Patent Publication Number: US-7581974-B2

Title: Electrical connector with retaining member

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the invention 
   The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particular to an electrical connector for a sheet-like connection member such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a flexible flat cable and so forth. All of these cables and circuit hereafter will be generally referred to as “FPC” for simplification. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,274 discloses a conventional electrical connector adapted for connecting an FPC. The connector comprises a longitudinal insulating housing defining a receiving cavity with a pair of slots respectively formed at opposite ends. A plurality of terminals is mounting on the housing with solder portions extending rearward to solder on a printed circuit board (PCB). A pair of retaining members is embedded in the slot and each comprises a retaining portion retained in a back end of the slot and a solder portion extending out of the slot to be soldered on the PCB. An actuator is rotatablely mounted on the housing  1  and presses the FPC to electrically contact with the terminals. 
   After the connector is mounted onto the PCB, if the FPC is enforced by an unexpected upward force, the front portion of the housing may be pulled upward because the retaining member only fix the rear portion of the housing, which will destroy the connection between the terminals and the PCB. Therefore, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the problem. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with an improved retaining member. 
   In order to achieve above-mentioned objects, an electrical connector comprises an insulating housing provided with a plurality of conductive terminals, defining a pair of slots at opposite ends thereof; a pair of retaining member embedded in the slot, each comprising a retaining portion retained in the slot, a bending portion and a soldering portion extending from a top edge and a bottom edge thereof respectively; wherein the bending portion and the solder portion extend in an adverse direction and the bending portion is abutting against a top portion of the housing. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an assembled perspective view of the electrical connector; 
       FIG. 3  is another view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is an assembled perspective view of the electrical connector wherein an actuator is in an open position; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along line  5 - 5 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along line  6 - 6 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a front view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a partly-amplificatory view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 7 ; and 
       FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 7  taken along line  9 - 9 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an electrical connector  100  in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulating housing  1 , a plurality of first terminals  2  and second terminals  3  received in the housing  1 , two retaining members  4  embedded in the housing  20  and an actuator  5  rotatablely mounted on the housing  1 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , the housing  1  of elongated shape defines a cavity  12  opened upward and forward at one side thereof with two opposite sidewalls  13 . A pair of supporting ribs  17  respectively extends upward from the top face of the cavity  12  in a front-to-back direction (i.e. an insertion direction) to divide the cavity  12  into two parts. The middle part of the cavity is used to receive a corresponding FPC and defines a plurality of passageways  121  parallel arranged along an elongated direction perpendicularly to the front-to-back direction and running through the rear end of the housing  1 . The side parts of the cavity is defined as a supporting portion and used to receive a pair of retaining member  4 . A slot  15  extends from the front face to the rear face of the housing in the front-to-back direction in the supporting portion. The rear portion of the slot  15  are divided into two portions by a partition  18  unitarily formed with the housing, an upper groove  153  and a lower groove  154  parallel to the upper groove. The lower groove  154  is running through the back wall of the housing and open to the bottom of the housing. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the first and second terminals  2 ,  3  are retained in the passageways  121  and the actuator  5  is assembled in the cavity  12 . The actuator has a plurality of receiving holes  54  formed at one side thereof and each receiving hole is used to receive an upper arm of the terminal. See  FIG. 5 , each second terminal  3  comprises an upper arm  31  with a hook portion  311  facing the cavity  12 , a lower arm  32  opposite the upper arm with a contacting portion  321  projecting to the cavity and a soldering portion  34  extending out of the housing. The hook portion  311  passes through the receiving hole  54  and grasps a shaft  51  in the hole so the actuator  5  can rotate along the shaft relative to the top of the cavity. See  FIG. 6 , the first terminal  2  is similar to the second terminal  3  with an opposite upper arm  21  and lower arm  22  and a soldering portion  24  extending out of the housing. A contacting portion  221  is formed at a distal end of the lower arm  22  facing the cavity  12 . The upper arm of the first terminal has no hook portion, which is different from the second terminal  2 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , the actuator  5  is of elongated board and said receiving holes  54  are formed on a comb portion  52  which is disposed at one side of the actuator for urging with the FPC. A pivot portion  53  is defined at both end of the comb portion  52  and spaced away the comb portion with a groove  55  for receiving the rib  17 . The pivot portion  53  is installed into the cavity between the rib  17  and the sidewall  13  upon the retaining member  4 , which will be detailed described hereinafter. A pair of protrusions  57  is formed on both ends of the board respectively. When the actuator  5  is rotated to a closed position, the protrusions  57  will buckle with a receiving recess  131  formed on the upper portion of the inner sidewall  13 . The work theory of the actuator  5  is common acknowledge for the people in the field, so the detail description about it is omitted. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the retaining member  4  is made from a metal sheet and is retained in the slot  15  by the retaining portion  44 . The retaining portion  44  is in a fork like shape and comprises an upper arm  441  and a lower arm  442 . The upper arm  441  is retained in the upper groove  153  and the lower arm  442  is received in the lower grooves  154  and exposed to the outer of the housing. A stopping portion  43  is provided extending upward from the top edge thereof, which can prevent the pivot portion  53  of the actuator  5  from forward moving while the pivot portions are supported by the top edge of the retaining member. A bending portion  41  is bent inwardly at the front portion of the retaining member  4  and abutting against the top portion of the supporting portion. A solder portion  42  is extending outwardly at the rear portion of the retaining member  4  and along the bottom of the housing. The bending portion  41  and the solder portion  42  are extending in an adverse direction (see  FIGS. 7 and 8 ), which can decrease exterior force exerted on the housing. The reasons will be explained hereinafter. 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , the solder portion  42  of the retaining member  4  can fix the housing  1  on to the PCB, the bending portion  41  and the retaining portion  44  can separately secure front portion and rear portion of the housing  1 . If the FPC received in the receiving cavity is pulled up by an unexpected upward force, the front portion of the housing  1  may be driven by the actuator  5  and produces an upward force, at the same time the bending portion  41  of the retaining member  4  can give a downward force onto the front portion of the housing  1  to counteract the upward force, therefore the front portion of the housing  1  could not move upward and ensure the connector mounting on the PCB. 
   The present invention is not limited to the electrical connector mentioned above. This disclosure is illustrative only, changes may be made in detail, especially in matter of shapes, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention.