US 11,811,157 B2
Printed circuit board edge connector
Arnold Thomas Schnell, Hutto, TX (US); Ahsan Habib, Round Rock, TX (US); and Man Tak Ho, Austin, TX (US)
Assigned to Dell Products L.P., Round Rock, TX (US)
Filed by Dell Products L.P., Round Rock, TX (US)
Filed on Mar. 3, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/653,374.
Prior Publication US 2023/0282999 A1, Sep. 7, 2023
Int. Cl. H01R 12/72 (2011.01); H01R 12/73 (2011.01); H01R 43/26 (2006.01)
CPC H01R 12/721 (2013.01) [H01R 12/732 (2013.01); H01R 43/26 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An edge connector for coplanar coupling of two printed circuit boards (PCBs) into a printed circuit board assembly (PCA), the edge connector comprising:
an elongated body comprising:
a compression contact space;
two PCB contact surfaces, wherein a first PCB contact surface is opposite a second PCB contact surface; and
a plurality of contact positions, wherein a first set of the plurality of contact positions is on the first PCB contact surface and a second set of the plurality of contact positions is on the second PCB contact surface;
a plurality of compression contacts positioned in the compression contact space, wherein each compression contact comprises conductive material and is configured with a first portion that extends through a contact position of the first set of contact positions and a second portion that extends through a contact position of the second set of contact positions;
a first end structure on a first end of the elongated body; and
a second end structure on a second end of the elongated body, wherein
a top contact extending in a first direction from the first end structure and a top contact extending in the first direction from the second end structure are configured for contact with a first surface of a first PCB; and
a bottom contact extending in the first direction from the first end structure and a bottom contact extending in the first direction from the second end structure are configured for contact with a second surface of the first PCB opposite the first surface of the first PCB, wherein
the top contact on the first end structure and the bottom contact on the first end structure form a first contact pair on the first end structure, the top contact on the second end structure and the bottom contact on the second end structure form a first contact pair on the second end structure, and the first contact pair on the first end structure and the first contact pair on the second end structure couple the edge connector to the first PCB;
a top contact extending in a second direction from the first end structure and a top contact extending in the second direction from the second end structure are configured for contact with a first surface of a second PCB; and
a bottom contact extending in the second direction from the first end structure and a bottom contact extending in the second direction from the second end structure are configured for contact with a second surface of the second PCB opposite the first surface of the second PCB, wherein
the top contact extending in the second direction from the first end structure and the bottom contact extending in the second direction from the first end structure form a second contact pair on the first end structure, the top contact extending in the second direction from the second end structure and the bottom contact extending in the second direction from the second end structure form a second contact pair on the second end structure, and the second contact pair on the first end structure and the second contact pair on the second end structure couple the edge connector to the second PCB.