Abstract:
The invention describes an electrical connector having a multitude of adjacent contacts and side walls. At least part of the side walls are flexibly moveable, and the side walls are positioned so that they surround at least part of the contact element region. Because of the flexibility of the side walls, an electrical connector of this type can be connected to a second electrical connector under any circumstances and without any problems.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more specifically, to an electrical connector with a multitude of adjacent and/or superimposed contacts and side walls surrounding at least part of the contact element region. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional electrical connector systems, as shown in FIG. 3, consist of a first connector  1  mounted on a first electrical printed circuit board (not shown in figure) and a second connector  2  mounted on a second electrical printed circuit board  3 . The connectors in each case comprise a multitude of contact elements that come into contact with each other when the connectors are mated, enabling an electrical connection between the circuit boards. 
     The contacts of the first connector, or more precisely, the contact region containing the contacts, is surrounded by side walls. The side walls act as a guide to ensure that corresponding connector contacts engage during the mating of the connectors. 
     The second connector consists of two connector halves  2   a  and  2   b  that are mounted on opposite sides of the second circuit board. This arrangement is advantageous in that a particularly high number of contacts can be accommodated in the available space. On the other hand, problems are commonly encountered when the connectors are being mated, in particular due to tolerances of the thickness of the second circuit board. As a result, it is difficult to join the first and second connectors to establish an electrical connection between the circuit boards. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to develop a board mounted electrical connector that can be mated with a second electrical connector under circumstances where the board thickness varies within a tolerance. 
     This and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing an electrical connector that has a multitude of adjacent contacts and side walls. At least part of the side walls are flexibly moveable, and the side walls are positioned so that they surround at least part of the contact region. 
     Partially due to the flexible design of the side walls, electrical connectors, which are not dimensioned or arranged according to exact specifications, can be duly guided to a second electrical connector. As a result, the need to exactly adjust the measurements of the second electrical connector which is to be brought into contact with the first electrical connector, and hence also the measurements of the circuit board or of another device on which the second electrical connector is mounted, can fluctuate to a relatively large extent, without jeopardising the regulatory mating ability of the connectors. 
     Other advantages, and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the electrical connector arrangement of the present invention wherein a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector mounted on a circuit board are mated; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a known conventional electrical connector arrangement wherein a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector mounted on a circuit board are mated. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings, FIG.  1  and FIG. 2 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention. The electrical connector has a first connector  6  mounted on a first circuit board (not shown) and a second connector  7  mounted on a second circuit board  8 . 
     The second connector  7  consists of two identically constructed connector halves  7   a  and  7   b.  The second connector halves  7   a  and  7   b  are arranged on opposite sides of the second circuit board  8 . 
     The first connector  6  consists of two identically constructed connector halves  6   a  and  6   b.  The first connector halves  6   a  and  6   b  are arranged opposite each other on the same side of the first circuit board (not shown). 
     The first or second connectors  6  or  7 , however, need not consist of identically constructed connector halves. In particular, there is no need for each connector half  6   a,    6   b  to comprise identically constructed and identically arranged contacts. It would be possible to design at least the first connector  6  as an integral unit. 
     The first connector  6  has a multitude of contacts (not shown). The contacts are arranged adjacent to each other in several rows or columns. The contacts of the first connector  6  consist of contact pins, but could also consist of contact sockets or other contacts, such as surface contacts. 
     Side walls  61 ,  62 ,  63 , and  64  surround the contact region. At least parts of the side walls  61 ,  62 ,  63 , and  64  are flexibly moveable. The flexibly moveable parts of the side walls  61 ,  62 ,  63 , and  64  are indicated by reference numerals  611  and  631 . The flexibly moveable parts  611  and  631  run parallel to the second circuit board  8 . The flexibly moveable parts  611  and  631  are separated from the rest of the side walls  61  and  63  by slots  65 . The flexibly moveable parts  611  and  631  have catches  612  and  632  preferably at their upper end, which extend into the region surrounded by side walls  61 ,  62 ,  63 , and  64 . 
     The side walls  61 ,  62 ,  63 , and  64  of the first connector  6  and the flexibly moveable parts  611  and  631  are designed and arranged such that the front end  71  of the second connector  7  comes to lie in the region of the first connector  6  which is surrounded by the side walls  61 ,  62 ,  63 , and  64  when mated with the first connector  6 . 
     The flexible parts  611  and  631  of the side walls  61  and  63  will react differently when the connectors are mated depending on the thickness of the second circuit board  8  and the measurements of the first and second connectors  6  and  7 . 
     In one example, a second circuit board  8  of a standard specified thickness, and first and second connectors  6  and  7  of standard specified measurements are mated between the side walls  61  and  63  running parallel to the second circuit board  8  and the second connector  7 . In this case, the flexible parts  611  and  631  of the side walls  61  and  63  are pushed outwardly by the second connector  7  leaving a large intermediate space  9 . No space or only a very small space is left between the side walls  62  or  64  and the second connector  7 . 
     With maximum measurements of the first connector  6 , minimal measurements of the second connector  7 , and minimal thickness of the second circuit board  8 , the flexible parts  611  and  631  of the side walls  61  and  63  are not pushed out as much, but still move outwardly by the second connector  7  or at least make contact. 
     With minimal measurements of the first connector  6 , maximum measurements of the second connector  7 , and with maximum thickness of the second circuit board  8 , mating of the second connector  7  with the first connector  6  is still possible. 
     As a result, the second connector  7 , irrespective of the size and size ratio of the first connector  6  and the second connector  7 , and irrespective of the thickness of the second circuit board  8 , is guided by the flexibly moveable parts  611  and  631  of the side walls  61  and  63 , more precisely, by the catches  612  and  632  provided on the movable parts  611  and  631 . In this way, the contacts of the second connector  7  are guided reliably to each allocated contact of the first connector in all circumstances. 
     Similarly, an electrical connector of the type described above can always be duly mated with a matching second electrical connector under any circumstances and without any problems, irrespective of the tolerance variations. 
     The present invention was described in detail above with reference to a preferred embodiment. This embodiment, however, is merely an example. The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. The features of the first connector can also be used with any other electrical connectors. Also, it can be foreseen, that side walls  62  and  64 , that run perpendicular to the second circuit board  8 , can have flexibly moveable parts similar to the flexibly moveable parts  611  and  631 . In this case, the connectors can also be brought into contact with laterally displaced connector halves  7   a  and  7   b.