Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.

Alan R MacDougall

Hsiang-Ping Chen

Tsung-Hsi Ou Lee

A modular connector comprises an insulative mother housing defining rows of passageways through opposite sides thereof. A plurality of modules each have contacts extending therefrom for connection to the passageways of the mother housing. Each module defines a reception hole so that all the reception holes of all the modules are in alignment with each other when the modules are connected to the mother housing by the extended contacts thereof. A dowel is adapted to be inserted into the reception holes of at least two adjacent modules thereby connecting the at least two adjacent modules in addition to the connection thereof to the mother housing.

Modular connector

Header connector portion (10) of a future bus connector includes an insulative housing (12) having a bottom wall (14) defining a plurality of passageways (20) therethrough for receiving a corresponding plurality of compliant pins (22) therein and two side walls (16, 18) projecting upward from two opposite sides of the bottom wall (14), respectively. Each pin (22) includes a contact portion (24) for engaging with a complementary contact of a receptacle connector portion of the future bus, a retaining portion (26) having an embossed retention mechanism (29) formed thereon for interferentially engaging with inner walls (17) of the passageways (20) of the housing (12), and a tail portion (30) having an eye (32) of the needle engagement feature for reception in a corresponding hole defined in a PCB. The retention mechanism (29) includes two projections (27, 28), wherein one projection (27) is ramp-shaped and the other projection is either a partial sphere or a partial cylinder (28). The pins (22) are inserted into the passageways (20) so that the projections (27, 28) exert a force perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the housing (12) on an inner wall (17) of each corresponding passageway (20).

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Palm Beach, FL, United States of America

Alan R MacDougall