CN216312250U - Board-to-board connector assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to a board-to-board connector assembly, which comprises a plug connector and a socket connector. The socket connector comprises a first body, a first metal piece and a second metal piece. The first body is provided with a middle island, a first containing groove and a first side wall. The first metal piece is arranged on the first body and extends from the bottom of the first side wall to the middle island through the first accommodating groove. The second metal piece is arranged on the first body, spans and covers part of the first side wall. The plug connector comprises a second body and a third metal piece. The second body is provided with a second containing groove and a second side wall. The third metal piece is arranged on the second body, spans and covers part of the second side wall. When the plug connector is butted with the socket connector, the second side wall is inserted into the first accommodating groove, the middle island is inserted into the second accommodating groove, and the third metal piece is abutted to the first metal piece and the second metal piece.

Description

Board-to-board connector assembly

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a connector assembly.

Background

The board-to-board connector is used for connecting different circuit boards, and is provided with a socket connector and a plug connector which are respectively arranged on the different circuit boards, so that the circuit boards are mutually connected. In mobile devices such as smart phones, the board-to-board connector assembly is very small in size, which results in a reduction in the structural strength and life of each connector.

Moreover, the above-mentioned structural strength reduction is also reflected in the plugging and unplugging action of the male end (plug) and the female end (socket), that is, the damage caused by the structural interference in the process of pulling the male end and the female end away from each other is caused by the reduction of the strength or the terminal elasticity of a part of the structure. In addition, in some usage environments, in order to facilitate charging or information transmission, the electronic module in the device has a transmission requirement of a larger current, and at this time, the requirement of the board to the manufacturing specification of the board connector is increased.

Therefore, how to improve the structural strength of the board-to-board connector and make it conform to the relevant specification under the condition of large current transmission is a subject to be considered and solved by the relevant technical personnel.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model provides a board-to-board connector, which disperses the required functions in different metal pieces so as to simultaneously have the structural strength and the electrical conduction efficiency when the connector is butted and further improve the reliability of the connector.

The board-to-board connector of the utility model comprises a plug connector and a socket connector which are butted with each other. The socket connector comprises a first body, a pair of first metal pieces and a pair of second metal pieces. The first body is provided with a middle island, a first containing groove surrounding the middle island and a first side wall surrounding the first containing groove. The first metal pieces are respectively arranged at two opposite ends of the first body, and each first metal piece extends to the middle island from the bottom of the first side wall through the first accommodating groove. The second metal pieces are respectively arranged at two opposite ends of the first body, and each second metal piece is arranged in a spanning mode and covers part of the first side wall. The plug connector comprises a second body and a pair of third metal pieces. The second body is provided with a second containing groove and a second side wall surrounding the second containing groove. The third metal pieces are respectively arranged at two opposite ends of the second body, and each third metal piece spans and covers part of the second side wall. When the plug connector is butted with the socket connector, the second side wall is inserted into the first accommodating groove, the middle island is inserted into the second accommodating groove, and the third metal piece is butted between the first metal piece and the second metal piece.

Based on the above, in the receptacle connector of the board-to-board connector assembly, the purpose of dividing the function of the receptacle connector into the first metal part and the second metal part is achieved by the pair of first metal parts and the pair of second metal parts disposed on the first body, wherein the first metal part extends from the bottom of the first side wall to the middle island through the first accommodating groove, and the second metal part is disposed across the first side wall, so that the first metal part and the second metal part are respectively abutted against the third metal part of the plug connector when the connectors are butted, and the stress of the metal parts can be effectively dispersed when the connectors are butted.

In other words, compared with the conventional connector in which the metal members are mated in a one-to-one (one for each of the plug connector and the receptacle connector), the present invention uses the first metal member and the second metal member to share the force applied during mating/releasing (or plugging) of the connector, so that the structural strength between the metal members and the body is sufficient to meet the plugging process without worrying about damage during the plugging process.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an assembly view of a board-to-board connector assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the receptacle connector of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the plug connector of fig. 1.

Fig. 4-6 illustrate cross-sectional views of the connector assembly at various locations.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a second terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 and 9 are schematic views of a first metal part according to different embodiments of the present invention.

Description of the symbols

10 board-to-board connector assembly

100 socket connector

110 the first body

111 middle island

111a top

111b outer wall surface

112 the first accommodation groove

113 first side wall

120. 320, 420 first metal piece

121: body board

122, both feet

123 elastic sheet

124. 324 head part

125. 425 bending

130 second metal piece

131. 132 first covering part

131a convex hull

132a gap

133 first drawing part

140 first terminal

141 necking structure

200 plug connector

210 second body

211 second side wall

211a projection

212 the second accommodation groove

220: third metal part

221. 222 second covering part

221a recess

223 second drawing part

230. 330 second terminal

231 difference in level

331: bending

A1, A2, A3 local

A4 local suction

R1, R2 circuit board

t1 thickness

W1, W2 and W3 are first wall bodies

W4, W5 and W6 as second wall

X-Y-Z is rectangular coordinate.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is an assembly view of a board-to-board connector assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the board-to-board connector assembly 10 includes a receptacle connector 100 and a plug connector 200 capable of being mated with each other, as shown in fig. 1, the receptacle connector 100 is disposed on a circuit board R1, and the plug connector 200 is disposed on a circuit board R2, so that the receptacle connector 100 and the plug connector 200 are mated with each other to enable the circuit boards R1 and R2 to be electrically conducted with each other.

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the receptacle connector of fig. 1. While the rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z are provided for the convenience of description of the components, it should be noted that the rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z are set based on the socket connector 100 in this embodiment. In other words, fig. 1 shows that the receptacle connector 100 and the plug connector 200 are both in a state that the receiving groove thereof faces upward for identification, and when the plug connector 200 is mated with the receptacle connector 100, the plug connector 200 of fig. 1 is flipped by 180 degrees and then mated with the receptacle connector 100.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the receptacle connector 100 includes a first body 110, a pair of first metal pieces 120, and a pair of second metal pieces 130. The first body 110 is insulative and includes a middle island 111, a first receiving groove 112 surrounding the middle island 111, and a first sidewall 113 surrounding the first receiving groove 112. The first metal elements 110 are respectively disposed at two opposite ends of the first body 110 along the X-axis, and each first metal element 110 extends from the bottom of the first sidewall 113 to the middle island 111 through the first receiving groove 112 along the X-axis. The second metal members 130 are respectively disposed at two opposite ends of the first body 110 along the X axis, and each of the second metal members 130 spans and covers a part of the first sidewall 113. Furthermore, the receptacle connector 100 further includes a plurality of first terminals 140 disposed on the first body 110 and extending from the first sidewall 113 to the middle island 111 through the first receiving groove 112 along the Y-axis.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the plug connector of fig. 1. Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 3, the plug connector 200 of the present embodiment includes a second body 210, a pair of third metal parts 220, and a plurality of second terminals 230, wherein the second body 210 has insulation and includes a second receiving groove 212 and a second sidewall 211 surrounding the second receiving groove 212. The third metal elements 220 are respectively disposed at two opposite ends of the second body 210 along the X axis, and each third metal element 220 spans and covers a part of the second sidewall 211.

Referring to fig. 2 again, in the present embodiment, the first metal element 120 substantially has a human-shaped contour, and includes a body 121 located at the bottom of the first receiving groove 112, two feet 122 extending from the body 121 to the bottom of the first side wall 113, a pair of elastic pieces 123 extending and bending from opposite positions of the body 121 toward the top of the first side wall 113, and a head 124 extending from the body 121 and covering a part of the middle island 111, where the head 124 and the two feet 122 are located at opposite sides of the body 121 along the X axis. Here, the first metal element 120 is combined with the first body 110 by, for example, a burying injection process, wherein the head 124 covers at least one outer wall surface of the middle island 111. Furthermore, as shown in fig. 2, the head 124 of the first metal element 120 of the present embodiment covers the outer wall 111b of the middle island and the top 111a of the middle island 111, wherein the head 124 further has a bend 125 extending from the top 111a of the middle island 111 and embedded into the middle island 111, so as to improve the bonding strength between the first metal element 120 and the first body 110.

It should be noted that the first metal element 120 of the present embodiment is manufactured by drawing a metal plate, and thus the head portion 124 includes at least three parts and a drawing part. As shown in fig. 2 in a partially enlarged view at the lower left, the head 124 is further divided into a part a1, a2 and a pair of parts A3 (only one side of which is shown in fig. 2), and a pair of drawing parts a4, wherein the part a1 covers the top 111a of the middle island 111, the part a2 and the pair of parts A3 respectively cover three outer walls 111b of the middle island 111, and the drawing parts a4 are respectively adjacent to and between the parts a1 to A3. The first metal component 120 of the present embodiment can increase the coverage area of the first body 110 by the drawing part a4 formed by the drawing process, so as to improve the protection effect on the first body 110.

Similarly, the second metal member 130 of the present embodiment is also manufactured by drawing, and includes three first covering portions 131 and 132, that is, the first covering portion 131 located in the middle and the first covering portions 132 located at two opposite sides, that is, the first covering portions 132 extend from two opposite sides of the first covering portion 131. The second metal member 130 after the drawing process further forms a first drawing portion 133. Here, the first covering parts 131 and 132 are respectively (asymmetrically) inverted U-shaped and straddle the adjacent three first walls W1, W2, and W3 of the first side wall 113, and each first drawing part 133 is adjacent to the inner bend between the adjacent two first covering parts 131 and 132. Accordingly, the second metal part 130 also increases the coverage area with the first body 110, thereby increasing the protection effect on the first body 110.

Referring to fig. 3 again, the third metal element 220 includes three second covering portions 221, 222, wherein a pair of the second covering portions 222 extends from two opposite sides of the second covering portion 221, and two second drawing portions 223 are formed by drawing, wherein the second covering portions 221, 222 respectively have (asymmetric) inverted U-shaped profiles and straddle three adjacent second walls W4, W5, W6 of the second sidewall 211, and each second drawing portion 223 is adjacent to an outer bending portion between the two adjacent second covering portions 221, 222. Similarly, the third metal element 220 is also drawn to increase the coverage area with the second body 210. Furthermore, the third metal component 220 can be correspondingly combined to the protrusion 211a of the second body 210 because the second covering portion 221 located at the middle has the recess 221a, and the second covering portions 222 located at the two opposite sides respectively have the barbs 222a to hook the second body 210 during stepping-in and shooting. The corresponding concave and convex structures or the barbs can improve the bonding strength of the components.

Fig. 4-6 illustrate cross-sectional views of the connector assembly at various locations. Referring to fig. 1, fig. 2 and fig. 4, in the receptacle connector 100, the first covering portions 132 located at two opposite sides of the second metal element 130 respectively have notches 132a corresponding to the two elastic pieces 123 of the first metal element 120. More specifically, when the plug connector 200 is mated with the receptacle connector 100, the second sidewall 211 is inserted into the first receiving groove 112, the middle island 111 is inserted into the second receiving groove 212, and the third metal piece 220 is abutted between the first metal piece 120 and the second metal piece 130. As shown in fig. 4, the elastic sheet 123 abuts and is electrically connected to the second covering portion 222 of the third metal element 220, and the elastic sheet 123 is expanded due to the abutting of the second covering portion 221, as shown by the outline of the elastic sheet 123 shown by the dashed line and the solid line in fig. 4, so that the expanded elastic sheet 123 corresponds to the local structure of the first covering portion 132 in the notch 132 a. Accordingly, in the direction of removing the plug connector 200 from the receptacle connector 100 (if the receptacle connector 100 is fixed as a reference, the plug connector 200 is removed from the receptacle connector 100 in the positive Z-axis direction), the part of the first covering portion 132 located in the notch 132a is located in the moving path of the elastic piece 123.

On the other hand, referring to fig. 2, fig. 3 and fig. 6, the first covering portion 131 located in the middle of the second metal element 130 further has a convex hull 131a facing the middle island 111 of the first body 110, and when the plug connector 200 is mated with the socket connector 100, the second metal element 130 is abutted by the convex hull 131a and electrically conducts the third metal element 220. In this way, the second metal element 130 can be used for electrically communicating with the third metal element 220, and also can be used as a stop for the first metal element 120, as described above, that is, when the plug connector 200 is removed, the elastic piece 123 can be interfered by the local structure of the second metal element 130 at the notch 132a, so as to prevent the first metal element 120 from being separated from the first body 110 by being driven by the plug connector 200 in the removing process.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 3 and fig. 5, in the mated board-to-board connector assembly 10 of the present embodiment, the first terminals 140 and the second terminals 230 are correspondingly abutted, each first terminal 140 extends from the first sidewall 113 to the middle island 111 through the first receiving groove 112, and each first terminal 140 has a necking structure 141 at the first sidewall 113. Each second terminal 230 is disposed around a partial surface of the second body 210, and each second terminal 230 has a step 231 at a position opposite to the second receiving cavity 212 on the second side wall 211, and the corresponding first terminal 140 and the corresponding second terminal 230 are buckled with each other by the necking structure 141 and the step 231, which is equivalent to that the necking structure 141 and the step 231 generate a buckling relationship in the removing direction of the plug connector 200 relative to the receptacle connector 100 to improve the mating strength of the plug connector 200 and the receptacle connector 100.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a second terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 7, it is worth mentioning that, unlike the step 231 formed by the thinning means of the second terminal 230 of the foregoing embodiment, the second terminal 330 of the present embodiment forms the bending structure 331 in a state of maintaining the same thickness (thickness t 1), so that the bending structure 331 and the necking structure 141 of the first terminal 140 can generate a mutual buckling effect.

Fig. 8 and 9 are schematic views of a first metal part according to different embodiments of the present invention. Referring to fig. 8 and fig. 2, the difference between the first metal element 320 and the first metal element 120 is that the head 324 of the present embodiment is U-shaped and thus covers only three outer walls 111b of the middle island 111. Next, referring to fig. 9 and comparing fig. 2, the difference between the first metal part 420 and the first metal part 120 is that the bending degree and length of the bend 425 extending from the head 124 are smaller, but the head 124 can still be embedded into the middle island 111 of the first body 110 smoothly to achieve the purpose of improving the bonding strength of the components. In other words, the designer can appropriately adjust the size and degree of the bends 125, 425 according to the structural and material characteristics.

In summary, in the receptacle connector of the board-to-board connector assembly according to the embodiments of the present invention, the functions of the receptacle connector are divided into the first metal part and the second metal part by the pair of first metal parts and the pair of second metal parts disposed on the first body, wherein the first metal part extends from the bottom of the first side wall to the middle island through the first receiving groove, and the second metal part is disposed across the first side wall, so that the first metal part and the second metal part are respectively abutted against the third metal part of the plug connector when the connectors are mated, and the stresses of the metal parts can be effectively dispersed when the connectors are mated.

More importantly, the drawing part or the drawing part formed by drawing processing of the first, second and third metal pieces can effectively increase the covering area with the first body and the second body, so that the fully-coated structural effect is caused, the protection effect on the body is improved, and the situation that the metal pieces fall off from the body and even damage the body can be avoided in the butt joint/release (or plugging) process of the connector.

Moreover, the first metal part and the second metal part which are respectively arranged on the first body can also generate a mutual balance control effect, namely, the gap of the second metal part corresponds to the elastic sheet of the first metal part, and then after the connector is butted, the second metal part can use the local structure at the gap as a stop of the elastic sheet, so that the situation that the first metal part is driven by the plug connector to be separated from the first body in the releasing (removing) process of the connector is avoided.

In contrast to the conventional connector in which the metal members are mated in a one-to-one (one for each of the plug connector and the receptacle connector), the present invention uses the first metal member and the second metal member to share the force applied during the mating/releasing (or plugging) of the connector, so that the structural strength between the metal members and the body is sufficient to meet the requirement of the plugging process without worrying about damage during the plugging process.

Claims (18)

1. A board-to-board connector assembly characterized by:

a receptacle connector comprising:

the first body is provided with a middle island, a first containing groove surrounding the middle island and a first side wall surrounding the first containing groove;

a pair of first metal pieces, which are respectively arranged at two opposite ends of the first body, wherein each first metal piece extends from the bottom of the first side wall to the middle island through the first accommodating groove;

the pair of second metal pieces are respectively arranged at two opposite ends of the first body, and each second metal piece spans and covers part of the first side wall;

a plug connector mated to the receptacle connector, the plug connector comprising:

the second body is provided with a second containing groove and a second side wall surrounding the second containing groove; and

a pair of third metal pieces respectively arranged at two opposite ends of the second body, each third metal piece straddling and covering a part of the second side wall,

when the plug connector is butted with the socket connector, the second side wall is inserted into the first accommodating groove, the middle island is inserted into the second accommodating groove, and the third metal piece is butted between the first metal piece and the second metal piece.

2. The board-to-board connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the first metal member comprises a body plate located at the bottom of the first receiving slot, two legs extending from the body plate to the bottom of the first sidewall, a pair of resilient pieces extending and bending from opposite positions of the body plate toward the top of the first sidewall, and a head portion extending from the body plate and covering a part of the middle island, the head portion and the two legs being located at opposite sides of the body plate.

3. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 2, wherein said header covers at least one exterior wall of said middle island.

4. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 2, wherein the header covers at least one of the exterior walls of the middle island and a top of the middle island.

5. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 4, wherein said header portion further has a bend extending from a top of and embedded in said central island.

6. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 4, wherein said header portion includes at least three portions and a drawn portion, each of said portions respectively covering both of said outer wall surfaces and said top portion of said middle island, said drawn portion being adjacent between said portions.

7. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 2, wherein the second metal member includes three first covering portions and two first drawing portions, each of the first covering portions is formed in an inverted U shape and straddles three adjacent first walls of the first side wall, and each of the first drawing portions abuts against an inner bent portion between two adjacent first covering portions.

8. The board-to-board connector assembly of claim 7, wherein each of the first covering portions has a convex hull located at a middle portion thereof and facing the middle island, so that the second metal member abuts against and electrically connects the third metal member through the convex hull when the plug connector is mated with the receptacle connector.

9. The board-to-board connector assembly of claim 8, wherein the third metal member includes three second covering portions, each having an inverted U-shaped profile and spanning over three adjacent second walls of the second sidewall, and each of the second covering portions abuts against the convex hull to electrically connect the second metal member.

10. The board-to-board connector assembly of claim 7, wherein each of the first covering portions has a notch at two opposite sides thereof to correspond to the pair of resilient pieces of the first metal member, and a portion of the first covering portion located in the notch is located in a moving path of the pair of resilient pieces in a direction of removing the plug connector from the receptacle connector.

11. The board-to-board connector assembly of claim 10, wherein when the plug connector is mated with the socket connector, the pair of resilient pieces is expanded by the third metal member to correspond to a partial structure of each of the first covering portions in the gap.

12. The board-to-board connector assembly of claim 10, wherein the third metal member includes three second covering portions, each having an inverted U-shaped profile and spanning over three adjacent second walls of the second side wall, and each of the second covering portions is located at two opposite sides and abuts against and electrically connects the pair of resilient plates.

13. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the third metal member includes three second covering portions and two second drawing portions, each of the second covering portions has an inverted U-shaped profile and spans over three adjacent second walls of the second sidewall, and each of the second drawing portions abuts on an outer bend between two adjacent second covering portions.

14. The board-to-board connector assembly of claim 13, wherein each of the second covering portions has at least one recess in a middle thereof for engaging with at least one protrusion of the second body.

15. The board-to-board connector assembly of claim 13, wherein each of the second covering portions has a barb at opposite sides thereof for hooking to the second body.

16. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle connector further comprises a plurality of first terminals respectively disposed on the first bodies, the plug connector further comprises a plurality of second terminals respectively disposed on the second bodies, each of the first terminals and each of the second terminals are correspondingly abutted against each other, each of the first terminals extends from the first side wall to the center island through the first receiving groove, each of the first terminals has a necking structure at the first side wall, each of the second terminals is annularly disposed on a partial surface of the second body, each of the second terminals has a bending structure at the second side wall opposite to the second receiving groove, and the corresponding first terminals and the corresponding second terminals are mutually fastened by the necking structures and the bending structures.

17. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 16, wherein the thickness of the second terminals is constant through the bent structure.

18. The board-to-board connector assembly according to claim 16, wherein the thickness of the second terminals is reduced by said bent structure.

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