KR100416432B1 - Electrical Connectors and Connector Assemblies - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a connector assembly comprising a high density, fine-grained, low insertion force electrical connector and a plurality of insertion force electrical connectors with a plurality of rows suitably and a plurality of contacts with a plurality of rows suitably. It is about. The electrical connectors 10 are alternately arranged in rows of one or more contact receiving cavities 2la to 21c in the insulating housing 20. The connector assembly includes a pair of connectors each having an insulated housing of female and passive bodies for alternately securing a plurality of male and female contacts.

Description

Electrical connectors and connector assemblies

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a plurality of contacts formed in one or more rows.

A typical electrical connector includes an insulating housing and at least one contact to which the insulating housing is secured. However, as electrical circuits become increasingly complex and require more advanced functions, a plurality of contacts are being fixed in the insulating housing at smaller center line intervals or at higher densities. In office or business electrical equipment such as personal computers or copiers, facsimile machines, and the like, typically, a number of closely contacted portions are fixed in an insulating housing, forming two or more rows.

One typical embodiment of the connector is a so-called drawer connector. Here, one connector half is mounted in the main body, and the other connector half is mounted in the module seated in the module partition of the main body. That is, electronic devices such as copiers and their accessories have two or more movable parts so that they can be electrically or mechanically integrated for convenience of service and maintenance. One or more drawer connectors are used at the interface between the main body and the module to effectively interconnect the main body and the module.

One typical embodiment of the drawer connector is described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 276575/89. Typically, female and passive housings are used in the connector half, where the male contacts are arranged to form one row, and the female contacts are arranged to form the other row.

Another embodiment of a female-passive connector is described in US Pat. No. 4,737,118. Here, the plurality of contact portions of the same structure are arranged while forming heat in the connector housing of the same structure. A pair of identical housings formed in opposite perpendicular directions with each other have mating contacts which engage each other.

The electrical connectors of the conventional drawers or male and female bodies described above use the same elastic contacts that are elastically biased when paired with one another and are usually curved in one direction. That is, each of the contacts has the same structure, and acts as a female contact and a male contact, respectively. When the same pair of connectors are in contact with each other, all the contacts in one connector are pivoted towards the contacts of the other connector and the connector housing to which the contacts are fixed.

The conventional connector operates satisfactorily when the number of contacts is relatively limited and the dimensions of the connector are relatively large. However, in small, high performance electronics, the contacts are secured in a plurality of rows with a small centerline contact pitch in the housing. In such applications, one row of contacts is oriented in the opposite direction with respect to the other row of contacts, to compensate for the biastm force applied to the contacts. However, the compensation becomes impossible when the number of contacts is odd, for example, three rows. In addition, since the insertion force of the conventional male and female body contacts is relatively high, it is not practical for an electrical connector having a large number of contacts.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector having a plurality of contacts with small spacing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a low insertion force in an electrical connector assembly having a housing and a contact of a female passive body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having an odd number of rows.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the conventional electrical connector and to achieve the above object, the electrical connector according to the present invention has a plurality of deflective and non-deflective contacts in which at least one row is alternately arranged in an insulating housing. To compensate or balance any undesirable force that may be applied to the housing.

The unbiased contacts of each row are supported by the housing wall, and the rows of deflected contacts towards the surface are deflected when paired, and the contacts are deflected while being engaged by the deflected and non-deflected contacts of the mating mating connector respectively. .

In addition, the connector assembly according to the invention comprises a pair of identical or female passive housings having a plurality of contact receiving cavities and a plurality of deflecting and non-deflecting arms alternately disposed in said contact receiving cavities in each row within said housing. .Has a male contact

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a representative embodiment of the electrical connector according to the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is an exploded perspective view according to one representative embodiment of an electrical connector made in accordance with the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of a plurality of contacts used in the electrical connector of FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view of a representative embodiment of a connector assembly in which left and right fuselage electrical connectors according to the present invention are assembled to one another.

1 shows an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of the present invention. The electrical connector 10 includes an insulating housing 20, a plurality of right angle contact portions 30, a pin alignment plate 40, and a pair of substrate holding members 50. Here, the electrical connector 10 is designed to be mounted on a circuit board (not shown in FIG. 1).

The insulating housing 20 has contact receiving cavities 21a, 21b and 21c extending from the mating face 22 to the rear face 23. The first row of contact receiving cavities 21a is disposed along the inner surface of the inner shroud wall in the shroud 24. The second row of contact receiving cavities 21b is disposed at the bottom of the shroud 24, while the third row of contact receiving cavities 21c is rib 25 separated in parallel with the shroud 24. It is disposed on the upper surface of). The slot 26 is formed in the scene of the shroud 24, while the guide protrusion 27 is disposed at the bottom of the rib 25. A pair of mounting flanges 28a and 28b are formed at both ends of the insulating housing 20 extending rearward in parallel with each other. The pair of openings 29a and 29b are formed to extend through the mounting flanges 28a and 28b to accommodate the substrate holding member 50.

The contact portion 30 has three rows of right angle contact portions 30a, 30b and 30c, which are accommodated in the contact receiving cavity 2la, 21b and 22c in the insulating housing 20. Each row of contacts 30a to 30c includes an unbiased or male contact 31 and a deflected or female contact 32 that are alternately disposed. Each male contact 31 and female contact 32 has a contact region 33, a retaining region 34 and a weld tail 35 that is curved at approximately right angles. The contact area 33 of each male contact 31 is supported by the wall surface of the housing, while the contact area 33 of each female contact 32 can be deflected towards the wall surface during assembly. Spaced from the wall surface.

Each contact 30a-30c is made by stamping and forging a conductive metal plate or strip. The weld tail 35 of each contact 31, 32 is typically a pin contact having a rectangular cross section. The contact area 33 of the male contact 31 is usually straight, but bends downward at the forward or gathering end, whereas the contact area 33 of the female contact 32 is raised from the hemispherical part at the front end. Have

The pin alignment plate 40 is made of an insulating material and has a flat plate member having a plurality of openings 41 equal to the number of the contact portions 30. As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the openings 41 for receiving the welding tails 35 are arranged in six rows formed in two columns with three openings of alternating shape, while the contacts ( The contact area 33 of 30 is disposed in three rows of the above-mentioned contact receiving cavities 21a to 21c. In addition, the openings 41 of the pin alignment plate 40 overlap while forming alternating rows such that the openings 41 are oblique in a straight line, or about 45 degrees to the end of the pin alignment plate 40. Tilted at an angle of

The pin alignment plate 40 has a pair of slots or cutouts 42 at both ends for accommodating the substrate holding member 50.

The substrate holding member 50 is manufactured from a conventional flat metal plate by conventional stamping techniques. Each substrate holding member 50 has a conventional planar holding or base area 51 having a plurality of vanes 52 on the lateral edge and a pair of elastic legs 53 separated by vertical slots 54. Has The outer edge portion of the elastic leg 53 has a feather or tooth 55 for engaging the inner wall of a hole formed in a conventional circuit board.

The substrate holding member 50 penetrates through the alignment slot 42 and the opening 29 in the insulating housing 20 to securely fix the pin alignment plate 40 and the insulating housing 20. The pin alignment plate 40 is mounted on the insulating housing 20 from the bottom with the weld tail 35 of the contact 30 passing through the opening 41. Alternatively, the pin alignment plate 40 may be maintained in friction in the insulating housing 20, thereby excluding the slot (or cutout 42).

2 shows a portion of the contact 30 integrally formed along the carrier strip 39 by stamping the metal strip. The contacts 30 are mutually coupled in the holding area 34 until they are separated from the carrier strip 39 to be assembled with the insulating housing 20. The male and female contacts 31 and 32 are formed alternately with each other, and a predetermined quantity of male and female contacts are moved from the carrier strip 39 and bent at different positions on the contacts 30a to 30c in different rows.

The contact portions 30a to 30c formed of the first, second, and third rows may be made of contact portions of the same material. That is, the contact portions 30a to 30c are identical to each other except for the length of the welding tail portion 35. It is properly designed so that the contact strip conforms to the first contact portion 30a having the long weld tail portion 35, and the rows of the second and third contact portions 30b and 30c are gradually shortened to the weld tail portion. It manufactures by cutting 35. By this method, the overall product price can be minimized.

3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the connector assembly 100 intermingled with each other according to the present invention.

The connector assembly 100 includes a pair of female and passive electrical connectors 200 and 300, which are almost identical to the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1 and each coplanar circuit near the end. Mounted on substrates 260,360.

In more detail, the electrical connector 200 is the same as the electrical connector 10, while the electrical connector 300 uses the same insulating housing 320 as the insulating housing 20 shown in FIG. However, the upper and lower surfaces are reversed. That is, the electrical connector 200 and the electrical connector 300 are female and passive bodies. The right side of the insulating housing 220 of the first electrical connector 200 is raised, and the shroud 224 is disposed on the upper side, that is, far from the circuit board 260. On the other hand, the insulating housing 320 of the second electrical connector 300 is in an inverted shape with respect to the housing 220, and the shroud 324 is located at a low position with respect to the circuit board 360, that is, It is located in close proximity. In the above structure, the rib 325 of the second insulating housing 320 is accommodated in the shroud 224 of the insulating housing 220, while the rib 225 of the first insulating housing 220 is insulated. Is received in the shroud 324 of 320. In addition, the guide protrusions and the slots 26 of the electrical connectors 200 and 300 are paired with each other. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the pin alignment plate 40 is mounted to the housing 20 on the shroud side of the housing adjacent circuit board 360. The weld tail 335 of the contact portion 330 is bent to be received in the opening 341 of the plate 340.

As shown in FIG. 3, the contacts 220 and 330 of the electrical connectors 200 and 300 are paired, respectively. The male contact 231 of the first electrical connector 200 is paired with the female contact 332 of the second insulated connector 300, and the female contact 232 of the first electrical connector 200 is connected to the second insulated connector. Paired with the male contact portion 331 of (300). In addition, it should be noted that the male contact portions 231 and 331 formed in one row of the contact portions 230 and 330 correspond to the female contact portions 232 and 332 in adjacent rows. The structure minimizes external forces on the insulating housings 220 and 320 due to the biasing force applied to the mating contacts 230 and 330. The spacing of the contact receiving cavities adjacent to each other, ie, the spacing of the contacts inserted inward, is kept constant by the structure.

In the above, the electrical connector and connector assembly according to the present invention has been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. By way of example, the substrate holding member 50 may be a conventional design as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 42645/89 and US Pat. No. 5,336,111. The pin alignment plate 40 may have a plurality of slots extending from the outer edge of the plate instead of the opening. Such pin alignment plates are shown in many prior art publications, including US Pat. Nos. 5,037,334 and 5,167,531 and 5,336,109. In the above configuration, the pin alignment plate can be slidably assembled with the substrate holding member of the electrical connector. Alternatively, the pin alignment plate may be integrally formed with an insulating housing rather than a separate plate. Also, the contact portion 30 may have a straight weld tail instead of a weld tail that is bent at right angles. In the above configuration, the circuit boards 260 and 360 are arranged in parallel with each other.

As can be clearly seen from the above description and drawings, the electrical connector and the electrical connector assembly have a form in which a plurality of male and female contacts are alternately arranged in a row. Thus, any force applied to the insulated housing by the force of mating contacts can be minimized, thereby forming a plurality of rows forming a high density female / manual connector or, for example, three rows. A drawer connector with contacts can be obtained. Most importantly, mutual inflation of the male and female contacts that are alternately arranged with each other can reduce the insertion force of the electrical connector assembly.

Claims (8)

A plurality of first and second contacts 31, 32 are alternately disposed in at least one first row 30a in the insulating housing 20, 320, and the respective contact regions 33 are opposite connectors 200. In the electrical connector (10, 300) disposed along the mating surface 22 to be combined with the first and second contact portion (231 232) of The contact area 33 of the first contact portion 31 of the first row 30a is supported against deflection by wall surfaces of the housings 20 and 320 associated with the first row 30a. The contact area 33 of the second contact portion 32 in one row 30a is deflected with a gap in the cavity direction toward the wall surface of the housing, As a result, when the connectors 10 and 300 are mated with the connector 200, the contact area 33 of the second contact part 32 is deflected in the co-direction with the first contact part 231, and is mated. After that, the electrical connector is left in a biased state. The method of claim 1, The second row 30b of the first and second contact portions 31 and 32 extends through the mating surface 22 with a gap from the first row 30a of the opposite side, and extends from the second row 30b of the second row 30b. The contact area 33 of the first contact portion 31 is supported against deflection when paired by a second wall surface of the housing 20, 320 associated with the second row 30b, and the second row The contact area 33 of the second contact portion 32 of 30b is deflected with a spacing when paired in the cavity direction toward the second wall surface, and in the second row 30b The electrical deflection direction of the contact region 33 of the second contact portion 32 is the same as the hollow deflection direction of the contact region 33 of the second contact portion of the first row 30a. . The method of claim 2, The shroud 24 and the ribs 25 spaced apart in parallel from the shroud 24 extend forward from the mating surfaces 22 of the housings 20 and 230, and the first row 30a Disposed on the rib 25 facing the inner wall of the shroud 24, and a second row 30b is disposed on the rib 25 facing the inner wall of the shroud, When the connector is mated with the mating housing 220, the shroud 24 receives the rib 225 of the mating housing and the contacts of each shroud 24, 224 are the contacts of the ribs 25, 225 of the mating housing. And an electrical connector. The method of claim 2, The third row 30c of the first and second contact portions 31 and 32 extends through the mating surface 22 having a gap between the first row 30a and the second row 30b, and the The contact area 33 of the first contact portion 31 of the third row 30c is supported against deflection when paired by the third wall surface of the housing associated with the third row 30c. The contact area 33 of the second contact portion 32 of the third row 30c may be spaced and deflected when paired in the cavity direction toward the third wall surface, and the third row The cavity deflection direction of the contact region 33 of the second contact portion 32 of 30c is the contact region 33 of the second contact portion 32 of the first and second rows 30a, 30b. Electrical connector facing the direction of the joint deflection of the electrical connector. The method of claim 4, wherein The housings 20 and 300 include a shroud 24 and ribs 25 arranged parallel to the shroud 24 with a gap therebetween, wherein the first and third wall surfaces of the shroud 24 An opposing surface of the inner wall, the second wall surface facing the first wall as the surface of the rib 25, the shroud 25 receiving the rib 225 of the mating connector when the connector is assembled; and And the space between the first and second wall surfaces accommodates the inner shroud wall of the mating connector (200). The method of claim 1, In addition to the pin alignment plate 50, the housing (20,320) includes a mounting flange (28a, 28b) extending rearward from the end, the flange penetrates to receive the substrate holding member (50) An elongated opening 29a, 29b, wherein the flange is adapted to receive the pin alignment plate 40 for receiving the weld tail 35 of the contacts 31, 32. connector. A pair of insulating housings 220 and 320 and a plurality of contacts fixed to each of the insulating housings and at least in the first row 30a, wherein the insulating housings 220 and 320 are male and female. The contacts in the insulated housing are alternately arranged with the first and second contacts 231, 232; 331 forming a row to mate with the second and first contacts 232, 231; 332, 331 in the other insulated housing. In the connector assembly (200, 300) comprising a, 332, The contact area 33 of the first contact part 231, 331 in the first row of each of the housings 220, 320 is paired with the second contact part 232, 332 of the other connector 300, 200. Is supported against deflection by the wall surface of the housing associated with the first row, wherein the contact area 33 of the second contact portion 232, 332 of the first row is connected to another connector 300, 200. When paired with the first contact portion (331, 231) of the can be deflected in the cavity direction at intervals toward the wall surface of the housing (220, 320), and after the pair is biased Connector assembly, characterized in that. The method of claim 7, wherein Each of the housings 220, 320 includes rows 230, 330 of a plurality of contacts and each row includes first and second contacts 231, 23222; 331, 332 which are alternately arranged. To mate, when rotating and aligning the two housings 220, 320, the first and second contacts in each row mate with the contacts 332, 331; 232, 231 in the mating housings 320, 220. Connector assembly, characterized in that arranged to be.

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