TWI847571B - Connector Assemblies - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector assembly includes a guide shielding cover, a side cover plate, and a light guide. The guide shielding cover has a top wall and a side wall. The side cover plate is assembled on the side wall, and the side cover plate has a first mounting portion and a fifth mounting portion located below the first mounting portion. The light guide is located on the outer side of the side wall, and the light guide has a second mounting portion that is assembled with the first mounting portion, and a sixth mounting portion that is assembled with the fifth mounting portion. The connector assembly of the present invention provides a structure for assembling the light guide through the side cover plate assembled on the side wall of the guide shielding cover.

Description

Connector Assemblies

The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector assembly.

Chinese invention publication number CN103928796 A (corresponding to U.S. invention patent publication number US2014/0196943A1) discloses a shielding cover and a shielding element, wherein the shielding cover includes a plurality of walls, the plurality of walls include at least two opposite side walls and at least one top wall connecting the side walls to each other, and the shielding cover includes a plurality of openings, the openings are arranged on one of the top wall and the side walls, and the openings have a first shape, and a flexible conductive shielding element has a second shape, the second shape is similar to the first shape but slightly larger than the first shape to provide an edge area extending around the periphery of the opening, the shielding element is bonded to the shielding cover around the periphery of the opening to provide a barrier to electromagnetic interference (EMI) leaked from the shielding cover. However, the shielding element disclosed therein is an independent component that needs to be installed on each opening individually, and the shielding element only has a single function of shielding each opening.

China Utility Model Patent Publication No. CN202167680U discloses a stopper of a light guide column and a protrusion of an upper base plate. The protrusion is integrally formed from the upper base plate. The protrusion only serves the sole function of installing the light guide column, and the additional opening formed for forming the protrusion will also affect the shielding effect.

Chinese invention patent publication number CN103036099A discloses that the cover includes a flat plate portion and two vertical straight portions. The flat plate portion covers the top wall of the housing body, and the flat plate portion includes a plurality of clips extending upward for fixing the light guide. The clips have a base portion located on the flat plate portion and two arms extending upward from the base portion. However, the cover only has a single function of installing the light guide.

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly that can improve at least one problem in the prior art.

Therefore, in some embodiments of the connector assembly of the present invention, it includes a guide shield, a side cover, and a light guide. The guide shield has a top wall and a side wall. The side cover is assembled on the side wall, and the side cover has a first mounting portion and a fifth mounting portion located below the first mounting portion. The light guide is located on the outer side of the side wall, and the light guide has a second mounting portion assembled with the first mounting portion, and a sixth mounting portion assembled with the fifth mounting portion.

In some implementations, the fifth mounting portion has a buckle plate, and the sixth mounting portion has a buckle portion that buckles with the buckle plate.

In some implementations, the side cover plate has a second assembly hole, and the guide shield has an assembly piece that is buckled into the second assembly hole, and the side cover plate is assembled to the side wall through the buckling of the second assembly hole and the assembly piece.

In some implementations, the guide shield is provided with a partition frame, the side wall has a first assembly hole, and the partition frame has the assembly piece that passes through the first assembly hole of the side wall and is buckled to the second assembly hole of the side cover.

In some implementations, the second mounting portion of the light guide is assembled to the first mounting portion of the side cover from front to back.

In some embodiments, the first mounting portion of the side cover plate has a protrusion located above the top wall, and a receiving groove located below the protrusion and extending from front to rear, and the second mounting portion of the light guide has a retaining block inserted into the receiving groove.

In some embodiments, the receiving groove is defined by the protrusion and the top wall.

In some implementations, the retaining block of the light guide has a slot, and the lower edge of the protrusion of the side cover plate is inserted into the slot.

In some implementations, a fixing protrusion facing upward is formed in the slot of the retaining block of the light guide, and a fixing recess facing downward and for the fixing protrusion to be inserted is formed at the lower edge of the protrusion of the side cover.

In some implementations, the side wall of the guide shield has an opening, and the side cover is assembled on the side wall and covers the opening.

In some embodiments, the side wall further has a locking tab formed by the opening structure.

In some embodiments, the front end of the guide shielding cover is assembled with multiple grounding pads, the grounding pad has multiple elastic fingers and multiple buckle plates formed on at least part of the elastic fingers, the guide shielding cover also has multiple buckle holes formed at least on the side wall and assembled corresponding to the multiple buckle plates of the grounding pad, and the side cover plate shields the buckle holes located on the side wall.

The connector assembly of the present invention not only shields the opening on the side wall to produce an electromagnetic interference shielding (EMI shielding) effect through the side cover plate assembled on the side wall of the guide shielding cover, but also provides a structure for assembling the light guide through the side cover plate.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that similar components are represented by the same reference numerals in the following description.

Referring to Fig. 1 to Fig. 4, a first embodiment of the connector assembly 100 of the present invention is suitable for plugging with a pluggable module 200. The pluggable module 200 includes a housing 201, a plug board 202, and a cable 203. The housing 201 includes a plug portion 201a, the plug board 202 is disposed at the end of the plug portion 201a, and the plug board 202 has a plurality of contact fingers 202a. The cable 203 is disposed in the housing 201 and mechanically and electrically connected to the plug board 202. The connector assembly 100 includes a guide shield 1, a socket connector 2, a heat dissipation module 3, two side cover plates 4, a light guide 5, and a base 6.

The guide shielding cover 1 is, for example, constructed by punching, bending, and other processing methods on a conductive metal plate, and is used to guide the pluggable module 200 and produce the function of shielding electromagnetic interference. The guide shielding cover 1 includes a cover body 11, a compartment frame 12 arranged on the cover body 11, and two plug-in spaces 13 defined by the cover body 11 and the compartment frame 12 and separated by the compartment frame 12 and arranged up and down. The cover body 11 extends along a front-to-back direction D1 (the direction indicated by the arrow is the front, and the reverse direction is the rear), and has a top wall 111, two side walls 112 that are spaced opposite to each other and connected to the two sides of the top wall 111 along a left-right direction D2 (the direction indicated by the arrow is the right, and the reverse direction is the left), and the top wall 111 is connected to the top wall 111 along an up-down direction D3. (The direction indicated by the arrow is upward, and the opposite direction is downward) a bottom wall 113 is spaced apart and connected to the bottom edges of the two side walls 112, a rear wall 114 is connected to the top wall 111 and the rear ends of the two side walls 112, and a plurality of grounding pins 115 extend downward from the bottom edges of the two side walls 112 and the bottom edges of the rear wall 114 and are used to be inserted into a circuit board (not shown). Each grounding pin 115 is configured in a pinhole shape for being tightly inserted into a conductive hole on the circuit board.

Each of the side walls 112 of the housing 11 of the guide shielding cover 1 has a plurality of first assembly holes 112a, and the partition frame 12 has a plurality of assembly pieces 121 that are buckled into the first assembly holes 112a. The assembly pieces 121 pass through the first assembly holes 112a outward and are then bent so that the partition frame 12 is assembled to the two side walls 112 of the housing 11 of the guide shielding cover 1. The two plug-in spaces 13 are separated by the partition frame 12. The upper plug-in space 13 is defined by the top wall 111, the two side walls 112 and the partition frame 12, and the lower plug-in space 13 is defined by the two side walls 112, the bottom wall 113 and the partition frame 12. Each of the plug-in spaces 13 has a front end socket 131 located at the front end for the pluggable module 200 to be inserted.

The socket connector 2 is arranged at the rear section of the guide shielding cover 1, and includes a socket shell 21 and a plurality of socket terminals 22. The socket shell 21 has two plug-in slots 211 arranged up and down and facing forward and respectively arranged in the two plug-in spaces 13. The socket terminals 22 are arranged in the socket shell 21. Each of the socket terminals 22 has a contact portion 221 extending into the corresponding plug-in slot 211, and a tail portion 222 extending downward from the socket shell 21. The tail portion 222 is used to pass through a bottom opening (not shown) of the cover body 11 of the guide shielding cover 1 to be plugged into the circuit board.

After the pluggable module 200 enters the corresponding plug-in space 13 of the guide shielding cover 1 from any of the front-end sockets 131, the plug-in board 202 at the end of the plug-in portion 201a of the pluggable module 200 can be inserted into the corresponding plug-in slot 211 of the socket shell 21 of the socket connector 2, so that the contact finger 202a of the plug-in board 202 contacts the contact portion 221 of the socket terminal 22 in the plug-in slot 211 of the socket shell 21, so that the pluggable module 200 and the socket connector 2 of the connector assembly 100 are connected to each other. In addition, the front section of the guide shielding cover 1 near the front end socket 131 can be set in a mounting hole (not shown) of a housing (not shown), and the guide shielding cover 1 also includes a plurality of first grounding pads 14 disposed on the cover body 11 near the two front end sockets 131, and a second grounding pad 15 disposed on the partition frame 12 near the two front end sockets 131. The first grounding pad 14 has a plurality of first elastic fingers 141 extending backward from the front end socket 131 and distributed on the outer side and the inner side, and a plurality of buckles 142. The first elastic fingers 141 located on the outside are used to contact the part of the housing located at the periphery of the mounting hole, and the first elastic fingers 141 located on the inside are used to contact the housing 201 of the pluggable module 200. The buckle pieces 142 are formed at the ends of the first elastic fingers 141 located on the inside. The guide shield 1 also has a plurality of buckle holes 116 formed on the top wall 111, the two side walls 112 and the bottom wall 113 and assembled correspondingly with the plurality of buckle pieces 142 of the first ground pad 14. The second grounding pad 15 has a plurality of second elastic fingers 151 extending backward and distributed on the upper and lower sides of the compartment frame 12 , and the second elastic fingers 151 are used to contact the housing 201 of the pluggable module 200 .

In addition, each side wall 112 of the cover body 11 of the guide shielding cover 1 has two openings 112b respectively arranged in an upper and lower manner corresponding to the two plug-in spaces 13, and two locking pieces 112c formed by the two openings 112b and extending inwardly and backwardly from the front edges of the two openings 112b. The locking pieces 112c are used to snap into the locking recesses 201b at the sides of the plug-in portion 201a of the plug-in module 200 to produce a locking effect on the plug-in module 200 inserted into the plug-in space 13.

The top wall 111 of the cover body 11 of the guide shielding cover 1 has a top opening 111a connected to the plug-in space 13 above. The heat dissipation module 3 includes a heat sink 31, and an elastic fastener 32 provided on the two side walls 112 of the guide shielding cover 1 and assembling the heat sink 31 to the top wall 111 of the guide shielding cover 1. The heat sink 31 has a heat dissipation base plate 311 provided on the top wall 111 from above, a plurality of heat dissipation fins 312 which are fastened side by side and provided on the top surface of the heat dissipation base plate 311 by, for example, welding, and two accommodating grooves 313 formed between the bottom of the heat dissipation fins 312 and the heat dissipation base plate 311 and arranged side by side along the front-rear direction D1. The heat dissipation base plate 311 has a heat dissipation coupling portion (not shown) formed at the bottom, and the heat dissipation coupling portion extends downward into the upper insertion space 13 through the top opening 111a. The elastic fastener 32 has two pressing portions 321 respectively received in the two receiving grooves 313 and used to press downward and elastically against the heat dissipation base plate 311 of the heat sink 31, and two buckling portions 322 respectively connected to the left and right ends of the two pressing portions 321 and buckled to the two side walls 112 of the guide shielding cover 1. Each of the side walls 112 is formed with a buckling protrusion 112d, and each of the buckling portions 322 is formed with a buckling hole 322a buckled with the buckling protrusion 112d. The downward pressing force provided by the two elastic fasteners 32 can ensure that when the pluggable module 200 is inserted into the upper plug-in space 13, the heat dissipation coupling portion of the heat sink 31 can maintain contact with the top surface of the shell 201 of the pluggable module 200 as completely as possible to ensure heat dissipation performance.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 to FIG. 7 , the two side cover plates 4 are respectively assembled on the two side walls 112 and respectively cover the openings 112b on the two side walls 112. The side cover plate 4 has a second assembly hole 41 and a first mounting portion 42. The second assembly hole 41 corresponds to at least a portion of the first assembly hole 112a (the first assembly hole 112a at the front section of the side wall 112) of the side wall 112. At least a portion of the multiple assembly pieces 121 of the partition frame 12 are simultaneously buckled to the first assembly hole 112a and the second assembly hole 41, and at least a portion of the assembly pieces 121 pass through the first assembly hole 112a and the second assembly hole 41 in sequence and are then bent, so that the two side cover plates 4 are respectively assembled on the two side walls 112. The rear wall 114 has a third mounting portion 114a. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, in the first embodiment, the assembly pieces 121 in front of the left and right side walls 112 are located at different positions in the front-to-back direction D1, so the side cover plate 4 is provided with two second assembly holes 41 in parallel in the front-to-back direction D1. For example, the assembly piece 121 on the right side is located at the rear and the assembly piece 121 on the left side is located at the front. The right side cover plate 4 uses the second assembly hole 41 at the rear to buckle the right side assembly piece 121 (as shown in Fig. 3), and the left side cover plate 4 uses the second assembly hole 41 at the front to buckle the left side assembly piece 121 (as shown in Fig. 1). In other variant embodiments, the positions of the assembly pieces 121 disposed at the front sections of the left and right side walls 112 in the front-to-rear direction D1 may also be the same. In this variant embodiment, the side cover plate 4 only needs one second assembly hole 41 in the front-to-rear direction D1.

The light guide 5 has two light pipes 51 arranged side by side on the top wall 111 and extending backward to the rear wall 114, a front connecting post 52 and a rear connecting post 53 connected to the two light pipes 51, two second mounting parts 54 respectively assembled on the first mounting parts 42 of the two side covers 4, and a fourth mounting part 55 assembled on the third mounting part 114a of the rear wall 114. Each light pipe 51 has a light input end 511 facing downward and used to face the light-emitting element (not shown) on the circuit board, and a light output end 512 facing forward. The front connecting post 52 is connected to the light output end 512 of the two light pipes 51, and the rear connecting post 53 is connected to the light input end 511 of the two light pipes 51. The two second mounting portions 54 are formed on the left and right sides of the front connecting post 52, and the fourth mounting portion 55 is formed on the rear connecting post 53. However, it should be noted that the two second mounting portions 54 and the fourth mounting portion 55 are an integrated structure with the two light guides 51.

In detail, the two second mounting portions 54 of the light guide 5 are assembled from front to back to the first mounting portions 42 located at the top of the two side cover plates 4. The first mounting portion 42 of each side cover plate 4 has a protruding piece 421 located above the top wall 111, and a receiving groove 422 located below the protruding piece 421 and extending from front to back and defined by the protruding piece 421 and the top wall 111. Each of the second mounting portions 54 of the light guide 5 has a retaining block 541 inserted backward into the receiving groove 422 of the corresponding first mounting portion 42, and the retaining block 541 of the light guide 5 has a slot 541a, and the lower edge of the protruding piece 421 of each side cover plate 4 is inserted into the corresponding slot 541a. Furthermore, a fixing protrusion 541b facing upward is formed in the slot 541a of the retaining block 541 of the light guide 5, and a fixing recess 421a facing downward and for the fixing protrusion 541b to be inserted is formed at the lower edge of the protrusion 421 of the side cover 4, thereby preventing the two second mounting parts 54 of the light guide 5 from being disengaged from the first mounting parts 42 of the two side covers 4 from the back to the front, so as to enhance the assembly strength between the first mounting parts 42 and the second mounting parts 54. The third mounting part 114a of the rear wall 114 has two inserting pieces 114b extending backward side by side, and the fourth mounting part 55 of the light guide 5 has two insertion holes 551 corresponding to the two inserting pieces 114b. The insertion hole 551 is open forward and downward to allow the inserting piece 114b to enter from the front or the bottom. The light guide 5 can be stably held by the cooperation between the first mounting portion 42 and the second mounting portion 54, and the cooperation between the third mounting portion 114a and the fourth mounting portion 55. In addition, the side cover plate 4 assembled on the side wall 112 of the guide shielding cover 1 not only shields the opening 112b on the side wall 112, but also produces an electromagnetic interference shielding (EMI shielding) effect. Furthermore, the side cover plate 4 also provides an additional structure for assembling the light guide 5.

The base 6 is disposed between the light guide 5 and the light emitting element of the circuit board. The base 6 has two receiving holes 61 corresponding to the two light guide tubes 51 of the light guide 5. Each receiving hole 61 receives the light entrance end 511 of the corresponding light guide tube 51 of the light guide 5 and the corresponding light emitting element, so as to ensure that the light emitted by the light emitting elements can enter the light entrance end 511 of the corresponding light guide tube 51 of the light guide 5. In addition, a buckle recess 611 is formed in each receiving hole 61, and each light guide tube 51 is formed with a buckle block 513 corresponding to the buckle recess 611, and a stop block 514 for abutting against the top surface of the base 6, so that the base 6 is stably disposed on the light guide 5.

8 and 9, the second embodiment of the connector assembly 100 of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that the light guide 5 is located on the outer side of one of the side walls 112, the side cover 4 on the side wall 112 further has a fifth mounting portion 43 located below the first mounting portion 42, and the light guide 5 further has a sixth mounting portion 56 assembled with the fifth mounting portion 43. The fifth mounting portion 43 has a buckle piece 431 extending outward and bending upward, and the sixth mounting portion 56 has a buckle portion 561 buckled with the buckle piece 431. Specifically, in the second embodiment, the light guide 5 has four light guides 51 connected to each other by a plurality of connecting posts 57, and the fourth light guide 51 located at the bottom serves as the buckle 561; however, in other variations, any one of three of the four light guides 51 may serve as the buckle 561, and the second embodiment is not limited thereto. The cooperation between the fifth mounting portion 43 and the sixth mounting portion 56 can further securely hold the light guide 5.

Referring to FIG. 10 , a third embodiment of the connector assembly 100 of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that the two side covers 4 are further extended forward to cover the buckle holes 116 on the two side walls 112 for assembling the first grounding pad 14, thereby further enhancing the electromagnetic interference shielding effect.

In summary, the connector assembly 100 of the present invention not only shields the opening 112b on the side wall 112 to produce an electromagnetic interference shielding (EMI shielding) effect through the side cover plate 4 assembled on the side wall 112 of the guide shielding cover 1, but also provides a structure for assembling the light guide 5 through the side cover plate 4.

However, the above is only an example of the implementation of the present invention, and it cannot be used to limit the scope of the implementation of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the patent of the present invention.

100: Connector assembly 1: Guide shield 11: Cover body 111: Top wall 111a: Top opening 112: Side wall 112a: First assembly hole 112b: Opening 112c: Locking plate 112d: Snap-on protrusion 113: Bottom wall 114: Rear wall 114a: Third mounting portion 114b: Inserting plate 115: Grounding pin 116: Snap hole 12: Compartment frame 121: Assembly plate 13: Plug-in space 131: Front socket 14: First grounding pad 141: First elastic finger 142: Locking plate 15: Second grounding pad 151: Second elastic finger 2: socket connector 21: socket housing 211: plug slot 22: socket terminal 221: contact part 222: tail 3: heat dissipation module 31: heat sink 311: heat dissipation substrate 312: heat dissipation fin 313: receiving groove 32: elastic buckle 321: pressing part 322: buckle part 322a: buckle hole 4: side cover 41: second assembly hole 42: first mounting part 421: convex piece 421a: fixed concave part 422: receiving groove 43: fifth mounting part 431: buckle piece 5: light guide 51: light guide tube 511: light input end 512: light output end 513: buckle block 514: stopper block 52: front connecting column 53: rear connecting column 54: second mounting part 541: retaining block 541a: slot 541b: fixing protrusion 55: fourth mounting part 551: socket 56: sixth mounting part 561: buckle part 57: connecting column 6: base 61: receiving hole 611: buckle recess 200: pluggable module 201: housing 201a: plug-in part 201b: buckle recess 202: plug-in board 202a: contact finger 203: cable D1: front and rear direction D2: left and right direction D3: up and down direction

Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the implementation method with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a three-dimensional exploded view of a first embodiment of the connector assembly of the present invention and a pluggable module; Figure 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the first embodiment; Figure 3 is a three-dimensional view of the first embodiment, in which the heat dissipation module of the first embodiment is omitted; Figure 4 is a partially enlarged three-dimensional exploded view of the first embodiment; Figure 5 is another partially enlarged three-dimensional exploded view of the first embodiment, illustrating the first mounting portion of the side cover plate and the second mounting portion of the light guide of the first embodiment; Figure 6 is a partially enlarged three-dimensional view of the first embodiment, in which the retaining block portion of the second mounting portion of the light guide of the first embodiment is cut; and FIG. 7 is another partially enlarged three-dimensional exploded view of the first embodiment, illustrating the third mounting portion of the rear wall of the guide shield and the fourth mounting portion of the light guide of the first embodiment; FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional view of a second embodiment of the connector assembly of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the second embodiment; and FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged three-dimensional view of a third embodiment of the connector assembly of the present invention.

100: Connector assembly

1: Guide shield cover

11: Mask body

111: Top wall

111a: Top opening

112: Side wall

112a: First assembly hole

112b: Open mouth

112c: buckle plate

112d: buckle convex part

113: Bottom wall

115: Grounding pin

116: Button hole

12: Partition frame

121: Assembly sheet

13: Plug-in space

131: Front socket

14: First ground pad

141: First elastic finger

142: Buckle

15: Second ground pad

151: Second elastic finger

4: Side cover

41: Second assembly hole

42: First installation part

421: Lugs

421a: Fixed recess

422: Storage tank

5: Light guide

51: Light guide tube

512: Light output end

52:Front connecting column

54: Second installation part

541: Keep block

541a: slot

D1: front and back direction

D2: Left and right direction

D3: Up and down direction

Claims (12)

A connector assembly comprises: a guide shield having a top wall and a side wall; a side cover assembled on the side wall, the side cover having a first mounting portion and a fifth mounting portion located below the first mounting portion; and a light guide located on the outer side of the side wall, the light guide having a second mounting portion assembled in cooperation with the first mounting portion, and a sixth mounting portion assembled in cooperation with the fifth mounting portion. A connector assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the fifth mounting portion has a snap plate, and the sixth mounting portion has a snap portion that snaps into engagement with the snap plate. A connector assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the side cover plate has a second assembly hole, and the guide shielding cover has an assembly piece that is snap-connected to the second assembly hole, and the side cover plate is assembled to the side wall through the snap connection between the second assembly hole and the assembly piece. A connector assembly as described in claim 3, wherein the guide shield cover is provided with a compartment frame, the side wall has a first assembly hole, and the compartment frame has the assembly piece that passes through the first assembly hole of the side wall and is snap-connected to the second assembly hole of the side cover plate. A connector assembly as described in any one of claim 1 to claim 2, wherein the second mounting portion of the light guide is assembled to the first mounting portion of the side cover from front to back. A connector assembly as described in claim 5, wherein the first mounting portion of the side cover plate has a protrusion located above the top wall, and a receiving groove located below the protrusion and extending from front to rear, and the second mounting portion of the light guide has a retaining block inserted into the receiving groove. A connector assembly as described in claim 6, wherein the receiving groove is defined by the protrusion and the top wall. A connector assembly as described in claim 7, wherein the retaining block of the light guide has a slot, and the lower edge of the protrusion of the side cover plate is inserted into the slot. A connector assembly as described in claim 8, wherein a fixing protrusion facing upward is formed in the slot of the retaining block of the light guide, and a fixing recess facing downward and for the fixing protrusion to be inserted is formed at the lower edge of the protrusion of the side cover plate. A connector assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the side wall of the guide shield has an opening, and the side cover is assembled on the side wall and covers the opening. A connector assembly as described in claim 10, wherein the side wall also has a locking plate formed by the opening structure. A connector assembly as described in any one of claim 10 to claim 11, wherein a plurality of grounding pads are assembled at the front end of the guide shielding cover, the grounding pad has a plurality of elastic fingers and a plurality of buckle plates formed on at least part of the elastic fingers, the guide shielding cover also has a plurality of buckle holes formed at least on the side wall and assembled corresponding to the plurality of buckle plates of the grounding pad, and the side cover plate shields the buckle holes located on the side wall.

Images