This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No. 201510198488.8 filed in China, P.R.C. on 2015 Apr. 24, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The instant disclosure relates to an electrical connector, and more particular to an electrical plug connector.
Generally, Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to the PC architecture with a focus on computer interface, consumer and productivity applications. The existing Universal Serial Bus (USB) interconnects have the attributes of plug-and-play and ease of use by end users. Now, as technology innovation marches forward, new kinds of devices, media formats and large inexpensive storage are converging. They require significantly more bus bandwidth to maintain the interactive experience that users have come to expect. In addition, the demand of a higher performance between the PC and the sophisticated peripheral is increasing. The transmission rate of USB 2.0 is insufficient. As a consequence, faster serial bus interfaces such as USB 3.0, are developed, which may provide a higher transmission rate so as to satisfy the need of a variety devices.
The appearance, the structure, the contact ways of terminals, the number of terminals, the pitches between terminals (the distances between the terminals), and the pin assignment of terminals of a conventional USB type-C electrical connector are totally different from those of a conventional USB electrical connector. A conventional USB type-C electrical plug connector includes a plastic core, an outer iron shell enclosing out of the plastic core, and upper and lower plug terminals at the upper surface and lower surface of the plastic core.
For a conventional USB type-C electrical plug connector, because of the small sized terminals and small distance between the terminals, the terminals cannot be combined with the plastic core by one-time insert-molded. Hence, the upper plug terminals and the lower plug terminals are respectively assembled on the plastic core. Nevertheless, the plastic core would have terminal grooves for positioning the terminals. As a result, the manufacturing time and cost of the conventional USB type-C electrical plug connector increase.
Consequently, how to improve the existing electrical plug connector becomes an issue.
In view of these, an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure provides an electrical plug connector comprising a metallic shell, an insulated housing, and a plurality of plug terminals. The metallic shell defines a receiving cavity therein. The insulated housing is received in the receiving cavity. The insulated housing comprises a base portion, a tubular portion, and a mating room. The tubular portion comprises a first portion and a second portion. The tubular portion is extending from one side of the base portion, and the mating room is between the first portion and the second portion. The first portion has a first mating surface, the second portion has a second mating surface, and the first mating surface faces the second mating surface. The insulated housing further comprises a first groove and a plurality of second grooves. The first groove is formed on the first portion or the second portion. The first groove is adjacent to the base portion. The second grooves are formed on the first portion or the second portion, and the second grooves are adjacent to the opening of the mating room. The plug terminals comprise a plurality of signal terminals, at least one power terminal, and at least one ground terminal. The plug terminals are held in the insulated housing and at the first mating surface of the first portion or at the second mating surface of the second portion. Each of the plug terminals comprises a flexible contact portion, a body portion, a tail portion, and a plurality of cut portions. The body portion is held in the first portion or the second portion, the flexible contact portion is extending backward from the body portion in the front-to-rear direction and protruded from the insulated housing, and wherein the cut portions are at the body portion and correspond to the first groove, and the flexible contact portions respectively correspond to the second grooves.
In some embodiments, the insulated housing further comprises a positioning slot formed on the first portion or the second portion, and the positioning slot is located between the first groove and the second grooves. In addition, the body portions correspond to the positioning slot. Moreover, the plug terminals further comprise a plurality of extending portions. Each of the extending portions is extending from two adjacent side portions of two adjacent body portions.
In some embodiments, the plug terminals further comprise a terminal fixing portion extending from end portions of the tail portions. In addition, each of the plug terminals comprises a bent portion extending from the rear of the body portion to the tail portion.
In some embodiments, the electrical plug connector further comprises a rear block fixed at the rear of the insulated housing. The rear block comprises a plurality of through grooves, and the tail portions are held in the through grooves, respectively.
In some embodiments, the electrical plug connector further comprises a plurality of engaging portions respectively at two sides of the insulated housing, wherein each of the engaging portions comprises a hook portion and a protruded contact portion, the protruded contact portion is extending from the front of the hook portion and inserted into the side portion of the mating room, and the hook portions are respectively fixed with the two sides of the insulated housing.
In some embodiments, the electrical plug connector further comprises a plurality of abutting pieces respectively at the first portion and the second portion. Each of the abutting pieces comprises an abutting body and a bent contact portion extending from the front of the body. The abutting bodies are respectively fixed with the first portion and the second portion to be in contact with the metallic shell, the bent contact portions are extending toward the mating room.
In some embodiments, the electrical plug connector further comprises a circuit board fixed with the rear of the insulated housing, wherein one surface of the circuit board comprises a plurality of contacts in contact with the tail portions.
Based on the above, an electrical plug connector having single-row plug terminals is provided. The plug terminals can be assembled with the insulated housing via insert-molding techniques to reduce the manufacturing cost and manufacturing time of the electrical plug connector. In addition, the plug terminals are formed integrally as a whole because of the extending portions, and the extending portions may be cut by a pressing fixture inserting into one or more first groove of the insulated housing. Hence, the plug terminals can be separated from each other. In addition, when the electrical plug connector is mated with an electrical receptacle connector, the flexible contact portions of the plug terminals are in contact with the electrical receptacle connector, and the flexible contact portions are bent in the second grooves.
Detailed description of the characteristics and the advantages of the instant disclosure are shown in the following embodiments. The technical content and the implementation of the instant disclosure should be readily apparent to any person skilled in the art from the detailed description, and the purposes and the advantages of the instant disclosure should be readily understood by any person skilled in the art with reference to content, claims and drawings in the instant disclosure.
The instant disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus not limitative of the instant disclosure, wherein:
Please refer to
Please refer to
Please refer to
In the aforementioned embodiment, the electrical plug connector 100 has twelve plug terminals 31 for USB 2.0 signal transmission, but embodiments are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, as shown in
Please refer to
The plug terminals 31 and the flexible contact portions 315 are formed by stamping a metallic sheet. Referring to
In this embodiment, the plug terminals 31 are assembled on the first portion 211, but embodiments are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the plug terminals 31 may be assembled on the second portion 212. The insulated housing 21 is assembled with the plug terminals 31 by insert-molded techniques or the like. As shown in
In addition, the first groove 25 may be defined through the first portion 211 and the second portion 212. In such case, several pressing fixtures are respectively extending toward the top and the bottom of the extending portions 32 to cut the cut portions 33, but embodiments are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first groove 25 may be defined through the first portion 211 or the second portion 212, and a single set of pressing fixtures is extending toward the top or the bottom of the extending portions 32 to cut the cut portions 33.
Please refer to
The insulated housing 21 comprises a plurality of second grooves 26, as shown in
Please refer to
Please refer to
Please refer to
Please refer to
In some embodiments, an electrical receptacle connector to be mated with the electrical plug connector 100 has a plurality of upper-row receptacle terminals and a plurality of lower-row receptacle terminals, the electrical plug connector 100 may be mated with the electrical receptacle connector in dual mating directions, and the plug terminals 31 are in contact with the upper-row receptacle terminals or the lower-row receptacle terminals.
Therefore, the inserting orientation of the electrical plug connector 100 is not limited by the electrical receptacle connector. Additionally, in this embodiment, since the plug terminals 31 can be selectively provided at the first portion 211 or the second portion 212, the position of the plug terminals 31 at the first portion 211 is symmetrical about the position of the plug terminals 31 at the second portion 212 by taking the receiving cavity 111 as the symmetrical center. That is, pin-assignments of the plug terminals 31 at the first portion 211 and the plug terminals 31 at the second portion 212 are point-symmetrical with a central point of the receiving cavity 111 as the symmetrical center. Here, point-symmetry means that after the plug terminals 31 at the first portion 211 (or the plug terminals 31 at the second portion 212), are rotated by 180 degrees with the symmetrical center as the rotating center, the plug terminals 31 at the first portion 211 and the plug terminals 31 at the second portion 211 are virtually overlapped. Furthermore, the pin assignment of the plug terminals 31 at the first portion 211 is left-right reversal with respect to that of the plug terminals 31 at the second portion 212.
In this embodiment, each of the plug terminals 31 comprises a bent portion 317 extending from the rear of the body portion 314 to the tail portion 316. Hence, the distance between the tail portion 316 and the circuit board 91 can be adjusted. The tail portions 316 can be properly soldered with the contacts 911 of the circuit board 91; alternatively, the tail portions 316 can be directly soldered with the wires 92.
The electrical plug connector 100 further comprises a plurality of abutting pieces 61 respectively at the first portion 211 and the second portion 212. The abutting pieces 61 are rectangular shaped and symmetrical about each other. Each of the abutting pieces 61 comprises an abutting body 611 and a bent contact portion 612. The abutting body 611 is a sheet aligned horizontally. The abutting bodies 611 are respectively fixed with the first portion 211 and the second portion 212 to be in contact with the metallic shell 11. The bent contact portion 612 is extending from the front of the abutting body 611. The bent contact portion 612 is of V-shape from a cross-sectional view thereof. The bent contact portions 612 are extending toward the mating room 213 thru through grooves of the first portion 211 and the second portion 212. In addition, the bent contact portions 612 are adjacent to the insertion opening. When the electrical plug connector 100 is mated with an electrical receptacle connector, the abutting pieces 61 of the electrical plug connector 100 are in contact with connecting pieces of the electrical receptacle connector. In addition, the abutting pieces 61 are in contact with the metallic shell 11 via the abutting bodies 611, so that the metallic shell 11 of the electrical plug connector 100 and a metallic shell of the electrical receptacle connector are in contact with each other via the contact between the abutting pieces 61 and the connecting pieces. Therefore, noise can be grounded and conducted efficiently, and the electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems can be improved.
Based on the above, an electrical plug connector having single-row plug terminals is provided. The plug terminals can be assembled with the insulated housing via insert-molding techniques to reduce the manufacturing cost and manufacturing time of the electrical plug connector. In addition, the plug terminals are formed integrally as a whole because of the extending portions, and the extending portions may be cut by a pressing fixture inserting into one or more first groove of the insulated housing. Hence, the plug terminals can be separated from each other. In addition, when the electrical plug connector is mated with an electrical receptacle connector, the flexible contact portions of the plug terminals are in contact with the electrical receptacle connector, and the flexible contact portions are bent in the second grooves.
While the instant disclosure has been described by the way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
201510198488.8 | Apr 2015 | CN | national |