Abstract:
The invention relates to a PCB connector ( 1 ), comprising a housing ( 2 ) and a plurality of contact elements ( 3 ), every contact element ( 3 ) having a contact for connection to wires and a contact for connection to a printed circuit board. housing ( 2 ) is configured as one piece, the contact elements ( 3 ) being captively snap-locked in the housing ( 2 ).

Description:
This application is a National Stage Application of PCT/EP2008/008634, filed 13 Oct. 2008, which claims benefit of Ser. No. 10 2007 050 589.4, filed 23 Oct. 2007 in Germany and which applications are incorporated herein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The invention relates to a plug-type printed circuit board connector, comprising a housing and a number of contact elements, each contact element comprising a contact for connecting wires and a contact for connection to a printed circuit board. 
     DE 102 57 308 B3 has disclosed a plug-type connector for printed circuit boards, comprising a number of contact elements, the contact elements each having two connection sides, one connection side being in the form of an insulation displacement contact for connecting wires and the other connection side being in the form of a fork contact for making contact with connection pads on a printed circuit board, and a plastic housing, into which the insulation displacement contacts of the contact elements can be inserted, the insulation displacement contact and the fork contact being arranged such that they are rotated with respect to one another and at least one lower edge of the insulation displacement contact being supported on the plastic housing, so that the contact elements are held captively in the plastic housing in the event of connection forces occurring on the insulation displacement contacts, the plastic housing comprising at least one chamber-shaped region, and the fork contacts being accommodated completely in the longitudinal direction of the plastic housing, ribs being arranged in the chamber-shaped region on the inner sides, which ribs define guides for the fork contacts, the contact regions of the fork contacts protruding beyond the ribs, and the ribs being beveled in the front region. In this case, the housing has a two-piece design, the housing parts being latched to one another. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention is based on the technical problem of providing a plug-type printed circuit board connector of the generic type which has a simpler design. 
     In this regard, the plug-type printed circuit board comprises a housing and a number of contact elements, each contact element comprising a contact for connecting wires and a contact for connection to a printed circuit board, the housing being designed to be integral, and the contact elements being latched captively in the housing. This results in a simple and compact design of the plug-type connector since the housing can be produced, for example, in one method step using injection-molding technology. As a result, necessary physical specifications for latching or the like on the housing no longer need to be adhered to. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the housing has slots on the upper side and the lower side, into which slots enlarged portions of the contact elements engage. Since the housing is produced from plastic, it has a certain spring action, with the result that, when the contact elements are inserted, they are loaded slightly, but bend the plastic of the housing away until the enlarged portions latch into the slots. Instead of the slots, the housing can also have projections, behind which the contact elements latch in when inserted. 
     Preferably, the enlarged portions are arranged on the contact for connecting the printed circuit board. In an embodiment with projections, these projections are preferably arranged in such a way that the contact for connecting the wires latches behind the projection. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, the contact for connecting the wires is in the form of an insulation displacement contact and/or the contact for connecting the printed circuit board is in the form of a fork contact. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, the insulation displacement contact is rotated through 45° with respect to the fork contact, the rotation taking place about the longitudinal axis of the contact element. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, connecting elements are arranged on the side faces of the housing. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, side parts are arranged on the connecting elements, which side parts further preferably have a cable guide and/or an interface for connection to a module housing. In this case, the side parts can have different designs, depending on the application. In principle, it is also possible for further housings to be connected to the connecting elements using contact elements, so that the possibility of a modularly extendable plug-type printed circuit board connector is provided. It is further possible for the side parts with the interface and/or the cable guide to be designed to be integral with the housing. This is advantageous, for example, when the flexibility in terms of the interface and/or cable guide is not required since the complete plug-type printed circuit board connector then only comprises a single plastic part with the contact elements. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, the interface for connection to a module housing is arranged on the outer sides of the side parts. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, the interface comprises a ramp-shaped element, above and below which in each case one latching element is arranged, the latching elements being flatter than the highest elevation of the ramp-shaped element. As a result, the highest elevation of the ramp-shaped element forms a defined pressure point, which juts out during the insertion into a module housing, so that, as a result of pressure on the ramp-shaped elements, the interfaces are pressed inwards and unlatch the latching elements. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, the connecting elements on the side faces of the housing are in the form of a drilled hole with a lateral slot, the width of the slot being smaller than the diameter of the drilled hole. 
     In this case, the corresponding connecting elements on the side parts are in the form of cylinder pins, which have a larger circular head. For connection purposes, the head is then pushed through the drilled hole and subsequently the cylinder pin is moved in the slot, which results in a type of locking via the head part. In principle, however, other embodiments for the connecting elements are also conceivable, for example simple holes, into which journals are plugged. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, a cover, which is at right angles to the upper side, is arranged on the upper side of the housing. The cover is primarily used as a mechanical protection means for the elements on the printed circuit board. 
     In a further preferred embodiment, in each case one pin-shaped element is arranged on the side faces of the housing, the pin-shaped elements forming the pivot bearing of a nameplate frame. The pin-shaped element in this case preferably has a polygonal cross section, preferably a hexagonal cross section. This results in latching between the nameplate frame and the pin-shaped element, so that the nameplate frame independently remains in a folded-up position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment. In the figures: 
         FIG. 1  shows an exploded illustration of a plug-type printed circuit board connector, 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective plan view of an assembled plug-type printed circuit board connector, 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view from below of the plug-type printed circuit board connector, 
         FIG. 4  shows a first perspective side view of a contact element, 
         FIG. 5  shows a second perspective side view of the contact element, 
         FIG. 6  shows a plan view of the contact element, 
         FIG. 7  shows a third perspective view at an angle, and 
         FIG. 8  shows a sectional illustration through the plug-type printed circuit board connector along the section B-B. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The plug-type printed circuit board connector  1  comprises an integral housing  2  made from plastic, a number of contact elements  3  and two side parts  4 ,  5 . The housing  2  is formed in the interior with guides (not illustrated) in which the contact elements are guided in a defined manner. The housing  2  is designed in terms of its depth in such a way that the contact elements  3  are completely accommodated (see also  FIG. 8 ). For this purpose, the contact elements  3  are pushed into the housing  2  from the lower, open end side  6 . Domes  7  are arranged on the upper end side of the housing  2 , between which domes the contact elements  3  lie. A cover  31 , which extends virtually over the entire width of the housing  2  and is arranged at right angles to the upper side  8 , is arranged on an upper side  8  of the housing  2 . Slots  9  are incorporated into the housing  2  on the upper side  8  and a lower side  10  (see  FIG. 3 ) of the housing  2 . The number of slots  9  in the upper side  8  or the lower side  10  corresponds to the number of contact elements  3 . In the example illustrated, the housing  2  is used for accommodating thirty-two contact elements  3 . The slots  9  in the upper side  8  are in this case aligned with the slots  9  in the lower side  10 . Drilled holes  12  with a lateral slot  13  are arranged on the side faces  11  of the housing  2 . In this case, the width of the slot  13  is slightly smaller than the diameter of the drilled hole  12 . Furthermore, pin-shaped elements  14 , which have a hexagonal cross section and are used as the pivot bearing of a nameplate frame (not illustrated), are arranged on the side faces  11  or the outer sides of the two last domes  7 . The side parts  4 ,  5  each have a lug-shaped basic body  15 . In each case two pin-shaped elements  16  with a wider, circular head part  17  are arranged on the inner sides of the lug-shaped basic body  15 . In order to connect the side parts  4 ,  5  to the housing  2 , the head parts  17  are plugged into the drilled hole  12  and then the side part  4 ,  5  is moved in the direction of the domes  7 , the pin-shaped elements  16  running along in the slot  13 . The head part  17 , which lies behind this and is wider than the slot  13 , then prevents the side part  4 ,  5  from being capable of being withdrawn. The side parts  4 ,  5  furthermore have a cable guide  18 , whose geometry can be matched to the requirements in situ. The plug-type printed circuit board connector  1  can therefore be matched optimally to the conditions by using various side parts  4 ,  5 . A ramp-shaped element  19 , which extends as far as an end side  20  of the lug-shaped basic body  15 , which end side  20  is opposite the cable guide  18 , is arranged on the outer sides of the lug-shaped basic body  15 . In each case one latching element  21 , which in the example illustrated is parallelepipedal, is arranged above and below the ramp-shaped element  19 . In this case, the latching element  21  is flatter than the highest elevation  22  of the ramp-shaped element  19  and further preferably is also not higher than any point on the ramp-shaped element  19 . 
     The contact element  3  will now be explained in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 4 to 7 . The integral contact element  3  comprises an insulation displacement contact  23  for connecting wires and a fork contact  24  for connection to a printed circuit board. In this case, contact regions  25  of the fork contact  24  come into contact with metallized pads on the printed circuit board. In the longitudinal direction L, the fork contact  24  and the insulation displacement contact  23  are rotated through 45° with respect to one another, which can best be seen in  FIG. 6 . For this purpose, the contact element  3  has notches  26 , so that a flexible web  27  results. The fork contact  24  has enlarged portions  29  on the outer sides  28  thereof, which enlarged portions are at the level of the contact regions  25  and extend as far as the end side  30  of the fork contact  24 . When the contact element  3  is inserted into the housing  2 , the enlarged portions  29  slide into the slots  9  of the upper side  8  and lower side  10 , so that the contact elements  3  are latched captively in the housing  2 . This latched state can best be seen in  FIG. 8 . 
     LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS 
     
         
           1  Plug-type printed circuit board connector 
           2  Housing 
           3  Contact elements 
           4 ,  5  Side parts 
           6  End side 
           7  Dome 
           8  Upper side 
           9  Slots 
           10  Lower side 
           11  Side face 
           12  Drilled holes 
           13  Slots 
           14  Pin-shaped elements 
           15  Basic body 
           16  Pin-shaped elements 
           17  Head part 
           18  Cable guide 
           19  Ramp-shaped element 
           20  End side 
           21  Latching element 
           22  Highest elevation 
           23  Insulation displacement contact 
           24  Fork contact 
           25  Contact regions 
           26  Notches 
           27  Flexible web 
           28  Outer side 
           29  Enlarged portions 
           30  End side 
           31  Cover 
         L Longitudinal direction