Patent Grant
11831092
This disclosure relates generally to electrical interconnection systems and more specifically to compact electrical connectors.
Electrical connectors are used in many electronic systems. In general, various electronic devices (e.g., smart phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, notebook computers, digital cameras, and the like) have been provided with assorted types of connectors whose primary purpose is to enable an electronic device to exchange data, commands, and/or other signals with one or more other electronic devices. Electrical connectors are basic components needed to make some electrical systems functional. Signals (e.g., data, commands, and/or other electrical signals) often pass through electrical connectors to move between electronic devices, between components of an electronic device, and between multiple electronic devices that form an electronic system.
It is generally easier and more cost effective to manufacture an electronic system as separate assemblies, such as printed circuit boards (“PCBs”), which may be communicatively joined together with electrical connectors. In some scenarios, the PCBs to be joined may each have connectors mounted on them. The connectors may be mated together directly to interconnect the PCBs.
In other scenarios, the PCBs may be connected indirectly via a cable. Electrical connectors may nonetheless be used to make such connections. For example, the cable may be terminated on one or both ends with a plug type of electrical connector (“plug connector” herein). A PCB may be equipped with a receptacle type of electrical connector (“receptacle connector” herein) into which the plug connector may be inserted to connect the cable to the PCB. A similar arrangement may be used at the other end of the cable, to connect the cable to another PCB, so that signals may pass between the PCBs via the cable.
According to an aspect of the present technology, an electrical connector is provided. The connector may include: a housing comprising a bottom and a wall bounding, at least in part, an opening adjacent the bottom; an island protruding from the bottom of the housing and into the opening; a plurality of terminals supported by the island; and a shell configured to encircle an outer surface of the wall. The shell may include: a pair of first shell corners configured to conform with a pair of first housing corners of the housing, a height of the first shell corners being greater than a maximum height of the housing; a pair of second shell corners configured to be spaced apart from a pair of second housing corners of the housing in a first direction, a height of the second shell corners being greater than the maximum height of the housing; a plurality of first portions configured to conform with the outer surface of the wall; a plurality of second portions configured to be spaced apart from the outer surface of the wall; and a plurality of hook portions configured to engage with an edge of the wall.
In some embodiments of this aspect, the wall of the housing may have first and second longer sections connected to first and second shorter sections. At least one of the first portions of the shell and at least one of the second portions of the shell may be located along the first longer section of the wall. At least one of the first portions of the shell and at least one of the second portions of the shell may be located along the second longer section of the wall. In an embodiment, a number of the at least one of the first portions of the shell located along the first longer section of the wall may be different from a number of the at least one of the second portions of the shell located along the first longer section of the wall. In an embodiment, a number of the at least one of the first portions of the shell located along the second longer section of the wall may be different from a number of the at least one of the second portions of the shell located along the second longer section of the wall.
In some embodiments of this aspect, a height of a portion of the shell on which the hook portions are located may be approximately equal to the maximum height of the housing.
In some embodiments of this aspect, each of the first and second shell corners may have a same height.
In some embodiments of this aspect, each of the first shell corners may have a first height, and each of the second shell corners may have a second height different from the first height.
In some embodiments of this aspect, the wall of the housing may have first and second longer sections connected to first and second shorter sections, and the pair of first housing corners may be adjacent the first longer section of the wall. In an embodiment, the shell may include a first section that joins a first of the first shell corners to a first of the second shell corners, the shell may include a second section that joins a second of the first shell corners to a second of the second shell corners, the first section of the shell may include a portion that conforms with the first shorter section of the wall, and the second section of the shell may include a portion that conforms with the second shorter section of the wall. In an embodiment, the first section of the shell may include a portion that faces a first space corresponding to one of the second portions of the shell, and the second section of the shell may include a portion that faces a second space corresponding to another one of the second portions of the shell. In an embodiment, a boundary of the first space may include a first one of the pair of second shell corners, and a boundary of the second space may include a second one of the pair of second shell corners. In an embodiment, each of the first and second sections of the shell may include an upper edge having a curved portion, and a height of the shell at the curved portions may be greater than the maximum height of the housing and less than the height of each of the first and second shell corners. In an embodiment, the shell may include a third section that joins the pair of first shell corners, the shell may include a fourth section that joins the pair of second shell corners, and a height of the third section may be greater than the maximum height of the housing. In an embodiment, the first portions of the shell may include a conforming portion that is part of the fourth section of the shell, and a height of the conforming portion of the fourth section of the shell may be the same as or within 10% of a height of a portion of the wall directly facing the conforming portion. In an embodiment, the hook portions may extend from an upper edge of the conforming portion of the fourth section of the shell.
In some embodiments of this aspect, the outer surface of the wall and the second portions of the shell may delimit a plurality of spaces configured to receive a plurality of plug portions of a plug connector therein when the plug connector is in a mating position with the electrical connector. In an embodiment, the spaces delimited by the second portions of the shell may be arranged such that the electrical connector has a single mating position with the plug connector. In an embodiment, the wall may include first and second longer sections separated from each other by first and second shorter sections to form a substantially rectangular outer boundary, and the spaces delimited by the second portions of the shell may include: a first space located along the first longer section of the wall, the first space having a length greater than about half a length of the first longer section in a second direction; and a plurality of second spaces located along the second longer section of the wall, each of the second spaces having a length less than about a quarter of a length of the second longer section in the second direction. In an embodiment, the first space may be configured to receive a bar-shaped portion of the plug connector, and each of the second spaces may be configured to receive a leg of the plug connector.
In some embodiments of this aspect, the shell may include a plurality of legs extending in away from the housing and configured to engage with a printed circuit board (PCB).
In some embodiments of this aspect, the edge of the wall may include a plurality of notches configured to engage with the hook portions of the shell.
According to another aspect of the present technology, an electrical connector is provided. The connector may include: an insulative housing comprised of a bottom and a wall extending from the bottom at a periphery of the bottom; and a shell configured to encircle an outer surface of the wall. The shell may include: a pair of first shell corners configured to conform with a pair of first housing corners of the housing, a height of the first shell corners being greater than a maximum height of the housing; a pair of second shell corners configured to be spaced apart from a pair of second housing corners of the housing in a first direction, a height of the second shell corners being greater than the maximum height of the housing; a plurality of first portions configured to conform with the outer surface of the wall; a plurality of second portions configured to be spaced apart from the outer surface of the wall; and a plurality of hook portions configured to engage with an edge of the wall.
In some embodiments of this aspect, each of the second portions of the shell may bound a space between the outer surface of the wall and the shell. Each of the spaces may be configured to receive a portion of a mating connector therein. In an embodiment, the wall may include first and second longer wall portions and first and second shorter wall portions. At least one of the spaces may be located along each of the first and second longer wall portions. A first section of the shell may conform with the outer surface of the wall at the first shorter wall portion. A minimum height of the first section may be greater than a maximum height of the housing. A second section of the shell may conform with the outer surface of the wall at the second shorter wall portion. A minimum height of the second section may be greater than the maximum height of the housing.
In some embodiments of this aspect, a number of the second portions of the shell located along the first longer wall portion may be different from a number of the second portions of the shell located along the second longer wall portion. In an embodiment, the spaces may be arranged such that the electrical connector has a single mating position with the mating connector. In an embodiment, the spaces may include: a first space located along the first longer wall portion, the first space having a length greater than about half a length of the first longer wall portion in a second direction; and a plurality of second spaces located along the second longer wall portion, each of the second spaces having a length less than about a quarter of a length of the second longer wall portion in the second direction.
In some embodiments of this aspect, a height of a portion of the shell on which the hook portions are located may be approximately equal to the maximum height of the housing.
In some embodiments of this aspect, each of the first and second shell corners may have a same height.
In some embodiments of this aspect, each of the first shell corners have a first height, and each of the second shell corners have a second height different from the first height.
In some embodiments of this aspect, the wall of the housing may have first and second longer sections connected to first and second shorter sections, and the pair of first housing corners may be adjacent the first longer section of the wall. In an embodiment, the shell may include a first section that joins a first of the first shell corners to a first of the second shell corners, the shell may include a second section that joins a second of the first shell corners to a second of the second shell corners, the first section of the shell may include a portion that conforms with the first shorter section of the wall, and the second section of the shell may include a portion that conforms with the second shorter section of the wall. In an embodiment, the first section of the shell may include a portion that faces a first space corresponding to one of the second portions of the shell, and the second section of the shell may include a portion that faces a second space corresponding to another one of the second portions of the shell. In an embodiment, a boundary of the first space may include a first one of the pair of second shell corners, and a boundary of the second space may include a second one of the pair of second shell corners. In an embodiment, each of the first and second sections of the shell may include an upper edge having a curved portion, and a minimum height of the shell at the curved portions may be greater than the maximum height of the housing and less than the height of each of the first and second shell corners. In an embodiment, the shell may include a third section that joins the pair of first shell corners, the shell may include a fourth section that joins the pair of second shell corners, and a height of the third section may be greater than the maximum height of the housing. In an embodiment, the first portions of the shell may include a conforming portion that is part of the fourth section of the shell, and a height of the conforming portion of the fourth section of the shell may be the same as or within 10% of a height of a portion of the wall directly facing the conforming portion.
According to some aspects of the present technology, a method of mating a plug connector and a receptacle connector is provided. The method may comprise aligning the plug connector with the receptacle connector by bringing the plug connector into a region delimited by four corners of a protruding structure extending from a shell of the receptacle connector, the protruding structure having a height corresponding to a maximum height of the receptacle connector, engaging a bar extending from the plug connector with a first space delimited by the shell of the receptacle connector and an outer surface of a first side of a housing wall of the receptacle connector, and engaging a pair of legs extending from the plug connector with a pair of second spaces delimited by the shell of the receptacle connector and an outer surface of a second side of the housing wall of the receptacle connector, wherein the second spaces are located at corners of the shell. The method also may comprise, after the aligning, pressing the plug connector towards the receptacle connector, and engaging a plurality of hook portions of the shell with a plurality of notches located at an upper edge of the wall. The first space may be located along a first side of the receptacle connector, the second spaces may be located along a second side of the receptacle connector opposite to the first side, and the mated position may be a single position in which the plug connector aligns with the receptacle connector.
In some embodiments of this aspect, the pressing of the plug connector towards the receptacle connector may be in a direction orthogonal to the housing bottom of the receptacle connector and orthogonal to a cavity bottom of the plug connector.
In some embodiments of this aspect, the wall may be comprised of the first and second longer wall portions and first and second shorter wall portions. A first section of the shell may conform with the outer surface of the wall at the first shorter wall portion, and a second section of the shell may conform with the outer surface of the wall at the second shorter wall portion. After the pressing, a minimum height of the first section of the shell may be greater than a maximum height of the housing, and a minimum height of the second section of the shell may be greater than the maximum height of the housing.
The foregoing features may be used, separately or together in any combination, in any of the embodiments discussed herein.
Various aspects and embodiments of the present technology disclosed herein are described below with reference to the accompanying figures. It should be appreciated that the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Items appearing in multiple figures may be indicated by the same reference numeral. For the purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every figure.
The inventors have recognized and appreciated design techniques for electrical connectors that enable mated plug and receptacle connectors to occupy a small volume while providing reliable operation for high-integrity signal interconnects. Techniques and technology described herein may lead to compact yet robust connectors, which are less likely to be damaged during mating and also less likely to be inadvertently disconnected after mating, enabling compact electronic devices having high performance that is reliable.
The inventors have further recognized and appreciated that miniaturized electrical connectors are more likely to be damaged by some forces compared with other forces that can arise during use, such as when the receptacle connector is mated with the plug connector. Although it may be preferred that, during mating of the plug and receptacle connectors, force be applied in a direction parallel to an axial direction of the receptacle connector, in practice, however, a user may not pay special attention to an angle at which the plug connector is oriented with respect to the receptacle connector. Thus, the receptacle connector may be subject to an external force that is not parallel to the axial direction of the receptacle connector. Such off-axis forces can impact the receptacle connector in ways that impact the integrity of signals passing through the receptacle connector. Off-axis forces, for example, may cause the receptacle connector to tilt. In some situations, the force may be sufficient to break solder joints connecting metal terminals of the receptacle connector to a PCB. In other scenarios, the off-axis forces may deform the terminals, shift their positions or otherwise alter the signal paths through the receptacle connector in ways that degrade the integrity of signals passing through the receptacle connector.
Damage may also result if the user attempts to press the plug connector into the receptacle connector with a wrong orientation of the plug connector or with the plug connector skewed or misaligned with the receptacle connector. For example, when a user attempts to insert a misaligned plug connector, the receptacle connector may be subject to a large force, such as 55N or more. In addition to the damage to the solder connections of the metal terminals, the force may be sufficient to deform or break one or more portions of an insulative housing of the receptacle connector, including a portion bounding a receiving portion intended to receive the plug connector. The receptacle connector may then cease to be able to hold the plug connector reliably, thus creating the possibility of intermittent disconnection between the plug and receptacle connectors. Consequently, the receptacle connector may lose its functionality and, in turn, normal operation of the electronic device employing the receptacle connector may cease.
These risks of damage are greater for miniaturized connectors, such as those with terminals spaced, center to center, at 0.6 mm or less, such as connectors with a terminal spacing of 0.5 mm or less, 0.4 mm or less, or 0.35 mm or less.
The inventors also have recognized that after the plug connector is properly mated with the receptacle connector, the mated connectors may experience forces that may cause them to be inadvertently disconnected. For example, a miniaturized receptacle connector as described herein may be mounted on a central portion of a PCB forming a server or other electronic assembly. In that way, a cable, terminated by a plug connector that is inserted into the receptacle may carry signals with low loss to the central portion of the PCB, near a processor or other component that operates on high frequency signals. The cable extending from the plug connector may be arranged inside an electronic device (e.g., a server) employing the receptacle connector such that the cable imparts a twisting force on the plug connector relative to the receptacle connector. Such a twisting force may be sufficient by itself, or in combination with external forces, to cause the plug connector to disconnect from the receptacle connector. The external forces may include, for example, regular jostling and handling by a user of the electronic assembly. As will be appreciated, inadvertent disconnection of the mated connectors after the electronic assembly has been fully assembled and deployed for use may waste significant resources to troubleshoot and fix.
Aspects of the techniques and technology described herein may reduce or eliminate the possibility of improper orientation of a plug connector during a mating operation with a receptacle connector. Aspects of the techniques and technology described herein may reduce or eliminate the possibility of misalignment between the plug and receptacle connectors. Aspects of the techniques and technology described herein may minimize or eliminate the application of damaging forces during a mating operation. Such aspects may be used separately or in combination in an electrical connector.
Turning now to the figures,
For low profile applications, the plug connector 2 may be a right-angle plug connector, in which a cable extends from the plug connector 2 in a direction perpendicular to a mating direction Y of the plug connector 2, shown by the double-headed arrow in
If a low profile is not necessary or desired, the connector 1 may engage with a different type of plug connector. For example, the connector 1 may engage with a plug connector in which a cable extends parallel to the direction Y.
Details of the connector 1, according to some embodiments of the present technology, may be found in the perspective views shown in
The connector 1 may have a cavity 216 configured to receive a mating portion 4 of the plug connector 2. When the plug connector 2 is properly mated with the connector 1, terminals 650 of the connector 1, which may be exposed in the cavity 216, electrically contact corresponding terminals 6 in the plug connector 2, enabling signals to pass through the mated pair.
More specifically, mating of the plug connector 2 with the connector 1 may be achieved by moving the mating portion 4 of the plug connector 2 along the direction X into the cavity 216 of the connector 1. Proper mating may be achieved by aligning the plug connector 2 with the connector 1 such that the direction Y is coincident with direction X. In some embodiments of the present technology, both the direction Y and the direction X are perpendicular to the surface of the PCB during proper mating. Further, features of the plug connector 2 that receive corresponding features of the connector 1, and vice versa, are aligned when the directions Y and X are aligned as a common direction, such that relative motion of the plug connector 2 in the common direction brings these features into engagement. As described herein, the plug connector 2 and the connector 1 may provide features that align the connectors 1 and 2 for engagement by relative motion in the common direction (i.e., Y and X are the same), that avoid damage to one or both of the connectors 1 and 2 from force while the directions Y and X are misaligned, and that avoids inadvertent disconnection due to, e.g., twisting forces and/or external forces.
The connector 1 may include a housing assembly 200 and a shell 400. The housing assembly 200 may include an insulative housing 210 having a bottom 212 and a wall 220 extending from a periphery of the bottom 212. The bottom 212 and the wall 220 may define the cavity 216 of the housing 210. For example, the wall 220 may extend perpendicularly from the bottom 212 of the housing 210. The bottom 212 may have a generally rectangular shape, such that the wall 220 may have two longer segments 222a, 222b at front and rear sides of the connector 1, respectively, and two shorter segments 224a, 224b at left and right sides of the connector 1, respectively.
An upper edge of the wall 220 of the housing 210 may include notched portions 226, which may engage with the shell 400, as describe below. The notched portions 226 may be located on one or both of the two longer segments 222a, 222b of the wall 220.
As shown in
The shell 400 of the connector 1 may be configured to encircle an outer surface 210a of the housing 210. In some embodiments of the present technology, the shell 400 may be stamped from a sheet of metal that is formed into the shape illustrated in the drawings. Ends of that strip of metal are joined, such as by welding or brazing or via a mechanical attachment. In some embodiments, the shell 400 may fully encircle the housing 210, with portions of the shell 400 adjacent all sections of the wall 220 of the housing 210. In other embodiments, the shell 400 may have portions adjacent only some sections of the wall 220 of the housing 210 or only a portion of one section of the wall 220, so as to encircle only partially the housing 210.
As shown in
In some embodiments of the present technology, the shell 400 may have a spaced-apart portion 404 on one side (e.g., a rear side) and at least one spaced-apart portion 406 on an opposite side (e.g., a front side). The spaced-apart portions 404, 406 may be arranged such that no spaced apart portion on one side of the shell 400 is directly opposite another spaced apart portion on the opposite side of the shell. This configuration is schematically depicted by the dashed lines in
According to some embodiments of the present technology, depicted in
The rear left corner 414b of the shell 400 conforms with and abuts a rear left corner 226b of the wall 220 of the housing 210, and rear right corner 416b of the shell 400 conforms with and abuts a rear right corner 228b of the wall 220 of the housing 210.
The front left corner 414a of the shell 400 does not conform with or abut a front left corner 226a of the wall 220 of the housing 210. Instead, the front left corner 414a of the shell 400 and the front left corner 226a of the wall 220 define corners of a left one of the spaces 420 bounded by a left one of the spaced-apart portions 406, as shown in
Projection tabs 470a, 470b, 470c may extend from a lower edge of the shell 400, as shown in
An orientation of the connector 1 may be easily determined by a user via the shell 400, which may be structured to have front and rear sides that are different from each other. For example, the centrally positioned spaced-apart portion 404 on the rear longer side 412b of the shell 400 may have a height H3 that is greater than a height H2 of the spaced-apart portions 406 on the front longer side 412a of the shell 400, as shown in
The corners 414a, 414b, 416a, 416b of the shell 400 may have a height that is greater than the height H3 of the spaced-apart portion 404 on the rear longer side 412b of the shell 400. In some embodiments of the present technology, such as shown in
The front longer side 412a of the shell may have front guide portions 452a that connect the front corners 414a, 416a of the shell 400 to a part of the spaced-apart portions 406 of the shell 400 having a lower height. The rear longer side 412b of the shell 400 may have rear guide portions 452b that connect the rear corners 414b, 416b of the shell 400 to the spaced-apart portion 404 of the shell 400. As shown in
As can be seen in
In addition to facilitating alignment of the plug connector 2 with the connector 1 during a mating process and constraining movement of the plug connector 2 relative to the connector 1, the upper edges of the guide portions 452a, 452b may enable a user to recognize, for example, an orientation of the connector 1, e.g., a front side and a rear side.
An upper edge of the left shorter side 408a of the shell 400 may have a straight (horizontal) profile or a non-linear profile. Similarly, an upper edge of the right shorter side 408b of the shell 400 may have a straight profile or a non-linear profile. In some embodiments of the present technology, the non-linear profiles may be curved, as shown in
In some embodiments of the present technology, the shell 400 may be retained on the housing 210 with projections, e.g., shaped as hooks 450, such as shown in
When the shell 400 and the wall 220 are in the engaged position such that they are at the predetermined position relative to each other, a mating process for mating the plug connector 2 with the connector 1 may be performed predictably and reproducibly to achieve the mated position. The hooks 450 and the notched portions 226 may be structured to help a user confirm that the shell 400 and the housing 210 are oriented properly relative to each other during assembly of the connector 1.
As shown in
The shell 400 also may include lock holes 460 that are structured to engage with barbs 260 on the wall 220 of the housing 210 such that, when the shell 400 and the housing 210 are assembled together, the lock holes 460 and the barbs 260 prevent slipping movement of the shell 400 relative to the housing 210. For example, the shell 400 may be sufficiently resilient such that during assembly the shell 400 may flex slightly to enable to barbs 260 to snap into the lock holes 460. Each of the barbs 260 may be structured with an angled surface on one side and a ledge surface on an opposite side, which may enable the barbs 260 to snap in place easily via the angled surface during assembly, and to lock in place via the ledge surface after assembly, so that the shell 400 and the housing 210 may not be easily separated from each other.
The shell 400′ of the connector 1′ may be configured to encircle an outer surface 210a of the housing 210. In some embodiments of the present technology, the shell 400′ may be stamped from a sheet of metal that is formed into the shape illustrated in the drawings. Ends of that strip of metal may be joined, such as by welding or brazing or via a mechanical attachment. In some embodiments, the shell 400′ may fully encircle the housing 210, with portions of the shell 400′ adjacent some sections of the wall 220 of the housing 210 and with portions of the shell spaced apart from some section of the wall 220, so as to encircle only partially the housing 210.
The shell 400′ may include one or more conforming portions 402′, each of which conforms with and is adjacent the outer surface 210a of the housing 210. The shell 400′ also may include one or more spaced-apart portions 404′, 406′, each of which may be separated or spaced apart from the outer surface 210a of the housing 210 to define a space 410′, 420′ therebetween. In some embodiments, at least some of the conforming portions 402′ of the shell 400′ have a snug fit with the housing 210 when the housing 210 and the shell 400′ are assembled together.
In some embodiments of the present technology, the shell 400′ may have a spaced-apart portion 404′ on one side (e.g., a rear side) and at least one spaced-apart portion 406′ on an opposite side (e.g., a front side). similar to the shell 400. The spaced-apart portions 404′, 406′ may be arranged such that no spaced apart portion on one side of the shell 400′ is directly opposite another spaced apart portion on the opposite side of the shell. Additionally, in some embodiments, no part of the spaced-apart portion 404′ on the rear side of the shell 400′ is directly opposite any part of the spaced-apart portions 406′ on the front side. Such a structure may facilitate a “blind” mating operation, where a user may not be able to see one or both of the connectors 1′, 2 when mating the connectors 1′, 2 together, by letting the user know that there is a misalignment before the user uses any force to push the connectors 1′, 2 together.
According to some embodiments of the present technology, the shell 400′ may have six corners: a front left corner 414a′, a rear left corner 414b′, a front right corner 416a′, a rear right corner 416b′, and two additional corners, discussed below. The front and rear left corners 414a′, 414b′ are located at opposite ends of the left shorter side 408a′ of the shell 400′. The front and rear right corners 416a′, 416b′ are located at opposite ends of the right shorter side 408b′ of the shell 400′. The rear corners 414b′, 416b′ are located at opposite ends of the rear longer side 412b′ of the shell 400′. The rear left corner 414b′ of the shell 400′ conforms with and abuts a rear left corner 226b of the wall 220 of the housing 210, and rear right corner 416b′ of the shell 400′ conforms with and abuts a rear right corner 228b of the wall 220 of the housing 210.
In some embodiments of the present technology, the left shorter side 408a′ of the shell 400′ may be comprised of an upper portion 480a and a lower portion 482a. The front left corner 414a′ of the shell 400′ may be located at an end of the upper portion 480a of the left shorter side 408a′ of the shell 400′. A left conforming corner 490a of the shell 400′ may be located at an end of the lower portion 482a of the left shorter side 408a′ of the shell 400′ and may conform with the front left corner 226a of the wall 220 of the housing 210. Similarly, the right shorter side 408b′ of the shell 400′ may be comprised of an upper portion 480b and a lower portion 482b. The front right corner 416a′ of the shell 400′ may be located at an end of the upper portion 480b of the right shorter side 408b′ of the shell 400′. A right conforming corner 490b of the shell 400′ may be located at an end of the lower portion 482b of the right shorter side 408b′ of the shell 400′ and may conform with the front right corner 228a of the wall 220 of the housing 210. The spaces 420′ may not include the left and right corners 226a, 228a of the wall 220 but may be at a distance from the corners 226a, 228a of the housing 210. Thus, the left shorter side 408a′ of the shell 400′ may be comprised of a cantilevered portion that includes the front left corner 414a′ of the shell 400′, and the right shorter side 408b′ of the shell 400′ may be comprised of a cantilevered portion that includes the front right corner 416a′ of the shell 400′. The cantilevered portions of the shell 400′ may serve to guide an initial alignment of the plug connector 2 with the connector 1′ during a mating operation. For example, the cantilevered portions of the shell 400′ may enable a user to generally or roughly locate a region near the spaces 420′ in which the legs 10 of the plug connector 2 are to be inserted by locating the cantilevered portions and then using the corners 414a′, 416a′ of the cantilevered portions as references for a more precise alignment of the legs 10.
The terminal assembly 600 may include first and second terminal bars 610a, 610b and a central bar 620 that may be sandwiched between the first and second terminal bars 610a, 610b when the terminal assembly 600 is in an assembled state. Each terminal 650, (i.e., 650a, 650b) may have a mounting portion 652a, an intermediate portion 652b, and a tail 652c. The central bar 620 may be formed of an electrically lossy material.
Materials that conduct, but with some loss, or material which by another physical mechanism absorbs electromagnetic energy over the frequency range of interest are referred to herein generally as “lossy” materials. Electrically lossy materials can be formed from lossy dielectric and/or poorly conductive and/or lossy magnetic materials. Magnetically lossy material can be formed, for example, from materials traditionally regarded as ferromagnetic materials, such as those that have a magnetic loss tangent greater than approximately 0.05 in the frequency range of interest. The “magnetic loss tangent” is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of the complex electrical permeability of the material. Practical lossy magnetic materials or mixtures containing lossy magnetic materials may also exhibit useful amounts of dielectric loss or conductive loss effects over portions of the frequency range of interest.
Electrically lossy material can be formed from material traditionally regarded as dielectric materials, such as those that have an electric loss tangent greater than approximately 0.05 in the frequency range of interest. The “electric loss tangent” is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of the complex electrical permittivity of the material. Electrically lossy materials can also be formed from materials that are generally thought of as conductors, but are either relatively poor conductors over the frequency range of interest, contain conductive particles or regions that are sufficiently dispersed that they do not provide high conductivity or otherwise are prepared with properties that lead to a relatively weak bulk conductivity compared to a good conductor such as copper over the frequency range of interest.
Electrically lossy materials typically have a bulk conductivity of about 1 Siemen/meter to about 10,000 Siemens/meter and preferably about 1 Siemen/meter to about 5,000 Siemens/meter. In some embodiments of the present technology, material with a bulk conductivity of between about 10 Siemens/meter and about 200 Siemens/meter may be used. As a specific example, material with a conductivity of about 50 Siemens/meter may be used. However, it should be appreciated that the conductivity of the material may be selected empirically or through electrical simulation using known simulation tools to determine a suitable conductivity that provides a suitably low crosstalk with a suitably low signal path attenuation or insertion loss.
Electrically lossy materials may be partially conductive materials, such as those that have a surface resistivity between 1 Ω/square and 100,000 Ω/square. In some embodiments, the electrically lossy material has a surface resistivity between 10 Ω/square and 1000 Ω/square. As a specific example, the material may have a surface resistivity of between about 20 Ω/square and 80 Ω/square.
In some embodiments of the present technology, electrically lossy material is formed by adding to a binder a filler that contains conductive particles. In such an embodiment, a lossy member may be formed by molding or otherwise shaping the binder with filler into a desired form. Examples of conductive particles that may be used as a filler to form an electrically lossy material include carbon or graphite formed as fibers, flakes, nanoparticles, or other types of particles. Metal in the form of powder, flakes, fibers or other particles may also be used to provide suitable electrically lossy properties. Alternatively, combinations of fillers may be used. For example, metal plated carbon particles may be used. Silver and nickel are suitable metal plating for fibers. Coated particles may be used alone or in combination with other fillers, such as carbon flake. The binder or matrix may be any material that will set, cure, or can otherwise be used to position the filler material. In some embodiments, the binder may be a thermoplastic material traditionally used in the manufacture of electrical connectors to facilitate the molding of the electrically lossy material into the desired shapes and locations as part of the manufacture of the electrical connector. Examples of such materials include liquid crystal polymer (LCP) and nylon. However, many alternative forms of binder materials may be used. Curable materials, such as epoxies, may serve as a binder. Alternatively, materials such as thermosetting resins or adhesives may be used.
Also, while the above-described binder materials may be used to create an electrically lossy material by forming a binder around conducting particle fillers, the invention is not so limited. For example, conducting particles may be impregnated into a formed matrix material or may be coated onto a formed matrix material, such as by applying a conductive coating to a plastic component or a metal component. As used herein, the term “binder” encompasses a material that encapsulates the filler, is impregnated with the filler or otherwise serves as a substrate to hold the filler.
Preferably, the fillers will be present in a sufficient volume percentage to allow conducting paths to be created from particle to particle. For example, when fiber is used, the fiber may be present in about 3% to 50% by volume, such as in a range of 30-40%. The amount of filler may impact the conducting properties of the material.
Filled materials may be purchased commercially, such as materials sold under the trade name Celestran® by Celanese Corporation which can be filled with carbon fibers or stainless-steel filaments.
Various forms of reinforcing fiber, in woven or non-woven form, coated or non-coated may be used. Non-woven carbon fiber is one suitable material. Other suitable materials, such as custom blends as sold by RTP Company, can be employed, as the present invention is not limited in this respect.
In some embodiments, a lossy portion may be manufactured by stamping a preform or sheet of lossy material. Alternatively, a lossy insert may be separately molded and inserted into a connector.
Lossy portions also may be formed in other ways. In some embodiments, a lossy portion may be formed by interleaving layers of lossy and conductive material such as metal foil. These layers may be rigidly attached to one another, such as through the use of epoxy or other adhesive, or may be held together in any other suitable way. The layers may be of the desired shape before being secured to one another or may be stamped or otherwise shaped after they are held together. As a further alternative, lossy portions may be formed by plating plastic or other insulative material with a lossy coating, such as a diffuse metal coating.
As another example, a lossy portion may be formed by attaching a metal skeleton to conductors, such as ground conductors, within a connector. Such connections may be formed by welding, for example. A lossy portion may thereafter be attached to the metal skeleton.
Referring to
The mounting portion 652a may be considered a fixed end of the terminal 650, because the mounting portion 652a is intended to be fixed to, e.g., a PCB (not shown). In contrast, the tail 652c may be considered a distal free end of the terminal 650, because the tail 652c is not constrained but instead may move in response to a force applied to various portions of the terminal 650, including a force applied by the plug connector 2 when mated to the connector 1 in which the terminal 650 is disposed. For example, the mounting portions 652a may extend through the first and second terminal bars 610a, 610b, such that the mounting portions 652a may be externally exposed on the housing assembly 200 to enable connections (e.g., solder connections) to be made to the mounting portions 652a, as depicted in
The terminals 650 may be arranged in two parallel rows sandwiching the central bar 620 in between. The mounting portions 652a of the terminals 650 may be configured to hook away from the central bar 620. The terminals 650 may be molded in place in the first and second terminal bars 610a, 610b to form the two parallel rows. Alternatively, the first and second terminal bars 610a, 610b may be positioned respectively against the terminals 650 to hold the terminals 650 in place in the two parallel rows.
The central bar 620 may include a support portion 622, which may extend along a length of the central bar 620, and projections 624 that extend laterally from the central bar 620 and that are structured to come into contact with the ground terminals 650b. For example, each of the ground terminals 650b in the two parallel rows on the first and second terminal bars 610a, 610b may be separated from another of the ground terminals 650b in the same row by a pair of signal terminals 650a; the projections 624 may be structured to contact the intermediate portions 652b of the ground terminals 650b, but may not connect the signal terminals 650a.
The intermediate portions 652b and the tails 652c may extend into an interior cavity of the island 240 such that a segment of each of the terminals 650 may be exposed through the channels or slots 244 in the island 240 and may make contact with corresponding terminals in the plug connector 2.
Each of the first and second terminal bars 610a, 610b may include projections 612 structured to be received in openings 614 in the central bar 620. For example, the projections 612 of the first terminal bar 610a may be staggered relative to the projections 612 of the second terminal bar 610b, such that two adjacent openings 614 may receive one projection 612 from the first terminal bar 610a and one projection 612 from the second terminal bar 610b. When the terminal assembly 600 is in an assembled state, the projections 612 in the openings 614 may act to prevent displacement or shifting of the terminals 650.
As described herein, in some embodiments of the present technology, the plug connector 2 may have features that, during mating of the plug and receptacle connectors, fit within the spaces 410, 420 defined by the spaced-apart portions 404, 406 of the shell 400. These features may extend past the mating portion 4 of the plug connector 2, along the direction Y (see
More specifically, the spaces 410, 420 defined by the spaced-apart portions 404, 406 of the shell 400 may be structured to receive protrusions of the plug connector 2. For example, the spaces 420 may be configured to receive legs 10 of the plug connector 2 therein; and the space 410 may be configured to receive a bar-shaped member 8 of the plug connector 2 therein. The spaced apart portions 404, 406 enable a user to align the plug connector 2 properly with the connector 1 before using force to mate the two connectors 1, 2 together. That is, the user may use the spaced apart portions 404, 406 of the connector 1 and the legs 10 and the bar-shaped member 8 of the plug connector 2 to achieve a general alignment during an initial part of a mating operation. Once alignment is achieved, the user may be confident that force used to push the two connectors 1, 2 together into a final mated position will not damage either of the two connectors 1, 2. As noted above,
As noted above, the conforming portions 402 of the shell 400 may include a part of each of the left and right shorter sides 408a, 408b of the shell 400. In some embodiments of the present technology, some or all of the left and right shorter segments 224a, 224b of the wall 220 conform with or abut the left and right shorter sides 408a, 408b of the shell 400. Also as noted above, portions of the left and right shorter sides 408a, 408b of the shell 400 and may define the spaced-apart portions 406 of the shell 400. The conforming portions 402 may be disposed along one or both of the front and rear longer segments 222a, 222b of the wall 220. Optionally, the shell 400 may include one or more spaced-apart portion(s) (not shown) disposed along one or both of the left and right shorter segments 224a, 224b of the wall 220.
Various embodiments of the connector 1 disclosed herein include guide portions 452a, 452b at four corners of the shell 400. As can be seen in, e.g.,
An electrical connector according to the technology described herein may be embodied in different configurations. Example configurations include combinations of configurations (1) through (21), as follows:
An electrical connector according to the technology described herein may be embodied in different configurations. Example configurations include combinations of configurations (22) through (37), as follows:
Methods of mating a plug connector and a receptacle connector according to the technology described herein may be include various processes. Example methods include combinations of processes (38) through (40), as follows:
It should be understood that various alterations, modifications, and improvements may be made to the structures, configurations, and methods discussed above, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed herein. Further, although advantages of the present invention are indicated, it should be appreciated that not every embodiment of the invention will include every described advantage. Some embodiments may not implement any features described as advantageous herein. Accordingly, the foregoing description and attached drawings are by way of example only.
It should be understood that some aspects of the present technology may be embodied as one or more methods, and acts performed as part of a method of the present technology may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than shown and/or described, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown and/or described as sequential acts in various embodiments.
Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the description and the claims to modify an element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one element over another, or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one element or act having a certain name from another element or act having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the elements or acts.
All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.
The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “equal” or “the same” in reference to two values (e.g., distances, widths, etc.) means that two values are the same within manufacturing tolerances. Thus, two values being equal, or the same, may mean that the two values are different from one another by ±5%.
The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e., “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.
Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Use of terms such as “including,” “comprising,” “comprised of,” “having,” “containing,” and “involving,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
The terms “approximately” and “about” if used herein may be construed to mean within ±20% of a target value in some embodiments, within ±10% of a target value in some embodiments, within ±5% of a target value in some embodiments, and within ±2% of a target value in some embodiments. The terms “approximately” and “about” may equal the target value.
The term “substantially” if used herein may be construed to mean within 95% of a target value in some embodiments, within 98% of a target value in some embodiments, within 99% of a target value in some embodiments, and within 99.5% of a target value in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the term “substantially” may equal 100% of the target value.
The present application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/057,373 filed Jul. 28, 2020, entitled “COMPACT ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR”, the entire contents of which is incorporated by reference herein.
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