Electrical connector system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12444866-B2
Application number	US-201916353056-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2019
Priority date	Mar 14, 2019
Publication date	Oct 14, 2025
Grant date	Oct 14, 2025

Abstract

An electrical connector system includes a circuit card assembly and a pluggable module. The circuit card assembly including a host circuit board, a socket connector mounted to the host circuit board, and a guide rail extending along the host circuit board. The socket connector has a socket substrate having upper contacts having mating interfaces being accessible from above the socket connector and being coplanar. The guide rail has a guide feature and a module actuator. The pluggable module includes a module body operatively engaging the guide rail to guide mating of the module body with the guide rail in a module mating direction. The pluggable module includes an actuation feature engaging the module actuator to force mating of module contacts with the upper contacts in a contact mating direction transverse to the module mating direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector system comprising:
a circuit card assembly including a host circuit board, a socket connector mounted to the host circuit board, and a guide rail extending along the host circuit board, the host circuit board having a contact array of circuit board contacts on an upper surface of the host circuit board, the socket connector having a socket substrate having an upper contact array of upper contacts and a lower contact array of lower contacts electrically connected to corresponding upper contacts, the upper contacts having mating interfaces being accessible from above the socket connector and being coplanar, the lower contacts being electrically connected to corresponding circuit board contacts, the guide rail having a guide feature including a guide rib extending from the guide rail, the guide rail having a module actuator separate from the guide feature;
a pluggable module including a module body having a top and a bottom extending between a front and a rear, the module body having a longitudinally extending guide feature including a channel receiving the guide rib and operatively engaging the guide rail to guide mating of the module body with the guide rail in a module mating direction parallel to the upper surface of the host circuit board, the module body having a window at the bottom proximate to the rear, the pluggable module including a module circuit board held by the module body, the module circuit board having a mating edge between an upper surface and a lower surface, the module circuit board having a module contact array of module contacts at the lower surface proximate to the mating edge aligned with the window with the module contacts exposed from below the module body for mating with corresponding upper contacts of the circuit card assembly, the pluggable module including an actuation feature at an exterior of the module body at the top of the module body separate from the guide feature, the actuation feature engaging the module actuator of the circuit card assembly, the actuation feature and the module actuator interfacing each other to force mating of the module contacts with the upper contacts of the circuit card assembly in a contact mating direction transverse to the module mating direction; and
a lifter spring forward of the socket connector on the upper surface of the host circuit board, the lifter spring being compressible and imparting a spring bias on the pluggable module in a lifting direction to lift the pluggable module upward, wherein the guide rib is shifted vertically upward within the channel when the lifter spring lifts the pluggable module upward to move the pluggable module upward away from the host circuit board as the pluggable module is plugged into the socket connector and passes over the lifter spring prior to the actuation feature engaging the module actuator;
wherein the module actuator forces the pluggable module to move downward against the spring bias of the lifter spring to mate the module contacts of the pluggable module with the upper contacts, wherein the guide rib is shifted vertically downward within the channel when the module actuator moves the pluggable module in the contact mating direction; and
wherein the channel includes an upper wall and a lower wall extending along a linear path along an entirety of the channel between a front and a rear of the channel, the guide rib being movable vertically within the channel between the upper wall and the lower wall in the lifting direction and the contact mating direction, wherein the channel extends substantially along an entire length of the module body and the guide rib extends substantially along an entire length of the guide rail, wherein the guide rib is located entirely within the channel between the front and the rear of the channel in the final mated position of the module contact array and the upper contact array of upper contacts of the socket substrate.

2. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the socket connector includes a socket frame on an upper surface of the socket substrate surrounding the upper contact array, the socket frame having a socket cavity receiving the upper contacts, the socket frame having a support surface supporting the bottom of the pluggable module.

3. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the upper contacts include spring beams being deflectable relative to the socket substrate.

4. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the actuation feature is non-planar along the top of the module body.

5. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the contact mating direction is generally perpendicular to the module mating direction.

6. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the top includes a rear platform at the rear of the module body and a bump forward of the rear platform, the bump being elevated relative to the rear platform, the bump defining the actuation feature, the module body being moved downward in the contact mating direction when the bump engages the module actuator of the circuit card assembly.

7. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the actuation feature is aligned with the module contact array and located above the module circuit board.

8. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the actuation feature includes a detent interfacing with the module actuator of the circuit card assembly to move the module body and the module contacts in the contact mating direction.

9. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the module contacts of the module contact array are arranged in at least three rows and at least three columns.

10. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the socket substrate comprises a circuit board having vias between an upper surface and a lower surface of the socket substrate, the vias electrically connecting the upper contacts and the lower contacts.

11. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , further comprising a panel forward of the host circuit board, the panel having a panel opening providing access to the upper surface of the host circuit board and the socket connector, the panel opening receiving the pluggable module for mating with the socket connector.

12. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , further comprising a backer plate coupled to a lower surface of the host circuit board, the backer plate being coupled to the guide rail by fasteners extending through the host circuit board.

13. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , further comprising a second socket connector mounted to the host circuit board, and a second guide rail extending along the host circuit board, the socket connector and the second socket connector being aligned with each other on opposite sides the host circuit board.

14. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the module actuator includes a roller bearing configured to rotate along the pluggable module as the pluggable module is mated with the socket connector.

15. The electrical connector system of claim 1 , wherein the actuation feature includes a cam surface transferring motion of the module body in the module mating direction to movement of the module contacts in the contact mating direction.

Assignees

• Te Connectivity Corp
• Tyco Electronics Japan G K
• Te Connectivity Solutions Gmbh Et Al

Inventors

• Costello Brian Patrick
• Hashimoto Naoki

Classifications

• H01R13/62983

  Linear camming means or pivoting lever for connectors for flexible or rigid printed circuit boards, flat or ribbon cables · CPC title

• H01R12/7058

  characterised by the movement, e.g. pivoting, camming or translating parallel to the PCB · CPC title

• H01R13/6595

  with separate members fixing the shield to the PCB · CPC title

• H05K1/111

  Pads for surface mounting, e.g. lay-out · CPC title

• H05K1/117

  Pads along the edge of rigid circuit boards, e.g. for pluggable connectors · CPC title