Electric connector, electric connector assembly and communication equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of electric connectors, and discloses an electric connector, an electric connector assembly and communication equipment. The electric connector comprises a plurality of terminal slots, the terminal slots are made of metal materials, each terminal slot is internally provided with a metal connecting terminal, and at least part of the inner wall of each terminal slot is provided with an insulating coating, for example, the insulating coating is arranged on the inner wall of the periphery of each metal connecting terminal, so that the metal connecting terminal can be electrically connected with the terminal slots. The condition that the metal connecting terminal is in direct contact with the terminal slot when the electric connector is plugged with other connectors or the electric connector is in an unstable environment can be reduced, and the problem of short circuit between the metal connecting terminal and the terminal slot can be solved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of electrical connectors, and in particular to an electrical connector, an electrical connector assembly and a communication device. BACKGROUND

[0002] The signal integrity of an electrical connector is increasingly serious in a high-speed link, and how to ensure that the signal integrity is transmitted from a source end to a receiving end has become a major challenge in the design of an electrical connector. Crosstalk is one of the key factors causing signal integrity problems, and therefore the current electrical connector adopts a protection increasing method (for example, increasing a metal shielding structure) to achieve a crosstalk suppression effect.

[0003] However, in a high-density demand scenario (for example, a large number of metal connecting terminals for signal communication in a male or female electrical connector), the distance between the metal shielding structure and the metal connecting terminal is too small, so that there is a short circuit risk between the metal shielding structure and the metal connecting terminal in the mutual plugging of the male electrical connector and the female electrical connector and a vibration scenario. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide an electrical connector, an electrical connector assembly and a communication device.

[0005] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide an electrical connector, comprising a plurality of terminal slots, a metal connecting terminal is arranged in the terminal slot, the terminal slot and the metal connecting terminal both extend along a first direction, wherein the terminal slot is made of a metal material, and there is a spacing between the metal connecting terminal and the inner wall of the terminal slot; at least part of the inner wall of the terminal slot is provided with an insulating coating.

[0006] Based on the above scheme, the electrical connector of the embodiments of the present application can reduce the direct contact between the metal connecting terminal and the terminal slot when the electrical connector is plugged with other connectors or the electrical connector is in an unstable environment by arranging an insulating coating on at least part of the inner wall of the terminal slot, for example, arranging an insulating coating on the inner wall around the metal connecting terminal, and can solve the short circuit problem between the metal connecting terminal and the terminal slot.

[0007] Moreover, due to the small short circuit risk, the spacing between the metal connecting terminal and the side wall of the terminal slot does not need to be set too large, so as to shorten the spacing between the metal connecting terminal and the side wall of the terminal slot, which is beneficial to the miniaturization design of the electrical connector, and more metal connecting terminals can be arranged in the same size to improve the signal transmission efficiency.

[0008] The first direction can refer to the extension direction of the metal connecting terminal, for example, the X-axis direction shown in the drawings of the present application.

[0009] In some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the terminal slot has an opening in the first direction, and one end of the metal connecting terminal extends towards the opening and has a first distance from the opening.

[0010] It can be understood that the metal connecting terminal has the first distance from the opening of the terminal slot, so that the metal connecting terminal is prevented from being exposed outside the slot and affecting the signal shielding effect.

[0011] In addition, in a plugging scenario of the electrical connector and another connector, the first distance corresponds to a space in the inner cavity, which can accommodate a metal connecting terminal of the other connector, so that the contact parts (metal connecting terminals) of the two electrical connectors can be in a relatively closed environment, and the stability of signal transmission is improved.

[0012] In some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the terminal slot is a rectangular slot, and the inner wall of the terminal slot includes a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side wall and a fourth side wall, which enclose a rectangular inner cavity. In the second direction, the metal connecting terminal is located between the first side wall and the third side wall, and in the third direction, the metal connecting terminal is located between the second side wall and the fourth side wall, wherein the first direction, the second direction and the third direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0013] It can be understood that the terminal slot is taken as a rectangular slot as an example in the embodiments of the present application, and in other embodiments, the terminal slot can also be a slot of other shapes, for example, a circular slot.

[0014] The second direction can refer to the Z-axis direction shown in the drawings of the present application, and the third direction can refer to the Y-axis direction shown in the drawings of the present application.

[0015] In some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, at least one of the first side wall, the second side wall, the third side wall and the fourth side wall is provided with an insulating coating.

[0016] In some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, any one of the first side wall and the third side wall, and the second side wall and the fourth side wall is provided with an insulating coating.

[0017] It can be understood that the first side wall, the second side wall, the third side wall and the fourth side wall are all provided with an insulating coating, so that the possibility of direct contact between the metal connecting terminal and the inner wall of the slot is relatively low. However, in actual application, the insulating coating can also be arranged according to the position where the metal connecting terminal is prone to short circuit, and the present application does not limit this.

[0018] In some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the thickness of the insulating coating is 0.05mm-0.4mm.

[0019] Here, the thickness of the insulating coating can refer to the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the side wall where the insulating coating is located. For details, refer to the relevant description of the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that the thickness of the insulating coating is thin, which does not affect the overall size of the terminal slot and the electrical connector.

[0020] In some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the plurality of terminal slots are arranged in an array.

[0021] It can be understood that the more the number of terminal slots is, the more the number of metal connecting terminals is, so as to meet the requirement of high-density design of the electrical connector and realize more efficient signal transmission.

[0022] In some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, at least one metal connecting terminal is arranged in each terminal slot.

[0023] It can be understood that the number of metal connecting terminals in each terminal slot is not limited by the present application, and one or two or more metal connecting terminals can be arranged in each terminal slot.

[0024] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide an electrical connector assembly, comprising a first electrical connector, a second electrical connector, a first circuit board and a second circuit board, the first electrical connector is arranged on the first circuit board, and the second electrical connector is arranged on the second circuit board, wherein any one of the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector is the electrical connector of the first aspect; the first circuit board and the second circuit board are electrically connected through the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector which are inserted into each other.

[0025] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, comprising the electrical connector of the first aspect.

[0026] The technical effects of the second aspect and the third aspect can refer to the technical effects of the first aspect, and will not be described again. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 According to some embodiments of the present application, a structural schematic diagram of an electrical connector 1 is shown;

[0028] Figure 2 According to some embodiments of the present application, a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a single terminal slot 20 is shown;

[0029] Figure 3 According to some embodiments of the present application, a side view of a single terminal slot 20 is shown;

[0030] Figure 4 According to some embodiments of the present application, a schematic diagram of an electrical connector 2 is shown;

[0031] Figure 5According to some embodiments of this application, a perspective view of a terminal slot 20a is shown;

[0032] Figure 6 According to some embodiments of this application, a side view of a single terminal slot 20a is shown;

[0033] Figure 7 According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic diagram of two electrical connectors being plugged into each other is shown;

[0034] Figure 8 (a) to Figure 8 (b) According to some embodiments of this application, schematic diagrams of 2x2 slot arrays based on different slot structures are shown;

[0035] Figures 9A to 9C According to some embodiments of this application, various arrangements of the insulating coating 50 are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The illustrative embodiments of this application include, but are not limited to, an electrical connector, an electrical connector assembly, and a communication device.

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an electrical connector is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the electrical connector 1 includes an insulating body 10 and a plurality of terminal slots 20 fixed to the insulating body 10. The plurality of terminal slots can be arranged in an array, wherein each terminal slot 20 is provided with at least one metal connecting terminal 30. Figure 1 (Not shown).

[0038] Figure 2 A perspective view of a single terminal slot 20 is shown. It should be noted that, in the embodiments and related drawings of this application, each terminal slot 20 includes two metal connecting terminals 30 as an example. In other embodiments, each terminal slot 20 may contain more or fewer metal connecting terminals 30, and this application does not limit this. Furthermore, in the various embodiments and drawings of this application, a rectangular slot is used as an example for the terminal slot. This application does not limit the shape of the terminal slot; for example, in other embodiments, the terminal slot may be a circular slot or other geometric shapes.

[0039] like Figure 2As shown, the terminal slot 20 includes two metal connecting terminals 30 and a terminal fixing base 40. One end of each metal connecting terminal 30 is fixed to the terminal fixing base 40, and the other end extends along the X-axis direction (first direction). It can be understood that the metal connecting terminals 30 are used to transmit high-speed signals. To avoid signal crosstalk between the metal connecting terminals 30 in each terminal slot 20 and those in other terminal slots 20, the terminal slot 20 is made of metal and surrounds the two metal connecting terminals 30. Thus, the terminal slot 20 as a whole also extends along the X-direction, enabling it to enclose the noise generated by the metal connecting terminals 30 within the cavity, achieving effective shielding protection between signals.

[0040] Figure 3 A side view of a single terminal slot 20 is shown. (As shown) Figure 3 As shown, the terminal slot 20 includes sidewalls 210 (first sidewall) and 230 (third sidewall) disposed opposite each other along the Z-axis direction (second direction), and sidewalls 220 (second sidewall) and 240 (fourth sidewall) disposed opposite each other along the Y-axis direction (third direction), with sidewalls 210 to 240 forming a rectangular inner cavity.

[0041] In the rectangular cavity, two metal connecting terminals 30 are spaced apart along the Y-axis, and there is a gap between the metal connecting terminals 30 and the inner wall of the terminal slot 20. For example, there is a gap Z1 between the metal connecting terminals 30 and the side wall 210, and a gap Z2 between the metal connecting terminals 30 and the side wall 230; and one of the metal connecting terminals 30 has a gap Y1 between it and the side wall 240, and the other metal connecting terminal 30 has a gap Y2 between it and the side wall 220.

[0042] It should be noted that the distance between the metal connection terminal 30 and the side wall 210 along the X-axis is not fixed. For example, when combined with... Figure 2 As shown, along the positive X-axis, the distance between the metal connecting terminal 30 and the side wall 210 can initially remain fixed, then gradually decrease, and then gradually increase. The aforementioned distance Z1 can refer to the minimum distance between the metal connecting terminal 30 and the side wall 210 in the X-axis direction. Alternatively, distance Z1 can also refer to the distance between the end of the metal connecting terminal 30 along the positive X-axis and the side wall 210. Similarly, distance Z2 is analogous to distance Z1; for example, the sum of distance Z1 and distance Z2 can be the distance between the side wall 210 and the side wall 230 in the Z-axis direction.

[0043] Continue reading Figure 2 The terminal slot 20 has an opening 20A at one end along the X-axis, for the metal connection terminals of other electrical connectors adapted to the electrical connector 1 (such as...). Figure 4The metal connecting terminal 010 of the shown electrical connector 2 can enter the slot via the opening 20A to contact the metal connecting terminal 30 inside the slot to realize the electrical connection and signal transmission of the two electrical connectors.

[0044] In the scenario of plugging and unplugging the electrical connector 1 and the electrical connector 2, for example, in the process of the metal connecting terminal 010 of the electrical connector 2 entering the slot 20 of the electrical connector 2 via the opening 20A, the metal connecting terminal 010 is easy to touch the inner wall of the slot 20, and since the slot 20 is made of metal material, short circuit is easy to occur between the metal connecting terminal 010 and the metal connecting terminal 30. Or, when the electrical connector 1 and the electrical connector 2 are in an unstable environment, the metal connecting terminal 010 and the metal connecting terminal 30 may be displaced due to vibration, causing the metal connecting terminal 010 to touch the inner wall of the slot 20 and thus short circuit. Therefore, the current spacing between the metal connecting terminal 30 and the side wall of the slot 20 is large, for example, the above-mentioned spacing Z1 and spacing Z2 are increased to reserve enough space to accommodate the metal connecting terminal 010 of the electrical connector 2, thereby reducing the short circuit risk between the metal connecting terminal 010 and the slot 20.

[0045] However, this way makes the size of a single terminal slot 20 in the Z-axis direction larger, which is not conducive to the miniaturization and high-density layout of the electrical connector 1.

[0046] Therefore, based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide a terminal slot structure, at least part of the inner wall of the slot is provided with an insulating coating, for example, an insulating coating is provided on the surrounding inner wall of the metal connecting terminal 30, which can solve the short circuit problem between the metal connecting terminal and the slot, and can shorten the spacing between the metal connecting terminal 30 and the side wall of the slot 20, which is conducive to the miniaturization design of the electrical connector 1, and can layout more metal connecting terminals in the same size, and improve the signal transmission efficiency.

[0047] Figure 5 A perspective view of a terminal slot 20a according to an embodiment of the present application is shown, Figure 6 A side view of the terminal slot 20a is shown. The difference between the slot 20a and the slot 20 is that the inner wall of the slot 20a is provided with an insulating coating 50.

[0048] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the inner walls of the slots 20a around the two metal connecting terminals 30 are all provided with insulating coatings 50, in other words, the insulating coatings 50 are arranged around the four sides of the two metal connecting terminals 30. For example, along the Y-axis direction, the metal connecting terminal 30 is located between the side wall 220 and the side wall 240, and along the Z-axis direction, the metal connecting terminal 30 is located between the side wall 210 and the side wall 230.

[0049] In some embodiments, as shown inFigure 5 As shown, the metal connecting terminal 30 has a first distance X1 between the end part along the positive direction of the X axis and the opening 20A of the slot 20a, so that the metal connecting terminal 30 can be prevented from being exposed outside the slot 20a and affecting the signal shielding effect. Meanwhile, as shown, in one plug-in scenario of the terminal slot 20a, the inner cavity space corresponding to the first distance X1 can also accommodate Figure 7 As shown, in one plug-in scenario of the terminal slot 20a, the inner cavity space corresponding to the first distance X1 can also accommodate Figure 4 As shown, the metal connecting terminal 010 and the terminal fixing seat 020 of the electrical connector 2 are coated with the insulating coating 50, so that the contact parts (metal connecting terminals) of the two electrical connectors can be in a relatively closed environment.

[0050] In some embodiments, along the X axis direction, the length of the insulating coating 50 can cover the extension length of the metal connecting terminal 30. The extension length of the metal connecting terminal 30 refers to the distance between the end of the metal connecting terminal 30 connected to the terminal fixing seat 40 and the other end of the metal connecting terminal 30 extending towards the opening 20A. For example, Figure 5 As shown, along the X axis direction, the length X2 of the insulating coating 50 is greater than the extension length X3 of the metal connecting terminal 30.

[0051] In some embodiments, the thickness of the insulating coating 50 on each of the side walls 210 to 240 is the same, for example, Figure 6 As shown, the thickness (dimension along the Z axis direction) m1 of the insulating coating 50 on the side wall 210, the thickness (dimension along the Y axis direction) m2 of the insulating coating 50 on the side wall 220, the thickness (dimension along the Z axis direction) m3 of the insulating coating 50 on the side wall 230, and the thickness (dimension along the Y axis direction) m4 of the insulating coating 50 on the side wall 240 are all the same. Alternatively, in other embodiments, at least two of the above thicknesses m1 to m4 can be different, which is not limited in the present application.

[0052] For example, the thickness of the insulating coating 50 can be 0.05mm to 0.4mm.

[0053] Since the insulating coating 50 is provided, even if the metal connecting terminal 30 / 010 is in contact with the inner wall, short circuit will not occur, so the distance between the metal connecting terminal 30 and the side wall 210 can be shortened. For example, Figure 6 As shown, the distance Z1' between the metal connecting terminal 30 and the side wall 210 is less than the distance Z1 described above, and / or the distance Z2' between the metal connecting terminal 30 and the side wall 230 is less than the distance Z2 described above. In this way, it is beneficial to reduce the size of the single slot 20a in the Z axis direction.

[0054] In some embodiments, the material of the insulating coating 50 includes but is not limited to rubber, plastic, ceramic, glass, etc.

[0055] In some embodiments, the insulating coating 50 can be formed by coating the inside of the slot 20a in a manner such as by an injection molding process, a new powder metallurgy near-net-shape forming technique (MIM), coating, surface oxidation, infiltration, and the like.

[0056] Figure 8 (a) shows a 2x2 slot array based on the slot 20a structure of the embodiments of the present application, Figure 8 (b) shows a 2x2 slot array based on the slot 20 structure. As Figure 8 (a) to Figure 8 (b) shows, the size Z3 of the single slot 20a in the Z-axis direction is significantly smaller than the size Z4 of the slot 20 in the Z-axis direction. In an electric connector of the same size, the electric connector using the slot 20a structure has more slots 20a, i.e., more metal connecting terminals 30 for signal transmission, and can achieve a high-density layout of the electric connector, as compared with the electric connector using the slot 20 structure.

[0057] It should be noted that in the above embodiments of the present application, the insulating coating is provided on each of the side walls 210 to 240 of the slot 20a. In other embodiments, the insulating coating is provided on only at least one of the side walls 210 to 240, which can also reduce the short circuit risk between the metal connecting terminal and the slot to a certain extent and achieve similar technical effects, and therefore the slot of the present application is not limited to Figure 6 or Figure 7 the structure shown.

[0058] In some scenarios, as shown in Figure 7 , the metal connecting terminals 010 and 30 of the electric connector 2 are in contact with each other along the Z-axis direction to achieve electrical connection, and the metal connecting terminal 010 is more likely to contact the side wall 230 than the side wall 210 when being inserted, and therefore, in other embodiments, as shown in Figure 9A , only the side wall 230, the side wall 220, and the side wall 240 are provided with the insulating coating 50, and the insulating coating 50 is in the shape of a "C".

[0059] Figure 9B and Figure 9C show the arrangement of the insulating coating 50 in other embodiments, for example, as shown in Figure 9B only the side wall 210, the side wall 220, and the side wall 240 are provided with the insulating coating 50, Figure 9C only the side wall 210 and the side wall 230 are provided with the insulating coating 50. The insulating coating 50 can be arranged in combination with the position where the metal connecting terminal is more likely to be short-circuited in actual applications, and the present application does not limit the same.

[0060] The application further provides an electric connector assembly, comprising the electric connector 1, the electric connector 2, the first circuit board and the second circuit board, wherein the electric connector 1 comprises the terminal slot 20a in the above embodiment. The electric connector 1 is arranged on the first circuit board, the electric connector 2 is arranged on the second circuit board, and the first circuit board and the second circuit board are electrically connected through the electric connector 1 and the electric connector 2.

[0061] The application further provides a communication device, comprising the electric connector 1 in the above embodiment, wherein the electric connector 1 comprises the terminal slot 20a in the above embodiment, and the electric connector 1 is used for realizing high-speed signal transmission of the communication device.

[0062] It should be noted that the communication device in the application includes but is not limited to a mobile phone, a smart television, a wearable device (for example, a watch), a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0063] In addition, it should be noted that in the application, a range can be expressed as starting from and / or ending at a specific value, but the specific value is not and need not be exact, but can be approximate and / or larger or smaller as desired, reflecting tolerances, measurement errors, and other factors known to those skilled in the art.

[0064] The terms used in the application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting to the application. As used in the specification and the appended claims of the application, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include both the singular and the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that "one or more" means one, two, or more than two.

[0065] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but can refer to different embodiments. The terms "including," "comprising," "having" and their variants are meant to be construed as encompassing rather than excluding additional unrecited elements. The terms "consisting of" and "consisting essentially of" are meant to be construed as excluding additional unrecited elements.

[0066] In this application, words to the effect that something "can," "might," "may," "could," "should," "would," "can," "can" or the like, are used to convey the possibility of an event or circumstance, or possibility of results, not a factual statement of a result. In this application, words to the effect that something "can," "might," "may," "could," "should," "would," "can," "can" or the like, are used to convey the possibility of an event or circumstance, or possibility of results, not a factual statement of a result.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, characterized by, The terminal slot is made of metal material, and a spacing is provided between the metal connecting terminal and the inner wall of the terminal slot. At least part of the inner wall of the terminal slot is provided with an insulating coating. In the first direction, the terminal slot has an opening, one end of the metal connecting terminal extends towards the opening, and a first distance is provided between the metal connecting terminal and the opening.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein, The terminal slot is a rectangular slot, the inner wall of the terminal slot includes a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side wall and a fourth side wall, the first side wall, the second side wall, the third side wall and the fourth side wall enclose a rectangular inner cavity, 3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein, In the second direction, the metal connecting terminal is located between the first side wall and the third side wall, In the third direction, the metal connecting terminal is located between the second side wall and the fourth side wall, Wherein, the first direction, the second direction and the third direction are perpendicular to each other. At least one of the first side wall, the second side wall, the third side wall and the fourth side wall is provided with the insulating coating.

4. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein, Any one of the first side wall and the third side wall, and the second side wall and the fourth side wall is provided with the insulating coating.

5. The electrical connector of claim 4, wherein, The thickness of the insulating coating is 0.05mm-0.4mm.

6. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The plurality of terminal slots are arranged in an array.

7. The electrical connector of any of claims 1-5, wherein, At least one metal connecting terminal is provided in each terminal slot.

8. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The first electric connector, the second electric connector, the first circuit board and the second circuit board, the first electric connector is provided on the first circuit board, the second electric connector is provided on the second circuit board, wherein any one of the first electric connector and the second electric connector is the electric connector of any one of claims 1-8; 9. An electrical connector assembly characterized by, The first circuit board and the second circuit board are electrically connected by the first electric connector and the second electric connector inserted into each other. The electric connector of any one of claims 1-8 is included.

10. A communication device, characterized by ​

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