Patent Publication Number: US-7591669-B1

Title: Board-to-board connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to a board-to-board connector, and more particularly to a board-to-board connector capable of checking terminals&#39; solderability. 
   2. The Related Art 
   With the development of electronic field, electronic products are microminiaturized more and more, thus a board-to-board connector capable of receiving a plurality of rows of terminals comes with the tide of the fashion. Traditionally, the board-to-board connector includes a receptacle connector and a plug connector mating with each other. The receptacle connector includes a receptacle housing and a plurality of first terminals received in the receptacle housing. The first terminals each have a first soldering portion for being soldered to a female printed circuit board. The plug connector includes a plug housing and a plurality of second terminals received in the plug housing. The second terminals each have a second soldering portion for being soldered to a male printed circuit board. When the plug connector engages with the receptacle connector, the second terminals contact the corresponding first terminals to make the printed circuit boards electrically interconnect each other. 
   However, because the first soldering portions of the first terminals in inside rows are disposed on a bottom surface of the receptacle housing and the second soldering portions of the second terminals in inside rows are disposed on a top surface of the plug housing, when the terminals are soldered to the corresponding printed circuit boards, whether the soldering portions of the terminals in the inside rows are firmly soldered to the corresponding printed circuit boards or not can&#39;t be checked. Therefore, a board-to-board connector capable of checking the terminals&#39; solderability with the corresponding printed circuit boards is required. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An object of the present invention is to provide a board-to-board connector which is adapted to be mounted to a printed circuit board and can check terminals&#39; solderability. 
   To achieve the above mentioned objects, the board-to-board connector includes a housing and at least one row of terminals. The housing defines at least one longwise row of cavities and at least one checking window extending longwise adjacent the row of cavities and penetrating the housing. The terminals are received in the corresponding cavities. Each of the terminals has a soldering portion adapted for being soldered to the printed circuit board. The soldering portions stretch into the corresponding checking window so as to check the solderability thereof with the printed circuit board in order to ensure that the terminals are soldered to the printed circuit board firmly. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of an embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a board-to-board connector in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the board-to-board connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a receptacle housing of the board-to-board connector of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a plug housing of the board-to-board connector of  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the board-to-board connector along line V-V of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a board-to-board connector  1  in accordance with the present invention includes a receptacle connector  10  and a plug connector  20  which are mounted to a pair of printed circuit boards (not shown) to electrically interconnect the printed circuit boards. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2  again, the receptacle connector  10  includes a receptacle housing  11 , a plurality of rows of first terminals  12  each having a first soldering portion  121  and four first latches  13  received in the receptacle housing  11  respectively. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , the receptacle housing  11  is of a rectangular configuration and has a base board  111 . Two opposite sides of the base board  111  protrude upward to form a pair of first sidewalls  112  extending longwise. Two opposite ends of the base board  111  protrude upward to form a pair of second sidewalls  113 . A middle of the base board  111  defines a rectangular first checking window  116  therethrough which parallels the first sidewalls  112  and whose two ends are apart from the corresponding second sidewalls  113 . The base board  111  protrudes upward to form a pair of third sidewalls  115  adjacent to two opposite sides of the first checking window  116 . A receiving recess  114  is formed between the first sidewall  112  and the third sidewall  115 . The base board  111  defines two ribs  117  extending longwise and respectively located between the first sidewalls  112  and the corresponding third sidewalls  115 . Two ends of each of the ribs  117  are apart from the corresponding second sidewalls  113 . A prop platform  110  is formed on one side of each of the third sidewalls  115  opposite each other and one side of each of the first sidewalls  112  facing each other, the prop platform  110  extends along a longwise direction at bottom thereof. Two ends of the outside of the first sidewalls  112  define a fixing gap  119  respectively. The receptacle housing  11  defines a plurality of longwise rows of first cavities  118  which further extend to form perforations  1181  and fillisters  1182 . The perforations  1181  are vertically defined at two opposite sides of the ribs  117  and are arranged at regular intervals along a longwise direction thereof. The first cavities  118  are vertically defined in the first sidewalls  112  and the third sidewalls  115  and are in one-to-one accordance with the perforations  1181 . The fillisters  1182  are opened in the base board  111  to connect the perforations  1181  and the corresponding first cavities  118  and communicate with the receiving recess  114 . The first cavities  118  in the first sidewalls  112  penetrate a bottom of the outside of the respective first sidewalls  112 , the first cavities  118  in the third sidewalls  115  penetrate a bottom of the inside of the respective third sidewalls  115  to communicate with the first checking window  116 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 2  again, the plug connector  20  includes a plug housing  21  mating with the receptacle housing  11 , a plurality of rows of second terminals  22  each having a second soldering portion  221  and four second latches  23  received in the plug housing  21  respectively. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the plug housing  21  is of a rectangular configuration and has a base body  211 . A middle of the base body  211  defines two rectangular second checking windows  213  therethrough, which extend longwise and parallel each other. Accordingly, a bridge  219  is formed between the two second checking windows  213 . The front and the rear of a bottom of the base body  211  respectively define a rectangular receiving channel  215  paralleling the bridge  219 . Accordingly, two second sidepieces  214  each are formed between the receiving channel  215  and the neighboring second checking window  213 , two first sidepieces  212  are formed at two sides of the base body  211 . The inside of the second sidepieces  214  and the outside of the first sidepieces  212  respectively define an anti-shake step  217  extending along a longwise direction at top thereof. The first sidepieces  212  and the second sidepieces  214  define a plurality of second cavities  216  arranged at regular intervals along a longwise direction thereof and communicating with the corresponding receiving channels  215 . A top of each of the second cavities  216  in the first sidepieces  212  penetrates the outside of the corresponding anti-shake steps  217 , a top of each of the second cavities  216  in the second sidepieces  214  penetrates the outside of the corresponding anti-shake steps  217  to communicate with the respective second checking windows  213 . Two ends of the base body  211  respectively define two fixing holes  218  therethrough vertically. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 5 , when the receptacle connector  10  is assembled, the first latches  13  are embedded in the corresponding fixing gaps  119  of the receptacle housing  11 . The first terminals  12  are received in the respective first cavities  118 , the perforations  1181  and the fillisters  1182 , and the first soldering portions  121  stretch out of a bottom of the base board  111 . In use, the receptacle connector  10  is mounted to one of the printed circuit boards. The first soldering portions  121  of the first terminals  12  in two inside rows partially lie in the first checking window  116 , thus whether the first soldering portions  121  in the inside rows are firmly soldered to the corresponding printed circuit board or not can be checked through the first checking window  116 . 
   When the plug connector  20  is assembled, the second latches  23  are embedded in the corresponding fixing holes  218  of the plug housing  21 . The second terminals  22  are received in the respective second cavities  216  and the second soldering portions  221  stretch out of a top of the base body  21 . In use, the plug connector  20  is mounted to the other printed circuit board. The second soldering portions  221  of the second terminals  22  in two inside rows partially lie in the corresponding second checking windows  213 , thus whether the second soldering portions  221  in the inside rows are firmly soldered to the corresponding printed circuit board or not can be checked through the corresponding second checking windows  213 . 
   When the plug connector  20  engages with the receptacle connector  10 , the plug connector  20  is received in the receiving recess  114  of the receptacle connector  10 . The ribs  117  are inserted in the respective receiving channels  215 . The third sidewalls  115  are inserted in the corresponding second checking windows  213  and the bridge  219  is inserted between the third sidewalls  115 . The first terminals  12  contact the corresponding second terminals  22  to make the printed circuit boards electrically interconnect each other. The anti-shake steps  217  abut against the respective prop platforms  110  to prevent the receptacle connector  10  and the plug connector  20  from separating each other under shaking. 
   As described above, while the board-to-board connector  1  is mounted to the printed circuit boards, the solderability of the soldering portions in the two inside rows can be checked through the first checking window  116  and the second checking windows  213  so as to ensure that the terminals are soldered to the corresponding printed circuit boards firmly.