TWM584552U - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

An electrical connector including an insulating body and a plurality of terminals disposed in the insulating body is provided. At least one of the terminals has a first section and a pair of second sections. The pair of second sections are extended from the first section and crotched with each other. On a plane where the terminals located, orthogonal projections of the pair of second sections generates lateral offset and are not overlapped with each other.

Description

Electric connector

This new creation is about an electrical connector.

The Universal Serial Bus (USB for short) is generally used by the general public, and has evolved from the USB 2.0 transmission specification to the current faster USB 3.0 transmission specification. The appearance, structure, terminal contact method, number of terminals, pitch of each terminal, and pin assignment of the existing USB Type-C electrical connectors are completely different from the current USB electrical connectors. Generally speaking, the current USB Type-C socket electrical connector includes a plurality of elastic terminals and a plurality of flat terminal terminals arranged in an insulator, and the insulator is covered with an outer iron shell and the like.

However, in any case, the aforementioned terminals or insulators may be damaged due to improper operation by the user or incorrect insertion of other connectors. When damaged, the socket connector often needs to disassemble the whole device, such as removing the socket connector from the motherboard, so that it can be further replaced or repaired, which also results in a complicated process and high maintenance costs. .

Furthermore, the existing known USB Type-C socket electrical connectors need to be made into a plurality of terminal-insulated insulator components, and then they will be assembled with the grounding sheet and the other terminal-insulated insulator components on top of each other. The molding process of components requires complex processes and terminals with different stamping dies. The manufacturing process is complex and requires high precision, so it is easy to produce a high defect rate, and therefore affects production efficiency and cost.

Accordingly, how to solve the above-mentioned related problems is a topic that must be considered by those skilled in the art.

The novel creation provides an electrical connector, which has a simplified structure and configuration, and has the possibility of preventing improper operation.

The novel electrical connector includes an insulator and a plurality of terminals arranged on the insulator. At least one of these terminals is based on a first segment and a pair of second segments. The second section extends from the first section and is bifurcated. On the plane where these terminals are located, the orthographic projections of the second segment on the plane are misaligned with each other without overlapping.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one terminal is a power terminal, or the at least one terminal is a ground terminal, or the at least one terminal includes a power terminal and a ground terminal.

In an embodiment of the novel creation, the first segment is located on a plane, the second segment is located on the upper and lower opposite sides of the plane and is parallel to the plane, and the second segment is staggered along the arrangement direction of the terminals.

In an embodiment of the novel creation, the first segment is located in an insulator, and the second segment exposes the insulators respectively.

In an embodiment of the novel creation, the at least one terminal further has a third segment, and each second segment is connected between the first segment and the third segment, and the third segment is located on a plane.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the electrical connector further includes at least one grounding member disposed on the insulator and located on at least one side of the terminal.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned electrical connector is a socket electrical connector, which further includes a circuit board having a plurality of pads, and at least one adjacent terminal and the grounding member are welded to the same pad.

In an embodiment of the novel creation, the above-mentioned grounding member has a fourth section and a fifth section, the fifth section is located on a plane and is exposed from the side of the insulator, and the fourth section is located above the first section.

In an embodiment of the novel creation, the orthographic projection of the fifth segment on the plane overlaps one of the orthographic projections of the pair of second segments on the plane.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the adjacent ground members and at least one terminal form an integrated structure, and the orthographic projections of the pair of second segments and the ground members on the plane are misaligned with each other without overlapping.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the electrical connector is a socket electrical connector for docking with a plug electrical connector, and the plug electrical connector has a plurality of terminal pairs. When the plug electrical connector is mated with the socket electrical connector, the pair of terminals mated with the at least one terminal abuts on a part of the second section along the arrangement direction of the terminals.

In an embodiment of the novel creation, the orthographic projection of the above-mentioned pair of terminal pairs on the plane is a center of symmetry with the orthographic projection of the pair of second segments on the plane.

Based on the above, the electrical connector of the present invention is configured in a plurality of terminals of the insulator. At least one of the terminals has a first segment and a pair of second segments, and the second segment extends from the first segment structure and is divided. cross. At the same time, the orthographic projection of the second segment on the plane where these terminals are located is in a state of being misaligned with each other and not overlapping with each other. In other words, for a terminal with a first segment and a bifurcated second segment, it can adapt to the possible insertion orientation of the user, that is, whether the user inserts it forward or backward, it can be docked with each other. The related terminals of the electrical connector can be abutted against each other without worrying about mis-insertion, and the first section and the second section of the bifurcation belong to the same terminal, so there is no need to worry about the wrong polarity of the electrode.

Furthermore, for a terminal with a first section and a bifurcated second section, it can be completed with only one set of molds during the manufacturing process, that is, during the manufacturing process of the terminal, the designer does not need to target different The terminals are matched with different molding dies. In this way, the manufacturing process and manufacturing cost of the terminal can be effectively simplified.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the novel creation more comprehensible, embodiments are described below in detail with the accompanying drawings as follows.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a pair of electrical connectors according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of some components of an electrical connector in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded view of one of the electrical connectors of FIG. 1. At the same time, this new creation also provides rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z to facilitate component description. Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the electrical connector 100 is, for example, a socket electrical connector, and is used to be docked with the electrical connector 200 (eg, a plug electrical connector). The electrical connector 100 includes an insulator 130, a terminal group 110, grounding pieces 121 and 122, a shell 140, and a circuit board 150. The terminal group 110 is disposed on the insulator 130, and is assembled into the shell 140 after the two are combined, and then the shell 140 is assembled. The insulator 130 and the terminal group 110 therein are arranged on the circuit board 150, and the terminal group 110 is correspondingly soldered to the pad group 151 on the circuit board 150, and the terminal group 110 is connected to the circuit board through the pad group 151 150 complete the effect of electrical connection.

Referring to FIG. 3, this embodiment divides the terminal group 110 into multiple terminals A1 to A8, and it is worth noting that the terminals A1, A2, A7, and A8 have different structures from the terminals A3 to A6. Here, the terminals A1 and A8 are ground terminals (GND), the terminals A2 and A7 are power terminals (Vbus / PWR), and the terminals A3 to A6 are, for example, differential signal transmission terminals. It should be noted that the new creation does not limit the transmission form of the terminals A3 to A6. Therefore, in an embodiment, the electrical connector 110 may be an electrical connector that complies with the USB2.0 transmission specification. In addition, in this embodiment, although the terminals A1, A2, A7, and A8 (ground terminal and power terminal) are shown with the same bifurcation structure at the same time, it is not limited thereby, that is, in other embodiments that are not shown In the electrical connector, only the ground terminal or only the power terminal can be provided with the bifurcation structure.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the terminal group 110 is located on the XY plane. The terminals A1 to A8 of the terminal group 110 are arranged along the X axis, and each terminal is considered to extend toward the positive Y axis while the positive Y The axial direction is also the docking direction of the electrical connector 100. In other words, in this embodiment, the arrangement direction (lateral direction) of the terminals A1 to A8 is considered to be orthogonal to the mating direction of the electrical connector 100 (plugged to the electrical connector 200), and the terminal group 110 is formed accordingly. Located on the XY plane.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the insulator 130 has a main body 131, a tongue portion 132, and a plurality of slots 133 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 3). The tongue portion 132 extends from the main body 131, and the slot 133 is located on the tongue portion 132. On the upper and lower surfaces, the terminal group 110 is suitable for being embedded in the insulator 130 by a molding method (such as insert molding). Here, the reference line P2 is taken as a boundary. During the extension of the terminals A1 to A8 of the terminal group 11 along the positive Y-axis direction, the insulator 130 is exposed at a portion exceeding the reference line P2, and the portion not exceeding the reference line P2 is covered by the insulator 130. cover.

Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 respectively show partial schematic diagrams of the terminal group, wherein Fig. 5 can be seen as further magnifying a part of Fig. 4 from another perspective, and Fig. 4 additionally provides a disassembly schematic diagram of the terminal and the plane on the right as a description. Reference to the terminal of the fork structure. Please refer to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 at the same time. Here, the terminal A1 is taken as an example, and the remaining terminals A2, A7, and A8 have the same structure and will not be described in detail. In this embodiment, the terminal A1 is further divided into a first section S1 and a pair of second sections S2, and the second section S2 extends from the first section S1 toward the positive Y-axis structure and is branched. With the combination of the terminal group 110 and the insulator 130, the first segment S1 of the terminal A1 is covered in the insulator 130, and the second segment S2 exposes the insulator 130 from the upper and lower surfaces of the tongue portion 132 through the slot 133, and In the process of extending along the terminals A1 to A8 toward the positive Y-axis direction, the branch of the structure is located within the insulator 130. Furthermore, the ends of the terminals A1 to A8 away from the tongue portion 132 are exposed from the main body 131 to correspond to the pads 151 of the circuit board 150 and are soldered together.

In FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, in order to clearly describe the corresponding relationship between the first segment S1 and the second segment S2, the plane P1 on which the terminal group 110 is located is provided as a description reference, and the disassembly schematic diagram on the right side of FIG. 4 is provided. Here, the second section S2 is divided into a structural member S21 and a structural member S22. The plane P1 is parallel to the X-Y plane and passes between a pair of second segments S2. At the same time, the plane P1 also meets the requirements for the arrangement direction and the docking direction of the terminals A1 to A8 described above. In this way, it can be clearly seen from the disassembly schematic diagram of the second segment S2 and the plane P1 in FIG. 4 that those terminals A1 to A8 that have a bifurcation structure use the plane P1 as a reference, and the structural members S21, S22 The orthographic projections S21a and S22a on the plane P1 are shifted from each other without overlapping.

In other words, for the terminal A1, the first segment S1 thereof is substantially located on the plane P1, and the second segment S2 thereof is substantially located on the upper and lower opposite sides of the plane P1 and parallel to the plane P1, and the structural member S21 is regarded as Above the plane P1, the structural member S22 is considered to be below the plane P1. According to this, the structural members S21 and S22 both generate structural branches from the first section S1 along the positive Y-axis direction, and are also staggered from each other along the arrangement direction of the terminals A1 to A8 (transverse direction, that is, the X-axis direction).

In addition, the terminal A1 of this embodiment also has a third segment S3, which is located on the plane P1, and the pair of second segments S2 are each connected between the first segment S1 and the third segment S3. In other words, in the positive Y-axis direction, the terminal A1 first branches from the first segment S1 structure into a pair of second segments S2, and then merges into one at the third segment S3. This allows the terminal A1 to have better structural strength, that is, during the molding and bonding process with the insulator 130, both the first section S1 and the third section S3 can be covered in the insulator 130 to avoid the second section S2 from being warped The situation where the insulator 130 comes out occurs.

Based on the above, since the ground terminal and / or the power terminal of the electrical connector 100 have the aforementioned bifurcated structure, that is, the same terminal is provided with a structure that mirrors up and down with respect to the plane P1, so the electrical connectors 100 and 200 In the process of mating, it will not be affected by different positive and anti-mating methods, that is, there is no need to worry about the terminals of the electrical connector being damaged due to mis-mating.

FIG. 6 is a partial side view of the electrical connector of FIG. 4. Please refer to FIGS. 4 to 6 at the same time. In this embodiment, the grounding members 121 and 122 of the electrical connector 100 are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the terminal group 110 in the arrangement direction (X-axis direction), and together with the terminal group 110, Overmold with insulator 130 together. Furthermore, since the grounding members 121 and 122 are adjacent to the grounding terminals (terminals A1 and A8) of the terminal group 110, the grounding member 121 of this embodiment is welded to the pad B1 of the pad group 151 together with the terminal A1. The grounding member 122 is soldered to the pad B2 of the pad group 151 together with the terminal A8, which can further simplify the configuration of the pad group 151 on the circuit board 150 and make the electrical connector 100 have a consistent ground. Potential.

On the other hand, the ground members 121 and 122 are in close proximity to the terminals A1 and A8 and are in a state of being partially overlapped along the X axis. Here, the grounding pieces 121 and 122 are further divided into a fourth segment S4 and a fifth segment S5, wherein the fourth segment S4 is located above the first segment S1 (that is, above the plane P1), so the fifth segment S5 is located at The orthographic projection on the plane P1 overlaps with one of the orthographic projections of the second segment S2 on the plane P1. At the same time, the fifth segment S5 is located on the plane P1 and is exposed from the side recess 134 of the insulator 130, as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing some components when the electrical connector is docked in a top view. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing some components when the electrical connector is docked from a bottom perspective. Please refer to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 at the same time. The electrical connector 200 has a terminal group 230 and ground springs 210 and 220. All the terminals of the terminal group 230 are arranged between the ground springs 210 and 220. Each terminal of the terminal group 230 is along The Z-axis shows a terminal pair configuration. When the electrical connectors 100 and 200 are mated, the grounding piece 121 has the abutting portion 121a exposed from the side recess 134 at the fifth section S5, so the electrical connector 200 is grounded. When the elastic piece 210 is correspondingly buckled in the side recess 134, it also abuts on the abutting portion 121a, thereby achieving the effect of potential grounding. Here, since the electrical connector 200 complies with the technical specifications of the existing plug electrical connector, its detailed structure will not be described in detail.

It should be noted here that although some of the terminals of the electrical connector 100 have a bifurcated structure, they can still maintain a structural abutment and electrical connection relationship with the terminal group 230 of the electrical connector 200. In detail, when the electrical connector 200 is mated with the electrical connector 100, the pair of terminals mating with the terminals A1, A2, A7, and A8 are abutted along the arrangement direction of the terminals A1 to A8 (transverse, that is, the X-axis). In the part of the second segment S2, as shown in the partial enlarged views provided in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the orthographic projection of the terminal pair on the plane P1 is symmetrical with the orthographic projection of the second segment S2 on the plane P1 as an adjacency. center.

Further, here, the bottom view (FIG. 8) and the top view (FIG. 7) are used as references corresponding to the foregoing forward projection description, and the terminal A1 is taken as an example. For terminal A1, a pair of second segments S2 are adjacent to each other and the symmetry center C1 is taken as an example. When the electrical connectors 100 and 200 are docked with each other, since the pair of second segments S2 are staggered along the X axis, The terminal pair of the terminal group 230 actually abuts on a part of each second segment S2, and the preferred one is half of the dimension t of the second segment S2 along the X axis, that is, the dimension t / 2 shown. That is, the same terminal pair of the terminal group 230 corresponds to each other along the Z axis (mirror setting with respect to the XY plane), so when the second segment S2 corresponding to the misaligned pair is equivalent to one of the terminal pair It is connected to a part of one of the second section S2 (structure S21), and the terminal pair is in contact with another part of the second section S2 (structure S22), and the width of the terminal (that is, the terminal A1 along the X axis) Size) as a metric, the terminal pair pair abuts half the width of the second section S2, here the width of the terminal A1 and the second section S2 is taken as the dimension t, and the second pair S2 and the terminal pair of the terminal group 230 The width of the abutment is dimension t / 2.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an electrical connector according to another embodiment of the present invention. Here, the non-terminal components are drawn with dashed lines, and the outline of the terminals drawn with solid lines can be clearly identified. In the terminal group 310 of the electrical connector 300, at least one of the terminals has a bifurcated structure. Here, a partial enlarged view of the terminals is provided on the right side of the figure, and the plane P3 is used as a reference basis. Taking the (ground) terminal 312 as an example, the same as the previous embodiment, the terminal 312 also has a second segment S2a and S2b which are offset from each other, that is, it also extends from the first segment S1a structure and branches into a pair of second segments. S2a and S2b are merged into one in the third stage S3a. However, unlike the foregoing embodiment, the grounding member of this embodiment actually has a structural feature that is integrally formed with the (ground) terminal 312.

That is, in the extending direction along the terminal 312, the grounding member has a second segment S2c corresponding to the same range of the aforementioned second segments S2a and S2b, and the orthographic projections of these second segments S2a, S2b, and S2c on the plane P3 It is misaligned with each other (horizontal) and does not overlap with each other. However, for the first segment S1a and the third segment S3a, the ground member and the ground terminal share a single structure. This method can further simplify the structure and the required manufacturing process and cost by combining the adjacent ground pieces and ground terminals.

In summary, in the above-mentioned embodiment of the novel creation, the electrical connector has a bifurcation structure through its ground terminal or / and the power terminal, that is, the ground terminal or / and the power terminal each have a common first segment The second segment is bifurcated and misaligned, and the second segment is misaligned along the terminal arrangement direction in addition to the bifurcation along the terminal extension direction. In this way, the ground terminal or / and the power terminal are symmetrically designed up and down, so that the electrical connector can provide positive and reverse insertion with the electrical connector to which it is mated, which can meet the required function, and avoid misconnection by the user. This can cause damage to the terminals.

Furthermore, for a terminal with a first section and a bifurcated second section, it can be completed with only one set of molds during the manufacturing process, that is, during the manufacturing process of the terminal, the designer does not need to target different The terminals are matched with different molding dies. In this way, the manufacturing process and manufacturing cost of the terminal can be effectively simplified.

Although this new type of creation has been disclosed as above by way of example, it is not intended to limit the new type of creation. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes without departing from the spirit and scope of this new type of creation Retouching, so the protection scope of this new type of creation shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

100, 200, 300‧‧‧ electric connectors
110, 230, 310‧‧‧ terminal set
121, 122‧‧‧ Earthing parts
121a‧‧‧Abutment
130‧‧‧ insulator
131‧‧‧ main body
132‧‧‧ Tongue
133‧‧‧Slotted
134‧‧‧Side depression
140‧‧‧shell
150‧‧‧Circuit Board
151‧‧‧ pad set
210, 220‧‧‧ grounding shrapnel
A1 ～ A8、312‧‧‧Terminal
B1, B2‧‧‧ pads
C1‧‧‧center of symmetry
P1, P3‧‧‧plane
P2‧‧‧reference line
S1, S1a‧‧‧ first paragraph
S2, S2a, S2b, S2c ‧‧‧ second paragraph
S21, S22‧‧‧ Structure
S21a, S22a‧‧‧ Orthographic
S3, S3a
S4‧‧‧ Paragraph 4
S5‧‧‧ fifth paragraph
t, t / 2‧‧‧ size
XYZ‧‧‧right-angle coordinates

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a pair of electrical connectors according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of some components of an electrical connector in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of one of the electrical connectors of FIG. 1.
4 and 5 are partial schematic diagrams of the terminal group, respectively.
FIG. 6 is a partial side view of the electrical connector of FIG. 4.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing some components when the electrical connector is docked in a top view.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing some components when the electrical connector is docked from a bottom perspective.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an electrical connector according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (12)

An electrical connector includes:
An insulator; and a plurality of terminals disposed on the insulator, wherein at least one terminal has a first segment and a pair of second segments, the pair of second segments extending from the first segment structure and branching, On a plane that is located, the orthographic projections of the pair of second segments on the plane are offset from each other without overlapping. The electrical connector according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the at least one terminal is a power terminal, or the at least one terminal is a ground terminal, or the at least one terminal includes a power terminal and a ground terminal. The electrical connector according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the first segment is located on the plane, the pair of second segments are located on opposite and parallel sides of the plane and parallel to the plane, and the pair of second segments are along these The arrangement directions of the terminals are staggered from each other. The electrical connector according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the first section is located in the insulator, and the pair of second sections respectively expose the insulator. The electrical connector according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the at least one terminal further has a third segment, and each of the second segments is connected between the first segment and the third segment, and the third segment is located at The plane. The electrical connector according to item 1 of the patent application scope further includes:
At least one grounding member is disposed on the insulator and located on at least one of the terminals. The electrical connector according to item 6 of the patent application scope, which is a socket electrical connector, further includes a circuit board having a plurality of pads, and the at least one adjacent terminal and the ground member are soldered to the same pad. The electrical connector according to item 6 of the patent application scope, wherein the grounding member has a fourth section and a fifth section, the fifth section is located on the plane and is exposed from the side of the insulator, and the fourth section is located in the first section. Above a paragraph. The electrical connector according to item 8 of the scope of patent application, wherein the orthographic projection of the fifth segment on the plane overlaps one of the orthographic projections of the second segment on the plane. The electrical connector according to item 6 of the scope of patent application, wherein the adjacent ground members and the at least one terminal form an integrated structure, and the orthographic projections of the pair of second segments and the ground members on the plane are misaligned with each other. Do not overlap. The electrical connector according to item 1 of the scope of patent application is a socket electrical connector for docking with a plug electrical connector. The plug electrical connector has a plurality of terminal pairs. When the plug electrical connector is mated, In the electrical connector of the socket, the pair of terminals coupled to the at least one terminal abuts on a part of the second section along the arrangement direction of the terminals. The electrical connector according to item 11 of the scope of patent application, wherein the orthographic projection of the terminal pair on the plane is a center of symmetry with the orthographic projection of the second segment of the pair on the plane.