Printed circuit connector and keying structure

Claim 2

In combination, a printed circuit connector of the type comprising a plurality of open-topped channels each of which has spring fingers therein adjacent one side of the channel adapted to make electrical contact with conductors on a printed circuit board inserted into the open top of said channel, at least some of said spring fingers including an integral transverse portion extending across the bottom of said channel in spaced relation thereto and toward the other side of said channel, and an elongated keying structure disposed within said channel above the said transverse portions of said spring fingers for assuring that only a preselected circuit board may be inserted into said channel sufficiently far to make said electrical contact, the upper edge of said keying structure which faces the open top of said channel having a predetermined shape adapted to mate with a complementary shape on the inserted edge of the preselected circuit board, and the lower edge of said keying structure which faces the bottom of said channel being notched to straddle said transverse portions of said spring fingers and to engage the bottom of said channel at positions adjacent at least some of said transverse portions, thereby to transfer forces, imposed upon said keying structure by insertion of a printed circuit board into said channel, away from said transverse portions and directly to the bottom of said channel.

Claim 3

The combination of claim 1 wherein said keying structure is removable from said channel, and spring means extending from the other side of said channel to a position adjacent the upper edge of said keying structure for retaining said keying structure within said channel.

Claim 4

The combination of claim 1 wherein said keying structure includes a locating element at one end thereof for positioning said keying structure at a predetermined location within said channel.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 1 wherein said integral transverse portions are regularly spaced from one another across the bottom of said Channel, the lower edge of said keying member including regularly spaced rectangular notches positioned and dimensioned to straddle each of said transverse portions respectively.

Claim 6

In combination, a printed circuit connector comprising a bottom wall member, a plurality of divider walls upstanding from one side of said bottom wall member in parallel relation to one another, the facing surfaces of each adjacent pair of divider walls cooperating with the intervening portion of said one side of said bottom wall member to define an open-topped channel for the reception of a printed circuit board, an array of elongated resilient spring fingers disposed in side-by-side relation to one another in said channel, said spring fingers having free ends disposed along a line adjacent one side of the open top of said channel for resiliently contacting conductors on the printed circuit board, said array comprising a first plurality of resilient spring fingers disposed in spaced relation to one another adjacent one side of said channel and extending in substantially linear configuration through said bottom wall member at a position adjacent the juncture of said bottom wall member and one of said cooperating pair of divider walls to provide a first row of terminals which protrude outwardly of the other side of said bottom wall member adjacent said one side of said channel, said array further comprising a second plurality of resilient spring fingers disposed in spaced relation to one another adjacent said one side of said channel in intervening relation respectively to said first plurality of spring fingers, each of said second spring fingers being bent at a position spaced from the free end thereof to provide a transverse portion which extends in spaced substantially parallel relation to said one side of said bottom wall member toward the other side of said channel and which is then bent further to extend through said bottom wall member at a second location adjacent the juncture of said bottom wall member and the other of said cooperating pair of divider walls, to provide a second row of terminals substantially parallel to said first row of terminals and protruding outwardly of said other side of said bottom wall member adjacent said other side of said channel, and a key structure disposed within said channel for assuring that only a preselected circuit board may be inserted into said channel to effect electrical contact between the free ends of said spring fingers and conductors on said printed circuit board, said key structure comprising an elongated member extending across said channel at a position between the free ends of said spring fingers and the transverse portions of said second spring fingers, said member having at least one upstanding projection extending toward the free ends of said spring fingers and adapted to mate with a complementary recess in the edge of the preselected circuit board, and said member including a plurality of further projections extending downwardly therefrom into engagement with said one side of said bottom wall member at positions between said transverse portions of said second spring fingers to transfer forces, imposed on said member upon insertion of a printed circuit board into said channel, directly to said bottom wall member and to prevent application of said forces to said transverse portions of said second spring fingers.

Claim 7

In combination, a printed circuit connector comprising a bottom wall member, a plurality of divider walls upstanding from one side of said bottom wall member in parallel relation to one another, the facing surfaces of each adjacent pair of divider walls cooperating with the intervening portion of said one side of said bottom wall member to define an open-topped channel for the reception of a printed circuit board, an array of elongated resilient spring fingers disposed in side-by-side relation to one another in said channel, said spring fingers having free ends disposed along a line adjacent one side of the open top of said channel for resiliently contacting conductors on the printed circuit board, said array comprising a first plurality of resilient spring fingers disposed in spaced relation to one another adjacent one side of said channel and extending in substantially linear configuration through said bottom wall member at a position adjacent the juncture of said bottom wall member and one of said cooperating pair of divider walls to provide a first row of terminals which protrude outwardly of the other side of said bottom wall member adjacent said one side of said channel, said array further comprising a second plurality of resilient spring fingers disposed in spaced relation to one another adjacent said one side of said channel in intervening relation respectively to said first plurality of spring fingers, each of said second spring fingers being bent at a position spaced from the free end thereof to provide a transverse portion which extends in spaced substantially parallel relation to said one side of said bottom wall member toward the other side of said channel and which is then bent further to extend through said bottom wall member at a second location adjacent the juncture of said bottom wall member and the other of said cooperating pair of divider walls, to provide a second row of terminals substantially parallel to said first row of terminals and protruding outwardly of said other side of said bottom wall member adjacent said other side of said channel, and a key structure disposed within said channel for assuring that only a preselected circuit board may be inserted into said channel to effect electrical contact between the free ends of said spring fingers and conductors on said printed circuit board, said key structure comprising an elongated member extending across said channel at a position between the free ends of said spring fingers and the transverse portions of said second spring fingers, said member having at least one upstanding projection extending toward the free ends of said spring fingers and adapted to mate with a complementary recess in the edge of the preselected circuit board, and said member including a plurality of further projections extending downwardly therefrom into engagement with said one side of said bottom wall member at positions between said transverse portions of said second spring fingers to transfer forces, imposed on said member upon insertion of a printed circuit board into said channel, directly to said bottom wall member and to prevent application of said forces to said transverse portions of said second spring fingers.

Claim 8

The combination of claim 5 wherein said elongated member is of thin substantially rectangular configuration, the opposing faces of said member being substantially parallel to the facing surfaces of said cooperating pair of divider walls, said upstanding projection being integral with the upper comparatively thin edge of said member, the lower comparatively thin edge of said member being notched at plural locations to provide said plurality of further projections, the depth of each said notch being greater than the spacing between the transverse portions of said second spring fingers and the said one side of said bottom wall member.

Claim 9

The combination of claim 6 wherein said first and second pluralities of spring fingers are disposed in regularly spaced alternating relation to one another, the lower edge of said member being notched at regularly spaced intervals corresponding to the spacing between said second spring fingers to provide a pair of said downwardly extending projections adjacent the opposing edges respectively of at least some of the transverse portions of said second spring fingers.

Claim 10

The combination of claim 5 wherein said connector includes a plurality of resilient back spring members disposed within said channel in spaced relation to one another adjacent the other of said cooperating pair of divider walls, each of said back spring members including a portion extending toward said one of said cooperating pair of divider walls and terminating in a free end which is located above said bottom wall member at a position adjacent said spring fingers and below the free ends of said spring fingers, said elongated member being disposed in the region between said spring fingers and said back spring members and below the free ends of said back spring members for retention in said channel by said back spring members and said spring fingers.