Patent Publication Number: US-6220903-B1

Title: Plastic housing structures for a board-to-board connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (a) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the structure of a board-to-board connector, and in particular, to a plastic housing structure for a board-to-board connector. 
     (b) Description of the Prior Art 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, there is shown a conventional plastic housing  1  having a sliding recess  10  for the horizontal mounting of an angular board  11 . The inner wall at the two sides of the sliding recess  10  is provided with a protruded lug  14 , and the angular board  11  is provided with parallel rows of holes  12  for the mounting of the entire row of guiding pins  13 . The protruded lug  14  of the sliding recess  10  provides appropriate clipping to the gliding pins  13 . As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom surface of the plastic housing  1  of the connector is provided with three protruded boards  15  arranged in a row. There is a gap formed in between the individual protruded board  15  for the mounting of the guiding pins  13 . 
     FIGS. 2 and 4 show the application of the above structure. The connector is mounted onto a circuit board, and the guiding pins  13  and the circuit board are soldered together by soldering process. Next, a cleaning process is applied and the plastic housing  1  is removed. In view of the first structure, in the process of removing the plastic housing  1 , a force is exerted centrally onto the sides of the plastic housing  1  to cause the protruded lug  14  to release the urging force exerted onto the guiding pins  13 , and the plastic housing  1  is then smoothly lifted up. In the second structure, the removal of the plastic housing  1  is by the use of robotic arm or it is manually lifted up. 
     In application, the above conventional structures have the following drawbacks. 
     1) In the first structure, the angular board has to be mounted horizontally and this is difficult to attain and time-consuming for the reason that the plastic housing and the angular board are very small in size. 
     2) In the first structure, if the plastic housing is to be lifted up from the circuit board to separate from the guiding pins, a force has to be exerted to the sliding recess. This force is difficult to keep balance and the guiding pins cannot be smoothly separated. 
     3) In the second structure, the guiding pins are clipped by the force between the boards, if the clipping force is too great, the guiding pins and the plastic housing may not be smoothly separated. If the clipping force is too small, the guiding pins may be dislocated during the soldering process. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention is to provide a plastic housing for board-to-board connector, which allows rapid and easy separation of the plastic housing and the entire row of the guiding pins, such that all the guiding pins remain onto the circuit board when the plastic housing is lifted up. 
     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional board-to-board connector. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates schematic views showing the implementation of the conventional plate-to-plate connector of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another conventional board-to-board connector. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the implementation of the conventional board-to-board connector of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective exploded view of the plastic housing of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the structure of the base seat in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is the sectional view along line A—A of the top cap of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the plastic housing of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 shows the sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the combination of the base seat and the top cap of the present invention. 
     FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing the detachment of the top cap from the base seat of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown the plastic housing  1  of the present invention essentially comprising a base seat  20  and a top cap  30 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the central surface of the base seat  20  is provided with a protruded rib portion  21 , and a plurality of vertical slots  22  are provided to the left and right side of the rib  21 . A plurality of notches  23  are located and correspond to the vertical slots  22 . The inner wall of the notches  23  is provided with a sloping-shaped guiding surface  231 . The bottom portion of the slot  22  is formed into a through hole  24  for the insertion of guiding pins  25 . An engaging face  26  is provided to each of the ends of the rib portion  21 , and a pair of blocking blocks  27  and a protrusion  28  are provided to the surface of the engaging face  26 . The blocking blocks  27  are formed into a hole-like member and are provided with a sloping hook  271 . The protrusion  28  is provided with sloping faces  281 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the top end of the top cap  30  is flat and the edge of the top cap  30  is provided with a center slot  32  having an engaging portion  31 . The slot  32  is used to hold the blocking block  27  and the protrusion  28 , and a sloping hook  33  is formed at the inner wall of the engaging portion  31  so that it can be engaged with the blocking block  27 . The bottom surface of the top cap  30  is provided with a plurality of protruded blocks  34  having wavelike surface  35  at the inner surface thereof The outer side of the protruded block  34  is the engaging surface  36  for the engagement with the notch  23 . 
     In accordance with the present invention, the gradient of the guiding surface  231  of the notch  23  is slightly larger than that of the engaging surface  36 , and the engaging surface  36  is firmly engaged with the notch  23 . 
     As shown in FIG. 8, the base seat  20  is combined with the top cap  30  such that the protruded blocks  34  are in engagement with the notches  23  and the sloping hook  33  of the engaging portion  31  is hooked at the sloping face  281  of the protrusion  28 , thereby a complete plastic housing  1  is obtained. 
     As shown in FIG. 9, the entire row of guiding pins  25  is mounted into the through hole  24  of the base seat  20 . As the insertion of the through hole  24  is outwardly extended, this structure facilitates smooth insertion of the guiding pins  25 . When the guiding pins  25  are inserted into the slots  22 , due to the larger slope of the guiding surface  231 , as compared to that of the engaging surface  36  of the protruded block  34 , the protruded block  34  is urged closely to the rib portion  21 , and the wavelike surface  35  provides a tight mounting. Thus, the guiding pins  25  will not dislocate during the process of soldering, and the guiding pins  25  are soldered together with the circuit. Finally, the top cap  30  is lifted, and due to the engaging surface  36  restores to its original state, it releases the tight urging of the guiding pins  25 , and the base seat  20  is lifted altogether. Thus, the plastic housing  1  is removed and the guiding pins  25  remain on the circuit board. 
     In accordance with the present invention, the base seat  20  and the top cap  30  can be rapidly mounted together, and when they are used on a connector, they are easily dislocated from the guiding pins  25 . This is due to the engaging structure of the base seat  20  and the top cap  30 . As shown in FIG. 10, in combination, the blocking block  27  at the sides of the base seat  20 , and the sloping hook  33  for the engaging portion  31  provided by the protrusion  28  have a sloping hook  271  and a sloping surface  281 . Thus, these structures can be easily mounted without applying much force. As shown in FIG. 11, when the top cap is to be lifted up, the engaging structure has a restriction effect. Due to the larger slope of the sloping surface  281  of the protrusion  28 , the engaging portion  31  will not be affected and can be easily disengaged. But the upward action is restricted by the blocking block  27 , and the sloping hook  271  of the blocking block  27  and the sloping hook  33  match with each other, an exact engagement is formed such that the base seat  20  is lifted up together with the top cap  30 . 
     While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.