Card-edge connectors with contacts interconnected by bus bar

Claim 2

An electrical connecting assembly comprising: a. a plurality of insulating housings, each having a base, a pair of lateral walls extending upwardly from said base in spaced relation to define a longitudinal channel for receiving the edge of a printed circuit board, a contact receiving bore in said base which communicates with said channel, and a bus bar-receiving slot extending through at least one of said pair of walls in a direction normal to the direction of said channel, said housings being mounted side by side in parallel relationship such that said slots are in adjoining walls and are in line with each other, b. an assembly of contacts and a bus bar mounted in said housings, said bus bar comprising a flat, elongated member mounted in said slots such that said bus bar lies in a plane extending upwardly from said base and normal to and intersecting said lateral walls, said contacts each comprising an elongated member, integral with and extending from an upper edge of said bus bar and having a wiping finger having a convex mating surface which projects into said channel and which lies in a plane perpendicular to said bus bar, for electrically and mechanically engaging a conductive pad on a printed circuit board when the latter is inserted into said channel, said contacts having elongated tail portions, integral with and extending from the lower edge of said bus bar and through the respective contact receiving bores in said base.

Claim 3

The assembly of claim 1 wherein said contacts each comprise a support leg extending from and coplanar with said bus bar, a pivot arm parallel to and spaced from said support arm and interconnected to said support arm by a U-shaped bend, and a wiping finger containing said mating surface connected to said pivot arm by a substantially 90* bend such that said mating surface of said wiping finger lies in a plane substantially perpendicular to said pivot arm, said support leg, and said bus bar.

Claim 4

The assembly of claim 2 wherein said wiping finger is bifurcated by a bifurcating slot extending from the end thereof.

Claim 5

A connector assembly for printed circuit boards, comprising: a. a plurality of elongated, insulating casings, each having a channel in one edge thereof for receiving the edge of a printed circuit board having contact pads on opposite surfaces of an edge thereof, b. said casings being mounted side by side such that the channels of said casings are in parallel relationship, c. each casing having a slot therethrough which is transverse to and which communicates with said channel, d. A bus-contact assembly comprising a flat, elongated, bus bar mounted upright in said casing and having a plurality of integral flat elongated members extending from an edge thereof, each member having been bent to form a contact having a convex mating surface which lies tangent to a plane orthogonal to said flat bus bar, e. said assembly being mounted in said casings such that said bus bar lies in the slots of a plurality of said casings and said mating surfaces of said contacts extend into said channels of said respective casings. f. a plurality of elongated contact tail portions extending from an opposite edge of said bus bar and through respective apertures in the bottom surfaces of said casings.

Claim 6

A connector assembly for printed circuit boards, comprising: a. a plurality of elongated, insulating casings, each having a channel in one edge thereof for receiving the edge of a printed circuit board having contact pads on opposite surfaces of an edge thereof, b. said casings being mounted side by side such that the channels of said casings are in parallel relationship, c. each casing having a slot therethrough which is transverse to and which communicates with said channel, d. A bus-contact assembly comprising a flat, elongated, bus bar mounted upright in said casing and having a plurality of integral flat elongated members extending from an edge thereof, each member having been bent to form a contact having a convex mating surface which lies tangent to a plane orthogonal to said flat bus bar, e. said assembly being mounted in said casings such that said bus bar lies in the slots of a plurality of said casings and said mating surfaces of said contacts extend into said channels of said respective casings. f. a plurality of elongated contact tail portions extending from an opposite edge of said bus bar and through respective apertures in the bottom surfaces of said casings.

Claim 7

The assembly of claim 4 wherein said flat elongated members of clause (d) each cOmprise a support leg extending from and coplanar with said bus bar, a pivot arm parallel to and spaced from said support arm and interconnected to said support arm by a U-shaped bend, and a wiping finger containing said mating surface connected to said pivot arm by substantially a 90* bend such that said mating surface of said wiping finger lies in a plane substantially perpendicular to said pivot arm, said support leg, and said bus bar.

Claim 8

The assembly of claim 5 wherein said wiping finger is bifurcated by a bifurcating slot extending from the end thereof.

Claim 9

The assembly of claim 6 wherein said plurality of elongated contact tail members which extend from an opposite edge of said bus bar are located opposite said respective contacts.

Claim 10

A connector assembly for the direct reception of a plurality of printed circuit boards having printed circuitry thereon, said assembly comprising a plurality of aligned insulating housings mounted on a supporting plate, each housing having a plurality of contacts therein, each contact adapted to contact a printed circuit board, each contact being formed from a strip of resilient metal and comprising a head section and a tail section, said head section including a supporting leg having its widest surface lying in a first plane, a pivot arm overlying and integrally connected to said supporting leg and having its widest surface lying in a plane spaced from but parallel to said first plane, said pivot arm being connected to said supporting leg through an arcuate bend, a wiping finger integrally connected to said pivot arm, said wiping finger lying in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the planes of said supporting leg and said pivot arm, said wiping finger being connected to said pivot arm by an arcuate bend and being adapted to flex about said pivot arm at the arcuate bend joining said wiping finger and said pivot arm, said pivot arm adapted to flex about said supporting leg at the arcuate bend joining said pivot arm and said supporting leg, each of said housings having a laterally extending slot passing therethrough, a unitary bus passing through said slots and through said aligned housings, with a plurality of contacts projecting from said bus into respective ones of said housings.

Claim 11

A connector assembly for the direct reception of a plurality of printed circuit boards having printed circuitry thereon, said assembly comprising a plurality of aligned insulating housings mounted on a supporting plate, each housing having a plurality of contacts therein, each contact adapted to contact a printed circuit board, each contact being formed from a strip of resilient metal and comprising a head section and a tail section, said head section including a supporting leg having its widest surface lying in a first plane, a pivot arm overlying and integrally connected to said supporting leg and having its widest surface lying in a plane spaced from but parallel to said first plane, said pivot arm being connected to said supporting leg through an arcuate bend, a wiping finger integrally connected to said pivot arm, said wiping finger lying in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the planes of said supporting leg and said pivot arm, said wiping finger being connected to said pivot arm by an arcuate bend and being adapted to flex about said pivot arm at the arcuate bend joining said wiping finger and said pivot arm, said pivot arm adapted to flex about said supporting leg at the arcuate bend joining said pivot arm and said supporting leg, each of said housings having a laterally extending slot passing therethrough, a unitary bus passing through said slots and through said aligned housings, with a plurality of contacts projecting from said bus into respective ones of said housings.

Claim 12

A plurality of integral electrical contacts, each for use in a card-edge connector, each comprising a wiping finger having a curved surface that will be tangent to the plane of a printed circuit board when said board is inserted into said connector and said contact is mounted in said connector, said wiping finger being connected to an upstanding support leg by a pivot arm, said support leg and said pivot arm having their widest surfaces parallel to but spaced from and overlying each other and being interconnected by a U-shaped arcuate bend, said support leg and said pivot arm being disposed in different planes which are both perpendicular to the plane of said printed circuit board, said contact having, connected to said support leg, a body section which is flat and lies in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of said printed circuit board, the body section of one of said contacts being integral with the body section of another of said contacts, thereby to form a unitary body section, whereby a bus-contact is formed wherein a plurality of nose portions and tail portions are integrally connected together by said common, unitary body section.

Claim 13

A plurality of integral electrical contacts, each for use in a card-edge connector, each comprising a wiping finger having a curved surface that will be tangent to the plane of a printed circuit board when said board is inserted into said connector and said contact is mounted in said connector, said wiping finger being connected to an upstanding support leg by a pivot arm, said support leg and said pivot arm having their widest surfaces parallel to but spaced from and overlying each other and being interconnected by a U-shaped arcuate bend, said support leg and said pivot arm being disposed in different planes which are both perpendicular to the plane of said printed circuit board, said contact having, connected to said support leg, a body section which is flat and lies in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of said printed circuit board, the body section of one of said contacts being integral with the body section of another of said contacts, thereby to form a unitary body section, whereby a bus-contact is formed wherein a plurality of nose portions and tail portions are integrally connected together by said common, unitary body section.

Claim 14

An electrical connector assembly comprising a plurality of card-edge connectors, each comprising an insulated casing, said connectors being arranged side by side so that printed circuit boards inserted into said connectors will be parallel to and overlie each other, a plurality of electrical contacts mounted in said connectors, each of said contacts comprising a wiping finger having a curved surface that will be tangent to the plane of a printed circuit board when said board is inserted into a respective connector, said wiping finger being connected to an upstanding suppoRt leg by a pivot arm, said support leg and said pivot arm having their widest surfaces parallel to but spaced from and overlying each other and being interconnected by a U-shaped arcuate bend, said support leg and said pivot arm being disposed in different planes which are both perpendicular to the plane of said printed circuit board, said contact having, connected to said support leg, a body section which is flat and lies in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of said printed circuit board, the body section of one of said contacts being integral with the body section of another of said contacts, thereby to form a unitary body section, whereby a bus-contact is formed having a plurality of nose portions and tail portions which are integrally connected together by said common, unitary body section, the nose portions of said bus-contact being mounted in different ones of said card-edge connectors to establish a common electrical connection between each contact nose in the same locations in each of said connectors, said connectors being provided with aligned slots for reception of said unitary body section.

Claim 15

An electrical connector assembly comprising a plurality of card-edge connectors, each comprising an insulated casing, said connectors being arranged side by side so that printed circuit boards inserted into said connectors will be parallel to and overlie each other, a plurality of electrical contacts mounted in said connectors, each of said contacts comprising a wiping finger having a curved surface that will be tangent to the plane of a printed circuit board when said board is inserted into a respective connector, said wiping finger being connected to an upstanding suppoRt leg by a pivot arm, said support leg and said pivot arm having their widest surfaces parallel to but spaced from and overlying each other and being interconnected by a U-shaped arcuate bend, said support leg and said pivot arm being disposed in different planes which are both perpendicular to the plane of said printed circuit board, said contact having, connected to said support leg, a body section which is flat and lies in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of said printed circuit board, the body section of one of said contacts being integral with the body section of another of said contacts, thereby to form a unitary body section, whereby a bus-contact is formed having a plurality of nose portions and tail portions which are integrally connected together by said common, unitary body section, the nose portions of said bus-contact being mounted in different ones of said card-edge connectors to establish a common electrical connection between each contact nose in the same locations in each of said connectors, said connectors being provided with aligned slots for reception of said unitary body section.