Electrical connector components

Abstract

The present invention provides an electrical connector assembly, which includes a connector and a flexible circuit board electrically connected to the connector, the connector having an insulating body, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed in the insulating body, and a shielding shell covered outside the insulating body, the conductive terminals including first terminals and second terminals arranged in two rows along the height direction to accommodate bidirectional insertion of a docking connector, each of the conductive terminals having a contact portion at its front end and a terminal foot at its rear end, the minimum spacing of the terminal feet of the two rows of the conductive terminals in the height direction is less than 0.6 mm, the flexible circuit board is sandwiched between the terminal feet of the two rows of the conductive terminals, and the terminal feet of the two rows of the conductive terminals are respectively welded to the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible circuit board. The electrical connector assembly of the present invention does not require switching through a printed circuit board or adding an additional reinforcement plate, thereby simplifying the product structure and improving production efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electrical connector assembly. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of science and technology in the electronics industry, the size of electronic products is developing along the trend of becoming thinner, lighter and shorter, which requires the size of components of electronic products to become smaller and smaller, and the connector industry is the first to bear the brunt.

[0003] The new generation of USB Type-C connectors are required to be smaller in size, which leads to better mechanical performance requirements and higher product design difficulties. In order to target lighter, thinner and more slender devices and ensure the reliability of product structures, major manufacturers have launched corresponding structural designs.

[0004] The existing USB Type-C plug connector usually has the tail of its conductive terminal soldered to a printed circuit board, and then connected to the cable through a printed circuit board adapter. This has a complex structure and many processes.

[0005] In view of this, it is necessary to improve the existing electrical connector assembly to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly which has a simple structure and can transmit high-frequency signals.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose of the invention, the present invention provides an electrical connector assembly, which has a connector and a flexible circuit board electrically connected to the connector, the connector has an insulating body, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed in the insulating body and a shielding shell covered outside the insulating body, the conductive terminals include a first terminal and a second terminal arranged in two rows along the height direction to accommodate two-way insertion of a docking connector, each of the conductive terminals has a contact portion located at its front end and a terminal pin located at its rear end, the minimum spacing between the terminal pins of the two rows of the conductive terminals in the height direction is less than 0.6 mm, the flexible circuit board is clamped between the terminal pins of the two rows of the conductive terminals, and the terminal pins of the two rows of the conductive terminals are respectively welded to the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible circuit board.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention, the front end of the flexible circuit board is a welding portion, and a plurality of welding pads are respectively arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the welding portion. The welding portion is clamped between the two rows of the terminal pins and the welding pads arranged thereon are respectively welded to the corresponding terminal pins. The thickness of the welding portion of the flexible circuit board in the height direction is not more than 0.4 mm.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, each of the conductive terminals also has a retaining portion connecting the contact portion and the terminal pin and fixed in the insulating body, the terminal pin having a connecting section extending obliquely from the rear end of the retaining portion, a welding section extending horizontally backward from the connecting section, and a raised section extending outwardly from the rear end of the welding section, the welding section having a welding surface in contact with the welding pad of the flexible circuit board, and the spacing between the welding surfaces of the two rows of the conductive terminals is less than 0.6 mm.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the distance between the warping section and the welding surface is smaller than the distance between the holding portion and the welding surface.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, the welding portion has an insertion portion located at its front end, the soldering pad is located at the rear side of the insertion portion, the insertion portion is inserted forward into the installation space of the insulating body that is open backward, and is located in the spacing space formed by the retaining portions of the two rows of conductive terminals spaced apart along the height direction.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the connector also has a locking piece located between the two rows of conductive terminals along the height direction, and the flexible circuit board also has a pair of solder pads located on the rear side of the solder pad to be electrically connected to the solder feet of the locking piece, and the pair of solder pads are disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible circuit board.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, the number of the conductive terminals in each row is twelve.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, the electrical connector assembly further comprises an inner insulating member covering the outside of the welding portion between the terminal pin and the welding pad.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention, after the inner insulating member covers the welding portion of the terminal pin and the welding pad, the shielding shell is assembled on the outer side of the insulating body from front to back.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present invention, the electrical connector assembly includes two connectors, and two opposite ends of the flexible circuit board are respectively connected to the two connectors.

[0017] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The connector in the electrical connector assembly of the present invention can clamp the flexible circuit board therebetween by reducing the spacing between the two rows of terminal pins, so that the conductive terminals can be directly connected to the pads of the flexible circuit board without the need for printed circuit board switching or the addition of additional reinforcement plates, thereby simplifying the product structure and improving production efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1It is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of the electrical connector assembly of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A perspective exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown.

[0020] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of a connector in the electrical connector assembly is shown.

[0021] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the electrical connector assembly shown.

[0022] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 A portion of a front view of a flexible circuit board in the electrical connector assembly is shown.

[0023] Figure 6 yes Figure 2 A portion of a side view of a flexible circuit board in an electrical connector assembly is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, methodological, or functional changes made by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0025] Please refer to Figures 1 to 6 FIG. 2 is a preferred embodiment of an electrical connector assembly of the present invention. The electrical connector assembly includes a connector 100 and a flexible circuit board 200 electrically connected to the connector 100 .

[0026] The connector 100 includes an insulating body 1 , a plurality of conductive terminals 2 fixed in the insulating body 1 , and a shielding shell 3 covering the insulating body 1 .

[0027] The insulating body 1 includes a main body 11 and a docking portion 12 located at the front side of the main body 11 and forming a receiving space 120, wherein the main body 11 and the docking portion 12 are arranged in an elliptical column as a whole, and the inner side of the docking portion 12 is formed with the receiving space 120 opened forward for the docking socket connector to be inserted forward or reversely.

[0028] The conductive terminals 2 include first terminals 2a and second terminals 2b arranged in two rows along the height direction to accommodate bidirectional insertion of the docking connector, and the first terminals 2a and the second terminals 2b each include a pair of grounding terminals located at the outermost side and a pair of power terminals located at the inner side of the grounding terminals. At the same time, in the present invention, the number of the conductive terminals 2 in each row is twelve.

[0029] Each of the conductive terminals 2 has a contact portion 21 at its front end and a terminal pin 23 at its rear end. The contact portion 21 is elastic and arranged in two rows on the upper and lower sides of the receiving space 120. The terminal pin 23 extends backward so that a portion of it protrudes out of the rear end surface of the insulating body 1. Figure 3 As shown, the minimum spacing d1 between the terminal pins 23 of the two rows of the conductive terminals 2 in the height direction is less than 0.6 mm.

[0030] The flexible circuit board 200 is sandwiched between the terminal pins 23 of the two rows of the conductive terminals 2 , and the terminal pins 23 of the two rows of the conductive terminals 2 are respectively welded to the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible circuit board 200 .

[0031] The contact portions 21 of the first terminal 2a and the second terminal 2b are arranged at the same positions on the insulating body 1 as the mating portions of the corresponding terminals on a standard USB Type-C plug connector.

[0032] The front end of the flexible circuit board 200 is a welding portion 201, and the upper and lower surfaces of the welding portion 201 are respectively provided with a plurality of welding pads 202. The welding portion 201 is sandwiched between the two rows of the terminal pins 23 and the welding pads 202 provided thereon are respectively welded with the corresponding terminal pins 23. The welding pads 202 are thickened copper foil welding pads. Figure 5 As shown, the thickness d2 of the welding portion 201 of the flexible circuit board 200 in the height direction is not greater than 0.4 mm. In this way, by reducing the spacing between the two rows of terminal pins 23, the flexible circuit board 200 is clamped therebetween, and the clamping force of the terminal pins 23 is used to increase the hardness of the flexible circuit board 200 and achieve electrical connection, without adding an additional reinforcement plate, thereby simplifying the product structure and improving efficiency.

[0033] In addition, each of the conductive terminals 2 also has a retaining portion 22 that connects the contact portion 21 and the terminal pin 23 and is fixed in the insulating body 1. The terminal pin 23 has a connecting section 231 that extends obliquely from the rear end of the retaining portion 22, a welding section 232 that extends horizontally backward from the connecting section 231, and a raised section 233 that extends outward from the rear end of the welding section 232. The welding section 232 has a welding surface 2320 that contacts the pad 202 of the flexible circuit board 200. The spacing between the welding surfaces 2320 of the two rows of the conductive terminals 2 is less than 0.6 mm.

[0034] The distance between the raised section 233 and the welding surface 2320 is smaller than the distance between the holding portion 22 and the welding surface 2320 .

[0035] The welding portion 201 has an insertion portion 203 located at its front end, and the soldering pad 202 is located at the rear side of the insertion portion 203. The insertion portion 203 is inserted forward into the installation space 130 of the insulating body 1 that is open to the rear, and is located in the spacing space formed by the retaining portions 22 of the two rows of conductive terminals 2 spaced apart along the height direction.

[0036] The front end of the shielding shell 3 has an elliptical docking frame opening, which is consistent with the docking frame opening of a standard USB Type-C plug connector and is used for forward and reverse insertion of the docking socket connector, and has the advantage of being convenient to use and suitable for both forward and reverse insertion.

[0037] The connector 100 also has a locking member 4 located between two rows of conductive terminals 2 along the height direction. The flexible circuit board 200 also has a pair of solder pads 204 located at the rear side of the solder pad 202 to be electrically connected to the solder feet 41 of the locking member 4. The pair of solder pads 204 are disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible circuit board 200.

[0038] The electrical connector assembly further includes an inner insulating member (not shown) covering the welding portion between the terminal pin 23 and the pad 202 .

[0039] After the inner insulating member covers the welding parts of the terminal pin 23 and the pad 202, the shielding shell 3 is assembled from front to back on the outside of the insulating body 1, and the electrical connector assembly also has an outer shell (not shown) overmolded outside the shielding shell 3.

[0040] The electrical connector assembly includes two connectors 100 , and two opposite ends of the flexible circuit board 200 are respectively connected to the two connectors 100 .

[0041] In the present invention, the connector in the electrical connector assembly can clamp the flexible circuit board 200 therebetween by narrowing the spacing between the two rows of terminal pins 23, so that the conductive terminals can be directly connected to the pads of the flexible circuit board without the need for printed circuit board switching or the addition of additional reinforcement plates, thereby simplifying the product structure and improving production efficiency.

[0042] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solution of the present invention may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrical connector assembly, comprising a connector and a flexible circuit board electrically connected to the connector, the connector having an insulating body, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed in the insulating body, and a shielding shell covered outside the insulating body, the conductive terminals comprising first terminals and second terminals arranged in two rows along the height direction to accommodate bidirectional insertion of a docking connector, each of the conductive terminals having a contact portion at its front end, a terminal foot at its rear end, and a retaining portion connecting the contact portion and the terminal foot, the retaining portion being fixed in the insulating body, characterized in that: The minimum spacing between the terminal feet of the two rows of conductive terminals in the height direction is less than 0.6 mm. The flexible circuit board is clamped between the terminal feet of the two rows of conductive terminals, and the terminal feet of the two rows of conductive terminals are respectively welded to the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible circuit board. The front end of the flexible circuit board is a welding portion, and a plurality of welding pads are respectively arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the welding portion. The welding portion is clamped between the two rows of terminal feet and the welding pads arranged thereon are respectively welded to the corresponding terminal feet. The terminal foot has a connecting section formed by obliquely extending from the rear end of the holding portion, and a welding section formed by horizontally extending backward from the connecting section, and the welding section has a welding surface in contact with the welding pad.

2. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The thickness of the welding portion of the flexible circuit board in the height direction is not greater than 0.4 mm.

3. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 2, wherein: The terminal foot also has a raised section formed by bending and extending outward from the rear end of the welding section, and the spacing between the welding surfaces of the two rows of conductive terminals is less than 0.6 mm.

4. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 3, wherein: The distance between the warping section and the welding surface is smaller than the distance between the holding portion and the welding surface.

5. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 3, wherein: The welding part has an insertion part located at its front end, the soldering pad is located at the rear side of the insertion part, the insertion part is inserted forward into the installation space of the insulating body that is opened backward, and is located in the spacing space formed by the retaining parts of the two rows of conductive terminals spaced apart along the height direction.

6. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 5, wherein: The connector also has a locking piece located between two rows of conductive terminals along the height direction, and the flexible circuit board also has a pair of solder pads located on the rear side of the solder pad to be electrically connected to the solder feet of the locking piece, and the pair of solder pads are respectively arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible circuit board.

7. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 2, wherein: The number of the conductive terminals in each row is twelve.

8. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 2, wherein: The electrical connector assembly also has an inner insulating member covering the welding portion between the terminal pin and the welding pad.

9. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 8, wherein: After the inner insulating member covers the welding parts of the terminal pin and the welding pad, the shielding shell is assembled on the outer side of the insulating body from front to back.

10. The electrical connector assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The electrical connector assembly includes two connectors, and two opposite ends of the flexible circuit board are respectively connected to the two connectors.

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