Electrical connectors – With contact preventer or retractable cover part – Prong cover
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-08
2001-02-27
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With contact preventer or retractable cover part
Prong cover
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193529
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector terminal protective cover that is attached to an end portion of a connector.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Header connectors of the type shown in
FIGS. 6 through 8
are known as connectors that are mounted on printed circuit boards.
FIG. 6
is a front view of a header connector
100
. This header connector
100
has a plastic housing
102
that is substantially U-shaped in cross-section, with the tine sections
108
of terminals
106
protruding from the bottom surface
104
. Until a plug connector (not shown) is inserted into the connector
100
, the contact sections
106
a
of the terminals
106
(see
FIG. 7
) are exposed, and are therefore susceptible to deformation by external forces. Accordingly, a connector
150
which covers the opening
112
(see
FIG. 7
) in the end portion
110
of the housing
102
is disposed on the right end of the housing
102
(with respect to FIG.
6
). Connector
150
has terminals
152
with tine sections
158
which protrude from the bottom surface
154
of the connector
150
. The tine sections
108
and
158
have compliant portions that possess springiness and that engage with through-holes in a circuit board
200
. The tine sections
108
and
158
are fastened to the circuit board
200
by press-fitting, so that the connectors
100
and
150
are fastened to the circuit board
200
. As a result, the opening
112
in the end portion
110
of the connector
100
is covered by the housing
156
of the connector
150
, so that the terminals
106
are protected from external forces, and from invasion by outside dust.
FIG. 7
is an end view of the connector
100
alone, as seen from the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG.
6
. It is seen from this end view that the housing
102
is open at the top and at both ends, i.e., in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page. A plug housing is inserted into the recessed portion
116
of housing
102
, and the respective terminals are electrically connected to each other.
When the connector
100
is in an unattached state prior to being attached to the circuit board
200
, there is a considerable possibility that the contact sections
106
a
of the terminals
106
will be subjected to external forces or contamination by dust, etc. However, in the case of a conventional system, deformation or contamination of the contact sections
106
a
cannot be prevented.
The connector
150
can be electrically connected with a plug connector; however, there are cases in which this is not necessary, and the use of such a connector
150
results in an increase in the number of parts.
Furthermore, as is shown by another similar conventional example illustrated in
FIG. 8
, a so-called “mid-plane” mounting configuration may be adopted in which the tine sections
108
′ of the terminals
106
′ of a connector
100
′ pass through a circuit board
200
and protrude a considerable distance beyond circuit board
200
, and a shroud
130
is fit over protruding tine sections
108
′ and fastened in place from the opposite side of the circuit board
200
. In this case, however, connectors
150
used as covers cannot be installed in the same positions on the end portions of the connector
100
′ and shroud
130
. The reason for this is that the through-holes of the circuit board
200
into which the connectors
150
are inserted cannot be used in common by both connectors
150
, and in cases where these through-holes are not used in common, the spacing of the through-holes is excessively small so that strength cannot be maintained.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of the above points, a feature of the present invention is to provide a connector terminal protective cover that is attached in a freely detachable manner to an end portion of a housing, and that constantly protects the terminals even prior to the attachment of the connector to a circuit board.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a connector terminal protective cover which has a simple structure, and which is inexpensive.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a connector terminal protective cover that can also be used in mid-plane mounting situations.
The connector terminal protective cover of the present invention is attached in a detachable manner to the open end portion of a connector having a housing that is substantially U-shaped in cross section, and has a covering surface that covers the end portion.
A connector terminal protective cover for latchable engagement to a connector housing of a connector comprises a cover section, arms extending outwardly from edges of the cover section and being substantially normal thereto. The protective cover is latchable to an open end portion of the connector housing (
102
) such that the cover section extends along the open end portion and the arms extend along side walls of the housing. The arms include latching members for engaging grooves on the housing to latch the protective cover onto the housing to prevent the attached cover from being laterally removed from the housing. The arms further include projections for engaging recessed grooves on the housing to prevent the attached cover from being moved upwardly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1
is a top plan view that shows a terminal protective cover of the present invention attached to an end portion of a connector.
FIG. 2
is a top plan view of the terminal protective cover of the present invention.
FIG. 3
is front view of the cover shown in FIG.
2
.
FIG. 4
is a cross-sectional view of the cover shown in
FIG. 3
taken along lone
4
—
4
in FIG.
3
.
FIG. 5
is a rear view of the cover shown in FIG.
3
.
FIG. 6
is a front view of a conventional connector.
FIG. 7
is an end view of the connector shown in FIG.
6
.
FIG. 8
is a cross-sectional view that shows another similar conventional connector attached to a circuit board.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4914265 (1990-04-01), Mongneau
patent: 5026295 (1991-06-01), Fong et al.
patent: 5161996 (1992-11-01), Locati
patent: 0 036 770 A2 (1981-09-01), None
patent: 0 747 998 A2 (1996-12-01), None
Duverne J. F.
Sircus Brian
The Whitaker Corporation
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