Electrical adapter

Details Electrical adapter Electrical adapter

2003-03-10

2004-07-06

Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

With insulation other than conductor sheath

Plural-contact coupling part

Reexamination Certificate

active

06758697

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical adapter, and particularly to an electrical adapter for joining connectors of different types.
2. Description of Related Art
The design of an electronic device, e.g., a personal computer is repeatedly upgraded with an issuance of each new industrial signal transmission interface standard. Some electrical components such as electrical connectors must accordingly be developed to conform to the new interface standard. Electrical connectors according to different interface standards are generally featured in different configurations and have different numbers of electrical contacts therein. Understandably, such different interface standard connectors cannot mate directly. Many electrical adapters, thereby, are developed to interconnect these different interface standard connectors.
In recent days, an electrical connector known as a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (Serial ATA) connector according to the newly developed Serial ATA standard is developed to be generally used for connecting storage peripheral devices such as hard disk drives with a mother printed circuit board so as to achieve signal or power transmission therebetween. It should be noted that the Serial ATA power connectors have a larger number of power contacts than other conventional power connectors used in Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) and are relatively different in configurations. Correspondingly, the present problem people in the art confronts, is that the storage peripheral device using the Serial ATA power connector may be required to connect with the existing mother printed circuit board which originally uses the conventional IDE power connector to connect with the storage peripheral device. Obviously, it is inconvenient and expensive to wholly replace the system, which adds cost.
On the other hand, two separate connectors are generally provided to respectively perform the signal and power transmission between the storage peripheral device and the mother printed circuit board. However, forming the two separate connectors is expensive and inconvenient compared to the formation of a unitary member which can perform the functions of signal and power transmission.
Hence, an electrical adapter electrically interconnecting with connectors of different type so as to perform the functions of signal and power transmission is highly desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical adapter for electrically interconnecting connectors of different type so as to perform the functions of signal and power transmission.
In order to achieve the object set forth, an electrical adapter in accordance with the present invention comprises a first connector including a first housing defining a first and a second mating ports and a plurality, of first and second contacts respectively received in the first and second mating ports, a second connector back to back assembled to the first housing, a third connector including a third housing back to back assembled to the first housing and a plurality of third contacts retained in the third housing, and a printed circuit board disposed between the first housing and the third housing. Each first contact includes a first engaging portion received in the first housing and an opposite second engaging portion received in the second connector. The second contacts are electrically with the third contacts via the printed circuit board.


REFERENCES:
patent: D412700 (1999-08-01), Gardner et al.
patent: 6319066 (2001-11-01), Kuo
patent: 6343957 (2002-02-01), Kuo et al.
patent: 6379189 (2002-04-01), Sakai et al.
patent: 6428330 (2002-08-01), Poulter et al.
patent: 6439916 (2002-08-01), Kuo

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