Electrical connector with retaining device

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector adapted for mounting in a notch of a Printed Circuit Board.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Conventional electrical connectors, such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors, generally include a dielectric housing, a plurality of contacts retained in the housing and a periphery shielding shell surrounding the housing for preventing from Electro-Magnetic Interfere (EMI). The shell generally has a retaining device, by which the connector is fasten on one surface of the PCB, directly extending therefrom.

[0005] TW Patent No. 392971 discloses a first type electrical connector, which is substantially similar to aforementioned conventional electrical connectors. The retaining device laterally extends from the approximate mid-height portion of the shell. The electrical connector is assembled in a notch of a PCB with the retaining device locked on the PCB, which will reduce the height of connector on the PCB. But, if the connector is assembled on another, bottom surface of the PCB, it can not ensure a normal mating.

[0006] TW Patent No. 521888 discloses a second type electrical connector, which should be assembled on a bottom surface of a PCB in light of layout of the PCB. Thus, for ensure a normal mating of a complementary connector inserted into the connector for facility of users, another metal shell is added encasing the connector to retain it on the PCB. However, this type connector is complex and increases cost.

[0007] Hence, an improved electrical connector is desired to overcome the above problems.

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector, which is fitted on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with lower height and mating-facility for users.

[0009] In order to obtain the objective above, an electrical connector adapted for being assembled in a notch of a PCB according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a dielectric housing defining passageways thereon, a plurality of contacts received in corresponding passageways, and a retaining device retaining the electrical connector to the PCB. Each contact comprises a soldering section extending out the dielectric housing and soldered on the PCB. The retaining device has a same thickness to that of the soldering section of each contact.

[0010] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0018] In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.

[0019] Referring to FIGS. 1–6, an electrical connector 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is adapted to fit in a notch 4 of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

[0020] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the electrical connector 100 includes a dielectric housing 1, a plurality of contacts 2 received in the housing 1, and a shielding shell 3 surrounding the housing 10 for preventing from EMI.

[0021] The dielectric housing 1 includes a rectangular base portion 10 and a tongue portion 11 projecting forwards from the base portion 10. A plurality of parallel passageways 12 are defined to extend from the base portion 10 to the tongue portions 11 in a front-and-back direction. Each contact 2 includes a retaining section 21, a contacting section 20 and a soldering section 22, the contact and soldering sections respectively extending oppositely from two opposite ends of the retaining section 21. The contacts 2 are forwardly inserted into the passageways 12 of the housing 1 from a rear side of the housing 1, with the retaining sections 21 fitted in corresponding passageways of the base portion 10, the contacting sections 20 positioned in corresponding passageways and exposed in the upper surface of the tongue sections 11 and the soldering section 22 extending out the base portion 10.

[0022] The shielding shell 3 is of a rectangular frame formed by joining a metal strip end to end with a swallowtail joint at the bottom wall 34 (shown in FIG. 3). The shell 3 has a pair of retaining portions 31 bent outwards from each sidewall 30 thereof and extending parallel to the bottom wall 34. The shell 3 defines a backwards-extending resilient arm 321 and a pair of forwards-extending resilient arms 322 on the upper wall 32 thereof. The resilient arms 321, 322 are formed for engaged with a mating electrical connector (not shown). The shell further has a pair of locking portions 331 behind the resilient arms on the upper wall 32 and a pair of locking portions 332 on the rear side of the sidewalls 30. As best shown in FIG. 1, the locking portions 331, 332 is retained in corresponding slots 101,102 respectively on the upper and back face of the base portion 10. Other parts of the connector 100 are similar to conventional connectors and will not be depicted in detail herein.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, the PCB has metal pads 5 and 6 adjacent to the notch 4 on an upper surface thereof. The retaining pads 5 are defined for being soldered with the retaining potions 31 of the shell. The conductive pads 6, connecting with signal transmission traces (not shown) on the PCB, are defined for being soldered with the soldering sections 22 of the contacts 2. The pads may be a gold-filled layer and are so thin that the thickness thereof can be omitted. A thickness of the retaining portion 31 of the shell, designated as W, equals to that of the soldering sections 22 of the contacts 2.

[0024] The PCB is double-surface. When the PCB assembled to electronic apparatus (not shown), one surface of the PCB orients upward or outward, another surface orients downward or inward. For convenience, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the face marked with letter S on its right corner is defined as the upward-orienting surface, named as the upper face of the PCB. And the opposite surface marked with letter C is defined as the downward-orienting surface, named as the bottom face of the PCB.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIG. 1, the connector 100 is assembled into the notch 4 of the PCB in a normal position. The bottom face of each retaining portion 31 of the shell is soldered to the retaining pad 5 and the corresponding bottom face of each soldering section 22 of the contact is soldered to the conductive pad 6. FIG. 3 shows the bottom aspect of the connector 100 of FIG. 2. The assembling process/method of connector 100 to the PCB is well-known and thus will not be verbosely described.

[0026] FIGS. 5–6 provide a PCB 200′ similar to said PCB 100, but the metal pads and trace of the PCB 200′ only on the bottom face thereof. Therefore the connector 100 must to be retained on the bottom surface. Referring to FIGS. 5–6 in conjunction with FIG. 1, the connector 100 is assembled to the notch 4 of the PCB also in normal position, wherein the upper surface of each retaining portion 31 of the shell and each retaining section 22 are soldered with metal pads on the bottom surface. The upper surface of the retaining portion 31 and the retaining section 22 is on a same plane which is ensured by the same thickness of the retaining portion 31 and the soldering section 22. In this embodiment, each retaining portion 31 is bent from the middle height portion of the sidewall 30 of the shielding shell 3 to achieve optical heights of the connector on the PCB. The embodiment provides a normal mating method of the connector 100 and the mating connector which is widely known by user, in despite of the connector 100 is retained on the bottom face of the PCB 200′. Alternatively, the PCBs 200′ and 200 might be a same PCB, and the metal pads are on both surfaces, but the connector 100 must be retained on the bottom surface for other reason.

[0027] As aforementioned, the retaining portion 31 of the shell 3 serving as a retaining device also can be connected to a grounding trace (not shown) of the PCB 200 for achieving an additional grounding function. Alternatively, the retaining device can be secured to the PCB by a bolt, or the retaining device is formed with a pair of flanges integratively extending from two opposite ends of the dielectric housing and a bolt locking the flange to the PCB, which is widely used in battery connector. The retaining device of said connectors has a same thickness to that of the soldering section 22 of the contact 2.

[0028] In other embodiment, when a connector is fitted into the notch 4 of PCB at a predetermined angle, two opposite surfaces of retaining portions and soldering sections of contacts are defined at a same angle equaling to said predetermined angle. Thus, the upper surface and bottom surface of said two are respectively on a same plane, and the connector can be retained on either surface of the PCB.

[0029] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous, characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosed is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of number, shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.