Nested Housing Protrusions for Impedance Matching in Electrical Connectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical connectors with lead-in chamfers create air gaps that lead to impedance mismatches when mated, affecting signal transmission by causing significant differences in impedance between areas with and without plastic housing material.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector housing features protrusions that form reverse chamfers, which nest with lead-in chamfers in the mating connector, filling air gaps and providing an impedance match by ensuring plastic material is present between mating portions of the contacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If lead-in chamfers are provided in the socket housing to guide pin contacts, then alignment and insertion are improved, but air gaps are created around the pin contacts causing impedance mismatch
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions on the pin housing are nested within the lead-in chamfers of the socket housing. The protrusions extend into the chamfered regions, filling the air gaps that would otherwise exist around the pin contacts. This nesting arrangement allows the solid plastic material of the protrusions to replace the air space, thereby maintaining impedance continuity while preserving the alignment function of the chamfers.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions act as an intermediary element between the pin contacts and the surrounding housing structure. By extending into the lead-in chamfers, the protrusions mediate the transition zone between the air-filled chamfer region and the plastic-surrounded contact region, eliminating the harmful air gaps that cause impedance mismatch while allowing the chamfer geometry to remain intact for alignment purposes.
2Ease of manufacture
If air gaps are present around pin contacts in the lead-in chamfer area, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but signal transmission quality deteriorates due to impedance mismatch
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than changing the entire housing structure, the invention applies local modifications in the form of protrusions that extend from the pin housing into specific regions. These protrusions are localized to the areas where air gaps would form around the pin contacts, providing impedance matching only where needed. This localized approach maintains the overall simplicity of the molding process while eliminating the harmful air gaps that cause signal reflection and energy loss.
3Reliability
If protrusions are added to the pin housing to fill air gaps, then impedance matching is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions are integrated directly into the pin housing structure as a single molded piece, merging the alignment function and the impedance matching function into one unified component. Rather than adding separate parts or assemblies, the protrusions are formed as an inherent feature of the pin housing during the molding process. This integration minimizes the increase in device complexity while achieving the desired impedance matching.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector of an electrical connector assembly. The electrical connector includes a housing with a mating face for mating with a mating electrical connector. Contact receiving cavities extend into the housing from the mating face. Contacts are provided in the contact receiving cavities. Mating portions of the contacts extend from the mating face in a direction away from the housing. Protrusions extend from the mating face in a direction away from the housing. The protrusions extend proximate edges of the mating portions of the contacts. The protrusions form reverse chamfers which cooperate with lead-in chamfers provided in a surface of the mating electrical connector. The positioning of the protrusions in the lead-in chamfers fills in air gaps provided by the lead-in chamfers to provide an impedance match along the mating portions of the contacts when the electrical connector is mated with the mating electrical connector.