Abstract:
A connector according to the invention includes: a plurality of sockets into which a plurality of electronic parts are inserted, respectively; a coupling element which connects the sockets together; and a plurality of pins for electric connection provided in a limited area. Another connector of the invention includes: terminals provided in holes, wherein the holes are provided on the top, and wherein the electronic parts are inserted to the holes, respectively; pins provided in a limited area on the bottom; and a wiring network via which the terminals and the pins are connected. Another connector of the invention includes a bottom; pins provided near and along a first side of the bottom; at least one pin provided near and along a second side of the bottom; sockets into which electronic parts are inserted, respectively; and a coupling element that connects the sockets together.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly, to a connector into which a plurality of electronic parts are inserted.  
           [0002]    Conventionally, one electronic part was inserted into this type of connector. An example of such an electronic part is a Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM).  
           [0003]    Referring to FIG. 6, conventional connectors  900  are mounted on a printed circuit board  30 . Each of the connectors  900  has one socket into which one DIMM  200  is inserted. Therefore, when mounting a plurality of DIMMs  200  on a printed circuit board  30  using the conventional connectors, a plurality of sets of the DIMM  200  and the connector  900  are mounted.  
           [0004]    When mounting a plurality of DIMMs on the printed circuit board  30  using the conventional connectors described above, electric wiring between the DIMMs  200 , each inserted into the connector  900 , and electric wiring between the DIMM  200  and other electronic parts on the printed circuit board  30  are provided in an area under or around the plurality of connectors  900  on the circuit board  30 . More specifically, in an area on the printed circuit board  30  where a plurality of DIMMs  200  are mounted such as the one shown in FIG. 6, wires  310 , each of which connects one connector pin to another, and a wire  320 , which is connected to a connector pin and a terminal of some other electronic part, are provided on the surface of, or inside, the printed circuit board  30 . Thus, in the conventional art, the wires  310  and  320  occupy much space of the area on the printed circuit board  30  immediately under the plurality of DIMMs  200  and reduce the wiring space on the printed circuit board  30 .  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that allows a plurality of electronic parts to be mounted.  
           [0006]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a connector that requires a less amount of wiring space on a board on which the connector is mounted.  
           [0007]    According to one aspect of the present invention, a connector is provided which includes: a plurality of sockets into which a plurality of electronic parts are inserted, respectively; a coupling element which connects the sockets together; and a plurality of pins for electric connection provided in a limited area.  
           [0008]    According to another aspect of the present invention, a connector is provided which includes: a plurality of terminals provided in a plurality of holes, wherein the holes are provided on the top, and wherein the electronic parts are inserted to the holes, respectively; a plurality of pins provided in a limited area on the bottom; and a wiring network via which the terminals and the pins are connected.  
           [0009]    According to another aspect of the present invention, a connector is provided which includes: a bottom; a plurality of pins provided near and along a first side of the bottom; at least one pin provided near and along a second side of the bottom; a plurality of sockets into which a plurality of electronic parts are inserted, respectively; and a coupling element that connects the plurality of sockets together. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    Other features and advantages of the invention will be made more apparent by the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector of the present invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line A-A in FIG. FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the connector of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the wiring of a coupling element  110  of the connector according to the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a coupling part of a connector in a second embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional connector.  
         [0016]    In the drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same structural elements. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]    A first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below.  
         [0018]    Referring to FIG. 1, a connector  100  according to the present invention comprises a coupling element  110 , a plurality of sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124 , a plurality of pins  130 , and a plurality of mounting pins  140 .  
         [0019]    The coupling element  110  couples the plurality of sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124  into one connector. The coupling element  110  includes a plurality of wires.  
         [0020]    Referring to FIG. 2, the plurality of sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124  each have a corresponding electronic part inserted. The electronic parts are, for example, memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204  such as a Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM). The sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124  are provided on the top of the extended part on the coupling element  110 . That is, the coupling element  110  has the sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124  thereon that are convex shaped extensions protruding above the surrounding area. The sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124  each accept one of the corresponding memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204 . The memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204 , which are inserted into the sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124 , are guided by the sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124 . The memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204  are fully seated when their electrodes come into contact with the connector terminals in the coupling element  110 .  
         [0021]    Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and  3 , the plurality of pins  130  are provided on the bottom of the coupling element  110 . The pins  130  are used to mount the connector  100  on the printed circuit board  300  and to electrically connect the wires on the printed circuit board  300  to the memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204 . The pins  130  are inserted into the corresponding holes on the printed circuit board  300 . The plurality of pins  130  are arranged in a line on the bottom of the connector  100 . The pins  130  are not provided in an area except an area along the one side of the bottom of the connector  100 . In this embodiment, the row of the pins  130  is parallel with the long side of the sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124 .  
         [0022]    The mounting pins  140  are provided on the side of the bottom of the connector  100  opposite to the side along which the pins  130  are provided. The mounting pins  140  are used, not to electrically connect the memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204  on the connector  100  to the printed circuit board  30 , but to physically connect the connector  100  to the printed circuit board  300 . In this embodiment, two mounting pins  140  are provided in the two corners on the bottom of the connector  100 . Therefore, any member, including pin-shaped members, is not provided between the two mounting pins  140  on the bottom of the connector  100 . In this embodiment, pin-shaped members are provided at both ends of the bottom of the connector  100 , that is, an area along one side of the connector  100  and an area opposite to that side.  
         [0023]    Referring to FIG. 4, the coupling element  110  comprises wires  1111 ,  1112 , . . . , and  1117 . The coupling element  110  comprises connector terminals  1121 ,  1122 ,  1123 ,  1124 ,  1125 ,  1126 ,  1127 ,  1128 ,  1131 ,  1132 ,  1133 ,  1134 ,  1135 ,  1136 ,  1137 , and  1138 . The pins  130  comprise pins  131 ,  132 , . . . , and  137 .  
         [0024]    The connector terminals  1121 ,  1122 ,  1131 , and  1132  are connected to the corresponding electrodes of the memory module  201  when the memory module  201  is inserted into the socket  121 . The connector terminals  1123 ,  1124 ,  1133 , and  1134  are connected to the corresponding electrodes of the memory module  202  when the memory module  202  is inserted into the socket  122 . The connector terminals  1125 ,  1126 ,  1135 , and  1136  are connected to the corresponding electrodes of the memory module  203  when the memory module  203  is inserted into the socket  123 . The connector terminals  1127 ,  1128 ,  1137 , and  1138  are connected to the corresponding electrodes of the memory module  204  when the memory module  204  is inserted into the socket  124 .  
         [0025]    The wire  1111  connects the connector terminals  1121 ,  1123 ,  1125 , and  1127  together and connects them to the pin  131 . The wire  1112  connects the connector terminals  1122 ,  1124 ,  1126 , and  1128  together and connects them to the pin  132 . The wire  1113  connects the connector terminals  1131 ,  1133 ,  1135 , and  1137  together and connects them to the pin  133 . In this way, the wires  1111 ,  1112 , and  1113  connect together the connector terminals corresponding to the sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124 .  
         [0026]    The wire  1114  connects the connector terminal  1132  to the pin  134 . The wire  1115  connects the connector terminal  1134  to the pin  135 . The wire  1116  connects the connector terminal  1136  to the pin  136 . The wire  1117  connects the connector terminal  1138  to the pin  137 . In this way, the wires  1114 ,  1115 ,  1116 , and  1117  each connect one connector terminal to one pin. The wires  1114 ,  1115 ,  1116 , and  1117  each connect to one of the pins of a Large Scale Integration (LSI) circuit on the printed circuit board  300 .  
         [0027]    In this embodiment, the wires  1111 ,  1112 , . . . , and  1117  are wiring cables. The wires  1111 ,  1112 , . . . , and  1117  are constructed such that they have an impedance equal or close to that of the printed circuit board  300 . For example, the impedance of the wires  1111 ,  1112 , . . . , and  1117  is about 50-70 ohms that is the impedance of a standard printed circuit board.  
         [0028]    As described above, the coupling element  110  of the connector according to the present invention has the plurality of sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124  and the wires that connect the electrodes of the memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204 , which are to be inserted into the sockets, to desired terminals. This construction allows a plurality of electronic parts to be mounted on the connector  100 .  
         [0029]    In addition, the coupling element  110  of the connector according to the present invention has the wires that connect a plurality of memory modules together and has the pins  130  provided only in a limited part of the bottom of the connector  100 . This structure takes up less wiring space on the board  300 .  
         [0030]    Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The second embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in that capacitive elements are provided on a coupling element  110 . The other configuration is similar to that of the first embodiment.  
         [0031]    Referring to FIG. 5, the coupling element  110  comprises wires  1118  and  1119 . The coupling element  110  comprises connector terminals  1141 ,  1142 ,  1143 ,  1144 ,  1151 ,  1152 ,  1153 , and  1154 . The coupling element  110  comprises capacitors  1191 ,  1192 , and  1193 . The wire  1118  is connected to the power supply pins of memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204 . The wire  1119  is connected to the ground (GND) pins of the memory modules  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204 .  
         [0032]    The connector terminals  1141  and  1151  are connected to the corresponding electrodes of a memory module  201  when the memory module  201  is inserted into a socket  121 . The connector terminals  1142  and  1152  are connected to the corresponding electrodes of a memory module  202  when the memory module  202  is inserted into a socket  122 . The connector terminals  1143  and  1153  are connected to the corresponding electrodes of a memory module  203  when the memory module  203  is inserted into a socket  123 . The connector terminals  1144  and  1154  are connected to the corresponding electrodes of a memory module  204  when the memory module  204  is inserted into a socket  124 .  
         [0033]    The wire  1118  connects the connector terminals  1141 ,  1142 ,  1143 , and  1144  together and, at the same time, connects them to a pin  138 . The pin  138  is connected to the power supply wire of a printed circuit board  300 . The wire  1119  connects the connector terminals  1151 ,  1152 ,  1153 , and  1154  together and, at the same time, connects them to a pin  139 . The pin  139  is connected to the GND wire of the printed circuit board  300 .  
         [0034]    The wire  1118  and the wire  1119  are connected via the capacitors  1191 ,  1192 , and  1193 .  
         [0035]    Next, the mode of the present invention will be described.  
         [0036]    Although the wires on the coupling element  110  are wiring cables in the above embodiments, the coupling element  110  may include a printed circuit board and the wires may be provided on the printed circuit board. In this case, the wires are on or inside the printed circuit board. This structure optimizes the distance between the wires and the ground and the wiring width, making it easier to make the impedance of the wires equal or close to that of the board  300 .  
         [0037]    Although electronic parts to be inserted into the sockets are memory modules in the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to memory modules but may be applied to other electronic parts. For example, instead of a memory module, a Peripheral Components Interconnect (PCI) board maybe inserted.  
         [0038]    In addition, although the areas where the sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124  are formed on the coupling element  110  are convex shaped extensions that protrude above the surrounding area in the embodiments, the coupling element  110  may be constructed as a plane. In this case, the top of the coupling element  110  is virtually flat.  
         [0039]    Although the row of the pins  130  is parallel to the long side of the sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124  in the embodiments, the row of the pins  130  may be constructed in the direction at right angles to the long side of the sockets  121 ,  122 ,  123 , and  124 . In this case, the mounting pins  140  are provided on the side opposite to the row of the pins  130 .  
         [0040]    Although one row of pins  130  is provided and the mounting pins  140  are not used for electrical connection in the embodiments, the mounting pins  140  may be used for electrical connection. In this case, the mounting pins  140  are connected, as necessary, to the wires in the coupling element  110 .  
         [0041]    Although one row of the pins  130  is provided in the embodiments, a row of a plurality of pins which is similar to the row of the pins  130  and whose pins are connected to the wires of the coupling element  110  may be provided on the side where the mounting pins  140  are provided. That is, a row of pins is provided on a pair of opposing sides on the bottom of the connector  100 .  
         [0042]    Although two mounting pins  140  are provided in the above embodiments, only one pin may be provided. Alternatively, three or more mounting pins  140  may also be provided.  
         [0043]    As described above, the connector according to the present invention has a plurality of sockets provided on the coupling part and has the wires that connect the electrodes of memory modules, which are inserted into the sockets, to the desired terminals. Because of this structure, the connector according to the present invention allows a plurality of electronic parts to be mounted.  
         [0044]    In addition, the coupling part of the connector according to the present invention has wires that connect a plurality of memory modules together and has the pins provided only in a limited area on the bottom of the connector, thus requiring a less mount of wiring space on the board.  
         [0045]    While this invention has been described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments described above, it will now be possible for those skilled in the art to put this invention into practice in various other manners.