Electrical connectors – Self aligning contact – Contact mounted in floating nonconductive holder
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-26
2004-06-22
Dinkins, Anthony (Department: 2831)
Electrical connectors
Self aligning contact
Contact mounted in floating nonconductive holder
C439S549000, C439S555000, C439S557000, C439S569000, C439S282000, C439S296000, C439S345000, C439S377000, C439S575000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06752642
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a connector with retainer members to be attached to a panel, particularly to an improvement of retainer members, a connector with the improved retainer members, a method of attaching the connector to a panel, and a method of coupling the connector with the panel attached by the method of attachment with a connector fixedly attached to another panel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electronic circuits constituting most electronic equipment are mounted on a printed panel or the like and divided into a plurality of units, and the respective units are coupled with one another by connecters for attachment to a panel and electrically connected thereto. A large connector has been generally used as the connector of this type for attachment to a panel, and most of the connectors are screwed in the foregoing panel or in a panel such as a chassis of an equipment, or the like by screws. However, as electronic equipment has been recently making a progress in miniaturization, the number of electronic components is reduced and assembly work of equipment is made more efficient so that a panel unit has been downsized, and a removable connector which can be coupled with these panels through one-touch operation has been used.
Meanwhile, when the connectors with panels are coupled with each other, there was a case where these connectors with panels are not smoothly coupled with each other due to occurrence of positional slight displacement between the connectors because of error in designing or manufacturing or error in attachment of the connectors to the panels or the like. When both the connectors are forced to be coupled with each other while the positional displacement still occurs, an excessive stress is applied to legs of contacts of the connectors, which causes a problem in that the contacts are removed from housings or the contacts are subject to permanent deformation or breakage trouble. There are provided various proposals for previously preventing such a permanent deformation, breakage trouble of the contact or the like.
There is known a method of coupling connectors fitted in panels with each other by screws which is, for example, disclosed in FIGS.
7
(A) to
7
(D). FIG.
7
(A) is a plan view of a receptacle-type connector, FIG.
7
(B) is a sectional view showing a state where the connector shown in FIG.
7
(A) is screwed at one end by a screw, FIG.
7
(C) is a plug-type connector, and FIG.
7
(D) a sectional view showing a state where the connector shown in FIG.
7
(C) is screwed at one end by a screw.
Connectors
100
,
200
are structured such that a pair of flanges
102
a
,
102
b
;
202
a
,
202
b
formed respectively in housing propers
101
,
201
are fixedly attached to panels
110
,
210
by bolts
120
a
,
120
b
;
220
a
,
220
b.
The receptacle-type connector
100
is structured such that diameters of attachment ports
103
a
,
103
b
provided in the flanges
102
a
,
102
b
are set to be substantially the same as diameters of the screw parts
122
a
,
122
b
of the bolts
120
a
,
120
b
, and the bolts
120
a
,
120
b
are inserted into the attachment ports
103
a
,
103
b
so that the bolts
120
a
,
120
b
are screwed in female screws
111
a
,
111
b
which are bored in the panel
110
or by nuts (not shown), and hence the receptacle-type connector
100
is fixedly attached to the panel
110
. FIG.
7
(B) shows a state where one flange
102
b
is attached to the panel
110
by the bolt
120
b
. The other flange
102
a
is attached to the panel
110
by the bolt
120
a
in the same state as shown in FIG.
7
(B).
The other plug-type connector
200
is structured such that diameters of attachment ports
203
a
,
203
b
provided in the flanges
202
a
,
202
b
are set to be slightly larger than diameters of the screw parts
222
a
,
222
b
of the bolts
220
a
,
220
b
but smaller than diameters of heads
221
a
,
221
b
, of the bolts
220
a
,
220
b
. The bolts
220
a
,
220
b
are inserted into the attachment ports
203
a
,
203
b
, so that the bolts
220
a
,
220
b
are screwed in female screws which are bored in the panel
210
or by nuts (not shown) in the same manner as the above mentioned attachment method, and hence the plug-type connector
200
is fixedly attached to the panel
210
. Stepped screws are normally used as the bolts, and a predetermined gap is defined between shanks of the bolts and the panel in a state where the bolts are attached to the panel, wherein a part of the flange
202
b
is movable in the gap. This state is shown in FIG.
7
(D). The other screw
220
a
is attached to the panel
210
in the same state as shown in FIG.
7
(D).
In cases where the connectors
100
,
200
attached to the panels
110
,
210
are coupled with each other with this attachment method, if there occurs positional displacement by a distance d therebetween, each part of the flanges of the connector
200
is moved in the attachment ports
203
a
,
203
b
, thereby adjusting the positional displacement. According to the adjustment method of positional displacement, if the positional displacement occurs, the adjustment is made by loosening screws every time the positional displacement occurs, causing a very trouble adjusting operation.
On the other hand, the method of coupling connectors with detachable retainer members with a panel is, for example, proposed by JP-A 10-189181, 6-163125 which are known.
FIG. 8
shows a panel versus panel type connector system disclosed in JP-A 10-189181, and it is a sectional view showing a state where a respective connectors are coupled with each other.
The panel versus panel type connector system comprises a first connector
300
and a second connector
400
fitted in a pair of panels
310
,
410
, respectively, in a stacked state, wherein contacts fitted to both the first connector and the second connector are connected to terminals of electronic components (not shown), respectively, on the respective panel surfaces by solder. The first connector
300
comprises housings
300
a
,
300
b
having recessed part
302
for receiving the second connector
400
, and a contact
301
fixedly attached to the housing
300
whereas the contact
301
comprises a barrel part
301
a
for contacting a contact of the second connector
400
and a leg part
301
b
extending outwards at the bottom side of the housing
300
. The housing
300
is divided into two parts, i.e., the housings
300
a
,
300
b
, and a slit
304
is defined between the both housings
300
a
,
300
b
, wherein both the housings
300
a
,
300
b
are coupled with each other by the barrel part
301
a
and a bridge part (not shown) of the contact.
When the first and second connectors
300
and
400
are coupled with each other, the barrel part
301
a
of the contact is caused to undergo flexure at the slit
304
in all directions without being restricted by the housing
300
b
because the housings
300
a
,
300
b
are coupled with each other by the barrel part
301
a
and the bridge part by way of the slit
304
. As a result, the housing
300
a
located at a side of the opening of the recessed part
302
can be deformed relative to the housing
300
b
located at a side of the panel in a rotating direction and another direction in plane parallel with the panel, thereby improving a following function.
A connector disclosed in the JP-A 6-163125 and shown in
FIG. 9
comprises a housing
500
having a plurality of insertion holes
510
which are provided by boring the housing
500
through which posts
505
are inserted, a contact
520
formed of contact spring pieces
520
a
which are pressed into the insertion holes
510
through the lower face of the housing
500
and fixedly attached thereto, an inverted U-shaped spring pieces
520
b
of the contact continuously connected to the lower end of the contact spring pieces at one end and disposed outside the housing, and terminals
520
c
continuously connected to the other end of the inverted U-shaped spring pieces
520
b
and fixedly attached to a print panel by solder, and metal fittings fixedly att
Hamada Yusuke
Masaki Katsuyuki
Ushiro Yutaka
Armstrong Kratz Quintos Hanson & Brooks, LLP
Harris Anton
J.S.T. Mfg. Co. Ltd.
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