A solderless surface-mount millimeter-wave vertical interconnection RF connector

Abstract

The present invention relates to a solderless surface-mount millimeter-wave vertical interconnect RF connector applied to the technical field of RF connectors, including a connector housing. A pair of petal-shaped elastic housings are arranged inside the connector housing. This RF connector adopts a unique elastic floating design for the inner and outer conductors. This design not only enhances the anti-fatigue ability of the connector but also improves the adaptability of the connector under different temperatures and environments. The application of the petal-shaped elastic housing further enhances the seismic performance and contact stability of the connector, ensuring that the connector can maintain low reflection and high transmission efficiency during high-frequency signal transmission. Moreover, the petal-shaped elastic housing can achieve multi-point independent surface contact, and when the connection surface is uneven and causes poor grounding, it can ensure that other independent surface contact points are not affected. In addition, the connector in this application can be solderless and achieve surface-mount vertical connection when used for connections between boards such as PCB and LTCC.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a radio frequency connector, in particular to a solder-free mounting millimeter wave vertical interconnection radio frequency connector applied in the technical field of radio frequency connectors. Background Art

[0002] In today's communications and electronics fields, RF connection technology plays a vital role. As a key component of RF signal transmission, the performance of RF connectors directly affects the signal quality and stability of the entire system.

[0003] The Chinese patent application number CN201710240580.5 discloses a radio frequency connector, comprising: a support portion, the support portion is arranged on the male head of the radio frequency connector, the support portion is used to connect the male head of the radio frequency connector and the ground wire of the feed network transmission line; a first outer conductor is arranged on the male head of the radio frequency connector, the first outer conductor is connected to the support portion; a first inner conductor is arranged on the male head of the radio frequency connector, the first inner conductor is arranged inside the first outer conductor, and the axis of the first inner conductor coincides with the axis of the first outer conductor, the first inner conductor is connected to the support portion through a first elastic element, and the first inner conductor moves along the axial direction of the outer conductor through the deformation of the first elastic element. By arranging the first elastic element between the first inner conductor and the inner core sleeve, the use of a spring ring for fixing in the prior art is avoided, resulting in a larger installation shell volume of the radio frequency connector, so as to reduce the volume of the radio frequency connector.

[0004] Traditional RF connectors often have difficulty ensuring the stability and reliability of signal transmission when facing large shaking or certain axial deviations. In addition, traditional RF connectors often face challenges such as space limitations and complex welding processes in high-density assembly. Especially in the design of miniaturized and microminiaturized systems, the welding process not only increases production costs, but may also lead to unreliable connection points and performance degradation in long-term use. Therefore, we propose a solder-free millimeter-wave vertical interconnect RF connector. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is that traditional RF connectors are often difficult to ensure the stability and reliability of signal transmission when facing large shakes or certain axial deviations, and traditional RF connectors often face challenges such as space limitations and complex welding processes in high-density assembly. Especially in the design of miniaturized and micro-miniaturized systems, the welding process not only increases production costs, but may also lead to unreliability of connection points and performance degradation in long-term use.

[0006] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a solderless surface mount millimeter-wave vertical interconnect RF connector, which includes a connector housing. Inside the connector housing, a pair of petal-shaped elastic housings are provided. A spring is fixedly connected between the petal-shaped elastic housing and the connector housing. The petal-shaped elastic housing is floatingly connected to the connector housing through the spring. Inside the connector housing, a first inner conductor is provided. Elastic second inner conductors are floatingly connected to both ends of the first inner conductor. An insulating support for supporting the first inner conductor is also provided inside the petal-shaped elastic housing.

[0007] In the above solderless surface mount millimeter-wave vertical interconnect RF connector, there are three elastic parts in total. Firstly, the petal-shaped elastic housing is floatingly connected to the connector housing relatively inwardly by relying on the spring, ensuring that even under relatively large shaking, the connector can still rely on the elastic force of the spring to ensure good overall contact of the connector. Secondly, the elastic second inner conductor is floatingly connected to the first inner conductor to ensure the stability of RF signal contact. Thirdly, the petal-shaped elastic housing itself has a certain elasticity due to its petal shape, ensuring that even when there is a certain deviation in the axial direction of the connector, the grounding of the connector can still be ensured. Thus, when the connector faces situations such as relatively large shaking or a certain axial deviation, the stability and reliability of signal transmission can be ensured.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present application, the petal-shaped elastic housing is made of beryllium bronze material, and the elasticity of the petal-shaped elastic housing is greater than that of the spring.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present application, the elastic second inner conductor is made of beryllium bronze material.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present application, the petal-shaped elastic housing is composed of an elastic housing main body and a plurality of petal pieces. The plurality of petal pieces are evenly distributed in a circular or U-shaped manner on the elastic housing main body. The number of petal pieces is greater than 4, and the petal pieces are arranged in an inclined shape.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present application, the RF connector has four models: SSCMT, SCMT, CMT, and HCMT. The diameter of the petal pieces in the SSCMT model RF connector is 1 - 2 mm, the diameter of the petal pieces in the SCMT model RF connector is 2 - 3 mm, the diameter of the petal pieces in the CMT model RF connector is 3 - 4 mm, and the diameter of the petal pieces in the HCMT model RF connector is greater than 4 mm.

[0012] In summary, the RF connector in this application adopts a unique elastic floating design for the inner and outer conductors. This design not only enhances the anti-fatigue ability of the connector but also improves its adaptability under different temperatures and environments. In addition, the application of the petal-shaped elastic housing further enhances the seismic performance and contact stability of the connector, ensuring low reflection and high transmission efficiency during high-frequency signal transmission. The elastic petals can be effectively used more than 500 times with no obvious change in performance. The end of the connector is a petal-shaped structure made of beryllium bronze material, which has excellent elasticity after heat treatment and can achieve flexible connection. The grounding method is surface contact. Different from the traditional surface contact method, the petal-shaped structure can achieve multi-point independent surface contact, so that when the connection surface is uneven and causes poor grounding, other independent surface contact points can be ensured not to be affected. Moreover, the RF connector in this application can be mounted vertically without welding when used for connecting between PCBs, LTCCs, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 FIG. is a front view structural schematic diagram of the solderless mount millimeter-wave vertical interconnect RF connector in the first and second embodiments of this application;

[0014] Figure 2 FIG. is a partial structural schematic diagram of the connector housing in the first and second embodiments of this application;

[0015] Figure 3 FIG. is a side view structural schematic diagram of the petal-shaped elastic housing in the first and second embodiments of this application;

[0016] Figure 4 FIG. is a pictorial demonstration diagram when the connector is connected to the PCB board and there is an axial asymmetry in the first embodiment of this application;

[0017] Figure 5 FIG. is a pictorial demonstration diagram when the connector is used for connecting between PCB boards in the first embodiment of this application;

[0018] Figure 6 FIG. is the test result of the electrical performance test of the RF connector in the second embodiment of this application.

[0019] Description of the reference numerals in the figures:

[0020] 1. First inner conductor; 2. Spring; 3. Petal-shaped elastic housing; 31. Elastic housing main body; 32. Petal piece; 4. Elastic second inner conductor; 5. Connector housing; 6. Insulating support. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The following provides a detailed description of the two embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] The first embodiment:

[0023] Figures 1-5 A solder-free millimeter wave vertical interconnection RF connector is shown, comprising a connector housing 5, a pair of petal-shaped elastic housings 3 are arranged on the inner side of the connector housing 5, a spring 2 is fixedly connected between the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 and the connector housing 5, the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 is floatingly connected to the connector housing 5 through the spring 2, a first inner conductor 1 is arranged on the inner side of the connector housing 5, both ends of the first inner conductor 1 are floatingly connected to an elastic second inner conductor 4 (a slot matching the elastic second inner conductor 4 is provided at the end of the first inner conductor 1, and one end of the elastic second inner conductor 4 is movably plugged into the slot), an insulating support 6 for supporting the first inner conductor 1 is also arranged on the inner side of the petal-shaped elastic housing 3, the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 is made of beryllium bronze material, and the elasticity of the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 is large. Due to the elasticity of the spring 2, the elastic second inner conductor 4 is made of beryllium bronze material. There are three places where the connector in the present application has elasticity. The first is that the petal-shaped elastic shell 3 relies on the spring 2 and the connector shell 5 to achieve a relatively inward floating connection, ensuring that the connector can rely on the elastic force of the spring 2 to ensure good contact as a whole under relatively large shaking. The second is the floating connection between the elastic second inner conductor 4 and the first inner conductor 1 to ensure the stability of the RF signal contact. The third is that the petal-shaped elastic shell 3 itself has a certain elasticity because of the petal shape, which ensures that the connector can be well grounded even when there is a certain axial deviation, thereby ensuring the stability and reliability of signal transmission when the connector faces large shaking or a certain axial deviation.

[0024] See also Figure 2 According to the structural characteristics of the connector, when the connector is in use, point A is the main force-bearing body. At this time, the spring 2 contracts, and part of the petal-shaped elastic shell 3 can be contracted into the connector shell 5. Part of the elastic force comes from the spring 2, and the petal-shaped elastic shell 3 bears the other part of the supporting force. The petal-shaped elastic shell 3 is a slotted structure made of beryllium bronze, which is a common material for elastic connectors such as SMP. After reasonable size design and related heat treatment, a suitable elastic force can be obtained. Since the elastic coefficient of the petal-shaped elastic shell 3 is greater than that of the spring 2, when in use, the deformation of the petal-shaped elastic shell 3 will be smaller than that of the spring 2. In this way, the contact area between the connector and the device in the natural state and the compressed state is not much different, and it has good controllability.

[0025] See also Figure 3, the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 is composed of an elastic housing body 31 and a plurality of petal pieces 32. The number of petal pieces 32 is greater than 4, and the petal pieces 32 are arranged in an inclined shape. The petal-shaped elastic housing 3 has various styles, and the distribution rules of the petal pieces 32 in different styles of the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 are different. The distribution rules of the petal pieces 32 include but are not limited to being evenly distributed in a circular shape and being evenly distributed in a U shape. Figure 3 Among them, a is the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 with the petal pieces 32 evenly distributed in a circular shape, and b is the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 with the petal pieces 32 evenly distributed in a U shape. Those skilled in the art can select the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 of a suitable style according to requirements.

[0026] There are four models of RF connectors in this application, namely SSCMT, SCMT, CMT, and HCMT. The diameter of the petal pieces 32 in the SSCMT model RF connector is 1-2 mm, the diameter of the petal pieces 32 in the SCMT model RF connector is 2-3 mm, the diameter of the petal pieces 32 in the CMT model RF connector is 3-4 mm, and the diameter of the petal pieces 32 in the HCMT model RF connector is greater than 4 mm.

[0027] Please refer to Figure 4 , when the connector is connected to the PCB printed circuit board, if the PCB board and the connector are axially asymmetric due to installation tolerance or board flatness problems, the petal-shaped elastic housing 3 can still maintain good contact by virtue of its own elasticity.

[0028] The spring 2 is made of stainless steel, with excellent corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high temperature resistance, and the characteristic of long fatigue life, making it not prone to plastic deformation or fatigue failure under repeated stress. There is also an elastic mechanism inside the elastic second inner conductor 4, which can adaptively match the deformation amount according to the deformation amount of the housing. The elastic second inner conductor 4 has an appropriate amount of elastic force in its natural state. When the connector is in use, the elastic force of the elastic second inner conductor 4 can ensure good contact between the inner conductor and the connection point. The petal-shaped elastic housing 3 and the elastic second inner conductor 4 are both made of beryllium bronze. Beryllium bronze has an extremely high elastic modulus and strength, can maintain its shape and function unchanged under large mechanical stress, and also has high fatigue resistance, and can well support the scenario of repeated plugging and unplugging. Therefore, it is also widely used in other elastic connectors such as SSMP and SMP connectors. To verify the strength of the petal-shaped elastic housing 3, relevant experiments were conducted during the development stage, and experiments were carried out on scenarios with different pressures, different durations, and different pressing frequencies. Its elastic force did not change significantly after being continuously pressed under a 20 N pressure for 20 days.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 5, when the connector is used for connecting between PCB boards, it can be solder-free and achieve surface-mounted connection. And according to the actual use of users, the other end of the connector can be adapted to any interface connector such as SMP, SSMP, 1.85, 2.4, 2.92, etc.

[0030] The RF connector in this application adopts a unique elastic floating design for the inner and outer conductors. This design not only enhances the anti-fatigue ability of the connector but also improves its adaptability under different temperatures and environments. In addition, the application of the petal-shaped elastic housing further enhances the seismic performance and contact stability of the connector, ensuring low reflection and high transmission efficiency during high-frequency signal transmission. The elastic petals can be effectively used more than 500 times with no obvious change in performance. The end of the connector is of petal-shaped structure and made of beryllium bronze material, which has excellent elasticity after heat treatment and can achieve flexible connection. The grounding method is surface contact. Different from the traditional surface contact method, the petal-shaped structure can achieve multi-point independent surface contact, enabling the connector to ensure that other independent surface contact points are not affected when the connection surface is uneven and causes poor grounding. Moreover, the RF connector in this application can be solder-free and achieve surface-mounted vertical connection when used for connecting between boards such as PCB and LTCC.

[0031] The second implementation mode:

[0032] Figures 1-3 and Figure 6 Show a solder-free surface-mounted millimeter-wave vertical interconnect RF connector, and its electrical performance test method is as follows (the form of the connector under test is: one end is SCMT and the other end is SMP):

[0033] S1. Connect the 1 port of the vector network analyzer to the test adapter 2.4 / SMP-JJ and the 2 port to the test adapter 2.4 / SMP-JK, insert the two test adapters into each other, and normalize the insertion loss;

[0034] S2. Replace the 2.4 / SMP-JJ test adapter with the 2.4 / SMP-JK test adapter and connect the connector under test to the test adapter at the 1 port of the vector network analyzer;

[0035] S3. Screw the test fixture into the connector under test;

[0036] S4. Place the through-line into the test fixture;

[0037] S5. Connect another connector under test to the test adapter at the 2 port of the vector network analyzer;

[0038] S6. Insert the connector under test at port 2 of the vector network analyzer into the test fixture and connect it directly. Read the maximum values of S11 (VSWR), S22 (VSWR), and S12 (insertion loss) during compression in the frequency range of DC - 40 GHz.

[0039] S7. Output the test results.

[0040] It can be seen from the test results that the frequency of the RF connector in this application can reach up to 40 GHz, the standing wave is less than 1.3, and the insertion loss is less than 0.6 dB, with excellent performance.

[0041] Combined with the current actual requirements, the above - mentioned implementation method adopted in this application, the protection scope is not limited to this. Within the knowledge scope of those skilled in the art, various changes made without departing from the concept of this application still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A solderless surface-mount millimeter-wave vertical interconnection RF connector, characterized in that It includes a connector housing (5), and a pair of petal-shaped elastic housings (3) are arranged inside the connector housing (5). A spring (2) is fixedly connected between the petal-shaped elastic housing (3) and the connector housing (5). The petal-shaped elastic housing (3) is floatingly connected to the connector housing (5) through the spring (2). A first inner conductor (1) is arranged inside the connector housing (5). Elastic second inner conductors (4) are floatingly connected to both ends of the first inner conductor (1). An insulating support (6) for supporting the first inner conductor (1) is further arranged inside the petal-shaped elastic housing (3). The petal-shaped elastic housing (3) is made of beryllium bronze material, and the elasticity of the petal-shaped elastic housing (3) is greater than that of the spring (2). The elastic second inner conductor (4) is made of beryllium bronze material. The petal-shaped elastic housing (3) consists of an elastic housing body (31) and a plurality of petal pieces (32). The plurality of petal pieces (32) are evenly distributed in a circular or U-shaped manner on the elastic housing body. The number of the petal pieces (32) is greater than 4, and the petal pieces (32) are arranged in an inclined shape; The RF connector has four models: SSCMT, SCMT, CMT, and HCMT. The diameter of the petal pieces (32) in the SSCMT model RF connector is 1-2 mm, the diameter of the petal pieces (32) in the SCMT model RF connector is 2-3 mm, the diameter of the petal pieces (32) in the CMT model RF connector is 3-4 mm, and the diameter of the petal pieces (32) in the HCMT model RF connector is greater than 4 mm.

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