Patent Grant
10644421
The invention generally relates to an electrical connector assembly.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Similar elements in the various embodiments presented share the last two digits of the reference number.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.
Currently, connector bodies used in electrical connectors for high frequency signals, e.g. those used for high speed data transmission, are machined or injected molded using a low dielectric/low dissipation factor plastic material to form the connector bodies. The terminal cavities within the connector bodies are accurately machined or molded via high pressure high temperature injection molding machine processes using ejector pins. The external features of the connector bodies are formed from the mold tooling e.g. hard tooling. These molding and/or machining processes cannot create captive features, sealed internal features, or “blind” features in the molded connector body. Typically captive features in molded plastic parts are considered voids and are rejected. The typical voids in plastic parts are random is size, shape and location and are thus considered defects.
The connector bodes of high speed electrical connectors typically have uniform low dielectric constant and dissipation factor properties. Additives introduced into the engineered plastic material forming the connector body, e.g. polyamide (PA or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), to enhance the plastic physical properties, e.g. glass or ceramic fillers, are not uniformly distributed in the molded plastic and can degrade rather than enhance high speed performance of the connector assembly. Therefore, high speed connector designs have been restricted in plastic material choices to higher costs plastic material, e.g. amorphous fluoroplastics, that may have desirable dielectric characteristics but do to have optimal mechanical characteristics.
A proposed innovative solution to the plastic material limitations, and the associated design limitations with these plastic materials, can be provided by including cavities or voids filed with air or another dialectical material that are precisely sized and located within connector bodies that are formed of typical engineered plastics using additive manufacturing methods and practices.
The sealed chamber 112 may be formed within the connector body 110 by using an automated additive manufacturing process, such as 3D printing, stereolithography, digital light processing, fused deposition modeling, fused filament fabrication, selective laser sintering, selecting heat sintering, multi-jet modeling, multi-jet fusion, electronic beam melting, and laminated object manufacturing, to form the connector body 110. The sealed chamber 112 can be economically formed because the automated additive manufacturing process does not require access paths for molding or machining tools.
The connector body 110 is disposed within a conductive shield 116 that is connected to the shielding conductor 118 of the coaxial cable 106. The assembly 100 is interconnected to a mating coaxial electrical connector assembly 120 having a mating socket terminal 122 connected to another coaxial cable 124 disposed within a mating connector body 126 surrounded by a mating shield 128. While the mating connector body 126 shown in
Accordingly, an assembly 100, 200 having a connector body 110, 210 with a chamber 112, 212 configured to tune the dielectric properties of the assembly 100, 200 is provided. The chamber 112, 212 allows the use of lower cost plastic material to form the connector body 110, 210 while still providing dielectric properties that allow high frequency operation of the assembly 100, 200. Use of additive manufacturing processes to form the connector body provides the additional benefit of a sealed chamber that has more stable dielectric characteristics since the second dielectric material in the chamber cannot change due to atmospheric changes or introduction of environmental contaminants into the chamber.
While this invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiments thereof, it is not intended to be so limited, but rather only to the extent set forth in the claims that follow. For example, the above-described embodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to configure a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Dimensions, types of materials, orientations of the various components, and the number and positions of the various components described herein are intended to define parameters of certain embodiments, and are by no means limiting and are merely prototypical embodiments.
Many other embodiments and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the following claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
As used herein, ‘one or more’ includes a function being performed by one element, a function being performed by more than one element, e.g., in a distributed fashion, several functions being performed by one element, several functions being performed by several elements, or any combination of the above.
It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. are, in some instances, used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a first contact, without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments. The first contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the same contact.
The terminology used in the description of the various described embodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
As used herein, the term “if” is, optionally, construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” is, optionally, construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],” depending on the context.
Additionally, while terms of ordinance or orientation may be used herein these elements should not be limited by these terms. All terms of ordinance or orientation, unless stated otherwise, are used for purposes distinguishing one element from another, and do not denote any particular order, order of operations, direction or orientation unless stated otherwise.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200006878 A1 | Jan 2020 | US |
