Conductive terminal plating, electrical connector, conductive terminal and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a conductive terminal plating, an electrical connector, a conductive terminal and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the electrical connector comprises an insulating body, a conductive terminal fixed on the insulating body and a shielding shell fixed on the outside of the insulating body, wherein the shielding shell surrounds the outside of the insulating body to form a docking cavity, and the conductive terminal is provided with a holding portion fixed on the insulating body, a contact portion extending forward from the holding portion and protruding into the docking cavity, and a welding portion extending backward from the insulating body. The conductive terminal plating comprises at least a platinum or platinum alloy layer and a palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer plated on the surface of the platinum or platinum alloy layer, which can improve the corrosion resistance of the conductive terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a conductive terminal plating, an electrical connector, a conductive terminal and a manufacturing method thereof, and in particular to a conductive terminal plating, an electrical connector, a conductive terminal and a manufacturing method thereof for rapid data transmission. Background Art

[0002] Electrical connectors play a vital role in existing electronic devices, and have the functions of charging electronic devices and transmitting data; however, when water and other substances enter electronic devices, they will damage the electronic devices, and in serious cases, the electronic devices will not be able to be used normally. With the changes and innovations in technology, existing electronic devices can achieve a certain waterproof effect, and having waterproof characteristics has become a new trend, and the development of waterproof electrical connectors has also tended to be standardized. Although the existing solutions can design electrical connectors into waterproof structures and isolate electronic devices from the outside world, when corrosive media stick to the electrical connectors, the conductive terminals of the electrical connectors will be corroded, causing the electrical connectors to have functional attenuation or failure after a period of use, thereby affecting the use of the electrical connectors.

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a new conductive terminal plating layer, an electrical connector, a conductive terminal and a manufacturing method thereof to overcome the above-mentioned defects. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a conductive terminal plating layer with good corrosion resistance and an electrical connector thereof.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a conductive terminal plating layer, the conductive terminal plating layer at least includes a platinum or platinum alloy layer and a palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer plated on the surface of the platinum or platinum alloy layer.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment, the plating thickness of the platinum or platinum alloy layer is 15-50u", and the plating thickness of the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer is 10-80u".

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the conductive terminal plating layer includes a rhodium or rhodium ruthenium alloy layer plated on the outside of the palladium or palladium nickel alloy layer.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the conductive terminal plating layer further includes a copper material at the bottom layer and a bottom plating layer plated on the outer layer of the copper material. The bottom plating layer is a metal material or alloy and is plated between the copper material and the platinum or platinum alloy layer.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the metal material or alloy includes a gold plated layer, and the platinum or platinum alloy layer is plated on the gold plated layer.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the metal material or alloy includes a nickel or nickel alloy layer plated on the outer side of the copper material, and the gold plated layer is plated on the nickel or nickel alloy layer.

[0011] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: an electrical connector, comprising an insulating body, a conductive terminal fixed on the insulating body, and a shielding shell fixed on the outside of the insulating body, the shielding shell surrounds the outside of the insulating body to form a docking cavity, the conductive terminal is provided with a retaining portion fixed to the insulating body, a contact portion extending forward from the retaining portion and protruding into the docking cavity, and a welding portion extending backward from the insulating body. The conductive terminal has the above-mentioned conductive terminal plating layer.

[0012] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a conductive terminal, comprising a copper material located at a bottom layer and a plating layer formed on the copper material. The plating layer at least comprises a first layer and a second layer structure stacked on each other, and the first layer has platinum or a platinum alloy, and the second layer has palladium or a palladium-nickel alloy.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the coating thickness of the first layer is 15-50u", and the coating thickness of the second layer is 10-80u".

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the conductive terminal includes a base plating layer located between the copper material and the first layer, the base plating layer includes a first base plating layer formed on the copper material and a second base plating layer formed on the first base plating layer, the second base plating layer has nickel or nickel alloy, and the second base plating layer has gold.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the conductive terminal further includes a third layer formed on the second layer, and the third layer includes rhodium or a rhodium-ruthenium alloy.

[0016] To achieve the above object, the present invention also adopts the following technical solution:

[0017] A method for manufacturing a conductive terminal, comprising the following steps:

[0018] First, a conductive terminal substrate made of copper material is provided;

[0019] Second, the outer side of the copper material is plated with a coating, the coating comprising at least a platinum or platinum alloy layer;

[0020] Third, the plating layer also includes a palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer directly plated on the outer side of the platinum or platinum alloy layer to form a conductive terminal.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the plating thickness of the platinum or platinum alloy layer is 15-50u", and the plating thickness of the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer is 10-80u".

[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the outer side of the copper material is first plated with a nickel or nickel alloy layer and a gold plated layer plated on the outer side of the nickel or nickel alloy layer, and the platinum or platinum alloy layer is plated on the outer side of the gold plated layer.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, the outer side of the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer is finally plated with a rhodium or rhodium-ruthenium alloy layer.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the conductive terminal plating layer includes at least a platinum or platinum alloy layer and a palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer located on the surface of the platinum or platinum alloy layer, which can improve the corrosion resistance of the conductive terminal under low cost considerations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the electrical connector of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of the electrical connector from another angle is shown.

[0027] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 An exploded schematic diagram of the electrical connector is shown.

[0028] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 The electrical connector is shown in a cross-sectional view along the AA direction.

[0029] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 The electrical connector is shown in a cross-sectional view along direction BB.

[0030] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of a conductive terminal plating layer in an electrical connector of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] See also Figures 1 to 5 As shown, the present invention discloses an electrical connector 100 for installation on a circuit board (not shown). The electrical connector 100 comprises an insulating body 10, a plurality of conductive terminals 20 fixed on the insulating body 10, a pair of intermediate shielding sheets 30 fixed in the insulating body 10, and a shielding shell 40 covering the outside of the insulating body 10. The shielding shell 40 and the insulating body 10 are surrounded to form a docking cavity 101 for inserting a docking connector (not shown).

[0032] See also Figure 3As shown, the insulating body 10 includes a base 11 and a tongue plate portion 12 extending forward from the base 11. The base 11 is fixed in the shielding shell 40 and is provided with a holding groove 111 located at the front end and a holding groove 112 located at the rear end. The holding groove 111 and the holding groove 112 are respectively arranged at the front and rear sides of the base 11. The tongue plate portion 12 includes a flat plate portion 13 located at the front end and a step portion 14 located at the rear end. The step portion 14 is formed by extending forward from the base 11, and the flat plate portion 13 is formed by extending forward from the step portion 14. Both sides of the rear end of the flat plate portion 13 are concavely formed with a holding groove 131, and both sides of the front end of the flat plate portion 13 are provided with a pair of protrusions 132, and the protrusions 132 are located in front of the holding groove 131. The thickness of the step portion 14 in the width direction and the height direction is greater than the thickness of the flat plate portion 13, so as to strengthen the strength of the insulating body 10.

[0033] See also Figures 3 to 5 As shown, the conductive terminals 20 are integrally formed in the insulating body 10, and the conductive terminals 20 are arranged in two rows on the upper and lower surfaces of the insulating body 10, and the two rows of conductive terminals 20 are divided into an upper row of terminals 21 and a lower row of terminals 22. The number of the upper row of terminals 21 and the lower row of terminals 22 is the same, and the arrangement order of the upper row of terminals 21 and the lower row of terminals 22 from left to right is opposite, so that the electrical connector 100 can realize the function of forward and reverse plugging in the docking connector 200. The upper row of terminals 21 and the lower row of terminals 22 each include at least a pair of grounding terminals, a pair of power terminals, a pair of signal terminals and a detection terminal. The pair of grounding terminals of the upper row of terminals 21 and the lower row of terminals 22 are both fixed on both sides of the outermost end of the insulating body 10. The pair of power terminals, the pair of signal terminals and the detection terminal are located between the pair of grounding terminals, that is, located in the middle of the insulating body 10 in the lateral direction.

[0034] The upper row of terminals 21 and the lower row of terminals 22 are held in parallel in the vertical direction in the insulating body 10. The upper row of terminals 21 and the lower row of terminals 22 each include a holding portion 201 held in the base 11, a contact portion 202 extending forward from the holding portion 201 and protruding into the docking cavity 101, a welding portion 203 extending backward from the holding portion 201 out of the base 11, and an embedded portion 204 extending forwardly from the contact portion 202.

[0035] The retaining portions 201 of the upper row terminals 21 and the lower row terminals 22 are both retained in the step portion 14 and the base portion 11. The contact portions 202 of the upper row terminals 21 are exposed on the upper surface of the flat plate portion 13, and the embedded portions 204 of the upper row terminals 21 extend downward and are embedded in the flat plate portion 13 to be retained with the tongue plate portion 12. The contact portions 202 of the lower row terminals 22 are exposed on the lower surface of the flat plate portion 13, and the embedded portions 204 of the lower row terminals 22 extend forward and are embedded in the flat plate portion 13 to be retained with the tongue plate portion 12. At the same time, the welding portions 203 of the upper row terminals 21 and the lower row terminals 22 extend backward out of the base portion 11 and are arranged in a row.

[0036] The pair of intermediate shielding sheets 30 are two symmetrical independent components and no connection structure is provided between the intermediate shielding sheets 30. The pair of intermediate shielding sheets 30 are separated from each other and arranged on both sides of the insulating body 10, and the pair of intermediate shielding sheets 30 are respectively located between the two pairs of grounding terminals of the upper row of terminals 21 and the lower row of terminals 22 in the up-down direction, and avoid other conductive terminals except the grounding terminals in the width direction. Each intermediate shielding sheet 30 includes a fixing portion 31 fixed in the insulating body 10, a contact portion 32 extending outward from the fixing portion 31, and a grounding foot 33 extending backward from the fixing portion 31 out of the insulating body 10. The contact portion 32 is formed by extending outwardly from the fixing portion 31 in a transverse direction.

[0037] The fixing portion 31 of the intermediate shielding sheet 30 is fixed in the tongue plate portion 12 and the base portion 11. The abutting portion 32 is exposed outside the protrusion 132 and the retaining groove 131. During use, the docking connector is clamped in the retaining groove 131 and is electrically connected to the abutting portion 32 to achieve a grounding function. In addition, when the docking connector is plugged into the electrical connector 100, the abutting portion 32 can protect the protrusion 132 and the retaining groove 131 from being scratched by the docking connector, thereby extending the service life. At the same time, the grounding pin 33 of the intermediate shielding sheet 30 and the welding portion 203 of the conductive terminal 20 both extend out of the insulating body 10 and are arranged in a row in the horizontal direction.

[0038] The shielding shell 40 is made of metal and is roughly a cylindrical structure. The inner wall 41 of the shielding shell 40 and the insulating body 10 are arranged to form a docking cavity 101, and the tongue plate portion 12 protrudes into the docking cavity 101. The shielding shell 40 includes a rear stopper 43 located at the tail end of several protrusions 42 extending from the inner wall 41 into the docking cavity 101. When the insulating body 10 is assembled into the docking cavity 101 of the shielding shell 40 from the back to the front, the rear end surface of the protrusion 42 abuts against the abutting groove 111, thereby preventing the insulating body 10 from moving forward during use. In addition, the front end surface of the protrusion 42 exceeds the front end surface of the base 11 forward. When the over-top phenomenon occurs during the mating process with the docking connector, the docking connector preferentially abuts against the protrusion 42 to protect the insulating body 10 from being damaged. The rear stopper 43 of the shielding shell 40 abuts against the retaining groove 112 to prevent the insulating body 10 from moving backward. The shielding shell 40 further includes a fixing foot 44 fixed at least on a circuit board (not shown), so the shielding shell 40 has the functions of grounding and shielding.

[0039] Please refer to Figure 6 As shown, it is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a part of the conductive terminal plating layer, the conductive terminal 20 includes a copper material A1 located at the bottom layer and a plating layer formed on the copper material A1, the plating layer includes a first layer and a second layer stacked on each other and a third layer formed on the second layer, the first layer has platinum or a platinum alloy (also called a platinum or platinum alloy layer A4), the second layer has palladium or a palladium-nickel alloy (also called a palladium or a palladium-nickel alloy layer A5), and the third layer has a rhodium or a rhodium-ruthenium alloy (also called a rhodium or a rhodium-ruthenium alloy layer A6). Of course, the conductive terminal 20 also includes a bottom plating layer located between the copper material A1 and the first layer, the bottom plating layer includes a first bottom plating layer formed on the copper material A1 and a second bottom plating layer formed on the first bottom plating layer, the second bottom plating layer has nickel or a nickel alloy (also called a nickel or nickel alloy layer A2), and the second bottom plating layer has gold (also called a gold plating layer A3), which improves the bonding of the terminal structure plating layer and further increases the corrosion resistance time. That is, the conductive terminal 20 has six layers of plating structure from the inside to the outside, which are the bottom copper material A1, the nickel or nickel alloy layer A2 plated on the outside of the copper material A1, the gold plated layer A3 plated on the nickel or nickel alloy layer A2, the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 plated on the gold plated layer A3, the palladium or palladium nickel alloy layer A5 plated on the surface of the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4, and the rhodium or rhodium ruthenium alloy layer A6 plated on the outside of the palladium or palladium nickel alloy layer A5.

[0040] When the electrical connector 100 is in normal use, the conductive terminals 20 in the electrical connector 100 usually carry weak electricity. When a loop is formed, the plating on the surface of the conductive terminal 20 will produce an electrolytic reaction. Since the potential of platinum is more positive than the potential of palladium, palladium or palladium-nickel alloy acts as an anode to protect the underlying platinum or platinum alloy and the underlying layer, thereby ensuring the corrosion resistance of the conductive terminal 20. The combination of the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 and the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer A5 can effectively improve the resistance to anodic electrolytic corrosion and meet the low-cost design requirements.

[0041] The present invention can improve the corrosion resistance of the conductive terminal 20 and reduce the manufacturing cost of the electrical connector 100 by plating the outer layer of the conductive terminal 20 with at least a platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 and a palladium or palladium nickel alloy layer A5 located on the surface of the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4. At the same time, in order to improve the compactness of the plating layer and further reduce the manufacturing cost, a bottom plating layer can be plated on the outer layer of the copper material A1. The bottom plating layer is a metal material or alloy, such as a nickel or nickel alloy layer A2 and a gold plating layer A3. The bottom plating layer is plated between the copper material A1 and the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4, that is, the gold plating layer A3 of the second bottom plating layer is conducive to increasing the bonding force between the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 and other metal materials, preventing the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 from falling off and improving the corrosion resistance.

[0042] The plating thickness of the first layer of platinum or platinum alloy is 15-50u", and the plating thickness of the second layer of palladium or palladium-nickel alloy is 10-80u". In order to prevent the conductive terminal 20 of the electrical connector 100 from being too thick, the above-mentioned plating thickness range is obtained through experiments, that is, the increase of the above-mentioned plating thickness is conducive to improving the gap of the plating material itself and solving the sealing of the plating. However, excessive thickness will increase the thickness of the electrical connector 100, which is not conducive to the thinning development of the electrical connector 100 and increases the manufacturing cost. Therefore, the above-mentioned plating thickness does not affect the thickness of the electrical connector 100, while ensuring a better sealing effect and preventing corrosion. At the same time, the outer surface of the copper material A1 can also be polished to reduce the gap between the copper layers, improve the sealing effect, and enhance the corrosion resistance.

[0043] The manufacturing method of the conductive terminal 20 of the present invention comprises the following steps:

[0044] First, a conductive terminal substrate made of a copper material A1 is provided;

[0045] Second, the outer side of the copper material is plated with a coating, the coating at least comprising a platinum or platinum alloy layer; preferably, the plating thickness of the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 is 15-50u″;

[0046] Third, the plating layer also includes a palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer directly plated on the outer side of the platinum or platinum alloy layer; preferably, the plating thickness of the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer A5 is 10-80u", forming a conductive terminal.

[0047] The outer side of the copper material A1 can be plated with a nickel or nickel alloy layer A2 and a gold plated layer A3 plated on the outer side of the nickel or nickel alloy layer A2 in sequence, and then the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 can be plated on the outer side of the gold plated layer A3, and finally the outer side of the palladium or palladium nickel alloy layer A5 can be plated with a rhodium or rhodium ruthenium alloy layer A6. The nickel or nickel alloy layer A2 and the gold plated layer A3 plated on the outer side of the nickel or nickel alloy layer A2 are collectively referred to as metal materials or alloys. The conductive terminal structure thus formed is a copper material A1, a metal material or alloy plated on the outer side of the copper material A1, a platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 located on the outer side of the metal material or alloy, a palladium or palladium nickel alloy layer A5, and a rhodium or rhodium ruthenium alloy layer A6 located on the outermost layer.

[0048] After a large number of experiments, it is known that if the thickness of the conductive terminal plating layer is set to 5-10u" for the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 and 10u" for the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer A5, the corrosion resistance of the conductive terminal is improved to 2 minutes. If the conductive terminal plating layer is changed to 10-20u" for the platinum or platinum alloy layer A4 and 50u" for the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer A5, the corrosion resistance of the conductive terminal is improved to 10 minutes; if the rhodium or rhodium-ruthenium alloy layer A6 is plated with 5-10u" on the basis of the above, the corrosion resistance of the conductive terminal reaches 40 minutes, and compared with the existing pure rhodium or rhodium-ruthenium alloy layer of the same thickness, the plating design of the present invention can save 20% of the cost; please refer to the following for data comparison:

[0049]

[0050] In summary, the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. That is, all simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims and description of the present invention should still fall within the scope of the patent of the present invention.

Claims

1. A conductive terminal plating layer, characterized in that: The conductive terminal plating layer at least includes a copper material located at the bottom layer and a bottom plating layer plated on the outer layer of the copper material, a platinum or platinum alloy layer, a palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer plated on the surface of the platinum or platinum alloy layer, and a rhodium or rhodium-ruthenium alloy layer plated on the outer side of the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer. The plating thickness of the platinum or platinum alloy layer is 15-50u", the bottom plating layer is a metal material or alloy and is plated between the copper material and the platinum or platinum alloy layer, the metal material or alloy includes a nickel or nickel alloy layer plated on the outer side of the copper material and a gold plating layer plated on the nickel or nickel alloy layer, and the platinum or platinum alloy layer is plated on the gold plating layer.

2. The conductive terminal plating layer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plating thickness of the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer is 10-80u".

3. An electrical connector, comprising: An insulating body, a conductive terminal fixed on the insulating body and a shielding shell fixed on the outside of the insulating body, the shielding shell surrounds the outside of the insulating body to form a docking cavity, the conductive terminal is provided with a retaining portion fixed to the insulating body, a contact portion extending forward from the retaining portion and protruding into the docking cavity, and a welding portion extending backward from the insulating body; characterized in that: the conductive terminal has a conductive terminal plating as described in any one of claims 1 to 2 above.

4. A conductive terminal, comprising a copper material located at a bottom layer and a plating layer formed on the copper material; characterized in that: The plating layer at least includes a first layer and a second layer structure stacked on each other, a bottom plating layer located between the copper material and the first layer, and a third layer formed on the second layer, and the first layer has platinum or a platinum alloy, the second layer has palladium or a palladium-nickel alloy, the plating thickness of the first layer is 15-50u", the bottom plating layer includes a first bottom plating layer formed on the copper material and a second bottom plating layer formed on the first bottom plating layer, the second bottom plating layer has nickel or a nickel alloy, the second bottom plating layer has gold, and the third layer has rhodium or a rhodium-ruthenium alloy.

5. The conductive terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that: The coating thickness of the second layer is 10-80u".

6. A method for manufacturing a conductive terminal, comprising the steps of: First, a conductive terminal substrate made of copper material is provided; Second, the outer side of the copper material is plated with a nickel or nickel alloy layer and a gold plated layer plated on the outer side of the nickel or nickel alloy layer in sequence; Third, the outer side of the copper material is plated with a coating, the coating at least comprising a platinum or platinum alloy layer, the platinum or platinum alloy layer is plated on the outer side of the gold coating, and the platinum or platinum alloy layer has a coating thickness of 15-50u″; Fourth, the coating further comprises a palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer directly plated on the outer side of the platinum or platinum alloy layer; Finally, the outer side of the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer is plated with a rhodium or rhodium-ruthenium alloy layer to form a conductive terminal.

7. The method for manufacturing a conductive terminal according to claim 6, wherein: The plating thickness of the palladium or palladium-nickel alloy layer is 10-80u".

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