JPH10134877A - Connector terminal protection cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low cost connector terminal protection cover protecting a connector before fitting to a printed board by causing the same to be attachable and detachable to and from the open end portion of the connector having a U-shaped cross section housing with a simple structure. SOLUTION: A U-shaped connector terminal protection cover 1 in which arms 4, 4' slightly deflecting outward are provided on both sides of a cover face 2 is formed, and protrusive rows 12, 12' are respectively provided on the arms 4, 4'. In the case of mounting on a connector housing, the same is fitted in the housing by deflecting the arm 4, and the protrusive rows 12, 12' are engaged with engaging slits provided in both side walls of the housing so as to be mounted on the end portion of a connector. Protrusive rows 14, 14' horizontally extending from a fixed end portion to a free end portion are provided on the low ends of the arms 4, 4, and when the cover 1 is fitted to the connector, the same are engaged with recessed slits provided on the bottom face of the housing so as to block the upward falling-out of the cover 1. Thereby, the deformation of terminals is prevented, and the handling of the connector can be facilitated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal protection cover for a connector attached to an end of a connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a connector mounted on a printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as a printed board at an end), for example, a header connector as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is known. FIG.
1 shows a front view of the header connector (connector) 100. The header connector 100 has a resin housing 102 having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and a terminal 106 from the bottom surface 104.
Are protruded. Until a plug connector (not shown) is inserted into the connector 100, the terminal 10
The contact portion 106a (FIG. 7) of No. 6 is exposed, and is easily deformed by an external force. For this reason, a connector 150 that covers the opening 112 (FIG. 7) of the end 110 of the housing 102 is disposed on the right side of the housing 102 in FIG. The connector 150 has a terminal 152,
A tine 158 protrudes from the bottom surface 154. Each of the tines 108 and 158 has a compliant portion having a spring property to be engaged with a through hole (through hole) of the printed board 200. The tines 108 and 158 are pressed into the printed board 200 and fixed, so that the connectors 100 and 152 are fixed on the printed board 200. Thus, the opening 11 of the end 110 of the connector 100
2 is covered by the housing 156 of the connector 150, and the terminal 106 is protected from external force from the outside and entry of dust.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing only the connector 100 viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. From this side view, it can be seen that the housing 102 is open upward and on both sides, i.e., perpendicular to the plane of the paper. This housing 10
The plug housing is inserted into the second recess 116, and the terminals are electrically connected.

[0004]

In the stand-alone state before the connector 100 is attached to the printed board 200, the contact portion 106a of the terminal 106 is likely to receive an external force or to be contaminated by dust or the like. With the method described above, the deformation and contamination of the contact portion 106a cannot be prevented.

[0005] Although the connector 150 can be electrically connected to the plug connector, it may not be necessary, and the number of parts is increased.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8 as another similar conventional example, a tine 108 'of a terminal 106' of a connector 100 'is provided.
Project through the printed board 200 for a considerable length, and the shroud 130 is inserted and fixed to the protruding tine 108 'from the opposite side of the printed board. It may take the form of so-called midplane mounting. However, in this case, the connector 150 for the cover is connected to the connector 100 ′ and the shroud 1.
It cannot be provided at the same position at the end of 30. This is because the through holes of the printed circuit board 200 into which the connector 150 is inserted cannot be shared, and when not shared, the interval between the through holes becomes too small to maintain the strength.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a housing 1
An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal protection cover for a connector, which is detachably attached to the end 110 of the connector 02 and always protects the terminal even before being attached to a printed board.

Another object is to provide an inexpensive terminal protection cover for a connector having a simple structure.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a terminal protection cover for a connector which can be applied to mid-plane mounting.

[0010]

The connector terminal protection cover of the present invention is detachably attached to an open end of a connector having a housing having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and has a cover surface covering the end. It is characterized by the following.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a connector terminal protection cover 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a cover) of the present invention mounted on an end 110 of a connector 100. The cover 1 is substantially U-shaped, and has arms 4 on both sides of the main surface, that is, the cover surface 2.
4 ′. Arms 4 and 4 'have ridges 1 as described later.
2 and 12 ′ (FIG. 2) are formed, and the projections 12 and 12 ′ are engaged with the engagement grooves 120 and 120 ′ provided in the side walls 118 and 118 ′ of the housing 102, so that the cover 1 is connected to the connector 100. It is attached. Engagement grooves 120, 12
0 'is formed as a long groove extending from above to below as shown by an imaginary line in the end portion 110 of the housing 102 in FIG. Although the cover 2 is shown attached to one end 110 in the drawing, it is normally attached to the other end 110 in the same manner. The cover 1 can be shared and attached to the left and right ends 110.

The edges 124, 124 'of the housing 102
Are formed in complementary shapes. That is, the edge 124 is
The edge 124 'is formed in a slightly concave shape and the edge 124
Is formed in a state protruding to the same extent as the dent of. Thereby, the housing 102 can be continuously disposed on the printed board 200 in a state where the cover 1 is removed and the housing 102 is closely contacted in the longitudinal direction. In this case, only the cover 1 on the side where the housings 102 come into contact with each other may be removed. Therefore, the cover 1 of the outermost end 110 of the connected connector 100 is left in the housing 102 as it is. The engagement grooves 120, 120 'are provided at the edges 124, 12 respectively.
It is formed at a position equidistant from 4 ′.

Next, the shape of the cover 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the cover 1.
At the bottom of the cover surface 2 of the cover 1, a serrated protrusion 6 is formed. The protrusion 6 protrudes forward, that is, downwards in the figure. When the cover 1 is attached to the housing 102, the front end 8 is
Touches 4 '. The protrusion 6 is provided with four notches 10 that are recessed inward from the front end. The notch 10 is provided as a relief so as not to interfere with the outermost row of terminals 106 when the cover 1 is attached to the housing 102 from above, that is, from the front of the paper in FIG. Inside the front or free ends of the arms 4, 4 ', ridges 12, 1
2 'are each formed. The projections 12 and 12 ′ engage with the engagement grooves 120 and 120 ′ of the housing 102, and the cover 1 is attached to the connector 100. Also, the arms 4, 4 'are provided with ridges 14, 14' extending horizontally from the vicinity of their fixed ends to their free ends. This function will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cover 1. Protrusion 6
Are formed so as to protrude below the substantially rectangular cover surface 2 by the notches 24, 24 '. Since both ends of the protrusion 6 are separated from the arms 4 and 4 ', the protrusion 6 can bend in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. A taper 16 is provided at the lower part of the protrusion 6.
Are formed so that when they are attached to the housing 102 from above, they do not come into contact with the edges 124, 124 '. Two ridges 12, 12 'are formed at a distance in the vertical direction, and two ridges 14, 14' are provided at the lower ends of the arms 4, 4 '. Arms 4 and 4 'are housings 10
2. It is possible to bend slightly to the outside when attached to 2. In particular, the lower portions of the arms 4, 4 'can be greatly bent.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. The state in which the ridges 12, 12 are vertically aligned is clearly shown. The ridge 14 is provided at the lower end of the arm 4 from the front end 16 to the rear end 18 of the arm 4. The ridges 14 and 14 ′ connect the cover 1 to the connector 100.
When the cover 1 is attached to the housing 102, it engages with the concave groove 20 (FIGS. 6 and 7) provided in the end portion 110 of the bottom surface 104 of the housing 102, and prevents the cover 1 from falling upward. The cover 1 may be attached to and detached from the connector 100 from above or from the side, that is, from the end 110 side.

FIG. 5 shows a rear view of the cover 1. 22 in the figure
A portion indicated by a symbol indicates a long hole for a mold for forming the projection 12.

As described above, the cover of the present invention has been described in detail. However, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described preferred embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible. For example, the cover can be applied to a connector for surface mounting.

[0019]

The terminal protection cover for a connector according to the present invention comprises:
The connector having a housing having a substantially U-shaped cross section is attached to an open end and has a cover surface that covers the end, so that the following effects can be obtained.

That is, since the terminal is directly attached to the end opened to the side of the housing, the terminal is not deformed by an external force during handling of the housing. Further, it can be directly mounted on a printed board. Therefore, it is easy to handle and inexpensive due to its simple structure.

Furthermore, a structure in which connectors for receiving the respective plug connectors are provided on both sides of the printed board, that is, so-called midplane mounting, can be applied, and the range of application is wide.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state where a connector terminal protection cover of the present invention is attached to an end of a connector.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the connector terminal protection cover of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cover of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cover of FIG. 3 taken along line IV-IV.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the cover of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional connector.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the connector of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which another conventional similar connector is attached to a printed board.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal protection cover for connector 2 Cover surface 100 Connector 102 Housing 110 End part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A terminal protection cover for a connector having a cover surface removably attached to an open end of a connector having a housing having a substantially U-shaped cross section and covering the end.