Patent Publication Number: US-8113877-B2

Title: Connector for connecting external antenna

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to a connector, in particular to a cable connector capable of connecting an external antenna. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As Internet becomes increasingly popular, most communication equipments or electronic products come with a built-in antenna or a connector for connecting an external antenna, so that users can log on the Internet via the antenna to browse the Internet, upload data, download data, or send/receive short messages and mails. 
     At present, a notebook computer is generally used by users to log on a wireless network to browse the Internet, upload data, download data or send and receive mails. Since the notebook computer usually comes with a built-in antenna installed at the periphery of an LCD panel to provide a good transmitting and receiving capability to the notebook computer, so that the antenna has an excellent receiving directivity. 
     As is well know, it is relatively troublesome to manufacture a display device with a built-in antenna, because the space for installing a number of antennas in the display device must be taken into account. If the length of the antenna is too long, the original reserved space will be insufficient to install the antenna, so that it is necessary to shorten the antenna. However, the receiving and transmitting effects of the shortened antenna will become poor. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a connector for connecting an external antenna, so that users can connect the antenna to a joint of a cable. 
     To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides a connector for connecting an external antenna, and the connector comprises: a base, having a port and a T-shaped containing space, and the T-shaped containing space having a U-shaped opening formed at the front of the T-shaped containing space, and two symmetrical penetrating holes formed on both sides of the U-shaped opening respectively; an electric connector, connected into the port; and a joint, having a connecting pillar disposed across the U-shape opening, a connecting portion formed at a front section of the connecting pillar, a latch plate disposed at a rear section of the connecting pillar, and a through hole formed on the latch plate and corresponding to the penetrating hole; an insulation lining contained in the connecting pillar, and having a signal feed-in plughole formed at the center of the insulation lining; and a signal feed-in pin installed at an end of the signal feed-in plughole and extended out from an end of the joint, wherein the latch plate and the signal feed-in pin of the joint are installed in the containing space, and the through hole corresponds to the penetrating hole. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a connector of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another exploded view of a connector of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a connector of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a connector of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view showing a connector connected to a main board of an electronic device in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view of a further preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view of another further preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The technical characteristics and contents of the present invention will become apparent with the following detailed description accompanied with related drawings, and it is noteworthy to point out that the drawings are provided for the reference and illustration purposes only, but not intended for limiting the scope of the invention. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1  for an exploded view of a connector of the present invention, the connector for connecting an external antenna comprises a base  1 , an electric connector  2  and a joint  3 . 
     The base  1  includes a port  11  and a T-shape containing space  12 , and the port  11  is provided for installing the electric connector  2 . The T-shape containing space  12  is provided for installing the cable joint  3 . A U-shape opening  13  is formed at a front end of the T-shape containing space  12 , and two symmetrical penetrating holes  14  are formed on both sides of the U-shape opening  13  respectively. 
     The electric connector  2  is connected into the port  11 . The electric connector can be formed by any one of the HDMI, DisplayPort, USB, and e-SATA connectors or stacking or combining any two different or same electric connectors selected from the HDMI, DisplayPort, USB, and e-SATA connectors. 
     The joint  3  includes a connecting pillar  31  disposed across the U-shape opening  13 , a threaded connecting portion  311  disposed at a front end of the connecting pillar  31  and connectable to a cable (not shown in the figure), and a latch plate  32  installed at an end of the connecting pillar  31  and having a through hole  321  corresponding to the penetrating hole  14 . In addition, the connecting pillar includes an insulation lining  33  therein, a signal feed-in plughole  34  formed at the center of the insulation lining  33 , and a signal feed-in pin  35  installed at an end of the signal feed-in plughole  34  and extended out from an end of the joint  3 . When the joint  3  is installed in the containing space  12 , the latch plate  32  and the signal feed-in pin  35  of the joint  3  are installed in the containing space  12 , and the through hole  321  corresponds to the penetrating hole  11 . In  FIG. 1 , the joint  3  is a SMA male joint or a SMA female joint. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3  for another exploded view and a perspective view of a connector of the present invention respectively, the connector for connecting an external antenna comprises a base  1 , an electric connector  2  and a joint  3 , wherein the base  1  includes a metal housing  4  installed onto the exterior of the base  1 , and the metal housing  4  includes a front casing  41  and a rear casing  42 , and the front panel  411  of the front casing  41  includes a plurality of slots  412  and penetrating holes  413  provided for exposing the electric connector  2  and the joint  3 . 
     After the front casing  41  is installed at the front end of the base  1 , the rear casing  42  is installed at the rear end of the base  1 , and snap holes  421  formed on lateral sides of the rear casing  42  are snapped onto protrusions  415  formed on two side panels  414  of the front casing  41  respectively, such that the front casing  41  and the rear casing  42  can cover the base  1  securely, and the metal housing  4  also can prevent the electric connector  2  and the joint  3  from being affected by electromagnetic interference. In addition, fixing legs  416  are formed at the bottom of the two side panels  414  of the front casing  41 , such that the connector can be fixed to a main board of an electronic device (not shown in the figure). 
     With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5  for cross-sectional views of a connector of the present invention and the connector connected to a main board of an electronic device respectively, the connector of the present invention is electrically connected to the main board  51  of the electronic device  5 , and the electric connector  2  can be connected to a HDMI, DisplayPort, USB, or e-SATA transmission cable. 
     After a signal feed-in pin  61  in a cable plug  6  of the antenna is inserted into the signal feed-in plughole  34 , a nut  62  is secured onto the connecting portion  311  of the connecting pillar  31 , such that the cable plug  6  and the joint  3  can be connected securely and provided for receiving signals. 
     With reference to  FIG. 6  for a schematic view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the electric connector  2  of this preferred embodiment is arranged adjacent to the cable joint  3  or stacked on top of the cable joint  3  to provide different options for the design of the connector. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7  for a schematic view of a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention also can adopt a SMB (male or female) joint  7  in addition to the SMA (male or female) joint  3 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 8  for a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, after a SMA (male or female) joint  3  or a SMB (male or female) joint  7  is combined with the connector, a transmission cable  8  can be electrically connected to an output pin at an end of the SMA (male or female) joint  3  or the SMB (male or female) joint  7 , and an end of the transmission cable  8  can be electrically connected to the main board  51  of the electronic device  5  and the cable plug  6  of the antenna installed at the front end of the SMA(male or female) joint  3  or the SMB (male or female) joint  7 . After the antenna has received a signal to be transmitted through the cable plug  6  to the SMA (male or female) joint  3  or the SMB (male or female) joint  7 , the signal is transmitted through the transmission cable  8  to the main board  51 , and after the signal processed by the main board  51  is transmitted through the transmission cable  8  to the SMA (male or female) joint  3  or the SMB (male or female) joint  7 , the signal is transmitted from the cable plug  6  to the antenna and then transmitted to the outside from the antenna. 
     While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.