High-reliability high-frequency connector and welding pin optimization method thereof

Abstract

A high-reliability high-frequency connector and an optimized method for welding pins thereof, the connector comprising signal terminals and functional terminals, wherein the first welding pin length of the signal terminals is designed to be shorter than the second welding pin length of the functional terminals. By differentiating the pin lengths, on the one hand, the welding node volume of the high-frequency signal end is reduced, which is conducive to improving the transmission quality of the high-frequency signal; on the other hand, the longer functional terminal pins are used to share the mechanical stress during plugging and unplugging, avoiding the fracture of the fragile high-frequency signal terminal welding points due to excessive stress, thereby significantly improving the overall service life and mechanical reliability of the connector.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of connector technology, and in particular to a high-frequency connector and its optimization method that improves the quality of high-frequency signal transmission and mechanical reliability by differentiating the length of soldered pins. Background Technology

[0002] As connector data transmission speeds increase, many factors have emerged that affect transmission speed and signal quality. If these factors are not effectively addressed, they will significantly impact the signal transmission performance of high-frequency connectors, making it impossible to guarantee the integrity of signal transmission.

[0003] Often, due to structural requirements, connectors cannot meet the principle of equal length for high-speed differential pairs. Because the two signal lines of a high-speed differential pair are of unequal length, signal transmission cannot reach the receiving end synchronously. When the two lines of the differential pair are asymmetrical, some differential signals will be converted into common-mode noise. This can also increase the bit error rate: the generated common-mode signal will reflect at the end, causing signal distortion and eye diagram collapse, such as... Figure 1A This is a normal eye diagram. Figure 1B This is a diagram of a collapsed eye.

[0004] The asymmetry of differential pairs can indirectly affect parameters such as integral multiple reflection (IMR), integral return loss (IRL), and insertion loss (ILF). During the soldering process between high-frequency connectors and circuit boards, a resonant cavity-like node is formed at the pins where the signal terminals are soldered to the circuit board. The larger the node, the more significant the high-frequency resonant noise, severely impacting parameters such as integral multiple reflection (IMR), integral return loss (IRL), and insertion loss (ILF). Existing technologies that shorten all pins simultaneously to reduce the resonant cavity volume reduce the overall soldering area. During repeated connector insertion and removal, the solder joints are prone to detachment due to stress, leading to decreased mechanical reliability. Therefore, how to ensure high-frequency performance while maintaining connector mechanical reliability is a pressing technical problem that needs to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention aims to provide a highly reliable high-frequency connector and its optimized soldering pin method. By differentiating the pin lengths of signal terminals and functional terminals, the mechanical strength and service life of the connector can be ensured while reducing high-frequency resonant noise.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a high-reliability high-frequency connector, comprising an insulating body and a plurality of conductive terminals housed within the insulating body, wherein the plurality of conductive terminals include signal terminals for transmitting high-frequency differential signals and functional terminals for transmitting other functional signals, wherein both the signal terminals and the functional terminals have solder pins extending out of the insulating body for soldering to a circuit board, wherein the length of the first solder pin of the signal terminal is less than the length of the second solder pin of the functional terminal, so as to reduce the volume of the connection node between the signal terminal and the circuit board by shortening the length of the first solder pin, thereby reducing the parasitic capacitance and inductance of the solder node.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the signal terminal includes a first signal terminal and a second signal terminal constituting a differential pair, wherein the lengths of the first solder pins of the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal are equal and both are shorter than the length of the second solder pin of the functional terminal.

[0008] A preferred embodiment is that the length of the first welding pin of the signal terminal is configured to minimize the volume of the connection node between the signal terminal and the circuit board while meeting the welding strength requirements with the circuit board pads.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the functional terminal includes a power terminal or a ground terminal, and the length of the second solder pin of the functional terminal is longer than the length of the first solder pin of the signal terminal, so as to share the mechanical stress generated when the connector is plugged in and out through the functional terminal.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the second soldering pins of both the signal terminal and the functional terminal extend backward from the base of the insulating body, and the projected length of the first soldering pin of the signal terminal in the direction perpendicular to the circuit board is shorter than that of the second soldering pin of the functional terminal.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the first soldering pin of the signal terminal is cut from a long pin, and the cut first soldering pin is significantly shorter than the second soldering pin of the functional terminal.

[0012] A preferred embodiment is that the plane where the first welding pin of the signal terminal is located is higher than the plane where the functional terminal is located, so as to shorten the length of the first welding pin of the signal terminal through the height difference.

[0013] The present invention also includes an optimization method for soldering pins of a high-frequency connector, comprising: identifying signal terminals in the connector used for transmitting high-speed differential signals; shortening the length of the first soldering pin of the signal terminal to be shorter than the length of the second soldering pin of other non-differential signal transmission terminals on the connector; and utilizing the second soldering pin of the other non-differential signal transmission terminals to bear the main supporting role of the connector when subjected to external forces, thereby protecting the soldering points of the signal terminals.

[0014] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: By differentiating the length of the soldering pins of the signal terminals and functional terminals, the present invention reduces high-frequency resonant noise while ensuring the mechanical strength and service life of the connector. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1A This is a normal eye diagram for common-mode signals; Figure 1B The collapsed eye diagram for the common-mode signal; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the high-reliability high-frequency connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the welding surface of the high-reliability high-frequency connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the soldering pins of the high-reliability high-frequency connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the soldering pins of the high-reliability high-frequency connector according to the second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the soldering pins of the high-reliability high-frequency connector according to the third embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the welding surface of the high-reliability high-frequency connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Connector; 121. Signal terminal; 1211. First signal terminal; 1212. Second signal terminal; 101. Metal housing; 102. Reinforced soldering pin; 103. Reinforced post; 13. Soldering pin; 131. First soldering pin; 132. Second soldering pin; 20. Circuit board. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0019] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present invention involve directional indication, the directional indication is only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of the components in a certain specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0020] Furthermore, if the embodiments of this invention involve descriptions such as "first" or "second," these descriptions are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of those features. Additionally, the use of "and / or" or "and / or" throughout the text implies three parallel solutions. For example, "A and / or B" includes solution A, solution B, or a solution where both A and B are satisfied. Furthermore, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but this must be based on the ability of those skilled in the art to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or impossible to implement, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

[0021] Since differential signal pins need to be soldered to the circuit board to form signal transmission connection nodes, the size of the node has little impact on low-frequency signal transmission, but it has a significant impact on high-frequency and high-speed signal transmission.

[0022] Based on Maxwell's electromagnetic field theory, in high-frequency and high-speed signal transmission links, physical connection nodes (such as pads, vias, and pins) have deviated from the lumped parameter assumption and exhibit significant distributed parameter characteristics. When the physical size of the node is comparable to the signal wavelength, the structure essentially constitutes a miniature electromagnetic resonant cavity. The increase in node volume directly leads to an increase in cavity energy storage and an aggravation of parasitic inductance, which in turn causes significant impedance discontinuities and resonant noise in the high-frequency band.

[0023] This impedance abrupt change and resonance effect caused by the geometric structure is the core mechanism for degrading the signal integrity (SI) of high-speed links. Specifically, resonant absorption and multiple reflections lead to a significant increase in insertion loss (IL); impedance mismatch increases the reflection coefficient, which in turn leads to a deterioration of the integrated return loss (IRL) index; at the same time, strong single reflections are superimposed in the link, causing integrated multiple reflection (IMR) distortion, which ultimately results in severe inter-symbol interference (ISI) and an increase in the system bit error rate.

[0024] Therefore, the fundamental way to suppress node resonance noise is to reduce the physical size of the node. In engineering practice, by shortening the soldering length between the differential signal pins and the circuit board, the volume of the resonant cavity can be effectively reduced and the parasitic inductance parameter can be lowered. This optimization strategy can push the parasitic resonance frequency point to outside the effective operating frequency band of the system, thereby significantly improving key SI indicators such as IL, IRL and IMR from the physical topology level and ensuring the transmission quality of high-speed signals.

[0025] Example 1 refer to Figures 2-4 In this embodiment, the high-reliability high-frequency connector 1 includes an insulating body 11 and a plurality of conductive terminals 12 housed within the insulating body. The plurality of conductive terminals include a signal terminal 121 for transmitting high-frequency differential signals and a functional terminal 122 for transmitting other functional signals. Both the signal terminal 121 and the functional terminal 122 have solder pins 13 extending out of the insulating body for soldering to a circuit board. The length of the first solder pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 is less than the length of the second solder pin 132 of the functional terminal.

[0026] The signal terminal 121 includes a first signal terminal 1211 and a second signal terminal 1212 that form a differential pair. The first solder pins 131 of the first signal terminal 1211 and the second signal terminal 1212 are of equal length and are both shorter than the length of the second solder pins 132 of the functional terminal.

[0027] The length of the first welding pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 is configured to minimize the volume of the connection node between the signal terminal and the circuit board while meeting the welding strength requirements of the solder pads on the circuit board 20, thereby reducing the parasitic capacitance and inductance of the welding node.

[0028] The functional terminal 122 includes a power terminal or a ground terminal, and the second soldering pin 132 of the functional terminal is longer than the first soldering pin 131 of the signal terminal, so as to share the mechanical stress generated when the connector is plugged in and out through the functional terminal.

[0029] The signal terminal 121 is a metal stamping part, and the first welding pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 is integrally formed with the main body of the signal terminal 121.

[0030] In this embodiment, the second soldering pins 132 of both the signal terminal 121 and the functional terminal 122 extend backward from the base out of the insulating body 11. The projected length of the first soldering pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 in the direction perpendicular to the circuit board is shorter than that of the second soldering pin 132 of the functional terminal. By shortening the length of the first soldering pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 without changing the length of the second soldering pins 132 of the functional terminal 122 that need to be soldered to the circuit board, although it cannot isolate the transmission of external force to the connector soldering pins during repeated insertion and removal, under the premise of meeting the requirements of high-frequency and high-speed signal transmission, the soldering area and soldering strength of the other functional pins integrally molded with plastic protect the transmission of external force to the differential signal pins during repeated insertion and removal, thereby increasing the stability, reliability and overall soldering service life in subsequent use.

[0031] like Figure 4 As shown: The metal shell 101 of connector 1 has reinforced soldering feet 102, but there is still a physical gap between the metal shell 101 of connector 1 and the plastic body of the soldering feet of the fixed connector. It is impossible to completely isolate the transmission of external force to the soldering feet of the connector during repeated insertion and removal of the connector. Of course, the plastic body of the soldering feet of the fixed connector also has a reinforcing post 103 that is inserted into the circuit board. Similarly, there is also a gap between the reinforcing post 103 and the circuit board, which cannot completely isolate the transmission of external force to the soldering feet 13 of the connector 1 during repeated insertion and removal of the connector 1.

[0032] Example 2 like Figure 5 As shown: By making the signal terminal 121 of the differential pair locally higher than other functional terminals 13, and the height plane of the signal terminal 121 is higher than the plane where other functional terminals 13 are not located, the length of the first soldering pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 is shortened. This method can more easily ensure the flatness and consistency of the overall soldering pins 13, so that the extended soldering pins 13 are not of the same length.

[0033] Example 3 like Figure 6 As shown: Directly cut the first solder joint 131 of the differential pair signal terminal 121, and the final product is as follows. Figure 7As shown, a section of the first solder pin 131 of the differential signal terminal 121 is directly cut off. The second solder pins 132 of both the signal terminal 121 and the functional terminal 122 extend backward from the base out of the insulating body 11. The first solder pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 is significantly shorter than the second solder pin 132 of the functional terminal. By shortening the length of the first solder pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 without changing the length of the second solder pins 132 of the functional terminal 122 that need to be soldered to the circuit board, although it cannot completely isolate the transmission of external force to the connector solder pins during repeated insertion and removal, it protects the differential signal pins from external force transmission during repeated insertion and removal by increasing the solder area and strength of the other functional pins through integral plastic molding, while meeting the requirements of high-frequency and high-speed signal transmission. This increases the stability, reliability, and overall soldering lifespan during subsequent use. The present invention also includes a method for optimizing the soldering pins of a high-frequency connector: firstly, identifying the signal terminal 121 in the connector used for transmitting high-speed differential signals; shortening the length of the first soldering pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 to be shorter than the length of the second soldering pin 132 of other non-differential signal transmission terminals on the connector; utilizing the second soldering pin 132 of the other non-differential signal transmission terminals to bear the main supporting role of the connector when it is subjected to external force, thereby protecting the soldering points of the signal terminal.

[0034] In the step of shortening the length of the first soldering pin 131 of the signal terminal 12, the shortened length is determined according to the impedance matching requirements of high-frequency signal transmission and the size of the circuit board pads.

[0035] Specifically, when shortening the length of the first soldering pin 131 of the signal terminal 121, the length of the second soldering pin 133 of the functional terminal remains unchanged to maintain the overall soldering bonding force of the connector.

[0036] Wherein, after the first welding pin 131 of the signal terminal 121 is welded to the circuit board pad, the resulting solder joint is shorter than the length of the solder joint formed after the second welding pin 132 of the functional terminal is welded to the circuit board pad 20.

[0037] The high-frequency connector 1 further includes a metal shielding housing 101, which covers the insulating body 102. The metal shielding housing 101 is provided with a second soldering pin 132, the length of which is greater than or equal to the length of the first soldering pin 131 of the signal terminal 121.

[0038] By differentiating the length of the soldering pins between the signal terminals and other functional terminals, high-frequency resonant noise is reduced while ensuring the mechanical strength and service life of the connector.

[0039] In summary, the foregoing disclosure of this invention is intended to enable those skilled in the art to clearly understand the technical content of this invention and implement it accordingly, and is not intended to limit the scope of patent protection of this invention. In addition, this invention may naturally have other embodiments not listed. Without departing from the spirit and essence of this invention, those skilled in the art should be able to devise various corresponding changes and modifications based on this invention, but all such changes and modifications should fall within the scope of protection of the patent application filed for this invention.

Claims

1. A high-reliability high-frequency connector, comprising an insulating body and a plurality of conductive terminals housed within the insulating body, the plurality of conductive terminals including signal terminals for transmitting high-frequency differential signals and functional terminals for transmitting other functional signals, wherein both the signal terminals and the functional terminals have solder leads extending from the insulating body for soldering to a circuit board, characterized in that: The length of the first solder pin of the signal terminal is shorter than the length of the second solder pin of the functional terminal, so as to reduce the volume of the connection node between the signal terminal and the circuit board by shortening the length of the first solder pin, thereby reducing the parasitic capacitance and inductance of the solder node.

2. The high-frequency connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The signal terminals include a first signal terminal and a second signal terminal that form a differential pair. The first solder pins of the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal are of equal length and are both shorter than the length of the second solder pin of the functional terminal.

3. The high-frequency connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The length of the first soldering pin of the signal terminal is configured to minimize the volume of the connection node between the signal terminal and the circuit board while meeting the soldering strength requirements with the circuit board pads.

4. The high-frequency connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The functional terminal includes a power terminal or a ground terminal, and the second solder pin of the functional terminal is longer than the first solder pin of the signal terminal, so as to share the mechanical stress generated when the connector is plugged in or out through the functional terminal.

5. The high-frequency connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The signal terminal is a metal stamping part, and the first welding pin of the signal terminal is integrally formed with the main body of the signal terminal.

6. The high-frequency connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second solder pins of both the signal terminal and the functional terminal extend backward from the base of the insulating body, and the projected length of the first solder pin of the signal terminal in the direction perpendicular to the circuit board is shorter than that of the second solder pin of the functional terminal.

7. The high-frequency connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first soldering pin of the signal terminal is cut from a long pin, and the cut first soldering pin is significantly shorter than the second soldering pin of the functional terminal.

8. The high-frequency connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plane where the first solder pin of the signal terminal is located is higher than the plane where the functional terminal is located, so as to shorten the length of the first solder pin of the signal terminal through the height difference.

9. An optimized method for soldering pins of a high-frequency connector, used in the high-frequency connector as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, include: Identify the signal terminals in the connector used for transmitting high-speed differential signals; Shorten the length of the first solder pin of the signal terminal to be shorter than the length of the second solder pin of other non-differential signal transmission terminals on the connector; The second solder pin of the other non-differential signal transmission terminal serves as the main support for the connector when it is subjected to external force, thus protecting the solder joint of the signal terminal.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, In the step of shortening the length of the first soldering pin of the signal terminal, the shortened length is determined according to the impedance matching requirements of high-frequency signal transmission and the size of the circuit board pad.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, When shortening the length of the first solder pin of the signal terminal, the length of the second solder pin of the functional terminal remains unchanged to maintain the overall solder joint strength of the connector.

12. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The length of the solder joint formed after the first soldering pin of the signal terminal is soldered to the circuit board pad is shorter than the length of the solder joint formed after the second soldering pin of the functional terminal is soldered to the circuit board pad.

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