Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
     Reducing weight and size are paramount in the design of small unmanned vehicles. Such vehicles are now being sought that can operate while being exposed to, or after being exposed to aquatic environments. For example, it may be preferred to land an unmanned aerial vehicle on water, rather than on land, either to lessen the impact of landing, or because it is a more easily retrievable location. Conventional connectors are either not completely waterproof, not suited for total submersion, will not function if water is introduced, are susceptible to failure if corrosion is present, or are too bulky and/or heavy. Furthermore, conventional waterproof connectors are often designed for extended use, which is not always required for expendable small unmanned vehicles. Therefore, conventional waterproof connectors also can be too expensive to fabricate. 
     Want is needed is a light weight, robust, inexpensive waterproof connector suited for harsh aquatic environments. Also, what is needed is an efficient, light weight system integrating a waterproof connector into the structure of a lightweight vehicle. Further, what is needed is a blind mate connector that can operate without shorting even if water is introduced. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one possible embodiment, a waterproof connector is provided having a unitary compressible housing comprised of a waterproof material encasing a finger board. The finger board is constructed to receive interconnect wires and corresponding electrical contact pins. The electrical contact pins are secured to the finger board within the housing. The housing has a well portion within the housing, the electrical contact pins extending through the waterproof material from the finger board into the well. Partition portions within the well extend between the electrical contact pins. A sealing lip portion is around the well at a mating side of the connector. The housing has a compressible backing portion on a side of the finger board opposite the mating side of the connector. In various embodiments, the unitary compressible housing is constructed to be seated in a structural housing, which may be a recess or the like in a structural member or component of an apparatus. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: 
         FIG. 1A  shows a perspective view of a back of an embodiment of a waterproof connector. 
         FIG. 1B  shows a perspective view of a front of an embodiment of a waterproof connector. 
         FIG. 2  shows an exploded perspective view of the waterproof connector. 
         FIG. 3  is a cut-away front view of the waterproof connector of  FIGS. 1A and 1B . 
         FIG. 4  shows a projected view of an embodiment of the waterproof connector installed in a vehicle. 
         FIG. 5  shows an exploded projected view illustrating one possible system employing an embodiment of the waterproof connector and a payload for mating with the vehicle of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  shows a cross sectional side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  show a top view and a cross sectional side view of an optional guide plate. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  show perspective views of an embodiment of a waterproof connector  100 . The waterproof connector  100  has a unitary compressible housing  110 , which partially encapsulates and holds electrical contact pins  120 . The compressible housing  110  may be made of a resilient compressible material, such as silicone. The pins  120  each have a portion extending from the housing into a well  130  formed by the housing  110 . Lead lines  140  extend into the base  113  of the unitary housing  110  and couple with the pins  120  within the base  113  of the unitary housing  110 . The base  113  surrounds the lead lines  140  to inhibit seepage of water into the base  113  by way of the lead lines  140 . 
     The housing  110  has a sealing lip  117  around the well  130  at a mating interface of the waterproof connector  100 . The unitary housing  110  forms partitions  115 , extending vertically from the base  113  into the well  130  toward the sealing lip  117  between the electrical contact pins  120 . The partitions  115  are flexible, and form separate cavities  135  which isolate any water (not shown) that happens to enter the well  130  within the cavities  135 . This compartmentalizing of the water within the connector  100 , results in keeping any water that is adjacent to or contacting a pin from being in electrical communication with any other water contacting another pin, inhibiting short circuiting between the pins  120 . 
     In some applications, a battery is installed prior to mating the waterproof connector  110  with a payload  580  ( FIG. 5 ). Thus, one or more of the pins  120  may be powered during to mating. Compartmentalizing any water droplets that may be present in the well  130  inhibits shorting of a powered pin. 
       FIG. 2  shows an exploded perspective view of the waterproof connector  100 . A finger board assembly  200  is shown outside of the housing  110 . As shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , when assembled, the finger board assembly  200  is within the housing  110 . The pins  120  are secured to a finger board  250 , such as by swaging into the finger board  250 . The pins  120  and the lead lines  140  may both be soldered (not shown) to the finger board  250 . The pins  120  and their corresponding lead lines  140  may be electrically connected together by the solder, or via traces (not shown) within, or on the surface of the finger board  250 . 
     The finger board  250  is a unitary board fabricated out of a flexible material, such as a printed circuit board, fiberglass, or the like. The finger board  250  has separate projecting fingers  251 , attached together near a lead line side  242  of the finger board  250  so that the individual pins  120  are able to independently move in 2-axis, side-to-side/up-and-back, and up and down. Thus, the fingers  251  allow both torsional movement, and flex, along the longitudinal axis. 
       FIG. 3  is a cut-away front view of the waterproof connector  100  of  FIGS. 1A and 1B . The finger board  250  is encased within the base  113 , with the pins  120  extending from the base  113  into the well  130 . Partitions  115  extend from the base  113  into the well  130  between the pins  120 . A portion of the base  113  forms a compressible backing  316  under the finger board  250  opposite the mating interface. The compressible backing  316  resiliently supports the finger board  250  and the base  121  of the pins  120  when backed by a supporting structure. The compressible backing  316  provides a biasing force against the pins  120  when compressed. In some embodiments, the pins  120  may extend above a top sealing surface  117   s  of the sealing lip  117  prior to mating, and have a chamfered contact surface  120   c  to allow sliding of the pin over a contact pad  586  ( FIG. 5 ). 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the sealing lip  117  is semicircular in cross section and overhangs the side wall  113   s  of the base  113 . The partitions  115  extend to, or slightly below the sealing surface  117   s  of the sealing lip  117 . Thus, in some embodiments, when the sealing lip  117  is compressed against a mating surface (shown in  FIG. 5 ), the partitions  115  meet to seal against the mating surface, such as a contact board (shown in  FIG. 5 ). In other embodiments, the partitions  115  need not actually contact the mating surface (shown in  FIG. 5 ) and completely enclose the cavities  135  to be effective. The partitions  115  may provide a fluid barrier when oriented such that the fluid is contained within the well  130  near the base  113  by gravity and thus is separated by the partitions  115 . In such an embodiment, the partitions  115  will inhibit short circuiting between adjacent pins until the level of the fluid within the well  130 , or within adjacent cavities  135 , exceeds the height of the partitions  115 . Further, the partitions  115  inhibit shorting when the connector  100  is unmated. This is particularly important if the connector could have power on any of the pins  120  prior to mating. 
       FIG. 4  shows a projected view of an embodiment of the waterproof connector  100  installed in a vehicle  400 . The vehicle  400 , which provides a rigid backing for the base (not shown in  FIG. 4 ) and for the sealing lip  117  of the waterproof connector  100 . Thus, the waterproof connector  100  is integrated into the structural frame of vehicle  400  and may be secured within the frame of the vehicle  400  by glue, interference fit, etc. 
       FIG. 5  shows an exploded projected view illustrating one possible system employing an embodiment of the waterproof connector  100  a payload  580  for mating with the vehicle  400  of  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 6  shows a cross sectional side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5 . Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the waterproof connector  100  seats within a rigid housing  590 . The compressible backing  316  of the compressible housing  110  seats against the rigid backing  596 , which provides a supporting structure for the compressible backing  316 . 
     In this embodiment, the rigid housing  590  is part of the structural component of the vehicle  400 . Thus, the rigid housing  590  is integrated into the structural frame of the vehicle  400 . This provides a weight and space savings, as compared to conventional connectors with separate hard shells, while still providing a robust waterproof connector. 
     The waterproof connector  100  mates with a contact board  585  seated in the payload  580 . A projection  581  on the payload  580  is inserted into receptacle  582 , the payload  580  is pivoted about the projection  581  in the receptacle  582  to cause the contact board  585  to mate with connector  100  seated in the rigid housing  590 . Optional alignment slots  588  and alignment projections  587  ( FIG. 4 ) facilitate mating of the payload  580  with the vehicle  400 . The mating of the contact board  585  with the waterproof connector  100  causes the pins  120  to engage contact pads  586  on the contact board  585 . In some embodiments (not shown), the contact pads  586  may contain dimples for receiving the pins  120  and/or to keep the pins  120  in alignment upon mating. In other embodiments, the pins  120  may be inserted into receptacles (not show), or other means, that engage the pins  120 . 
     One advantage of the unitary housing, which incorporates the sealing surface  117  as an integral part of the housing  110  is that it ensures that the sealing lip  117  is not displaced during the mating process. The pivotal mating by rotating the board  585  to mate with the connector  100  could otherwise cause a conventional gasket to slide or unseat during the mating process, compromising the waterproof seal. 
     The compressible backing  316  backed by rigid backing  596 , along with the flexible finger board  250 , biases the pins  120  against the contact pads  586 . The rigid housing  590  biases the sealing lip  117  to form a face seal against the contact board  585  (or other sealing surface associated with the payload  580 ) to seal pins  120  within the compressible housing  110 . A locking means  683  distal from the projection  581 , in cooperation with the projection  581  secures the payload  580  to the vehicle  400  and maintains contact of the pins  120  with the contact pads  586 , and the sealing lip  117  with the contact board  585 , and the partitions  115  ( FIG. 3 ) with the contact board  585  if applicable. 
     One advantage of allowing the pins  120  to move along the contact pads  586  as they meet the contact board  585 , is that they can abrade the contact board  585  as the connector  100  is seated against the contact board  585 . Thus, in some embodiments, the pins  120  are able to scrape through surface oxidation on the contact pads  586  to make better electrical contact than a fixed pin configuration. In some embodiments, the pins  120  and/or the pads  586 , may have abrading surfaces (not shown) to aid in the removal of oxidation from the pads  586  and/or the pins  120 . Further, resiliently holding the pins  120 , and allowing a limited degree of rotational movement of the pins  120 , provides a lateral bias force on the pins  120  against the contact pads  586 . The lateral bias is provided by a combination of the deflection of the finger board  250  and compression of the portions of the base  113  adjacent to the pins  120 . This adds to the normal force provided by the compressible backing  316  against the back of the pins  120 , to further improve contact between the pins  120  and the contact pads  586 . 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  show a top view and a cross sectional side view, respectively, of an optional guide plate  700 . The optional guide plate  700  may be placed over/around the pins  120  within the housing  113  to facilitate alignment of the pins  120  with the pads  586  on the contact board  585 . Also, the guide plate  700  can inhibit individual side-to-side movement the pins  120  separately, to maintain separation between the pins  120  upon mating. The guide plate  700  may be situated on top of the partitions  115  and the lip  117 . The guide plate  700  may be fabricated of a rigid material, such as fiberglass or other insulative material. 
     In various embodiments, the waterproof connector, is a light weight waterproof connector for a light weight UAV or unmanned aerial vehicle, which may have a payload such as electronics, a camera, battery, or other payload. The light weight waterproof connector  100  allows an easily portable unmanned aerial vehicle, which may be submersed in water, such as during transport, or upon landing. In some embodiments, it further allows separate subcomponents to be submersed during transport prior to assembly and operation, as some amount of liquid within the isolated cavities of the connector will not create shorting between the pins. 
     It is worthy to note that any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” or a “system” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or system may be included in an embodiment or system, if desired. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. 
     The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. This disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit and scope of the invention and/or claims of the embodiment illustrated. Those skilled in the art will make modifications to the invention for particular applications of the invention. 
     The discussion included in this patent is intended to serve as a basic description. The reader should be aware that the specific discussion may not explicitly describe all embodiments possible and alternatives are implicit. Also, this discussion may not fully explain the generic nature of the invention and may not explicitly show how each feature or element can actually be representative or equivalent elements. Again, these are implicitly included in this disclosure. Where the invention is described in device-oriented terminology, each element of the device implicitly performs a function. It should also be understood that a variety of changes may be made without departing from the essence of the invention. Such changes are also implicitly included in the description. These changes still fall within the scope of this invention. 
     Further, each of the various elements of the invention and claims may also be achieved in a variety of manners. This disclosure should be understood to encompass each such variation, be it a variation of any apparatus embodiment, a method embodiment, or even merely a variation of any element of these. Particularly, it should be understood that as the disclosure relates to elements of the invention, the words for each element may be expressed by equivalent apparatus terms even if only the function or result is the same. Such equivalent, broader, or even more generic terms should be considered to be encompassed in the description of each element or action. Such terms can be substituted where desired to make explicit the implicitly broad coverage to which this invention is entitled. It should be understood that all actions may be expressed as a means for taking that action or as an element which causes that action. Similarly, each physical element disclosed should be understood to encompass a disclosure of the action which that physical element facilitates. Such changes and alternative terms are to be understood to be explicitly included in the description. 
     Having described this invention in connection with a number of embodiments, modification will now certainly suggest itself to those skilled in the art. The example embodiments herein are not intended to be limiting, various configurations and combinations of features are possible. As such, the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, except as required by the appended claims.

Technology Category: h