Adjustable Height Data Transmission Contacts for Warpage Compensation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Surface mount technology in electrical connectors faces challenges due to warpage in circuit boards, leading to misalignment and insufficient normal force for proper electrical connections, exacerbated by increased connector footprint sizes.
Innovation Solution
A board-to-board electrical connector assembly with data transmission contacts having adjustable heights, allowing for variable positions to accommodate non-coplanar warpage profiles of circuit boards, ensuring proper alignment and contact integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If connector footprint size is increased to provide more contacts, then contact quantity increases, but alignment problems due to warpage are exacerbated
Solution Approach 1:
The contact array is divided into multiple zones (first zone, second zone, third zone) with different contact heights. This segmentation allows each zone to independently accommodate local warpage variations, enabling the connector to maintain alignment precision across a larger footprint while providing increased contact quantity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the contact array are assigned different heights based on the expected warpage profile. The first zone has contacts at a first height, the second zone has contacts at a second height, and the third zone has contacts at a third height. This local quality variation allows the connector to compensate for non-uniform warpage across the large footprint area.
2Adaptability or versatility
If beam contacts are designed with deflection capability to accommodate alignment, then adaptability to warpage improves, but excessive warpage positions contacts outside working range leading to insufficient normal force
Solution Approach 1:
The contacts are pre-positioned at different heights during manufacturing to anticipate and compensate for expected warpage. By establishing the correct initial positions before assembly, the contacts remain within their working deflection range even when warpage occurs, ensuring reliable electrical connections are maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The beam contacts are designed with controlled deflection capabilities that allow them to dynamically adapt to warpage within their working range. The different heights create a dynamic system where each contact can deflect appropriately to maintain contact force, preventing the system from reaching a static failure state where normal force becomes insufficient.
3Manufacturing precision
If socket connector is designed to meet flatness requirements, then mating precision improves, but warpage in host circuit board transfers to socket connector causing misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The contact height parameter is varied across different zones of the array to compensate for warpage. By changing the height parameter locally rather than maintaining uniform flatness, the connector adapts to the non-planar conditions caused by host circuit board warpage while maintaining precise mating capability.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector assembly includes a contact organizer having a substrate having a lower surface facing the host circuit board and an upper surface facing a component circuit board. The electrical connector includes data transmission contacts each including a main body, a upper mating element extending from the main body top mated to the component circuit board, and a lower mating element extending from the main body bottom soldered to the host circuit board. The main body includes a main body length between the top and the bottom and an adjustable height section to adjust a height of the main body between the top and the bottom. The adjustable height sections of the data transmission contacts are varied to adjust vertical positions of at least one of the upper mating element or the lower mating element such that the contacts have variable heights.