Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Plural-contact coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-05
2004-01-06
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Plural-contact coupling part
C439S744000, C439S871000, C439S296000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672908
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate connector allowing mating terminals to be inserted into terminal accommodating chambers from a side or the other side of a housing main body thereof and a terminal for use in the same substrate connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in
FIGS. 1A-5C
, a related substrate connector comprises a housing main body
5
which is fixed on a substrate
1
and has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers
3
, terminals
7
accommodated in the plural terminal accommodating chambers
3
and a spacer member
9
which holds these terminals
7
in the housing main body
5
. The housing main body
5
has insertion openings
11
provided on one side thereof for allowing plural mating terminals to be inserted into each of the terminal accommodating chambers
3
, and an installation opening
13
provided on the other side for allowing plural terminals
7
to be installed in the plural terminal accommodating chambers
3
. The housing main body
5
has a guide slope
14
provided on an opening edge of the insertion opening
11
for guiding insertion of a mating terminal into the terminal accommodating chamber
3
.
The terminal
7
is formed on the one side and accommodated in each terminal accommodating chamber
3
of the housing main body
5
and comprises a contact portion
15
coming into contact with a mating terminal
15
and a soldering fixing portion
17
, which is formed on the other side, introduced out of the installation opening
13
in the housing main body
5
and fixed on the substrate
1
.
The spacer member
9
is installed in the installation opening
13
of the housing main body
5
and comprises a retaining portion
21
which is in contact with the contact portion
15
of each of the plural terminals
7
for holding the contact portion
15
in each terminal accommodating chamber
3
and introduction opening
23
for introducing a soldering fixing portion
17
of each of the plural terminals
7
out of the housing main body
5
.
When connecting the plural mating terminals to the plural terminals
7
in such a substrate connector
25
, the mating terminals are inserted into the plural terminal accommodating chambers
3
through the insertion opening
11
of the housing main body
5
. If an interval between adjacent ones of the plural mating terminals and plural insertion openings deflects, the front end of each thereof slides on a guide slope
11
and is introduced into the terminal accommodating chamber
3
. As a result, the plural mating terminals of the substrate connector
25
are inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers
3
securely, so that they come into contact with the contact portions
15
of the plural terminals
7
.
In this case, the substrate connector
25
guides the mating terminals into the terminal accommodating chambers
3
through the guide slope
14
having an inclination angle and size corresponding to an interval between adjacent ones of the mating terminals. Consequently, deflection of the interval between the adjacent one of the mating terminals with respect to the terminal accommodating chambers
3
is absorbed. For the reason, in order to match plural kinds of the mating terminals different in the interval between adjacent terminals with the substrate connector
25
, it is relatedly necessary to prepare plural kinds of the substrate connectors
25
different in the inclination angle and size of the guide slope
14
corresponding to the specification of the mating terminals. As a result, the substrate connector
25
induces a high cost and inconvenience in part management.
Thus, a substrate connector
27
shown in
FIGS. 6
,
7
is employed. The substrate connector
27
is fixed to a substrate
30
having a through hole
29
and comprises a housing main body
33
having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers
31
, a plurality of terminals
35
accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers
31
and a spacer member
39
allowing a plurality of mating terminals
54
to be inserted from the other side of the housing main body
33
into each terminal accommodating chamber
31
. The housing main body
33
has an insertion opening
41
provided on one side for allowing the mating terminals
37
to be inserted from the one side of the housing main body
33
into each of the plural terminal accommodating chambers
31
and an installation opening
43
provided on the other side for installing the plural terminals
35
into the terminal accommodating chambers
31
.
The insertion opening
41
has a guide slope
45
provided on an opening edge for guiding the mating terminal into the terminal accommodating chamber
31
. The installation opening
43
is disposed over a through hole
29
in the substrate
1
when the housing main body
33
is fixed on the substrate
30
.
The terminals
35
are formed on the one side and accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers
31
in the housing main body
33
. The terminal
35
comprises a contact portion
47
which comes into contact with mating terminals
37
,
54
and a soldering fixing portion
49
which is formed on the other side, introduced out of the installation opening
43
of the housing main body
33
and soldered on the substrate
30
.
The spacer
39
is installed on the other side of the housing main body
33
so as to close the installation opening
43
in the housing main body
33
. The spacer member
39
comprises a spacer main body
53
, which is in contact with the contact portion
47
of the terminal
35
for holding the contact portion
47
in each of the plural terminal accommodating chambers
31
, a spacer side insertion opening
55
, which is provided in this spacer main body
53
and communicates the through hole
29
in the substrate
30
to the installation opening
43
of the housing main body
33
for allowing the plural mating terminals
54
to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers
31
from the other side and an introduction opening
57
for introducing the soldering fixing portions
49
of the plural terminals
35
out of the housing main body
33
.
A guide slope
59
for guiding a mating terminal
54
into the terminal accommodating chamber
31
is provided on an opening edge of the insertion opening
41
in the spacer member
39
. This guide slope
59
is different from the guide slope
45
in the housing main body
33
in inclination angle and size.
If it is intended to connect the terminals
35
to the mating terminals of an electric connecting box
60
by means of such a substrate connector
27
, the substrate
30
is accommodated in an accommodating space of the electric connecting box
60
from the one side of the housing main body
33
. At this time, by matching the plural insertion openings
41
in the substrate connector
27
with the mating terminals
37
of the electric connecting box
60
, the mating terminals
37
are inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber
31
(see FIG.
7
).
At this time, if intervals between adjacent ones of the plural mating terminals
37
and the insertion openings
41
deflect, front ends of the mating terminals
37
slide on the guide slope
45
of the housing main body
33
so that they are guided into the terminal accommodating chambers
31
. As a result, the substrate connector
27
allows the mating terminals
37
to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers
31
from the one side of the housing main body
33
securely, so that the contact portions
47
of the terminals
35
come into contact with the mating terminals
37
.
If it is intended to connect the mating terminals
37
to mating terminals
54
of an electric connecting box
61
which cannot be inserted from one side of the housing main body
33
because the interval between adjacent terminals is different from that of the former, the substrate
30
is accommodated in an accommodating space of the electric connecting box
61
from the other side of the housing main body
33
. At this time, by matching the plural mating
Okabe Toshiaki
Yamashita Tetsuya
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Harvey James R.
Ta Tho D.
Yazaki -Corporation
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