Connector

Abstract: A connector comprises a housing of insulating material and a number of right-angled contact elements arranged in rows and columns. The contact elements are provided with a contact end, an intermediate elbow part and a termination for connection to a printed circuit board. The housing includes a first housing section accommodating the contact ends of the contact elements, and a second housing section accommodating the elbow parts. The second housing section comprises upper and lower walls, and support walls extending mainly parallel to the upper and lower walls between adjacent rows of contact elements for supporting the intermediate elbow parts of the rows of contact elements. The second housing section is provided with at least one intermediate wall extending transverse to the support walls between the elbow parts of two adjacent columns of contact elements.

Description: The invention relates to a connector, comprising a housing of insulating material and a number of right-angled contact elements arranged in rows and columns, said contact elements having a contact end, an intermediate elbow part and a press-fit termination for connection to a printed circuit board, said housing having a first housing section accommodating the contact ends of the contact elements, and a second housing section accommodating the elbow parts, wherein said second housing section comprises upper and lower walls, and support walls extending mainly parallel to the upper and lower walls between adjacent rows of contact elements for supporting the intermediate elbow parts of the rows of contact elements. EP-A-0 649 195 discloses a connector of this type, wherein the second housing section comprises lateral walls having a thickness corresponding to half of the pitch between adjacent contact elements in row direction to allow stackability of the connectors. With decreasing pitch between adjacent contact elements, the thin lateral walls can be deformed easily during mounting of the connector on a printed circuit board, in particular in case of contact element terminations of the press-fit type. Moreover, moulding thin walls is a difficult manufacturing step. The invention aims to provide an improved connector of the above-mentioned type. To this end the connector according to the invention is characterized in that the second housing section is provided with at least one intermediate wall extending transverse to the support walls between the elbow parts of two adjacent columns of contact elements. In this manner a connector is obtained, wherein the intermediate wall can have a thickness corresponding to the free space between two adjacent columns of contact elements, i.e. twice the thickness of the lateral walls of the prior art connector. This results in an improvement of the moulding process of the second housing section. Further, the strength of the intermediate wall is much higher so that relatively high forces exerted during mounting the connector on a printed circuit board can be taken without any deformation of the intermediate wall. According to the invention, the second housing section is provided with lateral walls parallel to the at least one intermediate wall and having half the thickness of the at least one intermediate wall, said lateral walls extending substantially only along the support walls. In this manner the second housing section is provided with lateral wall parts only covering the elbow part sections aligned with the contact ends of the contact elements so that the elbow part sections aligned with the terminations are clearly visible for the operator of the manufacturing process. In this manner the positioning of the connector on a printed circuit board can be visually inspected in an easy manner. Preferably the at least one intermediate wall comprises a rear support at its lower end opposite of the first housing section, wherein the rear support is provided with a support face preferably located in one plane with the lower surface of the lower wall of the second housing section. In this manner the intermediate wall together with the lower wall provides a strong support for positioning the connector horizontally with respect to the printed circuit board. Any lift or rotation of the housing of the connector with respect to the printed circuit board is effectively prevented. US 5,794,336 discloses an electrical connector housing with intermediate walls. As the connectors employ solder tail contacts no high forces are exerted on such a connector housing. The invention will be further explained by reference to the drawings in which an embodiment of the connector assembly of the invention is shown. Fig. 1 is a bottom view of an embodiment of the connector of the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the connector of fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the second housing section of the connector of fig. 1 showing a lateral wall. Fig. 4 is a front view of the connector of fig. 1. The drawings show a connector 1 comprising a housing 2 of insulating material and a number of right-angled contact elements 3 arranged in rows r and columns c (see fig. 4). The contact elements fully shown in the longitudinal section of fig. 2, are provided with a contact end 4, an intermediate elbow part 5 and a termination 6 for connection to a printed circuit board not shown. The terminations 6 are made as press-fit terminations. The housing 2 comprises a first or front housing section 7 having an U-shaped cross-section as shown in fig. 2 with a bottom wall 8 and side walls 9. The first housing section 7 determines a receiving space 10 for a mating connector not shown. The first housing section 7 accommodates the contact ends 4 of the contact elements 3. The housing 2 further comprises a second or rear housing section 11 accommodating the elbow parts 5 of the contact elements 3. This second housing section 11 comprises a long upper wall 12 and a shorter lower wall 13. Support walls 14 extend mainly parallel to the upper and lower walls 12,13 between adjacent rows of contact elements 3 for supporting the intermediate elbow parts 5 in particular the elbow part sections 15 aligned with the contact ends 4. As can be seen in figs. 1 and 2 in particular, the second housing section 11 is provided with one intermediate wall 16 located centrally between the elbow parts 5 of the two central columns of contact elements 3. The thickness of this central intermediate wall 16 corresponds with the space between the two adjacent columns of contact elements 3. In this manner the intermediate wall 16 is relatively thick, so that the complete second housing section 11 can be manufactured by injection moulding as an integral component in a relatively easy manner. Further, the relatively thick intermediate wall provides a high strength to the second housing section 11. The intermediate wall 16 is provided with a rear support 17 at its lower end opposite of the first housing section 7. This rear support 17 is provided with a support face located in one plane with the lower face of the lower wall 13. In this manner the central intermediate wall 16 rests on the printed circuit board together with the lower face of the lower wall 13 avoiding any lift or rotation of the housing 2 with respect to the printed circuit board when the terminations 6 are inserted in to the printed circuit board. High forces can be taken by the intermediate wall 16 without any deformation. As shown in fig. 3, the second housing section 11 is further provided with lateral walls 18 extending parallel to the intermediate wall 16 and having half the thickness of this intermediate wall 16 thereby allowing stackability of a number of connectors 1. These lateral walls 18 extend substantially only along the support walls 14 thereby allowing free visibility of the vertical sections 19 of the elbow parts 5, i.e. those sections aligned with the terminations 6. In this manner the correct positioning of the contact elements 3 on the printed circuit board can be inspected visually in an easy manner. Preferably the lateral walls 18 extend obliquely downwardly from the upper wall 12 towards the lower wall 13 as shown in fig. 3. In the embodiment shown, the intermediate wall 16 is provided with a recess 20 at its lower side between the support 14 and the lower wall 13. If desired, for example depending on the number of columns of contact elements, the second housing section 11 may comprise two or more intermediate walls between adjacent columns of contact elements. The invention is not restricted to the above described embodiments which can be varied in a number of ways within the scope of the attached claims.

Claims: Connector (1), comprising a housing (2) of insulating material and a number of right-angled contact elements (3) arranged in rows and columns, said contact elements (3) having a contact end (4), an intermediate elbow part (5) and a press-fit termination (6) for connection to a printed circuit board, said housing (1) having a first housing section (7) accommodating the contact ends (4) of the contact elements (3), and a second housing section accommodating the elbow parts (5), wherein said second housing section (11) comprises upper and lower walls (12, 13), and support walls (14) extending mainly parallel to the upper and lower walls (12, 13) between adjacent rows of contact elements (3) for supporting the intermediate elbow parts (5) of the rows of contact elements (3), characterized in that the second housing section (11) is provided with at least one intermediate wall (16) extending transverse to the support walls (14) between the elbow parts (5) of two adjacent columns of contact elements (3). Connector (1) according to claim 1, wherein one intermediate wall (16) is provided centrally between the elbow parts (5) of two central columns of contact elements (3). Connector (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second housing section (4) is provided with lateral walls (18) parallel to the at least one intermediate wall (16) and having half the thickness of the at least one intermediate wall (16), said lateral walls (10) extending substantially only along the support walls (14). Connector (1) according to claim 3, wherein the lateral walls (18) extend obliquely downwardly from the upper wall (12) to the lower wall (13). Connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second housing section (11) is an integral component, for example an injection moulded component. Connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one intermediate wall (16) comprises a rear support (17) at its lower end opposite of the first housing section (7), wherein the rear support (17) is provided with a support face preferably located in one plane with the lower surface of the lower wall (13) of the second housing section (11). Connector (1) according to claim 6, wherein the at least one intermediate wall (16) is provided with a recess (20) at its lower side.

Inventors: CHAMPION PATRICK, ETIEMBRE DOMINIQUE, CHAMPION, PATRICK, ETIEMBRE, DOMINIQUE
Applicants: FRAMATOME CONNECTORS INT, FCI
Application year: 2001
Main classification: H01R12
IPC codes: H01R12, H01R13, H01R9