Patent Publication Number: US-6659804-B2

Title: Multi-contact connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a connector, and in particular relates to a multi-contact connector which transmits and receives electric signals and supplies power, and the like by being connected to a mated connector. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     A conventional multi-contact connector is generally comprised of a shielding cover (or housing), a plurality of contacts (terminals) arranged inside the shielding cover, and a contact holding member which is formed with a plurality of grooves for holding the contacts inside the shielding cover. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view which shows a state that one of the contacts  40  is held in a groove  53  formed in the contact holding member  50  of the conventional connector. 
     The contact  40  used in this conventional connector is formed by punching out a thin metal plate so as to be an elongated metal strip having a substantially rectangular cross section as shown in FIG.  6 . The top surface of the contact  40  forms an electrical contact surface  41  which makes contact with a contact provided in a mated connector. 
     Further, as described above, the contact holding member  50  is formed with a plurality of grooves  53 . As shown in FIG. 6, each groove  53  is defined by a bottom surface  51  and side surfaces  52  that are substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface  51 , and the contact  40  is held inside the groove  53 . 
     In such a conventional connector, both end portions of each contact  40  in the longitudinal direction thereof, that is, the tip end portion and the base end portion of the contact  40  (not shown in the drawings) are held by the contact holding member  50 . However, as shown in FIG. 6, the main body portion of the contact  40 , that is the middle portion other than the tip and base end portions thereof is merely placed inside the groove  53  of the contact holding member  50 , so that both sides of the middle portion of the contact  40  are not held by the contact holding member  50 . 
     As a result, in the conventional connector having such contact and contact holding member, there is a case that the main body portion of the contact  40  will rise upwardly as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 6 to be disengaged or displaced from the groove  53  due to an external force being applied to the contact  40  when the contact  40  makes contact with a contact of a mated connector, for example. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector in which it is possible to prevent its contact from being disengaged or displaced from a groove of a contact holding member. 
     In order to achieve the object mentioned above, the present invention is directed to a connector which comprises at least one contact; a contact holding member having at least one groove in which the contact is held, the groove having a bottom surface, and restriction means for restricting the movement of the contact in a direction away from the bottom surface of the groove. 
     In this invention, it is preferred that the restriction means is provided at both sides of the groove. 
     Further, it is also preferred that the restriction means includes a pair of protruding portions which are formed in the both sides of the groove, respectively, and provided in at least a part of the groove in which the middle portion of the contact is placed. In this case, it is preferred that the protruding portions extend along the longitudinal direction of the groove. 
     Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferred that the maximum width of the contact is larger than the interval between both the protruding portions. 
     Moreover, it is also preferred that the contact is held in the groove in a state that the contact abuts on the protruding portions and the bottom surface of the groove. 
     Moreover, it is also preferred that the contact has both side surfaces which abut on the protruding portions. 
     Moreover, it is also preferred that the contact includes a contact surface which is partially exposed from an opening between the protruding portions of the groove. 
     As has been described, the connector according to the present invention has a structure in that the movement of the contact is restricted by the abutment between the abutment surfaces of the contact and the abutment surfaces of the protruding portions. Therefore, there is no possibility that the contact will be displaced or disengaged from the groove even in the case where an external force is applied to the contact due to the contact with a contact of a mated connector. 
     These and other objects, structures and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment when it is considered taken in conjunction with the appended drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view which shows the overall structure of the connector according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the connector of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view which shows a state that a contact is held in a groove formed in a contact holding member of a connector of a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view which shows a state that a contact is held in a groove formed in a contact holding member of a connector of a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view which shows a state that a contact is held in a groove formed in a contact holding member of a connector of a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view which shows a state that a contact is placed in a groove of a contact holding member of the conventional connector. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Hereinbelow, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view which shows the overall structure of a connector according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector. 
     The connector  1  shown in these drawing is a connector plug such as a multi-contact connector plug which is to be connected to a mated connector or receptacle (not shown in the drawings). In this regard, however, it is to be noted that the present invention is not limited to such a connector plug and the present invention can be applied to various connector having contacts and a contact holding member formed with grooves for holding the contacts. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector  1  includes a shielding cover  30 , a plurality of contacts (terminals)  10  arranged inside the shielding cover  30 , and a contact holding member  20  for holding the contacts  10  inside the shielding cover  30 . 
     The shielding cover  30  is a tubular member formed of metal and has a function of shielding noise generated from the contacts  10 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the contacts  10  are arranged side by side inside the connector  1 . 
     As is further shown in FIG. 2, the contact holding member  20  is composed from a front member  21  and a rear member  22 . The front member  21  is formed with a plurality of grooves  23  which respectively hold the contacts  10 . 
     Hereinbelow, a detailed description will be made with regard to the contacts  10  and the contact holding member  20  which are the feature of the connector of the present invention. 
     First, a description will be made with regard to the structure of a connector of a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view which shows a state that a contact  10  is held in a groove  23  formed in a contact holding member  20  of the connector according to the first embodiment of the connector. 
     As described above, the contact holding member  20  is formed with a plurality of grooves  23 , and each groove  23  is defined by a bottom surface  27  and a pair of side surfaces  24 , 24  provided perpendicularly to the bottom surface  27 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, in this first embodiment, the groove  23  is formed with protruding portions  25 ,  25  which protrude toward the inside of the groove  23  so as to form an opening  28  therebetween. These protruding portions  25  are integrally formed on the side surfaces  24 ,  24  of the groove  23 , respectively, and extend along the longitudinal direction of the groove  23 . Each of the protruding portions  25 ,  25  has a substantially triangular cross section (wedged-shape cross section) so as to have an upwardly slanting abutment surface  26  and a planar top surface which forms a continuous surface to the top surface of the contact holding member  20 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the contact  10  of this embodiment is formed from an elongated strip having a cross section of a substantially trapezoidal shape so as to have a planar top surface  11  which is a contacting surface, two slanting side surfaces (abutment surfaces)  12 ,  12  and a bottom surface  13 . 
     The contact  10  is inserted into the groove  23  such that the contacting surface  11  is partially exposed from the opening  28  as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the protruding portions  25 ,  25  are formed so that the interval Wa therebetween, that is the distance between the tip parts of the protruding portions  25 ,  25  is smaller than the maximum width Wb of the contact  10 , that is the width of the bottom surface  27  thereof. By setting the interval Wa smaller than the maximum width Wb, even in the case where the contact  10  is made to move in a direction away from the bottom surface of the groove  23 , the contact  10  is held by the slanting abutment surfaces  26 ,  26  of the protruding portions (that is, the tip parts of the protruding portions)  25 ,  25 , and this restricts the movement of the contact  10  in a direction away from the bottom surface of the groove  23 . In this way, the contact  10  is prevented from being displaced or disengaged from the groove  23  even in the case where an external force is applied thereto. 
     Further, when the contact  10  is inserted into the groove  23 , the contact  10  abuts on the protruding portions  25 ,  25  and the bottom surface  13  of the contact  10  also abuts on the bottom surface  27  of the groove  23 . In this way, since the contact  10  abuts on these three portions described above, it is possible to prevent rattling of the contact  10  within the groove  23 , thereby enabling to more stably hold the contact  10  inside the groove  23 . 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the combination of the protruding portions and the contact having the specific shape and size described above constitutes restricting means for restricting the movement of the contact in a direction away from the bottom surface of the groove. 
     Hereinbelow, a second embodiment and a third embodiment of the connector of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 by focusing on the difference between the first embodiment and each of the second and third embodiments. Further, the description with regard to the same points as those of the first embodiment will be omitted. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view which shows a state that a contact is held in a groove of a contact holding member of a connector according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the groove  23   a  of this embodiment is also formed with two protruding portions  25   a ,  25   a  which protrude toward the inside of the groove  23   a  so as to form an opening  28   a  therebetween. These protruding portions  25   a ,  25   a  extend along the longitudinal direction of the groove  23   a . Each of the protruding portions  25   a ,  25  is defined by a curved abutment surface  26   a  and a planar top surface which forms a continuous surface to the top surface of the contact holding member  20 . 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the contact  10   a  of the second embodiment is also formed from an elongated strip having a cross section of a substantially trapezoidal (semi-circular) shape so as to have a planar top surface  11   a  which is a contacting surface, two curved side surfaces (abutment surfaces)  12   a ,  12   a  and a bottom surface  13   a.    
     The contact  10   a  is inserted into the groove  23   a  such that the contacting surface  11   a  is partially exposed from the opening  28   a . Further, when the contact  10   a  having the above structure is inserted into the groove  23   a , the curved side surfaces  12   a ,  12   a  of the contact  10   a  are held by the protruding portions (tip parts of the protruding portions)  25   a ,  25   a , respectively, and the bottom surface  13   a  of the contact  10   a  abuts on the bottom surface  27   a  of the groove  23   a.    
     Therefore, in the same manner as the first embodiment, the contact  10   a  is prevented from being displaced or disengaged from the groove  23   a  even in the case where an external force is applied thereto. Further, it is possible to prevent rattling of the contact  10   a  within the groove  23   a , thereby enabling to more stably hold the contact  10   a  inside the groove  23   a.    
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view which shows a state that a contact is held in a groove of a contact holding member of a connector according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the groove  23   b  of this embodiment is also formed with two protruding portions  25   b ,  25   b  which protrude toward the inside of the groove  23   b  so as to form an opening  28   b  therebetween. These protruding portions  25   b ,  25   b  extend along the longitudinal direction of the groove  23   b . These protruding portions  25   b ,  25   b  are integrally formed on the side surfaces  24   b ,  24   b  of the groove  23   b , respectively. Each of the protruding portions  25   b ,  25   b  has a substantially rectangular cross section so as to have an under surface  26   b  and a planar top surface which forms a continuous surface to the top surface of the contact holding member  20 . The under surfaces  26   b ,  26   b  function as abutment surfaces for holding the contact  10   b.    
     As shown in FIG. 5, the contact  10   b  of this third embodiment is also formed from an elongated strip having a cross section of a substantially convex shape so as to have a planar top surface  11   b  which is a contacting surface, left and right step portions each having an abutment surface  12   b  and a bottom surface  13   b.    
     The contact  10   b  is inserted into the groove  23   b  such that the contacting surface  11   b  is partially exposed from the opening  28   b . Further, when the contact  10   b  having the above structure is inserted into the groove  23   b , the abutment surfaces  12   b ,  12   b  of the left and right step portions of the contact  10   b  are held by the protruding portions (under surfaces  26   b ,  26   b  of the protruding portions)  25   b ,  25   b , respectively, and the bottom surface  13   b  of the contact  10   b  abuts on the bottom surface  27   b  of the groove  23   b.    
     Therefore, in the same manner as the first and second embodiments, the contact  10   b  is prevented from being displaced or disengaged from the groove  23   b  even in the case where an external force is applied thereto. Further, it is possible to prevent rattling of the contact  10   b  within the groove  23   b , thereby enabling to more stably hold the contact  10   b  inside the groove  23   b.    
     In the present invention, the shapes of the abutment surfaces of the contact and the abutment surfaces of the protruding portions are not limited to those of the first to third embodiments, and it is also possible to form these abutment surfaces from various curved surfaces or from a plurality of flat surfaces as needed. 
     Furthermore, in these embodiments described above, both the protruding portions are provided along substantially the entire length of the groove. However, the present invention is not limited to such structures, and it is also possible to partially form such protruding portions along the longitudinal direction of the groove. In this connection, it is sufficient that such protruding portions are provided at least a portion of the groove in which the middle portion of the contact is placed. 
     Moreover, although in these embodiments described above, the protruding portions are provided along both sides of the groove, it is possible to provide such protruding portion on only one side of the groove. However, it is preferred that the protruding portions are provided on both sides of the groove. By adopting such a structure, it becomes possible to more stably hold the contact within the groove. 
     Moreover, the present invention can be applied to various connectors (male or female connectors) having a plurality of contacts and a contact holding member formed with a plurality of grooves for holding the contacts. 
     Moreover, in these embodiments, the movement of the contact is restricted by the protruding portions, however, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it is also possible to restrict the movement of the contacts using means other than such protruding portions. 
     As has been described, the connector according to the present invention has a structure in that the movement of the contact is restricted by the abutment between the abutment surfaces of the contact and the abutment surfaces of the protruding portions. Therefore, there is no possibility that the contact will be displaced or disengaged from the groove even in the case where an external force is applied to the contact due to the contact with a contact of a mated connector. 
     Finally, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, it goes without saying that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is determined by the following claims.