Abstract:
A plug connector is provided for mating with a jack connector. The plug connector includes a base and a tubular member extending from the base. The tubular member includes a contact area, a terminal end composed of a conductive material and being distal to the base and a spring. The terminal end is insulated from the contact area and may have a circumferential groove located thereon. A core may be disposed within the tubular member and has an insulative material disposed about at least one signal conductor. A jack connector is also provided for receiving, for example, the foregoing plug connector and the jack connector includes a body which has a cavity and a first plurality of electrical contacts disposed within the cavity and configured to be engageable with the tubular member. A second plurality of electrical contacts may also be disposed within the cavity and are also configured to be engageable with the tubular member.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    The present application is related to copending U.S. patent application Ser. No.______, entitled “Electrical Plug Connectors”, filed on an even date herewith and assigned to J. D&#39;Addario &amp; Company, Incorporated. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates generally to electrical plug and jack connectors and, more particularly, relates to electrical plug and jack connectors configured to provide reduced movement therebetween when connected together and reduced likelihood of electrical discontinuity therebetween.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    Plug and jack type connectors are well known for use in connecting, e.g., audio equipment. Typically, the plugs and jacks may connect a signal line and a ground (e.g., referred to as a mono type of connection) or two signal lines and a ground (e.g., referred to as a stereo type of connection). Generally, the jack includes a single wiper contact for each conductive portion of the plug. Because of, e.g., resiliency in the wipers and clearance, the plugs are somewhat moveable within the jack and through wear and the like the movement increases.  
           [0006]    One typical use for a plug and jack connector is in the connection between a musical instrument and an amplifier. For example, electric guitars typically employ a jack which receives a plug connected to one end of a cord. The other end of the cord may go directly to an amplifier or may connect to a radio transmitter linked to the amplifier. During playing of the guitar and movement thereof, a torque may be created on the plug connector by movement of the instrument causing movement of the plug within the jack resulting in intermittent electrical contact between the jack and plug. In turn, sound from the instrument may be intermittently output from the amplifier and/or “clicking” sounds may be generated by this intermittent contact.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a plug connector which achieves reduced relative movement when mated with a jack connector.  
           [0008]    It is another object to provide a jack connector which reduces the possibility of electrical discontinuity between the jack and a plug disposed therein while also assisting in reducing the relative movement therebetween.  
           [0009]    It is a further object to provide low cost and high quality electrical jack and plug connectors.  
           [0010]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a jack connector is provided which comprises a body which has a cavity and a first plurality of electrical contacts disposed within the cavity. The first plurality of contacts are configured to be engageable with the tubular member of the plug connector. A second plurality of electrical contacts may be disposed within the cavity and are also configured to be engageable with the tubular member.  
           [0011]    Particular aspects of the present invention include that the tubular member includes a spring and the body includes a collar which is engageable with the spring. The groove of the plug connector may have a curvature along the cross section thereof and the first plurality of electrical contacts comprises a hub and three wiper contacts. The wiper contacts may be equiangularly spaced about the hub and each wiper contact may have a generally flat shape in cross section and a bent outer end defining a curvature which generally corresponds to and is engageable with the groove whereby when the plug connector is inserted between the wiper contacts, the wiper contacts will snap lock within the groove. The second plurality of electrical contacts may also comprise a hub and three wiper contacts equiangularly spaced about the hub, each wiper contact having a generally flat shape in cross section and a bent outer end.  
           [0012]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a plug connector is provided for mating with the jack connector. The plug connector comprises a base and a tubular member extending from the base. The tubular member includes a contact area, a terminal end distal to the base, a circumferential groove located thereon and a spring. The terminal end is insulated from the contact area.  
           [0013]    Particular aspects of the present invention include that the tubular member may further comprise an intermediate conductive portion disposed between and insulated from the contact area and the terminal end. A core which includes an insulative material disposed about at least one signal conductor may be disposed within the tubular member. The spring may include at least one strip extending longitudinally along and being bowed radially outward of the central axis of the tubular member.  
           [0014]    The present invention provides jack and plug connectors which have reduced relative movement therebetween and thereby prevents, for example, generation by an audio connection intermittent and undesirable sounds. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view, partially broken away, illustrating a plug connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of a plug connector in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a jack connector, connectable with the plug connector of FIG. 1, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the jack connector of FIG. 3;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V of FIG. 4;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 4 illustrating a jack, connectable with the plug connector of FIG. 2, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a contact element in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 3;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another contact element in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 3;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of a jack housing in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 3;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 10 is a schematical view of a portion of the plug connector of FIG. 2 disposed within the jack connector of FIG. 6;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 11 is a partial schematical view of an RCA plug connector in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 12 is a partial schematical view of an RCA jack connector mateable with the RCA plug connector of FIG. 10. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0028]    A plug connector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated generally at  10 . The plug connector  10  comprises a base  12  interposed between a handle portion  14  and a tubular member  16 .  
         [0029]    The handle portion  14  may be composed of any suitably rigid material which may include friction enhancing bumps  18  for an enhanced grip.  
         [0030]    A wire  20  is connected to the base  12  and may include a shielded single line (not shown) for conducting a signal as is well known.  
         [0031]    The base  12  may be composed of an insulating material such as a molded thermoplastic, e.g., an acetal resin, a nylon, an ABS resin and/or blends thereof and comprises a disk like shape and a central aperture  22  defined by a wall  24 . Members  26  extend from the wall  24  and are circumferentially spaced thereabout and generally define a generally tubular shape.  
         [0032]    The tubular member  16  comprises a spring portion  28  and a terminal end  30 , both of which are disposed about a core member  32 . The core member  32  comprises an insulating material such as a thermoplastic material as discussed above disposed about a conductor (not shown) and functions to electrically connect the terminal end  30  with the signal carrying portion of wire  20  in a known manner.  
         [0033]    The terminal end  30  may be composed of any suitably strong and durable material and is preferably a conductive material, e.g., a metallic substance such as copper, brass, steel plated with nickel, copper or gold for a low resistance, brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze or other material or alloy and is disposed adjacent an insulating ring  34  formed of, for example, a thermoplastic substance such as discussed above. The terminal end  30  comprises a cylindrical length  36 , a groove  38  and a contact tip  40 . The groove  38  is defined by a pair of shoulders  42  and  44  which may be separated by a curved portion  45 .  
         [0034]    In accordance with a feature of the present invention, the spring portion  28  functions to, e.g., reduce movement of the plug connector  10  when disposed within a jack connector as discussed in more detail below. The spring portion  28  comprises a cylindrical contact area  46  and circumferentially spaced strips  48  extending therefrom along a central axis of the tubular member  16 . The cylindrical contact area  46  and strips  48  may be composed of the same material as the terminal end  30  providing it is a suitably flexible and sufficiently strong material. Preferably the material of the strips  48  is spring tempered. Suitable materials include, for example, copper, steel plated with, e.g., nickel, copper or even gold for a low resistance, brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze or other materials or alloys. The strips  48  are bulged at  50  in order to provide a spring-like resiliency and are sufficiently spaced to fit between the members  26  of the base  12 . The strips  48  flex when mated with a jack as discussed in more detail hereafter. One of the strips  48  includes a contact extension  52  for electrical contact with, e.g., the conductive shielding of wire  20  in a known manner.  
         [0035]    As illustrated in FIG. 2, another embodiment of a plug connector is illustrated at  10 ′. In this embodiment, the plug connector  10 ′ comprises three electrical contacts, such as is used in a stereo audio connection. In this case, wire  20 ′ carries two separately conductive lines (not shown) which are wrapped by a shield (not shown). The conductive lines may be electrically connected to a core member  32 ′ which also comprises two conductive lines.  
         [0036]    In order to provide an additional contact area, a pair of insulating rings  33 ′ and  34 ″ are provided and may be composed of the same material such as a thermoplastic material as the other insulating rings discussed above. The rings  33 ′ and  34 ″ insulate an additional cylindrical intermediate contact  36 ′ which is separately conductive from spring portion  28 ′ 0  and shoulders  42 ′,  43 ′ and tip  40 ′. The cylindrical intermediate contact  36 ′ is connected to one of the conductive lines of the core member  32 ′ in a known manner.  
         [0037]    Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and  9 , a jack connector is illustrated generally at  110 . The jack connector  110  is preferably employed in combination with the plug connector  10  shown in FIG. 1 and discussed above, although, it will be understood that the jack connector may be employed with other compatible connectors and this is also the case for the plug connector.  
         [0038]    The jack connector  110  comprises a body or housing  112  and a collar  114 . The housing  112  may be composed of any suitably strong and durable insulating material such as a thermoplastic, for example, including any of those discussed above. The housing  112  comprises a generally tubular body including a central cavity  115 , flanged portions  116  and channels or mounting slots  117  for receipt of electrical contacts as discussed in more detail below. The housing  112  also comprises through slots  118 , window portions  120  and an end  121 .  
         [0039]    The collar  114  may be composed of any suitably strong and durable metallic material, e.g., copper, steel plated with, e.g., nickel, copper or even gold for a low resistance, brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze or other material or alloy and is provided for engaging with, e.g., the strips  48  (FIG. 1) of the spring portion  28  of the plug connector  10 . It will be appreciated that the collar  114  may also be composed of material such as a thermoplastic, e.g., any of those discussed above, although, wear may be enhanced where the corresponding plug employs a spring such as spring portion  28  (FIG. 1) discussed above. Preferably, the collar  114  is dimensioned to receive a spring such as spring portion  28  of the plug connector  10  to thereby provide a clamped fit between the plug connector and the jack connector  110  for reducing relative movement therebetween. The collar  114  comprises a threaded section  122  for mounting of the jack connector within, e.g., a musical instrument or amplifier (not shown) and a flange  124 . The flange  124  is dimensioned to engage the end  121  of the housing  112  and, preferably, during manufacture the collar  114  may be insert molded with the housing. In such a case, extension tabs  125  of housing  112  may extend over the flange  124 . The collar  114  may, in the case of a thermoplastic material, be fixed to end  121  thereto by, for example, a suitable adhesive or ultrasonic welding. The diameter of the collar  122  is dimensioned to receive, for example, the spring portion  28  of the plug connector  10  (FIG. 1).  
         [0040]    With reference to FIGS. 5, 7 and  8 , the jack connector  110  comprises an electrical contact element  126  and an electrical contact element  128 . In accordance with another feature of the present invention, one or both of the electrical contact elements  126  and  128  comprise multiple contact wipers (discussed in more detail below) which increase the electrical contact surface area over a broad circumference of a plug connector thereby substantially reducing the possibility of electrical discontinuity between the jack connector and the plug connector when connected together.  
         [0041]    In accordance with a feature of the present invention the electrical contact element  126  may be configured as illustrated. The electrical contact element  126  may be composed of any suitably strong conductive material such as a metallic substance which is preferably spring tempered. Suitable materials include, for example, copper, steel plated with, e.g., nickel, copper or even gold for a low resistance, brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze or other material or alloy. The electrical contact element  126  comprises a hub  130  from which mounting plates  132 ,  132 ′ and contact wipers  134  extend. The hub  130  also includes a central aperture  136  and each mounting plate  132 ,  132 ′ is connected to the hub  130  by a connector arm  138 . One or more of the connector arms  138  may include an aperture  140  whereto an electrical line (not shown) of, e.g., a musical instrument may be connected. It will also be understood that one or more of the mounting plates  132 ′ may include an angled brace  142 . When the electrical contact element  126  is mounted within the housing  112 , the mounting plates fit within mounting slots  117  and the angled braces  142  slip into windows  120  to thereby lock the electrical contact element  126  in place.  
         [0042]    The contact wipers  134  extend from the hub  130  and may have a generally constant width W and may be generally flat in cross section. The contact wipers  134  each include bent outer ends and a bent inner portion  146 . The bent outer end  144  includes a curved portion  148  which is preferably dimensioned to fit within and generally match the curvature of the groove  38  of the plug connector  10  (FIG. 1). The contact wipers  134  may function to engage, e.g., shoulders  42  and  44  (FIG. 1) to thereby assist in reducing movement of the plug connector  10  within the jack connector  110 .  
         [0043]    In accordance with a further feature of the present invention an electrical contact element  128  may be provided. The electrical contact element  128  may be composed of the same material as the electrical contact element  126  and comprises a hub  150 , mounting plates  152  and wiper contacts  154 . The hub  150  includes an aperture  156  where through a plug connector such as plug connector  10  (FIG. 1) may pass. Referring now also to FIG. 9, the hub  150  also comprises notches  158  which are shaped to receive the flanged portions  116  of the housing  112 . The mounting plate  152  is dimensioned to fit within a mounting slot  117  of the housing  112 .  
         [0044]    A wire contact  160  extends from the hub  150  and includes an aperture  162  for receiving a signal wire from, e.g. a musical instrument (not shown) and the wire contact  160  is dimensioned to extend through the slot  118  of the housing  112 . At least one of the mounting plates  152  comprises an angled brace  164  which, similar to angled brace  142 , snaps into place adjacent the edge of the window  120  of the housing  112 . Wiper contacts  154  are each connected to a mounting plate  152 ,  152 ′ and have a width W′ which tapers from the fixed end (not numbered) to the free end thereof (not numbered). The wiper contacts  154  comprise bent portions  166  for contacting, e.g., the plug connector  10  (FIG. 1).  
         [0045]    In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the jack connector  110  may be manufactured by molding the housing  112 , after inserting collar  114  in a suitable mold, to form the features thereof as described above. Also, contacts  126 ,  128  with the structure discussed above may be formed, e.g., by stamping a thin sheet of a material as discussed above. Next, the electrical contact element  128  may be mounted within the central cavity  115  of the housing  112  whereby the wire contact  160  slides within slot  118  and the angled brace  164  snaps into window  120 . The electrical contact element  126  may then be mounted to the central cavity  115  whereby the angled brace  142  snaps into another window  120 .  
         [0046]    Another embodiment of a jack connector in accordance with a further feature of the present invention is illustrated generally at  110 ′ in FIG. 6. The jack connector  110 ′ is preferably employed in combination with the plug connector  10 ′ of FIG. 2, although, it will be understood that the jack connector may be employed with other compatible connectors and the same is true of the plug connector. In this embodiment, a third electrical contact element is provided for receiving a plug carrying, for example, two separate signals and a ground or shield. In accordance with this embodiment, an electrical contact  126 ′, electrical contact element  128 ′ 0  and an additional electrical contact element  128 ″ are mounted within the central cavity  115 ′ of a housing  112 ′. It will be understood that a portion of housing  112 ′ may be disposed between a flange  123 ′ of the collar  114 ′ and the contact element  128 ″ in order to provide insulation therebetween.  
         [0047]    The electrical contact element  128 ″ is preferably the same as the electrical contact element  128  (FIG. 8) discussed above, although, when mounted to the housing  112 ′ the electrical contact element  128 ″ may be oriented within the central cavity  115 ′ such that the contact wipers  134 ″ extend in a direction which is opposite to that of contact wipers  134 ′ of electrical contact element  128 ′. It will be appreciated that this arrangement allows for the formation of interchangeable parts between the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and 6 when desired.  
         [0048]    Manufacture and assembly of the embodiment of FIG. 6 is similar to that of the embodiment of FIG. 5, although, an additional step of forming and assembling the electrical contact element  128 ″ is required. Also, it may be advantageous to insert the electrical contact element  128 ″ along with the collar  114 ′ during molding of the housing  112 ′.  
         [0049]    As schematically illustrated in FIG. 10, the plug connector  10 ′ may be inserted within the jack connector  110 ′ and is supported in place therewithin by engaging the electrical contact elements  126 ′,  128 ′ 0  and  128 ″. The spring portion  28 ′ 0  of the plug connector  10 ′ engages the collar  114 ′ to further clamp the plug connector within the jack connector  110 ′ and thereby reduce the amount of movement of the former relative to the latter. It will be understood that the schematical illustration of the plug connector  10 ′ and jack connector  110 ′ was for illustrational purposes only and it will be appreciated that the plug connector  10  and jack connector  110  may be connected together in a similar manner.  
         [0050]    Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, a further embodiment of a plug connector and jack connector in accordance with the present invention are illustrated generally at  210  and  310 , respectively. The plug  210  is formed in accordance with an RCA configuration and includes a spring contact, described in more detail below. The plug  210  comprises an insulating ring  212  interposed between a sleeve to  214  and a probe member  216 . The insulating ring  212  is preferably comprised of a molded plastic material such as any of those discussed above. The sleeve  214  is composed of a conductive material and may be formed in a sheet and is disposed about the insulating ring  212 . The sleeve  214  is electrically connected typically to the shield of an electrical wire (not shown).  
         [0051]    The probe member  216  comprises a rounded head  218  and a spring portion  220 . The spring portion  220  comprises slots  222  disposed between bulged portions  224  of the probe member  216 . In this manner, the probe member  216  is formed in one piece and is preferably composed of a metallic substance to provide conductive properties whereby a signal from a wire not shown may be conducted thereby.  
         [0052]    The jack connector  310  comprises an insulating cylinder  312 , a conductive band  314  and a central cavity  316 . The insulating cylinder  312  may be formed of any suitably strong and durable material such as a plastic, for example, a polyolefin and is dimensioned to fit within the sleeve  214  of the plug connector  210 . The conductive bend  314  circumscribes the end of the insulating cylinder  312  and electrically contacts the sleeve  214  when the plug connector  210  is mated with the jack connector  310 . A conductive line  318  connects the conductive band  314  with, e.g., a ground wire (not shown). The central cavity  316  is defined by a wall  320  which may be coated or provided with a conductive sleeve and is dimensioned to receive the probe member  216 .  
         [0053]    When the plug connector  210  is fitted together with the jack connector  310 , the probe member  216  fits within the central cavity  316  whereby spring portion  220  will be compressed to provide increased friction and prevent undesirable disruption of electrical continuity.  
         [0054]    While the present invention has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to these herein disclosed embodiments. Rather, the present invention is intended to cover all of the various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.