IP Library › Granted Patent US 7,278,861
Granted Patent B2
US 7,278,861 · App. 11/634,936 · Granted Oct 9, 2007

Connector assembly

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,278,861
App. No.
11/634,936
Granted
Oct 9, 2007
Kind
B2
Abstract

This connector assembly comprises a header ( 1 ) and a socket ( 2 ). The header ( 1 ) has a header contact member ( 4 ) with a first contact piece ( 41 ) and a second contact piece ( 42 ), and the socket ( 2 ) has a socket contact member ( 6 ) with a first contact piece ( 64 ) and a second contact piece ( 66 ). The first contact piece ( 64 ) of the socket contact member ( 6 ) has a first protrusion ( 64 a ) and the first contact piece ( 41 ) of the header contact member ( 4 ) has a second protrusion ( 41 a ), and the first protrusion ( 64 a ) and the second protrusion ( 41 a ) constitute a lock mechanism when the header is inserted into the socket. The second contact piece ( 42 ) of the header contact member ( 4 ) has a concave portion ( 42 a ) in a surface for making contact with the second contact piece ( 66 ). When the second contact pieces ( 42 ) and ( 66 ) make contact with each other, a gap is formed between the second contact piece ( 66 ) and an inner surface of the concave portion ( 42 a ).

Claims (13)

1. A connector assembly comprising:

a header: said header having a header body made of an insulating material and a header contact member made of a conductive material and held by said header body;

a socket: said socket having a socket body made of an insulating material and having a connective concave portion into which said header body is inserted and a socket contact member made of a conductive material and held by said socket body so that it is in contact with said header contact member inside said connective concave portion when said header body is inserted into said connective concave portion;

wherein

said socket contact member has a first contact piece and a second contact piece which are provided in a spaced relation to each other in a direction perpendicular to an insertion direction of said header so that they each can make contact with said header contact member,

said header contact member having a first contact piece configured to make contact with said first contact piece of said socket contact member and a second contact piece configured to make contact with said second contact piece of said socket contact member,

one first contact piece of said socket contact member and said header contact member having a first protrusion elastically projecting in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of said header and the other first contact piece of said socket contact member and said header contact member having a second protrusion configured to climb over said first protrusion when said header body is inserted into said connective concave portion, said first protrusion and said second protrusion constituting a lock mechanism by engaging with each other when said header body is inserted into said connective concave portion,

one second contact piece of said socket contact member and said header contact member having a concave portion in a surface which is for making contact with the other second contact piece,

a gap being formed between said the other second contact piece and an inner surface of said concave portion of said one second contact piece when said one second contact piece makes contact with said the other second contact piece.

2. The connector assembly as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said the other second contact piece has a connective protrusion which partly gets in said concave portion of said one second contact piece and makes contact with edges on opposite sides of an opening of said concave portion in the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the header,

an angle which tangent planes of said connective protrusion at contact locations between said connective protrusion and the edges of said concave portion form with each other being larger than an angle which tangent planes of the inner surfaces of said concave portion at the contact locations form with each other.

3. The connector assembly as set forth in claim 2 , wherein said header contact member or said socket contact member that has said connective protrusion is formed from a metal plate,

said connective protrusion being formed at one end of said metal plate.