Low Profile Electrical Connector With Stiffener Insert Molding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Miniaturization of electrical connectors makes it difficult to align contacts with corresponding pads on a printed circuit board (PCB) accurately and results in insufficient strength of the insulating housing.
Innovation Solution
An electrical connector with an insulating housing and a metallic stiffener insert molded within it, featuring alignment protrusions and an elastic arm for precise alignment and increased strength, along with an alignment feature on the PCB to ensure correct assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the insulating housing is miniaturized to reduce connector size, then the connector achieves smaller form factor and higher contact density, but the alignment accuracy between contacts and PCB pads deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating housing is divided into an upper housing and a lower housing that are assembled together. The lower housing includes a stiffening rib that extends downward to form a stiffening structure, which is inserted into a corresponding cavity in the PCB. This segmentation allows the connector to maintain a compact overall size while the stiffening structure provides enhanced alignment accuracy and structural support during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment mechanism is extended into the vertical dimension by incorporating a stiffening structure that protrudes from the lower housing and inserts into the PCB. This vertical stiffening rib provides alignment in the thickness direction, enabling accurate contact-pad alignment even when the horizontal dimensions of the connector are miniaturized.
2Volume of moving object
If the insulating housing is miniaturized to reduce connector size, then the connector achieves smaller form factor, but the structural strength of the insulating housing deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating housing is segmented into upper and lower portions that assemble together. The lower housing incorporates an integrated stiffening rib that forms a rigid support structure extending into the PCB, providing enhanced structural strength without increasing the overall connector volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector combines the insulating housing material with the PCB material through the stiffening structure insertion. This creates a composite assembly where the rigid PCB provides additional structural support to the miniaturized housing, compensating for the reduced strength that would result from miniaturization alone.
3Quantity of substance
If the contact arrangement density is increased to reduce connector size, then the connector achieves higher integration, but the alignment accuracy between contacts and PCB pads deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The lower housing is segmented to include multiple contact receptacles arranged in a dense pattern, with each receptacle precisely positioned. The stiffening rib provides a rigid reference framework that maintains the precise relative positions of all contacts, enabling high contact density while preserving alignment accuracy during PCB assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector for electrically connecting a package with a printed circuit board (PCB) with a plurality of pads and an alignment feature includes an insulating housing, a plurality of contacts received in the insulating housing and a stiffener insert molding with the insulating housing. When the stiffener is assembled upon the alignment feature correspondingly, the contacts align with the pads of the PCB correspondingly.