CN107086381B

CN107086381B - Electric connector combination

Info

Publication number: CN107086381B
Application number: CN201710257297.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 彭易平
Original assignee: Smart Chip Microelectronic Co ltd
Current assignee: Smart Chip Microelectronic Co ltd
Priority date: 2017-04-19
Filing date: 2017-04-19
Publication date: 2023-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 2037-04-19
Also published as: CN107086381A

Abstract

The invention provides an electric connector combination, which comprises two connectors stacked along the height direction, wherein each connector comprises an insulating body, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed in the insulating body, a locking piece, a shielding shell coated outside the insulating body and a circuit board electrically connected with the tail parts of the conductive terminals, the conductive terminals of each connector comprise two rows of terminal groups arranged along the height direction, the two rows of terminal groups are arranged correspondingly and reversely, the electric connector combination also comprises a middle connecting piece for electrically connecting the two connectors, an inner insulator for combining the two connectors together and an insulating shell coated outside the inner insulator. The electric connector combination integrates two plug connectors into a whole so as to be matched with a plurality of socket connectors simultaneously, and the electric connector combination is convenient to plug and saves time and labor.

Description

Electric connector combination

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of connectors, in particular to an electric connector combination capable of being inserted forwards and backwards.

Background

With the rapid development of science and technology in the electronic industry, the volume of electronic products is developed along the trend of being thinner, thinner and shorter, which requires smaller and smaller components of the electronic products, and the connector industry is the first place.

This results in better mechanical performance requirements and higher product design difficulties due to the smaller size requirements of the new generation of USB Type-C connectors. In order to face thinner and thinner equipment and ensure the reliability of a product structure, various manufacturers have proposed corresponding structural designs.

The existing USB Type-C connector is configured as a stackable socket connector in some application environments, and the stackable socket connector comprises at least two superposed ports; alternatively, two receptacle connectors may be stacked in a height direction, and when the two receptacle connectors are plugged into the stacked receptacle connectors, the two plug connectors need to be inserted into the corresponding ports one by one, which is inconvenient in operation.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved electrical connector assembly that overcomes the above-mentioned problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides an electrical connector assembly capable of being electrically connected to a plurality of mating connectors simultaneously.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electrical connector assembly, which includes two connectors stacked in a height direction, each connector including an insulating body, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed in the insulating body, a locking member, a shielding shell covering the insulating body, and a circuit board electrically connected to tails of the conductive terminals, wherein the conductive terminals of each connector include two rows of terminal sets arranged in two rows in the height direction, and the two rows of terminal sets are arranged in a corresponding and opposite arrangement, the electrical connector assembly further includes a middle connecting member electrically connecting the two connectors, an inner insulator combining the two connectors, and an insulating housing covering the inner insulator.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the intermediate connecting member has two opposite ends, and one of the two ends is electrically and mechanically connected to the circuit board of one connector, and the other opposite end is mechanically and electrically connected to the circuit board of the other connector.

As a further improvement of the invention, the circuit board of each connector is provided with a plurality of conducting sheets positioned at the front part and a conducting part positioned at the rear part of the conducting sheets, and the front end of the circuit board is clamped between the tail parts of the two rows of conducting terminals.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the conductive sheets are disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the front portion of the circuit board and respectively welded to the corresponding tail portions and the welding portions of the locking member, and the conductive portions are electrically and mechanically connected to the intermediate connecting member.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the intermediate connecting member is a pin connector, the pin connector includes a pin body and a plurality of pin terminals fixed on the pin body, and two ends of each pin terminal are electrically connected to the conductive portions of the circuit board of the corresponding connector.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the conductive part is a plurality of conductive holes arranged in a transverse direction.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the inner insulator includes a main body portion located at the front and an extension portion extending rearward from a rear end of the main body portion, the main body portion has a pair of receiving holes stacked in the height direction, and the inner insulator is assembled from the front to the rear on two connectors inserted into the corresponding receiving holes of the inner insulator.

As a further improvement of the present invention, a limiting groove is formed by recessing the rear end surface of the extending portion forward, the limiting groove extends in a longitudinal direction along the transverse direction and is located at the middle position of the extending portion along the height direction, and the pin body is inserted into and positioned in the limiting groove.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the extension portion has step portions located on both sides of the rear end surface of the main body portion and grooves recessed inward from the top surface and the bottom surface thereof, the openings of the grooves formed on the top surface and the bottom surface of the extension portion are in opposite directions and symmetrically arranged on both sides in the height direction of the extension portion, the circuit board is located on the outer side of the step portion on the corresponding side, and a group of the tail portions of the conductive terminals of one connector close to the other connector is exposed in the corresponding groove.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the intermediate connecting member is a flexible flat cable or a pair of connectors mated with each other.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: the electric connector combination integrates the two plug connectors into a whole to be matched with the plurality of socket connectors simultaneously, so that the electric connector combination is convenient to insert and is time-saving and labor-saving.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective assembled view of the electrical connector assembly of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a perspective view of the electrical connector assembly of fig. 1 with the insulative housing removed;

FIG. 3 is a view of the electrical connector assembly of FIG. 2 from another perspective;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the electrical connector assembly of FIG. 2 with the inner insulator removed;

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a partially assembled view of the electrical connector assembly of FIG. 5;

fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the electrical connectors of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 1.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. These embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and structural, methodological, or functional changes made by those skilled in the art according to these embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1 to 7, in an embodiment of the electrical connector assembly 100 of the present invention, the electrical connector assembly 100 includes two connectors 1 stacked along a height direction thereof, an intermediate connector 2 electrically connecting the two connectors 1, an inner insulator 3 joining the two connectors 1 together, an insulating shell 4 covering the inner insulator 3, and a cable 5 electrically connected to the connectors 1 and the intermediate connector 2.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4 in combination with fig. 7, in the present embodiment, two connectors 1 have the same structure and function, and are both Type C plug connectors, each connector 1 includes an insulating body 11, a plurality of conductive terminals 12 fixed in the insulating body 11, a locking member 13, a shielding shell 14 covering the insulating body 11, and a circuit board 15 electrically connected to tails 121 of the conductive terminals 12.

The insulating body 11 has a docking portion 112 located in front thereof, the docking portion 112 is disposed in an overall oval column shape, and an accommodating space 1120 opened forward is formed in the inner side thereof for the docking connector to be inserted forward or backward.

The conductive terminals 12 include two rows of terminal sets arranged in two rows along the height direction, and the two rows (upper and lower rows) of terminal sets are arranged in a corresponding and opposite direction. The positions of the contact parts of the two rows of terminal groups on the insulating body 11 are the same as the positions of the contact parts of the corresponding terminals on the standard USB Type-C plug connector. Each conductive terminal 12 has an elastic contact arm 121 protruding into the receiving space 1120 and a tail portion 123 extending rearward and protruding out of the rear end surface 110 of the insulating body 11.

The contact arms 121 project downwardly or upwardly into the receiving space 1120 to form the contact arms 121 of two corresponding conductive terminals 12 in the upper and lower rows for contacting with the mating connector. Each of the contact arms 121 has a contact portion 1211 at a free end thereof, the contact portion 1211 of one of the pair of contact arms 121 protruding toward the other contact arm 121. The tail portions 123 are exposed at the rear side of the insulating body 11 and are divided into two rows arranged along the height direction.

The latch 13 is made of metal and has a pair of latch arms 131 disposed on two sides of the conductive terminal 12 in the transverse direction and a soldering portion 132 at the rear end. The latch 13 is located between two rows of conductive terminals 12 along the height direction, and the latch arm 131 extends forward and is exposed in the receiving space 1120, and is locked and fixed with the mating connector in the receiving space 1120. The soldering portion 132 extends rearward beyond the rear end surface 110 of the insulating body 11 for soldering with the circuit board 15.

The front end of the shielding shell 14 is provided with an oval butt-joint frame port which is consistent with a butt-joint frame port of a standard USB Type-C plug connector and is used for butt-joint positive and negative insertion matching of a socket connector, and the front and negative insertion connector has the advantage of convenience in use. The shielding shell 14 is sleeved outside the insulating body 11 from front to back.

The circuit board 15 has a plurality of conductive sheets 151 located at the front and a conductive part 152 located at the back of the conductive sheets 151, and the front end of the circuit board 15 is sandwiched between the tails 123 of the two rows of conductive terminals 12. The conductive sheets 151 are disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the front portion of the circuit board 15 and are respectively soldered to the corresponding tail portions 123 and the soldering portions 131 of the locking element 13, and the conductive portions 152 are electrically and mechanically connected to the intermediate connecting member 2. In this embodiment, the conductive portions 152 are a plurality of conductive holes arranged along the transverse direction; in other embodiments, suitable conductive sheets or other structures for realizing electrical connection can be selected according to the design of the middle connector 2.

The intermediate connector 2 has two opposite ends, one of the ends is electrically and mechanically connected to the circuit board 15 of one connector 1, and the other opposite end is mechanically and electrically connected to the circuit board 15 of the other connector 1. In this embodiment, the intermediate connecting member 2 is a pin connector, the pin connector includes a pin body 21 and a plurality of pin terminals 22 fixed on the pin body 21, two ends of each pin terminal 22 are electrically connected to the circuit boards 15 of the corresponding connectors 1, that is, one end of each pin terminal 22 is connected to the circuit board 15 of one connector 1, and the other end of each pin terminal is connected to the circuit board 15 of the other connector 1, so that the two connectors 1 are electrically connected to each other. In other embodiments, the intermediate connector 2 may also be a flex cable, or a pair of connectors mated with each other.

The inner insulator 3 is made of plastic material, and includes a main body 31 located at the front and an extending portion 32 extending backward from the rear end of the main body 31, wherein the upper and lower sides of the main body 31 are both elliptical and substantially conform to the shape of the shielding shell 14. The main body 31 has a pair of receiving holes 311 stacked in the height direction, and the receiving holes 311 have the same shape and size as the shielding shell 14 for receiving the corresponding shielding shell 14.

The rear end surface of the extension portion 32 is recessed forward to form a limiting groove 321, and the limiting groove 321 extends lengthwise along the transverse direction and is located at the middle position of the extension portion 32 along the height direction. The extension portion 32 has stepped portions 322 located on both sides of the rear end surface 310 of the body portion 31 and recessed grooves 323 recessed inward from the top and bottom surfaces thereof, and the recessed grooves 323 provided on the top and bottom surfaces of the extension portion 32 have opposite opening directions and are symmetrically provided on both sides of the extension portion 32 in the height direction. Each of the grooves 323 is formed by connecting the rear end surface 310 of the main body 31 and step portions 322 located at two sides of the rear end surface 310.

The inner insulator 3 is assembled to the two connectors 1 from front to back, wherein the two connectors 1 are inserted into the corresponding receiving holes 311 of the inner insulator 3, the front portion of the circuit board 15 is inserted into the cavity corresponding to the rear portion of the insulating body 11 and located outside the step portion 322 on the corresponding side, one group of the tail portions 123 of one connector 1 close to the other connector is exposed in the corresponding grooves 323, and the grooves 323 provide receiving spaces for the group of the tail portions 123. The pin body 21 of the intermediate connector 2 is inserted into and positioned in the limiting groove 321 to realize the positioning and connection between the intermediate connector 2 and the inner insulator 3.

The insulating shell 4 is formed at the rear of the connector 1, outside the middle connector 2 and the inner insulator 3 in an cladding mode, and the cable 5 is connected with the circuit boards 15 of the two connectors 1 to achieve electric connection.

It should be understood that although the specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment includes only a single embodiment, and such description is for clarity purposes only, and it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the specification as a whole may be appropriately combined to form other embodiments as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The above-listed detailed description is only a specific description of a possible embodiment of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and equivalent embodiments or modifications made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. The utility model provides an electric connector combination, its includes along the direction of height two connectors that pile up the setting, every connector all include insulator, be fixed in a plurality of conductive terminal, snap close piece in the insulator is internal, cladding in the outer shielding casing of insulator and with conductive terminal's afterbody electric connection's circuit board, every connector conductive terminal include along the direction of height be two rows of terminal groups that set up, and two rows of terminal groups are corresponding and reverse arrange its characterized in that: the electric connector assembly is characterized by further comprising an intermediate connecting piece for electrically connecting the two connectors, an inner insulator for combining the two connectors together and an insulating shell coated outside the inner insulator, wherein the intermediate connecting piece is provided with two opposite ends, one end of the intermediate connecting piece is electrically and mechanically connected with a circuit board of one connector, the other end of the intermediate connecting piece is mechanically and electrically connected with a circuit board of the other connector, the circuit board of each connector is provided with a plurality of conducting strips positioned at the front part and a conducting part positioned behind the conducting strips, and the front end of the circuit board is clamped between the tail parts of the two rows of conducting terminals.

2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: the conducting strips are arranged on the upper surface and the lower surface of the front part of the circuit board and are respectively welded with the corresponding tail parts and the welding parts of the locking fastener, and the conducting parts are electrically and mechanically connected with the intermediate connecting piece.

3. The electrical connector assembly of any one of claims 1-2, wherein: the middle connecting piece is a pin connector, the pin connector comprises a pin body and a plurality of pin terminals fixed on the pin body, and two ends of each pin terminal are electrically connected with the conductive parts of the circuit boards of the corresponding connectors respectively.

4. The electrical connector assembly of claim 3, wherein: the conductive parts are a plurality of conductive holes arranged along the transverse direction.

5. The electrical connector assembly of claim 3, wherein: the inner insulator comprises a main body part positioned at the front part and an extension part extending backwards from the rear end of the main body part, the main body part is provided with a pair of receiving holes which are stacked along the height direction, the inner insulator is assembled on two connectors from front to back, and the two connectors are inserted into the corresponding receiving holes of the inner insulator.

6. The electrical connector assembly of claim 5, wherein: the rear end face of the extension portion is recessed forwards to form a limiting groove, the limiting groove extends in the transverse direction to be in a longitudinal shape and is located in the middle of the extension portion in the height direction, and the contact pin body is inserted into and located in the limiting groove.

7. The electrical connector assembly of claim 6, wherein: the extension part is provided with step parts positioned on two sides of the rear end face of the main body part and grooves formed by respectively recessing the top surface and the bottom surface of the extension part towards the inner side, the opening directions of the grooves formed on the top surface and the bottom surface of the extension part are opposite, the grooves are symmetrically arranged on two sides of the height direction of the extension part, the circuit board is positioned on the outer side of the step part on the corresponding side, and one group close to the other connector in the tail part of the conductive terminal of one connector is exposed in the corresponding groove.

8. The electrical connector assembly of any one of claims 1-2, wherein: the middle connecting piece is a flexible flat cable or a pair of connectors which are matched with each other.