Electric connector and connector assembly with same

Abstract

The invention provides an electric connector, which is arranged on a circuit board, is in butt joint with a butt joint element, and comprises a seat body and a signal terminal arranged on the seat body, the seat body is made of an insulating shell and a metal shell which is embedded and molded with the insulating shell, the insulating shell forms the outer contour of the periphery of the seat body, the insulating shell comprises a mounting surface facing the circuit board, a terminal groove and an accommodating hole which is concavely formed from the mounting surface, and the terminal groove vertically penetrates through the insulating shell and accommodates a signal terminal; the signal terminal upwards abuts against the butt joint element and downwards is conductively connected with the butt joint element; the metal shell is provided with a shielding cavity, a first surface and a second surface, the first surface and the second surface are oppositely arranged up and down, the grounding piece is arranged on the first surface and is used for being conductively connected with the butting element to form grounding, the shielding cavity penetrates through the first surface and the second surface and is correspondingly provided with a terminal groove, and the second surface is exposed out of the accommodating hole; the welding flux is correspondingly contained in the containing holes, the metal shell is welded to the circuit board through the welding flux to be grounded, the shielding effect on the signal terminals is improved, and crosstalk between the signal terminals is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical connector and a connector assembly having the electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector and connector assembly relating to the transmission of high-frequency signals. Background Technology

[0002] The rapid evolution of data centers, 5G communications, and high-speed AI servers is continuously raising the performance requirements for electrical connectors, with a core focus on data transmission rate and signal integrity. Current mainstream electrical connectors are evolving towards transmission rates of 224Gbps and higher, while simultaneously requiring an increase in the number of terminals to meet high bandwidth demands. However, in high-frequency scenarios, crosstalk can easily occur between adjacent terminals, directly affecting signal transmission quality. To suppress crosstalk and ensure signal integrity, the industry has introduced more stringent standards for the shielding performance of electrical connectors, especially signal terminal pairs.

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to design a new connector assembly to overcome the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the problems of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide an electrical connector and a connector assembly having the electrical connector, which forms a complete grounding loop through a metal housing and a grounding component, thereby improving the shielding effect on the signal terminals and reducing crosstalk between the signal terminals.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an electrical connector for mounting on a circuit board and mating with a mating element, comprising: a plurality of signal terminals, each signal terminal including a contact portion, a conductive portion, and a connecting portion connecting the contact portion and the conductive portion, the contact portion being used for conductive connection with the mating element, and the conductive portion being used for conductive connection with the circuit board; a base, made of an insulating shell and a metal shell inlaid in the insulating shell, the insulating shell forming the outer contour around the base, the insulating shell including a mounting surface, a plurality of terminal slots, and a plurality of receiving holes, the mounting surface facing the circuit board, the terminal slots penetrating vertically through the insulating shell, at least a portion of the terminal slot receiving holes. The signal terminal has a contact portion exposed outside the housing body, and a receiving hole is recessed from the mounting surface. The metal housing has multiple shielding cavities and a first surface and a second surface arranged vertically opposite each other. The shielding cavity extends through the first surface and the second surface in a vertical direction. At least one terminal slot is correspondingly provided in the shielding cavity. The first surface is located on the side of the insulating housing facing the mating element, and the second surface is exposed in the multiple receiving holes. A grounding element is located on the first surface and is used to connect with the mating element to form a ground. Multiple solders are correspondingly received in the multiple receiving holes, and the metal housing is grounded by soldering the circuit board to the circuit board through the multiple solders.

[0006] Furthermore, one surface of the insulating shell facing the docking element is coplanar with the first surface, and the two together form a docking surface of the base.

[0007] Furthermore, the insulating outer shell is integrally formed with two positioning posts. The two positioning posts are located on the left and right sides of the metal shell and are not centrally symmetrically arranged. The positioning posts protrude from the metal shell along the top and bottom to position with the docking element.

[0008] Furthermore, the seat body includes two side walls arranged opposite each other in the front and rear directions. Each side wall is provided with at least one groove. The groove is formed by recessing into the outer surface of the corresponding side wall in the front-rear direction and penetrating the corresponding side wall vertically. The seat body also includes at least two connecting parts provided on the metal shell. Each groove corresponds to and accommodates at least one connecting part. The connecting part does not extend outward beyond the corresponding side wall in the front-rear direction.

[0009] Furthermore, the metal shell is formed by stacking multiple metal plates one on top of the other. Each metal plate is provided with multiple connecting parts, and each side wall is provided with two grooves spaced apart from left to right. Each groove is provided with multiple connecting parts aligned vertically. The number of multiple connecting parts in the same groove is equal to the number of metal plates.

[0010] Furthermore, from a top-down view, the connecting part located on the front side of the base body and the connecting part located on the rear side of the base body are arranged directly opposite each other.

[0011] Furthermore, the base includes a first region, in which multiple terminal slots are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction, and the multiple terminal slots in each row are spaced apart in the left-to-right direction. In the corresponding first region, two adjacent terminal slots are arranged in the shielding cavity. The two signal terminals contained in the two terminal slots form a differential signal pair. The grounding element is arranged around the perimeter of each shielding cavity, and multiple solders are arranged around the outside of each differential signal.

[0012] Furthermore, each differential signal pair has one solder on each of its left and right sides, and three solders on each of its front and back sides, with the center line connecting the two middle solders on the front and back sides passing between the two signal terminals of the corresponding differential signal pair.

[0013] Furthermore, the multiple solders are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction, and the multiple solders in each row are spaced apart in the left-to-right direction. The multiple rows of solders include multiple first solder rows and multiple second solder rows. Each row of differential signal pairs has a first solder row on each of the front and back sides of the multiple conductive parts. A second solder row is provided between every two adjacent first solder rows. The multiple solders in the second solder row are distributed in a row of differential signal pairs. The insulating shell includes multiple grooves. The grooves are recessed from the mounting surface and penetrate the insulating shell in the left-to-right direction. At least one groove is provided between every two adjacent rows of solders.

[0014] Furthermore, each of the grooves is further provided with a plurality of recesses, which are spaced apart in the left-right direction and in the front-back direction, one of the recesses is provided on the front and back sides of the two conductors of each differential signal pair.

[0015] Furthermore, the grounding component includes multiple grounding units, which are disposed in the first region and arranged in multiple rows in the front-back direction. The multiple grounding units in each row are arranged at intervals from left to right. Four grounding units are provided around the outer periphery of each shielding cavity in the first region. Each grounding unit is located at one corner of the corresponding shielding cavity and includes at least one first elastic arm extending in the left-right direction and at least one second elastic arm extending in the front-back direction. The first elastic arm and the second elastic arm are used to elastically abut against the docking element.

[0016] Furthermore, the two adjacent first elastic arms of two adjacent grounding units on the left and right extend towards each other and intersect in the front-to-back direction, and the two adjacent second elastic arms of two adjacent grounding units on the front and back extend towards each other and intersect in the left-to-right direction.

[0017] Furthermore, the device includes multiple power terminals. The housing includes a second region in which multiple terminal slots are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction. The multiple terminal slots in each row are spaced apart in the left-to-right direction. In the corresponding second region, multiple terminal slots adjacent to each other are arranged in the shielding cavity. The multiple power terminals are housed in the multiple terminal slots located in the second region.

[0018] Furthermore, the guide portion exposes the mounting surface in the vertical direction and is soldered to the circuit board by surface mounting.

[0019] The present invention also includes a connector assembly for mating with two mating elements in a vertical direction, comprising: a circuit board located between the two mating elements; two electrical connectors as described above, the two electrical connectors being located on the upper and lower sides of the circuit board and electrically connected to the circuit board respectively, each of the electrical connectors mating with a corresponding mating element in a vertical direction, and the signal terminal of one of the electrical connectors being electrically connected to the signal terminal of the other electrical connector through the circuit board.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The base is composed of an insulating outer shell and a metal shell inserted into the insulating outer shell. The base combines the insulation and moldability of plastic with the high strength of metal, making the electrical connector more robust, less prone to deformation or cracking, and able to withstand the stress of repeated insertions and removals. The metal shell surrounding the terminal slot effectively isolates electromagnetic interference (EMI) and crosstalk between corresponding signal terminals in adjacent shielding cavities. A dedicated receiving hole is provided in the insulating outer shell to accommodate solder, allowing the solder to melt within the receiving hole and react with the metal... The second surface of the housing forms a large-area contact, ensuring a firm and reliable grounding connection and avoiding the risk of short circuits caused by poor soldering or solder overflow. The metal housing is grounded to the mating element through the upper grounding component and to the circuit board through the lower solder, forming a complete grounding loop and shielding the signal terminals. This structure provides excellent shielding and significantly improves signal integrity (SI). Furthermore, it eliminates the need for a dedicated grounding terminal housed within the housing, allowing for more signal terminals to be installed in the limited space of the electrical connector, making it suitable for electrical connectors with transmission rates of 224Gbps and higher. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the electrical connector of the first embodiment of the present invention before it is connected to a mating element and a circuit board; Figure 2 for Figure 1 Exploded 3D view of CEC connectors; Figure 3 for Figure 1 3D view of CEC connectors; Figure 4 for Figure 3 A magnified view of part A in the image; Figure 5 for Figure 3 A 3D view of the CEC connector rotated 180°; Figure 6 for Figure 5 Top view; Figure 7 for Figure 6 A partial three-dimensional sectional view of the CEC connector, cut along the BB direction and viewed at an angle; Figure 8 for Figure 6 A magnified view of part C; Figure 9 for Figure 3 Top view; Figure 10 for Figure 9 A magnified view of part D; Figure 11 for Figure 3 A partial sectional view cut along the EE direction; Figure 12 for Figure 3 A partial sectional view cut along the FF direction; Figure 13 This is a perspective view of the electrical connector of the second embodiment of the present invention before it is mated with a mating element; Figure 14 for Figure 13 A magnified view of a portion of G; Figure 15 for Figure 13 A 3D view of the CEC connector rotated 180°; Figure 16 for Figure 15 A 3D view of the CEC connector with its insulating shell concealed. Figure 17 for Figure 15 A partial cross-sectional view of the CEC connector before it is connected to a circuit board, cut along the HH direction. Figure 18 This is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of the connector assembly of the present invention; Figure 19 for Figure 18 A cross-sectional view of the connector assembly before it is mated with the two mating elements, cut along a plane. Figure 20 for Figure 19 A magnified view of part I.

[0022] Explanation of icon numbers: Electrical connector 100 Base body 1 Insulating housing 1a Metal casing 1b Side wall 10 First sidewall 10a Second sidewall 10b Groove 101 Mounting surface 11 Terminal slot 12 Positioning post 13 Reception Hole 14 docking surface 15 First surface 16a Second surface 16b Shielding cavity 16c Continuous Material Section 17 Groove 18 Recess 181 Region 1 Q1 Region 2, Q2 Conductive terminal 2 Differential signal terminal 2a Power terminal 2b Contact Department 21 Conductor 22 Connecting part 23 Grounding component 3 Grounding unit 31 Main body 311 First spring arm 312 Second missile arm 313 Solder 4 First solder bus 41 Second solder bus 42 Component 200 Circuit board 300 Connector assembly 1000 Detailed Implementation

[0023] To facilitate a better understanding of the purpose, structure, and features of this invention, the invention defines a vertical direction (Z-axis), a horizontal direction (X-axis), and a front-back direction (Y-axis). These three directions are perpendicular to each other. The invention will now be further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0024] like Figures 1 to 12 As shown, this is a first embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention. Figures 13 to 17 As shown, this is a second embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention. Figures 18 to 20 As shown, this is a first embodiment of the connector assembly 1000 of the present invention, the connector assembly 1000 including Figures 1 to 12 The two electrical connectors 100 shown.

[0025] like Figures 1 to 12The diagram shows a first embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention. Along the vertical direction, the electrical connector 100 is used to mate with a mating element 200 and to be mounted on a circuit board 300, wherein the mating element 200 is a chip module.

[0026] like Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, the electrical connector 100 includes a base 1, a plurality of conductive terminals 2 disposed on the base 1, a grounding component 3 disposed on the base 1, and a plurality of solders 4. In this embodiment, the solders 4 are solder balls.

[0027] like Figure 2 As shown, multiple conductive terminals 2 are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction, and multiple conductive terminals 2 in each row are spaced apart in the left-to-right direction. Each conductive terminal 2 includes a contact portion 21, a conductive portion 22, and a connecting portion 23 connecting the contact portion 21 and the conductive portion 22. The contact portion 21 is used to elastically abut against the mating element 200, and the conductive portion 22 is used to conduct to the circuit board 300. The multiple conductive terminals 2 include multiple signal terminals and multiple power terminals 2b. In this embodiment, the signal terminals are all differential signal terminals 2a. In other embodiments, the multiple signal terminals may also include multiple single-ended signal terminals.

[0028] like Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 9 As shown, the base 1 is made of a metal shell 1b and an insulating shell 1a, including a first region Q1 and a second region Q2. A plurality of differential signal terminals 2a are disposed in the first region Q1, and a plurality of power supply terminals 2b are disposed in the second region Q2.

[0029] like Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, the insulating shell 1a is integrally molded from plastic material and includes two first sidewalls 10a arranged opposite each other front and back, two second sidewalls 10b arranged opposite each other left and right, a mounting surface 11, multiple terminal slots 12 penetrating the insulating shell 1a vertically, two positioning posts 13 and multiple receiving holes 14.

[0030] like Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 5As shown, along the vertical direction, the mounting surface 11 is located on the side of the insulating housing 1a facing the circuit board 300. The base 1 has a mating surface 15 facing the mating element 200. A portion of the mating surface 15 is formed on the insulating housing 1a, and a portion is formed on the metal housing 1b. A plurality of the conductive portions 22 expose the mounting surface 11 along the vertical direction and are soldered to the circuit board 300 using surface mount solder paste. Two first sidewalls 10a connect to two second sidewalls 10b. Each first sidewall 10a has two grooves 101 spaced apart horizontally. The grooves 101 are recessed inward from the outer surface of the corresponding first sidewall 10a in the front-back direction and penetrate vertically through the corresponding first sidewall 10a. In other embodiments, the number of grooves 101 in each first sidewall 10a can be set according to requirements; for example, the number of grooves 101 in each first sidewall 10a can be one.

[0031] like Figure 3 and Figure 9 As shown, both the first region Q1 and the second region Q2 have multiple terminal slots 12. The terminal slots 12 in each region are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction, and the terminal slots 12 in each row are spaced apart in the left-to-right direction. Two positioning posts 13 are located on the left and right sides of the metal housing 1b and are not centrally symmetrically arranged. The positioning posts 13 protrude from the metal housing 1b in the vertical direction to position themselves with the docking element 200.

[0032] like Figure 5 , Figure 9 and Figure 11 As shown, the receiving hole 14 is recessed from the mounting surface 11 in the vertical direction, and the metal housing 1b is exposed in the receiving hole 14 in the vertical direction. The plurality of receiving holes 14 are used one-to-one to receive the plurality of solders 4.

[0033] like Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, the metal housing 1b has a first surface 16a and a second surface 16b arranged vertically opposite each other, and a plurality of shielding cavities 16c extending vertically through the first surface 16a and the second surface 16b. Viewed from above, the shielding cavities 16c are approximately rectangular. The metal housing 1b is embedded in the insulating shell 1a, and at least one terminal slot 12 is correspondingly provided in the shielding cavity 16c. Thus, the metal housing 1b surrounds the plurality of terminal slots 12, and the insulating shell 1a forms the outer contour of the base 1. One surface of the insulating shell 1a facing the docking element 200 is coplanar with the first surface 16a, and the two together form the docking surface 15 of the base 1. The positioning post 13 protrudes from the first surface 16a in the vertical direction.

[0034] like Figure 2 and Figure 9 As shown, in the first region Q1, each shielding cavity 16c has two adjacent terminal slots 12, each containing two differential signal terminals 2a, forming a differential signal pair. In the second region Q2, each shielding cavity 16c has four adjacent terminal slots 12, each containing four adjacent power terminals 2b. In other embodiments, the base 1 may not distinguish between the first region Q1 and the second region Q2; at least one signal terminal may be provided in each shielding cavity 16c, or the base 1 may be entirely in the first region Q1 without any second region Q2.

[0035] like Figure 3 , Figure 9 and Figure 11As shown, the first surface 16a is exposed on the side of the insulating housing 1a facing the docking element 200 for connection with the grounding element 3. The second surface 16b is exposed along the vertical direction over the plurality of receiving holes 14. The second surface 16b and the mounting surface 11 are spaced vertically apart. That is, the metal housing 1b and the circuit board 300 are separated by a layer of plastic from the insulating shell 1a (to prevent the solder 4 from flowing freely onto the pads adjacent to the circuit board 300 during reflow soldering and causing a short circuit). The second surface 16b of the metal housing 1b does not fully expose the insulating shell 1a, but only exposes the insulating shell 1a at the positions corresponding to the plurality of receiving holes 14. This makes the plurality of terminal slots 12 formed by the insulating shell 1a integrally connected to the plastic on the mounting surface 11. Compared with the plastic for forming the plurality of terminal slots 12 being separate and requiring glue to be applied to each terminal slot 12 position, glue can be injected from other positions into the corresponding shielding cavity 16c. Forming the plurality of terminal slots 12 does not require glue to be applied one by one. It also facilitates the grounding of the metal housing 1b through the solder 4 to the circuit board 300.

[0036] like Figure 2 and Figure 11 As shown, in this embodiment, the metal shell 1b is formed by stacking multiple metal plates, which allows the metal shell 1b to be formed into multiple shielding cavities 16c through a stamping process. The multiple metal plates are fixed together by welding, and there is zero gap between any two adjacent metal plates, allowing them to fit together completely. In other embodiments, the metal shell 1b can be integrally formed from metal material.

[0037] like Figure 2 and Figure 9 As shown, in this embodiment, each metal sheet has four connecting sections 17, which are used to connect a strip (not shown). The four connecting sections 17 are located in pairs on the front and rear sides of the metal sheet. From a top view, the connecting sections 17 on the front side of the base 1 and the connecting sections 17 on the rear side of the base 1 are arranged directly opposite each other, so that during the injection molding process, the impact force of the molten plastic on the metal shell 1b is more balanced, reducing the risk of displacement or deformation of the metal shell 1b due to unilateral force. In other embodiments, the number of connecting sections 17 can also be designed according to actual needs, but the metal shell 1b must have at least two connecting sections 17.

[0038] like Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, each groove 101 contains a plurality of connecting parts 17, meaning the connecting parts 17 are exposed within the corresponding groove 101. When the strip is broken, it does not affect the insulating shell 1a. The number of connecting parts 17 within the same groove 101 is equal to the number of metal plates. The four grooves 101 correspond one-to-one with the four connecting parts 17 of each metal plate. The connecting parts 17 do not extend outwards beyond the corresponding first sidewall 10a in the front-back direction, thus hiding them within the groove 101. This ensures the flatness of the electrical connector 100's appearance and avoids additional metal burrs or protrusions that could affect installation or cause scratches. The multiple connecting parts 17 within each groove 101 are aligned vertically for easy subsequent strip breaking.

[0039] like Figures 5 to 7 As shown, the insulating housing 1a includes a plurality of grooves 18, which are recessed from the mounting surface 11 in the vertical direction and penetrate the insulating housing 1a in the horizontal direction. The plurality of grooves 18 are disposed in the first region Q1 and are spaced apart in the front-back direction. The grooves 18 are used for heat dissipation. Each groove 18 is further recessed with a plurality of recesses 181, which are spaced apart in the horizontal direction. In the front-back direction, a recess 181 is provided on the front and back sides of the two conductive portions 22 of each differential signal pair.

[0040] like Figure 3 and Figure 9 As shown, the grounding element 3 is disposed on the first surface 16a of the first region Q1, and includes multiple independently disposed grounding units 31. The multiple grounding units 31 are laser-welded to the first surface 16a. The multiple grounding units 31 are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction, and the multiple grounding units 31 in each row are arranged at left-to-right intervals.

[0041] like Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 9 As shown, each of the shielding cavities 16c in the first region Q1 is surrounded by four grounding units 31. Each grounding unit 31 is located at one corner of the corresponding shielding cavity 16c, meaning that four grounding units 31 are provided at the four corners of each shielding cavity 16c. Each grounding unit 31 includes a main body 311, at least one first elastic arm 312 connected to the main body 311 and extending in the left-right direction, and at least one second elastic arm 313 connected to the main body 311 and extending in the front-back direction. The main body 311 is welded and fixed to the first surface 16a of the first region Q1, and the first elastic arm 312 and the second elastic arm 313 are used to elastically abut against the docking element 200.

[0042] like Figure 9 , Figure 11 and Figure 12 As shown, the two adjacent first elastic arms 312 of the two adjacent grounding units 31 extend towards each other and intersect in the front-to-back direction. The two adjacent second elastic arms 313 of the two adjacent grounding units 31 extend towards each other and intersect in the left-to-right direction, in order to shield the corresponding differential signal pairs.

[0043] like Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 8 As shown, multiple solders 4 are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction. The multiple solders 4 in each row are arranged at intervals in the left-to-right direction. At least one groove 18 is provided between each two adjacent rows of solders 4. The multiple rows of solders 4 include multiple first solder rows 41 and multiple second solder rows 42. The first solder rows 41 and the second solder rows 42 are arranged alternately in front and behind. Each row of differential signal pairs has a first solder row 41 on each of the front and back sides of the multiple conductive parts 22. A second solder row 42 is provided between each two adjacent first solder rows 41. The multiple solders 4 in the second solder row 42 are distributed in a row of differential signal pairs.

[0044] like Figure 6 , Figure 8 and Figure 11 As shown, each differential signal pair has a plurality of solder balls 4 surrounding the two conductive portions 22. These solder balls 4 abut against the second surface 16b in a vertical direction and are used to conduct to the circuit board 300. That is, the metal housing 1b is grounded to the circuit board 300 by soldering the solder balls 4. The solder balls 4 are solder balls. Each differential signal pair has one solder ball 4 on each of its left and right sides, and three solder balls 4 on each of its front and rear sides. The center line connecting the two middle solder balls 4 on the front and rear sides passes between the two differential signal terminals 2a of the corresponding differential signal pair.

[0045] like Figures 13 to 17 As shown, this is a second embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention. The electrical connector 100 mates with a mating element 200 in the vertical direction and is used to mount it on a circuit board 300. The electrical connector 100 includes a base 1, a plurality of conductive terminals 2 disposed on the base 1, a grounding element 3, and a plurality of solder 4. In this embodiment, the solder 4 is a solder ball. The mating element 200 is another electrical connector that mates with the electrical connector 100, and its structure is substantially the same as that of the electrical connector 100.

[0046] like Figure 13 , Figure 14 and Figure 17 As shown, multiple conductive terminals 2 are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction, and multiple conductive terminals 2 in each row are spaced apart in the left-to-right direction. Each conductive terminal 2 includes a contact portion 21, a conductive portion 22, and a connecting portion 23 connecting the contact portion 21 and the conductive portion 22. The contact portion 21 is used to elastically abut against the mating element 200, and the conductive portion 22 is used to conduct to the circuit board 300. All of the multiple conductive terminals 2 are differential signal terminals 2a, and two adjacent conductive terminals 2 on the left and right sides form a differential signal pair.

[0047] like Figure 13 , Figure 15 and Figure 16 As shown, the base 1 is made of a metal shell 1b and an insulating shell 1a. The insulating shell 1a is injection molded on the outer periphery of the metal shell 1b, forming the outer contour of the base 1. The metal shell 1b is formed by stacking multiple metal plates and fixing them together by laser welding.

[0048] like Figure 16 and Figure 17 As shown, the metal housing 1b has a first surface 16a and a second surface 16b arranged opposite each other, and a plurality of shielding cavities 16c extending vertically through the first surface 16a and the second surface 16b. The first surface 16a is located on the side of the insulating housing 1a facing the docking element 200 and is used to conduct with the grounding element 3. In this embodiment, the second surface 16b is a non-flat surface. In other embodiments, the second surface 16b can be a plane.

[0049] like Figure 13 and Figure 14 As shown, the insulating housing 1a is integrally molded from plastic material and has a generally rectangular outer contour. The insulating housing 1a includes four positioning posts 13, multiple terminal slots 12 extending vertically through the insulating housing 1a, a mounting surface 11, and multiple receiving holes 14. The four positioning posts 13 are located at the four corners of the insulating housing 1a and protrude from the first surface 16a in the vertical direction for positioning with the docking element 200. At least one terminal slot 12 is correspondingly provided in the shielding cavity 16c. Specifically, each shielding cavity 16c has two adjacent terminal slots 12 on the left and right sides, and the two terminal slots 12 are used to accommodate one differential signal pair.

[0050] like Figures 15 to 17As shown, the mounting surface 11 is located on the side of the insulating housing 1a facing the circuit board 300. The conductive portion 22 is soldered to the circuit board 300 by clamping the solder ball 4. The receiving hole 14 is recessed from the mounting surface 11, and a plurality of the receiving holes 14 are exposed on the second surface 16b, and are used in pairs to receive a plurality of the solder 4. After the solder 4 fills the corresponding receiving hole 14, the metal housing 1b can be conductively connected to the circuit board 300, thereby achieving grounding. That is, the metal housing 1b and the circuit board 300 are separated by a layer of plastic from the insulating shell 1a (to prevent the solder 4 from flowing freely onto the pads adjacent to the circuit board 300 during reflow soldering, causing a short circuit). The second surface 16b of the metal housing 1b does not fully expose the insulating shell 1a, but only the positions corresponding to the multiple receiving holes 14 are exposed on the insulating shell 1a. This makes the multiple terminal slots 12 formed by the insulating shell 1a integrally connected to the plastic on the mounting surface 11. In contrast, the plastic forming the multiple terminal slots 12 is separate and requires dispensing glue one by one for each terminal slot 12 position. This allows adhesive to flow into the corresponding shielding cavity 16c from other locations, forming multiple terminal slots 12 without the need for individual adhesive application. It also facilitates the grounding of the electrical connector 100 via the solder 4 to the circuit board 300. These solder 4 form multiple grounding pillars, firmly and electrically connecting the upper metal housing 1b to the grounding pad of the lower circuit board 300. This not only makes the electrical connector 100 appear nailed to the board, enhancing its retention force and making it more resistant to stress and vibration during insertion and removal, but the multiple solder 4 also provide a low-impedance, high-reliability grounding path for the electrical connector 100, enhancing the shielding effect.

[0051] like Figure 13 , Figure 14 and Figure 17 As shown, the grounding component 3 is formed by stamping a metal sheet and fixed to the first surface 16a by laser welding, and abuts against the mating element 200 in the vertical direction. The electrical connector 100 transmits high-speed signals through multiple differential signal pairs, and is connected to the mating element 200 and the circuit board 300 through the grounding component 3, the metal housing 1b, and multiple solders 4, thereby forming a complete grounding loop, improving the shielding effect of the differential signal terminals 2a, and reducing crosstalk between the differential signal terminals 2a.

[0052] like Figures 18 to 20As shown, this is a specific embodiment of the connector assembly 1000 of the present invention. The connector assembly 1000 is used to mate with two mating elements 200 in the vertical direction. The connector assembly 1000 includes a circuit board 300 and two electrical connectors 100 as described in the first embodiment of the present invention. The two electrical connectors 100 are located on the upper and lower sides of the circuit board 300 and are electrically connected to the circuit board 300 respectively. Each electrical connector 100 mates with a corresponding mating element 200 in the vertical direction. The differential signal terminal 2a of one electrical connector 100 is electrically connected to the differential signal terminal 2a of the other electrical connector 100 through the circuit board 300.

[0053] The electrical connector and connector assembly of the present invention also have the following beneficial effects: 1. The base 1 of the electrical connector 100 is composed of the insulating shell 1a and the metal shell 1b inserted into the insulating shell 1a. This structure combines the insulation and easy molding of plastic with the high strength of metal, making the electrical connector 100 more robust and less prone to deformation or cracking, enabling it to withstand the stress of multiple insertions and removals. The metal shell 1b surrounds the terminal slot 12, effectively isolating electromagnetic interference (EMI) and crosstalk between the corresponding differential signal terminals 2a in the adjacent shielding cavities 16c. By providing a dedicated receiving hole 14 to accommodate the solder 4, the solder 4 melts in the receiving hole 14 and forms a large-area contact with the second surface 16b of the metal shell 1b, ensuring a firm and reliable grounding connection. This avoids the risk of poor soldering or short circuits caused by the overflow of the solder 4, ensuring the accuracy and consistency of the soldering process. The metal housing 1b is grounded to the mating element 200 via the grounding member 3 above, and to the circuit board 300 via the solder 4 below, forming a complete grounding loop and shielding the differential signal terminal 2a. This structure provides excellent shielding and significantly improves signal integrity (SI). Furthermore, it eliminates the need for a dedicated grounding terminal housed within the base 1, allowing the electrical connector 100 to accommodate more signal terminals within a limited space, making it suitable for electrical connectors with transmission rates of 224Gbps and higher.

[0054] 2. One surface of the insulating shell 1a facing the docking element 200 is coplanar with the first surface 16a, and the two together form a flat docking surface 15, which ensures uniform and stable contact with the docking element 200 (such as another electrical connector) and avoids poor contact caused by height difference or excessive squeezing and wear on the grounding member 3 / the conductive terminal 2.

[0055] 3. The two positioning posts 13 are non-centrally symmetrically arranged to prevent mistaken insertion, ensuring that the docking element 200 can only be inserted in the single correct direction, preventing damage to the electrical connector 100 or the docking element 200 due to reverse or misaligned insertion; and the positioning posts 13 protrude from the metal housing 1b in the vertical direction, which can guide and position the docking element in the early stage of docking, ensuring that the conductive terminal 2 and the grounding element 3 can be accurately aligned with the corresponding contacts on the docking element 200, thereby improving the reliability and efficiency of docking.

[0056] 4. The connecting part 17 does not extend outward beyond the corresponding side wall 10 in the front-back direction, and is hidden in the groove 101 of the side wall 10, which ensures the flatness of the appearance of the electrical connector 100 and avoids additional metal burrs or protrusions from affecting installation or causing scratches.

[0057] 5. The metal shell 1b is made of multiple layers of metal plates stacked together and fixed by their respective connecting parts 17, which is conducive to the stamping and forming of the metal plates. The stacking of multiple metal plates is conducive to the stamping and forming of the shielding cavity 16c structure.

[0058] 6. Each shielding cavity 16c in the first region Q1 has two terminal slots 12 corresponding to accommodate a differential signal pair, and the grounding member 3 is arranged around each shielding cavity 16c. Each differential signal pair is surrounded by multiple solder 4, which is equivalent to establishing an independent shielding isolation chamber for each differential signal pair, minimizing crosstalk between adjacent differential signal pairs, so that signal quality can be guaranteed even when the terminal density is very high.

[0059] 7. By designing the grooves 18 and the recesses 181, the surface area of ​​the insulating shell 1a in contact with the air is significantly increased, forming an efficient heat dissipation channel. During high-speed data transmission, both the differential signal terminals 2a and the metal shell 1b generate heat. The multiple grooves 18 can directly and quickly conduct the heat accumulated inside the electrical connector 100 (especially the dense solder 4 and differential signal pair areas) and dissipate it to the surrounding environment. Each differential signal pair has a recess 181 on the front and rear sides of the two conductive parts 22, and the depth of the groove formed by the recesses 181 and the grooves 18 is greater than the depth of other areas of the grooves 18, which is also for better heat dissipation of the differential signal pair.

[0060] 8. The spring arms of adjacent grounding units 31 extend towards each other and intersect, so that after the electrical connector 100 is connected to the docking element 200, the first spring arm 312 and the second spring arm 313 interweave to form a continuous and uninterrupted top surface shielding layer, eliminating the shielding "blind zone", ensuring the integrity of the shielding above the base 1, and further suppressing electromagnetic leakage.

[0061] 9. By symmetrically installing two electrical connectors 100 on the upper and lower sides of the circuit board 300, that is, by welding two electrical connectors 100 on both sides, the two docking elements 200 can transmit data at high speed through the circuit board 300, which also helps to improve the signal integrity of the entire system.

[0062] The above detailed description is only an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made using the content of this invention's specification and illustrations are included within the patent scope of this invention.

Claims

1. An electrical connector for mounting on a circuit board and mating with a mating element, characterized in that, include: Multiple signal terminals, each of the signal terminals including a contact portion, a conductive portion and a connecting portion connecting the contact portion and the conductive portion, the contact portion being used to conduct with the mating element, and the conductive portion being used to conduct with the circuit board; A base is made of an insulating outer shell and a metal shell inlaid in the insulating outer shell. The insulating outer shell forms the outer contour of the base. The insulating outer shell includes a mounting surface, a plurality of terminal slots and a plurality of receiving holes. The mounting surface faces the circuit board. The terminal slots penetrate the insulating outer shell vertically and at least part of the terminal slots receive the signal terminals. The contact portion is exposed outside the base. The receiving holes are recessed from the mounting surface. The metal shell has a plurality of shielding cavities and a first surface and a second surface arranged vertically opposite each other. The shielding cavities penetrate the first surface and the second surface vertically. At least one terminal slot is correspondingly provided in the shielding cavity. The first surface is located on the side of the insulating outer shell facing the docking element, and the second surface is exposed in the plurality of receiving holes. A grounding element is disposed on the first surface and is used to connect with the mating element to form a ground; Multiple solders are correspondingly housed in multiple receiving holes, and the metal housing is welded to the circuit board through the multiple solders to form a ground.

2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: One surface of the insulating shell facing the docking element is coplanar with the first surface, and the two together form a docking surface of the base.

3. The electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The insulating outer shell is integrally formed with two positioning posts. The two positioning posts are located on the left and right sides of the metal shell and are not centrally symmetrically arranged. The positioning posts protrude from the metal shell along the top and bottom to position with the docking element.

4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The seat body includes two side walls arranged opposite each other in the front and rear directions. Each side wall is provided with at least one groove. The groove is formed by recessing into the outer surface of the corresponding side wall in the front-rear direction and penetrating the corresponding side wall vertically. The seat body also includes at least two connecting parts provided on the metal shell. Each groove corresponds to and accommodates at least one connecting part. The connecting part does not extend outward beyond the corresponding side wall in the front-rear direction.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 4, characterized in that: The metal shell is formed by stacking multiple metal plates one on top of the other. Each metal plate has multiple connecting parts. Each side wall has two grooves spaced apart from each other. Each groove has multiple connecting parts aligned vertically. The number of connecting parts in the same groove is equal to the number of metal plates.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: From a top view, the connecting part located on the front side of the base body and the connecting part located on the rear side of the base body are arranged directly opposite each other.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base includes a first region in which multiple terminal slots are arranged in multiple rows in the front-back direction. The multiple terminal slots in each row are spaced apart in the left-right direction. In the corresponding first region, two adjacent terminal slots are arranged in the shielding cavity. The two signal terminals contained in the two terminal slots form a differential signal pair. The grounding element is arranged around the perimeter of each shielding cavity. Multiple solders are arranged around the outside of each differential signal.

8. The electrical connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: Each differential signal pair has one solder on each of its left and right sides, and three solders on each of its front and back sides. The center line connecting the two middle solders on the front and back sides passes between the two signal terminals of the corresponding differential signal pair.

9. The electrical connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: Multiple solders are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction, and the multiple solders in each row are spaced apart in the left-to-right direction. The multiple rows of solders include multiple first solder rows and multiple second solder rows. Each row of differential signal pairs has a first solder row on each of the front and back sides of the multiple conductors. A second solder row is provided between every two adjacent first solder rows. The multiple solders in the second solder row are distributed in a row of differential signal pairs. The insulating shell includes multiple grooves. The grooves are recessed from the mounting surface and penetrate the insulating shell in the left-to-right direction. At least one groove is provided between every two adjacent rows of solders.

10. The electrical connector according to claim 9, characterized in that: Each groove is further provided with a plurality of recesses, which are spaced apart in the left-right direction and in the front-back direction, with one recess corresponding to the front and back sides of the two conductors of each differential signal pair.

11. The electrical connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: The grounding component includes multiple grounding units, which are disposed in the first region and arranged in multiple rows in the front-back direction. The multiple grounding units in each row are arranged at intervals from left to right. Four grounding units are provided around the outer perimeter of each shielding cavity in the first region. Each grounding unit is located at one corner of the corresponding shielding cavity and includes at least one first elastic arm extending in the left-right direction and at least one second elastic arm extending in the front-back direction. The first elastic arm and the second elastic arm are used to elastically abut against the docking element.

12. The electrical connector according to claim 11, characterized in that: The two adjacent first elastic arms of two adjacent grounding units on the left and right extend towards each other and intersect in the front-to-back direction. The two adjacent second elastic arms of two adjacent grounding units on the front and back extend towards each other and intersect in the left-to-right direction.

13. The electrical connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: The device further includes multiple power terminals. The housing includes a second region in which multiple terminal slots are arranged in multiple rows in the front-to-back direction. The multiple terminal slots in each row are spaced apart in the left-to-right direction. In the corresponding second region, multiple terminal slots that are adjacent to each other on the left and right sides are arranged in the shielding cavity. The multiple power terminals are housed in the multiple terminal slots located in the second region.

14. The electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conductive part exposes the mounting surface in the vertical direction and is soldered to the circuit board by surface mounting.

15. A connector assembly for mating with two mating elements in a vertical direction, characterized in that, include: A circuit board is located between the two mating components; Two electrical connectors as described in any one of claims 1-14, the two electrical connectors being located on the upper and lower sides of the circuit board and respectively electrically connected to the circuit board, each electrical connector being respectively mated to a corresponding mating element in the vertical direction, and the signal terminal of one electrical connector being electrically connected to the signal terminal of the other electrical connector through the circuit board.

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