Power connector having an improved internal printed circuit board

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a power connector, and more particularly to a power connector with an internal printed circuit board for electrically connecting a cable to a mating plug.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Direct current (DC) power connector has been widely used in electrical device to be connected to DC power connector to transmit direct current power. U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,402 issued to Lin discloses an electrical connector assembly having an internal printed circuit board, a plurality of cables soldered to the internal printed circuit board, a mating plug having a plurality of wires soldered to the internal printed circuit board in order to electrically connect with the cables. However, it is difficult to sold the number of cables and the wires to a small internal printed circuit board.

Hence, in this art, a power connector to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art should be provided.

A primary object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a power connector with an improved internal printed circuit board for easily connecting cables to a mating plug.

In order to implement the above object, a power connector mateable with a complementary connector comprises a mating plug having a plurality of contacts, an internal printed circuit board mounted to the mating plug and located in one transverse direction perpendicular to the pluggable direction and a cable connected to the internal circuit board. The internal printed circuit board defines a conductive area. The cable provides a connecting section to connect with the conductive area of the internal printed circuit board and extending through the internal printed circuit board to connect with the contacts of the mating plug.

It is easy to connect the cable to the mating plug by the conductive area disposed on the internal printed circuit board.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view illustrating a power connector in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the power connector, with a guiding pipe enclosing a cable;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a mating plug;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the power connector as shown in FIG. 2 ; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mating plug and a cable connected to the mating plug; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the mating plug and the cable, taken from another aspect.

Reference will now be made in detail to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Reference to FIGS. 1-5 , a power connector made in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The power connector 100 is mateable with a complementary connector (not shown) in a pluggable direction comprises a mating plug 10 , a cable 20 having a connecting section 24 electrically connecting with the mating plug 10 , and a guiding pipe 40 and an outer barrel 50 partially enclosing the mating plug 10 .

Reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the mating plug 10 has a plurality of contacts 110 including a central pin 11 , an outer conductor 13 and a first terminal 12 . The matting plug 10 has an insulator 14 enclosing the central pin 11 . The first terminal 12 is retained into the insulator 14 for transmitting anode power. The outer conductor 13 encloses the insulator 14 for transmitting cathode power. The insulator 14 is located between the outer conductor 13 and the first terminal 12 . The outer conductor 13 has a protruding end 131 extending forwardly.

Reference to FIGS. 2-4 , the power connector 100 has an internal printed circuit board 30 mounted to the mating plug 10 and located in one transverse direction perpendicular to the pluggable direction, and a plurality of light-emitting components 34 mounted to the internal printed circuit board 30 for indicating working status of the power connector 100 . The internal printed circuit board 30 comprises a conductive region 300 having a first and a second conductive areas 31 and 32 disposed on opposite edges thereof and a central hole 33 defined through a center thereof for partially receiving the central pin 11 of the mating plug 10 . The internal printed circuit board 30 has an opening 310 defined on one edge thereof, the first conductive area 31 is disposed around the opening 310 . The protruding end 131 of the outer conductor 13 connects with the second conductive area 32 of the internal printed circuit board 30 and extends across the internal circuit board 30 for connecting with the cable 20 .

The cable 20 has a second leg 21 b electrically connected to the protruding end 131 for connecting to an anode signal, a first leg 21 a connecting with the first conductive area 31 of the opening 310 and extending through the opening 310 of the internal printed circuit board 30 to electrically connect with the first terminal 12 of the mating plug 10 to connect to a cathode signal, and a third leg 21 c connected to the central pin 11 for grounding purpose.

The guiding pipe 40 encloses the connecting section 24 of the cable 20 to transmit the light from the light-emitting component 34 .

Reference to FIGS. 1-6 , the method for assembling the power connector 100 , comprising the steps of: (1) the internal printed circuit board 30 is mounted to the mating plug 10 , the central pin 11 extending through the central hole 33 of the internal printed circuit board 30 ; (2) The protruding end 131 of the outer conductor 13 connects with the second conductive area 32 of the internal printed circuit board 30 and extends across the internal circuit board 30 for connecting with the second leg 21 b of the cable 2 ; the first leg 21 a is connected with the first conductive area 31 of the opening 310 and extending through the opening 310 of the internal printed circuit board 30 to electrically connect with the first terminal 12 of the mating plug 10 ; the third leg 21 c is connected to the central pin 11 for grounding purpose; (3) The guiding pipe 40 encloses the cables 20 ; (4) the mating plug 10 and the guiding pipe 40 are enclosed in the outer barrel 50 .

It is easy to connect the cable 20 to the mating plug 10 by the conductive areas 31 , 32 disposed on the internal printed circuit board 30 .

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.