KR850001897Y1 - Bridge connector for electrically connecting two pins - Google Patents

Abstract

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Description

Bridge connector to invert two pins

1 is a perspective view of a bridge connector according to the present invention, in which the bridge connector is disassembled from the housing for clarity.

2, 3 and 4 are front, side and bottom views, respectively, of the bridge connector of the present invention.

5 is a perspective view of an example of a housing for a bridge connector of the present invention, with one side wall omitted for clarity.

6, 7 and 8 are plan, front and side views, respectively, of the bridge connector of the present invention disposed in a housing.

9 illustrates an example of how several bridge connectors of the present invention may be used to connect pins on a printed circuit board.

10 is a perspective view of one example of a housing for receiving several bridge connector terminals.

The present invention relates to a bridge connector for contacting parallel connector pins, for example, mounted on a printed circuit board.

In a conventional method of connecting such pins, a bridge or jumper contact can be used which can be abutted on the two pins to be connected. In general, the location of these bridge contacts is intended to extend over the top of the pins. A disadvantage inherent in the conventional connection method is that there is no useful space above the pin ends, and in particular the access for connecting the pins continuously by multiple bridges to adjacently located pins on the printed circuit board is difficult. Such inaccessible drawbacks can cause problems, particularly in applications where it is necessary to interconnect multiple pins to achieve a desired or programmed electrical connection.

Such disadvantages can be overcome by using the bridge connector of the present invention. The bridge connector is characterized in that at least one pair of branch contacts are integrally formed on either side of an elastic central leg. Each pair of branch contacts consists of a flat portion located in the plane of the center leg and a curved protruding portion extending in a straight line on the plane of the center leg.

The flat portion of the central leg and the flat portion of the branch contact are defined as the first plane, and the straight portion of the bent portion is the second plane. The two corresponding faces are parallel to each other.

For such a pair of branch contacts the ends of the flat part and the ends of the bent part extend across the leg in the same length from the central leg part. Further, the bent portions of the first pair of branch contacts are located opposite to the planar portions of the second pair of branch contacts, each of which is laterally in contact with the center leg in the first plane.

When such a bridge contact slides over two adjacent pins, each pin is held by a pair of branch contacts between the flat portion of the first plane and the straight portion of the second plane. Since the bent portions of each pair of branch contacts are not opposite to each other but are staggered in the longitudinal direction of the center leg, the opposite torsional moment is exerted on the two pins to which they are connected.

This bridge contact is inserted into a hollow housing with an opening at the top. The two inner sidewalls of the housing have moderately parallel channels to accommodate the free ends of the branch contacts upon insertion of the bridge connector into the housing.

A bridge connector with a bridge contact assembled in a housing has at least the first two pins connected to the printed circuit board when the first bridge connector is connected to the two pins and is coplanar with the printed circuit board. It is desirable to be sized so that it can be overlaid on the first bridge connector to enable interconnection of a third pin adjacent to the first bridge connector. This method can be conveniently used to interconnect multiple pins according to predetermined circuit connections. The main advantage of this bridge connector is that the bridge contact is located in the extra unused space between the in-point pins. This feature is particularly suitable for facilitating optimal space utilization in package systems with high density pins on a printed circuit board.

When the bridge connector of the present invention is made sufficiently small and the pin length is appropriate, the free protruding ends of the pin can be freely used for continuous connection to other pins.

In fact, these bridge connectors can be used in connection with printed circuit boards of various structures. In addition, the use of the bridge connector is not limited to the connection of the pins mounted on the printed circuit board, and the size of the bridge connector is not limited to the size corresponding to the effective space between the pins on the printed circuit board.

As mentioned above, when a bridge connector is installed on two pins, opposite torsional moments are generated by each pair of branch contacts in contact with the two pins. Thus, the final force exerted on the middle leg is not important. This feature is useful for compensating for possible mutual deviations of pin arrays in any group of printed circuit boards. Typical factors that cause these deviations are non-uniformity of the pins, non-parallelity of the faces of the forward pins, fluctuations in pin cross-sectional areas, deviations of holes and positions of the pins on the printed circuit board.

When the bridge contacts are assembled in the housing, the free end of each branch contact is located in the corresponding housing channel and separated by an intervening protrusion.

These free ends are then supported on the sides of the protrusion to provide a preloaded state. Such preloaded conditions are beneficial in reducing the insertion force of the pins entering each branch contact and facilitating proper centering of the bridge contacts for the leads in the holes for the pins so that they can be easily introduced into the connectors of the pins.

The center leg preferably has an extension portion consisting of a neck and a shoulder at one end. The neck is bent perpendicularly to the face of the center leg and the wide shoulder at the end of the neck is parallel to the first and second planes described above. The shoulder edges are received in two opposing channels in the housing parallel to the center leg of the bridge contact.

Those channels are preferably located in the openings of the housing sidewalls perpendicular to the first and second planes.

It is desirable for barbs to be formed on the sides of the shoulder, so that when the bridge contacts are inserted into the housing they will plug into the plastic material of the appropriate housing channel. The shoulder has a hole in which an electrical test probe can be placed. The free ends of the branch contacts have a local cross-sectional shape that facilitates the insertion of the pins. Such local cross-sectional shape may be square or cylindrical in shape depending on the cross-sectional shape and shape of the fan to be used. These pins may have a rectangular, circular or elliptical cross section.

By appropriately selecting the local cross-sectional shape of the branch contact, the most suitable electrical connection and contacting means can be provided. A cavity part is arrange | positioned at the inner bottom surface, and the long part of the center leg part which opposes a shoulder is accommodated in the cavity part. Thus, the safety and fixation of the bridge contact in the housing is further enhanced.

Instead of having one housing disposed at each bridge contact, multiple bridge contacts can be assembled next to each other longitudinally side by side in a suitable shaped housing having a plurality of cavities for the bridge contacts. Such a housing with multiple cavities to support the bridge contacts has the same number of holes in the bottom for pinning.

The invention is described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings which show embodiments of the invention.

The bridge connector terminals shown in FIG. 1 and shown in more detail in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are arranged perpendicular to FIG. 1 with two pairs of branch contacts 16-19 on each side. Consists of the center leg (4). Those branch contacts are integrally formed in the center leg 4 as well as in the wide part 8 shown at the top. The bridge connector terminals can be made by punching sheet material and can be bent appropriately, and can form a plating layer if necessary.

The first pair of branch contacts 17 and 16 extend to the left of the center leg 4 in FIG. 1, and the second pair of branch contacts 18 and 19 extend their center leg 4. Extends to the right of). Each pair of branch contacts is composed of branches 17 and 19 extending in the same plane as the center leg portion, and bent branch contacts 16 and 18, as shown in the bottom view of FIG. These bent branch contacts are partially dominated in a second plane parallel to the plane of the branch contacts 17 and 19 and the center leg 4. The bent branch contacts 16 and 18 have a first portion 22 which starts at the center leg 4 and is bent in a direction substantially perpendicular to the face of the center leg.

On the second side these curved branch contacts are again bent and copper so that the second part 23 extends in the same direction as the unbranched flat branch contacts 17 and 19 and thus toward the second virtual plane. do.

Each branch contact has contact domes 1 and 2 at its ends, and these contact aids are applied to the sides of the branch contacts 16 and 19.

These aids face each other as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the contact aids 1 and 2 can be spherical or cylindrical or a combination thereof depending on the pins used in their application. have. Such pins may have a cylindrical cross section, an elliptical cross section or a longitudinal cross section. The contact tips should be shaped so that a high pressure is generated at the connection to obtain a good electrical contact with the pin. Simultaneous insertion of the pins between the contact tips of the branch contacts should be facilitated. In the figure, these contact aids are spherical, which is the preferred form for connection with the pins of the longitudinal section having a flat side. When cylindrical pins are used, the contact help is preferably cylindrical. Thus, the centerline of the cylindrical contact tips may be parallel to the centerline of the cylindrical pins, but may also be perpendicular to the centerline of those pins.

One pin of the printed circuit board not shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 slides between the branch contacts 17 and 16, ie between the contact aids 2 and 1. The second pin is slid between branch contacts 18 and 19, ie between contact help 1 and 2 on those contacts. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the bent branch contacts 16 and 18 have their bottoms 3, 3 'bent to facilitate the insertion of the pins. The curved edge also facilitates insertion of the bridge connector terminals into the electrically insulating housing 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the center leg 4 is bent 90 degrees at the top of the branch contacts 17 and 18 to form the neck 5. This neck is bent again by 90 ° to form a wide shoulder 8. The shoulder 8 extends in a plane parallel to the plane of the center leg 4 and the branch contacts 17 and 19, and has a hole 7 and a barb 6 at both ends. have. The holes 7 are used to facilitate contact with the electrical test probes during circuit testing, and may also be used as fixtures when inserting or removing bridge connector terminals in the housing 24.

At the bottom side of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the central leg 4 has an elongate portion 20 which is arranged in a cavity 27 formed in the inner bottom of the housing 24. . Thus, the bridge contact is firmly fixed after being assembled into the housing 24.

The housing 24 is shown in FIG. 1 and in more detail in FIG. 5. 6, 7 and 8 show the bridge contact terminals after being assembled into the housing.

In FIG. 1 the housing 24 is a longitudinal hollow, open at the top and closed at the bottom except for the holes 14 for pin insertion as shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 8. It consists of a box. The inner narrow sidewalls of the housing, which face each other, are formed with channels 10 and 11 with the projections 12 interposed therebetween. Those channels and protrusions extend to the bottom of the housing.

In the rear wall of the housing 24, an opening 25 having a channel 9 perpendicular to both side edges is formed. The low edge of the opening 25 has a step 26 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8. On the front wall of the housing 24, a projection 13 extending from the bottom of the housing to approximately the middle height is formed. This protruding portion 13 extends from the front wall toward the rear wall of the housing. A slot is formed between the protrusion 13 and the rear wall, and the width of the slot coincides with the thickness of the center leg 4 of the branch connector terminal.

Protrusions 15 are formed on the front and rear walls to extend to approximately half the height of the protrusions 13. The protrusion 12 is flush with the side wall of the housing 24 and acts as a guide surface for the pins in the housing 24. The hole 14 is wide at the bottom and sloped as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 to facilitate insertion of the pins in the housing. The housing 24 also has a cavity 27 for receiving the long portion 20 of the center leg 4.

In FIG. 1, dashed lines indicate how the bridge connector terminals can be introduced into the housing 24. In this operation, the terminal has a channel on one side of the projection 12 at the ends of the bent branch contacts 16 and 18 into the channel 11 and the ends of the unbended branch contacts 17 and 19. Descends until you get inside. See top view in FIG. If the pressure is continued downward, the wide shoulder 8 slides into the channel 9 of both sides of the recess 25 of the rear wall. The neck 5 of the central leg is then located in the stepped recess 26 located at the lower edge of the recess 25 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8. The spines 6 on the side of the shoulder 8 are plugged into the material of the housing 24. The bridge connector terminals are thus fixed in place in the housing and accidentally removed. The center leg 4 is accommodated in the slot between the protrusion 13 and the rear wall of the housing 24, and the elongated portion 20 is received in the cavity 27 of the housing 24.

Branch contacts 17, 16 and 18, 19 are bent toward each other before being assembled in the housing. In assembly in the housing, the projections 12 move the branch contacts away from each other. Thus, preload is provided at the branch contacts.

By the combination of the action of the barbed 6, the elastic fixed connection of the branch contacts and the friction of the long part 20 in the cavity 27, the bridge contact is made floating in the housing. Thus, when the pins enter the housing through the hole 14, the bridge contact does not push out of the housing through the upper opening of the housing.

The protrusion 13 is useful for properly placing the bridge connector assembly in the center of the housing 24 and for preventing movement of the bridge connector terminals upon connection to the pins.

The lighting motion of the branch contacts 16-19 upon connection to the pins is limited by the small dimensions of the channels 10 and 11. Thus accurate positioning of the housing relative to the pins is achieved. As shown in FIG. 8, the center leg 4 and the unbended branch contacts 17 and 19 are at the same level as the inner surface of the rear wall of the housing 24, and thus the introduction hole 14 It is at the same level as its age. The same arrangement applies to the bent branch contacts 16 and 18 of the opposing side walls of the introduction hole 14. Thus, proper pin guidance through the bridge connector is achieved, and also the bridge connector assembly and housing are prevented from deviating from the pins and thus overtension of the branch contacts is prevented.

The support strip 21 is shown in dashed lines. This strip is used in the manufacture of connector terminals. A plurality of bridge connector terminals may be formed at the lower edge of the strip. Thereafter, the terminals are separated from the strip 21. However, strip 21 is not necessary for the manufacture of bridge connectors.

9 shows the use of the bridge connector of the present invention in connecting the pins 28-31 of the printed circuit board 32. In FIG. 9 three bridge connectors are arranged on pins 28-31 so that the four pins are electrically connected to each other. The lower left bridge connector connects pins 28 and 30, the right lower bridge connector connects pins 29 and 31, and the upper bridge connector connects pins 30 and 31. It is clearly shown that the bridge connectors are located in the gap between the other pins. The bridge connectors can be pushed further downward so that the pin ends can be used for other bridge connectors or other contact means. Thus, various connection patterns can be obtained when required for the specific application of a circuit on a printed circuit board.

10 shows another example of a housing for receiving a plurality of bridge connector terminals. The housing 33 has a number of cavities formed with the same channels and protrusions as in the single housing 24 of FIGS. 1 and 2. At the bottom of each housing cavity are formed two holes for the pins.

Of course, many electrically conductive bridge connector terminals may be disposed in the housings as shown in FIG.

In addition, these bridge connector terminals need not be arranged in parallel as shown. Some connectors may be arranged transversely on top of each other. The housing 33 of FIG. 10 is flush with the housing 24 of FIG. 9 so that several housings with multiple bridge connectors can be superimposed to obtain a specific connection pattern for the pins.

The present invention enables a new way to short or interconnect pins on a printed circuit board. The present invention is particularly suitable for printed circuit boards with dense pins.

The present invention provides the possibility of connecting components on a printed circuit board according to various programs. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the interconnection of pins on a printed circuit board.

Bridge connectors of the present invention generally have very small dimensions.

In a typical pin spacing, for example, the width at the small side is up to one times the pitch of the pins and the width at the large side is up to two times the pitch of the pins, and a single housing with a maximum height of 5.08 mm is used.

The present invention is not limited to the examples shown and described above, and modifications and variations are possible without departing from the inventive concept.

Claims (1)

In a bridge connector for electrically connecting at least two parallel pins, the bridge connector terminal portion consists of a central leg portion of the same material having at least one pair of branch contacts of an elastic material attached to each side thereof, each pair of branches The contact consists of one straight branch on the first side of the same side of the center leg and one bent branch on the second side of the center leg, with each pair of branch contacts from the branch contact on the other side of the center leg. Has a straight branch coplanar with the bend branch, each said bend branch has a first portion perpendicular to the center leg and a second portion bent in a position parallel to the straight branch, and thus a bridge on two pins When inserting the connectors, each pin is a straight branch on one side that is on the first side and a bend on the other side that is on the second side It is fixed between one end of the second part of the branch so that the bridge connector terminal is partially loaded, the bridge connector terminal is located in an insulated housing with one end open and the other end closed, and the housing is connected to the open end of the housing. Inverting the two pins, having channels parallel to the opposite inner surfaces to accommodate the free ends of the branch contacts when the bridge connector is inserted, and inlet holes for the pins are formed in the closed end of the housing. For bridge.