Patent Grant
11929579
The present disclosure generally relates to electrical connectors and electronic devices containing the electrical connector. In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to an electrical connector comprising a ground plate located between horizontally extending portions of contacts of a first contact group and horizontally extending portions, downwardly extending portions and terminal portions of contacts of a second contact group in addition to between contacting portions and the horizontally extending portions of the contacts of the first contact group and contacting portions and the horizontally extending portions of the contacts of the second group in order to suppress crosstalk between the contacts of the first contact group arranged on an upper side and the contacts of the second contact group arranged on a lower side, and an electronic device comprising the electrical connector.
In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to an electrical connector comprising two contacts for transmitting a differential signal, each of which has a narrow pitch portion approaching from one of the two contacts toward the other one of the two contacts in order to suppress crosstalk due to the two contacts, and an electronic device comprising the electrical connector.
In yet another aspect, the present disclosure relates to an electrical connector which can suppress crosstalk due to two contacts constituting a signal contact pair for transmitting a differential signal in an area where an opening of a ground plate is formed even if the ground plate has the opening facing the two contacts, and an electronic device comprising the electrical connector.
Conventionally, electrical connectors have been used for electrically connecting an electronic device and another electronic device. In order to obtain an electrical connection between the electronic device and the other electronic device, two types of electrical connectors are used in combination. Namely, one of the two types of the electrical connector is a receptacle connector which is mounted on a circuit board provided in a housing of the electronic device and whose insertion port is exposed toward the outside of the electronic device from a through-hole formed in the housing of the electronic device and the other one of the two types of the electrical connector is a plug connector inserted into the insertion port of the receptacle connector.
Further, as electronic devices have downsized in recent years, needs for miniaturization of the electrical connectors increase. For responding to the needs for the miniaturization of the electrical connectors, a USB Type-C standard has been proposed (see patent documents 1 and 2). An electrical connector conforming to the USB Type-C standard employs a vertically symmetrical design. This design enables to insert a plug connector (a corresponding connector) of the USB Type-C standard into a receptacle connector of the USB Type-C standard regardless of the vertical orientation of each connector.
For example,
Each of the first contact group 830U and the second contact group 830L contains two high frequency signal contact pairs each constituted of two contacts for transmitting a high frequency differential signal with respect to a corresponding connector, a normal signal contact pair constituted of two normal signal contacts for transmitting a normal frequency differential signal with respect to the corresponding connector and a plurality of non-signal contacts used for other purposes than signal transmission.
The housing 850 contains a top housing 850T integrally molded with the first contact group 830U and a bottom housing 850B integrally molded with the second contact group 830L and the ground plate 840. The top housing 850T is obtained by insert-molding the plurality of contacts 830 to be arranged on the first contact plane with an insulating resin material. Similarly, the bottom housing 850B is obtained by insert-molding the plurality of contacts 830 to be arranged on the second contact plane and the ground plate 840 to be arranged on the ground plate plane with the insulating resin material.
The waterproof sealing portion 860 is formed in the housing 850 by filling the housing 850 with an elastomer material through filling openings 870 of the top housing 850T and the bottom housing 850B in a state that a lower surface of the top housing 850T and an upper surface of the bottom housing 850B have been closely contacted with each other to liquid-tightly seal the inside of the housing 850. After that, the top housing 850T and the bottom housing 850B are over-molded to obtain the housing 850.
A receptacle connector such as the electrical connector 800 conforming to the USB Type-C standard is very compact and has a short separation distance between the contacts 830 of the first contact group 830U and the contacts 830 of the second contact group 830L. Therefore, there is a problem of crosstalk occurring between the upper and lower contacts 830 when currents flow in the contacts 830 of the first contact group 830U and the contacts 830 of the second contact group 830L. In the receptacle connector conforming to the USB Type-C standard, the ground plate 840 is arranged between the contacts 830 of the first contact group 830U and the contacts 830 of the second contact group 830L in order to suppress the crosstalk.
On the other hand, in order to form the waterproof sealing portion 860 in the housing 850 for liquid-tightly sealing the inside of the housing 850, it is necessary to fill the elastomer material within the housing 850 when the elastomer material is filled into the housing 850 through the filling openings 870 of the top housing 850T and the bottom housing 850B. In order to ensure flowability of the elastomer material in the housing 850, flow openings 841 are formed in the ground plate 840.
As shown in
As described above, in the electrical connector 800 of the prior art, there is the area, where the ground plate 840 does not exist, between the contacts 830 of the first contact group 830U and the contacts 830 of the second contact group 830L. Thus, there is a problem that crosstalk between the contacts 830 of the first contact group 830U and the contacts 830 of the second contact group 830L cannot be suppressed in this area and electrical characteristics of the electrical connector 800 cannot be improved.
Further, the differential signals each having a predetermined frequency or more respectively flow in the high frequency signal contact pairs and the normal signal contact pairs among the contacts 830 of the first contact group 830U and the contacts 830 of the second contact group 830L. Therefore, an influence of the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contact pairs and the normal signal contact pairs for transmitting the differential signals are particularly large. Thus, in order to improve the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector 800, it is particularly necessary to suppress the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contact pairs and the normal signal contact pairs.
However, even if the ground plate 840 as described above is used, it is difficult to completely eliminate the influence of the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contact pairs and the normal signal contact pairs.
Furthermore, there is no metal members for suppressing the crosstalk between the upper and lower contacts 830 in areas where the flow openings 841 of the ground plate 840 are formed. Thus, it is impossible to suppress the crosstalk between the upper and lower contacts 830 in these areas. In particular, the influences of the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contact pairs and the normal signal contact pairs in these areas are large. Thus, there is a problem that the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector 800 deteriorate.
In recent years, the amount of data transmitted and received using a connector such as the electrical connector 800 has increased due to improvement in computation capability of a processor, increase in capacity of a storage device such as a memory and improvement in a communication speed. Thus, a frequency of the differential signal transmitted by the high frequency signal contact pair especially tends to increase. As the frequency of the differential signal transmitted by the high frequency signal contact pair increases, the influence of the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contact pair also increases. The increase in the influence of the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contact pair deteriorates the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector 800. Therefore, in particular, there are needs of a technique for suppressing the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contact pair.
The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems. A first object of the present disclosure is to provide an electrical connector which can effectively suppress the crosstalk between the first contact group arranged on the upper side and the second contact group arranged on the lower side, and an electronic device comprising the electrical connector.
A second object of the present disclosure is to provide an electrical connector which can suppress the crosstalk due to the two contacts for transmitting the differential signal, and an electronic device comprising the electrical connector.
A third object of the present disclosure is to provide an electrical connector which can suppress the crosstalk due to the two contacts in the area where the opening is formed even if the ground plate has the opening facing the two contacts constituting the signal contact pair for transmitting the differential signal, and an electronic device comprising the electrical connector.
Such objects are achieved by the following present disclosures. In particular, the first object of the present disclosure is achieved by the present disclosures according to the following (1) to (9).
(1) An electrical connector which can engage with a corresponding connector inserted from a tip side thereof, comprising:
(2) The electrical connector according to the above (1), wherein the ground plate contains:
(3) The electrical connector according to the above (2), wherein the second ground plate piece further extends so as to be located between the downwardly extending portions of the contacts of the first contact group and the downwardly extending portions and the terminal portions of the contacts of the second contact group.
(4) The electrical connector according to the above (2) or (3), wherein the second ground plate piece is separated from the first ground plate piece, and
(5) The electrical connector according to any one of the above (2) to (4), further comprising a shield member located outside the housing, and
(6) The electrical connector according to the above (2) or (3), wherein the second ground plate piece and the first ground plate piece are electrically connected to each other.
(7) The electrical connector according to any one of the above (2) to (6), wherein the housing contains a top housing for holding the first contact group and the second ground plate piece and a bottom housing for holding the second contact group and the first ground plate piece.
(8) The electrical connector according to the above (7), wherein the second ground plate piece includes a flat plate-like body portion and a pair of protruding portions formed on both end portions of the body portion in a width direction of the body portion perpendicular to the insertion and extraction direction of the corresponding connector so as to upwardly extend from the body portion,
(9) An electronic device comprising:
Further, the second object of the present disclosure is achieved by the present disclosures according to the following (10) to (22).
(10) An electrical connector which can engage with a corresponding connector inserted from a tip side thereof, comprising:
(11) The electrical connector according to the above (10), wherein each of the contacts of the contact group has a contacting portion which is located on the tip side and to be contacted with the corresponding connector, a horizontally extending portion horizontally extending from the contacting portion toward a base side, a downwardly extending portion downwardly extending from the horizontally extending portion and a terminal portion extending from the downwardly extending portion toward the base side, and
(12) The electrical connector according to the above (10) or (11), wherein the ground plate has an opening facing the two contacts of the signal contact pair, and
(13) The electrical connector according to the above (12), wherein a width between the narrow pitch portions of the two contacts of the signal contact pair is smaller than a width of the opening of the ground plate.
(14) The electrical connector according to the above (12) or (13), wherein the signal contact pair of the contact group contains a normal signal contact pair constituted of two normal signal contacts for transmitting a normal frequency differential signal and a high frequency signal contact pair constituted of two high frequency signal contacts for transmitting a high frequency differential signal whose frequency is higher than a frequency of the normal frequency differential signal, and
(15) The electrical connector according to any one of the above (10) to (14), wherein the narrow pitch portion has an approaching portion approaching from the one of the two contacts toward the other one of the two contacts and a straight portion extending from the approaching portion along the insertion and extraction direction.
(16) The electrical connector according to the above (15), wherein a length of the straight portion of the narrow portion of each of the two contacts of the signal contact pair is equal to or larger than twice a width of the contact.
(17) The electrical connector according to the above (15) or (16), wherein a separation distance between the straight portions of the narrow pitch portions of the two contacts of the signal contact pair is equal to or smaller than 1.5 times a width of the contact.
(18) An electrical connector which can engage with a corresponding connector inserted from a tip side thereof, comprising:
(19) The electrical connector according to the above (18), wherein the ground plate has an opening facing the two contacts of the signal contact pair of each of the first contact group and the second contact group, and
(20) The electrical connector according to the above (19), wherein the narrow pitch portion of each of the two contacts of the signal contact pair of the first contact group does not face the opening of the ground plate, and
(21) The electrical connector according to the above (19) or (20), wherein the signal contact pair of each of the first contact group and the second contact group contains a normal signal contact pair constituted of two normal signal contacts for transmitting a normal frequency differential signal and a high frequency signal contact pair constituted of two high frequency signal contacts for transmitting a high frequency differential signal whose frequency is higher than a frequency of the normal frequency differential signal, and
(22) An electronic device comprising:
Further, the third object of the present disclosure is achieved by the present disclosures according to the following (23) to (31).
(23) An electrical connector which can engage with a corresponding connector inserted from a tip side thereof, comprising:
(24) The electrical connector according to the above (23), wherein a separation distance between outer side surfaces of the two signal contacts of the signal contact pair of the second contact group in the area facing the opening of the ground plate is smaller than the width of the opening of the ground plate.
(25) The electrical connector according to the above (23) or (24), wherein a center between the two signal contacts of the signal contact pair of the first contact group in a width direction of the two signal contacts of the first contact group, a center between the two signal contacts of the signal contact pair of the second contact group in a width direction of the two signal contacts of the second contact group and a center of the opening of the ground plate in a width direction of the ground plate coincide with each other.
(26) The electrical connector according to the above (24) or (25), wherein the separation distance between the outer side surfaces of the two signal contacts of the signal contact pair of the second contact group in the area facing the opening of the ground plate is smaller than a separation distance between outer side surfaces of other portions of the two signal contacts of the signal contact pair of the second contact group.
(27) The electrical connector according to any one of the above (23) to (26), wherein the opening of the ground plate is a flow opening for ensuring flowability of an elastomer material in the housing when the elastomer material is filled into the housing to form a waterproof sealing portion in the housing for liquid-tightly sealing an inside of the housing.
(28) The electrical connector according to the above (27), wherein the housing contains a top housing and a bottom housing, and
(29) The electrical connector according to the above (27) or (28), wherein the waterproof sealing portion blocks a water penetration path from the tip side to a base side in the housing and liquid-tightly seals the inside of the housing.
(30) The electrical connector according to any one of the above (23) to (29), wherein the signal contact pair of each of the first contact group and the second contact group contains a normal signal contact pair constituted of two normal signal contacts for transmitting a normal frequency differential signal and a high frequency signal contact pair constituted of two high frequency signal contacts for transmitting a high frequency differential signal whose frequency is higher than a frequency of the normal frequency differential signal, and
(31) An electronic device comprising:
In the electrical connector of the present disclosure, the ground plate is located between the horizontally extending portions of the contacts of the first contact group and the horizontally extending portions, the downwardly extending portions and the terminal portions of the contacts of the second contact group in addition to between the contacting portions and the horizontally extending portions of the contacts of the first contact group and the contacting portions and the horizontally extending portions of the contacts of the second contact group. As described above, the ground plate of the electrical connector of the present disclosure is also located in the area where the ground plate of the prior art is not located and the crosstalk between the contacts of the first contact group and the contacts of the second contact group cannot be suppressed in the prior art. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively suppress the crosstalk between the contacts of the first contact group and the contacts of the second contact group and thus it is possible to improve the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector.
Further, in the electrical connector of the present disclosure, each of the two signal contacts constituting the signal contact pair for transmitting the differential signal has the narrow pitch portion approaching from one of the two signal contacts toward the other one of the two signal contacts. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the crosstalk in the narrow pitch portions of the signal contacts and thus it is possible to improve the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector.
Further, according to the present disclosure, even if the ground plate has the opening facing the two contacts constituting the signal contact pair for transmitting the differential signal, it is possible to suppress the crosstalk due to the two contacts in the area where the opening of the ground plate is formed and thus it is possible to improve the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector.
Hereinafter, description will be given to an electrical connector and an electronic device of the present disclosure based on certain embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. In this regard, the drawings referenced in the following description are schematic views prepared for explaining the present disclosure. A dimension (such as a length, a width and a thickness) of each component shown in the drawings is not necessarily identical to an actual dimension. Further, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements. Hereinafter, a positive direction of the Z axis in the drawings is sometimes referred to as “a tip side”, a negative direction of the Z axis in the drawings is sometimes referred to as “a base side”, a positive direction of the Y axis in the drawings is sometimes referred to as “an upper side”, a negative direction of the Y axis in the drawings is sometimes referred to as “a lower side”, a positive direction of the X axis in the drawings is sometimes referred to as “a front side” and a negative direction of the X axis in the drawings is sometimes referred to as “a rear side”. Further, the Z direction is sometimes referred to as “an insertion and extraction direction of a corresponding connector”.
First, an electrical connector according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to
An electrical connector 1 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure shown in
The electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured to conform to the specifications defined by the USB Type-C standard. Thus, the electrical connector 1 contains a first contact group 21U and a second contact group 21L which are arranged respectively on an upper surface and a lower surface of an insulating housing 23 and symmetrically faces in the vertical direction through a ground plate 22. The electrical connector 1 has various features for suppressing crosstalk between contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L. In particular, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured so that the ground plate 22 is further located in an area where a metal member such as a ground plate is not located in the prior art. Thus, it is possible to effectively suppress the crosstalk between the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L.
Further, in the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure, each of two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting either one of two high frequency signal contact pairs CP1 contained in each of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L has a narrow pitch portion 216 approaching from one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A toward the other one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A and a narrow pitch section 217 is formed by the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A as shown in
Further, in the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure, the ground plate 22 has flow openings 2215 each facing the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pairs CP1 of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L (see
As shown in
As shown in
Each of the plurality of contacts 21 has a rod-like shape linearly extending along the Z axis direction. Each of the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U has a contacting portion 211U located on the tip side (the +Z direction side) and to be contacted with a corresponding contact of the corresponding connector, a horizontally extending portion 212U which horizontally extends from the contacting portion 211U toward the base side (the −Z direction side), a downwardly extending portion 213U which downwardly extends from the horizontally extending portion 212U, a terminal portion 214U which extends from the downwardly extending portion 213U toward the base side and a tie-bar cut mark 215U which is formed by punching a connecting portion with tie-bar cut method. The connecting portion had connected the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U with each other at the time when the top housing 23T is insert-molded.
The contacting portion 211U of each of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U contacts with the corresponding contact of the corresponding connector when the corresponding connector is inserted into the electrical connector 1 from the tip side through a tip side opening of the shell 3 in a state that the electrical connector 1 is assembled. At this time, the corresponding connector and the electrical connector 1 take an engaged state to provide the electrical connection between the corresponding connector and the electrical connector 1. The horizontally extending portion 212U of each of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U horizontally extends from a base end of the contacting portion 211U toward the base side (the −Z direction side). The horizontally extending portion 212U is embedded in the top housing 23T and thus the contact 21 is fixedly held by the top housing 23T. The contacting portion 211U and the horizontally extending portion 212U are located on the first contact plane.
The downwardly extending portion 213U of each of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U extends downwardly (in the −Y direction) from a base end of the horizontally extending portion 212U. As shown in
The tie-bar cut mark 215U of each of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U is formed by the tie-bar cutting method performed after the top housing 23T has been insert-molded. At the time of insert-molding the top housing 23T, the plurality of contacts 21 are connected to each other by the connecting portions in order to prevent a positional shift and an inclination of the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U in the top housing 23T. Thus, after the top housing 23T has been insert-molded, the tie-bar cut method is performed to punch the connecting portions connecting the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U with each other and separate the plurality of contacts 21 from each other. The tie-bar cut mark 215U of each of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U is a remaining portion of the connecting portion punched by the tie-bar cut method.
Further, the plurality of contacts 21 constituting the first contact group 21U contain two high frequency signal contact pairs CP1 each constituted of two high frequency signal contacts 21A for transmitting a high frequency differential signal with respect to the corresponding connector, a normal signal contact pair CP2 constituted of two normal signal contacts 21B for transmitting a normal frequency differential signal with respect to the corresponding connector and a plurality of non-signal contacts 21C used for some purposes other than signal transmission.
Each of the two high frequency signal contact pairs CP1 is constituted of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A which are adjacent to each other. The two high frequency signal contact pairs CP1 are respectively located on both sides in a width direction of the electrical connector 1 (in the X axis direction in the figure). Furthermore, the non-signal contacts 21C are respectively arranged on both sides of each of the two high frequency signal contact pairs CP1. In
The normal signal contact pair CP2 is constituted of the two normal signal contacts 21B for transmitting the normal frequency differential signal with respect to the corresponding connector. The normal signal contact pair CP2 is arranged between the two high frequency signal contact pairs CP1. In addition, the non-signal contacts 21C are respectively arranged on both sides of the normal signal contact pair CP2. Each of the non-signal contacts 21C respectively arranged on both sides of the normal signal contact pair CP2 is an identification contact used for transmitting signals for identifying the electrical connector 1.
As described above, the first contact group 21U contains some kinds of contacts 21 used for various purposes. According to the USB Type-C standard, a separation distance (pitch) between the contacting portions 211U of the plurality of contacts 21 must be equal to each other (must be an equal pitch). Further, a pitch length of each of the contacting portions 211U of the plurality of contacts 21 is also strictly determined by the USB Type-C standard. Furthermore, a separation distance between the terminal portions 214U of the plurality of contacts 21 is appropriately set from viewpoints of execution accuracy of connections (for example, soldering connections) with respect to the circuit board of the electronic device, prevention of short-circuiting between the contacts 21 and the like.
The two adjacent high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 are used for transmitting the high frequency differential signal. Thus, high frequency signals directed in opposite directions respectively flows in the two adjacent high frequency signal contacts 21A. As is well known in the electromagnetic field, a direction of a noise caused by a current flowing in a conductor depends on a direction of the current flowing in the conductor. Thus, when a pair of conductors in which currents respectively flow in the opposite directions is arranged so as to be close to each other, influences against other contacts 21 due to noises caused by the currents respectively flowing in the pair of conductors cancel each other.
As shown in
The narrow pitch portion 216 of each of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A has two approaching portions 2161 approaching from one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A toward the other one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A and a straight portion 2162 horizontally extending between the two approaching portions 2161 in an extension direction of the high frequency signal contact 21A (which is equivalent to the insertion and extraction direction of the corresponding connector, that is the Z direction).
As described above, the separation distance (the pitch) between the contacting portions 211U of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A is determined by the USB Type-C standard and the separation distance between the terminal portions 214U is appropriately set from the viewpoints of the execution accuracy of the connections (for example, the soldering connections) with respect to the circuit board of the electronic device, the prevention of short-circuiting between the contacts 21 and the like. Thus, the narrow pitch section 217 cannot be formed in the contacting portion 211U and/or the terminal portion 214U as long as the electrical connector 1 conforms to the USB Type-C standard. Therefore, in the electrical connector 1 of the present embodiment, the narrow pitch section 217 is formed in the horizontally extending portion 212U because there is no limitation with respect to the horizontally extending portion 212U from the viewpoints of conforming to the standard of USB Type-C, the execution accuracy and the prevention of short-circuiting between the contacts 21 and the like and thus there is freedom in design for the horizontally extending portion 212U.
In the narrow pitch section 217, a separation distance between the straight portions 2162 of the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A is smaller than a separation distance between other portions of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A. As described above, the high frequency differential signal, i.e., the currents flowing in the opposite directions respectively flows in the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1. Thus, directions of the noises caused by the currents respectively flowing in the two high frequency signal contacts 21A are different from each other. Therefore, influences of the noises against the other contacts 21 cancel each other. In particular, the separation distance between the straight portions 2162 of the narrow pitch portions 216 is smaller than the separation distance between the other portions. Thus, in the narrow pitch section 217, the influences of the noises caused by the currents respectively flowing in the two high frequency signal contacts 21A (differential signal) against the other contacts 21 cancel each other. Therefore, in the narrow pitch section 217, the influences of the noises caused by the currents (the differential signal) respectively flowing in the two high frequency signal contacts 21A against the other contacts 21 become smaller than influences of noises caused by the currents flowing in the other portions against the other contacts 21.
As is well known, crosstalk between two contacts 21 arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other (for example, the contact 21 of the first contact group 21U and the contact 21 of the second contact group 21L which are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction) is caused from a fact that a current flowing in one of the two contacts 21 affects the other one of the two contacts 21 and thus a current is generated in the other one of the two contacts 21 by an electromagnetic induction. Therefore, in order to suppress the crosstalk between the two contacts 21, it is useful to absorb or reduce the influence of the current flowing in one of the two contacts 21.
In the narrow pitch section 217, the separation distance between the straight portions 2162 of the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A is smaller than the separation distance between the other portions of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A. Thus, the influences of the noises caused by the currents (the differential signal) respectively flowing in the two high frequency signal contacts 21A against the other contacts 21 cancel each other. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contacts 21A in the narrow pitch section 217.
Further, as is clear from
Similarly, a length (length in the Z direction) of the straight portion 2162 of the narrow pitch portion 216 of each of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A is as long as possible from the viewpoint of suppressing the crosstalk. However, the length of the straight portion 2162 is appropriately set because a length of the contacting portion 211U (a length in the Z-direction) is determined by the USB Type-C standard and a length of the entire electrical connector 1 is limited in order to mount the electrical connector 1 within the electronic device. However, although it depends on the overall size of the electrical connector 1 and the design balance of the electrical connector 1 such as the width, the length and the thickness of each contact 21, the length of the straight portion 2162 may be equal to or larger than twice the width (the length in the X direction) of the high frequency signal contact 21A or equal to or larger than five times the width of the high frequency signal contact 21A in order to substantially obtain the crosstalk suppressing effect by the narrow pitch section 217.
As described above, in the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure, each of the two adjacent high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 has the narrow pitch portion 216 approaching from one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A toward the other one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A and the narrow pitch section 217 is formed by the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contacts 21A in the narrow pitch section 217.
As is well known, the influence of the crosstalk becomes large as the frequency of the signal flowing in the contact 21 increases. Therefore, in the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure, each of the high frequency signal contacts 21A in which the high frequency differential signal flows has the narrow pitch portion 216 approaching from one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A toward the other one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A and the narrow pitch section 217 is formed by the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A. Thus, it is possible to suppress the crosstalk between the plurality of contacts 21 more effectively than a case of providing the narrow pitch portions 216 at the two adjacent contacts 21 other than the two adjacent high frequency signal contacts 21A. Although each of the normal signal contacts 21B does not have such narrow pitch portion 216 in the illustrated embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, an aspect in which each of the normal signal contacts 21B has such narrow pitch portion 216 as is the case with the high frequency signal contacts 21A is also involved within the scope of the present disclosure.
As shown in
However, a length of each of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L is shorter than a length of each of the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U. Further, the horizontally extending portion 212L of each of the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L has an outwardly extending portion 2121 outwardly extending from a center of the electrical connector 1 in the width direction (the X direction). Thus, as shown in
Each of functions of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L is the same as that of each of the functions of the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U described above. Specifically, similar to the first contact group 21U, the second contact group 21L contains two high frequency signal contact pairs CP1 each constituted of two high frequency signal contacts 21A for transmitting the high frequency differential signal with respect to the corresponding connector, a normal signal contact pair CP2 constituted of two normal signal contacts 21B for transmitting the normal frequency differential signal with respect to the corresponding connector and a plurality of non-signal contacts 21C used for the purposes other than the signal transmission. Arrangement for the high frequency signal contacts 21A, the normal signal contacts 21B and the non-signal contacts 21C is the same as that of the first contact group 21U.
Similar to the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 of the first contact group 21U, each of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 of the second contact group 21L has the narrow pitch portion 216 approaching from one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A toward the other one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A and the narrow pitch section 217 is formed by the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A.
In this regard, since the outwardly extending portion 2121 is formed at a base side portion of the horizontally extending portion 212L of the high frequency signal contact 21A of the second contact group 21L, the narrow pitch portion 216 of the high frequency signal contact 21A of the second contact group 21L is constituted of one approaching portion 2161 and the straight portion 2162.
The first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L are arranged so that the contacting portions 211U of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the contacting portions 211L of the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L are vertically symmetric through the ground plate 22 when they are viewed from the front side of the electrical connector 1 (from the side of the corresponding connector).
Further, the contacting portions 211U, 211L and tip end portions of the horizontally extending portions 212U, 212L (portions located on the tip side than the outwardly extending portions 2121 of the horizontally extending portions 212L of the second contact group 21L) of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L face each other through the ground plate 22. The crosstalk between the contacts 21 vertically facing each other as described above adversely affects the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector 1.
As described above, the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contacts 21A for transmitting the high frequency differential signal significantly affects the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector 1. In the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure, each of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 of each of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L has the narrow pitch portion 216 approaching from one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A toward the other one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A and the narrow pitch section 271 is formed by the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contacts 21A in the narrow pitch section 217 and thus it is possible to improve the electrical characteristics of the electrical connector 1.
As shown in
The body portion 2211 of the first ground plate piece 221 is provided on the upper surface of the bottom housing 23B of the housing 23 so as to be parallel to the planes (the first contact plane and the second contact plane) in which the plurality of contacts 21 are arranged. Further, the body portion 2211 has a plurality of positioning holes 2213 through which pins for positioning the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L are passed when the bottom housing 23B of the housing 23 is insert-molded so as to hold the second contact group 21L and the first ground plate piece 221, a plurality of tie-bar cut holes 2214 for performing the tie-bar cut method to punch the connecting portions connecting the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L (that is, the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L are connected to each other after the bottom housing 23B of the housing 23 has been insert-molded) to separate the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L from each other and a plurality of flow openings 2215 for ensuring the flowability of the elastomer material within the housing 23 when the elastomer material is filled into the housing 23 for forming the waterproof sealing portion 24 in the housing 23 in a state that the top housing 23T and the bottom housing 23B of the housing 23 have been closely contacted to each other.
The positioning holes 2213 are formed in the body portion 2211 for enabling to respectively pass the positioning pins through the positioning holes 2213 for positioning the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L at the time of insert-molding the bottom housing 23B so as to hold the second contact group 21L and the first ground plate piece 221. In this regard, the positioning pins for positioning the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L may be passed through the tie-bar cut holes 2214 and the flow openings 2215 in addition to through the positioning holes 2213 when the bottom housing 23B is insert-molded. The number, positions and shapes of the positioning holes 2213 in the body portion 2211 are not particularly limited and these matters are appropriately set as necessary at the time of insert-molding the bottom housing 23B.
The tie-bar cut holes 2214 are formed in the body portion 2211 in order to perform the tie-bar cut method for punching the connecting portions of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L (that is, the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L are connected to each other by the connecting portions after the bottom housing 23B has been insert-molded) to separate the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L from each other. As described above, the positioning for the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L with the positioning pins is performed when the bottom housing 23B is insert-molded. In order to more accurately perform the positioning for the plurality of contacts 21, for instance, the plurality of contacts 21 are held in a state that base end portions of the plurality of contacts 21 are connected to each other at the time of insert-molding the bottom housing 23B. Thus, the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L are connected to each other by the connecting portions provided at the horizontally extending portions 212L at the time of insert-molding the bottom housing 23B. In the illustrated embodiment, the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 and the two non-signal contacts 21C respectively located on the left and right sides of the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 among the plurality of contacts 21 constituting the second contact group 21L are connected to each other by the connecting portions. Thus, a first contact assembly and a second contact assembly are respectively constituted. Specifically, in
The tie-bar cut method is performed to punch the connecting portions of the four connected contacts 21 of the first contact assembly, the second contact assembly and the third contact assembly to separate the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L from each other after the bottom housing 23B has been insert-molded. The plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L are separated from each other by the tie-bar cut method subjected to the four contacts 21 constituting each of the first contact assembly, the second contact assembly and the third contact assembly. As a result, the tie-bar cut mark 215L is formed at each of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L.
The tie-bar cut method is further performed on the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U. Similar to the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L, the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U constitute a first contact assembly, a second contact assembly and a third contact assembly at the time of insert-molding the top housing 23T so as to hold the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U. After the top housing 23T has been insert-molded, the connecting portions of the four contacts 21 constituting each of the first contact assembly, the second contact assembly and the third contact assembly are punched by performing the tie-bar cut method through the openings formed in the top housing 23T to separate the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U from each other. As a result, the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U are separated from each other and the tie-bar cut mark 215U is formed at each of the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U.
The flow openings 2215 are used for filling the elastomer material into the housing 23 in the state that the lower surface of the top housing 23T and the upper surface of the bottom housing 23B of the housing 23 have been closely contacted with each other to form the waterproof sealing portion 24 (see
The waterproof sealing portion 24 encloses the portion of each of the plurality of contacts 21 therein in a state that the waterproof sealing portion 24 closely contacts with the portion of each of the plurality of contacts 21 in the housing 23. Thus, an inside of the housing 23 is liquid-tightly sealed by the waterproof sealing portion 24 and the waterproof sealing portion 24 can prevent water from penetrating into the housing 23 from the tip side toward the base side. As described above, the waterproof sealing portion 24 is located between the tip side and the base side in the housing 23 to block a water penetration path from the tip side to the base side in the housing 23. Thus, the waterproof sealing portion 24 can provide a waterproof function in the housing 23.
In the state that the lower surface of the top housing 23T of the housing 23 and the upper surface of the bottom housing 23B have been closely contacted with each other, the elastomer material is filled into the housing 23 through filling openings 233 of the top housing 23T and the bottom housing 23B (see
The flow openings 2215 are formed at positions respectively facing the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L. In order to improve adhesion of the waterproof sealing portion 24 with respect to the portions of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L, it is necessary to make the elastomer material closely contact with an entire circumference of each of the portions of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L located on the lower side of the flow openings 2215 when the elastomer material is filled into the housing 23 through the filling openings 233 of the top housing 23T and the bottom housing 23B. If the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L overlap with the first ground plate piece 221 in areas where the contacts 21 should face the flow openings 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221 when they are viewed in planar view, the entire circumference of each of the portions of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L cannot be held by a molding tool (not shown) in the areas where the contacts 21 should face the flow openings 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221 when the bottom housing 23B is insert-molded. As a result, when the bottom housing 23B is inserted-molded, the insulating resin material for forming the bottom housing 23B flows around each of the portions of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L in the areas where the contacts 21 should face the flow openings 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221. Thus, the entire circumference of each of the portions of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L cannot be exposed due to the insulating resin material for forming the bottom housing 23B. In this case, when the waterproof sealing portion 24 is formed, it is impossible to form a space for allowing the elastomer material to closely contact with the entire circumference of each of the portions of the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L. For this reason, in the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure, it is necessary to completely expose the portions of the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L with respect to the flow openings 2215 in the areas where the contacts 21 face the flow openings 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221.
For example, as shown in
Further, as shown in
Referring back to
The body portion 2221 is a plate-like member located on the ground plane on the base side than the body portion 2211 of the first ground plate piece 221. The body portion 2221 of the second ground plate piece 222 is provided so as not to contact with the body portion 2211 of the first ground plate piece 221. Thus, there is a small space between the body portion 2211 of the first ground plate piece 221 and the body portion 2221 of the second ground plate piece 222 on the ground plane. As described above, since the pair of protruding portions 2222 and the pair of electrically contacting portions 2223 of the second ground plate piece 222 are provided so as not to contact with the first ground plate piece 221, the second ground plate piece 222 is separated from the first ground plate piece 221 and is not electrically connected to the first ground plate piece 221 directly.
The pair of protruding portions 2222 extend toward the upper side (the +Y direction side) from the both end portions of the body portion 2221 in the width direction thereof (the X direction). By respectively inserting the pair of protruding portions 2222 into press-fitting grooves 234 formed on the lower surface of the top housing 23T (see
The pair of electrically contacting portions 2223 respectively extend toward the outer side from the both end portions of the body portion 2221 in the width direction thereof (the X direction). An outer profile of each of the electrically contacting portions 2223 is adapted to fit the inner surface of the shield member 4 (see
As shown in
The ground plate 22 of the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure includes the second ground plate piece 222 in addition to the first ground plate piece 221 used in the prior art. As described above, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured so that the second ground plate piece 222 of the ground plate 22 is located in an area where a metal member such as a ground plate is not located in the prior art. More specifically, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured so that the second ground plate piece 222 of the ground plate 22 is located between the horizontally extending portions 212U of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the horizontally extending portions 212L, the downwardly extending portions 213L and the terminal portions 214L of the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively suppress the crosstalk between the upper and lower contacts 21.
As shown in
The tongue portion 232 has a plurality of positioning holes 2321 through which the pins for positioning the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U are passed when the top housing 23T is insert-molded and a plurality of tie-bar cut holes 2322 for performing the tie-bar cut method for punching the connecting portions of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U (that is, the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U are connected to each other by the connecting portions at the time of insert-molding the top housing 23T) to separate the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U from each other.
As shown in
The tongue portion 232 of the bottom housing 23B has a plurality of positioning holes 2321 which are respectively formed at positions corresponding to the positioning holes 2213 of the first ground plate piece 221 and through which the pins for positioning the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L are passed when the bottom housing 23B is insert-molded and a plurality of tie-bar cut holes 2214 which are respectively formed at positions corresponding to the tie-bar cut holes 2214 of the first ground plate piece 221 for performing the tie-bar cut method for punching the connecting portions of the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L (that is, the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L are connected to each other by the connecting portions at the time of insert-molding the bottom housing 23B) to separate the plurality of contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L from each other.
As shown in
After the lower surface of the top housing 23T and the upper surface of the bottom housing 23B have been closely contacted with each other, the elastomer material is filled into the housing 23 through the filling openings 233 of the top housing 23T and the bottom housing 23B. The elastomer material filled into the housing 23 flows in the housing 23 through the flow openings 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221. Then, the waterproof sealing portion 24 is formed in the housing 23 by curing the elastomer material. The inside of the housing 23 is liquid-tightly sealed by the waterproof sealing portion 24 and the waterproof sealing portion 24 can prevent water from penetrating into the housing 23 from the tip side toward the base side.
After the waterproof sealing portion 24 has been formed, over-molding is subjected to the top housing 23T and the bottom housing 23B in order to integrate the top housing 23T and the bottom housing 23B. As a result, the outer mold 25 is formed. The top housing 23T and the bottom housing 23B are integrated by the outer mold 25. Further, as shown in
After the housing 23 has been formed so as to hold the first contact group 21U, the second contact group 21L, the first ground plate piece 221, the second ground plate piece 222 and the waterproof sealing portion 24 therein, the inner waterproof sealing member 26 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the outer mold 25. As a result, the inner structure 2 can be obtained.
As shown in
As shown in
Further, as shown in
However, in the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure, the narrow pitch sections 217 each formed by the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two adjacent high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U are located so as to bridge over the body portion 2211 of the first ground plate piece 221 and the body portion 2221 of the second ground plate piece 222. As described above, in the narrow pitch section 217, the influences of the noises caused by the two high frequency signal contacts 21A against the other contacts 21 cancel each other. Thus, the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contact 21A is suppressed in the narrow pitch section 217. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the crosstalk between the upper and lower high frequency signal contacts 21A between the first ground plate piece 221 and the second ground plate piece 222.
On the other hand, as shown in
As described above, the narrow pitch portion 216 of each of the two adjacent high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U is formed so as to bridge over both of the body portion 2211 of the first ground plate piece 221 and the body portion 2221 of the second ground plate piece 222, whereas the narrow pitch portion 216 of each of the two adjacent high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L is formed so as to face the flow opening 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221. Thus, in the planar view as shown in
As described above, in order to fill the elastomer material into the housing 23 to form the waterproof sealing portion 24 in the housing 23, the flow openings 2215 are formed in the first ground plate piece 221. However, since there is no metal member for absorbing the influences of the currents flowing in the contacts 21 in areas where the flow openings 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221 are formed, it is impossible to suppress the crosstalk in the areas. In order to solve this problem, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure has a structural feature described in the following description for suppressing the crosstalk in the areas where the flow openings 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221 are formed.
Further, in the area where the high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow opening 2215, a center of a space between the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U in the width direction, a center of a space between the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L in the width direction and a center of the flow opening 2215 in the width direction coincide with each other. Namely, in the area where the high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow opening 2215, the center of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U, the center of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L coincide with the center of the flow opening 2215.
As is clear from
The separation distance W1 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U is larger than the width W3 of the flow opening 2215. Thus, the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U are not completely exposed to the flow opening 2215 and outer portions of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U partially face the body portion 2211 of the first ground plate piece 221. Thus, most of the influences of the currents flowing in the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U are absorbed by the body portion 2211 of the first ground plate piece 221 in the area where the two high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow openings 2215. Therefore, in the area where the two high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow opening 2215, it is possible to suppress the crosstalk due to the currents flowing in the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U.
On the other hand, each of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 of the second contact group 21L has the narrow pitch portion 216 at the position facing the flow opening 2215 as described above and thus the narrow pitch section 217 of the high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L is formed at the position facing the flow opening 2215. Therefore, in the area where the high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow opening 2215, the separation distance W2 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L is smaller than the separation distance W1 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U.
As described above, in the narrow pitch section 217, the influences of the noises caused by the two high frequency signal contacts 21A against the other contacts 21 cancel each other. Thus, the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contacts 21A can be suppressed in the narrow pitch section 217. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the crosstalk due to the high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L in the area where the high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow opening 2215.
In the above description, the relationship among the separation distance W1 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting one of the high frequency signal contact pairs CP1 of the first contact group 21U, the separation distance W2 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting one of the high frequency signal contact pairs CP1 of the second contact group 21L and the width W3 of the flow opening 2215 facing them has been described with reference to
As described above, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured so that the separation distance W1 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U is different from the separation distance W2 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L in the area where the high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow openings 2215. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the crosstalk between the upper and lower high frequency signal contacts 21A in the area where the flow opening 2215 is formed.
Further, in the area where the high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow opening 2215, the separation distance W2 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L is smaller than the width W3 of the flow opening 2215. Thus, the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L are completely exposed to the flow opening 2215. Therefore, when the elastomer material is filled into the housing 23 through the filling openings 233 of the top housing 23T and the bottom housing 23B to form the waterproof sealing portion 24 in the housing 23, it is possible to improve the adhesion of the waterproof sealing portion 24 with respect to the portions of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L as described above and thus it is possible to improve the waterproof performance in the housing 23.
As described above, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure contains the inner structure 2 having the various features for suppressing the crosstalk between the plurality of contacts 21. In particular, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured so that the second ground plate piece 222 of the ground plate 22 is located in the area where the metal member such as a ground plate is not located in the prior art. More specifically, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured so that the second ground plate piece 222 of the ground plate 22 is located between the horizontal extending portions 212U of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the horizontal extending portions 212L, the downwardly extending portions 213L and the terminal portions 214L of the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the crosstalk between the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L.
Furthermore, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured so that each of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A constituting the high frequency signal contact pair CP1 of each of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L has the narrow pitch portion 216 approaching from one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A toward the other one of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A and the narrow pitch section 217 is formed by the narrow pitch portions 216 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A. By forming the narrow pitch portion 216 in each of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A, it is possible to suppress the crosstalk due to the two high frequency signal contacts 21A in the narrow pitch section 217.
Furthermore, the electrical connector 1 of the present disclosure is configured so that the separation distance W1 between the outer side surfaces of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the first contact group 21U is larger than the width W3 of the flow opening 2215 and the narrow pitch section 217 of the two high frequency signal contacts 21A of the second contact group 21L is formed so as to face the flow opening 2215 in the area where the high frequency signal contacts 21A face the flow opening 2215 of the first ground plate piece 221. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the crosstalk between the upper and lower high frequency signal contacts 21A in the area where the flow opening 2215 is formed.
Referring back to
The locking portion 32 is a ring-shaped portion formed so as to protrude from the tip end portion of the outer periphery of the body portion 31 toward the outside. The locking portion 32 has a function of locking the outer waterproof sealing member 5, which is provided so as to cover the tip end portion of the outer periphery of the body portion 31, from the tip side. In the shell 3, an outer diameter of a portion where the locking portion 32 is formed (an outer diameter of the locking portion 32) is larger than an outer diameter of the other portion where the locking portion 32 is not formed (an outer diameter of the body portion 31).
The shield member 4 has a function of covering the shell 3 and the plurality of contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the second contact group 21L and the ground plate 22 (the first ground plate piece 221 and the second ground plate piece 222) of the inner structure 2 from the outside to provide electromagnetic shielding (EMC) for these components.
The shield member 4 is made of a metal material. The shield member 4 has a cylindrical shape corresponding to the shell 3. In a state that the shield member 4 has been attached to the shell 3, a space is formed between a tip end portion of the shield member 4 and the locking portion 32 of the shell 3 and the outer waterproof sealing member 5 is attached to this space. As shown in
Referring back to
Next, an electrical connector according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to
Hereinafter, the electrical connector 1 of the second embodiment will be described by placing emphasis on the points differing from the electrical connector 1 of the first embodiment with the same matters being omitted from the description. The electrical connector 1 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of the electrical connector 1 of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the second ground plate piece 222 is modified.
Since the body portion 2221 and the pair of protruding portions 2222 are the same as those of the second ground plate piece 222 of the first embodiment, description for the body portion 2221 and the pair of protruding portions 2222 is omitted. On the other hand, the pair of electrically contacting portions 2223 of the second ground plate piece 222 of the present embodiment extend toward the tip side (the +Z direction side) from the both end portions of the body portion 2221 in the width direction thereof. As shown in
As shown in
In the first embodiment, any metal member for absorbing the influences of the currents flowing in the contacts 21 does not exist between the downwardly extending portions 213U of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the downwardly extending portions 213L and the terminal portions 214L of the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L. On the other hand, the extending portion 2224 exists between the downwardly extending portions 213U of the contacts 21 of the first contact group 21U and the downwardly extending portions 213L and the terminal portions 214L of the contacts 21 of the second contact group 21L in the present embodiment. Thus, it is possible to more effectively suppress the crosstalk between the upper and lower contacts 21.
Although the electrical connector of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the illustrated embodiments, an electronic device comprising the above-described electrical connector of the present disclosure is also involved within the scope of the present disclosure. The electronic device of the present disclosure contains a housing, a circuit board (not shown) provided in the housing and the electrical connector described above, which is mounted on the circuit board.
Although the electrical connector and the electronic device of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Each configuration of the present disclosure can be replaced with any configuration capable of performing the same function or any configuration can be added to each configuration of the present disclosure.
For example, although the second ground plate piece 222 is attached to the top housing 23T by respectively press-fitting the pair of protruding portions 2222 into the pair of press-fitting grooves 234 formed on the lower surface of the top housing 23T after the top housing 23T has been insert-molded in each embodiment of the electrical connector 1, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the top housing 23T may be formed so as to hold the first contact group 21U and the second ground plate piece 222 by the insert-molding method.
A person having ordinary skills in the art and the technique pertaining to the present disclosure may modify the configuration of the electrical connector of the present disclosure described above without meaningfully departing from the principle, the spirit and the scope of the present disclosure and the electrical connector having the modified configuration is also involved in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, an aspect in which the electrical connectors of the first embodiment and the second embodiment are arbitrary combined is also involved within the scope of the present disclosure.
Also, the number and types of the components of the electrical connector shown in
In addition,
The following claims particularly point out certain combinations and sub-combinations regarded as novel and non-obvious. These claims may refer to “an” element or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof. Such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. Other combinations and sub-combinations of the disclosed features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of the present claims or through presentation of new claims in this or a related application. Such claims, whether broader, narrower, equal, or different in scope to the original claims, also are regarded as included within the subject matter of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-191574 | Oct 2019 | JP | national |
| 2019-191575 | Oct 2019 | JP | national |
| 2019-191576 | Oct 2019 | JP | national |
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/657,321, entitled, “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE,” and filed on Mar. 30, 2022. U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/657,321 is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/062,488, entitled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE”, and filed on Oct. 2, 2020. U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/062,488 claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-191574 filed on Oct. 18, 2019, Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-191575 filed on Oct. 18, 2019, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-191576 filed on Oct. 18, 2019. The entire contents of each of the above-listed applications are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
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