Contact type floating connector

Abstract

The invention discloses a contact type floating connector. A mating connector is assembled to the contact type floating connector in a first direction. The contact type floating connector includes: a first housing; the second shell is configured to be capable of moving in the first direction relative to the first shell; and a plurality of contacts. Each contact has a first holding portion held by the first housing, a second holding portion held by the second housing, and a spring portion connecting the first holding portion and the second holding portion. The connector is electrically connected with the wiring substrate in a contact manner, so that the connector can be suitable for being configured on the wiring substrates with different heights, and the position of the connector relative to the wiring substrate in the height direction does not need to be strictly required. In addition, because the second housing is floatable, the connector can be smoothly installed in a narrow space.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a contact-type floating connector, and more particularly to a contact-type floating connector that is electrically connected to a wiring substrate in a contact manner. Background Art

[0002] Taiwan, China Patent Publication No. I565163B (Patent Document 1) discloses a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Type-A socket connector. The connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 is fixed to a circuit board by soldering. In the case of using such a USB socket connector, the opening position of the corresponding USB connection hole on the electronic device housing determines the position of the circuit board, or it can be said that the position of the circuit board determines the opening position of the corresponding USB connection hole on the electronic device housing. Once the design developer wants to change the opening position or the circuit board position, different specifications of connectors must be used. Therefore, the connector manufacturer has to provide various specifications of connectors for different heights of the housing opening positions or different heights of the circuit board positions for the design developer to select according to the occasion.

[0003] Therefore, there is a need for a more versatile connector that can be used for housing opening positions or circuit board positions within a certain height range to provide more design flexibility and convenience. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention provides a contact-type floating connector to solve the above problems.

[0005] One object of the present invention is to provide a contact-type floating connector that can be electrically connected to a wiring substrate in a contact manner.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a contact-type floating connector that can also be smoothly installed in a narrow space by means of a floating housing.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a contact-type floating connector for electrically connecting a mating connector as a first connection object and a wiring substrate as a second connection object, the mating connector being assembled to the contact-type floating connector in a first direction, the contact-type floating connector comprising:

[0008] A first housing;

[0009] A second housing configured to be movable relative to the first housing in the first direction; and

[0010] A plurality of contact members, which are arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Each contact member has a first contact portion for contacting the mating connector, a first holding portion held by the first housing, a second holding portion held by the second housing, a spring portion connecting the first holding portion and the second holding portion, and a second contact portion for contacting the wiring substrate. The second contact portion is linear and extends in a third direction, which is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

[0011] Wherein the second housing is biased away from the first housing in the first direction by the spring portion.

[0012] For the contact-type floating connector according to the present invention, the first housing has a body portion and an extension portion. The extension portion extends from the body portion in the first direction. The contact-type floating connector further includes a first metal housing, which is fixed to the first housing such that the first metal housing at least surrounds the extension portion of the first housing and defines a space for receiving the mating connector.

[0013] For the contact-type floating connector according to the present invention, the contact-type floating connector further includes a second metal housing, which is fixed to the first metal housing. The second metal housing includes a pair of flanges, and at least one through hole is formed in each flange.

[0014] For the contact-type floating connector according to the present invention, the second housing is held by the second metal housing in a manner capable of moving in the first direction.

[0015] For the contact-type floating connector according to the present invention, the second metal housing is fixed to the first metal housing by welding.

[0016] For the contact-type floating connector according to the present invention, the trailing edge of the first metal housing includes a plurality of stop portions, and a plurality of engaging notches are formed in the body portion of the first housing. The plurality of stop portions are respectively engaged with the plurality of engaging notches to prevent the first metal housing from detaching from the first housing.

[0017] For the contact-type floating connector according to the present invention, the first metal housing includes a pair of positioning notches, and the first housing includes a pair of positioning protrusions, and the pair of positioning protrusions are respectively inserted into the pair of positioning notches.

[0018] For the contact-type floating connector according to the present invention, the plurality of contact members are integrated with the first housing by insert injection molding.

[0019] According to the contact-type floating connector of the present invention, the second housing includes at least one guiding convex portion formed on the upper surface of the second housing. The second metal outer shell is formed with at least one guiding opening, and the at least one guiding convex portion is positioned in the at least one guiding opening. The size of the at least one guiding opening is set to allow the at least one guiding convex portion to move in the first direction in the at least one guiding opening, but to prevent the at least one guiding convex portion from moving in the second direction in the at least one guiding opening.

[0020] According to the contact-type floating connector of the present invention, the second housing includes a pair of wedge-shaped convex portions respectively formed on two side surfaces of the second housing. The second metal outer shell includes a pair of hook portions extending in the third direction, and the pair of hook portions are respectively engaged with the pair of wedge-shaped convex portions.

[0021] The contact-type floating connector according to the present invention can be applied to wiring boards configured at different heights, without strictly requiring the position of the contact-type floating connector relative to the wiring board in the height direction. This means that the installation position of the contact-type floating connector relative to the wiring board has a certain degree of flexibility.

[0022] In addition, since the second housing is configured to be movable relative to the first housing in the first direction, the contact-type floating connector according to the present invention can be installed in a narrow space.

[0023] Those with ordinary technical knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains will be able to best understand the technical features and other purposes and advantages of the present invention after referring to the specification and drawings of the present invention. Description of the Drawings

[0024] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 is another perspective view of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the second metal outer shell is not shown.

[0027] Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the first metal outer shell and the second metal outer shell are not shown.

[0028] Figure 5 is a perspective view of the first metal outer shell of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 6It is a perspective view of the first housing of the contact type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 7 It is another perspective view of the first housing of the contact type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 8 It is a side view of the contact type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 9 It is a top view of the contact type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the contact type floating connector during actual use according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 11 It is an installation flow chart of the contact type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Explanation of reference numerals

[0036] 10: Contact type floating connector

[0037] 11: First housing

[0038] 110: Body part

[0039] 1101: Positioning convex part

[0040] 1102: Positioning groove

[0041] 1103: Upper engaging notch

[0042] 1104: Lower engaging notch

[0043] 111: Extension part

[0044] 12: Second housing

[0045] 121: Guiding convex part

[0046] 122: Wedge-shaped convex part

[0047] 13: First metal housing

[0048] 131: Positioning notch

[0049] 132: Upper stop part

[0050] 133: Lower stop part

[0051] 134: Upper contact arm

[0052] 135: Lower contact arm

[0053] 136: Side contact arm

[0054] 14: Second metal housing

[0055] 140: Body part

[0056] 1401: Guide opening

[0057] 141: Flange

[0058] 1411: Fixing hole

[0059] 1412: Positioning hole

[0060] 142: Hook part

[0061] 15: Contact member

[0062] 151: First contact part

[0063] 152: First holding part

[0064] 153: Spring part

[0065] 154: Second holding part

[0066] 155: Second contact part

[0067] 20: Housing

[0068] 201: Connection hole

[0069] 202: Pedestal

[0070] 30: Wiring board

[0071] D1: First direction

[0072] D2: Second direction

[0073] D3: Third direction

[0074] d: Spacing. Detailed implementation manners

[0075] The contact-type floating connector according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the respective drawings, the same elements or elements having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals. The drawings are not drawn to scale.

[0076] In the following, the contact-type floating connector of the present invention is specifically implemented in the form of a Type-A socket connector of USB 3.2 Gen 2. It should be understood that the contact-type floating connector of the present invention is downward compatible with the specifications of USB 3.1 / 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.1, and can also be specifically implemented in the form of a socket connector of USB 3.1 / 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.1. The contact-type floating connector of the present invention is not limited to the Type-A socket connector of USB 3.2 Gen 2, but can be applied to other types of connectors. Since the definition of the pin positions and its specifications of the socket connector of USB 3.2 Gen 2 are not the focus of the present invention and can be obtained from other published documents, the description thereof is omitted.

[0077] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the main components of the contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention are described. The contact-type floating connector as a whole is labeled with the reference numeral 10. The contact-type floating connector 10 includes a first housing 11, a second housing 12, a first metal outer shell 13, a second metal outer shell 14, and a plurality of contacts 15.

[0078] The first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are made of a resin material or a polymer material by an injection molding method. The first metal outer shell 13 and the second metal outer shell 14 are made by stamping and bending a metal sheet. The contacts 15 are made of copper or a copper alloy.

[0079] The contact-type floating connector 10 is used to electrically connect a mating connector as a first connection object and a wiring board as a second connection object to each other. The mating connector (not shown in the figure) is assembled to the contact-type floating connector 10 in a first direction D1. In other words, the first direction is parallel to the assembly direction of the mating connector. The plurality of contacts 15 are arranged in a second direction D2 perpendicular to the first direction D1 and are held by the first housing 11 and the second housing 12.

[0080] Figure 3 is another perspective view of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the second metal outer shell 14 is not shown. As Figure 3 shown, the first metal outer shell 13 is fixed to the first housing 11, and the main part of the first housing 11 is covered by the first metal outer shell 13. The second housing 12 is disposed on the rear side of the first housing 11 in the first direction D1 and is spaced apart from the first housing 11. A part of the second housing 12 is slidably inserted into the first metal outer shell 13, so that the first metal outer shell 13 has a function of guiding the second housing 12 in the first direction.

[0081] A pair of guiding convex portions 121 are formed on the upper surface of the second housing 12, and a pair of wedge-shaped convex portions 122 are respectively formed on opposite side surfaces of the second housing 12. The pair of guiding convex portions 121 and the pair of wedge-shaped convex portions 122 cooperate with the second metal housing 14, so that the second housing 12 is movably held within a specified movement range through the second metal housing 14.

[0082] Figure 4 It is a partial cross-sectional side view of a contact type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the first metal housing 13 and the second metal housing 14 are not shown, and only the second housing 12 is shown in cross-section.

[0083] As Figure 4 shown, each contact member 15 includes a first contact portion 151, a first holding portion 152, a spring portion 153, a second holding portion 154, and a second contact portion 155. It should be understood that the contact members included in the contact type floating connector according to the present invention are not limited to contact members of a single shape. For the convenience of explaining the content of the present invention, only a contact member 15 of one shape is described, which does not mean that the contact type floating connector only has contact members of a single shape. According to requirements, some contact members can be set to have a different shape from another part of the contact members. However, in principle, these contact members are set to have the same shape in terms of the spring portion, the second holding portion, and the second contact portion. As can be seen in Figure 2 the three-dimensional exploded view, different contact members 15 have first contact portions 151 and first holding portions 152 of different shapes. However, in this embodiment, the spring portions 153, the second holding portions 154, and the second contact portions 155 of these contact members all have a common shape.

[0084] The first contact portion 151 is used to contact a mating connector. The first holding portion 152 is held by the first housing 11. Specifically, the first holding portion 152 of the contact member 15 is integrated with the first housing 11 through insert molding. The second holding portion 154 is inserted into a corresponding holding groove formed at the rear side of the second housing 12 in an interference fit manner along a third direction. The second contact portion 155 is offset relative to the second holding portion 154 in a tearing manner by stamping, but is parallel to the second contact portion 155. The second contact portion 155 is set to be linear and extends in the third direction. When the second holding portion 154 is inserted into the holding groove at the rear side of the second housing 12, the second contact portion 155 slightly protrudes from the slit opening of the holding groove so as to be able to contact the electrode of the wiring board. In order to increase the adhesion, a barbed structure can be formed on the second holding portion 154.

[0085] As Figure 4As clearly shown, the spring portion 153 is arranged in an S shape. When the second housing 12 is pushed toward the first housing 11, the spring portion 153 is compressed. At this time, the spring portion 153 biases the second housing 12 away from the first housing 11. In the state where the contact type floating connector is assembled, the spring portion 153 is pre-compressed so that the second housing 12 is constantly biased away from the first housing 11 in the first direction D1.

[0086] Hereinafter, please refer to Figures 5 to 7 to describe the structures of the first metal housing 13 and the first housing 11, where Figure 5 is a perspective view of the first metal housing 13, Figure 6 is a perspective view of the first housing 11, Figure 7 is another perspective view of the first housing 11.

[0087] The first metal housing 13 is formed by stamping and bending a metal sheet. The first housing 13 defines a space for accommodating a mating connector. A pair of positioning notches 131 are formed at the trailing edges of the two side surfaces of the first metal housing 13. A pair of upper stoppers 132 are formed at the trailing edge of the upper surface of the first metal housing 13, and a lower stopper 133 is formed at the trailing edge of the lower surface of the first metal housing 13. The first metal housing 13 is fixed to the first housing 11 by means of the positioning notches 131, the upper stoppers 132, and the lower stopper 133.

[0088] Two upper contact arms 134 are formed on the upper surface of the first metal housing 13, and three lower contact arms 135 are formed on the lower surface of the first metal housing 13. One side contact arm 136 is formed on each of the two side surfaces of the first metal housing 13. When the mating connector is assembled to the contact type floating connector, these contact arms will contact the metal housing of the mating connector. Generally, these contact arms are provided for the purpose of grounding connection or increasing the holding force for the mating connector.

[0089] The first housing 11 is made of a resin material or a polymer material by injection molding. Preferably, the first housing 11 and the contact member 15 are integrally formed by insert molding.

[0090] The first housing 11 includes a main body portion 110 and an extension portion (i.e., a tongue piece) 111. The extension portion 111 extends from the main body portion 110 in the first direction D1. The first metal housing 13 surrounds the extension portion 111 of the first housing 11. A positioning convex portion 1101 is formed on each side surface of the main body portion 110, and a positioning groove 1102 is formed between the main body portion 110 and the positioning convex portion 1101. A pair of upper engaging notches 1103 are formed at the upper edge of the main body portion 110, and a lower engaging notch portion 1104 is formed at the lower edge of the main body portion 110.

[0091] When the first metal housing 13 is assembled to the first housing 11, the upper stop portion 132 of the first metal housing 13 will engage with the upper engaging notch 1103 of the first housing 11, and the lower stop portion 133 of the first metal housing 13 will engage with the lower engaging notch 1104 of the first housing 11. At the same time, the inner edge of the positioning notch 131 of the first metal housing 13 will be embedded in the positioning groove 1102 formed in the first housing 11. In this way, the first metal housing 13 is firmly fixed on the first housing 11.

[0092] Please refer to again Figure 2 . It will be referred to Figure 2 to describe the structure of the second metal housing 14.

[0093] The second metal housing 14 includes a body portion 140, a pair of flanges 141 and a pair of hooks 142. Two guiding openings 1401 are formed in the body portion 140 of the second metal housing 14. The pair of flanges 141 are formed in a plane perpendicular to the third direction. Each flange 141 is formed with a fixing hole 1411 and a positioning hole 1412. The pair of hooks 142 extend downward from the rear edge of the body portion 140. The fixing hole 1411 is arranged for the rod portion of a screw or bolt as a fastening means to pass through, so as to lock the second metal housing 14 on the pedestal 202 formed on the chassis. The positioning hole 1412 will cooperate with the positioning pin formed on the chassis, so as to accurately place the contact type floating connector in a specified position before locking the second metal housing 14 on the pedestal 202.

[0094] Figure 8 is a side view of the contact type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. The second metal housing 14 is assembled to the first metal housing 13 from above and fixed on the upper surface of the first metal housing 13 by welding, such as laser welding. During the process of assembling the second metal housing 14 to the first metal housing 13 from above, the hook 142 slides along the inclined surface of the wedge-shaped convex portion 122 and then crosses over the wedge-shaped convex portion 122. The hook 142 will engage with the wedge-shaped convex portion to prevent the second metal housing 14 from moving in the third direction D3, especially moving downward in the third direction D3.

[0095] Figure 9It is a top view of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. The guiding convex portion 121 of the second housing 12 is positioned in the guiding opening 1401 of the second metal housing 14. The size of the guiding opening 1401 in the second direction D2 is set to be equal to or slightly larger than the size of the guiding convex portion 121 in the second direction D2, so that the second housing 12 can be prevented from moving in the second direction D2. The size of the guiding opening 1401 in the first direction D1 is set to be larger than the size of the guiding convex portion 121 in the first direction D1, such that there is a gap d in the first direction between the guiding opening 1401 and the guiding convex portion 121. Therefore, the guiding convex portion 121 is allowed to move relative to the second metal housing 14 or the first housing 11 in the first direction.

[0096] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the actual use of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 10 this, the housing 20 has a connection hole 201 and a pedestal 202 for fixing the contact-type floating connector 10. The flange of the second metal housing is placed on the pedestal 202, and then the second metal housing is fixed to the pedestal 202 by screws (not shown). The contact-type floating connector is fixed in this way. The second contact portion of the contact-type floating connector 10 contacts the electrode formed on the edge of the wiring board 30 in a contacting manner.

[0097] Figure 11 It is an installation flow chart of a contact-type floating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. The installation process of the contact-type floating connector 10 includes steps S1 to S4. In step S1, the contact-type floating connector 10 is held obliquely so that the front end of the contact-type floating connector 10 is aligned with the connection hole 201 of the housing 20. In step S2, the contact-type floating connector 10 is moved toward the connection hole 201 so that the upper edge of the front end of the contact-type floating connector 10 reaches the connection hole 201. In step S3, the contact-type floating connector 10 is rotated clockwise approximately around the upper edge of the connection hole 201 until the front end of the contact-type floating connector 10 contacts the wiring board 30. In step S4, while pushing the second housing 12, the contact-type floating connector 10 is rotated clockwise approximately around the upper edge of the connection hole 201 until the contact-type floating connector 10 is positioned at a predetermined installation position. Since the second housing 12 is floating, the contact-type floating connector 10 can be smoothly installed even in a narrow space.

[0098] Since the contact member 15 of the contact-type floating connector 10 is not fixed to the wiring board by welding as in the conventional way, the position height of the wiring board is allowed to vary within a certain range. Therefore, there is no strict requirement for the relative position between the opening on the housing and the wiring board. In addition, the contact-type floating connector 10 can be disassembled and assembled in a simple manner, greatly simplifying the difficulty of replacing the connector, and reducing the maintenance cost and time.

[0099] Although the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to preferred embodiments, it should be understood that many variations and modifications can still be made by those with ordinary technical knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, but is defined by the literal description in the claims. That is, equivalent variations and modifications made without departing from the claims of the present invention should still fall within the scope covered by the present invention.

Claims

1. A contact type floating connector for electrically connecting a mating connector as a first connection object and a wiring substrate as a second connection object to each other, the mating connector being assembled to the contact type floating connector in a first direction, the contact type floating connector comprising: a first shell; A second housing configured to be movable in the first direction relative to the first housing; and A plurality of contact members are arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, each contact member having a first contact portion for contacting the mating connector, a first holding portion held by the first housing, a second holding portion held by the second housing, a spring portion connecting the first holding portion and the second holding portion, and a second contact portion for contacting the wiring substrate, the second contact portion being linear and extending in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, The second housing is biased away from the first housing in the first direction by the spring portion.

2. A contact-type floating connector as described in claim 1, wherein the first shell has a main body portion and an extension portion, the extension portion extends from the main body portion in the first direction, and the contact-type floating connector further includes a first metal shell, the first metal shell is fixed to the first shell, so that the first metal shell at least surrounds the extension portion of the first shell and defines a space for accommodating the mating connector.

3. The contact type floating connector as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a second metal shell fixed to the first metal shell, the second metal shell comprising a pair of flanges, each flange being formed with at least one through hole.

4. The contact type floating connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second housing is held by the second metal shell in a manner movable in the first direction.

5. The contact type floating connector as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the second metal shell is fixed to the first metal shell by welding.

6. A contact-type floating connector as described in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the rear edge of the first metal shell includes a plurality of stop portions, the main body of the first shell is formed with a plurality of engaging recesses, the plurality of stop portions are respectively engaged with the plurality of engaging recesses to prevent the first metal shell from being separated from the first shell. 7 . The contact-type floating connector according to claim 2 , wherein the first metal shell comprises a pair of positioning recesses, the first housing comprises a pair of positioning protrusions, and the pair of positioning protrusions are respectively embedded in the pair of positioning recesses.

8. The contact type floating connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of contacts are integrated with the first housing by insert injection molding.

9. A contact-type floating connector as described in claim 3 or 4, wherein the second shell includes at least one guide protrusion, the at least one guide protrusion is formed on the upper surface of the second shell, the second metal shell is formed with at least one guide opening, the at least one guide protrusion is positioned in the at least one guide opening, and the size of the at least one guide opening is set to allow the at least one guide protrusion to move along the first direction in the at least one guide opening, but prevent the at least one guide protrusion from moving along the second direction in the at least one guide opening.

10. A contact-type floating connector as described in claim 3 or 4, wherein the second shell includes a pair of wedge-shaped protrusions, the pair of wedge-shaped protrusions are respectively formed on two side surfaces of the second shell, and the second metal shell includes a pair of hooks extending in the third direction, and the pair of hooks are respectively engaged with the pair of wedge-shaped protrusions.

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