Receptacle connector and plug connector

Abstract

The electrical connector assembly includes a socket connector and a plug connector. The socket connector includes an insulating body with a pair of slots, two rows of terminals located on either side of the slots, and a metal shell surrounding the insulating body. In a second direction, the insulating body has two guide holes exposed at both ends of the slots. The metal shell extends perpendicular to the second direction, covering the outside of the slots and forming the guide holes. The plug connector includes an insulator with a base, a pair of tongues spanning the base, and a pair of guide posts and guide plates protruding from the base. The guide posts are located at both ends of the tongues, and the guide plates extend beyond the guide posts in a first direction. Thus, the electrical connector assembly with two rows of slots increases terminal capacity and facilitates product miniaturization.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, comprising a plug connector and a socket connector having an improved mating interface. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Patent CN217903515U discloses a socket connector and a cable connector mounted on a printed circuit board. The socket connector includes three signal portions with signal terminals and one power portion with two power terminals. In the mating direction, the power portion is higher than the signal portions, and in the lateral direction perpendicular to the sidewall of the insulating housing, the power portion is wider than the signal portions. Therefore, this power portion may not conform to the trend of high density, high speed, and small size in server applications.

[0003] Therefore, it is indeed necessary to provide a new socket connector and plug connector to solve the above problems. [Summary of the Invention]

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a socket connector and a plug connector having an improved mating interface.

[0005] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution: a socket connector, comprising: an insulating body having a pair of slots arranged along a first direction, and each of the slots extending along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; four rows of terminals, each pair of the terminals being located on opposite sides of the slots and a metal shell, surrounding the outer periphery of the insulating body; wherein the insulating body is provided with two pairs of guide holes, each pair of guide holes being located at opposite ends of the corresponding slots along the second direction, the portion of the metal shell located at both ends of the insulating body along the second direction being defined as an end plate, and the guide holes being formed by the two ends of the insulating body and the end plate together.

[0006] The object of the present invention can also be achieved by the following technical solution: a plug connector, comprising: a base and a pair of tongue plates, disposed in front of the base and arranged side by side along a first direction and extending longitudinally along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; wherein, the plug connector includes two pairs of guide posts and a pair of guide plates extending forward from the base, and each pair of guide posts is located at both ends of the corresponding tongue plates; the guide plates extend beyond the two guide posts at the same end in the first direction, and are located outside the two guide posts and spaced apart from the guide posts in the second direction.

[0007] Compared with the prior art, the electrical connector of the present invention is provided with two rows of slots, and the signal terminals and power terminals are integrated into the same slot, which expands the terminal capacity and simplifies the plug-in interface.

Implementation Method

[0009] Please refer to Figures 1 to 9. The electrical connector assembly of the present invention includes a mating socket connector 100 and a plug connector 200, both of which are connected to cables at their rear ends.

[0010] Referring to Figures 1 to 4, the socket connector 100 includes an insulating body 10 with a pair of slots 11, two rows of terminals 20, and a metal shell 30. The slots 11 are arranged along a first direction and extend along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The terminals 20 are located on opposite sides of the slots 11. The metal shell 30 surrounds the outer periphery of the insulating body 10, and the portion of the metal shell located at both ends of the insulating body along the second direction is defined as an end plate. Further, the insulating body 10 has two pairs of guide holes 12, each pair of guide holes 12 located at opposite ends of the corresponding slots 11. One side of each guide hole 12 is formed by the metal shell 30 covering both ends of the slots 11 and extending perpendicular to the first and second directions (i.e., the insertion / fitting direction). The other three sides of the guide hole 12 are formed by the insulating body 10 surrounding it. Preferably, each end of the insulating body 10 has two recesses recessed inward along the second direction. The end plate extends along the first direction and is flat. The guide hole 12 is formed by the recesses and the end plate. The metal shell 30 (i.e., the end plate) has four spring tabs 31 protruding outward along the second direction, and the spring tabs 31 are aligned with the corresponding guide holes 12. As shown in Figure 2, the guide holes 12 are approximately rectangular when viewed from the docking direction.

[0011] In the second direction, the slot 11 has a first area 111 and a second area 112, wherein the first area (signal area) 111 has two rows of signal terminals 21 on opposite sides, and the second area 112 (power area) has two rows of power terminals 22 on opposite sides. It should be noted that the signal terminals 21 may include multiple pairs of differential signal terminals and grounding terminals located between the differential signal terminal pairs to achieve shielding and grounding functions. The power terminals 22 are used to transmit large currents. The first area 111 has a deeper slot depth than the second area 112, the slot widths of the first area 111 and the second area 112 are the same, and the slot heights of the first area and the second area are also the same. As shown in FIG1, the slot 11 is a continuous long slot along the second direction without partition walls. In this embodiment, each row of signal terminals consists of thirty-seven signal terminals 21, and each row of power terminals consists of two power terminals 22. Multiple cables 41, 42 are connected to the corresponding signal terminal blocks 21 and power terminal blocks 22 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Please refer to Figures 5-6. Signal terminals 21 are embedded in rows within corresponding insulating strips 25, and conductive plastic 26 is provided on the outer side of the insulating strips 25 to form terminal modules 21A. A grounding element 27 is provided between the two rows of signal terminals 21. The grounding element 27 and the conductive plastic 26 help improve electrical performance. The power terminal 22 includes a fixing part 221, an extension part 222, and a folded-back part 223 fixed within the insulating body 10. The folded-back part 223 has a contact part exposed within the slot 11. The fixing part 221 has a latching protrusion 2211 to fix the power terminal 22 within the insulating body 10.

[0012] Referring to Figures 7 to 9, the plug connector 200 includes an insulator 50, which includes a base 51 and a pair of tongue plates 60 extending forward from the base 51. The pair of tongue plates 60 are arranged side by side along a first direction and are longitudinally arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Each tongue plate 60 is longitudinally arranged along the second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The insulator 50 also includes two pairs of guide posts 52 and a pair of guide plates 53 protruding from the base 51. The pair of guide posts 52 and the guide plate 53 are arranged as a set at both ends of the tongue plate 60 along the second direction. The guide plate 53 extends along the first direction and exceeds the corresponding pair of guide posts 52. In the mating direction (i.e., perpendicular to the first and second directions), the guide posts 52 protrude forward beyond the tongue plate 60.

[0013] The tongue plate 60 includes a signal section (first section) 61 for providing signal terminal contacts 612 and a power section (second section) 63 for providing power terminal contacts 632. A metal plate 70 is attached to the inner side of the corresponding guide plate 53 and faces the guide post 52. Each metal plate 70 has two latching holes 71 aligned with the corresponding guide post 52. Further, the guide plate 53 is provided with locking holes 531 communicating with the latching holes 71 of the metal plate 70. In the first direction, the guide plate 53 is flush with the base 51, that is, the two sides of the guide plate 53 in the first direction and the two sides of the base 51 in the first direction are located in the same plane; further, the tongue plate 60 is aligned with the corresponding guide post 52, latching hole 71, and locking hole 531 in the first direction, that is, the tongue plate 60 is located in the same row with the corresponding guide post 52, latching hole 71, and locking hole 531 in the second direction. In the first direction, the outer sides of the two tongue plates 60 are open, meaning the insulator 50 does not have sidewalls located on either side of the tongue plates 60. It should be noted that in the first direction, the tongue plates 60, guide posts 52, and locking holes 71 are spaced apart. The guide posts 52 protrude more than the guide plates 53 and tongue plates 60 along the mating direction, facilitating initial mating when the two connectors are engaged. Further, the guide posts 52 are inserted into the guide holes 12, the metal plates 70 contact the outer sides of both ends of the metal shell 30, and the spring pieces 31 interfere within the locking holes 71 to complete a further secure engagement of the two connectors.

[0014] The above description is only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Any equivalent changes made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention by reading the present invention specification are covered by the patent scope of the present invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0008] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the socket connector in this invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the socket connector in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the socket connector in Figure 1 when the insulating body is separated from the metal shell; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the two sets of terminal modules and the cable of the socket connector in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of one set of terminal modules in Figure 4; Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of one set of terminal modules in Figure 4; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the plug connector in this invention viewed from the front end; Figure 8 is a perspective view of the plug connector in Figure 7 viewed from the rear end; and Figure 9 is a front view of the plug connector in Figure 7.

Claims

1. A socket connector, comprising: An insulating body having a pair of slots arranged along a first direction, and each of the slots extending along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; Four rows of terminals, with each pair of terminals located on opposite sides of the slot; and a metal shell surrounding the outer periphery of the insulating body; wherein the insulating body is provided with two pairs of guide holes, each pair of guide holes being located at opposite ends of the corresponding slot along the second direction, the portion of the metal shell located at both ends of the insulating body along the second direction is defined as an end plate, and the guide holes are formed by the two ends of the insulating body and the corresponding end plates.

2. The socket connector as described in claim 1, wherein, In the second direction, each slot has a first area and a second area, and the terminals corresponding to each slot include two rows of signal terminals and two rows of power terminals. The two rows of signal terminals are located on opposite sides of the first area, and the two rows of power terminals are located on opposite sides of the second area.

3. The socket connector as described in claim 2, wherein, The slot depth of the first region is greater than the slot depth of the second region, and the length of the first region along the second direction is greater than the length of the second region along the second direction.

4. The socket connector as described in claim 2, wherein, The socket connector includes a plurality of cables, which are electrically connected to corresponding signal terminals and power terminals.

5. The socket connector as described in claim 2, wherein, The signal terminals located in the same row are embedded in the corresponding insulating strips, and the outer side of the insulating strips is provided with conductive plastic to form a terminal module. A metal grounding component is provided between the two rows of signal terminals.

6. The socket connector as described in claim 2, wherein, Each of the slots is arranged continuously along the second direction without any partition walls.

7. The socket connector as described in claim 2, wherein, Each of the signal terminal blocks consists of thirty-seven signal terminals, each of the power terminal blocks consists of two power terminals, and each power terminal is provided with two contact portions.

8. The socket connector as described in claim 1, wherein, Each end of the insulating body is provided with two grooves that are recessed inward along the second direction. The end plate extends along the first direction and is flat. The guide hole is formed by the grooves and the end plate.

9. The socket connector as described in claim 1, wherein, Each of the end plates has two spring tabs that protrude outward along the second direction, and the spring tabs are aligned with the corresponding guide holes.

10. A plug connector, comprising: Base; A pair of tongue plates are disposed in front of the base, arranged side by side along a first direction and extending longitudinally along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; wherein, the plug connector includes two pairs of guide posts and a pair of guide plates extending forward from the base, and each pair of guide posts is located at both ends of the corresponding tongue plate; the guide plate extends beyond the two guide posts at the same end in the first direction, and is located outside the two guide posts and spaced apart from the guide posts in the second direction.

11. The plug connector as described in claim 10, wherein, The tongue plate includes a signal section and a power supply section. Signal terminal contacts are provided on both sides of the signal section, and power terminal contacts are provided on both sides of the power supply section.

12. The plug connector as described in claim 10, wherein, Each guide plate has a metal plate on its inner side, and the metal plate faces the guide post.

13. The plug connector as described in claim 12, wherein, Each of the metal plates has two latching holes, and in the second direction, each of the tongue plates and the corresponding guide post and latching holes are aligned with each other.

14. The plug connector as described in claim 13, wherein, Each of the guide plates has two locking holes, which are aligned with the corresponding latching holes in the first direction.

15. The plug connector as described in claim 13, wherein, In the first direction, the outer sides of the two tongue plates are open.

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