Patent Publication Number: US-9413120-B2

Title: Cable connector

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 103204679, filed on Mar. 19, 2014, in the IPO (Intellectual Property Office, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Republic of China). 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Filed of the Invention 
     The present invention is related to an electrical connector, and especially to cable connector. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The conventional technology is an electrical connector that connects cables to a card edge interface. It has a housing portion comprising a first surface, and a second surface opposite the said first surface, and the surfaces are spaced apart to define a housing portion slot for the card edge interface. Furcated contact elements are disposed within the housing. Each contact element has a first tine portion with an exposed contact interface portion, a second tine portion, a web portion connecting the first and second tine portions, and a wire termination portion for terminating a conductor of the cable. 
     However, with the conventional technology, only the first tine portion serves as an electrical contact terminal to electrically connect a printed circuit board. The second tine portion only serves as a fixing terminal. Therefore, a conventional card edge cable connector only establishes a single row of electrical contact terminals above the connector. When more electrical contact terminals are needed, the width of the printed circuit board must increase, and the volume of the whole device will increase with the conventional card edge cable connector. Furthermore, if the width of the printed circuit board does not increase, both sides of the circuit board must be capable of electrical connection, and double-row electrical contact terminals must be installed above and below the conventional card edge cable connector. Therefore, the structure of the conventional card edge cable connector still needs to be improved. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector that uses hooks of terminals to clip and hold the circuit board, so to reduce the thickness and volume of the cable connector. 
     According to the present invention, a cable connector comprises: an insulator, comprising a plurality of receiving slots and a plurality of terminal holes, with an insertion space formed by the insulator and the plurality of terminal holes situated on one side of the insertion space; a circuit board, comprising a plurality of first conductive parts and a plurality of second conductive parts, with each first conductive part electrically connected to the second conductive part, and the plurality of first conductive parts and the plurality of second conductive parts situated on opposite sides of the circuit board; a plurality of terminals, embedded in a plurality of receiving slots of the insulator, with each terminal comprising a contact end and a hook, which clips and holds the circuit board so that one end of the hook is connected to the first conductive part of the circuit board; a wire transmission device, comprising a plurality of conductors, which connect the plurality of second conductive parts of the circuit board. The insulator has an insertion space, next to the plurality of terminal holes, and the contact ends of the plurality of terminals go through the plurality of terminal holes and extend into the insertion space. 
     In one aspect of the present invention, the cable connector further comprises a cover body comprising a plurality of locking parts that lock and fasten to a plurality of fixing parts of the insulator. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the cover body comprises a plurality of limiting parts comprising a corresponding locking part, are used to fix the circuit board between the cover body and the insulator when the plurality of locking parts of the cover body lock and fasten to the plurality of fixing parts of the insulator. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the cover body comprises a notch, from which the wire transmission device goes through and extends outwardly. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the circuit board comprises a third conductive part, which situates on the same side of the circuit board as the plurality of first conductive parts, which are electrically connected to the third conductive part. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the front end of the wire transmission device comprises a bend, and the plurality of conductors extend in accordance with the bend&#39;s angle and contact the plurality of second conductive parts. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the circuit board comprises a plurality of through holes that penetrate the circuit board, and by which the plurality of first conductive parts are electrically connected to the plurality of second conductive parts. 
     In still another aspect of the present invention, each hook is U-shaped. 
     In yet another aspect of the present invention, the wire transmission device is a flexible cable, a flexible printed circuit board or a metal cable. 
     According to the present invention, a cable connector comprises: an insulator, comprising a plurality of receiving slots and a plurality of terminal holes, with an insertion space formed by the insulator and the plurality of terminal holes situated on one side of the insertion space; a circuit board, comprising a plurality of first conductive parts and a plurality of second conductive parts, with each first conductive part electrically connected to the second conductive part; a plurality of terminals, embedded in a plurality of receiving slots of the insulator, with one end of each terminal is connected to the first conductive part of the circuit board; a wire transmission device, comprising a plurality of conductors, which connect the plurality of second conductive parts of the circuit board. The insulator has an insertion space, next to the plurality of terminal holes, and the plurality of terminals go through the plurality of terminal holes and extend into the insertion space. 
     In one aspect of the present invention, the cable connector further comprises a cover body comprising a plurality of locking parts that lock and fasten to a plurality of fixing parts of the insulator. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the cover body comprises a plurality of limiting parts comprising a corresponding locking part, are used to fix the circuit board between the cover body and the insulator when the plurality of locking parts of the cover body lock and fasten to the plurality of fixing parts of the insulator. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the cover body comprises a notch, from which the wire transmission device goes through and extends outwardly. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the circuit board comprises a third conductive part, which situates on the same side of the circuit board as the plurality of first conductive parts, which are electrically connected to the third conductive part. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the front end of the wire transmission device comprises a bend, and the plurality of conductors extend in accordance with the bend&#39;s angle and contact the plurality of second conductive parts. 
     In still another aspect of the present invention, the circuit board comprises a plurality of through holes that penetrate the circuit board, and by which the plurality of first conductive parts are electrically connected to the plurality of second conductive parts. 
     In yet another aspect of the present invention, the wire transmission device is a flexible cable, a flexible printed circuit board or a metal cable. 
     In contrast to prior art, the cable connector of the present invention uses hooks of terminals to clip and hold the circuit board, so that one end of the hook contacts a corresponding first conductive parts of the circuit board. In addition, conductors of a wire transmission device connect corresponding second conductive parts. The first conductive parts and second conductive parts are situate on opposite sides of the circuit board, and are connected electrically by through holes. Give that the cable connector only needs a single circuit, which is directly clipped and held by the terminals, a favorable result of the reduction of the thickness and volume of the cable connector is achieved. 
     These and other objectives of the claimed invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1 and 2  show exploded views of a cable connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows an assembled circuit board, a plurality of terminals, a wire transmission device and a cover body. 
         FIG. 4  shows a cable connector after the assembling is completed. 
         FIG. 5  shows a bottom view of the cable connector of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  shows a sectional view along a line from A to A′ in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  shows a sectional view along a line from B to B′ in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , showing exploded views of a cable connector  1  of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, the cable connector  1  comprises an insulator  10 , a circuit board  20 , a plurality of terminals  30 , a wire transmission device  50  and a cover body  60 . 
     The insulator  10  comprises a plurality of terminal holes  11  and a plurality of receiving slots  13 . The front end  101  of the insulator  10  forms an insertion space  15 , where another plug can be inserted in. 
     The circuit board  20  comprises a plurality of first conductive parts  21 , and a plurality of second conductive parts  22 , a third conductive part  23  and a plurality of through holes  24 . The plurality of first conductive parts  21  and the third conductive part  23  locate on a first side  201  of the circuit board  20 . The plurality of second conductive parts  22  locate on a second side  202  of the circuit board  20 . The first side  201  and the second side  202  are the two opposite surfaces of the circuit board  20 . The plurality of through holes  24 , coated with conductive materials (e.g. copper leaves), penetrate the circuit board  20 , so that each first conductive part  21  is electrically connected to the second conductive part  22  via the through holes  24 . The plurality of first conductive parts  21  and the third conductive part  23  are electrically connected via a trace  25 . The third conductive part  23  is an internal wire of the circuit board  20  to provide specific voltages (e.g. a ground voltage or a 5V source) to some of the first conductive parts  21  and the second conductive parts  22 . In another preferred embodiment, the third conductive part  23  can also be installed on the second side  202  along with the second conductive parts  22 . 
     Please refer to figures from  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 3  shows an assembled circuit board  20 , a plurality of terminals  30 , a wire transmission device  50  and a cover body  60 .  FIG. 4  shows a cable connector  1  after the assembling is completed.  FIG. 5  shows a bottom view of the cable connector  1  of  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 6  shows a sectional view along a line from A to A′ in  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 7  shows a sectional view along a line from B to B′ in  FIG. 5 . The terminals  30  are made of conductive materials (e.g. metal), and can be inserted from a back end  102  of the insulator  10  and embedded into the corresponding receiving slots  13  of the insulator  10 . Each terminal  30  comprises a contact end  32  and a hook  34 . The hooks  34 , formed in U-shape, can clip and hold the circuit board  20  so that tails  341  of the hooks  34  are connected to the corresponding first conductive parts  21  of the circuit board  20 . Preferably, the tails  341  of the hooks  34  are welded to the corresponding first conductive parts  21  of the circuit board  20 . Each contact end  32  of the terminal  30  goes through the corresponding terminal hole  11  and extends into the insertion space  15 . When a plug is inserted in the insertion space  15  of the cable connector  1 , the plug can contact the protruding contact ends  32 , so that the plug and the wire transmission device  50  can send electrical signals through the cable connector  1 . 
     The wire transmission device  50  can be a flexible cable, flexible printed circuit board or metal cable. It has an insulating layer  52 , which covers a plurality of conductors  53 , which can be glued or welded to the plurality of second conductive parts  22  of the circuit board  20 . 
     The front end of the wire transmission device  50  has a bend D, and the plurality of conductors  53  extend in line with the angle of the bend D and contact the plurality of second conductive parts  22 . Preferably, the bend D forms a 90-degree angle, which allows the plurality of conductors  53  to easily connect to the plurality of second conductive parts  22  of the circuit board  20 . 
     The cover body  60  comprises a plurality of limiting parts  61 , located on the edges of both sides of the cover body  60 . Each limiting part  61  is installed with a locking part  62 . The locking part  62  locks on a fixing part  16  of the insulator  10 , so that the cover body  60  is locked and fastened to the back end  102  of the insulator  10 . In the present embodiment, the locking part  62  is an opening, and the fixing part  16  is a protuberance. In another embodiment, the locking part  62  is a protuberance and the fixing part  16  is an opening. The plurality of limiting parts  61  are used to fix the circuit board  20  between the cover body  60  and the insulator  10  when the plurality of locking parts  62  of the cover body  60  locks and fastens to a plurality of fixing parts  16  of the insulator  10 . The cover body  60  also comprises a notch  64 , from which the wire transmission device  50  goes through and extends outwardly. 
     The cable connector  1  makes use of the hook  34  of the terminal  30 , so that the tail  341  of the hook  34  contacts the corresponding first conductive part  21  of the circuit board  20 . In addition, the conductor  53  of the wire transmission device  50  connects the second conductive part  22  of the circuit board  20 . The first conductive part  21  and the second conductive part  22  situates on opposite sides of the circuit board  20 , and are electrically connected by the through hole  24 . The cable connector  1  only needs one circuit board  20 , by which the plurality of terminals  30  are electrically connected to the wire transmission device  50 . The height of the insulator  10  can be minimized since the height of the circuit board  20  is less than or equal to that of the insulator  10 . In addition, the terminals  30  can directly clip and hold the circuit board  20 , so the favorable result of the reduction of the thickness and volume of the cable connector  1  is achieved. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.