Dust-proof cover and electrical connector assembly using the same

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly with a dust-proof cover thereon.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

In the traditional technology, an electrical connector assembly includes an insulative housing, a plurality of terminals received in the insulative housing and a dust-proof cover disposed above the insulative housing. The dust-proof cover is shaped as a plate, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,517. When the dust-proof cover is mounted to the insulative housing, the dust-proof cover can not be locked to the insulative housing steadily. The dust-proof cover can not align with the insulative housing accurately, so the terminals of the insulative housing will be damaged.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly used for connecting to or loading a chip module. The electrical connector assembly includes an electrical connector and a dust-proof cover. The electrical connector includes an insulative housing, a plurality of terminals and a shell covering the insulative housing. The insulative housing includes a second cavity for receiving the chip module. The shell defines an opening corresponding to the second cavity. The dust-proof cover originally attached to the shell, includes a dust-proof portion covering the opening and a pair of inclined pushing portions protruding from the dust-proof portion to the second cavity. The dust-proof cover has a plurality of supporting portions for supporting the dust-proof portion. During downwardly moving the shell toward the housing, the dust-proof cover is forcibly separated from the shell when the inclined pushing portion contacts and is successively upwardly pushed by the chip module.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector assembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector assembly shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the dust-proof cover shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector assembly of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5(A) is a side view to show the dust-proof cover associated with the shell approaching the chip module with the inclined pushing portion confronting the chip module; and

FIG. 5(B) is a side view to show the dust-proof cover is separated from the shell while the shell is fastened to the locking head on the printed circuit board.

Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe the present invention in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5 (B), an electrical connector assembly 100 used for connecting to a chip module 500 includes an electrical connector 10 mounted upon a printed circuit board 600 and a dust-proof cover 20 locked to the electrical connector 10 . The dust-proof cover 20 can prevent dust from going into the electrical connector 10 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the electrical connector 10 includes an insulative housing 11 , a plurality of terminals (not labeled) received in the insulative housing 11 and a metallic shell or loading plate 12 covering the insulative housing 11 . The insulative housing 11 includes a second cavity 13 for receiving the chip module 500 . The shell 12 includes an opening 14 corresponding to the second cavity 13 . The dust-proof cover 20 is disposed above the shell 12 , so the dust-proof cover 20 prevent dust from going into the electrical connector 10 through the opening 14 of the shell 12 . The electrical connector 10 includes a connecting member 15 disposed at one side of the insulative housing 11 . The shell 12 pivotally connects to the connecting member 15 and rotatably covers the insulative housing 11 , and the lever 60 , which is linked with the shell 12 in a pivotal manner, is rotated to urge the shell 12 forwardly to be downwardly engaged with the locking head 70 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the dust-proof cover 20 includes a dust-proof portion 21 covering the opening 14 and a pair of inclined pushing portions 22 protruding from the dust-proof portion 21 to the second cavity 13 . The inclined pushing portion 22 includes an inclined pushing face 220 . The dust-proof portion 21 defines a first cavity 23 facing to the opening 14 of the shell 12 . The inclined pushing portions 22 are disposed in the first cavity 23 . The dust-proof cover 20 has a pair of positioning arms or rigid latches 25 at one side thereof. The shell 12 defines a pair of positioning slots 16 corresponding to the positioning arms 25 respectively. The dust-proof cover 20 is positioned in a preset position of the shell 12 when the positioning arms 25 are fixed in the positioning slots 16 respectively. The inclined pushing portions 22 are disposed closed to the positioning arms 25 . The dust-proof cover 20 also includes a plurality of supporting portions 24 at two opposite sides thereof. The supporting portions 24 are disposed at two lateral sides of the shell 12 respectively. The supporting portions 24 and the inclined pushing portions 22 extend in a same direction. The supporting portions 24 include a first supporting portion 241 and a second supporting portion 242 disposed at one side of the dust-proof portion 21 . In other embodiments, the supporting portions 24 can also be disposed in the inner side of the opening 14 .

The dust-proof cover 20 is disposed above the shell 12 . Before the chip module 500 is put into the electrical connector assembly 100 , the dust-proof cover 20 covers the insulative housing 11 with the shell 12 , and the supporting portions 24 can support the dust-proof portion 21 . The supporting portions prevent the inclined pushing portions 22 from damaging the terminals of the insulative housing 11 . When the chip module 500 is put into the second cavity 13 of the electrical connector 10 , the dust-proof cover 20 rotatably covers the insulative housing 11 with the shell 12 , and the inclined pushing portions 22 are pushed by the chip module 500 , and the supporting portions 24 separate from the shell 12 , and the dust-proof cover 20 separates from the electrical connector 10 . It is easy to install and remove the dust-proof cover 20 .

Notably, the dust-proof cover 20 has a pair of relatively resilient latches 27 at the front end region each with a corresponding latching hook 271 , and a pair of relatively rigid latches 25 at the rear end region each with the corresponding latching hook 251 . When the cover 20 is mounted upon the shell 12 , both the latches 27 and latches 25 are engaged with the corresponding portions of the shell 12 . When the shell 12 with the associated dust-proof cover 20 is downwardly rotated toward the housing 11 , initially the inclined pushing portion 22 of the dust-proof cover 20 is upwardly urged by the chip module 500 and successively the latches 27 will be disengaged from the shell 12 to have the cover 20 removed from the shell 12 in a rotational manner about the inclined pushing portion 22 . The removal is deemed essentially automatic during fastening the shell 12 in position by engagement between the shell 12 and the locking head 70 via rotation of the lever 60 . The supporting portions 24 may assure the smooth removal of the cover 20 from the shell 12 compared with no provision of those supporting portions.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various alterations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without in any way departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.