Abstract:
An electrical connector assembly ( 200 ) includes a plug connector ( 100 ) and a board connector ( 300 ). The board connector defines a frame ( 80 ) having a pair of holes ( 809 ) for receiving a pair of latches ( 3112 ) of a latch member ( 31 ) the plug connector, a hollow interior cavity ( 806 ) receiving part of housing ( 1 ) of the plug connector, and an insulative housing ( 90 ) supported a number of terminals ( 91 ) electrically connecting with conductive pads ( 21 ) of a circuit card ( 2 ) of the plug connector ( 100 ). The plug connector ( 100 ) includes a pulling member ( 32 ) cooperating with the latch member to actuate the latches of the latch member from separating from the holes of the board connector to disengage the board connector from the plug connector.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/201,521 filed on Aug. 11, 2005 and entitled “CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY WITH LATCHING MECHANISM”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/201,461 filed on Aug. 11, 2005 and entitled “CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY WITH LATCHING MECHANISM”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/268,906 filed on Nov. 8, 2005 and entitled “CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY WITH LATCHING MECHANISM”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/268,902 filed on Nov. 8, 2005 and entitled “JUXTAPOSED CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLIES”, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/322,692 filed on Dec. 30, 2005 and entitled “STACKED CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,048 filed on Aug. 26, 2005 and entitled “CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY WITH EMI GASKET”, and the copending U.S. patent application entitled “CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY WITH LATCHING MECHANISM”, all of which have the same applicant and assignee as the present invention. The disclosure of these related applications is incorporated herein by reference. The present invention is a CIP (continuation-in-part) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/201,521 filed on Aug. 11, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,114,980. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector assembly, and more particularly to an electrical connector assembly with small size used for high-speed signal transmission. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A committee called SFF is an ad hoc group formed to address storage industry needs in a prompt manner. When formed in 1990, the original goals were limited to define de facto mechanical envelopes within disk drives can be developed to fit compact computer and other small products. Specification SFF-8088 defines matable Compact Multilane Shielded connectors adopted for being used in laptop portable computer to connect small-size disk drives to a printed circuit board. The connectors comprise a cable connector assembly connecting with the small-size drive and a header mounted on the printed circuit board. The cable connector assembly defined in the specification comprises a pair of engagable metal housings together defining a receiving space therebetween, a PCB received in the receiving space, a cable comprising a plurality of conductors electrically connecting with the PCB, and a latching mechanism assembled to a top surface of the upper metal housing. The latching mechanism comprises an elongated T-shape latch member for latching with the header mentioned above and a pulling member cooperating with the latch member for actuating the latch member to separate from the header. The latch member is assembled to a rear portion of a base of the upper housing with latch portion exposed beyond a front portion of the base of the upper housing to locate above a tongue portion of the upper housing. However, such elongated latch member is hard to be actuated by the pulling member, otherwise the latch member must have enough thickness or made by high-quality material having enough rigidity to achieve the goal of latching reliably and unlatching easily. 
     High speed data transfer systems require electrical connectors in which the electrical impedance can be controlled in order to maintain the required data transfer rate of the electrical system. Low profile connectors, such as those used in SFP (Small Form Factor Pluggable) applications are desired in electronic devices in which space is at a premium and thus it is difficult to guide the opposing mating plug connectors into contact with such connectors. The plug connector typically includes a circuit card that has a projecting edge that is received within a card opening in the SFP connector. Shielding cages are typically utilized with such connectors to control the emission of electromagnetic interference. These cages often serve as a secondary housing for the connector in that they substantially enclose the connectors. The small size of the SFP style connectors makes it difficult for ensuring that the opposing mating connectors mate properly with the SFP connectors, especially in a blind mating application. 
     Hence, an improved electrical connector assembly is provided in the present invention to address the problems mentioned above and meet the current trend. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly which form reliable electrical connection therebetween and disengage from each other easily. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly with keyed structures for properly guiding a plug connector to a board connector. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical connector assembly, comprises a plug connector and board connector for mounted on a planar circuit board. The plug connector comprises a housing, a plurality of conductive contacts located in the housing, at least one cable electrically connecting with the conductive contacts, a pulling member moveable relative to the housing in a horizontal direction, and a latch member discrete from the pulling member and assembled to the housing. The latch member comprises an engaging portion assembled to the metal housing, a rear actuation section extending from the engaging portion and actuated by a cooperating portion of the pulling member, and a front latch portion extending forwardly from at least one of the engaging portion and the actuation section. The board connector comprises an outer shield housing defining at least one hole in a rear portion thereof to receive the latch portion of the latch member of the plug connector and an interior cavity in a front portion thereof to receive part of the metal housing of the plug connector, an insulative housing located in the front portion of the outer shield housing and received in the interior cavity, and a plurality of terminals supported by the insulative housing to electrically connect with the conductive contacts of the plug connector. The pulling member is capable of actuating the latch portion of the latch member to separate from the hole of the board connector for disengaging the board connector from the plug connector. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical connector assembly of the present invention illustrating the detached state between a plug connector and a board connector; 
         FIG. 2  is a view similar to  FIG. 1 , but viewed from a different aspect; 
         FIG. 3  is a partially exploded, perspective view of the electrical connector assembly in accordance with the present invention with the board connector removed a cover portion; 
         FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 3 , but viewed from a different aspect; 
         FIGS. 5-8  are cross-section views taken along lines  5 - 5  to  10 - 10  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a partially exploded view of latch mechanism of the plug connector of the electrical connector assembly; 
         FIGS. 10-11  are assembled views of  FIGS. 1-2 ; and 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-section view taken along line  12 - 12  of  FIG. 10 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , an electrical connector assembly  200  in accordance with the present invention comprises a plug connector  100  and a board connector  300  mounted on a planar circuit board  400  for mating with the plug connector  100 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3-4  in conjunction with  FIGS. 5 ,  7 - 9 , the plug connector  100  comprises a metal housing  1 , a circuit card  2  located in the housing  1 , a pair of cables  7  juxtaposed arranged to electrically connect with the circuit card  2 , a latch mechanism  3  assembled to the housing  1 , a metal shell  4  assembled to the housing  1  to partially cover the latch mechanism  3 . 
     The housing  1  of the plug connector  100  is made of metal material and comprises a base  11 , a cover  12  engagable with the base  11  and a receiving space  15  formed between the base and the cover  11 ,  12 . Each base  11  and cover  12  comprises a rectangular base section  13  and an elongated tongue section  14  extending forwardly from the base section  13 . 
     The base sections  13  of the base  11  and the cover  12  together define a space to receive rear portion of the circuit card  2  and front portions of the pair of cables  7  electrically connecting with the circuit card  2 . The tongue section  14  of the base portion  11  comprises a first panel  118  formed with a pair of ribs (not labeled) located at opposite sides thereof. Each rib forms a tip end  114  extending beyond a front edge of the first panel  118 . The first panel  118  also forms two pairs of first standoffs  115  spaced arranged thereon, and each first standoff  115  defines a first positioning hole therein. 
     The base section  13  of the cover  12  defines a first recess section  127  consisting of different-size first and second recesses (not shown) and a deeper and narrower second recess section  128  formed in a front portion of the base section  13  to communicate with a front surface of the base section  13 . A deeper slit  1280  is defined in the front portion of the base section  13  and extends in a direction perpendicular to that of the second recess section  128  to communicate with the second recess section  128 . 
     The tongue section  14  of the cover  12  comprises a second panel  124  and a pair of side walls  125  extending downwardly from opposite sides of the second panel  124 . The second panel  124  is longer than the first panel  118 . A pair of guiding channels  1250  are defined in corresponding side walls  125  opened toward outside for guiding the proper insertion of the plug connector  100  along desired direction and positioning the plug connector  100  relative to the board connector  300 . The guiding channels  1250  are sized different from each other in the side walls  125 . A pair of protrusions  126  extend rearward from a front surface of the second tongue section  14  and respectively locate below the side walls  125  to form a pair of gaps  1260  therebetween. The second panel  124  forms three pairs of second standoffs  1240  are symmetrically arranged thereon with two pairs of second standoffs  1240  formed with posts (not shown) extending downwardly. 
     The circuit card  2  is formed with a plurality of first conductive pads  21  aligned at a front end thereof and a plurality of second conductive pads  22  aligned at an opposite rear end thereof with different amount from that of the first conductive pads  21 . The first and second conductive pads  21 ,  22  electrically connect with one another through inner traces disposed in the circuit card  2 . Two pairs of holes (not shown) are symmetrically arranged on the circuit card  2  corresponding to the position of the first and second standoffs  115 ,  1240 . 
     The latch mechanism  3  comprises a latch member  31  latching with the board connector  300 , a pulling member  32  cooperating with the latch member  31  to actuate the latch member  31  to unlatch from the board connector  300 , and an elective pull tape  33  assembled to the pulling member  32 . 
     Particularly referring to  FIG. 9 , the latch member  31  is made of metal material and is a cantilever-type member. The latch member  31  comprises an N-shape engaging portion  310  located in a vertical surface, a flat latching portion  311  located in a horizontal surface perpendicular to the vertical surface and an inclined actuation section  312  connecting the engaging portion  310  with the latching portion  311  to provide spring force to the latch member  31 . The engaging portion  310  comprises a transverse bar section  3101  and a pair of side sections  3102  extending downwardly from opposite sides of the bar section  3101 . Each side section  3102  is formed with barbs  3104  on outmost edge thereof. The flat latching portion  311  defines a pair of rectangular holes  3110  at a rear portion thereof adjacent to the actuation section  312  and a pair of latches  3112  bending downwardly from opposite sides of the front edge thereof. The actuation section  312  connects with middle portion of the bar section  3101  and extends upwardly from a lower edge of the bar section  3101 . The actuation section  312  also defines a hole therein for adjusting spring force of the latch member  31  through changing size and shape of the hole. Each of the side section  3102  and the latching portion  310  is formed with a rib  313  stamped therewith for respectively enhancing the engagement with the housing  1  and the board connector  300 . 
     The pulling member  32  is made by insulative material and comprises a front cooperating portion  321 , an elongated intermediate portion  323  extending rearward form the cooperating portion  321  and formed with an interference portion  322 , and an operating portion  324  formed at a rear end of the intermediate portion  323 . The interference portion  322  comprises a pair of stop sections  3212  formed at opposite sides of the intermediate portion  323  and located adjacent to the cooperating portion  321  and a pair of elastic sections  3210  formed at middle portion of the intermediate portion  323 . Each elastic section  3210  comprises a transverse block section  3224  and a V-shape claw section  3226  extending rearward from the block section  3224 . The cooperating portion  321  comprises a vertical section  3210  connecting the cooperating portion  321  with the intermediate portion  323  and a body section  3212  extending forwardly from a lower edge of the vertical section  3210 . The body section  3212  forms a pair of upwardly extending ribs  3214  with tip end formed with enlarged protrusions  3216 . A slanted surface  3218  downwardly and rearward extends from a front surface of the body section  3212 . The operating portion  324  is enlarged from the intermediate portion  323  and thus, forms a pair of slanted edges  3240  for facilitating handle. The operating portion  324  also defines a rectangular slot  3242  in a main portion thereof to cooperate with the pull tape  33 . 
     The pull tape  33  is a piece of belt with opposite ends sticked to each other to form a loop portion  330  and a rear pull portion  332 . The pull tape  33  firstly protrudes through the slot  3242  of the operating portion  324  of the pulling member  32  and then sticks the opposite ends together. 
     The conductive shell  4  comprises a body portion  40  formed with a plurality of bars  400  on a top surface for increasing friction and a pair of lateral walls  42  extending downwardly from opposite sides of the body portion  40 . Two pairs of holes  402  are respectively formed at front portion and rear portion of the body portion  40 . A downwardly-extending first tab  404  is formed at a front edge of the body portion  40 . A pair of second tabs  405  are formed with the body portion  40  extending downwardly from a rear edge of the body portion  40 . 
     In assembly, conductors  70  of the pair of cables  7  are respectively soldered to the second conductive pads  22  of the circuit card  2 . The circuit card  2  with the cables  7  is located on the first standoffs  115  of the base  11  with the holes  23  aligned with the first positioning holes and the cables  7  are exited from first semicircular openings (not labeled) of the base  11 . The cover  12  is assembled to the base  11  and the circuit card  2  with the posts  1242  protruding through the holes  23  and the first positioning holes to position the circuit card  2  in the receiving space  15  of the housing  1 . The circuit card  2  is sandwiched between the base  1  and the cover  12 . The pair of tip ends  1140  are received in the gaps  1260 , thus, the base  11  and the cover  12  are also securely assembled together. Two pairs of first and second screw holes  1132 ,  1232  of the base  11  and the cover  12  are respectively aligned with each other to combine into a pair of screw receiving spaces (not labeled). 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-4  in conjunction with  FIGS. 5 ,  8 - 9  and  12 , the latch mechanism  3  is assembled to the base section  13  of the cover  12  along a vertical direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction. The pulling member  32  is firstly pressed to the cover  12 . The cooperating portion  321  of the pulling member  32  is received in the second recess section  128  of the cover  12 , and the intermediate portion  323  with the interference portion  322  are received in the first recess section  127 . The stop sections  3222  and the elastic sections  3220  are respectively sliderably received in the different-size first and second recesses with the block section  3224  and claw section  3226  respectively abutting against opposite edges of the large-size second recesses. The latch member  31  is assembled to the cover  12  along the vertical direction and the engaging portion  310  is interferentially received in the slit  1280  by the barbs  3104  of the side sections  3102 . The inclined actuation section  312  is located on the slanted surface  3218  of the body section  3212  of the cooperating portion  321 . The bar section  3101  of the latch member  31  are located on the ribs  3214  with the enlarged protrusions  3216  located in front of the bar section  3101 . A pair of projections of the cover  12  are respectively received in the rectangular holes  3110  and the latches  3112  exposed above the tongue section  14 . 
     The conductive shell  4  is finally assembled to the base section  13  of the cover  12  with the lateral walls  42  and the second tabs  405  respectively received in the recesses formed in the base  13 . The first tab  404  of the shell  4  is received in the second recess section  128  of the cover  12 . The first tab  404  also presses on the latch member  31  to provide extra return force to the latch member  31  when disengaging the plug connector  100  from the board connector  300 . Two pairs of screws are screwed through the shell  4 , the cover  12  and the base  11  to retain the shell  4  with the base  11  and the cover  12 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3-4  in conjunction with FIGS.  6  and  10 - 12 , the board connector  300  is an SFP-type connector and comprises an outer shield housing  8 , an inner insulative housing  9  supporting a plurality of terminals  91  therein. 
     The shield housing  8  is preferably formed from a sheet metal blank through a suitable process, such as a stamping and forming process. The shield housing  8  comprises a main body  80  and a cover portion  81  engaged with the main body  80  to form the whole shield housing  8 . The main body  80  of the shield housing  8  comprises a frame  800  formed by four walls and exposed outside of the planar circuit board  400 , a pair of sidewalls  802  and a transverse wall  804  which together defining a hollow interior cavity  806 . The walls  802 ,  804  are assembled to the planar circuit board  400  via four bolts  808  screwed from bottom of the circuit board  400  into the two sidewalls  802 . The frame  800  defines a leading opening  803  leading the plug connector  100  into the hollow interior cavity  806  and is assembled with a gasket  5  for EMI. The frame  800  also defines a pair of rectangular holes  809  on upper wall thereof. Each sidewall  802  forms a pair of latches  805  spaced arranged on outer periphery thereof. A pair of protrusions  807  are formed on inner periphery of each sidewall  802  for supporting the insertion of the plug connector  100 . The protrusions  807  are sized different from each other on the respective sidewalls  802 . 
     The insulative housing  9  is received in front area of the hollow interior space  806  of the main body  80  and defines a card receiving slot  92  circumscribed by four walls thereof. The terminals  91  are arranged into two distinct sets of first terminals  910  and second terminals  912  respectively received in the insulative housing  9  with contacting portions  914  thereof exposed in the card receiving slot  92  for electrically connecting with the circuit card  2  of the plug connector  100  and tail portions  916  thereof surface mounted on the circuit board  400 . 
     The cover portion  81  is a flat metal sheet and forms four tabs  810  downwardly from opposite edges thereof. Each tab  810  forms a hole (not labeled) to latch with corresponding latch  805 , respectively for assembled to the main body  80 . 
     Particularly referring to  FIG. 12 , when the plug connector  100  mates with the board connector  300 , the tongue sections  14  of the base  11  and the cover  12  are inserted into the interior space  806  by leading of the leading opening  803  until the pair of latches  3112  of the latch member  31  latch with the pair of holes  809  of the frame  80 . The second panel  124  of the tongue section  14  is located above the insulative housing  9 , the front end of the circuit card  2  is inserted into the card receiving slot  92  and sandwiched by the contacting portions of the two sets of first and second terminals  910 ,  912  of the board connector  300  to form electrical connection therebetween, while the first panel  118  shorter than the second panel  124  is stayed out of the insulative housing  9 . When inserting, each pair of protrusions  807  enter into corresponding guiding channel  1250  of the tongue section  14  of the cover  12  in turn, thus, supporting the tongue section  14 . When the plug connector  100  disengages from the board connector  300 , a rearward pulling force exerts to the operating portion  324  of the pulling member  31  or the pull section  332  of the pull tape  33 , according to the space left for the operator to operate, to actuate the pulling member  32  rearward move with the elastic sections  3220  and the stop sections  3222  sliding in the second and first recesses until the enlarged protrusions  3216  abut against the bar section  3101  of the latch member  31 . The body section  3212  also rearward moves with the slanted surface  3218  sliding along a bottom periphery of the inclined actuation section  312 , thus actuating the actuation section  312  to pivot upwardly relative to the bar section  3101  of the engaging portion  310  and the latch section  311  with the latches  3112  to upwardly move to unlatch from the board connector  300 . After the rearward pulling force is removed, restore force of the elastic sections  3220  actuates the pulling member  32  to move forwardly to its original position, and thus, the latch member  31  also reverts to its original position. That is to say, when the space left for the operator is large enough, the operator may pull the pulling member  32  or the pull tape  33  to drive the latch member  31  to unlatch from the board connector  300 ; when the space left for the operator is small, the operator may pull the pull tape  33  to separate the plug connector  100  from the board connector  300 . 
     The plug connector  100  may also be equipped with an EMI gasket  5  assembled to the metal housing  1  for reducing the Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) in the signal transmission. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.