Patent Publication Number: US-6334787-B1

Title: Electric connector with a space-saving LED lead-out wire and circuit board arrangement

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to electric connectors, and more specifically, to an electric connector with a space-saving LED lead-out wire and circuit board arrangement. 
     Following fast development of computer technology, advanced desktop and notebook computers have been continuously developed. In consequence, a variety of electric connectors have been disclosed for use with different computers and the telephone line for connection to the Internet to obtain data. Currently, RJ45 connectors are commonly used for enabling a computer to be connected to the Internet. A RJ45 connector may be provided with indicator LEDs (light emitting diodes) for signal transmission indication. However, the operation of LEDs in a RJ45 connector produces high-frequency electric waves that interfere with operation of nearby electric/electronic apparatus. Further, external noises may interfere with the transmission of signal in conventional RJ45 connectors. In order to protect against EMI (electromagnetic interference), a computer connector is generally covered with a metal shield and installed with a filter module. A capacitor may be provided in the filter module to protect against surge. An electric connector with EMI protective circuit means is expensive. Various electric connectors are known having light emitting means for operation indication. In one prior art arrangement as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, light emitting diodes are mounted on the inside of the electric connector with the respective lead-wires respectively soldered to the circuit board at the bottom side inside the electric connector, and light guide strips are provided in the electric connector and adapted to guide the light of the light emitting diodes to the front side of the electric connector. In another prior art arrangement as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, light emitting diodes are directly soldered to the circuit board at the bottom side inside the electric connector, and light guides are provided in the electric connector and adapted to guide the light of the light emitting diodes to the front side of the electric connector. In still another prior art arrangement as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, light emitting diodes are directly mounted in the visible front side of the electric connector, and the lead-wires of the light emitting diodes are curved and inserted through a partition wall and then respectively soldered to the circuit board (not shown) at the bottom side inside the electric connector. In the aforesaid first prior art arrangement, the use of the light guide strips greatly increases the manufacturing cost of the electric connector. Because the light of the light emitting diodes is reflected to the front side of the electric connector by the light guide strips, the intensity of light is relatively weakened when reaching the front side of the electric connector. Further, because the lead-wires of the light emitting diodes are directly soldered to the circuit board, the circuit board does not have sufficient mounting space for the mounting of capacitor and filter module. In the aforesaid second prior art arrangement, because the light emitting diodes are directly soldered to the circuit board, the cost of the circuit board is relatively increased. Further, the use of the light guides also greatly increases the manufacturing cost of the electric connector, and the modification of the circuit layout of the circuit board is complicated when wishing to add filter circuit means to the circuit board. Further, in the aforesaid third prior art arrangement, the terminals extended from the circuit board through the terminal holder are of 6P8C design (6 in and 8 out), and the terminal slots on the terminal holder are arranged in two rows or three rows. Fitting a terminal holder having terminal slots arranged in two rows, the circuit board is vertically disposed at the rear side of the terminal holder, and a filter module and a capacitor are directly soldered to the circuit board. The terminal slots at the first row are adapted to receive 8 terminals for receiving and transmitting signal, and the terminal slots at the second row are adapted to receive the lead-wires of two light emitting diodes (see FIGS.  11  and  12 ). Fitting a terminal holder having terminal slots arranged in three rows, the circuit board is also disposed at the rear side of the terminal holder in vertical. The terminal slots at the first and second rows are adapted to receive the 6 terminals for receiving and transmitting signal, and the terminal slots at the third row are adapted to receive the lead-wires of two light emitting diodes (see FIGS.  13  and  14 ). Because the light emitting diodes are directly mounted in the electrically insulative housing, the lead-wires of the light emitting diodes are turned downwards through 90° and then inserted through the respective terminal slots on the terminal holder. In case the light emitting diodes are installed in the front side of the electric connector, the lead-wires of the light emitting diodes must have a certain length for connection to the circuit board. The arrangement of the light emitting diodes greatly complicates the fabrication of the electric connector and the installation of capacitor and filter module means. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been accomplished to provide an electric connector, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. It is the main object of the present invention to provide an electric connector, which requires less vertical installation space. It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric connector, which is easy to assemble/disassemble. According to one aspect of the present invention, the electric connector comprises an electrically insulative housing covered with a metal shield, and an electric circuit assembly unit installed in the electrically insulative housing, the electric circuit assembly unit including a terminal holder holding a set of terminals and mounted in the electrically insulative housing, and a circuit board supported on the terminal holder, the terminal holder having a base, a front extension board and a rear extension board horizontally extended from the base in reversed directions, and an upright support at the rear extension board, the circuit board having two light emitting diodes controlled to emit light toward a front receiving side of the electrically insulative housing, the terminal holder having ten terminal slots vertically extended through the rear extension board and arranged in two rows, the circuit board having ten terminals arranged in two rows and respectively inserted through respective terminal slots of the terminal holder, the terminals of the circuit board including four terminals respectively connected to lead-out wires of the light emitting diodes and six signal receiving and transmitting terminals respectively connected to the terminals of the terminal holder. According to another aspect of the present invention, the circuit board is horizontally supported on the base and upright support of the terminal holder to minimize the occupation of installation space of the electric connector. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the circuit board comprises capacitor and filter module means adapted to protect the internal circuit against external noises. According to the horizontal arrangement of the circuit board and the terminal holder, the horizontal length as well as the vertical height of the electric connector is minimized. Further, because the capacitor, the light emitting diodes and the filter module are respectively installed in the circuit board, the maintenance work of the electric connector is easy. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an electric connector constructed according to the present invention (the metal shield excluded). 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional assembly view of the electric circuit assembly unit for the electric connector according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded side view of the electric circuit assembly unit showing the electric circuit assembly unit installed in the electrically insulative housing. 
     FIG. 4 is a side view in section of the electric connector according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates the circuit layout of the circuit board for the electric connector according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates the arrangement of the contact holes of the circuit board according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an electric connector according to the prior art. 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional assembly view of the prior art electric connector shown in FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 9 is an elevational view of another structure of electric connector according to the prior art. 
     FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of the prior art electric connector shown in FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 11 illustrates the circuit layout of the circuit board for the prior art electric connector shown in FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 12 illustrates the arrangement of the contact holes of the circuit board according to the prior art. 
     FIG. 13 illustrates the circuit layout of another structure of circuit board according to the prior art. 
     FIG. 14 illustrates the arrangement of the contact holes of the circuit board according to the design of FIG.  13 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. from  1  through  4 , an electric connector is shown comprising an electric circuit assembly unit  1 , an electrically insulative housing  2 , and a metal shield  3 . 
     The electric circuit assembly unit  1  is comprised of a terminal holder  11  and a circuit board  12 . The terminal holder  11  is a flat rectangular member comprising a base  113 , a front extension board  111  forwardly extended from the base  113 , a rear extension board  112  backwardly extended from the base  113 , and a plurality of terminals  114  mounted in the front extension board  111  and the base  113  and arranged in parallel. The rear extension board  112  has a plurality of terminal slots  1121 . The terminals  114  each have a front end protruded from the front side of the front extension board  111  and turned backwardly upwards, and a rear end backwardly extended out of the base  113  and soldered to the circuit board  12 . The circuit board  12  is horizontally supported on the base  113  of the terminal holder  11  and an upright support  1123  of the rear extension board  112 , comprising an electronic component part unit  120  and a plurality of terminals  1122 . The electronic component part unit  120  includes two light emitting diodes  121 , a capacitor  122 , and a filter module  123 . The terminals  1122  each have one end respectively soldered to the circuit board  12  and an opposite end respectively inserted through the terminal slots  1121  of the rear extension board  112  of the terminal holder  11  for connection to a respective contact of an external circuit board (not shown). The electrically insulative housing  2  comprises an outer casing  21  and an inner casing  22 . The outer casing  21  comprises a receiving chamber  211  adapted to receive the inner casing  22 . The inner casing  22  fits into the outer casing  21 , comprising a receiving chamber  221  adapted to receive a matching electric connector. After insertion of the inner casing  22  into the rear end of the outer casing  21 , a gap is defined between the bottom sidewall of the outer casing  21  and the bottom sidewall of the inner casing  22  for receiving the front extension board  111  of the terminal holder  11  of the electric circuit assembly unit  1 . The metal shield  3  is covered on the electrically insulative housing  2  for EMI (electromagnetic interference) protection. 
     Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 and FIG. 2 again, the circuit board has eight output ends  12 A respectively connected to the terminals  114  of the terminal holder  11 . The capacitor  122  and the filter module  123  are connected in parallel to the output ends  12 A. The capacitor  122  is also connected to a grounding terminal  12 B. The filter module  123  is directly connected to six input ends  12 C of the circuit board  12 . The terminals  1122  of the circuit board  12  are respectively connected to the six input ends  12 C. The four lead-wires out wires  1211  of the two light emitting diodes  121  and the terminals  1122  are respectively soldered to the circuit board  12 . The circuit board  12  has contact holes  124  arranged in two rows (see FIG.  6 ). The terminal slots  1121  of the rear extension board  112  are arranged in two rows corresponding to the contact holes  124  of the circuit board  12 . After connected to the contact holes  124  of the circuit board  12 , the terminals  1122  are respectively inserted through the terminal slots  1121  of the rear extension board  112  of the terminal holder  11  for connection to a respective contact of an external circuit board. The arrangement of the contact holes  124  of the circuit board  12  is determined subject to the signal definition of the terminals  114  of the terminal holder  11  and the lead-out wires  1211  of the light emitting diodes  121 . 
     The assembly process of the present invention is outlined hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The light emitting diodes  121 , the capacitor  122 , and the filter module  123  are soldered to the circuit board  12  at the top side and the terminals  1122  are respectively soldered to the circuit board  12  at the bottom side, and then the circuit board  12  is supported on the base  113  and upright support  1123  of the terminal holder  11  for enabling the terminals  1122  to be respectively inserted through the terminal slots  1121  of the rear extension board  112  of the terminal holder  11  and soldered to the respective contacts of the external circuit board (not shown), and then the inner casing  22  is inserted into the outer casing  21  from the rear side of the outer casing  21 , and then the front extension board  111  of the terminal holder  11  is inserted into the gap between the bottom sidewall of the inner casing  22  and the bottom sidewall of the outer casing  21 , and then the metal shield  3  is covered on the electrically insulative housing  2  to finish the assembly procedure. When assembled, the terminals  114  of the terminal holder  11  are suspended in the receiving chamber  221  of the inner casing  22  of the electrically insulative housing  2  for the contact of the respective terminals of the matching electric connector (not shown). 
     As indicated above, the filter module  123  of the electronic component part unit  120  of the circuit board  12  are respectively connected to six signal terminals of the terminals  114  of the terminal holder  11  through the six input ends  12 C of the circuit board  12  to eliminate interference of noises or transient voltage from the circuit. 
     Further, the lead-out wires  1211  of the light emitting diodes  121  are respectively connected to the circuit board  12 . During signal transmission through the electric connector, the light emitting diodes  121  are turned on to emit light toward the front side of the electric connector, indicating the operation status of the electric connector. 
     A prototype of electric connector has been constructed with the features of FIGS.  1 ˜ 6 . The electric connector functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier. 
     Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.