1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power connector, and particularly to a power connector having improved contacts.
2. Description of Prior Art
Commonly, an electronic power connector system is used in circuit board or backplane interconnection systems and comprises a power plug connector and a power receptacle connector mated with the plug connector. The power plug connector comprises a plurality of logic or signal plug contacts and power plug contacts to mate with respective signal receptacle contacts and power receptacle contacts of the receptacle connector, respectively, for transmitting logic signals and power between two circuit boards or backplanes. Such power connectors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,471 and EP No. 0951102 A2. Referring to FIG. 6, a one-piece plug contact 60 disclosed in the EP No. 0951102 A2 for use in a power connector comprises a pair of contact plates 62 and a pair of bridging portions 64 linking the two contact plates 62 together. Each contact plate 62 comprises a pair of contact fingers 66 forming a converging extending, arcuate contact section 67 gold plated for conductively contacting against the receptacle contact. Additionally, a plurality of posts 68 depend from a bottom edge of the contact plate 62 for soldering to a circuit board (not shown). However, the plated layers on the contact sections 67 are easily broken off during hot plugging into the receptacle connector since they are relative thin, thereby adversely affecting the conductive connection between the plug and receptacle contacts. Additionally, the plug contact 60 is formed by being stamped from a conductive plate and then being folded along the bridging portions 64 thereof, therefore the manufacturing process thereof is relatively complicated.
Hence, an electronic power connector having improved plug contacts is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A first object of the present invention is to provide an electrical power connector having improved conductive contacts which provide improved electrical interconnection with receptacle contacts of a receptacle connector.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an electrical power connector having improved conductive contacts which are easily manufactured and low in cost.
An electrical power connector for use in a circuit board or backplane system comprises an insulative housing defining a chamber and an opening opened in a front wall thereof and communicating with the chamber, and a pair of separated conductive contacts received in the chamber. A pair of protrusions extend from opposite sides of the front wall into the opening. Each contact includes a contact plate, a pair of longer contact fingers and a pair of shorter contact fingers between the longer contact fingers both extending from a front side of the contact plate and form longer and shorter contact sections, respectively. Outside surfaces of the contact sections are gold plated for conductively contacting against a corresponding receptacle contact of a receptacle connector. The contact plate forms a blocking tab extending at a right angle from a rear edge thereof in a direction opposite to the plated outside surfaces for insertion between the protrusions of the housing.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds