Electric connector

Abstract

The invention provides an electric connector which comprises a plurality of conductive terminals and an insulating body wrapping the conductive terminals, and the conductive terminals comprise a pair of grounding terminals arranged on the two outer sides of the conductive terminals in the transverse direction and power supply terminals located on the inner sides of the grounding terminals. The conductive terminals are provided with a plurality of contact parts which are exposed on the upper side and the lower side of the insulating body to be in contact with a butting connector, the contact parts comprise first contact parts exposed on the upper side of the insulating body and second contact parts exposed on the lower side of the insulating body, and the first contact parts and the second contact parts are arranged in a reverse direction; each grounding terminal is provided with a lateral convex part which is formed by integrally protruding towards the outer side in the transverse direction, and a first contact part and a second contact part which are oppositely arranged on the two sides of the grounding terminal in the height direction of the grounding terminal. The electric connector provided by the invention is simple and convenient to manufacture and has relatively high plugging resistance.

Description

Technical Field

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

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

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

[0004] The existing USB Type-C electrical connector includes a plastic base, upper and lower rows of conductive terminals disposed on the plastic base, and an intermediate piece sandwiched between the upper and lower rows of conductive terminals. The plastic base includes an upper and lower body and an insulating body injection-molded outside the upper and lower bodies, and the upper and lower bodies are respectively injection-molded outside the two rows of conductive terminals. Thus, three injection moldings are required to complete the production of the terminal module of the electrical connector, and the molding process is cumbersome.

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

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector which is simple and convenient to manufacture and has high structural strength.

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned invention objectives, the present invention provides an electrical connector, which includes a plurality of conductive terminals and an insulating body covered on the outside of the conductive terminals, the conductive terminals include a pair of grounding terminals arranged on both outer sides in the lateral direction and a power terminal located on the inner side of the grounding terminals, the conductive terminals have a plurality of contact portions exposed on the upper and lower sides of the insulating body to contact with a docking connector, the contact portions include a first contact portion exposed on the upper side of the insulating body and a second contact portion exposed on the lower side of the insulating body, the first contact portion and the second contact portion are arranged in reverse, and each of the grounding terminals has a lateral protrusion formed by integrally protruding outward along the lateral direction, and the first contact portion and the second contact portion are relatively arranged on both sides of the height direction.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention, each of the conductive terminals includes a fixed portion, a contact arm located in front of the fixed portion, and a welding portion located behind the fixed portion. The upper and lower surfaces of the contact arm of the grounding terminal form its first and second contact portions. The fixed portion is arranged parallel to a horizontal plane, the contact arm is folded from the fixed portion and arranged perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and the lateral protrusion is formed by protruding outward from the outer surface of the contact arm.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, the lateral protrusion is formed by drawing or tearing the contact arm of the corresponding grounding terminal.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the insulating body includes a base and a tongue plate extending forward from the base, the contact arm is buried in the tongue plate and the contact portion is exposed on both sides of the tongue plate, and the lateral protrusion is at least partially buried in the tongue plate.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, the lateral protrusion includes a convex strip and a locking portion located on the front side of the convex strip, the locking portion is adapted to the shape of the front end of the tongue plate, and the rear end face of the convex strip is located in front of the front end face of the fixing portion of the grounding terminal.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the fixing portion of each grounding terminal includes a first fixing section and a second fixing section connected to each other, the first fixing section and the second fixing section are offset in the lateral direction, the welding portion extends backward from the first fixing section out of the insulating body, and the contact arm is connected to a side of the second fixing section away from an adjacent power terminal in the lateral direction.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, the first fixing section is located outside the second fixing section in the transverse direction.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, the power terminal comprises a pair located inside the corresponding ground terminal, and each of the power terminals has the first contact portion and the second contact portion which are relatively arranged on both sides in the height direction thereof.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention, the power terminal includes a first power terminal and a pair of second power terminals located on the inner side of the corresponding grounding terminal, the first power terminal having a first contact portion and a second contact portion relatively arranged on both sides thereof in the height direction, and the contact portions of the pair of second power terminals are relatively arranged in the height direction.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present invention, the power terminals include two pairs that are independently arranged from each other, and the contact portions of each pair of the power terminals are arranged opposite to each other in a height direction.

[0017] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The electrical connector of the present invention forms a lateral protrusion by integrally protruding outward on the side of each grounding terminal, and provides a first contact portion and a second contact portion disposed on both sides in the height direction thereof, and utilizes the lateral protrusion to enhance the structural strength of the tongue plate and the plug-in resistance of the tongue plate, thereby saving the production and installation process of the traditional intermediate plate, being easy to produce, low in cost and enhancing the plug-in resistance of the electrical connector. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

[0019] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Another view of the electrical connector shown.

[0020] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A perspective exploded view of the electrical connector shown.

[0021] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A perspective view of the conductive terminals in the electrical connector shown.

[0022] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 A perspective exploded view of the conductive terminal shown.

[0023] Figure 6 4 is a top view of the conductive terminal.

[0024] Figure 7 yes Figure 4 A perspective view of a modified embodiment of the conductive terminal is shown.

[0025] Figure 8 It is a three-dimensional view of the conductive terminal in the second embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention.

[0026] Fig. 9 It is a three-dimensional view of the conductive terminal in the third embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, methodological, or functional changes made by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0028] Please refer to Figures 1 to 7 The first embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention is shown. In the present invention, the electrical connector 100 is installed on an external circuit board (not shown), and includes a plurality of conductive terminals 2 and an insulating body 1 covering the conductive terminals 2 .

[0029] For the sake of convenience, when introducing the electrical connector 100 below, the mating end of the electrical connector 100 will be regarded as the front end and the other end arranged opposite to it will be regarded as the rear end. That is, the front-to-back direction is the mating direction between the electrical connector 100 and the mating connector (not shown). At the same time, a direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction is defined as the lateral direction, and another direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction is defined as the height direction.

[0030] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 As shown, in the present invention, the insulating body 1 is a one-piece structure, the conductive terminal 2 is embedded in the insulating body 1, the insulating body 1 includes a base 11 and a tongue plate 12 extending forward from the base 11, the tongue plate 12 has two surfaces (i.e., upper and lower surfaces) arranged opposite to each other along the height direction, and the contact portion 221 of the conductive terminal 2 is exposed on the two surfaces of the tongue plate 12 respectively.

[0031] In addition, in this embodiment, the insulating body 1 further has a middle portion 13 located between the base portion 11 and the tongue portion 12 .

[0032] Please refer to Figures 3 to 6 As shown, each of the conductive terminals 2 includes a fixing portion 21, a contact arm 22 located at the front side of the fixing portion 21, and a welding portion 23 located at the rear side of the fixing portion 21. In this embodiment, the welding portions 23 of the conductive terminals 2 all extend horizontally backward to form surface welding type solder feet, and are arranged in a row along the transverse direction.

[0033] Furthermore, the conductive terminal 2 includes a pair of grounding terminals G disposed on both outer sides in the lateral direction thereof and a power terminal P disposed on the inner side of the grounding terminal G. The conductive terminal 2 has a plurality of contact portions 221 exposed on the upper and lower sides of the tongue plate 12 of the insulating body 1 to contact the docking connector. The contact portion 221 includes a first contact portion 2211 exposed on the upper side of the insulating body 1 and a second contact portion 2213 exposed on the lower side of the insulating body 1. The first contact portion 2211 and the second contact portion 2213 are arranged in reverse, and the first contact portion 2211 and the second contact portion 2213 are arranged in the same manner as the conductive terminals in a standard USB Type C electrical connector.

[0034] Specifically, each of the grounding terminals G has a lateral protrusion 24 that protrudes outward in an integral manner along the lateral direction, and the first contact portion 2211 and the second contact portion 2213 that are relatively arranged on both sides of the height direction thereof. In this way, by simultaneously forming the lateral protrusion 24 and the two contact portions 221 on the grounding terminal G, the lateral protrusion 24 is utilized to lock with the docking connector and / or increase the structural strength of the tongue plate 12 of the insulating body, which not only eliminates the intermediate plate separately arranged in the traditional electrical connector, but also simplifies the structure and manufacturing process of the two corresponding upper and lower grounding terminals.

[0035] The upper and lower surfaces of the contact arm 22 of the ground terminal G are formed as the first and second contact portions 2211 and 2213, the fixing portion 21 is arranged parallel to the horizontal plane, the contact arm 22 is folded from the fixing portion 21 and arranged perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and the lateral protrusion 24 is formed by protruding outward from the outer surface of the contact arm 22.

[0036] Furthermore, the lateral protrusion 24 is formed by drawing or tearing from the contact arm 22 of the corresponding ground terminal G. Preferably, in this embodiment, the lateral protrusion 24 is formed by drawing, so that the material of the metal sheet at this position can be hardened, so as to improve the plugging resistance of the lateral protrusion 24.

[0037] The contact arm 22 is embedded in the tongue plate 12 and exposes the contact portion 221 at both sides of the tongue plate 12 . The lateral protrusion 24 is at least partially embedded in the tongue plate 12 to enhance the structural strength of the tongue plate 12 and enhance the plug-in resistance of the electrical connector 100 .

[0038] Specifically, the lateral protrusion 24 includes a convex strip 241 and a locking portion 242 located on the front side of the convex strip 241, the locking portion 242 protrudes further outward than the convex strip 241 and is adapted to the shape of the front end of the tongue plate 12, and the rear end face of the convex strip 241 is located in front of the front end face of the fixing portion 21 of the grounding terminal G.

[0039] In the height direction, the lateral protrusion 24 is within the height range of the contact arm 22 and is located in the middle of the first contact portion 2211 and the second contact portion 2213 to achieve the function of a traditional intermediate piece and strengthen the strength of the tongue plate 12 .

[0040] The fixing portion 21 of each grounding terminal G includes a first fixing segment 211 and a second fixing segment 212 connected to each other, the first fixing segment 211 and the second fixing segment 212 are offset in the lateral direction, the welding portion 23 extends backward from the first fixing segment 211 out of the insulating body 1, and the contact arm 22 is connected to the side of the second fixing segment 212 away from the adjacent power terminal P in the lateral direction.

[0041] The first fixing section 211 is connected to one side of the second fixing section 212 in the transverse direction, so that the first fixing section 211 and the second fixing section 212 are staggered, and the first fixing section 211 is located outside the second fixing section 212 in the transverse direction.

[0042] Each of the conductive terminals 2 further includes a head 25 located at the front side of the contact arm 22 . In this embodiment, the lateral protrusion 24 extends forward to the side of the head 25 , and the front end surface of the lateral protrusion 24 is located behind the front end surface of the head 25 .

[0043] In addition, each of the conductive terminals 2 also has a connecting portion 26 connecting the fixing portion 21 and the welding portion 23. The connecting portion 26 is upright, and the connecting portion 26 of the conductive terminal 2 is aligned in the lateral direction for easy positioning and fixation, and at the same time, the welding portions 23 of the conductive terminal 2 are arranged in a row for subsequent welding operations.

[0044] Of course, in other embodiments, the welding portion 23 may also be formed by extending vertically downward directly from the fixing portion 21 to form a through-hole welding foot.

[0045] In this embodiment, the power terminals P include a pair located inside the corresponding ground terminals G, and each of the power terminals P has the first contact portion 2211 and the second contact portion 2213 disposed on both sides of the power terminals P in a height direction. The fixing portion 21 of the ground terminal G and the fixing portion 21 of the power terminals P are completely staggered.

[0046] At this time, the power terminal P and the ground terminal G are formed on the same metal sheet. The electrical connector 100 has a total of six signal terminals S, which are arranged in two rows, with three signal terminals S in one row, ground terminal G, and power terminal P formed on the same metal sheet, and three signal terminals S in another row formed on another metal sheet. The three signal terminals S in each row include a CC terminal, a D+ terminal, and a D- terminal arranged in sequence in the transverse direction, wherein the D+ terminal and the D- terminal are mainly used to transmit USB 2.0 signals.

[0047] In addition, if Figure 7 The figure shows a modified embodiment of the electrical connector described in the first embodiment. In this modified embodiment, the electrical connector only has a ground terminal G and a power terminal P, and does not have a signal terminal. At this time, the conductive terminal 2 is formed by only one metal sheet. Of course, in other embodiments, the electrical connector 100 can also be provided with one signal terminal or three signal terminals according to usage requirements. When there are one or three signal terminals, the conductive terminal 2 can also be formed by only one metal sheet.

[0048] Please refer to Figure 8 As shown, it is a conductive terminal 2 in the second embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention. The basic structure and assembly relationship of the electrical connector in this embodiment are basically the same as those in the first embodiment. The only difference lies in the arrangement of the power terminal P. In this embodiment, the power terminal includes a first power terminal P1 located on the inner side of the corresponding grounding terminal and a pair of second power terminals P2. The first power terminal P1 has a first contact portion 2211 and a second contact portion 2213 relatively arranged on both sides in the height direction thereof. Each of the second power terminals P2 has only one contact portion 221. The contact portions 221 of the pair of second power terminals P2 are relatively arranged in the height direction.

[0049] Please refer to Fig. 9 As shown, the conductive terminal 2 in the third embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention, the basic structure and assembly relationship of the electrical connector in this embodiment are basically the same as those in the first embodiment, and the only difference is the setting method of the power terminal P, which will be specifically described below: In this embodiment, the power terminal P includes two pairs arranged independently of each other, each of the power terminal P has only one contact portion 221, and the contact portions 221 of each pair of the power terminals P are arranged relative to each other in the height direction.

[0050] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, during the preparation process of the electrical connector, the lateral protrusions need to be formed on the metal sheet by drawing or tearing, and then cut and bent to form each conductive terminal, and then the insulating body is once injection molded on the outside of the conductive terminal, and finally the metal shell 3 is shielded on the outside of the insulating body 1, thereby completing the production of the electrical connector. In this way, during the entire preparation process, only one injection molding process is required to form the insulating body, and the lateral protrusions are formed by drawing or tearing on the grounding terminal in an integrated manner, which saves the production and installation process of the intermediate sheet, is convenient to produce, has low cost, and the electrical connector has a strong plug-in resistance.

[0051] To sum up, the electrical connector 100 in the present invention forms a lateral protrusion 24 by integrally protruding outward on the side of each grounding terminal G, and provides a first contact portion 2211 and a second contact portion 2213 disposed on both sides in the height direction thereof to utilize the lateral protrusion 24 to enhance the structural strength of the tongue plate 12 and the plug-in resistance of the tongue plate 12, thereby saving the production and installation steps of the traditional intermediate plate, being convenient to produce, low in cost and enhancing the plug-in resistance of the electrical connector 100.

[0052] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solution of the present invention may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising a plurality of conductive terminals and an insulating body covering the conductive terminals, wherein the conductive terminals include a pair of grounding terminals disposed on two outer sides thereof in a lateral direction and a power terminal disposed on the inner side of the grounding terminals, wherein the conductive terminals have a plurality of contact portions exposed on the upper and lower sides of the insulating body to contact with a mating connector, wherein the contact portions include a first contact portion exposed on the upper side of the insulating body and a second contact portion exposed on the lower side of the insulating body, wherein the first contact portion and the second contact portion are arranged in opposite directions, and wherein: Each of the ground terminals comprises a lateral protrusion integrally formed to protrude outward in a lateral direction, and the first contact portion and the second contact portion oppositely arranged at both sides in a height direction thereof.

2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the conductive terminals includes a fixing portion, a contact arm located in front of the fixing portion, and a welding portion located behind the fixing portion. The upper and lower surfaces of the contact arm of the grounding terminal form its first and second contact portions. The fixing portion is arranged parallel to a horizontal plane, the contact arm is folded from the fixing portion and arranged perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and the lateral protrusion is formed by protruding outward from the outer surface of the contact arm.

3. The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein: The lateral protrusion is formed by drawing or tearing the contact arm of the corresponding ground terminal.

4. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein: The insulating body comprises a base and a tongue plate extending forward from the base, the contact arm is embedded in the tongue plate and the contact portion is exposed at both sides of the tongue plate, and the lateral protrusion is at least partially embedded in the tongue plate.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein: The lateral protrusion includes a convex strip and a locking portion located at the front side of the convex strip, the locking portion is adapted to the shape of the front end of the tongue plate, and the rear end surface of the convex strip is located in front of the front end of the fixing portion of the grounding terminal.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein: The fixing portion of each grounding terminal includes a first fixing section and a second fixing section connected to each other, the first fixing section and the second fixing section are offset in the lateral direction, the welding portion extends backward from the first fixing section out of the insulating body, and the contact arm is connected to a side of the second fixing section away from an adjacent power terminal in the lateral direction.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 6, wherein: The first fixing section is located outside the second fixing section in a transverse direction.

8. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The power terminals include a pair located inside the corresponding ground terminals, and each of the power terminals includes the first contact portion and the second contact portion which are arranged oppositely on both sides in the height direction thereof.

9. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The power terminal includes a first power terminal and a pair of second power terminals located inside the corresponding ground terminal. The first power terminal has a first contact portion and a second contact portion arranged oppositely on both sides of the first power terminal in the height direction. The contact portions of the pair of second power terminals are arranged oppositely in the height direction.

10. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The power terminals include two pairs that are independently arranged from each other, and the contact portions of each pair of the power terminals are arranged opposite to each other in a height direction.

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