Board Mating Connector PIMD Reduction via Direct Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing board mating connectors experience degraded passive inter-modulation distortion (PIMD) characteristics when transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals due to the electrical connection through signal springs.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a signal contact unit with a housing, a contact portion, and a signal spring, where the housing and contact portion are electrically connected through a compressed signal spring, with protrusions and slits that enhance stable contact and restoring force, and a ground contact unit with a ground spring and tapered portions to minimize impedance changes and improve coupling stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the housing and contact portion are electrically connected through a signal spring, then electrical connection is achieved, but passive inter-modulation distortion (PIMD) characteristics are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The signal spring is extracted and removed from the electrical connection path. Instead, the housing and contact portion are directly electrically connected through their mating surfaces, eliminating the signal spring as a separate component that causes PIMD while maintaining reliable electrical connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical connection function is merged directly into the structural connection between the housing and contact portion. The mating surfaces of the housing and contact portion serve both mechanical support and electrical conduction purposes simultaneously, eliminating the need for a separate signal spring.
2Reliability
If the contact portion is made resilient to increase restoring force, then stable contact is improved, but impedance changes increase
Solution Approach 1:
The contact portion is designed with localized resilient features only where needed for stable contact, rather than making the entire structure resilient. This allows restoring force to be concentrated at specific contact points while maintaining overall impedance stability through rigid structural sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact surfaces are designed with curved or rounded geometries that provide natural restoring force through elastic deformation of the surface layers. This curvature allows the contact portion to return to its original position after contact, providing stable contact while minimizing impedance changes through controlled deformation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ameliorates PIMD characteristics, increases restoring force, minimizes impedance changes, and allows for a lower module height, easy coupling, and stable fixation of the board mating connector.
Implementation Method 1
a signal spring which is inserted between the one side of the housing insertion hole and the other side of the contact portion insertion hole, wherein one side of the housing is partially inserted into the contact portion insertion hole, and in a state in which the signal spring is compressed, an inner side of the contact portion comes into contact with an outer side of the housing
Implementation Method 2
the first ground portion may include a tapered portion which is formed on an inner wall of the first ground portion so as to have an inclined shape such that an inner diameter thereof is gradually decreased toward the other side thereof, and the second ground portion may include a second ground protrusion which protrudes outward from the other end of the second ground portion
Data Source
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AI summary
In one example, the present invention relates to a signal contact unit with ameliorated passive inter-modulation distortion (PIMD) characteristics, and a board mating connector including the same. The signal contact unit includes a housing which has a housing insertion hole of which one side is open; a contact portion which has a contact portion insertion hole of which the other side is open; and a signal spring which is inserted between the one side of the housing insertion hole and the other side of the contact portion insertion hole, wherein one side of the housing is partially inserted into the contact portion insertion hole, and in a state in which the signal spring is compressed, an inner side of the contact portion comes into contact with an outer side of the housing so that the housing and the contact portion are electrically connected.