Some references, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, are cited and discussed in the description of this disclosure. The citation and/or discussion of such references is provided merely to clarify the description of the present disclosure and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the disclosure described herein. All references cited and discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference were individually incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector in which terminals are conveniently and stably mounted in an insulating body.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Nowadays, electrical connectors have been used in various fields of life. With the development of science and technology, the demand for electrical connectors is increasing, and the requirement for the stability of signal transmission of electrical connectors is also gradually improved. Thus, it is increasingly important to ensure the stability of signal transmission of electrical connectors.
An existing electrical connector is mounted to a circuit board. The electrical connector includes an insulating body, where multiple accommodating holes run through the upper and lower surfaces of the insulating body. Multiple terminals are connected to a first strip upward. Multiple electrical conductors are connected to a second strip upward. The terminals are respectively mounted into the accommodating holes downward from top, and the electrical conductors are respectively mounted into the accommodating holes downward from top. Each of the accommodating holes accommodates a terminal and an electrical conductor. Each of the accommodating holes is provided with a position limiting portion for limiting the terminal from moving downward excessively, and a protruding block for limiting the electrical conductor from moving downward excessively. After the terminals and the electrical conductors are respectively mounted at the predetermined positions of the accommodating holes, the first strip and the second strip are removed to form the electrical connector.
When the electrical connector is mounted and soldered to the circuit board, the terminals and the electrical conductors are soldered to the circuit board via a solder and simultaneously downward abut the circuit board. Since no structure is provided in the accommodating holes to limit the terminals and the electrical conductors from moving upward, the circuit board generates an upward resisting force toward the terminals and the electrical conductors, and the terminals and the electrical conductors move upward. Thus, both the terminals and the electrical conductors cannot be accurately positioned on the circuit board, and the molten solder cannot sufficiently flow back to the soldered sections of the terminals and the soldered sections of the electrical conductors, such that both the terminals and the electrical conductors are not stably soldered to the circuit board. In an extreme case, the terminals and the electrical conductors may be both detached from the circuit board, causing the phenomena of empty soldering and missing soldering.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need to design a new electrical connector exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
In view of the above deficiencies, the present invention is directed to an electrical connector, in which a terminal and an electrical conductor in the same accommodating hole are both connected downward to strips, such that the terminal and the electrical conductor can be stably fixed to an insulating body and reliably mounted on a circuit board to ensure the stability of signal transmission.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions.
An electrical connector includes an insulating body, wherein at least one accommodating hole runs through the insulating body vertically, and each of the at least one accommodating hole has a stopping portion and a position limiting portion; wherein each of the at least one accommodating hole accommodates a terminal and an electrical conductor, and the terminal is in contact with the electrical conductor; wherein the terminal upward abuts the stopping portion, and the terminal is configured to be connected to a first strip downward and is mounted into the accommodating hole upward from bottom; and wherein the electrical conductor upward abuts the position limiting portion, and the electrical conductor is configured to be connected to a second strip downward and is mounted into the accommodating hole upward from bottom.
In certain embodiments, the terminal is provided with at least one first strip connecting portion connected to the first strip, and an orthogonal projection of the stopping portion downward from top partially overlaps with a projection of the first strip connecting portion.
In certain embodiments, the accommodating hole is further provided with a stopping block, the terminal has a base accommodated in the accommodating hole, the base bends and extends to form a blocking portion, and the blocking portion upward abuts the stopping block.
In certain embodiments, the terminal has a first elastic arm extending upward and a second elastic arm extending downward, the first elastic arm is in contact with a mating component, at least one first abutting portion extends from the first elastic arm toward the electrical conductor, the first abutting portion is in contact with the electrical conductor, at least one second abutting portion extends from the second elastic arm to the electrical conductor, and the second abutting portion is in contact with the electrical conductor.
In certain embodiments, the first elastic arm has a first contact portion; before the mating component presses the first contact portion, the first abutting portion and the electrical conductor in contact with each other have a first contact position; and after the mating component presses the first contact portion, the first abutting portion and the electrical conductor in contact with each other have a second contact position.
In certain embodiments, the electrical conductor has a main body portion, an extending portion extends from the main body portion, the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion are in contact with the extending portion, and the main body portion is configured to be soldered to a circuit board.
In certain embodiments, the extending portion has a second strip connecting portion connected to the second strip, and the second strip connecting portion is located above the main body portion.
In certain embodiments, the second elastic arm is in contact with the main body portion; before the circuit board upward abuts the main body portion, the second abutting portion and the extending portion in contact with each other have a third contact position; and after the circuit board upward abuts the main body portion, the second abutting portion and the extending portion in contact with each other have a fourth contact position.
In certain embodiments, the first elastic arm has two first contact portions, a first slot is provided between the two first contact portions, the two first contact portions are both in contact with the mating component, the second elastic arm has two second contact portions, and a second slot is provided between the two second contact portions.
In certain embodiments, the first slot runs through a plate thickness of the first elastic arm and extends to the first abutting portion, and the second slot runs through a plate thickness of the second elastic arm and extends to the second abutting portion.
In certain embodiments, the terminal is provided with at least one first strip connecting portion connected to the first strip, the second elastic arm has a second contact portion, and the second contact portion is lower than the first strip connecting portion.
In certain embodiments, the electrical conductor is protrudingly provided with a protruding portion and a resisting portion, the position limiting portion upward abuts the resisting portion, and the position limiting portion downward abuts the protruding portion.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions.
An electrical connector includes an insulating body, wherein at least one accommodating hole runs through the insulating body vertically; wherein each of the at least one accommodating hole accommodates a terminal and an electrical conductor, and the terminal is in contact with the electrical conductor; wherein the terminal is configured to be electrically connected to a mating component, and is configured to be connected to a first strip downward and is mounted into the accommodating hole upward from bottom; and wherein the electrical conductor is configured to be conductively connected to a circuit board, and is configured to be connected to a second strip downward and is mounted into the accommodating hole upward from bottom.
In certain embodiments, the accommodating hole is provided with a stopping portion and a position limiting portion, the stopping portion stops the terminal downward, and the position limiting portion stops the electrical conductor downward.
In certain embodiments, the terminal has a base accommodated in the accommodating hole, a first elastic arm extends upward from the base, the first elastic arm has at least one contact portion conductively connected to the mating component, a first abutting portion extends downward from each of the at least one contact portion, a second elastic arm extends downward from the base, the second elastic arm has a second contact portion in contact with the electrical conductor, and a second abutting portion extends upward from the second contact portion; each electrical conductor has a main body portion, the main body portion is electrically connected to the circuit board, the main body portion is in contact with the second contact portion, an extending portion extends from the main body portion, and the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion are in contact with the extending portion.
In certain embodiments, the accommodating hole is protrudingly provided with a stopping block, the first elastic arm has a blocking portion, and the stopping block abuts the blocking portion to limit the terminal from moving downward.
Compared with the related art, the electrical connector according to certain embodiments of the present invention has the beneficial effects:
The accommodating hole has the stopping portion and the position limiting portion. The base is connected to the first strip downward, and the electrical conductor is connected to the second strip downward, such that the terminal and the electrical conductor are both mounted into the accommodating hole upward from bottom. The base upward abuts the stopping portion upward and thus does not excessively move upward, and the electrical conductor upward abuts the position limiting portion and thus does not excessively move upward, thereby ensuring that the terminal and the electrical conductor are accurately positioned on the insulating body and the circuit board. During soldering, the solder sufficiently flows back to the soldering section of the terminal and the soldering section of the electrical conductor to ensure that both the terminal and the electrical conductor are stably soldered to the circuit board, thereby avoiding the phenomena of empty soldering and missing soldering and further ensuring the stability of signal transmission.
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 disclosure and together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment, and wherein:
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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To sum up, the electrical connector 10 according to certain embodiments of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:
1. The accommodating hole 13 has the stopping portion 133 and the position limiting portion 132. The base 21 is connected to the first strip 4 downward, and the electrical conductor 3 is also connected to the second strip 6 downward, such that the terminal 2 and the electrical conductor 3 are both mounted into the accommodating hole 13 upward from bottom. The base 21 upward abuts the stopping portion 133 and thus does not excessively move upward, and the electrical conductor 3 upward abuts the position limiting portion 132 and thus does not excessively move upward, thereby ensuring that the terminal 2 and the electrical conductor 3 are accurately positioned on the circuit board 30. During soldering, the solder 5 sufficiently flows back to the soldered section of the terminal 2 and the soldered section of the electrical conductor 3 to ensure that both the terminal 2 and the electrical conductor 3 are stably soldered to the circuit board 30, thereby avoiding the phenomena of empty soldering and missing soldering.
2. When the mating component 20 is mated with the electrical connector 10, electrical signals on the mating component 20 can be conducted to the circuit board 30 through three paths. In the first path, the electrical signals are transmitted from the pads 201 to the bases 21 through the first contact portions 222, then to the second contact portions 241, and then to the main body portion 31 from the second contact portions 241, and finally to the circuit board 30. In the second path, the electrical signals are transmitted from the pads 201 to the first abutting portions 23 through the first contact portions 222, and then to the extending portion 32, and finally to the circuit board 30 from the main body portion 31. In the third path, the electrical signals transmitted to the extending portion 32 are also transmitted to the second abutting portions 25 and then transmitted to the second contact portions 241, and finally transmitted to the circuit board 30 through the main body portion 31. Compared with the single-path transmission mode, the multi-path electrical signal conduction method according to certain embodiments of the present invention increases the guarantee for the normal use of the electrical connector 10, and ensures stable transmission of the electrical signals.
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 were 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.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018 1 1501074 | Dec 2018 | CN | national |
This non-provisional application claims priority to and the benefit of, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/642,751 filed Mar. 14, 2018, and under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), patent application Serial No. CN201811501074.8 filed in China on Dec. 10, 2018. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
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