Card edge connector having improved ejector

A card edge connector (100) includes a longitudinal insulative housing (1), a set of contacts (2), and an ejector (3) rotatablely attached the insulative housing. The insulative housing has a longitudinal direction and a thickness direction, the insulative housing has a central slot (114). The contacts have contacting portions (21) arranged at two sides of the central slot (114) in the thickness direction. The ejector (3) includes a main portion (30), an ejecting portion (35) extending from a first end of the main portion and along the longitudinal direction, a locking portion (31) extending from a second end of the main portion opposite to the first end and along the longitudinal direction, and a lever portion (32) extending from the second end and along the thickness direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a card edge connector, more particularly to a card edge connector having an improved ejector.

2. Description of Related Art

Card edge connectors are employed widely in computers to receive a memory module, graphic card, network interface et al. The card edge connector usually includes an elongated insulative housing defining a central slot for receiving the memory module, a plurality of contacts retained in the housing and projecting into the central slot for electrically mating with the memory module, and a pair of ejectors rotatablely attached to two longitudinal ends of the insulative housing for ejecting and latching with the memory module.

The ejectors usually have ejecting portions extending inwardly along a longitudinal direction for ejecting the memory module out of the central slot, locking portions extending inwardly along the longitudinal direction for latching with the memory module, and lever portions extending outwardly along the longitudinal direction and opposed to the locking portion for being operated by hands conveniently. However, the lever portions extend outwardly from the corresponding ejectors along the longitudinal direction, a total length of the card edge connector will be increased, and a space in the longitudinal direction the card edge connector occupied will be increased.

Hence, an improvement over the prior art is required to overcome the disadvantages thereof.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a card edge connector comprises a longitudinal insulative housing, a plurality of contacts retained in the insulative housing, and an ejector rotatablely attached to one longitudinal end of the insulative housing for latching with or ejecting the memory module. The insulative housing defines a longitudinal direction and a thickness direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The insulative housing has a central slot and extending along the longitudinal direction for insertion of a memory module. The contacts have contacting portions arranged at two sides of the central slot in the thickness direction and protruding into the central slot for mating with the memory module. The ejector comprises a main portion, an ejecting portion extending from a first end of the main portion and along the longitudinal direction for ejecting the memory module out of the central slot, a locking portion extending from a second end of the main portion opposite to the first end and along the longitudinal direction for latching with the memory module, and a lever portion extending from the second end and along the thickness direction to beyond the insulative housing so as to define an operating room beside the insulative housing along the thickness direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a card edge connector for being obliquely mounted onto a printed circuit board comprises a longitudinal insulative housing, a plurality of contacts retained in the insulative housing, and a pair of ejectors. The insulative housing has a central slot formed therein and extending in a longitudinal direction for insertion of a memory module, and a pair of tower portions formed at two sides of the central slot in the longitudinal direction and protruding forwardly. The contacts comprise contacting portions protruding into the central slot for mating with the memory module and tail portions extending downwardly for being mounted onto the printed circuit board. The ejectors are assembled to the tower portions respectively and pivoting at the tower portions toward the central slot. Each ejector comprises a main portion, an ejecting portion inwardly extending from the main portion and along the longitudinal direction for ejecting the memory module out of the central slot, a locking portion inwardly extending from the main portion and along the longitudinal direction for latching with the memory module, and a lever portion extending upwardly from the main portion beyond a top surface the insulative housing for facilitating urging the ejector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIGS. 1-3, a card edge connector100according to an embodiment of the present invention is used for being mounted onto a printed circuit board (not shown) in a scheduled angle and adapted for insertion of a memory module200. The card edge connector100comprises a longitudinal insulative housing1, a set of contacts2retained in the insulative housing1, a pair of ejectors3located at two ends of the insulative housing1in a longitudinal direction A-A, and a positioning member4assembled to the insulative housing1for retaining the contacts2.

Referring toFIGS. 2-5, the insulative housing1has a mating face111with a longitudinal central slot114recessed backwardly therefrom for insertion of the memory module200, a back face112opposite to the mating face111in a front-to-back direction, an upper face115, and a lower face116opposite to the upper face115in a height direction, that a thickness direction B-B of the insulative housing1. The insulative housing1has a plurality of cavities1110located along two sides of the central slot114in the height direction and communicating with the central slot114. The cavities1110pass through the mating face111and the back face112in the front-to-back direction. A protrusion117is located in a proper position of the central slot114so as to prevent the memory module200from mismating. The insulative housing1has a pair of tower portions12protruding forwardly from the two ends thereof and located at two sides of the central slot114in the longitudinal direction A-A, three protruding portions118protruding backwardly from the back face112and spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction A-A, and three mounting portions119protruding downwardly from the lower face116and corresponding to the three protruding portions118in the longitudinal direction A-A. Three board locks5are assembled to the mounting portions1119respectively so as to fasten the insulative housing1onto the printed circuit board. One of the three protruding portions118located between the other two protruding portions118has a post1181protruding downwardly from a lower face thereof for being retained into the printed circuit board and a dovetail slot1182recessed downwardly from an upper surface thereof. The other two protruding portions118have arc bumps1183formed at rear ends thereof and openings1184formed at lower surfaces thereof.

Each tower portion12has an inner face121facing the central slot114, an outer face122opposite to the inner face121in the longitudinal direction A-A, and a front face123formed at a front side thereof. The tower portion12has a receiving slot124recessed from the inner face121and communicating with the central slot114for insertion of the memory module200, and a chamber125recessed from the outer face122and communicating with the receiving slot124at a lower portion of the chamber125. The tower portion12has a pair of upper and lower walls126,127at two sides of the chamber125in the height direction, a pair of locking slots128formed at an inner side of the upper and lower walls126,127respectively, and a pair of pivoting slots129formed at the upper and lower walls126,127and located behind the locking slots128.

The contacts2have contacting portions21received in the cavities1110respectively and protruding into the central slot114for mating with golden fingers201of the memory module200, tail portions22extending downwardly and arranged in four rows in the front-to-back direction, and connecting portions23connecting the contacting portions21and the tail portions22. The connecting portions23are arranged in two rows in the height direction.

Referring toFIGS. 4-5, the positioning member4includes a cover41covering the connecting portions23and a pair of spacers42for retaining the tail portions22. The cover41has a longitudinal body411formed with a plurality of ribs412extending in the front-to-back direction and a plurality of grooves413each formed between two adjacent ribs412. The connecting portions23arranged in an upper row are retained in the grooves413respectively so that the connecting portions23of the upper row could be retained by the cover41firmly. The body411has a plurality of embossments414protruding forwardly for engaging with a plurality of notches1111formed in the back face112of the insulative housing1, a locking member415for locking with a locking slot1113passing through the mating face111and the back face112, a dovetail block418for being retained into the dovetail slot1182, and a pair of retaining members416having arc slots4161for engaging with the arc bumps1183. Each notch1111communicates with two adjacent cavities1110in the longitudinal direction A-A. Each spacer42has a pair of locking portions433at one end thereof for receiving the corresponding protrusion118and retaining member416together, a plurality of through holes421for the tail portions22passing through. The spacer42has a mounting face423disposed in a horizontal plane and formed a scheduled angle such as 25 or 30 degree with the lower face116of the insulative housing1. Therefore, the card edge connector100is oblique relative to the printed circuit board.

Referring toFIGS. 4-7, each ejector3has a main portion30received in the chamber125, an ejecting portion or kicker35extending from a back end of the main portion30in the longitudinal direction A-A for ejecting the memory module200out of the central slot114, a locking portion or locker31extending from a front end of the main portion30in the longitudinal direction A-A for latching a cutout202of the memory module200, and a lever portion or operation part32for being handled by a hand or others so as to operate the ejector3easily. The main portion30has a pair of spindles301formed at two sides thereof in the height direction and rotatablely received in the corresponding pivot slots129so that the ejector3could rotate relative to the insulative housing1toward the center of the central slot114, and a pair of projections33formed at two sides thereof in the height direction and having interfering engagement with the locking slots128when the ejector3rotates relative to the insulative housing1, and a through slit302extending along the main portion30to enhance its flexibility so that the ejector3could be assembled to the insulative housing1smoothly. The locking portion31extend inwardly from an inner side of a front end of the main portion30, while the lever portion32extends upwardly from an upper side of the main portion30neighboring the inner side. Therefore, the space in the longitudinal direction A-A the card edge connector100occupied will be decreased. The lever portion32has a triangular notch326formed at an upper and front corner of an inner surface321thereof, and a pair of troughs323formed at an outer surface322thereof opposite to the inner surface321and extending to the main portion30in the height direction. The lever portion32has a thickness substantially same as that of the main portion30in the longitudinal direction A-A. The triangular notch326is smoothly chamfered with corresponding edges of the lever portion32so that the lever portion32could be handled by hand easily and harmlessly. The lever portion32engages with a gap1260formed on a front end of the upper wall126. In this embodiment, the lever portion32is perpendicular to the locking portion31. It is also understood, in another alternative embodiment, the lever portion32could extend obliquely relative to the locking portion31.