Carrier arrangement for connectors

Abstract

Carrier arrangement (1) for connectors, with a carrier strip (2), a plurality of inner conductor contacts (3) and a plurality of connector housings (4), where Each inner conductor contact (3) has two contact sections (5) to which the inner conductor contact (3) can be connected, the inner conductor contacts (3) are arranged side by side along the carrier strip (2), Each inner conductor contact (3) is arranged with a contact section (5) on the carrier strip (2) and is formed integrally with the carrier strip (2), and Each connector housing (4) encloses at least one inner conductor contact (3) in an area outside the contact sections (5) so that the contact sections (5) are exposed.

Description

Technical field

[0001] The invention relates to a carrier arrangement for connectors, in particular for circuit board connectors. State of the art

[0002] Connectors are typically manufactured by producing their individual components separately. The first step usually involves producing the signal-carrying elements, such as contact pins. In a separate process, the housings for the respective connectors are manufactured. Subsequently, the signal-carrying elements are arranged within the housing, also using a separate process. Depending on the connector's shape and intended use, further process steps may be required. Overall, this results in a process with numerous steps, often requiring complex processing machinery, making it very costly and complex. Description of the invention

[0003] It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an arrangement which overcomes at least one disadvantage mentioned in the prior art and enables the provision of connectors which can be manufactured in a simpler way.

[0004] The problem according to the invention is solved by a support arrangement with the features of the independent claim; further advantageous embodiments of the invention can be found in the dependent claims, the description and the drawings.

[0005] A carrier arrangement for connectors according to the invention comprises a carrier strip, a plurality of inner conductor contacts, and a plurality of connector housings. Each inner conductor contact has two contact sections to which it can be connected. The inner conductor contacts can be connected in a signal-conducting manner to other components, such as a printed circuit board or a mating connector, within these contact sections. The inner conductor contacts are arranged side by side along the carrier strip. Preferably, the inner conductor contacts are arranged along one of the longest sides of the carrier strip. Each inner conductor contact is attached to the carrier strip by a contact section and is integrally formed with the carrier strip. In other words, each inner conductor contact is metallurgically connected to the carrier strip via a contact section.Each connector housing encloses at least one inner conductor contact in an area outside the contact sections, leaving the contact sections exposed. Each connector housing enclosing one or more inner conductor contacts preferably forms a connector.

[0006] The carrier arrangement according to the invention enables the particularly simple production of connectors. Since the connector housings enclose the inner conductor contacts, and the inner conductor contacts are connected to the carrier strip, the carrier arrangement can be used to manufacture connectors with exceptional ease. The inner conductor contacts can be machined directly on the carrier strip. Subsequently, several connector housings can be formed around the inner conductor contacts simultaneously. The carrier strip not only simplifies the handling of the carrier arrangement but also allows multiple components to be machined simultaneously in a single process step. After completion of the manufacturing process, the connectors simply need to be detached from the carrier strip. The carrier arrangement is particularly suitable for circuit board connectors.

[0007] At least one inner conductor contact can be bent, so that the contact sections are angled and / or offset relative to each other. For example, the contact sections can be arranged at a 90-degree angle to each other. This allows for the creation of angled connectors.

[0008] Several groups of inner conductor contacts can be arranged along the carrier strip, differing in the type of bending of the inner conductor contacts. Preferably, the inner conductor contacts of a group have the same type of bending. In this way, several connectors, differing from one another, can be formed on a single carrier strip.

[0009] The inner conductor contacts can have different lengths. In addition to different lengths, the inner conductor contacts can also have different bending patterns. Likewise, inner conductor contacts of different lengths can be arranged in groups, with the inner conductor contacts within each group having the same length.

[0010] The inner conductor contacts may have a coating. This coating can, for example, affect the signal-conducting properties or the resistance of the inner conductor contacts. The inner conductor contacts may have different coatings than one another.

[0011] An armoring element can be arranged between at least two inner conductor contacts, and this element is completely enclosed at one free end by the connector housing. The armoring element is preferably integrally connected to the carrier strip. The armoring element can, for example, serve to attach the connector housing to another component. Preferably, at least two armoring elements are enclosed by a connector housing, with at least one inner conductor contact arranged between the two armoring elements.

[0012] The reinforcement element can have at least one bend. The reinforcement element can have a bend that differs from the bend of the inner conductor contacts. This allows the geometry of the reinforcement element to be kept simple.

[0013] The connector housings can be made of plastic and overmolded around at least one inner conductor contact. Preferably, the connector housings are made of a thermoplastic material. This allows the connector housings to be manufactured in a particularly simple manner.

[0014] At least one connector housing can have a connecting element for connection to a mating connector. This connecting element can be designed, for example, as a locking hook or locking tab. This eliminates additional process steps.

[0015] At least one connector housing can have a plug-in chamber in which at least one contact section is arranged. In this way, the contact section is exposed and can be used for contacting, but the plug-in chamber provides better protection against external mechanical influences.

[0016] At least one connector housing can have at least one coding element. This ensures that only mating connectors with a complementary shape to the coding element can be plugged in. The coding element can be located within the plug-in chamber.

[0017] At least two connector housings can differ in their shape. This allows connectors for different applications to be manufactured simultaneously. Preferably, connectors with different shapes are used when the inner conductor contacts form groups that differ in bending, coating, and / or length, with each group being assigned a connector housing of one shape.

[0018] Furthermore, additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments. The features described there and above can be implemented individually or in combination, provided that the features do not contradict each other. The following description of the preferred embodiments is given with reference to the accompanying drawings. These show: Fig. 1 a carrier strip of a carrier arrangement according to the invention in a first embodiment in a top view; Fig. 2 a perspective view of the carrier strip of the carrier arrangement according to the invention in the first embodiment; Fig. 3 a side view of the carrier strip of the carrier arrangement according to the invention in the first embodiment arranged in an injection mold; Fig. 4a and Fig. 4b a side view and a front view of the support arrangement according to the invention in the first embodiment; Fig. 5 a perspective view of the carrier strip of the carrier arrangement according to the invention in a second embodiment; Fig. 6a and Fig. 6b a side view and a front view of the support arrangement according to the second embodiment according to the invention; Fig. 7 a front view of the support arrangement according to the invention in a third embodiment; and Fig. 8 a front view of the support arrangement according to the invention in a third embodiment.

[0019] Fig. Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a carrier strip 2 of a carrier arrangement according to the invention. Inner conductor contacts 3 and reinforcement elements 7 are arranged on one of the two longest sides of the carrier strip 2. The reinforcement elements 7 and the inner conductor contacts 3 are each formed integrally with the carrier strip 2 and are accordingly connected to the carrier strip 2. Two inner conductor contacts 3 are arranged between each pair of reinforcement elements 7. Two reinforcement elements 7 and the inner conductor contacts 3 arranged between them have a length that is greater than the other two reinforcement elements 7 and inner conductor contacts 3. All inner conductor contacts 3 and reinforcement elements 7 are provided with a coating 6.

[0020] Fig. Figure 2 shows the first embodiment of the carrier strip 2 in a perspective view. For better visibility, however, two reinforcement elements and the intervening inner conductor contacts are not shown. The inner conductor contacts 3 and the reinforcement elements 7 have a curved shape. The inner conductor contacts 3 have an angled shape, with the ends of the inner conductor contacts 3 facing away from the carrier strip 2 arranged in a horizontal plane. The reinforcement elements 7 have a U-shape. The bends were introduced into the inner conductor contacts 3 and the reinforcement elements 7 in a bending process not shown.

[0021] Fig. Figure 3 shows a side view of the first embodiment of the carrier strip 2 of the carrier arrangement according to the invention. The carrier strip 2 is arranged in an injection mold 12. The inner conductor contacts 3 and the reinforcement elements 7 are arranged in a cavity 13 of the injection mold 12. The carrier strip 2 is arranged outside the cavity. The injection mold 12 serves to produce a connector housing, which is created by overmolding the inner conductor contacts 3 and the reinforcement elements 7.

[0022] Fig. 4a and Fig. Figure 4b shows the carrier arrangement 1 according to the first embodiment in a side view and a front view. The inner conductor contacts 3 are enclosed by the connector housing 4. The inner conductor contacts 3, the reinforcement elements 7, and the connector housing 4 form a connector. However, the inner conductor contacts have exposed contact sections 5, so that these contact sections 5 can be used to connect the inner conductor contacts 3 to other components in a signal-conducting manner. The connector housing 4 has a plug-in chamber 10 in which two of the contact sections 5 are arranged. Furthermore, a coding element 11 is arranged in the plug-in chamber 10, which ensures that the connector housing 4 can only be connected to a mating connector that has a shape complementary to the coding element 11. Two of the contact sections 5 are connected to the carrier strip 2.To detach the connector from the carrier strip 2, it is only necessary to disconnect the connection between the carrier strip 2 and the inner conductor contacts 3 or the reinforcement elements 7. In the present embodiment, this is a circuit board connector. The free end 8 of the reinforcement elements 7 is used to attach the circuit board connector to a printed circuit board (not shown).

[0023] Fig. Figure 5 shows a support strip 2 of a support arrangement according to a second embodiment of the invention in a perspective view. The reinforcement elements 7 are curved, while the inner conductor contacts 3 are curved such that the ends of the inner conductor contacts 3 facing away from the support strip 2 are arranged in a vertical plane. Both inner conductor contacts 3 have the same length.

[0024] Fig. 6a and Fig. Figure 6b shows the support arrangement 1 according to the second embodiment in a side view and a front view. The inner conductor contacts 3 and the reinforcement elements 7 are enclosed by the connector housing 4, with the contact sections 5 being exposed. The free end 8 of the reinforcement elements is also completely enclosed by the connector housing.

[0025] Fig. Figure 7 shows a front view of a third embodiment of the carrier arrangement 1 according to the invention. The carrier arrangement 1 has two connector housings 4, each enclosing two inner conductor contacts 3 such that the contact sections are exposed. The connector housings 4 differ from each other in shape and size. Furthermore, one connector housing 4 has a connecting element 9 that enables a positive-locking connection with a mating connector.

[0026] Fig.Figure 8 shows a front view of a fourth embodiment of a carrier arrangement 1 according to the invention. The carrier arrangement 1 has a connector housing 4 that encloses four inner conductor contacts 3. The four inner conductor contacts 3 are arranged between two reinforcement elements 7, which are also enclosed by the connector housing 4. The connector housing 4 has two plug-in chambers 10, in each of which two contact sections 5 are arranged exposed. REFERENCE MARK LIST 1 Carrier arrangement 2 carrier strips 3 inner conductor contacts 4 connector housings 5 contact sections 6 coating 7 Reinforcing element 8 Free End 9 Connecting element 10 plug chambers 11 Coding element 12 injection molds 13 Cavity

Claims

[1] Carrier arrangement (1) for connectors, with a carrier strip (2), a plurality of inner conductor contacts (3) and a plurality of connector housings (4), where Each inner conductor contact (3) has two contact sections (5) to which the inner conductor contact (3) can be connected, the inner conductor contacts (3) are arranged side by side along the carrier strip (2), Each inner conductor contact (3) is arranged with a contact section (5) on the carrier strip (2) and is formed integrally with the carrier strip (2), and Each connector housing (4) encloses at least one inner conductor contact (3) in an area outside the contact sections (5) so that the contact sections (5) are exposed. [2] Carrier arrangement (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein at least one inner conductor contact (3) is bent so that the contact sections (5) are arranged at an angle to each other and / or offset. [3] Carrier arrangement (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein several groups of inner conductor contacts (3) are arranged along the carrier strip (2), which differ from each other in the way the inner conductor contacts (3) are bent. [4] Carrier arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the inner conductor contacts (3) have different lengths. [5] Carrier arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the inner conductor contacts (3) have a coating (6). [6] Carrier arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an armoring element (7) is arranged between at least two inner conductor contacts (3) which is completely enclosed at a free end (8) by the connector housing (4). [7] Support arrangement (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the reinforcement element (7) has at least one bend. [8] Carrier arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the connector housings (4) are made of a plastic and are overmolded around the at least one inner conductor contact (3). [9] Carrier arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one connector housing (4) has a connecting element (9) for connection with a mating connector. [10] Carrier arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one connector housing (4) has a plug chamber (10) in which at least one contact section (5) is arranged. [11] Carrier arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one connector housing (4) has at least one coding element (11). [12] Carrier arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least two connector housings (4) differ from each other in their shape.

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