Electric connector

Abstract

The invention provides an electric connector. The electric connector comprises an insulating base, a plurality of conductive terminals, two metal fixing sheets and a metal shell, the insulating base comprises a base part and a pair of tongue plates protruding forwards from the base part; the plurality of conductive terminals are arranged on the insulating base; each conductive terminal comprises a butt joint part exposed on the butt joint tongue plate and a welding part backwards extending out of the insulating base; the two metal fixing sheets are respectively fixed on the upper side and the lower side of the insulating base; each metal fixing sheet comprises a horizontal protection part, a horizontal fixing part and a vertical extension part connected between the horizontal protection part and the horizontal fixing part; the horizontal protection part has a first thickness and covers the rear part of the butt joint tongue plate; the horizontal fixing part has a second thickness and is embedded in the base part; wherein the first thickness is smaller than the second thickness; and the metal shell is sleeved on the periphery of the insulating base and is welded with the horizontal fixing part. The product reliability can be improved.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This invention is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application number 202010960836.1, application date September 14, 2020, and invention name “Electrical Connector”. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of electrical connectors, and in particular to an electrical connector with higher reliability. Background Art

[0004] CN105470697B discloses an electrical connector, including an insulating body, a conductive terminal held in the insulating body, a metal shell sleeved outside the insulating body and the conductive terminal to form a receiving space, and a waterproof plate formed by glue at the rear of the receiving space, wherein the insulating body includes a groove, a tongue plate portion located in front of the groove, and a holding portion located behind the groove, wherein the conductive terminal includes a contact end exposed on the tongue plate portion, a connecting arm exposed in the groove, a holding arm held in the holding portion, and a welding end extending from the holding portion, and the waterproof plate is formed in the groove and the rear end of the waterproof plate is at least partially exposed to the outside. In this scheme, the waterproof plate is formed in the groove by glue. When the electrical connector is welded to a circuit board, the waterproof plate will expand due to the heat of the welding process, thereby generating a squeezing force on the holding portion, which easily causes the holding portion to warp upward, driving the welding end of the conductive terminal to warp, resulting in poor welding between the electrical connector and the circuit board, affecting product reliability.

[0005] CN210182659U discloses an electrical connector for a docking connector, comprising: an insulating body, which is provided with a base and a tongue plate located in front of the base; at least one shielding member, which is provided on the base or / and the tongue plate, and the shielding member is in contact with the docking connector; a shell, which is covered on the periphery of the base, the tongue plate and the shielding member, a plug-in space is formed between the shell and the tongue plate, and the shielding member is exposed in the plug-in space, the docking connector is inserted into the plug-in space and the two sides are respectively in contact with the shell and the shielding member, the shell has a shielding area, the shielding area is located above the base, the shell has at least one thin layer area corresponding to the shielding member, the thin layer area is welded to the shielding member, and the thickness of the thin layer area in the vertical direction is less than the thickness of the shielding area. The shell in this scheme is designed to have different thicknesses in different areas, so the shell can be firmly welded with the shielding member and has a good shielding effect. However, the shell with different thicknesses in different areas can only be made by metal powder metallurgy process, which has high manufacturing cost and produces thick and heavy shell, which is not conducive to reducing costs and the trend of lightweight electronic products.

[0006] Based on the existing technology, further improvements are needed to improve the reliability of electrical connectors. Summary of the invention

[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the above-mentioned prior art and to provide an electrical connector with higher reliability.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides an electrical connector, comprising an insulating base, a plurality of conductive terminals, two metal fixing plates and a metal shell; the insulating base comprises a base and a pair of tongue plates protruding forward from the base; the plurality of conductive terminals are arranged on the insulating base; each conductive terminal comprises a docking portion exposed on the docking tongue plate and a welding portion extending backward from the insulating base; the two metal fixing plates are respectively fixed on the upper and lower sides of the insulating base; each metal fixing plate comprises a horizontal protective portion, a horizontal fixing portion, and a vertical extension portion connected between the horizontal protective portion and the horizontal fixing portion; the horizontal protective portion has a first thickness, which covers the rear portion of the docking tongue plate; the horizontal fixing portion has a second thickness, which is embedded in the base; wherein the first thickness is less than the second thickness; the metal shell is sleeved on the outer periphery of the insulating base and welded to the horizontal fixing portion.

[0009] Compared with the prior art, the metal fixing plate has a horizontal protection portion and a horizontal fixing portion of different thicknesses. The horizontal protection portion of smaller thickness covers the tongue thickening portion of the docking tongue plate, which can avoid improper electrical contact with the conductive terminal in the docking tongue plate, while increasing the strength of the docking tongue plate to prevent it from breaking. The horizontal fixing portion of larger thickness is embedded in the base and laser welded to the metal shell. The larger thickness of the horizontal fixing portion can prevent it from being burned through by the laser, so that it can be reliably welded to the metal shell, thereby improving the connection stability and shielding effect between the metal shell and the insulating base. This metal fixing plate of different thicknesses can be used in combination with a metal shell with uniform thickness formed by drawing or stamping, and the thickness of the horizontal fixing portion can be easily adjusted according to the different thicknesses of the metal shell, which is low-cost and has design flexibility. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 and Figure 2 The figures are three-dimensional views from two different viewing angles of a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Front view of .

[0012] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 AA section view.

[0013] Figure 5 and Figure 6 yes Figure 1 Exploded three-dimensional diagram.

[0014] Figure 7 and Figure 8 is Figure 6 Two stereo images from different viewing directions further decomposed from the basis, with the fixed shell removed.

[0015] Fig. 9 yes Figure 7 Further exploded view of the middle terminal block.

[0016] Fig.10 yes Fig. 9 A perspective view of the insulating base from another viewing direction.

[0017] Fig.11 yes Fig. 9 Side view of the metal fixing plate.

[0018] Fig.12 It is a three-dimensional view of another preferred embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention.

[0019] Fig.13 and Fig.14 yes Fig.12 A three-dimensional exploded view from two different viewing directions.

[0020] The reference numerals are described as follows: 100 / 100a, electrical connector;

[0021] 1. Insulating base; 11. Base; 111. Fixing groove; 112. Snap-fit ​​groove; 12. Butt tongue; 121. Front tongue portion; 122. Tongue thickening portion; 1221. Mounting groove; 13. Terminal fixing portion; 131. Partition portion; 132. Guide portion; 1321. Protrusion; 14. Connecting rib; 15. Glue receiving groove; 16. Concave portion; 17. Fence portion; 171. Front partition wall; 172. Side partition wall; 173. Groove;

[0022] 2. Conductive terminal; 21. Docking portion; 22. Connecting portion; 23. Welding portion;

[0023] 3. Metal fixing sheet; 31. Horizontal protection part; 32. Vertical extension part; 33. Horizontal fixing part; 34. Vertical buckle part;

[0024] 4. Metal housing; 41. Docking cavity;

[0025] 5 / 5a, fixed housing; 51 / 51a, top plate; 511, through hole; 52 / 52a, side plate; 53, front fixed foot; 54 / 54a, rear fixed foot; 55 / 55a, engaging hole; 56a, positioning flange; 57a, fixing plate; 571a, fixing through hole;

[0026] 6. Waterproof sealing ring;

[0027] 7. Glue;

[0028] 8. Buckle metal parts;

[0029] 9. Terminal block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Although the present invention can be easily embodied in different forms of embodiments, only some of the specific embodiments are shown in the drawings and will be described in detail in this specification. It should be understood that this description should be regarded as an exemplary illustration of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to that described herein.

[0031] Thus, a feature indicated in this specification will be used to illustrate one of the features of an embodiment of the present invention, rather than implying that each embodiment of the present invention must have the described feature. In addition, it should be noted that this specification describes many features. Although some features can be combined together to illustrate possible system designs, these features can also be used in other combinations that are not explicitly described. Thus, unless otherwise stated, the described combinations are not intended to be limiting.

[0032] In the embodiments shown in the drawings, the indications of directions (such as up, down, left, right, front and back) used to explain the structure and movement of various elements of the present invention are not absolute but relative. These descriptions are appropriate when these elements are in the positions shown in the drawings. If the description of the positions of these elements changes, the indications of these directions also change accordingly.

[0033] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of this specification.

[0034] See also Figures 1 to 9 , this preferred embodiment provides a waterproof electrical connector 100, an example of which is a USB type-C connector, which supports forward and reverse bidirectional docking. The electrical connector 100 includes an insulating base 1, a plurality of conductive terminals 2, two metal fixing plates 3, a metal shell 4, a fixed shell 5, a waterproof sealing ring 6, a glue 7 and two buckling metal parts 8. Among them, the insulating base 1 is preferably combined with the plurality of conductive terminals 2 and the two buckling metal parts 8 by insert molding to form a terminal seat 9. The metal fixing plate 3 is respectively fixed to the upper and lower sides of the insulating base 1, the metal shell 4 is sleeved on the outer periphery of the terminal seat 9, the fixed shell 5 is fixed above the metal shell 4, the waterproof sealing ring 6 is sleeved on the front end of the metal shell 4, and the glue 7 is filled between the rear end of the terminal seat 9 and the metal shell 4.

[0035] See also Fig. 9 and Fig.10 The insulating base 1 mainly includes a base 11, a pair of tongue plates 12 protruding forward from the base 11, a terminal fixing portion 13 located behind the base 11, and two connecting ribs 14 connected between the base 11 and the terminal fixing portion 13.

[0036] The base 11 is substantially in a rectangular block shape, and has a fixing groove 111 and two locking grooves 112 that are further recessed from the bottom of the fixing groove 111 on its upper and lower surfaces, respectively.

[0037] The docking tongue plate 12 includes a front tongue plate portion 121 and a tongue plate thickening portion 122. The front tongue plate portion 121 is located in front of the tongue plate thickening portion 122 and has a smaller thickness than the tongue plate thickening portion 122. The tongue plate thickening portion 122 has a correspondingly larger thickness, and the tongue plate thickening portion 122 is connected to the base 11. A mounting groove 1221 is provided on the surface of the tongue plate thickening portion 122, and the mounting groove 1221 is communicated with the front end surface of the base 11.

[0038] The two sides of the terminal fixing portion 13 are connected to the rear end of the base 11 through the two connecting ribs 14, and a glue receiving groove 15 is formed between the terminal fixing portion 13 and the base 11, which is used to be filled with the glue 7. In this preferred embodiment, the middle part of the glue receiving groove 15 also has a recess 16 that protrudes backwards. The space of the glue receiving groove 15 is expanded by the arrangement of the recess 16, which is conducive to the upward and downward flow of the glue 7 so that it can evenly fill the glue receiving groove 15. The recess 16 is formed on the front end surface of the terminal fixing portion 13, that is, the middle part of the front end surface of the terminal fixing portion 13 is recessed to form the recess 16, and the recess 16 passes through the terminal fixing portion 13 from top to bottom.

[0039] In this preferred embodiment, it is best to Figure 7 As shown, the bottom of the terminal fixing portion 13 is provided with two hollow fence portions 17 on one side adjacent to the glue receiving groove 15. The fence portion 17 is located at the rear side adjacent to the glue receiving groove 15 to limit the improper flow of the glue 7 and to receive the excess glue 7 overflowing from the glue receiving groove 15. The fence portion 17 mainly includes a front partition wall 171, a side partition wall 172, and a groove 173 surrounded by the front partition wall 171 and the side partition wall 172; the two side partition walls 172 are respectively located on both sides of the recess 16. The fence portion 17 has a substantially rectangular circumferential profile, and the opening of the groove 173 thereof faces downward. The thickness of the front partition wall 171 and the side partition wall 172 adjacent to the glue receiving groove 15 is very thin, and the groove 173 is hollow to form a receiving space, so that the fence portion 17 can be deformed to absorb the expansion of the glue 7 due to heat.

[0040] The terminal fixing portion 13 is in a step shape, including a partition portion 131 and a guide portion 132 protruding downward from the rear of the partition portion 131. A protrusion 1321 protrudes outward from both sides of the guide portion 132. The bottom of the guide portion 132 extends downward beyond the bottom surface of the partition portion 131. The partition portion 131 is adjacent to the glue receiving groove 15. The fence portion 17 is arranged on the bottom surface of the partition portion 131 and connected to the guide portion 132.

[0041] See also Figure 4The base 11 and the butt tongue 12 of the insulating base 1 are both symmetrical in structure with respect to the central axis L of the electrical connector 100. The terminal fixing portion 13 is arranged below the central axis L, that is, the structural volume of the terminal fixing portion 13 below the central axis L is larger than the structural volume above the central axis L, so that the center of gravity of the terminal fixing portion 13 is located in the lower half of the terminal fixing portion 13, so as to resist the upward turning moment.

[0042] See also Figures 4 to 9 The plurality of conductive terminals 2 are divided into two rows, upper and lower, and fixed on the insulating base 1. The arrangement of the plurality of conductive terminals 2 on the insulating base 1 is based on the low-speed version interface standard of USB type-C to support forward and reverse bidirectional docking.

[0043] Each conductive terminal 2 is bent and extended along the front-to-back direction, and includes a docking portion 21 , a connecting portion 22 and a welding portion 23 from front to back. The connecting portion 22 is connected between the docking portion 21 and the welding portion 23 .

[0044] The docking portion 21 is exposed on the docking tongue plate 12 of the insulating base 1 and is used for docking with another electrical connector (not shown in the figure) that is connected to the docking portion 21. Specifically, the docking portion 21 is exposed on the surface of the front tongue plate portion 121 of the docking tongue plate 12.

[0045] The connecting portion 22 passes through the glue receiving groove 15 of the insulating base 1 along the front-to-back direction. A portion of the connecting portion 22 is exposed to the glue receiving groove 15; the front end of the connecting portion 22 is fixed in the base 11; the rear end of the connecting portion 22 is fixed to the terminal fixing portion 13 and extends obliquely downward along the guide portion 132 of the terminal fixing portion 13.

[0046] The soldering portion 23 extends outward from the terminal fixing portion 13 and is used to be soldered to a circuit board (not shown) by a surface soldering process. Specifically, the soldering portion 23 extends from the bottom of the guide portion 132 of the terminal fixing portion 13 and extends horizontally backward.

[0047] In this preferred embodiment, the welding portions 23 of the plurality of conductive terminals 2 are arranged side by side along the lateral direction of the guide portion 132. In other embodiments not shown, the welding portions 23 of the plurality of conductive terminals 2 may also be divided into multiple rows and extend from the terminal fixing portion 13, and the welding portions 23 may also be in a vertical structure.

[0048] See also Figures 7 to 9The two fastening metal parts 8 are embedded in the docking tongue plate 12 of the insulating base 1 and are located between the two rows of conductive terminals 2. The two fastening metal parts 8 are respectively located on both sides of the docking tongue plate 12 and slightly protrude from the side edges of the docking tongue plate 12. The two fastening metal parts 8 are used to fasten with the hooks of another electrical connector (not shown in the figure) connected to the two electrical connectors.

[0049] See also Figures 4 to 9 as well as Fig.11 The two metal fixing plates 3 are respectively fixed to the upper and lower sides of the insulating base 1. The metal fixing plate 3 includes a horizontal protection portion 31, a vertical extension portion 32, a horizontal fixing portion 33, and two vertical buckling portions 34 vertically bent from the rear of the horizontal fixing portion 33. The metal fixing plate 3 can be integrally bent.

[0050] The horizontal protection part 31 covers the surface of the tongue thickening part 122 of the insulating base 1. Specifically, the horizontal protection part 31 is embedded in the mounting groove 1221 on the surface of the tongue thickening part 122. The horizontal protection part 31 is spaced apart from the conductive terminal 2 for transmitting signals or power fixed in the tongue thickening part 122 by a distance to prevent erroneous electrical contact. The horizontal protection part 31 has a relatively small first thickness t1, so that when embedded in the surface of the tongue thickening part 122, it can meet the appearance size requirements of the USB type-C standard and avoid contact with the conductive terminal 2 for transmitting signals or power in the docking tongue 12, while strengthening the docking tongue 12 to prevent it from being broken by external forces. In addition, the horizontal protection part 31 also improves the electromagnetic shielding effect. In some cases not shown, the horizontal protection part 31 can make electrical contact with the conductive terminal 2 for providing a grounding function, thereby improving the grounding effect.

[0051] The vertical extension portion 32 is respectively vertically connected to the rear end of the horizontal protection portion 31 and the front end of the horizontal fixing portion 33. The vertical extension portion 32 is attached to the front end surface of the base portion 11 of the insulating base 1.

[0052] The horizontal fixing portion 33 is embedded in the surface of the base 11 of the insulating base 1. Specifically, the horizontal fixing portion 33 is fixed in the fixing groove 111 of the base 11, and the outer surface of the horizontal fixing portion 33 is substantially flush with the surface of the base 11. The horizontal fixing portion 33 has a relatively large second thickness t2, which is greater than the first thickness t1, so as to facilitate welding with the metal shell 4. In some embodiments, the first thickness t1 is 0.1 mm, and the second thickness t2 is 0.2 mm. The horizontal fixing portion 33 with a relatively thin thickness can be made by etching or stamping thinning process.

[0053] The vertical buckling portion 34 is vertically bent and extended from the rear end of the horizontal fixing portion 33. The vertical buckling portion 34 is inserted into the buckling groove 112 of the base 11 to improve the bonding strength between the metal fixing sheet 3 and the base 11.

[0054] See also Figures 4 to 8 The metal shell 4 is annular and is sleeved on the outer periphery of the insulating base 1. The metal shell 4 can be formed by drawing or stamping and has a consistent thickness, and preferably has no seams on its outer periphery by drawing, so as to have a good waterproof function.

[0055] The inner peripheral wall of the metal shell 4 is fitted with the outer peripheral edge of the base 11 of the insulating base 1, and the upper and lower sides of the metal shell 4 are respectively laser welded to the horizontal fixing portions 33 of the two metal fixing plates 3. Since the horizontal fixing portion 33 has a relatively large thickness, it can prevent being burned through by the laser and can be reliably welded to the metal shell 4, thereby improving the connection stability between the metal shell 4 and the insulating base 1.

[0056] like Figure 4 As shown, a docking cavity 41 is formed between the front end of the metal shell 4 and the docking tongue plate 12. The rear end of the metal shell 4 surrounds the glue receiving groove 15 of the insulating base 1, and the terminal fixing portion 13 of the insulating base 1 extends backward beyond the metal shell 4.

[0057] See also Figures 4 to 6 The glue 7 is filled in the glue receiving groove 15 of the insulating base 1 to form a seal at the rear end of the metal shell 4, thereby preventing external water droplets from penetrating backward from the docking cavity 41 into the interior of the electronic device (not shown) on which the electrical connector 100 is installed.

[0058] The glue 7 is preferably injected from the upper part of the glue receiving groove 15 during coating. Since the connection portion 22 of the conductive terminal 2 is exposed in the glue receiving groove 15, the glue 7 will flow downward through the gaps between the conductive terminals 2. Since the number of the conductive terminals 2 is large and the gaps between two adjacent conductive terminals 2 are small, when the conventional structure does not have the recess 16, the glue 7 will produce a siphon phenomenon when flowing, and flow downward through the gaps between the conductive terminals 2, which easily causes most of the glue to flow to the lower part, resulting in uneven glue distribution on the upper and lower parts of the conductive terminal 2, resulting in less glue in the upper part, resulting in poor sealing, and more glue in the lower part, which will produce a squeezing force on the terminal fixing part 13 when it expands due to heat, causing the conductive terminal 2 to warp upward. According to the structure of the preferred embodiment, the setting of the recess 16 can balance the flow of the glue 7, reduce the siphon phenomenon, and make the upper and lower distribution of the glue 7 more uniform, so that the upper and lower parts are effectively sealed, and the squeezing force on the terminal fixing part 13 is more dispersed, reducing the deformation of the terminal fixing part 13, and can better maintain the position of the welding part 23 of the multiple conductive terminals 2, thereby improving the reliability of subsequent welding and improving the product yield.

[0059] like Figure 4As shown, when the electrical connector 100 is welded and fixed to a circuit board (not shown in the figure) through the SMT (Surface Mounted Technology) process, the glue 7 will expand due to heat. Under the structural limitation of the metal shell 4, the expanded glue 7 will push the terminal fixing part 13 backward. Since the terminal fixing part 13 is arranged below the central axis of the electrical connector 100, and the connection between the terminal fixing part 13 and the base 11 and the conductive terminal 2 is near the central axis, in a traditional embodiment, the expansion force of the glue 7 will produce a counterclockwise reversal torque on the terminal fixing part 13, causing the lower half of the terminal fixing part 13 to flip upward and then causing the welding part 23 to warp upward, resulting in poor welding. In the structure of the present preferred embodiment, since the fence portion 17 is provided at the bottom of the terminal fixing portion 13, the expansion force of the glue 7 will act on the front partition wall 171 of the fence portion 17. Since the thickness of the front partition wall 171 is very thin and a groove 173 is provided at the rear of the front partition wall 171 for it to deform backward, the front partition wall 171 will deform backward to absorb the expansion of the glue 7, so that the expansion of the glue 7 close to the lower half of the terminal fixing portion 13 will not produce a large backward thrust on the lower half of the terminal fixing portion 13, and the expansion force of the glue 7 close to the upper half of the terminal fixing portion 13 will actually act on the upper half of the terminal fixing portion 13. In this way, the terminal fixing portion 13 can be prevented from improperly flipping over by reducing the reverse torque, thereby preventing the welding portion 23 of the conductive terminal 2 led out from the guide portion 132 from warping upward, ensuring the reliability of welding the welding portion 23 with the circuit board, and improving the product yield.

[0060] See also Figures 4 to 6 The waterproof sealing ring 6 is sleeved on the front periphery of the metal housing 4. The waterproof sealing ring 6 can be matched with the housing of an electronic device such as a mobile phone (not shown in the figure) to prevent external water droplets from penetrating into the electronic device. The waterproof sealing ring 6 is preferably directly injection molded on the metal housing 4, tightly combined with the metal housing 4 and not easy to fall off, and has better waterproof performance.

[0061] See also Figures 4 to 6 The fixed housing 5 of the preferred embodiment is integrally stamped from a metal plate, and includes a top plate 51, two side plates 52 respectively bent and extending downward from both sides of the top plate 51, a front fixing leg 53 extending downward from the front end of the side plate 52, and a rear fixing leg 54 extending downward from the rear end of the side plate 52. A through hole 511 is provided on the top plate 51. The rear end of the side plate 52 outwardly protrudes from the top plate 51, and a locking hole 55 is provided in the protruding portion.

[0062] The fixed housing 5 covers the metal housing 4. The top plate 51 is fitted with the upper surface of the metal housing 4, and the position of the through hole 511 is opposite to the horizontal fixing portion 33 located in the metal housing 4 to avoid the welding point of the metal housing 4 and the metal fixing sheet 3 by laser welding. The two side plates 52 are laser welded to the two side walls of the metal housing 4 respectively. The engaging hole 55 is clamped to the protrusion 1321 of the terminal fixing portion 13 to firmly fix the terminal fixing portion 13.

[0063] The front fixing legs 53 and the rear fixing legs 54 extend downwardly beyond the metal housing 4 for mounting on a circuit board (not shown in the figure), thereby fixing the electrical connector 100 to the circuit board.

[0064] The electrical connector 100 is fixedly mounted on the circuit board through the fixed shell 5. The structure of the fixed shell 5 can be flexibly set according to the structural form of the circuit board. For example, the front fixing foot 53 and the rear fixing foot 54 can be adaptively adjusted. Thus, the metal shell 4 can be designed as a universal structure, which improves versatility and reduces mold opening costs, thereby reducing product costs.

[0065] See also Figure 12 to Figure 14 In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an electrical connector 100a adopts a fixed housing 5a of another structural form. In the electrical connector 100a, the structures of the insulating base 1, the conductive terminal 2, the metal housing 4, etc. are all described above.

[0066] The fixed housing 5a also includes a top plate 51a and two side plates 52a extending downwardly from two sides of the top plate 51a. The rear ends of the two side plates 52a extend downwardly to form a rear fixing foot 54a for fixing to a circuit board.

[0067] The front end of one side plate 52a protrudes a positioning flange 56a to the upper and lower sides respectively, and the rear end of the side plate 52a is provided with a snap-fitting hole 55a to snap-fit ​​with the insulating base 1. The two positioning flanges 56a and the side plate 52a are combined to form a T-shaped structure, and the two positioning flanges 56a can be received in the positioning grooves (not shown) corresponding to the product shell (not shown) on which the electrical connector 100a is installed, so as to provide positioning when the electrical connector 100a is installed in the product shell.

[0068] A fixing plate 57a extends backward from the rear end of the other side plate 52a, and a fixing through hole 571a is provided on the fixing plate 57a. A fixing screw (not shown in the figure) can be passed through the fixing through hole 571a to lock the electrical connector 100a to the product housing, thereby facilitating the assembly of the electrical connector 100a.

[0069] The manufacturing and assembly process of the electrical connector 100 / 100a generally includes the following steps: the insulating base 1, the conductive terminal 2 and the retaining metal part 8 are combined together by insert molding to form the terminal seat 9, and the two metal fixing plates 3 are installed on the terminal seat 9; the metal shell 4 is obtained, and the waterproof sealing ring 6 is injection molded at the front end of the metal shell 4; then the metal shell 4 is sleeved on the outer periphery of the insulating base 1, and the metal shell 4 and the metal fixing plate 3 are laser welded together; glue 7 is filled at the rear end of the insulating base 1 to seal the rear end of the metal shell 4; finally, the fixed shell 5 or the fixed shell 5a is covered on the metal shell 4, and the side panel 52 / 52a and the metal shell 4 are laser welded together.

[0070] Compared with the prior art, in the electrical connector 100 / 100a of the present application, a hollow fence portion 17 is provided on the terminal fixing portion 13 of the insulating base 1, and the fence portion 17 is arranged adjacent to the glue receiving groove 15. When the electrical connector 100 / 100a is soldered to a circuit board, the fence portion 17 can absorb the deformation of the glue 7 that expands due to heat, thereby preventing the glue 7 from exerting pressure on the terminal fixing portion 13 to generate a reverse torque and causing the soldering portion 23 of the conductive terminal 2 to warp upward, thereby improving the poor soldering phenomenon caused by the warping of the soldering portion 23 and improving the product yield of the electrical connector 100 / 100a. Compared with the prior art, the warping rate of the conductive terminal 2 after over-high temperature reflow soldering can be reduced from 0.15% of the prior art to 0.07%, significantly improving the product yield.

[0071] On the other hand, in the electrical connector 100 / 100a of the present application, the metal fixing plate 3 has a horizontal protection portion 31 and a horizontal fixing portion 33 of different thicknesses. The horizontal protection portion 31 with a smaller thickness covers the tongue thickening portion 122 of the docking tongue plate 12, which can avoid improper electrical contact with the conductive terminal 2 in the docking tongue plate 12, while increasing the strength of the docking tongue plate 12 to prevent it from breaking. The horizontal fixing portion 33 with a larger thickness is embedded in the base 11 and laser welded to the metal shell 4. The larger thickness of the horizontal fixing portion 33 can prevent it from being burned through by the laser, so that it can be reliably welded to the metal shell 4, thereby improving the connection stability and grounding shielding effect between the metal shell 4 and the insulating base 1.

[0072] Furthermore, when the metal fixing plate 3 of different thicknesses is used in combination with a metal shell 4 having consistent thickness formed by drawing or stamping, the thickness of the horizontal fixing portion 33 can be conveniently adjusted according to the different thicknesses of the metal shell 4. In addition, the cost of adjusting the metal fixing plate 3 is low and the design is flexible.

[0073] The above contents are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the implementation scheme of the present invention. A person skilled in the art can easily make corresponding changes or modifications based on the main concept and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope required by the claims.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, characterized in that: include: An insulating base including a base and a pair of tongue plates protruding forward from the base; A plurality of conductive terminals are arranged on the insulating base; each conductive terminal comprises a docking portion exposed on the docking tongue plate and a welding portion extending backward from the insulating base; Two metal fixing plates, which are respectively fixed on the upper and lower sides of the insulating base; each metal fixing plate includes a horizontal protection portion, a horizontal fixing portion, and a vertical extension portion connected between the horizontal protection portion and the horizontal fixing portion; the horizontal protection portion has a first thickness, which covers the rear portion of the docking tongue plate; the horizontal fixing portion has a second thickness, which is embedded in the base; wherein the first thickness is less than the second thickness; A metal shell is sleeved on the outer periphery of the insulating base and is welded with the horizontal fixing part.

2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal fixing sheet also includes at least one vertical buckling portion which is bent and extended from the rear end of the horizontal fixing portion, and the vertical buckling portion is inserted into the base.

3. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The thickness of the metal shell is consistent from front to back, and it is welded to the horizontal fixing parts of the two metal fixing plates by laser.

4. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The insulating base also includes a terminal fixing portion located behind the base; a glue receiving groove for filling glue is provided between the base and the terminal fixing portion; the terminal fixing portion is provided with at least one fence portion on a side adjacent to the glue receiving groove, and a hollow groove is formed in the fence portion; the welding portion extends outward from the terminal fixing portion; each conductive terminal also includes a connecting portion connected between the docking portion and the welding portion; a portion of the connecting portion is exposed to the glue receiving groove.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 4, characterized in that: The fence portion is arranged on the bottom surface of the terminal fixing portion, the opening of the groove is downward, and the fence portion can be deformed to absorb the deformation of the glue.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 5, characterized in that: The middle part of the glue receiving groove is provided with a concave part protruding backwards, and the concave part passes through the terminal fixing part from top to bottom; the terminal fixing part is provided with a fence part on both sides of the concave part.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 6, characterized in that: Each fence portion includes a front partition wall and a side partition wall, wherein the front partition wall faces the base of the insulating base, the side partition wall is located at one side of the recess, and the front partition wall and the side partition wall surround the outer side of the groove.

8. The electrical connector according to claim 4, characterized in that: The base of the insulating base and the terminal fixing portion are connected together through two connecting ribs located on both sides of the glue receiving groove.

9. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The electrical connector also includes a fixed shell fixed on the metal shell; the fixed shell includes a top plate and two side plates bent from two sides of the top plate, wherein one side plate has a positioning flange protruding from the upper and lower sides respectively; and the other side plate extends a fixing plate, and the fixing plate is provided with a fixing through hole.

10. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The docking tongue plate comprises a front tongue plate portion and a tongue plate thickening portion; the front tongue plate portion is located in front of the tongue plate thickening portion and has a smaller thickness than the tongue plate thickening portion. The tongue plate thickening portion has a correspondingly larger thickness and is connected to the base portion; a mounting groove is provided on the surface of the tongue plate thickening portion, and the mounting groove is communicated with the front end surface of the base portion; the horizontal protection portion is embedded in the mounting groove on the surface of the tongue plate thickening portion.

Images