Patent Publication Number: US-6908317-B2

Title: Electrical connector having a spacer

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector mounted on a printed circuit board. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     It is well known that an electrical connector mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) by either Through Hole Technology (THT) or Surface Mount Technology (SMT). U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,883 discloses a board-mounted electrical connector comprising an insulative housing and a plurality of terminals received in the insulative housing which are electrically connected to the PCB through THT. Conventionally, the soldering portions of the THT terminals should be accurately aligned with corresponding through-holes on the PCB to facilitate the soldering procedure thereby achieving a reliable electrical connection therebetween. While, the soldering portions of the SMT terminals should have good coplanarity thereof to be precisely soldered with corresponding pads on the PCB. However, a problem occurs, when THT terminals and SMT terminals are simultaneously required in one electrical connector in some applications, that it is difficult to achieve an accurately positioning between the soldering portions of THT and SMT terminals with respect to corresponding through-holes and pads of the PCB at the same time. 
     Hence, it is desirable to have an improved connector to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the related art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector which ensures a reliable electrical connection between the terminals and a PCB on which the connector is mounted. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention, which is adapted for mounting on the PCB comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of first and a plurality of second terminals received in the insulative housing and a spacer. The insulative housing comprises a base portion and a mating portion extending forwardly from the base portion. The mating portion defines a plurality of passageways extending therethrough, the base portion defines a plurality of recesses thereon. Each first terminal comprises a contacting portion received in corresponding passageway and a soldering portion extending perpendicularly to the PCB. Each second terminal comprises a contacting portion received in corresponding passageway, a soldering portion extending parallel to the PCB and a connecting portion connecting the contacting portion and the soldering portion. The spacer is assembled to the base portion of the insulative housing and defines a plurality of holes receiving and organizing the soldering portions of the first terminals, and a plurality of protrusions cooperating with the recesses of the base portion for organizing corresponding connecting portions of the second terminals. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the 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 a perspective view of an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the electrical connector shown; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the electrical connector with a spacer being removed therefrom; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the electrical connector with terminals being removed therefrom; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a first and a second terminals of the electrical connector; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the spacer; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the electrical connector assembled on a printed circuit board; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 1  taken along line  8 — 8 ; and 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 1  taken along line  9 — 9 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-4 , an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention, which is adapted for mounting on a printed circuit board (PCB)  50 , comprises an insulative housing  10 , a plurality of terminals  20  received in the insulative housing  10 , a spacer  30  mounted on the insulative housing  10  and a shell  40 . 
     The insulative housing  10  comprises a base portion  12  and a mating portion  11  extending forwardly from the base portion  12 . The mating portion  11  comprises a mating port  111  and a plurality of first and second passageways  112 ,  113  extending through. The mating port  111  defines a receiving space  114  for mating with a complementary connector (not shown). The first passageways  112  and the second passageways  113  are arranged in upper and lower rows, respectively, for receiving the terminals  20 . The base portion  12  comprises a pair of ladder portions  122  at the opposite ends thereof and an intermediate portion  121  connecting the ladder portions  122 . The ladder portion  122  has a thickness larger than that of the intermediate portion  121 , and forms a post  125  projecting upwardly therefrom for mounting to the PCB  50 . The ladder portion  122  further comprises a retaining cavity  128  ( FIG. 3 ) adjacent to the intermediate portion  121 . The intermediate portion  121  defines a plurality of ribs  123  ( FIG. 4 ) thereon, and every two ribs  123  defines a recess  124  therebetween. 
     With reference to FIG.  3  and  FIG. 5  in conjunction with  FIG. 8-9 , the terminals  20  comprise a plurality of first terminals  22  and a plurality of second terminals  26 . Each first terminal  22  comprises a retaining portion  221  retained in the corresponding first passageway  112 , a contacting portion  222  extending downwardly and forwardly from the retaining portion  221 , a vertically extending portion  223  extending from the retaining portion  221 , a connecting portion  224  extending horizontally from the vertically extending portion  223 , and a soldering portion  225  extending upwardly from the connecting portion  224  opposite to the vertically extending portion  223 . The contacting portion  222  forms a projecting portion  226  at a distal end thereof The connecting portions  224  of every two adjacent first terminals  22  have different lengthes. Each second terminal  26  comprises a retaining portion  261  retained in corresponding second passageway  113 , a contacting portion  262  extending upwardly and forwardly from the retaining portion  261 , a vertically extending portion  263  extending from the retaining portion  261 , a connecting portion  264  extending horizontally from the vertically extending portion  263 , a supporting portion  269  extending upwardly from the connecting portion  264 , and a soldering portion  265  extending rearwardly from the supporting portion  269 . The contacting portion  262  forms a projecting portion  266  at a distal end thereof. The retaining portions  221 ,  261  of the first and second terminals  22 ,  26  are formed with a plurality of barbs  228 ,  268  thereon. The soldering portions  225  of the first terminals  22  extend perpendicular to the PCB  50 , and the soldering portions  265  of the second terminals  26  extend parallel to the PCB  50 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 6 , the spacer  30  comprises a base  32  with a pair of projections  36  extending from opposite ends thereof, and defines a plurality holes  33  extending through the spacer  30 . The spacer  30  is formed with a plurality of protrusions  34 . Every two adjacent protrusions  34  define a slot  35  therebetween. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , the shell is stamped from a piece of metal sheet and encloses a top face and opposite side faces of the mating portion  11 . 
     After the assembly of the electrical connector  1 , the retaining portion  261  and the contacting portion  262  of the second terminal  26  are held in corresponding second passageway  113  by the barbs  268  engaging with an inner face of the corresponding second passageway  113 . The projecting portion  266  of the second terminal  26  extends into the receiving space  114 . The connecting portion  264  of the second terminal  26  is received in the corresponding recess  124  of the base portion  12 . The first terminals  22  are inserted into the first passageways  112  in substantially the same direction to the second terminals  26 . The connecting portions  224  of the first terminals  22  are positioned on the corresponding ribs  123  of the base portion  12 . Because of the different lengthes of the connecting portion  224  of the adjacent first terminals  22 , the soldering portions  225  of the first terminals  22  are staggered with each other. The two projections  36  of the spacer  30  are respectively received in the retaining cavities  128  of the ladder portions  122 . The soldering portions  225  of the first terminals  22  extend through the corresponding holes  33  of the spacer  30  for finally soldering to the PCB  50 . The protrusions  34  of the spacer  30  are pressed into the recesses  124  of the intermediate portion  121  of the base portion  12  and abut against the connecting portions  264  of the second terminals  26 . The ribs  123  of the intermediate portion  121  are received in the corresponding slots  35  of the spacer  30  so that the spacer is secured on the housing  10  and precisely organizes the soldering portions  225 ,  265  of the terminals  20 . The electrical connector  1  is assembled to the PCB  50  with the posts  125  thereof inserting into corresponding positioning holes (not labeled) of the PCB  50 . The soldering portions  225  of the first terminals  22  are inserted into and soldered with corresponding soldering holes (not labeled) of the PCB  50  and the soldering portions  265  of the second terminals  26  are soldered to corresponding pads (not shown) on a bottom face of the PCB  50  by a way of SMT. Further, the electrical connector  1  is retained on the PCB  50  by screws (not labeled). 
     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 illustrative 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.