TW201635658A - Radio-frequency connector assembly and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

A radio-frequency connector assembly includes a first connector and a second connector. The first connector includes a first housing formed with a plurality of slots and a conductive terminal disposed in the first housing for receiving a radio-frequency signal. The second connector is used for connecting with the first connector to transmit the radio-frequency signal and includes a second housing formed with a plurality of hooks and two conductive pins disposed in the second housing, wherein when the first and second connectors are connected, the two conductive pins clips the conductive terminal to transmit the radio-frequency signal, and one of the plurality of hooks is respectively combined with one of the plurality of slots to fix the first and second connectors.

Description

RF connector assembly and electronic device

The present invention refers to a combination of radio frequency connectors and related electronic devices, and more particularly to a radio frequency connector assembly having a hook structure to prevent shedding and associated electronic devices.

Generally, an electronic device having a wireless communication function often needs to connect an antenna and a wireless signal processing module through a coaxial cable and a set of RF connectors to serve as a connection interface between the antenna and the wireless signal processing module.

Portable electronic devices typically use a micro-miniature type of RF connector combination to accommodate the limited internal space of the portable electronic device. A common micro-miniature coaxial connector set has a U.FL connector combination or a micro-miniature coaxial (MMCX) connector combination. The miniature coaxial connector combination has a lock-snap mechanism for electronic devices with harsh conditions, such as aerial helicopters. In response to the advent of the IOT era, wireless devices may be used in long-term vibration conditions, such as washing machines, motors, etc., so a combination of RF connectors with a locking mechanism to prevent falling off is of great help to product reliability. The U.FL connector combination has the advantages of easy disassembly, small size, and low price, and is suitable for most electronic devices, such as smart phones, tablets, and notebook computers.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, which respectively show an isometric view of the U.FL RF connector assembly 10 in a separated state and a connected state. As shown in FIG. 1, the RF connector assembly 10 includes connectors 12 and 14. The connector 12 is coupled to a coaxial cable 16. The connector 14 can be disposed on a printed circuit board (not shown) and coupled to a wireless signal processing module (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, when the connectors 12 and 14 are docked, the connector 14 can be embedded inside the connector 12 to transmit an RF signal.

In practical applications, since the U.FL RF connector assembly 10 does not have a locking buckle mechanism, the U.FL RF connector assembly 10 is easily detached during assembly of the electronic device, so the electronic device needs to be additionally verified after the production line assembly is completed. Whether the antenna is assembled to ensure that the RF signal of the electronic device can be transmitted normally. However, some electronic devices have no available or accessible test points after assembly to verify antenna assembly. In this case, if the U.FL RF connector assembly 10 accidentally falls off during assembly, it will result in electronics. The problem of poor wireless communication or failure of the device. In addition, verifying the assembly of the antenna also increases the work of the production line, which is not conducive to production.

Therefore, how to design a radio frequency connector combination with a locking buckle mechanism to prevent falling off is one of the goals of the art.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a radio frequency connector assembly having a hook structure to prevent detachment and associated electronic devices to solve the above problems.

The invention discloses a radio frequency connector assembly comprising a first connector and a second connector. The first connector includes a first housing formed with a plurality of grooves, and a conductive terminal disposed inside the first housing for receiving an RF signal. The second connector is configured to interface with the first connector to transmit the RF signal, the second connector includes a second housing formed with a plurality of hooks, and two conductive clips disposed on the second connector The two conductive clips clamp the conductive terminal to transmit the RF signal, and the plurality of hooks are respectively embedded in the plurality of trenches when the first connector and the second connector are butted against each other. To fix the first connector and the second connector.

The invention further discloses an electronic device comprising a radio frequency connector combination and a signal processing module. The RF connector assembly includes a first connector and a second connector. The first connector includes a first housing formed with a plurality of grooves, and a conductive terminal disposed inside the first housing for receiving an RF signal. The second connector is configured to interface with the first connector to transmit the RF signal, the second connector includes a second housing formed with a plurality of hooks, and two conductive clips disposed on the second connector Inside the housing; wherein when the first connector and When the second connectors are connected to each other, the two conductive clips clamp the conductive terminals to transmit the RF signals, and the plurality of hooks are respectively embedded in the plurality of grooves to fix the first connector and the second Connector. The signal processing module is coupled to the first connector for receiving the RF signal through the first connector for signal processing.

The invention further discloses a radio frequency connector assembly comprising a first connector and a second connector. The first connector includes a first housing formed with a plurality of hooks, and a conductive terminal disposed inside the first housing for receiving an RF signal. The second connector is configured to interface with the first connector to transmit the RF signal, the second connector includes a second housing formed with a plurality of grooves, and two conductive clips disposed on the second The two conductive clips clamp the conductive terminal to transmit the RF signal, and the one of the plurality of hooks is respectively embedded in the plurality of latches when the first connector and the second connector are butted against each other. One of the grooves to fix the first connector and the second connector.

The invention further discloses an electronic device comprising a radio frequency connector combination and a signal processing module. The RF connector assembly includes a first connector and a second connector. The first connector includes a first housing formed with a plurality of hooks, and a conductive terminal disposed inside the first housing for receiving an RF signal. The second connector is configured to interface with the first connector to transmit the RF signal, and the second connector includes a second housing formed with a plurality of trenches, wherein the first connector and the second connector When the connectors are docked with each other, one of the plurality of hooks is respectively embedded in one of the plurality of slots to fix the first connector and the second connector. The signal processing module is coupled to the first connector for receiving the RF signal through the first connector for signal processing.

10, 30, 60, 90‧‧‧ RF connector combinations include

12, 14, 32, 34, 62, 64, 94‧‧‧ connectors

16‧‧‧Coaxial cable

161‧‧‧ core wire

162‧‧‧External woven mesh

320, 340, 620, 640, 940‧‧‧ housing

321, 641, 941‧‧‧

341, 621‧‧‧ trench

342‧‧‧Electrical terminals

346‧‧‧Base

W320, W321, W341, W621, W641‧‧ Width

H323_I, H323_O, H324‧‧‧ height

A, A’‧‧‧ endpoint

942‧‧‧ gap

1 and 2 are respectively isometric views showing a conventional RF connector assembly in a separated state and a connected state.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 respectively illustrate a combination of the RF connector in the separated state according to the embodiment of the present invention. And an isometric view of the connection state.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the connector of Fig. 3.

6 and 7 are respectively isometric views of another RF connector assembly in a separated state and a connected state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing the simulated insertion loss of the RF connector combination of Figures 1 and 3 in the connected state.

9 and 10 are respectively isometric views of another RF connector assembly in a separated state and a connected state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, which are respectively isometric views of the RF connector assembly 30 in the separated state and the connected state according to the embodiment of the present invention. Structurally, as shown in FIG. 3, the RF connector assembly 30 includes connectors 32 and 34. The connector 34 is a male connector including a housing 340, a conductive terminal 342 and a base 346. In the present embodiment, the housing 340 is formed with two grooves 341. The conductive terminal 342 is disposed inside the housing 340 for receiving an RF signal. The base 346 is used to carry the housing 340 and the conductive terminals 342, and the base 346 is fixed to a substrate through Surface Mounting Technology (SMT). The connector 32 is a female connector that is coupled to the coaxial cable 16 for interfacing with the connector 34 to transmit wireless signals. The connector 32 includes a housing 320, which in this example is formed with a second hook 321 corresponding to the groove 341 of the housing 340.

In detail, the hook 321 has a width W321, the slits on both sides of the hook 321 have a width W320, and the groove 341 has a width W341. The width W341 is substantially greater than or equal to the width W321. In the present embodiment, the width W341 is larger than the width W321, so that the movement space of the hook 321 in the horizontal direction is reserved, so that the hook 321 can be horizontally moved within the width W341 of the groove 341. Or, in other words, the connector 32 can be rotated around the conductive terminal 342, which is advantageous for line assembly or cable routing and the like to improve assembly convenience.

In the preferred embodiment, when the housing 320 contacts the housing 340, the smaller the width W320 is, the larger the area of the housing 340 is covered relative to the housing 320, thereby ensuring the transmission quality of the RF signal. Alternatively, the smaller the width W321 plus the double width W320 (W321+2*W320), the larger the area of the housing 340 with respect to the housing 320. As is well known in the art, the transmission quality of the RF signal is related to its transmission path impedance, and the insertion loss, return loss, or voltage standing wave ratio can be reduced in the case of transmission path impedance matching (Voltage Standing) Wave Ratio, VSWR) to ensure signal quality.

Specifically, since the housings 320 and 340 are electrically connected to the outer woven shield of the transmission line 16, the housings 320 and 340 can be regarded as part of the ground reference plane of the transmission path, and the grooves 341 and the card The design of the hook 321 is such that the connection faces of the housings 320 and 340 are incomplete, so that the high frequency RF signal causes the ground reference plane to be discontinuous, thereby causing insertion loss, echo loss or voltage standing wave ratio of the high frequency RF signal. rise. In the preferred embodiment, for RF signals below 6 GHz, the widths W341 and W321 should be less than or equal to 0.4 mm to ensure high-frequency signal transmission quality.

Please refer to FIG. 8 , which shows the simulated insertion loss of the RF connector assemblies 10 and 30 in the connected state. The insertion loss of the RF connector assembly 10 is indicated by a square line, and the insertion loss of the RF connector assembly 30 is indicated by a triangle. As can be seen from FIG. 8, even if the RF connector assembly 30 is designed with the groove 341 and the hook 321 added, the insertion loss is almost the same as the insertion loss of the conventional RF connector assembly 10, wherein the RF connector combinations 10 and 30 are at 2404 MHz. The insertion loss is -0.207dB and -0.208dB, respectively, which differ by only 0.001dB. Therefore, in the case where the width W320 of the slit and the width W321 of the hook 321 are sufficiently small, the area of the casing 320 covering the casing 340 can be made large enough to ensure that the transmission quality of the high-frequency signal is not greatly affected.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 4, when the connectors 32 and 34 are butted against each other, the hook 321 can be embedded in the groove 341 to fix the connectors 32 and 34. If the connectors 32 and 34 are to be separated, a specific jig is required to separate the two, so that the RF connector assembly 30 can be prevented from being loosely separated by the external force and the connectors 32 and 34 are loosely separated. For example, if the connectors 32 and 34 are to be separated, the hook 321 is pulled outward by the jig, and then the connector 32 is lifted up. In this way, the stability of the RF connector assembly 30 after assembly can be ensured and prevented. The connector 32 and 34 are loosely separated.

Referring to Figure 5, there is shown a cross-sectional view of the connector 32 of Figure 3 taken along the ends A through A'. As shown in FIG. 5, the connector 32 further includes two conductive clips 324 and an insulator 323. The two conductive clips 324 are electrically connected to an inner core 161 of the coaxial cable 16 , and the housing 320 is electrically connected to an outer woven mesh 162 of the coaxial cable 16 . The insulator 323 is disposed between the housing 320 and the two conductive clips 324. When the connectors 32 and 34 are connected to each other, the two conductive clips 324 can clamp the conductive terminals 342. Therefore, the RF signals can be transmitted to the antenna and the wireless signal processing module via the conductive terminals 342, the two conductive clips 324 and the inner core 161. between.

It is worth noting that the insulator 323 is a hollow cylinder to accommodate the two conductive clips 324. An inner diameter H323_I of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than or equal to a height H324 of the two conductive clips 324, an outer diameter H323_O of the hollow cylinder is substantially larger than the inner diameter H323_I, and the outer diameter height H323_O and the inner diameter height The height difference between H323_I forms a slope. In this configuration, the beveled structure of the insulator 323 can be regarded as a guide groove of the conductive terminal 342 for guiding the conductive terminal 342 to the middle of the two conductive clips 324 when the connectors 32 and 34 are mated to improve assembly convenience. In the preferred embodiment, the inner diameter H323_I may be slightly larger than the height H324 to prevent the conductive terminals 342 from squeezing the two conductive clips 324 when inserted, resulting in the case where the two conductive clips 324 are bent and deformed in the middle.

In short, the RF connector assembly 30 of the present invention designs a hook structure (ie, a combination of the hook 321 and the groove 341) on the U.FL RF connector assembly to prevent detachment, and the hook structure needs to use a specific treatment. The two can be separated, so that the RF connector assembly 30 can be prevented from being loosened by the impact of an external force. In this way, the RF connector assembly 30 of the present invention ensures the stability of the bond after assembly and also prevents loosening of the separation. In addition, the beveled structure of the insulator 323 disposed inside the connector 32 can be used to guide the conductive terminal 342 to the middle of the two conductive clips 324 when the connectors 32 and 34 are mated to improve assembly convenience.

It should be noted that the RF connector assembly 30 of FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention. The combination of the RF connectors conforming to the above architecture and corresponding operation modes is within the scope of the present invention, and is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, please refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , which respectively illustrate an isometric view of another RF connector assembly 60 in a separated state and a connected state according to an embodiment of the present invention. The RF connector assemblies 30 and 60 are similar in construction and also have a hook structure. The difference between the RF connector assemblies 30 and 60 is that the positions of the hooks and the grooves are opposite. As shown in FIG. 6, the RF connector assembly 60 includes connectors 62 and 64. The connector 62 includes a housing 620 having two grooves 621 formed therein. The connector 64 includes a housing 640 on which a second hook 641 is formed.

The hook 641 has a width W641, and the groove 621 has a width W621. The width W621 is substantially greater than or equal to the width W621. In the present embodiment, the width W621 is larger than the width W641, so that the movement space of the hook 641 in the horizontal direction is reserved, so that the hook 641 can be horizontally moved within the width W621 of the groove 621, which is advantageous for line assembly or Operations such as cable management to improve assembly convenience.

Similarly, the widths W621 and W641 (or the maximum size of the hook 641 and the groove 621) are designed such that the larger the coverage areas of the housings 620 and 640 are, the better the transmission quality of the RF signal is ensured. Therefore, for RF signals below 6 GHz, the widths W621 and W641 should be less than or equal to 0.4 mm to ensure the transmission quality of the RF signal.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 7, when the connectors 62 and 64 are butted against each other, the hook 641 can be embedded in the groove 621 to fix the connectors 62 and 64. If the connectors 62 and 64 are to be separated, a specific jig is required to separate the two, which prevents the RF connector assembly 60 from being collided by an external force and causing the connectors 62 and 64 to be loosely separated. For example, if the connectors 62 and 64 are to be separated, the hook 641 is pushed inward through the jig, and the connector 62 is raised upward. In this way, the bonding stability of the RF connector assembly 60 after assembly can be ensured, and the connectors 62 and 64 can be prevented from being loosely separated.

In addition, the insulator 323 shown in FIG. 5 can also be disposed inside the connector 62 for guiding the conductive terminals to the middle of the two conductive clips when the connectors 62 and 64 are docked to improve assembly convenience.

Please refer to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 , which are respectively isometric views of the other RF connector assembly 90 in the separated state and the connected state according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 9, RF connection The combination 90 includes connectors 62 and 94. The connector 94 includes a housing 940 on which a second hook 941 is formed. Please note that the slits 942 on both sides of the hook 941 form a V-shaped groove, which increases the coverage area when the connectors 62 and 94 are butted against each other.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the connectors 62 and 94 are butted against each other, the hook 921 can be fitted into the groove 621 to fix the connectors 62 and 94. In addition, compared with FIGS. 10 and 7, the area of the housing 620 covering the housing 940 is larger than the area of the housing 620 covering the housing 640 to ensure the transmission quality of the RF signal.

In addition to the above changes, the number of grooves and hooks is not limited, and each is at least two or more to enhance the fixing effect. The number of hooks and grooves may be equal or unequal. If the number of the grooves is larger than the number of the hooks, it is assumed that four grooves are equally disposed around the casing of the male connector and the two hooks are disposed around the casing of the female connector, and the two hooks are embedded. The two grooves are available in four different embedding directions to enhance assembly flexibility. If the number of hooks is greater than the number of grooves, it means that a groove can be embedded in multiple hooks. The shape of the hook and the groove is not limited. The embodiment of FIG. 3 illustrates a horizontally rectangular groove, but the groove may be a diagonal groove, so that the hook is obliquely embedded in the groove to enhance the fixing effect. In addition, the two grooves can respectively form different horizontal planes on the casing of the male connector and the corresponding hooks are respectively formed on different horizontal planes of the casing of the female connector, so that the manner in which the hook is embedded in the groove is only There is a kind of (in the case where the horizontal hooks and the grooves are aligned with each other), so that the foolproof effect can be achieved.

In summary, the RF connector assembly of the present invention designs a hook structure (ie, a combination of a hook and a groove) on the U.FL RF connector assembly to prevent the hook from falling off, and the hook structure requires the use of a specific fixture. The two can be separated, which prevents the RF connector assembly from being pulled apart by external forces. In this way, the RF connector assembly of the present invention ensures the stability of the bond after assembly and also prevents loosening of the separation. In addition, the bevel structure of the insulator disposed inside the connector (ie, the U.FL female connector) can be used to guide the conductive terminal of the male connector to the middle of the two conductive clips of the female connector when the male and female connectors are docked to enhance Assembly convenience.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the patent application according to the present invention is Equal variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

30‧‧‧RF connector assembly

32, 34‧‧‧ connectors

320, 340‧‧‧ housing

321‧‧‧ card hook

341‧‧‧ trench

342‧‧‧Electrical terminals

346‧‧‧Base

W320, W321, W341‧‧ Width

A, A’‧‧‧ endpoint

16‧‧‧Coaxial cable

Claims (18)

An RF connector assembly includes: a first connector, comprising: a first housing formed with a plurality of trenches; and a conductive terminal disposed inside the first housing for receiving an RF And a second connector for interfacing with the first connector to transmit the RF signal, comprising: a second housing formed with a plurality of hooks; and two conductive clips disposed on the signal The second housing is internally; wherein when the first connector and the second connector are butted with each other, the two conductive clips clamp the conductive terminal to transmit the RF signal, and the plurality of hooks are respectively embedded in the plurality of grooves The slot is fixed to fix the first connector and the second connector. The RF connector assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of grooves has a first width, each of the plurality of hooks has a second width, and the first width It is substantially greater than or equal to the second width. The combination of the radio frequency connector of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of hooks has a slit on each side of the hook, and the slit has a third width. The RF connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the second connector further comprises an insulator disposed between the second housing and the two conductive clips, wherein the insulator is a hollow cylinder, the second The conductive clip is disposed inside the hollow cylinder; an inner diameter of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than or equal to a height of the two conductive clips, and an outer diameter of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than the inner diameter And the height difference between the outer diameter height and the inner diameter height forms a second slope. An electronic device includes: a combination of a radio frequency connector, comprising: a first connector, comprising: a first housing is formed with a plurality of grooves; and a conductive terminal is disposed inside the first housing for receiving an RF signal; and a second connector for docking with the first connector And transmitting the RF signal, comprising: a second housing formed with a plurality of hooks; and two conductive clips disposed inside the second housing; wherein the first connector and the second connection The two conductive clips clamp the conductive terminals to transmit the RF signals, and the plurality of hooks are respectively embedded in the plurality of grooves to fix the first connector and the second connector; A signal processing module is coupled to the first connector for receiving the RF signal through the first connector for signal processing. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of grooves has a first width, each of the plurality of hooks has a second width, and the first width is substantially Greater than or equal to the second width. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of hooks has a slit on each side of the hook, the slit having a third width. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the second connector further comprises an insulator disposed between the second housing and the two conductive clips, wherein the insulator is a hollow cylinder, and the two conductive clips a sheet is disposed inside the hollow cylinder; an inner diameter of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than or equal to a height of the two conductive clips, an outer diameter of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than the inner diameter height, and the The height difference between the outer diameter height and the inner diameter height forms a second slope. An RF connector assembly includes: a first connector, comprising: a first housing formed with a plurality of hooks; a conductive terminal disposed inside the first housing for receiving an RF signal, and a second connector for docking with the first connector for transmitting the RF signal, comprising: a second shell The body is formed with a plurality of grooves; and two conductive clips are disposed inside the second casing; wherein when the first connector and the second connector are butted against each other, the two conductive clips clamp the conductive The terminal transmits the RF signal, and one of the plurality of hooks is respectively embedded in one of the plurality of slots to fix the first connector and the second connector. The RF connector assembly of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of grooves has a first width, and each of the plurality of hooks has a second width, the first width being substantially greater than or equal to the first Two widths. The RF connector assembly of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of hooks has a slit on each side of the hook, and the slit has a third width. The RF connector assembly of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of hooks has a slit on each side of the hook, and the slit forms a V-shaped groove. The RF connector assembly of claim 9, wherein the second connector further comprises an insulator disposed between the second housing and the two conductive clips, wherein the insulator is a hollow cylinder, the second The conductive clip is disposed inside the hollow cylinder; an inner diameter of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than or equal to a height of the two conductive clips, and an outer diameter of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than the inner diameter And the height difference between the outer diameter height and the inner diameter height forms a second slope. An electronic device includes: a combination of a radio frequency connector, comprising: a first connector, comprising: a first housing formed with a plurality of hooks; and a conductive terminal disposed in the first housing Department for receiving an RF signal; a second connector for interfacing with the first connector to transmit the RF signal, comprising: a second housing formed with a plurality of trenches, wherein the first connector and the second connection One of the plurality of hooks is respectively embedded in one of the plurality of slots to fix the first connector and the second connector; and a signal processing module coupled to the The first connector is configured to receive the RF signal through the first connector for signal processing. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of grooves has a first width, each of the plurality of hooks having a second width, the first width being substantially greater than or equal to the second width . The electronic device of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of hooks has a slit on each side of the hook, the slit having a third width. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of hooks has a slit on each side of the hook, and the slit forms a V-shaped groove. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the second connector further comprises an insulator disposed between the second housing and the two conductive clips, wherein the insulator is a hollow cylinder, and the two conductive clips a sheet is disposed inside the hollow cylinder; an inner diameter of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than or equal to a height of the two conductive clips, an outer diameter of the hollow cylinder is substantially greater than the inner diameter height, and the The height difference between the outer diameter height and the inner diameter height forms a second slope.