Cable connector and contacts for cable connector

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6325681
  • Patent Number
    6,325,681
  • Date Filed
    Monday, August 14, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 4, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
An electrical cable connector comprises a plurality of female contacts 20 and a plurality of cables 50. The female contacts 20 are aligned and retained in a row extending in a right and left direction in an insulative housing 10, and one end of each cable is connected to a corresponding female contact in the insulative housing 10. Each of the female contacts comprises a base portion 21, which is fixed in the insulative housing 10 and to which the core wire of a corresponding cable 50 is connected, and a resilient arm portion 25, which is continuous from the base portion 21 and extends along the base portion 21 with a predetermined distance therebetween. When this connector is engaged with a matable connector, each female contact receives and holds a corresponding male contact of the matable connector in a space between the base portion 21 and the resilient arm portion 25, thus establishing the electrical connection of the female and male contacts.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to an electrical cable connector which includes a plurality of electrical contacts aligned in a row extending in a right and left direction in an electrically insulative housing and a plurality of cables connected to and extending from the contacts through the insulative housing outward. The present invention also relates to electrical contacts which can be used in such cable connectors.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION





FIG. 12

shows a prior-art cable connector. This cable connector


90


includes a plurality of female contacts


93


, each of which is shaped like a tuning fork, in an electrically insulative housing


91


. The female contacts


93


are press-fit into the housing


91


, with the longitudinally central portion


93




d


(referred to as “fixed portion”) of each female contact being retained and fixed in the housing


91


, and in a crimping portion


93




c


which is provided at the rear end (or leg portion) of each female contact, the core wire


95




a


of a corresponding shielded cable


95


is crimped. In this condition, the shielded cables


95


extend outward through a cover


92


, which is provided at the rear of the housing


91


. The forwardly extending fork portion of each female contact


93


comprises a pair of resilient arms


93




a


and


93




b


, which can undergo outward elastic deformation in the space provided between the outer edges of the resilient arms


93




a


and


93




b


and the internal walls of the housing


91


.




Another connector


96


, which is matable with this cable connector


90


, comprises a plurality of male contacts


98


aligned in a row in an electrically insulative housing


97


as shown in the figure. When this matable connector


96


is fitted to the cable connector


90


as shown by arrow A in the figure, the male contacts


98


come through the front opening


91




a


of the cable connector


90


into the internal cavity of the housing


91


, where the female contacts


93


are positioned. In this insertion, each male contact


98


entering the space between the resilient arms


93




a


and


93




b


of a corresponding female contact


93


deforms these arms elastically outwardly, creating resiliency therein, and the resulting resilient forces act to retain the male contact


98


in the female contact


93


firmly for a secure electrical connection.




In this construction of the cable connector, it is important to make the resilient arms


93




a


and


93




b


long enough to acquire a sufficient resiliency for the firm connection of the male and female contacts only from the elastic deformation caused by the insertion of the male contact


98


. In addition, the female contact


93


must include the fixed portion


93




d


, which is used for fixing the female contact


93


to the housing


91


, and the crimping portion


93




c


, which is used for connecting the female contact


93


to the core wire


95




a


of a shielded cable


95


, as mentioned above. As a result, the female contact


93


tends to be lengthened in design and may present a problem of the cable connector


90


being elongated and enlarged in construction.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical cable connector whose resilient arms can receive and retain male contacts firmly and which can be connected to the core wires of cables.




It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical cable connector whose construction is compact with a relatively short longitudinal dimension and a relatively small size.




It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an electrical contact which is used in such cable connectors.




To achieve these objectives, an electrical cable connector according to the present invention comprises a plurality of contacts and a plurality of cables. The contacts are aligned and retained in a row extending in a right and left direction in an electrically insulative housing, and each of the cables is connected at one end thereof to a corresponding contact in the insulative housing and extends out of the insulative housing. Each contact comprises a base portion and a resilient arm portion. The base portion is fixed in the insulative housing and connected to the one end of a corresponding cable, and the resilient arm portion is formed continuously from the base portion and extends along the base portion, keeping a predetermined distance therebetween. When the cable connector is engaged with a matable connector, each contact of the cable connector receives and holds a corresponding contact portion of the matable connector in a space between the base portion and the resilient arm portion, so that the contacts of the cable connector and the matable connector are connected electrically. With this design, in which one end of each of the cables is connected to the base portion of a corresponding contact, the length of the contacts is relatively short. As a result, the cable connector is made relatively small and compact.




It is preferable that the contact be formed in a figure of tuning fork with a short leg portion or without any leg portion. In this case, one prong constitutes the base portion while the other prong constitutes the resilient arm portion. For the connection of one end of each cable to the base portion of a corresponding contact, soldering, crimping or pressure-welding can be applied.




A contact used for an electrical cable connector according to the present invention is formed in a figure of tuning fork with a short leg portion or without any leg portion. In this case, one prong functions as a base portion which is fixed in an electrically insulative housing and at which the contact is connected to one end of a corresponding cable. The other prong functions as a resilient arm portion which is deformable elastically with respect to the base portion. This contact can receive a matable contact in a space between the base portion and the resilient arm portion and hold it by a resiliency generated from the elastic deformation of the resilient arm portion. In this design of the contact, one prong of the fork accommodating the matable contact functions as the base portion, to which a cable is connected. Therefore, the contact is made relatively short and compact.




Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present invention.





FIGS. 1A

,


1


B


1


C, respectively, show a rear view, a plan view and a front view of an electrical cable connector according to the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a side view of the cable connector.





FIG. 3

is a sectional view of the cable connector, taken along line III—III in FIG.


1


A.





FIG. 4

is a sectional view of the cable connector, taken along line IV—IV in FIG.


1


B.





FIG. 5

is a sectional view of the cable connector, taken along line V—V in FIG.


1


B.





FIG. 6A

,

FIG. 6B

,

FIG. 6C

, respectively show a plan view, a front view and a side view of a shield cover, which is a component of the cable connector.





FIG. 7A

,

FIG. 7B

,

FIG. 7C

, respectively, show a plan view, a front view and a side view of a cable assembly, which is a component of the cable connector.





FIG. 8

shows a side view of the cable assembly and an enlarged sectional view of a coaxial cable.





FIG. 9

is a sectional view to describe a process where the cable assembly is mounted in the cable connector.





FIG. 10

is a plan view showing a female contact, which is a component of the cable connector, and a male contact, which is being engaged with this female contact.





FIG. 11

is a perspective view of another female contact.





FIG. 12

is a perspective view of a prior-art cable connector.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS





FIGS. 1 and 2

show an embodiment of electrical cable connector according to the present invention. This cable connector comprises a plurality of female contacts


20


, a housing


10


made of an electrically insulative material, and a shield cover


30


. The female contacts


20


are aligned in a row in the direction of the width of the cable connector (the vertical direction of the drawing in FIG.


1


), and the shield cover


30


is provided to cover the insulative housing


10


. For ease of description, the right side of the drawing shown in

FIG. 1B

is referred to as the front side of the cable connector while the left side of the drawing is referred to as the rear side of the connector. Likewise, the upper side of the drawing shown in

FIG. 1B

is referred to as the left side of the cable connector while the lower side of the drawing is referred to as the right side of the connector. Furthermore, the right side of the drawing shown in

FIG. 1C

is referred to as the lower side of the cable connector while the left side of the drawing is referred to as the upper side of the connector.




To show the internal configuration of the housing


10


, the left half of the shield cover


30


is taken away in

FIG. 1B

though the shield cover


30


covers the insulative housing


10


all the way from the right end of the cable connector to the left end. For the same purpose,

FIG. 1

shows no coaxial cable though the cable connector comprises an assembly of coaxial cables


50


as described below.




As shown in

FIG. 3

, which is a sectional view taken along line III—III in

FIG. 1A

, the insulative housing


10


includes a plurality of contact insertion slots


11


, which are aligned in the direction of the width of the cable connector. Each contact insertion slot


11


has an insertion opening


11




a


which opens forward and through which a corresponding female contact


20


is fitted into and retained in the contact insertion slot


11


. As shown in FIG.


3


and

FIG. 10

, each female contact


20


is formed of a metal plate into an approximate “Y” figure including a base portion


21


, a press-fit portion


23


and a resilient arm portion


25


. Thus, the female contact


20


looks like a tuning fork as a whole with the base portion


21


and the resilient arm portion


25


of the female contact


20


corresponding to the lateral prongs of a tuning fork and the press-fit portion


23


corresponding to the fixed portion of the tuning fork, respectively.




When the female contacts


20


are inserted through the insertion openings


11




a


and into the contact insertion slots


11


of the insulative housing


10


, the base portions


21


and the press-fit portions


23


of the female contacts


20


are press-fit and fixed at the corresponding positions in the insulative housing


10


while the resilient arm portions


25


extend in the contact insertion slots


11


without restriction. Therefore, each resilient arm portion


25


can be deformed elastically in a corresponding contact insertion slot


11


in the direction indicated by arrow A


1


in FIG.


10


. It should be noted that the female contacts


20


are oriented horizontally on a plane one after another in the insulative housing


10


such that the plane of each female contact


20


extends in the direction of the width of the cable connector (this direction is hereinafter referred to as “width direction”) while the thickness of each female contact


20


is in the direction of the height of the cable connector as shown in FIG.


3


.




In the insulative housing


10


, the contact insertion slots


11


are open at the upper rear parts thereof, and a front central groove


16


is provided extending in the width direction at the rear side openings of the contact insertion slots


11


(refer to FIGS.


4


and


5


). Also, behind the openings of the contact insertion slots


11


at the positions which corresponds to the base portions


21


of the female contacts


20


in the direction of the front and rear of the cable connector (hereinafter referred to as “axial direction”), a plurality of front cable support recesses


12


are provided aligned in the width direction and opening upward. Furthermore, behind these recesses


12


, a rear central groove


13


is provided extending in the width direction and opening upward, and behind the rear central groove


13


at the positions which correspond to the front cable support recesses


12


in the axial direction, a plurality of rear cable support recesses


14


are provided aligned in the width direction and opening upward. Moreover, the insulative housing


10


is provided with cover fixing grooves


15


at the lateral rear portions thereof and with a plurality of bores


18


which pass through the housing in the axial direction as shown in the figures.





FIG. 6

shows the shield cover


30


, which is to be mounted on the insulative housing


10


. The shield cover


30


is formed of a metal plate and bent in a “U” figure as shown in

FIG. 6C

, and it comprises an upper covering surface


31


, a lower covering surface


32


and a folded portion


33


. The folded portion


33


includes a plurality of through holes


36


, which are aligned in the width direction. The upper covering surface


31


includes four contact tabs


35


, which are formed by incision and bent to slope downward toward the lower covering surface


32


, and the right and left ends of the upper covering surface


31


extend laterally forming engaging arm portions


34


. Moreover, the rear end of the upper covering surface


31


is folded inward providing a folded portion


31




a


, which improves the rigidity of the shield cover


30


.





FIG. 7

shows a coaxial cable assembly C, whose coaxial cables are to be connected to the female contacts


20


fixed in the insulative housing


10


, respectively. The cable assembly C comprises a plurality of coaxial cables


50


, which are aligned on a plane and are sandwiched between a pair of upper and lower binding plates


55


as shown in the figure.




As shown in

FIG. 8B

, each of the coaxial cables


50


comprises an inner conductor (or core wire)


51


, which is positioned centrally, an inner insulating layer


52


, which surrounds the core wire


51


, a braided outer conductor (or shielding layer)


53


, which surrounds the inner insulating layer


52


, and an outer insulating layer


54


, which covers the shielding layer


53


. The cable assembly C is assembled by stripping the respective layers of each coaxial cable


50


in a stair fashion, by aligning the coaxial cables


50


on a plane, by sandwiching the portions of the coaxial cables


50


where the shielding layers


53


are exposed with the binding plates


55


and by soldering them with a solder


56


. Furthermore, the core wires


51


, which are positioned at the front end of the cable assembly C, are coated with a solder. Moreover, the front ends of the core wires


51


are sandwiched with laminated films


59


to prevent deformation of the core wires


51


for the purpose of maintaining their relative positions intact. Before the cable assembly C is soldered to the plug connector, the front end portions of the core wires


51


are cut away at the position indicated by a chain line Z—Z in

FIG. 7A

, and the portions where the inner insulating layers


52


are exposed are bent in a U or V shape so that the coaxial cables are provided with slacks


52




a


as shown in FIG.


8


A.




Now, in reference to

FIGS. 4 and 5

, a description is given of the assembly of the cable connector, whose components are described above. At first, the female contacts


20


are inserted through the insertion openings


11




a


of the insulative housing


10


and into the contact insertion slots


11


thereof. Upon the insertion, the female contacts


20


are aligned and fixed in the insulative housing


10


as described above. In this condition, the base portions


21


and the press-fit portions


23


of the female contacts


20


are fit and fixed at the corresponding positions in the insulative housing


10


while the resilient arm portions


25


can be deformed elastically in the corresponding contact insertion slots


11


in the direction indicated by arrow A


1


in FIG.


10


.




On the insulative housing


10


in this condition, the cable assembly C is mounted downward from the above as shown in FIG.


9


. In this mounting, the core wires


51


of the coaxial cables


50


are positioned on the base portions


21


of the female contacts


20


, the inner insulating layers


52


of the coaxial cables


50


are positioned in the front cable support recesses


12


of the insulative housing


10


, the binding plates


55


are positioned in the rear central groove


13


of the housing


10


, and the exposed shielding layers


53


and outer insulating layers


54


of the coaxial cables


50


are positioned in the rear cable support recesses


14


of the housing


10


as shown in FIG.


10


. Then, the heating chip


5


of a pulse heater is brought into the front central groove


16


of the insulative housing


10


, and the heating chip


5


is pressed onto the core wires


51


, which are positioned on the base portions


21


of the female contacts


20


, to heat all the core wires


51


together. Because the core wires


51


are pre-coated with a solder, when they are heated by the heating chip


5


, the solder melts and produces a soldered connection between each core wire


51


and the base portion


21


of a corresponding female contact


20


.




Next, the shield cover


30


is mounted on the insulative housing


10


. At first, the opening of the shield cover


30


, whose cross section is a “U” figure, is oriented to face the front of the housing


10


, and then the shield cover


30


is moved rearward to cover the housing


10


. Here, as the shield cover


30


is provided with a plurality of protrusions


32




a


which extend rearward from the rear end of the lower covering surface


32


of the shield cover


30


, when the shield cover


30


is moved to cover the insulative housing


10


, these protrusions


32




a


enter the bores


18


of the housing


10


to fix the shield cover


30


to the housing


10


(refer to FIG.


5


). As a result, the through holes


36


of the shield cover


30


meet the insertion openings


11




a


of the insulative housing


10


, respectively. In this condition, each insertion opening


11




a


is open outward through a corresponding through hole


36


.




In the condition where the shield cover


30


is mounted on the insulative housing


10


, the upper covering surface


31


and lower covering surface


32


of the shield cover


30


cover the upper and lower surface of the housing


10


, respectively, and the folded portion


33


of the shield cover


30


covers the front of the housing. In addition, the engaging arm portions


34


of the shield cover


30


are positioned in the cover fixing grooves


15


of the housing. As each of the engaging arm portions


34


is bent downward, the engaging arm portions


34


cover and fit the cover fixing grooves


15


of the housing


10


and fix the shield cover


30


on the housing


10


. When the shield cover


30


is fixed on the insulative housing


10


, the contact tabs


35


of the upper covering surface


31


of the shield cover


30


come into contact with the binding plates


55


. As a result, the shielding layers


53


of the coaxial cables


50


are electrically connected to the shield cover


30


.




When this cable connector is engaged with a matable connector, the shield cover


30


meets a shielding member of the matable connector, which member is electrically grounded. As a result, the shield cover


30


is electrically grounded and provides a shield effect which prevents any electrical noise from entering the cable connector and vice versa.




While the cable connector is being brought into engagement with the matable connector, the male contacts


80


of the matable connector are inserted through the insertion openings


11




a


of the insulative housing


10


into the contact insertion slots


11


of the housing


10


in the direction indicated by arrow A


2


in

FIGS. 4 and 10

. By the insertion of the male contacts


80


, the resilient arm portion


25


of each female contact


20


is deformed elastically in the direction indicated by arrow A


1


in

FIG. 10

to receive a corresponding male contact


80


in a space between the base portion


21


and the resilient arm portion


25


of the female contact


20


. As a result, the male contacts


80


are bound and fixed between the base portions


21


and the resilient arm portions


25


of the female contacts


20


, respectively, so the male contacts


80


are connected electrically with the female contacts


20


. In this electrical connection, the male contacts


80


extend through the through holes


36


provided at the folded portion


33


of the shield cover


30


, so this arrangement is effective in preventing crosstalk among the male contacts


80


.




As described above, in this cable connector, each of the female contacts


20


is formed in a tuning fork figure, and the press-fit portion


23


, which corresponds to the fixed portion of the tuning fork, is press-fit in the insulative housing


10


. Furthermore, the base portion


21


, which corresponds to one of the two prongs of the tuning fork, is fixed in the insulative housing


10


. Therefore, the core wires


51


of the coaxial cables


50


are soldered securely on the base portions


21


and press-fit portions


23


of the female contacts


20


. With this design, the length of the female contacts


20


in the axial direction is made relatively short, so the length of the cable connector in the axial direction is also reduced comparatively, thereby making the cable connector compact in design.




In the design of the above described female contact


20


, the press-fit portion


23


is provided behind the base portion


21


. This press-fit portion


23


may be shortened even further, or it may be eliminated completely, and only the portion which connects the base portion


21


and the resilient arm portion


25


may be left and press-fit in the insulative housing


10


. In this way, the length of the female contact can be made even shorter.




In the above invention, the core wires


51


of the coaxial cables


50


are soldered on the base portions


21


of the female contacts


20


. However, the base portions


21


may be designed such that the core wires


51


may be crimped with the base portions


21


, respectively. Furthermore, the base portions


21


may be designed for a pressure welding, and the core wires


51


which are still covered with the inner insulating layers


52


may be pressed onto the base portions


21


in the pressure welding to achieve the electrical connections of the core wires and the base portions.





FIG. 12

shows another embodiment of female contact, which is formed by punching and bending a metal plate. This female contact


20


′, which can be used in the cable connector, comprises a base portion


21


′, a press-fit portion


23


′ and a resilient arm portion


25


′. In this case, the front end of the base portion


21


′ is bent to form a contact portion


21




a


′, and the resilient arm portion


25


′ is bent vertically and provided at the front end thereof with a contact portion


21




b


′, which faces the contact portion


21




a′.






The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.




RELATED APPLICATIONS




This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 11-233217 filed on Aug. 19, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference.



Claims
  • 1. An electrical cable connector comprising a plurality of contacts and a plurality of cables, said contacts being aligned and retained in a row extending in a right and left direction in an electrically Insulative housing, and each of said cables being connected at one end thereof to a corresponding contact in said insulative housing and extending out of said insulative housing;wherein: each of said contacts comprises a base portion and a resilient arm portion, said base portion being fixed in said insulative housing, and said resilient arm portion being formed in one body with said base portion and extending along said base portion with a predetermined distance therebetween; said one end of said cable is connected directly to said base portion by mounting directly on said base portion; and when said cable connector is engaged with a matable connector, each of said contacts receives and holds a corresponding contact portion of said matable connector in a space between said base portion and said resilient arm portion, so that the contacts of said cable connector and said matable connector are connected electrically.
  • 2. The electrical cable connector set forth in claim 1, wherein:said one end of each cable is soldered, crimped or pressure-welded on said base portion of a corresponding contact.
  • 3. The electrical cable connector set forth in claim 1, wherein:said contact is formed in a figure of tuning fork with a short leg portion or without any leg portion, one prong constituting said base portion and another prong constituting said resilient arm portion.
  • 4. The electrical cable connector set forth in claim 1, wherein: said contact is formed of a metal plate in an approximate “Y” figure like a tuning fork, comprising said base portion, said resilient arm portion and a press-fit portion, said base portion and said resilient arm portion corresponding to lateral prongs of the tuning fork and said press-fit portion corresponding to a fixed portion of the tuning fork, said one end of said cable being soldered on a face of said base portion.
  • 5. An electrical cable connector comprising a plurality of contacts and a plurality of cables, said contacts being aligned and retained in a row extending in a right and left direction in an electrically insulative housing, and each of said cables being connected at one end thereof to a corresponding contact in said insulative housing and extending out of said insulative housing; wherein: each of said contacts comprises a base portion and a resilient arm portion, said base portion being fixed in said insulative housing, and said resilient arm portion being formed in one body with said base portion and extending alongside said base portion with a predetermined distance therebetween; said one end of said cable is connected to said base portion; and when said cable connector is engaged with a matable connector, each of said contacts receives and holds a corresponding contact portion of said matable connector in a space between said base portion and said resilient arm portion, so that the contacts of said cable connector and said matable connector are connected electrically,wherein: said contact is formed of a metal plate in an approximate “Y” figure like a tuning fork, comprising said base portion, said resilient arm portion and a press-fit portion, said base portion and said resilient arm portion corresponding to lateral prongs of the tuning fork and said press-fit portion corresponding to a fixed portion of the tuning fork and, said insulative housing is provided with a plurality of contact insertion slots, into which said contacts are inserted, respectively, to constitute said cable connector; and when said contacts are pressed into and positioned in said contact insertion slots, said base portion and said press-fit portion of each contact are fit into and fixed in a corresponding contact insertion slot of said insulative housing while said resilient arm portion is suspended and deformable elastically in the contact insertion slot.
  • 6. The electrical cable connector set forth in claim 4 wherein:said insulative housing is provided with a plurality of contact insertion slots, into which said contacts are inserted, respectively, to constitute said cable connector; and said contact insertion slots are aligned in a row in a direction of a width of said cable connector, such that when said contacts are positioned in said contact insertion slots, said contacts are aligned in the width direction on a plane.
  • 7. The electrical cable connector set forth in claim 1, wherein: said one end of each cable extends along said base portion at said location.
  • 8. An electrical cable connector comprising a plurality of contacts and a plurality of cable core wires, said contacts being aligned and retained in a row extending in a right and left direction in an electrically insulative housing, and each of said core wires being connected at one end thereof to a corresponding contact in said insulative housing and extending out of said insulative housing;wherein: each of said contacts has a unitary plate-form body comprising a base portion and a resilient arm portion with respective coplanar faces and adjacent edges, said base portion being fixed in said insulative housing; and said resilient arm portion extending along said base portion with respective edges in opposed, spaced-apart relation defining between them a space for receiving a corresponding contact portion of a matable connector said one end of said core wires being connected directly to said base portion by soldering directly on said major face of said base portion at a location opposite said resilient arm portion; and when said cable connector is engaged with said matable connector, each of said contacts receives and holds said corresponding contact portion of said matable connector, so that the contacts of said cable connector and said matable connector are connected electrically.
  • 9. The connector of claim 8 wherein each said one end of said core wires extends along said base portion.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
11-233217 Aug 1999 JP
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number Name Date Kind
5334053 Noschese Aug 1994
6004156 Roque et al. Dec 1999
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
1392205 Feb 1965 FR