Patent Publication Number: US-2007102401-A1

Title: Connector and electronic element thereof

Description:
This non-provisional application claims priority under U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 094138664 filed in Taiwan, Republic of China on Nov. 04, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The invention relates to connectors and electronic elements thereof, and in particular to a connector and an electronic element with simplified manufacturing process.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Recently, various connectors, such as RJ- 11 , RJ- 12  and RJ 45  connectors, are utilized in digital and analog signal transmission.  
       FIG. 1A  shows electronic elements disposed in a conventional connector. As shown in  FIG. 1A , the connector  10  includes a first circuit board  11  and a second circuit board  12 . The first circuit board  11  has several first pins  13  passing through a first substrate  131 . The second circuit board  12  has a second pin  14  electrically connected to a pin  15  on a second substrate  141 . The pin  15  is electrically connected to a third pin  16 .  
      Several coils  17  are disposed on the first circuit board  11  and the second circuit board  12 . The first circuit board  11  and the second circuit board  12  are electrically connected to several transmission terminals  18  which are disposed on the other sides of the first circuit board  11  and the second circuit board  12  opposite to the sides having coils  17 .  
       FIGS. 1B and 1C  show assembly of the connector  10 . Firstly, as shown in  FIG. 1B , the first circuit board  11 , one part of the transmission terminals  18  and other corresponding elements are assembled. Then, as shown in  FIG. 1C , the second circuit board  12 , the other part of the transmission terminals  18  and other corresponding elements are assembled. Finally, the structures in  FIGS. 1B and 1C  are assembled to achieve the connector  10  in  FIG. 1A .  
      Conventionally, the coils are manually welded to the first circuit board and the second circuit board, which results in complex manufacturing process and wasting time. Also, it is necessary to require two different manufacturing lines for assembling different components. The first circuit board and the second circuit board are separately pre-assembled with transmission terminals, and the connector is then accomplished by assembling these two pre-assembled structures (as shown in  FIGS. 1B and 1C ). Therefore, the conventional connector is complex to manufacture, and requires great effort. Additionally, the circuit boards are exposed to the air for a long period, such that external particles and moisture adhere thereto easily, and the circuits thereof may be shorted. Further, because the elements of the circuit boards are manually assembled, the elements may be easily dropped or damaged due to carelessness or negligence during the assembling process.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
      The invention provides an electronic element including a first base and at least one second base. The first base includes at least one first pin electrically connected to an external terminal. The second bases include at least one second pin. The first base and the second bases define a space for receiving at least one coil. The two ends of the coils are connected to the first pins and the second pins, respectively. A combination portion is formed on one side of the second base so that the electronic element is connected to another electronic element via the combination portion. The combination portion combines two electronic elements by wedging, abutting, gluing, soldering, contacting or integrally forming.  
      When the space receives a plurality of coils, the coils are connected in series or parallel in the space. In addition, adhesive, a filler, elastic material or soft material can be filled into the space to seal the coils in the space.  
      The two ends of the coils are connected to the first pins and the second pins by soldering, clamping or winding. The first base and the second bases include at least one groove for leading and protecting the coils. The number of the grooves is equal to the sum of the first pins and the second pins.  
      The electronic element further includes a circuit structure welded to the second pins. The circuit structure includes a plurality of openings corresponding to the second pins. The circuit structure is electrically connected to the second pins and an external terminal.  
      The circuit structure is parallel to the first base and perpendicular to the second bases. The circuit structure can be a printed circuit board (PCB).  
      The first base and the second bases of the electronic element are made of plastic, metal, alloy, stainless steel or ceramic. The first base and the second bases can be integrally formed as a single piece by injection molding.  
      The invention further provides a connector including at least one electronic element, at least one connection port and a circuit structure. The connection port includes at least one transmission terminal disposed on an end thereof, and at least one connection pin disposed on another end thereof. The circuit structure is connected to the connection pins, and includes at least one opening corresponding to the second pin. The connector can be a RJ- 11 , RJ- 12  or RJ- 45  connector.  
      The connector and electronic element of the invention are easily assembled. Because the connector can be assembled by using two semi-finished products having the same structure, only one manufacturing line is required to manufacture and assemble the electronic element. Also, during the manufacturing process, the circuit structure is connected to the connection port and then is further connected to the electronic element. As the result, the circuit structure is exposed to the air only for a short period, whereby reducing the opportunity of shorting and damage of the circuit structure. Therefore, the reliability of the final product (connector) is increased. In addition, the design of the grooves of the invention shortens the time for leading the coils. In sum, the connectors and the electronic elements of the invention decrease manufacturing time and cost effectively. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
       FIG. 1A  shows a conventional connector;  
       FIGS. 1B and 1C  show an assembly of the conventional connector;  
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  show an electronic element according to the preferred embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 3A  shows a connector according to the preferred embodiment of the invention; and  
       FIG. 3B and 3C  show an assembly of the connector according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.  
       FIG. 2A  shows an electronic element  100  according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, and the electronic element  100  includes a first base  101  and at least one second base  102 . In this embodiment, the electronic element  100  has one first base  101  and two second bases  102  which are disposed located opposite to each other. The first base  101  includes at least one first pin  1011  electrically connected to an external terminal  31 . The second bases  102  include at least one second pin  1021 . The first base  101  and the second bases  102  jointly define a space  103  for receiving at least one coil  104 , such as four coils  104 . Two ends  105  of each coil  104  are connected to the first pin  1011  and the second pin  1021 , respectively. A combination portion  1022  is formed on one side of the second base  102  such that the electronic element  100  is connected to another electronic element via the combination portions  1022 . As shown in  FIG. 2A , the combination portion  1022  includes a recess  1022   a  and a protrusion  1022   b  for being connected with the protrusion and the recess of another neighboring electronic element so that the electronic element  100  is connected to the neighboring electronic element via the combination portion  1022 . In addition, the combination portions  1022  can combine several electronic elements  100  by wedging, abutting, gluing, soldering, contacting or integrally forming.  
      When the space  103  receives a plurality of coils  104 , the coils  104  are connected in series or in parallel. In addition, adhesive, a filler, elastic material or soft material can be filled into the space  103  to seal the coils  104  in the space  103 .  
      Two ends  105  of the coils  104  are respectively connected to the first pins  1011  and the second pins  1021  by soldering, clamping or winding. Further, the first base  101  and the second bases  102  include at least one groove  106  for leading and protecting the coils  104 . The number of the grooves is equal to a sum of the first pins  1011  and the second pins  1021 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 2B , the electronic element  100  further includes a circuit structure  107 , such as a printed circuit board (PCB), electrically connected to the second pins  1021 . The circuit structure  107  includes several openings  1071 , and the number and the locations of the openings  1071  are determined corresponding to the second pins  1021 . The circuit structure  107  is electrically connected to the second pins  1021  and an external terminal  32 .  
      The circuit structure  107  is parallel to the first base  101  and perpendicular to the second bases  102 . The first base  101  and the second bases  102  of the electronic element  100  are made of plastic, metal, alloy, stainless steel or ceramic. The first base  101  or the second bases  102  can be integrally formed as a single piece by injection molding.  
       FIG. 3A  shows a connector  200  according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, and the connector  200  includes some elements similar to those with same labeled numbers in  FIG. 2 . The connector  200  includes at least one electronic element  100 , at least one connection port  210  and a circuit structure  220 . The connection port  210  includes at least one transmission terminal  211  disposed on one edge  2101  of the connection port  210 , and at least one connection pin  212  disposed on the other edge  2102  of the connection port  210 . The edge  2101  and the other edge  2102  of the connection port  210  are opposite to each other. The circuit structure  202  is connected to the connection pins  212 , and the circuit structure  202  includes openings  2201  corresponding to the second pins  1021 .  
       FIGS. 3B and 3C  show assembly of the connector  200  according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 3B , two electronic elements  100  are assembled via the connection portion  1022 . The connection portion  1022  includes a recess  1022   a  and a protrusion  1022   b . The recess  1022   a  and the protrusion  1022   b  abut a recess and a protrusion of another neighboring electronic element  100  corresponding thereto. In addition, the combination portions  1022  can combine several electronic elements  100  by wedging, abutting, gluing, soldering, contacting or integrally forming. Thus, these two electronic elements  100  are arranged side by side. It is noted that the coils at left side of  FIG. 3B  are not shown at right side of  FIG. 3B  in order to simplify the description. After these two electronic elements  100  are assembled, the circuit structure  220  and the connection port  210  are assembled with these assembled electronic elements  100  so as to achieve the connector  200 , as shown in  FIG. 3C . The connector  200  can be a RJ- 11 , RJ- 12  or RJ- 45  connector.  
      The connector and electronic element of the invention are easily assembled. Because the connector can be assembled by using two semi-finished products having the same structure, only one manufacturing line is required to manufacture and assemble the electronic element. Also, during the manufacturing process, the circuit structure is connected to the connection port and then is further connected to the electronic element. As the result, the circuit structure is exposed to the air only for a short period, whereby reducing the opportunity of shorting and damage of the circuit structure. Therefore, the reliability of the final product (connector) is increased. In addition, the design of the grooves of the invention shortens the time for leading the coils. In sum, the connectors and the electronic elements of the invention decrease manufacturing time and cost effectively.  
      While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.