Intermediate connector for use between a printed circuit card and a substrate for electronic circuits

Claim 1

An intermediate connector intended to be mounted on a printed circuit card with a first face of the connector in contact with the card and to receive an electronic substrate on a second face thereof, said connector for interconnecting contact areas provided on a surface of the substrate which confronts the card and tracks on the card, said connector comprising: an insulating support in which regularly spaced passages are formed; and a plurality of electrical signal contacts, each to connect a contact area to a track, and each disposed in one of at least some of the passages, wherein at least some of the contacts are each constituted by a cut out piece of metal sheet and each having a rigid fastening branch for securing it to the support and an S-shaped flexible branch whose proximal end merges with the rigid branch and whose distal end projects beyond an upper face of the support, the flexible branch having such curvatives at rest that said distal end is then offset from the rigid branch and wherein each said passage has dimensions such that, on insertion of the contact into the passage, said passage deforms the flexible branch and brings a distal end portion thereof into electrical connection with the rigid branch, thereby constituting a short circuit, wherein each said passage is defined by a partition slidably receiving said rigid branch and having abutment shoulders that are spaced apart by a determined interval eo, the abutment shoulder closest to the first face of the connector being at a first predetermined height ho therefrom; wherein the rigid securing branch extends along the passage includes two mutually facing abutment shoulders that are spaced apart by a determined interval e greater than the determined interval eo; and wherein the distance h through which the contact projects from the shoulder of said rigid fastening branch which is closest to the second face is less than ho.