The present invention relates to an improved interface card connector, and more particularly to an interface card connector which does not need conventional insertion terminals and includes a PC board having an extended insertion portion for directly inserting into a matching connector.
An interface card connector is used for interconnecting an interface card to another peripheral equipment. Connectors for such purpose further include male and female connectors to effect the connection.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective of a conventional interface card connector. As shown, the connector includes at least a plastic main body 1, a plurality of insertion terminals 2, and a PC board 3. The plastic main body 1 is formed of a plurality of terminal insertion holes 11 arranged in two corresponding rows, namely, an upper and a lower row. A portion of the plastic main body 1 between the upper and the lower rows of terminal insertion holes 11 extends and projects forward from the plastic main body 1 to form an insertion portion 12. The insertion portion 12 is provided on its top and bottom surfaces with terminal grooves 13 corresponding to the terminal insertion holes 11. The plastic main body 1 is provided at two sides with two protective walls 14 which symmetrically extend backward from the plastic main body 1. Two guiding channels 15 are separately provided on inner surfaces of the two protective walls 14, such that the guiding channels 15 are correspondingly located between the two rows of terminal insertion holes 11. The PC board 3 may be guided by the two guiding channels 15 to insert into the plastic main body 1. The insertion terminals 2 are formed by punching, bending, and cutting a strip of material into a desired shape and are inserted into the terminal insertion holes 11 in advance. The PC board 3 is an interface card manufactured depending on actual need. A plurality of conductor contacts 31 are provided on front top and bottom surfaces of the PC board 3 to respectively correspond to the insertion terminals 2 inserted in the upper and lower rows of terminal insertion holes 11.
FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective of the conventional interface card connector of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view taken on line A--A of FIG. 2. As shown, the PC board 3 is pushed forward to insert into the two guiding channels 15 extending backward from the plastic main body 1 until a front end of the PC board 3 presses against a rear end surface of the plastic main body 1. At this point, a front portion of the PC board 3 is clamped between terminals 2 separately inserted in the upper and lower rows of terminal insertion holes 11. The contacts 31 on front top and bottom surfaces of the PC board 3 are electrically connected to the terminals 2 by soldering. Whereby, the PC board 3 is indirectly connected to a peripheral equipment via the insertion portion 12 of the plastic main body 1 inserted into a matching connector.
Following drawbacks are found in the above-described conventional interface card connector structure:
1. The PC board 3 is electrically connected to the terminals 2 by soldering the contacts 31 on the PC board 3 to the terminals 2. However, the terminals 2 are manufactured from very complicate procedures and the soldering requires considerably high skill. PA1 2. The plastic main body 1 must be preformed with terminal insertion holes 11 and the terminals 2 must be inserted into the terminal insertion holes 11 correctly. All these must be completed with additional time and labors. PA1 3. The plastic main body 1 must have a forward extended insertion portion 12 on which multiple terminal grooves 13 must be formed. Therefore, additional material and labors are needed to form the insertion portion 12.