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Connectors can in many respects be regarded as a variant of terminals. They are quite similar in several ways. Therefore, you are encouraged to study terminals first, since the description that follows often refers to terminals.

 

In circuit diagrams, connectors correspond to pins, sockets, and combinations of pins and sockets.

 

The figure below shows some of the most important terms that are used when dealing with connectors.

 

 

• “Terminal group name” for terminals corresponds to “connector name” for connectors.

 

•“Terminal number” for terminals corresponds to “pin number”, “socket number” and “pin/socket number” for connectors.

 

•Internal and external side of terminals correspond to pin side and socket side of connectors (which of course is relevant only for the combination of pin and socket.)

 

•Inheritance of connector name and index works in the same way as for terminals.

 

Connectors with only pins and with only sockets differ from terminals in an important respect, namely that they are always placed at the end of the lines. The combination of pin and socket is however placed in the middle of the lines in the same way as terminals normally are.

 

When it comes to the relation between symbols and devices, terminals and connectors differ by definition. While each terminal is defined as a device of its own, pins and sockets are not. Instead, the entire connector is defined as one single device, with all its pins or sockets.