Patent Application
20110111643
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio connector, and particularly to an audio connector having a better performance for holding a mating plug for a long-term use.
2. The Related Art
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an audio connector is capable of improving the connection stability with a mating audio plug. The audio connector has an insulating housing having a body. The body has a passageway for receiving the audio plug, and a plurality of installing holes of column shape. Each of the installing holes extends along a direction substantially perpendicular to an extending direction of the passageway, with one end thereof intercommunicating with the passageway, and the other end thereof reaching an outer surface of the body. A plurality of probe assemblies is respectively mounted to the installing holes. Each of the probe assemblies has a hollow barrel, a plunger slidably mounted to the barrel and exposing from one end of the barrel, and an elastic element received in the barrel for supporting the plunger. The other end of the barrel is extended opposite to the plunger to form a soldering portion exposing outside the insulating housing. The plungers project into the passageway resiliently for holding and contacting the inserted audio plug.
As described above, the audio connector has the probe assemblies, serving as contacts, replacing the conventional contacts which are formed by punching and bending a metal strip. In use, the plungers are pressed by the audio plug to elastically compress the corresponding elastic elements. On the contrary, the elastic forces stored in the compressed elastic elements support the plungers for holding the audio plug. Since the resilience of the elastic element is strong and permanent, the probe assemblies will be better to hold the inserted audio plug and capable of guaranteeing the stable connection between the audio connector and the audio plug in the long-term use.
The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and first to
With reference to
The plunger 322 of cylindrical shape includes a basic portion 3221 and a contact portion 3222 extending outwards from one end of the basic portion 3221. The basic portion 3221 is restrained in the chamber 3216 of the barrel 321, where the other end of the basic portion 3221 has a positioning hole 3223 for receiving the other end of the elastic element 323. In addition, the other end of the basic portion, also, could be formed with an inclining surface for deflecting the plunger in use, or protruded opposite to the contact portion to form a positioning rod which is inserted into the other end of the elastic element. The contact portion 3222 extends out of the barrel 321 through the open end 3213 of the barrel 321. When the plunger 322 is mounted to the barrel 321, the open end 3213 is bent inwards to form a blocking shoulder 3214 blocking the basic portion 3221 for preventing the plunger 322 from departing from the barrel 321. The elastic element 323 is disposed in the chamber 3216 of the barrel 321, for supporting the plunger 322. Herein, the elastic element 323 is a spring.
Please refer to
It should be noted that the outer peripheral dimension of the probe assemblies can be changed for meeting different demands and should not be limited. In this embodiment, there are five probe assemblies, two of which are thinner than others. In addition, the installing positions of the probe assemblies can also be changed and not be limited as mentioned above, for being convenient to manufacture and assemble.
As described above, the audio connector 30 has the probe assemblies 32, serving as contacts, replacing the conventional contacts which are formed by punching and bending a metal strip. In use, the plungers 322 are pressed by the audio terminal 41 of the plug 40 to elastically compress the corresponding springs 323. On the contrary, the elastic forces stored in the compressed springs 323 support the plungers 322 for holding the audio terminal 41. Since the resilience of the spring 323 is strong and permanent, the probe assemblies 32, as the contacts, are better to hold the inserted audio terminal 41 and capable of guaranteeing the stable connection between the audio connector 30 and the plug 40 in the long-term use.
The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to those skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
