WO1997002627A1

WO1997002627A1 - Connector, preferably a right angle connector, with integrated pcb assembly

Info

Publication number: WO1997002627A1
Application number: PCT/US1996/011214
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernardus L. Paagman
Original assignee: Berg Technology, Inc.
Priority date: 1995-07-03
Filing date: 1996-07-02
Publication date: 1997-01-23
Also published as: DE69634005T2; DE69519226T2; IN190516B; TW369740B; KR100394531B1; DE69519226D1; EP0836756A1; JP3784836B2; CN1244959A; JP2006108115A; JP4486028B2; JP2001525974A; EP0752739A1; DE69634005D1; EP0836756B1; EP0836756A4; EP0752739B1

Abstract

A connector, comprising one or more integrated PCB assemblies, each of said PCB assemblies comprising an insulating substrate, a cover plate and optionally a spacer each of said insulating substrates (16) comprising a predetermined pattern of conductive tracks (11) on a first surface, each of said conducting tracks (11) having one end for connection to one first contact terminal (4), and another end for connection to one second contact terminal (7) recesses are provided between the substrate and the cover with a first set of one or more first recesses (24) arranged for accommodating at least part of one first contact terminal (4) and with a second set of one or more second recesses (25) arranged for accommodating at least part of one second contact terminal (7).

Description

CONNECTOR, PREFERABLY A RIGHT ANGLE CONNECTOR, WITH INTEGRATED PCB ASSEMBLY

Background of the Invention

1. Field of the Invention: The present invention relates to connectors and

specifically to high speed, shielded connectors having one or more integrated

PCB assemblies.

2. Brief Description of Prior Developments: Right angle connectors are

now widely used and available in many different configurations. For right

angle connector structures, the usual method of manufacture comprises

stitching terminals into a suitable housing followed by row-by-row tail bending

of the terminal tails. However, the method of bending the tails of each of the

terminals is complex, especially since the bending is different for each row.

The bending for each row must be done in such a way that each of the board

contact terminals extends substantially the same distance from the connector

body. Moreover, each of said board contact terminals, in the assembled state

of the connector, must be precisely positioned in such a way that the pattern

of board contact terminals corresponds closely to the pattern of holes in the

PCB into which they will be inserted. An additional difficulty is related to the

EMI shielding of the tails for high-frequency applications. In particular for the

latter difficulty, a controlled-impedance tail section is preferred with additional

ground shielding options. Towards this end, it is known to subdivide the

manufacture of such a connector into one part for accommodating contact

terminals for mating contact with the contact terminal of a mating connector and a separate part for the tail end. Separate shielding casings, if required in a right angled configuration, may be provided around each of the terminals within the connector. Although connectors manufactured in this way operate

satisfactorily the manufacturing costs are high.

U.S. Patent No. 4,571,014 shows a different approach for the

manufacturing of right angle connectors using one or more PCB assemblies.

Each of the PCB assemblies comprises one insulated substrate, one spacer,

and one cover plate, all of which are attached to one another. The insulating

substrate is provided with a predetermined pattern of conducting tracks, while

ground tracks are provided between the conducting tracks. The conducting

tracks are connected at one end to a female contact terminal and at the other

end to a male contact terminal. Each of the cover plates is a conductive shield

member.

In the arrangement according to U.S. Patent No. 4,571 ,014, the

insulating substrates are rather thick to allow plated blind holes to be made

for the construction of female-type contacts for mating contact with male-type

pins of a mating connector or the like. The female contacts are connected to

conducting tracks on the surface of the insulating substrate through a thin

metal tail extending from the plated blind hole through the material of the

insulating substrate to the corresponding track. However, in practice it is very

difficult to produce such constructions with thin metal tails in a cost effective

and reliable way. Moreover, it is practically very difficult to produce deep

plated blind holes having a plating of a uniform thickness. Because of the

application of plated blind holes within the insulating substrates each of the printed circuit boards has to have a predetermined thickness which reduces

the possibilities of miniaturization.

Another disadvantage of the connector known from this U.S. Patent No.

4,571,014 is that the shield members, the insulating substrates and the

spacers have to be aligned with small holes and are fixed to one another by

conducting rivets or pins through the aligned holes; the holes in the insulating

substrates are plated through-holes, thus establishing an electrical contact

between each of the ground tracks between the conducting tracks and the

shield members in the assembled state. However, in practice this is not a very

reliable way of assuring electrical contact between the shield members and the

ground tracks on the insulating substrates.

Summary of the Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a connector which

overcomes the disadvantages described above.

This object is obtained by the present invention by providing a connector

in which terminals are secured onto the surface of a PCB carrying a

conductive trace. The portion of the terminal extending above the surface of

the PCB is accommodated by recesses formed in an associated cover or in a

spacer. By the arrangement of such a first set of one or more first recesses

and a second set of one or more second recesses respective first and second

contact terminals, either male or female, can be easily connected to the

respective conducting tracks. No complicated plated blind holes are necessary

to make female-type contact terminals since the recesses in the cover or the spacer provide enough space for accommodating formed contact terminals, such as a male or female terminal blanked from sheet stock.

In order to provide shielding between adjacent conducting tracks on the

PCB, ground tracks may be provided between the conducting tracks on a first

surface and a ground layer may be provided on a second surface opposite the

first surface.

The cover plates are made of insulating material and may be provided

with cover plate conducting tracks and cover plate ground tracks in a

predetermined pattern on a first cover plate surface facing the insulating

substrate. The cover plate conducting tracks may have one end for connection

to one first contact terminal and another end for connection to one second

contact terminal. The cover plates may have the second cover plate surface

opposite said first cover plate surface covered by a cover plate ground layer.

Thus, each of the first contact terminals may be connected to one second

contact terminal through one conducting track on the insulating substrate

and through a conducting track on the cover plate. Thereby, the electrical

resistance between a first contact terminal and a respective second contact

terminal is reduced. The pattern of conducting tracks on the insulating

substrate and the pattern of conducting tracks on the cover plate may be in

mirror relation to each other.

The ground tracks on the insulating substrate and the cover plate

ground tracks on the cover plate, respectively, can be connected to the ground

layer on the second surface of the insulating substrate and to the cover plate

ground layer, respectively, through plated through-holes. This can be easily achieved, by starting the production of a connector according to the invention

with an insulating substrate having metal layers at both sides. One side of the

substrate is, then, patterned to be provided with suitable conducting tracks

and ground tracks in a predetermined pattern, in accordance with known PCB

manufacturing techniques. The ground tracks may then be electrically

connected to the metal layer at the opposite side by plated through-holes,

which can be made by well known manufacturing techniques.

The recesses in the spacer or cover plate can be designed for entirely

accommodating one first contact terminal in such a way that, in the

assembled state, none of the first contact terminals extends outside the

connector. Such a configuration, used in conjunction with a shielding ground

layer, provides improved shielding as it is possible to enclose each of the

contact terminals to a greater extent.

The second contact terminals may comprise press-fit pins, surface

mount terminals and solder contact pins for connecting the connector to a

printed circuit board or the like.

The connector may also comprise an insulating connector body

accommodating each of said one or more integrated PCB assemblies and

provided with a metallized shielding layer on its outer surface. Thereby, the

electromagnetic interference caused by such a connector to the environment is

further reduced. The connector body desirably includes structure for receiving

and securing PCB modules in alignment.

A simplified configuration results when in the connector according to

the invention each spacer and its adjacent cover plate are substituted by another cover plate, provided with suitable recesses for accommodating first contact terminals and /or second contact terminals.

According to another feature of the invention, the PCB modules include

planar insulating substrates having conductive traces on which terminals are

secured and insulating covers disposed over the terminal carrying side of the

substrate, the covers having recesses for accommodating the terminals. The

covers and associated recesses can comprise a means of applying a force to

the contact terminals, such as an insertion force necessary to press fit the

connector into a circuit board, in a manner that minimizes or eliminates the

imposition of stresses on the connection of the terminals to the circuit traces.

The terminals include structure, engaged by the cover, for imparting force to

the terminals.

The connector may be provided with suitable filter elements by

arranging at least one electrical component within the connector, for instance

selected from the group of components comprising resistors, capacitors and

inductors.

The present invention will be further illustrated with reference to some

drawings which are meant for illustration purposes only and not intended to

limit the scope of the present invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 schematically shows a connector in order to illustrate the

principles of the present invention;

Figures 2a-2c show a right angle connector manufactured in accordance

with the invention; Figures 3a through 3c show a right angle connector according to an

alternative method in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a PCB assembly according to a

second embodiment of the invention.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary views showing the mounting of

terminals on the PCB assembly shown in Figure 4.

Figures 8-8d show different views of an insulative cover to be used in

conjunction with the PCB assembly of Figure 4 to form a terminal row module.

Figures 9-9e illustrate an assembled terminal module formed of a PCB

assembly as shown in Figure 4 and a cover as shown in Figure 9.

Figures 10, 10a and 11 are enlarged views showing portions of the

integrated terminal module shown in Figure 9.

Figures 12- 12c shown views of a connector housing for receiving a

plurality of modules as illustrated in Figure 9.

Figures 13, 13a and 13b show various views of a lead-in plate for the

housing shown in Figure 12.

Figures 14- 14c show views of a completed connector assembly.

It is to be understood that although the figures illustrate right angle

connectors, the principles of the present invention equally apply to other

connector configurations.

Figure 1 shows an integrated PCB assembly 1 having an insulating body

13. The insulating body 13 may comprise two or more layers as explained

below and may be provided with shielding ground layers 9 at either main outer surface. However, depending on the application one of the shielding ground

layers, or both, may be omitted.

The body 13 is provided with a first series of openings or recesses 2 in a

first side surface for accommodating suitable contact terminals 4. At a second

side surface, the body 13 is provided with similar openings or recesses 3 for

accommodating suitable board contact terminals 7. Each of said openings or

recesses 2 and 3 includes a conductive surface therein. The recess 2 and 3

may be entirely or partly metallized.

Each of the contact terminals 4 is shown to have a female type contact

portion 14, a tail connect portion 6 and a body connect portion 5. Each of the

body connect portions 5 is designed to be received by one of the recesses 2

and to be electrically connected to the metal layer within the hole 2, e.g. by

soldering or a press-fit connection.

If desired, each of the female-type contact portions 14 may be

substituted by male-type contact portions or hermaphrodite-type contact

portions, as is known to any person skilled in the art.

Each of the board contact terminals 7 is shown to have a board contact

portion 15 and a body connect portion 8. Each of the body connect portions 8

is to be received by one recess 3 and to be connected e.g. by soldering or by a

press-fit connection thereto. Each of the board contact portions 15 is

designed to be received by an appropriate hole in a printed circuit board and

to be connected thereto,, e.g. by soldering. However, a press-fit connection, as

shown, can also be provided instead. As a further alternative, the board

contact portion 15 may be designed to be suitable for surface mount or through mount connection to a printed circuit board. It is observed that the

phrase "printed circuit board" is not used in a limiting sense, but is meant to

include any kind of substrate to which connectors and right angle connectors

may be connected, as is known by a person skilled in the art.

Each of the recesses 2 are electrically connected to a corresponding

recesses 3 by suitable conducting means within the body 13. These suitable

conducting means may be conductive traces 1 1 as will be explained below by

reference to Figures 2a and 3a.

In order to provide a shielding effect between adjacent conducting

means 1 1 within the body 13, ground tracks 10 may be provided in-between.

Instead of providing a ground track 10 between each two adjacent conducting

means 1 1 other configurations are possible. Ground tracks 10 may, e.g., be

present between adjacent groups of two conducting means 11 thus having a

twinax-type configuration.

Figures 2a through 2c show subsequent manufacturing steps of

producing a right angle connector according to the invention in which

standard methods of producing printed circuit boards are used.

Figure 2a shows an insulating substrate 16, formed for example of

conventional flat PCB material provided with several parallel conducting

tracks 11. Conducting ground tracks 10 may be provided between adjacent

conducting tracks 1 1. The outer most conducting ground track 10 is provided

with a ground contact terminal 7' to be connected to ground through the

printed circuit board to which the connector is to be connected. Methods of

producing an insulating substrate 16 with parallel conducting tracks 10, 11 are widely known in the field of manufacturing printed circuit boards and need not be explained here.

Each of the conducting tracks 11 is connected to board contact

terminals 7, the board contact portions 15 of which extending beyond the

insulating substrate 16. Although the board contact portions 15 are shown as

press-fit terminals they might be replaced by suitable solder tail terminals or

surface mount terminals as mentioned above.

The other ends of the conducting tracks 11 are connected to suitable

contact terminals 4 which, in the embodiment shown in Figures 2a through

2c, do not extend beyond the insulating substrate 16.

Preferably, the body contact portions 5 and 8 of terminals 4 and 7,

respectively are fixed onto suitable solder pads formed at the ends of traces

11. This can be achieved by conventional surface mount soldering techniques.

An insulating spacer 17 is provided having a first series of openings 24

for accommodating the contact terminals 4 and a second series of openings 25

for accommodating at least part of the board contact terminals 7. The recess

2 and 3 in the insulating body 13 are formed at the interface of adjacent layers

or laminations. That is, the recesses 2, for example, are bounded by the

insulating layer 16, the edges of openings 24 or 25 and the cover 18. This

allows the contacts to be secured on layer 16 by conventional surface

mounting or other bonding techniques.

An insulating cover plate 18, optionally provided with a fully metallized

ground layer 9, is provided. To reduce the electrical resistance between each of the contact terminals

4 and the board contact terminals 7 each of the insulating cover plates 18 may

be provided with suitable conducting tracks 11 one end of which is electrically

connected to a contact terminal 4 and the other end of which is electrically

connected to a board contact terminal 7. These conducting tracks may be

provided in a mirrored relation to the conducting tracks 11 on the insulating

substrate 16. Cover plate 18 may also be provided with ground tracks 10

between those conducting tracks 1 1 (not shown). These ground tracks 10 are

preferably connected to the ground layer 9 by means of plated through-holes

26. The manufacturing of plated through-holes is known to persons skilled in

the art and need no further explanation. Of course, substrate 16 may be

provided with similar plated through-holes 26 in order to connect ground

tracks 10 to ground layer 9 at the outer surface of substrate 16.

Figure 2b shows one integrated PCB assembly manufactured from the

components shown in Figure 2a, i.e. an insulating substrate 16 to which an

insulating spacer 17 is attached and an insulating cover plate 18 attached to

the insulating spacer 17. The first series of openings 24 in the insulating

spacer 17 form recesses 2, in which the female-type contact terminals 4 are

disposed to receive contact terminals of a mating connector (not shown). It is

to be understood that the female-type contact terminals 4 shown in Figure 2a

may be replaced by male-type or hermaphrodite-type contact terminals.

Instead of providing both a spacer and a cover plate 18, only a cover

plate could be provided in which suitable recesses are made for accommodating the contact terminals 4 and the board contact terminals 7.

Such recesses would serve the same purpose as openings 24, 25 in spacer 17

shown in Figure 2a. Alternatively, but less desirably from a cost standpoint,

such recesses could be provided in substrate 16.

Figure 2c shows several integrated PCB assemblies as shown in

Figure 2b parallel to each other and to be inserted into a connector body 19.

The connector body 19 may be made of any insulating material and may be

provided with a metallized outer surface to enhance the shielding

effectiveness. The connector body 19 may be provided with suitable guiding

ridges 23 and one or more guiding extensions 22 for properly connecting the

assembled connector to a mating connector (not shown).

As is conventional, a locating and securing post 21 , receivable within a

hole in a printed circuit board to which the connector, is to be connected, is

provided at the bottom side of the connector body 19. Preferably, each of the

integrated PCB assemblies have at least one ground layer 9 on one of their

main outer surfaces to shield the parallel integrated PCB assemblies from

each other. Both outer surfaces of each of the outer integrated PCB

assemblies in the configuration shown in figure 2c are preferably provided

with ground layers 9 to enhance the shielding effectiveness.

The connector body 19 is provided with suitable lead-in holes 20 in

corresponding relationship with each of the contact terminals 4. Each of the

lead-in holes 20 is suitable for receiving a mating male-type contact terminal

of a mating connector (not shown). The lead-in holes 20 are arranged in

columns and rows as is designated by arrows c and r. The main difference between the embodiments of Figures 2a through 2c

and Figures 3a through 3c is that the contact terminals 4 in the embodiments

of Figures 3a through 3c extend beyond the outer dimensions of the integrated

PCB assembly.

In Figure 3a several contact terminals 4 are shown adjoined on a carrier

as one stamped part. The additional joining metal between adjacent contact

terminals 4 is stamped away as a final step during manufacturing. The

function of the carrier is to form a one stitch process.

Also board contact terminals 7 are shown to be adjoined on a carrier as

one stamped part. The additional joining metal between adjacent board

contact terminals is stamped away as final step during manufacturing.

Also here, the cover plate 18 may be provided with a plurality of suitable

conducting tracks one side of which is to be connected electrically to one

contact terminal 4 and the other side of which is to be connected to one board

contact terminal 7 in order to reduce the electrical resistance.

Either or both of the insulating substrates 16 or the insulating cover

plates 18 may be provided with a suitable ground layer 9.

The insulating substrate, the insulating spacer and the insulating cover

plate are adhered to each other by widely known means like glue, conductive

adhesives in track areas and/or use of pressure in order to produce one

integrated PCB assembly as shown in Figure 3b.

Like in the embodiment according to Figures 2a-2c spacer 17 could be

omitted whereas, then, cover plate 18 could be provided with suitable recesses

for accommodating those parts of contact terminals 4 and board contact terminals 7 not extending from substrate 16. Alternatively but less desirably, such recesses could be provided in substrate 16.

Several parallel integrated PCB assemblies as shown in Figure 3b are

introduced in the rear side of a connector body 19 which is provided with

suitable openings in the rear side to accommodate the extending contact

terminals 4 (Figure 3c). When shielding between adjacent contact terminals 4

is required shielding means may be provided within the connector body 19.

However, when shielding between contact terminals is desired, the

embodiment according to Figures 2a through 2c may be preferred because it is

easier to provide for shielding between adjacent contact terminals 4.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the

embodiments shown in the figures. Especially, the invention is not limited to

providing integrated PCB assemblies having one insulating substrate 16, one

spacer 17 and one cover plate 18. Other numbers of substrates, spacers and

cover plates are possible and are considered within the scope of the present

invention. Moreover, the substrate 16, spacer 17 and cover plate 18 may have

any desired dimension. Since separate substrates, spacers, cover plates, etc.

may be used to manufacture connectors in accordance with the invention,

filter elements, like resistors, capacitors and inductors, can be easily

incorporated within the connector by using well known PCB manufacturing

techniques. For example, they may be manufactured by well known thin film

techniques.

Any of the insulating substrates 16 may, e.g., be provided with suitable

connecting pins to be received by suitable holes in the insulating cover plates 18 to provide easier alignment of parallel integrated PCB assemblies and to

prevent shifting of integrated PCB assemblies when inserting several parallel

integrated PCB assemblies into the rear side of the connector body 19.

The connector according to the invention can be manufactured by using

standard and inexpensive PCB manufacturing methods without the

stamping/ moulding/ bending processes which are now widely used and which

are relatively expensive. Moreover, impedance matching can be easily

obtained since the manufacturing tolerances can be easily controlled. The

connector according to the present invention can also be designed for

miniature coaxial or twinax applications.

Although in the description presented above, the connector according to

the invention is provided with a set of contact terminals 4 at one side and a set

of board contact terminals 7 at another side it is to be understood that the

principles of the invention also apply to connectors in which the board contact

terminals 7 are substituted by contact terminals suitable for connection to a

mating connector or the like. Moreover, the set of contact terminals 4 may be

constructed as board contact terminals to be suited for connection to a printed

circuit board or the like.

Figures 4- 14c illustrate a second embodiment of an integral terminal

PCB module. This embodiment eliminates the separate spacer element 17 of

the previous embodiment and incorporates certain of its functions into a

single cover/ spacer member. The cover and an associated PCB terminal

assembly form a terminal module, several of which can be held together in

side-by-side relationship in a housing to form an electrical connector. Referring to Figure 4, the PCB assembly 30 comprises an insulating

substrate 31 of a material commonly commercially used for making PCBs.

The substrate 31 can be a resin impregnated fiber assembly such as is sold

under the designation FR4, having a thickness 0.4 mm, for example. On a

first surface of the substrate 31 , a plurality of circuit traces 32 are formed by

conventional PCB techniques. Each trace 32 extends from a first portion of

the substrate 31, for example adjacent the front edge as shown in Figure 4, to

a second area or region of the substrate 31 , such as the bottom edge as shown

in Figure 4. The traces 32 include contact pads at each end adapted to have

metal terminals secured to them, as by conventional surface mounting

techniques using solder. A plurality of ground or shielding traces 33 may also

be applied to the substrate 31. The shielding traces 33 may be disposed

between each of the circuit traces 32 or between groups of such traces. A

terminal, such as a contact terminal 34 is mounted at the first end of each

trace 32 and a connector mounting side terminal 35 is mounted on the second

end of each circuit trace 32. An additional shielding or ground layer 36 may

be applied to the remainder of the substrate 31. A ground terminal 37 is fixed

onto the ground layer 36, in alignment with the terminals 35.

A locating hole 39 may be appropriately placed in the substrate 31. The

locating hole 39 preferably comprises a plated through hole for establishing

electrical connection with a grounding layer 38 (Figure 5) that may extend

substantially over the entire back surface of the substrate 31. As previously

described, small vias forming plated through-holes may be disposed in each of

the ground tracks 33 so that the ground tracks 33, the shield layer 36 and the back shield layer 38 form a shielding structure for the signal traces 33 and

associated terminals.

As shown in the fragmentary views of Figures 5 and 6, contact terminals

34 are formed as a one-piece stamping and can comprise a dual beam contact

having a base section 40 having an opposed pair of upstanding portions 41. A

spring section 42 is cantilevered from each of the upstanding portions 41 to

define an insertion axis for a mating terminal, such as a pin from a pin

header. Such a pin would be engaged by the contact portions 43 disposed at

the end of each cantilevered arm 42. The contact terminals also include a

mounting section, such as the planar member 44, that is adapted to be

secured onto the end of the circuit trace 32, typically by solder 46. The latter

can be accomplished by conventional surface mounting or other bonding

techniques. As can be realized by the above description, the cantilevered arms

42 and contact portions 43 define a contact mating or pin insertion axis that

is generally parallel to the plane of substrate 31 , but is offset from the surface

carrying the conductive traces 32.

As illustrated in Figure 7, one preferred form of connector mounting

terminal 35 includes a press-fit section 48 and a board mounting section 49.

The board mounting section 49 includes a generally planar base 50 with an

upturned top tang 52 disposed along a top edge. A pair of opposed side tangs

53 are also upturned from the base 50. The mounting portion 49 is retained

on the circuit trace 32 by solder fillets 54, again formed by conventional

surface mounting solder techniques. Preferably, the top tang 52 is spaced closely adjacent to or rests on the top surfaces of the side tangs 53 as shown

in Figure 7.

Figures 8, 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d illustrate an insulative cover/ spacer

member 56, preferably molded from an appropriate polymeric insulating

material. The cover includes a plurality of contact recesses 57 formed along

one edge. Each of the recesses 38 includes a contact preload rib 58. A large

central recess 59 may also be formed in the cover. A second plurality of

terminal recesses 60 is formed along a second edge of the cover. Further, a

locating boss 62 is integrally formed with the cover and is sized and shaped to

be received, with limited clearance, in the locating opening 39 in the substrate

31. The cover further includes an upper rim 63 extending from the rear of the

cover to a location near the recesses 57. A bottom rim or support member 64

is formed on a portion of the bottom surface of the cover. The cover 56 further

includes an upper locating and mounting rib 65, preferably in the form of a

dove tail rib as shown. A similar but shorter mounting and locating rib 66 is

disposed on the bottom edge of the cover. The surfaces 67a and 67b form

board rest surfaces against which a substrate 31 is placed. The surfaces 67a

and 67b may carry an adhesive or alternately a double adhesive coated film

(not shown) may be applied to extend from surface 67a to surface 67b.

A terminal module 69 (Figure 9) is formed by associating a PCB terminal

assembly 30 with a cover 56. Figure 9 is substantially an x-ray view through

the cover 56 for ease in showing the location of the elements on substrate 31 ,

with respect to the cover. The PCB assembly 30 is located in the vertical

direction by the upper and lower rim or mounting members 63, 64 and is ιy located in a longitudinal manner by the locating boss 62. The contact

terminals 34 are located in the contact recesses 57 and the connector

mounting terminals 35 are located in the recesses 60. The previously

mentioned adhesive or adhesive coated films on surface 67a and 67b maintain

the PCB assembly and cover 56 together.

Figure 9a is a sectional view taken along line AA of Figure 9 and shows

the contact terminals 34 located in the contact recesses 57. The terminals 34

are positioned so that the contact portions 43 bear against the preload ribs 58

to impart a desired preload on the cantilevered spring arms 42.

Figure 9b is a sectional view taken along line BB. As shown in Figure

9b, the substrate 31 is essentially located in a vertical position by the rims 63

and 64. The overall thickness of the module 69 generally approximates the

desired contact pitch of the finished connector. For example, if a 2.0 mm

contact pitch is desired, and assuming a substrate thickness of 0.4 mm, the

thickness of cover 56 would be approximately 1.6 mm. Thus, if the modules

69 are stacked in side by side relationship, the desired pitch is achieved.

As illustrated in Figure 9c, each connector mounting 35 has its

mounting portion received within a corresponding recess 60. If the board

mounting terminal is of a type that is likely to have a relatively high axial force

applied to it, such as a press-fit terminal, the surface 68 (Figure 8d) of the

recess 60 is advantageously located so that it bears against the upturned tang

52 of the terminal. The views in Figures 9c and Figure 1 1 are taken

substantially along section line CC of Figure 9. Figure 9d is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line DD of

Figure 9 showing a positioning of grounding terminal 37 in a similar fashion to

terminal 35 in Figures 9c and Figure 11.

Figure 9e is a view of the back end of the module 69 showing in

phantom views the locating boss 62 and the mounting portion of a terminal

35.

Figures 10 and 10a illustrate enlarged views of the connector contacts

34 located in recesses 57 of the cover 56. Figure 10a is a cross sectional view

taken along line GG of Figure 10 and shows the positioning of the preload rib

58 with respect to the contact portions 43.

Figure 1 1 illustrates the interaction of the cover 56 with the board

connection terminal 35 when a downward force F is applied to the top edge of

the module 69. That force is transmitted by the cover to the pressing surface

68 formed by the top surface of the recess 60. As a result, a vertical insertion

force that is used to push the press-fit 48 into the hole T is applied directly to

the upper tang 52 and the side tangs 53. In this manner, shear stress

occuring at the solder connection between the base 50 of the terminal and the

circuit trace 32 is minimized. In this manner, loosening or detachment of the

terminal 35 is avoided. This is achieved, at least in part, by positioning the

surface 68 so that it will engage tang 52 before the rim 63 beings applying a

vertical force to the upper edge of the substrate 31. One way to accomplish

this is to provide an initial, small clearance between the rim 63 and the

adjacent edge of substrate 31. Additionally, the cover is designed so that a

significant proportion of the insertion force is applied directly to terminal 35 so that stress at the terminal/ conductive track interface is minimized. The

structure disclosed is designed to withstand required press-fit pin insertion

forces of 35-50 Newtons per pin.

Figure 12 is a cross sectional view taken along line HH of Figure 12a

and shows a connector housing 70 having a top wall 72, a bottom wall 76 and

a front wall 78. The top wall 72 includes a plurality of locating slots, for

example the dove tail slots 73. One or more guiding ridges 74 may be formed

on a top surface of the top 72. The bottom 76 also includes a locating slot, for

example the dove tail slots 77. The front wall 78 includes a plurality of

openings 79.

Figure 13a is a front elevational view of a lead-in face plate 80 having a

plurality of tapered lead-in sections 84 arranged in the form of a grid. Each of

the lead-in portions 84 extends to a pin insertion port 85. A plurality of

sleeves or hollow bosses 86 extend from the rear surface of the face plate 80

and are shaped in size to be positioned in the openings 79 in the front wall 78

of housing 70.

Figure 14 is a sectional view showing the assembly of contact module

69, housing 70 and face plate 80 to form a completed right angle connector. A

plurality of pins 90 and 90a are shown being received in the mating contact

terminals 34. The pins designated as 90a in both Figures 14 and 14c are

shown in a somewhat misaligned, as can occur when pins are bent. As shown

in Figure 14b, in order to form a finished connector, a plurality of contact

modules 69 are assembled in the housing 70 by aligning the dove tail ribs 65

and 66 of each module with the dove tail slots 73 and 77 respectively of the housing and pushing the modules in the direction of front wall 78. The

mounting contacts 33 and ground contact 37 are positioned to be inserted into

the holes of a circuit board on to which the connector is to be mounted. This

would conventionally be accomplished by applying a downward force, usually

to the top of the housing 70 extending over the region of the board contacts

35.

Additional shielding can be provided by metallizing appropriate surfaces

of the housing 70.

The foregoing constructions yield connectors with excellent high speed

characteristics at low manufacturing costs. Although the preferred

embodiment is illustrated in the context of a right angle press-fit connector,

the invention is not so limited and the techniques disclosed in this application

can be utilized for many type of high density connectors systems wherein

signal contact are arranged in rows and columns.

Claims

1. A connector, comprising at least one PCB assembly comprising an

insulating substrate and a spacer layer mounted next to the substrate, said

insulating substrate having at least one conductive trace on a first surface,

each of said conducting tracks having a first end, a first contact terminal

mounted on the first end, a second end, a second contact terminal mounted

on the second end, the spacer having a first recess for accommodating at least

part of the first contact terminal and a second recess for accommodating at

least part of the second contact terminal..

2. A connector according to claim 1 , wherein said spacer includes a

cover plate made of insulating material, said cover plate having at least one

conductive track on a first cover plate surface facing said insulating substrate

said conducting track on the cover plate having one end for connection to the

first contact terminal and another end for connection to the second contact

terminal.

3. A connector according to claim wherein ground tracks are provided

on the surface of the insulating substrate carrying the conductive track and a

ground layer is disposed on a second opposed surface of the insulating

substrate the ground track and ground layer being electrically connected

through at least one plated through hole.

4. A connector according to claim 1, wherein said second contact terminal includes structure for connecting the connector to a printed circuit

board.

5. A connector according to claim 1 and further comprising an

insulating connector body for receiving said PCB assembly.

6. A connector according to claim 1 and further comprising at least one

electrical filtering component associated with the conductive track on the

insulating substrate.

7. An electrical connector comprising:

an insulative substrate having a first surface and at least one circuit

trace disposed on the first surface and extending from a first area of the

substrate to a second area of the substrate, the circuit trace including at least

a first location for mounting an electrical terminal on the substrate in

electrical connection with the circuit trace; and

a first electrical terminal, the first terminal having a mounting

section for mounting the terminal at the first location on the circuit trace and

a contact section disposed in offset relation to the first surface, for

establishing electrical connection with a mating contact.

8. An electrical connector as in claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the

contact portion of the terminal extends beside the first surface of the

substrate.

9. An electrical connector as in claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the

contact section of the terminal extends beyond an edge of the substrate.

10. An electrical connector as in claim 7, wherein the mounting section is

adapted to be surface mounted at the first location.

11. An electrical connector comprising:

an insulative substrate having a first surface and at least one circuit

trace disposed on the first surface and extending from a first area of the

a first location for mounting an electrical terminal on the substrate in

electrical connection with the circuit trace; and

a first electrical terminal, the first terminal having a mounting

a contact section, said terminal including a force application structure

adapted to receive a force applied to the terminal.

12. An electrical connector as in claim 1 1 , wherein the force application

portion comprises structure extending away from the first surface of the

substrate.

13. An electrical connector as in claim 12, wherein the structure comprises a tab upstanding from the first surface.

14. An electrical connector as in claim 13, wherein the structure further

comprises an upstanding member adjacent the tab.

15. The electrical connector of claim 1 1 , wherein the terminal is a press-

fit terminal.

16. An electrical connector as in claim 1 1 and further comprising an

insulative cover for covering the first surface of the substrate, the cover and

the substrate forming a module.

17. An electrical connector as in claim 16 and further comprising a

housing, the housing including means for holding a plurality of said modules.

18. An electrical connector as in claim 17, wherein each module includes

a plurablity of circuit traces, each trace having a first location, with a contact

terminal disposed at said first location of each circuit trace, and a second

location spaced from the first location and a contact terminal disposed at each

second location.

19. An electrical connector as in claim 16, wherein the cover includes

engaging means for engaging said force application structure to apply said

force thereto.

20. An electrical connector as in claim 19, wherein the engaging means

comprises a surface adapted to bear against said structure.

21. An electrical connector as in claim 20, wherein the cover includes a

recess for receiving the terminals and the surface comprises a wall of the

recess.

22. An electrical connector as in claim 11 , wherein the substrate

includes a second surface opposite of the first surface and a metallic shielding

layer is disposed on the second surface with at least a portion of the metallic

shielding layer overlying a shielding layer on the first surface, an opening

extending through the substrate in said overlying region, said cover having a

locating member extending into said opening.

23. The electrical connector of claim 26, wherein the opening is a plated

through hole.

24. An electrical connector comprising:

an insulative substrate having a first surface and at least one circuit

trace disposed on the first surface and extending from a first area of the substrate to a second area of the substrate, the circuit trace including at least a first location for mounting an electrical terminal on the substrate in

electrical connection with the circuit trace;

a first electrical terminal, the first terminal having a mounting

a contact section, and wherein the contact section of the terminal includes a

spring biased contact member;

a cover overlying the substrate and together with the substrate

forming a module; and

means carried by the module for preloading the contact member.

25. An electrical connector as in claim 24, wherein the cover includes a

recess for receiving the contact section of the terminal and the preloading

means comprises a rib located in the recess positioned to urge the contact

member to a preload position.

26. An electrical connector comprising:

an insulative substrate having a first surface and at least one circuit

trace disposed on the first surface and extending from a first area of the

a first location for mounting an electrical terminal on the substrate in

electrical connection with the circuit trace; and

a first electrical terminal, the first terminal having a mounting

section for mounting the terminal at the first location on the circuit trace and a contact section, and further comprising an insulative cover disposed on the

substrate and wherein the cover includes an elongate edge, said elongate edge

including a projection for securing the module in a connector housing.

27. An electrical connector as in claim 26, wherein said elongate edge of

the cover defines a top edge of the module and the terminal is disposed along

an edge of the substrate opposite said top edge.

28. An electrical connector as in claim 27 and further comprising a

connector housing, the housing having a slot, said projection being shaped to

be received in the slot.

29. An electrical connector comprising:

an insulative substrate having a first surface and a plurality of circuit

traces disposed on the first surface and extending from a first portion of the

substrate to a second portion of the substrate, each circuit trace including a

first location in the first portion of the substrate for mounting one of a first

series of electrical terminals on the substrate and a second location for

mounting one of a second series of electrical terminals;

a series of first electrical terminals, each of the first terminals having

a mounting section mounted at the first location on one of the circuit traces

and a contact section disposed exteriorly of the substrate; and v a series of second electrical terminals, each of the second terminals having a mounting section mounted at the second location on one of the

circuit traces and a contact section disposed exteriorly of the substrate.

30. A connector as in claim 29, wherein the first terminals and second

terminals are surface mounted on the substrate.

31. The electrical connector according to claim 29, wherein the mounting

section of each second terminal is surface mounted on the substrate and the

contact section of each second terminal is a press-fit section.

32. An electrical connector as in claim 31, wherein at least one of the

second terminals includes structure for receiving a force applied to the

terminal in a direction generally aligned with the longitudinal axis of the

press-fit section.

33. An electrical connector as in claim 33 and further comprising a cover

mounted on the substrate, the cover having a member for applying a force to

the force receiving structure of said at least one second terminal.

34. The electrical connector of claim 34, wherein said member comprises

a surface of a recess formed in the cover for receiving said at least one second

terminal, and said force receiving structure comprises a portion of the

terminal upstanding from the substrate.

35. An electrical connector as in claim 30 and further comprising a cover

mounted on the substrate and overlying at least a portion of the second

surface ,the cover and the substrate forming a contact module, the cover

including means for securing the module in a connector housing.

36. An electrical terminal for mounting on a circuit bearing substrate

comprising:

a mounting section for surface mounting the terminal on the

substrate, the mounting section including a mounting face adapted to be

disposed against the substrate;

a contact section extending from the mounting section, and

a force application surface spaced from said mounting face for

receiving a force applied to the terminal in a direction generally parallel to the

substrate.

37. A terminal as in claim 37, wherein the force application surface is

disposed on a member extending away from the mounting face.

38. A terminal as in claim 38, wherein the member comprises an

upturned tang formed in the terminal.

39. A terminal as in claim 39, wherein the tang is disposed along an edge

of the mounting section.

40. A terminal as in claim 40, wherein the terminal includes a second

tang along another edge of the mounting section adjacent said upturned tang.

41. An electrical terminal for mounting on a substrate comprising:

a contact section including a base, a pair of opposed contact arms

extending from the base, the contact arms defining between them a contact

mating axis, the mating axis being arranged to be substantially parallel to and

offset from the substrate; and

a mounting section extending from the base, the mounting section

including a portion adapted for surface mounting on the substrate.