Floating Connector Module Structure for Thin PCB Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electrical connection structures on circuit boards and pluggable devices face challenges in achieving high transmission speeds due to the need for precise alignment, which often requires additional guide frames, increasing overall height and failing to meet thinning requirements.
Innovation Solution
A connection module with a card edge connector on a main circuit board, a hard circuit board featuring disconnecting notches that separate into floating plates, and connectors fixed to these plates, allowing for precise alignment and floating without an additional guide frame, thereby reducing overall height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a flexible circuit board is used to allow connectors to float for precise alignment, then alignment precision is improved, but an additional guide frame is needed which increases overall height
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the guide frame function with the hard circuit board itself by integrating guide ribs directly into the board structure. The guide ribs protrude from the board surface to provide alignment guidance, eliminating the need for a separate guide frame while maintaining precise alignment capability. This consolidation reduces overall height while preserving the floating connector functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the guide frame as a separate component and removes it entirely by integrating its guidance function into the hard circuit board through guide ribs. The guide ribs are formed as integral parts of the board structure, providing the necessary alignment guidance without requiring an additional external frame, thus reducing overall height while maintaining precision.
2Speed
If multiple connectors are provided simultaneously on pluggable devices to improve transmission speed, then transmission speed is improved, but precise alignment between connectors becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces guide ribs as intermediary structures that mediate between the hard circuit board and the pluggable device. These guide ribs provide physical guidance and constraint during the plugging process, ensuring that multiple connectors align precisely with their counterparts. The guide ribs act as intermediaries that facilitate simultaneous accurate alignment of multiple connection points.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the hard circuit board into multiple floating plates separated by disconnecting notches, with each plate supporting individual connectors. This segmentation allows each connector to float independently on its respective plate, enabling precise alignment of multiple connectors simultaneously through the guide ribs while maintaining the ability to adjust each connector's position independently.
3Manufacturing precision
If a guide frame is added to guide floating connectors for precise alignment, then alignment precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the guide frame functionality into the hard circuit board structure by forming guide ribs as integral parts of the board. This consolidation eliminates the need for a separate guide frame component, reducing structural complexity while maintaining the alignment guidance function. The guide ribs are molded or formed directly into the board, creating a unified structure rather than multiple assembled parts.
Data Source
AI summary
A connection module is disposed in a main circuit board and includes a card edge connector, a hard circuit board and two connectors. The card edge connector is fixedly disposed on the main circuit board. The hard circuit board has a board body and a connecting tongue for correspondingly plugging with the card edge connector. The board body is configured with a disconnecting notch, and the board body is separated by the disconnecting notch into two floating plates arranged side by side at an interval and floatable using the disconnecting notch. The connectors are respectively fixed to the floating plates. Thus, without needing an additional guide frame, the connectors are enabled to float in any desired direction, thereby achieving effects of reducing an overall height and satisfying current thinning requirements.