Board mounted coax connector assembly

• US 6,776,621 B1
• Filed: 08/27/2003
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dye, David Eugene
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Lynn
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh, Phuong
• Application Number:
  US10/651,269
• Time in Patent Office: 356 Days
• Field of Search: 439/63, 439/579, 439/581
• US Class Current: 439/63
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2103/00 Two poles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/50 mounted on a PCB [Printed Circuit Board]
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/18 for manufacturing bases or cases for contact members

Abstract

A coaxial connector assembly (10) for mounting on a circuit board, which can be constructed at low cost and which provides low losses. The connector assembly, which can include three connectors (11, 12, 13), includes a cast metal housing (40) having a front mating end (20) and having a rear end (22) that terminates to a circuit board (80). Each connector includes a combination (60) of a center conductor (62) with a horizontally-extending front portion (70) and a downwardly-extending rear portion (74), and an insulator (64) that surrounds the inner conductor. The housing is a metal cast member with its front portion forming two concentric sleeves (100, 102) at each connector (11-13), the inside (44) of the inner sleeve forming the front portion of a through passage (42) whose rear portion extends downwardly. The combination of center conductor and insulation is installed by pressing it forwardly into the housing passage. Then, a metal retainer (140) is forced upwardly into the rear of the housing passage to lock the combination center conductor and insulator in place and to provide a ground around the rear of the center conductor.

Claims

1. A coaxial connector assembly for mounting on an upper face of a circuit board, said connector assembly including a plurality of connectors that each has horizontally-spaced front and rear connector ends, each front connector end forming a mating end for mating to a coax device, each rear connector end having a lower part for mounting on said circuit board, each connector having inner and outer coax contacts and an insulation between them, at least said inner coax contact of each connector having a horizontally-extending first mating end at the connector front end and a right angle bend and a downwardly-extending mount end that extends downwardly from said bend to said board, each connector including a metal housing portion forming at least a portion of said outer contact, including:

a single metal housing forming said metal housing portions of said connectors, said housing having a mating end that forms inner and outer sleeve parts in each connector, each outer sleeve part having a primarily cylindrical inside first surface and each inner sleeve part having a primarily cylindrical outside second surface that is concentric with the first surface, the first and second surfaces being spaced to receive a portion of the mating coax device between them;

said housing is a cast metal part, and said inner and outer sleeve parts of all of said connectors are integrally cast.

2. The connector assembly described in claim 1 wherein:

said housing has a plurality of largely horizontally-extending through passages, each inner sleeve having an inside forming a front part of the corresponding through passage and having a predetermined width, each through passage having a greater width rearward of the passage front part than along the passage rear part.

3. The connector assembly described in claim 1 wherein:

the insulation of each connector includes a horizontally-extending tubular front insulation region that surrounds the inner contact first mating end, and a vertically-extending tubular rear insulation region that surrounds said inner contact downwardly-extending mount end; and

including

a plurality of metal rear retainers that each lies immediately rearward of the vertically-extending tubular rear insulation region of one of said connectors.

4. The connector assembly described in claim 3 wherein:

the insulation of each of said connectors includes a one-piece main insulation member that forms said horizontally-extending tubular front insulation region and a front part of said vertically-extending tubular rear insulation region, each insulation also including a one-piece second insulation member that forms a rear of the vertically-extending tubular portion.

5. The connector assembly described in claim 4 wherein:

said front of said vertically-extending tubular rear region of each of said main insulation members forms a sleeve that encircles the downwardly-extending inner contact end except for a slot at the rear of the sleeve, and each second insulation member has a forward projection that projects into the slot.

6. A coaxial connector assembly for mounting on an upper face of a circuit board, comprising:

a housing having a plurality of horizontal through passages that each have front and rear passage ends, each passage rear end having a rearwardly-opening and downwardly opening passage portion;

a combination of a center conductor and an insulation for each of said passages;

each of said center contacts has a horizontally-elongated part with a rear, a right angle bend at said rear, and a vertical part extending downward from said bend;

the insulation of each of said combinations includes a horizontal insulation portion that surrounds the corresponding center contact horizontally-elongated part and a vertical insulation portion that surrounds the center contact vertical part;

said housing is formed of metal and forms integral inner and outer sleeves with closest surfaces that are concentric at the front end of each passage, each of, said inner sleeves having concentric inner and outer surfaces, the inner surface of each inner sleeve forming a front portion of the corresponding horizontal through passage, and each combination center conductor and insulation being insertable forwardly into one of said through passages, each center contact vertical part and vertical insulation portion being insertable forwardly into a corresponding downwardly opening passage portion.

7. The connector assembly described in claim 6 including:

a plurality of metal retainers that each lies in a rear end of one of said housing through passages and that lies adjacent to a rear of a corresponding one of said vertical insulation portions.

8. The connector assembly described in claim 6 including:

a plurality of metal retainers that each lies in a press fit in the rear end of one of said through passages, each press fit made by pressing a retainer upwardly into the rear end of one of the through passages.

9. The connector assembly described in claim 6 wherein:

each of said insulations includes main and secondary insulation elements, the main insulation element including one of said horizontal insulation portions and a front of one of said vertical insulation portions, and the secondary insulation element forming part of a rear of one of said vertical insulation portions.

10. The connector assembly described in claim 9 wherein:

said vertical insulation portion has a slot for passing said center contact vertical part, and said secondary insulation element has a projection that projects into said slot.

12. The method described in claim 10 wherein:

said step of inserting each of said combinations includes inserting a horizontal portion of the corresponding inner contact forwardly into a horizontal passageway of a main insulation element of one of said insulations, and passing a vertical portion of the inner contact through a slot in a vertically-extending passage of the main insulation element, and then inserting a forward projection of a second insulation element into the slot.

11. A method for forming a plurality of coaxial connectors with parallel horizontal axes, with front mating ends facing along a corresponding one of said axes for mating to a coax device, and with rear board-mounts for mounting on an upper face of a circuit board, comprising:

casting a housing with a plurality of pairs of integral sleeves, each pair of sleeves including an outer sleeve having a cylindrical inside surface and an inner sleeve having cylindrical inner and outer surfaces concentric with the corresponding outer sleeve inside surface and with one of said horizontal axes, including forming a plurality of horizontal through passages in said housing with each passage extending along one of said axes and with each passage being narrowest along the corresponding cylindrical inner surface of the front mating end and forming at least one forwardly-facing shoulder rearward of the cylindrical inner surface of the inner sleeve;

inserting a combination of an inner contact that has a right angle bend and an insulation that surrounds said inner contact, forwardly into each of said horizontal through passages;

inserting a metal retainer upwardly into a rear end of each of said through passages to lie immediately rearward of the corresponding insulation.