US3905670A

US3905670A - Actuated printed circuit connector

Info

Publication number: US3905670A
Application number: US458244A
Authority: US
Inventors: John W Anhalt; James H Curley
Original assignee: Deutsche ITT Industries GmbH
Current assignee: TDK Micronas GmbH; ITT Inc
Priority date: 1974-04-05
Filing date: 1974-04-05
Publication date: 1975-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 1992-09-16
Also published as: JPS50135562A; DE2513542A1; CA1026833A; AU7905175A; JPS5437295B2

Abstract

A cam actuated printed circuit board connector particularly suited for making connection to a panel display having two rows of conductive traces thereon at different elevations. The connector contains two rows of spaced contacts disposed at elevations corresponding to the elevations of the traces on the panel. The contacts are stressed to resiliently urge insulative actuating fingers into engagement with a single cam member which, when operated, functions to shift the two rows of contacts simultaneously into engagement with the two rows of traces. The actuating fingers are pivotally mounted to fixed portions of the connector housing by means of relatively thin hinge sections.

Description

United States Patent Anhalt et al.

[4 1 Sept. 16, 1975 ACTUATED PRINTED CIRCUIT CONNECTOR Inventors: John W. Anhalt, Orange; James H.

Curley, Santa Ana, both of Calif.

International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, New York, N.Y.

Filed: Apr. 5, 1974 Appl. No.: 458,244

Assignee:

US. Cl. 339/75 MP; 339/176 MP Int. Cl. HOlR 13/62 Field of Search 339/17 R, 17 L, 17 M, 17 N,

339/75 R, 75 M, 75 MP, 176 MP, 176 MP References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1973 Iverson 339/75 M 2/1974 Mclver 339/176 MP X Primary Examiner-Joseph H. McGlynn Assistant Examiner-Howard N. Goldberg Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Thomas L. Peterson [5 7] ABSTRACT A cam actuated printed circuit board connector particularly suited for making connection to a panel display having two rows of conductive traces thereon at different elevations. The connector contains two rows of spaced contacts disposed at elevations corresponding to the elevations of the traces on the panel. The contacts are stressed to resiliently urge insulative actuating fingers into engagement with a single cam member which, when operated, functions to shift the two rows of contacts simultaneously into engagement with the two rows of traces. The actuating fingers are pivotally mounted to fixed portions of the connector housing by means of relatively thin hinge sections.

13 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures ACTUATED PRINTED CIRCUIT CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a printed circuit board connector and, more particularly, to a cam actuated printed circuit board connector whichis especially suited for use with a panel display. However, the invention may also be utilized with conventional printed circuit boards Prior art printed circuit board connectors have often been concerned with low insertion force of the printed circuit boardinto the connector. Typical low insertion force arrangements are found in the following US. Pat. Nos. 3,329,926; 3,475,717; 3,478,301; 3,495,132; and

3,526,869, all assigned to the assignee of the present patent application. Further, printed circuit board connectors are shown in US. Pat. Nos. 2,811,700; 2,857,557; 3,040,291; and 3,188,598; and British Pat. Nos. 885,040 and 863,049; and French Pat. No. 1,398,310.

Typical cam actuated printed circuit board connectors utilize a single cam with one or two rows of contacts which directly engage the cam. When actuated, the cam urges the contacts into engagement with traces on printed circuit boards adjacent to the contact rows. This arrangement, however, is not suitable for all applications as, for example, when the connector is utilized with a panel display, known in the art as an alpha: numeric display. Such a panel display comprises three partially superposed insulative sheets which are offset from one another to provide three exposed planar edges, two of which have conductive traces thereon. With such a panel, it is necessary to provide a connector which has two rows of contacts disposed at different elevations corresponding to the elevations of the two rows of traces on the panel. Typical cam actuated printed circuit board connectors are not suitable for making electrical engagement with such a panel. It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a printed circuit board connector in which contacts therein are disposed at different elevations, and are simultaneously cam actuated for engaging two rows of conductive traces disposed at different elevations.

On occasion, cam actuated printed circuit board connectors utilize insulative actuating fingers between the cam actuator and the electrical contacts in the connector. Generally these fingers are separable elements, which must be maintained in engagement with the cam by means of separate spring members. Another object of the present invention is to provide a printed circuit board connector which does not utilize separate spring elements for biasing the actuating fingers against the cam, and requires only a minimum number of parts thus reducing manufacturing costs and assembly time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the principal aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printed circuit board connector having a row of contacts mounted in the connector housing with actuating fingers positioned on one side of the contacts. These actuating fingers are connected to the fixed part of the connector housing by integral, relatively thin hinge sections, normally referred to as live" hinges in the art. Cam means is provided on the side of the actuating fingers opposite the contacts. When the cam means is actuated, it shifts the actuating fingers and hence the contacts in a predetermined direction to engage the traces on a printed circuit board mounted adjacent to the connector housing. The contacts are stressed to resiliently urge the actuating fingers into engagement with the cam means thus eliminating the necessity of separate spring members for performing this function. Thus, the connector of the present invention is simple in construction, employs a minimum number of parts, and is inexpensive to manufacture.

According to another aspect of the invention, a second row of contactsv is provided in the connector housing, with actuating fingers disposed between the contacts and the cam means. When the connector is to be employed for making electrical connection to two rows of conductive traces disposed at different elevations on a panel, the two rows of contacts in the connector are disposed at elevations corresponding to the elevations of the traces. The cam means may comprise a single rotatable cam element which engages both the rows of actuating fingers so that upon rotation of this cam element the two rows of contacts are simultaneously shifted into engagement with the traces on the panel. 1

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector of the present invention shown mounted on a printed circuit board, with a display panel located above the connector in position to be mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the connector illustrated in FIG. 1, with the contacts removed therefrom;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, with the display panel shown mounted on top of the connector with the connector contacts shown in their unactuated position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but with the contacts shown in their actuated position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative form of the connector of the present invention, shown mounted on a printed circuit board, with a portion of the connector housing broken away to show the internal details thereof;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5, with a display panel shown mounted on the connector and the connector contacts shown in their unactuated position;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 but with the contacts shown in their actuated position;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view through the connector housing illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, as it appears when initially molded with the actuating fingers disposed outside of the cavity formed in the housing;

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view through another embodiment of a connector housing constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view through another form of a printed circuit board connector embodying some of the novel features of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 14 of the drawings in detail,

there is shown a printed circuit board connector generally designated 10, constructed in accordance with the present invention. The connector comprises a onepiece insulative housing 12 having downwardly depending hubs 14 which frictionally fit into openings 16 in a printed circuit board 18. Screws 20 at opposite ends of the housing 12 may be used in place of, or in addition to, the hubs 14 for securing the housing onto the board 18.

The connector 10 illustrated in FIGS. 14 is particularly suited for making electrical interconnection to an alphanumeric display panel 22 the structure of which is well known in the art and constitutes no part of the present invention. It is only necessary to understand that the vvpanel 22 includes three partially superposed

insulative sheets

24, 26 and 28. The edges of the three sheets are offset from one another, as best seen in FIG. 3, providing a pair of, downwardly facing exposed

surfaces

30 and 32 which are disposed at different elevations. Rows of spaced

conductive traces

34 and 36 are formed on the

surfaces

30 and 32 extending perpendicular to the outer edge 38 of the panel. Only one pair of

such traces

34 and 36 can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

. A pair of polarizing lugs 40 extend upwardly from the opposite ends of the connector housing 12 which extend into complementary apertures 42 in the panel 22 for properly locating the panel with respect to the printed circuit board 18 and connector 10. Typically, with a display panel such as shown at 22, a pair of connectors 10 are utilized, one at each end of the printed circuit board 18, for engaging two rows of conductive traces on the panel 22 at the opposite ends thereof.

The connector-housing 12 is an elongated member including a pair of

vertical sidewalls

44, 45 and a pair of end walls 46, only one being seen in FIG. 1. The

sidewalls

44,45 constitute fixed portions of the connector housing, which are secured to the printed circuit board 18. Two rows of

contacts

48 and 50 are mounted in the housing. The contacts in each row are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing between the

conductive traces

34 and 36 on the panel 22. Each contact is in the form of a fiat, metallic spring blade. Each contact 48 has a fixed lower end 52' which is secured within a vertical aperture 54 in the sidewall 44. The terminal end of each contact 48 extends through a passage 56 in the printed circuit board 18, and is electrically joined to a conductive trace 58 on the lower surface of the board by soldering or the like. The upper end 60 of each contact 48 is bent over at approximately a right angle with respect to the fixed lower end 52 and extends in the direction of the contacts 50. The upper end 60 of the contact terminates in a curved contacting surface 62 for engaging the trace 34.

As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sidewall 45 of the housing has a lower elevation than the sidewall 44. The diffe'rence in elevation of the

sidewalls

44 and 45 corresponds to the difference in elevations of the conductive traces 34 and 36 on the panel 22. The contacts 50 are identical to the contacts 54, except that the fixed lower ends 64 thereof are shorter than the lower ends 52 of the contacts 48. The terminal ends of the fixed portions 64 of contacts 50 are soldered to additional conductive traces 66 on the lower surface of the printed circuit board 18. The upper ends 68 of the contacts 60 are bent over at right angles and extend in the direction toward the contacts 48. Curved contacting surfaces 70 are also provided on the ends of the upper portions of the contacts 50 for engaging the traces 36.

Two rows of actuating

fingers

72 and 74 are provided in the housing 12. One actuating fingeris provided for each

contact

48 and 50. The fingers are integrally molded with the sidewalls of the connector housing, and are hinged relative thereto by means of relatively thin hinged

sections

76 and 78, respectively, which are joined to the upper ends of the sidewalls. The

fingers

72 and 74 extend toward each other from the sidewalls, but their ends are spaced apart to allow the fingers to be movable vertically. Projections 80 are formed on the upper, surfaces 82 of the fingers 72 positioned to engage the upper movable portions 60 of the contacts 48 at a point distant from the contacting surfaces 62, so that upon upward movement of the fingers the contacting surfaces will engage the traces 34 with a high unit force. Likewise, projections 84 are formed on the upper surfaces 86 of the fingers 74 for engaging the upper portions 68 of the contacts 50 at a point distant from the contacting surfaces 70.

The housing 12 is also formed with transverse walls 90 which extend between the sidewalls 44 and 45 and are interposed between the correspondingsets of

fingers

72 and 74. Each'transverse wall has

upper edges

92 and 94 which are disposed at different elevations, the edge 92 being the higher edge which extends above the corresponding contact 48 when the latter is in its unactuated position as seen in FIG. 3. Likewise, the upper edge 94 of each transverse wall adjacent to contact 50 is disposed above the contact when the latter is unactuated, so that the contacts are recessed and protected inthe connector housing when the contacts are not actuated.

A bore 96 extends longitudinally through the connector housing 12, passing through the end walls 46 and the transverse walls 90. A shaft 98 is formed with cylindrical end sections l00 which are rotatably mounted in the part of the bore 96 which extends through the end walls 46. The portion of the shaft 98 between the end walls has an elliptical cross-section defining a cam surface 102.

The lower surfaces 104 and 106 of the actuating

fingers

72 and 74, respectively, lie in the same plane, and engage the shaft 98. Preferably, the fingers are molded tothe sidewalls of the housing so that they will inherently, resiliently engage the surface of the shaft 98. However, with continued or long term use of the connector, the

hinge sections

76 and 78 of the housing which interconnect the actuating fingers to the sidewalls loose their resiliency. Therefore, according to an important feature of the invention, the upper portions 60 and 68 of the

contacts

48 and 50, respectively, are stressed so as to produce a biasing force upon the

contact actuating fingers

72 and 78, urging the fingers into continuous engagement with the surface of the shaft 98. The stressing of the contacts may be accomplished by bending the upper portions of the contacts at an angle of about with respect to the fixed portions before inserting the contacts into the connector housing. Hence, the movable portions will normally bias the actuating fingers toward the cam shaft 98.

The elliptical portion of cam shaft 98, as illustrated in FIG. 3, has its major axis extending horizontally. In this position of the shaft 98, the contacting surfaces of the

contacts

48 and 50 are disposed below the

upper edges

92 and 94, respectively, of the transverse walls of the housing, and hence are out of engagement with the traces on the panel 22. However, when the cam shaft is rotated approximately 90, so that the major axis of the elliptical portion of the shaft is disposed vertically, the cam surface 102 on the shaft simultaneously lifts the actuating fingers, thereby pushing the upper portions of the contacts upwardly into engagement with the two rows of traces on the panel 22. Due to the relative position of the

projections

80 and 84 on the actuating fingers with respect to the contacting surfaces of the contacts, a high unit contacting force is achieved between the contacts and the display panel traces. Contact wipe with the traces, however, is minimized due to to the contact geometry so that the very delicate traces on the panel will not be removed even after long term use of the connector.

Preferably, the cam shaft 98 is rotated 100, that is, over center which prevents the cam from moving due to shock or vibration. Rotation of the cam shaft through a 100 arc is achieved by providing a radially extending lug 107 on the end of the shaft, as seen in FIG. 1. A pair of angular stop surfaces 108 and 109 on the end wall 46 of the housing are positioned to limit the rotation of the shaft within the desired limits. A groove 107a may be provided in the end of the shaft for reception of a suitable tool, such as a screwdriver, for rotating the shaft.

While the

contacts

48 and 50 have been described as being soldered to

traces

58 and 66 on the printed circuit board 18, it will be appreciated that the lower portions of the contacts may be given a larger cross-section and such lower portions could be press-fit into plated through holes in the board 18 which are electrically connected to the

traces

58 and 66. Furthermore, the contacts could be staked into plated through holes.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 58. In this embodiment the basic structure is as previously described and like numbers primed are used to indicate like or corresponding parts. This embodiment differs from the previous one in that the actuating fingers 72' and 74' are connected to the lower ends of the sidewalls 44' and 45', respectively, but the fingers are not directly connected to the sidewalls. The fingers 72' are integrally joined to an elongated longitudinally extending support member 110 which is connected to the lower part of the sidewall 44' by two relatively thin integral hinge sections 76' each located at the opposite ends of the member 110. Likewise, the actuating fingers 74' are joined to a second elongated support member 112 which is hingedly connected to the sidewall 45 by two hinged sections 78' at opposite ends of the member 112. FIG. 8 illustrates the form of the connector housing when it is initially molded. At this time, the

support members

110 and 112 and actuating fingers 72' and 74 are disposed below the main portion of the connector housing 10'. The fingers are then rotated upwardly as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 8 to the position illustrated in FIG. 6, and then the cam shaft 98 is inserted into the housing to retain the actuating fingers in their proper positions, as seen in FIG. 6. In this position, the contacts are in their unactuated position. When the cam shaft 98 is rotated to the position illustrated in FIG. 7, the contacts are actuated in a manner described previously herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates another form'of. an insulator housing which may be used in the connector of the present invention, such as disclosed in FIGS. 1-8. This housing is similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 5-8 and like numbers double-primed are used to indicate like or corresponding parts. In this embodiment, the support members 112" which carry the actuating fingers 72", 74", respectively, are not integral with the sidewalls 44", 45". Instead, the support member 110" is joined to an elongated flat strip 113 by an integral elongated hinge section 76", and the strip is joined to the sidewall 44" by a plurality of spaced upstanding hubs 114 (only one being visible in FIG. 9) which have an interference fit with openings 115 in the bottom of the sidewall. Likewise, the support member 112" is joined to a second flat strip 116 by an integral hinge section 78", and this strip is connected to the sidewall 45" by hubs 117 received in openings 118. Thus, this connector housing consists of three parts. If desired, the

strips

113, 116 may be formed as integral sides of a rectangular framelike element (not shown) underlying the housing, thereby providing a two-piece housing. This embodiment has the advantage that the upper part of the housing having the sidewalls 44", 45" may be made of a material different from that used for the strips and actuating fingers. For example, the upper housing part may be molded from a relatively rigid thermosetting platic while the lower strips and integral fingers may be molded from a more resilient thermoplastic which is preferred for the hinge sections.

While the embodiments disclosed in FIGS. *1-9 are particularly advantageous for making electrical con nections to a multi-layer panel display, it will be apprecited the connector may also be utilized for making electrical connections to conventional printed circuit boards as well. While two sets of contacts are shown in the connector, only one set need be utilized when engaging a single printed circuit board. With two sets of contacts, electrical connections may be made to two printed circuit boards which either overlap each other or are disposed in edgewise fashion over the connector. The novel features of the present invention may also be incorporated in a more conventional form of a printed circuit board connector, as illustrated in FIG. 10, and generally designated 120. The connector 120 comprises a housing 122 having a base 124 which is mounted onto a printed circuit board 126 in any suitable fashion. Two rows of

contacts

128 and 130 are mounted in the base 124, and extend through the board 126. These contacts may be soldered to traces on the bottom of the board, or press-fit in plated through holes, not shown. Two rows of

contact actuating fingers

132 and 134 are mounted in the housing between the

contacts

128 and 130. These fingers are joined to the base of the housing by integral, thin hinge sections 136 and 138. A cam shaft 140 similar to the shaft 98 described hereinbefore, is mounted in the housing between the actuating

fingers

132 and 140. The upper portions of the

contacts

128 and 130 extending above the base 124 are stressed to bias the

fingers

132 and 140 into engagement with the cam shaft 140. When the shaft is rotated to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 10, the actuating fingers 134 push the contacts outwardly into engagement with a conductive trace 142 on a printed circuit board 144 mounted adjacent to the sidewall 146 of the housing. Other modifications and variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. A connector for a panel having a plurality of conductive traces thereon comprising:

an elongated insulative housing including a longitudinally extending fixed portion;

a plurality of contacts in said housing each having one end thereof fixed with respect to said fixed housing portion and spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing of said traces;

said housing having a plurality of spaced actuating fingers one for each said contact, said actuating fingers each being connected to said fixed housing portion by a relatively thin hinge section, each said actuating finger having a first side and an opposite second side;

the other ends of said contacts lying adjacent to said first side of said actuating fingers;

cam means in said housing positioned on said second side of said actuating fingers, movement of said cam means in a predetermined direction causing said fingers to shift said contacts in a first direction for engagement with said conductive traces when said panel is positioned adjacent to said contacts; and

said other ends of said contacts being stressed to resiliently urge said fingers into engagement with said cam means.

2. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said hinge section is integral with said actuating fingers and said fixed housing portion.

3. In a printed circuit board connector having an insulative housing including a fixed portion, a row of contacts in said housing each having one end thereof fixed with respect to said fixed housing portion, movable actuating means in said housing having one side lying adjacent to the other end of said contacts and cam means in said housing positioned adjacent to the side of said actuating means opposite to said one side, movement of said cam means in a predetermined direction causing said actuating means to shift said contacts in a first direction for engagement with a conductive trace on a printed circuit board positioned adjacent to said contacts, the improvement which comprises:

said actuating means comprising a plurality of movable fingers one for each said contact, said fingers being connected to said fixed housing portion by a relatively thin hinge section; and

4. A connector as set forth in claim 3 including:

an elongated movable support member in said housing; and

said actuating fingers and hinge section being integral with said support member.

5. A connector as set forth in claim 4 wherein: said hinge section is also integral with said fixed housing portion.

6. A connector as set forth in claim 4 including:

an elongated strip separable from said fixed housing portion, said hinge section being integral with said strip; and

means connecting said stripto said fixed housing portion. 1

7. A-c onnector for a panel having a pair of partially superposed sheets each provided with an exposed row of traces thereon facing in the same direction comprising:

two rows of contacts in said housing each arranged to engage a respective one of said rows of said traces. each said contact having one end thereof fixed with respect to said fixed housing portion;

said housing having two rows of spaced actuating fingers one for eachsaid row of contacts, said actuating fingers being connected to said fixed housing portion by a relatively thin hinge section, each said actuating finger having a first side and an opposite second side;

the other ends of saidcontacts in said two rows of contacts being disposed at different elevations corresponding generally to the elevations of said rows of traces and lying adjacent to said first sides of said actuating fingers;

cam means in said housing positioned on said second sides of said actuating fingers, movement of said cam means in a predetermined direction causing said fingers to shift said contacts in both said rows of contacts in a first direction for engagement with said conductive traces when said panel is positioned adjacent to said contacts; and

8. A connector as set forth in claim 7 wherein:

said second sides of said actuating fingers of said two rows of actuating fingers lie in essentially the same plane; and v said cam means comprises a single rotatable shaft extending longitudinally in said housing adjacent to said second sides of said actuating fingers, said shaft embodying a cam surface engageable with said second sides whereby said actuating fingers may be actuated simultaneously by said cam surface upon rotation of said shaft.

9. A connector as set forth in claim 7 wherein:

said longitudinally extending fixed portion of said housing comprises a pair of vertical sidewalls, said one end of said contacts in each said row of contacts being mounted in a respective one of said sidewalls;

said two rows of actuating fingers being connected by said hinge sections to said sidewalls and extending laterally toward each other; and

said other ends of said contacts of said two rows of contacts extending laterally over their respective rows of actuating fingers;

10. A connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein:

said sidewalls have different elevations and each having an upper edge; and

said two rows of actuating fingers are connected by said hinge sections to the respective upper edges of said sidewalls.

11. A connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein:

said sidewalls have lower edges; and

said two rows of actuating fingers are connected by said hinge sections to-said lower edges of said sidewalls.

12. A connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein:

said housing includes transverse walls extending between said sidewalls and disposed between adjacent actuating-finge-rs in each row of said actuating fingers.

13. A connector asset forth in claim 12 wherein:

9 10 one of said sidewalls is higher than the other sidewall; upper edges of said transverse walls, and extending said transverse walls have relatively higher and lower above said higher upper edges upon movement of upper edges, said higher upper edges being adjasaid cam means in said predetermined direction; cent to said higher sidewall and said lower upper and edges being adjacent to said other sidewall, said other ends of said contacts of said row of said other ends of said contacts in said row of contacts of lower elevation being normally discontacts mounted in said higher sidewall being at posed below said lower upper edges of said transan elevation higher than that of the other ends of verse walls, and extending above said lower upper said contacts in the other row of contacts; edges upon movement of said cam means in said said other ends of said contacts in said higher sidepredetermined direction.

wall being normally disposed below said higher

Claims

1. A connector for a panel having a plurality of conductive traces thereon comprising: an elongated insulative housing including a longitudinally extending fixed portion; a plurality of contacts in said housing each having one end thereof fixed with respect to said fixed housing portion and spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing of said traces; said housing having a plurality of spaced actuating fingers one for each said contact, said actuating fingers each being connected to said fixed housing portion by a relatively thin hinge section, each said actuating finger having a first side and an opposite second side; the other ends of said contacts lying adjacent to said first side of said actuating fingers; cam means in said housing positioned on said second side of said actuating fingers, movement of said cam means in a predetermined direction causing said fingers to shift said contacts in a first direction for engagement with said conductive traces when said panel is positioned adjacent to said contacts; and said other ends of said contacts being stressed to resiliently urge said fingers into engagement with said cam means.

2. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said hinge section is integral with said actuating fingers and said fixed housing portion.

3. In a printed circuit board connector having an insulative housing including a fixed portion, a row of contacts in said housing each having one end thereof fixed with respect to said fixed housing portion, movable actuating means in said housing having one side lying adjacent to the other end of said contacts and cam means in said housing positioned adjacent to the side of said actuating means opposite to said one side, movement of said cam means in a predetermined Direction causing said actuating means to shift said contacts in a first direction for engagement with a conductive trace on a printed circuit board positioned adjacent to said contacts, the improvement which comprises: said actuating means comprising a plurality of movable fingers one for each said contact, said fingers being connected to said fixed housing portion by a relatively thin hinge section; and said other ends of said contacts being stressed to resiliently urge said fingers into engagement with said cam means.

4. A connector as set forth in claim 3 including: an elongated movable support member in said housing; and said actuating fingers and hinge section being integral with said support member.

6. A connector as set forth in claim 4 including: an elongated strip separable from said fixed housing portion, said hinge section being integral with said strip; and means connecting said strip to said fixed housing portion.

7. A connector for a panel having a pair of partially superposed sheets each provided with an exposed row of traces thereon facing in the same direction comprising: an elongated insulative housing including a longitudinally extending fixed portion; two rows of contacts in said housing each arranged to engage a respective one of said rows of said traces, each said contact having one end thereof fixed with respect to said fixed housing portion; said housing having two rows of spaced actuating fingers one for each said row of contacts, said actuating fingers being connected to said fixed housing portion by a relatively thin hinge section, each said actuating finger having a first side and an opposite second side; the other ends of said contacts in said two rows of contacts being disposed at different elevations corresponding generally to the elevations of said rows of traces and lying adjacent to said first sides of said actuating fingers; cam means in said housing positioned on said second sides of said actuating fingers, movement of said cam means in a predetermined direction causing said fingers to shift said contacts in both said rows of contacts in a first direction for engagement with said conductive traces when said panel is positioned adjacent to said contacts; and said other ends of said contacts being stressed to resiliently urge said fingers into engagement with said cam means.

8. A connector as set forth in claim 7 wherein: said second sides of said actuating fingers of said two rows of actuating fingers lie in essentially the same plane; and said cam means comprises a single rotatable shaft extending longitudinally in said housing adjacent to said second sides of said actuating fingers, said shaft embodying a cam surface engageable with said second sides whereby said actuating fingers may be actuated simultaneously by said cam surface upon rotation of said shaft.

9. A connector as set forth in claim 7 wherein: said longitudinally extending fixed portion of said housing comprises a pair of vertical sidewalls, said one end of said contacts in each said row of contacts being mounted in a respective one of said sidewalls; said two rows of actuating fingers being connected by said hinge sections to said sidewalls and extending laterally toward each other; and said other ends of said contacts of said two rows of contacts extending laterally over their respective rows of actuating fingers.

10. A connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein: said sidewalls have different elevations and each having an upper edge; and said two rows of actuating fingers are connected by said hinge sections to the respective upper edges of said sidewalls.

11. A connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein: said sidewalls have lower edges; and said two rows of actuating fingers are connected by said hinge sections to said lower edges of said sidewalls.

12. A connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein: said housing includes transverse walls extending between said sidewalls and disposed between adjacent actuating fingers in each row of said actuating fingers.

13. A connector as set forth in claim 12 wherein: one of said sidewalls is higher than the other sidewall; said transverse walls have relatively higher and lower upper edges, said higher upper edges being adjacent to said higher sidewall and said lower upper edges being adjacent to said other sidewall; said other ends of said contacts in said row of contacts mounted in said higher sidewall being at an elevation higher than that of the other ends of said contacts in the other row of contacts; said other ends of said contacts in said higher sidewall being normally disposed below said higher upper edges of said transverse walls, and extending above said higher upper edges upon movement of said cam means in said predetermined direction; and said other ends of said contacts of said row of contacts of lower elevation being normally disposed below said lower upper edges of said transverse walls, and extending above said lower upper edges upon movement of said cam means in said predetermined direction.