Abstract: An electrical connector system is provided for coupling a fixed backplane to a removable daughtercard. The connector system includes a socket connector having a housing formed to include an array of pin-receiving windows therein, and a plurality of receptacle contacts located within the housing in alignment with the pin-receiving windows. The receptacle contacts include tail sections electrically coupled to the backplane. The socket connector also includes a plurality of cantilevered guide posts extending away from the housing. The connector system further includes a header connector having a housing and an array of contact pins secured in the housing for engaging the receptacle contacts of the socket connector. The contact pins include tail sections electrically coupled to the daughtercard. The housing of the header connector is formed to include a plurality of guide slots aligned axially with the cantilevered guide posts formed on the socket connector.

Abstract: An ejector is provided for ejecting a daughtercard from an elongated slot formed in an electrical connector socket housing. The ejector includes a body having a mechanism for ejecting an end of the daughtercard adjacent the ejector out of the elongated slot upon movement of the ejector relative to the socket housing. The body is also formed to include first and second crimp surfaces for engaging an end edge of the daughtercard to stabilize the daughtercard in the socket. A mechanism is also provided for biasing the ejector body in a direction toward the daughtercard to hold the first and second crimp surfaces against the daughtercard. The first and second crimp surfaces are preferably convergent to accommodate daughtercards having various lengths and thicknesses.

Abstract: An electrical connector hold down apparatus is provided for engaging a side wall defining a hole in a printed circuit board to secure the electrical connector to the printed circuit board. The apparatus includes a base, and a plurality of spring beams extending away from the base. Each spring beam includes a body portion and an anchor tip portion. The anchor tip portions include a ramp surface configured to engage the side wall defining the hole in the printed circuit board and to move the spring beams radially inwardly so that the spring beams apply a radially outwardly directed force against the side wall to hold the apparatus within the hole. The anchor tip portions also include a barb formed on a trailing end of the ramp surface. The barbs are configured to penetrate the side wall defining the hole in the printed circuit board to increase a retention force of the hold down apparatus in the hole.

Abstract: A terminal is provided which includes includes an a non-movable L-shaped base and a swan neck contact coupled to one end of the base. The terminal also includes a split dimple formed on a base of the terminal to provide a front-to-back alignment of the terminal inside terminal-receiving cavities formed in a socket housing. The split dimple also provides the terminal with a strong retention to the plastic body of the connector housing. The terminals are particularly useful in a SIMM socket. Adjacent terminals on opposite sides of the edge card are electrically isolated or independent from each other. By incorporating electrically independent contacts into a SIMM socket, the present invention permits twice as many I/O leads in the same amount of space compared to a conventional SIMM socket and doubles the number of pads per module.

Abstract: An electrical connector is provided for receiving a daughtercard having an end edge formed to include a notch therein and having a plurality of conductive surfaces formed thereon. The connector includes a socket formed to include an elongated slot for receiving the daughtercard therein and including a plurality of electrical terminals for engaging the plurality of conductive surfaces formed the daughtercard for electrically coupling the daughtercard to the socket. The connector also includes an ejector coupled to an end of the socket. The ejector includes first and second side panels defining a slot therebetween for receiving the end edge of the daughtercard therein, and first and second raised surfaces formed on the first and second side panels of the ejector, respectively, for engaging opposite sides of daughtercard to apply a retention force directed normal to the daughtercard upon insertion of the daughtercard into the socket.

Abstract: An electrical connector is provided for receiving a daughtercard having a plurality of conductive surfaces formed thereon. The connector includes a socket having a first end and a second end. An ejector is coupled to the first end of the socket. The ejector includes spring arms for retaining the daughtercard in the socket upon insertion of the daughtercard into the socket. A post is coupled to the second end of the socket in a fixed position relative to the socket to guide insertion of the daughtercard into the socket. The post is formed to include a pair of spring arms for engaging opposite sides of the daughtercard adjacent the post to retain the daughtercard within the socket. The ejector ejects an end of the daughtercard adjacent the ejector out of the socket upon movement of the ejector relative to the socket while leaving an opposite end of the daughtercard adjacent the post in the elongated slot of the socket.

Abstract: A terminal is provided which includes includes an a non-movable L-shaped base and a swan neck contact coupled to one end of the base. The terminal also includes a split dimple formed on a base of the terminal to provide a front-to-back alignment of the terminal inside terminal-receiving cavities formed in a socket housing. The split dimple also provides the terminal with a strong retention to the plastic body of the connector housing. The terminals are particularly useful in a SIMM socket. Adjacent terminals on opposite sides of the edge card are electrically isolated or independent from each other. By incorporating electrically independent contacts into a SIMM socket, the present invention permits twice as many I/O leads in the same amount of space compared to a conventional SIMM socket and doubles the number of pads per module.

Abstract: A retainer clip is provided for securing a printed circuit board to a socket having an elongated slot for receiving the board therein. The retainer clip includes a retention section for engaging the socket to retain the retainer clip within the socket and a spring section extending upwardly away from the retention section and having an upper distal end. The spring section extends into a plane defined by an edge of the elongated slot. The retainer clip also includes a contoured section formed at the distal end of the spring section. The contoured section is configured to engage an aperture formed in the board to retain the board within the socket.

Abstract: An extraction tool is provided for extracting an electronic circuit component. The tool includes an outer jaw assembly having a top plate and at least two outer legs coupled to the top plate defining an interior region therebetween. An inner jaw assembly is located in the interior region. The inner jaw assembly includes a bottom plate and at least two inner legs coupled to the bottom plate for engaging the chip. The apparatus also includes a slide collar slidably coupled to the outer and inner jaw assemblies. The collar is movable between a first position to permit the outer and inner legs to be inserted over the chip and a second position to lock the outer and inner legs in a predetermined engaging position relative to the chip. The apparatus further includes a mechanism for moving the inner jaw assembly relative to the outer jaw assembly when the collar in its second position to extract the chip. The length of the legs of the tool is selected to permit extraction of both large and small profile chips.

Abstract: According to the present invention, an electrical connector includes a body having first and second portions. The connector also includes a plurality of first contacts situated in the first portion of the body. Each of said first contacts includes a first end portion configured to be coupled to a conductive member on a printed circuit board and a second free end portion situated within the first portion of the body to define a movable spring contact surface section. The connector further includes a plurality of second contacts situated in the second portion of the body. Each of said second contacts includes a first end portion configured to be coupled to a conductive member on the printed circuit board and a second end portion coupled to the second portion of the body to define a fixed contact surface section.

Abstract: An electrical interconnect device includes an elongated socket for releasably holding a module in an engaged position therein and an ejector for ejecting at least a portion of the module from the socket. The device also includes a lever arm for rotating the module ejector means about an axis of rotation extending in the direction of elongation of the socket to move the module ejector against a module held in the socket. This action causes at least a portion of the module to be disengaged from the socket means to enable a user to extract the module from the socket means. The rotatably actuated module ejector is mounted on the device to lie between two modules that are held in side-by-side relation in the socket. The lever arm is pivotable about an axis of rotation either in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to permit a technician to remove more than one module from the socket.

Abstract: A low insertion force edge card connector having preloaded conductive spring arms that establish an electrical contact between the preloaded spring arms and the edge card. The edge card connector has an insulative housing consisting essentially of a dielectric material, a spring arm coupled to the insulative housing, a contact arm extending from the spring arm, the contact arm having a contact surface to engage the edge card in electrical connection, and a preload tab appended to a junction between the spring arm and the contact arm to engage the insulative housing and establish a preloaded position for the spring arm with respect to the insulative housing.

Abstract: A dual-beam receptacle socket contact is provided for conductively engaging a pin contact to couple the pin contact to an electrical circuit. The two pin-engaging beams of the socket contact are oriented to lie in mutually orthogonal planes. The beams are configured and arranged to maintain electrical contact with a pin contact inserted therein when subjected to shock or vibration. A flat pattern is provided for producing a plurality of socket contacts that are arranged in nested relation so that the center-to-center spacing of the socket contacts match the center-to-center spacing of the contact-receiving openings formed in an electrical contact housing. Preloading tabs are provided in a second embodiment of the invention.

Abstract: A connector is provided for mounting on a circuit board. The connector includes a body member and rows of first and second electrical contact pins coupled to the body member. The first contact pins are configured to extend downwardly below a bottom wall of the body member so that they align with the bottom wall to define an acute included angle therebetween. The second contact pins are configured to extend downwardly below the bottom wall in splayed relation to the first electrical contact pins and are aligned with the bottom wall to define an obtuse included angle therebetween. The first and second contact pins are made of spring material and cooperate to define a spring clip for yieldably drawing the bottom wall of the body member into seating engagement with the circuit board upon insertion of the first and second electrical contact pins into a pair of pin-receiving apertures formed in the circuit board.

Abstract: A device is disclosed for making an electrical connection of the contacts of a D-type connector with the conductors of a multi-conductor flat cable assembly, where the pitch of the conductors in the cable assembly is different from that in the D-type connector, and the pitch ratio is not an integer. Contacts employed in the assembly have a portion intermediate conductor contacting end portions and which enables altering the relationship between the end portions in three directions to accommodate the difference in pitch between the conductors connected to one set of contact ends, and the conductors connected to the other set of contact ends, and yet provide the same degree of depth or penetration of contact ends for all of them.

Abstract: A U-shaped base member of resilient, electrically-conductive material has upwardly-projecting arms thereof received in apertures in a circuit board. An adaptor member, having a U-shaped portion has one arm thereof cooperating with one arm of the base member to establish an anchor in one aperture of the board, and the other arm cooperates with a socket-forming channel in the other arm of the base member in the adjacent aperture of the board, to provide a socket for reception of a lead of a microelectronic circuit device such as an integrated circuit (IC) pack and also serve as a second anchor in the second aperture. The adaptor member also includes means appropriate for connection to electrical circuitry associated with the circuit board and/or electrical connection to other adaptor members or to other circuit components in a system. Examples of such connection means may include "Wire-Wrap" pins, wire-piercing jaws or "Stitch Weld" or "Solder Wrap" pads.