CONNECTOR FOR PCB MOUNTING

Abstract: An electrical connector 1 has a housing (2) with a base (3) for mounting on a printed circuit board (5), projecting mounting posts (6) extend from the base, a conductive outer shell (22) and a dielectric body (23) surrounded by the housing (2), a first conductive contact (25) has a first contact portion (48) projecting from the housing (2) for insertion into a corresponding aperture (55) of a printed circuit board (5), a second contact portion (33) projecting from the housing (2) for insertion into a corresponding aperture (7) of a printed circuit board (5), and each contact portion (33,48) has a taper (50) toward the free end and with an apex (51) of the taper (50) that intersects a longitudinal edge (52) of the corresponding contact portion (33,48) and is aligned with a center line (54) of a corresponding aperture (55) of a printed circuit board (5).

Description: The invention relates to an assembly comprising a connector and a printed circuit board, the connector having projecting mounting posts and projecting electrical contact portions for connection in respective apertures of a printed circuit board. Such an assembly according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from US-A-4 195 900. The contact portions are shorter than the mounting posts. The free ends of the mounting posts will register in respective apertures of a printed circuit board, while the shorter contact portions are spaced from the printed circuit board and are positioned in alignment with respective apertures. The contact portions are aligned and then inserted into the respective apertures. Fluent solder is applied to the contact portions to connect the contact portions to conductive circuits that are carried by the printed circuit board. Each mounting post is tapered toward its free end to provide a lead-in portion for ease of passage into a corresponding aperture. The contacts are easily bent if they are misaligned with the axes of the apertures and the base of the connector is moved to engage the printed circuit board. Thus a person performing the assembly by hand must exercise skill and judgment to provide the mechanical accuracy necessary to align the contact portions with respective apertures. This hand assembly is a tedious operation, one that is suitable for performance by automated machinery. Such machinery lacks the skill and judgment necessary for performance of hand assembly, and lacks the mechanical accuracy to align and insert the contact portions without bending them. The present invention is intended to provide features that will increase the likelihood that the contact portions of the connector will be successfully assembled in apertures of a printed circuit board by machinery of limited capacity for mechanical accuracy. The present invention consists in an assembly comprising a connector and a printed circuit board, the connector having a housing for mounting on the printed circuit board, projecting mounting posts, a conductive outer shell, a dielectric body, a first conductive contact carried by the dielectric body for insertion into a corresponding aperture of the printed circuit board, and a second conductive contact projecting from the housing for insertion into a corresponding aperture of the printed circuit board; characterised in that each contact is provided with a taper towards the free end of the contact, which taper intersects, and is coincident with, a longitudinal edge of the contact, and has an apex aligned with the center line of a respective aperture of the printed circuit board, each mounting post having a center line aligned with the center line of a corresponding aperture of the printed circuit board, each said apex serving as a lead-in portion when the mounting posts are initially mounted in their corresponding apertures and the contacts subsequently brought into alignment with said respective apertures, so that each longitudinal edge and the apex is aligned with the center line of the respective aperture. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a connector and a portion of a printed circuit board with which the connector is to be assembled, according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a section view of the connector, taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, Figure 3 is an enlarged section view of a portion of the connector shown in Figure 1, Figure 4 is an enlarged section view of a portion of the connector and the printed circuit board shown in Figure 1, and with parts broken away to illustrate a mounting post of the connector, Figure 5 is a perspective view of a connector and illustrating a portion of the connector in exploded configuration, according to another embodiment of the invention; and Figure 6 is a section view of a known coaxial connector assembly secured to a coaxial cable. A detailed description of the invention follows with reference numerals in the detailed description shown in the drawings. Figures 1 through 4 show an improved connector 1 according to the invention. A housing 2 of the connector 1 is molded from dielectric material and has a base 3 and integral projecting feet 4 on which the housing 2 stands when the base 3 is mounted on a printed circuit board 5. The connector 1 has projecting mounting posts 6 of conductive metal for connection in respective apertures 7 through the thickness 8 of the printed circuit board 5. The apertures 7 are lined with metal plating and the plating also forms a conductive circuit 9 on the printed circuit board 5. As shown in Figure 4, each mounting post 6 has a roughened surface on an end portion 10 that is frictionally retained with an interference fit within a corresponding recess 11 in the base 3. The longitudinal axis 12 of each mounting post is aligned with the center line 13 of the corresponding aperture 7. Each mounting post 6 has a frusto-conical taper 14 toward the free end 15 and sloped at an angle of thirty-five degrees with the axis 12. The taper 14 and the alignment of the mounting post 6 with a corresponding aperture 7 facilitates registration of the post 6 in the aperture 7 by automated machinery, not shown. The housing 2 has a bore 16 with an axis parallel to the base 3. The bore 16 has an enlarged diameter end bore portion 17 communicating with a rearward end 18 of the housing 2, and an enlarged diameter end bore portion 19 communicating with a forward end 20 of the housing 2. A coaxial connector assembly 21 is in the bore 16 and comprises a conductive outer shell 22, a dielectric body 23 of insulative material within a hollow interior 24 of the outer shell 22 and a conductive center contact 25 within a stepped bore 26 of the dielectric body 23. A rearward end 27 of the outer shell 22 is of smaller diameter than the forward end 28 and is assembled in the bore 16 of the housing 2 from the forward end 20 of the housing 2. A shoulder 30 on the outer shell 22 engages a shoulder 31 at the intersection of the end bore portion 17 and the bore 16 of the housing 2 to limit movement of the outer shell 22 in a rearward direction. As shown in Figure 3, the rearward end 27 of the outer shell 22 has a recess 32 in which is mounted an elongated and conductive electrical contact portion 33 that projects axially from the rearward end 27 of the outer shell 22 and from the rearward end 18 of the housing 2 that surrounds the outer shell 22 and the contact 33. The contact portion 33 is secured in place by applying compression on the outer shell 22 and causing two indentations 34 of the outer shell 22 and partial collapse of the outer shell 22 in compression engagement against the contact portion 33. A skirt 35 on the rearward end 27 is then flared radially outward to engage a shoulder 36 at the intersection of the end bore portion 17 and the bore 16 of the housing 2 to limit movement of the outer shell 22 in a forward direction. A smaller diameter rearward end 37 of the dielectric body 23 is inserted in and along the open forward end 28 of the outer shell 22 and projects outwardly of the rearward end 27 of the outer shell 22 to be surrounded by the outer housing 2. A shoulder 38 on the forward end 40 of larger diameter of the dielectric body 23 engages a shoulder 41 in the bore 16 of the outer shell 22 to limit movement of the dielectric body 23 in a rearward direction. The center contact 25 has a forward portion 44 comprising resilient fingers 42 for electrical connection and coupling to a center contact 43 of a known coaxial connector 44'. The known coaxial connector 44' has an outer shell 45 for electrical connection and coupling to the outer shell 22 and slotted portions 46 for coupling to the external projections 47 of the housing 2. The outer shell 45 is connected to a conductive jacket 46' of a coaxial cable 47, and the inner contact 43 is connected to the center conductor of the cable 47'. Further details of the known coaxial connector 44' and the cable 47' are disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,165,911 issued August 28, 1979. The center contact 25 has a rearward extending and elongated contact portion 48 which is inserted in and along the bore 26 of the dielectric body 23 and which projects outwardly of the rearward end 37 of the dielectric body 23 and the rearward end 18 of the housing 2. The contact portion 48 is secured to the forward portion 44, for example, by inserting the contact portion 48 within the forward portion 44 and further by the application of compressive force to collapse the forward portion 44 compressively to engage and grip the contact portion 48. Each of the contact portions 33 and 48 is provided with a taper 50 toward the free end of such contact portion. An apex 51 of the taper 50 at the free end intersects and is coincident with a longitudinal edge 52 of the corresponding contact portion. As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the rearward end 18 of the housing 2 is provided with channels 53 aligned with respective contact portions 33, 48 and communicating with the base 3 and the bore 16. The contact portions 33, 48 are bent toward the base 3 and are received in respective channels 53. The free ends of the contact portions 33, 48 project from the channels 53 and the base 3. The apecies 51 of the tapers 50 are in alignment with the center lines 54 of respective apertures 55 through the thickness 8 of the printed circuit board 5. The apertures 55 are lined with conductive plating for engaging and establishing electrical connection with the contact portions 33, 48. The plating further forms conductive circuits 56 on the printed circuit board 5. The longitudinal edges 52 of the contact portions 33, 48 engage the bottom walls 57 of the channels 53 which also are aligned with the center lines 54 of the respective apertures 55. The connector 1 is advantageously suited for assembly in apertures 7, 55 of the printed circuit board 5 by machinery, not shown. The longer mounting posts 6 are placed in registry with corresponding apertures 7, while the shorter contact portions 33, 48 are spaced from the printed circuit board 5 and are less likely to be damaged by engagement with the printed circuit board 5. The thirty-five degree tapers 14 on the mounting posts 6 provide the desired sharpness for ease of registry with the apertures 7. The mounting posts 6 are larger in diameter than the contact portions 33, 48. The larger diameter apertures 7 for the mounting posts 6 are easier for the machinery to locate than the smaller apertures 55 for the contact portions 33, 48. Once the mounting posts 6 are located in their apertures 7, the mounting posts 6 will align the contact portions 33, 48 with the corresponding apertures 55. Any inaccuracies in alignment of the contact portions 33, 48 with the apertures 55 are compensated for by the longitudinal edges 52, the bottom walls 57 of the channels 53 and the apecies 51, all in alignment with the center lines 54 of the apertures 55 and cooperating to align the contact portions 33, 48 with the apertures 55. Thus it is an advantage that the improved connector 1 of the invention is provided with features that will increase the likelihood that the contact portions 33, 48 of the connector 1 will be successfully assembled in apertures 55 of a printed circuit board 5 by machinery of limited capacity for mechanical accuracy. An alternative connector 1 is shown in Figure 5. The alternative connector 1 is similar to the connector 1, with the exception that the housing 2 of the alternative connector 1 is conductive. The housing portion 58 of the alternative connector having channels 53 which receive the contact portions 33, 48 is a separate body of insulative material that is received in a recess 59 in the rearward end 18 of the housing 2 and communicates with the bore 16 and the base 3.

Claims: An assembly comprising a connector (1) and a printed circuit board (5), the connector (1) having a housing (2) for mounting on the printed circuit board (5), projecting mounting posts (6,6), a conductive outer shell (22), a dielectric body (23), a first conductive contact (25) carried by the dielectric body (23) for insertion into a corresponding aperture (55) of the printed circuit board (5), and a second conductive contact (33) projecting from the housing (2) for insertion into a corresponding aperture (55) of the printed circuit board (5); characterised in that each contact (25,33) is provided with a taper (50) towards the free end of the contact (25,33), which taper (50) intersects, and is coincident with, a longitudinal edge (52) of the contact (25,33), and has an apex (51) aligned with the center line (54) of a respective aperture (55,55) of the printed circuit board (5), each mounting post (6,6) having a center line (12) aligned with the center line (13) of a corresponding aperture (7,7) of the printed circuit board (5), each said apex (51) serving as a lead-in portion when the mounting posts (6,6) are initially mounted in their corresponding apertures (7) and the contacts (25,33) subsequently brought into alignment with said respective apertures (55,55), so that each longitudinal edge (52) and the apex (51) is aligned with the center line (54) of the respective aperture (55,55). An assembly as recited in claim 1, further characterised in that, the contacts (25,33) are in corresponding channels (53,53) and the longitudinal edges (52) of the contacts (25,33) intersected by the respective tapers (50,50) engage contact supporting surfaces (57,57) of corresponding channels (53,53). An assembly as recited in claim 1 or 2, further characterised in that, the contact supporting surfaces (57,57) are aligned with center lines of respective apertures (55,55) in the printed circuit board (5). An assembly as recited in claim 1, 2 or 3, further characterised in that the contact supporting surfaces (57,57) intersect a base (3) of the housing (2). An assembly as recited in any one of the preceding claims, further characterised in that each mounting post (6,6) has a frusto-conical taper (14) towards its free end (15). An assembly as recited in claim 5, further characterised in that said frusto-conical taper (14) is sloped by thirty-five degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis (12) of the said mounting post (6,6). An assembly as recited in any one of the preceding claims, further characterised in that, the contacts (25,33) are retained by an insulative portion (58). An assembly as recited in any one of the preceding claims, further characterised in that the mounting posts (6,6) are metal and are frictionally inserted in recesses (11,11) in the housing (2). An assembly as recited in any one of the preceding claims, further characterised in that the mounting posts (6,6) have roughened portions (11,11) frictionally engaged in the housing (2).

Inventors: JOHNESCU, DOUGLAS MICHAEL, JOHNSON, ERLON FITCH
Applicants: AMP INCORPORATED
Application year: 1986
Main classification: H01R17
IPC codes: H01R24, H05K3, H01R13, H01R12