BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a plurality of transformers disposed in an internal circuit board.
2. Description of Prior Arts
U.S. Pat. No. 7,241,181 issued to Machado et al. on Jul. 10, 2007 discloses a connector assembly incorporating an insert assembly disposed in the rear portion of the connector housing. The insert assembly includes a substrate adapted to receive one or more electronic components such as transformers, common mode chokes, or other signal conditioning elements or magnetics. The transformer includes a toroidal core, a primary coil, and a secondary coil. The primary coil and the secondary coil are wound around the toroidal core. Taiwan Utility Model No. 437561 discloses use of surface mount pulse transformers and surface mount chokes in a related connector assembly.
An electrical connector having surface mount transformers arranged in a simple construction is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An electrical connector includes: plural pairs of mating terminals, each pair of mating terminals acting as an end of each differential signal channel, said mating terminals used for mating with a plug along a longitudinal direction; plural pairs of foot terminals, each pair of foot terminals acting as the other end of each differential signal channel; a plurality of circuit board component units interconnecting said mating terminals and said foot terminals. The circuit board component unit includes an inner circuit board and a number of electronic components mounted onto the inner circuit board, said electronic components including a number of transformers. Each transformer includes a drum type core, the drum type core including a core and first and second flanges disposed on both ends of the core, a primary winding wire and a secondary winding wire wound around the core, a number of first terminal electrodes each formed on respective surface of the first and second flanges at a lateral side of the drum type core, the primary winding wire including two ends and an intermediate tap each extending to the first terminal electrode, a number of second terminal electrodes each formed on respective surface of the first and second flanges at the other lateral side of the drum type core, the secondary winding wire including two ends and an intermediate tap each extending to the second terminal electrode. The transformers disposed in a first surface of the inner circuit board and aligned along the longitudinal direction, the drum type core extending along a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, either said first terminal electrodes of one transformer and said first terminal electrodes of an adjacent transformer or said second terminal electrodes of the one transformer and said second terminal electrodes of the adjacent transformer being disposed adjacent to each other.
Other advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the electrical connector as shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a terminal module in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the terminal module in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is another exploded view of the terminal module in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a front view of one surface of an inner circuit board in FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a front view of the other surface of the inner circuit board in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a transformer in FIG. 4;
FIG. 9 is a front view of the inner circuit board, transformer and common mode filter in FIG. 4;
FIG. 10 is a front view of the inner circuit board, capacitor and resistor in FIG. 4; and
FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of the electrical connector.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail.
FIGS. 1-2 show an electrical connector 10 used for being mounted onto an external circuit board. The electrical connector 10 includes a row of upper ports 131 and a row of lower ports 132 each used for receiving a plug along a longitudinal direction, the upper ports 131 and the lower ports 132 being aligned, each port including four differential signal channels. The electrical connector 10 includes an insulative housing 13, a plurality of terminal modules 14 received in the insulative housing 13, and a shell covering the insulative housing 13. The shell includes a front shell 11 and a rear shell 12, the front shell 11 cooperating with the rear shell 12 by a plurality of latching structures. Each upper port 131 and each lower port 132 aligned in a vertical direction share one terminal module 14.
FIGS. 3-11 show each terminal module 14 including a plurality pairs of mating terminals 24, a plurality pairs of foot terminals 26, and a circuit board component unit interconnecting said mating terminals 24 and said foot terminals 26, each pair of mating terminals 24 acting as an end of each differential signal channel, each pair of foot terminals 26 acting as the other end of each differential signal channel. The circuit board components include an upper inner circuit board 141 connected to the upper port 131, a lower inner circuit board 142 connected to the lower port 132, a bottom inner circuit board 27, and a plurality of electronic components mounted onto said upper inner circuit board 141 and lower inner circuit board 142, these three inner circuit boards all disposed along a horizontal direction and aligned in a vertical direction approximately. The terminal module 14 also includes a middle plastic portion 23 disposed between said upper inner circuit board 141 and said lower inner circuit board 142, and a positioning plastic portion 28 disposed between said lower inner circuit board 142 and said bottom inner circuit board 27. The upper inner circuit board 141 and lower inner circuit board 142 is a rectangular board, two corners of the lower inner circuit board 142 each having a gap in a diagonal line, the middle plastic portion 23 having two receiving holes 230 in the diagonal line, the positioning plastic portion 28 having two posts 280 in the diagonal line, said two posts 280 respectively received in said two receiving holes 230 in the gaps. The terminal module 14 also includes a plurality of connecting terminals 25 extending through the middle plastic portion 23 and the positioning plastic portion 28, the connecting terminals 25 connecting the upper inner circuit board 141 and lower inner circuit board 142 to the bottom inner circuit board 27. The foot terminals 26 extend downward from the bottom inner circuit board 27 to the external circuit board. The mating terminals 24 include a plurality of upper mating terminals 241 extending to the upper port 131 and a plurality of lower mating terminals 242 extending to the lower port 132. The upper mating terminals 241 and the lower mating terminals 242 are positioned by the middle plastic portion 23. The electronic components include a plurality of transformers 15 and a plurality of common mode filters 20. Each electrical signal channel includes a transformer 15 and a common mode filter 20. The upper inner circuit board 141 includes a upper surface 141A and a lower surface 141B, four transformers 15 and four common mode filters 20 disposed in the lower surface 141B and aligned along the longitudinal direction. The lower inner circuit board 142 includes a upper surface 142A and a lower surface 142B, four transformers 15 and four common mode filters 20 disposed in the upper surface 142A and aligned along the longitudinal direction. The transformers 15 include a first transformer 151, a second transformer 152, a third transformer 153, and a fourth transformer 154. The common mode filters 20 include a first common mode filter 201, a second common mode filter 202, a third common mode filter 203, and a fourth common mode filter 204. The common mode filters 20 are connected between said the transformer 15 and said foot terminals 26. The first transformer 151 and the first common mode filter 201 are connected to a first differential signal channel, the second transformer 152 and the second common mode filter 202 connected to a second differential signal channel, the third transformer 153 and the third common mode filter 203 connected to a third differential signal channel, the fourth transformer 154 and the fourth common mode filter 204 connected to a fourth differential signal channel.
FIGS. 8-11 show each transformer 15 including a drum type core 16, the drum type core 16 extending along a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in the inner circuit board, a primary winding wire 171 connected to one pair of said mating terminals 24, a secondary winding wire 172 connected to one pair of said foot terminals 26, the secondary winding wire 172 connected to the foot terminals 26 by the connecting terminals 25, that is, the secondary winding wire 172 connected to the upper inner circuit board 141 and the lower inner circuit board 142, the foot terminals 26 connected to the bottom inner circuit board 27, the upper inner circuit board 141 and the lower inner circuit board 142 connected to the bottom inner circuit board 27 by the connecting terminals 25. The drum type core 16 includes a core and first and second flanges disposed on both ends of the core, the primary winding wire 171 and the secondary winding wire 172 wound around the core, the first flange including a plurality of first protrusions, the second flange including a plurality of second protrusions, a plurality of first terminal electrodes each formed on respective surface of the first and second protrusions at a lateral side of the drum type core 16, the primary winding wire 171 including two ends 18 and an intermediate tap 19 each extending to the first terminal electrode, a plurality of second terminal electrodes each formed on respective surface of the first and second protrusions at the other lateral side of the drum type core 16, the secondary winding wire 172 including two ends 18 and an intermediate tap 19 each extending to the second terminal electrode. The primary winding wire 171 is connected to said inner circuit board by a plurality of first terminal electrodes, and the secondary winding wire 172 is connected to said inner circuit board by a plurality of second terminal electrodes. The drum type core 16 also includes a sheet-shaped core 162 covering the core and the first and second flanges. The two ends 18 of the primary winding wire 171 and the intermediate tap 19 of the secondary winding wire 172 extend to the first flange, while the two ends 18 of the secondary coil 172 and the intermediate tap 19 of the primary coil 171 extend to the second flange. That is, the two ends 18 and the intermediate tap 19 of the primary winding wire 171 are disposed in the first and second flanges at one lateral side of the drum type core 16, while the two ends 18 and the intermediate tap 19 of the secondary winding wire 172 are disposed in the first and second flanges at the other lateral side of the drum type core 16. The primary winding wire 171 corresponds to a high voltage area, and the secondary winding wire 172 corresponds to a low voltage area. The distance between the high voltage area and the low voltage area is at least 1.5 mm for avoiding electric discharge phenomena.
FIGS. 9-11 show the upper inner circuit board 141 including eight front connecting portions 1401 from a first front connecting portion 1401a to an eighth front connecting portion 1401h aligned in the front of the upper inner circuit board 141 along the transverse direction, eight side connecting portions 1402 aligned in one side of the upper inner circuit board 141 along the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of holes 1403 aligned in the opposite side of the upper inner circuit board 141. The lower inner circuit board 142 also includes eight front connecting portions 1401 from a first front connecting portion 1401a to an eighth front connecting portion 1401h aligned in the front of the lower inner circuit board 142 along the transverse direction, eight side connecting portions 1402 aligned in one side of the lower inner circuit board 142 along the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of holes 1403 aligned in the opposite side of the lower inner circuit board 142. The first front connecting portion 1401a is closer to said side connecting portions 1402 than other front connecting portions 1401. The first terminal electrodes of the first transformer 151 are disposed closer to said front connecting portions 1401 than the other transformers 15. The lower surface 141B of the upper inner circuit board 141 and the upper surface 142A of the lower inner circuit board 142 each includes four conductive channels respectively connected to the first front connecting portion 1401a, the second front connecting portion 1401b, the third front connecting portion 1401c and the sixth front connecting portion 1401f. The four conductive channels extend backward but not exceeding said first terminal electrode of the first transformer 151. The upper surface 141A of the upper inner circuit board 141 and the lower surface 142B of the lower inner circuit board 142 each includes two conductive channels respectively connected to the seventh front connecting portion 1401g and the eighth front connecting portion 1401h, said two conductive channels extending backward to the first terminal electrodes of the fourth transformer 154.
FIGS. 3-11 show the upper mating terminals 241 being connected to said front connecting portions 1401 of the upper inner circuit board 141, the lower mating terminals 242 being connected to said front connecting portions 1401 of the lower inner circuit board 142. The connecting terminals 26 are connected to said side connecting portions 1402. The side connecting portions 1402 of the upper inner circuit board 141 and the holes 1403 of the lower inner circuit board 142 are aligned in the vertical direction approximately. The holes 1403 of the upper inner circuit board 141 and the side connecting portions 1402 of the lower inner circuit board 142 are aligned in the vertical direction approximately. The connecting terminals include a plurality of first connecting terminals 251 and a plurality of second connecting terminals 252. The upper inner circuit board 141, the lower inner circuit board 142, and the bottom inner circuit board 27 each includes a plurality of conductive channels, traces, vias, or the like. The first connecting terminals 251 are connected to the side connecting portions 1402 of the upper inner circuit board 141 and extend downward from the upper inner circuit board 141. The first connecting terminals 251 extend through the holes 1403 of the lower inner circuit board 142. The first connecting terminals 251 each have a bottom end connected to the bottom inner circuit board 27. The foot terminals 26 are connected to the bottom inner circuit board 27 and extend downward from the bottom inner circuit board 27. The foot terminals 26 are used for connecting to the external circuit board. The electronic components of the upper inner circuit board 141 are connected to the first connecting terminals 251 by the conductive channels of the upper inner circuit board 141, and the first connecting terminals 251 are connected to the foot terminals 26 by the conductive channels of the bottom inner circuit board 27. The second connecting terminals 252 extend through the holes 1403 of the upper inner circuit board 141 and extend downward from the upper inner circuit board, the second connecting terminals being connected to the side connecting portions 1402 of the lower inner circuit board 142 and extending downward from the lower inner circuit board 142 to the bottom inner circuit board 27. Similarly, the second connecting terminals 252 each have a bottom end connected to the bottom inner circuit board 27. The foot terminals 26 are connected to the bottom inner circuit board 27 and extend downward from the bottom inner circuit board 27, the foot terminals 26 used for being connected to the external circuit board. The electronic components of the lower inner circuit board 142 are connected to the second connecting terminals 252 by the conductive channels of the lower inner circuit board 142, the second connecting terminals 252 connected to the foot terminals 26 by the conductive channels of the bottom inner circuit board 27.
FIGS. 4-11 show the electronic components also including a plurality of resistors 22 and a plurality of capacitors 21, four resistors 22 formed as a whole structure. The upper surface 141A of the upper inner circuit board 141 includes a capacitor 21 and four resistors 22, and the lower surface 142B of the lower inner circuit board 142 also includes a capacitor 21 and four resistors 22, one end of each resistor 22 respectively connected to the intermediate tap 19 of said primary winding wire 171 in each differential signal channel, the other end of the resistor 22 connected to a pole of the capacitor 21, the other pole of the capacitor 21 grounding. The four resistors 22 are disposed beside said capacitor 21, said capacitor 21 having a grounding pole, the grounding pole of the capacitor 21 disposed closer to said side connecting portions 1402 than said four resistors 22.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Patent Grant
9077120
