CN113097770A

CN113097770A - Electrical connector

Info

Publication number: CN113097770A
Application number: CN202110346169.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 谭丙权; 张晓庆; 许立军
Original assignee: Dongguan Leader Precision Industry Co Ltd
Current assignee: Dongguan Leader Precision Industry Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-03-31
Filing date: 2021-03-31
Publication date: 2021-07-09
Anticipated expiration: 2041-03-31
Also published as: TW202234767A; CN113097770B; TWI796101B

Abstract

The invention discloses an electric connector, which comprises a shell, an insulator and a plurality of elastic terminals, wherein the insulator is accommodated in the shell, an inserting cavity is formed between the insulator and the shell, and the insulator comprises a plurality of accommodating grooves communicated with the inserting cavity; the elastic terminal comprises a fixing part fixed in the insulator and an elastic contact arm extending from the fixing part, the elastic contact arm is accommodated in the accommodating groove, and the elastic contact arm is provided with a contact part exposed in the inserting cavity; the accommodating groove is internally provided with a lever part, the elastic contact arm is erected on the lever part, the lever part forms the action of a lever fulcrum, and the problems of falling, breaking and the like of the elastic terminal can be effectively avoided, so that the reject ratio is reduced, the cost is saved, the yield is improved, and the service life is prolonged.

Description

Electrical connector

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of connectors, in particular to an electric connector.

Background

The electrical connector is widely applied to electronic devices such as communication, computers, household electrical appliances and the like, and plays an important role in connection, communication and the like. Taking the USB Type-a receptacle connector as an example, the electrical connector generally includes a housing, an insulator connected in the housing, and nine terminals fixed in the insulator, wherein the nine terminals include two pairs of upper differential signal terminals and a ground terminal located above, and a pair of differential signal terminals, a power signal terminal and a ground terminal located below. The shell and the insulator form a plug interface for plugging and unplugging the plug connector, and the lower terminal comprises an elastic part extending into the plug interface. However, the elastic portion is prone to be degraded and broken during a long-time insertion and extraction process.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to an electrical connector to solve the above problems.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

an electrical connector, comprising:

a housing;

the insulator is accommodated in the shell, an inserting cavity is formed between the insulator and the shell, and the insulator comprises a plurality of accommodating grooves communicated with the inserting cavity;

the elastic terminals comprise fixing parts fixed in the insulator and elastic contact arms extending from the fixing parts, the elastic contact arms are accommodated in the accommodating grooves, and the elastic contact arms are provided with contact parts exposed in the inserting cavity;

and a lever part is arranged in the accommodating groove, and the elastic contact arm is erected on the lever part.

As a further improved technical scheme of the invention, the lever part is a convex hull which is convexly arranged at the bottom of the accommodating groove.

As a further improved technical scheme of the invention, the convex hull is provided with an arc surface which is contacted with the elastic contact arm.

As a further improved technical scheme of the invention, the contact point of the elastic contact arm and the convex hull is positioned between 1/4 and 1/3 positions of the elastic contact arm.

As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the elastic contact arm is bent and extended from the fixing portion, and an included angle between the fixing portion and the elastic contact arm is less than 90 degrees.

As a further improved aspect of the present invention, the insulator further includes an abutting portion abutting against a bent portion between the fixing portion and the elastic contact arm.

As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the insulator includes a main body portion and a mating portion fastened to the main body portion, the main body portion includes a tongue plate located in the insertion cavity, the receiving groove is disposed in the tongue plate, and the fixing portion of the elastic terminal is fixed in the mating portion.

As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the electrical connector further includes a plurality of contact terminals, each of the contact terminals includes a flat contact portion exposed to the insertion cavity, and the contact portions of the plurality of elastic terminals and the flat contact portions of the plurality of contact terminals are divided into two rows on the tongue plate and are arranged in a staggered manner.

As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the elastic terminal further includes a pin extending out of the mating portion, and the contact terminal further includes a pin extending out of the main body portion.

As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the main body portion includes a vertical portion, a tail portion extending rearward from an upper end of the vertical portion, and the tongue plate extending forward from a lower end of the vertical portion, and the housing includes a shielding portion located around the tongue plate and forming the insertion cavity with the tongue plate, and a rear cover covering the tail portion.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that: be provided with lever portion in the accepting groove, the elastic contact arm erects in lever portion, and lever portion forms the effect of lever fulcrum, can effectively avoid elastic terminal to fall, fracture scheduling problem to reduce the defective rate, save the cost, improve yield, increase of service life.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the electrical connector of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the structure of FIG. 1 from another angle;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the electrical connector of the present invention shown exploded out of the housing;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of FIG. 3 from another angle;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of a main body portion accommodating a contact terminal and a mating portion accommodating an elastic terminal of the electrical connector of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the structure of FIG. 5 from another angle;

FIG. 7 is an exploded schematic view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view from another angle of FIG. 7;

fig. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrical connector of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1 to 4 and 9, an electrical connector 100 is disclosed in the present invention, in an embodiment, the electrical connector 100 is a USB Type-a receptacle connector for plug connection of a mating plug connector (not shown). The electrical connector 100 includes a housing 1, an insulator 2, a plurality of elastic terminals 3, and a plurality of contact terminals 4. The insulator 2 is accommodated in the shell 1, an inserting cavity 21 is formed between the insulator 2 and the shell 1, and the insulator 1 comprises a plurality of accommodating grooves 22 communicated with the inserting cavity 21. The elastic terminal 3 includes a fixing portion 31 fixed in the insulator 2 and an elastic contact arm 32 extending from the fixing portion 31, the elastic contact arm 32 is accommodated in the accommodating groove 22, and the elastic contact arm 32 is provided with a contact portion 321 exposed to the insertion cavity. The lever part 23 is arranged in the accommodating groove 22, the elastic contact arm 32 is erected on the lever part 23, and the lever part 23 forms a lever fulcrum, so that the problems of falling, breaking and the like of the elastic terminal 3 can be effectively avoided, the reject ratio is reduced, the cost is saved, the yield is improved, and the service life is prolonged.

Referring to fig. 9, the lever portion 23 is a convex hull protruding from the bottom of the receiving slot 22, and the convex hull is provided with an arc 231 contacting with the elastic contact arm 32, when the contact portion 321 is stressed, the elastic contact arm 32 elastically deforms and moves along the arc 231 to contact, so as to avoid stress concentration, thereby preventing the elastic terminal 3 from falling, breaking, and the like. Preferably, the height of the convex hull is less than or equal to half the depth of the receiving groove 22, so as to ensure leverage and the receiving effect of the elastic contact arm 32. The contact point of the elastic contact arm 32 and the convex hull is located in the space from 1/4 to 1/3 of the elastic contact arm 32, specifically, between 1/4 to 1/3 in the direction from the fixing portion 31 to the contact portion 321, so as to ensure the contact effect of the elastic force of the elastic contact arm 32 and the contact portion 321. The elastic contact arm 32 is bent and extended from the fixing portion 31, and an included angle between the fixing portion 31 and the elastic contact arm 32 is less than 90 degrees, for example, preferably between 83 degrees and 88 degrees, so as to further ensure the lever action between the lever portion 23 and the elastic contact arm 32. The insulator 2 further includes an abutting portion 24 abutting against a bent portion between the fixing portion 31 and the elastic contact arm 32, and an end of the abutting portion 24 is arc-shaped to match the bent portion and protect the elastic contact arm 32.

Specifically, referring to fig. 5 to 9, the insulator 2 includes a main body portion 25 and a fitting portion 26 that is fastened to the main body portion 25. The main body 25 is substantially Z-shaped and includes a vertical portion 251, a tail portion 252 extending rearward from an upper end of the vertical portion 251, and a tongue portion 253 extending forward from a lower end of the vertical portion 251. The tongue plate 253 is located in the inserting cavity 21, the accommodating groove 22 is disposed on the tongue plate 253, and the fixing portion 31 of the elastic terminal 3 is fixed on the matching portion 26. The mating portion 26 includes a horizontal plate 261 fastened to the tail portion 252 and a vertical plate 262 fastened to the vertical portion 251, the fixing portion 31 of the elastic terminal 3 is fixed in the vertical plate 262, the elastic contact arm 32 of the elastic terminal 3 is accommodated in the accommodating groove 22 and erected on the lever portion 23 after the vertical plate 262 is fastened to the vertical portion 251, and the contact portion 321 at the free end of the elastic contact arm 32 is located in the insertion cavity 21. The angle between the elastic contact arm 32 and the fixing portion 31 may be originally smaller than 90 degrees, or may be kept smaller than 90 degrees by the lever portion 23, or both. The spring terminal 3 also includes a prong 33 that extends beyond the transverse plate 261 of the mating portion 26. Specifically, the fixing portion 31 is substantially inverted U-shaped, and includes a beam portion 311, a front frame portion 312 bent and extended from one end of the beam portion 311, and a rear frame portion 313 bent and extended from the other end of the beam portion 311. The beam portion 311 is fixed in the transverse plate 261, barbs are arranged on two sides of the beam portion 311 to enhance the fixation with the transverse plate 261, the front frame portion 312 is fixed in the vertical plate 262, and the rear frame portion 313 is fixed in the transverse plate 261. The elastic contact arm 32 is bent and extended from the front frame 312, and the included angle is smaller than 90 degrees. The pins 33 are obtained by extending the transverse plate 261 further from the rear frame portion 313. The fixing part 31 in the inverted U shape can firmly mount the elastic terminal 3 in the insulator 2 and ensure the elasticity of the elastic contact arm 32 and the lever action with the lever part 23; and the length of the front frame 312 is greater than that of the rear frame 313, so that the elastic terminal 3 is suitable for being mounted on the edge of a circuit board (not shown) to reduce the height of the electrical connector 100 on the circuit board, which is beneficial to miniaturization and thinning.

The contact terminal 4 includes a positioning portion 41 fixed in the main body portion 25, a flat contact portion 42 located at one end of the positioning portion 41, and a pin 43 extending out of the main body portion. The plate contact 42 is disposed at the free end of the tongue plate 253 and exposed to the plug cavity 21. The positioning portion 41 is fixed in the vertical portion 251 and the tongue portion 253, and the leg 43 extends out of the tail portion 252. Specifically, the positioning portion 41 includes a vertically disposed rod portion 411, a front extending portion 412 bent from a lower end of the rod portion 411, and a rear extending portion 413 bent and extended from an upper end of the rod portion 411. The rod portion 411 is fixed in the vertical portion 251, the front extension portion 412 is fixed in the tongue plate 253, the flat contact portion 42 is arranged at the end portion of the front extension portion 412, the rear extension portion 413 is fixed in the tail portion 252, and the pin 43 is bent and extended from the rear extension portion 413. The positioning part 41 is firmly installed in the insulator 2, and barbs are provided at both sides of the rear extension 413 to reinforce the fixation. The contact portions 321 of the plurality of elastic terminals 3 and the flat plate contact portions 42 of the plurality of contact terminals 4 are arranged in two rows on the tongue plate 253 and are staggered with each other. The pins 33 of the elastic terminals 3 and the pins 43 of the contact terminals 4 are arranged in two rows and are staggered with each other. The tongue plate 253 is located at the lower end of the upright part 251 and extends forwards, the tail part 252 is located at the upper end of the upright part 251 and extends backwards, the pin 33 and the pin 43 extend downwards from the tail part 252 and are used for being plugged on a carrier such as a circuit board (not shown), and the positions of the pin 33 and the pin 43 are higher than the position of the tongue plate 253, so that the height of the electric connector 100 on the carrier such as the circuit board can be reduced, the height and the area of the circuit board are not occupied, and the miniaturization and the thinning are facilitated.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4 and 9, the housing 1 includes a shielding portion 11 and a rear cover 12. The shielding part 11 is located around the tongue plate 253 and forms an insertion cavity 21 with the tongue plate 253, and the rear cover 12 covers the tail part 252. The shielding part 11 is fastened to the vertical part 251 and extends forwards to be suspended around the tongue plate 253, the shielding part 11 includes a plurality of fastening parts 111 extending into the plugging cavity 21 and lug parts 112 bent outwards, the fastening parts 111 are arranged on the upper, lower, left and right sides of the shielding part 11, and the fastening parts 111 can be suspended or non-suspended elastic bodies. The ear portions 112 are located on the left and right sides for fixation when the electrical connector 100 is mounted on a carrier such as a circuit board. The rear cover 12 is used to shield the pins 33 of the elastic terminals 3 and the pins 43 of the contact terminals 4. The rear cover 12 has fixing legs 121 bent downward at both sides thereof, and a rear cover plate 122 bent downward at the rear side of the rear cover 12. The fixing legs 121 and the ears 112 have the same height and the same function, and the rear cover plate 122 is used for shielding and protection.

Referring to fig. 7 and 8, the elastic terminal 3 and the contact terminal 4 conform to the USB 3.0 transmission protocol, the elastic terminal 3 has four elastic terminals, namely, a ground terminal 341, a pair of differential signal terminals 342, and a power signal terminal 343, the pair of differential signal terminals 342 is located in the middle, and the ground terminal 341 and the power signal terminal 343 are located on both sides. The contact terminals 4 have five total, namely, a ground terminal 441 located in the middle and two pairs of differential signal terminals 442 located on both sides of the ground terminal 441.

Referring to fig. 1 to 9, the steps of assembling the electrical connector 100 are as follows:

step one, providing 4 elastic terminals 3 connected by a material belt (not shown), injection molding a matching part 26 at a fixing part 31, and suspending an elastic contact arm 32 to expose a pin 33; and then the material belt is folded.

Step two, providing 5 contact terminals 4 connected through the main material belt and the auxiliary material belt, injection molding the main body part 25 at the positioning part 41, and exposing the flat contact part 42 and exposing the pins 43; and then the main material belt and the auxiliary material belt are folded.

Step three, buckling the matching part 26 on the main body part 25 to form the insulator 2 contained in the elastic terminal 3 and the contact terminal 4; the elastic contact arm 32 is accommodated in the accommodating groove 22, the contact portion 321 protrudes out of the

tongue plate

253, and 4 contact portions 321 and 5 panel contact portions 42 are distributed at the same side of the tongue plate 253 in a front-back manner and are arranged in a staggered manner.

Step four, providing the shell 1, and preassembling the shell 1 on the insulator 2.

And step five, riveting the shell 1 to complete the assembly of the shell 1 and the insulator 2.

And step six, detecting, laser carving and packaging.

Wherein the first step and the second step can be conducted alternatively or synchronously.

Compared with the existing insulator which adopts a planar structure, the elastic terminal and the insulator are planar to each other, so that the force of the elastic terminal is concentrated at the joint of the insulator and the elastic terminal during plugging and unplugging, and the elastic terminal is easy to fall and break during a long-time plugging and unplugging process. The electric connector provided by the invention has the elastic terminal, the bending angle of the elastic terminal is less than 90 degrees, when the lever part is used by the insulator, the elastic terminal can be acted as a lever type fulcrum, and the elastic terminal can be prevented from being reduced, broken and the like, so that the reject ratio is reduced, the cost is saved, the yield is improved, and the service life is prolonged.

The above embodiments are only used for illustrating the present invention and not for limiting the technical solutions described in the present invention, and the understanding of the present specification should be based on the technical personnel in the technical field, such as the directional descriptions of "front", "back", "left", "right", "upper", "lower", etc., although the present specification has described the present invention in detail with reference to the above embodiments, the ordinary skilled in the art should understand that the technical personnel in the technical field can still make modifications or equivalent substitutions on the present invention, and all the technical solutions and modifications thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be covered in the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising:

a housing;

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the lever portion is a convex hull protruding from a bottom of the receiving slot.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein said convex hull has an arcuate surface for contacting said resilient contact arm.

4. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the point at which said resilient contact arm contacts said male dome is located between 1/4 and 1/3 of said resilient contact arm.

5. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the elastic contact arm is bent and extended from the fixing portion, and an included angle between the fixing portion and the elastic contact arm is less than 90 degrees.

6. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein said insulator further comprises an abutment abutting a bend between said retention portion and said resilient contact arm.

7. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the insulator includes a main body portion and a mating portion fastened to the main body portion, the main body portion includes a tongue portion located in the insertion cavity, the receiving slot is disposed in the tongue portion, and the fixing portion of the elastic terminal is fixed in the mating portion.

8. The electrical connector of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of contact terminals, wherein the contact terminals include plate contact portions exposed to the insertion cavities, and wherein the contact portions of the plurality of resilient terminals and the plate contact portions of the plurality of contact terminals are arranged in two rows on the tongue plate and are offset from each other.

9. The electrical connector of claim 8, wherein the spring terminal further comprises a pin extending out of the mating portion, and the contact terminal further comprises a pin extending out of the body portion.

10. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein the main body portion includes a vertical portion, a tail portion extending rearwardly from an upper end of the vertical portion, and the tongue plate extending forwardly from a lower end of the vertical portion, and the housing includes a shielding portion disposed around the tongue plate and forming the plug cavity with the tongue plate, and a rear cover covering the tail portion.