Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This is a CONTINUATION of application Ser. No. 09/657,869, filed Sep. 8, 2000 now abandoned. 
   This Continuation claims benefit of the filing date of application Ser. No. 09/657,869. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to electrical connector and adapter structures. Such connectors are used in the electronics industry in cables and adapters and similar devices that connect components. The invention discloses a connector or adapter housing structure with a raised portion. When plastic is molded around the housing, the raised portion is left exposed. This exposed portion of the housing provides a place to incorporate designs, such as business logos or gripping surfaces. 
   2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
   The variety of electronics connectors is large, but they share similarities in their manufacture and assembly.  FIG. 1  shows a cross-section of a conventional cable connector  10 . The most common cable connectors have a metal housing  14  with a back end  19  through which a cable  13  is inserted. A connector plug  12  with pins or receptacles (not shown), designed to plug into the appropriate part on a component (not shown), is attached to the front end  22  of the connector  10 . The cable  13  contains electrical conductors or wires  21  which are connected by soldering or crimping to the inward projections  23  of the pins or receptacles. Over the metal housing  14 , plastic is injection molded to form an outer plastic covering  11 . The plastic covering  11  often terminates around the cable  13  to form a “strain relief”  16  that prevents the cable from bending too sharply. 
   To provide a place for a manufacturer&#39;s name or for part identification, the plastic covering  11  of conventional connectors is sometimes molded with a recess  20 . In the recess  20 , identifying logos, designs, words, or numbers are often formed in the molding process, leaving raised or indented surfaces (not shown) in the plastic covering  11 . Or, a label (not shown) can be affixed in the recess  20  after molding. Some designs have a raised surface design by placing the cable connector  10  or adapter in a second injection mold and adding a second plastic surface  15 . This two-step molding process allows different colors or textures of plastic to be used. 
   Recent designs use transparent plastic in the molded plastic covering  11 , so that the parts and surfaces below, such as the housing  14 , can be seen. This design has been popularized by the Macintosh “iMac” computers. The iMac products use transparent plastic outer shells or materials to show the parts and surfaces below. Computer connector and adapter assemblies have been created that mimic this feature. However, the transparent plastic surfaces do not provide a surface on which logos or information can be easily discerned. To solve this problem, some connectors and adapters have identifying logos or information incorporated onto the metal housing  14 , so that the logos or information may be seen beneath the transparent plastic covering  11 . But the result is imperfect, since the transparent plastic obscures the housing surface and design below. 
   Similar structures are used for other connector shapes, such as cylindrical connectors, and for adapters. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a connector or adapter housing structure that provides a raised portion that will be exposed after the outer plastic covering is molded onto the connector or adapter. This raised portion of the housing exposes an area where logos or other information can be placed on or molded into the raised portion. This eliminates the need to apply a logo through a second injection molding process or by affixing it in a later manufacturing step. The raised portion also provides a more discernable and durable surface for logos than the molded plastic covering. Moreover, with transparent plastic coverings of recent designs, the raised portion of the present invention provides the best surface for logos or other information. In this way, a cable connector or adapter can be manufactured and assembled with fewer parts and steps, and the finished product will provide a superior surface for logos and information. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a cross-section view of a prior art cable connector. 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-section view of a cable connector according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a three-quarter view of a cable connector according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-section view of an adapter according to the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The embodiments of the invention, described in detail below, use the same numbers shown in the  FIG. 1  drawing of the prior art connector to designate similar elements or structures. Moreover, similar elements or structures shared with adapters, as shown in  FIG. 4 , are also designated with the same numbers used for the connectors shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     FIG. 2  shows one embodiment of the present invention applied to a computer cable connector assembly. A conventional connector plug  12 , with pins or pin receptacles (not shown), is designed to be plugged into a conforming port in a component (not shown). The connector plug  12  is attached to the housing  14 . The housing  14  is most commonly a metal structure intended to provide electromagnetic shielding to the electrical conductors  21  within. Conventional housings are sometimes formed from more than one piece, such as upper and lower halves (not shown), or as one piece. The embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  shows a single-piece, molded metal housing  14 . A cable  13 , having several electrical conductors or wires  21 , enters the housing  14  through a back end  19 . The drawings show only two conductors  21 , but this is merely illustrative; usually, more conductors  21  are involved. The conductors  21  are connected to the inward projections  23  of the pins or receptacles (not shown) by soldering or crimping. 
   A raised portion  17  of the housing  14  extends above the outer surface of the housing  14 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the raised portion  17  is formed as part of the molded metal housing  14 . It is also contemplated that the raised portion  17  could be applied to the housing  14  in other ways. For example, the raised portion  17  could be glued or soldered to the housing  14 , or the raised portion  17  of the housing  14  could be formed as part of a stamping process. In any event, persons skilled in the art will recognize that a raised portion  17  may be incorporated into or formed onto a housing  14 . 
   Once the connector  12 , housing  14 , and cable  13  are assembled, plastic is usually injection molded over the assembly to form an outer plastic covering  11 . According to the present invention, the raised portion  17  will not be covered by the injection molded plastic covering  11 , but will be exposed. The raised portion  17  may be higher than the outer covering  11 , or it may even be a little lower, but the idea is that it is exposed after the outer covering  11  is placed over the housing. 
   The raised surface  17  provides a place where logos or information may be placed. For example,  FIG. 3  shows a completed cable connector with a logo  18  molded into the raised portion  17 . Thus, after manufacturing and assembly, the cable connector will have a clearly visible area on the raised portion  17 , not covered by the injection molded plastic covering  11 , where a logo or information may be seen. Also, the raised portion  17  can also provide a surface, above the injection molded plastic covering  11 , for a gripping surface (not shown). 
     FIG. 4  shows one embodiment of the present invention applied to a computer adapter assembly. Adapters are used for many purposes in the computer industry, such as adapting one plug configuration to a different plug configuration, or as “gender changers”, or to provide adapting circuitry or electronics. An adapter is shown generally at  27 . A first conventional connector plug  12 , with pins or pin receptacles (not shown), is designed to be plugged into a conforming port in a component or cable (not shown). The first connector plug  12  is attached to the housing  14 . The housing  14  is most commonly a metal structure intended to provide electromagnetic shielding to the electrical conductors  21  within. Conventional housings are sometimes formed from more than one piece, such as upper and lower halves (not shown), or as one piece. A second conventional connector plug  26  is attached to the other end  25  of the housing  14 . Conductors or wires  23  are connected, usually by crimping or soldering, to extensions  23  from the pins or receptacles (not shown) of the first connector  12 . The conductors  23  are then connected, directly or indirectly, to extensions  24  from the pins or receptacles (not shown) of the second connector  26 . In the embodiment shown, the conductors  23  are wires connected directly from the first connector  12  to the second connector  26 . However, conventional adapters use many different methods of for making these connections. For example, one common method is to use a printed circuit board (not shown) between the connectors. Additionally, adapters sometimes have more than two connectors. The present invention does not concern the method for providing an electrical connection between plug connectors of adapters or cable connectors, and the structures shown are merely illustrative. 
   A raised portion  17  of the housing  14  extends above the outer surface of the housing  14 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , the raised portion  17  is formed as part of the molded metal housing  14 . It is also contemplated that the raised portion  17  could be applied to the housing  14  in other ways, as mentioned above. Once the connectors  12  and  26 , housing  14 , and conductors  23  are assembled, plastic is usually injection molded over the assembly to form an outer plastic covering  11 . According to the present invention, the raised portion  17  will not be covered by the injection molded plastic covering  11 , but will be exposed. The raised portion  17  may be higher or a little lower than the outer covering  11 , as described above. As with the cable connector  10  described above, the raised portion  17  of the adapter  27 , shown in  FIG. 4 , may be used as a surface for molded logos or designs  18 , labels (not shown), or a gripping surface (not shown). 
   The drawings and description set forth here represent only some embodiments of the invention. After considering these, skilled persons will understand that there are many ways to make an electrical connector or adapter structure according to the principles disclosed. The inventor contemplates that the use of alternative structures, which result in an electrical connector or adapter structure using the principles disclosed and the invention claimed, will be within the scope of the claims.

Technology Category: 5