NL8501751A - Adaptable connector system using similar modules snapped together - comprises rectangular connectors of plastics material having locating notches and central projection - Google Patents

Abstract

Each connector body (1) is approximately rectangular in shape, with two square apertures (2) one above the other in the front face. The edges (4) of the front face are bevelled and slightly wider than the rest of the body. In the centre of each side face is a raised stand-off (3). On one side of both the top and bottom surfaces is a notch (7), used to locate the bodies in an assembly. The body is suitable for various types of connector metalwork, e.g. pins, etc.. The moulded body includes a partial wall between the two connector volumes. The wall is thin but provides insulation.

Description

1 N.Q. 33208

As inventors are mentioned: A.B.T. Clement, W.B.T. van Alst, and H. van Ireland.

Modular contact housing assembly.

5

The invention relates to a modular contact housing assembly of insulating material for mounting electrical contact elements therein, such as contact sockets, pins and the like.

Such assemblies are known in practice.

They are used to receive contact elements, which come in a wide variety of configurations in width and length, such as, for example, at the edges of printed circuit boards. Hereby, their function is both to keep the thin run-away contact sockets, pins or wires on track and to insulate them mutually. Obviously, in order to accommodate this wide variety of arrangements and circuits with very different outputs of K contact elements in different numbers, these 20 contact housing assemblies are in very different configurations in terms of the number of positions in which they must be built to ultimately be required number of positions for final assembly to be available. For this purpose, in practice, these contact assemblies must be manufactured in different sizes. In this case it is inevitable that in the final assembly in a particular embodiment a certain number of positions are ultimately not occupied by contact elements, which loss of positions is then accepted.

The object of the invention is to overcome this problem. In the case of a modular contact housing assembly of the type mentioned in the preamble 30 according to the invention, this is achieved in such a way that this assembly consists of a number of block-shaped contact housings fastened together in a row, each of which has one or more continuous openings separated by an intermediate wall. wherein the contact housings are separately sprayed together during manufacture, eg by injection molding, in mounting locations in the side walls thereof which can be easily broken, if necessary, in the final assembly with the contact elements, so that the configuration required by the number of contact elements in length and width direction of the assembly is obtained.

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Because in the modular contact housing assembly according to the invention each contact housing is injected separately during manufacture, for example by injection molding, these housings are nevertheless firmly attached to each other at the aforementioned mounting locations and strong enough for use. In such an assembly, the required number of positions can then be separated on site, without great force, during mounting and filling with contact elements. Hereby a particularly easy final assembly is obtained starting from a universal embodiment of an assembly whereby, after the required number of contact housings have been broken down, a final assembly is obtained in which all positions are filled with contact elements.

It is clear that with such an assembly the final configuration thereof can occur in many variants in length and width direction.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a modular contact housing assembly according to the invention constructed in a double-pole row; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of four contact housings of FIG. 1 along a longitudinal plane in the direction of travel indicated by X-X in FIG. 3;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view along plane Y-Y shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along plane Z-Z shown in FIG. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a side view of a single contact housing.

Fig. 1 shows a double-row-shaped assembly of 30 contact housings 1 of insulating material. Each house has two or more through-holes 2 for receiving electrical contact elements, such as sockets, pins, wires, etc. It will be clear that such a contact-house can also have three or more through-holes located above one another for receiving three or more parallel contact elements. As stated previously, each contact housing is injected separately in certain mounting locations on the adjacent contact housing during manufacture, eg by injection molding. This sputtering can preferably take place at the locations 3 in the middle of the side walls of each contact housing and on the edges 4 on a front side of these side walls.

In the longitudinal cross-section shown in Fig. 2 along the cross-sectional plane X-X of Fig. 3, the fixing points 3 are clearly visible between the side walls of adjacent contact housings. Also in the cross-sectional view shown in Fig. 3 along the plane Y-Y of Fig. 2, the mounting edges 4 are visible.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along plane Z-Z in FIG. 3 of a single contact housing. This shows that on the input side 5 the contact elements must be introduced via the two through openings 2 and that they then exit on the output side 6.

As fig. 5 and also the other figures indicate, one opening 7 is arranged in the side walls of each contact housing near the transverse edge. This opening serves to lock the contact element by means of an insert element when it is inserted. However, this is not required for every type of contact element.

For example, the pitch in both directions between two contact housings is 2.54 mm.

The partitions between two or more through-openings in one contact housing are relatively thin but sufficient to exert their insulating effect.

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Claims (4)

1. Modular contact housing assembly of insulating material for mounting electrical contact elements therein, such as contact sockets, pins and the like, which assembly comprises a number of block-shaped contact housings attached in a row, each of which is transversely one or more continuous , have openings separated by a partition wall, whereby the contact housings 10 are separately sprayed together during manufacture, e.g. by injection molding, in mounting locations in the side walls thereof, which can easily be broken, if necessary, during final assembly with the contact elements, so that the configuration required by the number of contact elements length and width direction of the assembly is obtained. 2. Modular contact housing assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said mounting location in the side wall of a contact housing is preferably in the middle of this wall. Modular contact housing assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said mounting point in the wall of a contact housing is preferably formed on a front side along the edge thereof. Modular contact housing assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an opening is provided in a side wall of each contact housing in a transversely extending edge thereof for locking an inserted contact element from the outside by a plug-in element. ***** ö ™ Λ <3 "J 7- & S 0 υ I / 3 1