MULTI-PART PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD ADAPTER PLUG

Abstract

An adapter plug and connector for making electrically conductive contact between a printed circuit board and at least one further electrical component. The adapter plug has at least one contacting device for conducting current within the adapter plug. The adapter plug is in at least two-part form and geometrically constructed in such a way that two plug-in planes, which are not parallel to one another, are formed by plug-in directions of the at least one further electrical component and the printed circuit board, respectively.

Claims

1. An adapter plug for making electrically conductive contact between a printed circuit board and at least one further electrical component, the adapter plug having at least one contacting device for conducting current within the adapter plug, wherein the adapter plug is in at least two-part form and geometrically constructed in such a way that two plug-in planes, which are not parallel to one another, are formed by the plug-in directions of the at least one further electrical component and the printed circuit board, respectively.

2. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug-in directions are arranged at an angle of less than or equal to 90° to one another.

3. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least two housing parts can be fixed relative to one another by arresting devices, with the result that a structural unit is formed that assists simplified and reliable manual or automatic handling and assembly.

4. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adapter plug has, in the plug-in direction of the printed circuit board, at least one plug-in pin.

5. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adapter plug has at least one contact insert which comprises at least contacts and poles.

6. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 5, wherein the adapter plug has, in the printed circuit board plug-in direction, a plurality of contacts, tongue contact elements, the number of which corresponds to the pole number to be contacted and which are arranged in at least one plug-in row.

7. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 5, wherein the contacts, tongue contact elements of the contact insert, are designed in such a way that the connection direction of the printed circuit board contact pattern is inverted and configured in terms of minimum installation space and maximum tolerance in the plug-in direction.

8. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 5, wherein the contact insert is formed, on a printed circuit board side of the adapter plug, by a multi-part configuration.

9. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 5, wherein the contact insert is configured, on a plug-in connector side of the adapter plug, in such a way that the poles are oriented exactly in the plug-in direction.

10. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 5, wherein the contacts of the contact insert are angled and, on a plug-in connector side of the adapter plug, there are provided socket contacts for connection with the plug-in connector pins of the further electrical component.

11. The adapter plug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the further electrical component is a printed circuit board or a device plug.

12. A plug-in connector as claimed in claim 1, having a plug-in connector housing and a contact insert, wherein the contact insert is formed, on a device side, by at least one pole and, on an adapter plug side, by at least one pole pin.

13. The plug-in connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one orienting aid is provided.

14. An assembly method for making electrically conductive contact between a printed circuit board and at least one further electrical component, comprising the following assembly steps: a. making contact between the printed circuit board and the adapter plug as claimed in claim 1, in a printed circuit board plug-in plane in such a way that a prefabricated structural element unit is formed, b. installing the prefabricated structural element unit in a housing for receiving at least one printed circuit board, c. making contact between the prefabricated structural element unit and a device plug in a plug-in connector plug-in plane of the adapter plug.

15. The assembly method as claimed in claim 14, wherein, in assembly step a. or prior to assembly step c., a plug-in connector is contacted in the plug-in connector plug-in plane of the adapter plug.

Description

[0020] The invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of two exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the figures, in which:

[0021] FIG. 1a shows, on the left-hand side, the front view and, on the right-hand side, the lateral sectional illustration of the adapter plug formed in exemplary fashion as an 8-pole printed circuit board plug-in connector having two plug-in planes or plug-in directions which are not parallel to one another;

[0022] FIG. 1b shows, on the right-hand side, the rear view and, on the left-hand side, the side view of the adapter plug;

[0023] FIG. 2a shows, on the left-hand side, the front view and, on the right-hand side, the lateral sectional illustration of the plug-in connector, in the exemplary form of a round plug, corresponding to the adapter plug illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0024] FIG. 2b shows, on the left-hand side, the side view and, on the right-hand side, the rear view of the plug connector;

[0025] FIG. 3a shows, on the left-hand side, the front view and, on the right-hand side, the lateral sectional illustration of the adapter plug in the form for example of a 14-pole printed circuit board plug-in connector having two plug-in planes or plug-in directions which are not parallel to one another;

[0026] FIG. 3b shows, on the right-hand side, the rear view and, on the left-hand side, the side view of the adapter plug;

[0027] FIG. 4a shows, on the left-hand side, the front view and, on the right-hand side, the lateral sectional illustration of the plug-in connector, in the exemplary form of a round plug, which corresponds to the adapter plug illustrated in FIG. 3, and

[0028] FIG. 4b shows, on the left-hand side, the side view and, on the right-hand side, the rear view of the plug-in connector.

[0029] FIG. 1a shows, on the left-hand side, the front view and, on the right-hand side, the lateral sectional illustration of the adapter plug 100 in the exemplary form of an 8-pole printed circuit board plug-in connector having two plug-in planes or plug-in directions SV, SL which are not parallel to one another. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the plug-in planes SL, SV are arranged at right angles to one another. Also possible, independently of the pole number, are any other positions, for example skew arrangements or those that differ from the right-angled orientation. The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1a has an 8-pole contact pattern in an axisymmetric formation with respect to the vertical and an asymmetrical configuration with respect to the horizontal. In this way, both the position and the orientation of the plug-in position of the adapter plug 100 and plug-in connector 110 with respect to one another are geometrically defined. Pole numbers and arrangements differing therefrom are also supported by the invention.

[0030] The adapter plug-in housing is of at least two-part construction and is formed by a base housing 10 and at least one conductor guide 20. Optionally, the adapter plug-in housing can be supplemented or completed by a rear wall 30, which functionally interacts with the base housing 10 and/or the conductor guide 20 with regard to arresting the inner contacting elements and secures the rear-side enclosure. Depending on the plug-in situation and environmental conditions, it is also possible to dispense with the rear wall 30. Consideration is preferably given to fixing the at least two housing elements relative to one another by means of arresting devices 40 such that there is formed a structural unit which supports simplified and reliable manual or automatic handling and assembly. The arresting devices can be formed by way of example by snap lugs, rear-engagement portions or latching hooks, with the result that a force-fitting and/or form-fitting arresting situation is achieved.

[0031] FIG. 1b encompasses, on the right-hand side, the rear view and, on the left-hand side, the side view of the adapter plug 100. The contacts K electrically conductively connected to the poles P within the adapter plug 100 are configured in such a way that they reverse the connection direction and are designed both for minimum required installation space and for high tolerance in the plug-in direction SL.

[0032] On the printed circuit board side, the adapter plug 100 can furthermore be equipped with at least one plug-in pin 11. The at least one plug-in pin 11, which is preferably formed in one piece with the adapter plug base housing 10, can be arranged symmetrically or asymmetrically with regard to the plug-in hole pattern and have a prismatic or cylindrical cross section. If a plurality of plug-in pins 11 are provided, the plug-in safety and reliability of the plug-in connection between adapter plug 100 and printed circuit board can be increased. An advantage when using a plurality of plug-in pins 11 is the formation in different cross sections, for example round and triangular and polygonal cross sections. In this way, the plug-in-correct orientation of the adapter plug 100 relative to the printed circuit board is geometrically forced.

[0033] The adapter plug 100 is formed, on its printed circuit board side, by a three-part contact insert and configured in such a way that simple assembly without machine assistance is made possible. The adapter plug 100 is formed, on its plug-in connector side, by a two-part contact insert and configured in such a way that the exact orientation of the contact of the plug-in connector 110 for engagement in the poles P is ensured. It is also optionally possible, on the plug-in connector side of the adapter plug 100, for there to be integrated an additional feature so as to avoid incorrect plugging in the sense of the orientation of the plug-in partners relative to one another.

[0034] FIG. 2a illustrates, on the left-hand side, the front view in the direction of the device plug to be contacted and, on the right-hand side, the lateral sectional illustration of the plug-in connector 110, here in the exemplary form of a round plug, which corresponds to the adapter plug 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. In a plug-in connector housing 111 there is received a contact insert 120 which, in a manner corresponding to the adapter plug 100 according to FIGS. 1a, 1b, has poles P and associated pole pins PS. The poles P are designed as special contacts on the plug-in side as sockets and, on the rear side, in pin form.

[0035] The plug-in connector housing 100 can optionally have an orienting aid 112, here in exemplary form as a half-round cutout in the flange region of the plug-in connector housing 111. The contact insert 120 with the poles P and the pole pins PS can optionally likewise have an orienting aid 122 that prevents incorrect plugging and/or assists a defined position of the contact insert 120 within the plug-in connector housing 111.

[0036] FIG. 2b shows, on the left-hand side, the side view and, on the right-hand side, the rear view of the plug-in connector 110. If the plug-in connector 110, as illustrated, takes the form of a round plug-in connector, it can be equipped, for securing purposes, that is to say by way of a form-fitting connection with the contacting partner, with a thread GI (here: metric internal thread), which can be screwed with the corresponding (external) thread GA of the device plug or contacting partner.

[0037] FIG. 3a encompasses, on the left-hand side, the front view and, on the right-hand side, the lateral sectional illustration of the adapter plug 100, by way of example in the form of a 14-pole printed circuit board plug-in connector having two plug-in planes or plug-in directions which are not parallel to one another. This exemplary embodiment shows that the invention also corresponds in conjunction with 14-pole contacting tasks. Finally, the invention can be realized independently of pole number and is likewise not limited to symmetrical pole plug-in patterns.

[0038] Depending on the pole plug-in pattern and/or the pole number, it may be required for the adapter plug housing in turn to be of at least two-part design and then to be supplemented by at least one further housing component. As in the case of the adapter plug 100 of 8-pole design, the 14-pole variant is also configured at least in 2 plug-in rows—here specially 4 rows—in the plug-in direction with respect to the printed circuit board SL in terms of the contacts K and the plug-in pins 11. By virtue of the arrangement of the tongue contact elements K and/or of the plug-in pins 11 in at least two plug-in planes, it is possible for the support surface of the adapter plug 100 with respect to the printed circuit board to be increased, with the result that tilting of the plug-in partners relative to one another during the plugging-in operation is reduced and secure support in the plugged state is improved.

[0039] FIG. 3b encompasses, on the right-hand side, the rear view and, on the left-hand side, the side view of the adapter plug 100 in its 14-pole variant shown by way of example. The contacts K, electrically conductively connected to the poles P within the adapter plug 100, are, as in the 8-pole exemplary embodiment from FIG. 1b, configured in such a way that they reverse the connection direction and are designed both for minimally required installation space and also for high tolerance in the plug-in direction SL.

[0040] In an analogous manner to FIGS. 2a and 2b with the plug-in connector 110 of 8-pole round design, FIGS. 4a and 4b show an exemplary variant of 14-pole configuration which, in a corresponding manner to the adapter plug 100 according to FIGS. 3a, 3b, has poles P and associated pole pins PS.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0041] 10 Base housing [0042] 11 Plug-in pin [0043] 20 Conductor guide [0044] 30 Rear wall, rear-side adapter plug housing element [0045] 40 Arresting device [0046] 100 Adapter plug, printed circuit board plug-in connector [0047] 110 Plug-in connector, round plug [0048] 111 Plug-in connector housing [0049] 112 Orienting aid, plug-in connector housing [0050] 120 Contact insert [0051] 122 Orienting aid, contact insert [0052] GA Thread, external [0053] GI Thread, internal [0054] K Contact, tongue contact element [0055] P Pole, plug-in connector contact [0056] PS Pole pins, plug-in connector pins [0057] SL Plug-in plane, plug-in direction with respect to the printed circuit board [0058] SV Plug-in plane, plug-in direction with respect to the plug-in connector