Abstract:
The present invention relates to connector tools for seating connectors on a substrate such as a printed circuit board. In various embodiments, the connector tools can be made by wire electrode discharge machining (WEDM) process. In the embodiments, the connector tool includes reinforced ribbed end walls, ribbed internal walls, interconnected walls and contours that reduce tool and connector damage. In other embodiments, the connector tools include guiding structures that align the connector tool to the connector before seating the connector so that the connector tool aligns to the connector pins and body to avoid damage to the connector and/or the substrate. In another embodiment, the connector tool has guiding skirts and surfaces to capture the connector in position then seat the connector. Thus, the invention reduces connector and substrate damage during manufacturing, reduces tool damage, and lowers product costs by boosting manufacturing yields.

Description:
[0001]    This is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/683,204, filed on Oct. 9, 2003, issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 8,136,233 on Mar. 20, 2012, which is incorporated by reference herein. The present invention relates to connector tools for seating connectors on a substrate such as a printed circuit board (PCB). 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Connectors are used for data transfer interfaces in computers, buses, servers, and storage and networking systems. Some examples of connectors include the Tyco/AMP Z-PACK HS3 Backplane Connectors, the 2 mm hard metric connectors and the 2 mm VHDM connectors from Tyco/AMP, Molex, Erni, and FCI. 
         [0003]    The long, small diameter pins of these connectors may have gold plating to improve conductivity and performance at high frequencies and for corrosion protection. Care is required to prevent damage to the pins and the plating when seating the connector on a PCB. If the connector does not seat, extracting and reseating connector may destroy the connector, damage the vias (i.e., the holes in the PCB) and any thin conductive traces in nearby vias. 
         [0004]    A single connector tool mounted on a tool press controlled by computer numerical controlled (CNC) seats the connectors. However, multiple connector tools can be mounted on the tool press in rows so all connectors are seated onto the PCB in a single press operation. Thus, more than one connector can be damaged in a single seating operation. 
         [0005]    Connector tools have delicate structures that are machined to tight tolerance and are typically made of high strength material such as heat treated tool steel. Despite use of high strength material, the delicate structures are susceptible to damage if dropped during a tool change or transportation. 
         [0006]    To understand the problems we now describe certain connector tools.  FIG. 1A  illustrates one conventional connector tool  10  that is used to seat the Tyco/AMP Z-PACK HS3 Backplane Connector and the 2 mm hard metric connectors.  FIG. 1B  is an enlarged view of the thin end wall  22  of the connector tool  10  shown in  FIG. 1A , while  FIG. 1C  is an enlarged view of the thin end wall  28 .  FIG. 1D  is a front view of the thin end wall  28 . Thin end walls  22 ,  28  are vulnerable to damage if dropped on the floor, for example, during a tool change or transportation. 
         [0007]      FIG. 2A  illustrates a conventional connector seating tool  120  for a custom VDHM 6×10 (60-pin) connector made by Molex and Teradyne.  FIG. 2B  is a top view of the connector tool  120 .  FIG. 2C  is an enlarged view showing the individually machined pin holes such as hole  122  for mating with connector pins. 
         [0008]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a conventional connector tool  170  used to seat the 2 mm hard metric connector shown in  FIG. 10A .  FIG. 3B  is a front view showing a base  171  with two sets of spaced walls  173 ,  175  protruding from the base. The spaced walls  173 ,  175  define two slot arrays  177 ,  179  that mate with the connector pins. The spaced walls  173 ,  175  have thin outer end walls  178 ,  180  and thin inner end walls  184 ,  186 . The spaced walls  173 ,  175  are spaced from each other by gap  176 .  FIG. 3C  is an enlarged view of the thin outer end wall  178 .  FIG. 3D  is an enlarged view of gap  176 , and the thin inner end walls  184 ,  186  that are susceptible to damage. 
         [0009]      FIG. 4A  is a front view of a conventional connector tool  330  for seating the power connector  270  shown in  FIG. 5A .  FIG. 4B  is a perspective view of the connector tool  330  showing the push shoulders such as push shoulder  336  that push on the seating areas such as area  286  of the power connector  270  in  FIG. 5A .  FIG. 4C  is an enlarged view of tool ribs  338 ,  340  for sliding into the slots such as slots  280 ,  285  of the power connector  270  shown in  FIG. 5A . Because this tool has no guiding structure, misalignment between the conventional connector tool  330  and the power connector  270  before the tool ribs  338 ,  340  fully engage and slide into slots  280 ,  285  can crush the power connector  270  on the PCB. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention relates to connector tools for seating connectors on a substrate. In various embodiments, the connector tools can be made by the wire electrode discharge machining (WEDM) process. The connector tools include features such as reinforced ribbed end walls, ribbed internal walls, interconnected walls and contours that reduce tool and connector damage. The connector tools may include guiding structures that align the connector tool to the connector before seating the connector so that the connector tool aligns to the connector pins and body to avoid damage to the connector and/or the substrate. The connector tools may have guiding skirts and surfaces to capture the connector in position then seat the connector. Thus, the invention reduces connector and substrate damage during manufacturing, reduces tool damage, and lowers product costs by boosting manufacturing yields. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1A  illustrates a conventional connector tool for a Tyco/Amp HS3 connector. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1B  is an enlarged view of the end wall and the adjacent walls of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 1A . 
           [0013]      FIG. 1C  is an enlarged view of the opposite end wall and the adjacent walls of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 1A . 
           [0014]      FIG. 1D  is a front view of the end wall and the adjacent walls of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 1C . 
           [0015]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of a conventional connector tool used to seat a VDHM 6×10 (60-pin) connector. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2B  is a top view of the conventional connector tool shown in  FIG. 2A . 
           [0017]      FIG. 2C  is an enlarged view of part of the conventional connector tool shown in  FIG. 2B . 
           [0018]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a conventional connector tool for seating a 2 mm hard metric connector. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3B  is a front view showing the thin end walls and a gap in the tool base separating the set of walls in the conventional connector tool shown in  FIG. 3A . 
           [0020]      FIG. 3C  is an enlarged view of the end wall of the conventional connector tool shown in  FIG. 3A . 
           [0021]      FIG. 3D  is an enlarged view of the gap between the two sets of walls of the conventional connector tool shown in  FIG. 3A . 
           [0022]      FIG. 4A  is a front view of a conventional connector tool for the power connector shown in  FIG. 5A . 
           [0023]      FIG. 4B  is a perspective view of the conventional connector tool shown in  FIG. 4A . 
           [0024]      FIG. 4C  is an enlarged view of the inner wall of the conventional connector tool shown in  FIG. 4B . 
           [0025]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of a power connector with slots. 
           [0026]      FIG. 5B  is a top view of the power connector shown in  FIG. 5A . 
           [0027]      FIG. 6A  is a perspective view of a connector tool with ribbed end walls for a Tyco/Amp HS3 connector. 
           [0028]      FIG. 6B  is an enlarged view of the ribbed end wall of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 6A . 
           [0029]      FIG. 6C  is an enlarged view of the ribbed outer surface of the end wall of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 6A . 
           [0030]      FIG. 6D  is a front view of the ribbed outer end wall of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 6C . 
           [0031]      FIG. 7A  is a perspective view of a connector, a conventional connector tool and a connector tool with interconnected walls and contour slots. 
           [0032]      FIG. 7B  is a detailed view of the connector tool with interconnected walls and contour slots shown in  FIG. 7A . 
           [0033]      FIG. 8A  is a front view of the conventional connector tool for seating a connector alongside the connector tool with interconnected walls shown in  FIG. 7A . 
           [0034]      FIG. 8B  illustrates and compares a conventional connector tool with brittle thin walls with the connector tool shown in  FIG. 8A . 
           [0035]      FIG. 8C  is a bottom view of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 8A . 
           [0036]      FIG. 8D  is a bottom view showing the connector pin arrays of  FIG. 8A . 
           [0037]      FIG. 9A  is a perspective view of a connector tool with interconnected walls for a VHDM 60-pin connector. 
           [0038]      FIG. 9B  is a top view of the connector tool with interconnected walls shown in  FIG. 9A . 
           [0039]      FIG. 10A  is a perspective view of a high pin density connector for a 2 mm hard metric connector. 
           [0040]      FIG. 10B  is a top view of the high pin density connector shown in  FIG. 10A . 
           [0041]      FIG. 10C  illustrates the connector slots of the high pin density connector shown in  FIG. 10A . 
           [0042]      FIG. 11A  is an exploded perspective view of a connector tool with strengthened end walls and guiding structures for seating a high pin density connector on a PCB. 
           [0043]      FIG. 11B  is an exploded end view of the connector tool with guiding structures for alignment when seating a connector. 
           [0044]      FIG. 11C  is an exploded front view of the connector tool with guiding structures seating the connector shown in  FIG. 11A . 
           [0045]      FIG. 12A  is a perspective bottom view of a connector tool with reinforced end walls and guiding structures. 
           [0046]      FIG. 12B  is a bottom view of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 12A . 
           [0047]      FIG. 12C  is an enlarged view of the interconnected outer end wall of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 12A . 
           [0048]      FIG. 12D  is an enlarged view of the guiding structure and the interconnected inner end walls of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 12A . 
           [0049]      FIG. 13A  is a front view of a connector tool with a guiding skirt structure for the power connector shown in  FIG. 5A . 
           [0050]      FIG. 13B  is a side view of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 13A . 
           [0051]      FIG. 13C  is a bottom view showing the guiding skirt structure in  FIG. 13A . 
           [0052]      FIG. 14A  is a perspective view of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 13A . 
           [0053]      FIG. 14B  is a detailed view showing the guiding skirt structure of the connector tool shown in  FIG. 14A . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0054]    The following description includes the best mode of carrying out the invention. The detailed description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is determined by reference to the claims. 
         [0055]    We assign each part, even if structurally identical to another part, its own reference number to help distinguish where the part appears in the drawings. We use dashed circles to indicate the parts that are enlarged in separate Figures. The separate Figure is indicated by the reference number tied to the dashed circle. 
         [0056]      FIG. 6A  is a perspective view of a connector tool  30  that includes a machined structure that has intersecting slots such as slots  36 ,  38  from wall-to-wall to mate with connector pins. In an embodiment, the machined structure is machined by WEDM. The connector tool  30  is used for the Tyco/AMP Z-PACK HS3 Backplane Connectors but the type of construction can be used on other connectors as well. 
         [0057]      FIG. 6B  is an enlarged view showing ribbed end walls  42 ,  43  with ribs  31 ,  33  and  35  on outer surface. The ribs  31 ,  33  and  35  can be disposed on the outer, the inner or both surfaces to strengthen the end walls  42 ,  43 . 
         [0058]      FIG. 6C  is an enlarged view of the ribbed end wall  48  and a push shoulder  44  on the top of wall  46 . The push shoulders contact the connector during seating onto a substrate.  FIG. 6D  is a front view of illustrative rib  37  that strengthens an end wall  48  without obstructing connector pins such as pin  153  shown in  FIG. 10A  being inserted into pin slot  47 . The ribbed end wall  48  helps to reduce breakage and warping when the tool is dropped on the floor and the like. The thickness, number and location of the rib(s) on a wall can vary. The rib(s) can be on the inside and/or outside surface of the end wall, and on any internal walls such as wall  46  as long as the rib(s) do not interfere with insertion of the mating pins, or alignment of the connector and the connector tool. This rib feature is applicable therefore to many connector tools. 
         [0059]      FIG. 7A  is a perspective of the bottom of a future buss 2 mm connector  50  built to the EIA-616 industry standard. The connector includes board side connector pins  54  and mating side connector pins  49 . Also shown is a conventional connector tool  58  which has wall-to-wall pin slots such as illustrative pin slot  51 . In contrast, the connector tool  60  shown has an array of contours such as H-shaped contours  75 ,  81  with pin slots to mate with the connector pins. In addition, the conventional connector tool  58 , the end wall  76  and wall edges are susceptible to warping damage and breakage when the tool is dropped. 
         [0060]      FIG. 7B  is an enlarged view of the H-shaped contour  75  with pin slots  74 ,  77 . Also shown are portions of two adjacent H-shaped contours. The H-shaped contour  81  below the H-shaped contour  75  has a pin slot  84  that aligns with the pin slot  77 . Similarly, the pin slot  82  aligns with the pin slot  74 . The pin slots  77 ,  84  in H-shaped contours  75 ,  81  therefore mate with the connector pins and eliminate the need for a wall-to-wall pin slot such as the pin slot  51  found in the conventional connector tool  58 . This machined structure provides therefore interconnected walls such as wall  53  that strengthen the connector tool  60 . The interconnected walls  55  and  57  also serve to strengthen the tool without obstructing the connector pins. Interconnected walls  53 ,  55 ,  57 , and  71  provide planar surfaces for seating the connector  50  on a substrate while the closed side wall  64  is beveled to reduce damage if the connector tool is dropped on the floor. 
         [0061]      FIG. 8A  is a front view of the conventional connector tool  58  for seating a connector  50  alongside the connector tool  60  having interconnected walls just described.  FIG. 8B  is an enlarged view of the pin slot  72  of the conventional connector tool  58  follows the insertion path  61  shown in  FIG. 8A  to accommodate the mating side connector pin array  49  (partially shown in  FIG. 7A ). The push shoulder  68  follows the tool seating path  63  to seat the connector  50  onto the substrate such as PCB  86 . Each of the board side connector pins such as pin  54  has a collapsible spring eyelet  59  that collapses in diameter by deformation when forced through the smaller PCB Plated Thru Hole (PTH)  88  holding the connector  50  snugly in place. The brittle end wall  66  is vulnerable to damage due to its small thickness and the protrusion. In contrast, the connector tool  60  shown in  FIG. 8B  has no such protrusion and has a closed side wall  64  that keeps the tool from damaging its walls when accidentally dropped. 
         [0062]      FIG. 8C  is a bottom view of the connector tool  60  shown in  FIGS. 7A and 8A . WEDM can be used to form the array of contours shown. WEDM has the advantages of machining very fine geometry deep into hard material such as tool steel within desired tolerances. A WEDM start hole  80  is first established before migrating to form a set of H-shaped pin slots such as slots  82 ,  84 . The interconnected walls surrounding the slots  82 ,  84  strengthen the connector tool  60  and provide increased seating surface compared to the conventional connector tool  58 . The end wall  78  and the closed side wall  64  are integral reducing warping damage and breakage if the tool is dropped.  FIG. 8D  shows the bottom view with connector pins such as pin  54  of the connector  50  that are to be seated into the PCB PTH  88  by the connector tool  60 . 
         [0063]      FIG. 9A  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a connector tool  90 . It can be used for example in seating a custom VDHM 6×10 (60-pin) connector made by Molex and Teradyne.  FIG. 9B  is an enlarged top view of the connector tool  90  shown in  FIG. 9A . WEDM is used to form a crab-shaped contour  93  from starting location of the WEDM start hole  104  then migrating out to form contiguous pin slots  106 ,  108 ,  110  and  112 . WEDM also forms the recess  101  indicated by the light shading that aligns with pin slots  108 ,  112  that are sandwiched by elevated shoulders  105 ,  107  (darker shading). The elevated shoulders  105 ,  107  form beveled sides  102 ,  103  with the recess  101  to help guide the mating connector pins into pin slots  108 ,  112  in case of slight misalignment between the tool and the connector. Slots such as slots  92 ,  94 ,  114 , and  116  are ground shield clearance slots for a VHDM connector (not shown). Thus, a crab-shaped contour  93  can replace four individual connector pin holes such as hole  122  shown in  FIG. 2C . 
         [0064]      FIG. 10A  is a perspective view of a high density multi-pin connector  140  such as the 2 mm hard metric connector built to IEC-1076 standards with an array of connector pins such as pin  153 . Rows of reinforcement ribs such as rib  150  on each side of the wall are staggered with respect to the rows of connector pins such as pin  153  to increase connector rigidity. Connector  140  also has slots  142 ,  144  that will be explained below in connection with  FIG. 11B . 
         [0065]      FIG. 10B  is a top view showing an array of connector pins such as pins  141 ,  143 ,  145 ,  146 ,  147 ,  149  and  151 , the slots  142 ,  144 , and a connector polarity key such as pin zero  232  that is positioned to identify the connector.  FIG. 10C  is an enlarged view showing the connector walls  154 ,  156 ,  162  and  164  with chamfered corners forming the slots  142 ,  144 . 
         [0066]      FIG. 11A  is a perspective view of a connector tool  200  with slotted outer end walls  220 ,  221  and guiding structure  202 ,  204  seating the high density multi-pin connector  140  described in  FIG. 10A  onto a substrate with connector pin vias such as via  212  in a substrate such as the PCB  210 . A number of slots  234 ,  236 , and  238  are formed by WEDM to accommodate the end row of connector pins such as connector pin  237 . 
         [0067]      FIG. 11B  is an end view of  FIG. 11A  showing the guiding structures having protruding heads with chamfered edges  206 ,  208  sliding through the connector slots  142 ,  144  to seat the connector  140  onto the PCB  210 . 
         [0068]      FIG. 11C  is a front view of connector tool  200  shown in  FIGS. 11A-11B . The slotted outer end wall  220  follows the pin insertion path  222  to accommodate the connector pin  230  that is to be seated into the PCB PTH  212  on the PCB  210 . The guiding structure  204  has a protruding head with chamfered edges  208  that follows path  223  into the slot  144  to align the connector  140  before seating the connector pins such as pin  230  and pin zero  232  onto the PCB  210 . 
         [0069]      FIG. 12A  is a perspective view of the connector tool  200  shown in  FIGS. 11A-11C . The connector tool  200  includes a structure with a base  226  with two opposite sets of spaced walls  224 ,  228  protruding from each end of the base. The two opposite sets of spaced walls  224 ,  228  define slot arrays  260 ,  261 . The slot arrays  260 ,  261  include slotted outer end walls  220 ,  221  and inner end walls  243 ,  245  that are reinforced through interconnected structures. 
         [0070]    Also is shown the protruding heads with chamfered edges  206 ,  208  for connector alignment.  FIG. 12B  is a bottom view of the connector tool  200  shown in  FIG. 12A . 
         [0071]      FIG. 12C  is an enlarged view of the slotted outer end wall  220  which is no longer a thin wall susceptible to warping and breaking if accidentally dropped. Instead the slotted outer end wall  220  is adjoined to the adjacent inner wall  266 . A plurality of pin slots  234 ,  236 , and  238  can be formed using WEDM so as to accommodate the end row connector pins such as pin  237  shown in  FIG. 11A . The starting location of the WEDM start holes are holes  251 ,  253 , and  255 . It is not important that the pin slots  234 ,  236  and  238  be perforated from top to bottom since blind slotting with sufficient depth will accommodate the end row connector pins. The slotted outer end wall  220  maintains its strength and integrity through the adjoining interconnected structures  246 ,  248 ,  250 , and  252  that may extend partially or fully into the base  226 . Slots such as slot  262  provide clearance for the connector ribs such as rib  150  shown in  FIG. 10A  and pin slot  264  accommodates the mating connector pin. 
         [0072]      FIG. 12D  is an enlarged view showing the protruding heads with chamfered edges  206 ,  208  that align the connector tool  200  with the connector slots  142 ,  144  shown in  FIG. 11B . The opposite inner end walls  243 ,  245  are strengthened by adjoining to a common interconnecting structure  244  that extends fully or partially into the base between the spaced apart opposite inner end walls  243 ,  244 . In this embodiment, the interconnecting structure  244  fills the gap  176  that exists in the conventional connector tool  170  shown in  FIG. 3B . 
         [0073]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of a power connector  270  by Tyco/Amp where the connector top surface is chamfered on four sides into beveled surfaces such as surfaces  274 ,  276 . The side walls  277 ,  278  have slots such as slot  280 . The base of slot  280  is a seating area  279  for the push shoulder. A skirt  288  is slanted at the base of the connector. The power connector  270  consists of five mating pin slots such as slots  272 ,  273 .  FIG. 5B  is a top view of the power connector  270  showing the slots  280  and  285  where the connector tool ribs must slide down to avoid crushing the connector during seating of the connector on the substrate. 
         [0074]      FIG. 13A  is a front view of a power connector tool  290 . The tool includes a guiding skirt structure such as skirt  299 .  FIG. 13B  is a front view of the connector tool  290  which is a machined structure with opposite vertical parallel walls  342 ,  344  and skirts  289 ,  305  as retaining corners.  FIG. 13C  is the bottom view of the connector tool  290  showing a vertical parallel wall  344  with guiding skirt structure such as skirts  303  and  305 . These structures help to position the power connector  270  under the connector tool  290 . 
         [0075]      FIG. 14A  is a perspective view of the power connector tool  290  shown in  FIGS. 13A-13C .  FIG. 14B  is an enlarged view of the guiding skirt structure. The power connector tool  290  includes a plurality of spaced and corner chamfered tool ribs such as tool ribs  296 ,  326 . The tool ribs  296 ,  326  can be any suitable length, but are illustrated as terminating at the level of the vertical parallel wall  344 . The tool ribs  296 ,  326  protrude orthogonally from the inner surface of the vertical parallel wall  344  and slide into the corresponding connector slots of the power connector  270 . The corner chamfered end of the tool ribs  296 ,  326  are surfaces such as push shoulders  320 ,  324  for seating the connector onto the substrate or PCB. The guiding skirt structure may include discrete skirts such as skirts  293 ,  299 ,  303 ,  305  and  307  that extend above the vertical parallel walls such as walls  342 ,  344  and are spaced with a guiding rib separation. The guiding skirt structure has discrete internal beveled or chamfered surfaces such as  314 ,  316 , and  318  that align the power connector  270  with the connector tool  290  before seating the power connector  270  shown in  FIG. 5A  onto the substrate with an evenly distributed force. The guiding skirt structure solves the problem of the connector tool crushing the connector due to slight misalignment that arises from tolerances build up by the equipment, the connector tool precision, connector and substrate placement. 
         [0076]    In another embodiment not shown, the guiding skirt structure does not have to be discrete. The guiding skirt structure may include a skirt with an internal beveled or chamfered surface that extends continuous along the vertical parallel walls. The guiding skirt structure with internal beveled surface is applicable to other connector tools to reduce connector damage by connector positioning before seating the connector onto the substrate.