Patent ID: 7686620

Claim:
An electrical connector, for electrically connecting an integrated circuit package to a circuit substrate, comprising: a first and a second unit sections, each unit section having a plurality of terminals received therein and including a mating surface, an opposite mounting surface, a fixing edge, and an engaging edge, the engaging edge of the first unit section defining a protruding tongue, and the engaging edge of the second unit section defining a recessed portion for engaging the protruding tongue from another unit section; and an interlocking device formed between the protruding tongue and the recessed portion, so that the protruding tongue capable of substantially overlapping and combined with the recessed portion via the interlocking device to make the first and the second unit sections become a unitary structure; a pair of identical units head to head engaged with each other around corresponding joint edges in a horizontal direction, each of said units including an insulative planar housing with a plurality of terminals therein, said housing defining around said joint edge an upward engagement section on one side while with a downward engagement section on an opposite side under condition that one of said upward engagement section and said downward engagement section protrudes beyond the corresponding joint edge and the other is recessed behind the corresponding joint edge so that when the pair of units are engaged with each other, the upward engagement section of one of said pair of units engages the downward engagement section of the other, and the downward engagement section of said one of the pair of units engages with the upward engagement section of the other so as to prevent relative movement between said pair of units in a vertical direction, and said one of said upward engagement section and said downward engagement section protruding beyond the corresponding joint edge engages the other units in a lateral direction prevents relative movement between the pair of units in a lateral direction perpendicular to said vertical direction.