Electric connector

Abstract: An electric connector 10 is configured so as to include, a first connector 13 having a plurality of signal terminals and adapted to be mounted on a substrate, a second connector 14 having five contact pins aligned at equal intervals, the second and fourth ones of the contact pins being connected respectively to two of the signal terminals of the first connector through which signals are to be changed over, the first and fifth ones of the contact pins being supplied with signals to be changed over, and a conversion connector 20 having four contact portions 23 aligned at equal distances so that the contact portions 23 are adapted to engage respectively with four successive contact pins on one or the other side of the second connector selectively, the first and second ones of the contact portions being electrically connected with each other, the third and fourth ones of the contact portions being electrically connected with each other.

Description: BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to an electric connector for connecting, for example, an automobile audio system, and particularly relates to an electric connector satisfying ISO Standards for connecting various signal lines in a lump. Related art Conventionally, such an electric connector is configured as shown in Fig. 9 by way of example. In Fig. 9, an electric connector 1 is mounted on a board 2 of an automobile audio system, for example, by solder dipping, and used for connecting various signal lines, that is, lines for a power supply, audio signals, ACC, BUP and speakers, to the vehicle body side. A speaker connector 3 connected to speakers on the vehicle body side, and a signal line connector 4 connected to a power supply, etc. also on the vehicle body side are connected to the electric connector 1 mounted on the board 2 in a manner as described above, so that the on-vehicle speaker is connected to the automobile audio system formed on the board 2 while electric power is supplied to the automobile audio system, and audio signals are supplied to not-shown apparatus. Such electric connectors satisfying ISO Standards are adopted broadly by automobile makers in various countries, particularly in Europe. Although the connectors are standardized in common, sometimes wire distributions of the connectors may be different in accordance with automobile makers. For example, in some ISO Standard electric connectors, the wire distributions of No. 4 ACC (accessory) and No. 7 BUP (backup) may be reversed to each other. To cope with such a difference in wiring, conventionally, a method is employed in which a circuit converting adapter 5 is interposed between the electric connector 1 and the signal line connector 4, as shown in Fig. 10. The circuit converting adapter 5 is designed to have removable connection terminals to be provided in the middle of signal lines 5a and 5b for the above-mentioned ACC and BUP so that the connection of those connection terminals can be changed over in accordance with necessity to make the connection of ACC and BUP proper. However, there was a problem that using such a circuit converting adapter 5 in order to cope with different distributions in accordance with automobile makers, resulted in increase in the number of parts, so that the cost increased. In addition, the change-over working of the connection terminals was required so that the workability became poor. US-A-5 017 818 according to the pre-characterizing part of claim 1 discloses a connection device for a motor including a wiring leading to a connector circuit disposed on a terminal board having electrical connection arms. A plug is provided having a plurality of contact pins wherein the first and second contact pins are electrically connected with each other and the third and fourth contact pins are electrically connected with each. The plug includes a function tang projecting in the same direction as the contact pins of the plug wherein function slots are disposed in the terminal board, wherein in a first position, where the function tang engages the upper function slot the motor runs with 115 volts in a counter-clockwise direction and wherein in a second position, where the function tang engages a lower function slot the motor runs with 150 volts in a clockwise direction. SUMMARY OF INVENTION Taking the foregoing problems into consideration, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric connector in which wiring can be changed over easily even if there is a difference in wire distribution. According to the present invention, the above object can be achieved by an electric connector according to claim 1. Preferably, in the above electric connector according to the present invention, either the second or the fourth one of the contact pins of the second connector is connected also to an unused pattern of the first connector. Preferably, in the above electric connector according to the present invention, the first connector and the second connector are formed integrally. According to the above-mentioned configuration, signal lines to be changed over are connected to the first and fifth contact pins of the second connector respectively, while the second and fourth contact pins of the second connector are connected to corresponding signal terminals of the first connector respectively. Then, if the conversion connector is attached to the second connector so that the first contact portion of the conversion connector engages with the first contact pin of the second connector, the first and second contact pins of the second connector are short-circuited through the first and second contact portions of the conversion connector, while the third and fourth contact pins of the second connector are short-circuited through the third and fourth contact portions of the conversion connector. Consequently, a signal line on which a signal is to be changed over is connected to the signal terminal of the first connector connected to the second contact pin of the second connector, through the first contact pin of the second connector. On the other hand, if the conversion connector is attached to the second connector so that the first contact portion of the conversion connector engages with the second contact pin of the second connector, the second and third contact pins of the second connector are short-circuited through the first and second contact portions of the conversion connector, while the fourth and fifth contact pins of the second connector are short-circuited through the third and fourth contact portions of the conversion connector. Consequently, a signal line on which a signal to be changed over is connected to the signal terminal of the first connector connected to the fourth contact pin of the second connector through the fifth contact pin of the second connector. Therefore, in the case where places of two signal lines are changed with each other with respect to the wire distribution in the second connector which is to be correspondingly connected to the first connector, it is possible to easily cope with such a difference in wire distribution by shifting the attachment position of the conversion connector relative to the second connector. When either the second or fourth contact pin of the second connector is connected also to an unused pattern of the first connector, the central contact pin of the second connector may be connected to the unused pattern of the first connector through a pair of connection portions of the conversion connector making no contribution to the above-mentioned signal-line changeover connection. Therefore, if a desired signal is assigned to the unused pattern of the first connector, another signal line can be changed over at the same time when the signal lines to the connection terminals of the first connector are changed over. Since the conversion connector is provided with a pair of projecting strip portions for preventing the conversion connector from being erroneously reversely attached to the second connector while the second connector is provided with a pair of recess portions corresponding to the strip portions of the conversion connector, the strip portions of the conversion connector does not engage with the recess portions of the second connector in the case where the conversion connector is reversely attached to the second connector. It is therefore possible to surely prevent the conversion connector from being attached reversely. When the first connector and the second connector are formed integrally, signal lines can be connected to the first and fifth contact pins of the second connector at the same time by mounting the electric connector on the board. It is therefore possible to perform the working of mounting easily and rapidly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a front view illustrating an embodiment of an electric connector according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a bottom view illustrating the electric connector in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a right side view illustrating the electric connector in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line Y-Y in the electric connector in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line X-X in the electric connector in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a schematic enlarged view showing a connection state of a first connector and a second connector in the electric connector in Fig. 1; Fig. 7 are views illustrating a conversion connector to be connected to the second connector in the electric connector in Fig. 1; (A) a plan view; (B), a front view; (C), a side view; and (D), a bottom view; Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the conversion connector in Fig. 7, taken on line Z-Z; Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing the use state of a background-art electric connector by way of example; Fig. 10 is a schematic view showing the use state where signal lines are changed over by the electric connector in Fig. 9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. Figs. 1 to 6 show a configuration of an electric connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figs. 1 to 3, an electric connector 10 is a connector satisfying ISO Standards and for connecting an automobile audio system. The electric connector 10 is constituted by a body 12 having a bottom surface to be put on a board 11 (see Fig. 2), a first connector 13 constituted by two 8-pin connectors 13a and 13b arranged in the body 12, a second connector 14 constituted by one 5-pin connector, and a conversion connector 20 (see Figs. 7 and 8) to be attached to the second connector 14. The body 12 is formed, for example, of molded resin or the like, and designed so that its bottom surface is in contact with the upper surface of the board 11 when the body 12 is mounted on the board 11. The first connector 13 has a pair of 8-pin connectors 13a and 13b. The connector 13a constitutes a connector for speakers, while the connector 13b constitutes a connector for A parts. Each of the connectors 13a and 13b has contact pins 13c penetrating the bottom of the body 12 vertically, as shown in Fig. 4. The second connector 14 is constituted by one 5-pin connector, having conversion contact pins 14a arranged at equal intervals and penetrating the bottom of the body 12 vertically, as shown in Fig. 5. Here, as shown in Fig. 6, the second connector 14 is designed so that the fourth contact pin from the top in Fig. 6 is connected to the seventh pin 13d of the A-part connector 13b of the first connector 13, while the second contact pin is connected to the fourth pin 13e of the A-part connector 13b of the first connector 13, and to the third pin 13f which is an unused connection terminal as an unused pattern. This connection may be performed through a lead portion provided in the electric connector 10, or performed through an electrically conductive pattern formed on the board 11. Further, in the second connector 14, the first contact pin and the fifth contact pin are connected, for example, to the ACC connection terminals of a circuit formed on the board 11. The aforementioned contact pins 13c and 14a are formed of an electric conductor, and designed so that one ends of the pins project upward in the inside of the body 12 to contact with connection portions of a connection connector 15 and the conversion connector 20 (see Fig. 5) when the connectors 15 and 20 are connected to corresponding portions of the body 12, while the other ends of the pins extending downward in the inside of the body 12 project downward from the bottom of the body 12 so as to be inserted into through holes provided in the board 11 so as to be electrically connected to the board 11 at the lower edges of the through holes by soldering. Figs. 7 and 8 show the conversion connector 20 which is to be attached to the above-mentioned second connector 14 so as to short-circuit contact pins selectively. The conversion connector 20 is constituted by a body 21 which can be inserted into a hollow portion opened upward in the second connector 14, four insertion portions 22 in the body 21 to which the upper ends of the conversion contact pins 14a of the second connector 14 can be fitted and which is opened downward, and contact portions 23 attached to the insertion portions 22 respectively. Here, the body 21 has a pair of projecting strip portions 21a extending vertically along the opposite side edge portions of the flat side surfaces of the body 21. In addition, the contact portions 23 of the conversion connector 20 are designed so that the contact portions 23 to be attached to the first and second ones of the four insertion portions 22 are formed integrally with each other while the connection portions 23 to be attached to the third and fourth insertion portions are formed integrally with each other, as shown in Fig. 8. Consequently, the conversion connector 20 is attached to the second connector 14 while being inserted selectively into the hollow portion of the second connector 14 so that the first contact portion 23 of the conversion connector 20 engages with the first contact pin 14a of the second connector 14, or the first contact portion 23 engages with the second contact pin 14a of the second connector 14. At that time, when the conversion connector 20 is attached to the second connector 14, the above-mentioned projecting strip portions 21a are fitted selectively into a pair of recess portions 14b or 14c provided on one side of the hollow portion of the second connector 14 so that the direction of attachment of the conversion connector 20 is determined, and the position of the conversion connector 20 in the longitudinal direction (in the direction of arrangement of contact pins 14a) is restricted. The electric connector 10 according to this embodiment of the present invention is thus configured. When the electric connector 10 is mounted on the board 11, the bottom of the body 12 is put on the upper surface of the board 11 so that the lower ends of the contact pins 13c and 14a are inserted into though holes (not shown) provided in the board 11 respectively. Then, the lower ends of the contact pins 13c are soldered at the lower ends of the through holes of the board 11 respectively, for example, by solder dipping or the like, so that the contact pins 13c are electrically connected to a circuit formed on the lower surface of the board 11. Consequently, the connection terminals of the connectors 13a and 13b of the first connector 13 except the third, fourth and seventh pins of the connector 13b, are connected to the connection terminals of the circuit formed on the board 11 respectively, while the third pin 13f, the fourth pin 13e and the seventh pin 13d of the connector 13b are connected to the second and fourth contact pins 14a of the second connector 14 through a lead portion provided in the electric connector 10 or an electrically conductive pattern formed on the board 11. Further, the first and fifth contact pins 14a of the second connector 14 are connected to the ACC connection terminal of the circuit formed on the board 11. In addition, the third, that is, central contact pin 14a of the second connector 14 is connected to, for example, an antenna terminal or the like of the circuit formed on the board 11. Then, the conversion connector 20 is selectively attached to the second connector 14 as described above, in accordance with the wire distribution of a vehicle-side connection plug (not shown) connected to the first connector 13 of the electric connector 10, which wire distribution determined in accordance with automobile makers. Consequently, ACC is selectively connected to the fourth pin 13e or the seventh pin 13d of the A-part connector 13b of the first connector 13 in accordance with the position where the conversion connector is attached. That is, if the conversion connector 20 is attached to the second connector 14 while the projecting strip portions 21a of the body 21 of the conversion connector 20 are fitted to the recess portions 14b of the second connector 14 so that the first contact portion 23 of the conversion connector 20 engages with the first contact pin 14a of the second connector 14, the first and second contact pins of the second connector 14 are short-circuited through the first and second contact portions 23 of the conversion connector 20. Accordingly, ACC is connected to the fourth pin 13e of the A-part connector 13b of the first connector 13. At this time, the third and fourth contact pins of the second connector 14 are short-circuited through the third and fourth contact portions 23 of the conversion connector 20. On the other hand, if the conversion connector 20 is attached to the second connector 14 while the projecting strip portions 21a of the body 21 of the conversion connector 20 are fitted to the recess portions 14c of the second connector 14 so that the first contact portion 23 of the conversion connector 20 engages with the second contact pin 14a of the second connector 14, the fourth and fifth contact pins of the second connector 14 are short-circuited through the third and fourth contact portions 23 of the conversion connector 20. Accordingly, ACC is connected to the seventh pin 13d of the A-part connector 13b of the first connector 13. At this time, the second and third contact pins of the second connector 14 are short-circuited through the first and second contact portions 23 of the conversion connector 20, so that the central contact pin of the second connector 14 is connected to the fourth pin 13e and the third pin 13f which is an unused terminal of the A-part connector 13b of the first connector 13. Therefore, for example, if an antenna terminal is connected to the central contact pin of the second connector 14, the antenna terminal can be connected to the third pin 13f. The electric connector 10 mounted on the board 11 in such a manner can perform a desired electric connection by the insertion of the vehicle-side connection plug to the respective connectors 13a and 13b of the first connector 13. Here, based on the position where the conversion connector 20 is attached to the second connector 14, the fourth pin or the seventh pin of the A-part connector 13b of the first connector 13 can be connected desirably to ACC to cope with the wire distribution different in accordance with the automobile makers. Therefore, a vehicle-side connection plug can be connected directly to the first connector 13 of the electric connector 10 to cope with the wire distribution different in accordance with the automobile makers without using any adapter for circuit conversion. Consequently, only one kind of electric connector 10 can be adapted to all kinds of different wire distributions arranged by different automobile makers, so that the productivity is improved, while the working of mounting can be performed easily. Although, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the projecting strip portions 21a are provided in the body 21 of the conversion connector 20 and the pair of recess portions 14b and 14c are provided in the hollow portion of the second connector 14 correspondingly to the projecting strip portions 21a, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. It is apparent that recess portions may be provided in the conversion connector 20 while protrusion portions may be provided in the second connector, so long as the conversion connector 20 can be attached to the second connector 14 restrictly at two kinds of positions. In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment has been described about a connector in ISO Standards for connecting an automobile audio system, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. It is apparent that the present invention may be applicable to any electric connector requiring change-over of wire distributions in various apparatus. As described above, according to the present invention, signal lines to be changed over are connected to the first and fifth contact pins of the second connector respectively, while the second and fourth contact pins of the second connector are connected to corresponding signal terminals of the first connector respectively. Therefore, in the case where places of two signal lines are changed with each other with respect to the wire distribution in the second connector which is to be correspondingly connected to the first connector, it is possible to easily cope with such a difference in wire distribution by shifting the attachment position of the conversion connector relative to the second connector. Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an extremely superior electric connector in which, even if wire distributions are different, the wire distributions can be changed over easily.

Claims: An electric connector (10) comprising: a first connector (13) having a plurality of signal terminals and adapted to be mounted on a substrate (11); a second connector (14) having five contact pins (14a) aligned at equal intervals, the second and fourth ones of said contact pins being connected respectively to two of said signal terminals of said first connector (13) through which signals are to be changed over, the first and fifth ones of said contact pins (14a) being supplied with signals to be changed over; and a conversion connector (20) having a body (21) and four contact portions (23) aligned at equal distances so that said contact portions are adapted to engage respectively with four successive contact pins on one of one and the other side of said second connector (14) selectively, the first and second ones of said contact portions (23) being electrically connected with each other, the third and fourth ones of said contact portions (23) being electrically connected with each other, characterized in that said second connector (14) has a hollow portion opened upward away from the substrate, said hollow portion having two pairs of recess portions (14b, 14c) provided on one side thereof ; and said body (21) of said conversion connector (20) is provided for being inserted into said hollow portion of said second connector (14), said body (21) having a pair of projecting strip portions (21a) extending in insertion direction along side edge portions of flat side surfaces of the body (21) for fitting selectively to one pair of said recess portions (14b, 14c). An electric connector according to claim 1, wherein one of the second pin and the fourth contact pin of said second connector (14) is connected also to an unused pattern of said first connector (13). An electric connector according to claim 1 or 2 wherein said first connector (13) and said second connector (14) are formed integrally.

Inventors: ASANO SHINICHI, KONNO TAKESHI, ASANO, SHINICHI, KONNO, TAKESHI, Asano, Shinichi c/o Mitsumi Newtec Co.,Ltd., Konno, Takeshi c/o Mitsumi Newtec Co.,Ltd.
Applicants: MITSUMI ELECTRIC CO, MITSUMI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: H01R31
IPC codes: H01R31, H01R24, H01R29