Surface engageable electrical connector

An electrical connector includes a dielectric housing having a mounting face adapted for surface mounting on a printed circuit board. A conductive terminal is mounted on the housing and includes a board contact portion for engagement with a circuit trace on the printed circuit board and a spring contact portion for engagement with a contact element of a mating connector component. The board contact portion is fixed at the mounting face of the housing and is adapted to engage the circuit trace on the printed circuit board when the contact portion is moved in a direction generally perpendicular to the board. The spring contact portion of the terminal projects from a side of the housing and is adapted to engage the contact element of the mating connector component when the contact element is moved in a direction generally parallel to the board.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention generally relates to the art of electrical connectors and, 
particularly, to an electrical connector which includes a flexible 
terminal having a spring contact portion which is surface engageable with 
a contact element of a mating connector component. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
There are a variety of electrical connectors which have flexible terminals 
with spring contact portions provided for surface engagement with a 
contact element of a mating connector component. Although, theoretically, 
any pair of interengaging contacts necessarily are surface engageable, 
such terms as "surface engagement" or the like herein are meant to define 
interengaging contacts wherein the contact surfaces engage in a generally 
perpendicular or abutting relationship, versus contacts which slide over 
each other during mating such as pin and socket contacts. 
For instance, in a portable or mobile telephone apparatus, a handset 
conventionally is inserted into a cradle, whereby fairly rigid, usually 
planar, contacts are moved into abutment ("surface engagement") with 
flexible contacts in the cradle of the base unit. Another example is in a 
battery charger for various applications, such as telephones, video 
recorders, or the like, wherein a battery pack has fairly rigid planar 
contacts movable into abutting surface engagement with flexible contacts 
of a battery recharger. A further example is in the battery pack, itself, 
which has contact elements surface engageable with contacts on the handset 
of the portable or mobile telephone apparatus. 
In such environments as mobile telephone apparatus, one of the dominant 
design considerations is the overall size of the apparatus, particularly 
the handset and its associated battery pack. In essence, a smaller handset 
is easier to sell. Heretofore, battery packs predominantly have been 
mounted to the rear of the handset. In other words, the battery pack has 
been mounted to the back of the handset opposite the front "dialing face" 
of the handset. With such an arrangement and the orientation of the 
internal printed circuit board, the battery pack and its contacts have 
been surface engageable with contacts of connectors on the handset, in 
directions generally perpendicular to the planar printed circuit board. 
This typical arrangement causes problems or creates considerable 
restrictions on the ever-increasing demand to miniaturize or down-size the 
handset assembly. 
The present invention is directed to solving these problems and satisfying 
a need for a connector which will allow a battery pack to be mounted to a 
side edge of the handset, or in other connector applications, so that the 
interengaging contacts are surface engageable in a direction generally 
parallel to the internal printed circuit board allowing a battery pack to 
be mated on its longitudinal side. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved 
surface engageable electrical connector of the character described. 
In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, an electrical connector is 
provided with a dielectric housing having a mounting face adapted for 
surface mounting on a printed circuit board. A conductive terminal is 
mounted on the housing and includes a board contact portion for engagement 
with a circuit trace on the printed circuit board and a spring contact 
portion for engagement with a contact element of a mating connector 
component. The invention contemplates that the board contact portion of 
the terminal be fixed at the mounting face of the housing and be adapted 
to engage the circuit trace on the printed circuit board when the mounting 
face is in a plane parallel to the plane of the board. The invention 
contemplates that the spring contact portion of the terminal project from 
a side of the housing and be adapted to engage the contact element of the 
mating connector component when the contact element is moved in a 
direction generally parallel to the board. 
As disclosed herein, the housing includes a terminal-receiving cavity, and 
the terminal includes a base fixed within the cavity. The spring contact 
portion of the terminal projects outwardly through an opening in the side 
of the housing. The board contact portion of the terminal also projects 
through the opening in the side of the housing and is reversely turned 
over the mounting face of the housing. Specifically, the board contact 
portion comprises one leg of a U-shaped section of the terminal which 
embraces a wall of the housing. 
The invention contemplates that the spring contact portion of the terminal 
be bowed outwardly of the side of the housing. A free end of the spring 
contact portion has a tab seated beneath a ledge extending parallel to the 
board on the housing to preload the spring contact portion. 
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent 
from the following detailed description taken in connection with the 
accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and first to FIG. 1, the 
electrical connector of the invention is particularly applicable for use 
in a handset, generally designated 10, of a mobile telephone apparatus. 
The handset has a front dialing face 12, a rear face 14, side edges 16 and 
18 and an antenna boss 20 at one end or top of the handset. A thin 
elongated battery pack, generally designated 22, is secured along one side 
edge 18 of handset 10. 
It immediately can be seen that handset 10 in FIG. 1 is extremely thin. 
That is due to the mounting of battery pack 22 along side edge 18 of the 
handset. In other words, heretofore, battery packs predominantly have been 
mounted to the rear face 14 of the handset, opposite the dialing face 12. 
This created a rather bulky, thick overall envelope, and electrical 
connections between the battery pack and the handset were made in 
directions generally perpendicular to an internal planar printed circuit 
board extending generally parallel to the front and rear faces of the 
handset. 
Referring to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIG. 1, battery pack 22 is shown in 
FIG. 2 removed from handset 10. The battery pack has a mounting face 24 
which mounts to side edge 18 of the handset. The battery pack has a 
plurality of exposed mating contacts 26 engageable with the spring contact 
elements of the electrical connectors in handset 10 according to the 
concepts of the invention and described in detail below. Suffice it to 
say, a plurality of electrical connectors, generally designated 28, are 
mounted within handset 10, and each connector includes a spring contact 30 
which is surface engageable with a respective one of the mating contacts 
26. 
More particularly, referring to FIGS. 3-5, each electrical connector 28 
includes a dielectric housing, generally designated 31, which includes a 
mounting face 32 having mounting pegs 34 adapted for surface mounting the 
connector on a printed circuit board 36 (FIG. 4) with the mounting pegs 34 
insertable into mounting holes 38 in the board. The housing further 
includes a terminal-receiving cavity 40 into which a terminal, generally 
designated 42, is insertable through an opening 44 in an end 46 of the 
housing. Another opening 48 extends lengthwise of the housing and 
communicates with the cavity through a side 50 of the housing generally 
perpendicular to the mounting face 32. A wall 52 of the housing extends 
along opening 48. 
Referring to FIGS. 3A-5A in conjunction with FIGS. 3-5, terminal 42 
includes a base 54 which is positioned in a slot 56 at the bottom of 
cavity 40 of the housing when the terminal is inserted into the housing in 
the direction of arrow "A" (FIG. 3). The housing preferably is unitarily 
molded of dielectric plastic material or the like, and terminal 42 
preferably is stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material. Base 
54 of the terminal includes a set of teeth 58 (FIG. 3A) at the side edges 
of the base for skiving into the plastic material of the housing along the 
sides of slot 56 to secure the terminal to the housing substantially 
within cavity 40. 
Terminal 42 further includes a generally U-shaped section 60 defining a 
pair of leg portions 62 and 64 joined by a bight portion 66. Leg portion 
62 extends from a portion of base 54. When the terminal is mounted on the 
housing, leg portions 62 and 64 embrace wall 52 of the housing. Leg 
portion 64 forms a board contact portion of terminal 42 and is fixed at 
mounting face 32 of the housing. The leg or board contact portion 64 is 
adapted to engage a circuit trace on printed circuit board 36, as at 68 in 
FIG. 4. 
Terminal 42 still further includes spring contact portion 30 which extends 
from a portion of base 54 and outwardly through opening 48 in side 50 of 
housing 31. As stated above, the spring contact portion is adapted to 
engage a respective one of the mating contact elements 26 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 
6) of battery pack 22. The spring contact portion has an outwardly bowed 
configuration adapted to be cantilevered from base 54 of the terminal. 
Therefore, the spring contact portion will effect a wiping action upon 
engaging its mating contact element 26 of the battery pack to facilitate 
removing contaminants from the engaging contacts. 
As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 4A, a tab 70 projects transversely outwardly 
near the free end of bowed spring contact portion 30. This tab seats 
beneath a ledge 72 of housing 31 extending parallel to the printed circuit 
board 36, as seen best in FIG. 4, in order to preload spring contact 
portion 30. Shelf 67 which is an extension of leg 62 helps to align the 
free end of spring contact portion 30 thereby preventing tab 70 from 
moving laterally from beneath ledge 72 so that preloading on the terminal 
is not lost. 
Lastly, FIG. 6 shows spring contact portion 30 of terminal 42 of one of the 
connectors 28 in surface engagement with one of the mating contact 
elements 26 of battery pack 22. Printed circuit board 36 is shown in 
phantom. Whereas board contact portion 64 of the terminal engages a 
circuit trace on the printed circuit board in a direction generally 
perpendicular to the board, spring contact portion 30 engages mating 
contact element 26 in a direction generally parallel to the board. 
Therefore, battery pack 22 can be mounted along a thin edge 18 of the 
telephone handset as described above and shown in FIG. 1. 
It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific 
forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics 
thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be 
considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the 
invention is not to be limited to the details given herein.