Abstract:
A slider is incorporated in a connector. A guide is designed to guide movement of the slider along a predetermined plane. An elastic terminal or contact extends to the free tip end from the stationary end. An inclined surface is defined on the slider so as to receive the elastic terminal. The inclined surface extends along an imaginary plane intersecting an imaginary reference plane including the predetermined plane by a predetermined inclination angle. The movement of the slider enables displacement of the contact position between the inclined surface and the elastic terminal in the connector. The inclined surface generates a driving force directed to the elastic terminal in response to the movement of the slider. The elastic terminal is thus caused to deform. This deformation can be utilized to control the contact between the elastic terminal and a connective member to be connected.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a connector designed establish connection between at least a pair of electrical conductor. In particular, the present invention relates to a connector designed to receive a printed circuit board such as a co-called card edge printed circuit board.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Some connectors are well known to receive a so-called card edge printed circuit board. Pairs of elastic terminals or contacts are fixed within a housing of the connector, for example. The individual contacts extend from the stationary end, fixed to the housing, to the free tip end. When the card edge printed circuit board is inserted into the housing of the connector, the card edge printed circuit board is held between the contacts of the individual pairs. The card edge printed circuit board is thus stationarily coupled to the connector.  
         [0005]     The individual contacts are strongly urged against the surface of the card edge printed circuit board. Frequent insertion and withdrawal of the card edge printed circuit board induces abrasion of the resin material in the card edge printed circuit board. The abrasion generates dusts. If the dusts enter a space between the contacts and electrically conductive pads on the card edge printed circuit board, electric connection is hindered therebetween.  
         [0006]     For example, one solution is to avoid contact between the electrically conductive pads and the contacts during the insertion and withdrawal of the card edge printed circuit board, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 54-98986. A sliding member is fixed to the free end of the contact in the disclosed connector. Sliding movement of the sliding member induces the contacts to get spaced from the electrically conductive pads of the card edge printed circuit board. However, this structure suffers from troublesome operations to couple the sliding member to the contact in the production process of the connector. The productivity thus gets deteriorated. Insertion and withdrawal of the card edge printed circuit board also suffer from troublesome operations.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a connector contributing to a facilitated production and assembling. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector capable of reducing the urging force of an elastic terminal or contact without inducing troublesome operations.  
         [0008]     According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector comprising: a housing; a slider; a guide formed on the housing, said guide designed to guide movement of the slider along a predetermined plane within the housing; and an elastic terminal or contact extending to the free tip end from the stationary end fixed to the housing, wherein an inclined surface is defined on the slider so as to receive the elastic terminal, said inclined surface extending along an imaginary plane intersecting an imaginary reference plane including the predetermined plane by a predetermined inclination angle.  
         [0009]     The movement of the slider enables displacement of the contact position between the inclined surface and the elastic terminal in the connector. The inclined surface generates a driving force directed to the elastic terminal in response to the movement of the slider. The elastic terminal is thus caused to deform. This deformation can be utilized to control the contact between the elastic terminal and a connective member inserted into the housing. The elastic terminal is simply allowed to contact the inclined surface of the slider in the production process of the connector, so that the slider can be assembled into the connector in a facilitated manner.  
         [0010]     A receiving surface may be defined on the slider so as to receive a connective member inserted into the housing in parallel with the predetermined plane. The movement of the slider is caused in response to the insertion of the connective member in this structure. The simple insertion of the connective member induces the deformation of the elastic terminal. The contact can reliably be controlled between the connective member and the elastic terminal with conventional operations. The urging force of the elastic terminal can be adjusted without accompanying deteriorated operations.  
         [0011]     According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector comprising: a housing designed to receive insertion of a connective member along a predetermined imaginary reference plane; a slider assembled within the housing, said slider designed to move within the housing in parallel with the imaginary reference plane; and a receiving surface formed on the slider, said receiving surface designed to receive the insertion of the connective member.  
         [0012]     The connector enables the movement of the slider in response to the insertion of the connective member. Conventional operations can be employed to drive the slider. A driving force acting on the slider can be converted into various forces based on the movement of the slider.  
         [0013]     A driving force generating member may be connected to the slider. The driving force generating member may be designed to direct a driving force to the slider in a direction to move the connective member out of the housing, for example. The driving force is utilized to drive the slider to the position that is established prior to the insertion of the connective member.  
         [0014]     A converting mechanism may be incorporated within the slider. The converting mechanism may be designed to generate a driving force along an imaginary plane intersecting the imaginary reference plane by a predetermined inclination angle, based on the movement of the slider along the imaginary reference plane. The converting mechanism allows a change in the direction of the driving force applied to the slider in a facilitated manner. The driving force may function as a driving source on various scenes.  
         [0015]     The connector may further comprise an elastic terminal extending to the free tip end from the stationary end fixed to the housing. In this case, an inclined surface may be formed on the slider so as to receive the elastic terminal. The inclined surface extends along an imaginary plane intersecting the imaginary reference plane by a predetermined inclination angle. The movement of the slider enables displacement of the contact position between the inclined surface and the elastic terminal in the connector. The inclined surface generates a driving force directed to the elastic terminal. The elastic terminal is caused to deform. This deformation can be utilized to control the contact between the elastic terminal and the connective member.  
         [0016]     According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector comprising: a housing; a slider; a guide formed on the housing, said guide designed to guide movement of the slider along a predetermined plane within the housing; and a pair of elastic terminal or contact each extending to the free tip end from the stationary end fixed to the housing, said elastic terminals designed to hold a connective member therebetween, said connective member inserted into the housing in parallel with the predetermined plane, wherein a pair of inclined surfaces is defined on the slider, said inclined surfaces getting closer to each other at a location remoter from the stationary ends of the elastic terminals.  
         [0017]     The connector allows deformation of the elastic terminal based on the contact between the inclined surface and the elastic terminal in the aforementioned manner. This deformation can be utilized to control the contact between the elastic terminal and the connective member inserted into the housing. A receiving surface may be defined on the slider so as to receive insertion of the connective member in the same manner as described above. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view schematically illustrating the structure of a printed circuit board unit;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a vertical sectional view taken along the line  2 - 2  in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a vertical sectional view taken along the line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged partial perspective view schematically illustrating the structure of a card edge printed circuit board;  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view schematically illustrating the structure of a slider;  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a partial cutoff view schematically illustrating the structure of the slider; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 7  is a vertical sectional view, corresponding to  FIG. 3 , schematically illustrating elastic contacts when the slider reaches the uppermost position. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0026]      FIG. 1  schematically illustrates a printed circuit board unit  11 . The printed circuit board unit  11  includes a printed circuit board  12 . A connector  13  is mounted on the printed circuit board  12 . The connector  13  stands upright from the surface of the printed circuit board  12 . A small-sized printed circuit board or so-called card edge printed circuit board  14  is inserted into the connector  13 . The card edge printed circuit board  14  is kept in an attitude upright to the printed circuit board  12 . The card edge printed circuit board  14  corresponds to a graphic board, a memory board, a PCI board, or other types of printed circuit board, for example. The connector  13  serves to establish electric connection between the card edge printed circuit board  14  and the printed circuit board  12  as described later in detail.  
         [0027]     The connector  13  includes a housing  15 . The housing  15  has a plate-shaped base  16  received on the surface of the printed circuit board  12 . A housing body  17  is coupled to the base  16 . A slider  18  is assembled within the housing body  17 . The slider  18  is allowed to move upward and downward in the housing  15  in the vertical direction perpendicular to the surface of the printed circuit board  12 . The card edge printed circuit board  14  is received on the slider  18 . The card edge printed circuit board  14  serves as a connective member of the present invention.  
         [0028]     A pair of lever  21 ,  21  is attached to the housing  15 . The individual levers  21  are designed to rotate around a pair of rotation axis extending in parallel with each other. The rotation axes may be set parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board  12 , for example. The levers  21  causes the slider  18  to move upward as described later in detail.  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the lever  21  includes a driving piece  21   a  extending from the rotation axis. The driving pieces  21   a  contact the bottom surface of the slider  18 . An operating piece  21   b  is connected to the driving piece  21   a . The tip end of the operating piece  21   b  extends outward from the slider  18  in the horizontal direction. When the operating piece  21   b  is forced to move outward from the slider  18  around the rotation axis, the driving piece  21   a  rotates around the rotation axis. The driving piece  21   a  drives the slider  18  upward. The slider  18  thus moves from the lowermost position to the uppermost position. The levers  21  in this manner direct a driving force to the slider  18  in a direction to move the card edge printed circuit board  14  out of the housing  15 . To the contrary, when the slider  18  is forced to move downward from the uppermost position to the lowermost position, the driving pieces  21   a  of the levers  21  move downward around the rotation axes. The levers  21  thus serve as a driving force generating member of the present invention.  
         [0030]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , a pair of guide surface  22 ,  22  is defined on the housing body  17 . The guide surfaces  22 ,  22  are opposed to each other. The guide surface  22  is a flat surface extending in the vertical direction perpendicular to the surface of the printed circuit board  12 . The base  16  of the housing  15  serves to define the lower end of the guide surface  22 . Restriction pieces  23  protruding from the respective guide surfaces  22  serve to define the upper ends of the guide surfaces  22 .  
         [0031]     The slider  18  is positioned in a space between the guide surfaces  22 . A pair of guide piece  24 ,  24  is formed on the slider  18 . The guide pieces  24  are designed to protrude outward. The individual guide pieces  24  contact the corresponding guide surfaces  22 , respectively. The guide surfaces  22  thus serve to guide the vertical movement of the slider  18 . When the guide pieces  24  are received on the upper surface of the base  16 , the slider  18  is positioned at the lowermost position. When the guide pieces  24  contact the restriction pieces  23 , the slider  18  is positioned at the uppermost position.  
         [0032]     The stationary ends of elastic terminals or contacts  25  are fixed to the base  16  of the housing  15 . The stationary ends of the elastic contacts  25  penetrate outward through the base  16 . When the base  16  is received on the surface of the printed circuit board  12 , for example, the stationary ends of the elastic contacts  25  penetrate through the printed circuit board  12 . Electrically conductive pads  26  are arranged on the back surface of the printed circuit board  12 . The stationary ends of the elastic contacts  25  are soldered to the corresponding electrically conductive pads  26 , for example. The elastic contacts  25  may be made from an electrically conductive metallic plate, for example.  
         [0033]     The elastic contacts  25  are designed to stand upright from the surface of the base  16  within the housing  15 . The elastic contact  25  extends from the stationary end to the free tip end. First plate pieces  25   a  are defined in the elastic contacts  25 . The first plate pieces  25   a  are designed to stand from the surface of the base  16 . The first plate pieces  25   a  of the pair of the opposed elastic contacts  25  get closer to each other at a higher position. Second plate pieces  25   b  are connected to the tip ends of the first plate pieces  25   a . The second plate pieces  25   b  of the pair of the opposed elastic contacts  25  get remoter from each other at a position closer to the free tip ends. A bent section  25   c  is defined between the first and second plate pieces  25   a ,  25   b . The elastic contacts  25  of the pair are located closest at the bent sections  25   c . The card edge printed circuit board  14  is interposed between the opposed bent sections  25   c . The first plate pieces  25   a  serve to apply a sufficient urging force to the bent sections  25   c . The pairs of the elastic contacts  25  in this manner rigidly hold the card edge printed circuit board  14  within the housing  15 . The card edge printed circuit board  14  is reliably prevented from slippage.  
         [0034]     As is apparent from  FIG. 4 , electrically conductive contact pads  27  are arranged on the front and back surfaces of the card edge printed circuit board  14 . Here, the contact pads  27  are arranged in a row along the edge of the card edge printed circuit board  14 . The individual contact pads  27  are spaced from the edge of the card edge printed circuit board  14  by a predetermined distance S. Wiring patterns  28  extending on the front and back surfaces may be connected to the contact pads  27  in the card edge printed circuit board  14 . Resin material of the card edge printed circuit board  14  is exposed around the contact pads  27  and the wiring patterns  28 . In general, the resin material such as a glass epoxy resin is utilized to form the card edge printed circuit board  14 . The bent sections  25   c  of the elastic contacts  25  are allowed to contact the corresponding contact pads  27 . Electric connection is in this manner established between the contact pads  27  on the card edge printed circuit board  14  and the electrically conductive pads  26  on the printed circuit board  12 .  
         [0035]     Here, description will be made on the structure of the slider  18 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the slider  18  includes a pair of base block  31 ,  31 . The base blocks  31  are spaced from each other by a predetermined distance. The guide pieces  24  are formed on the individual base blocks  31 . Pairs of driving piece  32 ,  32 , . . . are arranged between the base blocks  31 ,  31  in the longitudinal direction of the slider  18 , for example. A passage of the card edge printed circuit board  14  is defined between the driving pieces  32 ,  32  of the individual pair. The driving pieces  32 ,  32 , . . . are arranged at equal intervals W in the longitudinal direction. The elastic contact  25  is located in a space between the adjacent driving pieces  32 ,  32 , . . . .  
         [0036]     The base blocks  31 ,  31  are coupled to each other with a pair of upper connecting member  33 ,  33  and a lower connecting member. The lower connecting member will be described later. An insertion opening  34  is defined for the card edge printed circuit board  14  between the upper connecting members  33 ,  33 . This insertion opening  34  is connected to an end of the aforementioned passage of the card edge printed circuit board  14 . As is apparent from  FIG. 5 , a pair of guiding surface  34   a ,  34   a , opposed to each other, may be formed on the insertion opening  34 . The guiding surfaces  34   a  are inclined surfaces designed to get closer to each other at a position closer to the passage of the card edge printed circuit board  14 .  
         [0037]     As is apparent from  FIG. 6 , the lower connecting member  35  extends through spaces between the driving pieces  32 ,  32  of the individual pairs. The driving pieces  32 ,  32 , . . . are integral to the lower connecting member  35 , for example. When the card edge printed circuit board  14  is inserted into a space between the driving pieces  32 ,  32  of the pair, the card edge of the card edge printed circuit board  14  is received on the upper surface of the lower connecting member  35 .  
         [0038]     An inclined surface  36  is defined on the individual driving piece  32 . The inclined surface  36  is opposed to the inner surface of the housing body  17 . The inclined surface  36  is designed to extend along an imaginary plane  38  intersecting an imaginary reference plane  37  including the guide surface  22  by an predetermined inclination angle α. The inclined surface  36  thus gets remoter from the passage of the card edge printed circuit board  14  at a location closer to the lower connecting member  35 . The tip end of the elastic contact  25  is received on the inclined surface  36 . A pair of enlarged pieces  25   d ,  25   d  is formed at the tip end of the elastic contact  25  so as to laterally extend. When the first and second plate pieces  25   a ,  52   b  are inserted between the adjacent driving pieces  32 , the enlarged pieces  25   d ,  25   d  are received on the inclined surfaces  36 , respectively. The inclined surfaces  36  serve as a converting mechanism as described later in detail.  
         [0039]     A vertical surface  39  is connected to the inclined surface  36  in the individual driving piece  32 . The vertical surface  39  is connected to the lower end of the inclined surface  36 . The lower end corresponds to the end near the lower connecting member  35 . The vertical surface may extend along an imaginary plane parallel to the imaginary reference plane  37 . The slider  18  may be made of resin material having a higher resistance to abrasion. Molding process may be utilized to form the slider  18  based on the resin material.  
         [0040]     Assume that the card connector  14  is withdrawn from the connector  13 . The operator pushes down the operating pieces  21   b  of the levers  21  around the rotation axes in directions outward from the slider  18 . The driving pieces  21   a  of the lever  21  lift the slider  18  upward. Since the card edge printed circuit board  14  is supported on the lower connecting member  35  of the slider  18 , the card edge printed circuit board  14  is forced to move upward along with the slider  18 . The guide surfaces  22 ,  22  serve to guide the upward movement of the slider  18 .  
         [0041]     The upward movement of the slider  18  induces a relative displacement between the elastic contacts  25  and the slider  18 . The enlarged pieces  25   d  of the elastic contacts  25  thus move upward along the inclined surfaces  36 . The displacement of the slider  18  allows the individual inclined surface  36  to exhibit a driving force in a direction perpendicular to the imaginary reference plane  37 . The driving force acts on the elastic contact  25 . The tip ends of the elastic contacts  25  are allowed to climb up the inclined surfaces  36 , so that the elastic contacts  25  of the pair get spaced from each other. The bent sections  25   c  of the elastic contacts  25  are in this manner distanced from the contact pads  27  on the card edge printed circuit board  14 . The elastic contacts  25  are released from the contact to the card edge printed circuit board  14 .  
         [0042]     When the operating pieces  21   b  of the levers  21  are further pushed down around the rotation axes, the guide pieces  24  of the slider  18  contact the restriction pieces  23 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , for example. The slider  18  reaches the uppermost position. The enlarged pieces  25   d  of the elastic contacts  25  moves to the vertical surfaces  39  from the inclined surfaces  36 . The slider  18  is held between the elastic contacts  25  at the vertical surfaces  39 . The elasticity of the elastic contacts  25  serves to hold the slider  18  at the uppermost position. Since the card edge printed circuit board  14  has been released from the contact of the elastic contacts  25 , the card edge printed circuit board  14  can easily be withdrawn from the connector  13 .  
         [0043]     Next, assume that the card edge printed circuit board  14  is to be inserted into the connector  13 . The slider  18  is positioned at the uppermost position. When the card edge printed circuit board  14  is inserted into the connector  13 , the card edge printed circuit board  14  is received into the slider  18 . The card edge printed circuit board  14  slips between the driving pieces  32 ,  32  of the individual pairs. The card edge of the card edge printed circuit board  14  is received on the lower connecting member  35 . When the card edge printed circuit board  14  is further pushed into the connector  13 , the movement of the card edge printed circuit board  14  serves to generate a driving force acting on the slider  18 . The slider  18  is forced to move downward from the uppermost position toward the lowermost position. The guide surfaces  22 ,  22  serve to guide the downward movement of the slider  18 .  
         [0044]     When the slider  18  moves downward in the aforementioned manner, a relative displacement is induced between the elastic contacts  25  and the slider  18  in the direction opposite to the aforementioned relative displacement. The enlarged pieces  25   d  of the elastic contacts  25  move downward along the inclined surfaces  36 . The inclined surfaces  36  serve to avoid contact between the elastic contacts  25  and the card edge printed circuit  14  in a predetermined period from the start of the downward movement of the slider  18 . In other words, contact is prevented between the elastic contacts  25  and the card edge printed circuit board  14  in an extent of the predetermined distance S from the card edge. The bent sections  25   c  of the elastic contacts  25  are in this manner prevented from contacting the resin material of the card edge printed circuit board  14 . Generation of dusts due to abrasion can be prevented.  
         [0045]     When the card edge printed circuit board  14  is further pushed down, the elastic contacts  25  of the pairs get closer to each other. The card edge printed circuit board  14  is held between the elastic contacts  25 . The bent sections  25   c  of the elastic contacts  25  are urged against the contact pads  27  on the card edge printed circuit board  14 . The guide pieces  24  of the slider  18  finally contact the base  16 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , for example. The slider  18  reaches the lowermost position.  
         [0046]     The connector  13  allows the elastic contacts  25  to deform in a conventional manner at insertion and withdrawal of the card edge printed circuit board  14 . No operations are required in addition to conventional operations. The urging force of the elastic contacts  25  toward the card edge printed circuit board  14  can reliably be relieved without inducing troublesome operations.  
         [0047]     The slider  18  can be placed on the base  16  prior to coupling of the housing body  17  to the base  16  in the production process of the connector  13 , for example. The elastic contacts  25  may simply contact the inclined surfaces  36  when the slider  18  is placed on the base  16 . The assembling can be achieved in a facilitated manner. In addition, the elasticity of the elastic contacts  25  serves to hold the slider  18  on the base  16 . Although the slider  18  is not fixed to the base  16 , the housing body  17  can be coupled to the base  16  in a facilitated manner. The assembling of the connector  13  can be facilitated. The productivity cannot be deteriorated. It should be noted that any alternative operations may be employed to assemble the connector  13 .  
         [0048]     An elastic member may be employed to urge the slider  18  toward the uppermost position in the connector  13 . The elastic member of the type may be a coil spring, for example. The elastic member may be utilized in place of the levers  21 .