Patent Application
20120329308
The present invention relates to a connector terminal, and more particularly to a connector terminal that includes a first cable connecting unit for electrically connecting a cable to a 90-degree connector and a second cable connecting unit for electrically connecting a cable to a 180-degree connector, so that the connector terminal can be used with either a 90-degree or a 180-degree connector to provide good applicability, and the costs for manufacturing and storing connector terminals can be reduced.
The conventional connector terminals can be generally divided into at least three types, namely, soldering terminals, crimping terminals, and piercing terminals. In the case of using soldering terminals and crimping terminals, a lot of time and labor and complicated procedures are required to connect a cable to a connector. Therefore, the piercing terminals are more widely employed in the connector field. A conventional piercing terminal usually includes a main body, a contact section provided at an end of the main body, and a piercing section provided at another opposite end of the main body. The piercing terminal is installed in a terminal seat on a connector to pierce a cable extended through the piercing section, so as to electrically connect the cable to the connector.
Since the conventional connectors can be generally divided into two types, namely, 90-degree and 180-degree connectors, the conventional connector terminals are usually configured as L-shaped or I-shaped to use with the 90-degree and the 180-degree connectors, respectively. Since the L-shaped terminals could not be used with the 180-degree connectors and the I-shaped terminals could not be used with the 90-degree connectors, that is, the L-shaped and the I-shaped connector terminals are not exchangeable with one another in use, it is necessary to prepare two differently configured terminals for assembling to the 90-degree and the 180-degree connectors. As a result, the conventional connector terminals have low applicability and increased costs are needed to produce and store two differently configured connector terminals.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved connector terminal that has high applicability and can be used with either a 90-degree or a 180-degree connector to electrically connect cables to the connector, so that it is not necessary to produce and stock two differently configured connector terminals.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved connector terminal that can be used with either a 90-degree or a 180-degree connector to electrically connect cables to the connector, so that the connector terminal provides good applicability and the costs for manufacturing and storing connector terminals are reduced.
To achieve the above and other objects, the connector terminal according to the present invention includes a main body having at least one contact section extended from a first end of the main body; a first cable connecting unit horizontally located above an opposite second end of the main body; and a second cable connecting unit vertically extended from an end of the first cable connecting unit in a direction opposite to the main body.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the first cable connecting unit includes a horizontal plate extended in parallel to the main body, two interconnecting sections connecting a first end of the horizontal plate to the second end of the main body, two horizontal insertion slots correspondingly provided on the second end of the main body and the first end of the horizontal plate, two piercing sections provided on two facing sides of each of the two horizontal insertion slots, and a cable guide inlet located between the two interconnecting sections and communicating with the two horizontal insertion slots.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the second cable connecting unit includes a vertical plate vertically extended from an opposite second end of the horizontal plate in a direction opposite to the main body, an outward expanded opening formed on a free end of the vertical plate, a vertical insertion slot formed on the vertical plate along a longitudinal axis thereof and communicating with the outward expanded opening, and two piercing sections provided on two facing sides of the vertical insertion slot.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the second cable connecting unit includes a vertical plate vertically extended from an opposite second end of the horizontal plate in a direction opposite to the main body, a vertical slot formed on the vertical plate along a longitudinal axis thereof and communicating with a free end of the vertical plate, and two clamping sections extended from two facing sides of the vertical slot.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Please refer to
The main body 10 has at least one contact section 101 extended from a first end of the main body 10.
The first cable connecting unit 11 is horizontally located above an opposite second end of the main body 10, and includes a horizontal plate 111 extended in parallel to the main body 10, two interconnecting sections 112 connecting a first end of the horizontal plate 111 to the second end of the main body 10, two horizontal insertion slots 113 correspondingly provided on the second end of the main body 10 and the first end of the horizontal plate 111, two piercing sections 114 provided on two facing sides of each of the two horizontal insertion slots 113, and a cable guide inlet 115 located between the two interconnecting sections 112 and communicating with the two horizontal insertion slots 113.
The second cable connecting unit 12 is located perpendicular to the first cable connecting unit 11, and includes a vertical plate 121 vertically extended from an opposite second end of the horizontal plate 111 in a direction opposite to the main body 10, an outward expanded opening 122 formed on a free end of the vertical plate 121, a vertical insertion slot 123 formed on the vertical plate 121 along a longitudinal axis thereof and communicating with the outward expanded opening 122, and two piercing sections 124 provided on two facing sides of the vertical insertion slot 123.
In the case the connector terminal 1a is used with a 90-degree connector, the cables (not shown in
The connector terminal according to the present invention is novel, improved, and practical for use because it includes a first and a second cable connecting unit to enable electric connection of cables to a 90-degree or a 180-degree connector, respectively, via the same connector terminal, allowing the connector terminal of the present invention to have good applicability and be used with either a 90-degree or a 180-degree connector. Meanwhile, with the connector terminal of the present invention, the costs for manufacturing and storing connector terminals can be reduced. The present invention is also industrially valuable because products derived from the present invention would no doubt satisfy the current market demands.
The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
