Patent Publication Number: US-7714569-B2

Title: Adaptor for electrical connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to an adaptor and a testing device for testing electrical connectors. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Electrical connectors are widely used in various electronic devices, such as computers, optical disk drives, mobile phones, and so on. An electrical connector is a conductive device for connecting electrical circuits together and for allowing electrical signals to pass between the electrical circuits. Therefore, it is necessary to test the electrical connector, in order to assure reliability of the electrical connector. 
   Printed circuit boards are used for testing electrical connectors in a testing device. Most electrical connectors include an insulating housing and a plurality of pins accommodated in the insulating housing. One end of each pin is electrically connected to the printed circuit board, and the other end of the pin is exposed to the air. 
   In addition to the printed circuit board, the testing device includes an oscillograph and a pair of leads. One end of each lead is inserted into the oscillograph, while the other end of the lead is used for electrically contacting with the exposed pins of the electrical connector. Usually the other ends of the pair of leads include two probes or two clips. If probes are used, users need to physically hold the probes against the exposed pin to establish an electrical connection. However, when holding the probes against the pins the probes may slide or skid over the pins resulting in erroneous results. If clips are used, each clip is clipped to a pin to establish an electrical connection. However, when clipping two adjacent pins the distance between the pins maybe so small that the clips may touch each other resulting in erroneous results. 
   Therefore, an adaptor and a testing device are needed in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An adaptor for electrically connecting with pins of an electrical connector. The adaptor includes an insulating housing, a pair of crimping connectors, and two connecting members. The insulating housing includes two holes. The crimping connectors are accommodated respectively in the holes. Each crimping connector includes a first crimping portion for electrically connecting to one of the pins and a second crimping portion together formed with the first crimping portion. The connecting members are electrically connected with the crimping connectors respectively. Each connecting member includes a first end, a cable, and a second end. The first end is electrically connected with the second crimping portion. The cable is electrically connected with the first end. The second end is electrically connected with the cable, wherein the second end has a through hole. A testing device for testing the electrical connector is also disclosed. 
   Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present adaptor and the present testing device will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present device, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Many aspects of the present adaptor and the present testing device can be better understood with reference to following drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present device. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a testing device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment and a electrical connector, the testing device including an adaptor. 
       FIG. 2  is a disassembled, schematic diagram showing the adaptor of  FIG. 1 , the adaptor including a female connector and pair of cables. 
       FIG. 3  is a disassembled, schematic diagram showing the female connector of  FIG. 2 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe a preferred embodiment of the present adaptor and a preferred embodiment of the present testing device. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , a testing device  100  in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment is used for testing an electrical connector  10  of a printed circuit board  50 . The electrical connector  10  includes a plurality of pins  12 . The testing device  100  includes an oscillograph  20 , a pair of leads  22 , and an adaptor  30 . In the embodiment, the pair of leads  22  connects to a pair of probes  221  correspondingly. 
   The adaptor  30  includes a female connector  32 , a pair of paddle connectors  344 , and a pair of connecting members  34 . Also referring to  FIG. 2 , each connecting member  34  includes a first end  342  connected to the female connector  32 , and a cable  340  connected to the first end  342 . Each paddle connector  344  can also be depicted as a second end  344  of the connecting member  34 . The female connector  32  is for electrically connecting with the pins  12  of the electrical connector  10  when the testing device  100  tests the electrical connector  10 . The pair of paddle connectors  344  is for electrically contacting with the pair of probes  221  correspondingly to test the electrical connector  10 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the female connector  32  includes a pair of crimping connectors  36  made of metal material and an insulating housing  38  for protecting the crimping connectors  36 . The insulating housing  38  defines a pair of through holes  40  with size and shape for accommodating the crimping connectors  36  correspondingly. 
   Each crimping connector  36  includes a first crimping portion  42  and a second crimping portion  44  integrally formed with the first crimping portion  42 . The first crimping portions  42  are for electrically connecting with the pins  12  of the electrical connector  10 . The second crimping portions  44  are for electrically connecting with the first ends  342  of the connecting members  34  of the adaptor  30  correspondingly. 
   The first crimping portion  42  includes a base-sheet  420  extending from the second crimping portion  44 . Two sidewalls  422 ,  424  extend upwards from the base-sheet  420 , and are separate from the second crimping portion  44 . That is, gaps are defined between the sidewalls  422 ,  424  and the second crimping portion  44 . A pair of slits  426  is defined partially between the base-sheet  420  and each of the sidewalls  422 ,  424  and communicates with the gaps between the sidewalls  422 ,  424  and the second crimping portion  44  correspondingly. Hence the sidewalls  422 ,  424  form two clipping arms  428   a ,  428   b . The clipping arms  428   a ,  428   b  bend inwardly toward each other at a first predetermined position and then bend outwardly away from each other at a second predetermined position near the second crimping portion  44 . 
   When the adaptor  30  is connected to the electrical connector  10 , the female connector  32  is sleeved onto adjacent pins  12 . The pins  12  are thus inserted into the crimping connector  36 , the clipping arms  428   a ,  428   b  of each of the crimping connector  36  are pushed away from each other by the pins  12 . Therefore, the clipping arms  428   a ,  428   b  resiliently clip the pin  12 , thus, obtaining a strong connection between them. 
   The second crimping portion  44  is tubular in shape. The second crimping portion  44  mainly includes a cannular casing  440 , thus, defining a cavity  442  within the cannular casing  440 . A gap  444  is defined directly across two ends of the cannular casing  440 . The gap  444  enables the cannular casing  440  to deform resiliently. 
   The insulating housing  38  is substantially a rectangular box. The insulating housing  38  includes a neck portion  380 , a first accommodating portion  382 , and a second accommodating portion  384 . Corresponding to a structure of the crimping connector  36 , each of the through holes  40  includes a square portion  47  and a circular portion  49 . That is, the square portion  47  is for accommodating the first crimping portion  42 , and the circular portion  49  is for accommodating the second crimping portion  44 . 
   As described above, each connecting member  34  includes the cable  340 , the first end  342 , and the paddle connector  344 . The first end  342  is cylindrical and the diameter of the first end  342  is greater than a diameter of the second crimping portion  44 . When the first end  342  is inserted into the cavity  442  of the second crimping portion  44 , the cannular casing  440  is forced to deform resiliently. A stable electrical connection is generated between the first end  342  and the cannular casing  440 . Each paddle connector  344  has a through hole  346 . In practice, the pair of probes  221  of the leads  22  is positioned in the through holes  346 , thus avoiding the pair of probes  221  from disengaging with the paddle connectors  344 . 
   When the testing device  100  is used to test the electrical connector  10 , the female connector  32  is electrically connected to the pins  12  by inserting the pins  12  into the first crimping portions  42  of the crimping connectors  36 . The clipping arms  428   a ,  428   b  clips one of the pins  12  stably. The pair of probes  221  of the leads  22  is positioned in the through holes  346  of the connecting members  34  respectively to get nonskid connections therebetween. 
   As mentioned above, the adaptor  30  is used to connect the testing device  100  with the electrical connector  10 . The female connector  32  of the adaptor  30  is used to connect to the pins  12  of the electrical connector  10 , and the connecting members  34  are used for contacting with the probes  221  of the leads  22 . Therefore, the leads  22  don&#39;t need to directly connect to the pins  12 . No matter what type of the leads  22  are used, clips or probes, the leads  22  can be positioned in the connecting members  34  without handhold, skid, and a risk of error connection. 
   Furthermore, in other embodiments, the female connector  32  of the adaptor  30  can consist of two parts. Each of the parts includes an independent insulating housing and an independent crimping connector. Therefore, each of the parts of the female connector  32  can be connected to a corresponding pin separately. 
   It should be emphasized that the above-described preferred embodiment, is merely a possible example of implementation of the principles of the invention, and is merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present invention and be protected by the following claims.