An Electrical Connector

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrical connector in particular an electrical connector having at least two terminals that are connected wherein the electrical connector permit movement of each terminal relative to each other. The electrical connector has a first body part having a first terminal; the first terminal is connected to a second terminal formed in a second body part, the first and second body parts are connected together and can move with respect one to another thereby permitting variable angles to be created between an axis defined by the first terminal and an axis defined by the second terminal.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising: a first body part having a first terminal; a second body part having a second terminal; wherein the first and second body parts are connected and movable with respect one to another thereby permitting variable angles to be defined between an axis of the first terminal and an axis of the second terminal; wherein the first body part includes at least one groove in an outer surface thereof, wherein the at least one groove is adapted to receive at least one conductive ball bearing, and wherein the at least one groove is lined with a conductive material connected to the first terminal; and wherein the second body part includes at least one electrical contact arranged on an inner surface thereof, wherein said at least one electrical contact is connected to the second terminal; and wherein said at least one electrical contact connects with the at least one conductive ball bearing while located in the at least one groove so as to permit an electrical connection between the first terminal and the second terminal.

2. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second body parts comprise a ball and socket joint.

3. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the first body part comprises a male ball portion and the second body part comprises a female socket portion configured to partially envelop the male ball portion when connected.

4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the first and second body parts are configured to move relative one to another by pivoting permitting variable angles to be created between the axis defined by the first terminal and the axis defined by the second terminal.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 1 wherein the first and second body parts are configured to move relative one to another by rotating permitting variable angles to be created between the axis defined by the first terminal and the axis defined by the second terminal.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second terminals comprises a plug or a socket.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein the female socket portion comprises a contact crown having a plurality of elongate electrical contacts, each electrical contact corresponding to one of the at least one groove, and wherein the at least one conductive ball bearing is provided in one of the at least one groove so that the at least one ball bearing moves along the at least one groove so that an electrical contact is maintained during movement of either of the first and second body parts.

8. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the at least one electrical contact is sprung so as to be biased against the at least one ball bearing.

9. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein a rim of the female socket portion is planar.

10. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein the female socket portion includes at least one recessed section adapted to receive the first terminal.

11. The electrical connector according to claim 1, further comprising a protective outer layer.

12. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second terminals comprises a headphone jack plug.

13. The electrical connector according to claim 12, wherein the headphone jack is a 3.5 mm jack plug.

14. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second terminals comprises a USB plug or socket.

15. The electrical connector according to claim 1, further comprising a locking mechanism configured to lock relative movement of the first and second body parts.

16. The electrical connector according to claim 2 wherein the socket joint has an elongate channel through which a terminal extends and which permits movement of the terminal therein.

17. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0071] FIG. 1 shows an overview of the electrical connector having a protective outer layer;

[0072] FIG. 2 shows an alternative view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1,

[0073] FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1;

[0074] FIG. 4 shows a top exploded view of the electrical connector;

[0075] FIG. 5 shows a bottom exploded view of the electrical connector;

[0076] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the electrical connector;

[0077] FIG. 7 shows a side view of the electrical connector plug of FIG. 6;

[0078] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the electrical connector of FIGS. 5 and 6 with the plug connector angled away from the axis of the cable end terminal;

[0079] FIG. 9 shows an exploded view of the electrical connector of FIGS. 5 to 8;

[0080] FIG. 10 shows a side view of an electrical connector having a locking slot with grips;

[0081] FIG. 11 shows an alternative embodiment of the electrical connector plug having a hemispherical socket, with ball-bearings in recesses rather than grooves;

[0082] FIG. 12 shows an exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11;

[0083] FIG. 13A shows an end view of another embodiment of the electrical connector that permits radial movement in one plane;

[0084] FIG. 13B shows a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 13A; and

[0085] FIG. 14 shows a view of a member with embedded wires from a terminal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0086] FIGS. 1 to 5 show a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector.

[0087] The electrical connector 100 is spherical; the body formed from two parts a male ball portion (not shown) and a female socket portion 3. The female socket portion is hemispherical so as to partially encase the male ball portion.

[0088] Two terminals 4, 6 are provided on the electrical connector 100.

[0089] The female socket portion is connected to a protective outer layer 12 so as to seal the electrical connector 100. The protective outer layer is formed from rubber, having a series of concentric ridges 11 that enable the protective outer layer to readily flex and fold as the position of the terminal 4 is changed.

[0090] In FIGS. 1 and 2 the axis X1, X2 of terminals 4, 6 are shown arranged in the same alignment.

[0091] FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the electrical connector 100. The male ball portion 2 is formed from two hemispherical parts 2A, 2B. The male ball portion 2 is hollow.

[0092] An outer face of the male ball portion 2 has grooves 8 for receiving the conductive ball bearings 10. The groves 8 provide a track along which the ball bearing(s) can run.

[0093] The groove 8 is lined with a conductive material so as to permit transmission. The conductive lining is a metal strip (not shown) dimension to site within the groove 8. The conductive lining is connected to a solder pin 14 which passes through the wall of the male ball portion 2 to the hollow centre to which a distal end of the solder pin 14 extends so as to be connected by a wire 16 to the terminal 4.

[0094] The male ball portion 2 sits concentrically within a female socket portion 3. The female socket portion 3 is hemispherical and encases more than half of the male ball portion 2.

[0095] The female socket portion 3 is formed from two parts 3A, 3B so as to permit the female socket portion to be fitted about the male ball portion 2. Parts 3A and 3B are locked together in use so that the male ball portion 2 is contained.

[0096] An inner face of the female socket portion 3 has a plurality of electrical contacts 7 extending from a pole defined by terminal 6. The electrical contacts 7 are connected to the terminal by means of wiring 16.

[0097] Conductive ball bearings 10 are arranged between each groove 8 and electrical contact 7 so as to provide an electrical connection.

[0098] FIGS. 4 and 5 show exploded views of the electrical connector 100 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0099] The male ball portion 2 is formed from two hemispheres 2A, 2B. The walls of hemisphere 2B includes attachment means in the form of four apertures 2C for receiving screw 2D that are secured in four corresponding holes 2E on hemisphere 2A. In this way the male ball portion 2 is secured in a ball formation. The two hemispheres 2A, 2B are formed from synthetic plastic and the grooves 8 are plated with a metal, alloy or metal composite to provide a conductive track.

[0100] The outer face of the male ball portion 2 includes eight grooves 8 lines with conductive material. These are arranged as four connected pairs wherein one solder pin 14 is provided to connect each pair of grooves to the terminal 4 by means of a wire 16. The solder pin 14 passes through the conductive material of the groove 8 and through the wall of the male ball portion into the cavity 18.

[0101] The female socket section 3 is formed from two parts 3A, 3B so as to be fitted about the male ball portion 2 in order to hold the ball 2 within the socket 3. The parts 3A, 3B are held together by clip means 3C. The two parts 3A and 3B are moulded from synthetic plastic.

[0102] An inner face of the socket 3 is moulded to provide channels 7A for the electrical contacts 7. There are eight electrical contacts 7 provided as four connected pairs that correspond to the eight grooves 8.

[0103] Each electrical contact pair 7 is connected to the socket 3 at a proximal end and the distal ends are free. The electrical contacts 7 are sprung so as to be biased towards the grooves 8 in use. The proximal end of each electrical contact pair 7 is connected to a wire 16 which connects to the terminal 6.

[0104] The electrical contacts 7 are formed from a conductive metal, alloy or metal composite.

[0105] Eight conductive ball bearings 10 are provided, one for each groove 8.

[0106] The range of movement permitted is determined by the socket rim 3D to which the terminal 4 abuts during use, the rim 3D forming a barrier.

[0107] The protective layer 12 connects to the socket 3 so as to form a sealed unit. In some embodiments this seal may provide be watertight so as to prevent ingress of water and therefore providing a waterproof electrical connector wherein each terminal is also provided with a watertight seal.

[0108] A second embodiment of the electrical connector is shown in FIGS. 6 to 9.

[0109] The electrical connector 100 has two main parts: a first body part 2 with the overall shape of a ball, which forms the male portion or ball portion of a ball and socket type joint, and a second body part 3 that forms a corresponding female or socket part.

[0110] The first body part 2 is configured to be fitted with a plug connector 4 so that the plug connector 4 extends from the ball. In this embodiment, the plug connector 4 is a 3.5 mm stereo audio plug. The second body part 3 is configured to receive the end of a cable in use-that is, to act as a cable terminal.

[0111] The socket portion 3 is generally spherical, but has an aperture 5 on one side. In use, the ball portion 2 is securely located within the socket portion 3, with the plug connector 4 extending out of the aperture 5. The aperture 5 is sized so that the socket extends partly around/over the ball portion 2 so that the ball portion 2 is held securely in the socket 3 and cannot drop out or be pulled free, but also so that the plug connector can move around within the aperture 5. That is, the aperture 5 is several times larger than the cross-section of the plug connector 4.

[0112] The plug connector 4 is rigidly connected to the ball portion 2 so that moving the plug connector 4 moves the ball portion 2 within the socket portion 3. The ball and socket portions 2, 3 are configured so that the plug connector 4 can be axially aligned with the cable, the socket portion 3 configured so that a connected cable 6 in use extends from the opposite side of the socket 3 to the plug connector 4.

[0113] The ball and socket connection between the ball portion 2 and the socket connection 3 allows these portions to be moved relative to one another when connected to create an angle in any direction between the axis of the plug connector 4 and the axis of the cable end terminal, with the ball portion 2 and the socket connection 3 freely rotatable fully around the axis of the plug connector and/or the axis of the cable end terminal to change the angle. That is, if a circle was located with its centre on the axially aligned axis, the circle aligned perpendicular to the axis, each of the ball portions 2 and the socket portion 3 can be freely moved towards any point on the perimeter of the circle.

[0114] As the angle can be changed between the plug connector 4 and the cable end terminal, the associated cable 6 can be freely pulled to the side or off-axis when the plug connector 4 is located in a socket or is otherwise immovable, and the likelihood of damage is reduced.

[0115] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the aperture 5 is planar, which allows free and unimpeded angular movement from one position to another.

[0116] The aperture 5 could have a waved/undulated circumference or a similar regular perimeter that allows smooth and unimpeded movement from one angle to another.

[0117] In each position, the electrical connector 100 is able to transmit the electrical audio, data or power signals from the cable through to the terminal (plug) 4. This is achieved by having the ball portion 2 and the socket connection 3 configured internally to on-transmit the electrical current, while still configured to allow the angle to be freely changed.

[0118] The socket connection 3 has a contact crown 7 comprising eight elongate electrical contacts that extend from the cable terminal connection around the inner surface of the socket 3 at regularly spaced intervals. Each has an associated conductive bearing 10 that locates onto the inner surface of each strip and which can freely move along the length of its associated electrical contact. The ball portion 2 has eight grooves 8 spaced at regular intervals around its circumference, each having an elongate electrical strip 9 that locates into each groove 8. When the ball portion 2 and the socket portion 3 are connected, the bearings 10 bridge between and create contact between the eight contacts of the contact crown 7 and the electrical strips 9. This configuration provides a suitable contact and rotation configuration with high reliability and ease of manufacture.

[0119] As described above, the plug connector 4 extends from the ball portion 2. The positions could be reversed so that the plug connector 4 extends from the socket portion 3. Also, the plug connector could be a USB plug rather than a headphone plug, or it could be any other type of plug.

[0120] In FIG. 10 an embodiment of the electrical connector 100 is shown having a recessed/cut out section 90 in the wall of the socket 30. The recessed portion 90 provides a channel into which the terminal 6 can be slotted to provide a greater range of movement in one plane. In some embodiments there could be more than one recessed/cut out section 90 to form an X-shaped configuration of slots.

[0121] In some embodiments there could no recessed/cut out section 90.

[0122] The ball portion 2 is arranged in the socket portion 30 and rotates there within. An inner face of the insert 90 includes a pair of resiliently deformable nubs 91 that act to lock the terminal 6 and stem 92 in position within the channel. The nubs 91 deform when force is applied so that the terminal enters the channel and is prevented from removal unless force is applied.

[0123] Advantageously the recessed sections 90 enables a cables to be easily wrapped around a device wherein the rotation/pivoting may be locked at an angle minimising extension of the cable and exposure of the joint, so as to help position the cables and protect the joint when not in use.

[0124] The electrical connector shown in FIG. 10 also includes a cap portion 20 that serves to cover a part of the ball portion 2 that would otherwise be exposed so as to protect and conceal all electrical parts in use and acts to allow limited relative movement between body parts or portions.

[0125] In some embodiments the cap portion 20 is not included.

[0126] In yet further embodiments the socket portion 30 contains a plurality of recess sections, for example four so as to allow extended range of movement in in four axes.

[0127] The cap portion 20 is dimensioned so as to correspond to a segment of the ball portion 2 whilst allowing the cap portion 20 to rotate into slots in the socket portion 30.

[0128] FIGS. 11 and 12 show a third embodiment of the electrical connector having a ball portion 2 with a plurality of ball-bearings 99 arranged in grooves 33 provided on the surface of the ball socket portion 3 and recesses 32.

[0129] The ball-bearings 99 remain fixed within the recesses 32 but are free to rotate.

[0130] The socket 3 includes corresponding grooves 33 along which the ball-bearing can move when the socket 3 is moved relative to the ball portion 2.

[0131] FIGS. 13A and 13B show another embodiment of the electrical connector wherein the socket 3A is hemispherical and the ball 2A is also substantially hemispherical. The terminal 6 has wires 6B (indicated by crosshatching) that are associated with the electrical contact 7.

[0132] In this embodiment the ball 2A and socket 3A portions do not move relative to each other and instead the terminal is arranged in an elongate channel (not shown) and configured to be in contact with the electrical terminal whilst being moveable along a channel so as to arrange the terminal 6 at different angles X20 relative to the central axis X10.

[0133] The male ball portion 2A has eight grooves 8 arranged as four pairs, having four arced grooves 8 on each side of the male ball portion 2A extending from a central axis X10.

[0134] There terminal wires 6B are embedded in a member 6A that slides over the electrical contact 7. The terminal wires 6B protrude from an edge of the member 6A, directed towards the grooves 8 so as to provide a hook that catches the ball bearing 10 in use. In this way as the terminal 6 is moved the ball bearings 10 are also moving and a connection is maintained between the corresponding pair of ball bearings 10A, 10B that fit in the corresponding pair of grooves 8A, 8B.

[0135] The embodiments of the electrical connector shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B permit radial movement of the terminal in one plane. The arc of movement of the terminal 6 is determined by the position of the ends of the wire 6A. As one end 6A abuts the socket movement is prevented.

[0136] The electrical connector 100 has a central axis X10 and the terminal can be positioned at various angles X20 relative to the central axis X10.

[0137] In FIG. 13A the member 6A is shown as being as wide as the socket 3A so as to engage with all grooves 8 simultaneously. The wire 6 is a sheet dimensioned to extend across the socket and of a length so as has four hooks 6A at each end to engage with the eight ball bearings 10. Therefore each of the ball bearings 10 provides a separate connection point to the wire in member 6A so as to have eight separate connections points at all times, thereby provide a good electrical connection.

[0138] It is appreciated that the ball and socket portions may be greater than or less than a hemisphere so as to alter the range of movement permitted.

[0139] FIG. 14 shows a close up view of the terminal 6 attached to a member 6A that has embedded wires 6B that extend from the terminal 6, through the member 6A and project from the member 6A on an edge 6A1, 6A2 of the member 6A.

[0140] The member 6A is a substantially rectangular plate that is curved so as to correspond to the shape of the ball and socket portions of the electrical connector.

[0141] The upper and lower faces of the member 6A are smooth so as to permit the member 6A to easily slide in each direction whilst remaining in contact with the electrical contact 7 and the ball bearing s 10.

[0142] The member 6A has eight wires 6A extending from the terminal 6, four wires directed to a first edge 6A1 and four wires directed to a second edge 6A2. The edges 6A1, 6A2 correspond to the direction in which the member can be moved through the channel.

[0143] The member 6A is formed from a conductive material.

[0144] The terminal 6 has a neck 6C which extends through the channel provided in the socket along which the terminal 6 can be moved in a single plane.

[0145] The member 6A is engaged with the terminal (not shown in FIG. 14) in use so as to permit an electrical connector 7.

[0146] The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of invention as defined by the claims.