PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8888536-B2
Application Number: US-201213492898-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Low profile hard-disk drive connector

Abstract:
Connector receptacles for hard-disk drives that do not consume a significant amount of space. One connector receptacle may include a housing having one or more horizontal slots corresponding to one or more tongues of a connector insert. The connector receptacle may include a number of vertical slots, each having a contact to form an electrical connection with a contact on the one or more tongues. These contacts may emerge from the top of the housing to connect to a flexible conductor. A stiffening layer may be placed over the top of the flexible conductor. The housing may also include vertical bridging pieces that may be located between a top portion and a bottom portion of the connector receptacle. Shielding may be included above, in front of, or below the housing, or any combination thereof.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of manufacturing a connector for a hard-disk drive, the method comprising:
 providing a housing having a first horizontal opening in a back side to receive a first tongue, the housing having a plurality of vertical slots, the vertical slots each having an opening in a front of the housing; 
 inserting contacts at the front of the housing and into the vertical slots of the housing, wherein each contact has a first portion to form an electrical connection with a corresponding tongue contact located on the tongue and a second portion to emerge from a top of the housing; and 
 placing a flexible conductor over the top of the housing such that the second portions of each contact form an electrical connection to the flexible conductor. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  further comprising placing a top layer over the flexible conductor. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2  wherein placing a top layer over the flexible conductor comprises placing a stiffening layer over the flexible conductor. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2  wherein placing a top layer over the flexible conductor comprises placing a metal layer over the flexible conductor. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4  further comprising connecting the metal layer to ground. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1  wherein providing a housing further comprises proving a housing having a second horizontal opening to receive a second tongue. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6  wherein placing a flexible conductor over the top of the housing comprises placing a flexible circuit board over the top of the housing. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 6  wherein placing a flexible conductor over the top of the housing comprises placing a ribbon cable over the top of the housing. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1  further comprising placing a metal shield over the top of the flexible conductor and the front of the housing. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1  further comprising placing a metal shield over the over the front of the housing and under the housing. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1  further comprising placing a metal shield over the top of the flexible conductor and under the housing. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1  further comprising placing a metal shield over the top of the flexible conductor, the front of the housing, and under the housing. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1  wherein the hard-disk drive comprises a recess and the housing is arranged to substantially fit in the recess. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13  wherein the first horizontal opening extends to a front of the housing. 
     
     
       15. A connector for a hard-disk drive, the connector comprising:
 a housing having a first horizontal opening in a back side to receive a first tongue, the housing having a plurality of vertical slots, each vertical slot having an opening in a front of the housing; 
 a plurality of contacts, each contact in the plurality of contacts located in a corresponding vertical slot of the housing, wherein each contact in the plurality of contacts has a first portion to form an electrical connection with a corresponding tongue contact located on the tongue and a second portion to emerge from a top of the housing; and 
 a flexible conductor over the top of the housing such that the second portion of each contact in the plurality of contacts forms an electrical connection to the flexible conductor. 
 
     
     
       16. The connector of  claim 15  further comprising a top layer over the flexible conductor. 
     
     
       17. The connector of  claim 16  wherein the top layer comprises a stiffening layer. 
     
     
       18. The connector of  claim 16  wherein the top layer comprises a metal layer. 
     
     
       19. The connector of  claim 18  wherein the metal layer is connected to ground. 
     
     
       20. The connector of  claim 15  wherein the housing further comprises a second horizontal opening to receive a second tongue. 
     
     
       21. The connector of  claim 20  wherein the flexible conductor comprises a flexible circuit board. 
     
     
       22. The connector of  claim 20  wherein the flexible conductor comprises a ribbon cable. 
     
     
       23. The connector of  claim 15  further comprising a metal shield over the top of the flexible conductor and the front of the housing. 
     
     
       24. The connector of  claim 15  further comprising a metal shield over the front of the housing and under the housing. 
     
     
       25. The connector of  claim 15  further comprising a metal shield over the top of the flexible conductor and under the housing. 
     
     
       26. The connector of  claim 15  further comprising a metal shield over the top of the flexible conductor, the front of the housing, and under the housing. 
     
     
       27. The connector of  claim 15  wherein the hard-disk drive comprises a recess and the housing is arranged to substantially fit in the recess. 
     
     
       28. The connector of  claim 27  wherein the first horizontal opening extends to a front of the housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The number and types of electronic devices available to consumers have increased tremendously the past few years, and this increase shows no signs of abating. Devices such as portable computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets, desktops, all-in-one computers, storage devices, portable media players, televisions and other display devices, navigation systems, monitors and other devices have become ubiquitous. 
     The sizes of these devices have been shrinking over the last few years. For example, many of these devices have been getting thinner. The thickness of electronic devices such as tablet and laptop computers has become an important marketing concern as well as a highly visible feature to consumers. 
     While these devices have been getting thinner, their functionality has been increasing. For example, larger memories, WiFi and cellular interface capabilities, larger batteries for longer battery life, and others, have become common features of these devices. 
     These electronic devices may include various electronic components such as hard-disk drives, solid-state drives, optical drives, batteries, keyboards, trackpads, display screens, and other components. These components often need to be connected to a main-logic board or other substrate. These connections may include a connector to make electrical connections to contacts connected to the electronic component. 
     Often these connectors may be fairly large. Also, what was a reasonable size for one generation of a device may become quite unreasonable for a smaller, next generation device. For example, a hard-disk drive may include a male connector or connector insert having one or more tongues supporting contacts for the hard-disk drive. A female connector or connector receptacle that fits over these tongues may increase the effective size of the hard-disk drive. This increase in size may either force an increase in the size of the electronic device, or a decrease in the functionality that may be included in the electronic device. 
     Thus, what is needed are connector receptacles for hard-disk drives and other devices that do not consume a significant amount of space. 
     SUMMARY 
     Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide female connectors or connector receptacles for hard-disk drives and other devices that do not consume a significant amount of space. An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a connector receptacle that does not extend significantly beyond a leading edge of a connector tongue of a male connector or connector insert of a hard-disk drive or other device. This connector receptacle may also not extend significantly above, below, or to the sides of the enclosure for a hard-disk drive or other device. That is, the connector receptacle may not add significantly to the length, width, or height of the hard-disk drive or other device. 
     An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a connector receptacle having a housing, where the housing may have one or more horizontal openings to accept one or more tongues of a connector insert extending from a hard-disk drive enclosure. The housing may be arranged to not extend significantly beyond the leading edges of the one or more tongues of the connector insert, above or below the enclosure of the hard-disk drive, or beyond the sides of the connector insert. The housing of the receptacle may further include a number of vertical slots. Contacts may be located in each slot, each contact having a first portion to electrically connect to a contact on a tongue and a second portion extending above a top of the housing. The housing may be covered by a flexible conductor. The flexible conductor may include a number of individual conductors or wires to carry power or signals. For example, it may be a flexible substrate having or supporting a number of conductors. The various individual conductors may be electrically connected to the contacts of the connector receptacle. The flexible conductor may also be a flexible circuit board, ribbon cable, or other appropriate flexible conductor. 
     A stiffening layer or flex stiffener may be placed over the flexible conductor along a top of the connector receptacle. This layer may stabilize the flexible conductor, thus providing a suitable substrate for contacts to be soldered to. 
     During assembly, the contacts of the receptacle may be preloaded or biased before they are inserted into the housing in order to improve the electrical connection with contacts on the tongues of the connector insert. Specifically, the contacts may include a third portion extending towards a back of the housing. The third portion may include protrusions on each side. Near the back of the housing, each vertical slot may narrow and may include a horizontal lip or step. A preloaded contact may be inserted such that the third portion of the contact is held in place by the horizontal lip or step, and the protrusions may dig into the narrowing portion of the slot such that the contact cannot easily retract out of the slot and is instead held securely in place. 
     This preloading may create an upward force on the top of the connector receptacle housing. This upward force may create a bowing. Such bowing may lead to a decrease in force between contacts near a middle of the connector receptacle. A variance in contact forces may degrade connector performance and reliability. 
     This tendency to bow that is created by the preloading of the contacts may also push a top portion of the connector receptacle above the one or more tongues away from a bottom portion of the connector receptacle below the one or more tongues of the insert. Accordingly, vertical bracing or bridging portions may be included between the top portion of the connector receptacle and the bottom portion of the connector receptacle. These may be located between and to the sides of the one or more horizontal openings in the connector receptacle for the one or more tongues on the connector insert. 
     Various embodiments of the present invention may include shielding around at least a portion of the connector receptacle to improve high-speed performance. For example, the stiffening layer may be made of metal and grounded to provide a shield layer over the flexible conductor. Shielding may instead be placed over the top of the stiffening layer, the front of the housing, the underside of the housing of the connector receptacle, or any combination of these locations. 
     The flexible conductor may exit away from the connector in various ways. For example, it may exit away over the top of the hard-disk drive. It may also take advantage of the lack of space consuming features on the connector receptacle, such as the absence of so called “lead-in pins.” The absence of these pins leaves a space on the sides of the connector receptacle, and this space may be repurposed and used as an exit path for the flexible conductor, shown here as flexible conductor portion  532 . 
     Various portions of these connector receptacles may be formed of various materials. For example, the housing may be formed of plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), or other nonconductive materials. The contacts may be formed of copper, copper titanium, phosphor bronze, or other material. They may be plated or coated with nickel, gold, or other material. The flexible conductor may be a flexible circuit board or other circuit board, such as one made using FR4, ribbon cable, or other type of conductor. Again, it may be a flexible substrate supporting a number of conductors. The stiffening layer may be metal, FR4, polyimide, polyamide, or made of other material or materials. 
     While various embodiments of the present are well-suited as connector receptacles for hard-disk drives, such as 2.5 or 3.5 inch Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard-disk drives, other embodiments of the present invention may be used as connectors for other devices, such as solid state drives, optical drives, batteries, keyboards, trackpads, display screens, and other components. These components may be employed in electronic devices such as portable computers, tablets, desktops, all-in-one computers, cell, smart, and media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors and other devices 
     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 portion of a hard-disk drive that may connect to a main-logic board or other electronic component using a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of a hard-disk drive that may connect to a main-logic board or other electronic component using a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates another connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of a hard-disk drive that may be connected to using a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention, the connector receptacle forming an electrical connection with connector insert on a hard-disk drive; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of a portion of a contact for a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  illustrates side view of a hard-disk drive and a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a portion of a hard-disk drive that may connect to a main-logic board or other electronic component using a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hard-disk drive  110  may include a recessed portion  112 . Male connector or connector insert  120  may include one or more tongues, shown here as tongues  122  and  124 . A number of contacts  130  may reside on tongues  122  and  124 . In various embodiments of the present invention, hard-disk drive connector inserts  120  may include one, two, three, or more than three tongues. Contacts  130  may be plated areas on tongues  122  and  124 , they may be metal contact pins, or they may be other types of contacts. 
     A connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention may connect to hard-disk drive connector insert  120 . This connector receptacle may include contacts for forming electrical connections with contacts  130 . One or more conductors may connect to the contacts in the connector receptacle, where the conductor conveys power and signals between hard-disk drive  110  and a main-logic board or other electrical component. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of a hard-disk drive that may connect to a main-logic board or other electronic component using a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Again, hard-disk drive  110  may include a recessed portion  112 . A connector insert  120  having tongues  122  and  124  may reside in recess  112 . Contacts  130  may be located on tongues  122  and  124  of connector insert  120 . 
     While embodiments of the present invention are particularly well-suited to hard-disk drive connector receptacles, embodiments of the present invention may be used for connector receptacles for other types of components such as solid state drives, optical drives, batteries, keyboards, trackpads, display screens, and other components. These components may be located in electronic devices such as portable computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets, desktops, all-in-one computers, storage devices, portable media players, televisions and other display devices, navigation systems, monitors and other devices. 
     Again, signals and power may be transferred between a main-logic board or other electrical component and hard-disk drive  110  via contacts  130 . Accordingly a connector receptacle may attach to connector insert  120  to form electrical connections with contacts  130 . If this connector is large, the effective space consumed by hard-disk drive  110  may be increased. This, in turn, may lead to an increase in size of electronic device that includes hard-disk drive  110 . Alternatively, this may lead to a decrease in the functionality of the electronic device that includes hard-disk drive  110 . 
     Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles that do not extend significantly beyond a leading edge of the tongues  122  and  124  of connector insert  120 . Embodiments of the present invention may also provide connector receptacles that do not extend significantly above or below an enclosure for hard-disk drive  110 . That is, they may not add considerably to the thickness of the hard-disk drive  110 . Also, embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles that do not extend significantly beyond the length of connector insert  120 . That is, they may not add considerably to the width of the hard-disk drive  110 . An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Connector receptacle  300  may include housing  310  having horizontal openings  372  and  374  for tongues  122  and  124  of connector insert  120 . In other embodiments of the present invention, housing  310  may include various numbers of openings for various numbers of tongues, such as one, three, or more than three tongues. Housing  310  may further include a number of vertical slots for  382  contacts  320 . Contacts  320  may form electrical connections with contacts  130  on tongues  122  and  124  of connector insert  130 . Contacts  320  may also form electrical connections with flexible conductor  330 . Flexible conductor  330  may be a flexible circuit board, ribbon cable, or other appropriate conductor. Flexible conductor  330  may be a flexible substrate having or supporting a number of individual conductors, where the individual conductors may form electrical connections with contacts  320 . In various embodiments of the present invention, more than one flexible conductor  330  may be used. For example, two flexible conductors  330  may be used, one for power and one for various signals. A stiffening layer  340  may be placed over a portion of flexible conductor  330 . Stiffening layer  340  may stabilize flexible conductor  330 , thus providing a suitable substrate for contacts  320  to be soldered to. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Again, hard-disk drive  110  may include recess  112 . Hard-disk drive connector insert  120  may reside in recess  112 . Hard-disk drive connector insert  120  may include tongues  122  and  124 . A connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention, such as connector receptacle  300 , may attach to hard-disk drive connector insert  120 . Contacts of connector receptacle  300  may form electrical connections with conductors in flexible conductor  330 . A stiffening layer  340  may be applied over a portion of flexible conductor  330 . Openings in stiffening board  340  may form passages for portions of contacts  320 . 
     Again, as can be seen, connector receptacle  300  does not extend significantly beyond leading edges of tongues  122  and  124  of connector insert  120 . In this example, connector receptacle  300  also may not extend significantly above or below an enclosure for hard-disk drive  110 . Connector receptacle  300  also may not extend significantly beyond the sides of connector insert  120 . Accordingly, connector receptacle  300  may consume very little space inside of the electronic device that includes hard-disk drive  110 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates another connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a space  128  between tongue  124  and connector insert portion  121  is typically used to accept a leading edge pin of a connector receptacle. Since the illustrated connector receptacle  500  does not require a leading edge pin, this space may be repurposed for the routing of flexible conductor  530 , which may be a flexible circuit board, ribbon cable, or other flexible conductor, such as a flexible substrate having or supporting a number of individual conductors. 
     Again, contacts  320  may cause a bowing or separation between a top portion of the connector receptacle above tongues  122  and  124  of connector insert  120  and a bottom portion of the connector receptacle below tongues  122  and  124 . Accordingly, bridging pieces  510 ,  512 , and  514  may be used to provide mechanical reinforcement. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of a hard-disk drive that may be connected to a main-logic board or other electrical component using a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hard-disk drive  110  may include tongue  122  supporting a number of contacts  130 . Passageways  610  may form an electrical connection between contacts  130  and circuitry inside hard-disk drive  110 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention, the connector receptacle forming an electrical connection with connector insert on a hard-disk drive. Hard-disk drive  110  may include tongue  122  supporting a number of contacts  130 . Passageways  610  may provide electrical connections between contacts  130  and circuitry inside hard-disk drive  110 . A connector receptacle  300  according to an embodiment of the present invention may include housing  310  having a bottom portion  312 . A number of contacts  320  may reside in housing  310 . Contacts  320  may include a first portion  322  for contacting contacts  130  on connector insert  120  tongues  122  and  124 , and a second portion  326  extending above housing  310 . Contacts  320  may further include a third portion  324 . Third portion  324  may be lodged in housing  310  to provide mechanical security for contact  320 . Flexible conductor  330  may be located on top of housing  310 . Conductors in flexible conductor  330  may make electrical connections with contacts  320 . Stiffening layer  340  may be placed over a top of flexible conductor  330  along a length of connector receptacle  300 . Stiffening layer  340  may stabilize flexible conductor  330 , thus providing a suitable substrate for contacts  320  to be soldered to. 
     Again, during assembly, contacts  320  may be preloaded or biased such that first portion  322  and third portion  324  are relatively lower than as shown in the assembled connector. During assembly, first portions  322  and third portions  324  are bent upward as contacts  320  are inserted into vertical slots in housing  310  from a front of housing  310 , though in other embodiments of the present invention, the contacts may be inserted from the bottom or top of housing  310 . Housing  310  may include lips or steps  314  to provide mechanical support for third portions  324  of contacts  320 . Third portions  324  may include protrusions that essentially dig in and lock into a narrowing portion of a vertical slot near the rear of housing  310 . These protrusions may help secure contacts  320  in place. A portion of housing  310  above the third portion  324  may extend horizontally through some or all of housing  310  to provide mechanical stability for the vertical slots. 
     The preloading of contacts  320  may help provide a consistent force between first portion  322  of contacts  320  of connector receptacle  300  and contacts  130  on tongues  122  and  124  of connector receptacle  120 . However this mechanical stress may cause a bowing in connector receptacle  300 . This bowing may lead to a decrease in force between contacts  320  and  130  near a center of tongues  122  and  124  of connector insert  120 . 
     To prevent this bowing, bridges  510 ,  512 , and  514  may be employed as shown above. These bridges may secure a top portion of housing  310  above tongues  322  and  324  to a bottom portion  312  below tongues  322  and  324 . 
     Connectors according to embodiments of the present invention may be shielded to improve high-frequency signal performance and to reduce interference between hard-disk drive  110  and other components in an electronic device. For example, stiffening layer  340  may be metallic and grounded to provide shielding along a top of connector receptacle  300 . In this example, care should be taken to avoid electrically shorting contacts  320 . Shielding  702  may also be placed over stiffening layer  340 . Shielding  704  may also be located along a front of connector receptacle  300  and below connector receptacle  300 . For example, a shield  706  may be located under lower housing portion  312 . In other embodiments of the present invention, a portion of a shield may be substituted for lower housing portion  312 . Shielding may be located in any one or more of these locations consistent with embodiments of the present invention. 
     Again, various components of this connector may be formed of various materials. For example, connector receptacle housing  310  may be formed of plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), or other nonconductive materials. Contacts  320  may be formed of copper, copper titanium, phosphor bronze, or other material. They may be plated or coated with nickel, gold, or other material. Flexible conductor  330  may be a flexible circuit board or other circuit board, such as one made using FR4, ribbon cable, or other type of conductor. Flexible conductor  330  may be a flexible substrate having or supporting a number of individual conductors. Stiffening layer  340  may be metal, FR4, polyimide, polyamide, or made of another material or materials. 
     As described above, third portions  324  of contacts  320  may include protrusions that may dig into housing  310  to provide mechanical support for contacts  320 . An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of a portion of a contact for a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Third portion  324  of contact  320  may include protrusions  810 . As contact  320  is inserted into connector receptacle  300  in a leftward direction, protrusions  810  may dig into a narrowing portion of a vertical slot in housing  310 . These protrusions may provide mechanical support and keep contact  360  in a secure position in housing  310 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates side view of a hard-disk drive and a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hard-disk drive  110  is contacted by connector receptacle  300  having housing  320  and flexible conductor  330 . As can be seen, connector receptacle  300  consumes a limited amount of space in a device enclosure. 
     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: 20120610
Publication Date: 20141118
Grant Date: 20141118
Priority Date: 20120610
Inventors: DEGNER BRETT
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01R12/592", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/24", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49174", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49222", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/24", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/592", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 49715643