Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6179651
-
Patent Number
6,179,651
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, April 1, 199826 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, January 30, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Gellner; Michael L.
- Hammond; Briggitte
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 439 5415
- 439 540
- 439 701
- 439 79
- 439 101
- 439 108
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A stacked connector assembly is disclosed, which comprises an upper and a lower electrical connector of the same type, and means having parts integrally formed with the upper and the lower connectors, respectively, for retaining the upper and lower connectors to each other. The upper and the lower connectors both include a first insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a first mating connector, a plurality of conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the first housing. The upper connector further comprises a pair of supports extending from a rear face of the first housing and a space defined under a bottom surface of the first housing in front of the supports for snugly receiving the lower connector. A spacer for an electrical connector having guiding keys is also proposed.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, particularly to a stacked connector assembly.
2. The Prior Art
To economically use the limited space within the computer case, stacked connector assemblies are popularly used in the computer field. Some stacked connector assemblies were proposed in, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/651,565 and 08/746,246 assigned to the same assignee of the present invention. These stacked connector assemblies, though comprise more than one connectors stacked together, require a bracket interposed therebetween for combining the connectors as a whole, which increases the number of main components in the assemblies and thus involves a more complicated process to assemble these components. In addition, in the above-mentioned conventional design, the spacer is integral formed with the housing, which is not convenient in use. Hence, there is a need for a stacked connector assembly which involves less main components and can be assembled more easily than it was and which comprises a spacer formed separately from the housing and capable of being assembled to the housing easily.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a stacked connector assembly without requiring a bracket interposed therein for combining the connectors as a whole.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stacked connector assembly having a reduced number of main components and to simplify the assembling process.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a stacked connector assembly which has a simplified assembling process.
One more object of the present invention is to provide a stacked connector assembly which has a spacer that can be formed separately from the housing and assembled to the housing easily.
To fulfill the above-mentioned objects, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a stacked connector assembly comprises an upper and a lower electrical connector of the same type, and means having parts integrally formed with the upper and the lower connectors, respectively, for retaining the upper and lower connectors to each other. The upper and the lower connectors both include a first insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a first mating connector, a plurality of conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the first housing. The upper connector further comprises a pair of supports extending from a rear face of the first housing and a space defined under a bottom surface of the first housing in front of the supports for snugly receiving the lower connector.
According to another aspect of the invention, a spacer for an electrical connector is also proposed, which comprises a front thin bar and a rear thick bar integrally formed together, each bar defining two rows of staggered tapered apertures extending through a top and a bottom surface thereof for guiding and positioning conductive contacts extending therethrough. A pair of hooks are formed on opposite lateral sides of the spacer for locking into an electrical connector and a pair of up-standing keys taller than the hooks are provided on both lateral ends of the front bar for guiding attachment of the spacer to an electrical connector.
These and additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reading the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the appended drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an perspective view of a stacked connector assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a cross-sectional view of the stacked connector assembly shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
shows a cross-sectional view of the upper connector and the lower connector of the stacked assembly of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4
is an exploded perspective view of the upper connector of the stacked assembly shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 5
is a front, upper perspective view of the upper connector;
FIG. 6
is a rear, lower perspective view of the upper connector;
FIG. 7
is an exploded perspective view of the lower connector of the stacked assembly shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 8
is a front, upper perspective view of the lower connector;
FIG. 9
is a rear, lower perspective view of the lower connector;
FIG. 10
is a front perspective view of the contact module of the upper connector;
FIG. 11
is an exploded perspective view of the contact module of the upper connector; and
FIG. 12
is a front perspective view of the contact module of the lower connector.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Detailed reference will now be made to the preferred embodiments of the present invention.
Referring first to
FIGS. 1
to
3
, a stacked connector assembly according to the present invention, generally designated by reference numeral
10
, mainly comprises a first upper connector
12
and a second lower connector
14
secured to the upper connector
12
.
Please further refer to
FIGS. 4
to
6
. The upper connector
12
mainly comprises an insulative housing
20
having an elongated main body
22
, a contact module
24
containing a plurality of conductive contacts
26
, a spacer
28
, and a metal shield
30
.
The housing
20
includes a mating protrusion
32
projecting forward from a front face
34
of the main body
22
for mating with a mating connector (not shown), a pair of supports
36
extending rearward from a rear face
38
of the main body
22
for supporting the upper connector
12
in an elevated level and for the attachment of the spacer
28
, and a pair of screw holes
40
defined near both lateral ends of the main body
22
through the front face
34
and the rear face
38
.
An elongated central cavity
42
is defined in the main body
22
and open to an exterior for receiving the contact module
24
inserted from the rear face
38
of the main body
22
. An elongated mating opening
44
is defined in a front face
46
of the mating protrusion
32
for receiving a mating portion of the mating connector (not shown). Two rows of passageways
48
are formed between the central cavity
42
and the mating opening
44
and extend in an upper and a lower inner surface of the mating opening
44
for positioning a front portion (not labeled) of the contacts
26
of the contact module
24
.
Please refer to
FIGS. 10
to
11
. The contact module
24
includes two rows of contacts
26
integrally formed in a front block
50
and a rear block
52
. Each of the front and rear blocks
50
,
52
comprises a pair of upper and lower flanges
54
, respectively, on each lateral side thereof for securing to the housing
20
. The front block
50
further comprises a transverse protrusion
56
on a front side thereof for fitting into a transverse recess
58
defined on an innermost surface of the central cavity
42
of the housing
20
, as shown in
FIGS. 2
,
3
and
6
. Two pairs of ribs
60
are formed on an upper and a lower surface of the front block
50
for retention in two pairs of detents
62
defined on an inner upper and an inner lower surface
64
,
66
of the central cavity
42
of the housing
20
, as shown in FIG.
3
.
In manufacturing, each row of contacts
26
are transversely aligned horizontally up side by side and inserted molded in a front plate
68
and a rear plate
70
to form a contact set
72
with the right-angled tail portions of the contacts
26
staggered in two rows. Next, two contact sets
72
are jointed together by means of joint means
74
formed on a jointing face
76
defined on each of the plates
68
,
70
. Since the tail portions of the contacts
26
in the two contact sets
72
are bent at different locations and in opposite direction relative to the their respective jointing face
76
, there are four rows tail portions of the contacts
26
in the jointed contact sets
72
. Finally, the jointed contact sets
72
are processed by ultrasonic welding procedure to bond the two pairs of plates
68
,
70
into the front and rear blocks
50
,
52
, respectively, so that a unitary contact module
24
including the front and rear blocks
50
,
52
with two rows of contacts
26
integrally formed therein is completed. Since the structures of the plates
68
,
70
are similar, only the structure of the front plate
68
will be described in detail.
The front plate
68
comprises two sets of joint means
74
on an upper surface and near both lateral sides thereof, two sets of bonding means
78
between the joint means
74
, a pair of flanges
54
formed on both lower lateral edges of the plate
68
, a flange
80
formed on an upper front edge of the plate
68
, and a pair of ribs
60
formed on a lower surface of the plate
68
. Each set of the joint means
74
includes a square post
82
and a circular hole
84
and each set of bonding means
78
includes an elongated shallow
86
and a strip
88
wherein the posts
82
and holes
84
in the two sets of joint means
74
are located in exchanged positions and so do the elongated shallows
86
and strips
88
of the bonding means.
When the pair of plates
68
are jointed together, the two sets of joint means
74
of one front plate
68
interferingly engage with another two sets of joint means
74
of the other front plate
68
with the posts
82
of plates
68
fitting into the holes
84
of the mating plates
68
, the elongated shallows
86
and strips
88
in one plate
68
engage the strips
88
and shallows
86
of the other plate
68
, respectively, and the two front flanges
80
overlap and form the transverse protrusion
56
of the block
50
. The strips
88
will melt during the ultrasonic welding procedure, and bond into the shallows
86
when they are cold.
In this embodiment, the rear plate
70
does not include the front flange
80
, and thus the rear block
52
formed by two rear plates
70
does not include the transverse protrusion
56
. It is noted that in another embodiment the rear plate
70
can also include the front flange
80
and thus the rear block
52
also includes the transverse protrusion
56
to simplify the molding of the blocks
50
,
52
.
Please refer back to
FIGS. 5 and 6
. The support
36
is substantially a rectangular wall integrally formed with the main body
22
of the housing
20
beside the central cavity
42
. Two guiding grooves
90
defined on each lateral surface
92
of the central cavity
42
extend on an inner surface
94
of the support
36
for guiding the horizontal movement of the flanges
54
of the front and rear blocks
50
,
52
during insertion of the contact module
24
into the central cavity
42
and for preventing vertical movement of the blocks
50
,
52
, and in turn, of the contact module
24
with respect to the housing
20
after insertion. A transverse beam
96
(see
FIGS. 2 and 3
) is provided between the supports
36
for reinforcing the strength of the housing
20
and for keeping a constant distance between the supports
36
so as to snugly receive the spacer
28
therebetween.
Please refer to
FIGS. 2
,
4
and
7
. The spacer
28
comprises a front thin bar
98
and a rear thick bar
100
integrally formed together. Each of the bars
98
,
100
defines two rows of staggered tapered apertures
102
extending through a top and a bottom surface thereof for guiding and positioning the contacts
26
. A pair of hooks
104
,
106
are formed on opposite lateral sides of the spacer
28
, one for each bar
98
,
100
, for locking the spacer
28
between the supports
36
and a pair of up-standing keys
108
, which are taller than the pair of hooks
104
,
106
, are provided on both lateral ends of the front bar
98
for guiding attachment of the spacer
28
to the supports
36
. In addition, six standoffs
109
are provided on a bottom surface of the spacer
28
located near edges thereof.
Please refer to
FIGS. 3
,
5
and
6
. A recess
110
is formed on the inner surface
94
of the support
36
, which recess
110
locates near a lower, rear portion of the support
36
and defines a lateral inner surface
112
. An upper and a lower horizontal retention ridges
114
,
116
are formed on the lateral inner surface
112
for retaining the hooks
104
,
106
of the spacer
28
. A vertical slit
118
is defined on the inner surface
94
of the support
36
ahead of the recess
110
for receiving the keys
108
of the spacer
28
.
Please further refer to
FIG. 3. A
top surface of the support
36
is flush with a top surface
120
of the main body
22
and the height of the support
36
is substantially twice as much as that of the main body
22
such that a bottom surface of the support
36
is substantially lower than a bottom surface
122
of the main body
22
by the high “H” of the main body
22
. Therefore, a space
124
, “S”, is defined between the bottom surface
122
of the main body
22
and a plane “P” coplanar with the bottom surface of the support
36
for receiving the lower connector
14
.
The upper connector
12
further comprises a pair of positioning plates
126
extending forward from both of the supports
36
, each defines an upper and a lower horizontal retention groove
128
,
130
on a lateral outer surface
132
thereof for positioning the lower connector
14
. In addition, three ribs
134
are formed on the lower surface of the main body
22
for locking into the lower connector
14
.
Please refer to
FIGS. 4 and 7
. The metal shield
30
comprises a main plate
136
, a hollow shell
138
drawn forward from a central portion thereof, a pair of screw holes
140
defined on both ends of the main plate
136
, and two pairs of mounting ears
142
respectively extending rearward from a top edge and a bottom edge of thereof. When the metal shield
30
is mounted on the housing
20
, the main plate
136
abuts the front face
34
of the main body
22
of the housing
20
with the hollow shell
138
conformably encompassing the mating protrusion
32
and the screw holes
140
aligning with the screw holes
40
of the housing
20
(see FIG.
1
). Each of the mounting ears
142
of the metal shield
30
defines a central slot
144
. Each of the central slots
144
defined on the upper mounting ears
142
retains a rib
146
formed on a recession
148
defined in top surface
120
of the main body
22
of the housing
20
and each of the central slots
144
defined on the lower mounting ears
142
retains at least one ribs
150
formed on an inner top surface of a recession
152
defined in the front face
34
of the main body
22
below the mating protrusion
32
(see FIG.
6
).
Please refer to
FIGS. 7
to
9
. The structure of the lower connector
14
is similar to that of the upper connector
12
, and mainly comprises an insulative housing
220
, a contact module
224
, a spacer
28
, and a metal shield
30
.
The housing
220
is substantially similar to the housing
20
except for the following differences. The housing
220
comprises two positioning walls
236
extending rearward in place of the supports
36
of the housing
20
. The positioning walls
236
extend rearward from a rear surface of a main body
222
of the housing
220
, and each defines an upper and a lower horizontal retention ridge
214
,
216
formed on a lateral inner surface
212
thereof, as are the ridges
114
,
116
of the support
36
of the upper connector
12
, for retaining the hooks
104
,
106
of the spacer
28
and for complementarily positioning into the upper and lower horizontal retention grooves
128
,
130
of the positioning latches
126
of the support
36
of the upper connector
12
, as can be seen in
FIGS. 3 and 5
, thus restraining the relative movement between the upper connector
12
and the lower connector
14
in a vertical direction.
In addition, three detents
234
are formed on an upper surface of the main body
222
for retention of the three ribs
134
on the lower surface of the main body
22
of the upper connector
12
, and a recessed slant surface
238
provided on a rear portion of each detents
234
for guiding the entrance of the rib
134
into the detent
234
, thus preventing the relative movement between the upper connector
12
and the lower connector
14
in a horizontal direction.
Please refer to FIG.
3
. Since the height of the main body
222
of the lower connector
14
is substantially the same as the height “H” of the upper connector
12
, and the upper and lower surfaces of the positioning walls
236
are flush with those of main body
222
, the lower connector
14
can then be snugly received within the space
124
(“S”) of the upper connector
12
.
The lower connector
14
further comprises a pair of posts
240
extending downward from both lateral ends of the main body
222
for locking into a PC board (not shown) on which the lower connector
14
is to be mounted.
Please further refer to FIG.
12
. The contact module
224
is similar to the contact module
24
of the upper connector
12
, includes two rows of contacts
226
integrally formed in a block
250
. The structure and manufacture of the block
250
are substantially the same as the front block
50
of the upper connector
12
, and thus will not be further described hereinafter.
As can be seen in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, in assembling, the lower connector
14
is inserted into the space “S”
124
of the upper connector
12
from a lower front position thereof. With the cooperation of the positioning walls
236
and detents
234
of the lower connector
14
with the positioning plates
126
and ribs
134
of the upper connector
12
, respectively, the two connectors
12
,
14
can be effectively stacked together.
Although in the preferred embodiment the lower connector
14
is designed to be stacked with the upper connector
12
, it can also be use singly as a non-stacked connector.
In the present embodiment, the larger supports
36
are provided on the upper connector
12
and the smaller positioning walls
236
are provided on the lower connector
14
; however, the larger supports
36
can be provided on the lower connector
14
rather than on the upper connector
12
and the smaller positioning walls
236
can be provided on the upper connector
12
rather than the lower connector
14
to retainably engage with each other.
Although in the preferred embodiment, the upper and lower connectors
12
,
14
are of the same type, it should be noted that, alternatively, the lower connector
14
can be of different type from the upper connector
12
and has a structure different from that of the upper connector
12
while defining a dimension capable of being snugly received in the space
124
of the upper connector
12
and including means retainably engaging with the upper connector
12
.
In a variation of the present invention, more than one lower connectors
14
′,
14
″ . . . can be snugly received in the space
124
of the upper connector
12
, each of which lower connectors
14
′,
14
″ includes means retainably engaging with the upper connector
12
.
While the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications to the present invention can be made to the preferred embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A stacked connector assembly, comprising:a first electrical connector including a first insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a first mating connector, a plurality of conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in a first main body of the first housing, a pair of supports integrally extending rearwardly from a rear face of the first main body of the first housing, a metal shield provided on a front portion of the first housing for eliminating electromagnetic interference, and a space defined under a bottom surface of the first main body of the first housing in front of the supports; a second electrical connector adapted to be snugly received in said space of the first connector in front of the supports, including a second insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a second mating connector, a plurality of conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in a second main body of the second housing, and a metal shield provided on a front portion of the second housing for eliminating electromagnetic interference; and means having parts integrally formed with said first and second connector, respectively, for retaining said first and second connectors to each other; wherein said first main body of the first connector and said second main body of the second connector are vertically aligned with each other.
- 2. The stacked connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a transverse beam provided between the supports.
- 3. A stacked connector assembly, comprising:an upper electrical connector including a first insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a first mating connector, a plurality of conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the first housing, a pair of supports downward extending from a rear face of the first housing, a pair of positioning plates integrally extending forwardly of both supports, a spaces defined under a bottom surface of the first housing but in front of the positioning plates of the supports, and a first spacer provided between the supports; a lower electrical connector snugly entirely received within said space of the upper connector, including a second insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a second mating connector, a plurality of conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the second housing, a pair of positioning walls extending rearward of a face of the second housing thereby retainably engaging said positioning plates of the first connector within the space, and a second spacer provided between the positioning walls.
- 4. A stacked connector assembly comprising:an upper connector and a lower connector; said upper connector including a first insulative housing defining a first mating face for engaging a first mating connector, a pair of supports integrally extending rearwardly from a rear face of a first main body of the first housing; said lower connector including a second insulative housing defining a second main body with a second mating face for engaging a second mating connector, said first main body of the upper connector being vertically aligned with the second main body of the lower connector; and means for combining the upper connector and the lower connector together; wherein said means includes a pair of positioning plates integrally extending forwardly from and parallel to said pair of supports of the upper connector, respectively, and a pair of lateral inner surfaces formed on the lower connector for respectively latchable engagement with said pair of positioning plates.
- 5. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said means further includes a rib formed on one of a bottom face of the first main body and a top face of the second main body, and a complementary detent in the other of said bottom face of the first main body and said top face of the second main body for restraining relative movement between said first connector and said second connector in a horizontal direction.
- 6. A stacked connector assembly including an upper and a lower electrical connector of the same type, including:said upper connector including a first insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a first mating connector, a plurality of first conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the first housing, a pair of supports downward extending from a rear face of the first housing, a space defined under a bottom surface of the first housing but in front of the supports, a first retention portion forwardly extending from each support toward the space, and a first spacer attached into the supports and downward guiding a tail portion of each first contacts out of a bottom of stacked connector assembly; and said lower connector including a second insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a second mating connector, a plurality of second conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the second housing, a pair of positioning walls horizontally extending rearward from the housing, a second spacer attached into the walls and downward guiding a tail portion of each second contact out of the bottom of the stacked connector assembly, and a second retention portion extending from an inner surface of each of said positioning walls in retentive and complementary engagement with the corresponding first retention portion in position within the space.
- 7. A stacked connector assembly including an upper and a lower electrical connector of the same type, including:said upper connector including a first insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a first mating connector, a plurality of first conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the first housing, a pair of supports downward extending from a rear face of the first housing, a space with a height defined under a bottom surface of the first housing but in front of the supports, a first retention portion extending from the first housing toward the space, and a first spacer attached between the supports and downward guiding a tail portion of each first contacts out of a bottom of stacked connector assembly; and said lower connector including a second insulative housing defining a front face for mating with a second mating connector, a plurality of second conductive contacts received in a plurality of passageways defined in the second housing, a pair of positioning walls horizontally extending rearward from the housing, a second spacer attached between the walls and downward guiding a tail portion of each second contact out of the bottom of the stacked connector assembly, a second retention portion extending from the second housing in shape complementary to the corresponding first retention portion for restraining the lower connector from motion along a specific direction with regard to the upper connector wherein the lower connector is snugly received within the space of the upper connector from a lower front position by means that a height of the second housing of the lower connector is the same as that of the space of the upper connector, and the lower connector abuts against the bottom surface of the first housing of the upper connector.
US Referenced Citations (4)