Connector and manufacturing method thereof

A connector and a method of manufacturing the same one are provided. The connector includes an insulating casing and a plurality of terminals. The insulating casing has a joining surface and a plurality of terminal holes. The terminal holes are arranged to pass through the joining surface in a manner to slant relative to the insulating casing. Each terminal hole has a pair of opposite inner walls. The insulating casing further has a plurality of positioning parts adjacent to at least one of the respective inner walls of the respective terminal holes. The terminals are located within the respective terminal holes. With the use of the positioning parts, when the terminal holes of the insulating casing is formed, the pins do not tend to break and then the slant terminal holes are smoothly formed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to a connector and a method of manufacturing the same one, and particularly to a connector which has an insulating casing with slant terminal holes, and a method of manufacturing the same one.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring toFIG. 1andFIG. 2, a conventional method of manufacturing a connector forms an insulating casing40aby using a lower mold10aand an upper mold20amatching the lower mold10a. The upper mold20aand the lower mold10arespectively have an upper recess21aand a lower recess11aopposite to the upper recess21a. The lower mold10ahas a plurality of pins13a. The upper mold20ahas a plurality of slots23awhich allow the respective pins13ato insert into along an inserting direction L. The upper recess21ahas an upper receiving surface22atilted relative to the inserting direction L, and the lower recess11ahas a lower receiving surface12atilted relative to the inserting direction L. The lower recess11afurther has a plurality of accommodating grooves14a.

The slots23aare formed in the upper receiving surface22a. Each slot23ahas a first sidewall231aand a second sidewall232aopposite to the first sidewall231a. The presence of the upper receiving surface22aallows the lower edge of the first sidewall231ato be positioned at a lower level than the lower edge of the second sidewall232a. When the upper mold20acovers the lower mold10a, the upper recess21aand the lower recess11atogether define a chamber30awhich slants to and intersects with the inserting direction L and is used to form the insulating casing40a. The insulating casing40ahas a base41aand the pins13athereon. The insertion of the pins13ainto the slots23acontributes to drive slant terminal holes42ainto the mold and to form a plurality of terminals (not shown). The base41ahas a plurality of ribs43aextending there from in a manner to correspond to the respective accommodating grooves14aof the lower mold10a.

However, in a case that needs more terminals, the terminals must be made fine and intensively arranged. Therefore, the pins13awhich are used to form the terminal holes42ashould be made fine accordingly. A lower position of the lower edge of the first sidewall231athan the lower edge of the second sidewall232amakes the pins13ashift when inserted into the slots23a, because the level difference of assembled molds allow the pins13ato contact the lower edges of the first sidewalls231afirst and then the lower edges of the second sidewalls is232a. Such action easily breaks or damages the pins13a, and thus fails to smoothly form the terminal holes42a.

Therefore, there is a need of a novel method of manufacturing the connector, which can solve the above prior problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a connector and a method of manufacturing the same one, wherein the connector has an insulating casing which is formed in a slant way so that terminal holes can be formed more smoothly without any damage to molds.

In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the connector of the invention includes an insulating casing which has a joining surface and a plurality of terminal holes. The terminal hole is arranged to pass through the joining surface in a slant way. Each terminal hole has a pair of opposite inner walls. The insulating casing has a plurality of positioning parts and a plurality of terminals. The positioning parts are adjacent to at least one of the respective inner walls of the respective terminal holes. The terminals are arranged within the respective terminal holes in a manner to be tilted relative to the insulating casing.

The method of manufacturing the connector includes the following steps. A first mold and a second mold matching the first mold with at least one chamber there between are provided. The first mold has a plurality of pins and the second mold has a plurality of slots. The pins insert into the respective slots through the chamber along an inserting direction. The chamber tilts to and intersects with the inserting direction. The second mold has a receiving surface which has a low end and a high end. The slots are formed in the receiving surface. Each of the slots has a first sidewall and a second sidewall opposite to the first sidewall. The first sidewall and the second sidewall are respectively close to the low end and the high end of the receiving surface. The receiving surface has a plurality of positioning structures adjacent to at least one of the respective sidewalls of the respective slots. An insulating material is filled within the chamber to enclose the pins so as to form a plurality of terminal holes. An insulating casing is obtained after the insulating material is solidified. The terminal holes are arranged to pass through the insulating casing in a manner to be tilted relative to the insulating casing. The insulating casing further has a plurality of positioning parts corresponding to the positioning structures. The plurality of terminals is located within the respective terminal holes.

The connector offers the following advantages. The method of the invention manufactures the terminal holes which are tilted relative to the insulating casing, while the pins of the mold do not tend to break. In this way, the molding of the terminal holes can be made smooth and the maintenance cost of molds can be saved.

To provide a further understanding of the invention, the following detailed description illustrates embodiments and examples of the invention, this detailed description being provided only for illustration of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Wherever possible in the following description, like reference numerals will refer to like elements and parts unless otherwise illustrated.

FIG. 3andFIG. 4respectively depict a method of manufacturing a connector according to the first embodiment of the invention. The method of manufacturing the connector in this embodiment includes the following steps:(a) A first mold10and a second mold20which match each other are provided. The first mold10has a concave top which forms at least one first recess11. The first recess11has a first concave receiving surface12and a plurality of accommodating grooves14. The first mold10further has a plurality of pins13thereon;(b) The second mold20has a plurality of slots23respectively receiving the corresponding pins13. The second mold20has a concave bottom which forms a second recess21corresponding to the first recess11. The second recess21has a second receiving surface22parallel to the first receiving surface12and tilted relative to an inserting direction L1. The second receiving surface22has a low end221and a high end222. The low end221is located at a lower position than the high end222. The slots23are located inside the second recess21in a manner to correspond to the respective pins13to allow the pins13to insert into the respective slots23through the second receiving surface22. Each of the slots23has a first sidewall231and a second sidewall232opposite to the first sidewall231. The first sidewall231abut to the low end221of the second receiving surface22, and the second sidewall232abut to the high end222of the second receiving surface22. The second receiving surface22further has a plurality of positioning structures24next to the respective first sidewalls231of the slots23;In this embodiment, at least one of the positioning structures24is a cut corner located at an intersection of the first sidewall231and the second receiving surface22. The horizontal line L2, along the top of the cut corner positioning structure24and the lower edge of the second sidewall232, is vertical to the inserting direction L1. That means the top of the cut corner is at the same horizontal level as the second sidewalls232so that even if the pins13insert into the slots23late, still the smooth insertion of the pins13into the slots23along the inserting direction L1can be achieved without being interfered by the lower edges of the first sidewalls231and hindered by the lower edges of the second sidewalls232;(c) When the first mold10covers the second mold20, as shown inFIG. 3, the first recess11and the second recess21together form at least one chamber30between them in a manner to be tilted relative to the inserting direction L1. The tilting angle of chamber30relative to the inserting direction L1is in the range of 1 to 89 degrees. The pins13moves along the direction L1to pass the, chamber30and then go into the respective slots23;(d) An insulating material is filled up in the chamber30to enclose the pins13so as to form a plurality of terminal holes43;(e) After the insulating material is solidified, an insulating casing40is obtained. The insulating casing40has a base41and a plurality of ribs42. The terminal holes43pass through the base41in a manner to be tilted relative to the insulating casing. The base41has a plurality of positioning parts44corresponding to the respective positioning structures24; and(f) A plurality of terminals50is disposed within the respective terminal holes43. Thereby, the connector of the invention is obtained.

In this embodiment, the first mold10and the second mold20join to each other in a manner to face to face from top to bottom. However, the direction of joining the first mold10with the second mold20is not particularly limited to a vertical direction as mentioned above, and can be tilted relative to the vertical direction.

Referring toFIG. 5, a connector obtained by the method according to the first embodiment of the invention includes an insulating casing40and a plurality of terminals50.

The insulating casing40has a base41and a plurality of terminal holes43. The base41has a first joining surface411and a second joining surface412, which are respectively formed by the first receiving surface12of the first mold10and the second receiving surface22of the second mold20, as shown inFIG. 4. A plurality of ribs42extending upward from the first joining surface411is formed by the accommodating grooves14of the first mold10.

The terminal holes43slant to pass through the first joining surface411and the second joining surface412of the base41. Each terminal hole43includes a first inner wall431intersecting the second joining surface412at an acute angle, and also includes a second inner wall432oppositely parallel to the first inner wall431and intersecting the second joining surface412at an obtuse angle.

The base41has a plurality of positioning parts44which outwardly extend from the base and are adjacent to the respective first inner wall431of the respective terminal holes43. In this embodiment, the positioning parts44are tapering protruding blocks each of which is located at an intersection of the respective first inner wall431and the respective second joining surface412of the base41. Each terminal hole43locates on an opening of the first joining surface411of the base41, away from the second joining surface412, in a manner to gradually expand from inside to outside.

The terminals50are made of electrically conductive material in plate form. Each of the terminals50has a lead51extending out of the insulating casing40. The lead51has a filmy tin enclosure52at one end thereof for electrically connecting to an external circuit board (not shown). The terminals50are arranged within the respective terminal holes43, tilted relative to the insulating casing40.

FIG. 6andFIG. 7show a connector according to the second embodiment of the invention. The connector in this embodiment is almost the same as the one in the first embodiment, except the following features:

The second receiving surface22of the second mold20has a plurality of positioning structures24′ adjacent to the respective second sidewalls232of the respective slots23. At least one of the positioning structures24′ is a protruding block which protrudes from the intersection of the second sidewall232and the second receiving surface22. The line L2′ along the bottom of the protruding block and the lower edge of the first sidewall231is vertical to the inserting direction L1. That means the bottom of the protruding block and the lower edge of the first sidewall231are at the same horizontal level so that even if the pins13insert into the slots23imprecisely, the smooth insertion of the pins13into the respective slots23along the inserting direction L1can still be achieved without any interference of the lower edges of the first sidewalls231or hindrance by the lower edges of the second sidewalls232. Thereby, the terminal holes43can be smoothly formed within the base41.

Referring toFIG. 8, which shows the second embodiment of the invention, the connector in this embodiment is almost the same as the one in the first embodiment, except the following features:

The base41has a plurality of positioning parts44′ formed inwardly therein and adjacent to the respective second inner sidewalls432of the respective terminal holes43. At least one of the positioning parts44′ is a recess located at an intersection of the second inner wall432and the second joining surface412of the base41.

FIG. 9andFIG. 10show a connector according to the third embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the connector is almost the same as the one in the first embodiment, except the following features.

The second receiving surface22of the second mold20has a plurality of positioning structures24″ adjacent to the respective first sidewalls231and the respective second sidewalls23of the respective slots23. Each positioning structure24″ includes a cut corner241″ and a protruding block242″. The cut corner241″ locates at an intersection of the first sidewall231and the second receiving surface22. The protruding block242″ locates at an intersection of the second sidewall232and the second receiving surface22. The line L2″ along the top of the cut corner241″ and the bottom of the protruding block242″ is vertical to the inserting direction L1. That means the top of the cut corner241″ is at the same horizontal level as the bottom of the protruding block242″ so that the pins13can smoothly insert into the respective slots23along the inserting direction L1.

FIG. 11shows a connector according to the third embodiment of the invention. The connector in this embodiment is almost the same as the one in the first embodiment, except the following features:

The base41has a plurality of positioning parts44″ adjacent to the respective inner walls431,432of the respective terminal holes43, as shown inFIG. 10also. The positioning part44″ include a tapered protruding block441″ and a concave recess442″. The tapered protruding block441″ locates at an intersection of the first inner wall431and the second joining surface412. The concave recess442″ locates at an intersection of the second inner wall432and the second joining surface412.

In the light of the foregoing, the positioning structures of the mold corresponding to the slots allow the smooth insertion of the pins into the respective terminal holes and prevent any breakage of the pins within the terminal holes. Therefore, the prior shortages occurring in the conventional molds, for example the pins shift their positions or break due to contacting any low end of any sidewall when inserting into the terminal holes, can be avoided. Furthermore, the molds offer elongated service lives, with saved maintenance cost.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above description is only illustrative of specific embodiments and examples of the invention. The invention should therefore cover various modifications and variations made to the herein-described structure and operations of the invention, provided they fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the following appended claims.