Patent Publication Number: US-6991497-B1

Title: Earphone jack

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an earphone jack, more particularly to an earphone jack that is capable of mating with two different types of plugs. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional earphone jack  1  for use in an electrical device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, etc., is shown to include an L-shaped dielectric housing  11 , four first terminals  12 , two second terminals  13 , and a third terminal  14 . 
     The dielectric housing  11  is formed with a cylindrical first plug receiving hole  111  that extends along a first hole axis (L 11 ), and a rectangular second plug receiving hole  112  that extends along a second hole axis (L 12 ) parallel to the first hole axis (L 11 ) and that has a width along a third axis (d 2 ) transverse to the second hole axis (L 2 ). 
     Each of the first terminals  12  has a plug contacting portion (not shown) that extends into the second plug receiving hole  112 , and an opposite tail portion  121  that is disposed outwardly of the second plug receiving hole  112 . The first terminals  12  are arranged spacedly along the third axis (d 2 ). 
     Each of the second terminals  13  has a plug contacting portion (not shown) that extends into the first plug receiving hole  111 , and an opposite tail portion  131  that is disposed outwardly of the first plug receiving hole  111 . The second terminals  13  are arranged spacedly along the first hole axis (L 11 ). 
     The third terminal  14  is extended into a rear end of the first plug receiving hole  111 , and has a tail portion  141  disposed outwardly of the first plug receiving hole  111 . 
     In practice, the first, second and third terminals  12 ,  13 ,  14  can be connected to various electrical components, such as control circuits, state switching circuits, etc., via the tail portions  121 ,  131 ,  141  to provide a plurality of functions for the earphone jack  1 . 
     In use, first and second plugs (not shown) are inserted into the first and second plug receiving holes  111 ,  112 , and establish electrical connection with the plug contacting portions of the first, second and third terminals  12 ,  13 ,  14 . As a result, electrical signals can be transmitted from the first and second plugs to the electrical components of an electrical device in a manner well known in the art via the terminals  12 ,  13 ,  14  of the earphone jack  1 . 
     However, due to the arrangement of the first terminals  12 , the third axis (d 2 ) of the second plug receiving hole  112  of the dielectric housing  11  is relatively long. As a result, the dimensions of a housing part  110  of the dielectric housing  11  are too large to meet current trends toward component miniaturization. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an earphone jack that has a compact configuration so as to overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art. 
     Accordingly, an earphone jack of this invention comprises a dielectric housing, a conductive first contact set, and a conductive second contact set. 
     The dielectric housing has a first housing portion formed with a cylindrical first plug receiving hole that extends along a first axis, and a second housing portion connected to the first housing portion and formed with a rectangular second plug receiving hole that extends along a second hole axis parallel to the first hole axis and that has a width along a third axis transverse to the second hole axis. The second housing portion includes upper and lower wall parts at upper and lower sides of the second plug receiving hole. 
     The conductive first contact set is mounted to the first housing portion, and includes first, second and third resilient contacts, each of which has a resilient plug contacting portion that extends into the first plug receiving hole. The plug contacting portions of any pair of the first, second and third resilient contacts form at least one of an angular distance and an axial distance therebetween with respect to the first hole axis. 
     The conductive second contact set is mounted to the second housing portion, and includes a pair of first terminals and a pair of second terminals. The first terminals extend into the second plug receiving hole parallel to the second hole axis, are spaced apart from each other along the third axis, and are disposed proximate to the lower wall part of the second housing portion. The second terminals extend into the second plug receiving hole parallel to the second hole axis, are spaced apart from each other along the third axis, and are disposed proximate to the upper wall part of the second housing portion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the present invention will be come apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is an assembled perspective view of a conventional earphone jack; 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the preferred embodiment of an earphone jack according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment to illustrate a state where it mates with a complementary plug assembly; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic, partly sectional view of the preferred embodiment, taken along Line  6 — 6  of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment, taken along Line  7 — 7  of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 8  is another sectional view of the preferred embodiment, taken along Line  8 — 8  of  FIG. 5 ; and 
         FIG. 9  is yet another sectional view of the preferred embodiment, taken along Line  9 — 9  of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 to 5 , the preferred embodiment of an earphone jack  3  according to the present invention is shown to be adapted for use with a complementary plug assembly  2  that includes a cylindrical first plug  21  and a rectangular second plug  22  disposed parallel to and spaced apart from the first plug  21 . The first plug  21  includes a peripheral contacting surface  211 . The second plug  22  includes a plug body  221  and two pairs of parallel conductive plates  222  mounted on upper and lower sides of the plug body  221 . Since the feature of this invention does not reside in the particular configuration of the plug assembly  2 , a detailed description of the same is dispensed with herein for the sake of brevity. The earphone jack  3  includes a dielectric housing  4 , a conductive first contact set  6 , and a conductive second contact set  7 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  6 , the dielectric housing  4  has a first housing portion  42  formed with a cylindrical first plug receiving hole  43  that extends along a first hole axis (L 1 ), and a second housing portion  44  connected to the first housing portion  42  and formed with a rectangular second plug receiving hole  45  that extends along a second hole axis (L 2 ) parallel to the first hole axis (L 1 ) and that has a width along a third axis (D 2 ) transverse to the second hole axis (L 2 ). The first plug receiving hole  43  is configured with a circular front opening  431  and a rectangular rear opening  432 . The second housing portion  44  includes upper and lower wall parts  441 ,  442  at upper and lower sides of the second plug receiving hole  45 . The second plug receiving hole  45  is configured with a rectangular front opening  451  and four T-shaped rear openings  452  (only two are visible in the drawings). 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 ,  6  and  7 , the conductive first contact set  6  is mounted to the first housing portion  42 , and includes first, second and third resilient contacts  61 ,  62 ,  63 , each of which has a resilient plug contacting portion  611 ,  621 ,  631  that extends into the first plug receiving hole  43 , and an opposite tail portion  612 ,  622 ,  632  disposed outwardly of the first plug receiving hole  43 . The plug contacting portions  611 ,  621 ,  631  of any pair of the first, second and third resilient contacts  61 ,  62 ,  63  form at least one of an angular distance and an axial distance therebetween with respect to the first hole axis (L 1 ). Thus, as best shown in  FIG. 7 , when the first plug  21  is inserted into the first plug receiving hole  43 , the plug contacting portions  611 ,  621 ,  631  of the first, second and third resilient contacts  61 ,  62 ,  63  abut against different points on the contacting surface  211  of the first plug  21 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 ,  7  and  8 , the conductive second contact set  7  is mounted to the second housing portion  44 , and includes a pair of first terminals  71  and a pair of second terminals  72 . Each of the first terminals  71  has a plug contacting portion  712  that extends into the second plug receiving hole  45  parallel to the second hole axis (L 2 ) via one of the rear openings  452 , and an opposite tail portion  711  disposed outwardly of the second plug receiving hole  45 . The first terminals  71  are spaced apart from each other along the third axis (D 2 ), and are disposed proximate to the lower wall part  442  of the second housing portion  44 . Each of the second terminals  72  has a plug contacting portion  722  that extends into the second plug receiving hole  45  parallel to the second hole axis (L 2 ) via one of the rear openings  452 , and an opposite tail portion  721  disposed outwardly of the second plug receiving hole  45 . The second terminals  72  are spaced apart from each other along the third axis (D 2 ), and are disposed proximate to the upper wall part  441  of the second housing portion  44 . As best shown in  FIG. 7 , when the second plug  22  is inserted into the second plug receiving hole  45 , the plug contacting portions  712 ,  722  of the first and second terminals  71 ,  72  abut against the conductive plates  222  of the second plug  22 , respectively. 
     Referring again to  FIGS. 4 ,  6  and  7 , preferably, the conductive first contact set  6  further includes third and fourth terminals  64 ,  65  disposed to establish electrical connection with the plug contacting portion  611 ,  621  of a respective one of the first and second resilient contacts  61 ,  62  when the first plug  21  is yet to be inserted into the first plug receiving hole  43 , as best shown in  FIG. 6 . As best shown in  FIG. 7 , when the first plug  21  is inserted into the first plug receiving hole  43 , the plug contacting portions  611 ,  621  are pushed away from the third and fourth terminals  64 ,  65  to break electrical connection therewith. It is noted that each of the third and fourth terminals  64 ,  65  has a tail portion  641 ,  651  that is disposed outwardly of the first plug receiving hole  43 . 
     Since the specific mounting arrangement of the first, second and third resilient contacts  61 ,  62 ,  63  and the first, second, third and fourth terminals  71 ,  72 ,  73 ,  74  on the dielectric housing  4  is not pertinent to the claimed invention, a detailed description of the same is omitted herein for the sake of brevity. 
     Referring once more to  FIGS. 2 to 5 , the dielectric housing  4  further has a top side  41  that is formed with a mounting recess  46 , and an access hole  461  that is formed in the first housing portion  42  and that extends from the first plug receiving hole  43  to the mounting recess  46 . A retaining member  5  is mounted in the mounting recess  46 , and is formed with a resilient tab  51  that extends into the first plug receiving hole  43  through the access hole  461 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , when the first plug  21  is inserted into first plug receiving hole  43 , the resilient tab  51  abuts against the first plug  21  for enhancing retention of the first plug  21  in the first plug receiving hole  43 . In this embodiment, the retaining member  5  has a pair of side plates retained on the dielectric housing  4  at two lateral sides of the first plug receiving hole  43 . 
     In use, the tail portions  612 ,  622 ,  632 ,  711 ,  721 ,  641 ,  651  of the first, second and third resilient contacts  61 ,  62 ,  63  and the first, second, third and fourth terminals  71 ,  72 ,  64 ,  65  can be connected to various electrical components of an electrical device (not shown) to provide a plurality of functions for the earphone jack  3 . Thereafter, when the first and second plugs  21 ,  22  are inserted into the first and second plug receiving holes  43 ,  45  and establish electrical connection with the resilient contacts  61 ,  62 ,  63  and the first and second terminals  71 ,  72 , electrical signals can be transmitted in a conventional manner from the first and second plugs  21 ,  22  to the electrical components of the electrical device via the earphone jack  3  of this invention. 
     The advantages of the earphone jack  3  of this invention are summarized as follows:
         1. The plug contacting portions  611 ,  621 ,  631  and the resilient tab  51  cooperate to retain securely the first plug  21  in the first plug receiving hole  43 . The plug contacting portions  712 ,  722  of the first and second terminals  71 ,  72  likewise cooperate to retain securely the second plug  22  in the second plug receiving hole  45 .   2. In this invention, the first and second terminals  71 ,  72  are arranged into upper and lower pairs in the second plug receiving hole  45 . As compared to the aforementioned prior art, in which four terminals  12  are arranged spacedly along an axis (d 2 ), the width of the second plug receiving hole  45  along the third axis (D 2 ) is shortened, thereby reducing the dimensions of the dielectric housing  4  to meet current trends toward component miniaturization.       

     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.