This application claims the benefit under 35 USC § 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0048900, filed on Apr. 20, 2022, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0048902, filed on Apr. 20, 2022, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0023930, filed on Feb. 22, 2023.
The following description relates to a connector and a connector assembly including the same.
A connector is a type of component that selectively allows or disallows electrical connection. For example, an automobile is provided with many electrical components such as electronic components or sensors, and these electrical components are electrically connected to other electrical components or a power supply through connectors.
The above description has been possessed or acquired by the inventor(s) in the course of conceiving the present disclosure and is not necessarily an art publicly known before the present application is filed.
A connector assembly includes a printed circuit board (PCB), a plurality of terminals disposed on the PCB, a main body disposed on the PCB and supporting the terminals, a cable supported by the terminals, and a housing coupled to the main body, covering the cable, and spaced apart from the PCB. The main body has a holding point contacting an external jig. A space into which the external jig is inserted is provided between the main body and the PCB.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described by way of the following drawings. In the drawings:
and
Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise described or provided, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The drawings may not be to scale, and the relative size, proportions, and depiction of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience.
Hereinafter, embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description describes one of several aspects of the embodiments, and the following description forms part of the detailed description of the embodiments. In the description of an embodiment, any detailed description of a well-known function or configuration is not included to clearly convey the gist of the present disclosure.
However, various alterations and modifications may be made to the embodiments. Thus, the embodiments are not meant to be limited by the descriptions of the present disclosure. The embodiments should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and replacements within the idea and the technical scope of the disclosure.
In addition, the terms or words used to describe the present disclosure and claims should not be construed in a conventional or dictionary meaning, and based on a principle that the inventor may properly define the concept of terms in order to best describe their invention, the terms or words should be construed as having meanings and concepts consistent with the technical idea of the disclosure according to an embodiment.
The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises/comprising” and/or “includes/including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments belong. Terms defined in dictionaries generally used should be construed as having meanings matching contextual meanings in the related art and are not to be construed as having an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless otherwise defined herein.
When describing the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals refer to like constituent elements and a repeated description related thereto will be omitted. In the description of example embodiments, detailed description of well-known related structures or functions will be omitted when it is deemed that such description will cause ambiguous interpretation of the present disclosure.
Also, in the description of the components, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b) or the like may be used herein when describing components of the present disclosure. These terms are used only for the purpose of discriminating one constituent element from another constituent element, and the nature, the sequences, or the orders of the constituent elements are not limited by the terms. When one constituent element is described as being “connected”, “coupled”, or “attached” to another constituent element, it should be understood that one constituent element can be connected or attached directly to another constituent element, and an intervening constituent element can also be “connected”, “coupled”, or “attached” to the constituent elements.
The constituent element, which has the same common function as the constituent element included in any one embodiment, will be described by using the same name in other embodiments. Unless disclosed to the contrary, the configuration disclosed in any one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments, and the specific description of the repeated configuration will be omitted.
Referring to
When the connector accommodates the cable 140, a worker may couple the housing 130 to the main body 120 by applying a force to the top surface of the housing 130 in a downward direction. The cable 140 may be pressed by the housing 130 and the main body 120 from top and bottom sides. The cable 140 may be electrically connected to the plurality of terminals 110. Herein, the downward direction may be a direction in which the PCB 190 is placed based on the main body 120. In the drawings, an upward direction may be a +z direction and the downward direction may be a −z direction. When the housing 130 is fully coupled to the main body 120, the plurality of terminals 110 may be electrically and physically connected to the cable 140.
A longitudinal direction of the cable 140 may be provided in an x-axis direction. The cable 140, as shown in
The inner conductor 141 and the insulator 142 may protrude in a front direction compared to the cable shield 143 and the outer jacket 144. At the front end of the cable 140, only the inner conductor 141 and the insulator 142 may be provided. In other words, at least a portion of the insulator 142 may not be covered by the cable shield 143 and/or the outer jacket 144.
While supporting the lower side surface of the main body 120 with a separate jig, that is, a jig 9, shown in
The jig 9 may include a jig body 91, a pair of jig arms 92 rotatably connected to the jig body 91, and a slider 93 slidable in a vertical direction along the jig body 91. In this case, the vertical direction may be a z-axis direction. The pair of jig arms 93 may support the main body 120. The slider 93 may press the housing 130.
Since the jig 9 supports the main body 120, a force applied to the housing 130 may not be directly transmitted to the PCB 190. Herein, a portion of the main body 120 supported by the jig 9 may be referred to as a holding point HP, shown in
When the main body 120 is fully coupled to the housing 130, a distance d2 between the bottom surface of the housing 130 from the PCB 190 may be greater or equal to a distance dl between the holding point HP and the PCB 190, shown in
The plurality of terminals 110 may support the cable 140. When the main body 120 is fully coupled to the housing 130, the plurality of terminals 110 may be electrically and physically connected to the cable 140. The plurality of terminals 110 may be spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the cable 140. The plurality of terminals 110 may be provided parallel with the x-axis direction. The plurality of terminals 110 may include a conductor terminal 111 provided to cut the insulator 142 and contact the inner conductor 141 and a shield terminal 112 provided to cut the outer jacket 144 and contact the cable shield 143. The width of the conductor terminal 111 may be less than the width of the shield terminal 112. In this case, the width may be a length in the y-axis direction.
The plurality of terminals 110 may be accommodated inside the main body 120. The main body 120 may include a plurality of grooves for accommodating the plurality of terminals 110 therein. The upper end of the conductor terminal 111 may be on the upper side of the insulator 142.
The conductor terminal 111, as shown in
The shield terminal 112, as shown in
The main body 120 may be disposed on the PCB 190. The holding point HP may be provided on the bottom surface of the main body 120. A longitudinal direction of the holding point HP may be provided in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cable 140. The main body 120 may include a plurality of legs 129 connected to the PCB 190. The jig 9 may be inserted into a space between the plurality of legs 129 and may support the holding point HP. A pair of holding points HP may be provided. The pair of holding points HP may be arranged opposite to each other based on the plurality of terminals 110.
The bottom surface of the main body 120 may have a width in the y-axis direction. The length of a width w1 that is relatively small among widths of the main body 120 may be greater than the length of a width w2 that is relatively large among widths of the plurality of terminals 110. In other words, the width of the main body 120 may be greater than the width of each of the plurality of terminals 110. The holding point HP may be provided in a portion of the main body 120 in which the plurality of terminals 110 is not provided.
When viewed from the bottom surface of the main body 120, the plurality of terminals 110 may be disposed on the central portion of the main body 120. For example, the plurality of terminals 110 may be disposed on the center of the main body 120 along a center line of the main body 120. In this case, the center line may be a line provided in the x-axis direction along the center of the bottom surface of the main body 120. The plurality of terminals 110 may be disposed on the center of the main body 120. The center of each of the plurality of terminals 110 may be disposed along the center line of the main body 120. A gap may exist from both edge parts of each of the plurality of terminals 110 to an edge of the main body 120.
The housing 130 may be connected to the main body 120. The housing 130 may cover the main body 120. The housing 130 may enclose a circumference of the main body 120.
Because a gap is provided between the PCB 190 and the housing 230, the jig 9 may be easily inserted between the PCB 190 and the housing 230. The main body 120 may be supported by the jig 9. While the main body 120 is supported by the jig 9, because a force is applied to the housing 230 in a direction toward the PCB 190, damage to the PCB 190 may be detected or prevented.
Referring to
The housing 130 may include a plurality of slots 135 provided at a side wall portion of the housing 130 and formed on the housing 130 in a height direction. For example, each of the plurality of slots 135 may be recessed in the +z direction from the lower end of the housing 130. The plurality of slots 135 may be spaced apart from each other in the x-axis direction that corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the cable 140. By the plurality of slots 135, when the side wall portion of the housing 130 is caught by the main body 120, the side wall portion of the housing 130 may elastically transform in an outward direction. When the side wall portion of the housing 130 is separated from the main body 120, the side wall portion of the housing 130 may be restored in its original shape.
The main body 120 may include a body case 121, a separation prevention body protrusion 122, a coupling body protrusion 123, and an axis direction body protrusion 124. The housing 130 may include a housing case 131, a separation prevention housing protrusion 132, a coupling housing protrusion 133, and a housing accommodation part 134.
The separation prevention body protrusion 122 of the main body 120 and the separation prevention body protrusion 132 of the housing 130 may be referred to as the first latch. The coupling body protrusion 123 of the main body 120 and the coupling housing protrusion 133 of the housing 130 may be referred to as the second latch.
The body case 121 may include a hollow for accommodating a plurality of terminals therein. The body case 121 may be connected to a PCB.
The separation prevention body protrusion 122 may protrude from the side surface of the body case 121. The side surface of the body case 121 may be a surface of which a normal is provided in parallel with the y-axis direction. The separation prevention body protrusion 122 may be provided near the upper end of the body case 121. The separation prevention body protrusion 122 may prevent the housing 130 from being separated unintentionally in the upward direction as the separation prevention body protrusion 122 is caught by the housing 130. The separation prevention body protrusion 122 may be in surface contact with the housing 130. Contact surfaces of the separation prevention body protrusion 122 and the housing 130 may be downwardly inclined toward the outward direction. The contact surfaces of the separation prevention body protrusion 122 and the housing 130 may include an inclined surface that approaches a PCB in a direction away from the body case 121.
The coupling body protrusion 123 may protrude from the side surface of the body case 121. When the housing 130 is fully coupled to the main body 120, the coupling body protrusion 123 may be caught by the main body 120. The coupling body protrusion 123 may be disposed on the lower side of the separation prevention body protrusion 122. The coupling body protrusion 123 may be provided at a position spaced apart from the separation prevention body protrusion 122 in a direction parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cable 140, that is, the x-axis direction. The coupling body protrusion 123 may be in surface contact with the housing 130. Contact surfaces of the coupling body protrusion 123 and the housing 130 may be downwardly inclined toward the outward direction. The contact surfaces of the coupling body protrusion 123 and the housing 130 may include an inclined surface that approaches a PCB in a direction away from the body case 121.
The axis direction body protrusion 124 may protrude from the rear surface of the body case 121. The rear surface of the body case 121 may be a surface of which a normal is provided in parallel with the −x direction. The axis direction body protrusion 124 may be inserted into the housing 130. The axis direction body protrusion 124 may be in surface contact with the housing 130. Contact surfaces of the axis direction body protrusion 124 and the housing 130 may be downwardly inclined toward the outward direction. The contact surfaces of the axis direction body protrusion 124 and the housing 130 may include an inclined surface that approaches a PCB in a direction away from the body case 121.
The housing case 131 may include a hollow for accommodating the main body 120 therein.
The separation prevention housing protrusion 132 may protrude from an inner side surface of the housing case 131. The separation prevention housing protrusion 132 may be provided near the lower end of the housing case 131. The separation prevention housing protrusion 122 may prevent the housing 130 from being separated unintentionally in the upward direction as the separation prevention housing protrusion 132 is caught by the main body 120. The separation prevention housing protrusion 132 may be in surface contact with the separation prevention body protrusion 122, as shown in
The coupling housing protrusion 133 may protrude from the inner side surface of the housing case 131, as shown in
The housing accommodation part 134 may accommodate the axis direction body protrusion 124. The housing accommodation part 134 may be a groove recessed from the inner side surface of the housing case 131 or a hole penetrating the housing case 131. Contact surfaces of the housing accommodation part 134 and the axis direction body protrusion 124 may be downwardly inclined toward the outward direction. Contact surfaces of the housing accommodation part 134 and the axis direction body protrusion 124 may include an inclined surface that approaches a PCB in a direction away from the inner side surface of the housing case 131.
In addition to a coupling force of the second latch (e.g., the main body 120 and the housing 130), the axis direction body protrusion 124 and the housing accommodation part 134 may more stably couple the main body 120 to the housing 130. The second latch may fix the main body 120 and the housing 130 from the +y side and/or the −y side and the axis direction body protrusion 124 and the housing accommodation part 134 may fix the main body 120 and the housing 130 from the −x side. The connector assembly may implement a double latch structure through the axis direction body protrusion 124 and the housing accommodation part 134 as well as the second latch. More particularly, while the cable 140 is lifted in the z-axis direction, the axis direction body protrusion 124 and the housing accommodation part 134 may reduce or prevent an event in which the housing 130 is unintentionally lifted up in the z-axis direction.
Referring to
The main body 220 may accommodate the plurality of terminals 210 and the base shield 260. The main body 220 may include a body case 221 and a body arm 229, as shown in
The housing 230 may be coupled to the main body 220. The housing 230 may accommodate the cover shield 250.
The body arm 229 may be inserted into the housing 230 and may be exposed in the outward direction. The bottom surface of the body arm 229 may be spaced further from the PCB 290 than the bottom surface of the housing 230. According to the structure described above, insertion of an external jig (e.g., the jig 9 of
The bottom surface of the body arm 229 may not be parallel with the bottom surface of the body case 221. More particularly, the bottom surface of the body arm 229 may be disposed upper than the bottom surface of the body case 221. The length of a distance of the bottom surface of the body arm 229 from the PCB 290 may be greater than the length of a distance of the bottom surface of the body case 221 from the PCB 290. According to the structure described above, an external jig may more easily approach the holding point HP and the total height of the connector may decrease when the holding point HP is formed on the body arm 229 rather than when the holding point HP is formed on the body case 221.
The cover shield 250 and the base shield 260 may enclose the front end of the cable 240 such that noise occurrence may be effectively prevented. The cover shield 250 may be mounted on the housing 230. The base shield 260 may be disposed on the PCB 290 and may be connected to the cover shield 250.
By the cover shield 250 and the base shield 260, noise occurring in an exposed portion of the cable 240 that is not enclosed by a cable shield may be shielded. At least a portion of the cover shield 250 may cut an upper portion of an outer jacket of the cable 240 and may contact the cable shield. At least a portion of the base shield 260 may cut a lower portion and both side portions of the outer jacket of the cable 240 and may contact the cable shield.
Referring to
The cover base 251 may cover the upper side of the cable 240. The cover base 251 may cover, for example, the front end of the cable 240. The cover base 251 may include a plate shape.
The front cover plate 252 may extend from the cover base 251 in the downward direction and may be connected to the base shield 260. The front cover plate 252 may cover the front of the cable 240. The front cover plate 252 may prevent noise from escaping in the front direction.
The cover arm 253 may extend from the front cover plate 252 in the rear direction. The cover arm 253 may extend, for example, from an edge of the front cover plate 252 in the rear direction. The cover arm 253 may partially cover a gap space between the front cover plate 252 and the side cover plate 254.
The side cover plate 254 may extend from the cover base 251 in the downward direction and may be connected to the base shield 260. The front cover plate 252 may cover a side of the cable 240. The front cover plate 252 may prevent noise from escaping in the side direction.
The rear cover plate 255 may extend from the cover base 251 in the downward direction. The rear cover plate 255 may cut an upper portion of an outer jacket 244 of the cable 240 and may contact a cable shield 243 of the cable 240. The rear cover plate 255 may contact the cable shield 243 to perform a noise shield function together with the cable shield 243. The drawing illustrates that the rear cover plate 255 penetrates the cable shield 243, however, this is only for ease of illustration. While the main body 220 is coupled to the housing 230, the rear cover plate 255 may be transformed by being pressed by the cable shield 243. For example, the end portion of the rear cover plate 255 may be transformed.
The rear cover plate 255 may be omitted. For example, the front cover plate 252 and the side cover plate 254 may extend from the cover base 251, however, the rear cover plate 255 may not be provided. When the rear cover plate 255 is provided, a noise shield effect may improve. Even if the rear cover plate 255 is not provided, the noise shield effect may improve through the cover base 251, the front cover plate 252, and the side cover plate 254.
The front cover hole 258 may penetrate the front cover plate 252. The front cover hole 258 may accommodate a shield fastener 267, as described below.
The upper cover hole 259 may penetrate the cover base 251. The upper cover hole 259 may expose the front end of the cable 240 to the outside. A worker may visually observe whether the cable 240 is coupled to the housing 230 at a proper position through the upper cover hole 259.
The base shield 260 may be connected to the cover shield 250. The base shield 260 may include a shield body 261, a shield leg 262, a shield front arm 263, a shield side arm 264, a shield rear arm 265, a shield protrusion 266, and the shield fastener 267.
The base shield 260 may be a modified design of a shield terminal (e.g., the shield terminal 112 of
The base shield 260 may be only constituted by the shield rear arm 265 and the shield side arm 264. For example, the base shield 260 may be only constituted by the shield rear arm 265 and the shield side arm 264 and the cover shield 250 may include the cover base 251 and the side cover plate 254 extending from the cover base 251 and contacting the shield side arm 264.
The shield body 261 may have a ring shape. For example, the shield body 261 may be manufactured in a plate shape and may have a roughly rectangular shape by being bent four times. A portion to which both ends of the shield body 261 are connected may be the shield fastener 267. A protrusion may be provided at one end of the shield body 261 and a clasp may be provided at another end of the shield body 261. The protrusion and the clasp may be referred to as the shield fastener 267.
The shield leg 262 may extend from the shield body 261 in the downward direction and may be connected to the PCB 290. The shield leg 262 may be inserted into the PCB 290.
The shield front arm 263 may extend from the shield body 261. The shield front arm 263 may have a shape that is bent at least once. An end of the shield front arm 263 may protrude more outwardly than the shield body 261. The shield front arm 263 may be structurally elastic. The shield front arm 263 may be transformed by being pressed by the cover shield 250. The shield front arm 263 may be provided at the front portion of the shield body 261.
The shield side arm 264 may extend from the shield body 261. The shield side arm 264 may have a shape that is bent at least once. An end of the shield side arm 264 may protrude more outwardly than the shield body 261. The shield side arm 264 may be structurally elastic. The shield side arm 264 may be transformed by being pressed by the cover shield 250. The shield side arm 264 may be provided at the side portion of the shield body 261.
The shield rear arm 265 may extend from the shield body 261. The shield rear arm 265 may cut a lower portion and a side portion of the outer jacket 244 of the cable 240 and may contact the cable shield 243 of the cable 240. The drawing illustrates that the shield rear arm 265 penetrates the cable shield 243, however, this is only for ease of illustration. While the main body 220 is coupled to the housing 230, the shield rear arm 265 may be transformed by being pressed by the cable shield 243. For example, an end portion of the shield rear arm 265 may be transformed.
The shield protrusion 266 may extend from the shield body 261. While the cover shield 250 is coupled to the base shield 260, the shield protrusion 266 may be between the cover arm 253 and the side cover plate 254. The shield protrusion 266 may cover an empty space between the cover arm 253 and the side cover plate 254.
Referring to
Referring to
Embodiments have been described above with reference to specific matters such as specific components and limited embodiments and with reference to drawings, but these are provided to facilitate overall understanding. Also, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible from these descriptions by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined not by the detailed description, but by the claims and their equivalents, and all variations within the scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included in the disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10-2022-0048900 | Apr 2022 | KR | national |
10-2022-0048902 | Apr 2022 | KR | national |
10-2023-0023930 | Feb 2023 | KR | national |