The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector having a desirable insertion and removal force.
An electrical connector in the related art includes a body having a mating cavity, two buckling elastic sheets disposed at two sides of the body and used for buckling a mating connector, and a metal casing disposed outside the body. The buckling elastic sheet generally has a fixing portion fixed to the body, a first contact portion extending forward from the fixing portion, protruding and stretching into the mating cavity to elastically buckle the mating connector, and a second contact portion bent and extending forward from the first contact portion and toward the metal casing. When the mating connector is inserted into the mating cavity, the first contact portion elastically buckles the mating connector, and the second contact portion presses against the metal casing. In this case, formed elastic buckling force arms separately have a first force arm and a second force arm, the first force arm is located between the fixing portion and the first contact portion, and the second force arm is located between the first contact portion and the second contact portion.
However, the buckling elastic sheet, the first force arm and the second force arm of this structure all affect the buckling force of the first contact portion, so the stability of buckling to the mating connector by the first contact portion is easily decreased. When the electrical connector and the mating connector are instantaneously mated, the buckling elastic sheet is easily instantaneously broken, thereby affecting the whole performance of the electrical connector.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
In one aspect, the present invention is directed to an electrical connector that has a desirable insertion and removal force by adding a support point.
In one embodiment, an electrical connector for mating with a mating connector includes an insulation body having a mating portion and a mating cavity, multiple terminals fixed in the insulation body, a casing framing the insulation body, and a conducting sheet disposed between the casing and the mating portion. The mating portion protrudes forward from the insulation body. The mating cavity for the mating connector to be inserted therein is depressed from a front end of the mating portion. The multiple terminals are disposed in the mating cavity, and used for mating with the mating connector. The conducting sheet has a fixing portion. An elastic support portion is bent and extends from a side of the fixing portion. A first contact portion extends forward from the elastic support portion, passes through the mating portion, and protrudes and stretches into the mating cavity. The elastic support portion urges against the casing to serve as a supporting point, and the first contact portion is used for further pressing against the mating connector. A second contact portion additionally extends from the fixing portion to press against the casing, so as to be grounded.
In one embodiment, when the mating connector is not inserted into the mating cavity, the elastic support portion contacts the casing.
In one embodiment, when the mating connector is not inserted into the mating cavity, the elastic support portion does not contact the casing.
In one embodiment, the elastic support portion is bent and extends toward the casing from the fixing portion.
In one embodiment, an urging portion protrudes from two sides of the conducting sheet, is disposed between the elastic support portion and the fixing portion, and urges against the mating portion.
In one embodiment, the conducting sheet is provided with a stopping portion, and the stopping portion is stopped at the mating portion and disposed between the first contact portion and the elastic support portion.
In one embodiment, at least one side of the mating portion is provided with a holding slot in communication with the mating cavity. A front end of the holding slot is provided with a protruding portion, and the conducting sheet is disposed at the holding slot.
In one embodiment, the electrical connector further includes a middle shielding sheet disposed in the insulation body. The fixing portion and the middle shielding sheet are connected and integrally formed.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to an electrical connector for mating with a mating connector.
In one embodiment, an electrical connector includes an insulation body having a mating portion and a mating cavity, multiple terminals fixed in the insulation body, a casing framing the insulation body, and a conducting sheet disposed between the casing and the mating portion. The mating portion protrudes forward from the insulation body. The mating cavity is depressed from a front end of the mating portion and used for the mating connector to be inserted therein. The mating portion is provided with multiple receiving slots which are separately in communication with the mating cavity, and the multiple receiving slots are separately arranged above and below the mating cavity. The multiple terminals are disposed at the multiple receiving slots. At least one part of each of the terminals is exposed to the mating cavity, and used for mating with the mating connector. The conducting sheet has a fixing portion. An elastic support portion is bent and extends from a side of the fixing portion. A first contact portion extends forward from the elastic support portion, passes through the mating portion, and protrudes and stretches into the mating cavity. The elastic support portion urges against the casing to serve as a supporting point, the first contact portion is used for further pressing against the mating connector. A second contact portion additionally extends from the fixing portion to press against the casing, so as to be grounded.
In one embodiment, when the mating connector is not inserted into the mating cavity, the elastic support portion contacts the casing.
In one embodiment, when the mating connector is not inserted into the mating cavity, the elastic support portion does not contact the casing.
In one embodiment, the elastic support portion is bent and extends toward the casing from the fixing portion.
In one embodiment, an urging portion protrudes from two sides of the conducting sheet, is disposed between the elastic support portion and the fixing portion, and urges against the mating portion.
In one embodiment, the conducting sheet is provided with a stopping portion, and the stopping portion is stopped at the mating portion and disposed between the first contact portion and the elastic support portion.
In one embodiment, at least one side of the mating portion is provided with a holding slot in communication with the mating cavity. A front end of the holding slot is provided with a protruding portion, and the conducting sheet is disposed at the holding slot.
In one embodiment, the electrical connector further includes a middle shielding sheet disposed in the insulation body. The fixing portion and the middle shielding sheet are connected and integrally formed.
Compared with the related art, certain embodiments of the present invention, among other things, have the following beneficial advantages.
The conducting sheet has an elastic support portion used for pressing against the casing and forming a supporting point, so that the first contact portion further buckles the mating connector. In this case, a force arm affecting the elastic buckling force of the first contact portion is only an elastic segment between the elastic support portion and the first contact portion, and therefore the conducting sheet can be effectively prevented from being instantaneously broken. Meanwhile, because the distance between the elastic support portion and the first contact portion is less than the distance between the retaining portion and the first contact portion, the insertion and removal force arm of the first contact portion is reduced, thereby increasing the insertion and removal force of the conducting sheet.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications therein may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment.
The present invention is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the invention are now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Moreover, titles or subtitles may be used in the specification for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present invention.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom” and “upper” or “top,” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of the other elements. The exemplary term “lower”, can therefore, encompasses both an orientation of “lower” and “upper,” depending of the particular orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms “below” or “beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below.
As used herein, “around”, “about” or “approximately” shall generally mean within 20 percent, preferably within 10 percent, and more preferably within 5 percent of a given value or range. Numerical quantities given herein are approximate, meaning that the term “around”, “about” or “approximately” can be inferred if not expressly stated.
As used herein, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”, “involving”, and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to.
The description will be made as to the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in
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In summary, the electrical connector 100 according to certain embodiments of the present invention, among other things, has the following beneficial advantages.
(1) Each of the conducting sheets 5 has an elastic support portion 52 used for pressing against the casing 2 and forming a supporting point, so that the first contact portion 51 further buckles the mating connector 200. In this case, the force arm affecting the elastic buckling force of the first contact portion 51 is only an elastic segment between the elastic support portion 52 and the first contact portion 51, and therefore the conducting sheet 5 can be effectively prevented from being instantaneously broken. Meanwhile, when mating with the mating connector 200, the elastic support portion 52 may elastically glide front and back relative to the casing 2, thereby driving the first contact portion 51 to elastically glide front and back, such that the conducting sheets 5 keeps stable elastic contact with both the casing 2 and the mating connector 200 during mating process.
(2) Each of the conducting sheets 5 is provided with a fixing portion 56, an elastic support portion 52 is bent and extends from the fixing portion 56, and a first contact portion 51 extends forward from the elastic support portion 52. Because the distance between the elastic support portion 52 and the first contact portion 51 is less than the distance between the fixing portion 56 and the first contact portion 51, the insertion and removal force arm of the conducting sheet 5 is reduced, and the insertion and removal force of the conducting sheet 5 is effectively increased, so as to prevent the mating connector 200 from loosing and falling off due to the elastic fatigue occurring after the conducting sheet 5 is frequently inserted and removed.
(3) After the electrical connector 100 and the mating connector 200 are mated, the first contact portion 51 buckles the mating connector 200, and the mating connector 200 presses each of the conducting sheet 5, so that the elastic support portion 52 contacts the casing 2. In this case, the electromagnetic interference generated between the first and second terminal groups 3 and 4 may be directly subjected to grounding by the elastic support portion 52 without being grounded by means of the second contact portion 53, so as to shorten the return grounding path of the electromagnetic interference signal. Meanwhile, both the elastic support portion 52 and the second contact portion 53 contact the casing 2, so as to increase the contact area of the conducting sheet 5 and the casing 2, and effectively alleviate the electromagnetic interference (EMI) problem of the electrical connector 100, such that the electrical connector 100 better implements high frequency transmission.
(4) Each of the conducting sheets 5 is provided with a stopping portion 54 between the first contact portion 51 and the elastic support portion 52, and the stopping portion 54 is stopped at the corresponding holding slot 123, so as to prevent the conducting sheet 5 from excessively stretching into the mating cavity 120 due to elastic failure after frequent insertion and removal.
(5) The insulation piece 6 is disposed at the groove 122 and sandwiched between the insulation body 1 and the casing 2, so as to prevent the first and second insertion portions 321 and 421 from contacting the casing 2, which causes a short circuit.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments are chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to activate others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e), U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/024,728, filed Jul. 15, 2014, entitled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR,” by Ted Ju, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Some references, if any, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this invention. The citation and/or discussion of such references, if any, is provided merely to clarify the description of the present invention and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the invention described herein. All references listed, cited and/or discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62024728 | Jul 2014 | US |