Holding frame for a plug-type connector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10418773-B2
Application number	US-201815970590-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 3, 2018
Priority date	Dec 12, 2013
Publication date	Sep 17, 2019
Grant date	Sep 17, 2019

Abstract

A holding frame for a plug-type connector is intended to have good heat resistance and a high level of mechanical robustness and, when installed in a metallic plug-type connector housing, enable protective grounding while at the same time being convenient to use, in particular during the replacement of individual modules. For this purpose, the holding frame can have base frame and resilient cheek parts, which are formed from different materials. The base frame is used for fixing an accommodated connector module or modules in a plane. The resilient cheek parts can assume an insertion state and a holding state, wherein the insertion state permits insertion of at least one connector module into the holding frame in a direction transverse to the plane, and wherein the accommodated connector module is fixed in the holding state.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A holding frame for a plug-type connector adapted to receive a plurality of connector modules, the holding frame comprising:
a rigid metallic base frame including opposing longitudinal sidewalls and transverse end walls that define a rectangular frame structure with a module receiving cavity extending through the rectangular frame structure to insertably receive the plurality of connector modules, each of the longitudinal sidewalls including a plurality of upwardly extending protrusions that are arranged to define open recesses spaced apart along a longitudinal length at an upper end of the longitudinal sidewall between adjacent protrusions to receive lugs of the connector modules that extend transversely toward the longitudinal sidewall when the connector modules are received in the rectangular frame structure;
a first resilient cheek part distinct from but coupled to one of the opposing longitudinal sidewalls of the rigid metallic base frame and arranged such that at least a portion of the first resilient cheek part extends along an external side of said longitudinal sidewall; and
a second resilient cheek part distinct from but coupled to the other one of the opposing longitudinal sidewalls of the rigid metallic base frame and arranged such that at least a portion of the second resilient cheek part extends along another external side of said longitudinal sidewall,
wherein each of the resilient cheek parts includes an upper end portion that is adapted to move outwardly away from the rigid metallic base frame to enable insertion of at least one of the connector modules into the module receiving cavity of the rigid metallic base frame and the upper end portions is to move back toward the rigid metallic base frame to a holding state to secure the connector module within the module receiving cavity of the rigid metallic base frame via at least one locking window arranged in the upper end portion that is aligned with a respective one of the open recesses and engages a corresponding one of the lugs of the connector module, and
wherein the upper end portion of each of the resilient cheek parts includes resilient tabs extending in a direction parallel to a receiving direction of the connector modules, the resilient tabs each having an upper free end with a respective locking window extending through each of the resilient tabs, and wherein the at least one locking window of each of the resilient cheek parts is provided by the respective locking windows of the resilient tabs.

2. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein the rigid metallic base frame is formed at least in part from a first material and each of the resilient cheek parts is formed at least in part of a second material that is different than the first material.

3. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein the rigid metallic base frame is die-cast metal and each of the resilient cheek parts is sheet metal.

4. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein the upper free end of each resilient tab is configured to flex outwardly away from the rigid metallic base frame independent of each other.

5. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein, for each of the resilient cheek parts, each of the resilient tabs is separated by an adjacent one of the resilient tabs by an elongate slot.

6. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein the resilient cheek parts are coupled to the longitudinal sidewalls of the rigid metallic base frame at a respective lower end portion thereof opposite the upper end portion.

7. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein the rigid metallic base frame and the resilient cheek parts are formed in an interlocking, frictionally engaged, or integrally bonded manner.

8. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein each of the resilient cheek parts is of substantially flat design and has a rectangular basic shape.

9. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein a common width of the open recesses of one of the longitudinal sidewalls of the rigid metallic base frame is different than a common width of the open recesses of the other one of the longitudinal sidewalls of the rigid metallic base frame.

10. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein portions of the rigid metallic base frame adjacent the open recesses cooperate with the locking windows formed in the upper end portions of the resilient cheek parts to collectively form lug receiving devices.

11. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein a respective transverse flange is integrally formed with each end wall of the rigid metallic base frame, each transverse flange including a plurality of apertures for securing the holding frame to a metallic plug-type connector housing.

12. The holding frame of claim 1 , wherein the module receiving cavity has a perimeter defined by the longitudinal sidewalls and transverse end walls of the rigid metallic base frame and extends completely through the rectangular frame structure of the rigid metallic base frame from one of opposing ends of the rigid metallic base frame to the other one of the opposing ends of the rigid metallic base frame such that no material of the rigid metallic base frame is provided within the confines of the longitudinal sidewalls and transverse end walls of the rigid metallic base frame.

13. A holding frame for a plug-type connector adapted to receive a plurality of connector modules, the holding frame comprising:
a rigid metallic base frame having a rectangular frame structure with a module receiving cavity extending through the rectangular frame structure to insertably receive the plurality of connector modules; and
resilient cheek parts distinct from but coupled to opposing sides of the rectangular frame structure of the rigid metallic base frame such that at least a portion of each of the resilient cheek parts extends along a respective external facing surface of the rectangular frame structure of the rigid metallic base frame,
wherein each of the resilient cheek parts includes an upper end portion that is adapted to flex outwardly away from the rectangular frame structure of the rigid metallic base frame to enable insertion of at least one of the connector modules into the module receiving cavity of the rectangular frame structure of the rigid metallic base frame and the upper end portion is to move back toward the rectangular frame structure of the rigid metallic base frame to a holding state to secure the connector module within the module receiving cavity,
wherein, for each of the resilient cheek parts, at least one region of the upper end portion is immediately adjacent to the respective external facing surface of the rectangular frame structure without any intermediate structure when the connector modules are received in the module receiving cavity and the resilient cheek parts are in the holding state, and
wherein the upper end portion of each of the resilient cheek parts includes resilient tabs extending in a direction parallel to a receiving direction of the connector modules, the resilient tabs each having an upper free end with a respective locking window extending through each of the resilient tabs.

14. The holding frame of claim 13 , wherein the rigid metallic base frame is formed at least in part from a first material and each of the resilient cheek parts is formed at least in part of a second material that is different than the first material.

15. The holding frame of claim 13 , wherein the rigid metallic base frame is die-cast metal and each of the resilient cheek parts is sheet metal.

16. The holding frame of claim 13 , wherein the upper free end of each resilient tab is configured to flex outwardly away from the rigid metal

Assignees

• Harting Electric Gmbh & Co Kg

Inventors

• Herbrechtsmeier Heiko

Classifications

• H01R12/7011

  Locking or fixing a connector to a PCB · CPC title

• H01R9/226

  comprising a plurality of conductive flat strips providing connection between wires or components (H01R9/2425 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01R12/91

  allowing relative movement between coupling parts, e.g. floating or self aligning (for coupling devices not specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, H01R13/6315 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01R4/26

  Connections in which at least one of the connecting parts has projections which bite into or engage the other connecting part in order to improve the contact ({H01R4/188, H01R4/203, H01R4/5075 take precedence}; using shape memory materials H01R4/01) · CPC title

• H01R9/16

  Fastening of connecting parts to base or case; Insulating connecting parts from base or case · CPC title