JP2622937B2 - Multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with filter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to electrical connector assemblies and, more particularly, to a multi-terminal electrical connector assembly having terminal alignment means and filter means such as a ferrite block.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Electrical circuits are often used in environments where electromagnetic interference (EMI), radio frequency interference (RFI), electrostatic discharge (ESD), and / or electromagnetic interruptions (EMP) must be protected from circuit breaks and noise. You. Such applications range from high-frequency pulse circuits such as computers to automobiles, and in the case of computers, signals that cause high-frequency or electromagnetic interference in nearby wireless devices and other electronic devices are generated. On the other hand, in the case of an automobile, the device must be protected against power surges and electromagnetic pulses due to electrostatic discharge. This is because a high voltage generated by an electrostatic discharge or an electromagnetic pulse may damage a voltage-sensitive integrated circuit or the like.

[0003] One environment where such problems frequently occur is as follows:
A control circuit of a motor vehicle in which electronic devices, including computer circuits, are adapted to control, monitor or interconnect all kinds of electrical circuits in the operating system. The present invention is directed to such applications, and in particular, "under the hood" of automobiles and other vehicles with multiple electrical wiring.
It relates to the electrical connector assembly used. In fact, these electrical connector assemblies use as many as 80 terminals.

[0004]

In the above environment, filter means for suppressing EMI and RFI, and other unwanted signals that may occur in EMP and ESD faults or in circuits terminated to electrical connectors. It is desired to provide an electrical connector assembly provided with a transient suppressing means for suppressing the occurrence of the electric connector. In response to such demands, proposals have been made for a connector with a filter disclosed in JP-A-5-29043 and a connector device disclosed in JP-A-5-29042. However,
The use of filter components in an electrical connector assembly introduces manufacturing and assembly problems because the electrical connector assembly is unduly complicated and significantly increases the cost of assembling the electrical connector assembly. In very high volume production environments, such as automobiles, cost requirements are very important.
Also, in high-density electrical connector assemblies, such as automotive main connector assemblies, the terminals are aligned at the proper spacing or pitch and the pins or tail portions of the terminals are protected during manufacture, assembly and use. Consideration must be taken into account. This is especially true when attaching the electrical connector assembly to a printed circuit board. However, the terminal alignment components further increase the complexity and cost of the electrical connector assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves a number of the aforementioned known problems and provides a multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with filter means and terminal alignment means that is very simple and easy to manufacture and assemble. Pointed.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with a filter as described above.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with a filter according to the present invention has a housing provided with a plurality of terminal receiving passages, and a tail portion which is received in the terminal receiving passages and whose tail projects from the rear surface of the housing. A multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with a filter comprising a plurality of terminals and a chip capacitor and ferrite filter block operatively associated with each terminal.

The housing comprises an outer die-cast housing and a dielectric insert molded inside the die-cast housing and forming the terminal receiving passage. A plurality of chips are provided on the rear surface of the housing. A main filter is mounted such that a capacitor filter circuit provided with a capacitor is mounted, and each chip capacitor is operatively associated between each terminal received in the terminal receiving passage and the die-cast housing constituting the housing. A housing assembly is configured.

Further, the intermediate portion of the terminal is bent so that the tail portion is substantially perpendicular to the terminal receiving passage. In the filter block, the through hole of the filter block and the through hole formed in the bottom wall are aligned with the cavity of the terminal alignment plate including the side wall, the end wall, and the bottom wall that define the cavity inside. The sub-assembly is housed in a state. The subassembly was mounted to the lower portion of the rear surface of the housing, and the tail portion of the terminal protruded downward through the filter block and the through hole in the bottom wall to form a printed circuit board on which the electrical connector assembly was installed. It can be inserted through the hole.

[0010]

The above-configured multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with filter according to the present invention can be easily assembled by assembling the sub-assembly with the main connector housing assembly. In this regard, it is desirable that the main connector housing assembly and the sub-assembly be configured to engage through a latch arm inter-engagement structure. Also,
The terminal alignment plate and filter block of the subassembly are also
It is desirable to adopt a structure in which the latch arm is engaged through a mutual engagement structure. The tail part of the terminal is
Because the structure is inserted through the through-hole in the bottom wall of the filter block and the terminal alignment plate that constitute the sub-assembly, the tail portion is protected during manufacture, assembly and use. In this regard, it is desirable that the lower surface of the bottom wall of the terminal alignment plate constituting the sub-assembly and the lower surface of the die-cast housing be substantially flush.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a multi-terminal electrical connector assembly 10 with a filter according to the present invention. The electrical connector assembly 10 includes a main connector housing assembly 12 and a pair of sub-assemblies 14. Each subassembly 14 includes a terminal alignment plate 16 for receiving and mounting a ferrite filter block 18. Sub-assembly 14 is attached to main connector housing assembly 12, as described in detail below. Also, a pair of flexible capacitor filter circuits 20 are mounted on the rear surface of the electrical connector assembly 10, as described in detail below. A plurality of terminals 22 are mounted on the electrical connector assembly 10 and are assembled to the main connector housing assembly 12 through a flexible capacitor filter circuit 20 in the direction of arrow A. Each of the flexible capacitor filter circuits 20 has a plurality of chip capacitors 21 operatively associated with terminals 22 therethrough. Each terminal 22 includes a tail portion 22a. For illustrative purposes, FIG. 1 shows a group of terminals 22 held by band holders 24 for inserting and assembling the terminals 22 into the main connector housing assembly 12 in the direction of arrow A. It is only used temporarily. Although only sixteen terminals are shown in four groups, electrical connector assembly 10 can accommodate more than eighty terminals 22.

Referring to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIG. 1, the main connector housing assembly 12 includes a housing comprising a die cast housing 26 having an injection molded dielectric insert 28. This die cast housing 26
Comprises a plurality of terminal receiving passages 30 through the dielectric insert 28 for receiving the terminals 22, whereby the terminal 2
2 is the cavity 3 of the die-cast housing 26.
Exposure to 2. The cavity 32 is provided for receiving a mating electrical connector assembly (not shown) having female terminals that interengage with the terminals 22. The die-cast housing 26 defines a rear surface 34 from which a plurality of mounting pegs 36 project and are inserted into mounting holes 37 in the flexible capacitor filter circuit 20 to allow the capacitor filter circuit 20 to be mounted in the die-cast housing 26. On the rear surface 34.

Referring still to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIG. 1, the main connector housing assembly 12, particularly the die-cast housing 26, is printed such that the terminals 22 extend through the terminal receiving passages 30 substantially parallel to the printed circuit board 38. It is shaped to form a right-angle connector that can be attached to the circuit board 38. Suitable securing means 40 are provided for securing the main connector housing assembly 12 to the printed circuit board 38 in a right angle orientation. The terminal 22 is bent at a right angle in the middle portion 22b, and the tail portion 22a of the terminal 22 extends perpendicular to the printed circuit board 38 and is inserted into a suitable hole 42 in the printed circuit board 38.
Alternatively, they may be interconnected to appropriate circuit traces on printed circuit board 38.

Referring to FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2, each subassembly 14 includes a terminal alignment plate 1 as described above.
6 and a ferrite filter block 18. More specifically, the terminal alignment plate 16 is box-shaped and defines a pair of side walls 50, a pair of end walls 52, and a plate-like bottom wall 54, which form the ferrite filter block 18. It is joined to define a receiving elongated rectangular cavity 56. Terminal alignment plate 1
6 is provided with a plurality of suitably spaced through holes 58 for receiving the tail portion 22a of the terminal 22. In other words, the through holes 58 in the terminal alignment plate 16 are arranged in a pattern or arrangement that matches the holes 42 in the printed circuit board 38.

The ferrite filter block 18 has an elongated rectangular cross section and is sized and shaped to fit into the cavity 56 of the terminal alignment plate 16. The ferrite filter block 18 has a plurality of through holes 6 that align with the through holes 58 of the terminal alignment plate 16 when it is fitted into the cavities 56 of the terminal alignment plate 16.
Contains 0. Therefore, the tail portion 22a of the terminal 22
Extends completely through both the ferrite filter block 18 and the terminal alignment plate 16. For convenience of manufacture and assembly, two sub-assemblies 14 are provided, including one terminal alignment plate 16 and one ferrite filter block 18.

Inter-engaging latch means are provided between the terminal alignment plate 16 and the ferrite filter block 18 to facilitate assembly of the filter block 18 to the terminal alignment plate 16. More specifically, the terminal alignment plate 16 is integrally formed of an insulating material such as plastic, and the side wall 50 of the terminal alignment plate 16 is formed.
A pair of flexible latch arms 62 is formed. These latch arms 62 have inwardly directed hook portions 64. A latch recess 66 is provided on the side of the filter block 18. As is apparent from FIG. 3, these latch recesses 66 are provided in the filter block 1.
8 at both the top and bottom edges. Therefore, the filter block 18 is independent of its vertical orientation,
It can fit into the cavity 56 of the terminal alignment plate 16. A latch arm 62 having an inwardly directed hook portion 64 and a latch recess 66 provide the ferrite filter block 18 to the terminal alignment plate 16 in response to assembling the filter block 18 into the cavity 56 of the terminal alignment plate 16. Construct a snap-type latch device for automatic latching.

Between the die-cast housing 26 and each terminal alignment plate 16, there is provided an inter-engaging latch means for facilitating attachment of the terminal alignment plate 16 to the die-cast housing 26. More specifically,
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 in conjunction with FIG. 1, each terminal alignment plate 16 has a flexible latch arm 70 at each of its ends spaced outwardly from the end wall 52;
The latch arm 70 has a hook portion 72 facing outward.
Is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the die-cast housing 26 of the main connector housing assembly 12
Includes a pair of end wall sections 74 and a central partition section 76, each having a shoulder defined at the top. The end wall section 74 and the partition section 76 are arranged to receive the subassembly 14 including the terminal alignment plate 16 therebetween. When assembling these sub-assemblies 14 to the main connector housing assembly 12 in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 4), the hook portions 72 of the flexible latch arms 70 engage the end wall sections 74 and partition sections 76 of the die-cast housing 26. Engage with the snap on the upper shoulder. Latch arm 70 and hook portion 72 automatically move terminal alignment plate 16 (and thus sub-assembly 14) to die-cast housing 26 in response to assembling sub-assembly 14 into die-cast housing 26 in the direction of arrow B. And a snap latch device for latching the latch. When the entire electrical connector assembly 10 is mounted on a printed circuit board 38 as shown in FIG.
Are secured together with the main connector housing assembly 12 and the printed circuit board 38.

The overall assembly includes a dielectric insert 28
The housing is first prepared by injection molding (FIG. 2) into a die cast housing 26. Next, the flexible capacitor filter circuit 20 is mounted to the rear surface 34 of the die cast housing 26 by mounting pegs 36 (FIG. 2) and mounting holes 37 (FIG. 1). The terminal 22 is then inserted into the terminal receiving passage 30 of the dielectric insert 28 through the capacitor filter circuit 20 by any suitable means, such as a band holder 24. Before or after attaching the terminal 22 to the housing, the terminal 22 is bent at a substantially right angle at the intermediate portion 22b as shown in FIG. Before or after these operations, the subassembly 14 is assembled by snap-fitting the ferrite filter block 18 to the terminal alignment plate 16 as described above.
These subassemblies 14 are then snap-latched into the die-cast housing 26 while simultaneously
The tail portion 22 a of the terminal 22 is inserted into the through hole 60 of the ferrite filter block 18 and the through hole 58 of the terminal alignment plate 16. The tail portion 22a of the terminal 22 is now aligned for insertion into the hole 42 of the printed circuit board 38, and the multi-terminal electrical connector assembly 1 with a filter is provided.
0 is now ready to be assembled on printed circuit board 38. The assembling operation is very simple,
a is mechanically and electrically connected to the conductive traces on the printed circuit board 38 by any of the known methods such as soldering or conductive epoxy. When fully assembled, the ferrite filter block 18 and the flexible capacitor filter circuit 20 form an inductive and capacitive filter circuit within the electrical connector assembly 10.

When the electrical connector assembly 10 requires an additional filter, as shown in FIG.
1 allows the flexible capacitor filter circuit 20 to be attached also to the lower portion of the terminal alignment plate 16. In this case, the mounting pegs 81 serve as spacers for holding the flexible capacitor filter circuit 20 so as not to contact the printed circuit board 38. Also works. In this configuration, the tail portion 22a of the terminal 22 enters the hole 42 of the printed circuit board 38 after passing through the added flexible capacitor filter circuit 20.

[0020]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, there is provided an electric connector assembly used for an electric circuit such as a computer system or an electronic device of a vehicle. A very simple and easy to manufacture and assemble a multi-terminal electrical connector assembly having filter means for reducing the effects of high frequency interference and the like and having terminal alignment means for facilitating alignment of a large number of terminals. Was done. More specifically, since the terminal and the capacitor filter circuit can be attached and mounted to the housing from the rear side, the assembly of the main connector housing assembly can be facilitated. The sub-assembly, which is housed in the terminal alignment plate defining the terminal, can be attached to the tail portion of the terminal along the rear surface of the housing of the main connector housing assembly. Extremely easy to manufacture electrical connector assemblies,
It can be easily done. Also, since the sub-assembly has a structure attached to the lower rear portion of the housing,
The tail portion of the terminal is held by the filter block and the terminal alignment plate of the subassembly near the portion inserted through the hole in the printed circuit board. Therefore, the tail portion can be protected rationally and the installation work on the printed circuit board can be facilitated. In addition, the filter block made of ferrite is fragile and easily chipped, but this filter block is housed in the internal cavity defined in the terminal alignment plate, so that the filter block is protected from external impact. And damage can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with a filter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the electrical connector assembly attached to a printed circuit board.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a sub-assembly including a terminal alignment plate and a ferrite filter block of the electrical connector assembly.

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a rear portion of the die cast housing of the electrical connector assembly, showing a latch means of a sub-assembly including a terminal alignment plate and a ferrite filter block.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Multi-terminal electric connector assembly with a filter 12 Main connector housing assembly 14 Sub-assembly 16 Terminal alignment plate 18 Filter block 20 Flexible capacitor filter circuit 21 Chip capacitor 22 Terminal 22a Terminal tail part 26 Die-cast housing 28 Dielectric Insert 30 Terminal receiving passage 38 Printed circuit board 56 Cavity 62 Flexible latch arm 66 Latch recess 70 Flexible latch arm 72 Hook portion 74 End wall section 76 Central partition section 81 Mounting peg

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Robert M. Frest, United States of America Maple Park Land Rose Lane, 2nd NL, Illinois 625 (72) Inventor, Fred Rab Krebier, United States of America Illinois, Chicago Dearborn 525 Es (72) Inventor, Jeff Souy J. Pouliikii United States of America Downer's Grove Creekside Road, Illinois 7010 (72) Inventor Edward J. Prosec, United States Illinois Lyle Ohio Street 722 (72) Inventor Thomas Jie Premo United States Illinois West Chicago Donald Ave 29 Dubrev 064 (72) Inventor Building Be Wilson United States of America Iri Lee County Montogo Merii Fuen'uddo drive 104 (56) Reference Patent Rights 5-29043 (JP, A) Patent Rights 5-29042 (JP, A)

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A housing having a plurality of terminal receiving passages provided therein; and a plurality of terminals received in the terminal receiving passage and having a tail portion protruding from a rear surface of the housing. , Each terminal 22
A filtered multi-terminal electrical connector assembly comprising a chip capacitor 21 and a ferrite filter block 18 operatively associated with the housing, wherein the housings 26, 28 are outer die cast housings 26; The housing 2 includes a dielectric insert 28 formed inside the die-cast housing 26 and forming the terminal receiving passage 30.
A capacitor filter circuit 20 provided with a plurality of chip capacitors 21 is attached to a rear surface 34 of each of 6, 6 and 28, and each chip capacitor 21 constitutes each terminal 22 received in the terminal receiving passage 30 and housings 26 and 28. The main connector housing assembly 1 is operatively associated between the die-cast housings 26, respectively.
2 and the intermediate portion 2 of the terminal 22
2b is bent so that the tail portion 22a is substantially perpendicular to the terminal receiving passage 30, and the filter block 18 has a side wall 5 defining a cavity 56 inside.
The sub-hole is accommodated in the cavity 56 of the terminal alignment plate 16 composed of the end wall 52 and the bottom wall 54 in a state where the through hole 60 of the filter block 18 and the through hole 58 formed in the bottom wall 54 are aligned. The sub-assembly 14 is mounted on the lower portion of the rear surface 34 of the housings 26 and 28, and the tail portion 22a of the terminal 22 is connected to the filter block 18 and the through hole 60 of the bottom wall 54.
A multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with a filter, protruding downward through 58 and being insertable into a hole 42 formed in a printed circuit board 38 in which the electrical connector assembly is installed. 2. The multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with a filter according to claim 1, wherein the lower surface of the bottom wall of the terminal alignment plate constituting the sub-assembly is substantially flush with the lower surface of the die-cast housing. . 3. A latch arm 70 having a hook portion 72 formed on the outer side of the upper end thereof is provided side by side on the outer side of the end wall 52 of the terminal alignment plate 16. The latch arm 70 extends vertically along the rear surface 34 of the die cast housing 26. 2. A latch engagement with an upper shoulder of an end wall section 74 or a partition section 76 provided.
A multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with a filter as described. 4. A latch arm (62) having a hook portion (64) formed on the side wall (50) of the terminal alignment plate (16) inward at the upper end.
2. The multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with filter of claim 1 wherein said connector is latched into a latch recess formed in an edge of said filter block. 5. On the lower surface of the die cast housing 26,
Another capacitor filter circuit 20 is provided, and a plurality of chip capacitors 21 constituting the capacitor filter circuit 20 are individually connected to the bottom wall 5 of the terminal alignment plate 16.
4 and the tail portions 22 a of the plurality of terminals 22 protruding through the through holes 58 formed in the die-cast housing 2.
6. The multi-terminal filtered electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the assembly is operatively associated between the six. 6. Another capacitor filter circuit 20 includes a mounting peg 81 provided on a lower surface of the die cast housing 26.
6. The multi-terminal electrical connector assembly with a filter according to claim 5, wherein the mounting peg has a spacer function interposed between the another capacitor filter circuit and the printed circuit board.