The present invention relates generally to electronic connectors and more particularly, but not exclusively, to an ejection mechanism for disengagement of a high-extraction-force electromechanical connector.
Cables are used to transfer signals between various electronic systems that must communicate with each other. While integration of functions into common chassis has eliminated the need for many cables, cables themselves will continue to be used to connect disparate electronic systems. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that it is often desirable to only temporarily interconnect electronic systems. Because the cables may only temporarily interconnect electronic systems, these cables need connectors on them that can mate with corresponding connectors (sometimes referred to herein as “sockets”) on the electronic systems being electronically interconnected by the cables. The connectors must mate in such a way so as to provide excellent signal integrity and a connection that is not easily disconnected inadvertently and/or accidentally. At the same time, the connectors must be easily disconnected. These goals are rendered difficult when the electronic systems being interconnected have large numbers of signals that must pass back and forth between the systems. Even with multiplexing, such cables can have a large number of wires, each of which are terminated with a pin within the connector on the cable. These pins make contact with corresponding pins in the connector on the electronic system that mates with the connector on the cable.
Prior cable interconnection interface solutions, for example in systems having high numbers of signals, use jackscrews to mechanically secure a connection between a cable and the electronic system being electrically connected to the cable. Jackscrews provide a high degree of retention force. Retention force is important because it makes it difficult for accidental disconnections. In addition, higher retention forces tend to improve the integrity of the electrical connections, which improves signal quality. These jackscrew receptacles were integrated into the connector on the electronic system.
With these prior solutions, the number of signals passing from an electronic system to the cable was not that high. Thus, when it became time to insert or remove the cable from the electronic system, the amount of insertion and extraction force required was manageable. Thus, to remove a connector, a user could simply unscrew the jackscrews, grab hold of the connector, and pull it out of its corresponding connector. Likewise, to insert the connector, the user could simply force the connector on the cable into the corresponding connector on the board, and then use the jackscrews to secure the connection.
A problem arises when the number of pins in the connectors increases, as the amount of insertion and extraction force needed for insertion and removal is substantially proportional to the number of pins in the connector. While jackscrews provide for secure connections, they provide no assistance in removing a cable. In fact, use of jackscrews increase the amount of time needed to remove the cable from the electronic system.
Likewise, as electronic systems have increased in complexity, the number of signals a cable must carry has increased dramatically. This has led to an increase in the number of pins located in the connectors. The increased number of pins in turn has led to a significant increase in the force required to insert and remove a cable from the socket on the electronic system. At the same time, the pins have become smaller and more fragile. Thus, cable insertion and removal has become much more difficult. One manner in which these contrary needs have been met is through the use of dedicated tools that are separate and apart from the connector used to properly fasten or disengage the interface.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for an improved mechanism for ejecting electromechanical connectors that overcomes the aforementioned obstacles and deficiencies of currently-available ejection mechanisms.
A connector ejection system for effecting the ejection of a connector is shown and described. Although shown and described with reference to electromechanical connectors, the connector ejection system can be configured for use with a wide range of connector types.
The connector ejection system can be configured to eject the electromechanical connector from its mating connector in any suitable manner, such as through a compact ejector mechanism, preferably without requiring custom design or manufacturing of the connector ejection system's mating connector. One embodiment achieves this by way of rigid sliding frame that applies force to a portion of the mating connector, where this portion of the mating connector is otherwise intended to provide alignment guidance between the two connectors.
One potential use for the connector ejection system described herein is for use in a “target interface” connection between a logic emulation system and a customer-designed “target system” for in-circuit emulation. Emulation systems (sometimes referred to as “emulators” and “simulation accelerators”) like those sold by Cadence Design Systems, Inc., are used to verify that a user's electronic design functions as intended prior to manufacture. When using such an emulation system, the user's design is programmed into the emulator such that the emulator operates in a manner that is functionally identical to user's design. Once the emulator has been programmed to function like the user's design, a cable from the emulator can be connected to the “target system.” The “target system” is the intended operating environment for the user's design. For example, a user's design can be a microprocessor and the target system could be a motherboard for a personal computer.
The connector on the cable that mates with a corresponding connector in the target system will have the same number of pins as would the package for user's electronic design. Such electronic designs can have hundreds of electrical contacts.
Connectors typically used to mate the cable from the emulator with the connector on the target system are selected for reasons of signal density, signal integrity, and mechanical robustness. In addition, such connectors preferably provide a substantially high extraction force. A high extraction force is desirable because such a high force maintains a reliable connection when the interface is connected to the target system. The embodiments described herein provide a method for extracting the connector on the interface cable from the target system when it is desired to reconfigure the hardware. As will be seen, this connection imposes minimal requirements on the designers of the target system.
It should be noted that the ejection mechanism described herein has application beyond emulation systems and could be used in any system in which an integrated cable ejection mechanism is desired for high extraction force electromechanical connectors.
Other aspects and features will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
It should be noted that the figures are not drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the figures. It also should be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The figures do not describe every aspect of the present invention and do not limit the scope of the invention.
An exemplary prior art mating connector system 10 shown in
The header connector 20 and receptacle connector 22 shown in
Attention is now drawn to
As shown in
As shown in
If desired, the target side of the connection (i.e., header connector 20) can comprise a commercially available component. (Note that guide blocks 26 of receptacle connector 22 found in the prior art shown in
As shown in
The operation and the configuration of the mating connector ejection system 100 disclosed herein will now be described in more detail. When a user wants to interconnect one electronic system to another, they will insert the receptacle connector 22 into header connector 20. During this insertion, custom guidance blocks 38 will come into contact with guide pins 24 on header connector 20. Specifically, as shown in
An ejection member 44 shown as having an L-shape in
The mating connector ejection system 100 also comprises ejection levers 46, which are rotatably mounted in blocks 42 affixed to printed circuit board 50. As shown in
As the quantity of connections of the connector system increases, it may become necessary to apply a larger extraction force to remove the receptacle connector 22 from the header connector 20. This is because, as mentioned above, the amount of insertion and extraction force needed for insertion and removal is substantially proportional to the number of pins in the connector. The mating connector ejection system 100 disclosed herein provides such an extraction force. As discussed, when the apparatus is inserted into header connector 20, ejection levers 46 are arranged such that they are perpendicular to the major axis of guidance modules 36. See
Attention is now drawn to
The mating connector ejection system 100 provides several improvements over prior solutions and alternatives. For example, the mating connector ejection system 100 can facilitate achievement of very high signal densities as well as facilitating disengagement of high signal density connectors. This is accomplished without increasing the size of the connector and/or additional mechanical components and/or complexity on the target side of the interface.
Advantageously, the connector ejection system can include one or more integrated ejection levers that can be configured to provide a quick, tool-less ejection mechanism. The sliding guide block design can integrate the ejection function and the guidance function into the same component. Force is applied to the rear portion of the mating connector, virtually eliminating any need for additional mechanical components on the mating side of the interface. The sliding rigid frame likewise can apply force evenly to both end regions of the mating connector.
As shown above, because the mating connector ejection system 100 requires no modification of the connector in the target system, (see e.g., header connector 20 as shown in
The various embodiments disclosed herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, and specific examples thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that no limitations to the particular forms or methods should be inferred. To the contrary, the invention covers all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/576,611 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/576,691, each being filed on Jun. 1, 2004. Priority to these prior applications is expressly claimed, and the disclosures of respective applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050266709 A1 | Dec 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60576611 | Jun 2004 | US | |
60576691 | Jun 2004 | US |