PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10978819-B2
Application Number: US-201816138911-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Mechanical spring diode contact

Abstract:
Sockets that have a simplified design and are readily manufactured, and also provide easy access for users to change cards while allowing the use of thinner device enclosures.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A contact configured to be housed in a socket, the contact comprising:
 a first contact portion having a contacting portion at a first end, the contacting portion to mate with a corresponding contact on a card when the card is mated with the socket; 
 a second contact portion having a first end connected to a second end of the first contact portion; 
 a third contact portion having a first end connected to a second end of the second contact portion; and 
 a stop defined by a break between the second contact portion and a fourth contact portion, wherein the stop limits movement of the second contact portion when the card is extracted from the socket and does not limit movement of the second contact portion when the card is inserted into the socket, 
 wherein the first contact portion and the third contact portion are at least approximately parallel. 
 
     
     
       2. The contact of  claim 1  wherein the first contact portion and the third contact portion are at least approximately orthogonal to the second contact portion. 
     
     
       3. The contact of  claim 1  wherein the contact is a stamped contact. 
     
     
       4. The contact of  claim 1  wherein the break between the second contact portion and the fourth contact portion is formed by shearing the contact. 
     
     
       5. An electronic device comprising:
 a top socket for a first memory card; and 
 a bottom socket for a second memory card, each of the top socket and bottom socket comprising: 
 a receptacle to accept an end of a corresponding memory card; and 
 latch arms extending from side ends of the receptacle and each comprising a top locking feature and a bottom locking feature to hold the corresponding memory card in place, wherein the top locking feature is spaced away from the bottom locking feature on each latch arm, 
 wherein the top locking features and the bottom locking features on the latch arms of the top socket are positioned such that the second memory card is lockable in place in the bottom socket without interference from the top locking features and bottom locking features on the latch arms of the top socket, and 
 wherein the top locking features on the latch arms of the top socket are aligned to notches in sides of the second memory card when the second memory card is locked in place in the bottom socket. 
 
     
     
       6. An electronic device comprising:
 a top socket for a first memory card; and 
 a bottom socket for a second memory card, each of the top socket and bottom socket comprising: 
 a receptacle to accept an end of a corresponding memory card; and 
 latch arms extending from side ends of the receptacle and each comprising a top locking feature and a bottom locking feature to hold the corresponding memory card in place, wherein the top locking feature is spaced away from the bottom locking feature on each latch arm, and 
 wherein the top locking features and bottom locking features on the latch arms of the top socket are positioned between the top socket and a position where the second memory card is inserted into the bottom socket such the top locking features and bottom locking features do not interfere when the second memory card is locked in place in the bottom socket. 
 
     
     
       7. The electronic device of  claim 6  wherein the top socket and the bottom socket each further comprise:
 a plurality of front side contacts in the receptacle; and 
 a plurality of back side contacts in the receptacle. 
 
     
     
       8. The electronic device of  claim 7  wherein each of the front side contacts comprise:
 a first contact portion having a contacting portion at a first end; 
 a second contact portion having a first end connected to a second end of the first contact portion; 
 a third contact portion having a first end connected to a second end of the second contact portion; and 
 a stop defined by a break between the second contact portion and a fourth contact portion, wherein the stop prevents the second contact portion from moving during extraction and allows the second contact portion to move during insertion. 
 
     
     
       9. The electronic device of  claim 8  wherein the first contact portion and the third contact portion are at least approximately parallel. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device of  claim 9  wherein the first contact portion and the contact portion are at least approximately orthogonal to the second contact portion. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device of  claim 8  wherein the break between the second contact portion and the fourth contact portion is formed by shearing.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Computers are a collection of many circuits operating together. These circuits may include central processing units, memories, graphics processors, networking circuits, and others. Many of these circuits, such as central processing units, may be directly placed on a main or motherboard, also known as a main logic board. Other circuits, such as memories and graphics processors, may reside on separate boards, also known as daughter boards or cards. These daughter boards or cards may connect to the main logic board. This connection is often made using one or more sockets, where the sockets are fixed to the main logic board and the memories or graphics processors are inserted into the sockets. 
     These daughter boards or cards are typically inserted into these sockets at an angle that is at least somewhat orthogonal to the main logic board. This configuration makes it relatively easy for a user to pull cards and insert new ones. For example, this configuration may make it easy for users to upgrade cards or replace defective cards. This configuration also reduces the footprint or area on the main logic board that is consumed by the card. 
     These sockets may include contacts that make connections with contacts or pads on the cards or boards. Inserting and extracting boards or cards into and out of these sockets may wear or cause damage to the contacts. This damage may cause the sockets to be nonfunctional. Accordingly, it may be desirable that these sockets have contacts that are able to withstand the removal and insertion of cards into and out of the socket. 
     Similar to these sockets, connector inserts may be inserted into, and removed from, connector receptacles up to several times a day. Accordingly, it may be desirable that these contacts be useful in connector inserts and connector receptacles. 
     Thus, what is needed are sockets that have a simplified design and are readily manufactured, and also have contacts that are able to withstand the insertion and extraction of cards into and out of the socket. It may also be desirable that these contacts be useful in connector inserts and connector receptacles. 
     SUMMARY 
     Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide sockets that have a simplified design and are readily manufactured, and also have contacts that are able to withstand the insertion and extraction of cards into and out of the socket. Embodiments of the present invention may further utilize these contacts in connector inserts and connector receptacles. 
     An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a socket having a receptacle with a slot to accept a card. The receptacle may be arranged to accept a card when it is inserted into the receptacle in a direction that is at least somewhat orthogonal to a board on which the socket is mounted. The receptacle may allow the card to be rotated such that it is at least somewhat parallel to the board. The socket may include latch arms on each side of the receptacle, where the latch arms include locking features to secure the card in place after rotation. 
     These and other embodiments of the present invention may provide a plurality of sockets that may be adjacent to, and aligned in parallel with, each other. In this configuration, when a card is inserted in a receptacle of a bottom socket, the latch arms of an adjacent top socket may interfere with the card&#39;s rotation. Accordingly, the locking features on the latch arms of the top socket may be aligned with notches on the card when the card is inserted into the bottom socket. This may allow a card in the receptacle of the bottom socket to be rotated into position without interference from locking features on the latch arms of the top socket. While these adjacent and aligned sockets may be separate sockets, in these and other embodiments of the present invention, one, two, or more than two such sockets may be combined into a single unit. 
     These and other embodiments of the present invention may provide contacts for sockets where the contacts may be able to withstand the insertion and removal of cards into and out of the socket. In these and other embodiments of the present invention, a contact may be susceptible to damage during an extraction of a card from a socket. For example, a contact may catch on an edge of a board and may be bent as the card is extracted. Accordingly, a stiffness or spring constant of the contact may be increased to protect the contact. This increased spring constant may help to protect the contacts from being bent or deformed when the connector insert is extracted from the connector receptacle. But this increase in stiffness may increase an insertion force that needs to be overcome by a user when the user inserts a card into the socket. Accordingly, the contacts may be arranged to have a lower, first spring constant during an insertion of a card to reduce the necessary insertion force. The contacts may further have a second, higher spring constant during an extraction of the card to prevent the contacts from being bent or otherwise damaged. At the same time, embodiments of the present invention may provide a sufficient normal force such that contacts in the socket form a good electrical connection with corresponding contacts on the card when the card is inserted in the socket. 
     These and other embodiments of the present invention may provide contacts having a lever arm of a first length during an insertion of a card and a lever arm of a second, shorter length during an extraction of the card. The contact may include a right angle formed by a first beam portion and a second beam portion. During an insertion, the right angle may move in a first direction, thereby providing a longer lever arm, a lower spring constant, and a lower stiffness. During an extraction, the right angle may be blocked from moving in a second, opposite direction, thereby providing a shorter lever arm, a higher spring constant, and a higher stiffness. These contacts may be stamped to include a loop, where the loop is broken to form the right angle that may move in the first direction, and a stop that may prevent the right angle from moving in the second direction. The loop may be broken by a multiple half-shears in opposite directions. 
     These and other embodiments of the present invention may provide contacts for connector inserts or connector receptacles where the contacts may be able to withstand the insertion and removal of connector inserts into and out of connector receptacles. These contacts may be located on a corresponding connector structure, such as a connector tongue, and may increase an extraction force (as compared to an insertion force) needed to extract a connector insert from a corresponding connector receptacle. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may be used to provide sockets that may hold one or more cards. These cards may be memory cards, such as SO-DIMM, DIMM, or other cards. They may also be other types of cards, such as graphics cards, networking cards, audio cards, or other types of cards, boards, modules, or other devices. 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, contacts, tabs, latches, and other conductive portions of a socket, connector insert, or connector receptacle may be formed by stamping, metal-injection molding, machining, micro-machining, 3-D printing, or other manufacturing process. The conductive portions 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. The nonconductive portions, such as housings and other structures may be formed using injection or other molding, 3-D printing, machining, or other manufacturing process. The nonconductive portions may be formed of silicon or silicone, rubber, hard rubber, plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), ceramics, or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. These sockets may be attached or be mounted on printed circuit boards or other boards that may be formed of FR-4 or other material. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may provide sockets, connector inserts, or connector receptacles that may be located in various types of devices such as portable computing devices, tablet computers, desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one computers, wearable computing devices, smart phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, power supplies, video delivery systems, adapters, remote control devices, chargers, and other devices. The sockets may be sockets for small outline dual in-line memory module (SO-DIMM) sockets, dual in-line memory module (DIMM) sockets, or other types of memory or other sockets. They may also be other types of sockets, such as sockets for graphics cards, networking cards, audio cards, or other types of cards, boards, modules, or other devices. These connector receptacles and connector inserts may provide interconnect pathways for signals that are compliant with various standards such as one of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standards including USB Type-C, High-Definition Multimedia Interface® (HDMI), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), Ethernet, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt™, Lightning™, Joint Test Action Group (JTAG), test-access-port (TAP), Directed Automated Random Testing (DART), universal asynchronous receiver/transmitters (UARTs), clock signals, power signals, and other types of standard, non-standard, and proprietary interfaces and combinations thereof that have been developed, are being developed, or will be developed in the future. Other embodiments of the present invention may provide sockets, connector receptacles, and connector inserts that may be used to provide a reduced set of functions for one or more of these standards. In various embodiments of the present invention, these interconnect paths provided by these sockets, connector inserts, and connector receptacles may be used to convey power, ground, signals, test points, and other voltage, current, data, or other information. 
     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 socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates the insertion of a card into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates the insertion of a card into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates cards located in sockets according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a side view of a card being inserted into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a side view of a card that has been inserted into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates further details of a contact according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates the insertion of a card into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  illustrates the insertion of a card into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 12  illustrates a side view of a card being inserted into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 13  illustrates a connector system utilizing contacts according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 14  illustrates the relative insertion and extraction forces of a card and socket, or a connector tongue and corresponding connector, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a socket 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. 
     This figure illustrates socket  100 . Socket  100  may include receptacle  120  supporting latch arms  110 . A card, such as a memory card, or other type of card  400  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) may have a first end that may be inserted into receptacle  120 . Contacts (not shown) on the first end of card  400  may form electrical connections with front side contacts  710  and back side contacts  720  (shown in  FIG. 7 ) in receptacle  120 . Latch arms  110  may extend from receptacle  120 . Latch arms  110  may include top locking feature  112  and bottom locking feature  114  that may hold the card in place when the card is inserted into receptacle  120 . Latch arms  110  may further include tabs  116 . Tabs  116  may be inserted into, and soldered in, openings in a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate on which socket  100  is mounted, where they may connect to ground traces or planes (not shown.) Receptacle  120  may include posts  122 . Posts  122  may be inserted into openings in the printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. Socket  100  may further include tabs  130  in receptacle  120 . Tabs  130 , like tabs  116 , may be inserted into, and soldered in, openings in the printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate, where they may connect to ground traces or planes. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. Receptacle  120  of socket  100  may include slot or opening  210  for accepting an end of card  400  (shown in  FIG. 6 .) Slot or opening  210  may include a center tab  212 . Center tab  212  may help to ensure that card  400  is inserted into socket  100  in a proper orientation. Latch arms  110  may extend from receptacle  120 . Latch arms  110  may include a bottom locking feature  114  to hold card  400  from a bottom side and a top locking feature  112  to hold card  400  from a top side. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. Receptacle  120  may support front side contacts  710  and back side contacts  720 . Latch arms  110  may be attached to receptacle  120 . Center tab  212  may be inserted into receptacle  120 . Tabs  130  may be inserted into ends of receptacle  120 . 
     Receptacle  120  may be formed of plastic, LDS, or other nonconductive materials. Receptacle  120  may be formed by injection, insert, or other type of molding, 3-D printing, or other process. Front side contacts  710  and back side contacts  720  may be formed of copper, steel, stainless steel, or other conductive materials. Front side contacts  710  and back side contacts  720  may be formed by stamping, forging, printing, or other process. Latch arms  110  may be formed of aluminum, steel, stainless steel, plastic, or other material. Latch arms  110  tabs  130 , and center tab  212  may be formed by stamping, forging, printing, or other process. 
     In these and other embodiments of the present invention, card  400  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) may be inserted into socket  100  in a direction that is at least nearly orthogonal to a board on which the socket is mounted. For example, the socket may be designed such that card  400  may be inserted at a 60 degree angle relative to the board. In these and other embodiments of the present invention, this angle may be a different angle, such as an angle of 90, 75, 65, 55 degrees, or other angle. Once inserted, card  400  may be rotated towards a position that is at least somewhat parallel to the board. For example, socket  100  may be designed such that card  400  may be locked in place by latch arms  110  at a 30 degree angle relative to the board. In these and other embodiments of the present invention, this angle may be a different angle, such as an angle of 45, 40, 35, 25 degrees, or other angle. An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the insertion of a card into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, card  400  may begin at position  401  as it is inserted into receptacle  120  of bottom socket  102 . Card  400  may then be rotated into its final position, where it is locked in place in latch arms  110  of bottom socket  102 . Specifically, top locking feature  112  may hold a top of card  400 , while bottom locking feature  114  may hold the bottom of card  400 . 
     In this example, card  400 , may be inserted at a 60 degree (or other) angle relative to a board on which bottom socket  102  is mounted (shown as position  401 ). Card  400  may be rotated into a final locked position in latch arms  110  at a 30 degree (or other) angle relative to the board. 
     In these and other embodiments of the present invention, more than one socket  100  may be included. These may include top socket  101  and bottom socket  102 . As card  400  is rotated from its insertion position  401  to its locked position in bottom socket  102 , it may be interfered with by latch arms  110  on top socket  101 . For example, top locking feature  112  of top socket  101  may block card  400  as it is rotated. Accordingly, top locking feature  112  of top socket  101  may be positioned to be aligned with notch  405  of card  400 . This may allow card  400  be rotated into the locked position without interference from top locking feature  112  of top socket  101 . 
     Similarly, it may be desirable to avoid interference with bottom locking feature  114  of top socket  101 . Accordingly, bottom locking feature  114  may be positioned such that card  400  is below and clears bottom locking feature  114  when card  400  is inserted and rotated into a locked position in bottom socket  102 . While in this example bottom socket  102  and top socket  101  are shown as separate sockets, these and other embodiments of the present invention may provide combined sockets having two or more receptacles for two or more cards. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates the insertion of a card into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. Again, top locking feature  112  on latch arms  110  of top socket  101  may be aligned with notch  405  on card  400 . This may allow card  400  to be rotated from the inserted position  401  to the locked position (shown as card  400 ) as shown in bottom socket  102 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates cards located in sockets according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, card  400  is shown in bottom socket  102  while card  408  is in top socket  101 . As can be seen, notch  405  on card  400  may be aligned with top locking features  112  of latch arms  110  of top socket  101 . 
     As card  400  is extracted from socket  100 , front side contacts  710  (shown in  FIG. 7 ) in slot or opening  210  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) of receptacle  120  may become bent or otherwise damaged. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide contacts that provide an increased spring constant. This increased spring constant may help to prevent the contacts from being bent or otherwise damaged. An example is shown in the following figures. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a side view of a card being inserted into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, card  400  is inserted into a socket  100  having receptacle  120 . Front side contacts  710  may be located near a front of receptacle  120 , while back side contacts  720  may be located towards a rear of receptacle  120 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a side view of a card that has been inserted into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, card  400  may be locked by latch arms  110  (shown in  FIG. 1 .) Contacting portions  712  of front side contacts  710  may form physical and electrical connections with contacts (not shown) on a bottom side of card  400 . Contacting portions  722  of back side contacts  720  may form physical and electrical connections with contacts (not shown) on a top side of card  400 . During an extraction of card  400 , contacting portions  712  of front side contacts  710  may be bent backwards and damaged. To prevent this, front side contacts  710  may have a higher spring constant during extraction. This may increase the extraction force and may help to prevent contact portions  712  from becoming bent towards the front opening in receptacle  120  as card  400  is extracted. Further details are shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates further details of a contact according to an embodiment of the present invention. During insertion, card  400  (shown in  FIG. 7 ), may encounter front side contacts  710  at its contacting portion  712 , labeled here as “a.” This may cause the contacting portion  712  to be bent downward as shown in this figure. This motion may cause portion “b” to separate from portion “d.” Point “c” move downward as well. That is, an insertion of a card may bend front side contacts  710  through portions a, b, and c. This relatively long lever arm may provide a relatively low spring constant for front side contacts  710  and lower the forces needed during insertion. During extraction, contacting portion  712 , or “a” may be pushed forward in receptacle  120 . This may cause portion “b” to a contact portion “d” thereby limiting the travel of contacting portion  712 . This reduced arm length (a and b) may increase a spring constant for front side contacts  710  and increase a retention force against card  400  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) during extraction. 
     Front side contacts  710  may be stamped to include a loop (the two paths joining “c” and “d”), where the loop is broken at location  910  to form right angle (“b” and “c”) that may move in the first direction (upward as drawn), and a stop at location  910  that may prevent the right angle from moving in the second direction (downward as drawn.) The loop may be broken by a multiple half-shears in opposite directions. Front side contact  710  may be sheared at location  910  in directions that are into and out of the drawing as shown, that is, in the directions that are orthogonal to the plane identified by the portions “a,” “b,” “c,” and “d.” This shearing may be done incrementally in alternating directions until “b” and d″ are separated at location  910  as shown. 
     The latch arms and other features of these sockets may be varied in these and other embodiments of the present invention. Examples are shown in the following figures. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates the insertion of a card into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, card  400  may be inserted at position  401  into bottom socket  1000 . Top socket  1001  may include top locking feature  1012  and bottom locking feature  1014  on latch arms  1010 . In this example, top locking feature  1012  may be positioned closer to receptacle  120 , as compared to the above examples. This may allow card  400  be inserted into position  401  before being rotated into place. That is, card  400  may clear top locking feature  1012  on top socket  1001  such that top locking feature  1012  does not interfere with card  400  as it is rotated into place. As before, bottom locking feature  1014  may be similarly located such that it does not interfere with the rotation of card  400  in bottom socket  1000 . When card  400  is inserted at an excessive vertical angle, shown here as  402 , card  400  may interfere with either or both top locking feature  1012  and bottom locking feature  1014 . Latch arms  1010  may include thumb tabs  1019  to assist in removing card  400  from bottom socket  1000 . 
       FIG. 11  illustrates the insertion of a card into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, card  400  may be inserted in position  401  and rotated into place. Since card  400  in position  401  clears top locking feature  1012 , top socket  1001  does not interfere with card  400  as it is inserted into bottom socket  1000 . 
     To help ensure that card  400  is not inserted in an excessively vertical position, a limiting feature may be placed on receptacle  120 . An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates a side view of a card being inserted into a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, limiting feature  128  on receptacle  120  may limit an angle at which card  400  may be inserted into bottom socket  1000 . The maximum vertical position of card  400  is shown in this example as position  401 . 
     Just as the above contacts may help to prevent damage in a socket, they may be useful in connector inserts and connector receptacles. An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 13  illustrates a connector system utilizing contacts according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, housing  1330  may support contacts  1310  and  1320 . Contacts  1310  and  1320  may be the same or similar to contacts  710  in  FIG. 7 . Contacts  1310  and  1320  may be split at locations  910  in the same or similar way as contacts  710  in  FIG. 7 . Contacts  1310  and  1320  may have contacting portions  1312  and  1322 , which may be extend from housing  1330 . Tongue  1340  may include contacts (not shown) that may physically and electrically contact contacting portions  1312  and  1322 . Tongue  1340  may be a tongue of a connector receptacle or a tongue of a connector insert. Housing  1330  may be a housing of a connector insert or a connector receptacle. Housing  1330  may be a housing for a connector receptacle, or it may be a section of a device enclosure for an electronic device housing the connector receptacle. In this example, an insertion force needed to insert tongue  1340  into housing  1330  may be lower than a corresponding extraction force. Again, this may help to prevent damage to contacts  1310  and contacts  1320 . The higher extraction force may also help to secure tongue  1340  in place in housing  1330 . These forces are illustrated in the following figure. 
       FIG. 14  illustrates the relative insertion and extraction forces of card and corresponding socket, or a connector tongue and corresponding connector, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, as time progresses, a card is inserted into a socket, and then extracted. Alternatively, in this example, as time progresses, a connector tongue is inserted into a connector housing, and then extracted. As can be seen, insertion and extraction forces are in the opposite directions and the extraction force has a higher magnitude than the insertion force. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may be used to provide sockets that may hold one or more cards. These cards may be memory cards, such as SO-DIMM, DIMM, or other cards. They may also be other types of cards, such as graphics cards, networking cards, audio cards, or other types of cards, boards, modules, or other devices. 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, contacts, tabs, latches, and other conductive portions of a socket, connector insert, or connector receptacle may be formed by stamping, metal-injection molding, machining, micro-machining, 3-D printing, or other manufacturing process. The conductive portions 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. The nonconductive portions, such as housings and other structures may be formed using injection or other molding, 3-D printing, machining, or other manufacturing process. The nonconductive portions may be formed of silicon or silicone, rubber, hard rubber, plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers, ceramics, or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. These sockets may be attached or be mounted on printed circuit boards or other boards that may be formed of FR-4 or other material. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may provide sockets, connector inserts, or connector receptacles that may be located in various types of devices such as portable computing devices, tablet computers, desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one computers, wearable computing devices, smart phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, power supplies, video delivery systems, adapters, remote control devices, chargers, and other devices. The sockets may be sockets for small outline dual in-line memory module sockets, dual in-line memory module sockets, or other types of memory or other sockets. They may also be other types of sockets, such as sockets for graphics cards, networking cards, audio cards, or other types of cards, boards, modules, or other devices. These connector receptacles and connector inserts may provide interconnect pathways for signals that are compliant with various standards such as one of the Universal Serial Bus standards including USB Type-C, High-Definition Multimedia Interface, Digital Visual Interface, Ethernet, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, Lightning, Joint Test Action Group, test-access-port, Directed Automated Random Testing, universal asynchronous receiver/transmitters, clock signals, power signals, and other types of standard, non-standard, and proprietary interfaces and combinations thereof that have been developed, are being developed, or will be developed in the future. Other embodiments of the present invention may provide sockets, connector receptacles, and connector inserts that may be used to provide a reduced set of functions for one or more of these standards. In various embodiments of the present invention, these interconnect paths provided by these sockets, connector inserts, and connector receptacles may be used to convey power, ground, signals, test points, and other voltage, current, data, or other information. 
     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: 20180921
Publication Date: 20210413
Grant Date: 20210413
Priority Date: 20180921
Inventors: AMINI, MAHMOUD R.
JEON, JAMES M.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01R12/735", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/7023", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/735", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/83", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/735", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/7023", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 69884715