CN113690710A

CN113690710A - Electric connector and method for manufacturing terminal module thereof

Info

Publication number: CN113690710A
Application number: CN202110784380.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈志坤
Original assignee: Lotes Co Ltd
Current assignee: Lotes Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-12
Filing date: 2021-07-12
Publication date: 2021-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 2041-07-12
Also published as: CN113690710B

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for manufacturing a terminal module, which comprises the following steps: a, forming a row of conductive terminals, connecting parts and a material belt on a metal plate, wherein one end of each connecting part is connected with the material belt, the other end of each connecting part is connected with the side edges of two conductive terminals which are adjacently arranged at the left and right and face each other, a through hole is formed between every two adjacent conductive terminals, the connecting parts correspond to the through holes up and down, grooves are respectively formed between each connecting part and the two conductive terminals which are correspondingly connected with the connecting parts, and the grooves and the through holes are arranged at intervals in the up and down direction; b, coating the conductive terminal by the terminal seat through injection molding, wherein the edge of the terminal seat does not exceed the edge of one side, close to the through hole, of the groove in the up-down direction; and c, laser cutting off the connecting part between the groove and the through hole, separating the cut connecting part together with the material belt from the conductive terminals, and enabling every two adjacent conductive terminals to be independent from each other and facilitating manufacturing. The invention also discloses an electric connector which comprises an insulating body and at least one terminal module.

Description

Electric connector and method for manufacturing terminal module thereof

[ technical field ] A method for producing a semiconductor device

The present invention relates to an electrical connector and a method for manufacturing a terminal module thereof, and more particularly, to an electrical connector suitable for electrically connecting a chip module to a circuit board and a method for manufacturing a terminal module thereof.

[ background of the invention ]

The forming method of a terminal module of habitually using in the trade, the terminal module includes that it is a plurality of conductive terminal of arranging and is in one row through the mode shaping of moulding plastics along left right direction a plastic block on the conductive terminal, each conductive terminal have a main part, certainly two elastic arms that form are extended at the upper and lower both ends of main part, the main part cladding is in the plastic block, two elastic arm is all protruding to stretch out the plastic block for with outside butt joint spare electric connection.

In the molding process of the terminal module, the plurality of conductive terminals are separately arranged, two material belts are connected to the left side and the right side of the top end of the main body part of each conductive terminal, so that the plurality of conductive terminals are fixed in a row through the material belts, the row of conductive terminals are placed into a mold, and then molten plastic material is injected. Therefore, when the mold is closed and injected, the convex column of the mold is required to be inserted between the two left and right adjacent elastic arms for blocking glue and avoiding glue overflow, the convex column is very thin and easy to break due to the small distance between the two left and right adjacent elastic arms, and in the demolding process, the convex column is easy to scrape the conductive terminals and generate burrs, and if the distance between the adjacent conductive terminals is increased, the strength of the convex column can be increased, but the structure is not suitable for enabling the conductive terminals to be arranged densely.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, it is desirable to design a new method for manufacturing an electrical connector and a terminal module thereof to solve the above drawbacks.

[ summary of the invention ]

The invention provides an electric connector and a manufacturing method of a terminal module thereof, aiming at the problems in the prior art, the invention provides the electric connector and the manufacturing method of the terminal module thereof, wherein the position of a connecting part connected with a material belt for connecting a conductive terminal is changed, the conductive terminal part is directly embedded in a terminal seat, so as to form the terminal module, and the terminal seat is formed without a groove between the conductive terminal and the connecting part, so that the terminal module is easy to manufacture, and the conductive terminals can be intensively arranged.

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

a method of manufacturing a terminal module, comprising the steps of: a metal plate is cut, a plurality of conductive terminals arranged side by side along the left and right direction, a plurality of connecting parts connected with the plurality of conductive terminals and at least one material belt are formed on the cut metal plate, one end of each connecting part is connected with the material belt, the other end of each connecting part is connected with the side edges, facing to each other, of two conductive terminals arranged adjacently left and right, a through hole is formed between every two adjacent conductive terminals, each connecting part corresponds to one through hole up and down, a groove is formed between each connecting part and the two conductive terminals correspondingly connected with the connecting part in the left and right direction, and the grooves and the through holes are arranged in a vertically spaced mode; b, forming an insulated terminal seat on the cut metal plate in an insert injection molding mode, wherein the terminal seat covers the conductive terminal, and the edge of the terminal seat does not exceed the edge of one side, close to the through hole, of the groove in the vertical direction; and c, cutting off the connecting part between the groove and the through hole by adopting a laser cutting-off mode, so that the cut-off connecting part is separated from the conductive terminals together with the material belt, and every two adjacent conductive terminals are independent.

Further, in the step a, two material belts which are distributed up and down are formed, each conductive terminal comprises a main body part which is in a flat plate shape and two elastic arms which are formed by extending from the upper end and the lower end of the main body part, two connecting parts are connected between the main body parts of the two conductive terminals which are adjacent to each other left and right, the two connecting parts are located on the upper side and the lower side corresponding to the through hole, each connecting part is arranged by being separated from the adjacent elastic arms, and the main body parts and the connecting parts are arranged in a coplanar manner; in step b, the main body part protrudes upwards from the upper surface of the terminal base and protrudes downwards from the lower surface of the terminal base.

Further, in step b, the upper surface of the terminal block extends upward beyond the top edge of the through hole and is lower than the bottom edge of the groove above the through hole, and the lower surface of the terminal block extends downward beyond the bottom edge of the through hole and is higher than the top edge of the groove below the through hole; in step c, the plastic material of the terminal block corresponding to the connecting part in the front-back direction is cut off together.

Further, in step b, the terminal block is formed with a thin portion corresponding to each of the connection portions, front and rear surfaces of the thin portion are recessed from front and rear surfaces of the terminal block, and the thin portion covers the corresponding connection portion in the front and rear directions; in step c, the thin portions are cut out together with the corresponding connecting portions.

Further, in the step b, the thin portion having a width in the left-right direction larger than that of the through hole is formed, and both left and right ends of the thin portion are disposed beyond the through hole in the left-right direction; in step c, laser cutting is performed on the terminal block and the connecting material connecting part along the boundary of the thin part.

Further, in step b, the upper surface of the molded terminal block is lower than the top edge of the through hole, and the lower surface of the terminal block is higher than the bottom edge of the through hole, so that the connecting part is completely exposed out of the terminal block, and a filling part is molded at the part of the through hole, where the terminal block is exposed out; in step c, the filling portions are cut out together.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects:

firstly, a plurality of conductive terminals arranged side by side are connected through a plurality of connecting parts, each conductive terminal is provided with a main body part in a flat plate shape, a through hole is arranged between the main body parts of two conductive terminals adjacent to each other on the left and right, and the connecting parts are connected between the two adjacent conductive terminals, so that the connecting material part for connecting a material belt is prevented from being widened in the left and right direction, the width of the main body part in the left and right direction can be reduced, the impedance of the conductive terminals is adjusted, the signal transmission is facilitated, small space is kept between the conductive terminals, and the intensive arrangement of the conductive terminals is realized; a groove is respectively formed between each connecting part and the two conductive terminals correspondingly connected with the connecting part, the grooves and the through holes are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, therefore, the area between the groove and the through hole is the plate-shaped connecting part, and before the plastic material is injected, the through hole is only required to be at least partially positioned in the mold cavity of the mold, the convex parts of the mould around the mould cavity are pressed on the main body part and the plate surface of the connecting part so as to shield the groove, so that the mould does not need to be provided with a convex column embedded into the groove, when the molten plastic material is injected into the mold cavity, the glue overflow to the groove is avoided, and finally the connecting part is cut off by laser, the two adjacent conductive terminals are independent from each other, the terminal module is formed, and the manufacturing process is simple.

an electrical connector for electrically connecting a first mating member and a second mating member, comprising: the insulating body is provided with at least one opening, and the opening penetrates through the insulating body up and down; at least one terminal module, the terminal module hold locate the opening, each the terminal module includes: the terminal base is made of insulating materials, the left end and the right end of the terminal base are fixed on the insulating body, the terminal base comprises a plurality of upper cutting grooves and a plurality of lower cutting grooves, the upper cutting grooves are formed by downwards recessing the upper surface of the terminal base and penetrate through the terminal base from front to back, the lower cutting grooves are formed by upwards recessing the lower surface of the terminal base and penetrate through the terminal base from front to back, and the upper cutting grooves and the lower cutting grooves are distributed at intervals in the left-right direction and are arranged oppositely in an upper row and a lower row; a plurality of conductive terminals embedded in the terminal base and arranged side by side along the left-right direction, wherein an upper cutting groove and a lower cutting groove are arranged between every two adjacent conductive terminals, each conductive terminal is provided with a main body part which is embedded in the terminal base and is in a flat plate shape, and two elastic arms which are formed by extending from the upper side and the lower side of the main body part, the upper end and the lower end of the main body part protrude out of the upper surface and the lower surface of the terminal base, the two elastic arms are defined as an upper elastic arm and a lower elastic arm, each elastic arm is provided with a contact part, the contact part of the upper elastic arm is used for contacting with the first butt-joint part, the contact part of the lower elastic arm is used for contacting with the second butt-joint part, the main body part is provided with an upper connecting part corresponding to the upper cutting groove and a lower connecting part corresponding to the lower cutting groove, and the upper connecting parts of the two adjacent conductive terminals are exposed in the same upper cutting groove between the upper cutting groove and the lower cutting groove, the lower connecting material parts of two adjacent conductive terminals are exposed in the same lower cutting groove between the two conductive terminals.

Furthermore, the upper cutting groove is provided with two upper groove walls which are oppositely arranged at the left side and the right side and an upper bottom wall which is connected with the two upper groove walls, the lower cutting groove is provided with two lower groove walls which are oppositely arranged at the left side and the right side and a lower bottom wall which is connected with the two lower groove walls, the upper connecting part is provided with a first side edge which exposes the upper groove walls, and the lower connecting part is provided with a second side edge which exposes the lower groove walls.

Further, the first side portion extends upward out of the upper surface of the terminal block, and the second side portion extends downward out of the lower surface of the terminal block.

Furthermore, the upper connecting portion is provided with a third side edge connected with the first side edge, the third side edge is exposed out of the upper bottom wall, the lower connecting portion is provided with a fourth side edge connected with the second side edge, and the fourth side edge is exposed out of the lower bottom wall.

Furthermore, the conductive terminal is provided with a convex part which is opposite to the first side edge and the second side edge, the top surface of the convex part is the third side edge, and the bottom surface of the convex part is the fourth side edge.

Further, the terminal module is equipped with a plurality ofly, and set up side by side in along the fore-and-aft direction in the opening, each the terminal seat has from its front surface to the holding tank that the backward concave was established and from its rear surface to the protruding fin of establishing formation of backward protruding, adjacent two in the front and back in the terminal seat, the front side the terminal seat the fin is acceptd backward in the rear side the holding tank of terminal seat.

Furthermore, the outer surface of the convex rib is arranged in an arc shape.

Furthermore, the terminal modules are arranged side by side along the front and the back, and the two rows of the conductive terminals on the front and the back adjacent terminal seats are arranged in a staggered manner.

The terminal module is provided with a plurality of terminal blocks, each terminal block is provided with a base part for fixing the main body part and two supporting parts positioned at the left end and the right end of the base part, the upper surface of the base part is lower than the upper surface of the supporting part, the lower surface of the base part is higher than the lower surface of the supporting part, the upper surface of the supporting part is used for upwards supporting the first butt-joint part, and the lower surface of the supporting part is used for downwards supporting the second butt-joint part.

Furthermore, each terminal seat is provided with two convex blocks formed by protruding from the two supporting parts, one of the convex blocks is formed by protruding from the supporting part at the left end to the left, the other convex block is formed by protruding from the supporting part at the right end to the right, the insulating body is respectively provided with a fixing groove at the left side and the right side of the opening, and the convex blocks are contained in the fixing grooves and fixed with each other.

Furthermore, the insulation body is provided with two first side plates which are oppositely arranged at the left and right sides and two second side plates which are oppositely arranged at the front and the back sides, the first side plates and the second side plates are mutually fixed to form the insulation body, and the surface of one side, facing the opening, of each first side plate is sunken to form the fixing groove.

Further, the upper surface of the first side plate is flush with the upper surface of the supporting part, the lower surface of the first side plate is flush with the lower surface of the supporting part, the upper surface of the second side plate is lower than the upper surface of the first side plate, and the lower surface of the second side plate is higher than the lower surface of the first side plate.

Furthermore, the second side plate located on the front side abuts against the front surface of the terminal seat in the foremost row backwards, and the second side plate located on the rear side abuts against the rear surface of the terminal seat in the rearmost row forwards, so that the two second side plates limit the plurality of terminal seats forwards and backwards.

the row of conductive terminals are embedded in the terminal seat, so that the row of conductive terminals are firmly combined with the terminal seat, the upper cutting groove and the lower cutting groove which penetrate through the left and right adjacent two conductive terminals are arranged between the left and right adjacent conductive terminals, and the upper connecting material part and the lower connecting material part of the main body part are correspondingly exposed from the upper incised slot and the lower incised slot, therefore, the upper connecting part and the lower connecting part are cut off at the positions corresponding to the upper cutting groove and the lower cutting groove, so that the connecting part for connecting the material belt is prevented from being widened in the left-right direction, the width of the main body part in the left-right direction can be reduced, the impedance of the conductive terminal is adjusted, the transmission of signals is facilitated, meanwhile, the conductive terminals on the terminal seat keep smaller space, and the intensive arrangement of the conductive terminals is realized.

[ description of the drawings ]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of FIG. 3 shown in cross-section along line B-B and prior to mating with the first and second mating members;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the conductive terminal, the carrier tape and the connecting portion formed by cutting the metal plate according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6;

fig. 8 is a schematic view of the cut metal plate of fig. 6 laid down in a mold before forming the terminal block;

fig. 9 is a perspective view of fig. 6 after forming a terminal block on the conductive terminal;

FIG. 10 is a front view of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of C in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 10 with the strip of material concealed;

FIG. 13 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 9;

fig. 14 is a perspective view of fig. 9 with the tape removed;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of E in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a partial front view of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a partial perspective view of the alternative view of FIG. 14;

fig. 18 is a schematic view of another embodiment of a terminal module of the present invention;

fig. 19 is a schematic view of fig. 18 with the tape and the connecting portion removed.

Detailed description of the embodiments reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[ detailed description ] embodiments

For a better understanding of the objects, structure, features, and functions of the invention, reference should be made to the drawings and detailed description that follow.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 2 and fig. 5, the electrical connector 100 of the present invention is used to electrically connect a first mating element 200 and a second mating element 300, for example, the first mating element 200 is a chip module, the second mating element 300 is a circuit board, and in other embodiments, both the first mating element 200 and the second mating element 300 may be the circuit board or other components.

It is easy to understand that the forward direction in the front-back direction is defined as the positive direction of the X axis, the rightward direction in the left-right direction is defined as the positive direction of the Y axis, and the upward direction in the up-down direction is defined as the positive direction of the Z axis.

As shown in fig. 1 and 14, the electrical connector 100 includes an insulating body 1 and a plurality of terminal modules M disposed on the insulating body 1, the plurality of terminal modules M are fixed to the insulating body 1, each terminal module M includes a plurality of conductive terminals 2 and a terminal seat 3 injection-molded on the plurality of conductive terminals 2, and the plurality of conductive terminals 2 are uniformly spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction and are disposed in a row.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 2 and fig. 5, the insulation body 1 has an opening 13, the opening 13 penetrates the insulation body 1 from top to bottom, the insulation body 1 has two first side plates 11 disposed opposite from left to right and two second side plates 12 disposed opposite from front to back, the first side plates 11 and the second side plates 12 are formed by independent injection molding, and then the first side plates 11 and the second side plates 12 are fixed to each other by assembling, so as to form the insulation body 1, and the two first side plates 11 and the two second side plates 12 surround to form the opening 13. The upper surface of the second side plate 12 is lower than the upper surface of the first side plate 11, and the lower surface of the second side plate 12 is higher than the lower surface of the first side plate 11. In this embodiment, the first side plate 11 and the second side plate 12 are both flat plate-shaped structures, the first side plate 11 is vertically disposed, and the second side plate 12 is horizontally disposed.

As shown in fig. 1, 2 and 4, a surface of each first side plate 11 facing the opening 13 is recessed to form a retaining groove 111, in this embodiment, the retaining groove 111 penetrates through the corresponding first side plate 11 in the left-right direction and extends in the front-back direction. Each first side plate 11 is further provided with a clamping groove 112 at the front side and the rear side of the fixing groove 111, the clamping grooves 112 and the fixing groove 111 are arranged at intervals in the front and rear direction, that is, are not communicated with each other, and the clamping grooves 112 are formed by being recessed from the front end or the rear end of the first side plate 11 along the front and rear direction and do not penetrate through the first side plate 11 in the up and down direction.

As shown in fig. 1, 2 and 3, each of the left and right ends of the second side plate 12 is provided with a latch 121 for being received in the slot 112, the width of the latch 121 in the front-back direction is smaller than the width of the second side plate 12 between the two latches 121 in the front-back direction, so that the distance between the two first side plates 11 can be set, the second side plate 12 is assembled to the first side plate 11 in the front-back direction, and the latches 121 are latched into the corresponding slots 112 and fixed by interference.

As shown in fig. 1, 3 and 5, the plurality of terminal modules M are accommodated in the opening 13 and are arranged in the opening 13 side by side along the front-rear direction, two rows of the conductive terminals 2 on two adjacent front and rear terminal blocks 3 are arranged in a staggered manner, the second side plate 12 on the front side abuts against the front surface of the terminal block 3 on the front row, and the second side plate 12 on the rear side abuts against the rear surface of the terminal block 3 on the rear row, so that the two second side plates 12 limit the plurality of terminal blocks 3 in the front-rear direction.

As shown in fig. 1 and 14, the terminal blocks 3 are made of insulating plastic materials, each of the terminal blocks 3 has a base 31, two supporting portions 32 located at the left and right ends of the base 31, and two protrusions 33 formed by protruding from the two supporting portions 32 in the left-right direction away from the base 31, that is, the protrusion 33 at the left end protrudes leftwards from the supporting portion 32 at the left end, and the protrusion 33 at the right end protrudes rightwards from the supporting portion 32 at the right end.

As shown in fig. 2, 4 and 5, the upper surface of the base 31 is lower than the upper surface of the supporting portion 32, the lower surface of the base 31 is higher than the lower surface of the supporting portion 32, neither of the two protrusions 33 exceeds the two supporting portions 32 in the vertical direction, and the protrusions 33 are received in the corresponding retaining grooves 111 and fixed to each other, so that the left and right ends of the terminal block 3 are fixed to the insulating body 1. The upper surface of the first side plate 11 is flush with the upper surface of the supporting portion 32, the lower surface of the first side plate 11 is flush with the lower surface of the supporting portion 32, when the first butt joint member 200 and the second butt joint member 300 are respectively butted with the electrical connector 100, the upper surface of the supporting portion 32 is used for supporting the first butt joint member 200 upwards, and the lower surface of the supporting portion 32 is used for supporting the second butt joint member 300 downwards.

As shown in fig. 14, 15 and 16, each of the terminal blocks 3 includes a plurality of upper slots 311 and a plurality of lower slots 312, the upper slots 311 and the lower slots 312 are formed by laser cutting off excess plastic material of the terminal block 3, the upper slots 311 are formed by recessing downward from the upper surface of the terminal block 3 and penetrate through the terminal block 3 in the front-rear direction, the lower slots 312 are formed by recessing upward from the lower surface of the terminal block 3 and penetrate through the terminal block 3 in the front-rear direction, and the upper slots 311 and the lower slots 312 are distributed at intervals in the left-right direction and are arranged in two opposite rows. In other embodiments, the upper cutting groove 311 and the lower cutting groove 312 are not provided on the surface of the terminal block 3.

As shown in fig. 15, 16, and 17, the upper slot 311 has two upper slot walls 311a disposed opposite to each other in the left-right direction and an upper bottom wall 311b connecting the two upper slot walls 311a, the lower slot 312 has two lower slot walls 312a disposed opposite to each other in the left-right direction and a lower bottom wall 312b connecting the two lower slot walls 312a, the upper bottom wall 311b is recessed from the upper surface of the terminal block 3 in the up-down direction, and the lower bottom wall 312b is recessed from the lower surface of the terminal block 3 in the up-down direction.

As shown in fig. 5, 14 and 16, each of the terminal blocks 3 has a receiving groove 313 and a rib 314, wherein the receiving groove 313 and the rib 314 are disposed at the front and rear sides of the terminal block 3, and the structure of the rib 314 and the structure of the receiving groove 313 correspond to each other in the front and rear direction, so that the rib 314 of one terminal block 3 is received in the receiving groove 313 of the other terminal block 3 in two adjacent terminal blocks 3 in the front and rear direction, thereby forming a mutually fixed structure. In this embodiment, the accommodating groove 313 is formed by being recessed rearward from the front surface of the terminal block 3, the protruding rib 314 is formed by being raised rearward from the rear surface of the terminal block 3, and the outer surface of the protruding rib 314 is formed by being arranged in an arc shape, so that the protruding rib 314 of the terminal block 3 on the front side is accommodated rearward in the accommodating groove 313 of the terminal block 3 on the rear side in two adjacent terminal blocks 3 on the front and rear sides. Of course, in other embodiments, the holding structure is not limited to this, and the protruding rib 314 may be disposed on the front side of the terminal base 3, and the receiving groove 313 may be disposed on the rear side.

As shown in fig. 14, 15 and 16, for each terminal module M, one upper incision 311 and one lower incision 312 are provided between each adjacent two conductive terminals 2.

As shown in fig. 4, 5 and 16, each of the conductive terminals 2 has a main body 21 embedded in the terminal base 3 and having a flat shape, and two elastic arms 22 extending from upper and lower sides of the main body 21, the main body 21 is partially covered by the base 31, upper and lower ends of the main body protrude out of upper and lower surfaces of the terminal base 3, the two elastic arms 22 are defined as an upper elastic arm 22a and a lower elastic arm 22b, the upper elastic arm 22a protrudes out of the upper surface of the terminal base 3, and the lower elastic arm 22b protrudes out of the lower surface of the terminal base 3. Each of the elastic arms 22 is provided with a contact portion 221, the contact portion 221 of the upper elastic arm 22a is used for contacting with the first docking member 200, and the contact portion 221 of the lower elastic arm 22b is used for contacting with the second docking member 300. In this embodiment, the elastic arm 22 is bent from the main body 21 and extends forward and upward.

As shown in fig. 4, 15 and 17, the main body 21 has an upper connecting portion 21a corresponding to the upper cutting slot 311, a lower connecting portion 21b corresponding to the lower cutting slot 312, and a protruding portion 21c located between the upper connecting portion 21a and the lower connecting portion 21b, and the upper connecting portion 21a and the lower connecting portion 21b are used for connecting a tape Q, whether the tape Q is directly connected or the tape Q is connected through a third element (refer to fig. 10 and 11). The upper connecting portions 21a of the two left and right adjacent conductive terminals 2 on the same terminal module M are exposed in the same upper cutting groove 311 therebetween, and the lower connecting portions 21b of the two left and right adjacent conductive terminals 2 are exposed in the same lower cutting groove 312 therebetween.

As shown in fig. 15, 16 and 17, the upper connecting portion 21a has a first side edge 211 exposed to the corresponding upper groove wall 311a, the lower connecting portion 21b has a second side edge 213 exposed to the corresponding lower groove wall 312a, the upper connecting portion 21a has a third side edge 212 connected to the first side edge 211, the third side edge 212 is exposed to the corresponding upper bottom wall 311b, the lower connecting portion 21b has a fourth side edge 214 connected to the second side edge 213, and the fourth side edge 214 is exposed to the corresponding lower bottom wall 312 b. In the process of disconnecting the conductive terminal 2 from the carrier tape Q, the upper connecting portion 21a and the upper cutting groove 311 are formed by laser cutting at the same time, so that the groove walls of the upper connecting portion 21a and the upper cutting groove 311 are flush with each other, and the lower connecting portion 21b and the lower cutting groove 312 are formed by laser cutting at the same time, so that the groove walls of the lower connecting portion 21b and the lower cutting groove 312 are flush with each other.

As shown in fig. 16, the first side 211 extends partially upward out of the upper surface of the terminal block 3, and the second side 213 extends partially downward out of the lower surface of the terminal block 3.

As shown in the figure, the protruding portion 21c protrudes from the first side 211 and the second side 213 along the left-right direction, the top surface of the protruding portion 21c is the third side 212, and the bottom surface of the protruding portion 21c is the fourth side 214.

As shown in fig. 6 to 19, the method for manufacturing the terminal module M includes the steps of:

as shown in fig. 6 and 7, step a is firstly executed to cut a metal plate P, a plurality of conductive terminals 2 arranged side by side along the left-right direction, a plurality of connecting portions R connected to the plurality of conductive terminals 2, and two material belts Q distributed up and down are formed on the cut metal plate P, one end of each connecting portion R is connected to the material belt Q, the other end of each connecting portion R is connected to the opposite side edges of two conductive terminals 2 arranged adjacent to each other left and right, each conductive terminal 2 includes a main body portion 21 in a flat plate shape and two elastic arms 22 formed by extending from the upper end and the lower end of the main body portion 21, and a through hole 5 is formed between each two adjacent main body portions 21. It is adjacent two to control conductive terminal 2 connect two between the main part 21 connecting portion R, one of them connecting portion R is in the top of through-hole 5 is connected two of two conductive terminal 2 between the main part 21, another connecting portion R is in the below of through-hole 5 is connected two between two main part 21 of conductive terminal 2, two promptly connecting portion R is located and corresponds the upper and lower both sides of through-hole 5, connecting portion R with the main part 21 coplane sets up, and in the left and right sides direction, each connecting portion R with connecting portion R corresponds two of connecting respectively the shaping has a recess 4 between conductive terminal 2, recess 4 with through-hole 5 separates the setting in the upper and lower direction, each connecting portion R and one through-hole 5 corresponds the setting from top to bottom for one row conductive terminal 2 main part 21 and two connecting portion R an organic whole formation is rectangular gold Belong to the face to in the shaping one row on the metal face through-hole 5, each connecting portion R with adjacent bullet arm 22 sets up at a distance. In this step, both the elastic arms 22 are formed by bending and extending upward and forward from the main body 21, but the two elastic arms 22 may also be formed by bending and extending in different directions in the front-rear direction, or only one elastic arm 22 may be provided at one end of the main body 21 and one welded portion may be provided at the other end.

As shown in fig. 8, then, step b is executed, the cut metal plate P is laid down in a mold 400, the mold 400 is composed of an upper mold 400a and a lower mold 400b, the upper mold 400a and the lower mold 400b are respectively provided with a cavity and a combining surface 401, the combining surfaces 401 of the upper mold 400a and the lower mold 400b face each other, the cavity of the upper mold 400a and the cavity of the lower mold 400b face each other up and down to form a mold cavity 400c, the combining surface 401 is located at a raised portion of the periphery of the mold cavity 400c, the combining surface 401 of the upper mold 400a and the combining surface 401 of the lower mold 400b are clamped at the upper and lower sides of the laid metal plate P, the combining surface 401 is attached to the plate surface of the main body portion 21, a portion of the main body portion 21 is accommodated in the mold cavity 400c, and the other portion is located outside the mold cavity 400c, said through holes 5 are at least partially located in said cavity 400c and said grooves 4 are located outside said cavity 400c, so that said grooves 4 are completely isolated outside said cavity 400c by said joining surface 401.

As shown in fig. 9, 10 and 13, a molten plastic material is injected into the mold cavity 400c, the mold cavity 400c is filled with the molten plastic material, and after cooling, an insulated terminal block 3 is formed in the mold cavity 400c, and the terminal block 3 covers the conductive terminal 2, that is, the insulated terminal block 3 is formed on the cut metal plate P by insert injection.

As shown in fig. 10, 11 and 12, the terminal block 3 covering the conductive terminal 2 is then taken out from the mold 400, and at this time, the edge of the terminal block 3 does not exceed the edge of the groove 4 near the through hole 5 in the vertical direction, that is, the grooves 4 located above and below the through hole 5 are not covered by the terminal block 3, and the through hole 5 is at least partially covered by the terminal block 3.

As shown in fig. 14, 15 and 17, finally, in step c, a laser cutting method is performed to cut off the connecting portion R located between the groove 4 and the through hole 5, so that the cut-off connecting portion R and the strip Q are separated from the conductive terminals 2, and every two adjacent conductive terminals 2 are independent from each other, so that the main body portion 21 forms an upper connecting material portion 21a at a position located above the through hole 5 and corresponding to a breaking position of the connecting portion R, and forms a lower connecting material portion 21b at a position located below the through hole 5 and corresponding to a breaking position of the connecting portion R.

As shown in fig. 8, 11 and 12, in one embodiment, in step b, before the molten plastic material is injected into the mold cavity 400c, the through hole 5 is completely located in the mold cavity 400 c; after injecting molten plastic material into the mold cavity 400c and cooling and forming the terminal block 3, the upper surface of the terminal block 3 is upward beyond the top edge of the through hole 5 and is lower than the bottom edge of the groove 4 above the through hole 5, the lower surface of the terminal block 3 is downward beyond the bottom edge of the through hole 5 and is higher than the top edge of the groove 4 below the through hole 5, a thin portion N is formed at a portion of the terminal block 3 corresponding to each of the connecting portions R, the thin portion N extends to an edge of a corresponding side of the terminal block 3 in the up-down direction, front and rear surfaces of the thin portion N are recessed relative to front and rear surfaces of the terminal block 3, the thin portion N covers the corresponding connecting portion R in the front-rear direction, and the width of the thin portion N in the left-right direction is greater than the width of the through hole 5 in the left-right direction, the left end and the right end of the thin part N are arranged beyond the through hole 5 along the left-right direction; in step c, the terminal block 3 and the connecting portion R are laser-cut along the boundary of the thin portion N, and the thin portion N is cut away together with the corresponding connecting portion R, so that an upper slot 311 is formed at a position corresponding to the thin portion N on the upper side of the terminal block 3, a lower slot 312 is formed at a position corresponding to the thin portion N on the lower side of the terminal block 3, such that the upper connecting portion 21a is exposed to the corresponding upper slot 311, the lower connecting portion 21b is exposed to the corresponding lower slot 312, the upper connecting portion 21a has a first side 211 exposed to the upper slot 311 in the left-right direction and a third side 212 exposed to the upper slot 311 in the upward direction (refer to fig. 15 and 16 for assistance), and the lower connecting portion 21b has a second side 213 exposed to the lower slot 312 in the left-right direction and a fourth side 214 exposed to the lower slot 312 in the downward direction, the first side 211 and the third side 212 on the same side of the main body 21 are located in the same vertical plane in the vertical direction (refer to fig. 16 and 17 for assistance).

As shown in fig. 18 and 19, in another embodiment, in step b, before the molten plastic material is injected into the mold cavity 400c, the middle portion of the through hole 5 is located in the mold cavity 400c, and the two end portions are located outside the mold cavity 400c, that is, the portion of the through hole 5 is clamped by the combining surface 401 of the upper mold 400a and the combining surface 401 of the lower mold 400 b; after injecting a molten plastic material into the mold cavity 400c and cooling and molding the terminal block 3, the upper surface of the terminal block 3 is lower than the top edge of the through hole 5, and the lower surface of the terminal block 3 is higher than the bottom edge of the through hole 5, so that the connecting portion R is completely exposed out of the terminal block 3, and a filling portion F is molded at the upper end and the lower end of the through hole 5, where the terminal block 3 is respectively exposed; in step c, the filling portions F are cut off together, in which case the upper connecting portion 21a is completely above the terminal block 3 and the lower connecting portion 21b is below the terminal block 3, but at the same time, the upper connecting portion 21a is provided with the first side 211 and the third side 212 exposed above the terminal block 3 and perpendicular to each other, and the lower connecting portion 21b is provided with the second side 213 and the third side 214 exposed below the terminal block 3 and perpendicular to each other.

In summary, the electrical connector and the method for manufacturing the terminal module thereof of the present invention have the following advantages:

(1) firstly, a plurality of conductive terminals 2 arranged side by side are connected through a plurality of connecting parts R, each conductive terminal 2 is provided with a main body part 21 in a flat plate shape, a through hole 5 is arranged between the main body parts 21 of two conductive terminals 2 adjacent to each other on the left and right, and the connecting parts R are connected between the two adjacent conductive terminals 2, so that the connecting part for connecting a material belt Q can be prevented from being widened in the left and right direction, the width of the main body part 21 in the left and right direction can be reduced, the impedance of the conductive terminals 2 is adjusted, the transmission of signals is facilitated, small intervals are kept between the conductive terminals 2, and the intensive arrangement of the conductive terminals 2 is realized; a groove 4 is formed between each connecting part R and two conductive terminals 2 correspondingly connected with the connecting part R, the grooves 4 and the through holes 5 are arranged at intervals in the up-down direction, so that the area between the groove 4 and the through hole 5 is the plate-shaped connecting part R, before plastic materials are injected, only the through hole 5 is at least partially positioned in the die cavity 400c of the die 400, and the convex parts of the die 400 around the die cavity 400c are pressed on the main body part 21 and the plate surface of the connecting part R, so as to shield the groove 4, so that the die 400 does not need to be provided with a convex column embedded into the groove 4, when the molten plastic materials are injected into the die cavity 400c, glue overflow to the groove 4 can be avoided, and finally, laser is adopted to cut off the connecting part R, so that every two adjacent conductive terminals 2 are independent, the terminal module M is formed, and the manufacturing process is simple.

(2) By embedding a row of the conductive terminals 2 in one terminal block 3, the conductive terminals 2 are firmly combined with the terminal block 3, the upper cutting groove 311 and the lower cutting groove 312 which penetrate through the upper and lower cutting grooves are formed between every two adjacent conductive terminals 2, and the upper connecting portion 21a and the lower connecting portion 21b of the main body 21 are exposed to the upper cutting groove 311 and the lower cutting groove 312, so that the upper connecting portion 21a and the lower connecting portion 21b are cut at positions corresponding to the upper cutting groove 311 and the lower cutting groove 312, which can avoid widening the connecting portion for connecting the material strips Q in the left and right direction, reduce the width of the main body 21 in the left and right direction, adjust the impedance of the conductive terminals 2, facilitate the transmission of signals, and keep a small distance between the conductive terminals 2 on the terminal block 3, and realizing the dense arrangement of the conductive terminals 2.

(3) The cutting is performed in a laser manner, so that the upper connecting portion 21a of the conductive terminal 2 and the wall of the upper cutting groove 311 of the terminal block 3 are flush with each other, and the lower connecting portion 21b of the conductive terminal 2 and the wall of the lower cutting groove 312 of the terminal block 3 are flush with each other, so that two adjacent conductive terminals 2 can be disconnected at one time, and the manufacture is easy.

(4) The receiving groove 313 is formed on one of the front surface and the rear surface of each terminal block 3, and the protruding rib 314 is formed on the other terminal block 3, so that the protruding rib 314 of one terminal block 3 is received in the receiving groove 313 of the other terminal block 3 in two adjacent terminal blocks 3 in the front and rear directions, thereby forming a mutually-holding structure for preventing the terminal blocks 3 from being separated from each other in the up-down direction.

(5) In one embodiment, the terminal block 3 is formed with a thin portion N corresponding to each of the connection portions R, front and rear surfaces of the thin portion N are recessed with respect to front and rear surfaces of the terminal block 3, and the thin portion N covers the corresponding connection portion R in the front-rear direction, so that the thin portion N is easily cut off together with the corresponding connection portion R in step c.

(6) The upper surface of the second side plate 12 is lower than the upper surface of the first side plate 11, and the lower surface of the second side plate 12 is higher than the lower surface of the first side plate 11, so that the upper and lower spaces of the second side plate 12 can be shifted to adjacent rows of the elastic arms 22 of the conductive terminals 2.

The above detailed description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and not for the purpose of limiting the scope of the present invention, therefore, all technical changes that can be made by applying the present specification and drawings are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a terminal module, comprising the steps of:

a metal plate is cut, a plurality of conductive terminals arranged side by side along the left and right direction, a plurality of connecting parts connected with the plurality of conductive terminals and at least one material belt are formed on the cut metal plate, one end of each connecting part is connected with the material belt, the other end of each connecting part is connected with the side edges, facing to each other, of two conductive terminals arranged adjacently left and right, a through hole is formed between every two adjacent conductive terminals, each connecting part corresponds to one through hole up and down, a groove is formed between each connecting part and the two conductive terminals correspondingly connected with the connecting part in the left and right direction, and the grooves and the through holes are arranged in a vertically spaced mode;

b, forming an insulated terminal seat on the cut metal plate in an insert injection molding mode, wherein the terminal seat covers the conductive terminal, and the edge of the terminal seat does not exceed the edge of one side, close to the through hole, of the groove in the vertical direction;

and c, cutting off the connecting part between the groove and the through hole by adopting a laser cutting-off mode, so that the cut-off connecting part is separated from the conductive terminals together with the material belt, and every two adjacent conductive terminals are independent.

2. The method of manufacturing a terminal module according to claim 1, wherein: in the step a, two material belts which are distributed up and down are formed, each conductive terminal comprises a main body part which is in a flat plate shape and two elastic arms which are formed by extending from the upper end and the lower end of the main body part, two connecting parts are connected between the main body parts of the two conductive terminals which are adjacent to each other left and right, the two connecting parts are positioned on the upper side and the lower side corresponding to the through hole, each connecting part is arranged by being separated from the adjacent elastic arms, and the main body parts and the connecting parts are arranged in a coplanar manner; in step b, the main body part protrudes upwards from the upper surface of the terminal base and protrudes downwards from the lower surface of the terminal base.

3. The method of manufacturing a terminal module according to claim 2, wherein: in step b, the upper surface of the terminal block extends upwards beyond the top edge of the through hole and is lower than the bottom edge of the groove above the through hole, and the lower surface of the terminal block extends downwards beyond the bottom edge of the through hole and is higher than the top edge of the groove below the through hole; in step c, the plastic material of the terminal block corresponding to the connecting part in the front-back direction is cut off together.

4. The method of manufacturing a terminal module according to claim 3, wherein: in step b, the terminal block is formed with a thin portion corresponding to each of the connecting portions, front and rear surfaces of the thin portion are recessed relative to front and rear surfaces of the terminal block, and the thin portion covers the corresponding connecting portion in the front and rear directions; in step c, the thin portions are cut out together with the corresponding connecting portions.

5. The method of manufacturing a terminal module according to claim 4, wherein: in the step b, forming the thin part with the width in the left-right direction larger than that of the through hole, wherein the left end and the right end of the thin part are arranged beyond the through hole in the left-right direction; in step c, laser cutting is performed on the terminal block and the connecting portion along the boundary of the thin portion.

6. The method of manufacturing a terminal module according to claim 1, wherein: in step b, the upper surface of the molded terminal block is lower than the top edge of the through hole, and the lower surface of the terminal block is higher than the bottom edge of the through hole, so that the connecting part is exposed out of the terminal block, and a filling part is molded at the part of the through hole, which is exposed out of the terminal block; in step c, the filling portions are cut out together.

7. An electrical connector for electrically connecting a first mating member and a second mating member, comprising:

the insulating body is provided with at least one opening, and the opening penetrates through the insulating body up and down;

at least one terminal module, the terminal module hold locate the opening, each the terminal module includes:

the terminal base is made of insulating materials, the left end and the right end of the terminal base are fixed on the insulating body, the terminal base comprises a plurality of upper cutting grooves and a plurality of lower cutting grooves, the upper cutting grooves are formed by downwards recessing the upper surface of the terminal base and penetrate through the terminal base from front to back, the lower cutting grooves are formed by upwards recessing the lower surface of the terminal base and penetrate through the terminal base from front to back, and the upper cutting grooves and the lower cutting grooves are distributed at intervals in the left-right direction and are arranged oppositely in an upper row and a lower row;

a plurality of conductive terminals embedded in the terminal base and arranged side by side along the left-right direction, wherein an upper cutting groove and a lower cutting groove are arranged between every two adjacent conductive terminals, each conductive terminal is provided with a main body part which is embedded in the terminal base and is in a flat plate shape, and two elastic arms which are formed by extending from the upper side and the lower side of the main body part, the upper end and the lower end of the main body part protrude out of the upper surface and the lower surface of the terminal base, the two elastic arms are defined as an upper elastic arm and a lower elastic arm, each elastic arm is provided with a contact part, the contact part of the upper elastic arm is used for contacting with the first butt-joint part, the contact part of the lower elastic arm is used for contacting with the second butt-joint part, the main body part is provided with an upper connecting part corresponding to the upper cutting groove and a lower connecting part corresponding to the lower cutting groove, and the upper connecting parts of the two adjacent conductive terminals are exposed in the same upper cutting groove between the upper cutting groove and the lower cutting groove, the lower connecting material parts of two adjacent conductive terminals are exposed in the same lower cutting groove between the two conductive terminals.

8. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein: the upper cutting groove is provided with two upper groove walls which are oppositely arranged at the left side and the right side and an upper bottom wall which is connected with the two upper groove walls, the lower cutting groove is provided with two lower groove walls which are oppositely arranged at the left side and the right side and a lower bottom wall which is connected with the two lower groove walls, the upper connecting part is provided with a first side edge which exposes the upper groove walls, and the lower connecting part is provided with a second side edge which exposes the lower groove walls.

9. The electrical connector of claim 8, wherein: the first side portion extends upward out of the upper surface of the terminal block, and the second side portion extends downward out of the lower surface of the terminal block.

10. The electrical connector of claim 8, wherein: the upper connecting part is provided with a third side edge connected with the first side edge, the third side edge is exposed out of the upper bottom wall, the lower connecting part is provided with a fourth side edge connected with the second side edge, and the fourth side edge is exposed out of the lower bottom wall.

11. The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein: the conductive terminal is provided with a protruding part which is opposite to the first side edge and the second side edge, the top surface of the protruding part is the third side edge, and the bottom surface of the protruding part is the fourth side edge.

12. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein: the terminal module is equipped with a plurality ofly, and along the fore-and-aft direction set up side by side in the opening, each the terminal seat has from its front surface to the concave holding tank of establishing backward and from its rear surface to the protruding fin of establishing formation backward, adjacent two in the front and back in the terminal seat, the front side the terminal seat the fin is acceptd backward in the rear side the holding tank of terminal seat.

13. The electrical connector of claim 12, wherein: the outer surface of the convex rib is arranged in an arc shape.

14. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein: the terminal modules are arranged in a plurality and are arranged side by side along the front and the back, and the two rows of conductive terminals on the front and the back adjacent terminal seats are arranged in a staggered manner.

15. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein: the terminal module is provided with a plurality of terminal blocks, each terminal block is provided with a base part for fixing the main body part and two supporting parts positioned at the left end and the right end of the base part, the upper surface of the base part is lower than the upper surface of the supporting part, the lower surface of the base part is higher than the lower surface of the supporting part, the upper surface of the supporting part is used for upwards supporting the first butt joint part, and the lower surface of the supporting part is used for downwards supporting the second butt joint part.

16. The electrical connector of claim 15, wherein: each terminal seat is provided with two convex blocks formed by protruding from the two supporting parts, one of the convex blocks is formed by protruding from the supporting part at the left end to the left, the other of the convex blocks is formed by protruding from the supporting part at the right end to the right, the left side and the right side of the opening of the insulating body are respectively provided with a fixing groove, and the convex blocks are contained in the fixing grooves and are fixed with each other.

17. The electrical connector of claim 16, wherein: the insulating body is provided with two first side plates which are oppositely arranged at the left and right sides and two second side plates which are oppositely arranged at the front and the back sides, the first side plates and the second side plates are mutually fixed to form the insulating body, and the surface of one side, facing the opening, of each first side plate is sunken to form the fixing groove.

18. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein: the upper surface of the first side plate is flush with the upper surface of the supporting part, the lower surface of the first side plate is flush with the lower surface of the supporting part, the upper surface of the second side plate is lower than the upper surface of the first side plate, and the lower surface of the second side plate is higher than the lower surface of the first side plate.

19. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein: the second side plate located on the front side is abutted backwards against the front surface of the terminal seat of the foremost row, and the second side plate located on the rear side is abutted forwards against the rear surface of the terminal seat of the rearmost row, so that the two second side plates limit the plurality of terminal seats forwards and backwards.