Abstract:
An electrical connector comprises a base having a plurality of passageways for receiving a number of contacts, a cover mounted to the base and including a plurality of through holes corresponding to the passageways, and a lid having two opposite edges. One edge is mounted upon the cover to drive the cover to move relative to the base, and the other edge locks the base when the lid is located at a close position relative to the base.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a lid to drive a cover mounted onto a base. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Various types of conventional electrical connectors used for attaching electronic packages are well known. Each of the electronic packages has a large number of contacts that are arranged in a matrix-like array. The electronic packages are classified as Pin Grid Array (PAG) packages, Ball Grid Array (BAG) packages, or Land Grid Array (LAG) packages in view of a pin leg or a conductive pad of the electronic package. 
         [0005]    The electrical connector used for electrically connecting the PGA package is also referred as zero-insertion-force (ZIF) socket in view of its operational mechanism and can refer to U.S. Pat. No. 6,821,138 issued to Hou on Nov. 23, 2004. The ZIF socket typically comprises a base having a plurality of terminals, a cover moveably mounted on the base, and an actuator driving the cover to move relative to the base between a first and a second positions. The cover has a plurality of through holes to receive the pin legs of the PGA package. The actuator generally includes a cam with a plurality of posts offset from a central axis or an L-shaped lever. The lever is made of metallic rod and comprises a retaining portion mounted between the cover and the base and an operating portion perpendicular to the retaining portion for being handed by an operator. When the lever is rotated counterclockwise to a substantially vertical position, the cover is located at a first position in which the pin legs of the electronic package can easily passing through the through holes of the cover, and then reaches into a passageway of the base; when the lever is rotated clockwise to a substantially horizontal direction, the cover is driven toward a second position and during which, the cover on which the electronic package is carried is moved in accordance with the cover. The movement of the cover will drive the pin leg to contact with the terminal within the base therefore establishing an electrical interconnection therebetween. In using, the ZIF socket and the PGA package generate a great deal of heat that may malfunction the PGA package, so that a heat sink is needed to dissipate the heat built-up thereof. However, the heat sink for the electrical connector is generally assembled with the ZIF socket difficult to detach. 
         [0006]    Therefore, it is need to find a new electrical connector to overcome the problems mentioned above. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with a lid for driving a cover move relative to a base. 
         [0008]    In order to achieve the object set forth, an electrical connector comprises a base having a plurality of passageways for receiving contacts, a cover mounted on the base and including a plurality of through holes corresponding to the passageways, and a lid having a first and a second edges. The first edge drives the cover horizontally to move relative to the base during a rotation of the lid, and the second edge locks the base when the lid is located at a close position relative to the base. 
         [0009]    In order to further achieve the object set forth, an electrical connector, comprises a base having a plurality of passageways for receiving contacts, a cover mounted to the base and including a plurality of through holes corresponding to the passageways, and a lid having a first edge and a second edge opposite to the first edge. The first edge comprises a lever with an eccentric portion driving the cover move relative to the base. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is an assembled, perspective view of an electrical connector of the present invention showing a lid of the electrical connector located at a close position; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an exploded, perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the lid of the electrical connector; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is another assembled, perspective view of the electrical connector with a heat sink mounted on the lid, wherein the lid is at an open position; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0015]    Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe the present invention in detail. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 2 , an electrical connector used to electrically connect a first electrical component, such as an electronic package (not shown), and a second electrical component, such as a printed circuit board (not shown) is shown. The electrical connector comprises a base, a cover  4  mounted on the base, and a lid  5  driving the cover  4  to move relative to the base. The base includes a frame  2  and an insulative housing  3  mounted to the frame  2 . A plurality of contacts  33  are retained in the insulative housing  3 . 
         [0017]    The frame  2  is formed with a substantially rectangular configuration and defines an opening  21  in a center thereof. The frame  2  is further formed with a pair of opposite side walls  22 , a first end  23  and a second end  24  located at opposite sides and connecting the side walls  22 . The first end  23  is used for pivotally linking with the lid  5 . A stiffener  6  is mounted on the first end  23  by screws (not shown) to press a corresponding end of the cover  4  for preventing the cover  4  from deformation. An engaging portion  27  protrudes from a middle of the second end  24 . The frame  2  has four securing portions  28  extending from four corners thereof. Each securing portion  28  defines a hole  281  for a screw passing therethrough to secure the frame  2  on the printed circuit board (not shown). 
         [0018]    The insulative housing  3  is molded by an insulative synthetic resin. The insulative housing  3  includes a planar base  32  and a platform  31  embossed from a middle of the planar base  32 . A plurality of passageways  311  (only one is shown in  FIG. 2 ) are defined on the platform  31  for receiving the contacts  33  to establish an electrical connection between the electronic package (not shown) and the printed circuit board (not shown). The planar base  31  is fastened on the printed circuit board (not shown) by a plurality of screws (not shown), and the platform  31  extends through the opening  21 . 
         [0019]    The cover  4  is mounted to the frame  2  and comprises a head portion  41  and a main portion  42  connected with the head portion  41 . A receiving recess  25  is formed between the head portion  41  and the first end  23  of the frame  2 , and two concaves  26  transversely lie thereof and extend through the cover  4 . The main portion  42  has two opposite sidewalls  421  extending downwardly thereof for engaging with the sidewalls  22  of the frame  2 . A plurality of through holes  422  are defined in the main portion  42  corresponding to the passageways  311  of the insulative housing  3  for leading pins (not shown) of the electronic package (not shown) into the passageways  311  of the insulative housing  3 . A pair of notches  423  are formed on the main portion  42  and adjacent to the sidewalls  421  for easily assembling or disassembling the electronic package (not shown) from the electrical connector. 
         [0020]    Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the lid  5  is pivotally mounted upon the cover  4  and includes a substantially rectangular main body  51  and a lever  52  disposed at an end of the main body  51 . The main body  51  has an opening  510  in a center thereof for receiving other electrical element, such as a heat sink  7 . The frame  51  defines a first edge  511  and a second edge  512  corresponding to the first end  23  and the second end  24  of the frame  2 , respectively. A pair of connecting portions  5110  are disposed at a bottom of the first edge  511  for assembling the lever  52 . The connecting portion  5110  is formed with a semicircular cross-sectional shape for reducing friction with respect to with the frame  2  and the stiffener  6 , respectively. The lever  52  is disposed between the connecting portions  5110  and includes an eccentric axis  521  disposed at a center thereof which offsets toward the main body  51 . The eccentric axis  521  has two cams  522  coaxial with the eccentric axis  521  and eccentrically with the lever  52  besides the eccentric axis  521 . The lever  52  and the cams  522  are received in the receiving recess  25  and the concaves  26 , respectively. Alternatively, the lever  52  also can be a straight rod with an eccentric cam. The cams  522  can drive the cover  4  to move relative to the insulative housing  3 . The lever  52  can be integrally formed with the main body  51  and also can be individually formed with the main body  51 . A clasp  8  is assembled to the second edge  512  of the main body  51  by a rod  9 . The clasp  8  includes a hook  81  extending downwardly for engaging with the engaging portion  27  of the frame  2  and a handle portion  82  extending upwardly from the hook  81  for being operated. 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  shows a heat sink  7  assembled to the opening  510  of the lid  5 . The heat sink  7  is mounted to the main body  51  by a plurality of connecting elements (not shown) passing through the opening  510  for abutting against the electronic package (not shown) to transmit heat thereof. 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , when using the electrical connector, firstly, opening the lid  5  to a vertical direction; secondly loading the electronic package (not shown) upon the cover  4 ; thirdly, closing the lid  5  to a horizontal direction, during this process, the cams  522  drive the cover  4  to move in the horizontal direction as marked by the arrow for establishing a stably electrical connection between the pins of the electronic package (not shown) and the contacts  33  of the insulative housing  3 ; and lastly, the hook  51  engages with the engaging portion  27  to fasten the lid  5  and the base. The working principle of the lid  5  to drive the cover  4  to move relative to the insulative housing  3  is same with the conventional pin grid array (PAG) connector, so that no detailed description is given herein, and pertinent description can be referred to U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,592 issued to Keller et. al on Nov. 13, 2001. 
         [0023]    Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various alterations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without in any way departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.