A method of injection molding a connector

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of injection molding methods of connector, comprising: step one, connect multiple terminal pieces into integrated connection body by connecting bridge, terminal piece front end is bent downward, rear end is bent upward;Step two, by first mold, plastic support piece is injected on the outside of connection body, and support column extends on the upper and lower end of plastic support piece, and does not wrap connecting bridge;Step three, by second mold, shell cladding layer is formed by covering and fixing connection body and plastic support piece and injection molding, and terminal piece front and rear end is exposed;Second mold is provided with manual insert, and the positioning part of the second mold is provided with second positioning groove to position the rear end of terminal piece, and the second front die is provided with front die spring needle structure to press the manual insert;The support column of plastic support piece is in contact with the top and bottom surface of finished product type cavity.The application realizes the one-time placement of multiple terminals by connecting bridge, realizes accurate positioning and deformation prevention under high-pressure injection molding by the cooperation of plastic support piece and manual insert and front die spring needle structure, and improves production efficiency and product yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of connector manufacturing technology, specifically to an injection molding method for connectors. Background Technology

[0002] Connectors are indispensable components in electronic devices, used to achieve electrical connections between circuit boards or between a circuit board and components. As electronic devices evolve towards miniaturization, integration, and high performance, connectors are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Many connector products contain multiple independent and precisely positioned metal terminals, which need to be fixed within a plastic housing through injection molding.

[0003] In the existing technology, the injection molding of connectors containing multiple independent terminals has the following problems: First, the method of placing each independent terminal into the corresponding position in the mold cavity one by one by operators or robots, and then closing the mold for injection molding, has significant defects and is extremely inefficient, especially when the number of terminals is large, which seriously restricts production efficiency; Second, it is difficult to fix multiple independent terminals accurately and stably in the mold cavity. During injection molding, the high-speed flowing molten plastic can easily impact the terminals, causing the terminals to shift position, bend and deform, or even contact between adjacent terminals, resulting in serious quality problems such as short circuits or leakage in the finished connector.

[0004] Therefore, developing an injection molding method that can produce multi-terminal connectors efficiently, with high precision and high reliability, especially solving the problem of fixing and preventing deformation of terminals during the injection molding process, is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an injection molding method for connectors, which solves the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: an injection molding method for a connector, comprising the following steps:

[0007] Step 1: Several terminal pieces are connected by multiple connecting bridges to form a whole connecting body. The several terminal pieces are arranged at equal intervals, and the front end of any terminal piece is bent downwards and the rear end of any terminal piece is bent upwards.

[0008] Step 2: Inject a plastic support component into the outside of the connecting body using the first mold. The plastic support component has support columns extending from both the upper and lower ends, and the plastic support component does not wrap around the multiple connecting bridges.

[0009] Step 3: The main body and plastic support are covered and fixed by the second mold, and injection molding is performed on the outside of the main body and plastic support to form an outer shell covering layer. The front or rear end of any terminal piece is exposed outside the outer shell covering layer to form the connector body.

[0010] The second mold is equipped with a second front mold core and a second rear mold core for use. A manual insert is movably connected to the second rear mold core. The manual insert extends downward to a positioning part. The positioning part is provided with a second positioning groove with the opening end facing downward. The rear ends of several terminal pieces are bent upward and inserted into several second positioning grooves in a corresponding manner. The second front mold core is provided with a front mold spring pin structure. The front mold probe structure applies a pressure to the manual insert in the direction of the second rear mold core.

[0011] The second front mold core and the second rear mold core fit together, forming a finished product cavity between them. The support columns at the upper and lower ends of the plastic support component abut against the top and bottom surfaces of the finished product cavity, respectively.

[0012] The terminal piece includes an integrally connected upper bend, a connecting part, and a lower bend. Several connecting parts are located in the same horizontal plane. The rear ends of the connecting parts extend towards each other to form the upper bend, and the front ends of the connecting parts bend downward to form the lower bend. At least one connecting bridge is provided between any two adjacent terminal pieces.

[0013] The connecting body is made of sheet-like conductive metal through a stamping process, forming a connecting body that integrates the terminal piece and the connecting bridge.

[0014] The connection body that integrates the terminal piece and the connecting bridge is a common conductive terminal, which is used to achieve multi-point conduction at the same potential.

[0015] A cutting step is added between step two and step three. The cutting step includes cutting several connecting bridges by punching equipment, and each terminal piece is independently conductive.

[0016] The cutting step further includes the following: the punching equipment is provided with at least one positioning structure adapted to the plastic support and several terminal pieces. After the positioning structure fixes the plastic support and several terminal pieces, the punching equipment punches off the connecting bridge between any two adjacent terminal pieces as a whole.

[0017] The plastic support also features a longitudinally penetrating hollow structure and an annular groove surrounding the support column.

[0018] The first mold is provided with a first front mold core and a first rear mold core for cooperation. The first front mold core and the first rear mold core fit together and form a support cavity between the first front mold core and the first rear mold core. The support cavity contains a positioning skeleton adapted to the connecting body and an accommodating space adapted to the shape of the plastic support.

[0019] The second rear mold core is provided with a positioning insert, which has several first positioning grooves with the opening end facing upwards. Several terminal parts with the front end bent downwards are inserted into several first positioning grooves one by one.

[0020] In step three, the second mold covering and fixing connection body and plastic support further includes several terminal parts with their front ends bent downwards and inserted into several first positioning grooves one by one. Then, several terminal parts with their rear ends bent upwards are aligned with several second positioning grooves one by one, and several terminal parts with their rear ends bent upwards are manually inserted into several second positioning grooves. The second front mold core and the second rear mold core fit together, and the front mold probe structure presses against the manual insert.

[0021] The outer casing has an upwardly extending cylindrical structure that surrounds the upwardly bent rear ends of several terminal pieces, and the outer side of the cylindrical structure has a snap-fit ​​protrusion.

[0022] The second rear mold core is movably connected to a movable insert. The movable insert and the manual insert move in the same direction and are located on the same side. The movable insert has a first arc surface, and the first arc surface has a recessed structure that matches the shape of the buckle protrusion. The second front mold core has a second arc surface, and the second front mold core has a clearance space for the movable insert and the manual insert to be inserted. In the clearance space for the movable insert and the manual insert to be inserted, the first arc surface and the second arc surface form a ring structure, and the ring structure matches the outer contour of the cylindrical structure.

[0023] The positioning part is located between the first arc surface and the second arc surface, and the outer contour of the positioning part is adapted to the inner contour of the cylindrical structure.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0025] This invention connects multiple terminal components into a single integrated connection body via a connecting bridge, enabling one-time placement of multiple terminals and avoiding the inefficient operation of placing them one by one. This significantly shortens the production cycle and is especially suitable for mass production. By using a plastic support component as an intermediate carrier, the support column directly presses against the upper and lower walls of the mold cavity during final injection molding, forming a rigid support frame. Even under high pressure and high speed injection impact, the terminal components can be firmly fixed without bending, deformation, or contacting each other, fundamentally eliminating the risk of short circuits and leakage, and greatly improving product yield.

[0026] This invention, through the combined use of manual inserts and front mold spring pins, not only ensures reliable positioning of complex bending terminals, but also completely avoids mold breakage accidents caused by improper terminal insertion through manual confirmation and active pre-pressing, thereby further improving product yield. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the connecting body of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the semi-finished product one of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the connector body of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a partially exploded structural diagram of the first mold of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a partial structural exploded view of the second mold of the present invention. Figure 1 ;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a partial structural exploded view of the second mold of the present invention. Figure 2 ;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first semi-finished product of the present invention.

[0034] The reference numerals and names in the figure are as follows:

[0035] 100 - Connecting body; 110 - Terminal piece; 111 - Upper bend; 112 - Connecting part; 113 - Lower bend; 120 - Connecting bridge;

[0036] 200 - Plastic support component; 210 - Support column; 220 - Hollowed-out structure; 230 - Annular groove;

[0037] 310 - Second front mold core; 311 - Front mold spring pin structure; 312 - Second arc surface; 313 - Clearance space; 320 - Second rear mold core; 321 - Positioning insert; 322 - First positioning groove; 330 - Manual insert; 331 - Positioning part; 332 - Second positioning groove; 340 - Movable insert; 341 - First arc surface; 342 - Recessed structure;

[0038] 400 - Outer shell covering; 410 - Cylindrical structure; 420 - Snap-fit ​​protrusion;

[0039] 510 - First anterior mold core; 520 - First posterior mold core. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0041] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "horizontal," "vertical," "top," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0042] Example 1

[0043] Please see Figures 1 to 6 A method for injection molding a connector, comprising the following steps:

[0044] Step 1: Prepare the connecting body 100. Select a conductive metal sheet and stamp it in one step using a stamping die to obtain the desired shape. Figure 1 The connecting body 100 shown includes five terminal pieces 110 and multiple connecting bridges 120. The five terminal pieces 110 are arranged equidistantly along a straight line. Each terminal piece 110 is composed of an integrally connected upper bent portion 111, a connecting portion 112, and a lower bent portion 113. After stamping, the five connecting portions 112 are all located in the same horizontal plane, forming a coplanar structure. The rear end of each connecting portion 112 extends backward and then bends upward at 90 degrees to form an upper bent portion 111, which is used as the rear contact pin of the connector. The front end of each connecting portion 112 bends downward at 90 degrees to form a lower bent portion 113, which is used as the front contact pin of the connector.

[0045] Furthermore, the conductive metal can be a conductive metal such as copper.

[0046] To ensure the rigidity of the overall structure, at least one connecting bridge 120 is provided between the connecting portions 112 of any two adjacent terminal pieces 110, integrating the five independent terminals into a stable strip-like whole through the connecting bridge 120, providing a physical basis for subsequent one-time placement and precise processing.

[0047] Step 2: Inject the plastic support component 200, and place the connecting body 100 obtained in Step 1 into it. Figure 4In the first mold shown, the first mold consists of a first front mold core 510 and a first rear mold core 520. The first rear mold core is provided with a positioning skeleton that matches the outline of the connecting body 100. The positioning skeleton accurately supports the bottom and side surfaces of the five connecting parts 112 and avoids the upper bending part 111, the lower bending part 113 and the connecting bridge 120. After the mold is closed, a support member positioning cavity is formed between the first front mold core 510 and the first rear mold core 520. The support member positioning cavity not only includes a space for accommodating the connecting body 100, but also includes a space for accommodating the plastic support member 200.

[0048] Start the injection molding machine and inject plastic into the support component cavity. After the plastic fills the cavity, it cools and solidifies, then the mold is opened and the part is removed, resulting in the desired product. Figure 2 The semi-finished product shown in the figure has a plastic support 200 that is firmly wrapped around the connecting part 112 of the connecting body 100. The upper and lower ends of the plastic support 200 each extend into five cylindrical support columns 210. The axes of the corresponding upper and lower support columns 210 are collinear, and their outer end faces are located in the same vertical plane. At the same time, the plastic support 200 is also provided with multiple longitudinally penetrating rectangular hollow structures 220 and annular grooves 230 around the root of each support column 210. The plastic support 200 completely avoids all the connecting bridges 120, exposing the connecting bridges 120 to the outside, and constructs a support structure with precise height on the connecting body 100. The support columns 210 respectively abut against the upper and lower ends of the finished product cavity. During injection molding, the terminal part 110 is suspended in the finished product cavity.

[0049] Step 3: Injection mold the outer shell covering layer 400, to obtain the following... Figure 3 The connector body; this step uses, for example Figures 5 to 6 The second mold shown includes a second front mold core 310 and a second rear mold core 320.

[0050] First, a positioning operation is performed. The semi-finished product obtained in step two is placed on the second rear mold core 320. A positioning insert 321 is fixed on the second rear mold core 320. The positioning insert 321 has five upward-facing first positioning grooves 322. The operator inserts the lower bent parts 113 of the five terminal parts 110 into the five first positioning grooves 322 one by one to achieve front-end positioning.

[0051] Then, the manual insert 330 is installed. A positioning part 331 extends downward from the bottom of the manual insert 330. The lower edge of the positioning part 331 is machined with five downward-facing second positioning grooves 332. The operator aligns the upper bent parts 111 of the five terminal pieces 110 with the five second positioning grooves 332 respectively, and then presses the manual insert 330 downward so that the five upper bent parts 111 are fully inserted into the second positioning grooves 332 until the manual insert 330 can no longer move downward. At this time, the manual insert 330 is not completely locked in the vertical direction and there is still a small gap.

[0052] Next, the second front mold core 310 and the second rear mold core 320 are closed and pre-pressed. The second front mold core 310 moves downward under the drive of the injection molding machine. On the second front mold core 310, a clearance space 313 is provided corresponding to the positions of the manual insert 330 and the movable insert 340. At the same time, multiple front mold spring pin structures 311 are installed on the second front mold core 310. When the second front mold core 310 gradually approaches the second rear mold core 320, the front mold spring pin structure 311 first contacts the top surface of the manual insert 330 and begins to compress the spring, applying a downward and continuous pre-pressure to the manual insert 330. This pressure forces the manual insert 330 to move further downward, firmly pressing the upper bend 111 into the bottom of the second positioning groove 332, eliminating all gaps. At the same time, the movable insert 340 is pushed into the clearance space 313.

[0053] After the mold is fully closed, the second front mold core 310 and the second rear mold core 320 fit tightly together, forming a finished product cavity. At this time, the upper support column 210 of the plastic support 200 is pressed against the top surface of the finished product cavity, and the lower support column 210 is pressed against the bottom surface of the finished product cavity. The support columns 210 are in rigid contact.

[0054] Meanwhile, after the mold is closed, the first arc surface 341 of the movable insert 340 and the second arc surface 312 of the second front mold core 310 are spliced ​​to form a ring structure. The inner contour of the ring structure is the same as the outer contour of the cylindrical structure 410 to be formed. The positioning part 331 of the manual insert 330 is located in the center of this ring structure. The outer contour of the positioning part 331 is the same as the inner contour of the cylindrical structure 410. The recessed structure 342 on the movable insert 340 is also precisely located in the predetermined position.

[0055] Finally, injection molding is performed, in which molten plastic is injected into the finished product cavity. The plastic fills all the space, covering the connecting body 100 and the plastic support 200, while forming the outer shell covering layer 400, the cylindrical structure 410 and the snap-fit ​​protrusion 420. After injection molding is completed, the mold is opened after cooling.

[0056] During mold opening, the front mold spring pin structure 311 automatically retracts, and the manual insert 330 and movable insert 340 are pulled out or moved laterally with the mold movement, eliminating undercut interference and finally obtaining the connector body. In this finished product, the five terminal pieces 110 remain electrically conductive because the connecting bridge 120 is not cut off, and are used as a common ground terminal. The upper bend 111 is surrounded and protected by the cylindrical structure 410, and the lower bend 113 is exposed below the outer shell covering layer 400 for soldering to the circuit board.

[0057] Through the rigid support of the support column 210, the precise positioning of the manual insert 330, and the active pre-pressure of the front mold spring pin structure 311, the fragile terminal part 110 is perfectly protected under high pressure injection molding, resulting in a final product with a complex shape and extremely high precision.

[0058] Furthermore, the injection molding plastic in steps two and three can be insulating plastic materials such as liquid crystal polymer plastic or polybutylene terephthalate plastic.

[0059] Furthermore, the melting point of the plastic in step two is higher than that in step three.

[0060] Example 2

[0061] Please see Figures 1 to 7 A method for injection molding a connector, comprising:

[0062] Steps one and two are exactly the same as in Example 1, yielding the following result: Figure 2 The first semi-finished product shown.

[0063] Cutting Step: The semi-finished product obtained in step two is transferred to a dedicated punching machine (not shown). The worktable of the punching machine is equipped with a positioning structure (not shown). This positioning structure includes a contoured groove that matches the shape of the plastic support 200, and multiple support pins corresponding to the positions of the connecting portions 112 of the five terminal pieces 110. After placing the semi-finished product into the positioning structure, it is firmly fixed. Then, the punch of the punching machine moves downward simultaneously, accurately cutting off multiple connecting bridges 120. After cutting, the metal connection between each terminal piece 110 is completely severed, achieving electrical isolation, resulting in the desired product. Figure 7 The second semi-finished product shown.

[0064] Since the connecting body 100 is firmly fixed as a whole by the plastic support 200 during punching, the punching force will not cause any terminal parts 110 to shift or deform.

[0065] Step three is basically the same as in Example one, but it should be noted that since the connecting bridge 120 has been cut off, the final formed outer shell covering layer 400 will isolate the connecting portions 112 of the five terminal pieces 110 from each other. The remaining operations, including the use of the second mold, positioning insert 321, manual insert 330, front mold spring pin structure 311, movable insert 340, etc., and the injection molding process, are completely consistent with Example one; the final result is as follows... Figure 3 The connector body shown has the same appearance as in Embodiment 1, but the five internal terminal pieces 110 are not connected to each other and each works independently.

[0066] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as exemplary and non-limiting, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for injection molding a connector, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Several terminal pieces are connected by multiple connecting bridges to form a whole connecting body. The several terminal pieces are arranged at equal intervals, and the front end of any terminal piece is bent downwards and the rear end of any terminal piece is bent upwards. Step 2: Inject a plastic support component into the outside of the connecting body using the first mold. The plastic support component has support columns extending from both the upper and lower ends, and the plastic support component does not wrap around the multiple connecting bridges. Step 3: The main body and plastic support are covered and fixed by the second mold, and injection molding is performed on the outside of the main body and plastic support to form an outer shell covering layer. The front or rear end of any terminal piece is exposed outside the outer shell covering layer to form the connector body. The second mold is equipped with a second front mold core and a second rear mold core for use. A manual insert is movably connected to the second rear mold core. The manual insert extends downward to a positioning part. The positioning part is provided with a second positioning groove with the opening end facing downward. The rear ends of several terminal pieces are bent upward and inserted into several second positioning grooves in a corresponding manner. The second front mold core is provided with a front mold spring pin structure. The front mold probe structure applies a pressure to the manual insert in the direction of the second rear mold core. The second front mold core and the second rear mold core fit together, forming a finished product cavity between them. The support columns at the upper and lower ends of the plastic support component abut against the top and bottom surfaces of the finished product cavity, respectively.

2. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The terminal piece includes an integrally connected upper bend, a connecting part, and a lower bend. Several connecting parts are located in the same horizontal plane. The rear ends of the connecting parts extend towards each other to form the upper bend, and the front ends of the connecting parts bend downward to form the lower bend. At least one connecting bridge is provided between any two adjacent terminal pieces.

3. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The connecting body is made of sheet-like conductive metal through a stamping process, forming a connecting body that integrates the terminal piece and the connecting bridge.

4. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 3, characterized in that, The connection body that integrates the terminal piece and the connecting bridge is a common conductive terminal, which is used to achieve multi-point conduction at the same potential.

5. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 3, characterized in that, A cutting step is added between step two and step three. The cutting step includes cutting several connecting bridges by punching equipment, and each terminal piece is independently conductive.

6. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cutting step further includes the following: the punching equipment is provided with at least one positioning structure adapted to the plastic support and several terminal pieces. After the positioning structure fixes the plastic support and several terminal pieces, the punching equipment punches off the connecting bridge between any two adjacent terminal pieces as a whole.

7. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plastic support also features a longitudinally penetrating hollow structure and an annular groove surrounding the support column.

8. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 1 or 7, characterized in that, The first mold is provided with a first front mold core and a first rear mold core for cooperation. The first front mold core and the first rear mold core fit together and form a support cavity between the first front mold core and the first rear mold core. The support cavity contains a positioning skeleton adapted to the connecting body and an accommodating space adapted to the shape of the plastic support.

9. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second rear mold core is provided with a positioning insert, which has several first positioning grooves with the opening end facing upwards. The downward bent parts of the front ends of several terminal pieces are inserted into the several first positioning grooves one by one. In step three, the second mold covering and fixing connection body and plastic support further includes several terminal parts with their front ends bent downwards and inserted into several first positioning grooves one by one. Then, several terminal parts with their rear ends bent upwards are aligned with several second positioning grooves one by one, and several terminal parts with their rear ends bent upwards are manually inserted into several second positioning grooves. The second front mold core and the second rear mold core fit together, and the front mold probe structure presses against the manual insert.

10. The injection molding method for a connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer casing has an upwardly extending cylindrical structure that surrounds the upwardly bent rear ends of several terminal pieces, and the outer side of the cylindrical structure has a snap-fit ​​protrusion. The second rear mold core is movably connected to a movable insert. The movable insert and the manual insert move in the same direction and are located on the same side. The movable insert has a first arc surface, and the first arc surface has a recessed structure that matches the shape of the buckle protrusion. The second front mold core has a second arc surface, and the second front mold core has a clearance space for the movable insert and the manual insert to be inserted. In the clearance space for the movable insert and the manual insert to be inserted, the first arc surface and the second arc surface form a ring structure, and the ring structure matches the outer contour of the cylindrical structure. The positioning part is located between the first arc surface and the second arc surface, and the outer contour of the positioning part is adapted to the inner contour of the cylindrical structure.

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