WO2002097925A2

WO2002097925A2 - Shrouded connector with improved terminal pin construction

Info

Publication number: WO2002097925A2
Application number: PCT/US2002/016390
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shigeru Ando; Toshiyuki Furuhata
Original assignee: Molex Incorporated
Priority date: 2001-05-29
Filing date: 2002-05-23
Publication date: 2002-12-05
Also published as: JP2002359021A; JP4851659B2; AU2002310083A1; WO2002097925A3

Abstract

A shrouded connector is disclosed that includes a plurality of conductive terminal pins that are inserted into a plurality of through-holes formed in a circuit board, from one surface of the board to the other surface thereof. The connector includes a housing that receives these terminal pins in a plurality of mounting holes. Each mounting hole is constructed from four sides, two of which are flat surfaces and the other two of which are angled surfaces. All of the surfaces together cooperatively form a hexagonal configuration so that the flat surface sides clamp and hold the terminal pin, while the other two (angled) surfaces guide the terminal pins into the holes.

Description

SHROUDED CONNECTOR WITH IMPROVED TERMINAL PIN CONSTRUCTION

Background Of The Invention

The present invention relates generally to a backplane connector, and more particularly, to a shroud connector that uses an improved construction in its through-holes for retaining conductive tenninal pins in place therein Connectors are known that use terminal pins having rectangular cross-sections, which are inserted into a plurality of through-holes formed in and extending through a circuit board from one side of the circuit board to the other side thereof. Such a construction is generally illustrated in FIG. 3, where two right-angle connectors 50, 60 are located opposite sides of a vertically oriented circuit board. In order to make electrical contact between these two right-angled connectors, it is required to mount a pair of complementary-shaped connectors on opposite surfaces of a circuit board. These connectors are typically referred to in the art as backplane or shrouded connectors.

In the general type of backplane connector, one or more vertical male header connectors 10 with a plurality of long terminal pins 12 are mounted on one surface Bl of the vertical circuit board. The terminal pins 12 protrude through the circuit board to the other surface B2, and are pressed into place on the circuit board through through-holes formed in a member, such as the shroud 15 shown, thereby fixing the header connectors 10 to the board.

As shown in FIG. 5, the through-hole H formed in the shroud 15 of the connector is designed so that each of sides form a substantially rectangular opening. The through-hole H is slightly smaller in length dimension than a corresponding one of sides forming a substantially rectangular sectional shape of the angular pin terminal P. Accordingly, the terminal pin P is inserted under pressure into the through-hole H while the terminal pin side surfaces (side surfaces PI, P2, upper surface P3 and a lower surface P4) of the tenninal pin P respectively contact opposing internal surfaces (side internal surfaces HI, H2, upper internal surface H3 and lower internal surface H4) that cooperatively foπn the through-hole H.

However, in the instances where contact areas are provided on the upper surface P3 or lower surface P4 of the terminal pin P, the contact area is brought into contact with the upper internal surface H3 or the lower internal surface H4 of the connector housing during the pressure-insertion, and thus the contact area may become damaged or contaminated, causing a difficulty in securing a reliable contact with a terminal of an opposing connector. In particular, in instances where the terminal pin is plated, the plating layer may be peeled off as a consequence of the pressure insertion, and thus reliable contact cannot be obtained withy an opposing connector. Accordingly, a need exists for a connector that retains terminal pins in a manner that does not lead to potential degradation of the plating on the terminal pins.

Summary Of The Invention

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved pin header connector that overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages. Another object of the present invention is to provide a header connector for mating with a plurality of individual opposing connectors which are assembled together as a single connector unit, the header connector including a base, a pair of sidewalls that extend along the base and which cooperatively define a channel for receiving the opposing connector(s), a plurality of conductive terminals in the form of pins arranged within the channel, the pins extending through a plurality of openings formed in the base of the header connector, the openings having a configuration that avoids excessive contact with the terminals inserted therein so as not to peel or delaminate plating off of the terminals as a result of the terminals being inserted into the header connector base openings.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a header connector that holds a plurality of conductive terminals therein, the terminals each having a body portion that engages the header connector, the header connector having a plurality of non-square, non-rectangular and non-circular cross-section with multiple sides, the configuration of the openings being such that only two of all of the opening sides engage opposing sides of the terminal body portions. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a header connector with hexagonal openings that receive a plurality of conductive terminals therein, the hexagonal openings defining two sides that grip the terminals and two sides that guide the terminals during insertion.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a connector having a plurality of through-holes formed therein, wherein the structure of the through hole is such that contact areas of terminals inserted into the through holes are prevented from being contacted by all internal surfaces of the through-hole and not damaged and contaminated during insertion, thereby securing reliable contact with the terminals.

To achieve the above-noted object, the present invention is directed to a header connector that includes a plurality of conductive terminal pins, each substantially rectangular in cross- section, which are inserted into a plurality of through-holes formed through a circuit board into a housing equipped with the terminal pins. A shroud is provided having a plurality of mounting holes fonned therein into which extend parts of the terminal pins. Each mounting hole includes four distinct internal surfaces and the distance between two opposing internal surface is less than that of a corresponding distance between opposing sides of the terminal pins so that the two sides clamp and hold the terminal pin. Contact areas for contacting an opposing terminal of a mating connector are provided at opposite ends of the terminal pins. Terminal pin guiding parts are provided as part of the mounting hole which guides the terminal pins and restricts movement of them with respect to the mounting holes to prevent the contact areas of the terminal pins from being contacted with two opposing internal surfaces of the mounting holes. The terminal pin guiding parts restrict one movement of the terminal pin with respect to the mounting hole so as to prevent the contact areas of the terminal pins from being contacted by opposing internal surfaces of the mounting holes. Therefore, insertion of the terminal pins is guided so that the contact areas on two opposing surfaces of the teiminal pin are prevented from being contacted by corresponding opposing internal surfaces that constitute the mounting hole. Hence, it is possible to prevent the contact area of the terminal pins from being damaged and contaminated during insertion, making it possible to secure reliable contact with an opposing connector. Further, even if plating is applied to the terminal pin, the plating is prevented from being peeled off during the insertion.

According to the present invention, sloped surfaces form an upper internal surface that are connected to upper end edges of the first side internal surface and sloped surfaces forming the lower internal surface are connected to lower end edges of the first side internal surfaces and these sloped surfaces form terminal pin guiding parts of the mounting holes. With this arrangement, upward movement of the terminal pin is restricted by the upper sloped surfaces and downward movement thereof is also restricted by the lower slopes surfaces. Further, the insertion direction of the terminal pin is guided by these sloped surfaces. It is preferable to employ a through-hole having a hexagonal sectional shape. This makes it easy to construct the above-noted sloped surfaces. The shroud portion of the present invention preferably includes an opening into which the mating connector is inserted. The mating connector is typically constructed as a right angle connector mounted to a first daughter board, so that with this arrangement, a circuit board to daughter board electrical connection can be realized. The header connector further preferably includes opening into which another mating connector having contact pieces to be contacted with the angular pin terminals is to be inserted. The other mating connector can be constructed as another right angle connector mounted to a second daughter board. With this arrangement, daughter board to daughter board electrical connection can be realized.

As described above, according to the present invention, even if a terminal pin, substantially rectangular in section and provided on a side surface thereof with a contact area to be contacted with a contact piece of a mating connector, is inserted into a through-hole formed in a member such as a shroud, the contact area is prevented from being contacted with an internal surface forming the through-hole so as not to be damaged and contaminated during insertion, thereby securing an excellent contact property. Further, even in case where the angular pin terminal is subjected to plating, the plating layer is prevented from being peeled off from the contact area, thereby preventing the excellent contact property.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.

Brief Description Of The Drawings In the course of this detailed description, the reference will be frequently made to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a header connector mounted to a vertical motherboard illustrating the environment in which connectors of the invention are used;

FIG. 2 is the same view as FIG. 1 , but illustrating a shroud connector mounted to the other surface of the vertical motherboard;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating a pair of mating connectors aligned with the header connectors in an insertion position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a terminal pin inserted in a mounting hole of a shroud, or header, connector constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of a terminal pin of the prior art inserted within a mounting hole of a prior art header connector; and,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of an alternate mounting hole formed in a shroud, or header connector.

Detailed Description Of The Preferred Embodiment As shown in FIG. 1, a typical header connector 10 includes a plurality of conductive terminals which take the form of pins 12, each of which are substantially rectangular in cross- section. The teπninal pins 12 are inserted through a plurality of through-holes 11 that are formed in a vertical printed circuit board B, and which extend from one surface Bl of the vertical board B (shown on the left of FIG. 1) through the circuit board B to the other surface B2 thereof. The terminal pins further extend into a housing 13 of the header connector 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, an opposing shroud 15 is typically mounted to the opposite surface B2 of the circuit board and includes a plurality of mounting holes, or penings 14, into which protruding portions of the terminal pins 12 are respectively inserted. The mounting holes 14 are disposed in parallel to one another at a predetennined pitch, and even if the terminal pins 12 are bent, the bends in the terminal pins 12 are straightened as a consequence of the insertion into the mounting holes 14 of the shroud 15.

As shown in FIG. 4, each of the mounting holes 14 preferably includes a first side internal surface HI, a second side internal surface H2, an upper internal surface H3 (a&b) and a lower internal surface H4 (a&b). The first and second side internal surfaces HI and H2 oppose each other, while the upper and lower side internal surfaces H3 and H4 interconnect the first and second side internal surfaces together and also oppose each other. In FIG. 4, the first side internal surface is shown to the left of the drawing figure and the second side internal surface is shown to the right of the drawing figure, while the upper and lower internal surfaces are shown at the respective "top" and "bottom" of the drawing figure. The distance between the first side internal surface HI and the second side internal surface H2 is so set that the first side internal surface HI and the second side internal surface H2 are respectively contacted with respective opposing side surfaces PI, P2 of the teπninal pin 12, thereby clamping and holding the rectangular terminal pin 12 in place within the shroud 15. That is, the distance between the first side internal surface HI and the second side internal surface H2 of the opening 14 is set to be narrower, or less than, than the corresponding distance between the opposing side surfaces PI,

P2 of the terminal pins 12. Provided on the upper and lower surfaces P3, P4 of the terminal pins 12 are bowed, or crowned, contact areas 12a, 12b which are to be electrically contacted with a contact piece 51 of the mating connector 50. (FIG. 3.) Preferably, at least one of these crowned contact areas 12a, 12b is provided on each of the terminals 12. The distance that separates the tops of the crowned areas is less than the distance that separates the opposing side surfaces PI and P2.

Each of the mounting holes 14 of the connectors of the invention (FIG. 4) is provided with a terminal pin guiding part, which guides the insertion of the terminal 12 into the connector and restricts vertical movement of the terminal pin 12 with respect to the connector housing mounting hole 14 so as to prevent the terminal pin crowned contact areas 12a, 12b from contacting the upper internal surface H3 or the lower internal surface H4 of the mounting hole 14. It will be understood that in this application, the terms "upper" and "lower" are relative terms and not restrictive and they are used to explain the surfaces of the terminal pins and the mounting holes as shown in the drawings.

The connector housing sloped, or angled surfaces H3a and H3b, which cooperatively form the upper internal surface H3, are connected together respectively to the upper end edges of the first side internal surface HI and second side internal surface H2. Sloped surfaces H4a and H4b, which cooperatively form the lower internal surface H4, are connected together respectively to lower end edges of the first side internal surface HI and the second side internal surface H2. They are also joined together at an apex, and each mounting holes includes two apexes, as shown in FIG. 4. Preferably, the apexes are aligned with each other. The tenninal pin guiding part of the mounting hole 14 is constructed by these sloped surfaces H3a, H3b, H4a and H4b. By forming the mounting holes 14 as through-holes having hexagonal sections, individual terminal pin guiding portions of the mounting holes 14 and of the connector itself, are defined. With this arrangement, an upward movement of the angular pin terminal 12 is restricted by the slope surfaces H3a and H3b forming the upper internal surface H3, and a downward movement thereof is restricted by the slope surfaces H4a and H4b forming the lower internal surface H4. Further, the insertion direction of the angular pin terminal 12 is guided by these slope surfaces H3a, H3b, H4a and H4b.

Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the contact areas 12a and 12b from being damaged and contaminated during the insertion, thereby securing an excellent contact property. Further, even if the plating is provided to the angular pin terminal 12, the plating on the contact areas is prevented from being peeled off therefrom, and thus the excellent contact property can be secured.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shroud 15 has an opening 15a into which a mating connector 50 is inserted. As shown in FIG. 3, the shroud 15 is provided with an upper surface 15b, a lower surface 15c and a back surface part 15d, and the mounting holes 14 are formed through the back surface part 15d. The mating connector 50 is held mainly by the upper surface

15b and the lower surface 15c.

The mating connector 50 is a right angle connector which is mounted to a first daughter board Bl. When the mating comiector 50 is inserted into the opening 15a provided to the shroud 15, the daughter board Bl is oriented perpendicular to the vertical board B, and therefore an occupying space by the board in the vertical direction can be sufficiently small.

The housing 13 has an opening 13a into which another mating connector 60 having contact pieces 61 to be contacted with the angular pin terminals 12 is inserted. The housing 13 has an upper surface 13b, a lower surface 13c and a back surface part 13d. The angular pin terminals 12 are over-molded or pressure-inserted into the through-holes formed through the back surface part 13d to be held by the housing 13. The mating connector 60 is held mainly by the upper surface 13b and the lower surface 13c.

The mating connector 60 is a right angle connector which is mounted to a second daughter board B2. When the mating connector 60 is inserted into the opening 13a provided to the housing 13, the board B2 is oriented perpendicular to the board B, and therefore an occupying space by the board in the vertical direction can be sufficiently small.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, as the mounting hole, a through-hole having a cross shape in section may be adopted. In this case, a separate member corresponding to the back surface part 15d of the shroud 15 is mounted to the protruded parts of the rectangular pin terminals 12. While the preferred embodiment of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims:

1. A pin header connector comprising: an insulative connector housing including a base portion and two sidewalls that extend lengthwise along opposite side of the base portion, the two sidewalls cooperatively defining a channel therebetween for receiving a mating connector therein, said base portion including a plurality of openings fonned therein that extend through said base portion and communicate with the channel; a plurality of conductive terminal pins disposed in said base portion openings, a single terminal pin occupying a single base portion opening; said connector housing openings having at least four surfaces that cooperatively define said openings, the four surfaces of each opening being arranged in two distinct pairs of opening surfaces, the first pair of opening surfaces including two flat surfaces which are separated from each other by a first distance and the second pair of openings including two angled surfaces which are separated from each other by a second distance, the first distance being less than said second distance.

2. The pin header connector according to claim 1, wherein said two angled surfaces include pairs of internal angled surfaces joined together at apexes.

3. The pin header connector according to claim 2, wherein each said pair of internal angled surfaces are joined to ends of said flat surfaces

4. The pin header connector according to either of claims 1 or 3, wherein said connector housing openings have a hexagonal configuration.

5. The pin header connector according to claim 1 , wherein said terminal pins include body portions having four sides arranged in the shape of a rectangle, two of the four sides including flat surfaces that oppose each other and which are separated by a first terminal separation distance, the remaining two sides including crowned surfaces that oppose each other and which interconnect the flat surfaces together, the crowned surfaces being separated by a second teπninal separation distance, the first terminal separation distance being greater than said second terminal separation distance.

6. The pin header connector according to claim 1 , wherein said angled surfaces of said connector housing openings define a terminal pin guiding portion which restricts movement of the terminal pin in two directions during insertion of the said terminal pins into said connector housing openings.

7. The pin header connector according to claim 2, wherein said apexes of said connector housing opening angled surfaces are aligned with each other.

8. A connector comprising: an insulative connector housing including a base portion and two sidewalls that extend lengthwise along opposite side of the base portion, the two sidewalls cooperatively defining a channel therebetween for receiving a mating connector therein, said base portion including a plurality of openings formed therein that extend through said base portion and communicate with the channel; a plurality of conductive terminal pins disposed in said base portion openings, a single tenninal pin occupying a single base portion opening; said connector housing openings having at least four surfaces that cooperatively define said openings, the four surfaces of each opening being arranged in two distinct pairs of opening surfaces, the first pair of opening surfaces including two flat surfaces which are separated from each other by a first distance and the second pair of openings including two angled surfaces which are separated from each other by a second distance, the first distance being less than said second distance, the two angled surfaces being joined to said flat surfaces at ends thereof and said two angled surfaces further including apexes that extend away from centers of said connector housing openings.

9. The connector of claim 8, wherein said connector housing openings have hexagonal configurations.

10. The connector of claim 8, wherein said tenninal pins include body portions having four sides arranged in the shape of a rectangle, two of the four sides including flat surfaces that oppose each other and which are separated by a first terminal separation distance, the remaining two sides including crowned surfaces that oppose each other and which interconnect the flat surfaces together, the crowned surfaces being separated by a second terminal separation distance, the first terminal separation distance being greater than said second terminal separation distance.

11. The connector of claim 8, wherein said angled surfaces of said connector housing openings define a teπninal pin guiding portion which restricts movement of the terminal pin in two directions during insertion of the said terminal pins into said connector housing openings.

12. A backplane connector housing, comprising: an insulative housing body including a base portion and two sidewalls that extend lengthwise along opposite side of the base portion, the two sidewalls cooperatively defining a channel therebetween for receiving a mating connector therein, said base portion including a plurality of tenninal-receiving openings formed therein that extend through said base portion and communicate with the channel; the connector housing openings having at least four surfaces that cooperatively define said openings, the four surfaces of each opening being arranged in two distinct pairs of opening surfaces, the first pair of opening surfaces including two flat surfaces which are separated from each other by a first distance and the second pair of openings including two angled surfaces which are separated from each other by a second distance, the first distance being less than said second distance, the two angled surfaces being joined to said flat surfaces at ends thereof and said two angled surfaces further including apexes that extend away from centers of said connector housing openings.

13. The connector housing of claim 12, wherein said connector housing openings have hexagonal configurations.