JP5885283B2 - Communication cable connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector for a communication cable that converts the direction of a communication cable such as a LAN (Local Area Network) cable and connects it to a connected portion.

  A network is constructed by connecting personal computers and peripheral devices with LAN cables in offices and homes. The LAN cable is connected by inserting a male connector at the tip of the LAN cable in a vertical direction into a LAN cable insertion port provided on a device, a wall surface, or the like.

  The number of external connection ports of devices in recent years has increased. For example, in a notebook personal computer, a LAN cable insertion slot, USB terminals, and the like are provided on the back or side of the computer body. When the male connector of the LAN cable is inserted in the insertion port in the vertical direction, it is difficult to freely arrange the LAN cable having a relatively high rigidity cable along the wall surface of the apparatus.

  In response to this demand, a LAN cable connector has been proposed. This cable connector has a male connector of a LAN cable, and the male connector is configured to be rotatable. As a result, by connecting the male connector of the LAN cable to the female connector of the cable connector and appropriately setting the rotation angle of the male connector of the cable connector, a free layout such as the layout of the LAN cable along the wall surface can be achieved. It becomes possible.

JP 2012-253038 A

  In this proposed cable connector, the male connector is rotatably supported on the connector body. For this reason, the support member of the male connector is required to have a function of rotating the male connector and a function of firmly holding the male connector against an external force. In the proposed cable connector, the holding function of the male connector may not be sufficient, and the male connector may be broken from the connector body when the connector is connected and used.

  The objective of this invention is providing the connector for communication cables which can support a male connector firmly, ensuring the rotation function of a male connector.

  In order to achieve this object, the communication cable connector of the present invention has a communication cable inserted therein, a female connector connected to the male connector of the communication cable, a cable connection to the female connector, and an insertion direction of the communication cable. A housing having a hole projecting a male connector in a different direction, a socket holding the male connector and having an abutting portion that abuts against a hole edge of the housing, and a ring member provided at a lower portion of the socket A cover having a ring and rotatably holding the socket between the housing and the housing;

  In the present invention, it is preferable that a rotation locking mechanism for the socket is provided on the ring member of the socket or the ring of the cover.

  Since the male connector is attached to the socket, the socket is held by the housing and the cover, and sandwiched, damage such as bending of the male connector due to an external force applied to the male connector can be prevented. Further, even if configured in this manner, the socket is provided with an abutting portion that contacts the edge of the hole of the housing, and a ring-shaped portion that engages with the ring of the cover is provided at the lower portion of the socket. Can be guaranteed.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the connector for communication cables of embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the connector for cables of FIG. It is a block diagram of the connector for cables of FIG. It is a block diagram of the housing of the cable connector of FIG. It is a perspective view of the socket of the connector for cables of FIG. It is a perspective view of the cover of the connector for cables of FIG. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the socket of FIG. 5. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the cover of FIG.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a communication cable connector according to the present invention. 2 is a configuration diagram of the cable connector of FIG. 1 after assembly. FIG. 2 (A) is a top view thereof, FIG. 2 (B) is a left side view thereof, and FIG. It is a side view. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the cable connector of FIG. 1 to 3, the communication cable is described as a LAN cable, but the communication cable is not limited to this.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the communication cable connector includes a LAN male connector 2, a socket 3 that holds the LAN male connector, a first housing 1 that rotatably holds the socket 3, and a male connector of the LAN cable. It has a second housing 4 to be inserted, a cover 5 that covers the bottom portion of the first housing 1, and a subassembly 6 that accommodates connection pins of the LAN male connector 2.

  The LAN male connector 2 has the same shape as the male connector of the LAN cable, and is fitted into the LAN insertion port. The LAN male connector 2 includes an electrode block 20 and a guide and lock unit 22. The male connector 2 is fixed to the socket 3 as will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  The first housing 1 rotatably holds the socket 3 and has an upper surface 18 and three side surfaces 10. One of the side surfaces is an open surface 11 and forms a passage for the connection line of the male connector 2 to the second housing 4 as will be described later. A hole 12 of the socket 3 is provided on the upper surface 18. The bottom surface of the first housing 1 is open, and the cover 5 covers the bottom surface of the first housing. The second housing 4 includes an insertion port 40 into which a connector of a LAN cable (not shown) is inserted and a subassembly 6, and is connected to the first housing 1.

  FIG. 2B is a left side view of the connector after assembling the components shown in FIG. When the male connector 2 fixed to the socket 3 in FIG. 1 is inserted from below the first housing 1, the male connector 2 protrudes above the first housing 1 as shown in FIG. Further, the second housing 4 is connected to the side surface of the first housing 1. Then, the cover 5 is attached to the bottom surface of the first housing 1.

  FIG. 2A is a top view corresponding to FIG. The socket 3 into which the male connector 2 is inserted is located at the approximate center of the first housing 1. The male connector 2 is electrically connected to the electrode at the insertion port by the electrode block 20.

  FIG. 2C is a lateral view of FIG. The second housing 4 includes a guide member 42 that guides and locks the LAN cable connector in an insertion port 40 into which a LAN cable (not shown) connector is inserted, and a male connector 2 attached to the subassembly 6. Electrode pins 29 are provided.

  As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the block main body 24 of the male connector 2 includes an electrode block 20, a guide and lock portion 22, and a lower end portion 26. The lower part of the block main body 24 of the male connector 2 is inserted into the socket 3 and fixed to the socket 3. A connection line 28 connected to the electrode block 20 is drawn from the lower end portion 26 of the male connector 2. An electrode pin 29 is provided at the tip of the connection line 28.

  The electrode pin 29 at the tip of the connection line 28 is inserted into the hole of the subassembly 6 and bent. The subassembly 6 is attached to the upper part of the insertion port 40 of the second housing 4. As a result, the bent electrode pin 29 protrudes into the insertion port 40 and ensures contact with the electrode of the male connector of the LAN cable.

  The first housing 1, the socket 3, and the cover 5 in FIG. 3 will be described. 4A and 4B are configuration diagrams of the first housing 1. FIG. 4A is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 4B is a bottom view thereof, and FIG. 4C is a top view thereof. Note that FIG. 4C is a view seen from a position where the positional relationship of FIGS. 4A and 4B is reversed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 (A), 4 (B), and 4 (C), a circular insertion hole 12 is provided in the upper surface 18. A guide edge 14 is provided around the hole 12, and a notch 16 is provided in a part of the guide edge 14 on the side surface 10 side. Also, as shown in FIG. 4B, four pin lock holes 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, 19-4 are formed at the four corners of the insertion hole 12 on the back surface side of the upper surface 18. Provided. The pin lock holes 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, and 19-4 engage with lock pins on the feet of the cover 5, which will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 8. Hold on.

  The socket 3 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7. 5 is a perspective view of the socket, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the socket. As shown in FIG. 5, a connection line lead-out hole 32 and four socket fixing blocks 32-1, 32-2 and 32-3 provided around the lead-out hole 32 are formed on the circular upper surface of the upper block 30 of the socket 3. , 32-4. The fixed blocks 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, and 32-4 are provided inside the outermost circle on the circular upper surface of the upper block 30 of the socket 3. Between the outermost circle and the fixed block, an abutting edge 31 that abuts against the guide edge 14 of the first housing 1 is formed (see also FIG. 7).

  Further, a slide projection 33 is provided on the outer edge of one socket fixing block 32-2 of the socket 3 at the upper part. The slide protrusion 33 has a shape that passes through the notch 16 of the guide edge 14 of the first housing 1 described above, and forms a gap with the upper surface of the upper block 30 (see FIG. 7). .

  The socket 3 has a lower block 36 connected to the upper block 30 via a connecting block 34. A space other than the connection block 34 between the upper block 30 and the lower block 36 forms a lead-out space 37 for the connection line 28 of the male connector 2. The lower block 36 is provided with a plurality of ribs 38-1, 38-2, 38-3,. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the plurality of ribs 38-1 to 38-6 are separated from each other, and the gap between the ribs is a rotation locking projection 56 of the cover 5 described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 8. The socket 3 is positioned in the rotational direction.

  Next, the cover 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 6, the cover 5 includes a cylindrical slide ring 52 at the center of the cover surface 50 and a rotation locking protrusion 56 provided on a part of the slide ring 52. In addition, four legs 54-1, 54-2, 54-3, 54-4 are provided at the four corners of the cover 5. Lock pins 58A to 58D are provided at the upper ends of the feet 54-1, 54-2, 54-3, 54-4.

  With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the manufacturing process of the connector having this configuration will be described. As described above, the LAN male connector 2 is provided with the connection line 28 and the electrode pin 29 in the connector block 24. By inserting the connection line 28 and the electrode pin 29 of the male connector 2 into the lead-out hole 32 of the socket 3, the lower part of the male connector 32 is held by the four connector fixing blocks 32-1 to 32-4 (FIG. 1). reference). At this time, the lower part of the male connector 32 can be fixed to the four connector fixing blocks 32-1 to 32-4 using an adhesive.

  Next, the electrode pin 29 at the tip of the connection line 28 is inserted into the hole of the subassembly 6 and bent, and the subassembly 6 is attached to the upper portion of the insertion port 40 of the second housing 4. Then, the upper part of the male connector 2 is inserted into the insertion hole 12 of the first housing 1. In FIG. 4A, the male connector 2 is inserted into the insertion hole 12 from the lower part of the first housing 1.

  At this time, as described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the outer shape of the insertion hole 12 is substantially the same as the outer shape of the socket 3, and the guide edge 14 is provided inside the insertion hole 12. The third butting edge 31 abuts against the guide edge 14 of the insertion hole 12. For this reason, only the male connector 2 attached to the socket 3 protrudes from the first housing 1, and the socket 3 is abutted against the first housing 1.

  Here, when the slide protrusion 33 of the socket 3 is aligned in the rotational direction so as to coincide with the notch 16 of the guide edge 14 of the first housing 1, the socket 3 is abutted against the first housing 1. The slide protrusion 33 of the socket 3 passes through the notch 16 of the guide edge 14 of the first housing 1, and the abutting edge 31 of the socket 3 abuts against the guide edge 14 of the insertion hole 12. For this reason, when the socket 3 is rotated, the guide edge 14 of the first housing 1 is sandwiched between the slide protrusion 33 and the abutting edge 31 of the socket 3, so that the socket 3 can be prevented from being detached from the first housing 1. Further, as will be described later, since the rotation position of the male connector 2 is changed, the socket 3 to which the male connector 2 is attached can be prevented from being detached from the first housing 1 even if the male connector 2 is rotated.

  Next, the first housing 1 is connected to the second housing 2 (see FIG. 3). Then, the cover 5 is attached from the bottom surface of the first housing 2. At this time, a plurality of arc-shaped ribs 38-1, 38-2, 38-3,..., 38-6 of the lower block 36 of the socket 3 of the first housing 2 are formed on the slide ring 52 of the cover 5. Fits on the outer periphery. One gap between the ribs 38-1, 38-2, 38-3,..., 38-6 is fitted into a rotation locking projection 56 provided on the slide ring 52.

  For this reason, the lower part of the socket 3 is also held by the cover 5. Further, the gaps between the ribs 38-1, 38-2, 38-3,..., 38-6 of the socket 3 are fitted into the rotation locking projections 56 of the slide ring 52, so that the socket 3, that is, The rotational position of the male connector 2 is fixed. Since there are a plurality of gaps between the ribs, when the male connector 2 is rotated, the ribs of the socket 3 are bent and the other gaps are fitted into the rotation locking projections 56 of the slide ring 52. For this reason, it is easy to change the rotational position of the male connector.

  Further, the lock pins 58A to 58D of the feet 54-1 to 54-4 of the cover 5 fit into the pin lock holes 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, 19-4 of the first housing 1. Therefore, the cover 5 that holds the lower portion of the socket 3 is held by the first housing 1. That is, the socket 3 to which the male connector 2 is attached is held between the first housing 1 and the cover 5 at the upper and lower portions, and the cover 5 is also held by the first housing 1.

  Since the male connector 2 is attached to the socket 3, the socket 3 itself can be firmly held. For this reason, even if the male connector 2 can be rotated, the male connector can be prevented from being bent against the external force received by the male connector during rotation, attachment, and use. The rotation position of the male connector portion 10 can be other angles (for example, 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 135 degrees, etc.) in addition to 90 degrees and 180 degrees, depending on the number of rib divisions.

  Further, since the guide edge 14 of the first housing 1 is sandwiched between the slide protrusion 33 and the abutting edge 31 of the socket 3, it is possible to prevent the socket 3 from being detached from the first housing 1. Further, the lock pins 58A to 58D of the legs 54-1 to 54-4 of the cover 5 are fitted in the pin lock holes 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, 19-4 of the first housing 1. Therefore, the socket 3 can be held by the first housing 1 and the cover 5 without bonding the cover 5 to the bottom surface of the first housing 1. That is, when the cover 5 is bonded to the bottom surface of the first housing 1, a strong box structure can be formed. However, the appearance of the finished product may be reduced due to the application of the adhesive during assembly. On the other hand, for example, the lock pins 58A to 58D of the feet 54-1 to 54-4 of the cover 5 are pin lock holes 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, 19-4 of the first housing 1. Even if the adhesive is used for fitting together with a strong structure, the amount of the adhesive is small, so the appearance is less affected.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by embodiment, in the range of the meaning of this invention, this invention can be variously deformed, These are not excluded from the scope of the present invention. For example, although the cover has been described as having a foot and a lock pin, the cover may be attached to the first housing without providing the foot and the lock pin. Further, the configuration in which the guide edge 14 of the first housing 1 is sandwiched between the slide protrusion 33 and the abutting edge 31 of the socket 3 may be deleted. Further, a rotation locking projection is provided on the socket side, a member that engages with the rotation locking projection such as a plurality of gaps and holes is provided on the slide ring side of the cover, and the rotation and rotation positioning of the male connector are ensured. good. Similarly, the first housing and the second housing may be integrated.

  In this way, since the male connector of the communication connector changes the direction of the LAN cable, a LAN cable having a relatively high rigidity cable can be freely arranged along the wall surface of the apparatus and intersects with other wiring. In other words, the wiring can be prevented from becoming messy, and the installation and removal work can be reduced. In addition, the layout of the LAN cable along the wall surface becomes possible, the wiring becomes clean and the appearance is improved.

  Further, since the male connector is attached to the socket, the socket is held by the housing and the cover, and sandwiched, damage such as bending of the male connector due to external force applied to the male connector can be prevented. Further, even if configured in this manner, the socket is provided with an abutting portion that contacts the edge of the hole of the housing, and a ring-shaped portion that engages with the ring of the cover is provided at the lower portion of the socket. Can be guaranteed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st housing 2 LAN male connector 3 Socket 4 2nd housing 5 Cover 6 Subassembly 12 Connection line extraction hole 14 Guide edge 18 Upper surface 28 Connection line 29 Electrode pin 30 Connection line extraction hole 32-1-32-4 Connector Fixed block 38-1 to 38-6 Rib 52 Slide ring 56 Rib engagement protrusion

Claims (2)

A housing having a female connector into which a communication cable is inserted and connected to a male connector of the communication cable, a hole connected to the female connector and protruding from the male connector in a direction different from the insertion direction of the communication cable;
A socket that holds the male connector and has an abutting portion that abuts against a hole edge of the housing;
A communication cable connector, comprising: a ring that engages with a ring member provided at a lower portion of the socket; and a cover that rotatably holds the socket between the housing and the housing. The communication cable connector according to claim 1, wherein a rotation locking mechanism of the socket is provided on a ring member of the socket or a ring of the cover.

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