This patent application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-234156 filed on Oct. 8, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to inserting connectors, connector units, and backplanes.
2. Description of the Related Art
A communication device or the like may have a structure where a backplane and plural boards vertically connected to the backplane are provided inside the communication device or the like. Plug connectors are provided at the back plane. Jack connectors are provided at end parts of the boards to be connected. By connecting the jack connectors and the plug connectors, the backplane and each of the boards are electrically connected to each other.
In recent years, transmission rates of signals have become high. Therefore, a structure where signal transmission contacts are arranged two-dimensionally is applied to the above-mentioned jack connector. In other words, members where there are contact modules having signal transmission contacts and shield members mutually arranged in close proximity are provided in a multi-step manner. See, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2001-319753.
However, there is a limitation of the number of the connectors which can be connected to the backplane. Because of this, there is limitation of making the transmission rate high.
Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide a novel and useful inserting connector, connector unit, and backplane solving one or more of the problems discussed above.
More specifically, the embodiments of the present invention may provide a structure whereby a large number of connectors can be connected between a board and a backplane so that a transmission rate between the board and the backplane can be improved.
Another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention may be to provide an inserting connector, including
a plurality of plug electrodes where plug connecting terminals are provided at first ends of the plug electrodes and plug terminals are provided at second ends of the plug electrodes, the plug connecting terminals being configured to be connected to a board, the plug terminals being configured to be connected to jack terminals;
wherein the plug connecting terminals extend in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the board;
the plug terminals extend in a movable direction where the plug terminals are attached to or detached from the jack terminals;
the plug electrodes are bent at an angle α in longitudinal directions of the plug electrodes, the angle α being greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees.
Another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention may be to provide a connector unit, including
the above-mentioned inserting connector; and
a receiving connector provided at another board to be connected to the board, the receiving connector including the jack terminals where the plug terminals are inserted in the movable direction where the plug terminals are attached to or detached from the jack terminals.
Another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention may be to provide a backplane provided as the above-mentioned board, the backplane being where the inserting connector as claimed in claim 1 is attached.
According to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a large number of connectors between the board and the backplane. Therefore, it is possible to provide an inserting connector whereby the transmission rate is improved, a connector unit, and a backplane.
Additional objects and advantages of the embodiments are set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.
A description is given below, with reference to the
(Backplane)
First, a backplane of the embodiment of the present invention and a board to be connected to the backplane are discussed.
As illustrated in
Electrical connection between the boards 31, 32, 33, and 34 and the backplanes 11, 12, 13, and 14 is made by connecting plural receiving connectors 41 provided at the boards 31, 32, 33, and 34 and corresponding plural inserting connectors 21 provided at the backplanes 11, 12, 13, and 14.
More specifically, in this embodiment, plural inserting connectors 21 are provided, in a single-line manner, at both sides of the backplanes 11, 12, 13, and 14. On the other hand, each of the boards 31, 32, 33, and 34 has a substantially pentagonal shaped configuration having three right angle corners. The receiving connectors 41 are provided, in a single-line manner, along two sides forming one of the right angle corners.
The receiving connectors 41 of the board 31 and the inserting connectors 21 provided at the backplanes 11 and 12 are connected to each other so that the board 31 and the backplanes 11 and 12 are connected to each other. In addition, the receiving connectors 41 of the board 32 and the inserting connectors 21 provided at the backplanes 12 and 13 are connected to each other so that the board 32 and the backplanes 12 and 13 are connected to each other. In addition, the receiving connectors 41 of the board 33 and the inserting connectors 21 provided at the backplanes 13 and 14 are connected to each other so that the board 33 and the backplanes 13 and 14 are connected to each other. In addition, the receiving connectors 41 of the board 34 and the inserting connectors 21 provided at the backplanes 11 and 14 are connected to each other so that the board 34 and the backplanes 11 and 14 are connected to each other. In other words, the board 31 and two backplanes 11 and 12 are connected to each other; the board 32 and two backplanes 12 and 13 are connected to each other; the board 33 and two backplanes 13 and 14 are connected to each other; and the board 34 and two backplanes 11 and 14 are connected to each other. The boards 31, 32, 33, and 34 can be taken out from the backplanes 11, 12, 13, and 14 by pulling out the boards 31, 32, 33, and 34 in directions indicated by corresponding arrows A so that the inserting connectors 21 and the receiving connectors 41 are separated from each other. In addition, the boards 31, 32, 33, and 34 and the backplanes 11, 12, 13, and 14 can be connected to each other by pushing in the boards 31, 32, 33, and 34 to the backplanes 11, 12, 13, and 14 in the directions indicated by the arrows A so that the inserting connectors 21 and the receiving connectors 41 are connected to each other. The directions indicated by the arrows A are called, hereinafter removable directions.
Details of connections between the boards 31, 32, 33, and 34 and the backplanes 11, 12, 13, and 14 are discussed with reference to
On the other hand, plural inserting connectors 21 corresponding to plural receiving connectors 41 are provided at the backplanes 11 and 12. A case where a single board 31 is provided at two backplanes 11 and 12 is illustrated in
(Receiving Connector)
Next, the receiving connector 41 is discussed with reference to
(Inserting Connector)
Next, the inserting connector 21 is discussed with reference to
Next, the ground plug 23 and the plug contact 24 are discussed with reference to
The electrode module 51, as illustrated in
The electrode module upper part 52 is formed by arranging plural stick-shaped plug electrodes 56 and unifying the plug electrodes 56 with an insulative resin material part 55a. The plug contact 24 is provided at one side of the plug electrode 56. The plug connecting terminal 25a is provided at another side of the plug electrode 56. The plug electrode 56 is made of a conductive material such as metal. The plug electrode 56 is bent at approximately 45 degrees inside the resin material part 55a. The plug electrodes 56 are arranged in a single-line manner so that the head ends of the plug contacts 24 and the head ends of the plug connecting terminals 25a are regularly situated. In other words, the plug contacts 24 are arranged so that the head ends of the plug contacts 24 are aligned at a surface perpendicular to a direction in which the plug contacts 24 extend. The plug connecting terminals 25a are arranged so that the head ends of the plug connecting terminals 25a are aligned at a surface perpendicular to a direction in which the plug connecting terminals 25a extend. Because of this, the plug electrodes 56 are arranged in order so that lengths of the successive plug electrodes 56 are longer as the plug electrodes 56 are situated from one side end to another side end. In an example illustrated in
The ground electrode 53 is made of a plate-shaped conductive material such as metal. In the ground electrode 53, a ground plug 23 is provided at one end and ground connecting terminal 25b is provided at another end. The ground electrode 53, similar to the plug electrode 56, is bent at approximately 45 degrees. The head ends of the ground plugs 23 and the head ends of the plug connecting terminals 25b are regularly situated. In other words, the ground plugs 23 are arranged so that the head ends of the ground plugs 23 are aligned at a surface perpendicular to a direction in which the ground plugs 23 extend. The ground connecting terminals 25b are arranged so that the head ends of the ground connecting terminals 25b are aligned at a surface perpendicular to a direction in which the ground connecting terminals 25b extend. Because of this, the ground electrodes 53 are arranged in order so that lengths of the successive ground electrodes 53 are longer as the ground electrodes 53 are situated from one side end to another side end. In an example illustrated in
The electrode module lower part 54, similar to the electrode module upper part 52, is formed by arranging the plural stick-shaped plug electrodes 56 and unifying the plug electrodes 56 with an insulative resin material part 55b. The plug contact 24 is provided at one side of the plug electrode 56. The plug connecting terminal 25a is provided at another side of the plug electrode 56. The plug electrode 56 is made of a conductive material such as metal. The plug electrode 56 is bent at approximately 45 degrees inside the resin material part 55b. The plug electrodes 56 are arranged in a single-line manner so that the head ends of the plug contacts 24 and the head ends of the plug connecting terminals 25a are regularly situated. In other words, the plug contacts 24 are arranged so that the head ends of the plug contacts 24 are aligned at a surface perpendicular to a direction in which the plug contacts 24 extend. The plug connecting terminals 25a are arranged so that the head ends of the plug connecting terminals 25a are aligned at a surface perpendicular to a direction in which the plug connecting terminals 25a extend. Because of this, the plug electrodes 56 are arranged in order so that lengths of the successive plug electrodes 56 are longer as the plug electrodes are situated from one side end to another side end. In an example illustrated in
Next, details of the electrode module upper part 52 and the electrode module lower part 54 are discussed with reference to
Next, details of the ground electrode 53 are discussed with reference to
The inserting connector 21 is made by attaching plural electrode modules 51 into the housing 22. Here,
The housing 22 of the inserting connector 21 is discussed with reference to
In the above-discussed embodiment, a structure where four backplanes 11, 12, 13, and 14 are provided at right angles (90 degrees) with each other is discussed. However, the backplanes may be provided at any angles except that the backplanes may not be provided in parallel. In other words, as long as an angle β formed by two backplanes is greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees (0 degrees <β<180 degrees), any arrangement of the backplanes is available. In this case, bending angles of the ground electrodes 53 and the plug electrodes 56 of the inserting connector 21 are equal to β/2. Accordingly, the angle α is greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees (0 degrees<α<90 degrees). In the above-discussed example, a is equal to approximately 45 degrees.
The bending angles α of the ground electrodes 53 and the plug electrodes 56 of the inserting connector 21 provided at two backplanes may be different from each other in the two backplanes. When a bending angle of the ground electrodes 53 and the plug electrodes 56 of the inserting connector 21 provided at one backplane is defined as α1 and a bending angle of the ground electrodes 53 and the plug electrodes 56 of the inserting connector 21 provided at another backplane is defined as α2, the following equation may be satisfied. That is, α1+α2=β.
Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, three backplanes may be provided at 120 degrees to each other. In this case, it is possible to achieve the same effect as that of the embodiment of the present invention by providing the inserting connectors at both surfaces of the backplanes so that α is approximately 60 degrees.
All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority or inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2009-234156 | Oct 2009 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4932888 | Senor | Jun 1990 | A |
5743751 | Davis et al. | Apr 1998 | A |
5947753 | Chapman et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
6077093 | Seong et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
6554651 | Crane, Jr. | Apr 2003 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2001-319753 | Nov 2001 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20110086521 A1 | Apr 2011 | US |