PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8944850-B2
Application Number: US-201213657540-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Shielding for edge connector

Abstract:
Connectors having improved signal paths. An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a connector having a pair of first contacts adjacent to each other. Two second contacts may be located on each side of and adjacent to the pair of first contacts. The second contacts may include a front beam portion that contacts a front shield located along a front face of the connector. The front shield may in turn connect to a top shield that at least partially covers a top, sides, and back of the connector.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A connector to form a plurality of signal paths between a printed circuit board and a card, the connector comprising:
 an insulative housing having a number of slots formed along a front and top; 
 a plurality of first contacts, each having:
 a first portion extending away from a bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on a surface of the printed circuit board; 
 a second portion extending along a front of a slot in the housing; and 
 a third portion extending along a top of a slot in the housing; 
 
 a plurality of second contacts, each having:
 a first portion extending away from the bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on a surface of the printed circuit board; 
 a second portion extending along a front of a slot in the housing; 
 a third portion extending along a top of a slot in the housing; and 
 a fourth portion extending from the second portion away from the housing; 
 
 a top shield over at least a top of the insulative housing; and 
 a front shield along the front of the housing and contacting the fourth portions of the plurality of second contacts. 
 
     
     
       2. The connector of  claim 1  wherein a pair of the plurality of first contacts are adjacent contacts to each other, and one of the plurality of second contacts are adjacent contacts to the pair of first contacts. 
     
     
       3. The connector of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a plurality of third contacts, each having: 
 a first portion extending away from a bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on a surface of the printed circuit board; 
 a second portion extending along a front of a slot in the housing; and 
 a third portion extending along a top of a slot in the housing, 
 wherein a width of the contacts in the third plurality of contacts is wider than a width of the contacts in the pluralities of first and second contacts. 
 
     
     
       4. The connector of  claim 3  wherein the plurality of third contacts are located at ends of the housing. 
     
     
       5. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of first contacts and the plurality of second contacts each further comprise a first tab extending from the second portion and into the housing. 
     
     
       6. The connector of  claim 5  wherein the plurality of first contacts and the plurality of second contacts each further comprise a second tab extending from the second portion and into the housing. 
     
     
       7. The connector of  claim 5  wherein the first tabs provide mechanical stability. 
     
     
       8. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the top shield and the front shield connect and provide a ground plane. 
     
     
       9. The connector of  claim 1  wherein a portion of the top shield holds the card in place when the card is inserted into the connector. 
     
     
       10. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the card is inserted between an underside of the top shield and the third portions of the pluralities of first and second contacts. 
     
     
       11. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the card is a memory card. 
     
     
       12. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the card is a solid state drive. 
     
     
       13. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the card is a wireless networking card. 
     
     
       14. A method of manufacturing a connector, the method comprising:
 receiving an insulative housing having a number of slots formed along a front and top; 
 inserting a plurality of first contacts in slots in the housing, wherein for each of the plurality of first contacts, a first portion is inserted along a front of a slot in the housing and a second portion is inserted along a top of the slot in the housing; 
 inserting a plurality of second contacts in slots in the housing, wherein for each of the plurality of second contacts, a first portion is inserted along a front of a slot in the housing and a second portion is inserted along a top of the slot in the housing; and 
 attaching a front shield to the housing by inserting tabs on the front shield into the housing, wherein the front shield contacts third portions of each of the plurality of second contacts, the third portion of each of the plurality of second contacts extending from the first portion of the contact away from the housing. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14  wherein inserting a plurality of first contacts in slots in the housing comprises inserting a tab on each of the plurality of first contacts into the housing. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15  wherein the tab on each of the plurality of first contacts extends from the body of the contact towards the housing. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14  further comprising placing a top shield over at least a top of the housing and attaching the top shield to the front shield. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17  wherein an underside of the top shield and a top of the housing form an opening to receive a card. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 14  further comprising inserting a plurality of third contacts into slots in the housing. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 14  wherein a width of the contacts in the third plurality of contacts is wider than a width of the contacts in the pluralities of first and second contacts. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 14  wherein each of the first contacts further comprises a third portion extending away from a bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on a surface of a printed circuit board, and each of the second contacts further comprises a fourth portion extending away from the bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on the surface of the printed circuit board. 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 14  wherein each of the second contacts further comprises a fourth portion extending away from the bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on a surface of a printed circuit board. 
     
     
       23. The connector of  claim 1  wherein each of the first contacts and each of the second contacts are between the front shield and the housing. 
     
     
       24. A connector to form a plurality of signal paths between a printed circuit board and a card, the connector comprising:
 an insulative housing having a number of slots formed along a front and top; 
 a pair of first contacts, the first contacts adjacent to each other and each having:
 a first portion extending along a front of a slot in the housing; and 
 a second portion extending along a top of a slot in the housing; 
 
 a pair of second contacts, the second contacts on opposing sides of the first pair of contacts, each having:
 a first portion extending along a front of a slot in the housing; 
 a second portion extending along a top of a slot in the housing; and 
 a third portion extending from the first portion away from the housing; and 
 
 a front shield along the front of the housing and contacting the third portions of the plurality of second contacts. 
 
     
     
       25. The connector of  claim 24  wherein the first contacts each further comprise a third portion extending away from a bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on a surface of the printed circuit board, and the second contacts each further comprise a fourth portion extending away from the bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on the surface of the printed circuit board. 
     
     
       26. The connector of  claim 25  further comprising a top shield over at least a top of the insulative housing. 
     
     
       27. The connector of  claim 26  wherein the card is inserted between an underside of the top shield and the third portions of the pairs of first and second contacts.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The numbers and types of electronic devices available to consumers has grown tremendously the past few years. Tablet computers, netbooks, laptops, desktops, and all-in-one computers, media players, handheld media players, cell phones, smart phones, and other devices have proliferated. These devices have proliferated not only in the types that are available, but also as in the functionality they include. 
     Moreover, options for some particular devices have also proliferated. For example, for a particular device, the size of an internal memory may be an option. Other functionalities, such as video or graphics cards, network connections, and others, may also be made available as options or as possible upgrades. This allows a manufacturer to offer products at several price points, and allows customers to buy only the amount of functionality that is required to suit their needs and to possibly upgrade at a later time. 
     With these devices, various options may be added by including an optional card or board inside a housing of the electronic device. Also, certain cards or boards may be manufactured separately, for example, by a different manufacturer. In these and other situations, it may be desirable to include the card in the electronic device as a daughter card or board. These optional or daughter cards or boards may be attached to a main or motherboard. Specifically, these optional or daughter cards or boards may be attached to a board inside the electronic device housing using a connector. These cards may be memory cards, networking, or other types of cards. 
     Recently, the speed of these cards has been increasing greatly, as the amount of data that these electronic devices process has skyrocketed. The speed of memory cards, networking cards, and other types of cards and devices has greatly increased. 
     Unfortunately, connectors are often a limiting factor in a device&#39;s speed. Unmatched terminations, reflections, and cross coupling at connectors may limit the operating frequency of device or card inserted in a connector. 
     Thus, what is needed are connectors that may provide improved signal paths that may allow a higher operating frequency for inserted devices or cards. 
     SUMMARY 
     Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide connectors having improved signal paths. An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a connector having a pair of first contacts adjacent to each other. Two second contacts may be located on each side of and adjacent to the pair of first contacts. The second contacts may include a front beam portion that contacts a front shield located along a front face of the connector. The front shield may in turn connect to a top shield that at least partially covers a top, sides, and back of the connector. 
     In this configuration, the pair of first contacts has a contact on each side that is connected to a front shield. The pair of first contacts has the front shield on another side, and the top shield on the remaining side. That is, the pair of first contacts is close to being surrounded by ground connections. Noise coupling to the pair of first contacts, as well as termination and reflection problems, are greatly reduced. Accordingly, the pair of first contacts may provide a high speed differential signal path. 
     Various embodiments of the present invention may include other types of contacts. For example, third contacts having a greater width than the first and second contacts may be provided for the purpose of conveying power. These contacts may be placed at the ends of the connector, or elsewhere in the connector. The contacts may include tail portions to be connected to traces on a main logic board, flexible circuit board, or other appropriate substrate. These tail portions may be surface mount contacts, through-hole contacts, or other type of contacts. Openings in the front shield may provide for the visual inspection of connections between these contact tail portions and traces on a main logic board. 
     The contacts may be located in a housing, and each included contact may include a contacting portion along a top of the housing. A top shield may be located over the top of the housing. A cards or device may be inserted between an underside of the top shield and the top of the housing. The underside of the top shield may form a ground connection to the card or device, the first contacts may provide signal paths, the second contacts may provide ground paths, and the third contacts may provide power. 
     An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a connector. This connector may form a plurality of signal paths between a printed circuit board and a card. The connector may include an insulative housing having a number of slots formed along a front and top. The connector may further include a plurality of first contacts, each having a first portion extending away from a bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on a surface of the printed circuit board, a second portion extending along a front of a slot in the housing, and a third portion extending along a top of a slot in the housing. The connector may further include a plurality of second contacts, each having a first portion extending away from the bottom of the housing to attach to a contact on a surface of the printed circuit board, a second portion extending along a front of a slot in the housing, a third portion extending along a top of a slot in the housing, and a fourth portion extending from the second portion away from the housing. Shielding around the connector may include a top shield over at least a top of the insulative housing, and a front shield along the front of the housing and contacting the fourth portions of the plurality of second contacts. 
     An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a method of manufacturing a connector. This method may include receiving an insulative housing having a number of slots formed along a front and top, inserting a plurality of first contacts in slots in the housing, inserting a plurality of second contacts in slots in the housing, and attaching a front shield to the housing by inserting tabs on the front shield into the housing. The front shield may contact first portions of each of the plurality of second contacts, the first portion of each of the plurality of second contacts extending from a body of the contact away from the housing. 
     Cards or devices may be inserted between the top shield and contacts at the top of the housing. These cards or device may include graphics cards, wireless networking cards, memory devices, solid state drives, and other types of cards and devices. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may provide connectors for various types of devices, such as portable computing devices, tablets, desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one computers, cell phone, smart phones, media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors and other devices. 
     Various portions of connector these connectors may be formed of various materials. For example, the housings may be formed of silicon or silicone, rubber, hard rubber, plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. The contacts and shields may be formed of stainless steel, steel, copper, copper titanium, phosphor bronze, or other material or combination of materials. They may be plated or coated with nickel, gold, or other material. 
     Various embodiments of the present invention may incorporate one or more of these and the other features described herein. A better understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be gained by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a top oblique view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a bottom oblique view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an exploded view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a top oblique view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure, as with the other included figures, is shown for illustrative purposes and does not limit either the possible embodiments of the present invention or the claims. Also, the description below may make reference to common reference numbers among different figures. For brevity and to maintain readability, this is not redundantly pointed for each occurrence. 
     Connector  100  may include housing  110 . Housing  110  may include a number of slots  118  holding contacts  130 , and possibly other contacts, as shown in the following figures. Housing  110  may further include posts  114 . Posts  114  may be located in openings on a main logic board or other appropriate substrate for mechanical stability. Housing  110  may further include keying feature  116 , which prevent the inadvertent or upside down insertion of a card or device into connector  100 . 
     Connector  100  may further include top shield  120 , which may be located over a top, back, and sides of housing  110 . Top shield  120  may include cutout  126 , which may accept tab  112  on housing  110 . Top shield  120  may further include tabs  128 , which may be located in a main logic board or other appropriate substrate. Tabs  128  may provide a ground connection. Top shield  120  may be at least partially divided by separations  122  and  124 . Separations  122  and  124  may improve contacts between top shield  120  and ground contacts on a top of a board or device inserted into connector  100 . Front edge  123  of top shield  120  may be folded underneath itself. This may provide an amount of spring or retention force to hold a card or device in place when it is inserted into connector  100 . 
     Front shield  150  may attach to top shield  120  at laser or spot weld locations  159 , and it may reside along a front face of housing  110 . Openings  152  in front shield  150  may allow for the inspection of contact tail portions  138  of contacts  130  when a contact tail portions  138  are connected to contacts on a main logic board or other appropriate substrate. Tabs  158  on front shield  150  may be inserted into to openings and housing  110 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a bottom oblique view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. Again, housing  110  may provide support for contacts not shown, which may have contact tail portions  138 . Housing  110  may further include posts  114  that may be located in a main logic board or other appropriate substrate for mechanical stability. Top shield  120  may cover a top, side, and back of housing  110 . Cutout  126  on top shield  120  may accept tab  112  on housing  110 . Front shield  150  (not shown) may include tabs  154  and top shield  120  may include tabs  128  to form ground connections with traces on a main logic board or other appropriate substrate. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an exploded view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. Connector  100  may include housing  110 . Housing  110  may include keying feature  116  to prevent inadvertent or upside down insertion of a card or device into connector  100 . Housing  110  may further include tabs  112  to fit in cutout  126  on top shield  120 . Top shield  120  may include dividers  122  and  124  to improve connection between top shield  120  and a ground contact on a top of card or device inserted into connector  110 . Housing  110  may include slots  118  along a front and top. First contacts  120  may be inserted into slots  118 . Specifically, tabs  134  may be inserted into housing  110 . A main body of these contacts may reside in a slot portion of a front of the housing, while a contacting portion  136  may reside in the slots along the top of housing  110 . Contacts  130  may include contact until portions  138 . Contact tail portions  138  may be through-hole, surface mount, or other types of contacts. 
     Second contacts  140  may include a front beam portion  142 . Front beam portion  142  may extend from the main body away from housing  110 . Front beam portion  142  may contact front shield  150 . Front shield  150  may include tabs  156  to be inserted into housing  110 . Front shield  150  may further include openings  152  through which contacts formed at contact tail  138  may be inspected after connector  100  is assembled to a main logic board or other appropriate substrate. Tabs  154  may be located in a Main logic board or other appropriate substrate. Front shield  150  may include indentation  155  to improve electrical connections to beam portions  142  of second contacts  140 . 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, additional contacts, such as contacts  160  may be included. Contacts  160  may have a width that is greater than the first contacts  120  or second contacts  130 . These contacts may be appropriate for providing power to a device inserted in connector  100 . In this configuration, pairs  310  of first contacts  130  may be adjacent to each other, and the pair  310  may be adjacent on each side to a second contact  140 . Second contacts  140  may be grounded. Front shield  150  may be located in front of pair  310  of first contacts  120 , while top shield  120  may be above and behind this pair of contacts. Accordingly, pairs  310  of first contacts  120  may be well-shielded by ground connections. This shielding may reduce cross-talk, reduce termination and reflection problems, and improve overall signal quality. This in turn may allow devices or cards inserted into connector  100  to operate at higher frequencies. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. Again, top shield  120  may include a portion  123  folders onto itself. This portion may act as a ground contact for a top of a card or device inserted into connector  100 . Second connector  140  may include beam  142  that may make an electrical connection with front shield  150 . Tabs  144  may be inserted into housing  110  of connector  100  for mechanical stability purposes. Contact tail portion  128  may form an electrical connection with a trace on a main logic board or other appropriate substrate. Cards or devices may be inserted between top shield portion  123  and contact portion  146 . These cards or device may include graphics cards, wireless networking cards, memory devices, solid state drives, and other types of cards and devices. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may provide connectors for various types of devices, such as portable computing devices, tablets, desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one computers, cell phone, smart phones, media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors and other devices. 
     Various portions of connector these connectors may be formed of various materials. For example, the housings may be formed of silicon or silicone, rubber, hard rubber, plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. The contacts and shields may be formed of stainless steel, steel, copper, copper titanium, phosphor bronze, or other material or combination of materials. They may be plated or coated with nickel, gold, or other material or combination of materials. 
     The above description of embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form described, and many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teaching above. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Thus, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20121022
Publication Date: 20150203
Grant Date: 20150203
Priority Date: 20121022
Inventors: SIMMEL GEORGE MARC
FUNAMURA JOSHUA
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01R13/65802", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/658", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R43/20", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/6581", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49208", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/724", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49208", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/658", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R43/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/724", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/6581", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 50485732