Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Plural-contact coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-03
2002-11-19
Bradley, P. Austin (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Plural-contact coupling part
C439S607560
Reexamination Certificate
active
06482045
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a connector assembly comprising a connector socket and a connector plug useful for interconnecting and disconnecting components of various types of electronic equipment.
BACKGROUND ART
Connectors known as mini-DIN type have heretofore been used extensively on a section of a personal computer where a keyboard is to be connected with the mainframe, for example.
FIG. 1
illustrates a front view of the construction of a conventional mini-DIN connector socket
100
while
FIG. 2
shows a perspective view of the construction of a typical mini-DIN connector plug
200
.
The mini-DIN connector socket
100
comprises a semicylindrical insulator body
110
having its outer periphery covered with a metallic cover
120
. The insulator body
110
has a plurality of contact accommodating apertures
111
formed in the front face (plugging-in/out face) thereof where there are accommodated contacts (not shown) from the rear ends of which the respective terminals
112
lead out and depend downwardly. The insulator body
110
further has a key hole
113
formed in the plugging-in/out face (front face) and an annular groove
117
extending generally along the outer periphery of the plugging-in/out face. Keyways
114
,
115
and
116
are formed in the peripheral surface of the plugging-in/out face adjacent the annular groove
117
so as to extend in a longitudinal direction parallel to the direction in which the plug is inserted in and pulled out.
The face of the insulator body
110
from which the terminals
112
lead out is a flat surface which serves as a mount surface for mounting the connector socket
100
onto a printed-circuit board. Extending from the metallic cover
120
in the same direction as the terminals
112
are tabs
121
adapted to be inserted into the printed-circuit board (not shown) and soldered onto a conductor pattern (grounding conductor) to thereby electrically and mechanically connect the connector socket
100
with the printed-circuit board.
The connector plug
200
comprises a columnar insulator body
220
housed in a tubular metallic cover
210
. A plurality of contact pins
230
extend from the front face of the insulator body
220
(the surface which will face the front face of the connector socket
100
for connection therewith). Mounted over the rear end portion of the metallic cover
210
is an insulation cover
240
which in turn protects the connections between the contact pins
230
and a cable (not shown).
It will be appreciated that upon inserting the connector plug
200
into the connector socket
100
, the contact pins
230
are inserted into the contact accommodating apertures
111
of the connector socket
100
to bring the connector plug
200
and the connector socket
100
into electrical connection.
The metallic cover
210
of the connector plug
200
is formed in its peripheral wall with circumferentially spaced keys
211
,
212
,
213
protruding inwardly from the outer surface thereof. The key
211
complementarily engages with the keyway
114
of the connector socket
100
and similarly the keys
212
and
213
mates with keyways
115
and
116
, respectively of the connector socket
100
to thereby determine the angular mating orientation of the connector plug
200
with respect to the connector socket.
Further extending from the face of the insulator body
220
of the connector plug
200
from which the contact pins
230
extend is a key
221
formed integrally with the insulator body
220
which complementarily engages with the key hole
113
formed in the front face of the insulator body
110
of the connector socket
100
to ensure that wrong connection is prevented between a connector socket
100
and a connector plug
200
which are different with respect to the number and/or arrangement of the contact pins.
As illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the prior art mini-DIN connector, particularly the connector socket
100
is configured such that the insulator body
110
is formed with contact accommodating apertures
111
in which contacts are accommodated. As is commonly well known, however, there are difficulties with forming closely spaced apertures. Consequently, one problem with this construction is that the arrangement in which contact is established by contacting the rod-like contact pins
230
with the contacts in the contact accommodating apertures
111
imposes a limitation on reducing the spacings between the contact accommodating apertures
111
, resulting in an undesirable restriction to the increase and variation in the number of contact pins.
The cylindrical connector socket
100
and connector plug
200
are connected by mating the key hole
113
with the key
221
in order to ensure proper connection between only the same type connector socket and connector plug with respect to the number and arrangement of the contact pins and to avoid erroneous connection. However, the arrangement of the contact pins has heretofore prevented the designer from adopting many different combinations of the key hole
113
with the key
221
.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a connector assembly comprising a connector socket and a connector plug which allows for easily varying the number of contact pins as well as increasing the number.
It is another object of this invention to provide a connector socket, a connector plug and a connector assembly which provides for discriminating many types of connectors to prevent connection between wrong types of connectors.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The connector according to this invention includes a contact support in the form of a planar plate provided in either the connector socket or the connector plug. A plurality of narrow strip contacts or thin line contacts extending in the connector plugging-in/out direction are arranged in juxtaposition with each other along at least one of the opposed plate surfaces of the support such that the narrow strip contacts may be brought into resilient contact with corresponding resilient or spring contacts provided in the other of the connector socket and the connector plug to establish connection between the connector socket and the connector plug.
According to one form of the connector socket of this invention, the connector socket includes a planar plate-like contact support disposed centrally inside of a generally cylindrical groove mating with a complementarily tubular metallic cover of a corresponding connector plug in which a plurality of narrow strip contacts extending in the connector plugging-in/out direction are arranged in juxtaposition with each other along at least one of the opposed plate surfaces of the support, and a key boss is disposed in the cylindrical groove in opposing relation with the at least one plate surface of the support so as to prevent wrong connection between different types of connector socket and connector plug.
According to one form of the connector plug of this invention, the connector plug includes an insulator body fitted in a tubular metallic cover in which the insulator body is formed in its front face with a cutout slit extending diametrically of the metallic cover, contacts extending in the connector plugging-in/out direction are arranged in diametrically spaced and juxtaposed relation with each other on at least one of the opposed flat surfaces of the slit, and a keyway is formed in the front face of the insulator body on the side of the at least one flat surface of the slit so as to prevent connection between different types of connector socket and connector plug.
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patent: 4820204 (1989-04-01), Batty
patent: 4960388 (1990-10-01), Frantz et al.
patent: 5108311 (1992-04-01), Nakazawa
patent: 5254010 (1993-10-01), Davis
patent: 5885088 (1999-03-01), Brennan et al.
patent: 6036549 (2000-03-01), Wulff
patent: 6095861 (2000-08-01), Lin et al.
patent: 0 477 856 (1992-01-01), None
patent: 59-076081 (1984-05-01), None
patent: 04-038682 (1992-03-01), None
patent: 04-038683 (1992-03-01), None
patent: 04-059075 (1992-05-01), None
patent: 10012347 (1998-01
Bradley P. Austin
Gushi Ross
Hosiden Corporation
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