Abstract:
An improved circuit card package wherein additional child cards are accommodated by providing an interface adaptor board having connectors for receiving the child cards. The interface adaptor board is itself received by a connector on a parent card, which plugs into a system backplane.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to a circuit card package and, more particularly, to a circuit card package wherein child cards are mounted parallel to a parent card without requiring the use of screws, nuts, standoffs, etc., so that field replacements and upgrades are easily effected.  
           [0002]    In the field of telecommunications equipment, there are increasing requirements to pack more circuitry into a limited space. In the past, when telecommunications systems were expanded by increasing the number of child cards, it was typical to have to redesign the backplane to add additional connectors to accommodate the additional child cards. Redesigning the backplane is a major undertaking, both in time and expense. It would therefore be desirable to provide a circuit card package which can accommodate additional child cards without requiring a new design of the backplane.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    According to the present invention, there is provided a circuit card package which includes a first circuit card (i.e., parent card) with a first connector mounted thereon. An interface adaptor board is secured to the first connector and is oriented in a plane orthogonal to the first circuit card. At least one second connector is mounted to the interface adaptor board and is adapted to have secured thereto a respective one of at least one second circuit card (i.e., child card) oriented parallel to the first circuit card. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0004]    The foregoing will be more readily apparent upon reading the following description in conjunction with the drawing in which the single FIGURE thereof is a perspective view of a circuit card package constructed according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0005]    Referring now to the drawing, shown therein is a circuit card package, designated generally by the reference numeral  10 , constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention. The package  10  includes a circuit card  12  which is adapted for insertion into a card edge connector (not shown) on a backplane (not shown). The circuit card  12  is commonly referred to as a parent card. A substantially planar faceplate bracket  14  is secured orthogonally to the circuit card  12 . The faceplate bracket  14  is formed with, illustratively, two openings  16  each for receiving therethrough a respective second type of circuit card  17  in parallel to the circuit card  12 . The circuit card  17  is commonly referred to as a child card.  
         [0006]    A second bracket member  18  is formed from planar sheet material and is bent at a right angle. The bracket member  18  is secured to both the circuit card  12  and the faceplate bracket  14  so as to have a first portion  20  orthogonal to the circuit card  12  and parallel to the faceplate bracket  14 , and a second portion  22  orthogonal to the faceplate bracket  14  and parallel to the circuit card  12 . A card edge connector  24  is mounted on the circuit card  12 . An interface adaptor board  26  is received by the connector  24  and is secured to the first portion  20  of the second bracket member  18 , so as to be parallel to the first portion  20 .  
         [0007]    The interface adaptor board  26  has mounted thereon a pair of card edge connectors  28 , each in alignment with a respective one of the openings  16  in the faceplate bracket  14  so that a circuit card  17  inserted through an opening  16  can have its leading edge received by the respective connector  28 . The interface adaptor board  26  is formed with wiring traces (not shown) interconnecting the terminals of each connector  28  with corresponding terminals of each connector  24 .  
         [0008]    There are situations where the circuit card  17  should not be removed or inserted while the telecommunications equipment is operational. Such insertion is commonly referred to as “hot insertion”. For such a situation, to retain the circuit card  17  within the package  10 , the circuit card  17  is formed with an opening  30  near its leading edge. To cooperate with the opening  30 , there is provided a latch mechanism  32  mounted to the first portion  20  of the second bracket member  18 . A respective latch mechanism  32  is provided for each of the circuit cards  17  which may be installed in the package  10  and illustratively comprises a spring-loaded plunger of the type manufactured by Southco, Inc., of Concordville, Pa., and identified by Part No. 56-99-196-20. Each latch mechanism  32  is secured to a respective bent tab  34  formed from the first portion  20  of the second bracket member  18 . The spring-loaded plunger  32  has a spring biased pin secured to the knob  36 , so that when the circuit card  17  is inserted into the package  10 , the knob  36  is pulled away from the bent tab  34  against the force of the internal spring, allowing the leading edge of the circuit card  17  to pass the pin. When the circuit card  17  is fully seated in the connector  28 , the knob  36  is released and the pin extends into the opening  30  of the circuit card  17 , thereby retaining the circuit card  17  within the package  10 . The package  10  can then be installed in a rack of telecommunications equipment and secured thereto by the latches  38  on the faceplate bracket  14 , as is well known in the art. Since the latch mechanism  32  is only accessible when the package  10  is out of the rack of telecommunications equipment, the circuit card  17  is not hot insertable. In situations where the circuit card  17  is allowed to be hot insertable, the latch mechanism  32  can be eliminated.  
         [0009]    Accordingly, there has been disclosed an improved circuit card package which allows additional child cards to be installed without requiring any redesign of the backplane. While an illustrative embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed herein, it is understood that various adaptations and modifications to the disclosed embodiment are possible, and it is intended that this invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.