Connector assembly

Abstract

The present invention provides a connector assembly. The connector assembly includes a guiding shield and a light guiding member. The guiding shield includes a housing body, the housing body has a light guiding member mounting wall, and the light guiding member mounting wall has a first mating locking portion and a second mating locking portion. The light guiding member has a light guiding tube, a first locking portion for assembling to the first mating locking portion, and a second locking portion for assembling to the second mating locking portion. During the assembly process, the first locking portion first aligns with the first mating locking portion, at this time the second locking portion and the second mating locking portion are offset from each other, and then through the rotation of the light guiding member, the second locking portion aligns with the second mating locking portion, so that the first locking portion is lockingly assembled to the first mating locking portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector assembly, and more particularly to a connector assembly having a light guide member. Background Art

[0002] U.S. Patent No. US6,264,499 discloses a light guide assembly disposed in a light guide installation area at a front section of an outer wall surface of a side wall, and an installation member is provided between the light guide installation area and the light guide assembly for mounting the light guide assembly on the light guide installation area. The disclosed installation member includes a combination structure of a protrusion and a hole, and the protrusion and the hole are assembled by a tight fit or an adhesive, but this assembly method causes inconvenience and difficulty in assembly or disassembly. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly that can improve at least one problem in the prior art.

[0004] Thus, in some embodiments, the connector assembly of the present invention includes a guiding shield and a light guide member. The guiding shield includes a shield body having a light guide member mounting wall with a first mating locking portion and a second mating locking portion. The light guide member has a light guide tube, a first locking portion for assembling with the first mating locking portion, and a second locking portion for assembling with the second mating locking portion. During the assembly process, the first locking portion first aligns with the first mating locking portion, at this time the second locking portion and the second mating locking portion are staggered from each other, and then by rotating the light guide member, the second locking portion aligns with the second mating locking portion so that the first locking portion is lockingly assembled with the first mating locking portion.

[0005] In some embodiments, the first mating locking portion has a locking hole, and the first locking portion has an inner locking block and an outer locking block that are misaligned with each other. After the inner locking block and the outer locking block are assembled, they are respectively located on two sides of the light guide member mounting wall.

[0006] In some embodiments, the inner locking block and the outer locking block of the first locking portion are configured as long strip-shaped blocks, and the locking hole is in the shape of a long hole for inserting the inner locking block.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first locking portion further has a pivot rod connected between the inner locking block and the outer locking block, and the locking hole has a pivot hole portion located at the center and corresponding to the pivot rod for mating.

[0008] In some embodiments, the second mating latch portion has a jack, and the first latch portion has an elastic insertion block. During the rotational assembly process, the elastic insertion block abuts against the light guide member mounting wall, and after rotation, the elastic insertion block is inserted into the jack.

[0009] In some embodiments, the elastic insertion block has an elastic arm and an insertion block portion provided on the elastic arm for inserting into the jack.

[0010] In some embodiments, the light guide member mounting wall of the cover is the side wall of the cover. The light guide tube of the light guide member is L-shaped and assembled at the front section of the side wall of the cover. The light guide tube of the light guide member has a light incident end facing downward and a light emitting end facing forward.

[0011] In some embodiments, the light guide member has two light guide tubes and a connecting rod connecting the two light guide tubes. The first latch portion and the second latch portion are connected to the connecting rod.

[0012] In some embodiments, the light guide member mounting wall of the cover is the side wall of the cover. The guiding shielding cover further includes a partition bracket provided in the cover. The partition bracket has an upper wall and a lower wall spaced apart from each other vertically. The first latch portion and the second latch portion of the light guide member are assembled in a portion corresponding to the part between the upper wall and the lower wall in the front section of the side wall of the cover.

[0013] The light guide member of the connector assembly of the present invention is assembled on the light guide member mounting wall of the cover through a rotational assembly structure. Besides making the assembly structure more stable, it also makes the assembly structure simpler and more convenient and easier during assembly and disassembly. Description of the Drawings

[0014] Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein:

[0015] Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the connector assembly of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 is based on Figure 1 and is a further exploded perspective view;

[0017] Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of this embodiment, illustrating the assembly relationship between the cover of the guiding shielding cover and the light guide member of this embodiment;

[0018] Figure 4 is Figure 3 and is a partial perspective view of this embodiment viewed from another angle;

[0019] Figure 5 is Figure 3 a partial three-dimensional exploded view of; and

[0020] Figure 6 is Figure 3 a partial three-dimensional exploded view of, in which the first locking portion of the light guide member and the first mating locking portion of the cover body are aligned with each other.

[0021] The reference numerals are as follows:

[0022] 100 Connector assembly

[0023] 1 Guide shield

[0024] 11 Cover body

[0025] 111 Top wall

[0026] 112 Side wall

[0027] 112a Positioning hole

[0028] 112b Fixing hole

[0029] 112c Opening

[0030] 112d Inner extending elastic piece

[0031] 113 Bottom wall

[0032] 114 Rear wall

[0033] 115 Press-fit pin

[0034] 116 Light guide member mounting wall

[0035] 117 First mating locking portion

[0036] 117a Buckle hole

[0037] 117b Pivot hole portion

[0038] 118 Second mating locking portion

[0039] 118a Jack

[0040] 12 Compartment bracket

[0041] 121 Upper wall

[0042] 122 Lower wall

[0043] 123 Front wall

[0044] 124 Connecting wall

[0045] 125 Content placement space

[0046] 126 Positioning piece

[0047] 127 Fixed flap

[0048] 13 Upper accommodation space

[0049] 131 Upper socket

[0050] 14 Lower accommodation space

[0051] 141 Lower socket

[0052] 142 Bottom opening

[0053] 15 Grounding part for the cover

[0054] 151 Elastic finger

[0055] 16 Grounding part for the partition bracket

[0056] 161 Sheet

[0057] 162 Grounding sheet

[0058] 162a Elastic finger

[0059] 2 Socket connector

[0060] 21 Housing

[0061] 211 Docking slot

[0062] 22 Terminal

[0063] 221 Contact part

[0064] 222 Press-fit tail

[0065] 3 Pluggable module

[0066] 31 Housing part

[0067] 311 Insertion part

[0068] 311a Locking groove

[0069] 32 Insertion circuit board

[0070] 33 Cable

[0071] 4 Light guide part

[0072] 41 Light guide tube

[0073] 411 Light input end

[0074] 412 Light output end

[0075] 42 Connecting rod

[0076] 43 First locking part

[0077] Inner snap block 431

[0078] Outer snap block 432

[0079] Pivot rod 433

[0080] Second locking portion 44

[0081] Elastic insert block 441

[0082] Elastic arm 441a

[0083] Insert block portion 441b

[0084] Front - rear direction D1

[0085] Up - down direction D2

[0086] Left - right direction D3 Specific implementation manner

[0087] Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 In an embodiment of the connector assembly 100 of the present invention, it includes a guiding shield 1, a socket connector 2, a pluggable module 3, and a light guide member 4. It should be noted that the number of the light guide members 4 can also be more than two in other implementation manners, and this embodiment is not restrictive.

[0088] The guiding shield 1 includes a housing 11 extending along a front-rear direction D1 (the arrow direction is forward and the reverse direction is backward), and a partition bracket 12 disposed within the housing 11. The housing 11 has a top wall 111 located above in an up-down direction D2 (the arrow direction is up and the reverse direction is down) and adapted to mount a radiator (not shown in the figure), two side walls 112 extending downward from both sides of the top wall 111 and opposite to each other in a left-right direction D3 (the arrow direction is right and the reverse direction is left), a bottom wall 113 connected to the bottom edges of the two side walls 112, and a rear wall 114 connected to the rear edges of the top wall 111, the two side walls 112, and the bottom wall 113. The partition bracket 12 has an upper wall 121 and a lower wall 122 opposite to each other up and down, a front wall 123 connected to the front edges of the upper wall 121 and the lower wall 122, and a connecting wall 124 connected to the side edges of the upper wall 121 and the lower wall 122. The upper wall 121, the lower wall 122, the front wall 123, and the connecting wall 124 together define an inner accommodation space 125. The partition bracket 12 and the housing 11 together define an upper accommodation space 13 and a lower accommodation space 14. In this embodiment, the rear section of the upper accommodation space 13 communicates with the rear section of the lower accommodation space 14. The upper accommodation space 13 has an upper socket 131 located in the front, the lower accommodation space 14 has a lower socket 141 located in the front, and a bottom opening 142 located at the rear of the bottom and defined by the bottom wall 113 and the rear wall 114 of the housing 11. Each side wall 112 of the housing 11 has a positioning hole 112a and a fixing hole 112b formed therethrough. The partition bracket 12 further has positioning tabs 126 and fixing folding pieces 127 formed on the upper wall 121 and the lower wall 122. The positioning tabs 126 are respectively inserted through the positioning holes 112a of the two side walls 112, and the fixing folding pieces 127 are respectively inserted through the fixing holes 112b of the two side walls 112 and then bent and fixed, thereby stably assembling the partition bracket 12 to the housing 11.

[0089] The guiding shield 1 is used to be disposed on a circuit board (not shown in the figure). The housing 11 of the guiding shield 1 further has a plurality of press-fit pins 115 formed at the bottom edges of the two side walls 112 and the rear wall 114. The plurality of press-fit pins 115 are used to be pressed into the first press-fit holes (not shown in the figure) of the circuit board, so that the guiding shield 1 is fixed to the circuit board and can be electrically connected to the ground line. The socket connector 2 is disposed on the circuit board and is disposed through the bottom opening 142 at the rear sections of the upper accommodating space 13 and the lower accommodating space 14 of the guiding shield 1. The socket connector 2 has an insulating housing 21 and a plurality of terminals 22 disposed on the housing 21. The housing 21 has two docking slots 211 facing forward and respectively corresponding to the upper accommodating space 13 and the lower accommodating space 14. Each terminal 22 has a contact portion 221 located in the corresponding docking slot 211 and a press-fit tail 222 extending downward from the bottom of the housing 21. The press-fit tails 222 of the plurality of terminals 22 are respectively used to be pressed into the second press-fit holes (not shown in the figure) of the circuit board, so that the socket connector 2 is fixed to the circuit board and the plurality of terminals 22 of the socket connector 2 are mechanically and electrically connected to the circuit board.

[0090] The pluggable module 3 has a housing 31, a plug-in circuit board 32, and a cable 33. The housing 31 has a plug-in portion 311 for inserting into the upper accommodating space 13 and the lower accommodating space 14. The plug-in circuit board 32 is protrudingly disposed on the plug-in portion 311 and is used to be inserted into the corresponding docking slot 211. The cable 33 is connected to the rear end of the housing 31 and is electrically connected to the plug-in circuit board 32. Each side wall 112 of the guiding shield 1 has two openings 112c respectively corresponding to the upper accommodating space 13 and the lower accommodating space 14. An inwardly extending elastic piece 112d is constructed at each opening 112c and extends obliquely inward and backward into the guiding shield 1. Locking grooves 311a corresponding to the inwardly extending elastic pieces 112d are provided on the left and right sides of the plug-in portion 311 of the pluggable module 3. The plurality of inwardly extending elastic pieces 112d at the plurality of openings 112c are used to cooperate with the locking grooves 311a of the pluggable module 3 inserted into the upper accommodating space 13 or the lower accommodating space 14 to produce a locking effect.

[0091] In this embodiment, the connector assembly 100 can be disposed in a mounting hole (not shown) of a machine housing (not shown). The guiding shielding cover 1 further has a plurality of grounding members 15 for the cover body disposed at the front end of the cover body 11, and a grounding member 16 for the partition bracket disposed at the front section of the partition bracket 12. The grounding members 15 for the cover body have a plurality of elastic fingers 151 extending rearward from the front end of the cover body 11 and distributed on the outer side and the inner side of the cover body 11. Among the plurality of elastic fingers 151, those located on the outer side of the cover body 11 are used to contact the edge of the mounting hole of the machine housing, and those located on the inner side of the cover body 11 are used to contact the pluggable module 3. The grounding member 16 for the partition bracket has a sheet body 161 disposed on the front side of the front wall 123 of the partition bracket 12, and two grounding sheets 162 respectively extending rearward from the upper edge and the lower edge of the sheet body 161 and extending into the upper accommodation space 13 and the lower accommodation space 14 respectively. Each grounding sheet 162 has a plurality of elastic fingers 162a extending rearward and used to contact the pluggable module 3.

[0092] Refer to Figures 2 to 6 , one side wall 112 of the cover body 11 serves as a light guide member mounting wall 116. The light guide member mounting wall 116 has a first mating locking portion 117 and a second mating locking portion 118. It should be noted that in other variant embodiments, it can also be that other walls of the cover body 11 serve as the light guide member mounting wall 116, which is not limited to this embodiment. The light guide member 4 has two light guide tubes 41, two connecting rods 42 connected to the two light guide tubes 41, a first locking portion 43 connected to one of the connecting rods 42 located in the front and used for assembling to the first mating locking portion 117, and a second locking portion 44 connected to one of the connecting rods 42 located in the front and used for assembling to the second mating locking portion 118. The two light guide tubes 41 of the light guide member 4 are in an L shape and are assembled to the front section of the side wall 112 of the cover body 11. Each light guide tube 41 of the light guide member 4 has a light incident end 411 facing downward to face a light emitting element (not shown) on the circuit board, and a light emitting end 412 facing forward.

[0093] The first mating locking portion 117 has a latching hole 117a in the shape of a long strip hole, and the latching hole 117a has a pivot hole portion 117b located at the center and in the shape of a circular hole. The first locking portion 43 has an inner latching block 431 and an outer latching block 432 that are configured as long strip blocks and are misaligned at an angle of 90 degrees with each other, and a pivot rod 433 connected between the inner latching block 431 and the outer latching block 432 and corresponding to and mating with the pivot hole portion 117b. The latching hole 117a corresponds to the inner latching block 431 for the inner latching block 431 to be inserted therein, and the outer latching block 431 extends integrally from one of the connecting rods 42 located in the front. The second mating locking portion 118 has a jack 118a, and the second locking portion 44 has an elastic insertion block 441. The elastic insertion block 441 has an elastic arm 441a that extends integrally from one of the connecting rods 42 located in the front, and an insertion block portion 441b provided at the end of the elastic arm 441a and used for inserting into the jack 118a. Among them, for example, the jack 118a is a circular hole, and the insertion block portion 441b is a round rod with a hemispherical end surface.

[0094] During the assembly process, the first locking portion 43 is first aligned with the first mating locking portion 117 (for the alignment method, please refer to Figure 6) At this time, the second locking portion 44 and the second mating locking portion 118 are staggered from each other. Specifically, in this state, the inner locking block 431 of the first locking portion 43 is inserted into the locking hole 117a of the first mating locking portion 117, and the pivot rod 433 of the first locking portion 43 corresponds to and mates with the pivot hole portion 117b of the locking hole 117a of the first mating locking portion 117. Then, the light guide member 4 is rotated counterclockwise relative to the light guide member mounting wall 116, so that the insertion block portion 441b of the elastic insertion block 441 of the second locking portion 44 moves toward the insertion hole 118a of the second mating locking portion 118. During the rotation process, the pivot rod 433 of the first locking portion 43 rotates relative to the pivot hole portion 117b of the locking hole 117a of the first mating locking portion 117, and the insertion block portion 441b of the elastic insertion block 441 abuts against the light guide member mounting wall 116 and the elastic arm 441a of the elastic insertion block 441 is elastically deformed. Finally, when the second locking portion 44 and the second mating locking portion 118 are aligned with each other, the first locking portion 43 is lockingly assembled with the first mating locking portion 117. Specifically, in this state, the insertion block portion 441b of the elastic insertion block 441 of the second locking portion 44 is inserted into the insertion hole 118a of the second mating locking portion 118 due to the elastic reset of the elastic arm 441a of the elastic insertion block 441, thereby completing the assembly of the second locking portion 44 and the second mating locking portion 118 to prevent the light guide member 4 from rotating. At this time, both the inner locking block 431 and the outer locking block 432 of the first locking portion 43 are angularly misaligned by 45 degrees with respect to the locking hole 117a of the first mating locking portion 117, and the inner locking block 431 and the outer locking block 432 of the first locking portion 43 are respectively located on the inner side surface and the outer side surface of the light guide member mounting wall 116, so that the first locking portion 43 is lockingly assembled with the first mating locking portion 117. It should be noted that the above design regarding the angle can be adjusted and changed according to requirements, and should not be limited by the above examples. In addition, when disassembling the light guide member 4, only need to pull the insertion block portion 441b of the elastic insertion block 441 of the second locking portion 44 out of the insertion hole 118a of the second mating locking portion 118, and rotate the light guide member 4 clockwise, so that the inner locking block 431 of the first locking portion 43 is aligned with the locking hole 117a of the first mating locking portion 117 and disengages from the locking hole 117a of the first mating locking portion 117, then the light guide member 4 can be removed.

[0095] In addition, it is worth mentioning that, in this embodiment, the first mating locking portion 117 and the second mating locking portion 118 are formed in the front section of the light guide mounting wall 116 corresponding to the portion between the upper wall 121 and the lower wall 122, so that the first locking portion 43 and the second locking portion 44 of the light guide 4 are assembled in the front section of the side wall 112 of the cover 11 corresponding to the portion between the upper wall 121 and the lower wall 122 and extend into the accommodation space 125 inside the partition bracket 12. This can avoid interference between the first locking portion 43 and the second locking portion 44 of the light guide 4 and the pluggable module 3 inserted into the upper accommodation space 13 or the lower accommodation space 14.

[0096] In summary, the light guide 4 of the connector assembly 100 of the present invention is assembled on the light guide mounting wall 116 of the cover 11 through a rotary assembly structure. In addition to making the assembly structure more stable, it also makes the assembly structure simpler and more convenient and easier to assemble and disassemble.

[0097] However, as described above, it is only an embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of implementation of the present invention cannot be limited thereby. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims and the content of the specification of the present invention still fall within the scope covered by the patent of the present invention.

Claims

1. A connector assembly, comprising: A guiding shield, including a housing body, the housing body having a light guide mounting wall, the light guide mounting wall having a first mating locking portion and a second mating locking portion; and A light guide, having a light guide tube, a first locking portion for assembling to the first mating locking portion, and a second locking portion for assembling to the second mating locking portion. During the assembly process, the first locking portion first aligns with the first mating locking portion, at this time the second locking portion and the second mating locking portion are offset from each other, and then through the rotation of the light guide, the second locking portion aligns with the second mating locking portion, so that the first locking portion is assembled to the first mating locking portion in a locking manner. Among them, The first mating locking portion has a locking hole, the first locking portion has an inner locking block and an outer locking block that are misaligned with each other, and after the inner locking block and the outer locking block are assembled, they are respectively located on two sides of the light guide mounting wall.

2. The connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The inner locking block and the outer locking block of the first locking portion are configured as long strip-shaped blocks, and the locking hole is in the shape of a long hole for inserting the inner locking block.

3. The connector assembly according to claim 2, wherein, The first locking portion further has a pivot rod connected between the inner locking block and the outer locking block, and the locking hole has a pivot hole portion located at the center and corresponding to the pivot rod.

4. The connector assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The second mating locking portion has a jack, the second locking portion has an elastic insertion block, the elastic insertion block abuts against the light guide mounting wall during the rotation of the assembly, and the elastic insertion block is inserted into the jack after rotation.

5. The connector assembly according to claim 4, wherein, The elastic insertion block has an elastic arm, and an insertion block portion provided on the elastic arm for inserting into the jack.

6. The connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The light guide mounting wall of the housing body is the side wall of the housing body, the light guide tube of the light guide is L-shaped and assembled to the front section of the side wall of the housing body, and the light guide tube of the light guide has a light incident end facing downward and a light emitting end facing forward.

7. The connector assembly according to claim 6, wherein, The light guide has two light guide tubes, and a connecting rod connecting the two light guide tubes, and the first locking portion and the second locking portion are connected to the connecting rod.

8. The connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the light guide mounting wall of the housing body is the side wall of the housing body, the guiding shield further includes a partition bracket provided in the housing body, the partition bracket has an upper wall and a lower wall spaced apart from each other up and down, and the first locking portion and the second locking portion of the light guide are assembled to a portion corresponding to the portion between the upper wall and the lower wall in the front section of the side wall of the housing body.

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