Electric connector and assembling method thereof

Abstract

An electric connector comprises an insulating body, a row of short terminals and a row of long terminals. The insulating body is provided with a top surface, a bottom surface and an outer side surface, and the top surface is recessed inwards to form a butt joint groove and is provided with a row of terminal grooves communicated with the butt joint groove. The short terminal comprises a first fixing part, a first elastic arm and a first contact part. The first elastic arm passes through the terminal groove, and the first contact part extends into the butt joint groove. The long terminal comprises a second fixing part, a second elastic arm and a second contact part. The second elastic arm passes through the terminal groove, and the second contact part extends into the butt joint groove and is located above the corresponding first contact part. The insulation body is provided with a first fixing groove penetrating in the vertical direction to fix a first fixing part of the short terminal, and a second fixing groove recessed from the outer side face to the butt joint groove to fix a second fixing part of the long terminal. In addition, the invention also provides an assembling method of the electric connector.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of communication equipment, and in particular to an electrical connector and an assembly method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of high-speed communications and computing devices, the next-generation memory standard, DDR6, places higher demands on connector integration and signal integrity. To meet the demands of miniaturization and high-frequency transmission, DDR6 connectors generally adopt a high-density contact design with a 0.45mm pitch, and the standard defines the length and arrangement of different contacts.

[0003] In this type of connector structure, it's common to design terminals corresponding to different functional signals as long or short terminals, arranged in the upper and lower, or inner and outer, areas of the connector. However, due to standard restrictions, these long and short terminals cannot be inserted simultaneously. Especially during assembly, the varying lengths and densely packed arrangement of the terminals make it difficult to align and insert multiple terminals simultaneously using traditional insertion methods.

[0004] These structural characteristics make pin insertion extremely difficult, placing higher demands on process precision and increasing the complexity of the assembly process. Therefore, resolving the difficulties in pin insertion caused by differences in terminal arrangement and length in DDR6 connectors has become one of the technical challenges in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electrical connector and a manufacturing method thereof, which can reduce the difficulty of assembling long and short terminals.

[0006] The present invention provides a technical solution, which is: an electrical connector, including an insulating body, and a row of short terminals and a row of long terminals. The insulating body is provided with a top surface, a bottom surface and an outer side surface connecting the top surface and the bottom surface. The insulating body is provided with a docking groove and at least one row of terminal grooves connected to the docking groove. The top surface is concave to form the docking groove. The short terminal includes a first fixing portion, a first elastic arm and a first contact portion at the end of the first elastic arm. The first elastic arm passes through the corresponding terminal groove so that the first contact portion protrudes into the docking groove. The long terminal includes a second fixing portion, a second elastic arm and a second contact portion at the end of the second elastic arm. The second elastic arm passes through the corresponding terminal groove so that the second contact portion protrudes into the docking groove. The second contact portion is located above the corresponding first contact portion. The insulating body is provided with a first fixing groove and a second fixing groove. The first fixing groove passes through in the up and down direction. The first fixing portion is fixed to the corresponding first fixing groove. The second fixing groove is recessed from the outer surface to the lateral direction of the docking groove. The second fixing portion is fixed to the corresponding second fixing groove. The present invention provides a technical solution, which is: a method for assembling an electrical connector, comprising the steps of: An insulating body is provided, which has a top surface, a bottom surface and an outer side surface connecting the top surface and the bottom surface. The insulating body is provided with a docking groove and at least one row of terminal grooves connected to the docking groove. The top surface is concave to form the docking groove. Each of the terminal grooves includes a first opening, a second opening and a third opening. The first opening passes downward through the bottom surface, the second opening passes horizontally through the outer side surface, and the third opening is connected to the docking groove.

[0007] A plurality of short terminals are provided, each of which includes a first fixing portion, a first elastic arm, and a first contact portion located at the end of the first elastic arm; the first fixing portion and the first elastic arm are fixed to the terminal slot through the first opening, and the first contact portion extends into the docking slot from the third opening.

[0008] A plurality of long terminals are provided, each of which includes a second fixing portion, a second elastic arm, and a second contact portion located at the end of the second elastic arm; the second fixing portion and the second elastic arm are fixed to the terminal slot through the second opening, the second contact portion extends into the docking slot from the third opening, and the first contact portion is located between the second contact portion and the top surface.

[0009] The present invention features a first fixing slot running vertically and a second fixing slot running horizontally, allowing short and long terminals in the same terminal slot to be assembled from different directions. This creates an orthogonal staggered arrangement of the fixings for the long and short terminals, allowing them to be assembled independently and in separate steps during the insertion process.

[0010] During operation, the short terminal is first inserted into the first fixing slot along the thickness direction to achieve positioning, and the long terminal is then inserted into the second fixing slot along the width direction. This directional retention structure effectively avoids physical interference caused by the length difference and dense arrangement of long and short terminals, significantly reducing the alignment accuracy requirements. At the same time, the orthogonal fixing method provides corresponding assembly freedom for terminals of different lengths, allowing the terminal array to maintain independent deformation under the stress of insertion and removal, avoiding problems such as terminal tilting or poor contact caused by mutual pulling, thereby ensuring the stability of high-frequency signal transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 A three-dimensional diagram of an electrical connector provided according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional image from another angle.

[0013] Figure 3 for Figure 1A perspective view of an electrical connector with half of it removed.

[0014] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A partial three-dimensional exploded view of the .

[0015] Figure 5 for Figure 3 Front view of .

[0016] Figure 6 for Figure 4 Front view of one of the long terminals.

[0017] Figure 7 for Figure 4 Front view of one of the short terminals.

[0018] Component Symbol Description: Electrical connector 100 Insulation body 10 top surface 101 bottom surface 102 outer surface 103 Docking slot 11 Terminal slot 12 First fixing slot 121 Second fixing slot 122 Short terminal 20 The first fixing portion 21 passes through the hole 210 First elastic arm 22 First contact portion 23 First welding portion 24 Long terminal 30 The second fixing portion 31 has a hook portion 310 Second elastic arm 32 Second contact portion 33 Vertical portion 34 connecting portion 341 Second welding portion 35 Longitudinal direction A Horizontal direction B Up and down direction C Bending point P The following specific implementation methods will further illustrate the present application in conjunction with the above-mentioned drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments.

[0020] See Figure 1 and Figure 2One embodiment of the present invention discloses an electrical connector 100. This connector is a high-speed electrical connector compliant with the DDR6 specification and is designed to support the high-bandwidth and low-latency data transmission requirements of next-generation double data rate memory (e.g., a target data transmission rate of no less than 8800 MT / s). The connector 100 includes an insulating body 10, at least one row of short terminals 20, and at least one row of long terminals 30 mounted on the insulating body 10. The short terminals 20 and the long terminals 30 are arranged in an alternating or partitioned manner along a predetermined direction (e.g., the direction of memory module insertion). The long terminals 30 are designed to first contact the corresponding module gold fingers during the memory module insertion process. Their contact portions are located closer to the front of the socket and are primarily used to establish power connections (VDD / VDDQ) and / or ground connections (GND / VSS), providing pre-contact electrical pathways, mechanical guidance, and helping to prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage. The short terminals 20 are designed to contact the corresponding module gold fingers after the memory module is fully inserted. Their contact portions are located closer to the rear of the socket and are primarily used to transmit high-speed differential signals (DQ / DQS) and / or control / address signals (CA / CK). In other embodiments of the present application, the electrical connector 100 can be a card edge connector compliant with the PCIe CEM specification or the SFF-TA-1002 specification. The improvements of the present application primarily aim to reduce the assembly difficulty of the long and short terminals.

[0021] In this embodiment, the insulating body 10 is a longitudinal structure having a longitudinal direction A, a transverse direction B, and an up-down direction C. The insulating body 10 includes a top surface 101, a bottom surface 102, and a plurality of outer side surfaces 103. The top surface 101 and the bottom surface 102 are relatively spaced apart along the up-down direction C, and the plurality of outer side surfaces 103 are roughly vertically connected between the top surface 101 and the bottom surface 102. The insulating body 10 includes a docking groove 11 and a plurality of terminal grooves 12 connected to the docking groove 11. The top surface 101 is recessed toward the bottom surface 102 to form the docking groove 11, and the docking groove 11 extends along the longitudinal direction A. When the insulating body 10 is cut along the transverse direction B and the up-down direction C, the cross-section of the docking groove 11 is roughly square. The docking groove 11 is used for insertion of a docking card board that meets the DDR6 specification to achieve high-speed signal transmission.

[0022] See Figure 3 and Figure 4 Each terminal slot 12 includes a first fixing slot 121 and a second fixing slot 122. The first fixing slot 121 extends along the vertical direction C and passes through the bottom surface 102. The second fixing slot 122 is recessed along the horizontal direction B from the outer side surface 103 toward the docking slot 11.

[0023] In this embodiment, the short terminal 20 includes a first fixing portion 21, a first elastic arm 22, and a first contact portion 23 at the end of the first elastic arm 22. The first elastic arm 22 passes through the corresponding terminal slot 12, allowing the first contact portion 23 to protrude into the docking slot 11. The long terminal 30 includes a second fixing portion 31, a second elastic arm 32, and a second contact portion 33 at the end of the second elastic arm 32. The second elastic arm 32 passes through the corresponding terminal slot 12, allowing the second contact portion 33 to protrude into the docking slot 11. The second contact portion 33 is located above the corresponding first contact portion 23. The first fixing portion 21 is inserted into and fixed to the first fixing slot 121, and the second fixing portion 31 is inserted into and fixed to the second fixing slot 122. In this way, the long terminal 30 and the short terminal 20 are simultaneously arranged in the same terminal slot.

[0024] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 In this embodiment, the number of long terminals 30 is less than the number of short terminals 20 , and long terminals 30 are not provided on the outside of some short terminals 20 .

[0025] The electrical connector 100 of the present invention features a first fixing slot 121 extending along the vertical direction C and a second fixing slot 122 extending along the horizontal direction. This allows the first fixing portion 21 of the short terminal 20 to be retained in the first fixing slot 121 along the vertical direction C, while the second fixing portion 31 of the long terminal 30 is retained in the second fixing slot 122 along the horizontal direction B. This allows the fixing portions of the long and short terminals 30 and 20 to be spatially orthogonally staggered, enabling them to be assembled independently and in separate steps during the insertion process. During operation, the short terminal 20 is first inserted into the first fixing slot 121 along the vertical direction C to achieve positioning, followed by the long terminal 30 inserting into the second fixing slot 122 along the horizontal direction B. This multi-directional retaining structure effectively avoids physical interference between the long and short terminals due to length differences and their dense arrangement, significantly reducing alignment accuracy requirements. Furthermore, the orthogonal fixing method provides corresponding degrees of assembly freedom for terminals of different lengths, enabling the terminal array to deform independently during insertion and removal stresses, preventing problems such as terminal tilt or poor contact caused by mutual pulling, thereby ensuring stable high-frequency signal transmission.

[0026] See Figure 5In this embodiment, the second fixing groove 122 is spaced apart from the first fixing groove 121 in both the lateral direction B and the up-down direction C. Looking at the cross section of each terminal groove 12 from top to bottom, the second fixing portion 31 is located above the corresponding first fixing portion 21 in the up-down direction. The second fixing portion 31 is located on the outside of the first fixing portion 21 in the lateral direction. In this way, the fixing portions of the long terminal 30 and the short terminal 20 form a stepped staggered structure in three-dimensional space. The double spacing of the second fixing groove 122 in the lateral and up-down directions physically isolates the holding areas of the long and short terminals. Observed along the cross-sectional direction, the vertical drop of the second fixing portion 31 above the first fixing portion 21 and the horizontal offset on the lateral outside jointly construct a non-overlapping assembly channel. This design not only eliminates the motion interference of the long and short terminals during the insertion process, but also enables the two types of terminals to obtain independent deformation compensation space through spatial stratification. For example, when the electrical connector 100 is subjected to plugging and unplugging stress in the up and down directions C, the long terminal 30 can rely on the upper cantilever structure to elastically press down, while the short terminal 20 disperses the stress through the bottom fixed point, thereby simultaneously achieving lossless assembly of high-density terminals.

[0027] See Figure 7 In this embodiment, the first fixing portion 21 is provided with two through holes 210, and the two through holes 210 are arranged side by side along the transverse direction B. Thus, when the first fixing portion 21 is inserted into the first fixing groove 121, the two through holes 210 form an interference fit with the positioning columns in the first fixing groove 121, thereby constructing a stable support structure in the transverse direction. The second fixing portion 31 is provided with a hook portion 310. Thus, when the second fixing portion 31 is inserted into the second fixing groove 122, the inclined locking surface of the hook portion 310 and the groove wall of the second fixing groove 122 produce an elastic bite effect, and the micro-protrusion structure at its end is embedded in the corresponding indentation at the bottom of the groove, forming a progressive guiding effect along the insertion direction, making the assembly process smooth and controllable. In the opposite direction, a mechanical interlocking mechanism is formed, providing strong anti-pullout force.

[0028] See Figure 6 and Figure 7In this embodiment, when viewed from top to bottom along each terminal slot 12, the first elastic arm 22 is roughly shaped like a "<". The first elastic arm 22 extends from the upper edge of the first fixing portion 21, first extending upward and outward at an angle, and then extending upward and inward at an angle. The first contact portion 23 is located at the end of the first elastic arm 22. The first contact portion 23 is roughly annular in shape, and is partially exposed in the docking slot 11. The first contact portion 23 is used to form multi-directional adaptive contact with the gold finger of the docking plug. When the docking plug is inserted, the "<"-shaped first elastic arm 22 achieves two-stage buffering through a dual-slope deformation mechanism. For example, the first contact portion 23 first generates an initial guiding torque in the upward and outward inclined section to guide the plug-in; then, the upward and inward inclined section provides progressive positive pressure, allowing the end of the annular first contact portion 23 to achieve electrical connection with the curved surface of the gold finger. The design of the annular structure partially exposed in the docking slot 11 ensures that the contact point is exposed and detectable, while also suppressing high-frequency vibration deviation through the limiting slot wall. In some embodiments, the first contact portion 23 is hook-shaped, and a portion of the first contact portion 23 except the tip is aligned with the docking groove 11 .

[0029] In this embodiment, the second elastic arm 32 forms a roughly "Z" shape when viewed from top to bottom along each terminal slot 12. The second elastic arm 32 extends from the upper edge of the second fixing portion 31, first inwardly and upwardly, then vertically upward. Specifically, the second elastic arm 32 has a bend point P, where the direction of extension of the second elastic arm 32 changes. Running along the vertical direction C, the bend point P is located above the apex of the first elastic arm 22, that is, above the first contact portion 23.

[0030] In this embodiment, the short terminal 20 includes a first soldering portion 24. The first soldering portion 24 extends laterally outward from the first fixing portion 21. The first soldering portion 24 protrudes from the insulating body 10. The first soldering portion 24 is used for surface soldering to the ground layer of the PCB. Its laterally extended structure forms a heat dissipation channel, accelerating the dissipation of soldering heat. The expanded soldering area also enhances reliability against mechanical vibration.

[0031] The long terminal 30 includes a vertical portion 34 and a second soldering portion 35. The second fixing portion 31 extends laterally inward from the vertical portion 34. The second soldering portion 35 extends laterally outward from the vertical portion 34. The second soldering portion 35 protrudes from the insulating body 10. The second soldering portion 35 is used to establish a termination connection for a high-speed signal path. The coordinated transition between the vertical portion 34 and the second fixing portion 31 shifts the impedance discontinuity point of the signal transmission path outside the soldering area, reducing signal reflection interference.

[0032] In this embodiment, the vertical portion 34 is provided with a connecting portion 341, which is located on the other side of the second fixing groove 122. The connecting portion 341 is exposed on the outer side surface 103, and the connecting portion 341 is used to connect the adhesive tape, and the continuous traction action of the adhesive tape is used to achieve the synchronous positioning of the entire row of long terminals 30. During the batch assembly process, the adhesive tape maintains the precise relative position of the array of long terminals 30, so that its second fixing portion 31 can be simultaneously aligned with the lateral entrance of the second fixing groove 122. When the insertion force is applied, the adhesive tape provides uniform guiding tension to ensure that the hook portions 310 of all long terminals 30 are synchronously embedded in the corresponding slots. After completing the high-precision group insertion, the adhesive tape can be cleanly peeled off along the preset breaking line of the connecting portion 341.

[0033] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for assembling the electrical connector 100, comprising the steps of: Step one, provide an insulating body 10, the insulating body 10 has a top surface 101, a bottom surface 102 and an outer side surface 103 connecting the top surface 101 and the bottom surface 102, the insulating body 10 has a docking groove 11 and at least one row of terminal grooves 12 connected to the docking groove 11, the top surface 101 is concave to form the docking groove 11, each of the terminal grooves 12 has a first opening, a second opening and a third opening, the first opening passes downward through the bottom surface 102, the second opening passes horizontally through the outer side surface 103, and the third opening is connected to the docking groove 11.

[0034] Step one, provide a plurality of short terminals 20, wherein the short terminals 20 include a first fixing portion 21, a first elastic arm 22 and a first contact portion 23 located at the end of the first elastic arm 22; the first fixing portion 21 and the first elastic arm 22 are fixed to the terminal slot 12 through the first opening, and the first contact portion 23 extends into the docking slot 11 from the third opening.

[0035] Step three, provide a plurality of long terminals 30, the long terminals 30 including a second fixing portion 31, a second elastic arm 32 and a second contact portion 33 located at the end of the second elastic arm 32; the second fixing portion 31 and the second elastic arm 32 are fixed to the terminal slot 12 through the second opening, the second contact portion 33 extends from the third opening into the docking slot 11, and the first contact portion 23 is located between the second contact portion 33 and the top surface 101.

[0036] In the above assembly method, the short terminal 20 is vertically implanted through the first opening of the bottom surface 102, and the long terminal 30 is laterally embedded through the second opening of the outer side surface 103, thereby achieving physical isolation between the long and short terminals 20 along the assembly path. For example, when the short terminal 20 is inserted first, its first fixing portion 21 forms a stable reference at the bottom of the terminal slot 12, while reserving a non-interference lateral channel for the long terminal 30. During the lateral sliding of the long terminal 30, its second elastic arm 32 is naturally guided into the docking slot 11 along the third opening, forming a vertical layered layout with the positioned short terminal 20, so that the first contact portion 23 is precisely located between the second contact portion 33 and the top surface 101. This reduces structural conflicts while simultaneously achieving the precise arrangement of high-density terminals and the optimization of electromagnetic coupling between signal and ground terminals, thereby improving the assembly reliability and electrical performance of high-frequency connectors.

[0037] In summary, the above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. That is, any simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims and description of the present invention should still fall within the scope of the patent of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrical connector comprising an insulating body, a row of short terminals and a row of long terminals; The insulating body is provided with a top surface, a bottom surface, and an outer side surface connecting the top surface and the bottom surface. The insulating body is provided with a docking groove and at least one row of terminal grooves connected to the docking groove. The top surface is concave to form the docking groove. It is characterized in that The short terminal includes a first fixing portion, a first elastic arm, and a first contact portion located at the end of the first elastic arm, wherein the first elastic arm passes through the corresponding terminal slot so that the first contact portion protrudes into the docking slot; The long terminal includes a second fixing portion, a second elastic arm, and a second contact portion located at the end of the second elastic arm, wherein the second elastic arm passes through the corresponding terminal slot so that the second contact portion protrudes into the docking slot, and the second contact portion is located above the corresponding first contact portion; The insulating body is provided with a first fixing groove and a second fixing groove, the first fixing groove penetrates in the up and down directions, and the first fixing part is fixed in the corresponding first fixing groove; the second fixing groove is recessed from the outer surface in the transverse direction of the docking groove, and the second fixing part is fixed in the corresponding second fixing groove.

2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: Viewed from top to bottom along a cross section of each terminal slot, the second fixing portion is located above the corresponding first fixing portion in the up-down direction, and is located outside the first fixing portion in the transverse direction.

3. The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein: The second fixing groove is spaced apart from the first fixing groove in a transverse direction.

4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The first elastic arm first extends obliquely upward and outward from the upper edge of the first fixing portion, and then extends obliquely upward and inward. The first contact portion is located at the end of the first elastic arm.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 4, wherein: The long terminal includes a vertical portion, and the second fixing portion is formed by extending laterally inward from the vertical portion.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 5, wherein: The second elastic arm first extends upward and inward from the vertical portion and then bends downward. The second contact portion is located at the downward-bent portion of the second elastic arm.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The fixing portion is provided with two through holes, and the two through holes are arranged side by side in the transverse direction.

8. The electrical connector according to claim 5, wherein: The second elastic arm has a bending point, which is located between the vertical portion and the apex of the second elastic arm. The bending point is located above the apex of the first elastic arm in the up-down direction.

9. The electrical connector according to claim 5, wherein: The vertical portion is provided with a connecting portion, and the connecting portion is located on the other side of the second fixing groove.

10. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The number of the long terminals is smaller than that of the short terminals, and the long terminals are not arranged on the outer sides of some of the short terminals.

11. A method for assembling an electrical connector, characterized in that: Including steps: An insulating body is provided, the insulating body having a top surface, a bottom surface, and an outer side surface connecting the top surface and the bottom surface, the insulating body having a docking groove and at least one row of terminal grooves connected to the docking groove, the top surface being concave to form the docking groove, each of the terminal grooves including a first opening, a second opening, and a third opening, the first opening extending downwardly through the bottom surface, the second opening extending transversely through the outer side surface, and the third opening communicating with the docking groove; A plurality of short terminals are provided, each of the short terminals comprising a first fixing portion, a first elastic arm, and a first contact portion located at an end of the first elastic arm; the first fixing portion and the first elastic arm are fixed to the terminal slot through the first opening, and the first contact portion extends from the third opening into the docking slot; A plurality of long terminals are provided, each of which includes a second fixing portion, a second elastic arm, and a second contact portion located at the end of the second elastic arm; the second fixing portion and the second elastic arm are fixed to the terminal slot through the second opening, the second contact portion extends into the docking slot from the third opening, and the first contact portion is located between the second contact portion and the top surface.

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