Electrical Connector Ground Power Contact Tail Spacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dual orientation electrical connectors face challenges in preventing short circuits due to the close proximity of ground and power contact tail portions, particularly during high current conduction or soldering processes.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates at least one signal contact tail portion between the tail portions of adjacent ground and power contacts, increasing the distance between them and reducing the risk of shorting, while maintaining dual orientation functionality through reversely-symmetric arrangement of contacting portions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If ground and power contacts are arranged adjacently to reduce connector size, then device compactness is improved, but the risk of short circuits increases due to close proximity of tail portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a staggered arrangement where signal contact tail portions are positioned between ground and power contact tail portions in the longitudinal direction. This dimensional reorganization increases the effective distance between ground and power contacts without increasing the connector's transverse footprint, thus maintaining compactness while reducing short circuit risk.
Solution Approach 2:
Signal contact tail portions serve as intermediary elements physically separating ground and power contact tail portions. This intermediary arrangement prevents direct proximity between ground and power contacts, eliminating the short circuit hazard while preserving the adjacent arrangement of contacting portions for compact connector design.
2Ease of manufacture
If ground and power contact tail portions are placed close together to simplify assembly, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase to prevent shorting
Solution Approach 1:
Signal contact tail portions act as physical spacers that automatically maintain safe distances between ground and power contact tail portions. This intermediary structure eliminates the need for high-precision positioning of ground and power contacts, as the signal contacts inherently provide the required separation through their fixed positional relationship.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact tail portion arrangement is segmented into three distinct groups: ground contacts, power contacts, and interleaved signal contacts. This segmentation creates natural physical barriers between ground and power contacts, reducing assembly complexity and minimizing precision requirements by using the signal contacts as built-in spacing elements.
3Reliability
If signal contact tail portions are interleaved between ground and power contact tail portions, then short circuit prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Signal contact tail portions serve multiple functions: they provide electrical signal connections and simultaneously act as physical separators between ground and power contacts. This multi-functionality achieves short circuit prevention without adding dedicated separation structures, thereby avoiding increased device complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of signal transmission and physical separation into a single structural arrangement. The signal contact tail portions are integrated into the contact array, performing both their electrical function and the additional function of spacing ground and power contacts, thus preventing short circuits without increasing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector includes: an insulative housing having a base and a tongue; an upper and lower rows of contacts arranged in the insulative housing and exposed to the tongue, each contact having a contacting portion, a tail portion, and an intermediate portion, each row of contacts including an outermost ground contact, a power contact adjacent to the ground contact, and plural signal contacts; and a shielding shell enclosing the insulative housing; wherein the contacting portions of the ground and power contacts are next to each other; the tail portion of the ground contact in the upper row of contacts is next to at least one signal contact tail portion in the lower row of contacts; and the tail portion of the ground contact in the lower row of contacts is next to at least one signal contact tail portion in the upper row of contacts.