Card edge connector and assembly thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a card edge connector and an assembly thereof, the card edge connector comprises a lengthwise insulating body and a plurality of conductive terminals, the insulating body comprises a first side wall and a second side wall which are opposite to each other, and a card slot located between the first side wall and the second side wall; the card edge connector is characterized in that the card edge connector is further provided with a positioning wall, the positioning wall is located between the first side wall and the second side wall, the card slot is divided into two sub-card slots by the positioning wall, the conductive terminals comprise a plurality of power supply terminals and a plurality of signal terminals, each sub-card slot is provided with a plurality of power supply terminals and at least one signal terminal, and the power supply terminals are connected with the signal terminals. Therefore, external equipment can realize power input and output and signal input and output only through one card edge connector, the cost and the size of the card edge connector are reduced, and the size of the external equipment is further reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of electrical connectors, and particularly to a card-edge connector and its components. Background Art

[0002] In practical applications, power needs to be connected between various devices through one or more connectors to achieve power input and output, and control signals are received or output through another connector to achieve signal connection and electrical connection between various devices.

[0003] However, when using multiple connectors to connect various devices, the volume of the devices will increase, resulting in a large device volume, which is not conducive to the miniaturization design of the devices, and will limit the improvement of device performance and function expansion in scenarios with strict requirements for space layout. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above, this application provides a card-edge connector and its components, which are used to solve the problem that the device volume will be large when using multiple connectors to connect various devices.

[0005] The first aspect of this application provides a card-edge connector, which includes a longitudinally extended insulating body and a plurality of conductive terminals. The insulating body includes opposite first sidewall, second sidewall and a card slot located between the first sidewall and the second sidewall; the card-edge connector further is provided with a positioning wall located between the first sidewall and the second sidewall. The positioning wall divides the card slot into two sub-card slots. The conductive terminals include a plurality of power terminals and a plurality of signal terminals, and each sub-card slot is provided with a plurality of power terminals and at least one signal terminal.

[0006] In a possible design, one end of the sub-card slot along the longitudinal direction is defined by the positioning wall, and an opening is provided at the other end of the sub-card slot away from the positioning wall.

[0007] In a possible design, each sub-card slot is provided with three power terminals and two signal terminals. There is a first spacing between adjacent power terminals, and a second spacing between adjacent signal terminals. The first spacing is less than the second spacing.

[0008] In a possible design, there is a third spacing between adjacent power terminals and signal terminals. The first spacing is less than the third spacing.

[0009] In a possible design, the first spacing is 0.6 mm, the second spacing is 1.2 mm, and the third spacing is 1.2 mm.

[0010] In a possible design, installation parts are integrally extended at both ends of the insulating body along the longitudinal direction. The installation parts are located outside the first sidewall and the second sidewall, and a board fixing part is fixed to each of the installation parts respectively.

[0011] In a possible design, the conductive terminal includes a fixing portion, two elastic arms, and a connecting foot portion. The two elastic arms are respectively located on one side of the first side wall and the second side wall close to the card slot, and each elastic arm is provided with a contact portion protruding into the card slot.

[0012] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a card-edge connector assembly, including a card-edge connector, a first circuit board, and a second circuit board. The card-edge connector is welded on the first circuit board, and the second circuit board can be inserted into and removed from the card-edge connector. The card-edge connector is provided with a card slot for inserting the second circuit board, a positioning wall located in the card slot, and a plurality of conductive terminals. The positioning wall divides the card slot into two sub-card slots. The conductive terminals include a plurality of power terminals and a plurality of signal terminals. Each sub-card slot is provided with a plurality of power terminals and at least one signal terminal.

[0013] In a possible design, the first circuit board is provided with a plurality of power pads and signal pads. The plurality of power terminals in each sub-card slot are simultaneously welded on the same power pad, and the signal terminals in each sub-card slot are respectively welded on the corresponding signal pads one by one.

[0014] In a possible design, there is a first spacing between adjacent power terminals, and a second spacing between adjacent signal terminals. The first spacing is less than the second spacing.

[0015] In a possible design, the second circuit board is provided with a positioning notch matching the positioning wall, and both ends of the second circuit board in the longitudinal direction protrude out of the card slot.

[0016] In the present application, an external device can achieve power input and output and signal input and output only through one card-edge connector, reducing the cost of the card-edge connector and the volume it occupies, and further reducing the volume of the external device. Description of the Drawings

[0017] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the card-edge connector assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 2 is Figure 1 the perspective view of the card-edge connector in

[0019] Figure 3 is Figure 2 the perspective view of the insulating body in

[0020] Figure 4 is Figure 2 the perspective exploded view of

[0021] Figure 5 is Figure 1 the perspective view with the insulating body removed.

[0022] Figure 6 isFigure 2 Top view.

[0023] Figure 7 is Figure 5 front view.

[0024] Description of main component symbols: Card-edge connector assembly 100, card-edge connector 101, first circuit board 102, second circuit board 103, Power pad 121, signal pad 122, fixing hole 123, reinforcing plate 124, Insulating body 10, first side wall 11, second side wall 12, card slot 13, positioning wall 14, Sub-card slot 131, sub-card slot 132, terminal slot 133, mounting portion 135, fixing hole 137, limiting slot 138, fixing block 139, balance block 140, board fixing member 141, fixing portion 142, limiting arm 143, Positioning notch 151, first connecting plate 152, second connecting plate 153, connecting hole 156, power pad 154, signal pad 155, Opening 161, opening 162, Conductive terminal 20, fixing portion 21, elastic arm 22, connecting foot portion 23, insertion notch 24, contact portion 25, power terminal 26, signal terminal 27. Detailed implementation manners

[0025] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments.

[0026] The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present application. As used in the specification and claims of the present application, the singular forms "a", "an", "above-mentioned", "the", and "this" are also intended to include, for example, the expression form of "one or more", unless there is a clear indication to the contrary in the context. It should also be understood that in the following embodiments of the present application, "at least one" and "one or more" mean one, two or more than two. The term " / ", used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, represents that three relationships can exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after.

[0027] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Thus, the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in other some embodiments", "in still other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising", "including", "having" and their variants all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0028] As Figure 1 shown, the card-edge connector assembly 100 includes a card-edge connector 101, a first circuit board 102, and a second circuit board 103. Among them, the card-edge connector 101 is soldered to the first circuit board 102, and the second circuit board 103 can be inserted into and removed from the card-edge connector 101. The card-edge connector 101 can be electrically connected to the first device through the first circuit board 102 and connected to the second device through the second circuit board 103. In this way, the connection between the first device and the second device is achieved through the card-edge connector 101. In practical applications, the first device can be a motherboard in a server, and the second device can be a fan or a control device. There is no specific limitation here, and it depends on the actual application environment, and all are within the protection scope of the present application.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 2 , the card-edge connector 101 includes a longitudinally extending insulating body 10 and a plurality of conductive terminals 20, where the longitudinal direction is the positive and negative directions of the X-axis shown in the figure. The conductive terminals 20 are disposed within the insulating body 10, and the conductive terminals 20 are used for electrically and mechanically connecting the first circuit board 102 and the second circuit board 103 to achieve power transmission and signal transmission between the first circuit board 102 and the second circuit board 103.

[0030] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4, the insulating body 10 includes opposite first sidewalls 11, second sidewalls 12, a card slot 13 and a positioning wall 14 located between the first sidewalls 11 and the second sidewalls 12. Among them, one end of the positioning wall 14 is connected to the first sidewall 11, and the other end of the positioning wall 14 is connected to the second sidewall 12, so as to divide the card slot 13 into two sub-card slots 131 and 132. The first sidewalls 11 and the second sidewalls 12 are provided with terminal slots 133 corresponding to the conductive terminals 20 to accommodate the conductive terminals 20 in the terminal slots 133. One end of the sub-card slot along the longitudinal direction is defined by the positioning wall 14, and the other ends of the sub-card slots 13 away from the positioning wall 14 are open with openings 161 and 162, so that when the second circuit board 103 is inserted into the card slot 13, the two ends of the second circuit board 103 away from the positioning wall 14 can protrude outside the openings. In this way, when the edge card connector assembly 100 is connected to the second device, the two ends of the second circuit board 103 can be clamped on the housing of the second device, making the connection between the edge card connector assembly 100 and the second device more stable and reducing the space occupancy rate of the edge card connector 101. In this embodiment, there is no end wall between the first sidewalls 11 and the second sidewalls 12 of the insulating body 10, and the inner bottom surfaces of the two sub-card slots are flush with the inner bottom surfaces of the openings.

[0031] In some embodiments, mounting portions 135 integrally extend from both ends of the insulating body 10 along the longitudinal direction. The mounting portions 135 are located outside the first sidewalls 11 and the second sidewalls 12, and the mounting portions 135 are fixed to the first circuit board 102 by board fixing members 141 to fix the insulating body 10 to the first circuit board 102.

[0032] In some embodiments, the mounting portions 135 are provided with fixing holes (not shown in the figure), limiting grooves 138 and cylindrical fixing blocks 139 extending downward from the mounting portions 135. The board fixing members 141 include fixing portions 142 and two limiting arms 143 extending along the transverse length direction from the top of the fixing portions 142, where the transverse length is Figure 4 the positive direction and the negative direction of the Z-axis shown in. Please refer to Figure 6 , the fixing portions 142 pass through the fixing holes and are fixed to the first circuit board 102, and the limiting arms 142 are arranged in the limiting grooves 138, so that the mounting portions 135 of the edge card connector 101 can be fixedly connected to the first circuit board 102 through the fixing portions 142 and fixed to the first circuit board 102 through the fixing blocks 139, realizing a reliable connection between the insulating body 10 and the first circuit board 102.

[0033] In an alternative implementation, balance blocks 140 are respectively provided on one sides of the first sidewalls 11 and the second sidewalls 12 away from the card slots 13. The bottoms of the balance blocks 140 abut against the first circuit board 102 to prevent the first sidewalls 11 and the second sidewalls 12 from shaking and affecting the connection reliability of the edge card connector 101.

[0034] Please refer to Figure 4 , the conductive terminal 20 includes a fixing portion 21, two elastic arms 22 extending upward from the fixing portion 21, and two connecting feet 23 extending downward from the fixing portion 21. The two elastic arms 22 are respectively located in the terminal slots 133 on the first side wall 11 and the second side wall 12, and an insertion notch 24 for the second circuit board 103 is provided between the two elastic arms 22 and the fixing portion 21. Each elastic arm 22 is provided with a contact portion 25 protruding from the terminal slot 133 into the card slot 13, and the contact portion 25 is arranged at the end of the elastic arm 22 away from the fixing portion 21. The connecting feet 23 extend out of the bottom of the insulating body 10 to connect the first circuit board 102. It can be seen from the figure that the length of the elastic arm 22 is greater than the length of the connecting feet 23, and the connecting feet 23 are widened. When the second circuit board 103 is inserted into the card slot 13, the second circuit board 103 is inserted into the insertion notch 24 between the two elastic arms 22, so that the contact portions 25 on the respective elastic arms 22 can connect to the second circuit board 103.

[0035] It can be understood that the orientation terms such as "top" and "bottom" involved in this application are all described with reference to the orientation shown in the attached Figure 4 figure. Taking the positive direction of the Y-axis as "top" and the negative direction of the Y-axis as "bottom", it does not indicate or imply that the device or component referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, so it cannot be understood as a limitation to this application.

[0036] Please refer to Figure 5 , the conductive terminal 20 may include a plurality of power terminals 26 and a plurality of signal terminals 27. In the figure, only six power terminals 26 and four signal terminals 27 are shown as examples. Three power terminals 26 and two signal terminals 27 can be respectively arranged in each sub-card slot 13. When the second device is connected to the first device through the card-edge connector assembly 100, each power terminal 26 is used to transmit the power voltage, and each signal terminal 27 is used to transmit the control signal between the second device and the first device. In practical applications, the current value of the power voltage can be 2A or 3.5A, and the voltage value of the power voltage can also be 12V.

[0037] In an alternative implementation, there is a first spacing between two adjacent power terminals 26, a second spacing between two adjacent signal terminals 27, and a third spacing between an adjacent power terminal 26 and a signal terminal 27. Specifically, the first spacing is less than the second spacing, and the first spacing is less than the third spacing. Please refer to Figure 7 , the first spacing can be 0.6 mm, and the second spacing and the third spacing can both be 1.2 mm. In practical applications, it is not limited to this, and it can be determined according to its specific application environment, and all are within the protection scope of this application.

[0038] In practical applications, when the second device is connected to the first device through the card-edge connector assembly 100, each conductive terminal 20 in any one of the sub-card slots 13 can serve as an input terminal, so that the input end of the second device can be connected to the output end of the first device through the conductive terminal 20 in the terminal slot 133, and each conductive terminal 20 in the other sub-card slot 13 can serve as an output terminal, so that the output end of the second device can be connected to the input end of the first device through the conductive terminal 20 in the sub-card slot 13, thereby realizing the electrical connection between the second device and the first device. In an optional implementation manner, one signal terminal 27 in the sub-card slot 131 is used to receive the first control signal PWM1 output by the first device, and another signal terminal 27 in the sub-card slot 131 is used to receive the second control signal TACH1 output by the first device, so as to input the first control signal PWM1 and the second control signal TACH1 into the second device through the signal terminal 27 in the sub-card slot 131, thereby controlling the second device to operate. One signal terminal 27 in the sub-card slot 132 is used to receive the third control signal PWM2 output by the second device, and another signal terminal 27 in the sub-card slot 132 is used to receive the fourth control signal TACH2 output by the second device, so as to input the third control signal PWM2 and the fourth control signal TACH2 into the first device through the signal terminal 27 in the sub-card slot 132, thereby controlling the first device to operate.

[0039] Please refer to Figure 5 , a plurality of power pads 121, a plurality of signal pads 122 and fixing holes 123 corresponding to the fixing blocks 139 are provided on the first circuit board 102, and only four power pads 121 and eight signal pads 122 are shown in the figure as examples. The connecting feet 23 on the same side of each power terminal 26 in each sub-card slot 13 are welded to the same power pad 121, so that each power terminal 26 can be connected to the power supply end of the first device through the first circuit board 102, and the connecting feet 23 of the signal terminals 27 in each sub-card slot 13 are respectively welded to the corresponding signal pads 122 one by one, so that when the first device is connected to the card-edge connector assembly 100, the signal terminals 27 can be connected to the signal end of the first device through the first circuit board 102, realizing the electrical connection and communication connection between the card-edge connector 101 and the first device. Optionally, the fixing block 139 on the card-edge connector 101 can be fixed in the fixing hole 123 on the first circuit board 102 to realize a reliable connection between the card-edge connector 101 and the first circuit board 102.

[0040] In an alternative implementation, the width of the power pad 121 can be 2.2 millimeters, and the width of the signal pad 122 can also be 1 millimeter. The width of the power pad 121 is greater than the sum of the thicknesses of the three power terminals 26, and the width of each signal pad 122 is greater than the thickness of each signal terminal 27. Optionally, a reinforcing plate 124 is attached to the bottom of the first circuit board 102 to increase the bending strength of the first circuit board 102 and prevent the power terminals 26 or signal terminals 27 on the first circuit board 102 from falling off due to bending.

[0041] The second circuit board 103 is provided with a positioning notch 151 that matches the positioning wall 14, and both ends of the second circuit board 103 in the longitudinal direction protrude from the card slot 13. A first connecting plate 152 and a second connecting plate 153 protrude along the extension direction of the card slot 13 on the second circuit board 103. The first connecting plate 152 and the second connecting plate 153 are arranged on both sides of the positioning notch 151 in the longitudinal direction. Power pads 154 and signal pads 155 are provided on the end faces of the first connecting plate 152 and the second connecting plate 153 close to the first side wall 11 and the second side wall 12. Only two power pads 154 and four signal pads 155 are shown as examples in the figure. The width of the power pad 154 can be 2.2 millimeters, and the width of the signal pad 155 can also be 1 millimeter. In practical applications, the width of the power pad 154 is greater than the sum of the thicknesses of the power terminals 26, and the width of each signal pad 155 is greater than the thickness of each signal terminal 27.

[0042] When the second circuit board 103 is connected to the card-edge connector 101, the second circuit board 103 can be inserted into the card slot 13 in the second direction, so that the second circuit board 103 can be fixed in the card slot 13 along the positioning wall 14. As a result, the power pads 154 on the end faces of the first connecting plate 152 and the second connecting plate 153 can be connected to the contact portions 25 of the corresponding power terminals 26, and the signal pads 155 on the end faces of the first connecting plate 152 and the second connecting plate 153 can be connected to the contact portions 25 of the corresponding signal terminals 27 to achieve the connection between the card-edge connector 101 and the second circuit board 103.

[0043] In an alternative implementation, a plurality of connection holes 156 are further provided on the second circuit board 103. Only 6 connection holes 156 are shown as examples in the figure. When the second circuit board 103 is connected to the second device, the connection terminals of the second device can be soldered into the corresponding connection holes 156 to achieve a stable connection between the second device and the card-edge connector assembly 100.

[0044] By using the edge card connector 101 in the embodiments of the present application, the power input and output connections and signal input and output connections between various devices can be realized, reducing the cost of the edge card connector 101 and the volume it occupies, further reducing the volume of the device, achieving a miniaturized design of the device, and reducing the limitation of the space layout on the improvement of the device performance and function expansion.

[0045] For those skilled in the art, it is obvious that the present application is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and without departing from the spirit or basic characteristics of the present application, the present application can be implemented in other specific forms. Therefore, from any point of view, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-limiting. The scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims rather than the above description. Therefore, all changes falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims are intended to be included in the present application. Any reference signs in the claims should not be regarded as limiting the claimed rights. In addition, it is obvious that the word "comprising" does not exclude other units or steps, and the singular does not exclude the plural. The multiple units or devices stated in the apparatus claims can also be implemented by the same unit or device through software or hardware. First, second, etc. are used to denote names and do not denote any particular order.

[0046] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application and not to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present application can be modified or equivalently replaced without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present application.

Claims

1. A card edge connector, comprising a longitudinal insulating body and a plurality of conductive terminals, wherein the insulating body comprises a first side wall, a second side wall and a card slot located between the first side wall and the second side wall; characterized in that: The card edge connector is further provided with a positioning wall, which is located between the first side wall and the second side wall. The positioning wall divides the card slot into two sub-card slots. The conductive terminals include multiple power terminals and multiple signal terminals. Each of the sub-card slots is provided with multiple power terminals and at least one signal terminal.

2. The card edge connector according to claim 1, wherein: One end of the sub-card slot along the longitudinal direction is defined by the positioning wall, and the other end of the sub-card slot away from the positioning wall is open to form an opening.

3. The card edge connector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Each of the sub-card slots is provided with three power terminals and two signal terminals. There is a first spacing between adjacent power terminals and a second spacing between adjacent signal terminals. The first spacing is smaller than the second spacing.

4. The card edge connector according to claim 3, wherein: There is a third distance between adjacent power terminals and signal terminals, and the first distance is smaller than the third distance.

5. The card edge connector according to claim 4, wherein: The first spacing is 0.6 mm, the second spacing is 1.2 mm, and the third spacing is 1.2 mm.

6. The card edge connector according to claim 2, wherein: The insulating body has mounting parts integrally extending from both ends along the longitudinal direction. The mounting parts are located outside the first side wall and the second side wall. A plate fixing piece is fixed to each mounting part.

7. The card edge connector according to claim 1, wherein: The conductive terminal includes a fixing portion, two elastic arms and a pin portion. The two elastic arms are respectively located on one side of the first side wall and the second side wall close to the slot. Each elastic arm is provided with a contact portion protruding into the slot.

8. A card edge connector assembly, characterized in that: It includes a card edge connector, a first circuit board and a second circuit board, the card edge connector is welded on the first circuit board, the second circuit board can be inserted into and pulled out of the card edge connector, the card edge connector is provided with a card slot for inserting the second circuit board, a positioning wall located in the card slot and a plurality of conductive terminals, the positioning wall divides the card slot into two sub-card slots, the conductive terminals include a plurality of power terminals and a plurality of signal terminals, each of the sub-card slots is provided with a plurality of the power terminals and at least one signal terminal.

9. The card edge connector assembly according to claim 8, wherein: The first circuit board is provided with a plurality of power pads and signal pads. The plurality of power terminals in each sub-slot are simultaneously welded on the same power pad, and the signal terminals in each sub-slot are respectively welded on the corresponding signal pads.

10. The card edge connector assembly according to claim 9, wherein: There is a first distance between adjacent power terminals, and there is a second distance between adjacent signal terminals, and the first distance is smaller than the second distance.

11. The card edge connector assembly according to claim 10, wherein: The second circuit board is provided with a positioning notch matched with the positioning wall, and two ends of the second circuit board along the longitudinal direction protrude out of the card slot.

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