Electric connector

Abstract

The invention relates to an electric connector. The electric connector comprises a shell and a plurality of terminals, the shell is provided with an accommodating space; the plurality of terminals are arranged in the accommodating space, each terminal is provided with a body, an upper arm and a lower arm, the upper arm and the lower arm are mutually symmetrical and are connected to the body, each of the upper arm and the lower arm is provided with a free end, a first contact part and a second contact part, and the first contact part is arranged at the free end;

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector whose terminal has a plurality of contact portions. Background Art

[0002] Electrical connectors are widely used in electronic devices in today's society as interfaces for power and signal transmission. However, with the development of technology, in order to cope with different types, models, and brands of electronic devices, electrical connectors of various specifications and standards have flourished. For example, the most commonly used mainstream connection interface is the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector set. Users can plug peripheral devices with USB male plugs, such as mice, external hard drives, mobile power supplies, etc., into electronic devices with USB female sockets to achieve electrical connection between the peripheral devices and the pad device, thereby transmitting power and signals so that the peripheral devices can produce various different functions.

[0003] With the increase in transmission volume, transmission rate and performance requirements, USB has launched a high-speed TYPE-C specification electrical connector set. Its appearance size is smaller than that of traditional USB interfaces, but it can support higher power charging and power supply capabilities, and has a faster transmission speed. In addition, it can support front and back plugging, so that users no longer need to distinguish between the front and back, and is more suitable for modern electronic devices that pursue thinness.

[0004] In the commonly used USB TYPE-C electrical connector set, since the interface size is small and the internal male and female connecting terminals have only one set of contact points, the contact area is limited. Therefore, when charging, it is easy to cause excessive temperature rise, making it difficult to increase the charging current value, thereby affecting the charging efficiency. Figure 1That is the male end electrical connector 1 of the known USBTYPE-C electrical connector. As shown in the figure, the male end electrical connector 1 has a housing 10 and a plurality of terminals 11. The housing 10 has a containing space 100, and the plurality of terminals 11 are arranged in the containing space 100. This known terminal 11 has upper and lower arms 12a and 12b. When the male end electrical connector 1 is connected to another female end electrical connector (not shown), it mainly clamps the contact terminals (not shown) in the female end electrical connector through the contact portions 11a and 11b arranged at the ends of the upper arm 12a and the lower arm 12b of each terminal 11, thereby forming an electrical connection. However, as mentioned above, since the terminals 11 of the male end electrical connector 1 are only clamped and contacted by this single set of contact portions 11a and 11b to the contact terminals in the female end electrical connector, in the process of long-term plugging and unplugging, the contact terminals in the female end electrical connector are easily subjected to friction loss due to the stress of repeated contact between the single set of contact portions 11a and 11b. In addition, since it is electrically connected only through a single set of contact portions 11 a and 11 b , the contact area is limited, resulting in high contact impedance, which in turn makes it difficult to increase the rated current value.

[0005] Therefore, how to develop an electrical connector that can improve the problems encountered in the above-mentioned prior art is indeed one of the important issues. Summary of the invention

[0006] One purpose of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector, in particular a USB TYPE-C electrical connector for charging, by providing two or more sets of contact portions at the terminals of the electrical connector to increase the contact area between each other, thereby reducing the temperature rise during charging, improving the current tolerance, and thereby increasing the charging current value and charging efficiency.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector, in particular a USB TYPE-C electrical connector for charging, which includes a plurality of terminals, and each terminal has an upper arm and a lower arm. By adjusting the length and thickness ratio of the first elastic portion and the second elastic portion of the upper arm and the lower arm, the required clamping and contact force can be adjusted to reduce the wear of the tongue that is connected to the connector, thereby increasing the service life of the product.

[0008] According to the concept of the present invention, an electrical connector is provided, comprising: a shell having a accommodating space; and a plurality of terminals arranged in the accommodating space, wherein each terminal has a main body, an upper arm and a lower arm, the upper arm and the lower arm are symmetrical to each other and connected to the main body, the upper arm and the lower arm each have a free end, a first contact portion and a second contact portion, and the first contact portion is arranged at the free end.

[0009] According to the conception of the present invention, each upper arm and each lower arm are connected to the body through a connecting end, and each upper arm and each lower arm are inclined from the connecting end toward the free end.

[0010] According to the conception of the present invention, the distance between the first contact portion of the upper arm and the first contact portion of the lower arm is smaller than the distance between the second contact portion of the upper arm and the second contact portion of the lower arm.

[0011] According to the conception of the present invention, each upper arm and each lower arm has a first elastic portion and a second elastic portion, the first contact portion is disposed at the free end of the first elastic portion, and the second contact portion is disposed at the connection between the first elastic portion and the second elastic portion.

[0012] According to the conception of the present invention, the first elastic portion is a strip-shaped elastic structure.

[0013] According to the conception of the present invention, the first elastic portion is an arc-shaped elastic structure.

[0014] According to the conception of the present invention, the thickness of the second elastic portion is greater than or equal to the thickness of the first elastic portion.

[0015] According to the conception of the present invention, the length of the second elastic portion is greater than the length of the first elastic portion.

[0016] According to the conception of the present invention, each upper arm and each lower arm has a third contact portion, and the third contact portion is disposed on the first elastic portion.

[0017] According to the conception of the present invention, the first contact portion, the second contact portion and the third contact portion are all convex portions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a known male end electrical connector;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the electrical connector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A schematic side view of the structure of the terminal of the electrical connector shown;

[0021] Figure 4A A schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention being connected to a connecting end of another electrical connector;

[0022] Figure 4B for Figure 4A A partial enlarged view of

[0023] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D Schematic diagram of the terminal structure of the electrical connector of the second to fifth preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0024]

Explanation of symbols

[0025] 1: Known electrical connector

[0026] 10: Shell

[0027] 100: Accommodation space

[0028] 11: Terminal

[0029] 11a, 11b: Contact part

[0030] 12a: Upper arm

[0031] 12b: Lower arm

[0032] 2, 3: Electrical connector

[0033] 20: Shell

[0034] 200: Accommodation space

[0035] 21, 41, 51, 61, 71: terminals

[0036] 22: Ontology

[0037] 23, 42, 52, 62, 72: Upper arm

[0038] 230, 240: Free end

[0039] 231, 241: Connection end

[0040] 232: Lower surface of upper arm

[0041] 233, 243, 420, 520, 620, 720: first elastic part

[0042] 234, 244, 421, 521, 621, 721: second elastic portion

[0043] 24, 43, 53, 63, 73: Lower arm

[0044] 242: Upper surface of lower arm

[0045] 25a, 25b, 44, 54, 64, 74: first contact portion

[0046] 26a, 26b, 45, 55, 65, 75: Second contact portion

[0047] 30: Tongue

[0048] 300: Upper surface of tongue

[0049] 301: Lower surface of tongue

[0050] 31: Connection terminal

[0051] L1: length of the first elastic part

[0052] L2: Length of the second elastic part

[0053] T1: Thickness of the first elastic part

[0054] T2: thickness of the second elastic portion

[0055] D1: The distance from the first contact part of the upper arm to the first contact part of the lower arm

[0056] D2: The distance from the second contact part of the upper arm to the second contact part of the lower arm DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] Some typical embodiments that embody the features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following description. It should be understood that the present invention can have various variations in different implementations without departing from the scope of the present invention, and the descriptions and drawings therein are essentially for illustrative purposes rather than limiting the present invention.

[0058] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the electrical connector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the electrical connector 2 is a universal serial bus (USB) connector, and in particular, a USB TYPE-C electrical connector. Figure 2 As shown, the electrical connector set 2 of the preferred embodiment of the present case is mainly a male end electrical connector set, comprising: a housing 20 and a plurality of terminals 21. The housing 20 has a receiving space 200. The plurality of terminals 21 are correspondingly arranged in the receiving space 200 of the housing 20. Each terminal 21 has a body 22, an upper arm 23 and a lower arm 24, and the upper arm 23 and the lower arm 24 are mutually symmetrically arranged structures and are both connected to the body 22. As shown in the figure, the upper arm 23 and the lower arm 24 respectively have free ends 230, 240, first contact portions 25a, 25b and second contact portions 26a, 26b, and the first contact portions 25a, 25b are arranged at the free ends 230, 240. In some embodiments, the plurality of terminals 21 are made of a metal material with elasticity, but are not limited thereto.

[0059] In this embodiment, the upper arm 23 of the terminal 21 has a free end 230 and a connecting end 231, which are correspondingly disposed at two opposite ends of the upper arm 23 and connected to the body 22 through the connecting end 231; similarly, the lower arm 24 also has a corresponding free end 240 and a connecting end 241, and is connected to the body 22 through the connecting end 241. And, in this embodiment, each upper arm 23 and each lower arm 24 are inclined from their connecting ends 231, 241 toward the free ends 230, 240. Among them, the first contact portion 25a and the second contact portion 26a of the upper arm 23 are disposed at the lower surface 232 of the upper arm 23, and the first contact portion 25a is disposed at the free end 230. The first contact portion 25b and the second contact portion 26b of the lower arm 24 are disposed at the upper surface 242 of the lower arm 24, and the first contact portion 25b is also disposed at the free end 240. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the positions of the first contact portion 25a and the second contact portion 26a of the upper arm 23 correspond to the first contact portion 25b and the second contact portion 26b of the lower arm 24, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Figure 4A and Figure 4B When the upper and lower surfaces 300 and 301 of the tongue 30 of the electrical connector 3 are clamped correspondingly, an electrical connection is formed by the first contact portion 25a and the second contact portion 26a provided on the lower surface 232 of the upper arm 23 and the first contact portion 25b and the second contact portion 26b provided on the upper surface 242 of the lower arm 24.

[0060] Please also see Figure 2 and Figure 3 . Figure 3 for Figure 2 The side view of the terminal of the electrical connector is shown in FIG. 2 . In this embodiment, the upper arm 23 and the lower arm 24 of the terminal 21 are elastic arm structures with the same structure and symmetrically arranged. Figure 3 As shown, the upper arm 23 has a first elastic portion 233 and a second elastic portion 234. In other words, in this embodiment, the movable portion of the upper arm 23 can be divided into the first elastic portion 233 connected to the free end 230 and the second elastic portion 234 connected to the connecting end 231, and the first contact portion 25a disposed on the lower surface 232 of the upper arm 23 is located at the free end 230 of the first elastic portion 233, and the second contact portion 26a is correspondingly disposed at the connection between the first elastic portion 233 and the second elastic portion 234. Similarly, the lower arm 24 also has a first elastic portion 243 and a second elastic portion 244 symmetrically disposed with the upper arm 23, and the first contact portion 25b disposed on the upper surface 242 of the lower arm 24 is also located at the free end 240 of the first elastic portion 243, and the second contact portion 26b is also correspondingly disposed at the connection between the first elastic portion 243 and the second elastic portion 244.

[0061] As mentioned above, the upper arm 23 is inclined from its connecting end 231 toward the free end 230, so in this embodiment, the distance D1 between the first contact portion 25a of the upper arm 23 and the first contact portion 25b of the lower arm 24 is less than the distance D2 between the second contact portion 26a of the upper arm 23 and the second contact portion 26b of the lower arm 24. In some embodiments, the thickness T2 of the second elastic portion 234, 244 of the upper arm 23 and the lower arm 24 may be, but is not limited to, greater than or equal to the thickness T1 of the first elastic portion 233, 243. In other embodiments, the length L2 of the second elastic portion 234, 244 of the upper arm 23 and the lower arm 24 is greater than the length L1 of the first elastic portion 233, 243, but is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, through the thickness or length gradually reduced from the second elastic part 234, 244 to the first elastic part 233, 243, the clamping and contact force of the first contact part 25a, 25b disposed at the free end 230, 240 and the second contact part 26a, 26b disposed at the connection of the first elastic part 233, 243 and the second elastic part 234, 244 can be adjusted and distributed, so as to achieve multi-point clamping contact, thereby increasing the contact area, reducing impedance and improving the rated current value. However, the length and thickness ratio of the first elastic part 233, 243 and the second elastic part 234, 244 can be arbitrarily changed according to the actual application situation.

[0062] Furthermore, in some embodiments, in addition to the two sets of first contact portions 25a, 25b and second contact portions 26a, 26b, the terminal 21 may further be provided with a third contact portion (not shown) in response to actual needs. The first contact portions 25a, 25b, the second contact portions 26a, 26b, and the third contact portion are all convex portions, and their appearance may be, but not limited to, a circular arc-shaped convex portion structure. In addition, the position of the third contact portion may be provided at the first elastic portion 233, 243, that is, provided between the two sets of first contact portions 25a, 25b and second contact portions 26a, 26b, and the number and position of the third contact portion are not limited thereto, and may be changed arbitrarily according to actual conditions to meet the needs of multi-point contact.

[0063] Please also see Figure 4A and Figure 4B . Figure 4A This is a schematic diagram of the terminals of the electrical connector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention being docked with the connecting ends of another electrical connector. Figure 4B for Figure 4A A partial enlarged view of Figure 4A and Figure 4BAs shown, the electrical connector 2 of this embodiment is connected to another electrical connector 3, and in order to more clearly examine the internal connection state of the electrical connector 2 and the electrical connector 3, the housing 20 of the electrical connector 2 and the housing of the electrical connector 3 are briefly shown. In this embodiment, the electrical connector 2 is a male electrical connector. When it is connected to the female electrical connector 3, in response to the pushing force of the user, the tongue 30 in the female electrical connector 3 is parallelly displaced toward the multiple terminals 21 of the electrical connector 2, and first pushes against the free ends 230 and 240 of the arms 23 and the lower arms 24 of the multiple terminals 21, so that they are elastically displaced upward and downward respectively according to the pushing force, and the tongue 30 continues to be parallelly displaced, so that the upper arms 23 and the lower arms 24 of the multiple terminals 21 are correspondingly clamped on the upper surface 300 and the lower surface 301 of the tongue 30 in the female electrical connector 3. At the same time, the first contact portion 25a and the second contact portion 26a disposed on the lower surface 232 of the upper arm 23 are in contact with the contact terminal 31 disposed on the upper surface 300 of the tongue piece 30, and an electrical connection is established. Similarly, the first contact portion 25b and the second contact portion 26b disposed on the upper surface 242 of the lower arm 24 are in contact with the contact terminal 31 disposed on the lower surface 301 of the tongue piece 30, and an electrical connection is established. In this way, in this embodiment, when the two electrical connectors 2 and 3 are plugged into each other, the plurality of terminals 21 of the electrical connector 2 can be electrically connected to the contact terminals 31 of the electrical connector 3 through more than two groups of first contact portions 25a, 25b and second contact portions 26a, 26b. Through this multi-point clamping method, not only can the overall clamping force be effectively increased, making it more stable after plugging, but also the contact area between each other can be increased, thereby reducing impedance, improving current tolerance, and improving charging current value and charging efficiency. In addition, since the contact area is increased, the contact pressure at each contact point is reduced, thereby also reducing the friction loss on the tongue 30, thereby increasing the service life of the product.

[0064] See also FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D . FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D Schematic diagram of the terminal structure of the electrical connector of the second to fifth preferred embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 5A to FIG. 5BAs shown, the structures of the terminals 41, 51, 61, and 71 of these four embodiments are basically similar to those of the aforementioned embodiments, and they all have structures such as upper arms 42, 52, 62, and 72, lower arms 43, 53, 63, and 73, first elastic portions 420, 520, 620, and 720, second elastic portions 421, 521, 621, and 721, first contact portions 44, 54, 64, and 74, and second contact portions 45, 55, 65, and 75, and their arrangement positions are also similar to those of the aforementioned embodiments, so they will not be described in detail. However, in these four embodiments, the thickness and length ratios of the first elastic portions 420, 520, 620, and 720 and the second elastic portions 421, 521, 621, and 721 are slightly different. In addition, in some embodiments, such as Figure 5A As shown, the first elastic portion 420 may be, but is not limited to, a strip-shaped elastic structure. In some other embodiments, as Figure 5B As shown, the first elastic portion 520 may also be an arc-shaped elastic structure, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the appearance of the first contact portion 44, 54, 64, 74 and / or the second contact portion 45, 55, 65, 75 may also be slightly adjusted, and may not only be an arc-shaped convex portion structure, but may also be a slightly triangular or trapezoidal convex portion structure. In other words, the length and thickness ratio of the aforementioned first elastic portions 420, 520, 620, 720 and the second elastic portions 421, 521, 621, 721, or the appearance or setting position of the first contact portion 44, 54, 64, 74 and the second contact portion 45, 55, 65, 75 may be changed according to the actual application situation, so as to adjust the required clamping and contact force.

[0065] In summary, the present invention provides an electrical connector, and the electrical connector of the present invention is a USB TYPE-C electrical connector for charging. By setting more than two sets of contact parts on the terminals of the electrical connector, the contact area between each other can be increased, thereby reducing the temperature rise when the rated current passes / when charging, improving the current tolerance, so as to increase the charging current value and charging efficiency. In addition, the length and thickness ratio of the first elastic part and the second elastic part of the upper arm and the lower arm of the terminals can be adjusted to the required clamping and contact force, thereby reducing the wear of the tongue piece that is connected with the terminal and increasing the service life of the product.

[0066] The present invention can be modified in various ways by those skilled in the art, but all of them are within the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising: A housing having a receiving space; and A plurality of terminals are arranged in the accommodating space, wherein each of the terminals has a main body, an upper arm and a lower arm, the upper arm and the lower arm are symmetrical to each other and are both connected to the main body, the upper arm and the lower arm each have a free end, a first contact portion and a second contact portion, and the first contact portion is arranged at the free end. 2 . The electrical connector according to claim 1 , wherein each of the upper arms and each of the lower arms are connected to the body via a connecting end, respectively, and each of the upper arms and each of the lower arms are inclined from the connecting end toward the free end. 3 . The electrical connector according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the first contact portion of the upper arm and the first contact portion of the lower arm is smaller than a distance between the second contact portion of the upper arm and the second contact portion of the lower arm.

4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the upper arms and each of the lower arms has a first elastic portion and a second elastic portion, the first contact portion is disposed at the free end of the first elastic portion, and the second contact portion is disposed at a connection between the first elastic portion and the second elastic portion. The electrical connector according to claim 4 , wherein the first elastic portion is a strip-shaped elastic structure. The electrical connector according to claim 4 , wherein the first elastic portion is an arc-shaped elastic structure. 7 . The electrical connector according to claim 4 , wherein a thickness of the second elastic portion is greater than or equal to a thickness of the first elastic portion. 8 . The electrical connector according to claim 4 , wherein a length of the second elastic portion is greater than a length of the first elastic portion. 9 . The electrical connector according to claim 4 , wherein each of the upper arms and each of the lower arms has a third contact portion, and the third contact portion is disposed on the first elastic portion. 10 . The electrical connector according to claim 9 , wherein the first contact portion, the second contact portion, and the third contact portion are all convex portions.

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