Abstract:
An electrical connector comprises a housing having first and second surfaces and forming a plurality of contact supports formed therein. A plurality of electrical contacts is moveably attached to each corresponding support and has a first contacting end extending beyond the first surface for driving the contact to move along the support upon mating with an electrical device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector for electrically connecting two discrete electrical systems, such as two printed circuit boards and in which connecting ends of a contact perform robust wiping displacement over conductive pads formed on the printed circuit board thereby ensuring reliable electrical connection thereof. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Electrical connection between two terminals is generally facilitated by normal force exerted from one terminal to the other. However, since surface of the terminal could be contaminated by dust or oxidation, it is preferable to generate a wiping displacement between two terminals during mating. With the wiping displacement between the terminals, dust or oxidation on the terminal could be wiped out, thereby ensuring reliable electrical connection between two mated terminals. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,396 issued to Matsuoka on Sep. 13, 1993 discloses an arrangement for electrical connector in which contact  9  is obliquely arranged and which may provide a wiping displacement between contact  9  and element  4 . However, Matsuoka&#39;s device is too complicated to implement. 
     In Matsuoka device, element  11  is insert molded within element  1 , while contact  9  is moveably arranged within the element  11 . The contact  9  includes a pair of arms  8  which can be deformed when the contact  9  is pushed downwardly by element  4 . As stated above, the Matsuoka device is too complicated to be implemented in the socket connector for used with a CPU. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,022 discloses another oblique arrangement of the contacts in the connector housing. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,389 issued to Hashiguchi on Oct. 13, 1998, discloses an electrical connector to be used between a printed circuit board and a LSI (Large Scale Integration) circuit of the type which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication (B) No. 13191/1995 (hereinafter referred to as the &#39;191 Publication). Since the &#39;191 device can not provide enough wiping displacement between the contacting end and a corresponding conductive pad, Hashiguchi (the &#39;389 patent) then provides an improvement on the arrangement of the contact such that a contact end thereof may perform an effective wiping displacement over a corresponding pad to ensure an effective electrical connection. 
     As shown in FIGS. 9A,  9 B and  9 C, the contact  20  is arranged in a passageway formed vertically in the housing  10 . The contact  20  includes an extension  24  having a free end  24   b.  Theoretically, when contact end  23   a  is depressed by the element  200 , contact end  24   b  will displace from its original position. It is understandable that Hashiguchi device is better than the &#39;191 device as the extension  24  displace more than that of the &#39;191 device. However, since the contact  20  is vertically arranged within the passageway, it is unlikely that the contact end  23   a  to perform a wiping displacement with respect to the corresponding element  200 . Understandably, Hashiguchi solves only portion of the problem encountered by the &#39;191. 
     On the other hand, even the extension  24  is arranged obliquely, the wiping displacement conducted by the contact end  24   b  is still not enough since before the contact end  24   b  is moved when the portion  23   a  is moved vertically down, there is a deformation incurred in portion  21   a.  Accordingly, Hashiguchi still leaves an opening for further improvement. 
     By the way, Hashiguchi does not meet the requirement since only the contact end  24   b  displaces a short distance over a conductive pad, while the contact end  23  does not displace when it is contacting with corresponding conductive pad. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an objective of this invention to provide an electrical connector in which a contact is moveably and obliquely arranged within a passageway of a housing thereof, thereby providing effective wiping displacement over corresponding conductive pads by both ends of the contact thereof. 
     In order to achieve the objective set forth, an electrical system in accordance with comprises a first electrical device including a first substrate having at least a first conductive pad formed thereon. A second electrical device includes a second substrate having at least a second conductive pad formed thereon. An electrical device is arranged between first and second electrical devices for electrically connecting the first and second conductive pads of the first and second electrical devices. The electrical device includes a housing defining at least a passageway extending between first and second surfaces. At least an electrical contact is moveably installed within the passageway which contacting ends extending beyond the surfaces, wherein upon connecting the first and second electrical devices, the electrical contact is moved by the first electrical device such that the contacting ends of the contact displace and wipe over the conductive pads of the electrical devices. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing having first and second surfaces and forming at least a contact support therein. At least an electrical contact is moveably attached to the support and having a first contacting end extending beyond the first surface for driving the contact to move along the support upon mating with an electrical device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration view showing an basic electrical system in according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 in which a contact is mated with conductive pads of upper and lower printed circuit boards; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of an electrical connector in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is still a cross sectional view of an electrical connector in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5A is an illustration of a connector device in accordance with the present invention and arranged between two parallel substrates, a contact within a passageway of a housing is located in a first position; 
     FIG. 5B is similar to FIG. 5A showing the contact is located in a second position; 
     FIG. 6 is an illustration showing the connector device is used to interconnect a CPU and a motherboard; 
     FIG. 7A is still an illustration of a second embodiment of a connecting device in accordance with the present invention and arranged between two substrates being orthogonal to each other, a contact within a passageway of a housing is located in a first position; 
     FIG. 7B is similar to FIG. 7A showing the contact is located in a second position; and 
     FIG. 8 is an illustration showing a second embodiment of the connector device is used as a card edge connector. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 to  4 , an electrical connector  400  in accordance with the present invention includes a housing  410  defining at least a passageway  411  extending between first and second surfaces  410   a,    410   b.  A contact support  413  is arranged within the passageway  411 . An electrical contact  412  is moveably enveloped onto the support  413 . 
     The electrical connector  400  is arranged between first and second substrates  420 ,  430 . and according to the preferred embodiment, the first substrate  420  is a motherboard having at least a conductive pad  420   a  thereon, while the second substrate  430  is a CPU having a plurality of conductive pads  430   a  thereon. 
     The contact  412  includes an anchoring arm  412   a,  and a connecting arm  412   b  connected to the anchoring arm  412   a  by a bight portion  412   c.  The anchoring arm  412   a  is moveably against to a first side  413   a  of the support  413 . The anchoring arm  412   a  further includes an anchoring leg  412   d  engaging with the shoulder  413   c  of the first side  413   a  of the support  413 . Accordingly, when the contact  412  is enveloped onto the support  413 , the arrangement between the shoulder  413   c  and the anchoring leg  412   d  can prevent the contact  412  from removing from the support  413 . 
     The connecting arm  412   b  includes a contact end  412   e  for electrically contacting with the conductive pad  420   a  of the motherboard  420 . The connecting arm  412   b  is generally longer than the anchoring arm  412   a  and the support  413  such that the bight portion  412   c  and the contacting end  412   d  extend beyond the first and second surfaces  410   a,    410   b.  The bight portion  412   c  works as a contacting end in electrically contact with the conductive pad  430   a  of the CPU  430  or the equivalent. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, when the upper substrate  430  is moved downward, the bight portion  412   c  is driven downward such that the contact  412  is moved along the support  413 . As a result, the contact end  412   e  of the connecting arm  412   b  extends along the conductive pad  420   a  of the first substrate  420  thereby facilitating reliable wiping movement for effective electrical connection. Meanwhile, the bight portion  412   c  is also wiping over the conductive pad  430  during its downward movement. Accordingly, reliable connections can be made on both the contact end  412   e  and the bight portion  412   c.    
     FIG. 3 is a sketch view showing a plurality of contact supports  513  is arranged within passageways  511  of a connector housing  510  of an electrical connector  500 . The electrical connector  500  is between a first printed circuit board  520 , and a second printed circuit board  530  or a CUP such as described in FIGS. 1 and 2. Each of the printed circuit boards  520 ,  530  is provided with conductive pads  520   a,    530   a.  As it can be readily seen from FIG. 3, a grounding bus  550  is integrally formed within the contact supports  513 . According to one of the embodiments, the grounding bus  550 ′ is exposed for electrically connecting to anchoring tail  412   f  of the of the anchoring arm  412   a.  As a result, the selected contact  412 ′ is grounded, while other contact  412  is not grounded. 
     Meanwhile, to the grounding bus  550  completely enclosed by the contact support  413 , it serves as an electrical coupling to reduce noise and improve performance when the system is used for high speed signal transmission. As a result, the electrical mechanism disclosed here is perfectly suitable for high speed signal transmission. 
     FIG. 4 disclose a sketch showing a plurality of contact supports  613  arranged in a common cavity  610   c  of an electrical connector housing  610  of an electrical connector  600 . The electrical connector  600  is between a first printed circuit board  620 , and a second printed circuit board  630  or a CUP such as described in FIGS. 1 and 2. Each of the printed circuit boards  620 ,  630  is provided with conductive pads  620   a,    630   a.  Since the passageways are omitted, the density of the contact supports  613  can be increased while without compromising the advantages of the mechanism disclosed in the present invention. 
     Similar to FIG. 3, grounding buses  550  are integrally formed within the contact supports  613  to providing electrical coupling to corresponding contact  412 . According to one of the embodiment, some of the grounding bus  650 ′ are exposed for electrically connecting to anchoring tail  412   f  of the of the anchoring arm  412   a.  As a result, the selected contact  412 ′ is grounded, while other contact  412  is not grounded. This provides excellent noise shielding. 
     Referring to FIGS. 5A,  5 B and  6 , an electrical connector device  1  in accordance with the present invention includes a housing  10  defining first and second surfaces  10   a,    10   b  for respectively mounting on a first substrate  20 , and supporting a second substrate  30 . According to the preferred embodiment, the first substrate  20  is a motherboard having at least a conductive pad  20   a  thereof, while the second substrate  30  is a CPU  31  (see FIG. 6) having a plurality of conductive pads  30   a  thereon. For simplicity, only one conductive pad  30   a  is shown. 
     The housing  10  defines at least a passageway  11  arranged obliquely between first and second surfaces  10   a,    10   b.  The passageway  11  includes a first side  11   a  having a shoulder  11   c  thereof, and a second side  11   b  which is a flush surface. In general, the first and second sides  11   a,    11   b  are parallel to each other. 
     A contact  12  is moveably arranged into the passageway  11  and includes an anchoring arm  12   a,  and a connecting arm  12   b  connected to the anchoring arm  12   a  by a bight portion  12   c.  The anchoring arm  12   a  is moveably against to the first side  11   a.  The anchoring arm  12   a  further includes an anchoring leg  12   d  engaging with the shoulder  11   c  of the first side  11   a.  Accordingly, when the contact  12  is inserted into the passageway  11  from the second surface  10   b  to the first surface  10   a,  the arrangement between the shoulder  11   c  and the anchoring leg  12   d  can prevent the contact  12  from removing from the passageway  11 . 
     The connecting arm  12   b  includes a contact end  12   e  for electrically contacting with the conductive pad  20   a  of the motherboard  20 . The connecting arm  12   b  is generally longer than the anchoring arm  12   a  and the passageway  11  such that the bight portion  12   c  and the contacting end  12   d  extend beyond the first and second surfaces  10   a,    10   b.  The bight portion  12   c  works as a contacting end in electrically contact with the conductive pad  30   a  of the CPU  30 . 
     As shown in FIG. 5A, the length of the connecting arm  12   b  is arranged such that the bight portion  12   c  extend above the second surface  10   b  with a height (h). Before the CPU  30  is attached to the second surface  10   b  of the connector device  1 , the bight portion  12   c  is located at a first position T 1 , while the contacting end  12   d  is located also at a first position B 1 . When the CPU  30  is attached to the second surface  10   b,  the connecting arm  12   b  is pushed downward by the bight portion  12   c  such that the contacting end  12   d  displaces and wipes from B 1  to B 2 . On the other hand, during the downward movement of the bight portion  12   c,  the bight portion  12   c  displaces and wipes also from T 1  to T 2 . Accordingly, both the contacting end  12   d  and the bight portion  12   c  displace and wipe over the conductive pad  20   a,  and  30   a  respectively. Accordingly, reliable connections between the contacting end  12   d  and the conductive pad  20   a  of the first substrate  20 , and the bight portion  12   c  and the conductive pad  30   a  of the second substrate  30  are achieved. 
     The displacement of both the bight portion  12   c  and the contacting end  12   d  is achieved because both extend substantially beyond the first and second surfaces  10   a,    10   b.  In addition, the second side  11   b  is an inclined surface, accordingly a vertical movement of the bight portion  12   c  can be effectively transferred to a horizontal movement, i.e. a wiping movement. In light of this, both the contacting end  12   d  and the bight portion  12   c  perform a considerable wiping displacement which benefits reliable and effective electrical connections. 
     FIG. 6 is an illustration showing the CPU  31  is electrically connected to the motherboard  20  by means of the connector device  1  in accordance with the present invention. The CPU  31  can be attached to the connector device  10  by means of a cover  40 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 7A,  7 B and  8 , a connector device  100  in accordance with the present invention includes a housing  110  defining first and second surfaces  110   a,    110   b  which are orthogonal to each other. A passageway  111  extends between first and second surfaces  110   a,    110   b.  The passageway  111  includes a first side  111   a  having a shoulder  111   c  thereof, and a second side  111   b  which is a flush surface. 
     A contact  112  is moveably arranged into the passageway  111  and includes an anchoring arm  112   a,  and a connecting arm  112   b  connected to the anchoring arm  112   a  by a bight portion  112   c.  The anchoring arm  112   a  is moveably against to the first side  111   a.  The anchoring arm  112   a  further includes an anchoring leg  112   d  engaging with the shoulder  111   c  of the first side  111   a.  Accordingly, when the contact  112  is inserted into the passageway  111  from the second surface  110   b  to the first surface  110   a,  the arrangement between the shoulder  111   c  and the anchoring leg  112   d  can prevent the contact  112  from removing from the passageway  111 . 
     The connecting arm  112   b  includes a contact end  112   e  for electrically contacting with the conductive pad  120   a  of the motherboard  120 . The connecting arm  112   b  is generally longer than the anchoring arm  112   a  and the passageway  111  such that the bight portion  112   c  and the contacting end  112   d  extend beyond the first and second surfaces  110   a,    110   b.  The bight portion  112   c  works as a contacting end in electrically contact with the conductive pad  130   a  of a daughter card  130 . 
     As shown in FIG. 7A, the length of the connecting arm  112   b  is arranged such that the bight portion  112   c  extend above the second surface  110   b  with a distance. Before the daughter card  130  is attached to the second surface  110   b  of the connector device  100 , the bight portion  112   c  is located at a first position V 1 , while the contacting end  112   d  is located also at a first position B 1 . When the daughter card  130  is attached to the second surface  110   b,  the connecting arm  112   b  is pushed downward by the bight portion  112   c  such that the contacting end  112   d  displaces and wipes from B 1  to B 2 . On the other hand, during the downward movement of the bight portion  112   c,  the bight portion  112   c  displaces and wipes also from V 1  to V 2 . Accordingly, both the contacting end  112   d  and the bight portion  112   c  displace and wipe over the conductive pad  120   a,  and  130   a  respectively. Accordingly, reliable connections between the contacting end  112   d  and the conductive pad  120   a  of the first substrate  120 , and the bight portion  112   c  and the conductive pad  130   a  of the second substrate  130  are achieved. 
     The displacement of both the bight portion  112   c  and the contacting end  112   d  is achieved because both extend substantially beyond the first and second surfaces  110   a,    110   b.  In addition, the second side  111   b  is an inclined surface, accordingly a vertical movement of the bight portion  112   c  can be effectively transferred to a horizontal movement, i.e. a wiping movement. In light of this, both the contacting end  112   d  and the bight portion  112   c  perform a considerable wiping displacement which benefits reliable and effective electrical connections. 
     FIG. 8 illustrates that the housing  110  includes a pair of passageways  111  symmetrically arranged thereof. A receiving slot  113  is defined in the housing  110  and in communication with the passageways  111 . By this arrangement, the bight portions  112   c  of the contact  112  extend into the receiving slot  113 . When the daughter card  130  is inserted into the receiving slot  113 , the contacts  112  are pushed downward such that the contacting ends  112   d  displace and wipe over the conductive pads  120   a  of the motherboard  120 . On the other hand, the bight portions  112   c  displace and wipe over the conductive pads  130   a  of the daughter card  130 . Accordingly, reliable and effective electrical connections are achieved on both the bight portions  112   c  and the contacting ends  112   d.    
     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.