Compact Electrical Connector Assembly with Shielding Shell
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors are not optimized for reduced size while maintaining functionality, particularly in the exposure and alignment of contacting portions and the integration with printed circuit boards and shielding shells.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector design features an insulative housing with a tongue portion and base portion, multiple contacts, and a shielding shell, where the first and second contacting portions are exposed from the upper and bottom surfaces of the tongue portion, and a printed circuit board is connected to the connector, allowing for a compact assembly with a mating hole and shielding shell configuration that shortens the connector's length and reduces its size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the metal shell is disposed longer than the tongue portion to lengthen the electrical connector, then the used area in electrical device is increased, but the connector size is enlarged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the shielding shell to be located behind the rear end of the mating hole in the electrical device, utilizing the depth dimension of the mating hole rather than extending the connector length in the horizontal direction. This dimensional shift allows the shielding function to be integrated within the device's existing spatial envelope, effectively using vertical/deep space instead of horizontal space.
Solution Approach 2:
The shielding shell is nested within the mating hole structure of the electrical device, with the rear end of the mating portion of the tongue portion being approximately abreast to the front end of the shielding shell. This nesting arrangement allows the shielding component to occupy space that would otherwise be unused or underutilized within the device assembly, achieving shielding coverage without increasing the overall connector footprint.
2Reliability
If the contacting portions are exposed from the tongue portion, then the electrical contact is improved, but the connector structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The tongue portion serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support for the contacts, enables exposure of the contacting portions for electrical connection, and facilitates mating with the corresponding mating connector. By making the tongue portion multi-functional, the patent avoids adding separate components for each function, thereby maintaining reliability while controlling structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the contact support function, the exposure function, and the mating interface function into a single integrated tongue portion structure. This merging of functions into one component rather than using separate parts for each function simplifies the overall connector structure while ensuring reliable electrical contact through the exposed contacting portions.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector assembly includes an electrical connector, a printed circuit board, and an electrical device. The electrical connector includes an insulative housing defining a tongue portion, a number of first contacts and second contacts, and a shielding shell. The tongue portion has an exposed part exposed from a front edge of the shielding shell to receive in a mating hole of the electrical device. The electrical device has an installing portion assembling the electrical connector. The electrical connector is mated with a mating connector through the mating hole, the exposed part of the tongue portion is received in the mating hole of electrical device, and the electrical connector except the exposed part is exposed our of the installing portion of the electrical device.