CN115483586A - Module connector - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a module connector, which can be mounted on an external circuit board and can be matched with a plurality of butting connectors along the front-back direction.

Description

Module connector

[ technical field ] A

The present invention relates to a modular connector, and more particularly, to a modular connector that can be mated with a mating plug connector.

[ background of the invention ]

Multi-port module connectors are widely used in communication network equipment, and as the transmission data density and transmission rate are continuously improved, the transmission quality of signals and the interference problem of signals among signal channels are increasingly concerned. With reference to the prior art of the present application, chinese patent No. CN201075493Y discloses an electrical connector, which includes an upper port and two lower ports corresponding to the upper port, wherein the two lower ports are arranged in an up-down direction. However, the above prior designs have drawbacks in that: the transmission distances from the two lower ports to the ground terminal are different, wherein the distance from the terminal of the upper lower port to the external equipment is long, the signal loss is large, and the requirement of high-speed transmission cannot be met. Therefore, there is a need for an improved module connector to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[ summary of the invention ]

The main purposes of the invention are as follows: a modular connector is provided which is mateable with a plurality of mating connectors and has a short and consistent transmission path of a lower mating port to an external circuit board.

In order to solve the technical problems, the invention adopts the following technical scheme: a modular connector mountable to an external circuit board and matable with a plurality of mating connectors in a front-to-rear direction, the modular connector comprising an upper mating port and at least two mating ports disposed below the upper mating port, the upper mating port and each of the lower mating ports being matable with different ones of the mating connectors, each of the lower mating ports being aligned in a lateral direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction and perpendicular to the up-to-down direction.

In order to solve the technical problems, the invention also adopts the following technical scheme: a module connector can be butted with a plurality of butting connectors along the front-back direction, the module connector comprises an insulating shell, a terminal module accommodated in the insulating shell, and a first electric connector and a second electric connector accommodated in the insulating shell, an upper butting plug opening, a first lower butting plug opening corresponding to the first electric connector and a second lower butting plug opening corresponding to the second electric connector are arranged on the insulating shell, the first lower butting plug opening is positioned below the upper butting plug opening, the terminal module comprises butting terminals, one butting connector can be butted with the butting terminals through the upper butting plug opening, different butting connectors can be matched with the first electric connector and the second electric connector through the corresponding first lower butting plug opening and the second lower butting plug opening, and the first electric connector and the second electric connector are arranged in the transverse direction which is perpendicular to the front-back direction and perpendicular to the up-down direction.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the advantages that: each lower butt joint port is vertically arranged side by side, and is more stable than a horizontal arrangement mode, and transmission paths from the lower butt joint ports to an external circuit board are short and consistent so as to meet the transmission of signals with higher speed.

[ description of the drawings ]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a modular connector according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the module connector shown in fig. 1 from another perspective.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the modular connector shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of another perspective of the modular connector shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a further exploded view of the modular connector shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an exploded view from another perspective of the modular connector shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a further exploded view of the module connector shown in fig. 5 with the metallic shield shell and the dielectric shell removed.

Fig. 8 is an exploded view from another perspective of the modular connector shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an exploded view of the USB-C connector of the modular connector shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a further exploded view of the USB-C connector of the modular connector shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is an exploded view from another perspective of the USB-C connector of the modular connector shown in fig. 10.

[ description of main reference symbols ]

Module connector 500 first electrical connector 41

Second electrical connector 42 of insulating housing 1

Terminal module 2 regulating part 8

Terminal set 411 of electric connector 4

Shield case 413 in metal shield case 6

Front wall 11 outer shield case 415

Upper wall 12 first terminal set 401

Sidewall 13 second terminal set 402

Accommodating space 10 metal shield 403

Upper plug opening 111 insulator 404

Lower opposite-insertion opening 112 butt tongue plate 44

First insulating body 431 of containing cavity 101

The first conductive terminal 441 of the rail slot 103

The first holding portion 442 of the first lower opposite-inserting opening 113

Second lower opposite insertion opening 114 first mounting portion 443

First contact portion 445 of the receiving groove 116

Inner circuit board 20 second butt joint cavity 40'

The docking terminal 21 first lower docking port 200

Second lower mating port 300 of adaptor terminal 23

Front housing 61 of insulating carrier 24

Rear shell 63 of filter module 26

Conductive sheet 201 front wall 611

Mounting hole 202 top wall 612

Side wall 631 of through hole 203

Rear wall 633 of docking portion 211

First opening 601 of welding part 213

Second opening 602 of connecting part 215

Third opening 603 of fixing part 231

Mounting portion 233 lamp hole 605

Pin 235 side grounding spring 635

Back grounding spring 636 of docking port 100

Conductive part 73 of indicator light 7

Light emitting section 71

[ detailed description ] A

As shown in fig. 1-11, a module connector 500 according to the present invention is provided for a plurality of mating plug connectors (not shown) to be inserted and mated in a front-back direction and to be mounted downward on an external circuit board (not shown).

The module connector 500 includes an insulating housing 1, a terminal module 2 accommodated in the insulating housing 1, a plurality of electrical connectors 4 accommodated in the insulating housing 1, and a metal shielding housing 6 coated outside the insulating housing 1. The module connector 500 of the present invention can mate with one RJ45 plug electrical connector and two USB-C plug connectors.

The insulating shell comprises a front wall 11, an upper wall 12 extending backwards from the top of the front wall 11, and two side walls 13 extending backwards from two side faces of the front wall 11 and respectively connected with the upper wall 12, wherein the front wall 11, the upper wall 12 and the two side walls 13 jointly form a containing space 10. The front wall 11 is provided with an upper insertion opening 111 and a lower insertion opening 112. The upper insertion opening 111 is recessed rearward from the insulating housing 1 to form a housing cavity 101. The rear side of the receiving cavity 101 includes a plurality of barrier slots 103 arranged in the transverse direction, and each barrier slot 103 penetrates the insulating housing 1 in the front-rear direction and is located at the rear side portion of the receiving cavity 101. A mated RJ45 network cable plug connector can enter the receiving cavity 101 through the upper mating opening 111. The lower opposite insertion openings 112 include a first lower opposite insertion opening 113 and a second lower opposite insertion opening 114. The first lower opposite insertion opening 113 and the second lower opposite insertion opening 114 both penetrate through the front wall 11 from front to rear. The first lower mating opening 113 and the second lower mating opening 114 are aligned in a lateral direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and perpendicular to the up-down direction. The first lower opposite insertion opening 113 and the second lower opposite insertion opening 114 have the same shape. Specifically, the shape of the upper mating opening 111 is an opening conforming to an RJ45 connector, and both the first lower mating opening 113 and the second lower mating opening 114 are openings conforming to a USB-C connector. The first lower mating opening 113 and the second lower mating opening 114 are vertically disposed in the longitudinal direction. The dimensions of the first lower interposing opening 113 and the second lower interposing opening 114 in the lateral direction are not greater than the dimensions of the upper interposing opening 111 in the lateral direction. The upper opposite insertion opening 111 is further provided with receiving grooves 116 at both sides of the upper end thereof.

The terminal module 2 is accommodated in the rear of the accommodating space 10. The terminal module 2 includes an inner circuit board 20 vertically disposed along an up-down direction and having a front surface and a rear surface, a row of horizontally arranged butt terminals 21 connected to the front surface of the inner circuit board 20, a through terminal 23 connected to the bottom of the inner circuit board 20 and mainly located at the rear side of the inner circuit board 20, an insulating carrier 24 holding the through terminal 23, and a filter module 26 electrically connected between the through terminal 21 and the through terminal 23. The filter module 26 is mounted on the rear surface of the inner circuit board 20 above the through terminal 23. The internal circuit board 20 further includes electronic components (not shown) such as resistors and capacitors, as necessary. A row of conducting strips 201 are arranged in the middle of the front surface of the inner circuit board 20. The upper portion of the inner circuit board 20 includes a mounting hole 202 corresponding to the receiving groove 116. The lower portion of the inner circuit board 20 includes a plurality of through holes 203 that extend through the inner circuit board. The mating terminals 21 can mate with a mating RJ45 plug connector. Each of the mating terminals 21 includes a mating portion 211 that can be mated with a mated RJ45 plug connector, a soldering portion 213 soldered to the conductive sheet 201 of the inner circuit board 20, and a connecting portion 215 connected between the soldering portion 213 and the mating portion 211. Specifically, in the present invention, the plane of the connection portion 215 is perpendicular to the plane of the internal circuit board 20, the docking portion 211 extends obliquely upward and rearward, and the connection portion 215 extends horizontally rearward from the front end of the docking portion 211 to the soldering portion 213. The mating portion 211 extends forwardly through the corresponding barrier slot 103 to enter the receiving cavity 101 for mating with the mated RJ45 plug connector. The relay terminal 23 includes a fixing portion 231 held in the insulating carrier 24, a mounting portion 233 extending forward from one end of the fixing portion 231 through the through hole 203 and mounted on the inner circuit board 20, and a pin 235 extending downward from the other end of the fixing portion 231 and mounted on the outer circuit board. The pins 235 are downwardly mounted on an external circuit board located below the module connector 500. The insulating shell 1 and the terminal module 2 jointly form an RJ45 socket connector. The upper mating opening 111 and the mating terminal 21 together constitute an upper mating port 100. The upper insertion opening 111 and the lower insertion opening 112 are integrally formed in the insulating housing 1. That is, the upper mating opening 111, the first lower mating opening 113, and the second lower mating opening 114 are formed by the same insulating housing 1, and the receiving cavity 101 is also formed by the same insulating housing 1, thereby reducing the number of injection molding processes and assembly processes and reducing the manufacturing cost.

The module connector 500 is further provided with an indicator light 7 for indicating the communication status of the RJ45 connector of the upper docking port. The indicator lamp 7 includes a light emitting portion 71 and a conductive portion 73 for connecting the light emitting portion 71 and the internal circuit board 20. The light emitting portion 71 is accommodated in the accommodation groove 116. The conductive portion 73 is mounted on the inner circuit board 20 through the mounting hole 202.

The electrical connector 4 includes a first electrical connector 41 corresponding to the first lower mating opening 113 and a second electrical connector 42 corresponding to the second lower mating opening 114. The first electrical connector 41 and the second electrical connector 42 are located side by side in front of the inner circuit board 20. An adjusting member 8 for adjusting the front-rear position of the electrical connector 4 is further included between the electrical connector 4 and the inner circuit board 20. The first electrical connector 41 and the second electrical connector 42 are independently mounted in the insulating housing 1. The first electrical connector 41 and the second electrical connector 42 are identical electrical connectors. In the present invention, the first electrical connector 41 and the second electrical connector 42 are both USB-C socket electrical connectors. Two mating USB-C plug connectors can mate with the corresponding first electrical connector 41 and second electrical connector 42 through the corresponding first lower mating opening 113 and second lower mating opening 114.

Since the first electrical connector 41 and the second electrical connector 42 are the same electrical connector, only the first electrical connector 41 will be described in detail in this embodiment. The first electrical connector 41 includes a terminal group 411, an inner shield case 413 covering a front end of the terminal group 411, and an outer shield case 415 covering the terminal group 411 and the inner shield case 413. The terminal set 411 includes a first terminal set 401, a second terminal set 402 located at one side of the first terminal set 401, a metal shield 403 disposed between the first terminal set 401 and the second terminal set 402, and an insulator 404 disposed at the front end of the first terminal set 401 and the second terminal set 402. The insulator 404 includes a forwardly extending abutment tab 44. The first terminal set 401 and the second terminal set 402 are symmetrically disposed, and only the first terminal set 401 will be described in detail herein. The first terminal set 401 includes a first insulating body 431 and a plurality of first conductive terminals 441 held by the first insulating body 431, each of the first conductive terminals 441 includes a first holding portion 442 held in the first insulating body 431, a first mounting portion 443 extending downward out of the first insulating body 431, and a first contact portion 445 extending forward out of the first insulating body 431. The corresponding second terminal set 402 includes two contact portions (not shown). The tongue butt plate 44 includes a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to each other in the transverse direction, and the first contact portion 445 and the second contact portion are exposed to the first side surface and the second side surface of the tongue butt plate 44, respectively. The inner shield shell 413 surrounds the docking tongue 44 to form the first docking chamber 40 that opens forward. The length direction of the cross section of the docking chamber 40 is arranged in the up-down direction to correspond to the corresponding first lower docking opening 113.

The corresponding second electrical connector 42 includes a second docking cavity 40'. The second lower opposite insertion opening 114 corresponds to the second opposite connection cavity 40'. A mating USB-C plug connector enters the first mating cavity 40 through the first lower mating opening 113 to mate with the first electrical connector 41. The other mating USB-C plug connector enters the second mating cavity 40' through the second lower mating opening 114 to mate with the second electrical connector 42. The first lower mating opening 113 and the first mating cavity 40 together form a first lower mating port 200 of the modular connector 500, and the second lower mating opening 114 and the second mating cavity 40' together form a second lower mating port 300 of the modular connector 500.

The metallic shield shell 6 includes a front shell 61 and a rear shell 63 which are snapped together. The front housing 61 includes a front wall 611 and a top wall 612 connected to the front wall 611. The rear case 63 includes both side walls 631 and a rear wall 633 connected between the side walls 631. The front wall 611 is provided with a first opening 601 corresponding to the upper opposite insertion opening 111, a second opening 602 corresponding to the first lower opposite insertion opening 113, a third opening 603 corresponding to the second lower opposite insertion opening 114, and a lamp hole 605 for an indicator lamp to pass through. Each of the side walls 631 is provided with a side ground fragment 635 inwardly protruded for connection to the inner circuit board 20, and the top of the rear wall 633 is provided with a rear ground fragment 636 forwardly protruded for connection to the inner circuit board 20.

The first electrical connector 41 and the second electrical connector 42 are configured as the same electrical connector in the present invention, so that the design cost of the mold can be saved. Meanwhile, in the module connector 500 of the present invention, the first docking port 100 is disposed above the first docking port 100, and the first lower docking port 200 and the second lower docking port 300 are disposed below the first docking port 100, and the first lower docking port 200 and the second lower docking port 300 are arranged in a transverse direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and perpendicular to the up-down direction, so that transmission paths from the conductive terminals of the respective connectors corresponding to the two lower docking ports 200 and 300 to the external circuit board are short, transmission paths from the two lower docking ports to the external circuit board are consistent, and there is no difference in signal transmission between the two lower docking ports and the external circuit board while the module connector 500 can be matched with a plurality of docking connectors.

The embodiment shows only two lower docking ports, and in other embodiments, more lower docking ports may be provided, and any equivalent changes to the technical solution of the present invention, which are made by a person skilled in the art through reading the description of the present invention, are all covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A modular connector mountable to an external circuit board and matable with a plurality of mating connectors in a front-to-back direction, said modular connector comprising an upper mating port and at least two mating ports disposed below said upper mating port, said upper mating port and each of said lower mating ports each matable with a different one of said mating connectors, characterized in that: the lower docking ports are arranged in a lateral direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and perpendicular to the up-down direction.

2. The modular connector of claim 1 wherein each of said mating ports of said lower mating ports is the same type of mating port.

3. The modular connector of claim 2, wherein the length dimension of each of said mating ports of said lower mating port is arranged in an up-down direction.

4. The modular connector of claim 3 wherein the upper docking port is an RJ 45-type docking port and the lower docking port is a USB-C-type docking port.

5. The modular connector of claim 4 further comprising conductive terminals corresponding to each of said mating ports of said lower mating ports, said conductive terminals being downwardly mountable to an external circuit board.

6. The modular connector of claim 1, further comprising an insulative housing and a metallic shielding housing covering the exterior of the insulative housing, the insulative housing including an upper mating opening corresponding to the upper mating port and each lower mating opening corresponding to each lower mating port.

7. The modular connector of claim 6 wherein the upper mating opening and the lower mating opening are disposed in a same housing.

8. The modular connector of claim 7 further comprising a terminal module corresponding to said upper mating port, said terminal module including an inner circuit board and mating terminals mounted to said inner circuit board for mating with a mating connector and transfer terminals mounted to said inner circuit board for mounting to an external circuit board.

9. A modular connector, which can be mated with a plurality of mating connectors along a front-rear direction, the modular connector comprising an insulating housing, a terminal module received in the insulating housing, and a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector received in the insulating housing, the insulating housing being provided with an upper mating opening, a first lower mating opening corresponding to the first electrical connector and a second lower mating opening corresponding to the second electrical connector, which are located below the upper mating opening, the terminal module comprising mating terminals, one of the mating connectors being mated with the mating terminals through the upper mating opening, and different ones of the mating connectors being mated with the corresponding first electrical connector and the corresponding second electrical connector through the corresponding first lower mating opening and the corresponding second lower mating opening, the modular connector comprising: the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector are arranged in a lateral direction perpendicular to a front-rear direction and perpendicular to an up-down direction.

10. The modular connector of claim 9 wherein said upper mating opening is recessed rearwardly from said housing to form a receiving cavity, one of said mating connectors is mated with said mating terminal in said receiving cavity, and said first electrical connector and said second electrical connector are independently mounted to said housing.

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