Abstract:
An electrical connector for use within a machine case includes an insulator and a plurality of contacts. The insulator defines opposite top and bottom surfaces thereon in a vertical direction. The contacts are retained to the insulator via an insert molding process. Each of said contacts is stamped and bent from sheet metal and unitarily formed with an upper contacting section exposed upon the top surface, and a lower contacting sections exposed upon the bottom surface. Each of said upper contacting section and said lower contacting section extends along a longitudinal direction perpendicular to both said vertical direction and said transverse direction. Each of the upper contacting section and the lower contacting section is planar and stationary. One of said upper contacting section and said lower contacting section has an outer end exposed to an exterior for originally linking to a contact carrier.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of, and priorities to U.S. Provisional Patent Applications No. 62/080,250, filed Nov. 14, 2014; No. 62/083,159, filed Nov. 21, 2014; No. 62/085,478, filed Nov. 28, 2014; and No. 62/203,865, filed Aug. 11, 2015. The instant application relates to the copending applications titled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR USE WITH CRADLE” and “MACHINE CASE WITH IMPROVED TERMINAL MODULE”, both having the same applicant and some common inventors with the instant application. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to the connector for use within a machine case which connects a plurality of cables via a cradle having the LGA contact connector thereon. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Wearable medical technology is becoming a hot commodity, as these devices come to market; they have the potential to help both patients and clinicians monitor vital signs and symptoms. The wearable medical device usually comprises a cradle, a machine case attached to the cradle for housing processing module such as processor and associated electronics, and cables with plugs inserted into the cradle. During use, the machine case reversibly snaps into the cradle, upon mating of the cradle and the machine case, interface cavities are formed on the cradle for receiving the plugs of the cables leading to one or more peripheral devices such as sensors which collect data related to the physiological properties of interest, such as heart rate, temperature, SpO2, blood pressure, etc., therefore, the data related to the physiological properties could be presented on the machine case for patients or clinicians monitoring. Thereby, the machine case must mate with the cradle stably so as to electrically connect with the cables reliably. 
     An machine case with improved electrical connector is designed to solve the aforementioned proposal. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, an electrical connector for use within a machine case includes an insulator and a plurality of contacts. The insulator defines opposite top and bottom surfaces thereon in a vertical direction. The contacts are retained to the insulator via an insert molding process and arranged along a transverse direction perpendicular to said vertical direction. Each of said contacts is stamped and bent from sheet metal and unitarily formed with an upper contacting section exposed upon the top surface, and a lower contacting sections exposed upon the bottom surface. Each of said upper contacting section and said lower contacting section extends along a longitudinal direction perpendicular to both said vertical direction and said transverse direction. Each of the upper contacting section and the lower contacting section is planar and stationary. One of said upper contacting section and said lower contacting section defines an outer end exposed to an exterior for originally linking to a contact carrier. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a machine case comprises a base, a first contact module, and a second contact module. The base has a first deck station and a second deck station respectively located at two opposite ends of the base in a longitudinal direction. The first contact module is seated upon the first deck station and comprises a first insulator defining opposite first top and bottom surfaces thereon in a vertical direction, and a plurality of first contacts retained to the first insulator via a first insert molding process and arranged along a transverse direction perpendicular to said vertical direction and longitudinal direction. Each of said first contacts defines a first upper contacting section exposed upon the first top surface, and a first lower contacting section exposed upon the first bottom surface. Each of said first upper contacting sections extends in a length along the longitudinal direction shorter than that of said lower contacting sections. The second contact module is seated upon the second deck station and comprises a second insulator defining opposite second top and bottom surfaces thereon in said vertical direction, and a plurality of second contacts retained to the second insulator via the first insert molding process and arranged along the transverse direction perpendicular. Each of said second contacts defines a second upper contacting section exposed upon the second top surface, and a second lower contacting section exposed upon the second bottom surface. Each of said second upper contacting sections extends in a length along the longitudinal direction shorter than that of said second lower contacting sections. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1(A)  is a downward assembled perspective view of the machine case according to one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 1(B)  is another downward assembled perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 1(A) . 
         FIG. 1  (C) is an upward assembled perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 1(A) . 
         FIG. 2(A)  is a downward exploded perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 1(A) . 
         FIG. 2(B)  is another downward perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 2(A) . 
         FIG. 2(C)  is an upward exploded perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 2(A) . 
         FIG. 3(A)  is a downward exploded perspective view of the contact module of the machine case of  FIG. 2(A) . 
         FIG. 3(B)  is another downward exploded perspective view of the contact module of  FIG. 3(A) . 
         FIG. 3(C)  is an upward exploded perspective view of the contact module of  FIG. 3(A) . 
         FIG. 3(D)  is schematic perspective view showing first and second contacts connected to contact carriers respectively before breaking therefrom during the insert molding process. 
         FIG. 4(A)  is a cross-sectional view of the first contact module of  FIG. 3(A) . 
         FIG. 4(B)  is a cross-sectional view of the second contact module of  FIG. 3(A) . 
         FIG. 5(A)  is a cross-sectional view of the machine case of  FIG. 1(A) . 
         FIG. 5(B)  is a cross-sectional view of the machine case of  FIG. 1(A)  assembled with the cradle and the associated cables disclosed in the aforementioned provisional application. 
         FIG. 6(A)  is a downward assembled perspective view of the machine case according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  (B) is an upward assembled perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 6(A) . 
         FIG. 7(A)  is a downward exploded perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 6(A) . 
         FIG. 7(B)  is an upward exploded perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 7(A) . 
         FIG. 8(A)  is a downward exploded perspective view of the first contact module of the machine case of  FIG. 7(A) . 
         FIG. 8(B)  is an upward exploded perspective view of the first contact module of  FIG. 8(A) . 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the first contact module of  FIG. 7(A) . 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the first contacts to show the offset arrangement between the upper contacting section and the lower contacting section in some contacts. 
         FIG. 10(A)  is a cross-sectional view of the first contacts of  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 11(A)  is a cross-sectional view of the machine case of  FIG. 6(A) . 
         FIG. 11(B)  is a cross-sectional view of the machine case of  FIG. 6(A)  assembled with the cradle and the associated cables disclosed in the aforementioned provisional application. 
         FIG. 12  is a downward perspective view of the machine case of a third embodiment of the instant invention. 
         FIG. 13  is an upward perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is a downward exploded perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 15  is an upward exploded perspective view of the machine case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 16  is a downward perspective view of the first contact module of the machines case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 17  is an upward perspective view of the first contact module of machine case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 18  is a downward exploded perspective view of the first contact module of the machine case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 19  is a downward perspective view of the second contact module of the machine case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 20  is an upward perspective view of the second contact module of the machine case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 21  is a downward perspective view of the second contact module of the machine case of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 22  is a cross-sectional view of the machine case of  FIG. 12  to show the contact module is embedded within the corresponding deck station. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIGS. 1(A)-4(B)  shows a machine case  100  including a boat like base  202  having a first deck station  204  and a second deck station  206  respectively located at two opposite lengthwise ends of the base  202 . A first contact module  210  is seated upon the first deck station  204  and a second contact module  220  is seated upon the second deck station  206 . 
     The first contact module  210  includes a first insulator  212  retaining a plurality of first contacts  214  thereto via an insert molding process, wherein the first contact  214  is unitarily formed with a first upper contacting section  216  with a first exposed end  217  and a first lower contacting section  218  with a first embedded end  219 . Similarly, the second contact  220  includes a second insulator  222  retaining a plurality of second contacts  224  thereto via another insert molding process, wherein the second contact  224  is unitarily formed with a second upper contacting section  226  with a second embedded end  227  and a second lower contacting section  228  with a second exposed end  229 . In this embodiment, both the first contact  214  and the second contact  224  are made from sheet metal with bends thereof, wherein the first upper contacting section  216  is aligned with the first lower contacting section  218 , and the second upper contacting section  226  is aligned with the second lower contacting section  228  in the vertical direction. Also, the first contact  214  is essentially of a folded type and the joint between the first upper contacting section  216  and the first lower contacting section  218  is embedded with the first insulator  212  in a hidden manner, the second contact  224  being as well. To retain the first contact module  210  to the first deck station  204 , the first insulator  212  forms a pair of first through holes  211  and the first deck station  204  forms a pair of first posts  205  extending through the corresponding through holes  211 , respectively. The first through holes  211  define different sizes, and the first posts  205  also form with different sizes corresponding to the first through holes  211  so as to prevent a mis-assembly therebetween. Similarly, the second contacts module  220  forms a pair of second through holes  221  with different sizes receiving the corresponding posts  207  with different sizes on the second deck station  206 , respectively. Notably, the first insulator  212  and the second insulator  222  respectively optimally form the stepped structures (not labeled) on two opposite ends to be seated upon the corresponding shoulders (not labeled) on the corresponding first and second deck stations  204 ,  206 . Understandably, the first exposed end  217  and the second exposed end  229  are used to originally be connected to the corresponding contact carriers  213 ,  223  before breaking therefrom during the insert molding process. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B) , the first deck station  204  forms a plurality of through slots  201  in alignment with the corresponding first contacts  214  in the vertical direction; similarly, the second deck station  206  forms a plurality of through slots  203  in alignment with the corresponding second contacts  224 . 
     During using, the case  100  is positioned upon and also into a cradle  200  wherein the contact  302  of the terminal module  303  of the cradle  200  mechanically and electrically connects the first lower contacting section  218  through the corresponding through slot  201  for electrically connecting the first contact module  210  with the cable plug  400  at the first end. Similarly, the contact of another terminal module of the cradle  200  mechanically and electrically connects the second lower contacting section  228  through the corresponding through slot  203  for electrically connecting the second contact module  220  with the corresponding plug at the second end. 
       FIGS. 6(A)-11(B)  shows a machine case  500  of a second embodiment every similar to the machine case  100  except the first contact module renumbered as  310 . Therefore, the first contact module  310  will be described in detail while other parts of the machine case  500  will be omitted hereinafter. The first contact module  310  includes a first insulator  312  retaining a plurality of first contacts  314  thereto via an insert molding process, wherein the first contact  314  is unitarily formed with a first upper contacting section  316  with a first exposed end  317  and a first lower contacting section  318  with another first end  319 . Different from what is disclosed in the first contact  214  of the machine case  100 , the two middle sets of the first contacts  314  have oppositely offset away from each other in a symmetrical manner with regard to a centerline therebetween, wherein in each first contact the first upper contacting section  316  and the first lower contacting section  318  are only partially aligned with each other in the vertical direction and being offset from each other in the transverse direction. Notably, to ease manufacturing, a bight  313  as shown in  FIG. 10 , linked between the first upper contacting section  316  and the first lower contacting section  318  has a portion narrower than the first upper contacting section  316  and the first lower contacting section  318 . Further, the first contact module  310  further includes a printed circuit board  315 , with traces for shorting/connecting some selected first contacts  314  together, on which the first exposed ends  317  of the first upper contacting sections  216  are mounted. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 12-21 , a machine case  300  of a third embodiment similar to the machine case  100  except the first contact module  330  and the second contact module  370 . The first contact module  330  is insert-molded within the first deck station  320 , and the second contact module  370  is insert-molded within the second deck station  360 . Compared with the embodiments disclosed in the machine case  100 , the feature of this embodiment is to have the corresponding contact modules embedded within the corresponding deck stations via the molding process forming the main portion and the deck stations, rather than mounting thereon after the deck stations have been formed by the corresponding molding process. Therefore, this embodiment uses the method of the so-called two shots or two insert-moldings to have the contact module of the first insert-molding reliably retained within the corresponding deck stations via the second insert-molding, compared with the embodiments disclosed in the machine case  100  using one insert molding to form the contact module which is retained upon the corresponding deck station which has been formed via an injection molding. 
     Similar to the embodiments disclosed in the machine case  100 , the first contact module  330  includes a plurality of first contacts  332  embedded within the corresponding first insulator  334  via an insert molding process. Anyhow, different from the embodiments in the machine case  100 , in the bottom surface of the insulator  334  the partitions or recesses  336  between every adjacent two first contacts  332  are emptied for allowing the core-pins of the mold to occupy during the first insert-molding process for assuring true positions of the corresponding contacts with regard to the first insulator  334 . Notably, such recesses  336  are filled with the material of the deck station  320  via the second insert-molding process during forming the main portion  310  and the first deck station  320  and the second deck station  360 . Understandably, in this embodiment the recesses  336  are shorter than the contacting regions  333  of the neighboring first contacts  332  in the longitudinal direction, anyhow, alternately are longer, if necessary. Also, the recesses  336  may be applied to the upper surface of the first insulator  334 , if necessary. 
     Similar to the embodiments disclosed in the machine case  500 , a transitional printed circuit board  338  is positioned upon the first insulator  334  and mechanically and electrically connected to tails  335  of the corresponding contacts  332  to selectively short some of them via corresponding traces  337 . The transitional printed circuit board  338  is further secured by the first deck station  320  after the second insert molding process. A flange structure  341  is formed on the first insulator  334  to support the transitional printed circuit board  338 . A pair of alignment holes  339  with same sizes are formed in the first insulator  334  for holding the first contact module  330  in position during the second insert-molding process in which the first deck station  320  is formed with the first contact module  330  embedded therein. Notably, two lateral regions of the upper surface of the first contact module  330  including the contacting regions  333  of the corresponding first contacts  332 , are covered by the material of the first deck station  320  in the vertical direction. Anyhow, the contacting regions  333  of the first contacts  332  on the bottom surface of the first insulator  334  are still downwardly exposed to an exterior through the corresponding openings  322 . Similar to what is disclosed in the embodiments of the provisional applications, in the first contact module  330 , the contacting regions  333  of the eight first contacts  332  in a center region on the upper surface are divided into two groups to be essentially offset away from each other while those on the bottom surface are still located in the original positions. Therefore, for each of those eight first contacts, the contacting region  333  on the upper surface and that on the bottom surface are not aligned with each other in the vertical direction but in an offset manner. Understandably, because these two groups are symmetrical with each other, only one stamping mold is required for manufacturing. 
     Similarly, the second contact module  370  includes a plurality of second contacts  372  embedded within the second insulator  374 . The second insulator  374  forms a plurality of recesses  376  formed between the neighboring contacts  372  for positioning of the core-pins of the mold during the first insert-molding and successively filled with the material of the second deck station  360  during successively insert-molding the second contact module  370  with the second deck station  360 . A pair of alignment holes  379  are formed within the second insulator  374  for holding the second contact module  370  in position during the second insert-molding in which the second deck station  360  is formed with the second contact module  370  embedded therein. 
     It should be noted that even though in the embodiment the machine case and the cradle are involved and disclosed, the instant invention is essentially and primarily related to the contact module and the connection parts only, so other portions may be others&#39; invention. For example, the contacts can be stamped from Stainless Steel or Phos. Bronze and/or be plated with such coatings as Titanium Nitride or Rhodium to reduce corrosion when being used in harsh conditions. It should be noted that the invention is essentially related to the contact module only and other portions of the machine case and the cradle may be others&#39; invention.