while the spring sections 17, 61 extend unsupported and can bend when the connectors 2, 4 are joined together.

The thin flat contact element design allows the manufacture of both types of thin-rolled material contact elements, the contact elements 8, 13 having a constant cross-sectional thickness. During manufacture, substantially stressless contact elements are obtained with a contact surface texture without any rough irregularities. The thin flat contact element design also lends itself to a selective metal coating, wherein the mating parts of the male and female contact elements 8, 13 can be provided with a coating. 9 '9 precious metal clothing, while the tail end with recess 20 and chamfer 21 can be provided with a tin-lead coating. If necessary, a nickel coating may be used as a separator between the precious metal coating and the tin-lead coating. The precious metal coating is only necessary on one side of the contact elements 8, 13 because the other side faces the housing part 6, 9.

Figures 4 to 6 show three steps of manufacturing the female connector 4 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a female housing part 9, which in the shown embodiment is provided with twenty-four grooves 10 for receiving female contact elements 13. Twenty-four female contact elements 13 have been used as part of a strip of female contact elements which are still mutually connected through the carrier 22 and the strip 24. It will be appreciated that any other number of grooves and contact elements may be used as desired.

The pilot holes 23, 25 allow for easy handling of the strip of female contact elements 13, which are inserted together in one step into the grooves 10 of the female housing part 9. During the insertion step of the contact elements 13, the contact elements 13 are separated from the carriers 22. In this manner, a female housing part 9 with inserted female contact elements 13 is obtained, as shown in figure 5. During the insertion step, the neck or the securing section 14 with the protrusions 15 forced into a mounting portion 26 of the corresponding groove 10 to retain the contact element 13 in the groove. The contacting spring section 17 is received with clearance 30 in the corresponding groove 10, so that the spring action of the contact element can cause a contact force by bending during a joining cycle, when the contact compression 18 is in contact with an opposing contact element 8 .

As noted above, during the manufacturing process, the array of substantially planar thin contact elements 13 connected to the carrier 22 and lying in one plane can be separated in its entirety from this carrier by a suitable punching tools. This tool further moves perpendicular to the plane of the contact elements 13 to the grooves 10 of the female housing part 9 located below the contact elements. In this manner, the punching tool inserts the contact elements 13 as a whole into the housing part 9. The protrusions 15 of each contact element 13 are forced into the material of the walls of the corresponding grooves 10. The forces produced in successive grooves 10 are directed in opposite directions and are staggered with respect to each other. The material of the housing portion 9 between the offset projections provides a spring function to retain the contact elements in the grooves. Moreover, the coated contact surfaces of the contact elements cannot be scratched during insertion.

Two identical female housing parts 9 together with metal end plates 27 form a female connector module 28 shown in figure 6. In the embodiment according to figures 4-6, the recesses 20 are provided with a solder block 20 or tip 29. However, such a solder tip 29 can are also used in the recesses 20 during a later production step. The end plates 27 provide mutual positioning of the female housing parts 9.

The female housing parts 9 shown in Figures 4 to 6 are metallized selectively at their outer surface 30 and edges 30 'providing a shielding of the connector module 28. In an alternative embodiment shown in Figs. 7-10, a shielding of the contact elements 30 is provided by using female housing parts 9 which are constructed as metal injection molding components. In this embodiment, the end plates 27 can be formed as an integral part of the housing part 9. The female contact elements 13 are provided with an insulating fastening element 31 at the neck section 14 (see Figures 7-10). This fastening element 31 is received in a fastening part 32 of the grooves 10. As in the embodiment according to figures 4-6, a strip of female contact parts 13 with twenty-four contact elements i; *. 11 used to jointly insert the contact elements 13 into the grooves 10 of a housing part 9. Two housing parts 9 with inserted contact elements 13 are assembled to provide a female connector module 5 28 shown in Figure 9.

Although in the embodiment shown in Figures 4-6, the end plates 27 are shown as separate elements, the end plates 27 are generally used as an integral part of the metal frame 11. In the embodiment of Figures 11 and 12, for example, a metal frame 11 shown for a female connector according to the invention with eight female connector modules 28, so that the female connector is provided with 16 rows of contact elements 13, in the embodiment shown each row has twenty-four contact elements .

Figure 13 shows an exploded view of the female connector 4 of Figure 1, with the female connector 4 shown in a larger scale in Figure 14. In this case, the female connector has two female connector modules 28, so that the connector is provided with four rows of contact elements 13, each row in the embodiment shown having twenty-four contact elements. Since the female connector is an assembly of one or more female connector modules 28, each connector module being an assembly of two identical housing parts 9, it will be appreciated that the design of the female connector provides high flexibility in the manufacture of a connector with any number of rows of connector elements. In the described connector design, the number of rows of contact elements can be increased in two-row steps by simply adding a two-part connector module. All house parts are held together as an integral house. Expensive tools for manufacturing a new home are not necessary.

As noted above, the plurality of contact elements in one row can be selected as desired. The number of twenty-four contact elements 13 in one row is given by way of example only. In the described embodiments, the lateral or transverse dimension of the connector module 28 is 2.0 mm, while the length of the module is 25 mm. The pitch between the contact elements 13 in the longitudinal direction is 1.0 mm. At both longitudinal ends, the distance from a contact element to the end is such that when more contact elements 13 are required in a longitudinal series, two or more modules 28 can be stacked side by side with a pitch between adjacent contact elements 13 from adjacent modules are obtained, which is a whole number of times the pitch of the elements 13 within a module.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 11, 12, the female connector is manufactured as a straight connector, with all contact elements 13 having the same length. In the embodiment according to Figures 1 and 13, the female connector 4 is an angled female connector, wherein the female contact elements 13 have a different length in successive rows.

For receiving the two female connector-20 modules 28, the metal frame 11 is provided with three flat ribs 33, the top and bottom ribs 33 having circular openings 34 for receiving mounting pins 35 of the tail unit 12 and the housing parts 9. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the pins 35 are integral plastic parts of the housing part 9, respectively. the tail unit 12. However, the pins 35 can also be used as metal parts cast in the housing parts 9 and / or tail unit 12. Furthermore, it will be clear that instead of round openings 34 and pins 35, different shapes can be used. applied. The central rib 33 is provided with elongated openings 36 in order to receive the pins 35 of two female housing parts 9. All ribs 33 have a rectangular saw shape that provides recesses 37 for receiving the tail sections 16 of the female contact elements 13, as shown in detail in Figure 16. The top and bottom ribs 33 are further provided with rectangular recesses 38 for receiving rectangular pins 39 of the rod unit 12 to provide 13 with an additional mutual fixation between the rod unit 12 and the metal frame 11. Furthermore, the top rib 33 is provided with larger recesses 40 aligned with slots 41 provided in the top surface of the tail unit 5 12. The placement and size of the recesses 40 and slots 41 can be varied to provide a polarization and coding region.

The tail unit 12 is also selectively metalized at its outer surface to provide a shielding of the contact elements 13. Furthermore, the front face, including the pins 35 and 39, is metalized so that the metal frame 11 is connected to the metallization of the tail unit 12 Likewise, the edge of the housing parts and the pins 35 are metallized to connect the metallization 15 of the housing parts 9 to the metal frame 11. In this way, an integral shield of the female connector 4 is obtained.

The metal frame 11 is bent perpendicularly to form a surface mounting hold-down edge 42 along the length of the connector 4. This edge 42 is provided with a number of contact passages 43 which support the lower female housing part 9 and are in contact with the metallization of this housing part, as can be seen in figure 17.

The metal frame 11 also has three contact outlets 44 with a semicircular end and a solder reservoir recess 45, which contact outlets 44 can be used to position and fix the connector 4 on a printed circuit board. In the described embodiment, the contact outputs 44 provide a hold-down function for attaching the connector to the circuit board. Furthermore, the outputs 44 can be connected to a common ground of the printed circuit board to connect the shield of the connector to the ground. Recess areas 46, 47 of the metal frame 11 have the function of correctly positioning and receiving the corresponding protrusions of the outer shield 5 of the male connector 2. This outer shield 5 is also in contact with the end plates 27, which are provided with contact passages 48 for this purpose.

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When the female connector parts are assembled, the elongated openings between the ribs 33 align with channels 49 in the tail unit 12, which channels 49 are mutually separated by an intermediate wall 50 of insulating material. This intermediate wall 50 is provided with elongated pins 35 which engage the elongated openings 36 of the central rib 33. At the end of each channel 49, an end wall 51 is provided, as shown in figure 17. During assembly of the female connector 10 the female contact elements 13 are straight and can pass through the channels 49 and the space between the end walls 51 and the intermediate and upper walls of the tail unit 12. When the housing parts 9, the metal frame 11 and the tail unit 12 are assembled, the tail sections 16 of the 15 female contact elements 13 are bent through 90 ° to provide the right angle female connector. As can be seen in Figure 17, the rear of the end walls 51, the intermediate wall 50 and the bottom wall 52 are inclined relative to the frontal end, so that the tail sections 16 of the contact elements 13 can be sufficiently bent to provide a right-angled rest position.

Figures 18 to 20 show in a manner similar to Figures 4 to 6 successive production steps during the manufacture of the male connector 2 according to Figure 1. Figure 18 shows a male housing part 6 made of insulating material with 24 grooves 7 for receiving the male contact elements 8 and which extends transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing part 6. A strip of twenty-four male contact elements 8 interconnected by the carriers 22 and the strip 24 is shown in Figure 18 and these contact elements 8 are inserted together into the grooves 7, the pilot holes 23, 25 of which allow easy handling of the strip from contact elements provided during insertion. During the insertion step, the male contact elements 8 are separated from the carriers 22. The assembly step of the contact elements and the housing part is the same as described with respect to the female housing part.

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As was described with reference to Figure 3, the male contact element 8 is provided with retaining projections 15 for retaining the male contact elements 8 in the grooves 7. Retaining the contact elements 8 in the housing part 6 takes place in the same manner place as described above. Two identical housing parts 6 with male contact elements 8 are assembled to obtain a male connector module 52 shown in Figure 20. Such a male connector module 10 52 can be joined with a female connector module 28 by inserting the module into the receptacle of the female connector module 28, as will be described later.

The housing parts 6 are selectively metallized, at least at the surface opposite the grooved surface 15 with male contact elements 8. The metallized surface 53 includes projections 54 which are also metallized. These projections are clampingly received in openings 55. The surfaces 53 with projections 54 and openings 55 provide coupling surfaces for connecting the housing part 6, the projections 54 and openings 55 being examples of coupling parts. Since the assembled housing parts 6 are identical, any corrugation or curvature due to the casting of thin parts is identical and opposite, so that the mutual confinement of the two housing parts by the projections 54 and openings 55 ensures a flat male connector module 52. The metalized protrusions 54 provide partial shielding between adjacent contact elements 8.

As can be seen in Figures 18-20, two of the contact elements 8 are longer in length which provide a first make, last break operation during joining and disassembling of the male and female connectors. The metallization of the protrusions 54 is indicated by shading in a section 35 of the male connector 2 shown in Figure 25. Figure 26 shows an exploded view of a male connector module 52 with corresponding male contact elements 8 and Figure 27 shows a detail of the male connector module on a larger 16 scale. The metallization 53 of the male housing part 6 is schematically indicated by a dotted line. This metallization 53 provides the shielding between the two rows of male contact elements 8 of a connector module 52.

At both longitudinal ends, the housing part 6 is provided with a coupling section 56 for connecting the male connector module 52 to the outer shield 5. These coupling sections 56 are also metallized to connect the metallization 53 with the outer shield 10 5. The coupling sections 56 are partially separated from the housing part 6 by a slot 57. Between the coupling sections 56 and the housing part 6, a raised edge 58 is used as a stacking element. Two male connection modules 52 can be placed on top of each other with these raised edges 58, the central surfaces of the two connector modules 52 being spaced 2 mm apart in the embodiment shown.

At the rear end of the housing part 6, projections 59 with inclined ends are provided, which projections are less high than the raised edges 58. These inclined projections 59 allow a free passage of thermal energy through the male connector 2.

Figure 21 schematically shows a cross-section through a male connector module 52, showing that the frontal end 60 of the housing parts 6 of the connector module 52 tapers slightly such that the frontal ends of the contact elements 8 extend in air and can function as a contact spring section 61. The arrangement of the retaining projections 15 is such that the spring section 61 of the contact element 8 is indeed flexible.

Figure 22 shows an exploded view of the male connector 2 of Figure 1, the outer shield 5 shown as two shield halves 62, 63 and an inner shield strip or plate 64 disposed between the two male connector modules 52. if such inner shielding strip 64 is used, the ends of this strip are received between the stack of elements 58, as shown in figure 24. The distance of 2 mm 17 between the central surfaces of the successive modules is in this case determined by the raised edges 58 and the thickness of the strip 64. The generally U-shaped shielding halves 62, 63 can be interconnected by connecting members 62 'and 63' at the ends of their legs. In the interconnected position, the shield halves 62, 63 provide an elongated receiving space for the two connector modules 52. The shield halves 62, 63 each have two slots 65 which are cut into the slots 57 between the coupling sections 56 during the assembly of the connector. and the housing parts 6 and which in the assembled situation shown in figure 23 receive the body of these housing parts 6. As shown in figure 23, the shield forms the outer wall of the connector 2, which outer wall is directed directly to the contact elements 8.

The metallization of the coupling sections 56 provides an interconnection between the metallization and the outer shield 5. Between the slots 65, an opening 66 is visible in figure 22 for receiving an extension 64 'of the inner shield strip 64.

Figure 24 schematically shows a cross section of the male connector 2 showing the placement of the inner shielding strip 64.

The outer shield 5 is provided with polarization and coding fingers 67 which during insertion are received in the polarization and coding slots 41 of the tail unit 12 of the female connector 4. These polarization fingers 67 are provided with contact passages 68 for making contact with any metal cap (see Figure 35B) of the female connector 4 not shown in Figure 4. In Figure 23, the outer shield 5 further includes any hold-down press fit outputs 69 to connect the outer shield to a print card. At the rear end of the outer shield 35, grooves 70 are provided for connection to the circuit board.

At the rear of the male connector 2, plastic pins 71 provide proper alignment of the male connector with respect to the circuit board or back panel 18 1, where they are received in corresponding holes. The circuit strips 72a for the grooves 70 and holes 72b, 72c for the outputs 69 and 70 respectively. pins 71 for attaching the connector to the circuit board and for accurate orientation and positioning of the modules are shown in Figures 1 and 31. The tail ends of the male contact elements 8 are surface-mounted to contact pads 72d of the rear panel, which are also shown in Figures 1 and 31.

Figure 28 shows an alternative embodiment of the male connector according to the invention, which is manufactured as an angled male connector 73. In this case, a tail unit 74 is combined with the straight male connector 2, the tail unit 74 corresponding to the tail unit 12 of the female connector 4. Furthermore, instead of male connector elements 8 of equal length, the length of the contact elements of successive rows will be different in this case. Although not shown in Figure 28, a metal mounting frame 11 may be used to interconnect the front housing and tail unit 20 and provide a hold down and electrical connection to the circuit board as described with respect to the female connector.

As another alternative embodiment, Figure 29 shows a female cable connector 74, with a straight tail unit 76 instead of the tail unit 12 being used to feed the cable 77 into the connector 75.

Figures 30A to 30C show front views of three different embodiments of male connectors with 4, 6 or 8 rows of male contact elements 8, respectively. Accordingly, the male connector is provided with 2, 3 or 4 male connector modules 52.

Figure 31 shows, by way of example, three male connectors 2 stacked with their ends together and secured to a back panel 1.

The cooperation between the male and female contact elements 8, 13 during the joining of the male and female connectors 2, 4 and the joining operation 19 will be explained with reference to Figures 32 to 36.

Figure 32A schematically shows a part of a male housing part 6 with three grooves 7, in which for the sake of simplicity a male contact element 8 is shown only in the central groove 7. As can be seen in the drawing, the spring portion 61 of the contact element 8 is spaced from the front end of the groove 7, so that the female contact element 13 will be guided and centered before contacting the contact element 8. Furthermore, only a female contact element 13 is shown, the female housing part 9 being indicated only schematically. The width of the grooves 7 is less than the width of the spring portion 17 of the female contact element 13 to simplify the reception of the spring portion by the groove. Figure 32B shows the section AA of Figure 32A, indicating the manner in which the contact lead-through 18 is guided and centered by bevels 78 of the groove 7 in the male housing part 6. In this way, a centering of the female contact element 13 is relative to the groove 7 and thereby obtained relative to the male contact element 8. Therefore, if the longitudinal axis of the female contact elements 13 is slightly angled with respect to the longitudinal axis of the grooves and the male contact elements 8 due to production tolerances, the female contact element will be oriented through the male groove 7, the fastening section 14 acts as a hinge so that the tail section 16 is also centered.

When the male connector is further joined together with the female connector 4, the full engagement position of Figures 32C and 32D is obtained, wherein the contact passage 18 has passed along the contact section 61 of the male contact element 8 and wherein the contact passage 19 has is in contact with the spring section 61. As shown in cross section BB in Figure 32D, the spring section 17 of the female contact element 13 is pushed slightly up into the groove 10 of the female housing part 9.

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Figure 33 partially shows a cross-sectional view of the fully assembled connectors 2, 4. The schematically indicated metallization 30, 53 of the male and female housing parts 6, 9 provides a shield surrounding each row of assembled contact elements 8 and 13.

Figures 34A and 34B illustrate, for example, a female connector module 28 and a male connector module 52 in non-assembled (Figure 34A) and assembled (Figure 34B) positions. In the assembled position of Figure 34B, the contact passages 18, 19 contact the male contact element 8, the spring section 17 of the female contact element 13 providing the required flexibility as well as contact force for the contact continuation 18, while the free support of the spring section 61 of the male contact element 8 provided by the tapered front end 60 of the male connector module 52 provides the flexibility and contact force for the contact throughput 19. As noted above, alternatively female contact elements 13 may be used which are provided at the front end only have one contact throughput 18. However, to increase the safety margins, the use of two contact passages 18, 19 is generally desirable in, for example, telecommunication applications. The use of both contact passages 18, 19 on only the female contact elements 13 shows the advantage that it is not necessary for two contact passages to pass each other, as would be the case if both the male and female contact elements were provided with one contact pass.

Figure 34B also shows that the gap between the ribs 33 of the metal frame 11 provides a passage for the male connector module 52 in the fully assembled position. Figures 35A and 35B show schematic cross-sections of the male and female connectors 2 and 4 of Figure 1 in the unassembled and joined positions, respectively. In figure 35B, the female connector 4 is provided with a metal cap 79. The contact passages 68 21 of the outer shield 5 make contact with the inside of this metal cap 79.

Figures 36A and 36B alternatively show an angled male connector 80 and a straight female connector 81 in the unmatched and joined positions, respectively.

Figures 35 and 36 clearly show that the main elements of the male and female connectors 2, 80 and 4, 81 are the same in the straight and right angle embodiments.

Furthermore, each connector is a modular construction of one or more male or female connector modules 52, 28 and in particular in the case of a right-angled embodiment, each connector also includes a metal frame 11 and a tail unit 12. The described connector design herewith the advantage that a connector with a desired number of rows of contact elements can be provided using the same production tool. It is not necessary to design special specific shapes for specific houses. The joint insertion of the male and 20 female contact elements 8, 13 into the respective grooves 7, 10 of the housing parts 6, 9 provides efficient production. The contact element design as single strip contact elements allows the use of the rolled surface of the blank strip material as the contact surface, which automatically results in a low roughness contact surface without the need for additional production steps to reduce the contact surface roughness. Furthermore, the use of single strip contacts provides the ability to increase the density of the contact elements by reducing the pitch between adjacent rows of contacts. In addition, the use of single strip contacts reduces the effective contact radiation surface, minimizing interaction between contacts, in particular a reduction of crosstalk.

By way of example, Figure 37 shows a back panel 82 with a daughter card 83 on the left and a daughter card 84 on the right. The daughter card 83 is connected to the back panel by male and female connectors 85, 86 according to the position of the technique with four rows of male and female contacts. The daughter card 84 is connected to the back panel by male and female connectors 2, 4 according to the present invention which also have four rows of male and female contact elements 8, 13. A comparison between the known male and female connectors 85, 86 and the male and female connectors 2, 4 of the present invention provides a significant reduction in the space occupied by the connectors and a significant increase in the contact density.

An additional advantage of the connectors according to the described invention is the surface mounting connection to the printed circuit boards. As also indicated in Figure 37, the surface mounting connection of the contact elements 8, 13 to the printed circuit boards 82, 84 allows a smaller pitch of the contact pads on the printed circuit boards. In view of the use of chamfered ends 21 of the contact elements 8, 13 and the presence of the solder reservoir at the location of the tail ends of the contact elements, a reliable surface mounting connection can be obtained despite tolerances in the plane of the tail ends of the connector elements and arcing of the circuit board.

Figures 38-40 show, by way of example, a way of providing solder balls in the recesses 20 of the female contact elements 13. For this purpose, a cord 91 of solder balls 92 interconnected by thin strips of solder material from a supply coil 93 unwound, with twenty-four solder balls 92 aligned with the tail ends 16 of the female contact elements 13. The solder balls are located substantially on the same pitch as the contact elements. Using a tool 94, the solder balls 35 92, each having a slot 95, are slid onto the tail sections 16, as indicated by an arrow in Figure 38. The tool 94 has a series of positioning apertures 97 for receiving the solder balls and channels 98 which connect to these openings for receiving the tail ends of the contact elements during pressing of the solder balls on these tail ends. The first step of applying the solder balls 92 to the tail sections 16 is shown as step 1 according to figure 39. When the solder balls 92 are aligned with the recesses 20, as shown in step 2 according to figure 39, two compression are prepared shelves 96 moved together as indicated by the arrows in Figure 38 and Figure 39, step 3. The compression ready shelves 96 flatten the solder balls 92 onto the tail sections 16 and squeeze the solder material into the recess 20. Figure 40A shows schematically in a side view how a solder ball has been applied. When the solder balls 92 are mounted on the tail sections 16, the tail sections 16 of the contact elements 13 can be bent through 90 °, as shown in Figure 40B.

Figure 38 also shows a way of providing the recesses 45 of the contact outputs 44 with a solder reservoir. It is noted that although solder balls are used in the embodiment 20 according to figures 38 to 40, it is also possible to use solder material in other forms. The use of the solder balls or other type of solder lumps results in the advantage that a precisely predetermined amount of solder material can be used as a solder reservoir. There is no chance of causing a short circuit due to an excessive amount of solder material. The soldering material used is preferably a soldering material with flux material. The connecting strips break during soldering and the material flows to the tail ends and is divided between the two adjacent tail ends.

Figures 41A-41C show the manner in which the solder reservoirs applied to the tail sections 16 of the contact elements 13 and the contact outputs 44 are used in practice. The detail shown in Figure 41B shows how the soldering tip flows back into the recess 20 during soldering to provide the desired surface mount connection. The contact sections 44 are received in holes 97 of the printed circuit board, where backflow of the solder to the interface between the surface of the printed circuit board and the bottom surface of the edge 42 of the metal frame 11 occurs.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, which can be varied in a number of ways within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (12)

1. Connector, with a housing and a plurality of contact elements mounted in the housing, the housing being provided with grooved surfaces, each contact element having a spring portion which is included with play in a corresponding groove and a mounting portion which is fastened in the housing, the spring portion having a groove contact projecting from the groove, characterized in that the housing has at least one module of two interconnected housing parts having an elongated, substantially rectangular planar shape interposed therebetween located receiving space, each housing portion having a series of open grooves in a major surface adjacent to the receiving space, said grooves extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing portion across the entire transverse dimension of the main surface, the contact elements each being formed as single strip flat contact elements, the fixing part of each contact element being fixed acts in a groove, while the mounting part of the contact element also has a contact passage projecting in the direction of the receiving space. 2. Connector which can be joined together with a connector according to claim 1, with a housing and a number of contact elements mounted in the housing, which housing is provided with grooved surfaces, each contact element having a spring part which is accommodated in a corresponding play groove and a fastening portion secured in the housing, characterized in that the housing has at least one module of two interconnected housing parts having an elongated, substantially rectangular flat shape, each housing part having a series of open grooves in a main surface, which grooves extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing part over the entire transverse dimension of the main surface, the housing parts of a module being connected at their main surfaces opposite the grooved surfaces, while the contact elements are formed as single strip flat contact elements mounted in the grooves, including each contact element is provided with a spring portion which is received with play in the corresponding groove and a fastening portion which is fixed in the groove. Connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing parts of a module are identical. Connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing parts are made of plastic material 10 and are selectively metallized, in particular at the surface opposite the grooved surface. Connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the housing parts are injection-molded metal parts and wherein the contact elements are fixed in the grooves by insulating fastening elements. A connector contact element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the contact element is constructed as a single strip flat contact element having a tail section, a mounting section and a spring section. Contact element according to claim 6, wherein the spring section is provided with a contact passage and extends obliquely upwards relative to the attachment and tail sections. 8. Contact element according to claim 7, wherein the mounting section is provided with a contact penetration. Contact element according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the mounting section is provided with two retaining protuberances, one on each side of the flat contact element. Contact element according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the fastening section is provided with an insulating fastening element. 11. Contact element according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the outer end of the tail section is chamfered. Contact element according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein the tail section is provided with a solder reservoir. .i. · - ·. :