Electrical connector for printed circuit board

An electrical connector for a printed circuit board or the like comprises a connector body having two rows of longitudinal terminal receiving cavities respectively disposed on opposite sides of a lateral slot. Each cavity has a forward longitudinal opening and a forward side rib. A terminal having a U-shaped forward end piloted on the side rib is individually retained in each cavity. A resilient cantilevered tongue portion of the terminal extends rearwardly from the U-shaped forward end and is disposed in the lateral slot. The connector body also has two rearward lateral slots. Lock plates are longitudinally slid into each rear slot to a retained position whereat each lock plate prevents withdrawal of all of the terminals in one of the rows.

This invention relates generally to electrical connectors for printed 
circuit boards and the like and more specifically to electrical connectors 
comprising a connector body carrying a plurality of terminals each having 
a resilient tongue portion which projects into a lateral slot for making 
electrical contact with a printed circuit board or the like received 
therein. 
Electrical connectors of the above noted type are disclosed for example in 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,761 granted Mar. 29, 1966 to Heinz Piorunneck for a 
"Contact Locking Connector," U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,504 granted Feb. 29, 1972 
to Edwin O. Classon for an "Electrical Connector" and U.S. Pat. No. 
3,808,589 granted Apr. 30, 1974 to Francois Robert Bonhomme for 
"Electrical Contact Makers and Connectors Fitted With Such Devices." 
The object of this invention is to provide an improved electrical connector 
of the above noted type in which specially shaped terminals are inserted 
into complementary shaped cavities in the connector body to an assembled 
position whereat portions of the terminals provide extremely stable 
supports for the resilient tongue portions which engage the printed 
circuit board. 
Another object is to provide an improved electrical connector of the above 
noted type in which the terminals have U-shaped portions at their forward 
ends which cooperate with side ribs in the terminal cavities of the 
connector body to help stabilize the terminals and properly position the 
resilient tongue portions which extend via longitudinal openings in the 
cavities into a lateral slot of the connector body to contact a printed 
circuit board or the like received therein. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved electrical 
connector of the above noted type in which the terminals are individually 
retained in the cavities of the connector body by individual primary locks 
and a row of terminals are retained by a common secondary lock. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved electrical 
connector of the above noted type in which the secondary lock assures 
proper seating of the terminals thereby eliminating partially seated 
terminals. 
Yet still another object of this invention is to provide an improved 
electrical connector of the above noted type which when adapted for 
contacting both sides of a printed circuit board has provisions for 
stiffening resilient tongue portions of the terminals as well as avoiding 
short circuits therebetween.

Referring now to the drawing there is shown an electrical connector 10 for 
printed circuit boards and the like (not shown). The electrical connector 
10 comprises a connector body 12 of moldable synthetic insulating material 
such as nylon or polypropylene. At the forward end of the connector body 
12 there is a lateral slot 14 which may include an offset central 
partition wall 16 for mating with a slot in the printed circuit board to 
properly orient the same. The connector body 12 has a plurality of 
longitudinal terminal receiving cavities 18 arranged in two rows on 
opposite sides of the lateral slot 14. The terminal receiving cavities 18 
are all identical except that the cavities in one row are of opposite hand 
to the cavities in the other row so that identical terminals 20 may be 
used in both rows by reversing their orientation. Each of the cavities 18 
have a forward longitudinal opening 22 by which the cavities 18 
communicate with the lateral slot 14 and a rear lateral opening 24 by 
which the terminals 20 are inserted into the cavities. Each of the 
cavities 18 also have a forward side rib 26 which projects laterally into 
the cavity and is spaced from two walls of the cavity and the longitudinal 
opening 22 thereby giving the forward ends of the cavities a U-shaped 
cross section. The side ribs 26 have forward longitudinal slots 28 which 
provide forward facing latch shoulders 30 for cooperatively providing 
individual primary locks for the terminals 20. The rear ends of the side 
ribs 26 are preferably slightly tapered to assist assembly of the 
terminals. 
The connector body 12 has an enlarged rear portion in which the cavities 
are also enlarged to provide rearward facing shoulders 33. The enlarged 
rear portion of the connector body 12 also has a pair of lateral slots 32 
which are open at the rear end of the connector body for receiving 
secondary lock boards 34. One of the rear lateral slots 32 communicates 
with the cavities 18 in one row via longitudinal openings 36 opposite the 
common wall 38 separating the rows of cavities 18. The other lateral slot 
32 is associated with the cavities 18 in the other row in the same manner. 
Referring now to FIG. 6, the terminal 20 is of a unitary construction being 
stamped from a piece of sheet metal and bent to shape. The terminal 20 
comprises a forward generally channel shaped portion and a conventional 
rearward ferrule portion comprising two sets of crimp wings 40 and 42 
crimped respectively about the conductor core and insulation of a lead 
wire 44. The forward generally channel shaped portion comprises a U-shaped 
forward end portion having parallel legs 46 and 48 interconnected by an 
intermediate leg 50 and a U-shaped rearward end portion having parallel 
legs 52 and 54 interconnected by an intermediate leg 56. The legs 46 and 
52 are coplanar with an interconnecting wall 58 while the legs 50 and 56 
are coplanar with an interconnecting wall 60. The walls 58 and 60 are 
connected along one edge and orthogonally related. A latch tab 62 cut out 
of the wall 60 is attached at its forward end and bent to a protected 
position whereat its free end is spaced from the wall 60 in the lateral 
direction of the wall 58. The terminal 20 further comprises a resilient 
tongue portion 64 attached at its forward end to the leg 48. The tongue 
portion 64 has a forward curvilinear portion 66, an intermediate linear 
portion 68 generally parallel to the wall 58 and a rearward linear portion 
70 which converges toward the wall 58 in the rearward direction and 
terminates in a diverging lip 72 at its free end. The leg 46 has a sizing 
dimple 74 and the leg 52 has a perpendicular tab 76 at its side edge 
remote from the leg 56. 
The requisite number of terminals 20 individually attached to the requisite 
number of lead wires 44 are individually inserted into the cavities 18 
through the rear openings 24 until the terminals are in the position shown 
in FIG. 2 where the U-shaped forward end portions are piloted on the ribs 
26. The forward ends of the terminals are stabilized in the vertical 
direction by the distance between the leg 48 and the dimple in the leg 46. 
Lateral stabilization is provided by properly sizing the length of the 
legs 46 and 48 in the lateral direction. 
The mid portion of the terminal 30 is similarly stabilized in the lateral 
direction by the legs 52 and 54. Stabilization in the vertical direction 
is provided by properly sizing the distance between the legs 52 and 54 
with respect to the adjacent walls of the cavities. No side rib is 
necessary due to the presence of wall 38. The terminals 20 thus provide 
extremely stable support for the cantilevered resilient tongue portions 64 
which project into the lateral slot 14 via the longitudinal openings 22. 
The linear portions 68 of the tongue portions 64 preferably engage the 
connector body wall 38 to prevent any opposed pair of terminals from 
contacting each other in the absence of the printed circuit board. The 
converging portions 70 of the tongue portions 64 also preferably engage 
the side ribs 26 to stiffen, that is, increase the spring rate of the 
cantilevered resilient tongue portions 64. As each terminal 20 is 
assembled, the latch tab 62 engages in the longitudinal slot 28 of the rib 
26 and together with the shoulder 30 provides a primary lock for each 
individual terminal 20 preventing its withdrawal. Forward movement of the 
terminal 20 is limited by the tab 76 and the shoulder 33. 
The terminals 20 are also provided with a common secondary lock for each 
row preventing withdrawal of the terminals in that one row. The secondary 
lock comprises a lock board 34 which slides into the rear slot 32 for 
disposition behind the tabs 76. The lock board 34 has a rear flange 78 for 
preventing overinsertion and a pair of laterally spaced lock ramps 80 to 
retain the lock board 34 in the locking position shown in FIG. 2. 
As best seen in FIG. 4 the top wall 82 of the connector body has a pair of 
laterally spaced rear slots 84 to provide the rear portion of the top wall 
82 with the requisite flexability for receiving the lock ramps 80 in the 
laterally spaced apertures 86. The bottom wall is configured in an 
identical manner. 
During assembly of the secondary locks, the locking boards 34 engage the 
tabs 76 of any partially seated terminals and move such terminals to the 
fully seated position shown in FIG. 2. 
We wish it to be understood that we do not desire to be limited to the 
exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious 
modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.