JPS61181079A - Electric connector for module construction - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to modular electrical connectors that mate with arrays of pins.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Increasingly, electronic devices have a large number of components mounted on printed circuit boards. Therefore, space on the printed circuit board becomes a major problem when determining the positions of various components during the design process.

One of the components often found on printed circuit boards is a rectangular wire pin. The pin has a nominal dimension of 0.04
It is 5 inches (1.13 mm) and is forcibly fitted into a hole punched in the printed circuit board.

After the pins are inserted into the printed circuit board, wave soldering is applied to electrically connect the pins to the circuitry on the board.

With miniaturization, 0.025 inch (0.63 mm) square wire pins have appeared. The advantage of this small pin is that a correspondingly small female connector can be used.

This reduces the area occupied on the printed circuit board.

To further discuss this point, typically a 0.045 inch (1.13 mm) square wire pin array is mated to a female connector having a 0.156 inch (3.9 mm) center spacing. On the other hand, 0.025 inch (0.63+nm) square wire pins have a center spacing of 0.100 inch (2.5 m).
m) female connector, which is a significant saving in space requirements if the number of circuits or pins is the same. The disadvantage of using 0.025 inch (0.63 mm) square wire pins is that their small cross-sectional area makes it difficult to punch holes as with 0.045 inch (1.13 mm) square wire pins. Instead, you have to drill a hole. When drilling holes in printed circuit boards.

It costs more than punching holes. Also, 0°02
5 inch (0,63m111) square wire pin is 0
．． The current carrying capacity is smaller than that of a 0.45 inch (1.13 mm) square wire pin.

One reason why 0.045 inch (1,13 m111) square wire pins are not used with 0.100 inch (2,5 mm) center-to-center female connectors is that these square wire pins cannot be mounted in parallel rows on a printed circuit board. In this case, there may be insufficient material between the rows of pins to maintain the electrical and mechanical integrity of the board. This is usually determined by the balance between the area usage efficiency of the printed circuit board and manufacturing efficiency.

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION For female or pin-receiving connectors that mate with two rows of pin arrays mounted on a printed circuit board, it is advantageous to be able to simultaneously terminate wires to these connectors. Generally, this type of female connector comprises a housing of insulating material having elongated terminal receiving cavities in parallel upper and lower rows, each cavity having a pin receiving opening at its forward end and a rearward end thereof. It has a wire receiving opening. The pin receiving openings have the same arrangement as the multi-row pin array. A plurality of terminals are attached to the cavity.

Each terminal has a pin engaging portion at its forward end and a wire engaging portion at its rearward end.

Female connectors of this type are known, for example, in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,288. The terminals of each row are simultaneously terminated to insulated conductors by conventional insulation cutting means. However, since the wire engaging portions of the two rows of terminals are oriented in opposite directions, it is not possible to simultaneously terminate the two rows of terminals from the same direction. Therefore, the equipment used for this must either have two wire inserts to terminate the two rows of terminals simultaneously, or each row must be terminated separately by the same wire insert. No.

1 for simultaneously terminating two row connectors of the above type.
One means is disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,486.950. In this patent, two rows of terminal-receiving cavities (and the wire-engaging portions received therein) are all oriented in the same direction from end to end and are straightly connected to each other by hinges. After making the termination connections at the same time,
One row is bent backwards relative to the other row and latched together. This type of housing is expensive to manufacture and assemble.

Furthermore, if a particular circuit board has two or more multi-row arrays of pins, each array having a different number of pins, two different types of female connectors must be manufactured. Each connector will have a housing with a different number of circuits.

No. 4,492,023, which discloses a method and apparatus for manufacturing electrical harnesses, shows a modular connector housing. This type of connector is a plurality of single row connectors that have an integrally formed housing structure. These housings are connected to each other by selectively removable webs or connecting members.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a multi-row electrical connector for connecting an array of pins to an insulated wire conductor, such that electrical terminations can be made simultaneously from the same side thereof. The purpose is to provide connectors.

In view of the above object, the connector constructed according to the present invention includes:
The housing includes an insulating material housing in which elongated terminal receiving cavities are arranged in parallel upper and lower rows, each cavity having two spaced apart side walls and a top wall.

and each cavity has a pin-receiving aperture at its forward end and a wire-receiving aperture at its aft end, the pin-receiving apertures having the same arrangement as the pin array. a plurality of terminals each mounted in the cavity, each terminal having a pin engagement portion at its forward end and a wire engagement portion at its rear end; The wire-engaging portion of each terminal includes an insulation-penetrating slot for receiving an insulated wire conductor and biting into the insulation to make electrical contact with the conductor, the upper row of cavities interfacing with the lower row of cavities. The side walls of adjacent cavities in the upper row are staggered and spaced apart from each other, with a slot formed in the top wall of each cavity extending from the wire receiving opening toward the forward end for wire engagement of the terminal. exposing the wire-engaging portions of the terminals received in the cavities of the bottom row so that they can be accessed from between the side walls of adjacent cavities of the top row, connecting all terminals in both rows to the connector. It is possible to simultaneously connect the terminals from above.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a modular electrical connector that allows any of a variety of multi-row pin arrangements to be connected to insulated wire conductors.

In view of this objective, a modular electrical connector formed in accordance with the present invention includes a plurality of terminals each having a pin-engaging portion at a forward end and a wire-engaging portion at a rearward end, and a plurality of elongated terminal-receiving cavities. integral insulating housings arranged in upper and lower rows, each cavity having two
generally defined by two spaced side walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall, each cavity having a pin receiving opening at its forward end and a wire receiving opening at its rearward end. , the housing is comprised of a plurality of modules each including at least one upper row of cavities and at least one lower row of cavities, the pin-receiving openings of the modules being configured to accommodate a given pin arrangement. and the housing further includes a selectively removable module connection member for connecting a plurality of modules to each other, such that the pin openings are arranged in a given pin arrangement. Any desired number of modules can be removed from the housing, leaving a plurality of modules forming the housing in the same configuration as .

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, two types of dual row female electrical connectors are shown generally at 10a and 10b. Each connector 10a and 10b has a two-row array 12a of pins 14 (
(The pin array that mates with the connector 10b is not shown)
to the insulated wire conductor 16.

The pins 14 are attached to the printed circuit board 18 through pin holes 20 punched in the printed circuit board 18 in advance. For purposes described in detail below, multiple polarity holes 2
2 is also formed on the printed circuit board.

Each connector 10a or 10b (sometimes generally designated 10) includes a housing 26 integrally formed of an insulating material, such as a plastic material. The housing 26 has elongated terminal receiving cavities H428 and 3o arranged in parallel upper and lower rows, respectively. Each cavity 28 and 3
0 is adapted to accept a metal terminal 32.

As shown in FIG. 3, terminal 32 includes a pin-engaging portion 34 of general design for receiving one of pins 14. As shown in FIG. At the opposite end of the terminal 32 is a wire engaging portion 36 having a conventional insulation-cutting slot 38 formed therein. Lateral movement of the insulated wire conductor 16 toward the slot 38 causes the wire-engaging portion 3 of the terminal 32 to
6 bites into the insulation coating and makes electrical contact with the metal conductor.

The terminal 32 also has a locking protrusion 4 extending from its lower surface.
It also has o. This locking protrusion 40 is provided in each cavity 28.
or engages a portion of 30.

Each terminal receiving cavity IPA 28 and 30 is defined by two spaced apart side walls 42 and 44, a top wall 46, and a bottom wall 48. Winter sky M28 and 30.

Furthermore, it has a pin receiving opening 50 at its front end and a wire receiving opening 52 at its rear end. The pin receiving opening 5o has the same arrangement as the corresponding pin array 12a or 12b.

A slot 54 is formed in the top wall 46 of each cavity 28 or 30 and extends from the wire receiving aperture 52 toward the forward end. The leading portion 56 is connected to the slot 5
It is formed to hang down from 4. Slot 54 and leading portion 56 connect cavities 28 and 30 to electrically connect wire conductor 16 to wire engaging portion 36 of terminal 32.
I can guide you inside.

Lock window 58 on the lower wall 48 of Fuyuzora WR28 and 30
is formed. This window 58 cooperates with the terminal locking projection 40 to retain the terminal within each cavity.

It will be apparent that the upper row of cavities 28 are staggered with the lower row of cavities 30. The pin arrays 12a and 12b are designed to use 0.045 inch (1.13 mm) square wire pins, but by staggering one row of pins with respect to the other row, the distance between each row is The spacing can be narrowed. As shown in FIG. 1, staggered pin receiving apertures 50 mate with corresponding pin arrays 12a and 12b.

The side walls 42 and 44 of adjacent cavities 28 and 30 are spaced apart from each other and do not form a common wall as in most known connectors. Side walls 4 of adjacent cavities 28 in the upper row
2 and 44 is such that connector 1 can be inserted through slot 56.
The spacing is such that the wire engaging portions 36 of the terminals 32 attached to the cavities 30 in the lower row can be accessed so as to be exposed at the top of the terminals 0. This configuration causes the wire engaging portions 36 of all terminals to face upward. Therefore, all wires 16 can be terminated from the same side of connector 10 at the same time.

Referring again to FIG. 1, both connectors 10a and 1ob are formed using the same manufactured parts. This is accomplished by integrally connecting together a plurality of modules 64 defined between lines A--A in FIG.
A connector of the present invention is formed.

Each module 64 has one upper row cavity 28 and one lower row cavity 30 connected to each other by a web 66. Web 66 is an extension of sidewall 44 of the upper row cavity and sidewall 42 of lower row cavity 30.

Each module 64 has a peg 68 that extends beyond the forward end of housing 26. every other module 6
4 has a peg 68 extending from the upper row cavity 28, while
Adjacent modules have pegs extending from the lower row cavities 30.

Peg 68 is received in hole 22 in the printed circuit board and
serve one purpose. The first purpose is to use a suitable connector 10.
Connector 10 is polarized so that pins a and 10b are mated to the appropriate pin arrays 12a and 12b, respectively. The second purpose is to connect the connector 10 to the printed circuit board 18.
To lock or hold something. To this end, each peg 6 has a flexible expanded diameter portion 70 that engages the underside of the printed circuit board 18 when the peg 68 is inserted into the hole 22.
Formed at the end of 8.

Adjacent modules 64 are integrally connected to each other by selectively removable module connection members 72 and 74 that connect upper row cavities 28 and lower row cavities 3o, respectively. These connecting members 72 and 74 can be removed by any suitable means to remove one or more modules 64 from the structure to form the desired configuration of the housing 26.

Additionally, pegs 68 can also be selectively removed. If peg 68 is not required, it can also be removed by suitable means.

By using the housing structure described above,
The efficiencies obtained when only one product is produced are achieved. Even higher efficiencies are achieved by being able to terminate multiple row connectors simultaneously from the same side.

Although FIG. 1 and FIGS. 4-8 show a module 64 that includes two cavities 28 and 30, in reality there will be at least one upper row cavity 28 and one lower row cavity 3.
It will be appreciated that modules of any size can be designed, including zero.

For example, FIG. 9 shows a module 84 defined between line B--B.

In each module 84, two cavities 28 or 30 in one row are connected to one cavity 28 or 30 in the other row. These modules 84 consist of one upper row cavity 28 and two adjacent lower row cavities 30.
are staggered adjacent to a module 84 consisting of two upper row cavities 28 and one lower row cavity 30.

The cavities 28 and 30 of each module 84 are connected to each other by three webs 86, 88 and 90. A web 86 connects two adjacent cavities in the same row between their respective side walls 42 and 44 near their forward ends. In a module 84 where two adjacent cavities 38 are in a top row, the web 86 is an extension of the top wall 46 thereof. In a module 84 where two adjacent cavities are in a bottom row, the web 86 is an extension of the bottom wall 48 thereof.

Webs 88 and 90 connect one cavity in one row to two adjacent cavities in the other row. If module 84 has one cavity in the top row, webs 88 and 9
0 extends downward as an extension of the side walls 42 and 44, and the side walls 44 and 42 of another lower row empty Wi 430 adjacent thereto.
connected to.

If module 84 has one cavity in the bottom row, webs 88 and 90 extend upwardly as extensions of sidewalls 42 and 44 and adjacent sidewalls 44 and 42 of another top row cavity 28 . connected to.

Peg 68 extends from web 86 beyond the forward end of housing 26 . Therefore, there is one peg 68 for each module 84. Peg 68 is received in hole 22 formed in printed circuit board 18 as described above.

Adjacent modules 84 are integrally connected to each other by upper and lower rows of selectively removable module connection members 72 and 74. These connecting members 72 and 7
4 is similar to web 86, but pegs 68 are not formed. Connecting members 72 and 74 can be removed to form the desired connector 10 as described above.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing two types of wire termination connectors constructed according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a connector according to the present invention. Figure 4 is an end view of the connector of the present invention viewed from the front end, Figure 5 is an end view of the connector of the present invention viewed from the rear end, Figure 6 is one terminal. FIG. 7 is a top view of the connector of the invention, FIG. 8 is a side view of the connector of the invention, and FIG. 9 is a view of another housing structure constructed in accordance with the invention. FIG. 10a, 10b... Connector 12a... Two row array of pins 14... Pin 16... Insulated wire conductor 18.
...Printed circuit board 20...Pin hole 22...Polarized hole 26...Housing 28.30...Terminal receiving cavity 32...Terminal 34...Pin engaging portion 36...・
Wire engaging portion 38...Insulation coating biting slot 40...Lock protrusion 42,44...Side wall 46...Upper wall 48...Lower wall 50...Pin receiving opening 52...Wire Receiving opening 54...Slot 56...Leading portion 58...
Lock window 64...Module 66...Web
68...Peg 84...Module FIG, 4FIG, 2

Claims (9)

[Claims] (1) A modular electrical connector capable of connecting any of a variety of multi-row pin arrays to insulated wire conductors, each having a pin-engaging portion at its forward end and a wire-engaging portion at its rearward end. a plurality of terminals having sections and an integral insulating housing having elongated terminal receiving cavities arranged in a plurality of upper and lower rows, each cavity having two spaced apart side walls and a top wall. and a lower wall, each cavity having a pin receiving aperture at its forward end and a wire receiving aperture at its aft end, the housing having at least one comprising a plurality of modules each including an upper row of cavities and at least one lower row of cavities, the pin receiving openings of the modules being configured in the same manner as a portion of a given pin array; Furthermore,
The housing also includes a selectively removable module connection member for connecting a plurality of modules to each other, thereby forming a housing in which the pin openings are in the same configuration as a given pin arrangement. An electrical connector having a modular structure, characterized in that a desired number of modules can be removed from the housing, leaving a plurality of modules. (2) The selectively removable module connecting member is formed between adjacent modules in either the upper row or the lower row of the module structure according to claim (1). connector. (3) The electrical connector of the modular structure according to claim (1), wherein the selectively removable module connecting member is formed between adjacent modules in both the upper and lower rows. . (4) A module according to claim 1, wherein selectively removable polarizing means extend from each module beyond its forward end and are adapted to cooperate with the pin mounting surface. Construction electrical connectors. (5) The housing has two rows of cavities consisting of the above-mentioned upper row and lower row, and the wire-engaging portion of each terminal receives an insulated wire conductor and bites into the insulation coating to make electrical contact with the conductor. Equipped with a slot that digs into the insulation coating,
The upper row of cavities is staggered with the lower row of cavities, and the side walls of adjacent upper row cavities are spaced apart from each other, with the upper wall of each cavity having a structure that exposes a wire-engaging portion of the terminal. , a slot is formed extending from the wire-receiving opening toward the forward end so that wire-engaging portions of terminals received in the lower row of cavities are approached from between the sidewalls of adjacent upper row of cavities. 2. A modular electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein all terminals of both rows can be simultaneously terminated from above the connector. (6) Each module includes one cavity from the first row and two adjacent cavities of the second row closest to the one cavity of this first row. Modular electrical connectors as described in paragraph ). (7) the first row is the top row, the second row is the bottom row of every other module, and the first row is
The second row is the upper row of modules adjacent to every other module.
6) A modular electrical connector according to item 6). (8) the side walls of adjacent cavities in the lower row are also spaced apart from one another, each module having web means connecting two adjacent cavities near their forward ends and extending from the web means beyond their forward ends; 8. A modular electrical connector according to claim 7, further comprising selectively removable polarizing means adapted to engage a pin mounting surface. (9) An electrical connector for connecting an array of pins to an insulated wire conductor, the connector comprising a housing of insulating material having elongated terminal receiving cavities arranged in parallel upper and lower rows, each of the foregoing The cavity is generally defined by two spaced apart side walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall, and each cavity has a pin receiving opening at its forward end and a wire receiving opening at its rearward end. the pin-receiving aperture is arranged in the same configuration as the array of pins, and further comprising a plurality of terminals respectively mounted in each of said cavities, each terminal having a pin engagement at its forward end. The wire-engaging portion of each terminal has a wire-engaging portion at its rear end, and the wire-engaging portion of each terminal is configured to receive an insulated wire conductor and bite into its insulation coating to make electrical contact with the conductor. the cavities in the upper row are staggered with the cavities in the lower row, the side walls of adjacent cavities in the upper row are spaced apart from each other, and the top wall of each cavity has an insulating recessed slot; , a slot is formed extending from the wire-receiving opening toward the forward end to expose the wire-engaging portions of the terminals such that the wire-engaging portions of the terminals received in the cavities of the lower row are connected to the cavities of the upper row. An electrical connector characterized in that it is accessible from between the side walls of adjacent cavities and that all terminals in both rows can be simultaneously terminated from above the connector.