FR2780558A1 - CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY WITH ZERO INSERTION FORCE - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a connector assembly comprising a plug (2) with zero insertion force intended to be inserted into a socket (4) for connecting an electrical appliance (5) to a current source and / or to a transmission line. According to the invention, the electrical contacts of the plug (2) are constituted by conductive pads (6) arranged in a sealed manner on a first printed circuit (8), and the electrical contacts of the socket (4) are constituted by elastic conductive fingers (10) on which said conductive pads (6) come to bear when the plug (2) is inserted into the socket (4).

Description

CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY WITH ZERO INSERTION FORCE

  The present invention relates to a connector assembly comprising a plug with zero insertion force intended to be inserted into a socket for connecting an electrical appliance to a current source.

  and / or a data transmission line.

  The invention relates more particularly to a connector assembly intended to be used in a hospital environment for connecting a control device intended to be handled by a patient to a desk.

central monitoring.

  The invention also relates to a method of

  manufacture of a plug with zero insertion force.

  In order to avoid the development of epidemics in hospitals, it is increasingly desirable that all the devices that come into contact with patients be disinfected. For this purpose, the control devices, generally connected to a wall socket near the patient's beds, must be waterproof and easy to disconnect in order to avoid damaging the connection between the plug and the socket

  wall particularly in case of untimely uprooting.

  Known files in the prior art are tear-off sheets with a limited number of contacts, which are used either in the hospital field or in the industrial field. These sheets are neither cleanable nor waterproof and therefore do not meet the requirements

  health and safety mentioned above.

  The object of the present invention is to produce a connector assembly of low cost and long service life, the plug of which is sealed so as to be

  immersed in a disinfectant.

  Another object of the invention is to produce a file whose number of contacts can be easily adapted to new applications requiring the transmission of additional information, and whose form can be easily adapted to different forms

from the wall outlet.

  According to the invention, the electrical contacts of the plug are constituted by conductive pads arranged in a sealed manner on a printed circuit, and the electrical contacts of the socket are constituted by elastic conductive fingers on which said conductive pads bear when the plug

is introduced into the socket.

  Thus, the electrical connection between the contacts of the plug and those of the socket is carried out by simple pressing, and therefore said plug can be easily removed in the event of untimely tearing thus avoiding deterioration of the wall socket. In addition, the mounting of the conductive pads on a printed circuit makes it possible to obtain a tight structure, without roughness, which can be immersed without risk in a

disinfectant.

  Preferably, the conductive pads are produced by wires topped with studs, preferably golden, and which are introduced into holes

  metallized on the printed circuit board.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said contact fingers consist of nails resiliently mounted, by means of springs for example, on a printed circuit comprising electronic and connector components. With such an embodiment, said nails follow the pads of the plug, maintaining good quality contact without insertion force thus allowing

a large number of maneuvers.

  The method of manufacturing the plug according to the invention comprises the following steps: - corrosion-resistant studs are welded on a first printed circuit board; - Then we connect each pad to a wire of an electric cord; - then the wires of the electrical cord are coated with resin which polymerizes and hardens to ensure the sealing of the plug; - Then pulling said cord so as to press the first printed circuit board in a housing

  provided for this purpose in said sheet.

  Other features and advantages of

  the invention will also appear in the description below

  after, with reference to the accompanying drawings given by way of nonlimiting examples, in which: - Figures 1 and 2 show two schematic views in vertical section of a connector assembly according to the invention respectively before and after insertion of the plug in the socket; - Figure 3 is a schematic view of the end of the plug of Figure 1 on which are arranged the electrical contacts; - Figure 4 is a partially sectional view illustrating a particular application of a plug according to the invention; - Figures 5 to 8 schematically illustrate the successive stages of the process for manufacturing a

sheet according to the invention.

  With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector assembly comprises a plug 2 with zero insertion force intended to be introduced into a socket 4 which can be fixed to a wall or to an appropriate support comprising the wires intended to connect an appliance. electrical 5 to a power source or line

data transmission.

  As can be seen in FIG. 3, the electrical contacts of the plug 2 are constituted by conductive pads 6 arranged in sealed manner on a first printed circuit 8 while the electrical contacts of the socket 4 are constituted by conductive fingers 10 (see Figure 1 and 2) elastic, which bear on said conductive pads 6 when the plug 2 is inserted into the

  socket 4 as shown in Figure 2.

  Preferably, said conductive fingers consist of nails resiliently mounted, by means of springs for example, on a

second printed circuit 12.

  In a second embodiment, not shown, said conductive fingers 10 are constituted by flexible blades fixed on a first face of an insulating plate, the second face of said insulating plate being connected by conductive wires to

the electrical appliance 5.

  In a particular application illustrated by FIG. 4, the electrical device 5 is constituted by a remote control member which is generally connected to an outlet located near the bed of a patient in a hospital environment. This member comprises in a manner known per se buttons identified by symbols

  representing the patient's request.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plug 2 is constituted by a block of ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene) comprising a housing in which the first printed circuit board 8 is fixed and through which a cord passes electric 22 connecting said socket 2 to said electric appliance 5. The ABS unit has notches 26 intended to receive clips 28 for retaining the

plug 2 in socket 4.

  The sheet manufacturing method 2 comprises the following steps: - the pads 6 are welded to the first printed circuit board 8 as illustrated in the figure; - Then connect each pad 6 to a wire 30 of the electrical cord 22 (see Figure 6); - Then the wire is coated with resin (Figure 7) which polymerizes and hardens thus ensuring the tightness of the plug 2; - Then pull the cord 22 so as to press the first printed circuit board 8 in the housing

(figure 8).

  A completely waterproof plug is thus obtained

  which can be cleaned without risk.

Claims (10)

  1. Connector assembly comprising a plug (2) with zero insertion force intended to be inserted into a socket (4) for connecting an electrical appliance (5) to a current source and / or to a data transmission line, characterized in that the electrical contacts of the plug (2) are constituted by conductive pads (6) arranged in a sealed manner on a first printed circuit (8), and in that the electrical contacts of the socket (4) are constituted by elastic conductive fingers (10) on which said conductive pads (6) come to bear   when the plug (2) is inserted into the socket (4).   2. Connector assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said conductive fingers (10) consist of nails mounted on   elastic way on a second printed circuit (12).   3. Connector assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said fingers   contact (10) consist of flexible blades.   4. Connector assembly conforming to one of   Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the plug (2)   consists of an ABS block comprising a housing (20) in which the first printed circuit board (8) is fixed and through which passes an electrical cord (22) connecting said socket (4) to said device electric (5).   5. Connector assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that the ABS block includes notches (26) intended to receive   retention clips (28) arranged on the socket (4).   6. Connector assembly conforming to one of   claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the device   electric (5) is an electronic remote control device. 7. Plug with zero insertion for an electrical connector, characterized in that it comprises electrical contacts constituted by conductive pads (6) arranged on a printed circuit board. 8. Method of manufacturing a plug (2)   according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized   in that the pellets (6) are welded to the first printed circuit board (8), then each patch is connected to a wire (30) of an electrical cord (22) then the wires (30) are coated by resin which polymerizes and hardens thus ensuring the sealing of the plug (2), then the cord (22) is pulled so as to press the first printed circuit board (8) in the housing (20).   9. Socket for electrical connector, characterized in that it comprises electrical contacts constituted by conductive fingers (10) mounted resiliently on a printed circuit board. 10. Socket according to claim 9, characterized in that the conductive fingers (10) are elastic blades.