Patent Application
20200303875
The present invention relates to a plug connector assembly having first and second plug connector parts, the first plug connector part situated on a printed circuit board and including first contact elements, the second plug connector part including a base body and second contact elements held by the base body, the second plug connector part being connectable to the first plug connector part, and the second contact elements being electrically and mechanically connected to the first contact elements when the first and second plug connector parts are connected.
Such plug connector assemblies are known in many designs. The first contact elements of the first plug connector part are often connected electrically as well as mechanically to the printed circuit board. This connection of the first contact elements to the printed circuit board may be achieved, for example, by inserting end sections of the first contact elements into recesses in the printed circuit board and subsequently soldering the end sections to printed conductors of the printed circuit board.
In such plug connector assemblies, the first plug connector part must be connectable to the second plug connector part in a simple and functionally reliable manner. In particular, it should be possible to reliably prevent the two plug connector parts from being inadvertently disconnected. For this purpose, locking elements are known which are implemented, for example, by displaceable housing parts of the plug connector parts. Manufacture of these locking elements may be relatively complicated, depending on the design of the housing parts.
An object is to provide a plug connector assembly having a first plug connector part arranged on a printed circuit board and a second plug connector part in which the second plug connector part is easily lockable to the first plug connector part.
At least one of the above and/or other objects is achieved, firstly, in that a pair of stamped/bent parts are positioned next to respective sides of the first plug connector part and are fastened to the printed circuit board, each stamped/bent part forms a spring arm that is movable in one-piece in parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board, and when the plug connector parts are connected, an end section of each spring arm engages in respective detent recesses (or notches) in a base body of the second plug connector part.
At least one of the above and/or other objects is achieved, secondly, in that a pair of stamped/bent part are positioned next to respective sides of the first connector part and are fastened to the printed circuit board, each stamped/bent part has a detent recess (or notch), and a base body of the second plug connector part has spring arms, integrally formed or situated on respective sides of the base body, which lock with the detent recesses in the stamped/bent parts when the plug connector parts are completely connected.
In carrying out at least one of the above and/or other objects, a plug connector assembly is provided. The plug connector assembly includes a printed circuit board, a first plug connector part, a second plug connector part, a first stamped/bent part, and a second stamped/bent part. The first plug connector part is connected to the printed circuit board and includes first contact elements. The second plug connector part includes a base body and second contact elements held by the base body. The plug connector parts are connectable together. The first and second contact elements are connected together when the first and second plug connector parts are connected together. The first and second stamped/bent parts are respectively positioned next to respective sides of the first plug connector part and are fastened to the printed circuit board.
In a “firstly” variation, the base body has first and second detent recesses on respective sides of the base body and the first and second stamped/bent parts form respective first and second spring arms that are each movable as one piece in parallel to the printed circuit board. When the first and second plug connector parts are connected together, end sections of the first and second spring arms respectively engage in the first and second detent recesses of the base body thereby fixing the second plug connector part relative to the printed circuit board and thus also fixing the second plug connector part relative to the first plug connector part.
In a “secondly” variation, the first and second stamped/bent parts have first and second detent recesses, respectively, and the base body has first and second spring arms on respective sides of the base body. The first and second spring arms respectively lock with the first and second detent recesses of the stamped/bent parts when the first and second plug connector parts are connected together thereby fixing the second plug connector part relative to the printed circuit board and thus also fixing the second plug connector part relative to the first plug connector part.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a plug connector assembly having a first plug connector part, a second plug connector part, a printed circuit board, a first stamped/bent part, and a second stamped/bent part. The first plug connector part is arranged on (i.e., connected to) the printed circuit board. The first plug connector part includes a contact carrier and first contact elements (e.g., plug contacts) held by the contact carrier. The second plug connector part includes a base body and second contact elements (e.g., sleeves) held by the base body. The stamped/bent parts are positioned next to respective sides of the first plug connector part and are fastened to the printed circuit board. The first and second plug connector parts are connectable together. The second contact elements electrically and mechanically connect to the first contact elements when the plug connector parts are connected together. Mechanical latching connections are established between the second plug connector part and the stamped/bent parts by means of spring (or resilient) arms when the plug connector parts are connected together.
Thus, in embodiments of the present invention, stamped/bent (or punched and bent) parts are fastened to the printed circuit board and the stamped/bent parts may establish mechanical detent connections to the second plug connector part via spring arms, thus fixing the second plug connector part relative to the printed circuit board and thus also relative to the first plug connector part.
The spring arms may be either integrally formed (or molded) on the stamped/bent parts or integrally formed or situated on the base body of the second plug connector part. The associated detent recesses may be provided either on the base body or on the stamped/bent parts. The above “secondly” approach according to embodiments of the present invention represents a kinematic reversal or converse of the above “firstly” approach according to embodiments of the present invention, and vice versa.
Herein, the term “stamped/bent part” is to be understood in a broad sense as a sheet metal part formed by stamping, and that has at least one section bent at a right angle or approximately a right angle. It is irrelevant whether the bending takes place at the same time as the stamping or in a subsequent work step.
The fastening of the stamped/bent parts to the printed circuit board may take place via press-fit zones, for example, which are integrally formed on bent (or angled-on) fastening strips of the stamped/bent parts. The fastening strips preferably form simple soldering surfaces that are soldered to contact surfaces or printed conductors on the surface of the printed circuit board.
The fastening of the base body of the second plug connector part to stamped/bent parts situated on the printed circuit board via spring arms, which establish detent (or snap-in) connections with the base body of the second plug connector part, enables simple and reliable fixing of the second plug connector part to the printed circuit board, and at the same time, to the first plug connector part situated on the printed circuit board. It is advantageous that for this purpose, no detent elements are necessary on the first plug connector part.
Two exemplary embodiments of the present invention are illustrated with reference to the drawings and explained in greater detail below. In the drawings:
Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Referring now to
First plug connector part 10 is arranged or situated on (i.e., connected to) printed circuit board 50. First plug connector part 10 includes first contact elements 12 and a contact carrier 14. First contact elements 12 are held by contact carrier 14 of first plug connector part 10. First contact elements 12 are connected electrically and mechanically to printed circuit board 50.
Second plug connector part 20 includes second contact elements 22 and a base body 30. Second contact elements 22 are held by base body 30 of second plug connector part 20.
First and second plug connector parts 10, 20 are connectable together. First and second contact elements 12, 22 are electrically and mechanically connected when first and second plug connector parts 10, 20 are connected together.
Stamped/bent parts 40a, 40b are positioned next to respective sides of first plug connector part 10. Stamped/bent parts 40a, 40b are fastened to printed circuit board 50. Stamped/bent parts 40a, 40b form respective spring arms 42a, 42b. Spring arms 42a, 42b are movable in one-piece in parallel to surface 52 of printed circuit board 50. When first and second plug connector parts 10, 20 are connected together, end sections 44a, 44b of spring arms 42a, 42b engage in respective detent recesses (or notches) 32a, 32b in base body 30 of second plug connector part 20, thus fixing second plug connector part 20 relative to printed circuit board 50 and thus also relative to first plug connector part 10.
In addition to plug connector parts 10, 20, also apparent in
When the first plug connector assembly is installed, fastening strips 41 of stamped/bent parts 40a, 40b rest on surface 52 of printed circuit board 50 and are used to fasten the stamped/bent parts to the printed circuit board. For this purpose, stamped/bent parts 40a, 40b, similarly to electronic SMD (surface-mount device) components, are preferably soldered to contact surfaces or printed conductors (not shown) on surface 52 of printed circuit board 50. Alternatively, fastening strips 41 on their bottom side may have press-fit zones (not shown) and may be inserted into boreholes (not shown) in printed circuit board 50.
Base body 30 of second plug connector part 20 has a detent (or latching) recess 32a, 32b on each of its two side faces, in parallel to second contact elements 22. When plug connector parts 10, 20 are connected together, as illustrated in
Inadvertent disconnection of plug connector parts 10, 20 due to falling out or being pulled out via connecting lines 60 is thus prevented. Plug connector parts 10, 20 can be disconnected from one another by simultaneously exerting pressure on two actuating sections 43 of spring arms 42a, 42b, which allows detent hooks 44a, 44b to be moved out of detent recesses 32a, 32b of base body 30, against the elastic force of spring arms 42a, 42b.
Situated on base body 30 of second plug connector part 20 is a connecting element 24. Connecting element 24 is preferably metallic. Connecting element 24 forms a U-shaped bracket which encompasses base body 30 and which has spring arms 25a, 25b that are integrally formed on the side faces of the base body. Each spring arm 25a, 25b forms a bent section 26. When plug connector parts 10, 20 are connected together, bent sections 26 engage in detent recesses 49a, 49b of stamped/bent parts 40c, 40d.
Here as well, connecting element 24 and stamped/bent parts 40c, 40d result in a mechanical connection between base body 30 of second plug connector part 20 and printed circuit board 50 (not shown), which at the same time fixes second plug connector part 20 relative to first plug connector part 10.
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the present invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2018 000 207.2 | Jan 2018 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/EP2019/050649, published in German, with an International filing date of filed Jan. 11, 2019, which claims priority to DE 10 2018 000 207.2, filed Jan. 12, 2018; the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2019/050649 | Jan 2019 | US |
| Child | 16895268 | US |
