Grounded electrical connector with tail aligner

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6287146
  • Patent Number
    6,287,146
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, February 4, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 11, 2001
    22 years ago
Abstract
An electrical connector is adapted for mounting on a printed circuit board. The connector includes a dielectric housing having a forward mating end and a rear terminating end, with a plurality of terminal-receiving passages extending therebetween. A plurality of terminals are received in the passages and include tail portions projecting from the housing. At least one ground member is mounted on the housing and includes a ground contact arm projecting forwardly for engaging a complementary mating connector. An ESD clip projects downwardly from the ground member for insertion into an appropriate mounting hole in the printed circuit board. A tail aligner is mounted to the rear end of the housing and has a plurality of apertures through which the end portions of the terminals extend.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




This invention generally relates to the art of electrical connectors and, particularly, to a connector for mounting on a printed circuit board and which includes a grounding system, in conjunction with a terminal tail aligner.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Electrical connectors are used in a wide variety of applications ranging from simple connecting interfaces between hard conductor wiring to more sophisticated applications involving such components as printed circuit boards, flat flexible cables and optical fibers. Basically, electrical connectors include some form of contacts, terminals or other conductors which interconnect one electrical device to another electrical device. The electrical connectors may involve systems whereby the connectors provide receiver-transmitter functions which, in addition, can convert high speed signals from solid (copper) cables or fiber optic cables to high speed signals on a system printed circuit board. As used herein, the terms “electrical” or “electrical connectors” are intended to include optical devices.




For instance, in the telecommunications industry, switching systems or circuitry may be provided on a rather sizable mother board at a particular location. A plurality of high speed electrical converter modules are mounted by appropriate frame structures on the mother board. Mating “plug-in” connector modules are plugged into the converter modules from outside the switching system. The incoming signals from the cables attached to the plug-in modules are at high speed, such as in the gigabit range, and the converter modules transfer and maintain the signals at high speed and transmit them to the circuitry on the mother board. Continuing problems have been encountered in the design and manufacturability of such systems. Many of the problems center around providing adequate protection for the connecting interface from electromagnetic interference (EMI) as well as providing protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD). The present invention is directed to solving those problems by providing a simple system which is cost effective to manufacture, assemble and use, and which provides extensive EMI and ESD protection.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved grounded electrical connector for mounting on a printed circuit board and including a terminal tail aligner.




In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the connector includes a dielectric housing having a forward mating end and a rear terminating end, with a plurality of terminal-receiving passages extending therebetween. A plurality of terminals are received in the passages. Each terminal includes a tail portion projecting rearwardly from the housing. The tail portions include right-angled end portions for connection to the printed circuit board. At least one ground member is mounted on the housing and includes a ground contact arm projecting forwardly for engaging a complementary mating connector. An ESD clip projects downwardly from the ground member for insertion into an appropriate mounting hole in the printed circuit board. A tail aligner is mounted to the rear end of the housing and has a plurality of apertures through which the end portions of the terminals extend.




As disclosed herein, the ground member is a one-piece structure stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material. Preferably, a pair of the ground members are spaced laterally of the housing, with the respective ground contact arms of the ground members projecting forwardly at opposite sides of the mating end of the housing.




The tail aligner includes a slot for receiving a portion of the ground member(s). A shield is mounted about at least the rear terminating end of the housing in engagement with the ground member. Complementary interengaging means are provided between the shield and the tail aligner. The shield includes at least one grounding leg projecting downwardly for connection to an appropriate ground circuit on the printed circuit board.




Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with its objects and the advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements in the figures and in which:





FIG. 1

is a top front perspective view of the adapter frame assembly incorporating the concepts of the invention;





FIG. 2

is a top rear perspective view of the assembly and showing the board mounted connector;





FIG. 3

is a bottom perspective view of the adapter frame assembly and board mounted connector;





FIG. 4

is a view similar to that of

FIG. 1

, but including the plug-in connector;





FIG. 5

is a view similar to that of

FIG. 3

, but including the plug-in connector;





FIG. 6

is an exploded perspective view of the adapter frame assembly, in conjunction with the board mounted connector;





FIG. 7

is an exploded perspective view of the board mounted connector;





FIG. 8

is a perspective view of the board mounted connector taken at an opposite angle from that of

FIG. 6

;





FIG. 9

is a side elevational view of the board mounted connector;





FIG. 10

is a perspective view of a shield which can be retrofitted onto the board mounted connector of

FIGS. 6-9

;





FIG. 11

is an exploded perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the board mounted connector;





FIG. 12

is a perspective view of the board mounted connector of

FIG. 11

, in assembled condition; and





FIG. 13

, is a side elevational view of the board mounted connector of FIG.


12


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and first to

FIGS. 1-5

, a metal adapter frame assembly, generally designated


16


, is designed for mounting a first electrical connector, generally designated


18


(FIGS.


4


and


5


), in an aperture in a panel and a second electrical connector, generally designated


20


(

FIGS. 1

,


2


and


5


), mountable on a printed circuit board. The panel and its aperture, as well as the printed circuit board, are not shown in the drawings but are of conventional construction. Suffice it to say, the aperture in the panel is generally rectangular to receive the front rectangular end of the adapter frame assembly, as described hereinafter.




Referring to

FIG. 6

in conjunction with

FIGS. 1-5

, adapter frame assembly


16


includes four main components, namely: a diecast metal body, generally designated


22


; a stamped and formed shielding cover, generally designated


24


; a stamped and formed sheet metal gasket, generally designated


26


; and a diecast metal shutter member, generally designated


28


. Body


22


and shutter member


28


may be diecast of nickel-plated zinc material. Shielding cover


24


may be stamped and formed from spring steel material plated with a bright tin material. Gasket


26


may be stamped and formed from a beryllium copper material plated with a bright tin material.




Diecast metal body


22


includes a front wall


30


(

FIG. 6

) defining a rectangular front receptacle


32


, a pair of rearwardly extending side walls


34


and a top rear bridge


36


joining the side walls to define an open-bottom rear receptacle


38


. Plug-in connector


18


is inserted into front receptacle


32


, and board connector


20


is received in rear receptacle


38


. Guide rails


40


are formed on the inside of side walls


22


for guiding the plug-in connector. Latch openings


42


are formed in side walls


34


for receiving latches of the plug-in connector, as described hereinafter. A latch shoulder


44


and a latch groove


46


are formed on the outside of each side wall


34


for cooperating with components of shielding cover


24


, as described below.




Specifically, stamped and formed sheet metal shielding cover


24


includes a top wall


48


and a pair of side walls


50


. It can be seen in

FIG. 6

that diecast metal body


22


is open at the top and recessed at the sides thereof, and the top wall and side walls of the shielding cover completely close the top and sides of the body. A plurality of ventilating holes


52


are stamped out of the top and side walls of the shielding cover. A spring latch tab


54


depends from each side wall


50


of the shielding cover for snapping beneath latch shoulder


44


of the respective side wall of the body to hold the cover on the body. A latch arm


56


depends from each side wall of the cover and extends through groove


46


in the respective side wall of the body, beyond the bottom of the body for insertion into an appropriate mounting hole in the printed circuit board to hold the adapter frame assembly to the board. A third latch arm


58


extends rearwardly of top wall


48


of the cover. Therefore, the adapter frame assembly can be mounted to the circuit board in a horizontal position by using latch arms


56


, or in a vertical position by using latch arm


58


. Finally, a pair of engagement tabs


60


depend from top wall


48


of the cover at the rear thereof, on opposite sides of latch arm


58


, for purposes described hereinafter.




Stamped and formed sheet metal gasket


26


is generally rectangular corresponding to rectangular front receptacle


32


of body


22


. The gasket includes a plurality of flexible stamped and formed latch arms


62


at the top and bottom thereof for snapping behind front wall


30


of body


20


to hold the gasket to the body surrounding front receptacle


32


. The gasket includes a plurality of outwardly deformed flexible fingers


64


on all four sides thereof for engaging the panel about the rectangular aperture therein. The gasket includes a plurality of inwardly deformed flexible fingers


66


on the top and bottom thereof for engaging an exterior shield of plug-in connector


18


.




Shutter member


28


is mounted behind front receptacle


32


of body


22


by means of a pivot boss


70


projecting from each opposite end of the shutter member at the top thereof, for seating into grounded recesses


72


in side walls


34


of the body. A coil spring


74


is wrapped about each pivot boss


70


, with opposite ends of the coil spring anchored to the shutter member and to the body in a manner such that the springs bias the shutter member to a closed position as seen in

FIG. 1

, i.e. closing front receptacle


32


. The shutter member is automatically opened against the biasing of the springs by engagement with plug-in connector


18


when the connector is inserted into the front receptacle.




Referring specifically to

FIGS. 4 and 5

, plug-in connector


18


can take a wide variety of configurations. For instance, the plug-in connector could be a converter module which carries signals at high speeds, such as in the gigabit range. Such converter modules receive high speed signals and transfer and maintain the signals at high speed for transmission to board mounted connectors, such as board mounted connector


20


. Although not part of the invention herein, the plug-in converter module includes a pair of receptacles


18




a


at the front end thereof and a mating end


18




b


(

FIG. 5

) at the rear end thereof. A pair of flexible latch arms


18




c


on opposite sides of the plug-in connector include latch hooks


18




d


for snapping into latch openings


42


in the side walls of body


22


of the adapter frame assembly.




Referring to

FIGS. 7-9

in conjunction with

FIGS. 2

,


3


,


5


and


6


, board mounted connector


20


includes a one-piece housing, generally designated


76


, unitarily molded of dielectric material such as plastic or the like. The housing has a pair of forwardly directed side arms


78


for positioning the housing within rear receptacle


38


(

FIG. 6

) of body


22


of shielding cover


24


. The housing has a forward mating end


80


for mating with rear mating end


18




b


(

FIG. 5

) of plug-in connector


18


. The housing has a rear terminating end


82


, with a plurality of terminal-receiving passages


84


in the housing extending between mating end


80


and terminating end


84


.




A plurality of terminals, generally designated


86


(

FIG. 7

) include forwardly directed contact portions


86




a


for insertion into terminal-receiving passages


84


in the direction of arrow “A”. The contact portions of the terminals engage appropriate contacts within plug-receiving connector


18


. Each terminal


86


includes an enlarged body portion


86




b


having teeth stamped in the sides thereof for securing the terminals within housing


76


. Each terminal


86


includes a tail portion


86




c


projecting rearwardly from rear end


82


of housing


76


. The tail portions include right-angled end portions


86




d


for insertion into appropriate holes in the printed circuit board for connection, as by soldering, to circuit traces on the board and/or in the holes.




Board mounted connector


20


includes a pair of ground members, generally designated


88


. Each ground member is stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material and includes a securing body portion


88


a for insertion into one of a pair of passages


89


in housing


76


in the direction of arrows “B”. An abutting body portion


88




b


of the ground member abuts against rear end


82


of housing


76


when the ground member is fully inserted into passage


89


. A ground contact arm


88




c


projects forwardly from securing body portion


88




a


for engaging a grounding shield of plug-in connector


18


. A bifurcated ESD clip


88




d


projects downwardly from abutting body portion


88




b


for insertion into an appropriate mounting hole in the printed circuit board and for engaging the plated inside diameter of the hole, the plating being of a ground circuit.




Board mounted connector


20


also includes a tail aligner, generally designated


90


, mounted to rear end


82


of housing


76


. After terminals


86


are inserted into the housing in the direction of arrow “A”, and ground members


88


are inserted into the housing in the direction of arrows “B”, tail aligner


90


is mounted to the housing in the direction of arrow “C”. The tail aligner includes a pair of side walls


90




a


upstanding from a bottom wall


90




b


having a plurality of apertures


90




c


through which end portions


86




d


of the terminals extend, whereby the tail aligner aligns and maintains proper positioning and spacing of the end portions of the terminals for insertion into a precise array of holes in the printed circuit board. Slots or grooves


90




d


are formed in the outside of sides walls


90




a


for receiving edges


92


of ground members


88


to stabilize the ground members and especially ESD clips


88




d


. The grooves have diverging mouths


90




e


to facilitate guiding the edges of the ground members into the grooves. A pair of apertured mounting bosses


90




f


project forwardly of bottom wall


90




b


of the tail aligner for receiving a pair of mounting posts


94


depending from housing


76


for guiding purposes. A pair of latch shoulders


90




g


on the outsides of side walls


90




a


snap over a pair of latch shoulders


95


projecting from the rear of the housing to lock the tail aligner to the housing. Finally, a chamfered latch boss


90




h


projects outwardly from each side wall


90




a


of the tail aligner and three chamfered latch bosses


95


project upwardly from housing


76


for optionally mounting a shield thereon, as described below.





FIG. 10

shows a stamped and formed metal shield, generally designated


96


, for mounting over tail aligner


90


after the tail aligner is mounted to housing


76


of board mounted connector


20


. The shield is snapped onto tail aligner


90


by means of a pair of apertures


97


in the side walls of the shield for snapping over latch bosses


90




h


of the tail aligner and three apertures


97




a


in the top of the shield for snapping over latch bosses


95


of the housing to hold the shield thereon. Specifically, shield


96


is a box-like structure having a pair of integral inside grounding tabs


100


between a pair of outside tabs


101


for engaging engagement tabs


60


(

FIG. 6

) of shielding cover


24


to common the shielding cover of the adapter frame assembly with the shield of the plug-in connector. Tabs


60


on the cover slide between tabs


100


and tabs


101


of the shield. Shield


96


can be employed as a retrofit component to provide EMI protection for connector


20


. Front edges


96




a


of the shield engage ground members


88


.





FIGS. 11-13

show an alternate embodiment of a board mounted connector, generally designated


20


A. This alternate embodiment of the board mounted connector includes a housing


76


, a plurality of terminals


86


and a tail aligner


90


identical to the housing, terminals and tail aligner described above in relation to board mounted connector


20


shown in

FIGS. 7-9

. Consequently, like numerals have been applied in

FIGS. 11-13

corresponding to the description above in relation to

FIGS. 7-9

. In connector


20


A, a unitary shield, generally designated


102


, incorporates the ground contact arms and ESD clips of ground members


88


in connector


20


.




More particularly, shield


102


is a one-piece stamped and formed sheet metal component having a box-like configuration defined by a top wall


102




a,


a rear wall


102




b


and a pair of side walls


102




c


. An integral bifurcated ESD clip


104


projects outwardly and downwardly from each side wall


102




c


for insertion into an appropriate mounting hole in the printed circuit board. An integral ground contact arm


106


projects forwardly from each side wall


102




c


for engaging the plug-in connector


18


. A pair of integral inside grounding tabs


108


project upwardly from the front of top wall


102




a,


between a pair of outside grounding tabs


109


, for engaging engagement tabs


60


(

FIG. 6

) of shielding cover


24


of adapter


16


. A pair of integral grounding legs


110


project downwardly from rear wall


102




b


for insertion into appropriate holes in the circuit board and for connection, as by soldering, to ground circuits on the board and/or in the holes.




Shield


102


is assembled to board mounted connector


20


A in the direction of arrow “D” (

FIG. 11

) until latch apertures


112


in side walls


102




c


of the shield snap behind chamfered latch bosses


90




h


projecting outwardly from side walls


90




a


of tail aligner


90


and latch apertures


113


at the top of the shield snap behind latch bosses


95


at the top of the housing. In addition, ground contact arms


106


have enlarged mounting sections


106




a


for insertion into passages


89


in housing


76


. The mounting sections have teeth stamped in opposite edges thereof for skiving into the plastic material of the housing within the passages. Therefore, shield


102


is secured to both the housing and the tail aligner.




It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein.



Claims
  • 1. An electrical connector for mounting on a printed circuit board, comprising:a dielectric housing having a forward mating end and a rear terminating end with a plurality of terminal-receiving passages extending therebetween; a plurality of terminals received in said passages, each terminal including a tail portion projecting rearwardly from the housing, the tail portions including right-angled end portions for connection to the printed circuit board; at least one ground member mounted on the housing and including a ground contact arm projecting forwardly for engaging a complementary mating connector and an ESD clip projecting downwardly for insertion into an appropriate mounting hole in the printed circuit board; a tail aligner mounted to the rear end of the housing and having a plurality of apertures through which the end portions of the terminals extend; and complementary interengaging means between the ground member and the tail aligner.
  • 2. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein said ground member is a one-piece structure stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material.
  • 3. The electrical connector of claim 1, including a pair of said ground members spaced laterally of the housing with the respective ground contact arms of the ground members projecting forwardly at opposite sides of the mating end of the housing.
  • 4. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein said complementary interengaging means includes a slot in the tail aligner for receiving a portion of the ground member.
  • 5. The electrical connector of claim 1, including a shield about at least the rear terminating end of the housing in engagement with said ground member.
  • 6. The electrical connector of claim 5, including second complementary interengaging means between the shield and the tail aligner.
  • 7. The electrical connector of claim 5 wherein said shield includes at least one ground leg projecting downwardly for connection to an appropriate ground circuit on the printed circuit board.
  • 8. An electrical connector for mounting on a printed circuit board, comprising:a dielectric housing having a forward mating end and a rear terminating end with a plurality of terminal-receiving passages extending therebetween; a plurality of terminals received in said passages, each terminal including a tail portion projecting rearwardly from the housing, the tail portions including right-angled end portions for connection to the printed circuit board; at least one ground member mounted on the housing and including a ground contact arm projecting forwardly for engaging a complementary mating connector and an ESD clip projecting downwardly for insertion into an appropriate mounting hole in the printed circuit board; a tail aligner mounted to the rear end of the housing and having a plurality of apertures through which the end portions of the terminals extend; a shield about at least the rear terminating end of the housing in engagement with said ground member; and complementary interengaging means between the shield and the tail aligner.
  • 9. The electrical connector of claim 8 wherein said shield includes at least one ground leg projecting downwardly for connection to an appropriate ground circuit on the printed circuit board.
  • 10. The electrical connector of claim 8 wherein said ground member is a one-piece structure stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material.
  • 11. The electrical connector of claim 8, including a pair of said ground members spaced laterally of the housing with the respective ground contact arms of the ground members projecting forwardly at opposite sides of the mating end of the housing.
  • 12. The electrical connector of claim 8 wherein said tail aligner includes a slot for receiving a portion of the ground member.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Number Name Date Kind
4521062 Kurbikoff et al. Jun 1985
4968261 Mizunuma Nov 1990
5096436 Noschese Mar 1992
5161999 Broschard, III et al. Nov 1992
5540598 Davis Jul 1996
5863222 Kinsey, Jr. et al. Jan 1999
5947769 Leonard et al. Sep 1999
5957705 David et al. Sep 1999
6012949 Lok Jan 2000
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
0 561 497 A1 Feb 1993 EP
0 851 540 A2 Dec 1997 EP