connector

Abstract

To provide a connector having an integral housing and enabling easy identification of the mating position. [Solution] A connector comprising a housing 1 and a plurality of identification units, the housing having a plurality of housing units 10. Each housing unit has a hollow body 11, a guide structure 12, and an open end 13. The guide structure is formed on an inner edge of the hollow body. The open end is formed on one side of the hollow body. The hollow body and the open end define an accommodating space into which a mating connector is mated. The plurality of housing units are integrally molded. The guide structures of each housing unit are different from each other. Each identification unit is installed in each housing unit, making each housing unit identifiable.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector having an integrated housing and allowing easy identification of the mating position. [Background technology]

[0002] In conventional connectors, in order to meet the diverse functional requirements of electronic products, a method of combining multiple modular connectors is adopted. For example, Taiwan Utility Model No. M599037 discloses a connector that combines two or more connectors.

[0003] However, such multi-part connectors increase the width and size of the connector, adversely affecting product miniaturization, and also have tolerance issues when assembling the housing, resulting in increased assembly man-hours and manufacturing costs.

[0004] In view of this, the present invention proposes an integrated connector that can solve the problems faced by the multi-part connectors in the prior art, such as increased product width and size, assembly tolerances, increased labor hours and costs. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an innovative one-piece connector. This solves the problems of the traditional multi-part connector, such as difficult to control tolerance during assembly and large width and size, and can save manufacturing man-hours and reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, the one-piece connector of the present invention has different identification units on the one-piece molded housing. When mating with a mating connector, users can easily and accurately identify connectors of different specifications on the same housing, and accurately mate the mating connector.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention discloses a connector including a housing and a plurality of identification units. The housing has a plurality of housing units. Each housing unit has a hollow body, a guide structure, and an open end. The guide structure is formed on an inner edge of the hollow body. The open end is formed on one side of the hollow body. The hollow body and the open end define an accommodating space into which a mating connector is mated. The plurality of housing units are integrally molded. The guide structures of each housing unit are different from each other. Each identification unit is respectively installed in each housing unit, making each housing unit identifiable.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the identification units is a color plate, and each color plate has a different color, so that each housing unit can be identified.

[0008] In the embodiment of the present invention, each color plate is removably inserted into each housing unit.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present invention, each color plate has an insertion installation portion, and each hollow body of each housing unit has an insertion installation groove provided on the upper surface of each hollow body, and each insertion installation portion is detachably inserted into each insertion installation groove, thereby fixing each color plate to each housing unit.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, each identification unit is a colored portion formed on the end surface of the open end of each hollow body, and each colored portion has a different color, so that each housing unit can be identified.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the connector further includes a plurality of contact members, one end of each of which is inserted into each of the receiving spaces from the opposite side of the open end of each of the hollow bodies, and is electrically connected to the contact member of the mating connector.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of contact members are divided into an upper contact member group and a lower contact member group, and when the plurality of contact members are inserted into each accommodating space, the lower contact member group is installed below the upper contact member group.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present invention, the housing unit further includes a plurality of pads removably inserted into the housing units, each pad having a plurality of openings, and the other end of each contact member extending from each opening.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present invention, the housing is fixed to an external circuit board, and the other end of each contact member extends from each opening to be electrically connected to the external circuit board.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present invention, the housing further includes at least one locating pin disposed on the bottom surface of the plurality of hollow bodies, the locating pin extending to an external circuit board, thereby fixing the housing to the external circuit board.

[0016] Those skilled in the art can understand other objects of the present invention, as well as the technical means and embodiments of the present invention, by referring to the drawings and the embodiments described below. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front exploded view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded rear view of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a housing according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a housing having three housing units in an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a connector having three color plates according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing how the color plate is detachably inserted into the housing unit of the connector in the embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a connector having different identification units according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9]FIG. 2 is an exploded rear view of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] The contents of the present invention will be described below through examples. Note that the examples of the present invention are examples of embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the environments, applications, or specific aspects described in the examples. Therefore, the explanation of the examples is intended to explain the present invention, but does not limit the present invention. Note that in the embodiments and drawings, components that are not directly related to the present invention are omitted and not shown. The dimensional relationship between the components in the drawings is intended to facilitate understanding, and does not limit the actual dimensions.

[0019] Description will be made with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a connector 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 2 and 3 are front and rear exploded views showing the connector 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The connector 100 according to the present invention comprises a housing 1, a number of identification units 2, a number of contact members 3 and a number of pads 4. In this embodiment, the connector 100 is a board-side connector of a board-to-cable connector. One end of the connector 100 is mounted on an external circuit board 200, and the other end is mated with a mating connector (not shown).

[0020] First, the housing 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a housing in an embodiment of the present invention. The housing 1 of the connector 100 of the present invention includes a plurality of housing units 10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the housing 1 of the connector 100 is composed of three housing units 10. The three housing units 10 shown in FIG. 4 are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the present invention. The number of housing units 10 for the housing 1 of the connector 100 can be increased or decreased according to the actual usage situation. In addition, in order to achieve the purpose of miniaturization of the product, all the housing units 10 of the housing 1 of the connector 100 of the present invention are integrally molded. In the present invention, the integrally molded housing can avoid problems such as increased width and size, difficulty in controlling tolerances in assembly, and increased assembly man-hours and manufacturing costs that occur during the assembly of a conventional multi-part connector.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 4, each housing unit 10 of the housing 1 of the present invention has a hollow body 11, a guide structure 12, and an open end 13. The hollow body 11 is manufactured by injection molding, for example, but not limited to, insulating resin or polymer material. The open end 13 is formed on one side of the hollow body 11. The hollow body 11 and the open end 13 define an accommodating space into which a mating connector (not shown) is mated along an opening direction. In addition, the guide structure 12 is formed on the inner edge of the hollow body 11. The positions of each guide structure 12 on the inner edge of the side wall of each housing unit 10 are different from each other. This allows users to identify different mating connectors for mating. FIG. 5 shows three housing units 10 constituting the housing 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. The guide structures 12 of each housing unit 10 are different in height position from each other, so that they can be mated with different mating connectors. In a preferred embodiment, the housing 1 further has at least one locating pin 14. The positioning pins 14 are installed on the bottom surface of the hollow body 11 of the integrally molded multiple housing units 10 and extend to the external circuit board 200 , thereby fixing the housing 1 to the external circuit board 200 .

[0022] Next, the identification unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the connector 100 has three identification units 2 respectively installed in the three housing units 10. The three identification units 2 allow the three housing units 10 to be identified. In this embodiment, the identification units are color plates. Each color plate is given a different color, allowing each housing unit to be identified. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the connector 100 of the present invention has three different color plates, such as a gray color plate 2A, a green color plate 2B, and a blue color plate 2C. The multiple color plates are detachably inserted and installed in three housing units, such as a first housing unit 10A, a second housing unit 10B, and a third housing unit 10C. In this way, when mating the mating connector, the user can easily identify different connectors by the different color identification units and use different guide structures to accurately mating the mating connector. In FIG. 7, each color plate of the connector of the present invention is an arch-shaped thin plate. An inserting installation portion 21 is formed on both sides of the arch-shaped thin plate. Meanwhile, each hollow body 11 of each housing unit 10 has an inserting installation groove 111 provided on the upper surface of the hollow body 11. Each inserting installation portion 21 of the color plates of different colors is removably inserted and installed in each inserting installation groove 111. In this way, each color plate is removably fixed to each housing unit 10.

[0023] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a connector having different identification units in another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the identification unit 2 is a colored portion formed on the end surface of the open end 13 of each hollow body 11. Each colored portion is formed by printing different colors on the end surface of the open end 13 by printing technology. The colored portion allows each housing unit 10 to be identified. As shown in FIG. 8, the connector 100 of the present invention has three different colored portions at the open end 13, such as a gray colored portion 2A', a green colored portion 2B', and a blue colored portion 2C' (different hatching in FIG. 8 indicates that each end surface has a different color). The three colored portions are respectively installed on the end surfaces of the open ends of the three housing units, such as the first housing unit 10A, the second housing unit 10B, and the third housing unit 10C. In this way, when mating the mating connector, the user can easily identify different connectors by the different colored portions. In addition, the user can accurately mating the mating connector based on the difference in the guide structure.

[0024] 9, the connector 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a plurality of contact members 3. In this embodiment, the plurality of contact members 3 are divided into an upper contact member group 31 and a lower contact member group 32. When the plurality of contact members 3 are inserted into the respective receiving spaces of the respective hollow bodies 11, the lower contact member group 32 is disposed below the upper contact member group 31. In the upper contact member group 31 and the lower contact member group 32, one end of each contact member 3 is inserted into the respective receiving space of the respective hollow bodies 11 from the opposite side of the respective opening end 13 of the respective hollow bodies 11 (i.e., the rear side of the respective hollow bodies), so as to be electrically connected to the mating connector. The connector 100 further includes a plurality of pads 4. The pads 4 are detachably inserted into the end of the hollow body 11 of each housing unit. Each pad 4 has a plurality of openings 41. The other end of each contact member of the upper contact member group 31 and the lower contact member group 32 extends from the respective openings 41 and is electrically connected to the external circuit board 200.

[0025] As mentioned above, the connector of the present invention includes a housing, an identification unit, a contact member, and a pad. In order to achieve the purpose of reducing the width and size, the present invention adopts a one-piece connector housing, that is, there are multiple housing units on one housing. Since the housing is molded in one piece, in order to effectively identify connectors of different specifications in one housing, the present invention installs multiple identification units on the housing. Since the identification units are installed on each housing unit respectively, each housing unit can be identified. In addition, the housing units of the present invention have different guide structures, so that users can easily and accurately mate with the mating connector. In addition, the one-piece structure connector of the present invention can also solve the tolerance problem that exists during the assembly of the traditional multi-part connector, thereby saving manufacturing man-hours and reducing manufacturing costs.

[0026] The above examples are for explaining the embodiments of the present invention and for explaining the characteristic configurations of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above examples. Modifications or equivalent arrangements that can be easily made by those skilled in the art are also within the scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the rights of the present invention is based on the scope of the utility model registration claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 100 Connectors 1. Housing 10 Housing Unit 10A 1st housing unit 10B Second housing unit 10C 3rd Housing Unit 11 Hollow body 111 Insertion installation groove 12 Guide structure 13 Open end 14 Locating pin 200 External circuit board 2. Identification Unit 2A gray plate 2A' Gray colored part 2B Green plate 2B' Green colored part 2C blue plate 2C' Blue colored part 21 Insertion installation section 3 Contact members 31 Upper contact members 32 Lower contact member group 4 Pad 41 Aperture

Claims

1. A connector, a housing having a plurality of housing units each having a hollow body, a guide structure, and an open end, the guide structure being formed on an inner edge of the hollow body, the open end being formed on one side of the hollow body, the hollow body and the open end defining an accommodating space into which a mating connector is fitted, the plurality of housing units being integrally molded, and the guide structures of the respective housing units being different from one another; a plurality of identification units respectively installed in the housing units for identifying each of the housing units.

2. 2. The connector of claim 1, wherein each of said identification units is a color plate, and each of said color plates has a different color, thereby making each of said housing units identifiable.

3. 3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein each of said color plates is detachably inserted into each of said housing units.

4. Each of the color plates has an insert mounting portion, Each of the hollow bodies of each of the housing units has an insertion installation groove provided on an upper surface of each of the hollow bodies; 4. The connector according to claim 3, wherein each of the inserting portions is detachably inserted into each of the inserting grooves, thereby fixing each of the color plates to each of the housing units.

5. The connector according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the identification units is a colored portion formed on an end surface of an open end of each of the hollow bodies, and each of the colored portions has a different color, thereby making each of the housing units identifiable.

6. further comprising a plurality of contact members; 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein one end of each of the contact members is inserted into each of the accommodating spaces from the opposite side of each of the opening ends of each of the hollow bodies, and is electrically connected to a contact member of the mating connector.

7. 7. The connector of claim 6, wherein the plurality of contact members are divided into an upper contact member group and a lower contact member group, and when the plurality of contact members are inserted and installed in each of the accommodating spaces, the lower contact member group is installed below the upper contact member group.

8. The housing unit further includes a plurality of pads that are removably inserted into the housing units, 7. The connector of claim 6, wherein each of said pads has a plurality of openings, the other end of each of said contact members extending through a respective one of said openings.

9. 9. The connector according to claim 8, wherein the housing is fixed to an external circuit board, and the other end of each of the contact members extends from each of the openings to be electrically connected to the external circuit board.

10. The housing further includes at least one locating pin disposed on a bottom surface of the plurality of hollow bodies; 10. The connector of claim 9, wherein the locating pins extend to the external circuit board, thereby securing the housing to the external circuit board.

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