LVDS connectors and their automated soldering process

Abstract

This invention proposes an LVDS connector and an automated welding process, including a metal housing with an insulating body inside. Multiple sets of terminals are arranged and fitted onto the insulating body, and at least one terminal has a conductor attached to it. One end of the conductor is electrically connected to the metal housing. The process includes taking a conductor having a first horizontal segment, an arc segment, and a second horizontal segment; according to the required grounding terminal position, a robotic arm grasps the conductor and places the first horizontal segment of the conductor on any grounding terminal position, aligning it with the terminal; simultaneously, the second horizontal segment is pressed onto a second housing; and then, a laser welding device is used to weld the conductors to the second housing one by one. This connector, by using an automated robotic arm to grasp a single conductor to the grounding terminal and laser welding it to the metal housing, significantly improves efficiency and increases the flexibility of terminal connection compared to the traditional method of punching out connector pins at different positions using molds.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of connectors, and more particularly to an automated soldering process for LVDS connectors. Prior Technology

[0002] LVDS connectors are widely used in existing technologies for connecting circuit boards and host computers. In the actual manufacturing process, after the connector terminals are injection molded and assembled with the metal shell, they are sent to the next process. The connector needs to be connected with wires before it can be connected to the host computer. The existing technical solution for this process is to punch out a strip as shown in Figure 6 using a stamping die. The position of the conductive pins on the strip is determined by the position of the grounded terminal of each connector. However, due to the different performance of the connectors, the position of the grounded terminal is also different. Therefore, different connectors need to be re-molded to punch out terminals in different positions. Then, the entire strip is placed inside the connector, and the strip is soldered to the metal shell by HOT BAR soldering. Wires are soldered to the terminals that are not grounded. The biggest problem with the above method is its lack of flexibility. Due to the large number of terminals and the need for grounding at different positions, more molds are required for soldering, which greatly increases the cost. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention proposes an LVDS connector, including a metal housing, an insulating body inside the metal housing, a plurality of terminals arranged and fitted on the insulating body, at least one of the terminals being electrically connected to a conductor, one end of the conductor being electrically connected to the metal housing.

[0004] Preferably, the metal housing includes a first housing and a second housing. The first housing has a first engaging portion on each side of its length direction, and the second housing has a second engaging portion on each side of its length direction. The first engaging portion presses against the outside of the second engaging portion, and the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion cooperate to form a receiving cavity, which is located on both sides of the length direction of the insulating body.

[0005] Preferably, the two receiving cavities are provided with drive rods, which rotate between the engaging portions.

[0006] Preferably, each conductor is individually welded to the second housing.

[0007] Preferably, an opening is provided between the two sides of the metal housing along its length, one side of the insulating body extends out of the opening, and one end of the terminal on the corresponding side also extends out of the opening. The side of the insulating body extending out of the opening and the end of the terminal are used to be inserted into the mating connector to make the mating connector and the terminal on the insulating body conduction.

[0008] Preferably, the first housing has a raised portion at the opening position.

[0009] Preferably, the conductor includes a first horizontal segment and a second horizontal segment, with an arc-shaped segment between the first horizontal segment and the second horizontal segment, the first horizontal segment pressing on the terminal, and the second horizontal segment being electrically connected to the second housing.

[0010] Preferably, the insulating body is provided with a positioning strip, the first housing is pressed on the positioning strip, and the positioning strip is pressed on top of multiple sets of terminals.

[0011] Preferably, the insulating body has protrusions between adjacent terminals.

[0012] An automated soldering process for LVDS connectors, including

[0013] Take a conductor that has a first horizontal segment, an arc segment, and a second horizontal segment;

[0014] Based on the required grounding terminal location, a robotic arm grasps the conductor and places the first horizontal segment of the conductor on the grounding terminal, ensuring it is in contact with the terminal. Simultaneously, the second horizontal segment presses against the second housing.

[0015] The conductors are welded to the second housing one by one using laser welding equipment.

[0016] The LVDS connector and its automated welding process proposed in this invention have the following advantages: This connector sets up multiple sets of single conductors and uses an automated robotic arm to pick up the single conductors and place them at any terminal that needs to be grounded. Then, it is laser welded to the metal shell one by one. Compared with the traditional method of punching out the connecting feet at different positions using molds, this greatly improves efficiency, increases the flexibility of terminal connection, and reduces mold opening costs. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below.

[0018] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the connector of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the connector of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the metal casing of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the conductor of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the connection between any terminal and the conductor in this invention;

[0023] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the material strip in the prior art. Implementation

[0024] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0025] As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, this invention proposes an LVDS connector, including a metal housing 1, an insulating body 2 inside the metal housing 1, and a first housing 5 and a second housing 6. The first housing 5 has first engaging portions 7 on both sides along its length, and the second housing 6 has second engaging portions 8 on both sides along its length. The first engaging portions 7 press against the outside of the second engaging portions 8, and the first engaging portions 7 and the second engaging portions 8 cooperate to form a receiving cavity 9 located on both sides along the length of the insulating body 2. The insulating body 2 is located between the first housing 5 and the second housing 6 and is securely positioned. A positioning strip 15 is provided on the insulating body 2, and the first housing 5 presses against the positioning strip 15, which presses against multiple sets of terminals 3. The positioning strip 15 ensures a tight connection between the first housing 5 and the second housing 6, increasing the connection between the metal housing 1 and the insulating body 2.

[0026] The engaging portions on both sides position the insulating body 2 along its length. The first engaging portion 7 is an open square structure, and the second engaging portion 8 is also an open square structure. The two engaging portions interlock, forming a receiving cavity 9 for the insertion of the drive rod 10. The drive rod 10 has its ends bent to form insertion feet, which are inserted into the receiving cavity 9. To further increase the stability of the connection and operation of the drive rod 10, a piercing portion is provided on the first engaging portion 7. The piercing portion is pressed down into the receiving cavity 9 and pressed against the side wall of the drive rod 10, ensuring a stable connection of the end of the drive rod 10 within the receiving cavity 9. An opening is provided between the two sides of the metal housing along its length. One side of the insulating body 2 extends out of the opening, and one end of the terminal 3 on the corresponding side also extends out of the opening. The side of the insulating body 2 extending out of the opening and the end of the terminal 3 are used to insert into the mating connector and make the mating connector conductive with the terminal 3 on the insulating body 2. The first housing 5 has a raised portion 11 at the opening position to increase the tightness of the connection with the mating connector. The opening on the other side is for inserting wires, which are then soldered to the internal terminal 3.

[0027] Multiple sets of terminals 3 are arranged and fitted on the insulating body 2. The terminals 3 are embedded in the insulating body 2 and their surfaces are exposed on the insulating body 2. According to the grounding requirements of the connector, conductors 4 are electrically connected to the terminals 3 at different positions. The conductors 4 are electrically connected to the metal housing 1, as shown in Figures 4 and 5 (the connection position between the conductor and the terminal is not limited to the position disclosed in this embodiment and can be any position). The conductor 4 includes a first horizontal segment 12 and a second horizontal segment 13. An arc segment 14 is provided between the first horizontal segment 12 and the second horizontal segment 13. The first horizontal segment 12 presses on the terminal 3 to ensure that the two are pressed tightly together. The second horizontal segment 13 is electrically connected to the second housing 6 and can be welded to the second housing 6 by laser welding. The arc segment 14 can fit the height difference between the insulating body 2 and the second housing 6 to ensure that the first horizontal segment 12 and the terminal 3 are fitted together. The second horizontal segment 13 has a flatter contact and is easier to weld, as shown in Figure 5. The welding position between the conductor and the second housing 6 is at point X, near the end position.

[0028] The insulating body 2 has protrusions 16 between adjacent terminals 3 to separate adjacent terminals 3, making it easier to position the wires when welding them to the terminals 3 and preventing short circuits between them.

[0029] Additionally, it should be noted that conductor 4 is a single-strand structure. After the terminal 3 is welded to conductor 4, each conductor 4 is individually welded to the second housing 6 and then picked up by a robotic arm and placed at the corresponding grounding position. Individual connection provides better stability.

[0030] This embodiment also discloses an automated soldering process for LVDS connectors, including...

[0031] The conductor structure includes a first horizontal segment 12, an arc-shaped segment 14, and a second horizontal segment 13. It can be formed by directly purchasing flat copper wires, or by directly stamping and bending it through a stamping process, or by other processes capable of forming the aforementioned structure; it is not limited to these processes. In this solution, there is no need to open a mold for the stamped strip with multiple pins. When multiple terminals at any position in the connector need to be grounded, a robotic arm picks up the conductor 4 one by one, places the first horizontal segment 12 of the conductor 4 on the terminal 3 that needs to be grounded, and simultaneously presses the second horizontal segment 13 onto the second housing 6. The conductor 4 and the second housing 6 are then welded together one by one using laser welding equipment. The position where the conductor 4 needs to be connected is preset by a program. The program controls the robotic arm to move to the corresponding position to place the picked-up conductor 4 on the terminal 3 and laser weld it, greatly improving welding efficiency and standardizing the conductor 4 structure, thus reducing the mold opening cost of the stamping die.

[0032] 1: Metal casing

[0033] 2: Insulating body

[0034] 3:Terminal

[0035] 4: Conductor

[0036] 5: First shell

[0037] 6: Second shell

[0038] 7: First Card Combination Section

[0039] 8: Second Card Combination Part

[0040] 9: Receiving cavity

[0041] 10: Drive lever

[0042] 11: Upturned part

[0043] 12: First level segment

[0044] 13: Second level

[0045] 14: Arc-shaped segment

[0046] 15: Positioning strip

[0047] 16: Protrusion

Claims

1. An LVDS connector, wherein, The device includes a metal housing, within which an insulating body is provided. Multiple sets of terminals are arranged and fitted onto the insulating body, and at least one terminal is electrically connected to a conductor, one end of which is electrically connected to the metal housing. The metal housing includes a first housing and a second housing. The first housing has first engaging portions on both sides along its length, and the second housing has second engaging portions on both sides along its length. The first engaging portions press against the outside of the second engaging portions, and the first and second engaging portions cooperate to form a receiving cavity located on both sides of the insulating body along its length.

2. The LVDS connector according to claim 1, wherein, The two receiving cavities are provided with a drive rod, which rotates between the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion.

3. The LVDS connector according to claim 1, wherein, Each conductor is individually welded to the second housing.

4. The LVDS connector according to claim 1, wherein, An opening is provided between the two sides of the metal housing along its length. One side of the insulating body extends out of the opening, and one end of the terminal on the corresponding side also extends out of the opening. The side of the insulating body extending out of the opening and the end of the terminal are used to be inserted into the mating connector to make the mating connector conductive with the terminal on the insulating body.

5. The LVDS connector according to claim 4, wherein, The first housing has a raised portion at the opening position.

6. The LVDS connector according to claim 1, wherein, The conductor includes a first horizontal segment and a second horizontal segment, with an arc-shaped segment between the first horizontal segment and the second horizontal segment. The first horizontal segment is pressed onto the terminal, and the second horizontal segment is electrically connected to the second housing.

7. The LVDS connector according to claim 1, wherein, The insulating body is provided with a positioning strip, the first housing presses on the positioning strip, and the positioning strip presses on top of multiple sets of terminals.

8. The LVDS connector according to claim 1, wherein, The insulating body has protrusions between adjacent terminals.

9. An automated soldering process for an LVDS connector, wherein, The method includes providing an LVDS connector as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, where no conductor is yet connected to the terminal; taking the conductor having a first horizontal segment, an arc segment, and a second horizontal segment; grasping the conductor with a robotic arm at the location of the terminal to be grounded as needed, placing the first horizontal segment of the conductor at the location of the terminal to be grounded and abutting it against the terminal, while pressing the second horizontal segment onto the second housing; and welding the conductor to the second housing one by one using a laser welding device.

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