socket electrical connector

Abstract

To provide a socket electrical connector in which the joining process of a shielding sheet is simplified. [Solution] A socket electrical connector 100 including an insulator 110, two terminal groups, a shielding sheet including opposite side edges 140a and locking side edges 140b, and a shielded housing, wherein the insulator has a base portion 111, a tongue portion 112 and a step portion 113, the two terminal groups and the shielding sheet are each disposed on the insulator, the two terminal groups each have an electrical contact plate segment exposed from the upper surface of the tongue portion for electrically connecting respectively to two terminal groups of another connector, each terminal group is disposed on both sides of the shielding sheet facing each other, tape cut surfaces 141, 142 on both sides of the shielding sheet are formed by cutting the tape, exposing the insulator from both sides of the step portion and the base portion, and an insertion space is formed around the shielding housing.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of connectors, and in particular to a socket electrical connector, and more particularly to an insulator having a base portion, a tongue portion and a step portion, the step portion being thicker than the tongue portion, the step portion being located at a base portion of the tongue portion and adjacent to the base portion and the tongue portion, respectively, and the tongue portion protruding from a front portion of the base portion; a first terminal group secured to the insulator and extending from the base portion to the tongue portion and including a plurality of first terminals, a front end of each first terminal forming a first electrical contact plate segment located on an upper surface of the tongue, each first electrical contact plate segment being exposed from the upper surface of the tongue; and a second terminal group secured to the insulator and extending from the base portion to the tongue portion and including a plurality of second terminals, a front end of each second terminal being exposed from an upper surface of the tongue the first terminal group and the second terminal group are point-symmetrical with respect to a center point of the tongue portion; a shielding sheet embedded in an insulator and provided between the first electrical contact plate segment of the first terminal group and the second electrical contact plate segment of the second terminal group, the shielding sheet having tape cut surfaces on both sides thereof exposing the insulator from both sides of a step portion and a base portion, respectively; and a shielding housing that accommodates the shielding sheet, the insulator, the first terminal group, the second terminal group, and the shielding sheet to form an insertion space. [Background technology]

[0002] An electrical connector is an electronic component commonly found in electronic devices that can be interconnected with a corresponding electrical connector on another electronic device to transmit signals and power between the two electronic devices. An example of an existing electrical connector is the Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.1 electrical connector. Currently, the USB 3.1 protocol has newly added the Type C electrical connector specification, which can provide a super-fast data transfer rate of 10 Gbps, and is thin, light, and short in volume, making it suitable for portable devices such as mobile phones. The plug interface is symmetrical and can be plugged in either forward or reverse, making it widely applicable to various electronic devices.

[0003] The aforementioned USB Type C socket electrical connector has an insulator, two sets of conductive terminals, and a metal housing. The insulator is made of plastic and has a tongue protruding thereon, and a metal piece is embedded in the insulator by injection molding to strengthen the tongue. The tongue of the insulator is provided with two sets of conductive terminals to enable signal transmission. The metal housing covers the insulator and the two sets of conductive terminals. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when performing an injection molding process to secure an insulator to a metal piece, if the insulator is to be injection molded and secured to each individual metal piece and a large number of insulators are to be produced, a single device cannot simultaneously injection mold and secure multiple insulators to multiple metal pieces, and the insulators must be injection molded onto the metal pieces sequentially, making it difficult to efficiently mass-produce socket electrical connectors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present inventors have considered the existing socket electrical connectors, improved their shortcomings and defects, and further created a kind of socket electrical connector.

[0006] The main objective of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that provides a better structural arrangement by locating the tape connection cross section of the shielding sheet at the base of the rubber core structure and the thickened step portion and exposing it to the outside, thereby facilitating the joining process between the shielding sheet and the rubber core structure.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the socket electrical connector of the present invention comprises an insulator having a base portion, a tongue portion and a step portion, the step portion being thicker than the tongue portion, the step portion being located at the root portion of the tongue portion and adjacent to the base portion and the tongue portion, the tongue portion protruding from the front of the base, both sides of the tongue portion being defined by side edges and tongue plate locking edges formed by the tips of the side edges, a first terminal group fixed to the insulator and extending from the base portion to the tongue portion and including a plurality of first terminals, a front end of each first terminal forming a first electrical contact plate segment provided on an upper surface of the tongue portion, each first electrical contact plate segment being exposed from the upper surface of the tongue, and a second terminal group fixed to the insulator and extending from the base portion to the tongue portion and including a plurality of second terminals, a front end of each second terminal forming a second electrical contact plate segment provided on a lower surface of the tongue the first terminal group and the second terminal group are point-symmetrical with respect to a center point of the tongue; a shielding sheet embedded in an insulator and provided between the first electrical contact plate segment of the first terminal group and the second electrical contact plate segment of the second terminal group, the shielding sheet having tape cut surfaces on both sides of a step portion and a base portion that expose the insulator, the shielding sheet, the insulator, the first terminal group, the second terminal group, and a shielding housing that receives the shielding sheet and forms an insertion space, the shielding sheet forming an insertion space and defining a tape cut surface that exposes the insulator from both sides of a step portion and a base portion, the shielding sheet having tape cut surfaces on both sides of a step portion and a base portion that expose the insulator, the shielding sheet, the insulator, the first terminal group, the second terminal group, and a shielding housing that receives the shielding sheet and forms an insertion space.

[0008] The above-mentioned technical means of the electrical connector form the tape and the shielding sheet connected to each other by pressing the metal plate, and place the tape connection section of the shielding sheet on the thickened step section and the base section of the rubber core structure, and expose it from the thickened step section and the base section of the rubber core structure, which is advantageous for the joining process of the rubber core structure, the conductive terminal and the shielding sheet, that is, after these three are joined in advance, the shielding sheet is separated from the tape connection section. This simplifies the above-mentioned joining process and improves the structural strength and the positioning accuracy of the conductive terminal. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1A-1C are schematic three-dimensional views of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention from different viewing angles. FIG. 1D is a side view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1E is a front view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1F is a bottom view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1G is a rear view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1H is a top view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a detailed exploded schematic diagram of the electrical connector of FIG. 1; [Figure 4] 3 is a top view of an insulator, terminal and shielding sheet of the electrical connector of FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] 1A-1C are schematic diagrams of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention from different viewing angles. FIG. 1D is a side view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1E is a front view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1F is a bottom view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1G is a rear view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1H is a top view of a USB Type C socket electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic diagram of the electrical connector of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a detailed exploded schematic diagram of the electrical connector of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a top view of an insulator, a terminal and a shielding sheet of the electrical connector of FIG. 2.

[0011] Referring to Figures 2 and 3, in this embodiment, the electrical connector 100, taking a socket electrical connector as an example, includes an insulator 110, a first terminal group 120, a second terminal group 130, and a shielding sheet 140, and the insulator 110 has a base portion 111, a tongue portion 112, and a step portion 113 provided at the base of the tongue portion 112, of which the thickened step portion 113 (vertical dimension) is thicker than the thickness of the tongue portion 112, the thickened step portion 113 is adjacent to the base portion 111 and the tongue portion 112, and the tongue portion 112 protrudes from the front of the base portion 111.

[0012] The first terminal group 120 and the second terminal group 130 are fixed on the insulator 110 and extend from the base portion 111 to the tongue portion 112. The first terminal group 120 includes a plurality of first terminals 121, and a front end of each of the first terminals 121 forms a first electrical contact plate segment 122 provided on the upper surface 112a of the tongue portion 112 of the insulator 110. Each of the first electrical contact plate segments 122 is exposed from the upper surface 112a of the tongue portion 112. The second terminal group 130 includes a plurality of second terminals 131, and a front end of each of the second terminals 131 forms a second electrical contact plate segment 132 provided on the lower surface 112b of the tongue portion 112 of the insulator 110, and each of the second electrical contact plate segments 132 is exposed from the lower surface 112b of the tongue portion 112. When the USB Type C plug electrical connector is inserted into the USB Type C socket electrical connector in either the forward or reverse direction, each of the first electrical contact plate segments 122 exposed from the upper surface 112a of the tongue 112 of the first terminal group 120 of the socket electrical connector and the second electrical contact plate segments 132 exposed from the lower surface 112b of the tongue 112 of the second terminal group 130 are used to butt up with a plurality of elastic terminals in upper and lower rows of the plug electrical connector, which are respectively arranged on both upper and lower sides of the butt groove of the plug electrical connector. The first terminal group 120 and the second terminal group 130 are symmetrical to each other with the central point of the tongue 112 as the center of symmetry.

[0013] 2, 3, and 4, the shielding sheet 140 is made of metal, and is disposed or embedded in the insulator 110, embedded in the tongue portion 112 of the insulator 110, and provided between the first electrical contact plate segment 122 of the first terminal group 120 and the second electrical contact plate segment 132 of the second terminal group 130, which are partitioned vertically by the shielding sheet 140. The shielding sheet 140 is substantially disposed mostly on the tongue portion 112 of the insulator 110. Furthermore, the shielding sheet 140 has a tape connection portion during the manufacturing process of the electrical connector 100, and as shown in FIG. 2, after the electrical connector 100 is manufactured, the tape connection portion is cut, and tape cut surfaces 141 and 142 that expose the insulator 110 from both sides of the thickened step portion 113 and the base portion 111 are formed on both sides of the shielding sheet 140, respectively. That is, the tape cut surfaces 141, 142 protrude from the insulator 110 from both sides of the thickened step portion 113 and the base portion 111, respectively, or are cut flush with the insulator 110 but exposed to the insulator 110.

[0014] By arranging the tape connection portion of the shield sheet 140 on both sides of the thickened step portion 113 and base portion 111 of the insulator 110, the joining process between the insulator 110, the first terminal group 120, the second terminal group 130, and the shield sheet 140 is facilitated in the manufacturing process of the electrical connector 100. That is, after completing the joining of the insulator 110, the first terminal group 120, the second terminal group 130, and the shield sheet 140, the shield sheet 140 and the tape connection portion are cut from the tape connection portion, thereby simplifying the joining process and improving the terminal positioning accuracy.

[0015] 2 and 4, the tongue portion 112 of the electrical connector 100 has side edges 112c on both sides and a tongue plate locking edge 112d formed by the tips of the side edges 112c. The shielding sheet 140 has side edges 140a on both sides and a locking side edge 140b formed by the tips of the side edges 140a and protruding from the side edges 112c on both sides of the tongue portion 112 and the tongue plate locking edge 112d, respectively. When the USB Type C plug electrical connector is inserted into the USB Type C socket electrical connector, the plug electrical connector further has a locking member, the locking member has a pair of side arms respectively located on both lateral sides of the butt groove, the front ends of the side arms are provided with hook portions, the hook portions of the locking member protruding outward are locked with the side edges 140a or the locking side edges 140b on both sides of the shielding sheet 140 when the plug electrical connector is inserted into the socket electrical connector, ensuring that the hook portions of the plug electrical connector are in reliable contact with the side edges 140a or the locking side edges 140b on both sides of the shielding sheet 140, thus completing the ground path. In the locking action, the hook portions of the locking member are locked with the locking side edges 140b on both sides of the shielding sheet 140, and the locking side edges 140b provide an auxiliary locking function.

[0016] 1 (FIGS. 1A to 1H), 2, and 3, the electrical connector 100 further includes a shield housing, which includes an inner housing 150 and an outer housing 160. Both the inner housing 150 and the outer housing 160 are metal housings. The inner housing 150 is a hollow housing having therein an accommodating groove 151 for accommodating the insulator 110, the first terminal group 120, the second terminal group 130, and the shield sheet 140. One side of the inner housing 150 is formed with an arc-shaped insertion frame opening 152, which communicates with the accommodating groove 151. The inner housing 150 has a butt portion 150c and a rear cover portion 150d extending rearward from an upper wall 150a of the butt portion 150c, the butt portion 150c surrounds the tongue portion 112 to form an insertion space S, and the rear cover portion 150d covers the upper surface of the base portion 111. An inner housing rear cover 154 formed by bending the edge of the rear cover portion 150d downward covers the rear surface of the base portion 111, and circuit board support legs 155 extend downward from both the left and right sides of the inner housing rear cover 154. Both sides of the inner housing rear cover 154 have bent pieces 156, respectively, which are fastened and fixed to both the left and right side walls 150b of the inner housing 150, and holes are formed in the upper wall 150a of the butt portion 150c of the inner housing 1550 to form two elastic arms 157 extending toward the insertion space.

[0017] The top wall 160a of the outer housing 160 is fixed to the top wall 150a of the butt portion 150c of the inner housing 150, and the front end of the outer housing 160 has a ring-shaped housing 161 for surrounding and fixing the vicinity of one side having the arc-shaped insertion frame opening 152 at the front end of the inner housing 150. At the rear of the ring-shaped housing 161, both side walls 160b are provided extending downward from the top wall 160a of the outer housing 160, and two front and rear circuit board support legs 162 extend from both side walls 160b of the outer housing 160, respectively. The left and right side walls 160b of the outer housing 160 also have two unbroken recesses 163, and the left and right side walls 150b of the inner housing 150 also have two unbroken recesses 158, which correspond to the two unbroken recesses 158 of the left and right side walls 150b of the inner housing 150, respectively, and are used to fasten the outer housing 160 and the inner housing 150. The top wall 160a of the outer housing 160 has two unbroken recesses 164, and the rear cover portion 150d of the inner housing 150 also has two joint slots 159, which correspond to the two joint slots 159 of the rear cover portion 150d of the inner housing 150, respectively, and are used to fasten the outer housing 160 and the inner housing 150.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1C, two support legs 114 extending downward from both the left and right sides of the bottom of a base portion 111 of an insulator 110 are fixedly supported on a circuit board.

[0019] With the above-mentioned technical means, the socket electrical connector of the present invention can securely fix the socket electrical connector to the circuit board by means of the two front and rear circuit board support legs 162 extending from the side wall 160b of the outer housing 160, the circuit board support legs 155 extending downward from both the left and right sides of the inner housing rear cover 154, and the two support legs 114 extending downward from both the left and right sides of the bottom of the base portion 111 of the insulator 110, thereby achieving the purpose of obtaining a good grounding effect. In addition, in the socket electrical connector of the present invention, the tape connection portions of the shielding sheet 140 are respectively positioned on both sides of the thickened step portion 113 and base portion 111 of the insulator 110, which is advantageous for the joining process between the insulator 110, the first terminal group 120, the second terminal group 130 and the shielding sheet 140 during the manufacturing process of the electrical connector 100. In other words, after completing the joining of the insulator 110, the first terminal group 120, the second terminal group 130 and the shielding sheet 140, the shielding sheet 140 and the tape connection portions can be separated from the tape connection portions, thereby simplifying the joining process and improving the terminal positioning accuracy. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 100 electrical connector 110 Insulator 111 Base 112 Tongue 112a top surface 112b bottom surface 112c side edge 112d tongue plate locking edge 113 Step 114 support legs 120 1st terminal group 121 1st terminal 122 first electrical contact plate segment 130 2nd terminal group 131 2nd terminal 132 second electrical contact plate segment 140 Shield Sheet 140a side edge 140b locking side edge 141, 142 Tape cut surface 150 inner housing 150a upper wall 150b side wall 150c butt joint 150d rear cover part 151 Storage Groove 152 plug frame port 154 Inner housing rear cover 155 circuit board support legs 156 Bending piece 157 Elastic Arm 158 Unbroken recess 159 Junction Slots 160 outer housing 160a upper wall 160b side wall 161 Ring-type housing 162 circuit board support legs 163 Unbroken recess 164 Unbroken recess S Insertion Space

Claims

1. 1. A socket electrical connector comprising: an insulator having a base portion, a tongue portion, and a step portion, the step portion being thicker than the tongue portion, the step portion being provided at the base portion of the tongue portion and adjacent to the base portion and the tongue portion, the tongue portion protruding forward from the base portion, and both sides of the tongue portion being defined by side edges and tongue plate engagement edges formed by the tips of the side edges; a first terminal group secured to the insulator and extending from the base to the tongue, the first terminal group including a plurality of first terminals, a front end of each first terminal defining a first electrical contact plate segment disposed on an upper surface of the tongue, each first electrical contact plate segment being exposed from the upper surface of the tongue; a second terminal group fixed to the insulator, extending from the base to the tongue, and including a plurality of second terminals, a front end of each second terminal forming a second electrical contact plate segment provided on an underside of the tongue, each second electrical contact plate segment being exposed from the underside of the tongue, the first terminal group and the second terminal group being point-symmetrical with respect to a center point of the tongue; a shielding sheet embedded in the insulator and provided between the first electrical contact plate segment of the first terminal group and the second electrical contact plate segment of the second terminal group, wherein tape cut surfaces are formed on both sides of the shielding sheet, exposing the insulator from both sides of the step portion and the base portion, and each side of the shielding sheet is defined by a side edge and a locking side edge formed at a front end of the side edge and protruding from the side edges on both sides of the tongue portion and the tongue plate locking edge; a shield housing that houses the insulator, the first terminal group, the second terminal group, and the shield sheet and forms an insertion space; Including socket electrical connector.

2. The shielded housing includes an inner housing and an outer housing, the inner housing is a hollow housing having an accommodating groove therein for accommodating the insulator, the first terminal group, the second terminal group, and the shielding sheet, and has an arc-shaped insertion frame opening on one side of the inner housing, the insertion frame opening communicating with the accommodating groove, the inner housing has a butt portion and a rear cover portion extending rearward from an upper wall of the butt portion, the butt portion surrounds the tongue portion to form the insertion space, and the rear cover portion covers the upper surface of the base portion.

2. The socket electrical connector of claim 1.

3. an inner housing rear cover formed by bending an edge of the rear cover portion downward covers a rear surface of the base portion, and circuit board support legs extend downward from both left and right sides of the inner housing rear cover; 3. The socket electrical connector of claim 2.

4. The inner housing rear cover has bent pieces on both sides, and the bent pieces and the left and right side walls of the inner housing are fastened to each other and fixed.

4. The socket electrical connector of claim 3.

5. A hole is formed in an upper wall of the butt portion of the inner housing for forming two elastic arms extending toward the insertion space.

3. The socket electrical connector of claim 2.

6. The upper wall of the outer housing is fixed to the upper wall of the butt portion of the inner housing, and a ring-shaped housing is provided at the front end of the outer housing to surround and fix the vicinity of one side of the front end of the inner housing having an arc-shaped insertion frame opening.

6. A socket electrical connector according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

7. a rear side wall of the ring-shaped housing extending downward from a top wall of the outer housing, and front and rear circuit board support legs extending from the side walls of the outer housing, respectively; 7. The socket electrical connector of claim 6.

8. The left and right side walls of the outer housing have two unbroken recesses, and the left and right side walls of the inner housing also have two unbroken recesses, and the two unbroken recesses of the left and right side walls of the outer housing correspond to the two unbroken recesses of the left and right side walls of the inner housing, respectively, and are used to fix the outer housing and the inner housing.

6. A socket electrical connector according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

9. The upper wall of the outer housing has two unbroken recesses, and the rear cover part of the inner housing also has two unbroken recesses, the two unbroken recesses of the upper wall of the outer housing respectively correspond to the two unbroken recesses of the rear cover part of the inner housing, and are used to fix the outer housing and the inner housing.

6. A socket electrical connector according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

10. Two support legs extending downward from both the left and right sides of the bottom of the base portion of the insulator are supported and fixed to a circuit board.

6. A socket electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images