Hermaphroditic interconnection of circuit boards

Abstract

Boards of a first group of mutually parallel circuit boards (200,206) are directly connected to boards (27a,22b) of a second group of mutually parallel circuit boards by interfitting hermaphroditic connectors (24,26,28,30) mounted on edges of the boards. The boards of one group are all perpendicular to the boards of the other group and are positioned in edge-to-edge relation. Each board has a plurality of hermaphroditic connectors secured to its edge, with each connector adapted to mate with an identical hermaphroditic connector secured at an edge of a board of the second group. The hermaphroditic connectors are each substantially U-shaped (24,26,28,30) in one embodiment and J-shaped (126,128,130) in another embodiment. Each such connector has a first section (66,68) parallel to the surface of the board and electrically connected thereto and a second section (70) extending at right angles to the first section for a pressure type connection to the similar second section of the mating hermaphroditic connector of a board of the second group. The mating second sections (70,70b) of the two mating connectors have pressure contact connection elements in the form of raised elongated strips (220,222) of conductive material that ease positioning tolerance of the interconnection.