Combined Connector

Abstract

To provide a combined connector capable of combining two or more combined connectors. [Solution] A combined connector 10 includes an insulating housing 11 and a plurality of contacts 12 held by the insulating housing. The insulating housing has a mating portion 110 that mates with a mating connector in a first direction D1. The insulating housing also has a first surface and a second surface that face each other in a second direction D2 perpendicular to the first direction. The insulating housing has a dovetail rail portion 14 formed on one of the first surface and the second surface, and a dovetail socket portion formed on the other of the first surface and the second surface. The dovetail rail portion and the dovetail socket portion extend in a third direction D3 perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction. This allows the combined connector to slide and mate with another combined connector along the third direction via the dovetail rail portion or the dovetail socket portion.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a dockable connector. [Background technology]

[0002] Taiwan Utility Model M5999037 (hereinafter referred to as "Patent Document 1") discloses a combined connector with a dovetail structure. The combined connector can be coupled with another combined connector through the dovetail structure. In Patent Document 1, the direction of the dovetail structure is parallel to the mating direction of the mating connector.

[0003] However, for example, in the application of a horizontal type connector, when the assembly space is limited, it may be necessary to assemble or disassemble the combined connector in a direction perpendicular to the mating direction of the mating connector. The combined connector of Patent Document 1 cannot meet such requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT One object of the present invention is to provide a docking connector that allows two or more docking connectors to be combined.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide a mating connector in which the mating direction of the mating connector is perpendicular to the mating direction of the mating connector.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a combined connector includes an insulating housing and a plurality of contacts held by the insulating housing, the insulating housing having a mating portion that mates with a mating connector in a first direction, the insulating housing having a first surface and a second surface that face each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the insulating housing having a dovetail rail portion formed on one of the first surface and the second surface, and a dovetail socket portion formed on the other of the first surface and the second surface, The dovetail rail portion and the dovetail socket portion extend in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the combined connector can be slidably mated with another combined connector along the third direction via the dovetail rail portion or the dovetail socket portion.

[0007] In accordance with the inventive docked connector, the plurality of contacts includes a plurality of signal contacts.

[0008] In accordance with the inventive docked connector, the plurality of contacts includes a plurality of power contacts.

[0009] According to the docked connector of the present invention, the plurality of contacts includes a plurality of signal contacts and a plurality of power contacts.

[0010] According to the combined connector of the present invention, the dovetail rail portion includes a first rail section and a second rail section, the distance between the outer edges of the first rail section being smaller than the distance between the outer edges of the second rail section, and the dovetail socket portion includes a first socket section and a second socket section, the distance between the inner edges of the first socket section being smaller than the distance between the inner edges of the second rail section.

[0011] According to the combined connector of the present invention, the distance between the inner edges of the first socket sections is greater than or equal to the distance between the outer edges of the first rail sections, and the distance between the inner edges of the second rail sections is greater than or equal to the distance between the outer edges of the second rail sections.

[0012] According to the combined connector of the present invention, the dovetail rail portion has a first stopper in the second rail section, and the dovetail socket portion has a second stopper in the second socket section that corresponds to the first stopper.

[0013] According to the combined connector of the present invention, the insulating housing is formed with a deformation-permitting slot adjacent to the first stopper, and the deformation-permitting slot allows the first stopper to deform or displace inward in the second direction when compressed.

[0014] According to the combined connector of the present invention, the slide fitting surface of the dovetail rail portion is formed with a first contact rib portion and a second contact rib portion extending in the third direction in the second rail section.

[0015] According to the combined connector of the present invention, the slide fitting surface of the dovetail socket portion is formed with a third contact rib portion and a fourth contact rib portion extending in the third direction in the first socket section.

[0016] Those skilled in the art will be able to fully understand the technical features, other objects and advantages of the present invention by referring to the specification and accompanying drawings of the present invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a connector assembly consisting of two combined connectors according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a combined connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is another perspective view showing the combined connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] A side view of a combined connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] Another side view of the combined connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 4. [Figure 7] Cross-sectional view along line BB in Figure 5. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a front view of the combined connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] Cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Figure 5. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the connector assembly according to the embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, a combined connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, similar components or components having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals. The drawings are not drawn to actual scale.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a connector assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. The connector assembly is generally designated by the reference numeral 1. The connector assembly 1 is composed of two combined connectors 10. The configuration of the combined connector 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the combined connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is another perspective view showing the combined connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the combined connector 10 is a horizontal connector, but the present invention is not limited thereto. If necessary, the combined connector 10 may be a vertical connector.

[0020] The combined connector 10 includes an insulating housing 11 and a plurality of contacts 12 held by the insulating housing 11. The insulating housing 11 is manufactured from an insulating resin or polymer material by injection molding. The insulating housing 11 has a mating opening 110. A mating connector (not shown) can be inserted into the mating opening 110 along a first direction D1 (mating direction). Two positioning posts 116 are formed on the bottom surface of the insulating housing 11. The positioning posts 116 can temporarily position the connector assembly 1 on a circuit board before soldering the connector assembly 1 to the circuit board. The contacts 12 are manufactured from copper or a copper alloy. The contacts 12 are arranged in two rows along a second direction D2 (width direction) perpendicular to the first direction D1. The contact portions of the contacts 12 are located in the mating opening 110 and are in electrical contact with the contacts of the mating connector when the mating connector is inserted into the mating opening 110. The contacts 12 include only signal contacts or only power contacts. The contacts 12 may include both signal and power contacts.

[0021] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the insulating housing 11 has a first surface 112 and a second surface 114 facing each other in the second direction D2. The first surface 112 and the second surface 114 are formed with a dovetail rail portion 14 and a dovetail socket portion 16, respectively. The dovetail rail portion 14 and the dovetail socket portion 16 extend in a third direction D3 (height direction). The third direction D3 is perpendicular to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. The dovetail socket portion 16 of one combined connector 10 can be slidably fitted with the dovetail rail portion 14 of another combined connector 10 along the third direction D3. In this way, the two combined connectors 10 can be combined into a connector assembly 1.

[0022] The dovetail rail portion 14 includes a first rail 142 and a second rail 144 arranged in parallel. The dovetail rail portion 14 further includes a first stopper 1410 formed between the first rail 142 and the second rail 144 and adjacent to the lower end of the combined connector 10. The first stopper 1410 is a wedge-shaped stopper having a slope. The insulating housing 11 is formed with a deformation allowing slot 1120 adjacent to the first stopper 1410. Specifically, the deformation allowing slot 1120 is formed on the inside of the first stopper 1410 in the second direction D2. The deformation allowing slot 1120 allows the first stopper 1410 to be deformed or displaced inward in the second direction D2 when compressed.

[0023] The dovetail socket portion 16 includes a first socket wall 162 and a second socket wall 164 arranged in parallel. The first socket wall 162 and the second socket wall 164 define a socket into which the first rail 142 and the second rail 144 slide and fit. The dovetail socket portion 16 further includes a second stopper 1610 formed between the first socket wall 162 and the second socket wall 164 and corresponding to the first stopper 1410. During the process in which the dovetail rail portion 14 of the combined connector 10 slides into the dovetail socket portion 16 of another combined connector 10, the first stopper 1410 is pressed by the second stopper 1610 and deformed or displaced inward in the second direction D2, allowing the second stopper 1610 to slide over the first stopper 1410. Thereafter, the first stopper 1410 and the second stopper 1610 prevent the two combined connectors 10 that have already been mated from moving relative to each other in the third direction D3.

[0024] Fig. 4 is a side view of the combined connector 10 formed with the dovetail rail portion 14. As shown in Fig. 4, the dovetail rail portion 14 is composed of a first rail section 14A and a second rail section 14B. The distance d1 between the outer edges of the first rail section 14A of the dovetail rail portion 14 is smaller than the distance d2 between the outer edges of the second rail section 14B of the dovetail rail portion 14.

[0025] 5 is another side view showing the combined connector 10. FIG. 5 shows the dovetail socket portion 16. As shown in FIG. 5, the dovetail socket portion 16 is composed of a first socket section 16A and a second socket section 16B. The distance d3 between the inner edges of the first socket section 16A of the dovetail socket portion 16 is smaller than the distance d4 between the inner edges of the second socket section 16B of the dovetail socket portion 16. The distance d1 between the outer edges is set larger than the distance d4 between the inner edges to prevent the dovetail rail portion 14 and the dovetail socket portion 16, which have already been mated, from moving away from each other in the second direction D2.

[0026] 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4. In the second rail section 14B having a wide outer edge distance (d2), a first contact rib portion and a second contact rib portion are formed on the slide fitting surface of the dovetail rail portion 14. Specifically, in the second rail section 14B, a first contact rib portion 1421 is formed on the slide fitting surface of the first rail 142, and a second contact rib portion 1441 is formed on the slide fitting surface of the second rail 144. The first contact rib portion 1421 and the second contact rib portion 1441 extend along the third direction D3. The first contact rib portion 1421 and the second contact rib portion 1441 have the same structure and dimensions.

[0027] 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 5. In the first socket section 16A having a narrow inner edge distance (d3), a third contact rib portion and a fourth contact rib portion are formed on the sliding engagement surface of the dovetail socket part 16. Specifically, in the first socket section 16A, a third contact rib portion 1621 is formed on the sliding engagement surface of the first socket wall 162, and a fourth contact rib portion 1641 is formed on the sliding engagement surface of the second socket wall 164. The third contact rib portion 1621 and the fourth contact rib portion 1641 extend along the third direction D3. The third contact rib portion 1621 and the fourth contact rib portion 1641 have the same structure and dimensions.

[0028] Fig. 8 is a front view of the combined connector 10. As shown in Fig. 8, the second contact rib portion 1441 extends a certain distance along the third direction D3. Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 9, the third contact rib portion 1621 extends a certain distance along the third direction D3.

[0029] 10 is a bottom view of the connector assembly 1. As shown in FIG. 10, the dovetail rail portion of the left combined connector 10 is fitted into the dovetail socket portion of the right combined connector 10. The first and second contact rib portions enable the second rail section 14B to be fitted into the second socket section 16B in a tight fit. The third and fourth contact rib portions enable the first rail section 14A to be fitted into the first socket section 16A in a tight fit. This prevents the fitting between the dovetail rail section 14 and the dovetail socket section 16 from loosening.

[0030] In the connector assembly 1, the unused dovetail rail portion 14 or the unused dovetail socket portion 16 can be further coupled with another combined connector.

[0031] Further, according to the present invention, the connector assembly is not limited to being composed of the same combined connectors. The connector assembly may be composed of two different combined connectors. For example, the color of the insulating housing of one combined connector may be different from the color of the insulating housing of the other connector. Or, the shape of the mating opening of the insulating housing of one combined connector may be different from the shape of the mating opening of the insulating housing of the other connector. Or, the arrangement or type of contacts of one combined connector may be different from the arrangement or type of contacts of the other connector. The number of combined connectors constituting the connector assembly is not limited to two. The connector assembly may be composed of three or more combined connectors.

[0032] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art may make various modifications as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but is subject to the scope of the utility model registration claims. In other words, equivalent changes and modifications that do not depart from the scope of the utility model registration claims of the present invention shall remain within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 Connector Assembly 10 Combined Connector 11 Insulating housing 110 Fitting opening 112 1st surface 114 Second surface 116 Positioning post 1120 Deformation Allowance Slot 12 Contact 14 Dovetail rail section 14A First Rail Section 14B 2nd rail section 142 First Rail 144 2nd Rail 1410 First stopper 1421 First adhesion rib part 1441 Second adhesion rib part 16 Dovetail socket part 16A 1st socket section 16B 2nd socket section 162 1st Socket Wall 164 Second Socket Wall 1610 Second stopper 1621 Third adhesion rib part 1641 4th adhesion rib part d1 Distance between the outer edges d2 Distance between the outer edges d3 Distance between inner edges d4 Distance between inner edges D1 1st direction D2 2nd direction D3 Third direction

Claims

1. A combined connector, an insulating housing and a plurality of contacts held by the insulating housing; the insulating housing has a mating portion that mates with a mating connector in a first direction, the insulating housing has a first surface and a second surface that face each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the insulating housing has a dovetail rail portion formed on one of the first surface and the second surface, and a dovetail socket portion formed on the other of the first surface and the second surface, A combined connector, wherein the dovetail rail portion and the dovetail socket portion extend in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the combined connector can be slidably mated with another combined connector along the third direction via the dovetail rail portion or the dovetail socket portion.

2. 2. The docked connector of claim 1, wherein said plurality of contacts includes a plurality of signal contacts.

3. 2. The docked connector of claim 1, wherein said plurality of contacts includes a plurality of power contacts.

4. 2. The docked connector of claim 1, wherein said plurality of contacts includes a plurality of signal contacts and a plurality of power contacts.

5. the dovetail rail portion includes a first rail section and a second rail section; a distance between outer edges of the first rail section is smaller than a distance between outer edges of the second rail section; the dovetail socket portion includes a first socket section and a second socket section, 5. The combined connector of claim 1, wherein the distance between inner edges of the first socket sections is less than the distance between inner edges of the second rail sections.

6. a distance between inner edges of the first socket sections is greater than or equal to a distance between outer edges of the first rail sections; 6. The combined connector of claim 5, wherein the distance between inner edges of said second rail sections is equal to or greater than the distance between outer edges of said second rail sections.

7. the dovetail rail portion has a first stopper in the second rail section, 6. The combined connector according to claim 5, wherein the dovetail socket portion has a second stopper in the second socket section, the second stopper corresponding to the first stopper.

8. The combined connector as described in claim 7, characterized in that a deformation-permitting slot is formed in the insulating housing adjacent to the first stopper, and the deformation-permitting slot allows the first stopper to deform or displace inward in the second direction when compressed.

9. The combined connector according to claim 5, characterized in that the slide fitting surface of the dovetail rail portion is formed with a first adhesion rib portion and a second adhesion rib portion extending in the third direction in the second rail section.

10. 6. The combined connector as described in claim 5, characterized in that the slide fitting surface of the dovetail socket portion has a third contact rib portion and a fourth contact rib portion extending in the third direction formed in the first socket section.

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