JACK CONNECTOR DEVICE

Abstract: A jack connector device (12) allows a plurality of modular jacks to be mounted thereon. An elongated housing (14) is provided in the jack connector device and a plurality of socket sections (16) are set along a length of the housing. One modular jack is fitted into the respective socket section. Further, contact terminals (18) are arranged in the respective socket section. The respective socket section corresponds to the single modular jack connector. By mounting the housing on a printed circuit board, it is possible to achieve the same function as when a plurality of modular jack connectors are mounted on the printed circuit board at a time.

Description: JACK CONNECTOR DEVICE Background of the Invention 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a jack connector device and, more in particular, to a jack connector device which can connect a plurality of jack connectors to a printed circuit board. 2. Description of the Related Art A modular jack connector is printed circuit board mount type connector and is used to connect a cable which is run from outside a communications unit for instance to a printed circuit board present within the communications unit. In recent years, this type of connector has been employed not only for communications units but also for the interface, etc., of an office automation unit and peripheral units. Such connectors are each employed to receive those modular jacks in a single cable and, in order to corre¬ spond to the number of cables to be connected to the printed circuit board, a plurality of connectors are mounted on that printed circuit board. This type of connector is usually of a compact type and a time consuming operation is required in mounting a larger number of such connectors on the printed circuit board. Readier mounting of the connectors iε, therefore, required. Summary of the Invention It is accordingly the object of the present invention to provide a jack connector device which sat¬ isfies the aforementioned requirement and ensures its readier mounting on the printed circuit board. According to the present invention, there is pro- vided a jack connector device for connecting a plurality of jack connectors to a printed circuit board, the jack connector device comprising: an elongated, insulating houεing having socket sections set, in a single array, along a length of the houεing and holding jack connectorε adapted to receive given plug terminals; and contact terminals provided in the respective socket sections to connect the plug terminals to the printed circuit board. According to the above connector structure, a respective recess in the housing which receives the con¬ tact terminals corresponds to one modular jack connector. A single housing mounted on the printed cir¬ cuit board serves as being equivalent to a plurality of modulator jack connectors. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a front view showing a jack connector device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 iε a top view εhowing the jack connector device of Fig. 1 as viewed in a direction in which modu¬ lar jacks are received; and Fig. 3 is a side view showing the jack connector device of Fig. 1. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment Figs. 1 to 3 show a jack connector device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The jack connector device 12 has an elongated housing or holder 14 which is molded. A plurality of (three in Figures) socket sectionε 16 are provided in a single array in the housing such that they extend along a length of the housing. Contact terminals 18 are arranged below the respective socket sectionε εuch that their lower end portionε extend, aε εolder tailε 22, from the corre¬ εponding lower end εurfaceε of the respective socket εections 16. The εolder tailε 22 are inεerted into cor- reεponding through holeε in an aεεociated printed cir¬ cuit board (PCB), not εhown, and εoldering iε effected there by, for example, an infrared soldering reflow step to electrically connect the contact ter inalε 18 to a circuit pattern on the PCB. A known modular jack, not shown, is inserted into an opening 16b in a top end 16a of the respective socket section 16 and hence fixedly fitted in the socket sec¬ tion 16. The modular jack, upon being inserted into the socket section, is brought into contact with the contact terminals εo that the jack can be electrically connected by the contact terminals 18 to the circuit pattern on the PCB. The respective socket section 16 correspond to one modular jack connector. Mount legs 24 extend from the lower surface 20 of the socket section 16. The mount legs 24 are inserted into associated mount holes in the PCB and fixed there, whereby the jack connector device 12 is mounted on the PCB. A housing material, if being properly selected, can not only protect the housing 14 from high tempera¬ ture due to the soldering of the solder tails 22 by, for example, the infrared soldering reflow step but also maintain a hermetic sealing property. For example, a metal such aε aluminum as well as a thermoplastic resin such as hot nylon and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is preferable, as the housing material, depending upon the use to which the material iε put. According to the jack connector device 12, the houεing 14 can be mounted on the PCB by a εingle εtep only, thus performing the same function as mounting a plurality of modular jack connectorε on the PCB. Thuε a mounting εtep preceding a soldering step can be further simplified than the method for mounting respective independent modular jack connectors on the PCB either manually or by a robot. The housing 14 can be easily molded at a low cost and hence the jack connector device 12 can be manufac¬ tured at a low coεt. The number of modular jacks mountable on the jack connector device 12 is shown as being three but not restricted thereto. By setting any proper number of socket sections 16 in the housing 14, it is posεible to readily cope with a different number of modular jacks. A combination of socket sections 16, that is, modu¬ lar jack connectors, in the jack connector device 12 can also have any combination of differently wired connectors, for example, 4, 6 or 8 wire connectors. According to the jack connector device of the pre- sent invention, since a plurality of jack connectors can be mounted in a εingle houεing at a time, the mounting step can more readily be carried out for a brief period of time than when a plurality of modular jack connectors are mounted on a PCB.

Claims: What is claimed is: 1. A jack connector device for connecting a plu¬ rality of jack connectorε to a printed circuit board, comprising: an elongated, insulating houεing having socket sec¬ tions set, in a single array, along a length of the housing and holding jack connectors adapted to receive given plug terminals; and contact terminals provided in the reεpective socket εectionε to connect the plug terminalε to the printed circuit board.

Inventors: KEE ERIC CHAN WEI, KUANG KAN MENG, KEE, ERIC, CHAN, WEI, KUANG, KAN, MENG
Applicants: BERG TECH INC, KEE ERIC CHAN WEI, KUANG KAN MENG, BERG TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R12, H01R13