Filtered electrical connector with ferrite member and coil

Details Filtered electrical connector with ferrite member and coil Filtered electrical connector with ferrite member and coil

2000-05-30

2003-04-15

Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

With circuit component or comprising connector which fully...

Termination circuit

C336S100000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06547596

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to filtered electrical connectors providing EMI protection.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,220 discloses a filter connector with a ferrite barrel for two electrical contacts. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,910 and corresponding European Patent Application No. EP 0 512 682 disclose a connector including a ferrite bead having two holes in spaced relation with an electric terminal disposed in each hole for making electrical contact with an associated one of the protruding pins of a pin type electric squib. This connector may be an angled connector. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,522 discloses a filtered connector with a multipiece ferrite block. A problem with these types of ferrite blocks or beads is that they must be made of electrically non-conductive ferrite oxide to prevent short-circuiting of the contacts and, therefore, cannot filter lower frequencies (about 1-150 MHz) without increasing length of the ferrite block and thereby increasing the size of the connector. For a filtered connector intended to be used in a small space, such as an air bag connector, increasing the size of the connector is not desired. If an electrically conductive ferrite oxide material needed to be used for lower frequency attenuation, such as about 1-150 MHz, electrical insulators would need to be added between the contacts and the ferrite block.
DE 43 10 369 discloses an angled air bag connector including an RF coil for EMI filtering. A connector of this type is illustrated in
FIGS. 8 and 9
of the drawings. The connector
100
is an angled connector including a main portion
101
comprising conductor terminals
102
,
103
for connecting respective input conductors or lead wires
104
,
105
, and a contact portion
106
comprising connector terminals
107
,
108
for receiving contact pins of a mating connector of the air bag assembly (not shown). The RF coil
109
is connected in a series circuit with one of the input conductors or lead wires
104
to one of the connector terminals
108
. The RF coil
109
may be wrapped around a cylindrical ferrite body
110
. The RF coil
109
is disposed in a transverse direction with respect to the connector terminals
107
,
108
and conductor terminals
102
,
103
adjacent to the 90° bend of the angled connector. In this way, the main portion
101
of the connector extends beyond the contact portion
106
forming a coil portion
111
so that the connector may be considered as being generally T-shaped. Thus, the RF coil, and the ferrite body, if any, increase the size of the connector in longitudinal direction.
Moreover, prior art air bag connectors comprise two locking latches on opposite sides of the connector so as to lock the connector to the socket provided on the igniter of the air bag module. Having the locking latches provided on the sides of the connector inhibits close side-by-side packaging of two or more connectors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an EMI filter connector device comprising a first contact element, a tubular ferrite bead surrounding said first contact element, and a coil wound around said ferrite bead. Preferably, the coil has a first coil terminal and a second coil terminal, and said connector device further comprises a first conductor connecting portion, wherein one of said first and second coil terminals is connected to said first contact element, and wherein the other of said first and second coil terminals is connected to said first conductor connecting portion.
Preferably, the connector comprises a second contact element and a second conductor connecting portion wherein said second contact element is connected to said second conductor connecting portion. In a preferred embodiment said first and second contact elements are female contacts.
It is preferred that the connector of the present invention comprises a housing having a main portion and a contact portion, said contact portion being adapted to be inserted into an associated socket and extending at about 90° with respect to said main portion so as to provide an angled connector wherein said contact elements, said ferrite bead, and said coil are disposed in said contact portion of said housing.
The new EMI filtering connector of the present invention provides connector miniaturization with improved performance over an extended frequency range as compared to coil only.
The design of the present invention compiles EMI protection of two formerly separated filtering devices (coil and ferrite beads) in one optimal packaging. It consists of a coil wound around a cylindrical tubular ferrite bead and welded at one end to the terminal receptacle fed through the ferrite bead. The signal is routed through the coil and then through the ferrite bead providing added filtering effect. The design provides further performance improvement and significant reduction of the packaging size. The filtering system of the present invention comprising one coil and ferrite bead EMI protective device has a superior performance and efficiency in the 100 to 300 MHz range and at least 20 dB attenuation over a frequency range from 1 MHz to 1.5 GHz with appropriate selection of the ferrite material. Performance can be tailored by adding more filtering devices par circuit (combinations of coil and ferrite bead filtering units and ferrite bead filtering units).
This design provides minimum packaging size for required electrical and mechanical performance. The filter consisting of a coil and a ferrite bead is packaged in the contact portion (or nozzle area) of the connector, eliminating the necessity of packaging space in the connector housing.
According to another aspect of the invention, a connector device comprises a housing having a main portion and a contact portion, said contact portion being adapted to be inserted into an associated socket and extending at about 90° with respect to said main portion so as to provide an angled connector wherein said main portion of said connector has a rear end where conductors are fed into the connector and a front end near said contact portion, wherein a single locking means is provided at the front end of main portion.
According to still another aspect of the invention, an EMI filter connector device comprises a housing having a main portion and a contact portion, said contact portion being adapted to be inserted into an associated socket and extending at about 90° with respect to said main portion so as to provide an angled connector, first and second contact elements disposed in said contact portion of said housing, a tubular ferrite bead disposed in said contact portion and surrounding said first contact element, a coil wound around said ferrite bead and having a first coil terminal and a second coil terminal, and first and second conductor connecting portions disposed in said main portion of said housing, wherein one of said first and second coil terminals is connected to said first contact element, and wherein the other of said first and second coil terminals is connected to said first conductor connecting portion, wherein said second contact element is connected to said second conductor connecting portion, wherein said main portion of said connector has a rear end where conductors are fed into the connector and a front end near said contact portion, wherein a single locking means is provided at the front end of main portion. Preferably, said single locking means is a locking hook.
Providing only one locking hook or locking leg improves side-to-side packaging performance for serviceable connectors and provides more reliable locking. The housing (nozzle) is premolded and the filter and terminal/wire assembly is preassembled. Low pressure over-molding is used to enclose the components in the housing. Side-to-side packaging is an important point e.g. for dual stage air bag systems.
The present invention provides a miniaturized connector that is about three times smaller

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