Patent
Edgecard circuit board
| العنوان: | Edgecard circuit board |
|---|---|
| Patent Number: | 5,772,448 |
| تاريخ النشر: | June 30, 1998 |
| Appl. No: | 08/631,606 |
| Application Filed: | April 02, 1996 |
| مستخلص: | A printed circuit board that includes contact slider regions between conductive pads on the printed circuit board is disclosed. The printed circuit board is particularly suited for high density situations. According to one embodiment, a printed circuit board according to the invention includes a connection edge for insertion into a connector, a first row of conductive pads disposed on one or both sides of the printed circuit board proximate to the connection edge and extending away therefrom in a predetermined direction, and a row of slider regions disposed on one or both sides of the printed circuit board proximate to the connection edge and extending away therefrom in the predetermined direction, the slider regions being interposed between the conductive pads of the first row. The printed circuit board according to the invention is not only more reliable and easier to manufacture, but it also wears substantially better than previously designed high density circuit boards. |
| Inventors: | Ekrot, Alexander Craig (Humble, TX); Elkhoury, Bassam Nakhle (Spring, TX) |
| Assignees: | Compaq Computer Corporation (Houston, TX) |
| Claim: | What is claimed is |
| Claim: | 1. A printed circuit board for use with an edgecard connector, said printed circuit board comprising |
| Claim: | a connection edge for insertion into an edgecard connector in an insertion direction; |
| Claim: | a first row of metal conductive pads disposed on one or both sides of said printed circuit board adjacent to said connection edge and extending away therefrom in a direction opposite the insertion direction; |
| Claim: | a second row of metal conductive pads disposed on one or both sides of said printed circuit board adjacent to said first row of metal conductive pads and extending away therefrom in a direction opposite the insertion direction, the metal conductive pads of sa id second row being staggered with respect to the metal conductive pads of said first row; and |
| Claim: | a row of solder mask regions disposed on one or both sides of said printed circuit board adjacent to said connection edge and extending away therefrom in a direction opposite the insertion direction, the solder mask regions being discrete regions interposed between the metal conductive pads of the first row so that each of the solder mask regions are in line with one of the metal conductive pads of said second row in the direction opposite the insertion direction, and the solder mask regions having a substantially uniform height a long the direction opposite the insertion direction. |
| Claim: | 2. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 1, wherein the solder mask regions have a convex cross-section. |
| Claim: | 3. A printed circuit board a s recited in claim 2, wherein the convex cross-section of solder mask regions operate to direct contacts of the edgecard connector to the corresponding conductive pads of said first row. |
| Claim: | 4. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 1, wherein the solder mask regions have a concave cross-section. |
| Claim: | 5. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 4, wherein the concave cross- section of the solder mask regions operate to channel contacts of the edgecard connector to the corresponding metal conductive pads of said second row. |
| Claim: | 6. A printed circuit board for use with an edgecard connector, said printed circuit board comprising |
| Claim: | a second row of metal conductive pads disposed on one or both sides of said printed circuit board adjacent to said first row of metal conductive pads and extending away therefrom in a direction opposite the insertion direction, the metal conductive pads of said second row being staggered and isolated from the metal conductive pads of said first row; and |
| Claim: | a row of electrically isolated conductive regions disposed on one or both sides of said printed circuit board adjacent to said connection edge and extending away therefrom in a direction opposite the insertion direction, the electrically isolated conductive regions being discrete regions interposed between the metal conductive pads of the first row so that each of the electrically isolated conductive regions are in line with one of the metal conductive pads of said second row in the direction opposite the insertion direction, the electrically isolated conductive regions also being electrically isolated from the metal conductive pads of the first and second rows, and the electrically isolated conductive regions having a substantially uniform height along the direction opposite the insertion direction. |
| Claim: | 7. A printed circuit board for use with a connector, said printed circuit board comprising |
| Claim: | a connection edge for insertion into the connector; |
| Claim: | a first row of conductive pads disposed on one or both sides of said printed circuit board proximate to said connection edge and extending away therefrom in a predetermined direction; |
| Claim: | a second row of conductive pads disposed on one or both sides of said printed circuit board proximate to said first row of conductive pads and extending away therefrom in the predetermined direction; and |
| Claim: | a row of discrete slider regions disposed on one or both sides of said printed circuit board proximate to said connection edge and extending away therefrom in the predetermined direction, said slider regions being interposed between the conductive pads of said first row |
| Claim: | wherein the connector includes a plurality of contacts |
| Claim: | wherein the conductive pads of said second row are staggered with respect to the conductive pads of said first row, and each of the conductive pads of said second row is above, in the predetermined direction, one of said slider regions, and |
| Claim: | wherein said discrete slider regions am individually formed and provide low abrasive, non-conductive surfaces that are traversed, during insertion of said printed circuit board into the connector, by a plurality of the contacts of the connector that are to electrically connect to the conductive pads of said second row, and said discrete slider regions have a substantially uniform height along the predetermined direction. |
| Claim: | 8. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 7, wherein, during insertion of said printed circuit board into the connector, no ramping action is provided as the low abrasive, nonconductive surfaces are traversed. |
| Claim: | 9. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 7, wherein said slider regions comprise solder mask. |
| Claim: | 10. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 9, wherein the conductive pads of said first and second rows comprise a layer of gold. |
| Claim: | 11. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 9, wherein said slider regions have a convex cross-section which serves to direct contacts of the connector to the corresponding conductive pads of said first row. |
| Claim: | 12. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 9, wherein said slider regions have a concave cross-section which serves to channel contacts of the connector to the corresponding conductive pads of said second row. |
| Claim: | 13. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 7, wherein the height of said discrete slider regions is substantially the same height as the height of the conductive pads of said second row. |
| Claim: | 14. A printed circuit board as recited in claim 13, wherein the height of said discrete slider regions is about 1/2 to 3 mils and the height of the conductive pads of said second row is about 4 to 6 mils. |
| Claim: | 15. A method for fabricating a printed circuit board having conductive pads proximate to an edge of the printed circuit board, said method comprising |
| Claim: | (a) fabricating a first row of conductive pads proximate to the edge of the printed circuit board; |
| Claim: | (b) fabricating a second row of conductive pads proximate to the first row of the printed circuit board, the conductive pads of the second row being staggered from the conductive pads of the first row; and |
| Claim: | (c) fabricating individual slider regions between the conductive pads of the first row and in line with the conductive pads of the second row, the individual slider regions provide low abrasive, non-conductive surfaces with a substantially uniform height over which certain contacts of a connector slide when the printed circuit board is inserted into the connector. |
| Claim: | 16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the printed circuit board is a high density edgecard circuit board, and |
| Claim: | wherein said fabricating (c) places the slider regions on the printed circuit board with a separation gap between the conductive pads of the first row adjacent thereto. |
| Claim: | 17. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein, during insertion of said printed circuit board into the connector, no ramping action is provided as the low abrasive, nonconductive surfaces of the slider regions are traversed. |
| Claim: | 18. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the height of the slider regions is substantially the same height as the height of the conductive pads of the second row. |
| Claim: | 19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the height of the slider regions is about 1/2 to 3 mils and the height of the conductive pads of the second row is about 4 to 6 mils. |
| Current U.S. Class: | 439/60; 439/951 |
| Current International Class: | H01R 909 |
| Patent References Cited: | 3160455 December 1964 Mayon et al. 3858957 January 1975 Harwood et al. 4018495 April 1977 Freitag 4303291 December 1981 Dines 4736275 April 1988 Kendall et al. 4806103 February 1989 Kniese et al. 5236372 August 1993 Yunoki et al. 5270903 December 1993 McMichen et al. 5468920 November 1995 August 5492478 February 1996 White |
| Other References: | Robert Bendorf, "AMP High Speed Standard Edge Connector, Land Configurations", Dec. 12, 1995, AMP Incorporated. "Connector Assembly, Dual Position, High Speed, Standard Edge" (Doc. No. 536249), Jun. 17, 1994, AMP Incorporated. |
| Primary Examiner: | Abrams, Neil |
| Assistant Examiner: | Patel, T. C. |
| Attorney, Agent or Firm: | Hickman Beyer & Weaver, LLP |
| رقم الانضمام: | edspgr.05772448 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | USPTO Patent Grants |
| الوصف غير متاح. |