Claims
- 1. A board-mountable electrical connector of the type including contacts having elongate post sections extending from a housing for insertion into and through corresponding through-holes of a circuit board, comprising:
- a main housing member including passageways extending therethrough from a mating face to a rear face and further including at least two board-mounting members secured thereto at selected locations;
- a plurality of contacts disposed in respective said passageways and each having a contact section exposed along the mating face for electrical connection with corresponding contact sections of contacts of a mating connector, and each having a post section extending from said rear face for insertion into a corresponding through-hole of a board upon connector mounting thereto, said post sections of said contacts coextending in parallel and arranged in a pattern corresponding to a like pattern of board through-holes; and
- a post locating member securable to said main housing member along said rear face, said post locating member including a like plurality of post-receiving apertures through a board-parallel section thereof extending to a board-proximate surface thereof defining a mounting face, and said post-receiving apertures including post-locating aperture portions adjacent said mounting face to be adjacent the circuit board upon connector mounting thereto;
- said post locating member being securable to said main housing member upon said coextending post sections being received into respective said post-receiving apertures, and extending through said post-locating aperture portions and beyond said mounting face;
- said post locating member including a transverse housing-engageable surface portion pressed against a corresponding surface of said main housing member upon securing said post locating member to said main housing member; and,
- said main housing member including a rear section having a top wall which extends from said rear face to a rearward end, and a downwardly extending lip along at least a portion of said rearward end for receiving forwardly thereof a top edge portion of a rear wall of said post locating member upon full assembly;
- whereby said post locating member is molded as a separate part permitting said post-locating aperture portions to be defined with reference to a physical feature thereof, while said main housing member is molded as a separate part permitting the positions of said passageways thereof at the mating face thereof to be defined independently of passageway positions at said board mounting face of said connector.
- 2. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said post locating member includes a unique datum defined by a physical feature of limited size having surface portions which determine a reference point, from which reference point the centerlines of all said post-locating aperture portions have been precisely referenced during precise molding and which thereafter are precisely registered therewith, and said physical feature is adapted to be mechanically utilized during placement of the assembled connector onto a circuit board whereby precisely positioning said physical feature with respect to the circuit board simultaneously precisely registers said post-locating apertures and post sections extending therethrough with respect to corresponding board through-holes.
- 3. A connector as set forth in claim 2 wherein said datum is defined by a rib centered along a rear surface of said post locating member perpendicular to said mounting face thereof and extending perpendicularly to said mounting face, enabling recognition of precise connector position and orientation upon the connector being gripped by automatic placement apparatus during automated connector mounting to a circuit board.
- 4. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said post locating member is latched to a rear section of said main housing member.
- 5. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said post-receiving apertures are elongate.
- 6. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said main housing member includes rib sections extending rearwardly along the inside surface of said top wall to ends spaced from said downwardly extending lip effectively defining a groove.
- 7. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said post sections depend from right angle bends of said contacts rearwardly of said main housing member.
- 8. A connector as set forth in claim 7 wherein said main housing member includes support surfaces adjacent upper surfaces of said contacts at least adjacent said right angle bends for supporting said contacts during assembly of said post locating member to said main housing member.
- 9. A connector as set forth in claim 7 wherein said rear section of said main housing member includes side walls defining with said top wall a large recess about said right angle bends of said contacts, and said post locating member includes said rear wall and a bottom enclosing said large recess.
- 10. A connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein said housing-engageable surface is forwardly facing and disposed continuously along a front edge of said bottom wall of said post locating member, and said corresponding surface is rearwardly facing and disposed continuously along a rear edge of a bottom portion of said main housing member.
- 11. A connector as set forth in claim 10 wherein said post locating member includes latch projections extending outwardly from side surfaces thereof, and said main housing member includes latch-receiving grooves extending upwardly along inside surfaces of said side walls to latch-receiving apertures positioned to receive said latch projections for latching said post locating member fully assembled to said main housing in a manner assuring that said housing-engageable surface of said post locating member is compressed against said corresponding surface of said main housing member.
- 12. A connector as set forth in claim 7 wherein said post locating member includes a forwardly extending section having an upwardly extending lip transversely along a forward edge thereof and a transverse groove defined into said forwardly extending section rearward said upwardly extending lip, and said housing-engageable surface is a rearwardly facing surface of said upwardly extending lip, said main housing member includes a downwardly extending lip transversely along a bottom section thereof adjacent said large recess and a transverse groove defined into said bottom section forward of said downwardly extending lip, and said corresponding surface is forwardly facing and disposed continuously along a front edge of said downwardly extending lip, said transverse grooves of each of said post locating member and said main housing member being adapted to receive thereinto the transverse lip of the other said member.
- 13. A connector as set forth in claim 12 wherein said post locating member includes latch projections extending outwardly from side surfaces thereof, and said main housing men,her includes latch-receiving grooves extending upwardly along inside surfaces of said side walls to latch-receiving apertures positioned to receive said latch projections for latching said post locating member fully assembled to said main housing in a manner assuring that said housing engageable surface of said post locating member is compressed against said corresponding surface of said main housing member.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/987,971 filed Dec. 8, 1992, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2095485 |
Sep 1982 |
GBX |
2219148 |
Nov 1989 |
GBX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
987971 |
Dec 1992 |
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