Patent Publication Number: US-6702593-B2

Title: Connector apparatus for hardware

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a connector apparatus for hardware in which a connector extends outwardly from a casing. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A connector apparatus for hardware in which a connector extends out from a casing is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,319 and is shown in FIG. 6 herein. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional connector apparatus for hardware. In this connector apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, a printed board  2  is accommodated in a casing  1 . PCB connectors  3  are attached to an edge of the printed board  2 . Fitting ports  4  having hoods  5  are open in a sidewall of the casing  1 . The printed board  2  is contained in the casing  1  and the respective PCB connectors  3  are disposed inside the corresponding fitting ports  4  having the hoods  5 . A mating connector is inserted into the fitting port  4  to be connected to the corresponding PCB connector. Such connector apparatus is effective in, for example, a simple seal structure. 
     On the other hand, such a connector apparatus may sometimes have to be made of a metallic material, such as aluminum or the like, to dissipate heat effectively. In particular, portions of the fitting ports  4  having the hoods  5  cannot be formed integrally from a synthetic resin material, and must be formed by a machining process. This makes it difficult to produce the casing  1 . Even if the casing  1  is formed by die-casting, it is necessary to finish inner surfaces of the hoods  5  into smooth planes by a secondary working, since the inner surfaces of the hoods  5  may serve as seal surfaces. This is troublesome. 
     It is also difficult to align the centers of the respective PCB connectors  3  accurately with the centers of the corresponding fitting ports  4 . Consequently, the PCB connector cannot fit a mating connector regularly. The worst case will result in contact malfunction between terminals. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector apparatus that simplifies a structure of a casing and interconnects connectors coaxially. 
     A connector apparatus for hardware according to the invention comprises a casing having an attachment hole in a sidewall thereof. The connector apparatus further includes a hardware side connector having terminals. The hardware side connector is inserted in the casing so as to be disposed inside the attachment hole. A relay connector is provided with relay terminals and has an end with an inner connector section adapted to fit the hardware side connector and has an opposed end with an outer connector section adapted to fit a mating connector. The relay connector can be attached to the sidewall with the inner connector section disposed through the attachment hole in the casing. 
     The attachment hole of the connector apparatus preferably has enough of a clearance to pass the inner connector section of the relay connector through the hole. 
     In the assembling process of the connector apparatus, the hardware side connector is contained in the casing that is to be disposed inside the attachment hole. The inner connector section of the relay connector passes through the attachment hole and fits the hardware side connector in the casing. Then, the relay connector is fixed on the sidewall of the casing and the outer connector section of the relay connector fits the mating connector. The terminals in the mating connector are connected through the relay terminals to the terminals in the hardware side connector. 
     The casing has a simple structure in which only the attachment hole is provided in the sidewall. Thus, the casing can be made of a metallic material, for example, aluminum or the like. Also, the relay terminals of the relay connector are regularly connected to the terminals of the hardware side connector beforehand and the mating connector is coupled to the outer connector section of the relay connector in which the relay terminals are disposed. Therefore, it is possible to interconnect the corresponding terminals of the hardware side connector and mating connector reliably through the relay terminals. 
     Since it is possible to displace the inner connector section of the relay connector in the attachment hole, it becomes easy to interconnect the hardware side connector and mating connector in the narrow casing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art to which the present invention relates upon consideration of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of a connector apparatus for hardware in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a PCB connector in the connector apparatus shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a relay connector in the connector apparatus shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view in the connector apparatus shown in FIG. 1,  1 illustrating an assembling process. 
     FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the connector apparatus shown in FIG. 1 upon completion of the assembling process. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional connector apparatus for hardware. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the connector apparatus in accordance with the present invention will be described by referring to FIGS. 1 through 5. 
     This embodiment exemplifies a watertight type connector apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the connector apparatus generally includes a casing  11  containing a printed board  10 , a PCB connector  20  mounted on the printed board  10 , and a relay connector  30  fitted in the PCB connector  20 . The relay connector  30  extends outwardly from a sidewall of the casing  11  to be coupled to a mating connector (not shown). 
     The casing  11  is made of aluminum and is formed into a box-like configuration in which the topside is open to permit the printed board  10  to pass, as shown in FIG. 4. A lid plate  12  is mounted detachably on the topside of the casing  11 . The casing  11  is provided on an upper end with a receiving groove  14  in which a seal ring  13  is mounted. The casing  11  also is provided at the four corners with attachment portions  15  having screwed bores  16  in the topside. The lid plate  12  can be secured to the casing  11  at the four corners by screws. 
     A laterally elongated attachment hole  18  is formed in a sidewall  11 A of the casing  11 . Screwed bores  19  are formed in the sidewall  11 A outside the four corners of the attachment hole  18 . 
     The PCB connector  20  includes a connector housing  21  made of a synthetic resin material. The connector housing  21 , as shown in FIG. 2, includes a hood  22  open at the front side and a plurality of vertical partitions  23  on the rear side of the hood  22 . As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of terminal receiving ports  24  are arranged in three layers vertically in the inner part of the hood  22 . Terminals  25  are inserted through the front side of the hood  22  into the terminal receiving ports  24 . A distal end of each of the terminals  25  arranged in the vertical three layers passes through the terminal receiving port  24  to extend between the partitions  23  and turns down at right angle and at different distances spaced from the rear side of the hood  22  to pass through an alignment plate  26 . Thus, the distal ends of the terminals  25  arranged in the vertical three layers are arranged horizontally in three rows under the alignment plate  26  (see FIG.  1 ). 
     As described above, the PCB connector  20  having the terminals  25  is mounted on a given edge area of the printed board  10  with the hood  22  being directed forward. Attachment portions  28  (see FIG. 4) provided on the opposite sides of the partitions  23  of the PCB connector  20  are secured to the printed board  10  by screws. At the same time, the distal ends of the terminals  25 , which are directed downward, pass through the printed board  10  and are soldered to corresponding electric circuits arranged on the bottom surface of the printed board  10  to complete electrical connection. 
     The relay connector  30  includes a connector housing  31  made of a synthetic resin material. As shown in FIG. 3, the connector housing  31  has an attachment plate  32  adapted to contact a front side of the sidewall  11 A of the casing  11  to cover the attachment hole  18 . The attachment plate  32  is provided on the front side with an outer connector section  33  that has a hood-like configuration and is adapted to engage a mating connector. The attachment plate  32  is provided on the rear side with an inner connector section  34  adapted to engage the hood  22  of the PCB connector  20 . 
     The inner connector section  34  includes a tower  35  and an end cap  36 . The inner connector section  34  is inserted into the casing  11  through the attachment hole  18  from the front side. A given clearance is defined between the tower  35  and the attachment hole  18 . 
     Cavities  38  are provided in the tower  35  of the connector housing  31  to contain the relay terminals  40 . The cavities  38  are arranged to be opposed to ends of the terminals  25  extending in the hood  22  of the PCB connector  20 . 
     The relay terminal  40  is provided on a longitudinal end with a tab-like male connection portion  41  and on the other end with a square tube-like female connection portion  42  that contains a contact piece  43  adapted to engage the terminal  25  of the PCB connector  20 . 
     The relay terminals  40  are inserted into the cavities  38  from the rear side and the male connection portion  41  is directed forward to the given position. The male connection portions  41  then extend in the outer connector section  33 . At the same time, the end cap  36  is attached to the projection end of the tower  35  to prevent the relay terminals  40  from coming out of the cavities  38 . The end cap  36  is provided with terminal insertion ports  37  that receive the ends of the respective terminals  25  of the PCB connector  20 . 
     The attachment plate  32  is provided on the peripheral area of the rear side and has a receiving groove  49  adapted to mount a seal packing  45 . The seal packing  45  has two lips  46  on the surface adapted to contact the peripheral edge of the attachment hole  18 . Upper and lower ears  47  of the seal packing  45  are inserted into receiving slots  50  formed in the outer side surface of the receiving groove  49  to prevent the seal packing  45  from coming out of the receiving groove  49 . 
     Bolt insertion holes  53  for bolts  52  are formed in the four corners of the attachment plate  32  at the position corresponding to the screwed bores  19  in the casing  11 . Collars  51  are mounted on the bolt insertion holes  53 . 
     A process of assembling the embodiment of the connector apparatus in accordance with the present invention will be described below. 
     The terminals  25  and alignment plate  26  are attached to the connector housing  21  in the PCB connector  20 . The PCB connector  20  then is secured to the given edge area of the printed board  10  and the terminals  25  are connected to the corresponding electric paths by the manner described above. 
     On the other hand, the respective relay terminals  40  are inserted into the respective cavities  28  in the relay connector  30 . The end cap  36  then is attached to the tower  35  to prevent the terminals  40  from coming out of the cavities  38  and the seal packing  45  is mounted in the receiving groove  49 . 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the printed board  10  mounting the PCB connector  20  is inserted downward into the casing  11  to dispose the PCB connector  20  inside the attachment hole  18 . The printed board  10  may be supported on a spacer or the like provided on the bottom surface of the casing  11 . Next, the inner connector section  34  of the relay connector  30  is inserted into the casing  11  through the attachment hole  18 . As shown in FIG. 5, the inner connector section  34  engages the hood  22  of the PCB connector  20 . The ends of the terminals  25  of the PCB connector  20  are inserted into the female connection portions  42  of the corresponding relay terminals  40  through the terminal insertion ports  37  to form individual electrical connection. Since there is a given clearance between the inner connector section  34  of the relay connector  30  and the attachment hole  18 , it is possible to couple the inner connector section  34  smoothly to the PCB connector  20  while moving the inner connector section  34  in the attachment hole  18 . 
     The relay connector  30  is coupled to the PCB connector  20 , and the attachment plate  32  of the relay connector  30  then is brought into contact with the sidewall  11 A of the casing  11  to align the insertion holes  53  with the screwed bores  19 . The relay connector  30  is secured to the sidewall  11 A of the casing  11  by fastening the bolts  52  into the screwed bores  19  with the outer connector section  33  extending outwardly. The lips  46  of the seal packing  45  then are brought into close contact with the peripheral area around the attachment hole  18  while being squeezed, thereby forming a seal around the attachment hole  18 . 
     The seal ring  13  is mounted in the receiving groove  14  in the casing  11 . The lid plate  12  then is put on the casing  11  and secured to the casing  11  at the four corners by screws. The lid plate  12  covers the topside of the casing  11 . 
     The process of assembling the connector apparatus is completed. Then, a mating connector (not shown) is coupled to the outer connector section  33  of the relay connector  30  that extends outwardly from the sidewall  11 A of the casing  11  by utilizing a lever action exerted in connection with turning of a lever. A seal ring is mounted on the outer peripheral area of the mating connector. The seal ring is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral area of the outer connector section  33 , thereby forming a seal between the relay connector  30  and the mating connector. 
     As described above, the casing  11  has a simple structure in which the attachment hole  18  is provided in the sidewall  11 A. Therefore, the casing  11  can be made of a metallic material such as aluminum or the like that is effective in dissipation of heat. Also, the relay terminals  40  of the relay connector  30  are regularly connected to the terminals  25  of the PCB connector  20  beforehand and the mating connector is coupled to the outer connector section  33  of the relay connector  30  in which the relay terminals  40  are disposed. Therefore, it is possible to interconnect the corresponding terminals of the PCB connector  20  and mating connector through the relay terminals  40 . 
     A clearance exists between the inner connector section  34  of the relay connector  30  and the attachment hole  18 . As a result, it is possible to interconnect the PCB connector  20  and mating connector smoothly while displacing the inner connector section  34  in the attachment hole  18 . 
     The present invention can be applied to a structure in which a plurality of PCB connectors are mounted on the printed board and the respective mating connectors are coupled to the respective PCB connectors individually. The present invention also can be applied to a non-watertight type connector apparatus. 
     From the above description of the invention, those skilled in the art will perceive improvements, changes and modifications. Such improvements, changes and modifications within the skill of the art are intended to be covered by the appended claims. 
     The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-216266 filed on Jul. 17, 2001 including specification, claims, drawings and summary is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.