Connector strip

Abstract

Connector strip (1) configured for soldering to an electrical circuit board (9), comprising an insulating housing (2) and several electrical contact elements (10) fixed in the insulating housing (2) and arranged side by side and spaced apart from one another in a mounting direction (A), wherein each contact element (10) has at least one electrical plug contact (6) on a plug-in face (3) of the connector strip (1) for inserting a mating plug contact, and at least one soldering section (7) configured for soldering to a solder terminal of the electrical circuit board (9), wherein the electrical plug contacts (6) are spaced evenly apart from one another in a predetermined grid dimension (R) in the mounting direction (A), characterized in thatthat in a first pair (P1) of immediately adjacent contact elements (10), the distance (D1) between the solder sections (7) is greater than the distance defined by the grid dimension (R) and / or is greater than the distance (D2) between the solder sections (7) of a second pair (P2) of immediately adjacent contact elements (10).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a connector strip designed for soldering to an electrical circuit board, comprising an insulating housing and several electrical contact elements fixed in the insulating housing and arranged side by side and spaced apart from one another in a series direction, wherein each contact element has at least one electrical plug contact designed on a plug-in face of the connector strip for inserting a mating plug contact associated as a counterpart, and at least one soldering section designed for soldering or soldering to a solder terminal of the electrical circuit board, wherein the electrical plug contacts are spaced evenly apart from one another in a predetermined grid dimension in the series direction.

[0002] Such a connector strip is known, for example, from DE 10 2012 105 508 A1. The plug contacts of the contact elements therein are arranged in a predetermined grid dimension of the connector system, which has uniform distances between the adjacent plug contacts.

[0003] The invention is based on the objective of providing a connector strip that is further improved in comparison.

[0004] This problem is solved in a connector strip of the type mentioned above by ensuring that, in a first pair of immediately adjacent contact elements, the distance between the solder sections is greater than the distance defined by the pitch and / or greater than the distance between the solder sections of a second pair of immediately adjacent contact elements. These distances between the solder sections are measured in the direction of the contact elements. The invention allows for a locally increased distance between the solder sections without increasing the dimensions of the connector strip. Since the local increase only needs to occur in the solder area, the plug-in contact side of the connector strip can remain unchanged, and in particular, the existing pitch can be retained.

[0005] Such a solution allows for a local increase in air and creepage distances in the soldered area of ​​the electrical contact elements without affecting the overall size of the system. In particular, the plug contacts can still be evenly spaced according to the specified grid spacing. Only on the soldered section side can a modified, variable grid spacing or different spacing be implemented compared to the plug contact-side grid spacing.

[0006] This saves installation space, particularly compared to solutions where the increased or necessary clearances and creepage distances are achieved by omitting individual contact elements, i.e., inserting empty poles, since such an empty pole is not required in the solution according to the invention. In particular, the pitch on the plug-in contact side does not need to be increased to achieve the required clearances and creepage distances.

[0007] This allows for variable spacing on the solder side while maintaining a uniform grid spacing on the connector side. The more widely spaced solder sections, or their contact elements, can be used, for example, to carry special potentials, such as ground potential. The connector strip can, for instance, have at least four or more contact elements.

[0008] The contact elements can each be designed as a one-piece or multi-piece sheet metal component, e.g., as a stamped and bent part. In particular, the plug contact of a contact element can be formed integrally with the solder terminal of the same contact element. The plug contacts can be designed as male or female plug contacts, e.g., pin contacts, blade contacts, or fork contacts. The connector strip can also be equipped with different contact elements using various types of plug contacts. Each electrical plug contact is designed to be inserted into a corresponding mating plug contact, thus forming an electrical connection.

[0009] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, each contact element has a connecting section through which the plug contact of the contact element is connected to the soldered section of the contact element, wherein the contact elements of the first pair are shaped differently from one another in the area of ​​their soldered sections and / or their connecting sections. Accordingly, the contact elements beyond the plug contact can have variable shapes. The plug contacts themselves can remain unchanged.

[0010] The solder pads can be designed for surface mounting (SMD mounting). They are then attached by soldering them onto the surface of the printed circuit board.

[0011] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the solder sections are designed as solder pins, which are configured for insertion into a through-hole of the electrical circuit board. This allows for a particularly robust fastening of the connector strip to the electrical circuit board via the solder pins.

[0012] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the connector strip defines a mating plane for each contact, wherein the mating planes of the adjacent contacts are uniformly spaced apart on a grid pattern, and in the first pair of contact elements, the solder section of at least one contact element is located outside the mating plane of that contact element. The mating plane can, for example, extend centrally through the respective contact in a direction orthogonal to the alignment direction of the contacts. Such solder sections offset from the mating plane allow the desired increased spacing of the solder sections to be achieved simply, particularly through simple and cost-effective manufacturing of the contact elements. For this purpose, the contact elements do not need to be completely redesigned; rather, a variation in the shape of the contact elements in the alignment direction is sufficient.

[0013] The connector strip can, for example, be equipped with contact elements in which one, several or all but one contact element are designed such that the respective solder section is located in the center of the plugging plane of the contact element.

[0014] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the solder section of each contact element is arranged outside the mating plane of that contact element. This maximizes the distance between the solder sections of the first pair of contact elements without excessively increasing the number of contact element shapes. For example, only two different contact element shapes can be implemented, e.g., contact elements that are mirror images of each other.

[0015] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the solder sections of the contact elements of the first pair of contact elements are arranged in a mirror-symmetrical manner. This allows the distance between the solder sections of the first pair of contact elements to be maximized in a simple way.

[0016] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the contact elements are designed as angled contact elements, with the insertion direction of the plug contacts being aligned parallel to the plane of the electrical circuit board. Accordingly, when viewed in the alignment direction, the contact elements are angled such that the insertion direction of the plug contacts points in one direction and the direction in which the solder sections project from the respective connection section points in another, orthogonal direction.

[0017] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the contact elements are arranged in the insulating housing without spatial interruption in the grid dimension, in particular without any empty pole between adjacent contact elements. This minimizes the required installation space for the connector strip.

[0018] For the purposes of the present invention, the indefinite term "a" is not to be understood as a numeral. Therefore, when, for example, a component is mentioned, this is to be interpreted as "at least one component". Where angles are specified in degrees, these refer to a circle of 360 degrees (360°).

[0019] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments and drawings.

[0020] They show Fig. 1. A connector strip in perspective view, Fig. 2 the connector strip according to Fig. 1 with a mating connector attached to it, Fig. 3 the connector strip according to Fig. 1 in a view of the plug-in face side, Fig. 4 the connector strip according to Fig. 1 in a rear view of the housing side facing away from the plug-in face, Fig. 5, Fig. 6 Two contact elements in different perspective views.

[0021] The Fig. Figure 1 shows a connector strip 1 having an insulating housing 2. Several chambers 4 are formed in the insulating housing 2, each containing an electrical contact element 10 or at least the plug contact 6 of such a contact element 10.

[0022] The Fig. 5 and Fig. Figure 6 shows two contact elements 10 in different views. The contact elements 10 are mirror images of each other. Each contact element 10 has an electrical plug contact 6, which is designed to connect to a mating plug contact of a mating connector. Each contact element 10 has at least one solder section 7, and in the illustrated embodiment, each contact element 10 can have three solder sections 7 in the form of solder pins. The solder sections 7 are connected to the plug contact 6 via a connecting section 8 and are integrally formed with it. Alternatively, plug contacts can be used instead of solder pins, which are inserted into plug contact openings of a printed circuit board by means of a positive and / or frictional fit.

[0023] The contact elements 10 are in a Fig. The connector strip 1 is arranged side by side in the insulating housing 2 in the direction A shown in the diagram. The connector strip 1 is used for plugging together with a mating connector 5, as shown in the diagram. Fig. 2. The connector strip 1 can be plugged into the mating connector 5 in one direction S. The electrical contact elements 10, or their plug contacts, located in the insulating housing 2 are electrically contacted by mating contacts of the mating connector 5, thus establishing an electrical connection. The mating connector 5 is plugged into the connector strip 1 from one mating face 3.

[0024] The Fig. Figure 3 shows the connector strip 1 in a view of the mating face 3. It can be seen that each receiving chamber 4 contains one electrical plug contact 6. On a housing side different from the mating face 3, the solder sections 7 of the various contact elements 10 protrude from the insulating housing 2. For example, each contact element 10 can have exactly one electrical plug contact 6 and one associated solder section 7. The plug contacts 6 are arranged in a predetermined grid dimension R, i.e., they are spaced evenly apart from each other by the grid dimension R.

[0025] In the Fig. Figure 3 shows additional plug-in planes E, i.e., one plug-in plane E for each plug-in contact 6, where the longitudinal extent of the plug-in contact 6 lies within the plug-in plane E. The plug-in planes E each run orthogonally to the alignment direction A. It can be seen that for each contact element 10, its solder section 7 is arranged offset in the alignment direction A relative to the plug-in plane E, e.g., such that for each contact element 10, the solder section 7 is located outside the plug-in plane E of that contact element 10.

[0026] It can also be seen that the solder sections 7 have different distances from each other. In the first pair P1 of adjacent contact elements 10, their also adjacent solder sections 7 are arranged at a distance D1 from each other. In the second pair P2 of adjacent contact elements, their solder sections are arranged at a distance D2 from each other. In the third pair P3 of contact elements, their solder sections 7 are arranged at a distance D2 from each other. As can be seen, the distance D1 is greater than the distance D2.

[0027] The Fig. Figure 4 shows a rear view of the connector strip according to Fig. Figures 1 and 3 show the solder sections 7 together with the connecting sections 8 of each contact element 10. It is also shown that the connector strip 1 is attached to an electrical circuit board 9. It is evident that the different distances D1, D2 are achieved by the different shapes of the individual contact elements 10, in particular by the different designs of the connecting sections 8. Specifically, the contact elements 10 of the first pair P1 are shaped and arranged in a mirror-symmetrical manner, at least in the area of ​​their connecting sections 8. The solder sections 7 are offset from the mating plane E of the plug contacts 6, i.e., arranged outside the mating plane E.

[0028] As the Fig. 5 and Fig.As shown in Figure 6, the connecting section 8 has a horizontal section 80 which, when mounted in the insulating housing 2 of the connector 1, extends parallel to the insertion direction S and the alignment direction A. The horizontal section 80 transitions via an arc into a vertical section 81 of the connecting section 8. The vertical section 81 is arranged essentially parallel to the insertion plane E.

[0029] Thus, the contact elements 10 are available in at least two embodiments, in particular such that they are mirror-symmetrical with respect to the design of their connecting sections 8. This allows the desired distance D1 or D2 to be set by appropriately assembling the insulating housing 2 between the respective pairs of contact elements. Reference symbol list 1 connector strip 2 insulating housings 3 Plug-in face side 4 Recording chamber 5 mating connectors 6 plug contacts 7 Soldering section 8 Connection section 9 printed circuit board 10 contact elements 80 Horizontal section 81 Vertical section A direction of queuing D1 distance D2 distance E Plug-in level P1 first pair of adjacent contact elements P2 second pair of adjacent contact elements P3 third pair of adjacent contact elements R grid dimension S Plug direction QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 10 2012 105 508 A1

[0002]

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