EP1821369B1 - PCB plug-in extension - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates generally to the field of connecting a printed circuit board to another printed circuit board, usually a so-called backplane. The invention particularly relates to a printed circuit board plug-in extension according to the preamble of claim 1. Such a printed circuit board plug-in extension is from the US-A-4,687,267 known.

It is known to connect a circuit board directly into a connector, e.g. a card edge connector, plug in. As a result, printed conductors, which are guided in the edge region of the printed circuit board, contacted directly. The problem here is in particular that printed circuit boards are generally manufactured with fairly large tolerances. For example, a tolerance in thickness of ± 10% is common. This results in the problem that the connector receiving the PCB connector at a low end of the tolerance must nevertheless ensure sufficiently high contact forces, while at a circuit board at the top of the tolerances the risk of damage to the spring contacts in the plug part must be prevented and also high insertion forces should be avoided.

It is already known, for example from the U.S. Patent 6,899,546 to use a printed circuit board plug-in extension, which is plugged onto an edge region of the printed circuit board and contains contacts which contact the conductor tracks arranged there. The plug-in extension can then be plugged into a suitable connector. The disadvantage of this solution is, on the one hand, that a comparatively large installation space is required, since the printed circuit board plug-in extension surrounds the printed circuit board on both sides. A further disadvantage is that a special connector for receiving the plug-in extension is necessary because its thickness is greater than the thickness of the circuit board.

The object of the invention is to provide a printed circuit board plug-in extension, which requires little space and can be plugged into a conventional card edge plug part. This object is achieved with the features of the characterizing part of claim 1.

According to the invention, it is provided that the body consists of two partial areas and has a stepped shape, wherein the two partial areas are integrally stirred together, that the terminal ends of the two groups of contacts are arranged on one and the same side of the body, while the mating ends of the first group are arranged on a different side of the body than the mating ends of the second group, and that the contacts are guided by means of an approximately right-angled transition portion from the first portion to the second portion, the contacts of the first group always remain on the same side of the body while the contacts of the second group pass through the subarea once. The solution according to the invention is based on the basic idea of "copying" the area of the printed circuit board, which serves to make contact with the printed conductors, to the printed circuit board plug-in extension, but at the same time improving it. This concerns in particular the dimensions and tolerances. A plastic part can, in contrast to a printed circuit board, be manufactured with an accuracy of a few hundredths of a millimeter. In this way, the scatter of the insertion forces can be reduced when inserting the plug-in extension in the associated connector part. In particular, the plug-in extension can be manufactured with dimensions that lie at the lower end of the permissible tolerance field. In this way, there is a further reduction of the insertion forces. Furthermore, the area of the plug-in extension which serves for contacting is in the same plane as the printed circuit board. The circuit board can therefore be guided and plugged in the conventional manner. In addition, since the contacts of the plug-in extension are only connected from one side to the circuit board, while the plug ends are on both sides of the plug-in extension, resulting in very small dimensions. From the shape of the body according to the invention results in a particularly compact design. Furthermore, the transition portion of the contacts can be used advantageously for fastening the contacts themselves and for suitable biasing of the mating ends. The mating ends of the contacts are bent for this purpose not exactly perpendicular to the transition section, but depending on the arrangement at an angle slightly larger or smaller than 90 °. Only by the final insertion of the transition section in the correct position, the contacts are then bent at an angle of 90 ° to the transition section, the resulting elastic bias can be used to suitably press the plug ends in a recording associated with them.

Preferably, the body has at least one positioning projection, which can be positively inserted into a receptacle of the printed circuit board, to position the plug-in extension. This makes it possible to mount the printed circuit board insertion extension precisely aligned with the printed circuit board, which is of particular importance when several printed circuit boards are combined to form a group.

Preferably, the positioning projection is a cylindrical pin. Such a pin can be easily inserted into a hole in the circuit board.

Preferably, it is provided that the body is provided between the contacts of a group with openings that allow a free punching of the contacts. This allows the contacts that must be passed through the body of the plug-in extension to punch so that they are initially connected by a bridge of material. This facilitates handling. Only after mounting on the body of the plug-in extension, the material bridges are removed by a suitable tool dips into the openings of the body. Then the contacts are separated.

It is preferably provided that the plug ends of the contacts terminate at different levels. This ensures that not all spring contacts of the plug part, in which the plug-in extension is inserted, are deflected simultaneously, but gradually. In this way, the insertion force is reduced.

Preferably, it is provided that incisions are provided in front of the plug ends which terminate in a level lying further back in the plugging direction. The notches serve to guide the spring contacts of the plug part to the plug ends of the contacts located further back. The guide prevents the spring contacts from accidentally sliding on adjacent contacts. The leadership of the spring contacts will be further improved if oblique Einführfasen are provided at the front end of the incisions.

Preferably, air pockets are provided between the contacts and the body. The air pockets make it possible to adjust the impedance of the contacts in the desired manner. In this case, more air pockets can be provided at the front end of the plug ends, in front of the area in which attack the spring contacts of the plug part.

It is preferably provided that the transition section is designed with a reduced width, so that latching hooks can be formed approximately with the width of the contacts. The reduction in the width of the transition sections makes it possible to bend the contacts in this area with less force. The latching hooks determine with their dimensions how closely juxtaposed the contacts can be punched out of a material web. If the snap hooks are formed in a region of reduced width, the contacts can ultimately be punched out closer together.

Preferably, it is provided that of the contacts of the first group, the terminal ends of the ground contacts are at a level that seen from the plug ends behind this level, the terminal ends of the signal contacts are that behind the terminal ends of the signal contacts, the terminal ends of the ground contacts of the second group of contacts and that behind it are the terminal ends of the signal contacts of the second group. The ground contacts of the two groups of contacts thus serve to shield between the signal contacts of the two groups, which improves the crosstalk attenuation.

It is preferably provided that spacers are arranged between the plug-in extensions, which are inserted laterally into the plug-in extensions, and that in each case a dowel pin extends through the spacers and the lateral regions of the plug-in extensions. The spacers make it possible to mount several printed circuit boards and the associated printed circuit board insertion extensions into assemblies so that several printed circuit boards can be simultaneously inserted into the corresponding backplane connector parts.

Alternatively, it is provided that the spacers are integrally formed on the plug-in extensions. Each spacer is provided with a retaining pin and two positioning holes. This one-piece design reduces the manufacturing and assembly costs and also the tolerances occurring.

The invention also relates to an assembly with two or more plug-in extensions.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

• Figur 1 eine Draufsicht auf einen erfindungsgemäßen Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatz;
• Figur 2 eine Rückansicht des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes von Figur 1;
• Figur 3 eine Unteransicht des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes von Figur 1;
• Figur 4 eine Vorderansicht des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes von Figur 1;
• Figur 5 eine Seitenansicht des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes von Figur 1;
• Figur 6 einen Schnitt durch den Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatz von Figur 1;
• Figur 7 in vergrößertem Maßstab ein Detail von Figur 6;
• Figur 8 eine Detailansicht des steckseitigen Endes des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes;
• Figur 9 in wiederum vergrößertem Maßstab ein Detail der Steckseite des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes;
• Figur 10 eine Unteransicht der Steckseite des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes, wobei einige Kontakte entfernt wurden;
• Figur 11 einen Ausschnitt von einigen Kontakten des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes, wobei zur Verdeutlichung der Körper des Steckfortsatzes nicht dargestellt ist;
• Figur 12 den Übergangsabschnitt von einigen Kontakten;
• Figur 13 in vergrößertem Maßstab ein Detail der Kontakte;
• Figur 14 ein Detail des Körpers des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes, wobei die Kontakte nicht dargestellt sind;
• Figur 15 in vergrößertem Maßstab einen Ausschnitt des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes, wobei die Kontakte vormontiert sind;
• Figur 16 in einer Detailansicht eine Draufsicht auf die montierten Kontakte;
• Figur 17 in einer vergrößerten Detailansicht die Anschlußenden einiger vormontierter Kontakte;
• Figur 18 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht eine Leiterplatte, die mit einem erfindungsgemäßen Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatz versehen ist, der wiederum in einen Kartenrand-Steckverbinder eingesetzt ist;
• Figur 19 in einer Seitenansicht die Baugruppe von Figur 18;
• Figur 20 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht eine andere Baugruppe, die aus mehreren Leiterplatten mit daran angebrachten Leiterplatten-Steckfortsätzen besteht und in Kartenrand-Steckverbinder eingesteckt werden kann;
• Figur 21 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht die Leiterplatten kurz bevor sie zusammengefügt werden;
• Figur 22 in einer schematischen Seitenansicht die noch nicht zusammengefügten Leiterplatten der Baugruppe von Figur 20;
• Figur 23 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht einen bei der Baugruppe von Figur 21 verwendeten Passstift;
• Figur 24 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht einen bei der Baugruppe von Figur 21 verwendeten Distanzhalter;
• Figur 25 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht einen Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatz gemäß einer alternativen Ausgestaltung;
• Figur 26 eine Draufsicht auf einen Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatz gemäß weiteren alternativen Ausgestaltung;
• Figur 27 eine Rückansicht des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes von Figur 26;
• Figur 28 eine Unteransicht des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes von Figur 26; und
• Figur 29 eine Seitenansicht des Leiterplatten-Steckfortsatzes von Figur 26.

The invention will be described below with reference to various embodiments, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In these show:

• FIG. 1 a plan view of a printed circuit board plug-in extension according to the invention;
• FIG. 2 a rear view of the PCB plug-in extension of FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 3 a bottom view of the PCB plug-in extension of FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 4 a front view of the PCB plug-in extension of FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 5 a side view of the PCB plug-in extension of FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 6 a section through the PCB plug-in extension of FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 7 on a larger scale a detail of FIG. 6 ;
• FIG. 8 a detailed view of the plug-side end of the PCB plug-in extension;
• FIG. 9 in turn, on an enlarged scale, a detail of the mating side of the PCB plug-in extension;
• FIG. 10 a bottom view of the mating side of the PCB plug-in extension, with some contacts were removed;
• FIG. 11 a section of some contacts of the printed circuit board plug-in extension, wherein for clarity, the body of the plug-in extension is not shown;
• FIG. 12 the transition section of some contacts;
• FIG. 13 on a larger scale a detail of the contacts;
• FIG. 14 a detail of the body of the PCB plug-in extension, wherein the contacts are not shown;
• FIG. 15 on an enlarged scale, a section of the printed circuit board plug-in extension, wherein the contacts are pre-assembled;
• FIG. 16 in a detailed view of a plan view of the mounted contacts;
• FIG. 17 in an enlarged detail view the terminal ends of some pre-assembled contacts;
• FIG. 18 in a perspective view of a printed circuit board, which is provided with a circuit board push-in extension according to the invention, which in turn is inserted into a card edge connector;
• FIG. 19 in a side view the assembly of FIG. 18 ;
• FIG. 20 in a perspective view of another assembly, which consists of a plurality of printed circuit boards with printed circuit board slot extensions attached thereto and can be plugged into card edge connector;
• FIG. 21 in a perspective view of the circuit boards just before they are joined together;
• FIG. 22 in a schematic side view of the not yet assembled circuit boards of the assembly of FIG. 20 ;
• FIG. 23 in a perspective view one in the assembly of FIG. 21 used dowel pin;
• FIG. 24 in a perspective view one in the assembly of FIG. 21 used spacers;
• FIG. 25 in a perspective view of a printed circuit board insertion extension according to an alternative embodiment;
• FIG. 26 a plan view of a printed circuit board plug-in extension according to further alternative embodiment;
• FIG. 27 a rear view of the PCB plug-in extension of FIG. 26 ;
• FIG. 28 a bottom view of the PCB plug-in extension of FIG. 26 ; and
• FIG. 29 a side view of the PCB plug-in extension of FIG. 26 ,

Based on FIGS. 1 to 6 First, the general structure of a printed circuit board plug-in extension 10 according to the invention will now be described. The printed circuit board push-in extension 10 is intended to be mounted on the edge of a printed circuit board so that a part of the printed circuit board plug-in extension projects away from the printed circuit board. For mounting and contacting the printed circuit board plug-in extension on the circuit board is at the PCB plug-in extension 10 a Terminal area 12 is provided, opposite to a plug-in area 14, which is intended to be plugged into a connector to connect the circuit board. The connection region 12 is formed on a first subregion 16 of the printed circuit board push-in extension 10, and the insertion region 14 is formed on a second subregion 18 (see in particular FIG FIG. 5 ). The two portions 16, 18 are generally rectangular in shape and overlap each other in the middle of the printed circuit board plug-in extension 10. The printed circuit board plug-in extension 10 thus has, viewed from the side, a stepped shape. The two sections 16, 18 are integrally formed with each other and made of plastic, which can be molded with very high precision, in particular injection-molded.

The plug-in area 14 on the second portion 18 is designed in the manner of a wide, generally rectangular tongue, with two constrictions 20 are provided laterally. These can serve to lock the PCB plug-in extension 10 and thus also the printed circuit board attached thereto to a connector. In the region of the constrictions 20, the contacts are inward.

The first portion 16 is designed with a slightly greater thickness than the second portion 18 and has at its lateral edges in each case a positioning Vorspung 22 in the form of a cylindrical pin. The positioning tab 22 is used to hold the PCB tab extension 10 in a precisely defined position on a circuit board. In the vicinity of the positioning projections 22, the first portion 16 has a total of three openings 24, the task of which will be described later.

The printed circuit board push-in extension is equipped with two groups of contacts, which extend from the connection region 12 to the insertion region 14. A first group of contacts 26 extend with a mating end 28 along the second portion 18, then as a transition portion 30 on the first portion 16 and then as a terminal end 32 away from the first portion 16. A second group of contacts 27 extends with a mating end 28 along the side of the second portion 18, which faces away from the mating ends 28 of the contacts 26 of the first group, then by means of a transition portion 30 on the underside of the first portion 16 and then by means of a bent terminal end 32 through the first portion 16 through the connection area 12. The contacts 26 of the first group differ from the contacts 27th The second group thus essentially in that the contacts 26 of the first group always remain on the same side of the body 16, 18 of the PCB plug-in extension 10, based on the illustration of FIG. 6 Thus, on the upper side, while the contacts 27 of the second group pass through the portion 16 once. Again referring to the representation of FIG. 6 are the mating ends 28 of the contacts 27 of the second group on the underside of the PCB plug-in extension, while the terminal ends 32 are located on the top.

To improve the shield is provided that the contacts of a group whose terminal ends 32 are closest to the transition sections 30, are used as ground contacts. These ground contacts are in the FIGS. 6 and 11 marked with M. Such an arrangement results in the remaining terminal ends 32 of the first group contacts 26 being separated from the mating area by the terminal ends 32 of the contacts 26 and the terminal ends 32 of the grounding conductors of the second group contacts 27 as signal conductors used connection ends.

The contacts 26 of the first group can be easily placed on the body 16, 18 after punching, for example by using their terminal ends 32 for transport. With respect to the contacts 27 of the second group, this is somewhat more difficult, since the terminal ends 32 of the contacts 27 must be inserted through the first portion 16 therethrough. For this reason, it is provided for the handling of the contacts 27 that they are still connected by punching material bridges. It must then only a single entity consisting of a variety still integrally interconnected contacts handled. Only after the attachment of the contacts 27 on the PCB plug-in extension 10, the material bridges are removed. For this purpose, small punched openings 56 are provided in the second partial area 18, into which a punching tool can dip when it removes the material bridges provided between these contacts 27 at these locations.

As in FIG. 6 and in particular in the FIGS. 8 to 9 can be clearly seen, the plug-in portion 14 is chamfered at its foremost end. For this purpose, the plug-in region 14 has a chamfer 34 on its upper side and its underside. The chamfer 34 causes the spring contacts of the connector, in which the printed circuit board plug-in extension 10 is inserted, are slowly deflected when plugging in to the outside. In addition, it is intended that the mating ends 28 of the contacts terminate at different staggered levels. As in FIG. 8 is indicated, the contacts terminate at different levels, with four levels I to IV as shown here. The contacts starting at the first level I are preferably used as mass contacts M.

In front of the mating ends 28 of the contacts, which end or start at the second or third level, recesses 36 are provided which, in the case of two adjacent contacts starting at the same level, are separated by a partition wall 38. At the rear end of each incision 36, in turn, a chamfer 34 is provided. This configuration results in that the spring contacts of the connector are deflected during insertion of the printed circuit board plug-in extension 10 at different times. The later deflected spring contacts slide in the incisions 36 and are optionally provided by the partitions 38 and provided at the front edge Einführfasen 40 (see, in particular FIG. 9 ) directed to the mating end of their associated contact.

The mating ends 28 of the contacts 26, 27 are in suitable receptacles 42 of the second body 18. Below the plug ends 28 a plurality of air pockets 44 are provided in the exceptions 42 (see in particular the FIGS. 7 and 10 ). The air pockets serve on the one hand for impedance matching. On the other hand, they are advantageous for the correctly aligned, planar arrangement of the plug-in ends 28 in the receptacles 42; it is easier to partially support the plug-in ends 28 than to have to create a continuous, flat bearing surface. In the contacts which start at the first level I, the pockets 44 may be arranged in front of the area in which the spring contacts of the connector abut against the contacts when the printed circuit board push-in extension 10 is fully inserted into the connector; this area is in FIG. 10 indicated by B.

In FIG. 11 the contacts 26, 27 can be seen. In this figure, it can be clearly seen that each contact 26, 27 has two latching hooks 46 formed on opposite sides of the transition section 30. These snap hooks are also in the FIGS. 12 and 13 to see. How very good in FIG. 13 can be seen, the latching hooks 46 are arranged by adjacent contacts of a group at different levels. The different height arrangement of the latching hooks on the one hand has the advantage that higher anchoring forces in the body of the printed circuit board plug-in extension 10th result. It is available for the transfer of holding forces more material available, if not at the same height the latching hook of the adjacent contact must be retained. On the other hand, there are better values in terms of shielding, since the minimum distance between the latching hooks is greater if they are arranged at different levels. Furthermore, it should be noted that the contacts are made in the transition sections with reduced width. This is good in the FIGS. 12 and 13 to recognize. This makes it possible to punch out the latching hooks from the material width of the contact, without having to start with an increased material width. By this measure, the distance between the latching hook adjacent contacts is further increased, which brings additional advantages in terms of holding power and shielding.

In addition to the latching hooks 46 on the transition section, the contacts 27 of the second group have two latching hooks 48 on opposite sides of the connection end 32, respectively.

The attachment of the contacts 26, 27 at the portions 16, 18 of the printed circuit board insertion extension 10 is effected substantially by means of a groove 50 which is formed at the transition from the first portion 16 to the second portion 18 on the side of the terminal portion 12 (see in particular FIGS. 6 . 14 and 15 ). In the grooves 50, the transition portions 30 of the contacts 26 of the first group and the contacts 27 of the second group are accommodated. Viewed in cross section, the groove 50 has a trapezoidal shape, which in FIG. 16 is drawn. Due to the trapezoidal shape, the groove narrows towards the outside, so that the transition section 30 of the contacts 26, 27 is held towards the partial region 16 or 18.

On its upper side, from which the transition sections are inserted into the groove, each groove 50 has an insertion section 52, which is designed as a concave groove. The bottom of the channel is located laterally next to the groove 50 and has its lowest point approximately at the point at which the transition section 30 should be located after insertion. When the contacts are inserted with their transitional sections in the grooves 50, the transition sections and in particular the latching hooks 46 are guided by the insertion sections 52 in the correct position. The contacts are then pressed in so far that the latching hook 46 dig into the material of the corresponding portion 16, 18 and anchor there the transition sections. At the same time, the Terminal ends 32 of the contacts 27 of the second group are pressed so that the additional latching hooks 48 (see FIG. 17 ) dig into the material of the first portion 16.

For the purpose of correct positioning of the mating ends 28 of the contacts 26, 27, these are designed so that the angle α (see FIG. 6 ) between the mating ends 28 and the transition sections 30 at the contacts 27 of the second group is slightly greater than 90 °, while the angle β between the mating ends 28 and the transition sections 30 of the contacts 26 of the first group is slightly smaller than 90 °. Then, when the transition portions 30 in the direction of the arrows P of FIG. 6 be pressed, the angle β is bent to 90 °, while the angle α is compressed to 90 °. In both cases, the mating ends 28 are resiliently acted upon in the receptacle 42 provided for them in the first body 18, where they remain without further action.

With the arrangement of the contacts 26, 27 shown, in particular, a very close arrangement of the contacts can be achieved. In a conventional embodiment, the contacts are arranged in a pitch of 0.75 mm. From this it can be seen how little space between the contacts is available for anchoring them.

The printed circuit board plug-in extension 10 equipped with the contacts 26, 27 can be placed on the edge of a printed circuit board 60 (see FIGS FIGS. 18 and 19 ), wherein the terminal ends 32 of the contacts 26, 27 are connected to corresponding tracks of the circuit board 60. The terminal ends 32 can either be soldered, soldered or pressed. The additional latching hooks 48 of the contacts 27 of the second group ensure that the terminal ends 32 of these contacts are not pushed out of the first portion 16; the terminal ends 32 of the contacts 26 are supported without further measures reliably on the first portion 16 from. For positioning of the printed circuit board push-in extension 10 on the printed circuit board 60, this is provided with suitable holes into which the positioning projections 22 can engage. The printed circuit board 60 can then be plugged with the PCB plug-in extension 10 in a card edge connector 70, which is arranged here on another circuit board 72, for example, a backplane. The use of the printed circuit board push-in extension 10 has the particular advantage that its plug-in region 14 can be designed with much higher accuracy than the edge region of a printed circuit board. Consequently For example, the contact forces that occur when inserting the board tab extension 10 into the card edge connector 70 can be much better controlled.

In FIG. 20 an assembly is shown, which consists of four interconnected circuit boards 60 here. For connecting the circuit boards between the PCB slot extensions each spacer 80 (see, in particular FIG. 24 ), which have two retaining pins 82 on opposite sides. A positioning opening 84 extends centrally through each spacer 80. The position of the retaining pins 82 and the positioning opening 84 corresponds to the arrangement of the openings 24 on the printed circuit board push-in extension 10.

To assemble the printed circuit boards 60 into an assembly, the retaining pins 82 of the spacers 80 are inserted into the outer openings 24 of the printed circuit board tab extensions 60 arranged on the printed circuit boards 60. Then, a dowel pin 86 (see FIG. 23) is pushed through the positioning hole 84 of the spacers 80 and through the center hole 24 of the board tab extensions 10. In this way, all components are precisely aligned relative to each other, so that the assembly of the plurality of printed circuit boards 60 can be inserted into closely adjacent card edge connector 70, which are arranged on another circuit board 72, for example, a backplane.

The precise positioning of the PCB tab extensions 10 on the circuit boards 60 as well as their precise alignment with each other via the spacers 80 is particularly important because some of the circuit boards 60 are usually guided in a (not shown) guide so that they correctly into the card edge connector 70 can be inserted. If some of the PCB tab extensions 10 are not positioned correctly, alignment errors will result. For example, the circuit boards 60 could be fan-shaped rotated against each other. In this case, it is hardly possible to correctly guide the circuit boards by means of the guides provided so that the printed circuit board tab extensions 10 meet in their associated connector.

In order to ensure a precise positioning of the printed circuit board insertion extensions 10 with respect to their distance from each other, it is provided to carry the retaining pins 82 with such a length that they abut each other directly when the actually arranged between them portion 16 has a too small thickness. In this way it can be prevented that the spacers 80 in too small a distance from each other can be arranged, which in turn would lead to a too small distance between the individual PCB plug-in extensions 10.

In FIG. 25 an alternative embodiment is shown, in which the spacers 80 'are integrally formed on the plug-in extensions 10. Each spacer 80 is provided with a retaining pin 82 and two positioning holes 84. This one-piece design reduces the manufacturing and assembly costs and also the tolerances occurring.

In the FIGS. 26 to 29 is shown a plug-in extension according to an alternative embodiment, which differs from that in the FIGS. 1 to 5 shown insertion extension differs in that was dispensed with the lateral constrictions. It is therefore not necessary to let the contacts dodge inwards. Instead, all contacts can be made straightforward.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10:

PCB plug extension

12:

terminal region

14:

plug-in region

16:

first subarea

18:

second subarea

20:

constriction

22:

positioning projection

24:

opening

26:

Contacts of the first group

27:

Contacts of the second group

28:

plug-in end

30:

Transition section

32:

terminal end

34:

chamfer

36:

incision

38:

partition wall

40:

chamfer

42:

recess

44:

air pocket

46:

latch hook

48:

additional latching hook

50:

groove

52:

insertion

60:

circuit board

70:

Card Edge Connector

72:

further printed circuit board

80:

spacer

82:

retaining pins

84:

positioning opening

86:

dowel

Claims (26)

1. A circuit board connector extension (10) comprising a body (16, 18) made of plastic and adapted to be attached to a circuit board, having first and second groups of contacts (26, 27) which each have one connecting end (32) for contacting conductor tracks on the circuit board and one plug-in end (28) for contacting contacts of a connector piece, the body consisting of two sections (16, 18) and having a stepped shape, the two sections (16, 18) being integrally formed with each other, the connecting ends (32) of the two groups of contacts (26, 27) being arranged on one and the same side of the body (16, 18), whereas the plug-in ends (28) of the first group are arranged on a side of the body (16, 18) different from that where the plug-in ends (28) of the second group are arranged, and the contacts (26, 27) being guided from the first section (16) to the second section (18) by means of a transition portion (30) which is bent approximately at right angles, characterized in that the contacts (26) of the first group always remain on the same side of the body (16, 18), whereas the contacts (27) of the second group traverse the section (16) once.
2. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 1, characterized in that the body (16, 18) has at least one positioning protrusion (22), preferably a cylindrical pin (22), which for positioning the connector extension (10) can be inserted in a mount of the circuit board with an interlocking fit.
3. The circuit board connector extension according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body (16, 18) laterally has two constrictions (20) serving for locking in place in a connector piece.
4. The circuit board connector extension according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that between the contacts (26, 27) of one group, the body (16, 18) is provided with punched openings (56) which allow the contacts to be blanked.
5. The circuit board connector extension according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contacts (27) of the second group extend through the body (16, 18).
6. The circuit board connector extension according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plug-in ends (28) of the contacts end at different levels, in particular at four different levels (I, II, III, IV).
7. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 6, characterized in that the body (16, 18), as seen in the plug-in direction, has a chamfer (34) in front of each plug-in end (28).
8. The circuit board connector extension according to either of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that incisions (36) are provided in front of those plug-in ends (28) which end at a level which is situated further to the rear as seen in the plug-in direction.
9. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 8, characterized in that the incisions (36) are provided with oblique insertion chamfers (40).
10. The circuit board connector extension according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that air pockets (44) are provided between the contacts (26, 27) and the body (16, 18).
11. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 10, characterized in that the contacts (26, 27) are supported by the body (16, 18) in the area B of making contact with the connector piece.
12. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 11, characterized in that below the plug-in ends (28) which, as seen in the plug-in direction, end at the foremost level, a further air pocket (44) is provided yet in front of the areas of the contact zone which are supported by the connector piece.
13. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 12, characterized in that the transition portion (30) is guided in a groove (50).
14. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 13, characterized in that the groove (50) is provided with an insertion portion (52).
15. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 14, characterized in that the insertion portion (52), as viewed in the direction of inserting the contacts (26, 27), has a concave shape, in particular in the nature of a semi-circular chute.
16. The circuit board connector extension according to any of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the groove (50) has a trapezoidal cross-section as viewed perpendicular to the direction of inserting the contacts (26, 27).
17. The circuit board connector extension according to any of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that the groove (50) guides the transition portion (30).
18. The circuit board connector extension according to any of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that the transition portion is fixed in the groove (50) by means of at least one latching hook (46).
19. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 18, characterized in that the latching hooks (46) of neighboring transition portions are at different levels.
20. The circuit board connector extension according to claim 18 or claim 19, characterized in that the transition portion (30) is configured so as to have a reduced width and the contact at the level of the latching hooks (46) has approximately the remaining width.
21. The circuit board connector extension according to any of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that for the first group of contacts (26) the angle (β) between the transition portion (30) and the plug-in end (28) is slightly smaller than 90°, so that the plug-in end (28), during pressing the contact (26) into the body (16, 18), is clamped against the latter.
22. The circuit board connector extension according to any of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that for the second group of contacts (27) the angle (α) between the transition portion (30) and the plug-in end (28) is slightly larger than 90°, so that the plug-in end (28), during pressing the contact (27) into the body (16, 18), is clamped against the latter.
23. The circuit board connector extension according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contacts (27) of the second group are provided at the connecting end with at least one latching hook (48) which can be pressed into the body (16, 18).
24. The circuit board connector extension according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contacts (26) of the first group have the connecting ends (32) of the ground contacts (M) lying at one level, the connecting ends (32) of the signal contacts are arranged behind this level as seen from the plug-in ends, the connecting ends of the ground contacts (M) of the contacts (27) of the second group lie behind the connecting ends of the signal contacts, and the connecting ends of the signal contacts of the second group lie behind these.
25. An assembly comprising two or more connector extensions according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that spacers (80) are arranged between the connector extensions so as to be arranged on the sides of the connector extensions (10), and one locating pin (86) each extends through the spacers (80) and the lateral areas of the connector extensions.
26. The assembly according to claim 25, characterized in that the spacers (80) are integrally formed with the circuit board connector extensions (10).

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