Information
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Patent Grant
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6520785
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Patent Number
6,520,785
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Date Filed
Friday, July 20, 200123 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, February 18, 200321 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
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CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 439 188
- 439 63
- 439 944
- 439 581
- 200 5109
- 200 511
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International Classifications
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Abstract
A switch-equipped coaxial connector comprises an insulative housing (2) having a hollow section (14) and a bottom plate (15) between the hollow section (14) and the board, a fixed terminal (3) attached to the insulative housing (2) from side and having a contact section (25) provided within the hollow section (14), a movable terminal (4) attached to the insulative housing (2) from side and having a movable section (33) biased upwardly within the hollow section (14) to make contact with the contact section (25), a central conductor (5) for sliding in the axial direction of the insulative housing (2), a spring member (6) for supporting the central conductor (5), and an outer conductor (7) provided outside the spring member (6) and the insulative housing (2) such that when the central conductor (5) is depressed, the movable section (33) is separated from the contact section (25) of the fixed terminal (3).
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coaxial connectors to be mounted on a board and, particularly, to a coaxial connector equipped with a switch for making/breaking connections between respective terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
A switch-equipped coaxial connector is widely used in a mobile phone provided in an automobile for switching between an inner antenna of the mobile phone and an outer antenna of the automobile. An example of such a switch-equipped coaxial connector is disclosed by Japanese patent application Kokai No. 11-251001. It comprises a central conductor for sliding in the axial direction and a pair of terminals attached to a recess provided in the housing on the mounting side such that the lower end of the central conductor is in contact with the spring section of one of the terminals. When the inner antenna is used, the spring section keeps the terminals contact. When the outer antenna is used, the spring section is depressed via the central conductor to break the contact between the terminals.
However, when the coaxial connector is mounted on a board, the gas or flux enters the coaxial connector through the area in which the switch is provided. In addition, dust or dirt enters through a gap between the central conductor and the insulative housing to contaminate the terminals, causing a malfunction. The terminals are attached to the insulative housing from the mounting side so that they are susceptible to a force from above or side to cause a malfunction. Since the central conductor is always in contact with the spring section of a terminal, it is difficult to improve the electrical characteristics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a switch-equipped coaxial connector capable of preventing contamination of the terminals and securing the terminals to the insulative housing to improve the reliability and electrical characteristics of the switch mechanism.
According to the invention there is provided a switch-equipped coaxial connector to be mounted on a board, which comprises an insulative housing having a hollow section and a bottom plate between the board and the hollow section; a fixed terminal attached to the insulative housing from side and having a contact section provided in the hollow section and a leg section adapted to be mounted on the board; a movable terminal attached to the insulative housing from side and having a movable section biased upwardly for contact with the contact section of the fixed terminal and a leg section adapted to be mounted on the board; a central conductor for sliding in an axial direction of the insulative housing; a spring member provided on the insulative housing to support the central conductor; and an outer conductor provided outside the spring member and the insulative housing such that when the central conductor is depressed, the movable section of the movable terminal is separated from the contact section of the fixed terminal.
It is preferred that the insulative housing has a side opening that the outer conductor is able to close, the fixed and movable terminals are secured to the insulative housing at a plurality of locations, and that the contact section of the fixed terminal is secured to the insulative housing.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a switch-equipped coaxial connector to be mounted on a board, which comprises an insulative housing having a hollow section; a fixed terminal attached to the insulative housing and having a contact section provided in the hollow section and a leg section adapted to be mounted on the board; a movable terminal attached to the housing and having a movable section biased upwardly in the hollow section for contact with the contact section and a leg section adapted to be mounted on the board; a central conductor for sliding in an axial direction of the insulative housing; a spring member having an inner edge for supporting a top end of the central conductor, an outer edge provided on the insulative housing, and a spring section provided between the inner and outer edges; and an outer conductor provided outside the spring member and the insulative housing to press the outer edge of the spring member so that an upper surface of the spring section is stretched and the central conductor is spaced from the movable section of the movable terminal, keeping the movable section and the contact section of the fixed terminal contact.
It is preferred that the outer edge of the spring member has an upward ridge and the outer conductor has a guiding section extending inwardly and downwardly from a top edge of the outer conductor so as to abut on an inner face of the upward ridge and that the central conductor has a narrow neck portion at its upper portion with which the inner edge of the spring member makes close contact, the inner edge being made thicker than the spring section.
Since the bottom plate separates the hollow section in which the switch mechanism, such as the terminal, is provided and the board on which the coaxial connector is mounted, it is possible to prevent contamination of the terminals and malfunction of the switch mechanism, thus improving the operational reliability.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an exploded perspective view of a switch-equipped coaxial connector according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2
is a side view of the switch-equipped coaxial connector;
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of terminals for the switch-equipped coaxial connector;
FIG. 4
is a sectional view of the switch-equipped coaxial connector when the inner antenna is used; and
FIG. 5
is a section view of the switch-equipped coaxial connector when an outer antenna is used.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A switch-equipped coaxial connector
1
comprises a substantially cylindrical insulative housing
2
, a fixed terminal
3
, a movable terminal
4
, a substantially rod-like central conductor
5
, a substantially circular spring member
6
, and a substantially cylindrical outer conductor
7
. It is to be mounted on a board (not shown).
The insulative housing
2
has a substantially cylindrical body member
8
and right and left extended sections
9
and
10
provided on the lower side of the body member
8
. An indented portion
11
is provided in the top of the body member
8
and an annular groove
12
is provided around the indented portion
11
to form an annular ridge
13
between them. A hollow section
14
is provided in the lower part of the body member
8
to form a bottom plate
15
between the board and the hollow section
14
. The bottom plate
15
has a curved side face
59
extending along the circumference of the body member
8
. A communication hole
16
extends in the axial direction between the indented portion
11
and the hollow section
14
. An opening portion
17
is provided in the side wall of the insulative housing
2
to communicate with the hollow section
14
. As best shown in
FIG. 2
, the right and left extended sections
9
and
10
have right vertical and horizontal slots
18
and
19
, and a left vertical slot
20
, respectively. A cut-out portion
21
extends along the left vertical slot
20
and a short horizontal slot
22
is provided at the same level as the right horizontal slot
19
.
The fixed and movable terminals
3
and
4
are press-fitted to the insulative housing
2
from side. The fixed terminal
3
has a first fixing section
23
to be press-fitted into the right vertical slot
18
, a second fixing section
24
extending outwardly from the top edge of the fist fixing section
23
to be press-fitted into the right horizontal slot
19
, a contact plate
25
extending inwardly from the top edge of the first fixing section
23
, a third fixing section
26
extending laterally from the contact plate
25
to be press-fitted into the short horizontal slot
22
, and a leg portion
27
extending outwardly from the lower end of the first fixing section
23
to be exposed beside the bottom plate
15
of the insulative housing
2
for connection with a circuit trace of the board. A wedge-shaped engaging section
28
extends downwardly from the lower edge of the first fixing section
23
to keep the first fixing section
23
in the right vertical slot
18
.
The movable terminal
4
has a first fixing section
29
to be press-fitted into the left vertical slot
20
, a second fixing section
31
connected to the first fixing section
29
via a curved arm section
30
and fitted into the cut-out section
21
, a movable section
33
connected to the first fixing section
29
via a spring section
32
, and a leg section
56
projecting from the bottom plate
15
of the insulative housing
2
and adapted to be connected to a circuit trace (not shown) of the board. The front end
34
of the movable section
33
extends slightly upwardly for contact with the contact section
25
of the fixed terminal
3
, and the movable section
33
is biased by the spring section
32
to keep the contact of the front end
34
. First and second engaging wedges
35
and
36
extend downwardly from the first and second fixing sections
29
and
31
to keep the first and second fixing sections
29
and
31
press-fitted.
The central conductor
5
has a rod section
37
for sliding along the communication aperture
16
, a flange section
38
attached to the rod section
37
and having a diameter greater than the diameter of the communication aperture
16
, a head section
39
provided at the top, and a neck section
40
provided between the head section
39
and the flange section
38
.
The spring member
6
is attached to the insulative housing
2
in an airtight manner and provided with a small aperture
41
through which the central conductor
5
is passed. It has an outer edge
44
with upper and lower ridges
42
and
43
, a circular spring plate
45
, and an inner edge
46
that has a thickness greater than the thickness of the spring plate
45
and is fitted over the neck section
40
in an airtight manner. The lower ridge
43
of the outer edge
46
is fitted in the annular groove
12
such that the annular ridge
13
is brought into close contact with the lower face
47
of the spring plate
45
to form a gap
48
between the lower ridge
43
and the annular groove
12
. Consequently, the lower face
47
of the spring plate
45
serves as standards for assembling the respective parts and improving the product precision.
The outer conductor
7
, which is put over the spring member
6
and the insulative housing
2
, has a circumference wall
49
, a guide section
51
extends downwardly from the upper edge of the circumference wall
49
to a central circular hole
50
, and a pair of opposed leg sections
57
extend downwardly from the circumference wall
49
to be connected to a ground circuit trace (not shown) of the board. A pair of cut-outs
58
are provided in the circumference wall
49
corresponding to the right and left extended sections
9
and
10
and the opening
17
is closed by the circumferential wall
49
. The guide section
51
abuts on the inner side of the annular ridge
42
to hold the spring member
6
in an airtight manner while the head section
39
of the central conductor
5
is exposed in the circular hole
50
.
The operation of the switch-equipped coaxial connector
1
will be described with reference to
FIGS. 4 and 5
, wherein a plug
52
with a convex tip comprises a central conductor
53
, an outer conductor
54
, and an insulation member
55
between them.
In
FIG. 4
, when the inner antenna of a mobile phone is used or the plug
52
is separated from the switch-equipped coaxial connector
1
, the upper ridge
42
of the spring member
6
is pressed outwardly by the guide section
51
to stretch the upper surface of the spring plate
45
so that the central conductor
5
is supported by the spring member
6
with lower end spaced by a predetermined distance from the movable section
33
. At this point, the front end
34
of the movable terminal
4
is kept contact with the contact section
25
of the fixed terminal
3
by the spring section
32
. Since the spring plate
45
is kept stretched by the guide member
51
, even if vibrations are applied to it, the central conductor
5
does not move up and down so that the distance between the central conductor
5
and the movable section
33
is kept within a predetermined range, improving the reliability of the switch mechanism.
In
FIG. 5
, when the outer antenna is used, the plug
52
is pressed against the switch-equipped coaxial connector
1
. Since the guide section
51
is sloped inwardly and the plug
52
has a convex tip, it is easy and certain that the central and outer conductors
53
and
55
of the plug
52
are brought into contact with the central and outer conductors
5
and
7
, respectively, of the coaxial connector
1
. The central conductor
5
is pressed downwardly by the plug
52
along the communication aperture
16
to flex downwardly the spring plate
45
so that it abuts on and bring the movable section
33
downwardly. Consequently, the front end
34
of the movable section
33
is separated from the contact section
25
of the fixed terminal
3
so that the plug
52
is electrically connected to the predetermined circuit (not shown) of the board via the coaxial connector
1
.
Since the first and second fixing sections
29
and
31
are secured to the insulative housing
2
by the first and second engaging portions
35
and
36
, respectively, the movable terminal
4
does not fall or shift under the pressure of the central conductor
5
. Since the third fixing section
26
is secured to the small horizontal groove
22
, the fixed terminal
3
does not move in step of the movement of the movable terminal
4
, assuring the stable switching operation. The inner edge
46
is thicker than the spring plate
45
so that the spring plate
45
does not make contact with the flexed head section
39
and thus is kept from damage.
Since the annular ridge
13
of the insulative housing
2
and the lower face
47
of the spring member
6
, the guide section
51
of the outer conductor
7
and the upper ridge
42
of the spring member
6
, and the inner ridge
46
of the spring member
6
and the head section
40
of the central conductor
5
are in close contact with each other, neither dust nor dirt enters the hollow section
14
and it is suitable for transportation by a vacuum machine. Since the opening section
17
of the insulative housing
2
is closed by the outer conductor
7
, neither dust nor dirt enters the hollow section
14
from side and, since the insulative housing
2
has the bottom plate
15
, when the switch-equipped coaxial connector
1
is soldered to the board, the generated gas or flux does not enter the hollow section
14
. Consequently, there is no danger that dust or dirt contaminates the fixed and/or movable terminal
3
or
4
, causing a malfunction of the switch mechanism. The switch-equipped coaxial connector according to the invention may also be useful for testing equipment.
Alternatively, the outer conductor
54
of a plug may be made to cover the outer conductor
7
of the coaxial connector so as to maintain the engagement with the guide section
51
independently. Since the outer conductor
54
of the plug abuts on the right and left extended sections
9
and
10
, the fitting length of the plug is regulated. The shapes of the insulative housing
2
, the fixed and movable terminals
3
and
4
, the central and outer conductors
5
and
7
, and the spring member
6
may vary as far as they function in a way equivalent to the above-mentioned components.
As has been described above, according to the invention, the bottom plate separates the hollow section in which the switch mechanism, such as terminals, is provided from the board on which the coaxial connector is mounted so that neither flux nor gas generated upon soldering the coaxial connector to a board enters the hollow section from below. Since the spring member and the outer conductor close the hollow section, neither dust nor dirt enters the hollow section from above or side so that it is possible to prevent contamination of the terminals and malfunction of the switch mechanism, resulting in the improved reliability.
The terminals are attached at a plurality of locations to the insulative housing in the direction perpendicular to the operational direction of the switch mechanism so that they are strong against forces in the operational direction of the switch mechanism and twisting direction and able to maintain the contact pressure at the predetermined level, assuring the reliable switching operation. Since the terminal is attached to the insulative housing from side, it is possible to simplify the assembling and save the labor. The central conductor makes contact with the terminal only when it is necessary so that it is easy to improve the electrical characteristics of the switch mechanism.
Claims
- 1. A switch-equipped coaxial connector to be mounted on a board, comprising:an insulative housing having a hollow section, vertical slots, and a bottom plate between said board and said hollow section; a fixed terminal attached to one side of said vertical slots of said insulative housing and having a contact section provided in said hollow section and a leg section adapted to mount on said board; a movable terminal attached to the other side of said vertical slots of said insulative housing and having a movable section biased upwardly for contact with said contact section of said fixed terminal and a leg section adapted to mount on said board; a central conductor for sliding in an axial direction of said insulative housing; a spring member attached on a top edge of said insulative housing to support said central conductor so that said central conductor is spaced from said movable section of said movable terminal; and an outer conductor with central hole and a guiding section enclosed outside said spring member and said insulative housing such that when said central conductor is depressed by a plug which being inserted into the guiding section, the plug pressing said spring member downwardly, said movable section of said movable terminal is separated from said contact section of said fixed terminal.
- 2. The switch-equipped coaxial connector according to claim 1, wherein said insulative housing has a side opening that said outer conductor is able to close.
- 3. The switch-equipped coaxial connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said fixed and movable terminals are secured to said insulative housing at a plurality of locations.
- 4. The switch-equipped coaxial connector according to claim 3, wherein said contact section of said fixed terminal is secured to said insulative housing.
- 5. A switch-equipped coaxial connector to be mounted on a board, comprising:an insulative housing having a hollow section and vertical slots; fixed terminal attached in one side of said slots of said insulative housing and having a contact section provided in said hollow section and a leg section adapted to mount on said board; movable terminal attached in the other side of said slots of said housing and having a movable section biased upwardly in said hollow section for contact with said contact section and a leg section adapted to mount on said board; a central conductor for sliding in an axial direction of said insulative housing; a spring member attached on a top edge of said insulative housing, said spring member having an inner edge for supporting a top end of said central conductor, an outer edge supported by said insulative housing, and a spring section provided between said inner and outer edges; and an outer conductor with a central hole and a guiding section enclosed outside said spring member and said insulative housing, wherein when said central conductor is not pressed by a plug which is being inserted into the guiding section, said central conductor is spaced from movable section of said movable terminal and said movable section and said contact section keep contact with each other, and when said central conductor is pressed by said plug to flex said spring section of said spring member downwardly, said central conductor abuts on said movable section to separate said movable section from said contact section.
- 6. The switch-equipped coaxial connector according to claim 5, wherein said outer edge of said spring member has an upward ridge and said outer conductor has a guiding section extending inwardly and downwardly from a top edge of said outer conductor so as to abut on an inner face of said upward ridge.
- 7. The switch-equipped coaxial connector according to claim 6 or 5, wherein said central conductor has a narrow neck portion at an upper portion thereof over which said inner edge of said spring member is fitted in airtight manner, said inner edge being made thicker than said spring section.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2000-263319 |
Aug 2000 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (7)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
11-251001 |
Sep 1999 |
JP |