Electrical connector

Abstract

The present invention discloses an electrical connector, comprising at least one terminal assembly, wherein the terminal assembly comprises: a first signal terminal and a second signal terminal, arranged to form a pair of differential terminals and coupled at narrow sides, the length of the first signal terminal being greater than the length of the second signal terminal; an insulating block, fixing the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal; wherein the first connection portion of the first signal terminal is provided with at least one exposed area, the exposed area is exposed to the insulating block and exposed to the air medium, the first connection portion has at least one widened portion and at least one narrow portion interconnected along its length direction, the width of the widened portion is greater than the width of the narrow portion, the exposed area is provided in the widened portion, and the second connection portion of the second signal terminal is completely covered in the insulating block. The present invention can improve the signal transmission time delay, balance the impedance characteristics of the first signal terminal, and has little effect on the molding difficulty and signal coupling of the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector capable of improving signal transmission delay.

Background Art

[0002] A known electrical connector includes a plurality of pairs of differential signal terminals arranged in a column in the up-down direction. Each pair of differential signal terminals includes a first signal terminal and a second signal terminal arranged in the up-down direction and coupled with narrow sides. Both the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal include a contact portion for electrically connecting with a mating connector, a conducting portion mounted on a circuit board, and a connecting portion connecting between the contact portion and the conducting portion. The extending directions of the contact portion and the conducting portion are perpendicular to each other.

[0003] In the electrical connector, the lengths of the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal are often inconsistent, which may cause a signal transmission delay phenomenon between the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal, affecting the signal transmission of a pair of differential signal terminals. Currently, generally, the connecting portion of the signal terminal with a shorter length in a pair of the differential signal terminals is deformed into a serpentine shape, so that the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal have an equal-length structure, thereby improving the delay phenomenon caused by the length inconsistency. However, this improvement method will increase the forming difficulty of the signal terminal, and the distance between the serpentine-shaped portion and the other signal terminal increases, which is not conducive to signal coupling and characteristic impedance matching between a pair of differential signal terminals, affecting signal transmission.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to design a new electrical connector to overcome the above problems.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] The creative purpose of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector, which reduces the capacitive value around the first connecting portion through an exposed area, shortens the signal transmission time of the longer first signal terminal, so as to improve the signal transmission delay between the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal with inconsistent lengths, and the exposed area is arranged in a widened portion to reduce the impedance by increasing the width, thereby compensating for the impedance increased due to the exposure of the exposed area to the air medium, realizing that while improving the signal transmission delay, the impedance characteristics of the first signal terminal are also balanced, and the forming difficulty of the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal and the influence on signal coupling are small.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: An electrical connector for mating with a mating connector, which includes at least one terminal assembly. The terminal assembly includes: a first signal terminal and a second signal terminal, arranged to form a pair of differential terminals and coupled in a narrow side. The first signal terminal has a first contact portion, a first conducting portion, and a first connecting portion connecting the first contact portion and the first conducting portion. The second signal terminal has a second contact portion, a second conducting portion, and a second connecting portion connecting the second contact portion and the second conducting portion. The first contact portion and the second contact portion are both used to contact the mating connector. The first conducting portion and the second conducting portion are both used to electrically connect to a corresponding electrical component. The length of the first signal terminal is greater than the length of the second signal terminal; an insulating block for fixing the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal; wherein, at least one exposed area is provided on the first connecting portion. The exposed area is exposed on the insulating block and exposed to the air medium. The first connecting portion has at least one widened portion and at least one narrowed portion connected to each other along its length direction. The width of the widened portion is greater than the width of the narrowed portion. The exposed area is provided on the widened portion. The second connecting portion is completely covered within the insulating block.

[0007] Further, both the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are bent and extended, and the exposed area is located at the bent portion of the first connecting portion.

[0008] Further, the first connecting portion has a first narrow side and a second narrow side, the second connecting portion has a third narrow side and a fourth narrow side, the first narrow side and the third narrow side are coupled, and the first narrow side and the second narrow side at the widened portion respectively protrude outward relative to the first narrow side and the second narrow side at the narrowed portion. The first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are arranged at a constant center distance interval.

[0009] Further, at least one groove is provided on the insulating block. The groove is recessed from a surface of the insulating block towards the wide sides of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion, and the groove extends along the first connecting portion.

[0010] Further, at least one covered area covered by the insulating block is also provided on the widened portion. The covered area is arranged between the exposed area and the narrowed portion along the extending direction of the first connecting portion.

[0011] Further, the terminal assembly further includes a shielding case, the shielding case covering the outside of the insulating block. The shielding case has a first side wall and a second side wall that are oppositely arranged along the arrangement direction of the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal. The first connecting portion has a first narrow side and a second narrow side, and the second connecting portion has a third narrow side and a fourth narrow side. The first narrow side and the third narrow side are coupled, and the second narrow side and the fourth narrow side face the first side wall and the second side wall respectively; the distance between the second narrow side at the narrow portion and the first side wall is equal to the distance between the fourth narrow side and the second side wall, and the first narrow side and the second narrow side at the widened portion protrude outward relative to the first narrow side and the second narrow side at the narrow portion respectively.

[0012] Further, the terminal assembly further includes a shielding case, the shielding case covering the outside of the insulating block. The exposed area faces one side wall of the shielding case and is isolated by an air medium.

[0013] Further, the insulating block includes at least one first injection molded part and a second injection molded part. The first injection molded part fixes the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion. The first injection molded part has at least one mold positioning portion. The second injection molded part covers the outside of the first connecting portion, the second connecting portion, and the first injection molded part, and the first injection molded part covers the outside of the narrow portion.

[0014] Further, two of the mold positioning portions are convexly provided outward from the same side of the first injection molded part, and a filling groove is formed between the two mold positioning portions. The filling groove is filled with the second injection molded part.

[0015] Further, the first injection molded part is provided with at least one spacing hole. A part of the narrow side where the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are coupled is exposed in the spacing hole, and the spacing hole is filled with the second injection molded part.

[0016] Further, the first injection molded part further includes at least two injection molded blocks and at least one bridging portion. The bridging portion connects two adjacent injection molded blocks. The bridging portion and the two adjacent injection molded blocks together form two positioning notches. The narrow sides on the outside of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are respectively exposed in the two positioning notches, and the spacing hole is provided in the injection molded block.

[0017] Further, the second connecting portion has a constant width, and the width of the narrow portion is equal to the width of the second connecting portion.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, an electrical connector provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] The first connection part is exposed to the air medium through the exposed area, and is covered in the insulating block relative to the second connection part. The capacitance around the exposed area is reduced, which can shorten the signal transmission time of the first signal terminal, so as to improve the signal transmission time delay between the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal with inconsistent lengths. At the same time, since the exposed area is exposed to the air medium, its impedance will increase accordingly. In the present invention, the exposed area is arranged in the widened part, and the impedance is reduced by increasing the width, so as to make up for the impedance increase caused by the exposure of the exposed area to the air medium, realizing the balance of the impedance characteristics of the first signal terminal while improving the signal transmission time delay, and reducing the impedance mutation of the first signal terminal. Moreover, compared with the serpentine bending shape, the forming difficulty of the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal in the present invention is lower, and the influence on the signal coupling between the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal is smaller. If a part of the second connection part is also exposed to the air medium, this will cause a change in the medium around the second connection part, and other designs need to be added to balance the change in electrical performance caused by the change in the medium around the second connection part, increasing the design difficulty of the electrical performance of the electrical connector. And the first connection part will require a larger exposed area and a wider widened part to effectively shorten the signal transmission time delay, which will affect the holding effect of the insulating block on a pair of differential terminals and the overall size of the electrical connector. Therefore, the second connection part in the present invention is completely covered in the insulating block, which can reduce the design difficulty of the electrical performance of the electrical connector and is beneficial to the miniaturization design of the electrical connector.

Description of the Drawings

[0020] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the electrical connector system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 is a front view of the electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, observed from the docking side of the electrical connector and with the insulating housing hidden;

[0023] Figure 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an electrical module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 is a three-dimensional exploded view of an electrical module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 is a three-dimensional exploded view of a row of terminal assemblies according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7A side view of a column of differential terminals of an embodiment of the present invention after being fixed by a first injection molded part;

[0027] Figure 8 is Figure 7 an enlarged view of part A in

[0028] Figure 9 A side view of a column of terminal assemblies of an embodiment of the present invention with the shielding case hidden;

[0029] Figure 10 A partial three-dimensional cross-sectional view of one of the terminal assemblies of an embodiment of the present invention with the shielding case hidden;

[0030] Figure 11 A cross-sectional view of one of the terminal assemblies of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 12 A three-dimensional exploded view of the docking connector of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 13 A front view of the docking connector of an embodiment of the present invention as observed from the docking side.

[0033] Explanation of the reference numerals in the drawings of the specific embodiments:

[0034]

[0035]

Detailed Description

[0036] For better understanding of the purpose, structure, features and effects of the present invention, the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 1, This is an electrical connector system provided by an embodiment of the present invention, which includes an electrical connector 100, a pair of mating connectors 200 that mate with the electrical connector 100, a first electrical component electrically connected to the electrical connector 100, and a second electrical component electrically connected to the mating connector 200. In this embodiment, the first electrical component is a first substrate 8, and the second electrical component is a second substrate 9. Of course, in other embodiments, both the first electrical component and the second electrical component can also be cables, etc. Or, the first electrical component is the first substrate 8 and the second electrical component is a cable. Or, the first electrical component is a cable and the second electrical component is the second substrate 9. Of course, the first electrical component and the second electrical component can also be other components, as long as they can be electrically conducted with the corresponding electrical connector 100 or the mating connector 200 to transmit corresponding signals, which is not limited herein. Among them, the mating side of the electrical connector 100 is used to mate with the mating connector 200, and the mounting side of the electrical connector 100 is used to connect to the first electrical component; the mating side of the mating connector 200 is used to mate with the electrical connector 100, and the mounting side of the mating connector 200 is used to connect to the second electrical component.

[0038] Please refer to Figure 2 , This is an electrical connector 100 provided by an embodiment of the present invention, which is used to mate with the mating connector 200 and connect to the corresponding first electrical component. The electrical connector 100 includes an insulating housing 1, a plurality of electrical modules 2, and two retaining pieces 3. The insulating housing 1 further includes two guiding insertion holes 11. The plurality of electrical modules 2 are arranged side by side and partially fixed to the insulating housing 1. The plurality of electrical modules 2 are also fixed and positioned relative to each other by the two retaining pieces 3.

[0039] Please refer to Figures 3 to 6, each of the electrical modules 2 includes an insulating body 21, a plurality of terminal components 22, and two grounding plates 24. The insulating body 21 is provided with a first side surface 211 and a second side surface 212 that are oppositely arranged. A plurality of receiving grooves 213 are recessed from the first side surface 211 towards the second side surface 212 and from the second side surface 212 towards the first side surface 211 respectively. Each of the receiving grooves 213 does not penetrate through the first side surface 211 and the second side surface 212 along its recessed direction. Each of the receiving grooves 213 correspondingly receives one of the terminal components 22. The plurality of terminal components 22 are respectively assembled and received in the insulating body 21 from both sides of the insulating body 21, so that one insulating body 21 can fix two columns of the terminal components 22. The two columns of the terminal components 22 are limited and blocked by a blocking wall 214 in the middle of the insulating body 21. Compared with each insulating body 21 only fixing the corresponding one column of the terminal components 22, in this embodiment, the two columns of the terminal components 22 can be blocked by both sides of one blocking wall 214 respectively, rather than the two blocking walls 214 of the two insulating bodies 21 blocking the two columns of the terminal components 22 respectively. The present invention can reduce the thickness of one blocking wall 214, thereby reducing the production cost and effectively reducing the size of the electrical connector 100 in the arrangement direction of the plurality of electrical modules 2. Further, the two grounding plates 24 are respectively fixed on both sides of the insulating body 21 and are respectively in contact with the two columns of the terminal components 22, which can prevent the terminal components 22 from disengaging from the insulating body 21 from the receiving grooves 213 to a certain extent.

[0040] Each of the terminal components 22 includes a first signal terminal S1, a second signal terminal S2, an insulating block 227, and a shielding shell 23. The first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 are arranged to form a pair of differential terminals and are coupled with narrow sides. The length of the first signal terminal S1 is greater than the length of the second signal terminal S2. The insulating block 227 fixes the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2. The shielding shell 23 is coated on the outside of the insulating block 227, the first signal terminal S1, and the second signal terminal S2 to shield interference signals from the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2, which is beneficial to the signal transmission of a pair of differential terminals. Each of the grounding plates 24 is in contact with the shielding shells 23 of the plurality of terminal components 22 in the same column to electrically conduct the plurality of shielding shells 23 to improve the grounding shielding effect of the plurality of shielding shells 23. In this embodiment, the two columns of differential terminals fixed by the same insulating body 21 are staggered from each other in the column direction. That is to say, when viewed from the first side surface 211 of the insulating body 21 towards the second side surface 212, the projections of the two columns of differential terminals do not overlap completely, thereby reducing the signal interference between the two columns of differential terminals.

[0041] The first signal terminal S1 has a first contact portion 221, a first conducting portion 223, and a first connecting portion 222 connecting the first contact portion 221 and the first conducting portion 223. The second signal terminal S2 has a second contact portion 224, a second conducting portion 226, and a second connecting portion 225 connecting the second contact portion 224 and the second conducting portion 226. Both the first contact portion 221 and the second contact portion 224 are used to be docked with the docking connector 200, and both the first conducting portion 223 and the second conducting portion 226 are used to be electrically connected to a first electrical component. In this embodiment, the first electrical component is the first substrate 8, and both the first conducting portion 223 and the second conducting portion 226 are surface welding type conducting portions, which are used to be soldered to the first substrate 8 through solder balls to improve the coplanarity of the first conducting portion 223 and the second conducting portion 226 in the electrical connector 100. Of course, in other embodiments, the first conducting portion 223 and the second conducting portion 226 can also be fisheye-shaped ends (not shown) or jack-type conducting portions (not shown) to be inserted into the jacks (not shown) of the first substrate 8.

[0042] Please refer to Figures 7 to 11 , at least one exposed area 22211 is provided on the first connecting portion 222. The exposed area 22211 is exposed on the insulating block 227 and exposed to the air medium. The first connecting portion 222 has at least one widened portion 2221 and at least one narrowed portion 2222 connected to each other along its length direction. The width of the widened portion 2221 is greater than the width of the narrowed portion 2222. The exposed area 22211 is provided on the widened portion 2221, while the second connecting portion 225 is completely covered within the insulating block 227. As Figure 8As shown, the width of the widened portion 2221 is the first width W1, and the width of the narrow portion 2222 is the second width W2, then W1 > W2. The first connection portion 222 of the present invention is exposed to the air medium through the exposed area 22211. Compared with the second connection portion 225 being wrapped in the insulating block 227, the capacitance around the exposed area 22211 is reduced, which can shorten the signal transmission time of the first signal terminal S1, so as to improve the signal transmission time delay between the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 with inconsistent lengths; at the same time, since the exposed area 22211 is exposed to the air medium, its impedance will increase accordingly. The present invention sets the exposed area 22211 in the widened portion 2221, and reduces the impedance by increasing the width, thereby compensating for the increased impedance due to the exposure of the exposed area 22211 to the air medium, realizing that while improving the signal transmission time delay, the impedance characteristics of the first signal terminal S1 are also balanced, and the impedance mutation of the first signal terminal S1 is reduced. Moreover, compared with setting a serpentine shape, the forming difficulty of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 of the present invention is lower, and the influence on the signal coupling between the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 is smaller. It should be noted that if a part of the second connection portion 225 is also exposed to the air medium, this will cause a change in the medium around the second connection portion 225, then other designs need to be added to balance the change in electrical performance caused by the change in the medium around the second connection portion 225, increasing the design difficulty of the electrical performance of the electrical connector 100; and the first connection portion 222 will require a larger area of the exposed area 22211 and a wider widened portion 2221 to effectively shorten the signal transmission time delay, which will affect the holding effect of the insulating block 227 on a pair of differential terminals and the overall size of the electrical connector 100. Therefore, the second connection portion 225 of the present invention is completely wrapped in the insulating block 227, which can reduce the design difficulty of the electrical performance of the electrical connector 100 and is beneficial to the miniaturization design of the electrical connector 100. In this embodiment, one or two widened portions 2221 are provided on the first connection portion 222 of different first signal terminals S1. In other embodiments, the number of widened portions 2221 of the first connection portion 222 may be greater than two, which can be set according to actual needs. Similarly, the number of exposed areas 22211 can also be set accordingly according to actual needs, and is not limited herein.

[0043] Please refer to Figures 7 to 11, both the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 are bent and extended, and the exposed area 22211 is located at the bending portion of the first connecting portion 222. At the bending portion, the lengths of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 will change significantly. In the present invention, the exposed area 22211 is arranged at the bending portion, which can directly adjust the capacitance at the bending portion, effectively accelerate the signal transmission rate of the first signal terminal S1, and compensate for the transmission time lag. Moreover, due to the setting of the bending shape, the impedance at the bending portion will be larger than that at other positions of the first connecting portion 222. Therefore, the exposed area 22211 is arranged in the widened portion 2221 and located at the bending portion, and the impedance at the bending portion can be reduced by increasing the width at the bending portion, further balancing the impedance of the first signal terminal S1. Further, the first connecting portion 222 has a first narrow side 2223 and a second narrow side 2224, the second connecting portion 225 has a third narrow side 2251 and a fourth narrow side 2252, the first narrow side 2223 and the third narrow side 2251 are coupled, the first narrow side 2223 and the second narrow side 2224 at the widened portion 2221 protrude outward relative to the first narrow side 2223 and the second narrow side 2224 at the narrow portion 2222 respectively, and the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 are arranged at a constant center distance D0. It should be noted that the distance between the first center line L1 of the first connecting portion 222 and the second center line L2 of the second connecting portion 225 is the center distance D0 between the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225. Since the exposed area 22211 is arranged at the bending portion, the farther the center lines of the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 are from each other, the greater the length difference at the bending portions of the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225. Compared with the widened portion 2221 protruding only at the first narrow side 2223 or the second narrow side 2224, in the present invention, the widened portion 2221 protrudes outward at both the first narrow side 2223 and the second narrow side 2224, which can make the center line of the widened portion 2221 closer to the center line of the second connecting portion 225, reduce the length difference between the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225, and reduce the signal transmission time lag between the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2. Moreover, the constant center distance is beneficial to the characteristic impedance matching between a pair of differential terminals and is beneficial to signal coupling.

[0044] Please refer to Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 11, the widened portion 2221 is further provided with at least one coating area 22212 coated by the insulating block 227, and the coating area 22212 is arranged between the exposed area 22211 and the narrow portion 2222 along the extending direction of the first connecting portion 222. Compared with the widened portion 2221 only having the exposed area 22211, the width change between the widened portion 2221 and the narrow portion 2222 is the change of the medium around the first connecting portion 222, which causes the capacitance and impedance to mutate simultaneously, easily resulting in signal mutation distortion. The widened portion 2221 of the present invention is further provided with the coating area 22212, so that when the signal is transmitted from the narrow portion 2222 to the coating area 22212 and then to the exposed area 22211, the impedance can change first and then gradually transition to the capacitance change, reducing the risk of signal mutation distortion caused by the simultaneous change of impedance and capacitance; moreover, the widened portion 2221 has a longer reserved length, facilitating the formation of a sufficient exposed area 22211 and avoiding the shortage of the exposed area 22211 due to manufacturing process errors. At the same time, the narrow portion 2222 and the exposed area 22211 have the coating area 22212, allowing the insulating block 227 to be coated at the width change of the first connecting portion 222, facilitating the molding of the insulating block 227. The second connecting portion 225 has a constant width, and the width of the narrow portion 2222 is equal to the width of the second connecting portion 225. Specifically, defining the third width W3 as the width of the second connecting portion 225, then W2 = W3. In order to improve the electrical performance of the electrical connector 100, in addition to balancing the characteristic impedance of each part of the first signal terminal S1, it is also necessary to balance the characteristic impedance between the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2. In this embodiment, the width W2 of the narrow portion 2222 is set to be equal to the width W3 of the second connecting portion 225, and the difference between the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 is set in the widened portion 2221, which can reduce the difference between a pair of differential terminals as much as possible, making the characteristic impedance of a pair of differential terminals more matched; and the width of the second connecting portion 225 is constant, reducing the parameter design of the first connecting portion 222 required to change according to the width of the second connecting portion 225, and reducing the design difficulty of a pair of differential terminals.

[0045] Please refer to Figure 9 and Figure 10, the insulating block 227 is provided with two grooves 2271. The two grooves 2271 are respectively recessed from two surfaces of the insulating block 227 towards two wide sides of the first connecting portion 222 and two wide sides of the second connecting portion 225, and each groove 2271 extends along the first connecting portion 222. By providing the grooves 2271, the volume of the insulating block 227 around the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 can be reduced. When the dielectric constant of the plastic material of the insulating block 227 is constant, the less the volume of the insulating block 227 around the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225, the more the capacitance of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 can be reduced, and the insertion loss of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 can be reduced. In other embodiments, the insulating block 227 may also be recessed from only one surface towards one of the wide sides of the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 to form a groove 2271, and the other surface is not recessed to form the groove 2271; or, a plurality of grooves 2271 spaced apart from each other are recessed from one surface of the insulating block 227. In this embodiment, the insulating block 227 is recessed from two wide sides of the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 to form two grooves 2271, which can reduce the volume of the insulating material around the two wide sides of the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225, and can make the capacitance of the two wide sides of the first connecting portion 222 relatively balanced and the capacitance of the two wide sides of the second connecting portion 225 relatively balanced.

[0046] Please refer to Figures 6 to 9, the insulating block 227 includes a plurality of first injection molded parts 228 and a second injection molded part 229. The first injection molded parts 228 fix the first connection part 222 and the second connection part 225. The first injection molded parts 228 have a plurality of mold positioning parts 2281. The second injection molded part 229 covers the outside of the first connection part 222, the second connection part 225 and the first injection molded parts 228. The first injection molded parts 228 cover the outside of the narrow part 2222. It should be noted that the mold positioning parts 2281 are used for the mold to fix the first injection molded parts 228 and a pair of differential terminals when the second injection molded part 229 is injection molded, so as to continue to cover and mold the second injection molded part 229 outside the pair of differential terminals and the first injection molded parts 228. It should be noted that if the insulating block 227 is injection molded only once, when the insulating block 227 is injection molded, the mold will be directly fixed on the differential terminals to inject the insulating block 227. After the insulating block 227 is molded and the mold is removed, a notch will be left at the fixed position of the differential terminals, so that part of the terminals will be exposed to the air, and the second connection part 225 cannot be completely covered in the insulating block 227, affecting the characteristic impedance of the second connection part 225. The insulating block 227 of this embodiment includes the first injection molded parts 228 and the second injection molded part 229, and the first injection molded parts 228 have the mold positioning parts 2281, which can effectively cover the second connection part 225 completely in the insulating block 227. The narrow part 2222 provides a molding space for the first injection molded parts 228 to give way in width, which is beneficial for the first injection molded parts 228 to cover and fix the first connection part 222 and the second connection part 225 in a limited space. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the surface of the mold positioning part 2281 contacts the mold. After the mold is removed, the surface of the mold positioning part 2281 that contacts the mold will expose the second injection molded part 229. Further, two of the mold positioning parts 2281 are convexly provided outward from the same side of the first injection molded parts 228, and a filling groove 2282 is formed between the two mold positioning parts 2281. The filling groove 2282 is filled with the second injection molded part 229. In this way, the materials of the first injection molded parts 228 and the second injection molded part 229 can be inter-embedded, increasing the structural stability between the first injection molded parts 228 and the second injection molded part 229, and preventing the first injection molded parts 228 and the second injection molded part 229 from being displaced and loosened from each other. In this embodiment, the mold positioning parts 2281 are arranged at both ends in its length direction.Further, at least one spacer hole 2284 is provided in one of the plurality of first injection molded parts 228. A part of the narrow side where the first connecting part 222 and the second connecting part 225 are coupled is exposed in the spacer hole 2284, and the spacer hole 2284 is filled with the second injection molded part 229. Specifically, a part of the first narrow side 2223 of the first connecting part 222 and a part of the third narrow side 2251 of the second connecting part 225 are exposed in the spacer hole 2284 and are covered by the second injection molded part 229. Thus, the spacer hole 2284 provides a fixed position for the mold, and can provide a mold to space apart the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 when injecting the first injection molded part 228, avoiding the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 being squeezed and deformed to contact each other due to excessive injection pressure. It should be noted that the number of the first injection molded parts 228 included in one insulating block 227 and the length of each first injection molded part 228 can be set according to the lengths of the corresponding first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2. It should be noted that the second injection molded part 229 can expose a part of the first injection molded part 228. For example, as shown in the drawings of this embodiment, after the second injection molded part 229 is formed outside the first injection molded part 228, a part of the surface of the first injection molded part 228 exposes the groove 2271, that is, the bottom surface of the groove 2271 is flush with the surface of the first injection molded part 228; of course, in other embodiments, the surface of the first injection molded part 228 may not expose the groove 2271.

[0047] Please refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7, the first injection molded part 228 further includes at least two injection molded blocks 2283 and at least one bridging portion 2285. The bridging portion 2285 connects two adjacent injection molded blocks 2283. The bridging portion 2285 and the two adjacent injection molded blocks 2283 together form two positioning notches 2286. The narrow sides on the outer sides of the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 are respectively exposed in the positioning notches 2286. The spaced holes 2284 are provided in the injection molded blocks 2283. Specifically, a part of the second narrow side 2224 of the first connecting portion 222 and a part of the fourth narrow side 2252 of the second connecting portion 225 are respectively exposed in the corresponding positioning notches 2286. In this way, through the spaced holes 2284 and the positioning notches 2286, the mold can be positioned on the outer and inner sides of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2, so as to facilitate the molding of the first injection molded part 228 on the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2. At the same time, the spaced holes 2284 and the positioning notches 2286 can be relatively staggered in the extending directions of the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225, which is convenient for positioning injection molding at different parts of the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225.

[0048] Please refer to Figure 5 and Figure 11, the shielding case 23 covers the outside of the insulating block 227. The shielding case 23 has a first side wall 231 and a second side wall 232 that are oppositely arranged along the arrangement direction of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2. The first narrow side 2223 of the first connecting portion 222 is coupled with the third narrow side 2251 of the second connecting portion 225. The second narrow side 2224 of the first connecting portion 222 and the fourth narrow side 2252 of the second connecting portion 225 face the first side wall 231 and the second side wall 232 respectively. Define the distance between the second narrow side 2224 at the narrow portion 2222 and the first side wall 231 as the first distance D1, define the distance between the fourth narrow side 2252 and the second side wall 232 as the second distance D2, and define the distance between the second narrow side 2224 at the widened portion 2221 and the first side wall 231 as the third distance D3. The first distance D1 is equal to the second distance D2. The first narrow side 2223 and the second narrow side 2224 at the widened portion 2221 protrude outward relative to the first narrow side 2223 and the second narrow side 2224 at the narrow portion 2222 respectively. Compared with the widened portion 2221 only protruding outward at the first narrow side 2223 or the second narrow side 2224, the present invention can reduce the protruding amount of the second narrow side 2224 at the widened portion 2221, reduce the change amount of the distance between the second narrow side 2224 and the first side wall 231, that is, reduce the gap between the first distance D1 and the third distance D3, thereby reducing the impedance fluctuation of the first connecting portion 222; at the same time, reduce the gap between the second distance D2 and the third distance D3, so that the characteristic impedances of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 are more matched. Further, if the protruding amount of the second narrow side 2224 is large, it will cause the shielding case 23 to need to be adaptively enlarged to avoid contacting the first connecting portion 222. Therefore, the widened portion 2221 of the present invention is also beneficial to reducing the size of the shielding case 23 and beneficial to reducing the volume of the electrical connector 100. Further, the exposed area 22211 faces one side wall of the shielding case 23 and is isolated by an air medium. In this way, the capacitance of the exposed area 22211 can be further adjusted and the impedance of the exposed area 22211 can be adjusted, the signal transmission time and the characteristic impedance of the first signal terminal S1 can be further adjusted, and the signal transmission performance of the electrical connector 100 can be improved. It should be noted that, such as Figure 5 and Figure 6As shown, the shielding case 23 provided in this embodiment includes a first shielding body 233 and a second shielding body 234 that are in contact with each other. The first shielding body 233 and the second shielding body 234 are combined with each other to form the shielding case 23 that wraps around the outer periphery of the insulating block 227. In other embodiments, the shielding case 23 can be an integrally formed structure, or can be assembled by the first shielding body 233 and the second shielding body 234 of other shapes. In addition, the shielding case 23 is provided with two socket-type welding feet 235 arranged oppositely and two groups of surface welding-type welding feet 236 arranged oppositely. Each group of the surface welding-type welding feet 236 includes two of the surface welding-type welding feet. Thus, the connection stability between the terminal assembly 22 and the first substrate 8 can be increased through the two socket-type welding feet 235 of the shielding case 23, and the surface welding-type welding feet 236 of the shielding case 23 can provide a space for the signal transmission inside the first substrate 8, facilitating the wiring design of the first substrate 8, and can support on the surface of the first substrate 8 to provide more supporting force for the terminal assembly 22. In this embodiment, the two groups of surface welding-type welding feet 236 are respectively arranged on the first shielding body 233 and the second shielding body 234.

[0049] Please refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 12 and Figure 13 , the docking connector 200 includes an insulating base 4, a plurality of docking components 5, a plurality of conducting components 6 and two guiding columns. The plurality of docking components 5 are fixed to the insulating base 4 and arranged in multiple columns side by side. The docking components 5 in each column are in contact with a corresponding one of the conducting components 6 together. The two guiding columns are fixed to the insulating base 4, and each guiding column is used to be inserted into a corresponding one of the guiding insertion holes 11. After the electrical connector 100 and the docking connector 200 are docked, the insulating base 4 is docked with the insulating housing 1, each docking component 5 is docked with a corresponding one of the terminal assemblies 22, and the two guiding columns are respectively inserted and fixed in the two guiding insertion holes 11.

[0050] Specifically, one of the two guiding columns is a first guiding column 7a and the other is a second guiding column 7b. The length of the first guiding column 7a is greater than that of the second guiding column 7b. During the docking process of the electrical connector 100 and the docking connector 200, first, the first guiding column 7a cooperates with the corresponding guiding insertion hole 11 for initial guiding and positioning, and then the second guiding column 7b cooperates with the corresponding guiding insertion hole 11 for accurate positioning. Since the first guiding column 7a is used for initial positioning of the electrical connector 100 and the docking connector 200, there is a greater risk of damage to the first guiding column 7a, such as being broken or deformed. While the second guiding column 7b is for further positioning on the premise that the first guiding column 7a has been initially positioned, and the second guiding column 7b has a lower risk of damage compared to the first guiding column 7a. Therefore, in this embodiment, the material strength of the first guiding column 7a is greater than that of the second guiding column 7b. For example, the first guiding column 7a is made of a metal material and the second guiding column 7b is made of a plastic material. Thus, on the premise of ensuring that the two guiding columns are not easily damaged, the production cost of the second guiding column 7b can also be reduced.

[0051] Please refer to Figure 12 and Figure 13 , each of the docking components 5 includes an insulating fixing member 51, a third signal terminal S3 and a fourth signal terminal S4 fixed to the insulating fixing member 51, and a docking shield 52. The third signal terminal S3 and the fourth signal terminal S4 are arranged to form a pair of differential terminals and are narrow-side coupled. The docking shield 52 covers the outside of the insulating fixing member 51, the third signal terminal S3 and the fourth signal terminal S4. As Figure 13 shown, corresponding to the electrical connector 100, the multiple docking components 5 of the docking connector 200 are also correspondingly arranged in multiple columns. The docking shields 52 of the multiple docking components 5 in each column are in contact with one corresponding conducting member 6. The differential terminals of adjacent two columns are staggered in the column direction to reduce signal interference between the differential terminals of adjacent two columns. In this embodiment, after the electrical connector 100 and the docking connector 200 are docked, the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 are respectively docked with the third signal terminal S3 and the fourth signal terminal S4, the shielding case 23 is docked with the docking shield 52 and the shielding case 23 is received in the docking shield 52. An outwardly turned guiding portion 521 is provided at the docking edge of the docking shield 52 to guide the shielding case 23 into the docking shield 52. In other embodiments, it may also be that the docking shield 52 is received in the shielding case 23.

[0052] It should be noted that when configuring a power transmission element (not shown, the same below) for transmitting a power signal for the electrical connector 100, the power transmission element can be arranged outside the matrix formed by arranging a plurality of the terminal assemblies 22. For example, the power transmission element is arranged side by side on both sides or one side of the electrical connector 100. Of course, the power transmission element can also be arranged within the matrix. For example, the power transmission element is arranged in the form of the electrical module 2 of the present invention, and the power transmission element and the electrical module 2 are arranged side by side in the thickness direction of the insulating body 21 according to a specific arrangement order; another example is that each electrical module 2 is provided with a plurality of terminal assemblies 22, and a part of the terminal assemblies 22 include a pair of differential terminals for transmitting differential signal data as described above, and another part of the terminal assemblies 22 include power terminals, and the power terminals can be used as power transmission elements. For example, in each column of the terminal assemblies 22 of each electrical module 2, there are terminal assemblies 22 for transmitting differential signal data and terminal assemblies 22 for transmitting power signals. Therefore, the present invention only requires that at least one terminal assembly 22 in the electrical connector 100 includes the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 for transmitting differential signal data, and does not limit that all the terminal assemblies 22 of the electrical connector 100 are used for transmitting differential signal data. The present invention can also configure the signals transmitted by the terminals in a plurality of the terminal assemblies 22 according to actual needs, which is not limited herein.

[0053] In summary, an electrical connector 100 provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0054] 1. By means of the exposed area 22211, the capacitive value around the first connection portion 222 is reduced, the signal transmission time of the relatively long first signal terminal S1 is shortened, so as to improve the signal transmission time lag between the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 with inconsistent lengths. And the exposed area 22211 is arranged in the widened portion 2221, and the impedance is reduced by increasing the width, so as to make up for the impedance increased due to the exposure of the exposed area 22211 to the air medium. While improving the signal transmission time lag, the impedance characteristics of the first signal terminal S1 are also balanced, and the influence on the forming difficulty and signal coupling of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 is small.

[0055] 2. The exposed area 22211 is arranged at the bending portion of the first connection portion 222, which can more effectively accelerate the signal transmission rate of the first signal terminal S1, make up for the transmission time lag, and can reduce the impedance of the bending portion by increasing the width of the bending portion, further balancing the impedance of the first signal terminal S1.

[0056] 3. The first narrow side 2223 and the second narrow side 2224 at the widened portion 2221 respectively protrude outward relative to the first narrow side 2223 and the second narrow side 2224 at the narrow portion 2222. The first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225 are arranged at a constant center distance interval, which can make the center line of the widened portion 2221 closer to the center line of the second connecting portion 225, can reduce the length gap between the first connecting portion 222 and the second connecting portion 225, and reduce the signal transmission time lag between the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2. Moreover, the constant center distance is beneficial to the characteristic impedance matching between a pair of differential terminals and is beneficial to signal coupling.

[0057] 4. By providing the groove 2271, the insertion loss of the first signal terminal S1 and the second signal terminal S2 can be reduced.

[0058] The above detailed description is only for the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made by using the content of this creation specification and drawings are included in the patent scope of this creation.

Claims

1. An electrical connector for connecting to a docking connector, characterized in that: It includes at least one terminal assembly, and the terminal assembly includes: A first signal terminal and a second signal terminal are arranged to form a pair of differential terminals and are narrowly coupled, the first signal terminal has a first contact portion, a first conductive portion, and a first connecting portion connecting the first contact portion and the first conductive portion, the second signal terminal has a second contact portion, a second conductive portion, and a second connecting portion connecting the second contact portion and the second conductive portion, the first contact portion and the second contact portion are both used to contact the docking connector, the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion are both used to electrically connect to a corresponding electrical element, and the length of the first signal terminal is greater than the length of the second signal terminal; an insulating block, fixing the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal; Among them, the first connecting part is provided with at least one exposed area, the exposed area is exposed in the insulating block and exposed to the air medium, the first connecting part has at least one widened part and at least one narrow part connected to each other along its length direction, the width of the widened part is greater than the width of the narrow part, the exposed area is provided in the widened part, and the second connecting part is completely covered in the insulating block.

2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The first connection portion and the second connection portion are both bent and extended, and the exposed area is located at the bending portion of the first connection portion.

3. The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein: The first connecting portion has a first narrow side and a second narrow side, the second connecting portion has a third narrow side and a fourth narrow side, the first narrow side and the third narrow side are coupled, the first narrow side and the second narrow side at the widened portion protrude outwardly relative to the first narrow side and the second narrow side at the narrow portion, respectively, and the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are arranged at a constant center distance.

4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The insulating block is provided with at least one groove, the groove is formed from a surface of the insulating block toward the wide side of the first connecting portion and the wide side of the second connecting portion, and the groove extends along the first connecting portion.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The widened portion is further provided with at least one covering area covered by the insulating block, and the covering area is provided between the exposed area and the narrow portion along the extension direction of the first connecting portion.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The terminal assembly further includes a shielding shell, the shielding shell is covered on the outer side of the insulating block, the shielding shell has a first side wall and a second side wall which are arranged opposite to each other along the arrangement direction of the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal, the first connecting portion has a first narrow side and a second narrow side, the second connecting portion has a third narrow side and a fourth narrow side, the first narrow side and the third narrow side are coupled, and the second narrow side and the fourth narrow side face the first side wall and the second side wall respectively; The distance between the second narrow side at the narrow portion and the first side wall is equal to the distance between the fourth narrow side and the second side wall, and the first narrow side and the second narrow side at the widened portion protrude outwardly relative to the first narrow side and the second narrow side at the narrow portion respectively.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The terminal assembly further comprises a shielding shell, which is covered on the outside of the insulating block. The exposed area faces a side wall of the shielding shell and is isolated by an air medium.

8. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The insulating block includes at least one first injection molded part and a second injection molded part, the first injection molded part fixes the first connecting part and the second connecting part, the first injection molded part has at least one mold positioning part, the second injection molded part is coated on the first connecting part, the second connecting part and the outside of the first injection molded part, and the first injection molded part is coated on the outside of the narrow part.

9. The electrical connector according to claim 8, wherein: Two mold positioning parts are formed by protruding outward from the same side of the first injection molded part, and a filling groove is formed between the two mold positioning parts, and the filling groove is filled by the second injection molded part.

10. The electrical connector according to claim 8, wherein: The first injection molded part is provided with at least one spacing hole, a portion of the narrow side where the first connecting part and the second connecting part are coupled is exposed in the spacing hole, and the spacing hole is filled by the second injection molded part.

11. The electrical connector according to claim 10, wherein: The first injection molded part also includes at least two injection blocks and at least one bridging portion, the bridging portion connects two adjacent injection blocks, the bridging portion and the two adjacent injection blocks together form two positioning recesses, the outer narrow edges of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are respectively exposed in the two positioning recesses, and the spacing holes are arranged in the injection blocks.

12. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The second connecting portion has a constant width, and the width of the narrow portion is equal to the width of the second connecting portion.

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