The Whitaker Corporation

Amp LLC

Mark R Thumma

Charles S Pickles

Douglas R Sarver

Shane D Northcraft

David P Wike

David James Fabian

Timothy Lee Kocher

Matthew M Sucheski

Michael Deen Bowers

Ricky Edward Brown

Charles Dudley Cooper

John A Pastor

Ronald P Jansen

Robert E Klinger

Matthew Moo Cho

Daniel Gerard Grab

A connector (10) including a housing (12) and a plurality of terminals (40) extending in respective passageways (30) through the housing (12) from a mating face (14) to a board-mounting face (16) , the terminals (40) having board-mounting sections (60) extending beyond the board-mounting face (16) . Each passageway (30) has a preselected dimension from an outer housing wall (20) to an inner housing wall (26) . Each terminal (40) has a thickness dimension less than the passageway dimension. The board-mounting section (60) and at least a portion of the body section (50) of the terminal (40) adjacent thereto is embossed laterally from the plane of the body section a selected distance. Upon staking the terminals (40) in the respective passageways (30) , the embossed portion (52) of each terminal (40) is disposed adjacent the outer housing wall (20) and the remaining portion of the body section (50) is disposed adjacent an inner housing wall (26) . Thus terminals (40) formed of thin stock are usable with the housing and stakable thereto, while the board-mounting sections thereof remain accurately positioned with terminal-receiving holes (72) of a circuit board (70) .

Board mountable electrical connector

A contact retention system using a self-seating contact (56) includes a housing (22) having at least one contact receiving passageway (30) and a contact (56) associated therewith. Contact (56) has leading and trailing end portions (62, 80) and an intermediate body portion (66). Body portion (66) has a dimension wider than end portions (62, 80) and defines forwardly facing and rearwardly facing latch surfaces (76, 74). Each of opposed passageway side surfaces (36, 42) has a latching projection (38, 44) extending toward the other passageway side surface (44, 38) defining forwardly and rearwardly facing stop surfaces (40, 46) offset from at least one edge (74, 76) of the contact (56) and axially spaced at a slightly greater length that the length of the body portion (66). Upon inserting leading end portion (62) into passageway (30), portion (62) encounters the first latching projection (38) so that trailing end portion (80) is constrained to urge the contact (56) against projection (38) until full insertion thereafter the latch seats and body portion (66) is disposed between the two latch projections (38, 44) and is self-seating in the passageway (30).

Contact retention system

A surface mountable electrical connector 10 for use with a circuit board 70 of the type having one or more rows 74,82 of closely spaced trace termini 76,84 on the mounting surface 72 of the board 70, the connector 10 including a housing 12 having one or more rows of closely spaced electrical terminal members 30,46 therein. The terminal members 30,46 include elongate arm portions 36,52 extending from the housing 12 to surface mount contact sections 38,54 at free ends thereof. Each terminal associated with an outer row 74 of circuit board termini 76 includes a portion immediately adjacent and inwardly from the contact section 38, which is abruptly directed away from the mounting surface 72 to minimize wicking of solder to a nearby inner row termini 84. Some terminal members 46 include a registration portion 56 proximate free ends thereof and directed upwardly away from the mounting surface 72 of the board 70, to be received in an associated recess 20 extending into the mounting face 18 of the housing 12, thereby maintaining the registration of the elongate arms 52 and the accurate spacing of the surface mount contact sections 54 during handling and mounting.

Surface mountable card edge connector

A card edge connector (10) for connection to a circuit board (11). At least one key position (19, 20) is formed in the connector (10) between the contacts (15) and the end walls (13, 14) of the connector housing (12). At least one key (21) is disposed in the at least one key position (19, 20). At least one key slot (22) is formed in the circuit board (11) to cooperate with and receive the key (21). A removable key (21) may be removed from the key opening (19, 20) with a tool (27). In an alternate embodiment, the key (21') is irremovable.

Keyed card edge connector

A pair of shorting contacts (116,116) on mated electrical terminal members (110,110). The shorting contacts are edges of angled surfaces (36) on the respective electrical terminal members which are laterally reversed mirror images of each other. The respective edges confront each other in a substantially transverse configuration. Initial engagement between the respective edges is at an initial point contact (125) at a high stress. The edges thereafter wipe against one another and come to engage at a final point contact. The path from the initial point contact to the final point contact constitutes a line between the respective electrical terminal members.

Electrical connector with shorting contacts

A panel mount connector (10) has a housing (20) with a first mounting surface or shoulder (42) and a mounting post (30) extending therefrom. The mounting post (30) has a deformable web (50) which is deformed as the housing (20) is inserted onto the panel (12), so that the deformable web (50) and first mounting surface (42) cooperate to maintain the connector (10) in position on the panel (12).

Electrical connector with board retention device

A pair of shorting contacts (16,16) on mated connector bodies (10,10). The shorting contacts are protrusions on the respective connector bodies which are laterally reversed mirror images of each other. The respective protrusions confront each other in a substantially transverse configuration. Initial engagement between the respective protrusions is at an initial point contact (25) at a high stress. The protrusions thereafter wipe against one another and come to engage at a final point contact (26). The path from the initial point contact to the final point contact constitutes a line between the respective connector bodies.

Electrical connector with shorting contacts which wipe against each other

An electrical connector (10) wherein the contacts (32, 34) have tail portions (40, 46) extending into respective holes (18) of a printed circuit board (16). The tail portions are gently curved, which provides a centering of the distal ends (48, 56) of the tail portions over the respective circuit board holes and also results in a low insertion force. Retention is provided by friction of the tail portions against the walls of the holes. The gentle curve of the tail portions keeps them close to the walls of the respective holes so that when a surface mount solder process is utilized, each tail portion provides a wicking action to concentrate the small amount of solder which is available in the region where the tail portion is close to the wall, resulting in a strong mechanical and electrical solder joint without requiring the hole to filled with solder. Also, minimum vibration is generated when the tail portions are inserted into the holes so that other temporarily retained components on the board are not displaced.

Electrical connector having contacts with board retention feature

Improved locking eyelets (2) for securing electrical components to a circuit board by support pylons. A surface-mount electrical connector (40) is anchored to a circuit board (60) by pylons (20) and eyelets (2) mounted at the tip of each pylon (20). Each eyelet (2) is provided with a number of elongate members (8) to allow one-way insertion of a pylon (20) therein. When an eyelet (2) is mounted on a pylon (20), and the pylon (20) is inserted through the circuit board, the pylon (20) causes eyelet (2) to expand at one end, thereby locking both eyelet (2) and pylon (20) within the circuit board.

Pylon actuated locking eyelet

A card edge electrical connector 10 includes a dielectric housing member 12, a card receiving cavity 30, a plurality of contacts including signal contact members 36, 36a arranged in opposed pairs along opposite sides of the card receiving cavity 30 and ground contact member 54 associated with each pair of signal contact members 36, 36a. Each signal contact member 36, 36a has a first contact section 44 for engaging corresponding signal traces 84 on the daughter card 72 and second contact sections 52, 52a respectively exposed along the mounting face 18 of the housing 12 and adapted to be engaged to corresponding signal contact means 92 of another electrical article 86. A ground contact member 54 is mounted into the housing 12 at each contact location and includes ground contact sections 62 engageable with ground contact means 80 of card 72 upon full card insertion. The ground contact member 54 include second ground contact sections 70 exposed along the mounting face 18 of the housing 12 and engageable with corresponding ground contacts 96 of the electrical article 86.

Card edge connector

An electrical connector system for electrically connecting circuits on a backplane and daughtercard. More particularly, the connector system includes two mating connectors having engaging conductive contacts for carrying signals, power and providing ground reference planes as required. One connector is mounted on the backplane and the other is mounted on the daughtercard so that the circuits thereon are electrically connected upon mating the two connectors.

Growing community of inventors

Oberlin, PA, United States of America

Mark R Thumma