1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adaptor, and more particularly, to a connector having an FPC interface at one end, and a mating interface at the other end.
2. Description of the Related Art
FPC is a medium used for data transmission between computers and the peripherals connected thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,682 issued to Kunishi et al. on Jun. 29, 2004, discloses a conventional FPC connector which includes an insulative housing forming a receiving recess for receiving an inserted FPC, a plurality of terminals which are arranged across a width thereof and with a contacting portion protruding into the receiving recess. An actuator is pivotally movable relative to the housing and can be operated between an opened position at which the FPC is permitted to insert into the receiving recess and a closed position at which said FPC is pressed against with the contacting portion of the terminal. This typical FPC connector is normally soldered onto a printed circuit board, and with its mating interface to receive an FPC therein. However, when we need mate an FPC and another mating connector, we would use additional numbers of connectors that would occupy more area on the PCB.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,545 issued to Igarashi et al. on Apr. 14, 1998, discloses a conventional connection device or interconnecting with an FPC and a mating connector mounted on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). More particularly, the connection device is used for an electrical adapter between of the FPC and the mating connector. However, the connection device could only be interconnected between the FPC and the mating connector which is not easily modified to apply in another field application, for example another connection device which could create an interconnection between the PCB and at least one of the different interfaces.
Therefore, an improved electrical connector is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the related arts.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector which is soldered to a PCB and electrically connecting with two different interfaces for transmitting signals between the PCB and at least one of the objects.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical connector for electrically mating with two different mating interfaces in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an insulative housing defining a first and a second mating spaces located at opposite ends, a plurality of contact terminals received in the insulative housing each of which integrally defines an upper beam, a lower beam, and a fulcrum portion connecting the beams at middle thereof, an actuator pivotally assembled on the housing and capable of rotating between an opened position in which one of the mating spaces is accessible, and a closed position in which the actuator is substantially covering said mating space. Each contact terminal forms a first contact portion extending toward a first mating space from the fulcrum portion, a second contact portion extending toward a second mating space from the fulcrum portion, and a soldered portion solderable onto a PCB which the electrical connector located thereon or therein.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail.
Referring to
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The terminal 2 further defines a pivot arm 24 and a second contacting arm 25 both extending rearwards into the recess 124 from both end of the fulcrum portion 21. The second contacting arm 25 includes a second contacting portion 251 protruded into the recess 124 from the groove 115 of the side wall 122 and a soldered portion 252 extending outwards and solderable onto the PCB 400 from the second contacting portion 251. The soldered portion 252 defines a barb 253 for securely holding the second side wall 122. The pivot arm 24 of the upper beam 2a defines a cam receiving portion 241 at rear end thereof.
The electrical connector 100 further includes an actuator 4 pivotally assembled on the housing 1 and terminal 2 and capable of rotating between an opened position, in which the recess 124 is accessible to receive the FPC therein, and a closed position in which the actuator 4 is substantially covering said recess 124 to depress the received FPC 300 toward the second contacting portion 251 of the terminal 2. The actuator 4 defines a pair of axis 4a moveably assembled on the both ends of the insulative housing 1, a plurality of holes 41 for receiving the pivot arm 24 and a plurality of cam portion 42 formed by the holes 41 and outer edge of the actuator 4 received in and engaging with the cam receiving portion 241 of the pivot arm 24. The cam receiving portion 241 is double-hump-shaped configuration for preventing the cam portion 42 of the actuator 4 received therein away from its intended position. When the actuator 4 moves to the closed position, it could press the FPC 300 inserted in the recess 124 downwards against the second contacting portion 251 of the terminal 2 for electrically connecting the electrical connector 100 with the FPC 300.
Along with the actuator 4 rotates between the opened position and closed position, the upper beam 2a could be also movable or stationary relative to the lower beam 2b. If the upper beam 2a is moveable, the first contact portion 231 and first engaging portion 221 could securely sandwich the mating connector 200 after the first engaging portion 221 moves downwards as upward movement of the pivot arm 24 pressed by the cam portion 42 of the actuator 4. The mating connector 200 is plugged in the mating port 114 as a lower inserting force (LIF) when the upper beam 2a is stationary relative to the lower beam 2b. The electrical connector 100 with two different interfaces establishes a three-way interconnection of between the PCB 400 and at least one of the mating connector 200 and the FPC 300.
The electrical connector 100 further includes a metallic shell 3 shrouding the mating port 114 for preventing the electrical connector 100, especially the first mating portion 11 from EMI. The metallic shell is provided with a plurality of retaining holes 33 for securely holding with a plurality of protruding tuber 117 of the first side walls 111, 112. The metallic shell 3 defines a pair of resilient finger 31 extending inwards along a front-to-rear direction in which the mating connector 200 is plugged into the mating port 114, and a pair of pads 32 at both ends thereof solderable onto said PCB 400 for forming a grounding trace. The end wall 113 includes a window 116 for extension of the resilient finger 31 therethrough to the mating port 114, thereby the shell could electrically connecting with a pair of grounding terminals 200a of the mating connector 200.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the board general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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200820217798.5 | Nov 2008 | CN | national |