US5478259A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Card edge connector with combined shielding and voltage drain protection
Assignee: FCI USA LLC
•
Filing: 1994-03-28
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Granted: 1995-12-26
•
Expires: 2014-03-28
Abstract
Abstract A card edge connector having a housing, an electromagnetic shield, and a voltage drain contact directly fixedly attached to the shield. The voltage drain contact has a contact area located above the top of a center section of the housing. Electrical contact is made between the voltage drain contact and a voltage drain pad on a daughter board before the daughter board makes electrical contact with signal contacts in the housing. This avoids undesired surges of current.
Inventors
- 👤 Rocco J. Noschese
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 18:00
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R12/00; H01R12/70; H01R12/71; H01R12/72; H01R12/721; H01R13/00; H01R13/648; H01R13/658
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
89 words
A card edge connector comprising: a housing having a card edge receiving area; an electromagnetic shield surrounding an exterior of the housing; and a voltage drain contact directly fixedly attached to the shield and suitably positioned relative to the housing to contact a ground pad on a printed circuit board inserted into the card edge receiving area, wherein the voltage drain contact has a portion located above the card edge receiving area and at a side end of the housing past an end of the card edge receiving area.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
89 words
A card edge connector comprising: a housing having a card edge receiving area; an electromagnetic shield surrounding an exterior of the housing; and a voltage drain contact directly fixedly attached to the shield and suitably positioned relative to the housing to contact a ground pad on a printed circuit board inserted into the card edge receiving area, wherein the voltage drain contact has a portion located above the card edge receiving area and at a side end of the housing past an end of the card edge receiving area.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
A connector as in claim 1 wherein the shield comprises two half members that sandwich the housing therebetween.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
A connector as in claim 2 wherein the voltage drain contact is connected to mating ends of the two half members.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
A connector as in claim 1 wherein the voltage drain contact has a receiving area for receiving a portion of a printed circuit board therein.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
A connector as in claim 1 wherein the shield has through-hole solder tails extending therefrom.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
A connector as in claim 1 wherein the connector comprises two voltage drain contacts, one at each end of the housing.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
86 words
A card edge connector having a housing, signal contacts, and a protection assembly, the protection assembly comprising: an electromagnetic shield surrounding the housing; and a voltage drain contact directly fixedly attached to two end portions of the shield to thereby attach the end portions to each other at a same attachment point of the voltage drain contact to the shield, wherein the protection assembly provides both shielding protection for the signal contacts and voltage drain protection from a printed circuit board being inserted into the connector.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
86 words
A card edge connector having a housing, signal contacts, and a protection assembly, the protection assembly comprising: an electromagnetic shield surrounding the housing; and a voltage drain contact directly fixedly attached to two end portions of the shield to thereby attach the end portions to each other at a same attachment point of the voltage drain contact to the shield, wherein the protection assembly provides both shielding protection for the signal contacts and voltage drain protection from a printed circuit board being inserted into the connector.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
A connector as in claim 7 wherein the shield is comprised of two half members that sandwich the housing therebetween.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
A connector as in claim 8 wherein the protection assembly has two voltage drain contacts; one at each end of the housing.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
A connector as in claim 7 wherein the voltage drain contact has a first portion that sandwiches the end portions therein and a second portion adapted to receive a portion of a printed circuit board therein.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
A connector as in claim 10 wherein the second portion is located above the signal contacts.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
13 words
A connector as in claim 7 wherein the shield has through-hole solder tails.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
A connector as in claim 7 wherein the shield has means to interlock the shield with the housing.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
100 words
A card edge connector comprising: a housing; signal contacts connected to the housing; an electromagnetic shield surrounding the housing; and a system for draining electricity from a daughter printed circuit board being inserted into the housing before electrical contact is made between the signal contacts and signal pads on the daughter printed circuit board, the system including a voltage drain contact directly attached to the shield at a side end of the housing past an end of a card receiving area, the voltage drain contact having a contact area located above a top of a center section of the housing.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
100 words
A card edge connector comprising: a housing; signal contacts connected to the housing; an electromagnetic shield surrounding the housing; and a system for draining electricity from a daughter printed circuit board being inserted into the housing before electrical contact is made between the signal contacts and signal pads on the daughter printed circuit board, the system including a voltage drain contact directly attached to the shield at a side end of the housing past an end of a card receiving area, the voltage drain contact having a contact area located above a top of a center section of the housing.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
A connector as in claim 14 wherein the connector comprises two voltage drain contacts; one at each end of the housing.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
29 words
A connector as in claim 14 wherein the shield comprises two shield members that are directly attached to each other and sandwich the center section of the housing therebetween.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
48 words
A connector as in claim 14 wherein the voltage drain contact has a first portion fixedly connected to the shield and a second portion with the contact area having two opposing spring contact surfaces forming a receiving area for receiving a portion of the daughter printed circuit board.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
30 words
A connector as in claim 14 wherein the voltage drain contact has a general U-shaped configuration with portions of ends of the shield being sandwiched inside the general U-shaped configuration.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
37 words
A connector as in claim 18 wherein the voltage drain contact has two opposing spring contact areas and two spacer sections that contact the shield to space the contact areas at a predetermined distance from each other.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-12-25 | 1999-06-26 | 1999-12-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-12-25 | 2003-06-26 | 2003-12-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-12-25 | 2007-06-26 | 2007-12-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |