Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Electrical device making
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-15
2001-05-29
Huson, Gregory L. (Department: 3729)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Electrical device making
C029S874000, C029S876000, C029S884000, C439S083000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237220
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing plug-in connectors. Plug-in connectors are known in various embodiments and are used for electrically connecting individual components of electric/electronic devices. They consist of one-part or two-part plug and socket strips having an insulating member which separates contact elements providing a certain number of poles and arranged in a grid from one another. The insulating member receiving the contact elements can be a unitary part of a housing or a separate component. The housing provides protection against outer mechanical loading and is, in general, provided with a guide contour that allows centering while avoiding an incorrect attachment of the corresponding housing bottom or top part. The assembly of the housing top part and bottom part is achieved by a detachable quick connection which can be, for example, a plug-in connection.
For producing such plug-in connectors, it is known to produce the insulating member, respectively, the housing parts as injection-molded individual plastic parts into which individual or strip-shaped contact elements are placed. Such a method is, for example, known from European Patent application 0 753 901 A2. A disadvantage of this method is the cost-intensive and inflexible manufacture resulting, on the one hand, from the high investment capital for the manufacturing machines, and, on the other hand, from the long retooling times. For example, for each desired number of contacts/poles a suitable injection molding tool is required so that a cost-intensive number of such tools must be stocked which is even larger when taking into consideration the different types of grid arrangements. Furthermore, for each desired change of the contact number or the grid arrangement, an expensive retooling of the machining stations arranged downstream is required so that the prior art process is not suitable for a fast and easy manufacture of different plug-in connectors, but instead requires complicated and difficult manufacturing steps.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing plug-in connectors of the aforementioned kind which, while avoiding the aforementioned disadvantages, allow for a simple and inexpensive as well as flexible manufacture of complex plug-in connectors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is inventively solved by a method that can be divided into three distinct parts. In a first part a profiled member is extruded in a continuous shape of a moldable plastic molding material whereby the profile corresponds to the required geometry of the plug-in connector and the resulting extruded profiled members are then stored in large quantities (in-process stock). In a second method part, the profiled member is then provided with cutouts in areas where such cutouts cannot be produced by the extrusion process, and, before being stored (in-process stock) again, the profiled member is provided with electrically conducting contacts. In a third part of the method, the profiled member is cut to length so as to have a desired number of electrical contacts or poles and is also provided with a guide contour.
With such a method different types of plug-in connectors can be produced in a substantially simplified and more flexible manner. This simplification is made possible by carrying out the shaping in two separate processes, i.e., extrusion, on the one hand, and providing the extruded profiled member with cutouts, for example, for receiving the contacts. This allows for an extrusion of the profiled member independent of the grid arrangement and independent of the number of contacts in a first process sequence so that the expensive arsenal of different extrusion tools can be considerably reduced. In this manner, all different variants of a plug-in connection system, for example, pin, IDC, crimp, edge, card, cutting clamping, soldering or foil connectors can be produced economically. A further contribution to the inventive simplification is that the profiled members are extruded as endless profiled members which are cut to length in the last process sequence according to desired number of poles and then provided with a guide contour matching the selected number of poles, so that a cost-intensive machining of loose, individual parts is eliminated. By employing an extrusion tool instead of the otherwise conventional injection-molding tools to produce individual connectors, an efficient material use is provided because the material consumption for molding distributors or similar means is reduced.
A special advantage is that the profiled member in the first part of the inventive method (first process sequence) is provided with a film joint or a rated break line so that in this manner the profiled member has two parts that are pivotable or foldable relative to one another. In a subsequent step the two parts are provided at their free ends with catch elements that are embodied as a unitary part of the two parts. These catch elements are used to secure the two parts at one another. Advantageously, the pivoting action of one part of the profiled member about a predetermined angle, for example, 90°, allows producing contours in areas which are otherwise inaccessible for the extrusion process as well as for the cutting process with which the cutouts are produced.
It is furthermore advantageous that in the second part of the method the chambers for receiving the contact elements, which are arranged in a grid arrangement, are stamped into the profiled members so that the same profiled member can be provided with different types of grids. The stamping action will also compensate shrinkage resulting from the extrusion process and thus will provide high precision with regard to positioning of the contact elements.
According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, in the second part of the method cutouts for a cable guide are stamped/cut into the profiled member so that the cables connected to the plug-in connectors can be guided as desired away from the plug-in connector. Accordingly, a cable position of 90° to 180° to the plane of one of the fastening surfaces, for example, the printed circuit board, can be realized. Expediently, the cutouts for the cable guide are embodied such that a strain relief for the cables will result. For this purpose, the cutouts can be provided with constrictions that allow clamping of the cables.
It is furthermore expedient to cut to length the profiled member in the last part of the method by a cutting process and to provide the guide contour by a cutting process. For this purpose, especially laser cutting devices and water jet cutting devices, saws as well as stamping devices have been used advantageously.
In order to provide a simple color coding of the plug-in connection, according to a further advantageous feature of the invention a multi-color extrusion process is carried out. Advantageously, in the last part of the method multiple such profiled members are connected to one another so that in the same process complex plug-in connector geometries can be realized in a simple manner. It is suggested in this context to connect the different profiled members, depending on the respective specifications, by ultrasound welding, adhesives, catch connections etc. in order to provide detachable or non-detachable connections.
In order to provide for a proper storage, according to another advantageous embodiment of the invention the profiled member is stored in the form of a wound coil or bundles of cut-to-length rods. This is especially advantageous for process with just-in-time sequence, resulting in cost savings with regard to storing and thus a reduced capital expenditure. Finally, it is suggested that after the second and/or last part of the method a quality control is to be performed which, for example, detects the presence or absence of contact elements and marks detected flaw locations as well as removes components having such flaws.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3835444 (1974-09-01),
Apel Ulrich
Klatt Dieter
Koch Manfred
Huson Gregory L.
Robert W. Becker & Associates
Stocko Metallwarenfabriken Henkels und Sohn GmbH & Co.
Trinh Minh
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