A connector mold and a connector molding method

Abstract: [Object] To provide a connector mold capable of improving a connector molding efficiency. [Solution] A first insert 30 for a first male connector 10 and a second insert 31 for a second male connector 15 can be exchangeably mounted in a movable mold 22. A first closing projection 32 fittable into a second identification rib forming groove 26 of a fixed mold 21 projects from the front surface of the first insert 30, and a first preventing rib forming groove 33 for forming an error assembling preventing rib 13 of the first connector 10 extends on the upper surface of the first insert 30 on an extension line of a first identification rib forming groove 25 of the fixed mold 21. When the molds 21, 22 are closed, a closed connector molding space 20A is defined therebetween and the first closing projection 32 closes the second identification rib forming groove 26.

Description: The present invention relates to a connector mold capable of molding a plurality of kinds of connectors by exchanging inserts and to a connector molding method for molding a plurality of kinds of connectors by exchanging inserts. A first male connector 10 shown in FIG. 10A and a second male connector shown in FIG. 10B are examples of the connector provided with a receptacle which are formed by prior art connector molds in the aforementioned technical field of the present invention. A connector mold capable of molding a plurality of kinds of connectors is disclosed in US-A-5 660 782. The connectors 10, 15 have a common basic construction which is comprised of a housing main body 11 and a receptacle 12. However, in the connectors 10, 15, positions of ribs 13 formed on the inner surfaces of the receptacles 12 for preventing an error assembling and those of ribs 14 formed on the outer surfaces of the housing bodies 11 for identifying the connectors 10, 15 are different. Specifically, in the first male connector 10, the ribs 13, 14 are aligned in a direction of connection in positions toward the left end of the upper surface when viewed from the front of the connector 10. In the second male connector 15, the ribs 13, 14 are aligned in the direction of connection in positions toward the right end of the upper surface. Further, in the mating female connectors 16, 17 of the connectors 10, 15, grooves 18 for preventing an error assembling are formed in positions corresponding to the ribs 13, so that the male and female connectors cannot be connected unless properly combined. Accordingly, ribs 13 are generally provided on the inner surface of a receptacle 12 of a male connector 10, 15 and thought to prevent assembling of the male connectors 10, 15 with wrong female connectors 16, 17. Additionally, female connectors 16, 17 are provided with grooves 18 which are formed in positions corresponding to the ribs 13 of mating male connectors 10, 15. The ribs 14 which are generally provided on the housing main bodies 11 of male connectors 10, 15 are thought for identifying the male connectors 10, 15 during a testing procedure. A corresponding electrical test set is generally provided with a corresponding groove which helps to separate connectors to be measured from other types of connectors. A prior art connector mold 1 for forming the first and second male connectors 10, 15 are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. This connector mold 1 is comprised of a pair of openable mold main bodies 2, 3, and can form two kinds of connectors 10, 15 by exchanging inserts 4, 5 in the mold main bodies 2, 3. In the case of forming the first male connector 10, an insert 5A having a groove 6 for forming the error assembling preventing rib 13 formed in its position toward the bottom in FIG. 11 is assembled into one mold main body 3 shown at the right side of FIG. 11, whereas an insert 4A having a groove 7 for forming the identification rib 14 formed in its position toward the bottom in FIG. 11 is assembled into the other mold main body 2. Then, resin is injected into the mold. In the case of molding the second male connector 15, an insert 5B formed with the groove 6 and an insert 4B formed with the groove 7 are, as shown in FIG. 12, assembled in the respective mold main bodies 2, 3 in positions toward the top of FIG. 12 and resin is injected into the mold. Since the prior art connector mold 1 is such that the inserts 4, 5 are separately assembled into the respective mold main bodies 2, 3, there is an undesirable likelihood that a connector having a wrong mode in which the ribs 13, 14 do not correspond to each other may be formed by, for example, mistakenly assembling the inserts 4B, 5A. Further, a long time is required to make a confirmation when the inserts 4, 5 are assembled into the mold main bodies 2, 3 in order to avoid such a situation, resulting in a poor connector molding efficiency. In view of the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector mold and a connector molding method capable of improving a connector molding efficiency. This object is solved according to the invention by a connector mold according to claim 1 and by a connector molding method according to claim 3. Preferred embodiments are subject of the dependent claims. According to the invention, there is provided a connector mold capable of molding a plurality of kinds of connectors, the connectors having an error assembling preventing portion provided in a receptacle of a connector for making the connection with a mating connector impossible unless being properly combined by differing the shape or arrangement thereof, and an identification projection arranged on the outer surface of the connector in accordance with the error assembling preventing portion, the connector mold comprising a pair of mold main bodies and a plurality of kinds of exchangeable inserts, wherein: the insert is provided in only one of the mold main bodies, a plurality of recesses for forming identification projections of all kinds of connectors planned to be molded are formed on a face of the other mold main body facing the insert, and the insert is provided with closing projections for closing the recesses except the one for forming the identification projection corresponding to the error assembling preventing portion to be formed by the insert. Accordingly, the error assembling preventing portion is formed in the connector by the insert mounted in the one mold main body, unnecessary ones of a plurality of recesses formed in the other mold main body are closed by the closing projections provided on the insert, and the identification projection corresponding to the error assembling preventing portion is formed in the connector by the remaining recess. Since the insert is exchangeably mounted in the one mold main body in the present invention, there is no likelihood that a combination of inserts in the two mold main bodies is mistaken as with the prior art connector mold. Therefore, the insert assembling operation is simplified and the connector can be molded with improved efficiency. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the connector to be molded is constructed such that the identification projection in the form of a rib extends on the outer surface of the connector on an extension line of the error assembling preventing portion provided in the inner surface of the receptacle and behind the receptacle, and in order to form the connector, the insert is provided with a rib or groove for forming the error assembling preventing portion and the recess for forming the identification projection corresponding to the rib or groove for forming the error assembling preventing portion is arranged on an extension line of the rib or groove in the other mold main body, so that the remaining recesses are to be substantially closed by the closing projections provided on the insert. Accordingly, since the recess for forming the identification projection is arranged on the extension line of the rib or groove for forming the error assembling preventing portion, the recesses for forming the identification projections can be closed only by extending the closing projections from the insert. As a result, the insert is allowed to have a smaller lateral dimension. According to the invention, there is further provided a connector molding method for molding a plurality of kinds of connectors having an error assembling preventing portion provided in a receptacle of a connector for making the connection with a mating connector impossible unless being properly combined by differing the shape or arrangement thereof, and an identification projection arranged on the outer surface of the connector in accordance with the error assembling preventing portion, wherein the method, in particular using a connector mold according to one or more of the preceding claims comprises the following steps: exchangeably providing a plurality of kinds of inserts in a pair of mold main bodies for molding a connector provided with a receptacle, arranging the insert in only one of the mold main bodies, forming a plurality of recesses for forming identification projections of all kinds of connectors planned to be molded on a face of the other mold main body facing the insert, providing the insert with closing projections for closing the recesses except the one for forming the identification projection corresponding to the error assembling preventing portion to be formed by the insert, joining the mold main bodies to form a substantially closed connector molding space, injecting resin into the connector molding space thereby molding the connectors having the respective error assembling preventing portion and identification projection, and taking the connector out of the mold main bodies. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector mold according to a first embodiment of the invention, FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) are plan views in section showing opened and closed states of the connector mold, respectively, FIG. 3 is a plan view in section showing a state where resin is injected into the connector mold, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a first male connector, FIG. 5 is a plan view in section of the connector mold having another insert mounted, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a male connector according to a second embodiment, FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) are plan and front views of a first male connector, respectively, FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B) are plan and front views of a second male connector, respectively, FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B) are plan views in section showing opened and closed states of a connector mold, respectively, FIGS. 10(A) and 10(B) are perspective views of the first and second male connectors, respectively, FIGS. 11(A), 11(B) and 11(C) are plan views in section showing an opened state of a prior art connector mold, a closed state thereof, and a state where resin is injected into the prior art connector mold, respectively, FIG. 12 is a plan view in section of the prior art connector mold having an insert mounted thereon, and FIG. 13 is a plan view in section of the prior art connector mold having a wrong insert mounted thereon. < First Embodiment> Hereafter, a first embodiment of the invention is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and 10. In this embodiment, the invention is applied to a connector mold for molding the aforementioned first and second male connectors 10, 15. A connector mold 20 according to this embodiment is comprised of a fixed mold 21 and a movable mold 22 which correspond to a pair of mold main bodies. The molds 21, 22 are moved toward and away from each other by sliding the movable mold 22 shown at the right side of FIG. 1, thereby substantially closing and opening the connector mold 20. In the fixed mold 21, a receptacle recess 23 for forming the outer surfaces of the receptacles 12 of the connectors 10, 15 is so formed as to be open in the front surface of the fixed mold 21, and a main body recess 24 for forming the outer surfaces of housing main bodies 11 of the connectors 10, 15 are so formed as to be open in a back surface 23A. By the two recesses 23, 24, the outer configuration of the connector common to the connectors 10, 15 is substantially defined. In the ceiling surface of the main body recess 24 of the fixed mold 21, first and second identification rib forming grooves 25, 26 substantially extend in parallel along the opening and closing directions of the mold 20. One end of each of the grooves 25, 26 is open in the back surface 23A of the receptacle recess 23. The groove 25 is arranged on the left side when viewed from the front surface of the fixed mold 21 in FIG. 1 and adapted to form an identification rib 14 of the first male connector 10. The groove 26 is arranged on the right side when viewed from the front surface of the fixed mold 21 in FIG. 1 and adapted to form an identification rib 14 of the second male connector 15. On the other hand, a molding projection 29 projects from the front surface of the movable mold 22 toward the fixed mold 21. The molding projection 29 is constructed such that a plurality of cavity forming portions 29B project from an end surface of a main body 29A for defining the inner surfaces of the receptacle 12. This molding projection 29 enters the receptacle recess 23 and the main body recess 24 through the openings thereof to define the inner configuration of the connector common to the first and second male connectors 10, 15. The movable mold 22 is formed with an insert mount portion 29C in which a first insert 30 for the first male connector 10 and a second insert 31 for the second male connector 15 are selectively mounted. At a front end of the movable mold 22 is a detachable detachment base 27. The insert mount portion 29C penetrates the detachment base 27. The insert mount portion 29C is preferably a recess which extends substantially along the upper surface of the main body 29A of the molding projection 29 and is open in the upper and front surfaces of the main body 29A. The inserts 30, 31 are inserted or insertable from the rear side of the detachment base 27 to be assembled, and are substantially in flush or aligned with the upper and front end surfaces of the main body 29A of the molding projection 29 (see FIG. 1). A first closing projection 32 fittable into the second identification rib forming groove 26 of the fixed mold 21 projects from the front surface of the first insert 30 as shown in FIG. 1. This first closing projection 32 has such a length as to substantially reach the back surface of the groove 26 when the mold 20 is closed (see FIG. 2(B)). In the upper surface of the first insert 30, a first preventing rib forming groove 33 for forming an error assembling preventing rib is formed on an extension line of the first identification rib forming groove 25. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a second closing projection 34 fittable into the first identification rib forming groove 25 of the fixed mold 21 projects from the front surface of the second insert 31. In the upper surface of the second insert 31, a second preventing rib forming groove 35 is formed on an extension line of the second identification rib forming groove 26 of the fixed mold 21. The second closing projection 34 and the second preventing rib forming groove 35 have the substantially same shapes as the first closing projection 32 and the first preventing rib forming groove 33 of the first insert 30. Next, the action and effects of the embodiment constructed as above are described with reference to a molding method as a preferred embodiment of the invention. In order to mold the first male connector 10, the movable mold 22 is moved toward the fixed mold 21 after the first insert 30 is mounted on the movable mold 22 as shown in FIG. 2(A). Then, the molding projection 29 of the movable mold 22 enters the receptacle recess 23 and the main body recess 24 of the fixed mold 21, and the first closing projection 32 of the first insert 30 mounted on the movable mold 22 is fitted into the second identification rib forming groove 26 formed in the fixed mold 21. When the front surfaces 21A, 22A of the two molds 21, 22 are joined, a closed connector molding space 20A is defined between the molds 21, 22 and the first closing projection 32 reaches the back of the second identification rib forming groove 26, thereby closing the groove 26. Subsequently, a synthetic resin is injected into the connector molding space 20A from the side of the fixed mold 21. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the resin flows into the first identification rib forming groove 25 formed in the fixed mold 21 and the first preventing rib forming groove 33 formed in the first insert 30 of the movable mold 22, thereby forming the identification rib 14 and the error assembling preventing rib 13 at the left side of the upper surface of the connector when viewed from front. Since the second identification rib forming groove 26 of the fixed mold 21 is closed by the first closing projection 32, a right side of the upper surface of the connector when viewed from front is formed flat. The molding of the first male connector 10 is completed by opening the connector mold 20 and taking the connector out of the connector mold 20. In the connector 10 molded by this connector mold 20, a through hole 10C is formed in the rear end wall of the receptacle 12 by the first closing projection 32 as shown in FIG. 4. On the other hand, in order to form the second male connector 15, the detachment base 27 of the movable mold 22 is detached, the first insert 30 is replaced by the second insert 31, and the detachment base 27 is mounted again (see FIG. 5(A)). When the molds 21, 22 are closed, the first identification rib forming groove 25 of the fixed mold 21 is closed by the second closing projection 34 of the second insert 31 as shown in FIG. 5(B). Subsequently, when a synthetic resin is injected into the mold 20, the resin flows into the second identification rib forming groove 26 formed in the fixed mold 21 and the second preventing rib forming groove 35 formed in the second insert 31 of the movable mold 22, thereby forming the identification rib 14 and the error assembling preventing rib 13 at the right side of the upper surface of the connector when viewed from front. The right side of the upper surface of the connector when viewed from front is formed flat. The molding of the second male connector 15 is completed by taking the connector out of the connector mold 20. As described above, according to the invention, only one mold main body (movable mold 22) is so constructed that the inserts 30, 31 can be exchangeably mounted. Accordingly, unlike prior art connector molds, there is no likelihood that the inserts in the two mold main bodies are mistakenly combined. This makes the mounting of inserts easier and improves a connector molding efficiency. Further, since the preventing rib forming grooves 33, 35 are arranged on the extension lines of the identification rib forming grooves 25, 26, the grooves 25, 26 can be closed only by extending the closing projections 32, 34 from the inserts 30, 31, and the inserts 30, 31 are allowed to have a shorter lateral dimension. <Second Embodiment> A connector mold according to a second embodiment molds a first male connector 41 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and a second male connector 42 shown in FIG. 8 by exchanging inserts. The two connectors 41, 42 have a common basic construction comprised of a housing main body 43 and a receptacle 44. On the opposite sides of the upper inner surfaces of receptacles 44 of the respective connectors 41, 42 are formed a wide groove 45 and a narrow groove 46 having different widths and extending in a direction of connection. in the first male connector 41, the wide groove 45 and the narrow groove 46 are arranged on the left and right sides, respectively, when viewed from front as shown in FIG. 7(B). The grooves 45, 46 are in a reverse arrangement in the second male connector 42 (see FIG. 8(B)). Identification ribs 47 for identifying the connectors 41, 42 are formed on the extension lines of the narrow grooves 46 of the connectors 41, 42. The ribs 47 of the connectors 41, 42 are of the same shape. A connector mold 50 according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. 9(A). In a fixed mold 51 of the connector mold 50 shown at the left side of FIG. 9(A), a pair of forming grooves 52 extend on the opposite sides in parallel to the opening and closing direction of the mold 50. In a movable mold 53 shown at the right side of FIG. 9(A), a wide insert 54 for forming the wide groove 45 and a narrow insert 55 for forming the narrow groove 46 are exchangeably mountable on the extension lines of the forming grooves 52. A closing projection 56 fittable into the forming groove 52 projects from the front surface of the wide insert 54. The other construction is same as the first embodiment and, accordingly, repetitive description is not given here. The first male connector 41 is molded as follows. After the wide insert 54 is mounted at the lower side of the movable mold 53 and the narrow insert 55 is mounted at the upper side as shown in FIG. 9(A), the connector mold 50 is closed. Then, as shown in FIG. 9(B), the closing projection 56 of the wide insert 54 is fitted into the one forming groove 52 formed in the fixed mold 51. When synthetic resin is injected, it flows into the other forming groove 52, with the result that the identification rib 47 is formed at the right side of the upper surface of the connector when viewed from front as shown in FIG. 7(A). As shown in FIG. 7(B), the wide groove 45 and the narrow groove 46 are formed on the left and right sides by the inserts 54, 55, respectively, when viewed from front. In order to mold the second male connector 42, the inserts 54, 55 may be exchanged with each other in a state for molding the first male connector 41. The connector mold 50 according to this embodiment can ensure the same action and effects as the first embodiment. < Other Embodiments > The present invention is not limited to the described and illustrated embodiment, but the following embodiments are also embraced by the technical scope of the present invention as defined in the claims. Besides the following embodiments, a variety of other changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. (1) Although the connectors according to the foregoing embodiments are male connectors, it does not matter whether the invention is applied to a male or female connector provided that the connector is provided with a receptacle. (2) Although two kinds of connectors are molded by preparing two kinds of inserts in the first embodiment, two or more kinds of connectors may be molded by increasing the number of kinds of inserts and the number of recesses (identification rib forming grooves). LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 10, 15, 41, 42 Male Connector (Connector Provided with a Receptacle) 12, 44 Receptacle 13 Error Assembling Preventing Rib (Error Assembling Preventing Portion) 14, 47 Identification Rib (Identification Projection) 16, 17 Female Connector (Mating Connector) 20, 50 Connector Mold 21, 51 Fixed Mold (Mold Main Body) 22, 53 Movable Mold (Mold Main Body) 25 First Identification Rib Forming Groove (Recess) 26 Second Identification Rib Forming Groove (Recess) 30 First Insert 31 Second Insert 32 First Closing Projection 34 Second Closing Projection 45 Wide Groove (Error Assembling Preventing Portion) 46 Narrow Groove (Error Assembling Preventing Portion) 52 Forming Groove (Recess) 54 Wide Insert 55 Narrow Insert 56 Closing Projection

Claims: A connector mold (20; 50) comprising: a pair of mold main bodies (21, 22; 51, 53) for molding a connector (10; 15; 41; 42) provided with a receptacle (12;44) and a plurality of kinds of exchangeable inserts (30; 31; 54; 55), the connector mold (20; 50) being characterized in that the insert (30; 31; 54; 55) is provided in only one (22; 53) of the mold main bodies (21, 22; 51, 53), a plurality of recesses (25; 26; 52) for forming identification projections (14; 47) of all kinds of connectors to be molded are formed on a face of the other mold main body (21; 51) facing the insert (30; 31; 54; 55), and the insert (30; 31; 54; 55) is provided with closing projections (32; 34; 56) for closing the recesses (25; 26; 52) except the one for forming the identification projection (14; 47) of the connector to be molded corresponding to an error assembling preventing portion (13; 45, 46) of the connector to be molded, whereby the error assembling preventing portion (13; 45, 46) is to be formed by the insert (30; 31; 54; 55). A connector mold (20; 50) according to claim 1, wherein: in order to form the connector, the insert (30; 31; 54; 55) is provided with a rib or groove (33; 35) for forming the error assembling preventing portion (13; 45, 46) of the connector and the recess (25; 26; 52) for forming the identification projection (14; 47) of the connector corresponding to the rib or groove (33; 35) for forming the error assembling preventing portion (13; 45, 46) of the connector is arranged on an extension line of the rib or groove in the other mold main body (21; 51), so that the remaining recesses (25; 26;52) are to be substantially closed by the closing projections (32; 34; 56) provided on the insert (30; 31; 54; 55). A connector molding method for molding a plurality of kinds of connectors (10, 15; 41, 42) having an error assembling preventing portion (13; 45, 46) provided in a receptacle (12; 44) of a connector (10; 15; 41; 42) for making the connection with a mating connector (16; 17) impossible unless being properly combined by differing the shape or arrangement thereof, and an identification projection (14; 47) arranged on the outer surface of the connector (10; 15; 41; 42) in accordance with the error assembling preventing portion (13; 45, 46), wherein the method, in particular using a connector mold according to one or more of the preceding claims comprises the following steps: exchangeably providing a plurality of kinds of inserts (30; 31; 54; 55) in a pair of mold main bodies (21, 22; 51, 53) for molding a connector (10; 15; 41; 42) provided with a receptacle (12; 44), arranging the insert (30; 31; 54; 55) in only one (22; 53) of the mold main bodies (21, 22; 51, 53), forming a plurality of recesses (25; 26; 52) for forming identification projections (14; 47) of all kinds of connectors (10; 15; 41; 42) planned to be molded on a face of the other mold main body (21; 51) facing the insert (30; 31; 54; 55), providing the insert (30; 31; 54; 55) with closing projections (32; 34; 56) for closing the recesses (25; 26; 52) except the one for forming the identification projection (14; 47) corresponding to the error assembling preventing portion (13; 45, 46) to be formed by the insert (30; 31; 54; 55), joining the mold main bodies (21, 22; 51, 53) to form a substantially closed connector molding space (20A), and injecting resin into the connector molding space (20A) thereby molding the connectors (10, 15; 41, 42) having the respective error assembling preventing portion (13; 45, 46) and identification projection (14; 47), and taking the connector (10, 15; 41, 42) out of the mold main bodies (21, 22; 51, 53).

Inventors: SASAI OSAMU, SUZUKI IZUMI, SASAI, OSAMU, SUZUKI, IZUMI, Sasai, Osamu , Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd., Suzuki, Izumi Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd.
Applicants: SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: H01R43
IPC codes: B29C45, H01R13, H01R43