Patent Application
20200243992
The subject of the present invention is a connector, notably L-shaped, for a printed circuit board.
The invention is applicable, for example, to a coaxial connector constructed according to the FAKRA standardized design (Automobile industry standards commission).
In the sense of the invention, the expression “coaxial connector according to the FAKRA standardized design” denotes a coaxial connector comprising a body whose mechanical dimensions in an axial cross-section of said body cooperate with the body of a complementary connector in order to establish a mechanical link between the two bodies are defined in the standard DIN 72594-1. Such connectors are generally used in the automobile field for data transmission cables.
The invention is also applicable to connectors for high-rate transmission circuits (LVDS).
The invention is generally applicable to any connection system device for transmission of RF signals and of data on a printed circuit.
This connector 10 is L-shaped and comprises a body 2 and a housing 3 comprising an accommodation 6 in which the body is accommodated.
The body 2 is made of metal, notably of brass or of bronze, advantageously according to the technology known as ‘cut-and-roll’, essentially for reasons of cost.
The body 2 receives an insulator 7 inside of which several central contacts 8 are disposed. The central contacts 8 here are L-shaped, in other words they extend along a longitudinal axis comprising two portions 60 and 61 making an angle between them which, in the example described, is equal to 90°.
In this example, the housing 3 extends along a rectilinear longitudinal axis X. The housing 3 is for example made of plastic, notably of fibre-glass loaded polyamide.
The housing 3 comprises a front portion 11 having profiles allowing the connection to a housing of a complementary connector, a tubular central portion 12 whose internal diameter allows the body 2 to be received, and an end rear portion 13 around which an armour 14 is disposed.
By virtue of the presence of this armour 14, the mechanical forces generated with the printed circuit board are taken up by the housing 3 and the armour 14. Thus, the traction forces on the housing are transmitted to the armour and not to the body of the connector.
As shown in
The armour 14 is made of metal, notably of brass or bronze notably made of a single piece, in particular by virtue of the technology of the ‘cut-and-roll’. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the costs of fabrication of the components despite the limited thickness obtained because the force take up is applied over the entirety of the armour.
The armour 14 has a U-shaped cross-section perpendicular to the axis X of the housing 3.
This armour 14 comprises a back 16 and two wings 17 connected by the back 16.
The armour 14 also comprises legs 18 allowing the fixing of the connector 1 to a printed circuit board.
The armour 14 furthermore comprises a portion 25 extending substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis X of the housing 3 and closing off the longitudinal end 26 of the housing 3 at its rear portion 13.
The wings 17 and the back 16 of the armour 14 may be received in the thickness of the rear portion 13 of the housing 3, in other words in insets formed in the wings 17 and the back 16 of the armour 14. The armour 14 may be sandwiched between walls or ends 26 of the housing 3, as shown in
In this type of connector, for reasons of electromagnetic armour and of integrity of the signal, it is necessary for the insulator 7 to be enclosed by a metal surface over the maximum length of the electrical transmission line.
Indeed, if the metal envelope has holes or slots, there is a risk of leakage of electrical signal, i.e. leakages of HF signals, which deteriorate the quality of the electrical signal.
As illustrated in
However, the formation of the body 2 using a ‘cut-and-roll’ technique implies that it cannot completely surround the insulator since, owing to the shapes to be bent, it is necessary to create slots 200 in order to have a tool thickness for cutting out the part.
Moreover, certain shapes are not possible, because the material that it would be desirable to add would create an overlap of surfaces which would render the part impossible to make.
Thus, as shown in
One solution which comes naturally may comprise forming a rear part of the body which is hinged or the addition of a metal cover so as to enclose the electrical transmission line at the rear. In addition, the rear region could be filled by an additional insulator between the hinged part of the body and the elbow of the central contacts.
This solution would impose different dimensions between the transmission line parallel to the circuit and the transmission line perpendicular to the circuit at the rear of the connector, notably between the body and the central contacts, and a potential additional insulator to be added.
The consequence of this would be detrimental by introducing a mismatch of ultra-high-frequency impedance and greatly compromising the quality of the signal.
On the other hand, the rear region also remains open. Indeed, on the one hand, the slot 200 of the conducting body 2 which is provided in order to allow the cutting tool to pass is, by definition, lacking material. On the other hand, the openings S1, S3, which are the insulator surfaces perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X, are all the larger in the L-shaped versions of connectors, the front end of whose housing is positioned on top of the printed circuit, in other words the rear part perpendicular to the circuit is all the longer (
There accordingly exists a need to improve the connectors, in particular L-shaped, designed for a connection to a printed circuit board, comprising a metal body formed according to a ‘cut-and-roll’ technique, notably in order to completely enclose the electrical insulator accommodating one or more central contacts and a need to thus improve the electromagnetic shielding and to eliminate, or at the very least, reduce as far as possible any impedance mismatch between the front and the rear of the connector.
The aim of the invention is to solve, at least partially, these needs.
For this purpose, one subject of the invention is a connector, designed for a connection to a printed circuit board, the connector extending in a longitudinal axis (X) and comprising:
an electrically-conducting body,
at least one contact accommodated, at least in part, within the body with interposition of an electrical insulator between them,
a housing defining an accommodation configured for receiving all or part of the body, the housing comprising a cavity,
an electrically-conducting cover composed of at least one piece, inserted into the electrically-conducting body, such that at least one of its main faces covers the front of the electrical insulator, in the rear part of the accommodation of the latter inside of the electrically-conducting body which is lacking a wall, the electrically-conducting cover comprising portions which protrude above the body and arranged into the cavity of the housing so as to form two blocking points, in the two sense of the longitudinal direction (X), of the electrically-conducting cover in the housing.
The accommodation of the housing comprises a front part by which the connection to a complimentary connector is intended to be achieved, and a rear part opposite to the front part.
Preferably, the conducting body is formed with at least one slot at the front of the electrical insulator, said main face of the cover covering said slot.
According to one advantageous embodiment, another of the main faces of the cover covers the rear of the electrical insulator.
Preferably, according to this embodiment, the conducting body is realised with at least one slot, at the rear of the electrical insulator, the other main face of the cover covering said slot.
Thus, the invention comprises a conducting cover which is assembled as an additional component in a connector in order to form with the conducting body, preferably produced by a by ‘cut-and-roll’ technique, a complete metal envelope over the whole transmission line for electrical signals transmitted by the connector.
The conducting cover is sized with portions which, once the cover is mounted, are protruding in at least one cavity of the housing and act as blocking points of the housing in the two senses of the longitudinal direction (X).
By virtue of the cover according to the invention, the openings of the body, preferably together with its slots, are enclosed, which avoids leakages of HF signals and the cross-section of insulator through which the signals pass in the metal envelope may be as constant as possible over the whole length of the connector, which avoids the risk of ultra-high-frequency impedance mismatch.
As a consequence, a connector which can transmit RF signals reliably is obtained in a simple manner and at a lower cost, with a cover preferably composed of a single piece.
According to one advantageous variant embodiment, the cover is composed of a single piece of generally rectangular shape, whose two parallel main faces are connected via two lateral faces. Preferably, the single piece is shaped so that each lateral face join the protruding portions to form a U shape. Such a U shape improves the mechanical retention of the housing.
Advantageously, the U shapes of the electrically-conducting cover are arranged to be positioned outside the lateral parts of the electrically-conducting body. This allows to achieve an assembly of multiway connections with a unique electrically-conducting cover which is common to the connectors, such as described below.
According to one advantageous embodiment, the connector is L-shaped with the contact(s) which extend(s) along the longitudinal axis (X) and which comprise(s) at least one inclined portion, being notably perpendicular, with respect to a plane defined by a printed circuit board onto which the connector is designed to be connected.
According to this embodiment, the electrical insulator forming a L-shape, the main faces of the cover are advantageously perpendicular both to the plane and to the direction of connection with a complementary connector along the axis X, while covering the electrical insulator on either side of its elbow.
Advantageously, in order to best guarantee the electrical ground continuity, the cover is inserted into the body with physical contact between them.
Preferably, one and/or the other of the main faces of the cover has an exterior shape designed to fit that of the body. More preferably, one and/or the other of the main faces of the cover are in contact with interference fit respectively against the front face and rear face of the electrical insulator, in order to guarantee the mechanical positioning of the insulator and in order to improve the ultra-high-frequency matching.
According to one advantageous variant embodiment, the cover, preferably one and/or the other of its main faces, comprises at least one profile designed to capture the insulator, so as to block the latter.
According to one advantageous variant embodiment, the cover, preferably one and/or the other of its lateral faces connecting the main faces, comprises at least one retention profile cooperating with a complementary retention profile formed in the housing, so as to retain the cover in the housing. This retention may be achieved by capture or clip-on and thus guarantee an excellent mechanical retention of the cover in the housing.
According to one advantageous variant embodiment, the rear main face of the cover comprises at least one support tab cooperating with a notch formed in the body, so as to prevent the flexing of said rear face when the insulator and/or the contacts are pushed towards the rear of the connector.
Advantageously, the cover, preferably one and/or the other of its main faces, comprises at least one leg designed to allow the fixing of the connector onto a printed circuit board, preferably by insertion and/or soldering.
The portions protruding above the body into the cavity of the housing form a mechanical end-stop when a traction force is exerted on the housing.
Another subject of the invention is an assembly of multiway connections, comprising at least two connectors such as previously described, each comprising an electrically-conducting body according to any one of the preceding claims arranged side-by-side, in a housing, and a cover formed as at least one piece, inserted into the electrically-conducting bodies, such that at least two of its main faces cover, at least partially, the electrical insulators, in the parts of their accommodations inside of the electrically-conducting bodies which are lacking a wall.
According to one advantageous variant, the cover is composed of a single piece of generally rectangular shape whose two parallel main faces are connected via two lateral faces. Preferably, the single piece is shaped so that each lateral face join the protruding portions to form a U shape. Such a U shape improves the mechanical retention of the housing.
Advantageously, the U shapes of the electrically-conducting cover are arranged to be positioned outside the lateral parts of the electrically-conducting body.
A final subject of the invention is a method of assembly of a connector or of an assembly of multiway connections such as previously described, comprising the following steps:
(a) installation or potting of at least one contact in the electrical insulator,
(b) installation of the insulator accommodating the contact(s) in the electrically-conducting body,
(c) installation of the sub-assembly formed by the body and the insulator accommodating the contact(s) in the housing,
(d) installation from below of the conducting cover, until its insertion into the conducting body is obtained, with accommodation of the protruding portions in the cavity of the housing in order to form two blocking points, in the two sense of the longitudinal direction (X), of the electrically-conducting cover in the housing.
Advantageously, the step (d) is carried out with:
the cover abutting against the body, and/or
retention of the cover inside of the housing.
Other advantages and features of the invention will become more clearly apparent upon reading the detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention presented by way of non-limiting illustration and with reference to the following figures.
For the sake of clarity, the same structural element of a connector according to the prior art and according to the invention is denoted with the same numerical reference.
It is noted here that, in the assembly of the present application, the terms “lower”, “upper”, “above”, “below”, “interior”, “exterior”, “internal”, “external” are to be understood by reference to a connector according to the invention in a substantially horizontal configuration.
Similarly, the terms “front” and “rear” are to be understood with reference to the connection face of the connector, situated at the front of the latter.
The L-shaped connector 1 comprises an electrically-conducting body 2, central contacts 8 accommodated, at least in part, within the body 2 with interposition of an electrical insulator 7.
An electrically-insulating housing 3, defining an accommodation, accommodates all or part of the body 2.
The body 2 advantageously comprises support feet 29 designed to rest against the PCB.
According to the invention, an electrically-conducting cover 10 is provided composed, in the example described, of a single piece, inserted into the electrically-conducting body 2.
This conducting cover 10 is preferably formed by a ‘cut-and-roll’ technique, in a similar manner to the conducting body 2.
As illustrated in
The dimensions of the various faces 100 to 103, together with their contours, are defined so that the main faces 100, 101 cover, at least partially, the electrical insulator 7, in the part of its accommodation inside of the conducting body 10 which is lacking a wall. This allows the openings of the body 2 to be blocked and hence the risks of leakages of HF signals to be eliminated.
In addition, the screen against electromagnetic interference (known by the acronym EMI), formed by the conducting cover 10, is advantageously completed by the contact of the tabs 29 of the body 2 onto the PCB.
Furthermore, the conducting cover 10 is positioned as close as possible to the insulator 7 by virtue of the slots 200 and 201 in the body. In other words, the main faces 100 and 101 of the conducting cover 10 can be perfectly inserted into the slots 200, 201 while at the same time covering the front and rear faces of the electrical insulator 7.
This allows a cross-section of insulator to be kept as constant as possible between the connection part with the printed circuit board, on the underside of the L-shaped connector, and the connection part with a complementary connector and hence the uniformity of the propagation of the signal to be improved.
This is clearly illustrated in
In other words, the conducting cover 10 forms, with the conducting body 2, a metal envelope over the whole transmission line for the HF signals inside of the L-shaped connector 1. The impedance matching of the ultra-high-frequency line is thus improved.
Also, the spacing between the various faces 100 to 103 of the conducting cover 10 and the location of the slots 200, 201 in the conducting body 2 into which the main faces 100, 101 of the cover 10 are inserted allows a cross-section of insulator to be kept as constant as possible between the connection part with the printed circuit board, on the underside of the L-shaped connector, and the connection part with a complementary connector. Preferably, the main faces 100, 101 of the cover 10 are in contact with interference fit respectively against the front and rear faces of the electrical insulator 7 in order to guarantee the mechanical positioning of the insulator and in order to improve the ultra-high-frequency matching.
This is symbolized in
Preferably, as clearly illustrated in
The conducting cover 10 may advantageously comprise one or more retention profiles 104, for example one per lateral face 102, 103, which allows the retention of the cover 10 within the housing 3 (
Furthermore, the conducting cover 10 may advantageously comprise one or more blocking profiles 105, for example one on the main front face 100, in order to block the latter on the cover 10 (
Furthermore, the rear main face 101 of the cover 10 is advantageously equipped with a tab 106 which is inserted into a slot 202 provided for this purpose at the rear of the body 2 (
Lastly, the conducting cover 10 may be equipped with legs 18 for fixing to a printed circuit board (PCB). As illustrated, fixing legs 18 may be provided which can be directly inserted into the PCB prior to being soldered into it,
In the examples illustrated, the long fixing legs 18 are preferably formed on the lower end of the main front face 100 of the cover 10, whereas short legs 19, for the connection of the electrical ground, are formed on the lower end of the rear main face 101 of the cover 10.
The conducting body 2 may also be equipped with fixing legs 18 which participate, with the fixing legs 18 of the cover 10, in the complete fixing of the L-shaped connector 1 onto a PCB.
Advantageously, the cover 10 may be dimensioned such that, once installed and preferably held in the housing 3, it has portions 1000, 1001 which protrude above the body 2 being arranged into a cavity 30 of the housing 3 (
As can be seen in all of
The various steps for assembly of an L-shaped connector 1 according to the invention are now described with reference to
Initially, all of the components essential to the assembly are provided, namely the conducting body 2, the housing 3, the electrical insulator 7, the central contacts 8, together with the conducting cover 10 according to the invention (
Step a/: The installation of the central contacts 8 is carried out by insertion into the insulator 7 (
Step b/: The installation of the first sub-assembly thus formed of the insulator 7 accommodating the central contacts 8 in the conducting body 2 (
Step c/: The installation of the second sub-assembly thus formed of the insulator 7 with the conducting body 2 and the central contacts 8 in the housing 3 (
Step d/: Then, the installation from below of the conducting cover 10 is carried out, in such a manner that its main faces 100, 101 are inserted into the corresponding slots 200, 201 of the conducting cover 2 (
In other words, the main faces 100, 101 are slid into the slots 200, 201 from the underside of the body 2 and preferably until they abut against the body 2.
This step d/ is preferably carried out until the cover 10 abuts against the body 2.
Preferably also, the installation of the cover 10 is carried out with locking of each protruding profile 105 into the corresponding groove 70 of the insulator 7 and until the retention by capture or clip-on of the cover 10 within the housing 3 by means of each protruding profile 104 which is captured or clipped inside of the complementary profile formed for this purpose inside of the housing 3.
This d/ is carried out with accommodation of the portions 1000, 1001 in the cavity 30 of the housing 3 such that the cover 10 forms a mechanical abutment to the housing 30 with the portions 1000, 1001 which act as blocking points so as to form two blocking points in the two sense of the longitudinal direction (X) of the conductive cover 10 in the housing 3.
Step e/: Once the installation of the conducting cover 10, and preferably its retention in the housing 3, has been carried out, the L-shaped connector according to the invention is ready to be used (
A connection assembly 4 will now be described with reference to
In this illustrated example, the assembly 4 comprises a single housing 3 composed of a single piece, forming a housing common to the two connectors 1.1, 1.2 and in which two feedthrough accommodations are formed, each of these feedthrough accommodations receiving one of the two connectors 1.1, 1.2.
Also, the connection assembly 4 comprises a single conducting cover 10 with fixing legs 18, made from a single piece, which is common to the two connectors 1.1, 1.2.
Each of the connectors 1.1, 1.2 comprises a conducting body 2.1, 2.2 with fixing legs 18.1, 18.2, an insulator 7.1, 7.2 and central contacts 8.1, 8.2 specific to it and similar to those already described with reference to
Also, the common cover 10 comprises blocking profiles for the insulator 105.1, 105.2, together with support tabs 106.1, 106.2 which are separate ones for each connector 1.1, 1.2 and similar to those already described with reference to
On the other hand, the common cover 10 comprises blocking portions 1000, 1001 in the housing 3 and profiles 104 for retention to the housing 3 which are common to the two connectors 1.1, 1.2 and similar to those already described with reference to
In all of the
Thus, in the embodiment in
Other variants and advantages of the invention may be implemented without however straying from the scope of the invention.
For example, although in all of the examples illustrated, the connectors equipped with a conducting cover according to the invention are L-shaped connectors, the invention is also applicable to all straight connectors that can be equipped with a conducting cover.
Similarly, the conducting cover 10 may be formed as a single or several pieces according to various shapes. Thus, aside from an embodiment as a single piece with front and rear main faces 100, 101 (
The invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described; features of the examples illustrated may notably be combined together within variants not illustrated.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900751 | Jan 2019 | FR | national |
