Electrical connector

Abstract

An electrical connector includes a base, two rows of terminals, a grounding element, and a metal housing. The base includes a base and a tongue extending from the base. The row of terminals includes signal terminals and ground terminals. The grounding element is formed by an arc-shaped bend of a metal plate into two longitudinal plates, each longitudinal plate having a plurality of overlapping fingers that abut against corresponding ground terminals. The base has a mating surface and a first outer wall surface for mating, and a positioning groove between a first side plate of the metal housing and the first outer wall surface. The metal housing further has an inner plate bent inward into the positioning groove, the lower edge of which is cut into a specific shape to form a retaining edge. The grounding element of this invention has better grounding, shielding, and mechanical properties, and the metal housing has a complete shielding effect.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to an electrical connector having a grounding element and a metal housing. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Chinese Invention Patent No. CN113422234A discloses a high-speed I / O connector and electrical connector assembly that can improve terminal coplanarity. It includes at least two rows of spaced-apart terminals, an insulating housing for accommodating the terminals, and a shielding housing covering the outer periphery of the insulating housing. The insulating housing has at least two rows of short posts on its tail end face, each row of short posts pressing against the surface-mount end of a row of terminals to ensure the coplanarity of the terminals within the connector at the surface-mount end. A mesh shielding sheet is also provided between the two rows of terminals to achieve conductivity of all grounding terminals. However, in increasingly high-speed signal transmissions, this fails to meet electrical performance requirements, and the mesh shielding sheet exhibits poor contact with the terminals. Furthermore, the opening locking groove of the shielding housing compromises the integrity of the shielding housing.

[0003] Therefore, it is indeed necessary to provide an electrical connector that can provide high-frequency electrical performance to overcome the above-mentioned defects. [Summary of the Invention]

[0004] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solution: an electrical connector, comprising a base, two rows of terminals and a grounding member, wherein the base includes a base and a tongue extending from the base; one row of terminals includes a signal terminal and a grounding terminal, the terminal including a contact portion and a pin, and the contact portions of the two rows of terminals are respectively arranged on opposite surfaces of the tongue plate; the grounding member is formed by bending a metal plate in an arc to form two longitudinal plates, each longitudinal plate having a plurality of overlapping fingers, the overlapping fingers abutting against the corresponding grounding terminal.

[0005] Another technical solution of the present invention is as follows: an electrical connector includes a base, terminals fixed to the base, and a metal shell covering the base. The base has a mating surface and a first outer wall surface. The metal shell includes a first side plate that is at least partially spaced from the first outer wall surface, and a positioning groove between the first side plate and the first outer wall surface. The metal shell further includes an inner plate that is bent inward into the positioning groove. The inner plate is located on the inner surface of the first side plate, and the lower edge of the inner plate is cut into a specific shape to form a fastening edge.

[0006] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the grounding component of the present invention has better grounding, shielding and mechanical properties, and the metal shell has a complete shielding effect.

Implementation Method

[0023] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. This invention discloses an electrical connector assembly 1000, which includes a board-end connector 100, or electrical connector, and a wire-end connector 200, or mating connector. The board-end connector 100 is mounted on a circuit board, and the rear end of the wire-end connector 200 is connected to a cable 80. After the two connectors are mated, high-frequency signal transmission is completed. The wire-end connector 200 is fastened to the board-end connector 100 by a locking member 61, and the locking member 61 is released by a pull strap 62. The specific structure will be described in detail below.

[0024] Referring to Figure 2 and Figure 3, the board-end connector 100 includes a base 10, two rows of terminals 21, a grounding member 30, and a metal housing 40. The base 10 includes a base 11 and a tongue 12 extending from the base. Referring to Figure 9, each row of terminals 20 includes a signal terminal 21S and a grounding terminal 21G. The terminal 21 includes a contact portion 211 and a pin 213, and an intermediate portion 212 connecting the contact portion and the pin. The contact portions 211 of the two rows of terminals are flat and are arranged on opposite surfaces of the tongue plate 12. The grounding member 30 is formed by bending a metal plate in an arc shape to form two longitudinal plates 31, and the two longitudinal plates 31 are integrally connected by an arc portion 32. Each longitudinal plate 31 is provided with a plurality of overlapping fingers 33, and each overlapping finger 33 abuts against a corresponding grounding terminal 21G. As shown in the second figure, the two longitudinal plates of the grounding component 30 are connected by the arc-shaped part 32. After the grounding component 30 is inserted into the base 10, the longitudinal plate 31 of the grounding component will be squeezed by the inner wall of the base 10, resulting in a certain elastic deformation. This elastic deformation will also provide a certain pre-pressure to the grounding component 30, so that its overlapping finger 33 generates a large elastic force, thereby enabling it to maintain contact with the grounding terminal and prevent the two from loosening.

[0025] Referring to Figure 9, each row of terminals 21 is injection molded with an insulator 22 to form a terminal module 20. Each terminal module 20 includes a row of terminals 21 and an insulator 22 that fixes the row of terminals. The contact portion 211 extends out of the insulator 22, and the lead 213 extends out of the bottom surface of the insulator. The middle portion 212 connecting the contact portion and the lead is embedded in the insulator 22. That is, the insulator 22 fixes the row of terminals 21 by plastic injection molding. The insulator 22 has a slot 221 at the corresponding grounding terminal. The middle portion 212 of the grounding terminal is exposed in the slot 221, and the overlapping finger 33 passes through the slot 221 and abuts against the corresponding grounding terminal 21G.

[0026] The insulators 22 of the two end sub-modules 20 are provided with cylinders 222 and circular holes 223 on their mating surfaces. After the two end sub-modules 20 are assembled in opposite directions, the cylinder 222 of one end module is inserted into and fixed in the circular hole 223 of the other end module, thereby fixing the two. Then, the grounding member 30 is inserted from top to bottom between the two rows of terminals 21, wherein the overlapping fingers 33 are respectively inserted into the slots 221, and the longitudinal plate 31 is located between the two rows of terminals, which is spaced a certain distance from the terminals 21 and does not contact each other. The size design of the overlapping fingers 33 makes them have an interference fixing effect with the slots 221. More specifically, the overlapping fingers 33 are formed by bending at an incline from the bottom edge of the corresponding longitudinal plate 31. The overlapping fingers 33 first extend outward at an incline from the bottom edge of the longitudinal plate 31, and then extend vertically downward. The inclined extension part passes through the slot 221, and the vertical extension part abuts against the corresponding grounding terminal, as clearly seen in the second figure.

[0027] Referring to Figures 6 to 8, in this embodiment, the insulating body 10a further includes a surrounding wall 13, which is composed of four side walls that surround the tongue plate 12 and are spaced a certain distance from the tongue plate 12 to form a mating groove 14. The insulating body 10a has a cavity extending from its base 11 to the tongue plate 12. The tongue plate has terminal slots (not labeled). The assembled terminal module is installed into the cavity from the bottom surface of the base 11. The contact portions 211 of the two rows of terminals are accommodated in the terminal slots, so that the contact portions 211 are respectively arranged on the opposite surfaces of the tongue plate 11. The insulating body 10a and the insulator 22 together form a base 10, and the terminal 21 and the grounding member 30 are fixed on the base 10.

[0028] Referring to Figure 8, the longitudinal plate 31 extends downward to the insulator 22 and upward to approximately the contact portion 211 with the terminal, achieving a good shielding effect. In this invention, the overlapping finger 33 contacts the grounding terminal 21G to improve the resonance range of the board-end connector 100. The longitudinal plate 31 provides shielding between the two rows of terminals, and the arc-shaped bend provides increased elasticity. The top of the grounding member 30 has a plurality of openings 34 to facilitate the arc-shaped bend of the grounding member 30.

[0029] Referring to Figures 5 and 6, the metal housing 40 covers the base 10. The tongue plate 11 and the surrounding wall 13 together form a mating part 14a, the top surface of which forms a mating surface 141. The mating surface 141 faces the direction in which the connector is inserted. In other embodiments, it can be the front end face, etc. In this embodiment, the surrounding wall 13 is formed by four side walls connected end to end, including two long side walls 131 and two short side walls 132. The metal housing 40 is tightly attached to the outer wall surfaces of the long side walls 131 and the short side walls 132. As shown in Figure 3, the metal housing 40 extends upward beyond the mating surface 141 of the base 10. The metal housing 40 protruding from the mating surface 141 provides a positioning and guiding function during mating. Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the outer wall surface of one of the long sidewalls 131 is defined as the first outer wall surface 1311. The metal housing 40 includes a first side plate 41 at least partially spaced from the first outer wall surface 1311, and a positioning groove 15 is formed between the first side plate 41 and the first outer wall surface 131. The metal housing 40 further includes an inner plate 42 bent inward into the positioning groove 15. The inner plate 42 is located on the inner surface of the first side plate 41, and the lower edge of the inner plate 42 is cut into a specific shape to form a retaining edge 421, which is clearly visible in Figure 5. This is used to retain the retaining protrusion 611 of the locking member 61 of the wire connector (clearly visible in Figure 2), which will be described in detail below. As can be seen, the inner plate 42 forms a retaining edge 421, avoiding the drilling technology used in the prior art on the metal housing. This avoids the risk of damaging the overall shielding when drilling the metal housing, and also strengthens the strength of the metal housing. After locking, the risk of instantaneous breakage when the cable is pulled improperly can be avoided, improving the stability of the mating of the two connectors.

[0030] In a specific embodiment, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the metal housing 40 includes an inner metal housing 45 and an outer metal housing 46. The inner and outer metal housings are tightly fitted together and each includes four long side plates and two short side plates. After being fastened together, they are assembled into the base 10. The inner metal housing 45 has an upwardly inclined inner protrusion 451 on its long side plate, which abuts against a fastening groove 1312 on the outer wall of the base. The inner metal housing 45 has an outwardly protruding outer protrusion 452 on its short side plate, which is fastened into a fastening opening 462 on the outer metal housing. The inner metal housing has a fastening hole 453 on its short side plate, which fastens onto a protruding rib 1322 on the outer wall of the base. Thus, the inner and outer metal housings 45 and 46 are fastened together by snap-fit, or they may be riveted together. At the same time, the outer metal housing needs to be welded to prevent the riveted joints from being pried open. In one embodiment, two welded pieces 47 are fixed to the long sidewall of the base 10, and then fixed to the metal shell 46 by welding.

[0031] The inner metal shell 45 is provided with a plurality of downwardly extending vertical feet 454 and 455. The base 10 of the base body protrudes horizontally from the surrounding wall 13. Thus, the inner metal shell 45 abuts downward against the skirt 112 of the base 10, and the vertical feet 454 and 456 pass through the skirt 112 and are soldered to the circuit board. The outer metal shell 46 is not provided with vertical feet.

[0032] The metal outer shell 46 has a plurality of inwardly bent tabs 463 and 464 bent inward from its upper edge. The inwardly bent tabs are attached to the inner wall surface of the metal outer shell 46, and these inwardly bent tabs are all located above the upper edge of the metal inner shell 45. Among them, two inwardly bent tabs 463 are located at both ends of the long side plate, and two inwardly bent tabs 464 are located at both ends of the short side plate, so that the inwardly bent tabs are approximately close to the corners of the long and short side plates. The two-piece metal shell of the present invention can enhance the strength of the metal shell, while the inwardly bent tabs play a guiding role. Viewed from above, a long side plate 461 of the metal outer shell protrudes outward, thereby forming the aforementioned positioning groove 15 at a certain distance from the first outer wall surface 1311 of the base. The top edge of the long side plate 461 is bent inward in the opposite direction to form a flat plate 4611, which is tightly attached to the long side plate of the metal inner shell 45, thereby forming the aforementioned inner plate 42, and having a fastening edge 421. The other long side plate of the metal casing 46 is bent outward to form an outer bending piece 465.

[0033] Referring to Figures 10 to 14, the wire connector 200 includes a base 51, a mating portion 52 protruding from the base, a positioning plate 53, a pair of positioning posts 54, a locking element 61, a pull strap 62, and terminals 70 and a cable 80. The base 51, mating portion 52, positioning plate 53, and positioning posts 54 are integrally injection molded from insulating material. The mating portion 52 includes four side walls and a receiving groove 521 formed by the four side walls. The terminals 70 include two rows, each row of terminals 70 is injection molded into an insulator 71 to form a terminal module. Each terminal includes an elastic contact portion 711 protruding from the insulator and a connecting foot 712. The terminal module is inserted into the base 51 from back to front, and the contact portions 711 of the terminals pass through the base 51 and are arranged in the receiving groove 521. The cable 80 is soldered to the connecting foot 712. Two grounding plates 73 and 74 are respectively provided on the side of the connecting foot 712, serving as shielding and grounding functions.

[0034] The positioning plate 53 is provided with a mounting recess 531, and the locking member 61 is installed in the mounting recess 531. The locking member 61 has a retaining protrusion 611. The locking member 61 includes a fixing part 612 and an elastic part 613 fixed in the mounting recess 531. The elastic part 613 is formed by bending backward from the front edge of the fixing part 612. The retaining protrusion 611 is formed by protruding outward from the plane of the elastic part 613. The pull strap 62 passes through the through-hole provided in the elastic part 613 and extends in the direction of the cable 80. Referring to the second figure, the retaining protrusion 611 abuts against the retaining edge 421 of the inner plate 42 of the board end connector 100, which can avoid the risk of instantaneous breakage when the cable is pulled improperly.

[0035] Figures 13 to 16 show the second embodiment of the present invention, whose structure is largely the same as the first embodiment. Only the main differences are described below; the same components are represented by the same symbols and will not be described in detail again. The metal housing 90 is composed solely of a metal outer shell, without an inner metal shell. The base 10 has a mating surface 141 for docking and a first outer wall surface 131. The metal housing includes a first side plate 91 at least partially spaced from the first outer wall surface 131, and a positioning groove 93 is formed between the first side plate 91 and the first outer wall surface 131. The metal housing 90 further includes an inner plate 92 bent inward into the positioning groove 93. The inner plate 92 is located on the inner surface of the first side plate 91, and its lower edge is cut into a specific shape to form a retaining edge 921. In this embodiment, the inner plate 92 is not attached to the inner surface of the first side plate 91, but there is a certain gap; however, it could also be attached to it. The retaining protrusion 611 is pressed against the retaining edge 921.

[0036] In the second embodiment, a positioning groove 93 is provided on the outer side of one long sidewall of the base 10, while the other long sidewall is wider to ensure balance after the two connectors are mated. After the metal housing 90 surrounds the base, two positioning holes 94 are formed between the metal housing 90 and the base. After the two connectors are mated, the positioning plate 53 is inserted into the positioning groove 93, and the retaining protrusion 611 is fastened to the retaining edge 921. The two positioning pins 54 on the other side are inserted into the positioning holes 94. Referring to the first embodiment shown in Figure 3, its inner and outer metal shells also have two positioning holes 16 for insertion with the positioning pins 54.

[0037] As can be seen from Figures 3 and 16, both metal shells 40 and 90 protrude upwards from the mating surface 141. In Figures 1 and 3, it can be seen that the outer metal shell 46 extends upwards from the inner metal shell 45, and the four pairs of inwardly bent tabs 463 and 464 located at the corners can guide the insertion of the wire-end connector, while also further defining the wire-end connector. In Figures 14 and 16, the four pairs of inwardly bent tabs 95 located at the corners can guide the insertion of the wire-end connector.

[0038] The above description is only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Any equivalent changes made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention by reading the present invention specification are covered by the patent scope of the present invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0007] The first figure is a mating perspective view of the electrical connector assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0008] The second figure is a cross-sectional view along the dashed line II-II of the first figure;

[0009] The third figure is a perspective view of the board-end connector in the first figure;

[0010] The fourth figure is a bottom view of the connector at the end of the board in the third figure;

[0011] The fifth figure is an exploded perspective view of the board-end connector in the third figure, in which the metal inner shell has been removed;

[0012] Figure 6 is another exploded perspective view of the board-end connector in Figure 3;

[0013] The seventh figure is a three-dimensional exploded view of the base in the sixth figure of the seventh series;

[0014] The eighth figure is a side view of the terminal module and grounding component in the seventh figure;

[0015] Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal module and grounding component in Figure 7;

[0016] Figure 10 is a three-dimensional view of the wire-end connector in Figure 1;

[0017] Figure 11 is an exploded perspective view of the wire connector shown in Figure 10;

[0018] Figure 12 is a three-dimensional exploded view from another angle of Figure 10, in which the fasteners and pull straps are removed;

[0019] Figure 13 is a mating perspective view of the electrical connector assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view along the dashed line XIV-XIV of Figure 13;

[0021] Figure 15 is a perspective view of the board-end connector in Figure 13; and

[0022] Figure 16 is a top view of the board-end connector in Figure 15.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising: The seat body includes a base and a tongue extending from the base; Two rows of terminals, each row of terminals including signal terminals and ground terminals, each terminal including a contact portion and a pin, the contact portions of the two rows of terminals being arranged on opposite surfaces of the tongue plate; a grounding component; wherein the grounding component is formed by bending a metal plate in an arc to form two longitudinal plates, each longitudinal plate having a plurality of overlapping fingers, the overlapping fingers abutting against the corresponding grounding terminal.

2. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrical connector includes two terminal modules, each terminal module including an insulator and a row of said terminals fixed to the insulator, the insulator having a slot at a corresponding grounding terminal, the lap joint passing through the slot and abutting against the corresponding grounding terminal.

3. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the top of the grounding member has a plurality of openings.

4. The electrical connector as described in claim 1, wherein the overlapping finger and the slot are fixed by interference.

5. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lap finger extends obliquely outward from the bottom edge of the longitudinal plate and then extends vertically downward, with the obliquely extended portion passing through the slot and the vertically extended portion abutting against the corresponding grounding terminal.

6. An electrical connector, comprising: A base body is provided with a mating surface and a first outer wall surface; a terminal is fixed to the base body; A metal shell, covering the base, includes a first side plate that is at least partially spaced from the first outer wall surface, and a positioning groove is formed between the first side plate and the first outer wall surface; wherein, the metal shell is further provided with an inner plate that is bent inward into the positioning groove, the inner plate is located on the inner surface of the first side plate and the lower edge of the inner plate is cut into a specific shape to form a fastening edge.

7. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein the metal housing extends beyond the mating surface of the base, and the metal housing has an inwardly bent tab at its corner that is attached to the inner surface of the metal housing.

8. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein the metal housing comprises a metal inner shell and a metal outer shell that are tightly fitted together, the inner plate being bent inward from the metal outer shell and fitted onto the metal inner shell.

9. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 7, wherein the inner bend is formed by bending inward from the metal housing, and the inner bend is located above the inner metal housing.

10. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 8, wherein the metal housing is provided with an outwardly bent tab located on a side plate opposite to the first side plate.

Images