Patent Publication Number: US-10784614-B2

Title: Electrical connector having a fastener

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201810942914.8, filed on Aug. 17, 2018, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector a better structural efficiency and retention. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A traditional electrical connector mainly comprises at least one contact and an insulative housing holding the contact in isolation from others. However, the contact in the traditional electrical connector is retained in the insulative housing via a barb thereof, and the insulative housing defines a locking slot for latching with the barb, thus the insulative housing has a weak structure, and the contact is fixed in the insulative housing only by the barb, the retaining force between the contact and the insulative housing is insufficient. 
     Hence, it is desired to provide an electrical connector to overcome the problems mentioned above. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with a better structural efficiency and retention. 
     The present invention is directed to an electrical connector comprising an insulative housing, a plurality of contacts and a fastener, the insulative housing has a plurality of contact-receiving passageways extending through thereof along a front-and-back direction and a positioning slot recessed upwards from a bottom face thereof, the positioning slot is extending along a transverse direction of the insulative housing and communicated with the contact-receiving passageways. The contacts are retained in the corresponding contact-receiving passageways of the insulative housing. The fastener is assembled into the positioning slot along a down-to-up direction before the contacts being inserted into the insulative housing, and defines a plurality of receiving channels correspondingly arranged with the contact-receiving passageways. Each contact defines a stopping portion and an elastic locking arm disposed on opposite sides thereof in a height direction, the locking arm extends backwards to form a free end at the back, the contacts are inserted into the relative contact-receiving passageways and the receiving channels along a back-to-front direction, and the free ends of the locking arms are locking with the insulative housing to realize a pre-position between the contacts and the housing, after the contacts assembled into the insulative housing, the fastener is pressed upwards into the positioning slot fully and abutting against a rear end of the stopping portion to form a secondary positioning. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial assembled view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 2  without wires; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an insulative housing of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a fastener of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is similar to  FIG. 5 , but viewed from a different angle; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a contact of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 8  is similar to  FIG. 7 , but shown from a different aspect; 
         FIG. 9  is an assembled view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a sectional view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 9 ; and 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-section view of the electrical connector when the fastener is completely pressed into a positioning slot of the insulative housing. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail, wherein depicted elements are not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like of similar elements are designated by same or similar reference numeral through the several views and same or similar terminology. 
       FIGS. 1-11  illustrate an electrical connector  100  according to the present invention, and the electrical connector  100  comprises an insulative housing  1 , a plurality of contacts  2  held in the insulative housing  1 , a fastener  3  assembled to the insulative housing  1  and a number of wires  4  mechanically and electrically connected with the corresponding contacts  2 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 4 , and conjunction with  FIGS. 9 to 11 , the insulative housing  1  has a plurality of contact-receiving passageways  12  extending through thereof along a front-and-back direction and a positioning slot  13  recessed upwards from a bottom face thereof. Specifically, the insulative housing  1  defines a main portion  11 , the contact-receiving passageways  12  are extending through the main portion  11  along the front-and-back direction, the positioning slot  13  is recessed upwards from a bottom face of the main portion  11 . In the illustrated embodiment, the contact-receiving passageways  12  are divided into an upper row and a lower row, the upper row of contact-receiving passageways  12  are aligning with the lower row of contact-receiving passageways  12  in a one-to-one correspondence along a height direction. 
     The positioning slot  13  is extending along a transverse direction of the insulative housing  1  and communicated with the contact-receiving passageways  12 , the contacts  2  is retained in the corresponding contact-receiving passageways  12 . The fastener  3  is assembled into the positioning slot  13  along a down-to-up direction before the contacts  2  being inserted into the insulative housing  1 , and has a plurality of receiving channels  30  correspondingly arranged with the contact-receiving passageways  12 . 
     The main portion  11  defines an upper wall  112 , a lower wall  113  opposite to the upper wall  112  and a pair of side walls  114 , the sides walls  114  are connecting the upper wall  112  with the lower wall  113 , the positioning slot  13  is disposed in the lower wall  113  of the insulative housing  1 . The insulative housing  1  further has a pair of latching grooves  116  on relative side walls  114 , and each latching groove  116  is recessed inwards from an outer surface of the relative side wall  114  and penetrating through the relative side wall  114 , the latching grooves  116  are communicated with the positioning slot  13 . The positioning slot  13  is formed by recessing upwards from a bottom face of the lower wall  113 , and the latching grooves  116  are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the insulative housing  1 . 
     The main portion  11  further has a plurality of bulges  117  corresponding to the contact-receiving passageways  12  in one-to-one correspondence, and each bulge  117  is protruding downwards in the relative contact-receiving passageway  12 . 
     The insulative housing  1  defines an elastic latching arm  14  on an upper side of the main portion  11 , and the latching arm  14  has a rear free end which can move along the height direction under an external pressure. A pair of limiting walls  15  are defined on a top side of the insulative housing  1  and neighboring to a rear surface of the insulative housing  1 , to prevent the latching arm  14  moving upwards overly. The pair of limiting walls  15  are spaced apart from each other along the transverse direction and located on both sides of the latching arm  14 . In further, the pair of limiting walls  15  are arranged above corresponding shoulders  141  of the latching arm  14 , to prevent the latching arm  14  from being overturned during plugging or unplugging with a complementary connector (not shown). 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , viewed from the rear surface of the insulative housing  1 , in the height direction, each contact-receiving passageway  12  has a guiding slot  121  with an increased height, and the guiding slot  121  is defined on one side of the contact-receiving passageway  12  along the transverse direction and extending towards the opposite side. Furthermore, the guiding slots  121  extend along the transverse direction with unlimited widths. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2, 3, 7, 8 , and conjunction with  FIGS. 10-11 , the contacts  2  are assembled into the corresponding contact-receiving passageways  12  along a back-to-front direction, and arranged at least one row in which the contacts  2  juxtaposed along the transverse direction. In the illustrated embodiment as shown, the contacts  2  are divided into two rows in the height direction, and the contacts  2  in each row are arranged abreast in the transverse direction. In other embodiments, the contacts  2  also can be arranged in three rows or more along the height direction. 
     Each contact  2  has a primary segment  21 , a contacting segment  22  in front of the primary segment  21  and a crimping segment  23  behind the primary segment  21  for connecting with the relative wire  4 , and the contacting segment  22  of each contact  2  defines a mating cavity  20  for a complementary contact (not shown) plugging into. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the primary segment  21  is provided with a top wall  211 , a pair of lateral portions  212  on both sides of the top wall  211  in the transverse direction and a pair of plate portions  213  integrally connecting with the corresponding lateral portions  212 , the plate portions  213  are extending from lower ends of the relative lateral portions  212  towards each other. Further, in this embodiment, the pair of plate portions  213  are stacked with each other in the height direction to jointly form a stopping portion; and in other embodiments, the stopping portion also can be formed by other structures located on a bottom side of the lateral portions  212 . 
     The primary segment  21  defines a leading portion  214  protruding along the height direction and an elastic locking arm  215  extending towards the crimping segment  23 . The stopping portion and the locking arm  215  are disposed on opposite sides of the contact  2  in the height direction. The leading portion  214  is defined on one side of the locking arm  215  along the transverse direction, and bending upwards from the top wall  211 . Each leading portion  214  is inserted from the corresponding side (that is a side the guiding slot  121  is defined on) of the contact-receiving passageway  12  into the guiding slot  121  of the insulative housing  1 . In this embodiment, the leading portion  214  is formed by tearing and bending upwards from one of the lateral portion  212 ; in other embodiments, the leading portion  214  also can be formed in other ways. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10 to 11 , in the height direction, an upper end surface of the leading portion  214  is higher than a top face of the locking arm  215 , and in the front-and-back direction, a rear surface of the locking arm  215  is in front of a rear face of the leading portion  214 , therefore, when a downward or forward external force is exerted on each contact  2 , the locking arm  215  can be protected by the leading portion  214 , to prevent the external force directly exerting on the locking arm  215 . In addition, when the contacts  2  are not inserted into the insulative housing  1  and placed intensively, the leading portions  214  can avoid the damage caused by the hooking of two neighboring locking arms  215 . 
     The locking arm  215  extends upwards and backwards to form a free end at the back, the contacts  2  are inserted into the relative contact-receiving passageways  12  and the receiving channels  30  along the back-to-front direction, and the locking arms  215  are locking with the insulative housing  1  to realize a pre-position between the contacts  2  and the housing  1 . Specifically, each bulge  117  is abutting against the free end of the corresponding locking arm  215  from a rear side of the locking arm  215 , thus each contact  2  is preliminary positioned in the insulative housing  1 . After the contacts  2  assembled into the insulative housing  1 , the fastener  3  is pressed upwards into the positioning slot  13  fully and abutting against a rear end of the stopping portion to form a secondary positioning. In further, each bulge  117  has a front resisting face  1171  abutting against the free end of corresponding locking arm  215  and a rear guiding face  1172  for leading corresponding contact  2  being inserted forwardly. 
     The contacting segment  22  has a contacting arm  221  for mating with the complementary contact, the contacting arm  221  and the locking arm  215  are extending along reverse directions. In this embodiment, the contacting arm  221  is extending forwards from the plate portion  213  into the mating cavity  20 , specifically, the contacting arm  221  is extending forwards from an upper one of the pair of plate portions  213 . And the contacting arm  221  has a free end at the front thereof and extends obliquely upward, thus a resilient contact of the contacting arm  221  is realized. The contacting arm  221  is provided with a curved first contacting portion  2210  close to the free end thereof and protruding upwards. 
     The contacting segment  22  further defines a contacting beam  224  on the top wall  211 , and the contacting beam  224  is protruding towards the mating cavity  20 . Both a front end and a rear end of the contacting beam  224  are connecting with the top wall  211 , and the contacting beam  224  defines a second contacting portion  2240  protruding towards the first contacting portion  2210 . The second contacting portion  2240  and the first contacting portion  2210  are protruding towards and opposite to each other, to achieve a reliable double-sided contact with the complementary contact, and a reliability of electrical connection during mating can be increased. 
     Each contact  2  further has a protecting arm  223  on an exterior side of the contacting arm  221 , and the protecting arm  223  is extending forwards from the plate portion  213  on a lower side of the pair of plate portions  213 . 
     A cutout  24  is formed in a conjoining area between the primary segment  21  and the contacting segment  22 , and the locking arm  215  is located in the cutout  24  in the front-and-back direction. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 to 6 , and conjunction with  FIGS. 10 to 11 , the fastener  3  comprises a base portion  31 , a flange  32  neighboring to a bottom side thereof, a pair of first locking tabs  33  on both sides thereof in a transverse direction and at least a second locking tabs  34  on a rear side thereof. The flange  32  is extending forwards from a front end of the base portion  31 , and the second locking tabs  34  is protruding backwards from a rear face of the base portion  31 . 
     The fastener  3  further defines a front wall  35  in the front thereof and at least one limiting block  36  protruding backwards from the rear face of the base portion  31 , the front wall  35  is protruding upwards, and a front surface of the front wall  35  is behind the stopping portion and abutting against a restricting face  118  in the insulative housing  1 . In this embodiment, the fastener  3  has a pair of limiting blocks  36  spaced apart from each other along the transverse direction, and in the transverse direction, the limiting blocks  36  and the second locking tabs  34  are stagger with each other, the pair of the second locking tabs  34  are disposed between the pair of limiting blocks  36 . The insulative housing  1  defines a pair of limiting slots  16  recessed upwards from the bottom face thereof, and the limiting slots  16  are communicated with the positioning slot  13  to receive the corresponding limiting blocks  36 . 
     Before the contacts  2  inserted into the insulative housing  1 , the fastener  3  is positioned in the insulative housing  1  via the first locking tabs  33 , and after the contacts  2  inserted into the insulative housing  1 , the fastener  3  is positioned in the insulative housing  1  via the second locking tabs  34 . 
     In particular, before the contacts  2  assembled into the insulative housing  1 , the fastener  3  is preassembled into the positioning slot  13  along the down-to-up direction, and the first locking tabs  33  are inserted and fixed in the latching grooves  116  on both sides of the insulative housing  1  to prevent moving downwards (as shown in  FIG. 10 ), the second locking tabs are located on a bottom side of the relative contact-receiving passageways  12 , and  FIGS. 9-10  illustrate a status of the fastener  3  preassembled into the insulative housing  1 . After the contacts  2  assembled into the insulative housing  1 , the fastener  3  moves upwards under an upward pressure until the second locking tabs  34  enters and is fixed in the corresponding contact-receiving passageways  12  (as shown in  FIG. 11 ). 
     The fastener  3  of the electrical connector  100  is preassembled into the insulative housing  1  before the contacts  2  assembled into the insulative housing  1 , to prevent the fastener  3  being lost. While the contacts  2  assembled to the insulative housing  1 , the pre-position between the contacts  2  and the housing  1  is achieved by the locking arms  215 . After the contacts  2  fully assembled into the insulative housing  1 , the fastener  3  is pressed upwards into the positioning slot  13  completely, and the second locking tabs  34  are engaging with the relative contact-receiving passageways  12  to make the fattener  3  be fixed in the positioning slot  13 , the fastener  3  is abutting against the rear end of the stopping portion of each contact  2  to form a secondary positioning. Therefore, a structural efficiency of the insulative housing  1  and a retaining force between the contacts  2  and the insulative housing  1  can be increased, thereby the reliability and stability of electrical connection are enhanced. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.