Electrical connector

Abstract

An electrical connector includes an insulating body, a plurality of terminals, and a plug. The insulating body includes two side walls located on both sides of a slot. Terminals located on the same side wall include signal terminals and ground terminals. Terminal slots located on the same side wall include a signal terminal slot for receiving signal terminals and a ground terminal slot for receiving ground terminals. The plug is mounted on the insulating body and includes a first insertion portion inserted into the signal terminal slot and a second insertion portion inserted into the ground terminal slot, the second insertion portion contacting the ground terminal. A metal member is further embedded within the plug, and a plurality of grounding fingers extending from the metal member are embedded in corresponding second insertion portions and corresponding to ground terminals. Compared with the prior art, the hybrid plug of the present invention, in which the metal member mates with the conductive plastic of the second insertion portion, can further improve the high-frequency performance of the terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an electrical connector having a plug. Prior Technology

[0002] In edge-mount connectors, the terminal slots are relatively large to facilitate the assembly of corresponding terminals. However, this results in a lower dielectric constant around the signal terminals, and the signal terminals, being elongated, have a higher inductive reactance and a lower capacitive reactance. Consequently, they cannot meet the matching impedance requirements for transmitting high-frequency signals. To address this issue, the CN110994247A connector was improved by adding an insulating plug within the insulating body. This insulating plug increases the dielectric constant around the signal terminals, adjusting the impedance of the signal terminals to meet the matching impedance requirements for transmitting high-frequency signals. However, in increasingly high-speed transmission connectors, such as PCIe 6.0 connectors, this is no longer sufficient.

[0003] Therefore, in order to address the above problems, a new electrical connector needs to be designed to solve the aforementioned defects. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that can improve high-frequency electrical performance.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention can adopt the following technical solution: an electrical connector, comprising an insulating body, a plurality of terminals, and a plug, wherein the insulating body has a mating surface and a slot formed recessed from the mating surface, the slot having a groove bottom surface facing the mating surface, the insulating body including two side walls located on both sides of the slot, at least one of the side walls having a plurality of terminal slots for receiving corresponding terminals, each terminal including a fixing part fixed in the terminal slot and an elastic arm protruding into the slot through the terminal slot, the elastic arm having a contact part, and terminals located on the same side wall including at least one signal terminal and... At least one grounding terminal is provided. The terminal slots located on the same sidewall include a signal terminal slot for receiving the signal terminal and a grounding terminal slot for receiving the grounding terminal. The plug is an integral structure and is installed on the insulating body. The plug includes a first insertion part that inserts into the signal terminal slot and a second insertion part that inserts into the grounding terminal slot. The first insertion part is made of insulating plastic, and the second insertion part is at least partially made of conductive plastic. The conductive plastic contacts the grounding terminal. A metal part is further embedded in the plug. The metal part extends out a plurality of grounding fingers. The grounding fingers are embedded in the second insertion part and correspond one-to-one with the grounding terminal.

[0006] Compared with the prior art, the hybrid plug of the present invention further provides a metal part, which cooperates with the conductive plastic of the second insertion part, which can further improve the high-frequency performance of the terminal. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0007] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the electrical connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a three-dimensional view of Figure 1 from another angle; Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along the dashed line IV-IV in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of the plug and terminals in Figure 4, in which some terminals have been moved to one side; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the terminal; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the terminal from another angle; Figure 8 is a three-dimensional view of the plug; Figure 9 is a three-dimensional view of the disassembled plug component in Figure 8; Figure 10 is a three-dimensional view showing a further disassembly of the plug in Figure 9; Figure 11 is a partial perspective view of the metal part according to the second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 12 is a perspective view of the plug and terminals according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein some terminals are removed to show the structure of the first and second insertion portions; and Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention, similar to Figure 3. Implementation

[0008] The electrical connector 100 of this invention is a card edge connector. In a specific embodiment, it is a PCIE 6.0 connector used to insert electronic cards such as PCIE cards and transmit high-speed signals. Referring to Figures 1 to 4, the electrical connector 100 includes an insulating body 10, a plurality of terminals 20, and a plug 30. The insulating body 10 has a mating surface 101 and a slot 11 formed by recessing from the mating surface. The slot has a bottom surface 102 facing the mating surface 101 and two inner wall surfaces 103 connecting the mating surface and the bottom surface. In this embodiment, the top surface of the insulating body constitutes the mating surface. This invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment; the electronic card passes through the mating surface 101 and is inserted into the slot 11. The insulating body 10 includes two side walls 12 located on both sides of the slot 11. Each side wall 12 has a plurality of terminal slots 13, each accommodating a corresponding terminal 20. The terminal slots penetrate downwards and inwards through the inner wall surfaces 103, and in this embodiment, they also penetrate upwards through the mating surface 101. The bottom surface of the insulating body is provided with a recessed assembly recess 104 for accommodating the plug 30.

[0009] Referring to Figure 5, the terminal 20 includes a fixing part 21, an elastic arm 22, and a contact part 23. As shown in Figure 3, the fixing part 21 is fixed within the terminal slot 13, and the elastic arm 22 protrudes into the slot 11 through the terminal slot 13. The elastic part has a contact part 221, which is used to contact the electronic pad of the electronic card to achieve electrical conduction. In this embodiment, the fixing part 21 has a vertical structure with protrusions 211 on its two cut surfaces. As shown in Figure 3, the terminal 20 is inserted into the terminal slot 13 from the bottom surface of the insulating body upwards. The vertical fixing part 21 abuts against the inner wall of the terminal slot 13, and the protrusions 211 on both sides interfere with and are fixed to the other two inner wall surfaces of the terminal slot 12. The elastic arm 22 protrudes into the slot 11 through the terminal slot 13. Because the terminal slot 13 has a relatively large size, it allows the curved elastic arm 22 to pass through. The end of the elastic arm is bent in the opposite direction to form a pre-compression part 222, which presses against the wall of the terminal slot 13 near the mating surface. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the slot is divided into two parts by the key 14, one near the main power supply on the left and the other near the signal transmission on the right. The terminals near the right include signal terminals 20S, ground terminals 20G and other terminals. In this embodiment, each row of terminals includes at least a differential terminal pair for transmitting differential signals (a pair of signal terminals 20S constitutes the differential terminal pair) and two ground terminals 20G located between adjacent differential terminal pairs, as shown in Figure 5.

[0010] Referring to Figures 6 and 7, the fixing portion 21 of the terminal 20 is provided with a lug 212 formed by punching to one side. The lug 212 is located at the protrusion 211 and protrudes towards the slot 11. Thus, the protrusion interferes with the inner wall surface of the terminal slot in the longitudinal direction, while the lug 212 tightly engages with the inner wall surface of the terminal slot in the transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The elastic portion 22 of the terminal is widened in three sections from its lower end, namely, the first section 224, the second section 225, and the third section 226 are widened sequentially on both sides, to improve the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the terminal.

[0011] Each terminal slot 13 accommodates a corresponding terminal 20. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the terminal slot used to accommodate the signal terminal 20S is the signal terminal slot 13S, and the terminal hole used to accommodate the ground terminal 20G is the ground terminal slot 13G. The plug 30 is an integral structure and is installed on the insulating body 10. The plug 30 includes a first insertion part 31 inserted into the signal terminal slot 13S and a second insertion part 32 inserted into the ground terminal slot 13G. The first insertion part 31 is made of insulating plastic. It is inserted into the signal terminal slot 13S, changing the dielectric constant around the signal terminal, thereby adjusting the impedance of the signal terminal. The second insertion part 32 is made of conductive plastic material. It contacts the ground terminal 20G, forming an electrical connection. The conductive insertion part 32 is inserted into the ground terminal slot 13G, but due to its material, it has a smaller change in the dielectric constant around the ground terminal, thereby meeting the matching impedance required for the signal terminal to transmit high-frequency signals. Simultaneously, the second insertion portion 32 contacts the grounding terminal 20G, connecting adjacent grounding terminals 20G together. This effectively shortens the electrical length of the grounding, thereby shifting the electrical resonance of the grounding terminal to a higher frequency, which is beneficial for improving electrical performance. The first insertion portion 31 and the second insertion portion 32 extend towards the mating surface 101 and are closer to the mating surface 101 than the bottom surface 102 of the slot 11, thereby maximizing the change in dielectric constant around the signal terminal. In this embodiment, the second insertion portion 32 is entirely made of conductive plastic. In other embodiments, the second insertion portion may be formed by mixing conductive plastic and insulating plastic, that is, the second insertion portion 32 is at least partially made of conductive plastic material.

[0012] The main improvement of this invention lies in the fact that a metal component 40 is further embedded within the plug 30, as shown in Figure 3. The metal component 30 is embedded in the second insertion portion 32 and corresponds to a grounding terminal. Furthermore, the metal component can be exposed in the second insertion portion 32 and abut against the corresponding grounding terminal 20G. The hybrid plug of this invention further incorporates the metal component 30, which, in conjunction with the conductive plastic of the second insertion portion 32, can further improve the high-frequency performance of the terminal.

[0013] Referring to Figures 8 to 10, the exploded structure of the plug 30 with metal component 40 is shown. Metal component 40 includes a longitudinal plate 41 and a plurality of grounding fingers 42 extending from the longitudinal edge of the longitudinal plate 41, the grounding fingers 42 being vertically columnar. Conductive plastic 50 is wrapped around the outside of the grounding fingers 42 by a first injection molding process to form a second insertion portion 32 and a conductive plate layer 331 connecting all the second insertion portions, the longitudinal plate 41 being located on the bottom side of the conductive plastic 50. Subsequently, insulating plastic 60 is formed by a second injection molding process to form a first insertion portion 31 and an insulating plate layer 332 wrapped around the longitudinal plate and the conductive plastic, thereby forming the first insertion portion 31 extending from the insulating plate layer 332, the second insertion portion 32 extending from the conductive plate layer 331, and the longitudinal plate 41 being sandwiched between the insulating plate layer 332 and the conductive plate layer 331.

[0014] The conductive plate layer 331 and the insulating plate layer 332 together form the base plate 33 of the plug 30. The first insertion portion and the second insertion portion are integrally formed from the base plate, and the conductive plastic in adjacent second insertion portions is integrally connected to each other by the base plate. The longitudinal plate 41 of the metal part is embedded in the base plate 33, and the grounding finger 42 is embedded in the second insertion portion 32 and corresponds to the grounding terminal. Specifically, the grounding finger 42 faces the corresponding grounding terminal 20G. The longitudinal plate 41 includes a plurality of through openings 43, and the conductive plate layer 331 passes downward through the through openings. Referring to Figure 3, the longitudinal plate 41 extends from the conductive plate layer 331 to the insulating plate layer 332. The base plate is accommodated in the assembly recess 104.

[0015] In this embodiment, the second insertion part is entirely made of conductive plastic material, and the grounding finger is entirely embedded in the corresponding first insertion part. Figures 11 and 12 show a second embodiment, in which the grounding finger 44 passes through the conductive plastic of the second insertion part 32 and is exposed outside the second insertion part, abutting against the corresponding grounding terminal. The grounding finger 44 of the metal part extends from the longitudinal plate and includes a vertical part 441 and an outwardly inclined part 442. The second insertion part 32 has an outer surface 321 facing the grounding terminal, and the end 4421 of the inclined part is exposed on the outer surface 321 of the second insertion part.

[0016] The above embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. Any equivalent changes to the technical solutions of the present invention made by those skilled in the art through reading the present invention specification are covered by the claims of the present invention.

[0017] 100: Electrical connector 10: Insulating body 101: Dating Surface 102: Bottom surface of the groove 103:Inner wall surface 104: Depression 11: Slot 12: Sidewall 13: Terminal slot 13S: Signal terminal slot 13G: Grounding terminal slot 14: Key buckle 20:Terminal 20S: Signal Terminal 20G: Grounding terminal 21: Fixing part 211:Protruding thorn 212: Protruding ears 22: Flexible Arm 221:Contact Department 222: Preloading section 224: First paragraph 225: Second paragraph 226: Third paragraph 23: Foot joint 30: Plug 31: First insertion part 32: Second insertion part 321: Outer side 33: Base Plate 331: Conductive plate layer 332: Insulation board layer 40: Metal parts 41: Longitudinal Plane 42: Grounding indicator 43: Through-pass 44: Grounding indicator 441: Vertical part 442: Inclined section 4421: End

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising an insulating body, a plurality of terminals, and a plug, wherein the insulating body has a mating surface and a slot recessed therefrom, the slot having a groove bottom surface facing the mating surface, the insulating body including two side walls located on both sides of the slot, at least one of the side walls having a plurality of terminal slots for receiving corresponding terminals, each terminal including a fixing portion fixed within the terminal slot and an elastic arm protruding into the slot through the terminal slot, the elastic arm having a contact portion, terminals located on the same side wall including at least one signal terminal and at least one ground terminal, and terminal slots located on the same side wall including a signal terminal slot for receiving the signal terminal and a ground terminal slot for receiving the ground terminal; wherein, The plug is an integral structure and is installed on the insulating body. The plug includes a first insertion part that inserts into the signal terminal slot and a second insertion part that inserts into the ground terminal slot. The first insertion part is made of insulating plastic, and the second insertion part is at least partially made of conductive plastic. The conductive plastic contacts the ground terminal. A metal part is further embedded in the plug. The metal part extends out a plurality of grounding fingers. The grounding fingers are embedded in the second insertion part and correspond one-to-one with the ground terminal.

2. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The grounding finger passes through the conductive plastic of the second insertion part and is exposed outside the second insertion part, abutting against the corresponding grounding terminal.

3. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The plug includes a base plate, and the first insertion portion and the second insertion portion are integrally formed extending from the base plate. The conductive plastic in adjacent second insertion portions is integrally connected to each other by the base plate. The metal part includes a longitudinal plate embedded in the base plate, and the grounding finger is formed extending from the longitudinal edge of the longitudinal plate and facing the grounding terminal.

4. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein, The second insertion part is made entirely of conductive plastic, and the grounding finger is entirely embedded in the corresponding first insertion part.

5. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The metal component includes a longitudinal plate and a grounding finger extending from the longitudinal edge of the longitudinal plate. The conductive plastic is wrapped around the outside of the grounding finger by a first injection molding process to form a second insertion portion. The longitudinal plate is located on the bottom side of the conductive plastic. The insulating plastic is formed by a second injection molding process to form the first insertion portion and is wrapped around the longitudinal plate and the conductive plastic.

6. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 5, wherein, The plug includes a base plate, which includes a conductive plate layer and an insulating plate layer. A first insertion portion extends from the insulating plate layer, and a second insertion portion extends from the conductive plate layer. The longitudinal plate is sandwiched between the insulating plate layer and the conductive plate layer.

7. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein, The longitudinal plate includes a plurality of through openings, and the conductive plate layer passes downward through the through openings.

8. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein, The longitudinal plate extends from the conductive plate layer to the insulating plate layer.

9. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The first insertion part is made of insulating plastic material, the second insertion part is made of insulating plastic and the insulating plastic has conductive plastic embedded inside, and the conductive plastic is exposed in the second insertion part and abuts against the corresponding grounding terminal.

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