TWI875095B - Spring-contact type electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

A spring-contact type electrical connector includes an insulating core and a plurality of terminals. Each terminal includes a pair of butt joint parts, at least one holding part and at least one electrical connection part, the butt joint parts of the terminals are butted with the terminals of a pair of counterpart connectors, the holding part is fixed on the insulating core, and the electrical connection part is connected to the terminal of the opposite connector. A circuit board is electrically connected, and the terminals include a plurality of pairs of differential signal terminals, a plurality of ground terminals, a pair of power terminals and a functional terminal. The electrical connection portion of each terminal includes a pair of elastic arms and a contact arm, the elastic arms are connected to the holding portion, the contact arms are connected to the elastic arms and form an electrical circuit, the contact arms are closer to the circuit board than the elastic arms and the contact arms contact the PCB solder pads.

Description

Spring-type electrical connector (I)

The present invention relates to the technical field of an electrical connector, and in particular to a spring-type electrical connector that forms an electrical connection with a solder pad of a circuit board using a spring-type structure.

Electrical connectors are used to connect different electronic components or modules so that electronic signals can be transmitted between different electronic components or modules through electrical connectors. Some electrical connectors are installed on circuit boards to form electrical connections with the circuit boards. The terminals of existing electrical connectors form electrical connections with the circuit boards in a direct plug-in structure or a surface mount structure. The terminals of existing electrical connectors form electrical connections with the solder pads of the circuit boards in a columnar solder pin.

As electrical connectors enter the era of high-speed transmission, the frequency of electronic signals is getting higher and higher. When high-frequency signals pass through columnar solder pins, they are prone to generate electromagnetic waves due to the alternating electric field of the signal. The electromagnetic waves generated are likely to affect the electronic signals of other parts of the electrical connector and form crosstalk, resulting in signal distortion.

In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a spring-type electrical connector, which uses the part connected to the circuit board to form an electrical loop. When the electric field alternates at a high frequency, it can guide the electric field back to the terminal to avoid the formation of an antenna effect and the emission of electromagnetic waves, causing electromagnetic interference, and solve the problems of crosstalk and signal distortion caused by the electrical connector of the prior art when transmitting high-frequency signals.

An embodiment of the spring-type electrical connector of the present invention includes an insulating core and a plurality of terminals. Each terminal includes a docking portion, at least one retaining portion and at least one electrical connection portion. The docking portions of the terminals dock with the terminals of a pair of connectors, the retaining portion is fixed to the insulating core, and the electrical connection portion is electrically connected to a circuit board. The terminals include a plurality of pairs of differential signal terminals, a plurality of ground terminals, a pair of power terminals and a functional terminal. The electrical connection portion of each terminal includes a pair of elastic arms and a contact arm. The elastic arm is connected to the retaining portion, and the contact arm is connected to the elastic arm to form an electrical circuit. The contact arm is closer to the circuit board than the elastic arm and the contact arm contacts the solder pad of the circuit board.

In another embodiment, the mating portions of the terminals are arranged in a first row and a second row parallel to each other along a first direction, the retaining portions and the electrical connection portions of the terminals are arranged in a row along the first direction, and at least one ground terminal, a functional terminal or/and a retaining portion or/and an electrical connection portion of a power terminal are arranged between the retaining portions or/and the electrical connection portions of the two differential signal terminal pairs.

In another embodiment, the mating portion of at least one grounding terminal is located in the first row, and the mating portion of at least one grounding terminal is located in the second row, and the retaining portion of the grounding terminal whose mating portion is located in the first row includes two first bifurcated portions, one of which is connected to the electrical connection portion, and the other first bifurcated portion is connected to the retaining portion of the grounding terminal whose mating portion is located in the second row.

In another embodiment, another first bifurcated portion of the retaining portion is a retaining portion of the grounding terminal whose mating portion is located in the second row by means of a snap-fit structure.

In another embodiment, the ground terminal with the mating portion in the second row includes two second forks, each of which is connected to an electrical connection portion, wherein one of the second forks is connected to a first fork of the holding portion with the mating portion in the first row.

In another embodiment, the length of the mating portion of the plurality of ground terminals, functional terminals, and power terminals is greater than the length of the mating portion of the plurality of differential signal terminal pairs.

In another embodiment, the insulating core includes a tongue portion, a fixing portion and a retaining portion, the tongue portion and the fixing portion form an integrated structure, the retaining portion is engaged with the fixing portion, the mating portions of the terminals are arranged on the tongue portion, and the first row and the second row of the mating portions are respectively located on two opposite surfaces of the tongue portion, the retaining portions of the terminals are arranged on the fixing portion, and the electrical connection portion is arranged on the retaining portion.

In another embodiment, the end of the retaining portion away from the tongue portion has a plurality of receiving grooves, and the electrical connection portions of the terminals are received in the receiving grooves.

In another embodiment, it further includes a metal shell, one end of which is connected to the insulating core, the metal shell has a receiving space, the terminals are arranged in the receiving space, and the other end of the metal shell forms a pair of interfaces, which are connected to the receiving space.

In another embodiment, it further includes a metal reinforcement member connected to one side of the metal shell, the metal reinforcement member includes a pair of wing plate portions, each wing plate portion has a bolt hole and a positioning hole.

The spring-type electrical connector of the present invention forms a structure in which a pair of elastic arms and contact arms are connected by the electrical connection part of the terminal of the electrical connector, so that the elastic arms and the contact arms form an electrical loop. When the electric field alternates at a high frequency, the electric field can be guided back to the terminal to avoid the formation of an antenna effect and the emission of electromagnetic waves, which causes electromagnetic interference, and solves the problems of crosstalk and signal distortion caused by the electrical connector of the prior art when transmitting high-frequency signals.

1: Spring-type electrical connector

10: Insulation core

11: Tongue plate

12: Fixed part

13: Maintaining part

20: Terminal

21: Docking section

21a, 21c, 21e, 21g, 21i, 21k, 21m, 21o, 21q, 21s: docking part

21b, 21d, 21f, 21h, 21j, 21l, 21n, 21p, 21r, 21t: docking part

22: Holding part

22A, 22B: First bifurcation

22C, 22D: Second bifurcation

22’: snap-fit protrusion

22”: snap-on slot

23: Electrical connection part

30:Metal shell

31: Snap-on shrapnel

40:Metal reinforcement parts

41: Wing plate part

42: Bolt hole

43: Positioning hole

131: Storage tank

231: Elastic arm

232: Contact arm

L1: First direction

A: First column

B: Second column

O: Docking port

P: Circuit board

P1: Solder pad

S: Storage space

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional diagram of an embodiment of the spring-type electrical connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional diagram of the spring-type electrical connector of FIG. 1 from another perspective.

Figure 3 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the spring-type electrical connector of Figure 1.

Figures 4 to 10 are schematic diagrams of the assembly of the spring-type electrical connector of the present invention.

Please refer to Figures 1, 2 and 3, which show an embodiment of the spring-type electrical connector of the present invention. The spring-type electrical connector 1 of this embodiment is a female electrical connector of DisplayPort. The spring-type electrical connector 1 of this embodiment includes an insulating core 10, a plurality of terminals 20, a metal shell 30 and a metal reinforcement 40. The plurality of terminals 20 are arranged on the insulating core 10, the metal shell 30 is snap-fitted and positioned on the insulating core 10 and covers the insulating core 10 and the terminals 20, and the metal reinforcement 40 is welded and fixed to the metal shell 30 to strengthen the structure of the spring-type electrical connector 1.

Please refer to Figures 4 and 5. The terminal 20 is formed by stamping and bending a metal strip. Each terminal 20 includes a docking portion 21, at least one retaining portion 22, and at least one electrical connection portion 23. The docking portion 21 of the terminal 20 is docked with a terminal of a pair of connectors. The docking portions 21 of the terminals 20 of this embodiment are arranged in a first row A and a second row B parallel to each other along a first direction L1. The first row A of the docking portion 21 includes docking portions 21a, 21c, 21e, 21g, 21i, 21k, 21m, 21o, 21q, and 21s, which correspond to the positive differential signal pin (pin 1) of channel 0, the negative differential signal pin (pin 3) of channel 0, the ground pin (pin 5), the positive differential signal pin (pin 7) of channel 2, the negative differential signal pin (pin 9) of channel 2, the ground pin (pin 11), the ground pin (pin 13), the positive differential signal pin (pin 15) of the auxiliary channel, the negative differential signal pin (pin 17) of the auxiliary channel, and the power return (power return) foot (foot 19). The second row B of the docking portion 21 includes docking portions 21b, 21d, 21f, 21h, 21j, 21l, 21n, 21p, 21r, and 21t, which respectively correspond to the ground pin (pin 2), the positive differential signal pin of channel 1 (pin 4), the negative differential signal pin of channel 1 (pin 6), the ground pin (pin 8), the positive differential signal pin of channel 3 (pin 10), the negative differential signal pin of channel 3 (pin 12), the ground pin (pin 14), the ground pin (pin 16), the hot plug detection pin (pin 18), and the power pin (pin 20) defined in the DisplayPort specification.

The length of the connecting parts 21b, 21e, 21h, 21k, 21m, 21n, 21p, 21r, 21s, and 21t of the ground terminal, functional terminal, and power terminal of this embodiment is greater than the length of the connecting parts 21a, 21c, 21d, 21f, 21g, 21i, 21j, 21l, 21o, 21q, and 21r of the differential signal terminal pair. The connecting parts of the ground terminal, functional terminal, and power terminal are provided between the connecting parts of the two differential signal terminal pairs of this embodiment, and the length of the differential signal terminal pair is shorter than the length of the connecting parts of the ground terminal, functional terminal, and power terminal, thereby achieving the effect of electromagnetic shielding to prevent crosstalk.

The retaining portion 22 is fixed to the insulating core 10 to position the terminal 20. The retaining portions 22 of the terminal 20 of this embodiment are arranged in a row along the first direction L1. The retaining portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21e (ground terminal) of the first row A of this embodiment is divided into two first bifurcated portions 22A and 22B, wherein the first bifurcated portion 22A is connected to its electrical connection portion 23 and forms an integrated structure, and the other first bifurcated portion 22B is shorter in length and connected to the retaining portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21b. The first bifurcation 22B is connected to the holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21b by a snap-fit structure, wherein the first bifurcation 22B forms a trident-shaped snap-fit protrusion 22', and the holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21b (ground terminal) forms a snap-fit groove 22", and the snap-fit protrusion 22' is snap-fitted to the snap-fit groove 22", so that the first bifurcation 22B is connected to the holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21b. The holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21k of this embodiment also has the same structure as the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21e, that is, two first bifurcation portions 22A and 22B, wherein the first bifurcation 22A is connected to its electrical connection portion 23, and the other first bifurcation 22B is connected to the holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21h.

The holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21b of the second row B of this embodiment is divided into two second bifurcations 22C and 22D, and the two second bifurcations 22C and 22D are respectively connected to an electrical connection portion 23. The second bifurcations 22C forms the above-mentioned snap-in groove 22" and snaps into the first bifurcations 22B of the holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21e. The holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21h of the second row B is divided into two first bifurcations 22A and 22B, wherein the first bifurcations 22A is connected to its electrical connection portion 23 and forms an integrated structure, and the other first bifurcations 22B is shorter in length and connected to the first bifurcations 22A of the holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 corresponding to the docking portion 21e.

The holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 (ground terminal) corresponding to the docking portion 21 of the first row A forms two first branching portions 22A and 22B and is connected to the holding portion 22 of the terminal 20 (ground terminal) corresponding to the docking portion 21 of the second row B. Among the holding portions 22 arranged along the first direction L1, at least one holding portion 22 of a ground terminal, a functional terminal or/and a power terminal is arranged between the holding portions 22 of two differential signal terminal pairs. Since the electrical connection portion 23 corresponds to the holding portion 22 one-to-one, at least one electrical connection portion 23 of a ground terminal, a functional terminal or/and a power terminal is arranged between the electrical connection portions 23 of the two differential signal terminal pairs. This plays the role of electromagnetic shielding and can prevent crosstalk between the differential signal terminal pairs.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 , the electrical connection portion 23 is perpendicular to the fixing portion 12 and is electrically connected to a circuit board P. The electrical connection portion 23 of each terminal 20 includes a pair of elastic arms 231 and a contact arm 232. The elastic arm 231 is connected to the fixing portion 22. The contact arm 232 is connected to the elastic arm 231 and is located between the pair of elastic arms 231 to form an electrical circuit. The contact arm 232 is closer to the circuit board P than the elastic arm 231 and the contact arm 232 contacts the solder pad P1 of the circuit board P. The electrical loop formed by the elastic arm 231 and the contact arm 232 can guide the electric field back to the terminal 20 when the electric field alternates at a high frequency, thereby avoiding the formation of an antenna effect and the emission of electromagnetic waves, which may cause electromagnetic interference.

Please refer to Figures 6, 7 and 8, and please refer to Figures 1 to 3 together. The insulating core 10 includes a tongue portion 11, a fixing portion 12 and a retaining portion 13. The tongue portion 11 and the fixing portion 12 form an integrated structure, and the retaining portion 13 is engaged with the fixing portion 12. The butt joint portion 21 of the terminal 20 is disposed on the tongue portion 11, and the first row A and the second row B of the butt joint portion 21 are respectively located on two opposite surfaces of the tongue portion 11. The retaining portion 22 of the terminal 20 is disposed on the fixing portion 12. By means of an embedded injection molding process, the butt joint portion 21 of the terminal 20 is positioned on the tongue portion 11 and the retaining portion 22 is positioned on the fixing portion 12. The shape of the retaining portion 13 is like a rear cover plate. The retaining portion 13 is engaged with the fixing portion 12 by means of an engaging structure. The end of the retaining portion 13 away from the tongue plate portion 11 has a plurality of receiving grooves 131. The electrical connection portion 23 of the terminal 20 is accommodated in the receiving groove 131 and exposed from the retaining portion 13.

Please refer to FIG. 9 . The spring-type electrical connector 1 of this embodiment further includes a metal shell 30 . One end of the metal shell 30 is connected to the insulating core 10 . The metal shell 30 is engaged with the slot of the insulating core 10 by the engaging spring 31 , thereby being positioned on the insulating core 10 . The metal shell 30 covers the tongue plate portion 11 and the fixing portion 12 of the insulating core 10, and a receiving space S is formed inside the metal shell 30. The terminal 20 is arranged on the tongue plate portion 11 and is thus located in the receiving space S. The other end of the metal shell 30 forms a docking port O, which is connected to the receiving space S. The counterpart connector is inserted into the receiving space S through the docking port O, and the terminal of the counterpart connector contacts the docking portion 21 of the terminal 20 to form an electrical connection.

Please refer to Figure 10. The spring-type electrical connector 1 of this embodiment further includes a metal reinforcement 40, which is connected to the metal shell 30. The metal reinforcement 40 of this embodiment is fixed to one side of the metal shell 30 by a laser welding process, and is used to strengthen the structure of the metal shell 30. The metal reinforcement 40 includes a pair of wing plate portions 41, each wing plate portion 41 has a bolt hole 42 and a positioning hole 43. The metal reinforcement 40 can lock and fix the metal shell 30 on the electronic device.

The spring-type electrical connector of the present invention forms a structure in which a pair of elastic arms and contact arms are connected by the electrical connection part of the terminal of the electrical connector, so that the elastic arms and the contact arms form an electrical loop. When the electric field alternates at a high frequency, the electric field can be guided back to the terminal to avoid the formation of an antenna effect and the emission of electromagnetic waves, which causes electromagnetic interference, and solves the problems of crosstalk and signal distortion caused by the electrical connector of the prior art when transmitting high-frequency signals.

However, the above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should not be used to limit the scope of the implementation of the present invention. That is, all simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application and the new description of the present invention are still within the scope of the present invention. In addition, any embodiment or patent application of the present invention does not need to achieve all the purposes, advantages or features disclosed by the present invention. In addition, the abstract and title are only used to assist in searching for patent documents, and are not used to limit the scope of the rights of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" mentioned in this specification or patent application are only used to name the element or distinguish different embodiments or scopes, and are not used to limit the upper or lower limit of the number of elements.

1: Spring-type electrical connector 23: Electrical connection part 30: Metal housing 40: Metal reinforcement 231: Elastic arm 232: Contact arm P: Circuit board P1: Solder pad

Claims (10)

A spring-type electrical connector comprises: an insulating core; and a plurality of terminals, each terminal comprising a mating portion, at least one retaining portion and at least one electrical connection portion, the mating portions of the terminals are mated with terminals of a pair of connectors, the retaining portion is fixed to the insulating core, the electrical connection portion is electrically connected to a circuit board, the terminals comprise a plurality of pairs of differential signal terminals, a plurality of ground terminals, a pair of power terminals and a functional terminal; wherein the electrical connection portion of each terminal comprises a pair of elastic arms and a contact arm, the pair of elastic arms are connected to the retaining portion, the contact arm is connected to the elastic arm and forms an electrical loop, the contact arm is closer to the circuit board than the elastic arm and the contact arm contacts the solder pad of the circuit board. The spring-type electrical connector as described in claim 1, wherein the mating portions of the terminals are arranged in a first row and a second row parallel to each other along a first direction, the retaining portions and the electrical connection portions of the terminals are arranged in a row along the first direction, and at least one of the grounding terminal, the functional terminal or/and the retaining portion or/and the electrical connection portion of the power terminal is arranged between the retaining portions or/and the electrical connection portions of the two differential signal terminal pairs. The spring-type electrical connector as described in claim 2, wherein the mating portion of at least one of the grounding terminals is located in the first row, and the mating portion of at least one of the grounding terminals is located in the second row, and the retaining portion of the grounding terminal whose mating portion is located in the first row includes two first bifurcated portions, one of which is connected to the electrical connection portion, and the other of which is connected to the retaining portion of the grounding terminal whose mating portion is located in the second row. As described in claim 3, the spring-type electrical connector, wherein the other first bifurcated portion of the retaining portion is engaged with the retaining portion of the grounding terminal at the second row of the mating portion by a snap-fit structure. The spring-type electrical connector as described in claim 3, wherein the grounding terminal whose mating part is located in the second row includes two second forked parts, and the two second forked parts are respectively connected to one of the electrical connection parts, and one of the second forked parts is connected to one of the first forked parts of the retaining part whose mating part is located in the first row. A spring-type electrical connector as described in claim 1, wherein the length of the mating portion of the ground terminals, the functional terminals and the power terminals is greater than the length of the mating portion of the differential signal terminal pairs. The spring-type electrical connector as described in claim 2, wherein the insulating core comprises a tongue plate portion, a fixing portion and a retaining portion, the tongue plate portion and the fixing portion form an integrated structure, the retaining portion is engaged with the fixing portion, the mating portions of the terminals are arranged on the tongue plate portion, and the first row and the second row of the mating portions are respectively located on two opposite surfaces of the tongue plate portion, the retaining portions of the terminals are arranged on the fixing portion, and the electrical connection portion is arranged on the retaining portion. As described in claim 7, the spring-type electrical connector, wherein the end of the retaining portion away from the tongue portion has a plurality of receiving grooves, and the electrical connection portions of the terminals are received in the receiving grooves. The spring-type electrical connector as described in claim 1 further includes a metal shell, one end of which is connected to the insulating core, the metal shell has a receiving space, the terminals are arranged in the receiving space, and the other end of the metal shell forms a pair of interfaces, which are connected to the receiving space. The spring-type electrical connector as described in claim 9 further includes a metal reinforcement member connected to one side of the metal shell, the metal reinforcement member includes a pair of wing plate portions, each of the wing plate portions has a bolt hole and a positioning hole.