Circuit board connector having a pair of locking arms

This application is the U.S. National Stage of and claims priority to and the benefit of International Patent Application Number PCT/SG2016/050424, entitled “CIRCUIT BOARD CONNECTOR” filed on Aug. 31, 2016, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to the Republic of Singapore application 10201506887X, entitled “CIRCUIT BOARD CONNECTOR” filed on Aug. 31, 2015. The entire contents of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly relates to a circuit board connector.

Electrical connectors such as circuit board connectors are widely used in electronic devices and systems. To improve the electrical connectivity, there is often a requirement to secure a circuit board to the circuit board connector. Therefore, there is a need to ensure secure and reliable connection between the circuit board and the circuit board connector.

Embodiments of the present invention provides a circuit board connector which comprises a housing, at least one signal contact disposed in the housing, and a pair of locking arms attached to the housing. The housing has a slot formed therein, for receiving a circuit board. Each locking arm has a latch movably disposed in the slot. The pair of locking arms are resiliently deformable relative to the housing between a lock position at which the latch is positioned to block the slot, to lock a circuit board to the connector, and an unlock position at which the latch is positioned to form a clearance in the slot, to allow disconnection of the circuit board from the connector.

Other characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to same or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which together with the detailed description below are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages in accordance with the embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a circuit board connector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 1 and a circuit board to be connected to the circuit board connector.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4A is a cross sectional perspective view of FIG. 1 along A-A.

FIG. 4B is a side view of FIG. 4A .

FIG. 4C is a side view of FIG. 4A together with a circuit board to be connected to the circuit board connector.

FIG. 4D is a side view of FIG. 4A with the circuit board connected to the circuit board connector.

FIG. 4E is a cross section side view of FIG. 1 along B-B.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a pair of locking arms and an actuating member of the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 6A is a cross sectional perspective view of FIG. 5 along C-C.

FIG. 6B is a partial cross section view of the actuating member as depicted in FIG. 5 along D-D.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the circuit board connector show in FIG. 1 and a circuit board connected to the circuit board connector.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial cross section view of the circuit board connector as 5 depicted in FIG. 7 along E-E.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial cross section view of the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 7 along line F-F.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are cross sectional side views of FIG. 1 along A-A depicting a process of connecting a circuit board to the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 1 .

FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C are cross sectional side views of FIG. 1 along A-A depicting a process of disconnecting a circuit board from the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a circuit board connector according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an actuating member and a stopper of the circuit board connector shown in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the actuating member and the stopper engaged to the actuating member.

FIG. 15 is a cross section view of the actuating member as depicted in FIG. 14 along G-G.

FIG. 16 is a partial cross section view of the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 12 along H-H.

FIGS. 17A, 17B and 17C are cross sectional side views of FIG. 12 along H-H depicting a process of connecting a circuit board to the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 12 .

FIGS. 18A, 18B, 18C and 18D are cross sectional side views of FIG. 12 along H-H depicting a process of disconnecting a circuit board from the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a circuit board connector according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 19 and a circuit board to be connected to the circuit board connector.

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 20 .

FIG. 22A is a cross sectional side view of FIG. 19 along I-I.

FIG. 22B is a perspective view of an actuating member of the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 19 .

FIG. 22C is a bottom perspective view of an actuating member of the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 19 .

FIG. 23 is a cross section view of the actuating member as depicted in FIG. 22A along line J-J.

FIG. 24 is a partial cross section view of the actuating member as depicted in FIG. 22A along line K-K.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the circuit board connector show in FIG. 19 and a circuit board connected to the circuit board connector.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged partial cross section view of the electrical connector as depicted in FIG. 25 along K-K.

FIG. 27 is an enlarged partial cross section view of the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 25 along L-L.

FIGS. 28A, 28B and 28C are cross sectional side views of FIG. 19 along H-H showing the latch in a process of connecting a circuit board to the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 19 .

FIGS. 29A, 29B and 29C are cross sectional side views of FIG. 19 along H-H showing the latch in a process of disconnecting a circuit board from the circuit board connector as depicted in FIG. 19 .

FIGS. 30A and 30B are cross sectional side views of FIG. 19 along H-H showing the signal contact and ground terminal in a process of connecting a circuit board to the circuit board connector as depicted in FIGS. 28A, 28B and 28C .

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4A and 4B , a circuit board connector 100 comprises a housing 110 , at least one signal contact 129 disposed in the housing 110 , and a pair of locking arms 122 A and 122 B attached to the housing 110 . Housing 110 has a slot 107 opening to a front side 102 of housing 110 . Slot 107 is to receive a circuit board 50 into housing 110 , to establish electrical connection between circuit board 50 and the at least one signal contact 129 of circuit board connector 100 . Locking arm 122 A, 122 B each has a latch 124 A, 124 B formed thereon. The pair of locking arms 122 A, 122 B are resiliently deformable relative to the housing 110 between a lock position and an unlock position. At the lock position, shown in FIG. 4B in solid lines, latch 124 A is positioned in slot 107 and blocks the full height 107 A of slot 107 . At the unlock position, shown in FIG. 4B in dashed lines, the latch 124 A′ is positioned to partially blocking the slot 107 . i.e. forming a clearance 107 B at the height direction of slot 107 .

As shown in FIG. 4C , each latch 124 A, 124 B (only latch 124 A is shown in FIG. 4C ) has an inclined surface 1242 A facing front side 102 of housing 110 . A circuit board 50 is to be inserted into slot 107 from a front side 102 of the housing 110 , for connecting to circuit board connector 100 . Circuit board 50 has two openings or notches 52 , 54 formed at the lateral sides, and a retaining portion 51 at front end thereof. During the process of circuit board 50 insertion into slot 107 , along insertion direction 50 A, the retaining portion 51 abuts against the inclined surface 1242 A of latch 124 A, causing the latch 124 A to displace downwardly from the lock position to the unlock position, along deflection direction 1244 A. After the retaining portion 51 passes over the inclined surface 1242 A, as shown in FIG. 4D , latch 124 A is positioned in alignment with notch 52 and is allowed to return from the unlock position to the lock position, along returning direction 1246 A. At the lock position, latch 124 A blocks the clearance 107 B of slot 107 to engage with the retaining portion 51 of circuit board 50 , to prevent the circuit board 50 from being removed out of the slot 107 . Latch 124 B and locking arm 122 B have the same, symmetrical structure and operations in a same manner as latch 124 A and locking arm 122 A.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4E , circuit board connector 100 may include at least one ground terminal 130 attached to housing 110 . Ground terminal 130 has a contact portion 130 A which is disposed at the same side of slot 107 as contact portion 129 A of signal contact 129 .

Circuit board connector 100 may further include an actuating member 120 coupled to housing 110 . In some embodiments, actuating member 120 is comprised of metal and serves a shielding function. Actuating member 120 has a pair of actuating arms 126 A. 126 B positioned adjacent to a respective one of the locking arms 122 A, 122 B. As shown in FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 7, 8 and 9 , locking arms 122 A and 122 B are attached to housing 110 and disposed adjacent to and in the downward direction 406 of the actuating arm 126 A and 126 B, respectively, such that movement in the downward direction 406 of the actuating arms 126 A and 126 B can respectively drive locking arms 122 A and 122 B to deflect in the downward direction 406 from an original (lock) position to an unlock position. Each of the locking arms 122 A and 122 B has a latch 124 A and 124 B projected in an upward direction 408 , respectively. The latch 124 A. 124 B of each locking arm 122 A, 122 B are allowed to remain at the lock position when the pair of actuating arms 126 A, 126 B are at the original position. During an insertion process of circuit board 50 into the slot 107 , circuit board 50 causes the latches 124 A. 124 B to deflect to form the clearance 107 B, to allow the circuit board 50 to be placed in the slot 107 to establish electrical connection with circuit board connector 100 . When the circuit board 50 is fully inserted into the slot 107 , the latches 124 A, 124 B resumes to the lock position to block the clearance 107 B and engages the retaining portion 51 of circuit board 50 .

When it is desired to disconnect circuit board 50 from circuit board connector 100 , the pair of actuating arms 126 A, 126 B are deformed from the original position to the deflected position, upon receiving an external force, to bias against the pair of locking arms 122 A, 122 B which in turn move the latches 124 A. 124 B to the unlock position to release the engagement with the retaining portion 51 of the circuit board 50 . Circuit board 50 can then be removed from slot 107 and disconnected from circuit board connector 100 .

Actuating member 120 has a beam 128 connecting the pair of actuating arms 126 A and 126 B there between. The beam 128 is to receive an external force to displace the pair of actuating arms 126 A, 126 B from the original position to the deflected position.

Actuating member 120 may have a pair of side plates 121 A, 121 B connected to the beam 128 . The pair of side plates 121 A, 121 B are fixedly attached to the housing 110 . The beam 128 and the pair of actuating arms 126 A, 126 B are resiliently deformable relative to the pair of side plates 121 A. 121 B.

The process of connecting a circuit board 50 into the circuit board connector 100 is further illustrated in conjunction with FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C . The circuit board 50 is to be inserted, along direction 50 A, into circuit board connector 100 from front side 102 . The circuit board 50 is then brought into contact with inclined surface 1242 A and 1242 B of the latch 124 A and 124 B which is positioned in front of the insertion path as seen in FIG. 10A . Advancement of circuit board 50 along direction 50 A exerts a pressure on the inclined surface 1242 A and 1242 B of the latches 124 A and 124 B, by which, the locking arms 122 A and 122 B are biased to deflect in the downward direction 406 from the lock position, as seen in FIG. 10A , to the unlocked position, as seen in FIG. 10B where the latch 124 A is deflected away from the insertion path to form a clearance 107 B, to allow the circuit board 50 to pass over. As the circuit board 50 is further inserted, the openings 52 and 54 will be in alignment with the latches 124 A, 124 B, respectively, allowing latches 124 A, 124 B to return to the original (lock) position, thereby locking the circuit board 50 to the electrical connector 100 . Electrical connections between the circuit board and the circuit board connector is established and maintained.

FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C show a disconnecting process of circuit board 50 from circuit board connector 100 . Firstly, beam 128 of the actuating member 120 is pressed in the downward direction 406 by an external force 410 , which simultaneously moves the actuating arms 126 A and 126 B in the downward direction 406 , and the actuating arm 126 A in turn drives the locking arms 122 A, 122 B to deflect in the downward direction 406 , causing the latches 124 A and 122 B to move out of the openings 52 , 54 of the circuit board 50 and form the clearance 107 B in slot 107 to the unlocked position, as shown in FIG. 11B . The circuit board 50 is then able to be removed from the circuit board connector 100 .

In accordance with another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 16 , an electrical connector 100 ′ includes a stopper 140 which is movably attached to housing 110 . Stopper 140 has a mid portion 144 and a pair of side portions 142 laterally connected to the mid portion 142 .

Stopper 140 is movably attached to housing 110 . Upon positioned in a space between the housing 110 and the beam 128 , the stopper 140 prevents the pair of actuating arms 126 A, 126 B from deflecting from the lock position to the unlock position. After the stopper 140 is removed from the space, the pair of actuating arms 126 A, 126 B is allowed to deflect from the lock position to the unlock position.

FIGS. 17A, 17B and 17C illustrate a process of connecting a circuit board 50 into the circuit board connector 100 ′ which is similar to that illustrated above in conjunction with FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C . After circuit board 50 is fully inserted into slot 107 , stopper 140 is placed I the space between housing 110 and beam 128 , to prevent deflection of actuating arms 126 A, 126 B toward locking arms 122 A. 122 B. As such, latches 124 A. 124 B are prevented from moving out of openings 52 , 54 but remain engaged with retaining portion 51 of circuit board 50 .

With reference to FIGS. 18A, 18B, 18C and 18D , to disconnect the circuit board 50 from the electrical connector 100 ′, the stopper 140 is firstly pulled along direction 140 A away from the space between housing 110 and beam 128 of actuating member 120 , to allow the upper portion 128 a of the beam 128 of the actuating member 120 to move in the downward direction 406 , by an external force 410 . The subsequence process steps are similar to the process of disconnecting the circuit board 50 from the electrical connector 100 as illustrated above in conjunction with FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11B . After the circuit board 50 is removed from the electrical connector 100 ′, the stopper 140 maybe pushed back along direction 140 B and positioned between housing 110 and beam 128 of actuating member 120 , for a circuit board to be connected again. In this manner, the stopper 140 provides a secondary lock to avoid undesired removal of a circuit board from the circuit board connector.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, as predicted in FIGS. 19, 20A, 20B and 21 , a circuit board connector 200 comprises a housing 210 , an actuating member 220 attached to the housing 210 , and at least one signal contact 229 disposed in the housing 210 . A circuit board 50 is inserted into the circuit board connector 200 from a front side 202 of the housing 210 . The circuit board 50 has two openings or notches 52 , 54 formed at the lateral sides for engaging with the circuit board connector 200 . Actuating member 220 has least one ground terminal 230 extending from the base member 227 , toward front side 202 of housing 210 . Ground terminal 230 has a contact portion 230 A which is disposed at an opposite side of slot 207 with respect to the contact portion 229 A of signal contact 229 .

As shown in FIGS. 22A, 22B, 23, 24A and 24B . The actuating member 220 has a base member 227 , a beam 228 connected to base member 227 through two joint members 227 A, and a pair of actuating arms 226 A, 226 B connected to beam 228 . The base member 227 is fixedly attached to the housing 210 , and the beam 228 and the pair of actuating arms 226 A, 226 B are resiliently deformable relative to the base member 227 .

Joint members 227 A allows resilient deflection of the beam 228 relative to base member 227 . The at least one ground terminal 230 extends from the base member 227 and capable of deflecting in the upward direction 508 and downward direction 506 relative to the base member 227 . Actuating member 220 may have a pair of side plates 221 A. 221 B connected to base member 227 . The pair of side plates 221 A, 221 B are fixedly attached to the housing 210 , and the beam 228 and the pair of actuating arms 226 A. 226 B are resiliently deformable relative to the pair of side plates 221 A. 221 B and base member 227 .

Locking arms 222 A and 222 B are attached to housing 210 and positioned below the actuating arm 226 A and 226 B, respectively, such that downward movement of the actuating arms 226 A and 226 B along direction 506 can respectively drive locking arms 222 A and 222 B to deflect in the downward direction 506 from a lock position to an unlock position. Each of the locking arms 222 A and 222 B has a latch 224 A and 224 B projected in an upward direction 508 , respectively.

As shown in FIG. 26 and FIG. 27 , when circuit board 50 is fully inserted into slot 207 , the latch 224 B of lock arm 222 B is protruded from the opening 54 located at the right direction 504 end of the circuit board 50 . Likewise, although not shown in FIG. 26 , it is understood that latch 224 A of locking arm 222 A is protruded from the opening 52 located at the left direction 502 end of the circuit board 50 . As such, latches 224 A. 224 B engage with openings 52 and 54 , respectively, to prevent retraction of circuit board 50 from slot 207 . The circuit board 50 is thereby locked to the circuit board connector 200 by the locking projections 224 A and 224 B.

The process of connecting a circuit board 50 to the circuit board connector 200 is illustrated herein in conjunction with FIGS. 28A, 28B and 28C . The circuit board 50 is to be inserted, along direction 50 A, into slot 207 of the circuit board connector 200 from a front side 202 . The circuit board 50 is then brought into contact with an inclined surface 2242 A and 2242 B of the latches 224 A and 224 B which is positioned in front of the insertion path as seen in FIG. 28A . Advancement of circuit board 50 along insertion direction 50 A exerts a pressure on the inclined surface 2242 A and 2242 B of the latches 224 A and 224 B, by which, the circuit board 50 pushes the locking arms 222 A and 222 B to deflect in the downward direction 506 from an original position as seen in FIG. 28A to an unlocked position, as seen in FIG. 28B where the locking projection 224 A is deflected away from the insertion path of slot 207 , to allow the circuit board 50 to pass over. As the circuit board 50 is further inserted into the slot 207 , the openings 52 and 54 will become in alignment with the latches 224 A, 224 B, respectively, hence the latches 224 A, 224 B are allowed to return to its original (locked) position by the resilience of locking arms 222 A and 222 B, thereby locking the circuit board 50 to the circuit board connector 200 . In this manner, the circuit board 50 is locked to the circuit board connector 200 by the locking projections 224 A and 224 B and is prevented from being detached from the circuit board connector 200 . Electrical connections between the flexible circuit and the electrical connector is established and maintained.

The disconnection process of circuit board 50 from the circuit board connector 200 is illustrated below in conjunction with FIGS. 29A, 29B and 29C . Firstly, the beam 228 of the actuating member 220 is pressed in the downward direction 506 by an external force 510 , which simultaneously moves the actuating arms 226 A and 226 B in the downward direction 506 , and the actuating arm 226 A in turn drives the latches 222 A, 222 B to deflect in the downward direction 506 , causing the latches 224 A and 222 B to move out of the openings 52 , 54 of the circuit board 50 to the unlocked position as shown in FIG. 29B . The circuit board is then able to be removed from the circuit board connector 200 .

Although embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed. Therefore, the present invention should be understood to be capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, alternatives and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and recited by the following claims.