The present application includes subject matter related to subject matter disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/257,132, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/257,166 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,544,084, issued Jun. 9, 2009), and U.S. patent application No. 12/257,187, filed contemporaneously with the present application, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The subject matter herein relates generally to connector assemblies, and more particularly, to connector assemblies that include mateable plug and receptacle connectors that are configured to prevent damage to the contacts held within one of the connectors during the mating and demating process.
Connector assemblies generally include two connectors, such as a plug and a receptacle, that are mated together. The receptacle includes a cavity that may have free-standing mating or pin contacts therein that are configured to engage with corresponding socket contacts when the plug is inserted into the receptacle. However, the cavity may have a size and shape that places the pin contacts at risk of being damaged from scooping. “Scooping” occurs when a shroud or another part of the plug connector shell is erroneously inserted into the cavity of the receptacle connector shell in a direction that is transverse to the appropriate loading direction. Scooping may also be caused by one of the walls of the plug connector shell sliding along the wall of the receptacle connector shell defining the cavity at a skewed angle to the loading direction. During scooping the plug connector shell may strike the exposed, free-standing pin contacts, which may cause permanent deformation such that the pin contacts may no longer be capable of forming a connection with the corresponding contacts in the plug connector. This damage can also be caused by the socket contact insert striking the exposed, free-standing pin contacts.
One known connector assembly that is configured to prevent scooping is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,346 to Nakamura. The connector assembly includes a male housing having a hood member that is configured to receive a female housing having a hood member that is smaller than the male hood member. The female hood member includes ribs projecting outwardly therefrom that are configured to be inserted into grooves of the male hood member. The positions of the ribs and grooves prevent the housings from being fitted together in a misaligned manner. One problem with the connector assembly disclosed in the Nakamura patent is that the plug and receptacle connector housings need to be precisely aligned before the two are mated together.
Accordingly, there is a need for connector assemblies that prevent the mating contacts from being damaged when the connectors are mated or demated. A need also remains for connector assemblies that correct misalignment during mating.
In one embodiment, a connector assembly is provided that includes a first connector that extends along a mating axis from a mating end. The first connector includes a connector body that has a shroud including a longitudinal side and a lateral side meeting at a shroud corner. The longitudinal and lateral sides extend along the mating axis. The first connector also includes pin contacts received in the shroud and a rib that projects away from the longitudinal side. The rib has a position proximate to the shroud corner. The first connector also has a wing guide that projects a distance from the lateral side to a distal end and is positioned proximate to the shroud corner. The rib and the wing guide extend in directions that are generally perpendicular to each other. The connector assembly also includes a second connector that has walls defining a cavity. The second connector includes a mating end with an opening for accessing the cavity and an array of mating socket contacts arranged therein. The cavity has a complementary shape for receiving the connector body. The walls of the second connector direct the connector body into the cavity such that the socket contacts engage the pin contacts. The position of the wing guide and the position of the rib are configured to prevent the pin contacts from being damaged when the connector body is erroneously inserted into the second connector.
Optionally, the wing guide projects from the lateral side at the shroud corner such that the wing guide is flush with the longitudinal side. The first connector may include a pair of longitudinal sides where each longitudinal side has an unequal number of ribs with respect to the other longitudinal side. The longitudinal sides may be generally planar. The pin contacts within the second connector may be distributed evenly and continuously throughout a substantial portion of the width of the cavity.
In another embodiment, a connector assembly that includes a first connector and a second connector configured to mate together is provided. The first connector has a front mating end and a back end and a cavity that extends therebetween. The cavity includes socket contacts therein and is defined by a longitudinal wall and a lateral wall that meet each other at a cavity corner. The longitudinal wall includes a channel that extends alongside the cavity. The second connector includes a connector body that has a shroud including pin contacts configured to engage the mating socket contacts when the first and second connectors are properly mated. The shroud includes a longitudinal side and a lateral side that meet at a shroud corner. The shroud corner is configured to slide along the cavity corner. The second connector also includes a rib that projects away from the longitudinal side and that is configured to slide within the channel of the first connector. The second connector also includes a wing guide that projects a distance from the lateral side to a guide edge. The rib and the wing guide extend in directions that are generally perpendicular to each other. The guide edge is curved such that the guide edge facilitates shifting the second connector from a longitudinally misaligned position in which the rib is misaligned with the channel to a longitudinally aligned position in which the rib is aligned with the channel.
Optionally, the guide edge initially projects from the lateral side in a substantially perpendicular direction with respect to the lateral side and then curves away to extend substantially parallel to the lateral side. The wing guide may project from the lateral side at the corner of the shroud such that the wing guide is flush with the longitudinal side. Moreover, the rib may have a tip at the mating end that is rounded. The tip of the rib and the guide edge may be configured to cooperate with each other to align the second connector when the second connector is longitudinally misaligned with the first connector.
As will be discussed in further detail below, the receptacle and plug connectors 102 and 104 are configured to prevent scooping or damage of the pin contacts 160 when the shroud 310 or some part thereof is inserted into the cavity 106. For example, when the receptacle and plug connectors 102 and 104 are erroneously or improperly aligned while attempting engagement, the walls surrounding the opening 110 are configured to stop the shroud 310 from advancing into the cavity 106 where the shroud 310 or the socket module 318 can damage the pin contacts 160. In addition to preventing scooping, the opening 110 and the surrounding walls may also be configured to facilitate redirecting or aligning the receptacle connector 102 with the plug connector 104.
The receptacle and plug connectors 102 and 104 may be constructed by a variety of methods and may include various accessories attached thereto such as those methods and accessories described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/257,187, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. The receptacle connector 102 and/or the plug connectors 104 may be configured to hold one or more modules, such as the contact module 125 and the socket module 318 described below, within the corresponding connector as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/257,132, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. In addition, the receptacle connector 102 and/or the plug connector 104 may be constructed by a two or more shells that are held together as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/257,166, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Optionally, the housing 116 may include a pair of fastener mounts 122 and 124 that project from the sides S2 and S4, respectively. The fastener mounts 122 and 124 include holes 126 and 128, respectively, where fasteners (not shown) may be inserted to couple or attach with corresponding holes 316 and 314 (shown in
The cavity 106 extends along the central axis 290 between the mating end 108 and a back end 109 (
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, a substantial portion of the cavity 106 (e.g., the body portion 140) is substantially open or unobstructed such that the cavity 106 does not have walls or projections extending into the cavity 106 in front of the pin contact module 125. For example, the cavity 106 may have a uniform width W1 and height H1 through the body portion 140. Moreover, the array of pin contacts 160 may be distributed substantially evenly and continuously across the body portion 140 of the cavity 106. The array of pin contacts 160 may be arranged in a row-and-column formation where the rows extend substantially longer than the columns. By way of example, the pin contacts 160 may include two rows of ten pin contacts 160 that are evenly distributed with respect to each other. Because the cavity 106 is substantially open and unobstructed, the connector assembly 100 (
Also shown in
The channels 161-165 may be positioned and spaced apart from each other in order to prevent scooping of the pin contacts 160 and may also be positioned to facilitate properly orienting and aligning the receptacle connector 102 and the plug connector 104 before mating with each other. More specifically, the channel 163 is spaced apart a distance D2 from the lateral wall 133, and the channel 165 is spaced apart a distance D3 from the lateral wall 135. The distances D2 and D3 oriented to prevent the shroud 310 from being inserted into the cavity 106 and damaging the pin contacts 160 when erroneously aligned. Furthermore, the channel 161 is spaced apart a distance D3 from the lateral wall 133, and the channel 162 is spaced apart a distance D5 from the lateral wall 135. In the illustrated embodiment, the distance D4 is greater than the distance D2 such that the channels 161 and 163 are not aligned with each other. Likewise, the distance D5 is greater than the distance D3 such that the channels 162 and 165 are not aligned with each other.
Moreover, the longitudinal walls 130 and 134 may include an unequal number of channels with respect to each other. For example, the longitudinal wall 130 may include two channels 161 and 162 while the longitudinal wall 134 may include three channels 163-165. The unequal number of channels and/or the spacing between the channels may facilitate orienting the receptacle and plug connectors 102 and 104 into the proper vertical or lateral position before mating the connectors.
The shroud 310 is formed from a plurality of sides S5-S8 that include longitudinal sides S5 and S7 that extend parallel to a plane formed by the longitudinal and central axes 392 and 390. The sides S5-S8 also include lateral sides S6 and S8 that extend parallel to a plane formed by the lateral and the central axes 394 and 390. The shroud 310 may include a socket module 318 that has one or more apertures 320 for holding a plug contact (not shown) therein. Each aperture 320 receives a corresponding pin contact 160 (
The plurality of sides S5-S8 form a substantially rectangular structure that has a height H2 and a width W2. In the illustrated embodiment, the height 112 is substantially equal to the height H1 of the cavity 106 (
As discussed above, the shroud 310 is configured to be inserted into the cavity 106 of the receptacle connector 102. The shroud 310 may include a plurality of ribs 321-325 that project outwardly from the longitudinal sides S5 and S7 and a plurality of wing guides 331-334 that project outwardly from the lateral sides S6 and S8. Each wing guide 331-334 includes a guide edge 341-344, respectively, that defines the shape of the corresponding wing guide. The ribs 321-325 extend from a front-to-back direction along the central axis 390 on the corresponding side. The longitudinal side S5 includes the ribs 321-323 and the longitudinal side S7 includes the ribs 324 and 325. Each rib 321-325 may have a rounded tip 327. The ribs 321-325 are spaced apart from each other and are configured to be inserted into and slide along the channels 161-165, respectively, when the receptacle and plug connectors 102 and 104 are properly aligned on the mating axis 190 (
The ribs 321-325 may be configured relative to a corresponding wing guide 331-334. For example, with reference to the corner 351, the rib 323 is positioned proximate to the corner 351 and the wing guide 331 is also positioned proximate to the corner 351. As shown, the rib 323 and the wing guide 331 project outwardly in directions that are generally perpendicular to each other. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, the wing guides 331 and 333 extend from the lateral sides S6 and S8, respectively, such that the wing guides 331 and 333 are flush or even with the longitudinal side S5.
The wing guides 331 and 332 project from the lateral side S6 a distance D7, and the wing guides 333 and 334 project from the lateral side S8 a distance D8. The pair of wing guides 331 and 332 and the pair of wing guides 333 and 334 may be spaced apart from each other a distance D9. When the shroud 310 is inserted into the cavity 106, the wing guide 331 slides along the longitudinal wall 134 and the wing guide 332 slides along the longitudinal side 132. Both of the guide edges 341 and 342 slide along the lateral wall 133. Likewise, the wing guides 333 and 334 are spaced apart from each other and slide along the longitudinal walls 134 and 136, respectively, when the shroud 310 is inserted into the cavity 106. Both of the guide edges 343 and 344 slide along the lateral wall 135.
As discussed above the wing guides 331 and 332 (or the wing guides 333 and 334) may be spaced apart from each other a distance D9. When the shroud 310 is inserted into the cavity 106, the distance D9 may be configured to allow a key (not shown) to be inserted between the corresponding wing guides. Alternatively, the shroud 310 may not have a pair of wing guides that projects from one side but may have one large wing guide that spans the length of the corresponding lateral side.
Furthermore, the plurality of sides S5-S8 may form a mating edge 345 at the mating end 304 of the shroud 310. The mating edge 345 lies on a mating plane 347 (indicated as a hashed line in
Embodiments described herein may be electrical connectors, connectors that interconnect optical fibers, or optoelectronic connectors. As such, the phrase “conductors and/or cables” or the phrase “at least one of conductors and cables” includes electrical wires, conductors, or cables that transmit electrical signals or power or electrical signals and power, as well as optical fibers or cables used for transmitting signals in fiber-optic communication.
In some embodiments, the connector assembly 100 may be configured for many applications, such as high-speed telecommunications equipment, various classes of servers, and data storage and transport devices. The connector assembly 100 may perform at high speeds and maintain signal integrity while withstanding vibrations and shock that may be experienced during, for example, aerospace or military operations. However, embodiments described herein are not limited to applications for extreme environments, but may also be used in other environments, such as in an office or home. The preceding description of the receptacle and plug connectors 102 and 104 is provided for illustrative purposes only, rather than limitation, and the illustrated embodiment is but one application that may be used with the features and mechanisms described herein.
While the illustrated embodiment described above is designed for a specific orientation when mounted or mated with another connector, alternative embodiments may have other configurations. As such, the terms front, back (or rear), top, bottom, upper, lower, upward, downward, inward and the like are relative and based on the orientation of the illustrated embodiment, and are not intended to be restrictive.
Furthermore, the contact module 125 and the socket module 318 may be interchangeable between connector body 308 and receptacle housing 116. As such, the aforementioned discussion may be also applicable to pin contacts 160 in connector bodies that are mated and demated to socket contacts 319 in receptacle housings. Embodiments made and used as described herein apply to both sets of configurations. Furthermore, more than one contact module 125 and more than one socket module 318 may be used in alternative embodiments.
Thus, it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. As such, the above-described embodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. For example, generally a “connector,” as may be used in the following claims, may either be a plug connector or a receptacle connector, such as the plug and receptacle connectors 104 and 102 described above, unless specified otherwise. Likewise, a “first connector” or a “second connector,” as may be used in the following claims, may either be a plug or receptacle connector, such as the plug and receptacle connectors 104 and 102 described above, unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, a “mating contact,” as may be used in the following claims, includes pin contacts and socket contacts, such as the pin contacts 160 and socket contacts 319 shown and described above. Also, a mating contact may be an electrical contact or a terminus for an optical fiber.
Dimensions, types of materials, orientations of the various components, and the number and positions of the various components described herein are intended to define parameters of certain embodiments, and are by no means limiting and are merely exemplary embodiments. Many other embodiments and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Further, the limitations of the following claims are not written in means—plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted based on 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless and until such claim limitations expressly use the phrase “means for” followed by a statement of function void of further structure.
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