Stacked electrical connector assembly

Abstract: An upstanding stacked electrical connector assembly (10) comprises an upper connector (12) having a plurality of contact elements (20), each having a first segment rearwardly therein and a second segment (24a,24b,24c,24d) extending downwardly from the first segment, a lower connector (14) having a plurality of contact elements (22), each having a first segment extending rearwardly therein and a second segment (26a,26b,26c,26d) extending downwardly from the first segment, support structure (40) for supporting the upper and lower connectors in vertically spaced relation and having transversely spaced elements (40b,40c) extending rearwardly from and vertically below the second connector and contact retention structure (50) disposed between the transversely spaced elements of the support structure for receiving at least the second segments of the contacts of the upper connector and retaining the received contact second segments against both transverse and vertically upward movement relative to the connector assembly.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to so-called stacked electrical connector assemblies and pertains more particularly to stacked electrical connector assemblies of type having contact tails for insertion into printed circuit boards or other mating structure adapted for receipt of contact tails depending from one or more of the discrete stacked connectors of the assemblies. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A known version of a stacked connector assembly, commercially available for at least a decade, is seen in the HANDBOOK OF D-SUBMINIATURE CONNECTORS MIL-C 24308 & MIL-C39029 , of Positronic Industries, Inc. The assembly has an upper connector and a lower connector, having respective right-angle contact elements extending rearwardly and downwardly of the assembly for insertion into a printed circuit board (PCB). Both connector bodies are secured to side brackets and a "locking support member" serves to enhance positioning of the contact elements as the contact elements exit the assembly and enter counterpart holes in the PCB. Other known stacked connector assemblies are shown in various U.S. patents, for example, No. 4,612,602, No. 4,818,239, No. 4,878,856, No. 5,044,984 and No. 5,336,109. Where the downward extents of contact elements of the upper connector of a stacked connector assembly are of short length, or where the contacts are relatively thick and thus self-sustaining in right angle disposition, the prior art may look to direct insertion of the end tails of such contacts in a PCB, as is seemingly shown in Fig. 12 of the '602 patent. On the other hand, where the downward extents of contact elements of the upper connector of a stacked connector assembly are of long length and/or where the contacts are relatively thin and thus not self-sustaining in right angle disposition, the prior art has looked to the locking support member, noted above for the long-standing commercial Positronic stacked connector assembly. Various such locking support members are evidenced in the above-noted patents other than the '602 patent. A difficulty with various of the above-referenced known stacked connector assemblies, from applicant's viewpoint, resides in the exposure of contact element tails to bending and other deformation in the course of their insertion into the PCB, and potential failure to properly seat in the PCB holes despite the presence of the locking support members. Thus, with the exception of the additive structure shown in the connector assemblies of the '239 and '856 patents, there is no structure at hand which confines the right-angle portions of the contact elements from such bending or other deformation. The locking support members thereof impose only lateral positional retention constraints on the contact tails. While the prior art approach adopted in the '239 and '856 patents has less susceptibility to such bending and other deformation, it is achieved only at the cost of so-called "pin extension member 16", which serves to electrically extend the contact elements 32 of the upper connector body. The contact pins of the pin extension member are encased in rigid plastic, virtually precluding deformation thereof. Evidently, such solution increases both the cost of the stacked connector assembly in respect of pin contact extensions and encasing plastic. Assembly thereof is also complicated to the extent of requiring steps of inserting the shortened contacts of the upper connector element into the pin extension members. Further, connector electrical performance has concern in respect of the additional connection interface required as between the shortened contacts of the upper connector and the pin extension members. US-A-4842528 discloses an electrical connector assembly having an upper row of contact elements, each having a first segment extending rearwardly therein and a second segment extending downwardly from the first segment, a lower row of contacts each having a first segment extending rearwardly therein and a second segment extending downwardly from the first segment, support means for supporting the contact elements in the assembly, and a contact retention member having a plurality of contact receiving slots for receiving the second segments of the contact elements, the second segment of each contact element having spaced apart stop means for engaging either side of the contact retention member to retain the contact second segments against vertical movement relative to the contact retention member. US-A-4842528 requires insertion of contact second segments transversely into the contact receiving slots, as opposed to insertion in the axial direction of the contact element second segments. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has as its primary object the provision of stacked electrical connector assemblies having enhanced resistance to contact tail bending or deformation. A more particular object of the invention is to provide stacked electrical connector assemblies which achieve multi-directional contact tail retention without need for structure encasing the contact tails over extended lengths thereof. The invention provides a stacked electrical connector assembly, comprising: (a) an upper connector having a plurality of contact elements, each having a first segment rearwardly therein and a second segment extending downwardly from said first segment; (b) a lower connector having a plurality of contact elements, each having a first segment extending rearwardly therein and a second segment extending downwardly from said first segment; and (c) support means for supporting said upper and lower connectors in vertically spaced relation and having transversely spaced elements extending rewardly from and vertically below said lower connector; the support means further including a contact retention member disposed between said transversely spaced elements of said support means, the contact retention member having a plurality of contact receiving passages for receiving at least said second segments of said contacts of each of said upper and lower connectors and wherein each of the contact receiving passages includes a cantilevered deflectable portion for locking engagement with said second segments of said contacts thereby aligning and retaining the received contact second segments against both transverse and vertically upward movements relative to said connector assembly. The foregoing and other objects and features of the invention will be further understood from the following detailed discussion of preferred practices and embodiments thereof and from the drawings wherein like reference numerals identify like components and part throughout. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a stacked electrical connector assembly in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the Fig. 1 assembly. Fig. 3 is a right side elevation of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a right side elevation of Fig. 3, constituting a rear elevation of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view as would be seen from plane V-V of Fig. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) Referring to Figs. 1-4, stacked electrical connector assembly 10 includes upper connector 12, lower connector 14, having respective housings 16 and 18 of electrically insulative material. Female to male contact elements 20 and 22 are resident respectively in housings 16 and 18 in respective upper and lower rows. Contacts 20 have right-angle tail portions 24a and 24b continuous with contacts 20 in the upper row and right-angle tail portions 24c and 24d continuous with contacts 20 in the lower row. Contacts 22 have right-angle tail portions 26a and 26b continuous with contacts 22 in the upper row and right-angle tail portions 26c and 26d continuous with contacts 22 in the lower row. Metal shell members 28 and 30 circumscribe forward extents of connectors 12 and 14, respectively, and end blocks 32, 34 and 36, 38 are further associated therewith. A support member in the form of bracket 40 is secured, through a vertical section 40a thereof to upper connector 12, by rivets 42 and 44, and, also through vertical section 40a to lower connector 14, by rivets 46 and 48. Bracket 40 further includes rearwardly extending, transversely spaced side members 40b and 40c. Referring now also to Fig. 5, contact retention structure 50 in accordance with the invention has a central portion defining passages 50a for contact tails to pass therethrough and outer portions 50b and 50c. Structure 50 is disposed atop transversely spaced side members 40b and 40c and is secured thereto by rivets, one being shown at 52 in Fig. 1, extending through apertures in outer portions 50b and 50c. Structure 50 is comprised of an electrically insulative member and defines interior deflectable portions 50d, each in respective partial bounding relation to a distinct one of passages 50a. The insulative member of the contact retention means is elongate and supports the deflectable parts for deflection along the longitudinal axis thereof. As illustrated for contact 24a-1, resident in passage 50a-1, it has a tail portion of generally rectangular cross-section in the passage of the insulative member and has a detent defined by a radially interiorly extending notch in the cross-section portion. It should be appreciated that contact cross-sections of other configurations, such as cylindrical or U-shape, could also be used. More particularly, the insulative member has respective upper and lower mutually parallel planar surfaces 50e and 50f, between which passage 50a-1 extends and deflectable part 50d-1 is cantilever-supported and disposed at an angle intersecting the planes of upper and lower surfaces 50e and 50f. The contact 24a-1 detent notch is defined by a floor 24a-1a generally parallel to upper and lower surfaces 50e and 50f of the insulative member and a wall 24a-1b extending from floor 24a-1a at substantially the same angle as the disposition angle of the cantilever-supported part 50d-1 of the insulative member. Other than for the deflectable part 50d-1, the insulative member has continuous, undeflectable surface in bounding relation to passage 50a-1. The described cantilever-supported part and the remnant continuous bounding surface of the passages in contact retention structure 50 will be appreciated as achieving the contact tail positioning function of the prior art connector assemblies having contact "locking support structure", above discussed. Significantly, however, structure 50, based on its inclusion of the coaction of the deflectable part further with the contact tail detents, provides the further function of providing resistance to upward displacement of the contacts received in the contact retention structure passages. Thus, as the assembled connector is applied to a PCB, at which time snap latches 40b-1 and 40c-1 depending from side members 40b and 40c secure the assembly to the PCB, upward force exerted by the PCB on the contact tails is arrested and absorbed at the detent-deflectable part interface, and is precluded from imparting bending or other deformation to the right-angle segments of the contacts.

Claims: The invention provides a stacked electrical connector assembly (10), comprising: (a) an upper connector (12) having a plurality of contact elements (20), each having a first segment rearwardly therein and a second segment (24) extending downwardly from said first segment; (b) a lower connector (14) having a plurality of contact elements (22), each having a first segment extending rearwardly therein and a second segment (26) extending downwardly from said first segment; and (c) support means (40) for supporting said upper and lower connectors (12, 14) in vertically spaced relation and having transversely spaced elements (40b, 40c) extending rewardly from and vertically below said lower connector (14); the support means further including a contact retention member (50) disposed between said transversely spaced elements (40b, 40c) of said support means (40), the contact retention member (50) having a plurality of contact receiving passages (50a) for receiving at least said second segments (24, 26) of said contacts of each of said upper and lower connectors and wherein each of the contact receiving passages (50a) includes a cantilevered deflectable portion (50d) for locking engagement with said second segments (24, 26) of said contacts thereby aligning and retaining the received contact second segments against both transverse and vertically upward movements relative to said connector assembly (10). The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said contact retention member comprises an electrically insulative member (50). The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in claim 1, or claim 2, wherein said contact retention member (50) is disposed vertically above said transversely spaced elements (40b, 40c) of said support means (40) and is secured thereto. The stacked connector assembly claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein some of said plurality of contact second segments (26) of said lower connector (14) are located in respective first planes successively rearwardly disposed in said assembly and wherein some of said plurality of contact second segments (24) of said upper connector (12) are located in respective second planes successively rearwardly disposed in said assembly, said second planes being rearwardly successive to said first planes. The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the received contact second segments (24, 26) define respective detents and wherein the deflectable portions of said contact retention plate are lockingly engaged in said detents. The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in claim 5, wherein said contact retention member (50) is elongate and supports said deflectable portions (50d) for deflection along a longitudinal axis thereof. The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in claim 6, wherein the received contact second segments (24, 26) have portions of generally rectangular cross-section in said passages of said insulative member and wherein said detents of the received contact second segments are defined by radially interiorly extending notches in said cross-section portions. The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in claim 6, wherein said contact retention member (50) has respective upper and lower mutually parallel planar surfaces (50e, 50f) wherein said passages (50a) extend between said upper and lower surfaces (50e, 50f) and wherein said deflectable portions (50d) of said contact retention member are disposed at an angle intersecting the mutually parallel planar surfaces (50e, 50f) of said contact retention member. The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in claim 8, wherein the received contact second segments (24, 26) have portions of generally rectangular cross-section in said passages (50a) of said contact retention member and wherein said detents of the received contact second segments (24, 26) are defined by a floor (24-1a) generally parallel to said upper and lower surfaces of said contact retention member and a wall (24-1b) extending from said floor at substantially the same angle as the disposition angle of said cantilever-supported deflectable portions (50d) of said contact retention member (50). The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said support means includes securement elements for securing said connector assembly (10) to a printed circuit board. The stacked electrical connector assembly claimed in claim 10, wherein said securement elements are in downwardly depending relation from said transversely spaced elements (40b, 40c) of said support means (40).

Inventors: AUJLA SHARANJIT S, WARD TERRENCE S, AUJLA, SHARANJIT S., WARD, TERRENCE S.
Applicants: THOMAS & BETTS CORP A NEW JERS, THOMAS & BETTS CORPORATION (A NEW JERSEY CORPORATION)
Application year: 1996
Main classification: H01R12
IPC codes: H01R12, H01R13