Patent Publication Number: US-8523595-B2

Title: Electronic module with improved latch mechanism

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to an electronic module, and more particularly to an electronic module having an improved latch mechanism for high speed signal transmitting. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable), X-SFP and QSFP are all modules for fiber optic transmission or ordinary signal transmission. All of the modules are of small size or form factor which is important. The smaller the form factor of the module, the less space taken on a printed circuit board to which it couples. A smaller form factor allows a greater number of modules to be coupled onto a printed circuit board to support additional communication channels. However, the smaller form factor makes it more difficult for a user to handle. When such a module embedded in a system fails, it is desirable to replace it, particularly when other communication channels are supported by other modules. To replace a failed module, it needs to be pluggable into a module receptacle. While, plugging in a new module is usually easy, it is more difficult to remove the failed module because of other components surrounding it. 
     Therefore, designers developed different solutions to solve above problems accounted by the users, such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,851,867, 6,749,448, 6,884,097, 6,908,323, 7,052,306, 6,824,416 and 7,090,523. The theories of theses patents are substantially the same, that is each module is received in corresponding cage or module receptacle and comprises a pair of sliders with forward ends engaging with tabs of the cage, and a bail or lever capable of rotating to actuate the sliders linearly to separate forward ends of the sliders from the tabs. The action theory of theses patents successfully solve the problems mentioned above. However, another problem is raised, that is there is not enough space left for operator&#39;s finger operation. 
     Hence, an improved electronic module is highly desired to overcome the disadvantages of the related art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic module having an improved latch mechanism to be separated from a complementary connector expediently. 
     In order to achieve the object set forth, an electronic module for mating with a complementary connector, comprises: a housing defining a recess area; a printed circuit board disposed in the housing; a slider member assembled to an exterior surface of the housing and defining a pair of curved arm portions formed on a front section thereof and a connecting portion connected with two front ends of the pair of curved arm portions, each arm portion defining a protrudent portion formed on a top surface thereof; a gasket received into the recess area and engaged with the housing; whereby movement of the slider by a user along a front to rear direction, the pair of curved arm portions are both straightened to make two protrudent portions moved upwardly. 
     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 an exploded, perspective view of an electronic module in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another exploded, perspective view of the electronic module of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is another exploded, perspective view of the electronic module of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an assembled, perspective view of the electronic module shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded, perspective view of an electrical connector assembly formed by the electronic module shown in  FIG. 4  and an cage of a complementary connector; 
         FIG. 6  is an assembled, perspective view of the electrical connector assembly the electronic module and an cage of a complementary connector; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-section view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-section view taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-section view of  FIG. 8  when a slider member of the electronic module is moved rearwardly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , the electronic module  100  comprises a housing (not numbered) formed by a conductive base portion  1  and a conductive panel portion  2 , a printed circuit board  3 , a cable  4 , a metallic gasket  5  and a latch mechanism (not numbered). The housing defines a recess area formed on an exterior surface thereof. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , the base portion  1  is die-cast or other metallic plated body, and includes a primary body portion  11  and a first mounting portion  12  rearward extending from a back face of the primary body portion  11 . The primary body portion  11  has a pair of lateral walls  111 ,  112  and a top wall  113  connecting with the lateral walls  111 ,  112  to form a receiving space  110  with an opening (not numbered) facing downward. Rear sections of the pair of the lateral walls  111 ,  112  define a pair of first depression portions  1110 . An outlet  1131  is formed on a front section of the top wall  113 . A rear section of the top wall  113  defines a first channel  1132  located in a middle area thereof. And, a locking piece  1133  is formed in the front and middle of the first channel  1132 . A pair of sunken portions  1134  are formed on two lateral areas of the rear section of the top wall  113 , and respectively arranged at two outer sides of the first channel  1132 . A pair of indentations  1135  are respectively located at inner side of the corresponding sunken portions  1134  and formed in front of the first channel  1132 . And each of the indentation  1135  is deeper than each of the sunken portion  1134 . A pair of protrusions  1136  are respectively formed in a rear end of the two sunken portions  1134 . A pair of tiny posts  1137  are respectively formed in the pair of indentations  1135 . A pair of flutes  1138  are formed on two sides of the first channel  1132  and located on the rear section of the top wall  113 . The two flutes  1138  are also respectively located at two inner sides of the two sunken portions  1134  and located behind the two indentations  1135 . And, the flute  1138  is deeper than the indentation  1135 . A trough  1139  is formed on a front end of the first channel  1132  and communicated with the pair of flutes  1138 . Thus, a U-shaped slot is formed by the pair of flutes  1138  and the trough  1139 . 
     The primary body portion  11  further has a beam portion  114  with substantially L-shaped cross-section interconnecting two front ends of the pair of the lateral walls  111 ,  112 . The lateral walls  111 ,  112  of the primary body portion  11  respectively has two first standoffs  1112  and a second standoff  1113  located in front of the two first standoffs  1112  formed on an inner surface thereof. The two first standoffs  1112  and the second standoff  1113  are located adjacent to the outlet  1131  of the primary body portion  11 . And a pair of wider ribs  1115  are respectively formed on two inner surfaces of the lateral walls  111 ,  112  and disposed in front of each second standoff  1113 . Each second standoff  1113  has a situating post  1114  formed thereon. Thus, the second standoff  1113  is structured in a T-shaped. The situating post  1114  formed on the lateral wall  111  and the situating post  1114  formed on the lateral wall  112  are staggered with each other along a longitudinal direction. 
     The first mounting portion  12  has a pair of side walls  121  and a top wall  122 . The first mounting portion  12  defines a first semi-circular cavity  1201  and a first position slot  1202  located in front of the first semi-circular cavity  1201 . The first position slot  1202  is deeper than the first semi-circular  1201 . A second channel  1221  is formed on a middle area of the top wall  122  and communicated with the first channel  1132  of the primary body portion  11 . A projection  1222  is formed in the second channel  1221  and located behind the locking piece  1133 . A pair of guiding passages  1223  are formed on two lateral sides of the second channel  1221 . And the first mounting portion  12  defines a pair of screw holes  1212  throughout the first mounting portion  12  along a vertical direction and respectively formed at two rear corners thereof. A pair of positioning posts  1224  are respectively formed on exterior surfaces of the pair of side walls  121 . 
     The panel portion  2  is die-cast or a metallic plated body. The panel portion  2  comprises a secondary body portion  21  and a second mounting portion  22  extending rearwards from a back face of the secondary body portion  21 . The secondary body portion  21  has a planar board member  213  and a pair of flange members  211 ,  212  formed on two lateral sides thereof. The board member  213  defines a second depression portion  2130  formed on an outer surface thereof and a vertical wall  2131  perpendicular to the pair of flange members  211 ,  212  and interconnected with two front ends of the pair of flange members  211 ,  212 . The two flange members  211 ,  212  respectively defines two supporting post  2133  extending upward from thereon. Four supporting posts  2133  are located behind the vertical wall  2131 . A front supporting post  2133  of the two supporting posts  2133  of the flange member  211  has a first aperture  2134  opening facing rearwardly. And a front supporting post  2133  of the two supporting posts  2133  of the flange member  212  has a second aperture  2135  opening facing forwardly. That is to say, the first aperture  2134  and the second aperture  2135  have opposite facing directions with each other. The board member  213  has a protrusion portion  2132  formed on a front end thereof. 
     The second mounting portion  22  also has a pair of side walls  221  and a bottom wall  22 . The second mounting portion  22  defines a second semi-circular cavity  2201  and a second position slot  2202  located in front of the second semi-circular cavity  2201 . And the second mounting portion  12  defines a pair of through holes  2211  throughout the second mounting portion  12  along a vertical direction and respectively formed on two rear corners thereof. The recess area is formed by the first depression portions  1110  of the base portion  1  and the second depression portions  2130  of the panel portion  2 . 
     The printed circuit board  3  includes a substrate  30 , a plurality of first conductive pads  31  formed on two opposite surfaces of a front section of the substrate  30  and a plurality of second conductive pads (not shown) located on a rear section thereof. A pair of semi-circular positioning holes  32  are formed at two sides of a front segment of the substrate  30 . And, the two positioning holes  32  are not in alignment with each other along a transversal direction. That is to say, the two positioning holes  32  are staggered with each other along a longitudinal direction. The shape of the positioning hole  32  also can be defined by other configurations, such as square. 
     The cable  4  includes an outer insulative jacket  40  and a number of wires  41  enclosed by the insulative jacket  40 . And a number of wires  41  are insulated with each other. A cable holder member  42  is attached to the cable  4  and surrounds a front portion of the cable  4 . The cable holder member  42  is adjacent to the exposed wires  41 . A front section of the wires  41  are electrically connected with the second conductive pads of the printed circuit board  3 . And, an insulator  43  is formed around a connection between a front section of the wires  41  and a rear end of the printed circuit board  3 . 
     The gasket  5  is made of metal sheet and has a rectangular frame portion  51 . The frame portion  51  defines a pair of vertical sides  5   a ,  5   b , a lower side  5   c  connecting with the pair of vertical sides  5   a ,  5   b , and a pair of upper walls  5   d  respectively extending inwardly from two top ends of the pair of vertical walls  5   a ,  5   b . A number of detents  52 ,  53  formed on the frame portion  51  are divided into a layer of first detents  53  and a layer of second detents  52 . A number of first detents  53  are located on an outer side of the frame portion  51 . A number of second detents  52  are located on an inner side of the frame portion  51 . A number of second detents  52  are shielded by a number of first detents  53  to achieve better Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) suppressing effect. A number of first detents  53  extend rearward and outward from front edge of the frame portion  51 . And a number of second detents  52  are stamped from the frame portion  51  and extend rearward and outward. Each upper wall  5   d  defines a circular hole  54  cooperated with the tiny post  1137 . Each upper wall  5   d  further defines a semi-circular hole  55  cooperated with the protrusion  1136 . 
     The latch mechanism includes a slider member  61  and a pull tape  62  connected with each other. The slider member  61  is formed of plastic material and has a substantially rectangular body portion  611 , two arm portions  612  extending forwardly from a front face of the body portion  611  and a connecting portion  613  connected with two free ends of the two arm portions  612 . A U-shaped actuating section is formed by the two arm portions  612  and the connecting portion  613 . The two arm portions  612  are made of plastic material and spaced apart with each other along a transversal direction. And, the two arm portions  612  and the connecting portion  613  are respectively received into the two flutes  1138  and the trough  1139 . It should be noted that each arm portion  612  is soft and elastic, and structured in a curved shape. The connecting portion  613  is rigid. And, the arm portion  612  will be straightened when the slider member  61  is exerted by a pulling force along a front to rear direction. The arm portion  612  will be resume to an original state when the pulling force is removed. The body portion  611  has a groove  6110  formed on a bottom surface thereof and extending along a front to rear direction. The body portion  611  defines a bar  6111  formed on a top surface thereof and extending along a front to rear direction. The projection  1222  of the base portion  1  is received into the groove  6110  when the slider member  61  is assembled to the base portion  1 . Each arm portion  612  has a protrudent portion  6120  formed on a top surface thereof. And the body portion  611  defines a pair of tubers  613  formed on lateral sides thereof and respectively received into the two guiding passages  1223 . The slider member  61  can be moved along a front to rear direction. 
     The pull tape  62  is a soft belt with a certain width. The pull tape  62  defines a connecting end attached to a rear end of the slider member  61  and a handling portion  621  for an operator pulling the latch mechanism. 
     A spring  8  is received into the groove  6110  and located in front of the projection  1222  and abutted against the projection  1222 . 
     A metallic member  9  is made of metal sheet and defines a notch  90  extending along a front to rear direction to cooperated with the bar  6111  and a pair of openings  91  formed on two sides of the notch  90 . The metallic member  9  further defines a pair of connecting portions  92  on lateral sides thereof. The pair of openings  91  are formed in rear segment of the metallic member  9 . And the pair of connecting portions  92  are formed at two sides of a front section of the metallic member  9 . The two connecting portions  92  are respectively received into the two semi-circular holes of the base portion  1  and engaged with the two positioning posts  1224 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5-6 , a complementary connector (not shown) mated with the electronic module  100  has a cage  200 . The cage  200  is structured in a rectangular shape and has a receiving room formed therein for receiving a body portion of the electronic module  100 . The cage  200  defines a first tab  201  having a through hole  202  formed on a rear end thereof and a pair of second tabs  203  located at two sides of the first tab  201  for cooperating with two first detents  53  of the gasket  5 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-8 , in assembly, the insulative jacket  40  of a front segment of the cable  4  is decorticated. And, then the wires  41  are exposed outside and soldered to the second conductive pads of the printed circuit board  3 . And an insulator  43  is formed around a connecting portion between the wires  41  and the printed circuit board  3 . 
     The printed circuit board  3  is assembled into the base portion  1  and received in the receiving space  110  of the base portion  1 . Simultaneously, the printed circuit board  3  is located on the first standoffs  1112  and the second standoffs  1113  of the base portion  1 . And the situating posts  1114  are inserted into the positioning holes  32  of the printed circuit board  3  to position the printed circuit board  3  to the base portion  1 . 
     The cable holder member  42  of the cable  4  is partially received into the first position slot  1202  of the base portion  1 . The panel portion  2  is assembled to the base portion  1  and has a pair of lateral flange members  211 ,  212  extending into the receiving space  110 . The supporting posts  2133  attach to a bottom surface of the printed circuit board  3 . The two situating posts  1114  are received into the first and second apertures  2134 ,  2135 . As the first and second apertures  2134 ,  2135  have different opening facing directions. So the panel portion  2  is positioned with the base portion  1  along a front to rear direction. The protrusion portion  2132  of the panel portion  2  is received into the beam portion  114  of the base portion  1 . The cable holder member  42  is totally received into the first and second position slots  1202 ,  2202 . 
     The slider member  61  is assembled into the second channel  1221  of the first mounting portion  12 . The pair of tubers  613  are respectively received into the two guiding passages  1223 . The two arm portions  612  of the slider member  61  are received into the pair of flutes  1138 . The connecting portion  613  is received into the trough  1139 . The spring  8  is received into the groove  6110  of the slider member  61  and disposed in front of and abutted against the projection  1222 . The spring  8  will be compressed when the slider member  61  moves rearwardly. The spring  8  will be resumed to an original state when an exerting force is released. 
     The gasket  5  surrounds the rear out surface of the housing (not figured). The pair of vertical sides  5   a ,  5   b  are received into the pair of first depression portions  1110 . The lower side  5   c  is received into the second depression portions  2130  of the panel portion  2 . The pair of upper walls  54  are respectively received into the pair of sunken portions  1134  and indentations  1135 . The tiny post  1137  formed in the indentation  1135  is passed through the circular hole  541 . Thus, the gasket  5  is fixed to the housing. The pair of protrusions  1136  are received into the pair of semi-circular cutouts  542  of the upper wall  5   d . The protrudent portion  6120  of the arm portion  612  is disposed below the first tab  201 . 
     The metallic member  9  is assembled to a top surface of the first mounting portion  12  and covered to the body portion  611  of the slider member  61 . The bar  6111  of the body portion  611  is received into the notch  90 . The pair of connecting portions  92  are cooperated with the pair of positioning posts  1224 . The opening  91 , the screw hole  1212 , the through hole  2211  are in alignment with each other along a vertical direction. A pair of screws  10  are respectively passed through the opening  91 , the screw hole  1212 , the through hole  2211  to engage with the metallic member  9 , the base portion  1  and the panel portion  2  together. Through above assembling steps, the entire process of assembling of the electronic module  100  is finished. 
     When the electronic module  100  is received into the cage  200  of the complementary connector, the locking piece  1133  is passed through the through hole  202  of the first tab  201 . Thus, the electronic module  100  is interlocked with the cage  200 . And, the arm portion  612  will be straightened when the slider member  61  is exerted by a pulling force along a front to rear direction. And, the first tab  201  will be raised up by the protrudent portion  6120  which is moved upwardly. At this time, the locking piece  1133  is disengaged with first tab  201 . As a result, the electronic module  100  can be discreted from the cage  200 . 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrated only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.