Connectors for mounting on a circuit board

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a connector for mounting on a printed circuit board, wherein the connector is in particular a circular connector whose insulating body can be inserted into its base body in different rotational positions so that the orientation of its mating face can be adjusted.

[0002] A variety of different connectors and also circular connectors are known from the state of the art, which are intended for mounting on a printed circuit board.

[0003] However, the alignment of the mating face can usually only be varied by rotating the entire connector on the circuit board, so that the space requirement on the circuit board and the entire circuit board layout can be changed by rotating the connector or by repositioning it.

[0004] The orientation of the connector changes and needs to be adjusted.

[0005] Document US5035650A proposes a connector for mounting on a printed circuit board, wherein the insulating inner housing of the connector and the outer shield are provided with corresponding serrations to enable mounting and locking in one of several orientations.

[0006] Furthermore, the connectors known in the prior art are usually designed either for mounting on a printed circuit board that runs orthogonally to the plug-in direction of the connector or for mounting on a printed circuit board that runs parallel to the plug-in direction. For example, connectors designed for mounting on printed circuit boards that run orthogonally to the plug-in direction often cannot be used for mounting on printed circuit boards that run parallel to the plug-in direction, or vice versa.

[0007] The invention is therefore based on the object of overcoming the aforementioned disadvantages and providing a simple and cost-effective connector for printed circuit boards, in which the orientation of its mating face can be changed in a simple manner and which can preferably be mounted both on printed circuit boards running orthogonally and parallel to the mating direction.

[0008] This object is achieved by the combination of features according to claims 1 and 14.

[0009] According to the invention, a connector for mounting on a printed circuit board is therefore proposed, which can accordingly also be referred to as a printed circuit board connector. The connector has an insulating body for receiving contact elements that can be contacted with the printed circuit board, a base body, and a shielding plate. The base body has a receptacle into which the insulating body can be inserted in different positions rotated about its longitudinal axis, which can also be referred to as rotational positions. Accordingly, the insulating body, which preferably defines a mating face of the connector together with the contact elements, can be inserted into the base body in different rotational positions, so that the insulating body or the mating face defined by it can be mounted in a predetermined orientation as required.Preferably, the insulating body can be inserted into the base body in a variety of rotational positions, and in particular in more than four rotational positions. The base body and the insulating body also form a corresponding interlocking system, which determines the rotational positions and secures the insulating body inserted into the receptacle in its selected rotational position against rotation about its longitudinal axis. Thus, once the insulating body is inserted into the base body, it cannot be rotated relative to the base body. The shielding plate also encompasses the base body and has contact sections for connection to the circuit board.

[0010] The basic idea of ​​the invention is that the insulating body can be inserted into the base body in various positions rotated about its longitudinal axis (rotational positions) and can be fixed therein, whereby the base body always has the same space requirement and the same orientation on the circuit board regardless of the position or rotational position of the insulating body, whereby the base body can be fixed on the circuit board via the contact sections of the shielding plate.

[0011] The circuit board layout around the base body or the shielding plate essentially does not need to be adjusted.

[0012] In the area of ​​the base body, however, the circuit board layout may need to be adapted to the desired position of the insulating body so that the contact elements of the connector or the contact elements running in the insulating body can be connected to corresponding contacts on the circuit board.

[0013] The shielding plate is preferably designed to fix the insulating body inserted into the receptacle in the base body and to secure the insulating body against translation along its longitudinal axis relative to the base body.

[0014] Additionally or alternatively, the insulating body and the base body can have corresponding locking elements designed to lock together, fix the insulating body inserted into the receptacle in the base body, and secure the insulating body against translation along its longitudinal axis relative to the base body. For example, the insulating body can have a locking lug on its end section facing the circuit board, which springs over a locking edge formed by the receptacle of the base body and thereby locks the insulating body to the base body.

[0015] An advantageous development of the plug connector provides that the receptacle for the base body is formed by a round recess having at least two grooves on its inner circumference that are spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction and run parallel to the longitudinal axis. The insulating body has a plug-in section that corresponds to the recess and has at least one tooth on its outer circumference that runs parallel to the longitudinal axis and corresponds to the grooves, so that the plug-in section with the at least one tooth can be inserted into one of the grooves and the insulating body is secured against rotation about its longitudinal axis by the interaction of the tooth with one of the grooves. The grooves of the base body form a first part, and the tooth(s) of the insulating body form a second part of the toothing.

[0016] The number of grooves and their distances from each other determine the number of possible rotational positions of the insulating body in the base body and their orientation.

[0017] Preferably, a plurality of grooves evenly distributed in the circumferential direction are provided in the base body or in the recess.

[0018] If the grooves are evenly distributed in the circumferential direction, the insulating element can also have more than one tooth and preferably one tooth per groove, wherein the teeth are arranged corresponding to the grooves on the outer circumference of the insulating body.

[0019] A further advantageous variant of the plug connector provides that the insulating body has a collar that runs circumferentially around its longitudinal axis and projects radially, in particular beyond the plug-in section. The base body forms, in particular at its recess, a recess corresponding to the collar, through which a stop surface for the collar is formed orthogonal to the longitudinal axis. The shielding plate is also preferably designed to encompass the base body and the collar and to fix the insulating body to the base body with the collar resting against the stop surface. Alternatively, however, the collar can also interact with the mutually corresponding locking elements of the base body and the insulating body, such that the insulating body is secured against translation relative to the base body by the collar and the locking elements.

[0020] Preferably, the recess is designed such that the collar is flush with the base body on a side opposite the stop surface.

[0021] The base body preferably has an upper side, from which the insulating body can be inserted into the receptacle, and an opposite lower side. According to an advantageous refinement, the shielding plate extends from the upper side to the lower side, encompassing a radially outer first side surface of the base body, and has contact sections on the lower side for electrically contacting the circuit board. The contact sections can be adjacent to the lower side or arranged parallel to it.

[0022] Furthermore, it can be provided that the base body forms at least one latching section on the first side surface and / or on a second side surface adjacent thereto in the circumferential direction and the shielding plate has a counter-latching section corresponding to the latching section, with which the shielding plate can be latched to the first and / or second side surface.

[0023] A further advantageous variant provides that the contact sections of the shielding plate can be connected by soldering to a corresponding shielding connection of the circuit board.

[0024] This is particularly advantageous if the base body is made of an electrically non-conductive plastic or another non-conductive material.

[0025] Also advantageous is a variant of the connector in which the shielding plate integrally forms a spring contact that is resilient parallel to the longitudinal axis. The spring contact is designed to contact a housing that can be arranged around the insulating body.

[0026] The shielding plate is preferably designed to electrically connect the housing to the shielding connection.

[0027] Preferably, the base body is designed to support the insulating body on the circuit board against forces acting orthogonally to the longitudinal axis. For this purpose, the base body can, for example, be rectangular in its basic shape or have sections and / or support feet that protrude orthogonally to the insulating body and are supported directly or indirectly, for example, via the shielding plate, on the circuit board.

[0028] The shielding plate and / or the base body can have at least one fixing pin running orthogonally to the longitudinal axis, which can also be designed as a soldering pin, with which the connector can be inserted into a printed circuit board running parallel to the longitudinal axis and can be fixed thereto.

[0029] For example, the shielding plate can be designed as a stamped and bent part, whereby the fixing pin can also be a stamped and subsequently bent section of the stamped and bent part.

[0030] The connector can also have a plurality of contact elements arranged in the insulating body, which extend along the longitudinal axis from the insulating body to a contact plane. When the insulating body is arranged in the receptacle of the base body, the contact elements also extend through the base body. The contact plane can be defined by the contact elements resting on the circuit board with their end sections located in the contact plane or extending through the circuit board.

[0031] It is also advantageous if the connector has a housing which runs around the insulating body in the circumferential direction and which has a sealing section for sealing against the insulating body and / or the base body and / or the shielding plate and which can be electrically contacted with the circuit board via the shielding plate.

[0032] The housing does not necessarily have to be fixable to the insulating body or the base body. For example, the housing can be fixed in a cover plate, in which it has a predetermined position relative to the insulating body.

[0033] To enable mounting of the connector on a printed circuit board arranged parallel to the plug-in direction, the connector can further be provided with a printed circuit board adapter, which has contact surfaces corresponding to the shielding plate and / or the contact elements and electrically connected connection contacts for electrically contacting the printed circuit board. The plug-in direction runs along the longitudinal axis of the insulating body.

[0034] A further aspect of the invention also relates to a method for assembling a connector having a printed circuit board adapter. The method comprises at least the following steps, preferably in the following order: The insulating body is inserted from an upper side of the base body and in a predetermined rotational position into the receptacle of the base body, wherein the mutually corresponding toothings of the base body and insulating body secure the insulating body inserted into the receptacle against rotation about its longitudinal axis, the shielding plate is arranged on the base body so as to encompass the base body, so that contact sections of the shielding plate are arranged on an underside of the base body opposite the upper side of the base body, the printed circuit board adapter is arranged on the underside of the base body and the contact surfaces of the adapter board are electrically contacted with the contact sections and connected in particular by soldering, a gripping device picks up the connector and positions it on a printed circuit board,the printed circuit board has a first section and a second section separated therefrom by a predetermined breaking point, wherein the gripping device is aligned with the second section during positioning on the printed circuit board so that the connector contacts the soldering surfaces of the printed circuit board with the connection contacts of the printed circuit board adapter, the connector is fixed in the first section of the printed circuit board and the second section of the printed circuit board is separated.

[0035] It is particularly advantageous that the connector can be positioned automatically, whereby the circuit board can be used as a stop or as a reference for the positioning, so that the connector can be brought into a precisely specified position in which the mating face of the connector has a precisely specified position and alignment with respect to the circuit board.

[0036] To secure the connector to the circuit board, the shielding plate's locating pins are preferably used. These pins are inserted into corresponding openings in the first section of the circuit board. The shielding connection can also be realized via the locating pins, so that any existing contact sections of the shielding plate essentially still serve to hold the circuit board adapter.

[0037] The features disclosed above can be combined as desired, as long as this is technically possible and they do not contradict each other.

[0038] Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims or are presented in more detail below, together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the figures. They show: Fig. 1 shows a base body; Fig. 2 shows an insulating body inserted into a base body; Fig. 3 shows a connector; Fig. 4 shows a section through a connector mounted on a circuit board running orthogonally to the plugging direction; Fig. 5 shows a connector mounted on a circuit board running parallel to the plugging direction.

[0039] The figures are exemplary schematic. Figures 1 to 3 preferably show a connector 1 or its components, which in Figure 4 in longitudinal section and in Figure 5 is shown in a side view, with the connector 1 in the Figure 4 on a printed circuit board 2 running orthogonally to the longitudinal axis L and in Figure 5 mounted on a circuit board 2 running parallel to the longitudinal axis L, for which the Figure 5The connector 1 shown additionally has a printed circuit board adapter 50. The same reference numerals in the figures therefore indicate the same functional and / or structural features.

[0040] In Figure 1 the base body 20 of the connector 1 is shown, which has a receptacle 21 in which the insulating body, as in Figure 2 shown, can be inserted with a plug-in section.

[0041] For this purpose, grooves 23 running parallel to the longitudinal axis L are formed in the receptacle 21, which is designed as a round recess 21 extending along the longitudinal axis L, into which grooves a tooth formed on the insulating body 10 can engage. The insulating body 10 can form one or more teeth, preferably one tooth for each groove 23. The at least one tooth of the insulating body 10 and the grooves 23 interact accordingly as a toothing, so that an insulating body 10 inserted into the receptacle 21 cannot be rotated in the circumferential direction U about the longitudinal axis L relative to the base body 20 and the insulating body 10 is secured in its rotational position.

[0042] This therefore determines an alignment or rotational position of a mating face of the insulating body 10 relative to the base body 20.

[0043] If a first orientation of the mating face or the insulating body 10 is required for a first application and a second orientation of the mating face or the insulating body 10, for example rotated by 45° about the longitudinal axis L, is required for a second application, both orientations can be provided by the plug connector 10 according to the invention by inserting the insulating body 10 with the respective orientation into the base body 20.

[0044] Furthermore, the insulating body 10, as shown in Figure 2 visible, a collar 14 which completely encircles the longitudinal axis L in the circumferential direction U and projects beyond the plug-in section of the insulating body 10 in the radial direction R, which collar penetrates or dips into the receptacle 21 and rests there against a stop surface 24 and preferably ends flush with a surface of the base body 20.

[0045] The collar 14 prevents the insulating body 10 from being immersed or inserted too deeply into the base body 20 and limits a translation (i.e. a translational movement) along the longitudinal axis L towards the base body 20.

[0046] Furthermore, the illustrated insulating body 10 has a locking lug or several locking lugs as a locking element 12 and the base body has a locking edge corresponding thereto and preferably running in the circumferential direction U as a locking element 22, as shown in the longitudinal section according to Figure 4 are recognizable.

[0047] When the insulating body 10 is inserted into the base body 20, the locking lug 12 engages with the locking edge 22, so that the insulating body 10 can no longer be moved out of the base body 20 and the insulating body 10 is consequently secured in the base body 20 both against rotation and against translation or against movement along the longitudinal axis.

[0048] Due to the various possible rotational positions of the insulating body 10 in the base body 20, a multitude of configurations of the connector 1 can therefore be provided, wherein the connector 1 always has an identical orientation due to the comparatively constant orientation of the base body 10 on a printed circuit board 2 and always has identical fixing points for fixing the connector on the printed circuit board 2.

[0049] Since the alignment of the contact elements 11 of the insulating body 10 or their contact points in the contact plane E with the printed circuit board 2 or the printed circuit board adapter 50 changes, the contact surfaces corresponding to the contact elements 11 or the electrical connections on the circuit board 2 or the printed circuit board adapter 50 for the contact elements 11 must be adapted for a respective application.

[0050] Furthermore, a shielding plate 30 is provided, which in this case is designed as a stamped and bent part, but only in the Figures 3 to 5 The shielding plate 30, which has a spring contact in the longitudinal axis L for contact with the Figures 3 and 4 illustrated housing 40, the housing 40 can be connected to a shielding connection on the circuit board 2 or via the circuit board adapter 50 to the shielding connection on the circuit board 2.

[0051] For this purpose, the shielding plate 30 encompasses at least the base body 20 and preferably also covers the collar 14 of the insulating sleeve 10, so that the insulating sleeve 10 is additionally secured in the receptacle 21 by the shielding plate 30.

[0052] The shielding plate 30 extends from an upper side of the base body 20, from which the insulating body 10 is inserted, to an opposite underside of the base body 20 and there has contact sections 31 with which the shielding plate 30 can be soldered to the circuit board 2 or the circuit board adapter 50.

[0053] By soldering the contact sections 31 to the printed circuit board 2 (orthogonal to the longitudinal axis L), as shown in Figure 4 As shown, both the shielding connection is established and the connector 1 is fixed to the circuit board 2.

[0054] If the connector 1 is to be arranged with its longitudinal axis L, along which the plug-in direction of the connector 1 also runs, parallel to the printed circuit board 2, ie "lying" on the printed circuit board 2, the connector 1 further comprises a printed circuit board adapter 50, as shown in Figure 5shown. Here, the base body 20 with the insulating body 10 is fixed to the circuit board adapter 50 via the contact sections 31 of the shielding plate 30.

[0055] In order to be able to fix a connector 1 lying on the circuit board 2 to the circuit board 2, fixing pins 34 are also provided on the shielding plate 30, which protrude orthogonally to the longitudinal axis L and - as in Figure 2 shown - can be inserted into corresponding holes in the circuit board 2 and soldered into or with these. This allows the connector 1 to be fixed to the circuit board 2 together with the circuit board adapter 50, and at the same time, the shielding connection of the circuit board 2 can be contacted, which is then formed integrally with the holes in the circuit board 2 corresponding to the fixing pins 34.

[0056] Like the one in Figure 4As can be seen from the sectional view shown, the housing 40 provides a sealing section 41. By means of the sealing section 41, in which, for example, a sealing lip or a sealing ring can be arranged, the housing 40 is sealed against the insulating body 10. The housing 40 itself can be fixed to the insulating body 10 or to a wall not belonging to the connector, wherein the housing 40 does not have to be fixed to the insulating body 10, the base body 20, or the shielding plate 30, but can be movable relative to them.

[0057] In order to be able to securely fix the shielding plate 30 in its position on the base body 20, the base body 20 has locking sections 25 on two side surfaces adjacent in the circumferential direction U, which lock with corresponding counter-locking sections 35 of the shielding plate 30.

[0058] In Figure 5For the horizontal assembly of the connector 1, it is also shown that the connector is gripped at the insulating body 10 by a gripping device 6. The gripping device 6 positions the connector 1 on a first section 3 of a printed circuit board 2 and is supported on a second section 4 of the printed circuit board 2, which is separated from the first section 3 by a predetermined breaking point 4.

[0059] This allows the connector 1 to be positioned precisely in terms of its height and orientation relative to the circuit board 2 without the need for complex sensors.

[0060] After the connector 1 is fixed in the first section 3 and in particular via the fixing pins 34 to the circuit board 2, the second section 5 of the circuit board 2 is separated from the first section 3 at the predetermined breaking point 4.

[0061] The invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable that utilize the presented solution even in fundamentally different embodiments.

Claims

1. A plug connector (1) for mounting on a circuit board (2) with an insulating body (10) for receiving contact elements (11) that can be contacted with the circuit board (2), a base body (20), and a shielding plate (30), wherein the base body (20) has a receptacle (21) into which the insulating body (10) can be inserted in different rotational positions rotated about the longitudinal axis (L) thereof, wherein the base body (20) and the insulating body (10) form a mutually corresponding toothing by means of which the rotational positions are determined and the insulating body (10) inserted into the receptacle (21) is secured in its rotational position against rotation about the longitudinal axis (L) thereof, wherein the shielding plate (30) engages around the base body (20) and has contact portions (31) for connection to the circuit board (2).

2. The plug connector according to claim 1, wherein the shielding plate (30) is designed to fix the insulating body (10) inserted into the receptacle (21) in the base body (20) and to secure the insulating body (10) against translation along the longitudinal axis (L) thereof relative to the base body (20).

3. The plug connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the insulating body (10) and the base body (20) have mutually corresponding locking elements (12, 22) and these are designed to lock together, to fix the insulating body (10) inserted into the receptacle (21) in the base body (20), and to secure the insulating body (10) against translation along the longitudinal axis (L) thereof relative to the base body (20).

4. The plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the receptacle (21) of the base body (20) is formed by a round recess (21) which has on its inner circumference at least two grooves (23) that are spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction (U), run parallel to the longitudinal axis (L), and form a first part of the toothing, and wherein the insulating body (10) has a plug-in portion corresponding to the recess (21) which has on its outer circumference at least one tooth running parallel to the longitudinal axis (L) and corresponding to the grooves (23) that forms a second part of the toothing, so that the plug-in portion with the at least one tooth can be inserted into one of the grooves and the insulating body (10) is secured against rotation about the longitudinal axis (L) thereof.

5. The plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the insulating body (10) has a collar (14) extending in the circumferential direction (U) and projecting in the radial direction (R), the base body (20) forms a recess corresponding to the collar (14) by means of which a stop surface (24) for the collar (14) is formed orthogonally to the longitudinal axis (L).

6. The plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base body (20) has an upper side from which the insulating body (10) can be inserted into the receptacle (21) and an oppositely situated lower side, wherein the shielding plate (30) extends from the top to the bottom, engaging around a first side surface of the base body (20) which is located on the outside in the radial direction (R), and has the contact portions (31) on the bottom for electrically contacting the circuit board (2).

7. The plug connector according to the preceding claim, wherein the base body (20) forms at least one latching portion (25) on the first side surface and / or on a second side surface adjacent thereto in the circumferential direction (U), and the shielding plate has a mating latching portion (35) corresponding to the latching portion (25) with which the shielding plate (30) can be latched to the first and / or second side surface.

8. The plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shielding plate (30) integrally forms a spring contact which is resilient parallel to the longitudinal axis (L) and is designed to contact a housing (40) which can be arranged around the insulating body (10).

9. The plug connector according to the preceding claim, wherein the shielding plate (30) is designed to electrically connect the housing (40) to a shielding connector on the circuit board (2).

10. The plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shielding plate (30) and / or the base body (20) has at least one fixing pin (34) running orthogonally to the longitudinal axis (L) with which the plug connector (1) can be inserted into a circuit board (2) running parallel to the longitudinal axis (L) and can be fixed thereto.

11. The plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, with a plurality of contact elements (11) arranged in the insulating body (10) which extend along the longitudinal axis (L) from the insulating body (10) to a contact plane (E) and pass through the base body (20).

12. The plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, with a housing (40) which runs around the insulating body (10) in the circumferential direction (U), which has a sealing portion (41) for sealing against the insulating body (10) and / or the base body (20) and / or the shielding plate (30), and which can be electrically contacted with the circuit board (2) via the shielding plate (30).

13. The plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, having a circuit board adapter (50) which has contact surfaces corresponding to the shield plate (30) and / or to the contact elements (11) and connection contacts electrically connected thereto for electrically contacting the circuit board (2).

14. A method for assembling a plug connector (1) according to claim 13, wherein the insulating body (10) is inserted from an upper side of the base body (20) and in a predetermined rotational position into the receptacle (21) of the base body (20), wherein the mutually corresponding toothings of the base body (20) and insulating body (10) secure the insulating body (10) inserted into the receptacle (21) against rotation about the longitudinal axis (L) thereof, wherein the shielding plate (30) is arranged on the base body (20) so as to engage around the base body (20), so that contact portions (31) of the shielding plate (30) are arranged on a bottom side of the base body (20) opposite the top side of the base body (20), wherein the circuit board adapter (50) is arranged on the lower side of the base body (20), and the contact surfaces (31) of the circuit board adapter are electrically contacted with the contact portions (31) and are connected in particular by soldering, wherein a gripping device (6) picks up the plug connector (1) and positions it on a circuit board (2), wherein the circuit board (2) has a first section (3) and a second section (5) separated therefrom by a predetermined breaking point (4), and wherein the gripping device (6) is aligned with the second section (5) during positioning on the circuit board (2), so that the plug connector (1) with the connection contacts of the circuit board adapter (50) contacts soldering surfaces of the circuit board (2), wherein the plug connector (1) is fixed in the first section (3) of the circuit board (2) and the second section (5) of the circuit board (2) is detached.