PREASSEMBLED PRESS FIT CONNECTOR WITH ASSEMBLY INSERT

CONNECTEUR PRE-ASSEMBLE AVEC GARNITURE D'INSERTION POUR MONTAGE A PRESSION

English Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A preassembled press fit connector and method
of mounting the same on a printed circuit board in an
array of plated thru holes comprises a selectively
configured connector housing and first and second
adjacent rows of contacts mounted within the housing.
Each contact has a press shoulder portion within the
housing and a press fit section extending downwardly
below of the housing. A removable insert includes a
plate portion for defining an external connector press
surface above the housing and first and second rows of
integral teeth extending downwardly into the housing.
The rows of teeth engage one each with the press
shoulder portions of the first and second row of
contacts. This allows the press fit sections of the
contacts to be simultaneously forced into mating
engagement with the plated thru holes of the printed
circuit board by applying pressure to the connector
press surface.

Claims

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1. A preassembled press fit connector for
mounting on a printed circuit board in an array of
plated thru holes comprising:
a selectively configured connector housing,
first and second adjacent rows of contacts
mounted within said housing,
a press shoulder formed on each said contact
within said housing,
a press fit section formed on each said
contact extending downwardly below said housing, and
removable insert means including
plate means defining an external
connector press surface above said housing,
a first row of integral teeth extending
downwardly from said plate means and engaging one each
with said press shoulders of said first row of
contacts, and
a second row of integral teeth extending
downwardly from said plate means and engaging one each
with said press shoulders of said second row of
contacts, whereby said press fit sections of said
rows of contacts may be simultaneously forced into
mating engagement with the plated thru holes of the
printed circuit board by applying pressure to said
connector press surface.

2. A method for mounting at least one
preassembled press fit connector onto a printed circuit
board having rows of plated thru holes, each connector
having a removable insert defining a flat, external
press surface on the top of each connector comprising:
loosely inserting one or more connectors into
the rows of thru holes of the circuit board,
applying a pressing force to the flat
connector press surfaces of the loosely inserted
connectors with press means having a flat press surface
parallel with the circuit board, and
removing the inserts from the connectors.

Description

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The present invention relates to preassembled press
fit connectors.
Preassembled press fi-t connectors, which comprise a
plastic housing and a plurality of press fit contacts mounted
therein, are well known in the art. Press fit contacts rely
on a mechanical mating engagement with plated thru holes on
a circuit board in order to establish electrical contact
therewith, The force required to mate the contacts of the
preassembled connector with -the circuit board generally
cannot be applied to the connector housing without damaging
the connector. Conventionally, a plurality of connectors
are mounted on a circuit board by a press having a comb-shaped
head which enters each connector housing to individually
engage and exert a pressing force simultaneously on each of
the press fit contacts therein. Accordingly, each connector
must be precisely aligned with the press head during pressing
which slows and adds to the complexity of the mounting
operation.
The present invention relates to a preassembled
press fit connector for mounting on a printed circuit board
in an array of plated thru holes comprising: a selectively
configured connector housing, first and second adjacent rows
of contacts mounted within the housing, a press shoulder
formed on each contact within the housing, a press fit section
formed on each contact extending downwardly below the housing,
and removable insert means including plate means defining
an external connector press surface above the housing, a
first row of integral teeth extending downwardly from the
plate means and engaging one each with the press shoulders




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of the first row of contacts, and a second row of integral
teeth extending downwardly from the plate means and engaging
one each with the press shoulders of the second row of
contacts, whereby the press fit sections of the rows of
contacts may be simultaneously forced into mating engagement
with the plated thru holes of the printed circuit board by
applying pressure to the connector press surface.
In its method aspect, the invention relates to a
method for mounting at least one preassembled press fit
connector onto a printed circuit board having rows of plated
thru holes, each connector having a removable insert defining
a flat, external press surface on the top of each connec-tor
comprising: loosely inserting one or more connectors into
the rows of thru holes of the circuit board, applying a
pressing force to the flat connector press surfaces of the
loosely inserted connectors with press means having a flat
press surface parallel with the circuit board, and removing
the inserts from the connectors.
Thus, it is a feature of the presen-t invention to
provide preassembled press fit connectors which facilitate
the connector mounting operation.
It is another feature of the invention to provide
preassembled press fit connectors having external press
surfaces which may be gang pressed into a printed circuit board.
Other features of the present invention will become
apparent from the following portion of the specification and
from the accompanying drawings which illustrate, in accordance
with the mandate of the patent statutes, a presently preferred
embodiment incorporating the principles of the invention.




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Referring to the drawings:
Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a
preassembled press fit connector according to the
teachings of the present invention; and
Figure 2 is a side view partially sectioned
of a plurality of preassembled press fit connectors on
a printed circuit board prior to pressing.
The connector 10 generally comprises a
plastic housing 12, two adjacent rows of press fit
contacts 14 mounted therein, and a removable insert
member 16.
The contacts 14 each include a press fit
section 18 extending below the housing 12 and a
shoulder 20 within the housing 12 to which a force is
applied to mate the press fit section 18 with a plated
thru hole 22 of a printed circuit board 24. Vertical
slots 26 within the housing 12 provide access to the
contact shoulders 20 from above.
The insert member 16 includes a plate portion
defining a single external press surface 28 for each
connector above the plastic housing 12. First and
second rows of teeth 30 are integrally formed with the
plate portion 28 and extend do~nwardly therefrom into
the housing slots 26. The two rows of teeth 30
individually engage the press shoulders 20 of the
respective rows of connector contacts 1~ to direct a
force applied to the press surface 28 to the individual
contacts. Accordingly, a press block 34 having a flat
surface 36 parallel with the circuit board 24 which
rests on a suitable support 38 may be lowered to mate
one or more loosely inserted connectors 10 with the
arrays of plated thru holes 22 of the printed circuit
board 24. In the preferred embodiment, the connector
press surfaces 28 defined by the inserts 16 are
substantially flat so that the connectors are

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automatically straightened as the flat press block
surface 36 is lowered into engagement therewith. After
the connectors are mounted, the inserts may then be
removed.
What is claimed is:




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