CN219086384U - Electric connector - Google Patents

Abstract

An electrical connector (100) is provided, comprising: an outer case (110); an insulating housing (120) mounted within the outer housing; and two terminal assemblies (131) mounted in the insulating housing, the two terminal assemblies being spaced apart in a first direction (X) to define a mating space therebetween for receiving connection terminals of a mating connector, each terminal assembly including a plurality of conductive terminals arranged in rows along a second direction (Y) perpendicular to the first direction, the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly including a signal terminal (1301) and a ground terminal (1302); the electrical connector further comprises: a shielding member (140) positioned at least partially between the two terminal assemblies in the first direction, the shielding member including contact arms (1414) in electrical contact with the ground terminals.

Description

Electric connector

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to electrical connectors capable of improving Signal Integrity (SI) performance, which are suitable for different application requirements, such as high speed data transmission applications.

Background

An electrical connector is an electronic component that transmits and exchanges electrical current or signals between electronic system devices. Electrical connectors, either alone or in combination with cables, serve as nodes to transmit electrical current or signals between devices, assemblies, equipment, systems, and to maintain the integrity of the systems free from signal distortion and energy loss variations, which are necessary as a basis for making a complete system connection. For example, I/O modules are typically used to make connections between switches and between switches and servers.

As the data rate and data volume of high-speed links continue to increase, extremely high demands are placed on the performance of the connectors. The SI (signal integrity) performance of the existing high-speed connector can only meet PCIe Gen5 performance requirements, but cannot well meet the SI performance requirements of the next generation PCIe Gen 6.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure is directed to overcoming at least one of the above and other problems and disadvantages of the conventional art.

Embodiments provide an electrical connector comprising: an outer housing; an insulating housing mounted within the outer housing; and two terminal assemblies mounted in the insulative housing, the two terminal assemblies being spaced apart in a first direction to define a mating space therebetween for receiving connection terminals of a mating connector, each terminal assembly including a plurality of conductive terminals arranged in rows along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly including a signal terminal and a ground terminal; the electrical connector further comprises: a shielding member positioned at least partially between the two terminal assemblies in the first direction, the shielding member including a contact arm in electrical contact with the ground terminal.

In some embodiments, the shielding member is positioned at least partially between the signal terminals of the two terminal assemblies in the first direction.

In some embodiments, each conductive terminal includes a contact section for making electrical contact with a connection terminal of a mating connector and an opposing mounting section for mounting on a circuit board, and the shielding member is positioned at least partially between portions of the signal terminals of the two terminal assemblies in the first direction proximate the mounting section.

In some embodiments, the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly includes at least one pair of differential signal terminals and a corresponding at least one pair of ground terminals, each pair of ground terminals being positioned on opposite sides of the corresponding pair of differential signal terminals in the second direction.

In some embodiments, the shield member is in electrical communication with the ground terminal.

In some embodiments, the shielding member comprises two sub-shielding members, each sub-shielding member comprising a plate-shaped sub-shielding body and the contact arm extending from an edge of the sub-shielding body towards the corresponding ground terminal, the two sub-shielding bodies of the two sub-shielding members abutting each other in the first direction such that the contact arms of the two sub-shielding members face away from each other.

In some embodiments, each sub-shield member includes a plurality of contact arms arranged in the second direction, and the number of the plurality of contact arms of each sub-shield member is the same as the number of ground terminals of each terminal assembly.

In some embodiments, the contact arm has a hook shape that is open in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

In some embodiments, each terminal assembly further includes a mounting base in which the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly are mounted in one or more rows, the mounting base being formed with a mating protrusion defining a mating slot, and the sub-shield body including a mating portion configured to be at least partially inserted into the mating slot to secure the sub-shield body relative to the mounting base.

In some embodiments, the electrical connector further comprises a ground member in electrical contact with the ground terminal, the shield member being in electrical communication with the ground terminal via the ground member.

In some embodiments, the grounding member includes a grounding body having an intermediate slot configured to allow the shielding member to be at least partially inserted therein.

In some embodiments, the grounding member includes two sub-grounding members spaced apart, and the shielding member is at least partially inserted in a gap between the two sub-grounding members.

The ground member includes a contact protrusion configured to contact the ground terminal.

In some embodiments, the shield member has contact legs for making electrical contact with a ground feature on the circuit board.

In some embodiments, each terminal assembly further comprises a mounting base in which the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly are mounted in one or more rows, each mounting base being formed with a plurality of spaced apart bosses on a side facing the other terminal assembly defining a recess between adjacent bosses, and the shielding member comprises a single shielding body having a plurality of projections respectively formed on opposite sides thereof facing the mounting base, each projection being adapted to be positioned at least partially in the recess between adjacent bosses of the corresponding mounting base.

Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present disclosure, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, and may be learned by the practice of the present disclosure as set forth hereinafter.

Drawings

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is an exploded view schematically showing the structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a bottom view schematically illustrating a structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3, schematically illustrating the structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is an exploded view schematically showing the structure of an electrical connector according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a bottom view schematically illustrating a structure of an electrical connector according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of fig. 6, schematically illustrating a structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is an exploded view schematically showing the structure of an electrical connector according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is a bottom view schematically illustrating a structure of an electrical connector according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of fig. 9, schematically illustrating a structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 11 is an exploded view schematically showing the structure of an electrical connector according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 12 is a bottom view schematically illustrating a structure of an electrical connector according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of fig. 12, schematically illustrating a structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 14 is an exploded view schematically showing the structure of an electrical connector according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 15 is a bottom view schematically showing the structure of an electrical connector according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E of fig. 15, schematically illustrating a structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 17 is a schematic graph showing SI performance of a conventional connector and an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. The following description of embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings is intended to illustrate the general concepts of the disclosure and should not be taken as limiting the disclosure.

Furthermore, in the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. It may be evident, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in the drawings in order to simplify the drawings.

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates an electrical connector for establishing a signal connection/electrical connection between, for example, a circuit board (not shown) of an electrical device and a mating connector (not shown), according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The electrical connector 100 includes an insulative housing 120 and a terminal assembly 131 mounted in the insulative housing 120, the insulative housing 120 being made of, for example, plastic such as LCP material. Optionally, in some applications, the electrical connector 100 may further include an outer housing 110 supported by a metallic material, such as 304 stainless steel, for example, with the insulating housing 120 mounted within the outer housing 110. In some examples, as shown, the outer housing 110 may be formed with a first mounting leg 1101 for mounting on a circuit board, and/or the insulating housing 120 may also be formed with a second mounting leg 1201 for mounting on a circuit board.

In the illustrated embodiment, the electrical connector 100 includes two terminal assemblies 131 mounted in the insulative housing 120, the two terminal assemblies 131 being spaced apart in the first direction X to define a mating space or port therebetween for receiving a connection terminal of a mating connector. The two terminal assemblies 131 may be symmetrically arranged in the insulating housing 120, each terminal assembly 131 including a plurality of conductive terminals arranged in a row, for example, the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly 131 may be arranged in one or more rows along a second direction Y perpendicular to the first direction X.

As an example, the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly 131 includes a signal terminal 1301, a ground terminal 1302, and/or a power supply terminal. For example, as shown in fig. 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15, in each row of conductive terminals, a signal terminal 1301 (e.g., two differential signal terminals) is arranged between two adjacent ground terminals 1302, or one or more ground terminals are provided between adjacent signal terminals, to achieve a signal shielding effect, reducing signal interference.

As an example, the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly 131 includes at least one pair of differential signal terminals 1301 and a corresponding at least one pair of ground terminals 1302, each pair of ground terminals 1302 being positioned on opposite sides of the corresponding pair of differential signal terminals 1301 in the second direction Y to provide signal shielding between the same row of differential signal terminal pairs.

Illustratively, each conductive terminal includes a contact section 1303 (e.g., a spring arm) at one end and a mounting section 1304 (e.g., a solder foot) at an opposite end, the contact section 1303 for making electrical contact with a connection terminal of a mating connector, and the mounting section 1304 for mounting (e.g., soldering) on a circuit board, such as on a solder pad on the circuit board, to effect mounting and electrical connection of the electrical connector to the circuit board. As an example, a hole 1203 (see e.g., fig. 2 and 4) may be formed in a side wall of the insulating housing 120, and the contact section 1303 may be partially positioned in the hole 1203 (see e.g., fig. 4) to allow the contact section 1303 to deflect or deform in the first direction X to accommodate insertion of connection terminals of mating connectors of different sizes.

In an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, the electrical connector further comprises a shielding member 140, the shielding member 140 being positioned at least partially between the two terminal assemblies 131 in the first direction X, e.g. at least partially between the signal terminals 1301 of the two terminal assemblies 131, to provide further signal shielding to the signal terminals in the adjacent two terminal assemblies 131, thereby enabling an improved Signal Integrity (SI), better meeting SI performance requirements, e.g. PCIe Gen6, such that the electrical connector is capable of adapting to data transmission of high speed links, e.g. may be used as a high speed input output connector.

In the illustrated embodiment, the shielding member 140 is positioned in the first direction X at least between adjacent two terminal assemblies 131 or portions of the signal terminals 1301 in adjacent rows of conductive terminals near their mounting sections 1304.

In exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the shielding member 140 may be made of a variety of conductive materials and may be grounded in a variety of ways, for example, the shielding member 140 may be in direct or indirect electrical communication with the ground terminal 1302, or with a ground component on an electrical device or circuit board thereof.

Fig. 2-4 schematically illustrate the structure of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the electrical connector 100 further includes a ground member 150 in electrical contact with the ground terminal 1302, and the shield member 140 is in electrical communication with the ground terminal 1302 via the ground member 150.

The ground member 150 contacting the shielding member 140 may be formed and arranged in various forms. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2-4, the ground member 150 includes a ground body 1501, the ground body 1501 may be formed, for example, in a generally plate shape extending in a second direction Y and oriented perpendicular to a third direction Z orthogonal to the first direction X and the second direction Y, having one or more intermediate slots 1502 extending generally in the second direction Y, the intermediate slots 1502 being configured to allow the shielding member 140 to be at least partially inserted therein.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 2-7, the ground member 150 includes contact protrusions 1503 that extend from the ground body 1501 toward the ground terminals 1302 to contact the corresponding ground terminals 1302. Illustratively, as shown, the opposite side edges of the ground body 1501 form a plurality of contact protrusions 1503, the contact protrusions 1503 may be positioned to contact portions of the ground terminal 1302 proximate to the mounting section 1304. In other examples, the grounding body of the grounding member may also directly contact the ground terminal.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2-10, the shield member 140 includes a shield body 1401, and the shield body 1401 may be formed, for example, in a generally plate shape extending in the second direction Y and oriented perpendicular to the first direction X to partially plug into the intermediate slot 1502 of the ground member 150. As an example, the shielding member 140 may further include one or more contact legs 1402, the contact legs 1402 extending from the shielding body 1401 in the third direction Z to plug into the intermediate slot 1502.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 2, 5 and 8, an abutment 1403 may be formed on one side or on opposite sides of the shield body 1401, and the abutment 1403 may be formed in the form of a flange or a ledge to abut against the ground body 1501 when the shield member 140 is inserted into the intermediate slot 1502.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2-16, each terminal assembly 131 further includes a mounting base 1305, the mounting base 1305 extending generally in the second direction Y, for example, in an elongated shape, the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly 131 being mounted or secured in the mounting base 1305 in one or more rows. The mounting base 1305 is disposed within the insulating housing 120 and is fixed with respect to the insulating housing 120. For example, the outer side wall of the mounting base 1305 may have a protrusion 1306 formed thereon, while the side wall of the insulative housing 120 may have a corresponding slot or aperture 1206 formed thereon, and the protrusion 1306 may snap into or engage in the slot or aperture 1206 to secure the mounting base 1305 to the insulative housing 120, thereby fixedly retaining the terminal assembly 131 within the insulative housing 120. It will be appreciated that this retention is merely an example, and that the terminal assemblies may be retained or mounted within the insulative housing in other suitable manners.

Further, the shielding member 140 may also be held or fixed on the mounting base 1305. As an example, as shown in fig. 2, 5 and 8, each mounting base 1305 is formed with a plurality of spaced apart protrusions 1307 on a side facing the other terminal assembly 131, a gap or recess is defined between adjacent protrusions 1307, while a plurality of protrusions 1407 are formed on a side of the shield body 1401 facing the corresponding mounting base 1305 or on opposite sides, each protrusion 1407 being adapted to be at least partially positioned in a recess between adjacent protrusions 1307 of the corresponding mounting base 1305, such as a recess shape fit between the protrusions 1407 and the protrusions 1307, and accordingly the protrusions 1307 are at least partially positioned in a gap between adjacent protrusions 1407, the shield body 1401 of the shield member 140 may be clamped between the two mounting bases 1305 of the two terminal assemblies 131. It will be appreciated that this manner of retention is merely an example, and that the shielding member may be retained or fixed relative to the mounting base in other suitable manners.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2-4, the grounding member has a single plate-like body, whereas in the embodiment shown in fig. 5-7, the grounding member comprises two sub-grounding members 151 spaced apart in a first direction X, each sub-grounding member 151 comprising a strip-like or plate-like sub-grounding body 1511 extending substantially in a second direction Y, the shielding member 140 being at least partially inserted in the gap 1504 between the sub-grounding bodies 1511 of the two sub-grounding members 151. The abutment 1403 may be partially aligned with the sub-ground body 1511 of the ground member 151 in the third direction Z, for example, may abut against the sub-ground body 1511 to provide a limiting effect to the shield member 140. As shown in fig. 5 to 7, a plurality of contact protrusions 1503 for contacting the corresponding ground terminal 1302 are formed at the outer edge of the sub-ground body 1511 of each sub-ground member 151.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2-7, the shield member 140 is in electrical communication with the ground terminal by means of a separately provided ground member, but the disclosure is not so limited and in other embodiments a separate ground member may not be provided. For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 8-10, the grounding member is not provided, and the shielding member 140 itself is grounded or in contact with a grounding component. In this embodiment, the contact leg 1402 of the shield member 140 may extend longer or farther from the shield body 1401 in the third direction Z (as shown with reference to fig. 10) to electrically contact a ground component (e.g., a ground layer or trace) on a circuit board (not shown).

As shown in fig. 9, the tab 1407 of the shielding member 140 may have a generally T-shaped profile that mates with a gap or groove shape defined between adjacent projections 1307 of the mounting base 1305. The bumps 1407 may be positioned between adjacent ground terminals 1302 in the second direction Y, e.g., generally aligned with the signal terminals 1301 in the first direction X.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 11-16, the grounding member is not provided, and the shielding member itself is in electrical contact with the ground terminal 1302. As shown, the shield member includes contact arms 1414, such as spring arms, that make electrical contact with the ground terminal 1302.

As shown in fig. 11-16, the shield member includes two sub-shield members 141, each sub-shield member 141 including a plate-shaped sub-shield body 1411, and the contact arms 1414 extend from edges of the sub-shield body 1411 toward the corresponding ground terminal 1302. The two sub-shield bodies 1411 of the two sub-shield members 141 may abut against each other in the first direction X such that the contact arms 1414 of the two sub-shield members 141 face away from each other to contact the ground terminals 1302 of the respective terminal assemblies 131. As an example, each sub-shield member 141 may include a plurality of contact arms 1414 arranged in the second direction Y, and the number of contact arms 141 of each sub-shield member 141 is the same as the number of ground terminals 1302 of each terminal assembly 131.

The contact arms 1414 may have some resiliency to abut the ground terminal 1302 after being mounted in place so as to maintain a stable contact therebetween. As an example, the contact arms 1414 may have or define with the sub-shield body 1411 a generally hook-like (e.g., U-shaped or V-shaped) shape that opens in the third direction Z to resiliently abut the ground terminal 1302.

While in the embodiment shown in fig. 11-16 the shielding member comprises two sub-shielding bodies 1411 abutting each other, in other embodiments the shielding member may comprise a single body with contact arms provided on opposite sides of the single body.

As shown in fig. 11 and 14, a mating protrusion defining a mating groove is formed on a side wall of the mounting base 1305 of the terminal assembly 131, for example, the mating protrusion may have a generally T-shaped profile, and the sub-shield body 1411 includes a mating portion 1415, the mating portion 1415 being adapted to be at least partially inserted into the mating groove to secure the sub-shield body 1411 relative to the mounting base 1305.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, besides the grounding terminals arranged on two sides of the signal terminals in the same row or the same terminal assembly, a shielding member is arranged between two adjacent terminal assemblies so as to circumferentially surround the signal terminals (such as differential signal terminal pairs) together with the grounding terminals, thereby further reducing signal interference, greatly improving signal shielding effect and better meeting SI performance requirements for high-speed data transmission. For example, referring to fig. 17, wherein the solid lines schematically represent the SI performance requirements or specifications of PCIe Gen6 for an internal cable, the dashed lines in section (a) illustrate the combined near-end crosstalk (PSNEXT) curve of a conventional connector, and the selected lines in section (b) illustrate the PSNEXT curve of an electrical connector provided in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. It can be seen that by adopting the electrical connector disclosed by the disclosure, signal coupling and crosstalk are further reduced, the performance margin is large, the SI performance requirement of PCIe Gen6 can be well met, and the electrical connector is suitable for data transmission at a higher speed.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, it should be noted that the terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the like, as used herein, do not exclude other elements or steps, unless otherwise specified. In addition, any element numbers of the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

Claims (15)

1. An electrical connector (100), comprising:

an outer case (110);

an insulating housing (120) mounted within the outer housing; and

two terminal assemblies (131) mounted in the insulating housing, the two terminal assemblies being spaced apart in a first direction (X) to define a mating space therebetween for receiving connection terminals of a mating connector, each terminal assembly including a plurality of conductive terminals arranged in rows along a second direction (Y) perpendicular to the first direction, the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly including a signal terminal (1301) and a ground terminal (1302);

wherein the electrical connector further comprises:

a shielding member (140) positioned at least partially between the two terminal assemblies in the first direction,

the shield member includes contact arms (1414) that make electrical contact with the ground terminal.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the shielding member is positioned at least partially between signal terminals of the two terminal assemblies in the first direction.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein,

each conductive terminal includes a contact section (1303) for making electrical contact with a connection terminal of a mating connector and an opposite mounting section (1304) for mounting on a circuit board, an

The shielding member is positioned at least partially between portions of the signal terminals of the two terminal assemblies proximate the mounting section in the first direction.

4. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly includes at least one pair of differential signal terminals and a corresponding at least one pair of ground terminals, each pair of ground terminals being positioned on opposite sides of the corresponding pair of differential signal terminals in the second direction.

5. The electrical connector of any of claims 2-4, wherein the shield member is in electrical communication with the ground terminal.

6. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein the shielding member comprises two sub-shielding members (141), each sub-shielding member comprising a plate-shaped sub-shielding body (1411) and the contact arms extending from edges of the sub-shielding body towards the corresponding ground terminal, the two sub-shielding bodies of the two sub-shielding members abutting each other in the first direction such that the contact arms of the two sub-shielding members face away from each other.

7. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein each sub-shield member includes a plurality of contact arms aligned in the second direction, and the number of the plurality of contact arms of each sub-shield member is the same as the number of ground terminals of each terminal assembly.

8. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1-4 and 6-7, wherein the contact hips have a hook shape opening in a third direction (Z) perpendicular to the first and second directions.

9. The electrical connector of claim 6 or 7, wherein,

each terminal assembly further includes a mounting base (1305) in which the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly are mounted in one or more rows,

the mounting base is formed with a mating protrusion defining a mating groove, an

The sub-shield body includes a mating portion (1415) configured to be at least partially inserted into the mating slot to secure the sub-shield body relative to the mounting base.

10. The electrical connector of claim 5, further comprising a ground member (150) in electrical contact with the ground terminal,

the shield member is in electrical communication with the ground terminal via the ground member.

11. The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein the ground member comprises a ground body (1501) having an intermediate slot (1502) configured to allow the shield member to be at least partially inserted therein.

12. The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein the grounding member comprises two sub-grounding members (151) spaced apart, the shielding member being at least partially inserted in a gap (1504) between the two sub-grounding members.

13. The electrical connector of claim 11 or 12, wherein the ground member comprises a contact protrusion (1503) configured to contact the ground terminal.

14. The electrical connector of any of claims 1-4, wherein the shield member has contact legs (1402) for making electrical contact with a ground feature on a circuit board.

15. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1-4 and 10-11,

each terminal assembly further includes a mounting base (1305) in which the plurality of conductive terminals of each terminal assembly are mounted in one or more rows,

each mounting base is formed with a plurality of spaced apart bosses (1307) on a side facing the other terminal assembly, defining a recess between adjacent bosses, and

the shielding member comprises a single shielding body (1401) having a plurality of projections (1407) formed on each of opposite sides thereof facing the mounting base, each projection being adapted to be positioned at least partially in a recess between adjacent projections of the corresponding mounting base.

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