CN220172398U

CN220172398U - Electrical connector and power terminal

Info

Publication number: CN220172398U
Application number: CN202223148794.5U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邹超; 程艳明
Original assignee: Amphenol Commercial Products Chengdu Co Ltd
Current assignee: Amphenol Commercial Products Chengdu Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-11-25
Filing date: 2022-11-25
Publication date: 2023-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 2032-11-25

Abstract

The application provides an electrical connector and a power terminal. The electrical connector includes a first row of conductive terminals and a second row of conductive terminals disposed in contact with the first and second sides of the card. The conductive terminals of the first row and the conductive terminals of the second row include pairs of terminals, each pair of terminals including a first row of terminals facing the second row of terminals. Each terminal includes a finger portion of each layer configured to contact the card. The fingers of each layer include at least outer fingers of the outer layer and fingers of the inner layer. The outer layer portion may be parallel to the inner layer portion and may be parallel to the row direction. The contact surfaces of the outer fingers of the outer layer portion may be aligned in at least a first row parallel to the direction of the row. The contact surfaces of the inner fingers of the inner layer portion may be aligned in at least a second row, different from and parallel to the first row.

Description

Electrical connector and power terminal

Technical Field

The technology disclosed herein relates generally to electrical interconnect systems, and more particularly to high density power connectors and high density terminals that can be used in such power connectors.

Background

Electrical connectors are used in many electrical systems. Electronic devices have been provided with various types of connectors, the primary purpose of which is to enable data, instructions, power, and/or other signals to be transferred between electronic components. Connectors that carry power are sometimes referred to as power connectors. In general, it is easier and more cost-effective to manufacture the electrical system as a separate electronic component, which can be joined by an electrical connector. For example, one type of electronic assembly is a printed circuit board ("PCB") that may be a card that supports at least one electrical component (e.g., wiring and/or one or more contact pads and/or circuitry, etc.). The terms "card" and "PCB" are used interchangeably herein. The terms "card connector", "edge connector", and "card-edge connector" are used interchangeably herein.

In some cases, a two-piece connector is used to join two electronic components. One connector may be mounted to each of the components. The connectors may be mated to form a connection between the two components.

In other cases, the PCB may be directly joined to the electronic component via a one-piece electrical connector, which may be configured as a card-edge connector. The PCB may have conductive power pads along an edge that is designed to be inserted into an electrical connector that may be attached to an electronic component. Conductive contacts within the electrical connector may contact power pads of the PCB to electrically connect the PCB to the electronic component. The card-edge connector may mate with a component other than a PCB, such as a strip-shaped component (e.g., a busbar, etc.) that also has a conductive outer surface. The electrical connector may enable transmission of electrical power (e.g., current and/or voltage) to and from the PCB (or bus bar or the like) to the electronic assembly.

Disclosure of Invention

The structure of electrical connectors and connector terminals capable of carrying electrical power is important for electrical systems that may require high power operation and/or small size. Many electrical systems can be complex and may require power to be provided to a large number of components. However, some electrical systems have been miniaturized and have smaller dimensions due to, for example, consumer demand for portable electronic products and/or electronic products that do not occupy space in places such as small apartments or offices. Miniaturization can present difficulties in providing the same number of power connectors as conventionally sized connectors, but with smaller and smaller space. That is, as connectors shrink in size to accommodate smaller electronic components, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the same number of power connectors or contacts in the connector.

The inventors have recognized and appreciated challenges associated with miniaturization of electrical connectors, and have developed techniques to provide a connector having rows of terminals configured to provide contacts of multiple layers on one or both sides of a card (e.g., PCB) inserted into the connector, wherein each layer extends parallel to an insertion edge of the card when the card is inserted into the connector. As described herein, various embodiments of the connector may include a row of terminals (e.g., row a) arranged to provide a plurality of contacts for contacting a first side of the card. The contact portion of the row a may include: a row of contact portions in the first layer portion; a row of contact portions in a second layer portion parallel to the first layer portion, etc. The connector may also include a row of terminals (e.g., row B) arranged to provide a plurality of contacts with the second side of the card. The contacting portion of the row B may include: a row of contact portions in the first layer portion; a row of contact portions in a second layer portion parallel to the first layer portion, etc. As can be appreciated, the contact of row a and/or the contact of row B may have more than two layers of contacts. The techniques described herein may be advantageously used to increase the contact density of a connector by providing contacts in a multi-layer portion that extend parallel to the insertion edge of a card inserted into the connector without increasing the width of the card insertion opening of the connector.

In accordance with aspects of the present technique, an electrical connector is provided. The electrical connector may include: an insulated housing including a slot configured to receive a removable mating component; and a plurality of conductive terminal assemblies including a plurality of contact surfaces and arranged in the housing such that the contact surfaces are exposed in the slots, each terminal assembly including a plurality of conductive terminal layers. Each of the terminal layers may include a plurality of finger portions arranged in a plurality of layer portions including an outer layer portion and an inner layer portion, the contact point portion of the contact surface being arranged on the finger portions, the finger portions including at least an outer finger portion arranged in the outer layer portion and an inner finger portion arranged in the inner layer portion, the outer layer portion and the inner layer portion being parallel to the row direction (X). The outer fingers of the outer layer portion may be interspersed such that the outer fingers of a first one of the terminal layers are adjacent to the outer fingers of another one of the terminal layers. The inner fingers of the inner layer portion may be interspersed such that the inner fingers of a first terminal layer of the terminal layers are adjacent to the inner fingers of another terminal layer. The first outer contact surfaces of the outer fingers of the outer layer portion of the first terminal layer may be aligned in at least a first row parallel to the direction of the row. The second outer contact surfaces of the outer fingers of the other terminal layers may be aligned in at least a second row parallel to the direction of the row. The first inner contact surfaces of the inner fingers of the inner layer portion of the first terminal layer may be aligned in at least a third row parallel to the direction of the row. The second inner contact surfaces of the inner fingers of the other terminal layers may be aligned in at least a fourth row parallel to the direction of the row.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the first, second, third, and fourth rows may be different from one another.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the first and second rows may be the same row including an outer row, and the third and fourth rows may be the same row including an inner row, the inner row being different from the outer row.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the outer fingers and the inner fingers may be arranged in columns. Each column may extend parallel to the direction (Y) of the column and perpendicular to the direction of the row, and each column may include a finger of a first one of the terminal layers and a finger of the other terminal layer.

In some embodiments of this aspect, each terminal assembly may include a conductive outer member positioned adjacent to the first surface of the first terminal layer. The other terminal layers may include a second terminal layer positioned adjacent to the second surface of the first terminal layer. In some embodiments, the outer member may be a support layer, the outer member not having fingers configured to contact the mating component when the mating component is inserted into the slot. In some embodiments, the external member may be a third terminal layer including at least one finger configured to have a contact surface exposed in the slot. In some embodiments, for each terminal assembly, the first terminal layer may include a first frame forming at least a portion of a peripheral portion of the first terminal layer, the second terminal layer may include a second frame forming at least a portion of a peripheral portion of the second terminal layer, and the first frame and the second frame may be aligned with each other to form an outer frame of the terminal assembly.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the first frame may include a plurality of first alignment portions and the second frame may include a plurality of second alignment portions, the second alignment member configured to engage with the first alignment portions such that the first and second terminal layers are in a fixed position relative to each other. In some embodiments, the outer member may include a plurality of alignment portions configured to engage with the first alignment portion and/or the second alignment portion such that the outer member is in a fixed position relative to the first terminal layer and/or the second terminal layer. In some embodiments, the first alignment portion may be a hole in the first frame and the second alignment portion may be a protrusion configured to extend into the hole. In some embodiments, the alignment portion of the outer member may be a hole, the first alignment portion may be a hole in the first frame, and the second alignment portion may be a protrusion of: the protrusion extends from the first surface of the second frame and is configured to extend into the aperture of the outer member and the aperture of the first terminal layer.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the housing may include a plurality of terminal slot portions configured to hold together the terminal layers of the terminal assembly.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the housing may include a plurality of terminal chambers configured to house at least a portion of each terminal assembly. In some embodiments, each terminal chamber may include: an insertion end portion including a portion of the slot, and a tail end portion including a terminal tail opening through which the tail portion of the terminal assembly extends. In some embodiments, the tail portion of the terminal assembly may include: a plurality of first protrusions extending from the first frame, and a plurality of second protrusions extending from the second frame (333) and configured to combine with the first protrusions to form a first row of mounting tails configured to be mounted on and electrically connected to a substrate. The mounting tails of the first row may extend from an inner portion of the terminal tail opening. In some embodiments, the tail portion may include a plurality of external protrusions extending from the outer member. The outer protrusion may be configured to form a second row of mounting tails parallel to the first row of mounting tails. The mounting tails of the second row extend from the outer portions of the terminal tail openings.

In accordance with another aspect of the present technique, an electrical connector is provided. The connector may include: an insulated housing including a slot configured to receive a removable mating component; a first row (row a) of conductive terminal assemblies including a plurality of contact surfaces and disposed in the housing such that the contact surfaces of the first row are exposed within the slots; and a second row (row B) of conductive terminal assemblies including a plurality of contact surfaces and disposed in the housing such that the contact surfaces of the second row are exposed in the slots. The first and second rows may include a plurality of paired terminal assemblies, each paired terminal assembly including a terminal assembly of the first row facing a terminal assembly of the second row. Each of the terminal assemblies in the first and second rows may include a plurality of fingers disposed in a plurality of layers including an outer layer portion and an inner layer portion, the contact points of the contact surfaces of the first row and the contact points of the contact surfaces of the second row being disposed on the fingers, the fingers including at least outer fingers disposed on the outer layer portion and inner fingers disposed on the inner layer portion, the outer and inner layer portions being parallel to the direction (X) of the rows. The contact surfaces of the outer fingers of the outer layer portion may be aligned in at least one row parallel to the direction of the row. The contact surfaces of the inner fingers of the inner layer portion may be aligned in at least one other row that is different from and parallel to the at least one row.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the contact surfaces of the outer fingers of the outer layer portion may be aligned in two or more rows parallel to the direction of the rows.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the contact surfaces of the inner fingers of the inner layer portion may be aligned in two or more rows parallel to the direction of the rows.

In some embodiments of this aspect, for each pair of terminal assemblies, the terminal assemblies of the first row may be a mirror image of the terminal assemblies of the second row.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the terminal assemblies of the first row and the terminal assemblies of the second row may each include a plurality of conductive terminal layers. Each of the terminal layers may include a portion of the outer finger of the outer layer portion and a portion of the inner finger of the inner layer portion. The outer fingers of the outer layer portion may be interspersed such that the outer fingers of a first one of the terminal layers are adjacent to the outer fingers of another one of the terminal layers. The inner fingers of the inner layer portion may be interspersed such that the inner fingers of a first one of the terminal layers are adjacent to the inner fingers of another one of the terminal layers. In some embodiments, the outer fingers and the inner fingers may be arranged in columns, each column extending parallel to a direction (Y) of the column and perpendicular to a direction of the row, and each column including a finger of a first one of the terminal layers and a finger of the other terminal layer.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the terminal assemblies of the first row and the terminal assemblies of the second row may each include a conductive outer member positioned adjacent to the first surface of the first terminal layer. The other terminal layers may include a second terminal layer positioned adjacent to the second surface of the first terminal layer. In some embodiments, for each of the terminal assemblies of the first and second rows, the first terminal layer may include a first frame forming at least a portion of a peripheral portion of the first terminal layer, the second terminal layer may include a second frame forming at least a portion of a peripheral portion of the second terminal layer, and the first and second frames may be aligned with each other to form an outer frame of the terminal assembly. In some embodiments, the terminal layers of each of the terminal assemblies of the first and second rows may be held together by grooves in the housing.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the housing may include a first row of terminal chambers and a second row of terminal chambers configured to receive the first row of terminal assemblies and the second row of terminal assemblies in a distributed manner. The terminal chambers of the first and second rows may include a plurality of pairs of terminal chambers that house pairs of terminal assemblies. For each pair of terminal chambers, the terminal chambers of the first row of terminal chambers may be a mirror image of the terminal chambers of the second row of terminal chambers.

According to another aspect of the present technology, a power terminal is provided. The terminal may include: a plurality of conductive terminal layers stacked on top of each other. Each terminal layer may comprise a plurality of fingers arranged in a plurality of layer portions, the layer portions comprising an outer layer portion and an inner layer portion, wherein the contact surface is arranged on the fingers, the fingers comprising at least a first finger of a first layer portion and a second finger of a second layer portion, the first and second layer portions being parallel to the row direction (X). The first fingers of the first layer portion may be interspersed such that the first fingers of a first one of the terminal layers are adjacent to the first fingers of another terminal layer. The second fingers of the second layer portion may be interspersed such that the second fingers of a first one of the terminal layers may be adjacent to the second fingers of another terminal layer. The contact surfaces of the first fingers of the first layer portion of the first terminal layer may be aligned in at least a first row parallel to the direction of the row. The contact surfaces of the first fingers of the other terminal layers may be aligned in at least a second row parallel to the direction of the row. The contact surfaces of the second fingers of the second layer portion of the first terminal layer may be aligned in at least a third row parallel to the direction of the row. The contact surfaces of the second fingers of the other terminal layers are aligned in at least a fourth row parallel to the direction of the row.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the first and second fingers may be arranged in columns, each column extending parallel to a direction (Y) of the column and perpendicular to a direction of the row, each column including a finger of a first one of the terminal layers and a finger of the other terminal layer.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the terminal may further comprise a conductive member positioned adjacent to the first surface of the first terminal layer. The other terminal layers may include a second terminal layer positioned adjacent to the second surface of the first terminal layer.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the first terminal layer may include a first frame forming at least a portion of a peripheral portion of the first terminal layer, the second terminal layer may include a second frame forming at least a portion of a peripheral portion of the second terminal layer, and the first frame and the second frame may be aligned with each other to form an outer frame of the power terminal. In some embodiments, the first frame may include a plurality of first alignment portions, and the second frame may include a plurality of second alignment portions configured to engage with the first alignment portions such that the first and second terminal layers are in a fixed position relative to each other. In some embodiments, the member may include a plurality of alignment portions configured to engage with the first alignment portion and/or the second alignment portion such that the member is in a fixed position relative to the first terminal layer and/or the second terminal layer.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the first alignment portion may be a hole in the first frame and the second alignment portion may be a protrusion configured to extend into the hole. In some embodiments, the alignment portion of the member may be a hole, the first alignment portion may be a hole in the first frame, and the second alignment portion may be a protrusion of: the tab extends from the first surface of the second frame and is configured to extend through the aperture of the first terminal layer into the aperture of the member. In some embodiments, the terminal may further include a connector configured to hold the terminal layers together. The connection may be a metal part or an insulating part. In some embodiments, the terminal may further include a plastic component molded around a portion of the terminal layers to hold the terminal layers together.

In some embodiments of this aspect, a plurality of first protrusions may extend from the first frame, a plurality of second protrusions may extend from the second frame, and the plurality of first protrusions may combine with the plurality of second protrusions to form the first row of mounting tails. In some embodiments, a plurality of third protrusions may extend from the member and may form a second row of mounting tails parallel to the first row of mounting tails. In some embodiments, the member may comprise: a lever portion from which the third protrusion extends; a base portion including an outer side and an inner side, the inner side configured to contact the first surface of the first terminal layer; and an inclined portion connecting the base portion and the lever portion such that the base portion extends in a first plane and such that at least a portion of each of the third protrusions extends in a second plane different from the first plane.

In some embodiments of this aspect, each of the first fingers of the first terminal layer may comprise: a first elongate portion attached to and coplanar with the first frame; and a first free end extending from the first elongate portion, the first free end being curved and having a convex side supporting one of the contact surfaces of the first finger. Each of the second fingers of the second terminal layer may include: a second elongate portion attached to and coplanar with the second frame; and a second free end extending from the second elongated portion, the second free end being curved and having a convex side supporting one of the contact surfaces of the second finger.

In some embodiments of this aspect, the member may include a third terminal layer of the other terminal layers. The member may include at least one third finger having a contact surface. The at least one third finger may include: a third elongate portion attached to and coplanar with the base portion; and a third free end extending from the third elongated portion, the third free end being curved and having a convex side supporting the contact surface of the at least one third finger.

The features described herein may be used together, alone or in any combination, in any of the embodiments discussed herein. For example, a feature described as being used in one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment even though the feature may not be explicitly described as being used in another embodiment.

Drawings

Various aspects and embodiments of the technology disclosed herein will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Items appearing in multiple figures may be indicated by the same reference numerals. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing.

Fig. 1A illustrates a top perspective view of a card (e.g., PCB) inserted into an electrical connector mounted on a substrate in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 1B illustrates the card, connector, and substrate of fig. 1A separated from one another in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 2A illustrates a plan view of a top side portion of an electrical connector in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 2B illustrates a plan view of a bottom side of the connector of fig. 2A, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 2C illustrates a plan view of a front or rear side of the connector of fig. 2A, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 2D illustrates a plan view of the left or right side of the connector of fig. 2A, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 3A illustrates a top perspective view of the connector of fig. 2A with an end portion of the connector removed, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 3B illustrates a bottom perspective view of a portion of the connector of fig. 2A, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 3C illustrates a top perspective view of a portion of the connector of fig. 2A, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 4A illustrates a perspective view of a pair of connector modules in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 4B illustrates one of the connector modules of fig. 4A, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 5 illustrates a bottom perspective view of a portion of the connector of fig. 2A, wherein a housing of the connector is rendered semi-transparent to illustrate an arrangement of terminals in the housing, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 6 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the pair of connector modules of fig. 4A in a partially disassembled state, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 7A and 7B each illustrate a perspective view of a terminal in a disassembled state in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 8A-8G illustrate views of a first terminal layer of the terminal of fig. 7A and 7B, wherein fig. 8A is a rear perspective view illustrating a first side, fig. 8B is a plan view of a right side, fig. 8C is a rear perspective view illustrating a second side facing away from the first side, fig. 8D is a plan view of the first side, fig. 8E is a plan view of the second side, fig. 8F is a plan view of a bottom or rear, and fig. 8G is a plan view of a top or insertion side, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology.

Fig. 9A-9G illustrate views of a second terminal layer of the terminal of fig. 7A and 7B, in which fig. 9A is a rear perspective view illustrating a first side facing a second side of the first terminal layer, fig. 9B is a plan view of a right side, fig. 9C is a rear perspective view of a second side facing away from the first side, fig. 9D is a plan view of the first side, fig. 9E is a plan view of the second side, fig. 9F is a plan view of a bottom (tail) side, and fig. 9G is a plan view of a top or insertion side, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 10A-10D illustrate views of an outer layer of the terminal of fig. 7A and 7B, wherein fig. 10A is a rear perspective view of an outer side, fig. 10B is a plan view of a right side, fig. 10C is a plan view of a rear side, and fig. 10D is a plan view of an insertion side, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 11A-11D illustrate views of paired terminal chambers of the housing of fig. 5, wherein fig. 11A is a perspective view of a bottom side, fig. 11B is a plan view of a bottom side, fig. 11C is a plan view of a top side, and fig. 11D is a plan view of a right or left side, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 12A-12F illustrate views of the terminal chambers in the pair of terminal chambers of fig. 11A-11D, in which fig. 12A is a perspective view illustrating a bottom side portion of an inner side, fig. 12B is a perspective view illustrating a bottom side portion of an outer side, fig. 12C is a plan view of an inner side, fig. 12D is a plan view of an outer side, fig. 12E is a perspective view illustrating a bottom side portion of a bottom portion of an inner structure, and fig. 12F is a perspective view illustrating a top side portion of a top portion of an inner structure, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology.

Fig. 13A and 13B illustrate perspective views of a bottom side and a top side, respectively, of an end portion of the housing of fig. 5, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

Detailed Description

The inventors have recognized and appreciated designs for high density power connectors that are capable of interconnecting with the following electronic components: the electronic component has the same number of contacts as those of the conventional connector in a smaller space, or the electronic component has a greater number of contacts than those of the conventional connector in the same space. The various connector designs disclosed herein may be suitable for miniaturized electronic systems in which a large number of electronic components require power in a relatively small space. These designs include modifications to the card connector that support large power flows through smaller spaces without undesirable effects (e.g., without increasing heat generation).

In some embodiments of the present technology, an electrical connector may be provided for connecting multiple rows of contact pads on a card (e.g., a PCB or another type of component having a conductive outer surface) with conductive wiring of a circuit board substrate on which the connector may be mounted. In some embodiments, the connector may include a contact portion configured to: the contact portion contacts a plurality of rows of contact pads on one side of the card when the card is inserted into the connector. In some embodiments, the connector may include a contact portion configured to contact two sides of the card, wherein a plurality of rows of contact pads are located on each side of the card.

In some embodiments of the present technology, the electrical connector may include a plurality of conductive terminals. Each terminal may be configured to provide a plurality of contacts arranged in layers, wherein each layer includes a plurality of contacts and the layers are arranged parallel to each other. In some embodiments, the layers may be parallel to the insertion edge of a card inserted into the connector. With this arrangement, the connector can contact not only a row of contact pads disposed in rows along the outer edge on one or both sides of the card but also a two-dimensional array of contact pads on one or both sides of the card.

In some embodiments of the present technology, a card connector having a length (X direction in fig. 1A) in the range of 40 millimeters to 41 millimeters, a height (Y direction) in the range of 15 millimeters to 16 millimeters (from the top surface of the insulative housing to the bottom surface of the housing), and a width (Z direction) in the range of 7 millimeters to 8 millimeters may have more than 220 contact surfaces ("contacts"), each configured to contact a different location of a card inserted into the connector. In some embodiments, the connector may have: 112 contact portions configured to contact the first side portion of the card; and 112 contact portions configured to contact the second side portion of the card.

In some embodiments of the present technology, each terminal of the connector may include an assembly of multiple conductive terminal layers. In some embodiments, the terminal layers may be held together by molded plastic or by metal holders or by other types of holders. In some embodiments, the terminal layers may be held together by only the surfaces of the insulative housing of the connector, without requiring plastic molding or other holding means to hold the terminals together. In some embodiments, the terminals may be provided as a pair of first and second terminals configured to electrically contact both sides of a card inserted into the connector. In some embodiments, the first terminal may be a mirror image of the second terminal, and each of the first and second terminals may include multiple layers of contacts for simultaneously contacting an array of contact pads on the card.

Turning now to the drawings, fig. 1A illustrates a top perspective view of an assembly 10 of a card 3 (e.g., PCB) inserted into an electrical connector 1, the electrical connector 1 being mounted on a substrate 2, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique. Fig. 1B shows the assembly 10 of the card 3, the connector 1 and the substrate 2 separated from each other. In fig. 1B, the dashed arrow indicates the insertion direction of the card 3 into the connector 1 and the insertion of the connector 1 into the substrate 2. The insertion direction may be parallel to the Y direction of the connector 1. The card 3 may comprise a plurality of electrically conductive contact areas 3a, said plurality of electrically conductive contact areas 3a being positioned on one or both surfaces of the card 3 at or near the insertion edge of the card 3. In some embodiments, one or more contact areas 3a located on one or both sides of the card 3 may comprise a single contact pad. In some embodiments, one or more of the contact regions 3a may include a plurality of contact pads (not shown). In some embodiments, one or more contact areas 3a may comprise a two-dimensional array of contact pads. For example, the array may comprise a plurality of layers of contact pads arranged parallel to the insertion edge of the card 3. According to some embodiments, the contact pads of the contact area 3a may be configured to transfer power from the electrical wiring (not shown) of the card 3 to the connector 1 and/or the contact pads of the contact area 3a may be configured to transfer power from the connector 1 to other electronic components via the electrical wiring (not shown) of the card 3. For example, card 3 may include a power plane within which conductive traces or wiring may be provided for delivering current and/or voltage to components of the electronic system in which connector 1 and card 3 are disposed. The components attached to the card 3 may consume power that is delivered to the contact areas 3a of the card 3 through the electrically conductive force terminals 300 of the connector 1 that are in contact with the contact areas 3a. In further examples, components attached to the contact area 3a of the card 3 may condition or otherwise transfer power to the terminals 300 of the connector 1 through the contact area 3a, and then the power may be delivered to other components of the electrical system connected to the terminals 300. Regardless of the direction of power flow, i.e., whether flowing onto card 3 or off card 3 through connector 1, the techniques described herein may be applied to connector 1 to enable terminals 300 to transmit power through a high density of contacts.

Fig. 2A-2D show views of a connector 1 according to some embodiments of the present technology, where fig. 2A shows a plan view of a top side, fig. 2B shows a plan view of a bottom side, fig. 2C shows a plan view of a front or rear side, and fig. 2D shows a plan view of a left or right side. The connector may include an insulative housing 100, the insulative housing 100 configured to hold at least one row of terminals 300. Fig. 3A to 3C show views of the connector 1 with the end portion 106 of the housing 100 removed, wherein fig. 3A shows a top perspective view and fig. 3B shows a bottom perspective view. Fig. 3C shows an enlarged top perspective view of a portion of the connector 1. The end portions 106 of the housing 100 may each include an anchor 106, the anchor 106 being configured to be inserted into a corresponding anchor hole 2a in the base plate 2. The terminals 300 may each include a mounting tail 304, the mounting tail 304 being configured to be inserted into a corresponding terminal tail aperture 2b in the substrate 2.

According to some embodiments of the present technology, connector 1 may include a card insertion opening 104, and the card insertion opening 104 may be an elongated slot configured to receive and accommodate a portion of card 3 when card 3 and connector 1 are mated together. On the first side of the card insertion opening 104, the connector segments 1A may be arranged in rows, i.e. rows a of connector segments 1A. Each connector section 1A may include a terminal 300 (shown as 300A for row a), the terminal 300 being housed in a terminal chamber 108 (shown as 108A for row a) of the housing 100. The terminals 300A may be configured to contact and transmit power to contact pads on the first side of the card 3. In some embodiments, the connector section 1B of the second row, i.e., the connector section 1B of row B, may be arranged on a second side of the card insertion opening 104, which may be opposite to the first side. Each connector section 1B may include a terminal 300B housed in a terminal chamber 108B of the housing 100. The terminals 300B may be configured to contact and transmit power to contact pads on the second side of the card 3. As shown in fig. 2A, two end portions 106 of the housing 100 may engage one end of row a and one end of row B, respectively. In some embodiments, each end portion 106 may include an end portion of the card insertion opening 104. In some embodiments, the terminals 300A, 300B may be identical in structure to one another and may be individually indicated by reference numeral "300". In some embodiments, the terminal chambers 108A, 108B may be identical in structure to one another and may be individually indicated by reference numeral "108". In some embodiments, the connector 1 may be reversible such that the front half of the connector 1 may be identical in structure to the rear half of the connector. In some embodiments, row a may be a mirror image of row B, as shown in fig. 2A-2D.

According to some embodiments of the present technology, the connector 1 may have a modular structure such that each of the connector sections 1A, 1B may be a module of the connector 1. In some embodiments, the modules of connector section 1A may be joined together to form row a, the modules of connector section 1B may be joined together to form row B, and end portion 106 may be an end module joined to the ends of rows a and B to form connector 1.

In some embodiments of the present technology, the connector 1 may be configured as a plurality of pairs of connector modules 1P, each pair 1P comprising a module of connector section 1A and a module of connector section 1B, as shown in the perspective view of fig. 4A. Fig. 4B shows an embodiment of a connector section 1B forming half of the pair of connector modules 1P of fig. 4A. As described above, rows A and B may be mirror images of each other. Thus, although fig. 4B refers to connector section 1B, connector section 1A may have an equivalent structure and thus will not be described separately herein. As described below and elsewhere herein, the terminals 300 (300A, 300B) of the connector 1 may each include a plurality of members 310, 320, 330, and two or more of the plurality of members 310, 320, 330 may be configured as layers that when assembled together provide a plurality of layers of fingers 321, 322, 331, 332. Each finger 321, 322, 331, 332 may include a contact surface configured to contact the card 3 and transfer power to the card 3. Although fig. 4B shows two layers: outer layer portions OT (OT-a (not shown), OT-B) constituted by the outer layer portion fingers 321, 331; and an inner layer IT (IT-a (not shown), IT-B) made up of inner layer fingers 322, 332, IT should be understood that more than two layers of fingers may be provided in some embodiments. Such embodiments may not be illustrated in the figures, but may be constructed based on the techniques disclosed herein.

Fig. 5 illustrates a bottom perspective view of a portion of the connector 1, wherein the housing 100 assumes a translucent state to show the arrangement of the terminals 300A, 300B in the housing 100, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, the terminal 300 (300A, 300B) may include a first conductive terminal layer 320 (320A, 320B) and a second conductive terminal layer 330 (330A, 330B). It should be understood that the term "conductive" as used herein refers to electrical conduction, and the term "insulating" as used herein refers to electrical insulation. As described below, each of the first conductive layer 320 and the second conductive layer 330 includes fingers of a multi-layer portion. For example, the first terminal layer 320 may include outer layer fingers 321 (321A, 321B) and inner layer fingers 322 (322A, 322B), and the second terminal layer 330 may include outer layer fingers 331 (331A, 331B) and inner layer fingers 332 (323A, 332B). The layers OT, IT may be parallel to each other and to the top edge of the card insertion opening 104. In some embodiments, the terminal 300 may include a third layer 330 (330A, 330B), and the third layer 330 may be formed of a conductive material or an insulating material. The third layer 330 may serve as a support layer for the terminal 300. In some embodiments, the third layer 330 may not include a surface configured to directly contact the card 3 when the card is inserted into the card insertion opening 104. For example, the third layer 330 may not include fingers configured to contact the card 3 to transfer power to/from the card 3. In some embodiments, the first terminal layer 320 may be sandwiched between the second terminal layer 330 and the third layer 310.

Fig. 6 shows a bottom perspective view of the pair of connector modules 1P of fig. 4A in a partially disassembled state, which illustrates the pair 350 of terminals 300A, 300B. In some embodiments of the present technology, terminal 300A may have mirror symmetry with respect to terminal 300B. In some embodiments, terminal chamber 108A may have mirror symmetry with respect to terminal chamber 108B.

Fig. 7A and 7B illustrate perspective views of a terminal 300 in a disassembled state, respectively, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique. In each of fig. 7A and 7B, the first and second terminal layers 320 and 330 and the third layer 310 are separated from each other to show the similarity and differences of the respective portions of the structures of the first and second terminal layers 320 and 330 and the third layer 310. For example, the third layer 310 may have no fingers. In some embodiments, since the first terminal layer 320 is disposed between the second terminal layer 330 and the third layer 310, the first terminal layer 320 may be considered as a "sandwiched" layer, as shown in fig. 5 and 7B. In some embodiments, since the second terminal layer 330 is disposed closer to the card insertion opening 104 than the first and third terminal layers 320, 310, the second terminal layer 330 may be considered an "inner" terminal layer, as shown in fig. 5. In some embodiments, the third layer 310 may be considered an "outer" terminal layer because the third layer 310 is disposed farther from the card insertion opening 104 than the first and second terminal layers 320, 330.

Although the third layer 310 is shown in fig. 7A and 7B as having no fingers, in some embodiments of the present technology, the third layer may be a terminal layer and may include one or more third fingers (not shown).

Fig. 8A-8G illustrate views of a first terminal layer 320 in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology, where fig. 8A is a rear perspective view illustrating a first side 320a facing an inner side 310B of a third layer 310, fig. 8B is a right side plan view, fig. 8C is a rear perspective view illustrating a second side 320B facing away from the first side 320a, fig. 8D is a first side 320a plan view, fig. 8E is a second side 320B plan view, fig. 8F is a bottom (tail) side plan view, and fig. 8G is a top (insert) side plan view. In some embodiments, the first terminal layer 320 may include a frame 323, the frame 323 configured to support the plurality of outer layer fingers 321 and the plurality of inner layer fingers 322. The frame 323 may extend generally along the X-Y plane of the connector 1 (see fig. 1A). In some implementations, each of the fingers 321, 322 can have: an elongated portion located in the X-Y plane of the frame 323 and extending in the Y direction; and a curved portion extending out of the X-Y plane of the frame 323 and extending outwardly from the second side 320B of the first terminal layer 320, as shown in fig. 8B. In some embodiments, the curved portion of each of the outer layer fingers 321 may have a raised portion that serves as a contact surface 321c of the outer layer finger 321. Similarly, in some embodiments, the curved portion of each of the inner layer fingers 322 may have a raised portion that acts as a contact surface 322c of the inner layer finger 322. The contact surfaces 321c, 322c may be configured to contact the card 3 when the card 3 is inserted into the card insertion opening 104. In some embodiments, the mounting pins 324 may extend from a bottom end of the frame 323, and the mounting pins 324 may lie in an X-Y plane of the frame 323. As discussed below and elsewhere herein, the mounting pins 324 may each form a portion of the mounting tail 304 of the terminal 300.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present technique, outer layer fingers 321 may have an alternating or interspersed relationship with respect to inner layer fingers 322 such that: the outer layer fingers 321 alternate with the inner layer fingers 322 when the first terminal layer 320 is viewed from the bottom side (fig. 8F) or from an end view of the top side (fig. 8G). That is, when the first terminal layer 320 is viewed in end elevation, the outer layer portion fingers 321 are adjacent to the at least one inner layer portion finger 322. This arrangement may be achieved by offsetting the position of outer layer fingers 321 relative to inner layer fingers 322 such that outer layer fingers 321 are misaligned with inner layer fingers 322 in the Y-direction. The offset may cause outer layer finger 322 to have a gap 321g between last finger 321 and frame 323 on one side (e.g., left side) of frame 323 and inner layer finger 322 to have a gap 322g between last finger 322 and frame 323 on the other side (e.g., right side) of frame 323, as shown in fig. 8D and 8E.

Fig. 9A-9G illustrate views of a second terminal layer 330 according to some embodiments of the present technology, where fig. 9A is a rear perspective view illustrating a first side 330a facing a second side 320B of a first terminal layer 320, fig. 9B is a right side plan view, fig. 9C is a rear perspective view of a second side 330B facing away from the first side 330a, fig. 9D is a first side 330a plan view, fig. 9E is a second side 330B plan view, fig. 9F is a bottom (rear) side plan view, and fig. 9G is a top (insertion) side plan view. In some embodiments, the second terminal layer 330 may include a frame 333, the frame 333 configured to support the plurality of outer layer fingers 331 and the plurality of inner layer fingers 332. The frame 333 may extend generally along the X-Y plane of the connector 1 (see fig. 1A). In some embodiments, each of the fingers 331, 332 may have: an elongated portion located in the X-Y plane of the frame 333 and extending in the Y direction; and a curved portion extending out of the X-Y plane of the frame 333 and extending outward from the second side 330B of the second terminal layer 330, as shown in fig. 9B. In some embodiments, the curved portion of each of the outer layer fingers 331 may have a raised portion that serves as a contact surface 331c of the outer layer finger 331. Similarly, in some embodiments, the curved portion of each of the inner layer fingers 332 may have a raised portion that serves as a contact surface 332c of the inner layer finger 332. The contact surfaces 331c, 332c may be configured to contact the card 3 when the card 3 is inserted into the card insertion opening 104. In some embodiments, the mounting pins 334 may extend from a bottom end of the frame 333, and the mounting pins 334 may be located in an X-Y plane of the frame 333. When the first and second terminal layers 320, 330 are assembled together to form the terminal 300, the mounting pins 324 of the first terminal layer 320 may be respectively combined with the mounting pins 334 of the second terminal layer 330 to form the mounting tail 304 of the terminal 300. Thus, in some embodiments, the terminal tail holes 2b of the substrate 2 may receive the mounting pins 324 of the first terminal layer 320 and the mounting pins 330 of the second terminal layer 330 in the same hole 2 b.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present technique, the outer layer fingers 331 may have an alternating or interspersed relationship with respect to the inner layer fingers 332 such that: when the second terminal layer 330 is viewed from the bottom side (fig. 9F) or from the end view of the top side (fig. 9G), the outer layer fingers 331 alternate with the inner layer fingers 332 similar to the fingers of the first terminal layer 320. This arrangement may be achieved by offsetting the position of the outer layer fingers 331 relative to the inner layer fingers 332 such that the outer layer fingers 331 are not aligned with the inner layer fingers 332 in the Y-direction. This bias may cause the outer layer fingers 332 to have a gap 331g between the last finger 331 and the frame 333 on one side (e.g., right side) of the frame 333, while the inner layer fingers 332 have a gap 332g between the last finger 332 and the frame 333 on the other side (e.g., left side) of the frame 323, as shown in fig. 9D and 9E.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present technique, when first terminal layer 320 and second terminal layer 330 are assembled together to form terminal 300, outer layer fingers 321 of first terminal layer 320 may alternate with outer layer fingers 331 of second terminal layer 330 such that fingers 321, 331 are interleaved or interspersed, as shown in fig. 7A. Similarly, when the first and second terminal layers 320, 330 are assembled together to form the terminal 300, the inner layer fingers 322 of the first terminal layer 320 may alternate with the inner layer fingers 332 of the second terminal layer 330 such that the fingers 322, 332 are staggered or interspersed, as shown in fig. 7A. As will be appreciated, since the frame 323 of the first terminal layer 320 is relatively farther from the card insertion opening 104 than the frame 333 of the second terminal layer 330, the distance of the contact surfaces 321c, 322c from the second surface 320b of the first terminal layer 320 may be greater than the distance of the contact surfaces 331c, 332c from the second surface 330b of the second terminal layer 330, such that: when a card is inserted into the card insertion opening 104 of the connector 1, all the contact surfaces 321c, 322c, 331c, 332c of the terminals 300 may contact the card 3 at the same time. In some embodiments, all of the contact surfaces 321c, 322c, 331c, 332c may be coplanar. In some embodiments, the contact surfaces 321c, 331c of the outer layer fingers 321, 331 may be coplanar (i.e., aligned along a common outer line). In some embodiments, the contact surfaces 322c, 332c of the inner layer fingers 322, 332 may be coplanar (i.e., aligned along a common inner line). In some embodiments, the contact surfaces 321c of the outer layer fingers 321 of the first terminal layer 320 may be aligned along a first line, the contact surfaces 331c of the outer layer fingers 331 of the second terminal layer 330 may be aligned along a second line, the contact surfaces 322c of the inner layer fingers 322 of the first terminal layer 320 may be aligned along a third line, and the contact surfaces 332c of the inner layer fingers 332 of the second terminal layer 330 may be aligned along a fourth line, wherein the first and second lines are different from each other and/or the third and fourth lines are different from each other.

According to some embodiments of the present technology, the terminal 300 may include at least eight outer layer portion fingers 321, 331 and at least eight inner layer portion fingers 322, 332, and thus at least sixteen contact surfaces 321c, 331c, 322c, 332c may be provided. In some embodiments, terminal 300 may have eight or more fingers per layer, and/or two or more finger terminal layers. In some embodiments, the terminal 300 may have twenty to forty contact surfaces disposed in two to three layers of the two to three terminal layers.

According to some embodiments, the first terminal layer 320 may include a plurality of alignment portions 325, the alignment portions 325 configured to engage with a plurality of alignment portions 335 of the second terminal layer 330 such that: when the alignment portions 325, 335 are engaged with one another, the first and second terminal portions are in a fixed position relative to one another. In some embodiments, the alignment portion 325 may be an alignment hole in the frame 323 of the first terminal layer 320 and the alignment portion 335 may be an alignment tab extending from the first surface 330a of the second terminal layer 330 and configured to be received in the alignment hole of the first terminal layer 320.

Fig. 10A-10D illustrate views of a third layer 310 in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique, where fig. 10A is a rear perspective view of an outer side 310A, fig. 10B is a plan view of a right side, fig. 10C is a plan view of a bottom (rear) side, and fig. 10D is a plan view of a top (insert) side. In some embodiments, the third layer 310 may provide support for the terminals 300, but the third layer 310 may not include any fingers configured to contact the card 3 when the card is inserted into the card insertion opening 104 of the connector 1. As described above, the third layer 310 may be an outer terminal layer disposed farther from the card insertion opening 104 than the first terminal layer 320 and the second terminal layer 330. In some embodiments, the third layer 310 may include an inner surface 310b facing the first terminal layer 320. The outer surface 310a of the third layer 310 may face the surface of the housing 100, as shown in fig. 5 and 6. In some embodiments, the third layer 310 may include: a base portion 316 extending in a first X-Y plane; a pin shaft 318 and a plurality of mounting pins 314 extending in a second X-Y plane different from the first X-Y plane; and an inclined portion 317 connecting the base portion 316 and the pin 318, as shown in fig. 10A and 10B. The base portion 316 may include a plurality of alignment portions 315, the alignment portions 315 configured to align the third layer 310 with the first and/or second terminal layers 320, 330. For example, alignment portion 315 may be an alignment hole, alignment portion 325 of first terminal layer 320 may be an alignment hole, and alignment portion 335 of second terminal layer may be a protrusion configured to extend into the alignment hole of first terminal layer 320 and the alignment hole of third layer 310 such that the position of first terminal layer 320, the position of second terminal layer 330, and the position of third layer 310 are fixed relative to one another.

As described above, the third layer 310 may be a third terminal layer. In some embodiments of the present technology, the third terminal layer 310 may include at least one finger (not shown) extending from the base portion 316 such that an elongated portion of the at least one finger is attached to the base portion 316 at one end and free at an opposite end. The at least one finger of the third terminal layer 310 may be otherwise similar in structure to the fingers 321, 322 of the first terminal layer 320 and the fingers 331, 332 of the second terminal layer 330. For example, the free end of at least one finger of the third terminal layer 310 may include a raised portion configured to contact a card, bus bar, or the like.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present technique, the mounting pins 314 may include some of the mounting tails 304 of the terminal 300. That is, each mounting pin 314 may be configured to be received in its own terminal tail hole 2b of the substrate 2. In some embodiments, the third layer 310 may be used to provide support and structural rigidity to the terminal 300 when the terminal 300 is mounted on the substrate 2. For example, because the terminal 300 includes multiple rows of mounting tails 304, some of the mounting tails 304 extending from the third layer 310, and some of the mounting tails 304 being comprised of mounting pins 324 of the first terminal layer 320 and mounting pins 334 of the second terminal layer 330, the terminal 300 may be less susceptible to mechanical deformation (e.g., twisting caused by shear forces) in which the first terminal layer 320 may be displaced relative to the second terminal layer 330, as the third layer 310 may clamp the first terminal layer 320 to the second terminal layer 330.

Turning now to the housing 100, as described above, the housing 100 may include a plurality of terminal chambers 108 (108 a, 108B) located between the two end portions 106, as shown in fig. 2B and 2C. Fig. 11A-11D illustrate views of a pair 150 of terminal chambers 108A,108B of a pair 150 of housings 100, where fig. 11A is a perspective view of a bottom side, fig. 11B is a plan view of a bottom side, fig. 11C is a plan view of a top side, and fig. 11D is a plan view of a right side or a left side, in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. The terminal chambers 108A,108B of the pair 150 may be mirror images of each other and thus may be described separately as the terminal chamber 108 shown in fig. 12A-12F, where fig. 12A is a perspective view showing the bottom side of the inner side, fig. 12B is a perspective view showing the bottom side of the outer side, fig. 12C is a plan view of the inner side, fig. 12D is a plan view of the outer side, fig. 12E is a perspective view showing the bottom side of the bottom portion of the inner structure, and fig. 12F is a perspective view showing the top side of the top portion of the inner structure. Fig. 13A and 13B illustrate perspective views of a bottom side and a top side, respectively, of an end portion 106 of a housing 100 in accordance with some embodiments of the present technique.

According to some embodiments of the present technology, the terminal chambers 108 (108A, 108B) may include terminal tail openings 110 (110A, 110B) at the bottom side through which the terminals 300 may be inserted during manufacture of the connector 1. Fig. 6 illustrates an example in which a pair of terminals 300A, 300B are inserted into a pair of terminal chambers 108A, 108Ba, according to some embodiments. By applying a force in the direction of the arrows in fig. 6, the top portions of the frames 323, 333 may be inserted into the openings 110A, 110B first, followed by the outer layer fingers 321, 331 into the openings 110A, 110B, followed by the inner layer fingers 322, 332 into the openings 110A, 110B. In some embodiments, the mounting tails 304 may be located outside of the terminal chambers 108A, 108B when the terminals 300A, 300B reside entirely within their respective terminal chambers 108A, 108B, as shown in fig. 1B and 2C. When the terminal chambers 108A, 108B are joined together in the connector 1, the space or slot between the terminal chambers 108A, 108B may form a portion of the card insertion opening 104, as shown in fig. 11D. Each terminal chamber 108 may include an outer surface 114, a convex inner surface 112a, and a concave inner surface 112b. In some embodiments, when two terminal chambers 108 are joined together to form a pair 150, raised inner surfaces 112a may face each other and may be in direct contact with each other, while recessed inner surfaces 112b may face each other, but may be separated from each other, which separation may be used as part of card insertion opening 104. The terminal chamber 108 may be provided with a plurality of holes 116, which holes 116 may be through holes extending from the outer surface 114, and which holes 116 may expose portions of the fingers 321, 322, 331, 332 to the environment external to the connector 1. In some embodiments, the aperture 116 may serve as a vent, and the aperture 116 may be located near the contact surfaces 321c, 322c, 331c, 332c to facilitate thermal movement away from the contact surfaces 321c, 322c, 331c, 332c during high power transmission.

According to some embodiments of the present technology, each terminal chamber 108 may include an outer opening portion 110a and an inner opening portion 110b. The outer opening portion 110a may include left and right grooves having flanges forming outer grooves configured to receive left and right edge portions of the base portion 316 of the third layer 310 of the terminal 300. The inner opening portion 110b may include left and right grooves having flanges forming inner grooves configured to receive left and right edge portions of the frames 323 and 333 of the first and second terminal layers 320 and 330. In some embodiments, the left and right grooves of the inner opening portion 110b may extend into the inner region of the terminal chamber 108, and the inner opening portion 110b may be configured to accommodate part or all of the left and right edges of the frames 323, 333 and the top edges of the frames 323, 333. The left and right grooves of the inner opening portion 110b may serve to hold the frames 323, 333 against each other in the terminal chamber 108. In some embodiments, the first and second terminal layers 320, 330 may be held together in a fixed position relative to each other and to the terminal chamber 108 by the alignment portions 325, 335 and by the restriction of the edges of the frames 323, 333 in the left and right grooves of the inner opening portion 110b. In some embodiments, the terminal 300 may be assembled and bonded in the terminal chamber 108 to hold the layers 310, 320, 330 together without the use of fasteners (e.g., glue, plastic molding, metal clips, insulating clips, etc.). It should be appreciated that some embodiments of the present technology may use fasteners to hold the layers 310, 320, 330 together even though fasteners are not required.

As described above, according to some embodiments of the present technology, the end portion 106 of the housing 100 may engage the end of the connector section 1A of row a and the end of the connector section 1B of row B. The outer side 106a of each of the end portions 106 may be an outer side of the connector 1. As shown in fig. 13B, the inner side 106a of each of the end portions 106 may include an end of the card insertion opening 104. The anchors 102 may extend from each of the end portions 106 and may be configured to be received in corresponding anchor holes 2a in the base plate 2, as shown in fig. 1B.

Variations may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosed technology. For example, while the connector 1 of row a may be described as being a mirror image of the connector of row B, it should be understood that the present technique does not require rows a and B to be mirror images of each other. In some embodiments, the connector section 1A may be significantly different from the connector section 1B to enable a user to distinguish between the front and back sides. In further examples, while alignment portion 335 may be described as a protrusion and alignment portions 315, 325 may be described as holes, it should be understood that alignment portion 335 may be a hole and alignment portion 315 or alignment portion 325 may be a protrusion.

Reference numerals

1. Card-edge connector

1A connector section (row A)

1B connector section (row B)

1P connector segment pairs

2. Substrate board

2a holes for anchors

2b holes for terminal tails

3. Mating components such as insertable cards (e.g., PCBs).

3a contact area

10 1, 2 and 3

100. Insulating shell

102. Anchor nail

104. Card insertion slot

106. End portion

106a outer side

106b inner side portion

108. Terminal chamber

108A terminal chamber (row A)

108B terminal chamber (row B)

110. Terminal tail opening

110A terminal tail opening (row A)

110B terminal tail opening (row B)

110A outer groove

110B inner groove

112a inner surface (interface)

112b inner surface (concave)

114. Outer side portion

116. Vent hole

150. Terminal chamber pair (108A+108B)

300. Terminal for connecting a plurality of terminals

304. Mounting tail (314, 324+334)

300A terminal (row A)

300B terminal (row B)

310. Third layer (exterior part/support part)

310a outer side part

310b inner side

External portion of 300A

External portion of 310B 300B

314. Mounting pin

315. Alignment holes

316. Base portion

317. Inclined portion

318. Pin rod

320 300 first side (facing 310 b) of first terminal layer 320a

320b second side portion

Sandwiched terminal portion of 320a 300a

Sandwiched terminal portion of 320b 300b

321 320 outer layer finger

321c contact surface

321g of gap of outer layer part

Outer layer finger portion of 321a 320a

Outer layer finger of 321b 320b

322 320, inner layer portion fingers

322c contact surface

322g inner layer gap

Inner layer finger of 322a 320a

Inner layer finger of 322b 320b

323. Frame

324. Protrusion (part of mounting pin/tail).

325 330, aligned holes

330 300 inner end portion

330a first side (facing 320 b)

330b second side

Inner end portion of 330a 300a

Inner end portion of 330b 300b

331 330 outer layer finger

331c contact surface

331g of gap between the outer layer portions

Outer layer finger of 331A 330A

Outer layer finger of 331B 330B

332 330 inner layer finger

332c contact surface

322g inner layer gap

Inner layer finger of 332a 330a

Inner layer finger of 332b 330b

333. Frame

334. Protruding part (mounting pin/tail part)

335 330 alignment tab

350. Paired terminals (300A+300B)

IT inner layer part

Inner layer part of IT-A row A

Inner layer part of IT-B row B

OT outer layer portion

Outer layer portion of OT-A row A

Outer layer portion of OT-B row B

The above features may be used together, alone or in any combination, in any of the embodiments discussed herein.

Furthermore, while the advantages of the technology disclosed herein may be noted, it should be understood that not every embodiment of the disclosed technology will include every described advantage. Some implementations may not realize any of the advantageous features described herein. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.

Variations of the disclosed embodiments are possible and are within the scope of the disclosure.

The various aspects of the technology disclosed herein may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of structures not specifically discussed in the foregoing embodiments and are therefore not limited in their application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.

Ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," and the like in the description and in the claims are used for modifying an element, and do not by themselves connote any priority, precedence, or order of one element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one element or act having a certain name from another element or act having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the elements or acts.

All definitions defined and used herein should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

The indefinite articles "a" and "an" as used herein in the specification and claims should be understood to mean "at least one" unless explicitly indicated to the contrary.

As used in this specification and in the claims, the phrase "at least one" when referring to a list of one or more elements is understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each element specifically listed in the list of elements, and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. The definition also allows that an element may alternatively exist outside of a specifically-determined element within a list of elements to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether or not associated with those specifically-determined elements.

As used in this specification and the claims, the phrase "equal" or "identical" referring to two values (e.g., distance, width, etc.) means that the two values are identical within manufacturing tolerances. Thus, two values that are equal or identical may mean that the two values differ from each other by ±5%.

The phrase "and/or" as used in the specification and claims should be understood to refer to "either or both" of the elements so connected together, i.e., elements that are connected together in some cases and not connected together in other cases. A plurality of elements listed as "and/or" i.e. "one or more" such connected elements should be understood in the same way. Other elements may optionally be present in addition to the elements specifically identified by the "and/or" clause, whether or not associated with those specifically identified elements. Thus, as a non-limiting example, reference to "a and/or B" when used with an open language such as "comprising" may refer, in one embodiment, to a alone (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, refer to B only (optionally including elements other than a); in yet another embodiment, both a and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

As used in this specification and the claims, "or" should be understood to have the same meaning as "and/or" as defined above. For example, when items in a list are separated, "or" and/or "should be construed as including, i.e., including at least one of a plurality of elements or a list of elements, but also including more than one element, and optionally including additional unlisted items. As used in the claims, "consisting of … …" and "consisting of" are intended to mean that only one element of the plurality or list of elements is included, as opposed to terms such as "only one" or "exactly one. Generally, the term "or" as used herein when preceded by an exclusive term such as "either," "one of," "only one of," or "exactly one of," should be interpreted as merely indicating an exclusive choice (i.e., "one or the other, but not both"). "consisting essentially of … …" when used in the claims shall have the ordinary meaning used in the patent statutes.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of terms such as "comprising," "including," "consisting of … …," "having," "containing," and "involving," and variations thereof herein, are meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

The terms "about" and "approximately," if used herein, may be construed to be within ± 20% of the target value in some embodiments, within ± 10% of the target value in some embodiments, within ± 5% of the target value in some embodiments, and within ± 2% of the target value in some embodiments. The terms "about" and "approximately" may be equal to the target value.

The term "substantially" if used herein may be understood as being within 95% of the target value in some embodiments, within 98% of the target value in some embodiments, within 99% of the target value in some embodiments, and within 99.5% of the target value in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the term "approximately" may be equal to 100% of the target value.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, the electrical connector comprising:

An insulated housing comprising a slot configured to receive a removable mating component; and

a plurality of conductive terminal assemblies including a plurality of contact surfaces and disposed in the housing such that the contact surfaces are exposed in the slots, each of the plurality of conductive terminal assemblies including a plurality of conductive terminal layers,

wherein,

each of the plurality of conductive terminal layers includes a plurality of finger portions arranged in a plurality of layer portions including an outer layer portion and an inner layer portion, contact point portions of the contact surfaces are arranged on the finger portions, the finger portions include at least an outer finger portion arranged in the outer layer portion and an inner finger portion arranged in the inner layer portion, the outer layer portion and the inner layer portion are parallel to a row direction,

the outer fingers of the outer layer portion are interspersed such that an outer finger of a first one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers is adjacent an outer finger of another one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers,

the inner fingers of the inner layer portion are interspersed such that an inner finger of the first conductive terminal layer is adjacent an inner finger of another conductive terminal layer of the plurality of conductive terminal layers,

The first outer contact surfaces of the outer fingers of the outer layer portion of the first conductive terminal layer are aligned in at least a first row parallel to the direction of the row,

the second outer contact surfaces of the outer fingers of other ones of the plurality of conductive terminal layers are aligned in at least a second row parallel to the direction of the row,

the first inner contact surfaces of the inner fingers of the inner layer portion of the first conductive terminal layer are aligned in at least a third row parallel to the row direction, and

the second inner contact surfaces of the inner fingers of other ones of the plurality of conductive terminal layers are aligned in at least a fourth row parallel to the direction of the row.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth rows are different from one another.

3. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein,

the first row and the second row are the same row including an outer row, and

the third row and the fourth row are the same row including an inner row, the inner row being different from the outer row.

4. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the outer fingers and the inner fingers are arranged in columns, each column extending parallel to a direction of a column and perpendicular to a direction of the column, each column including fingers of the first conductive terminal layer and fingers of other conductive terminal layers of the plurality of conductive terminal layers.

5. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein,

each of a plurality of the conductive terminal assemblies includes a conductive outer member positioned adjacent to a first surface of the first conductive terminal layer, and

other ones of the plurality of conductive terminal layers include a second conductive terminal layer positioned adjacent to the second surface of the first conductive terminal layer.

6. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein the conductive outer member is a support layer, the conductive outer member not having fingers configured to contact the mating component when the mating component is inserted into the slot.

7. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein, for each of a plurality of said conductive terminal assemblies,

The first conductive terminal layer includes a first frame forming at least a portion of a peripheral portion of the first conductive terminal layer,

the second conductive terminal layer includes a second frame forming at least a portion of a peripheral edge portion of the second conductive terminal layer, and

the first frame and the second frame are aligned with each other to form an outer frame of the conductive terminal assembly.

8. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein,

the first frame includes a plurality of first alignment portions, and

the second frame includes a plurality of second alignment portions configured to engage with the first alignment portions such that the first and second conductive terminal layers are in a fixed position relative to each other.

9. The electrical connector of claim 8, wherein the conductive outer member comprises a plurality of third alignment portions configured to engage with the first and/or second alignment portions such that the conductive outer member is in a fixed position relative to the first and/or second conductive terminal layers.

10. The electrical connector of claim 8, wherein the first alignment portion is a hole in the first frame and the second alignment portion is a protrusion configured to extend into the hole.

11. The electrical connector of claim 9, wherein the third alignment portion of the conductive outer member is a hole, the first alignment portion is a hole in the first frame, and the second alignment portion is a protrusion of: the protrusion extends from the first surface of the second frame and is configured to extend into the aperture of the conductive outer member and the aperture of the first conductive terminal layer.

12. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein the housing includes a plurality of terminal slot portions configured to hold together a plurality of the conductive terminal layers of a plurality of the conductive terminal assemblies.

13. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein the housing comprises a plurality of terminal chambers configured to receive at least a portion of each of a plurality of the conductive terminal assemblies.

14. The electrical connector of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of terminal chambers comprises:

an insertion end comprising a portion of the slot, an

A tail end portion including a terminal tail opening through which a tail portion of the conductive terminal assembly extends.

15. The electrical connector of claim 14, wherein the plurality of wires are electrically connected to the plurality of wires,

the tail portion of the conductive terminal assembly includes:

a plurality of first protrusions extending from the first frame, and a plurality of second protrusions extending from the second frame and configured to combine with the first protrusions to form a first row of mounting tails configured to be mounted on a substrate (2) and electrically connected to the substrate (2), and

the mounting tails of the first row extend from an inner portion of the terminal tail opening.

16. The electrical connector of claim 15, wherein,

the tail portion includes a plurality of external protrusions extending from the conductive outer member, the external protrusions configured to form a second row of mounting tails parallel to the first row of mounting tails, and

The mounting tails of the second row extend from an outer portion of the terminal tail openings.

17. An electrical connector, the electrical connector comprising:

an insulated housing including a slot configured to receive a removable mating component,

a first row of conductive terminal assemblies including a plurality of contact surfaces and disposed in the housing such that the contact surfaces of the first row are exposed within the slots; and

a second row of conductive terminal assemblies including a plurality of contact surfaces and disposed in the housing such that the contact surfaces of the second row are exposed in the slots,

wherein,

the first and second rows including a plurality of paired conductive terminal assemblies, each paired conductive terminal assembly including a conductive terminal assembly of a first row, the conductive terminal assemblies of the first row facing the conductive terminal assemblies of the second row,

each of the first and second rows of conductive terminal assemblies includes a plurality of fingers disposed in a plurality of layers, the layers including an outer layer portion and an inner layer portion, contact points of the contact surfaces of the first row and contact points of the contact surfaces of the second row being disposed on the fingers, the fingers including at least outer fingers disposed in the outer layer portion and inner fingers disposed in the inner layer portion, the outer layer portion and the inner layer portion being parallel to a direction of the rows,

The contact surfaces of the outer fingers of the outer layer portion are aligned in at least one row parallel to the direction of the row,

the contact surfaces of the inner fingers of the inner layer portion are aligned in at least one other row that is different from and parallel to the at least one row.

18. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein the contact surfaces of the outer fingers of the outer layer are aligned in two or more rows parallel to the direction of the rows.

19. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein the contact surfaces of the inner fingers of the inner layer are aligned in two or more rows parallel to the direction of the rows.

20. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein for each pair of conductive terminal assemblies of the plurality of pairs of conductive terminal assemblies, the conductive terminal assembly of the first row is a mirror image of the conductive terminal assembly of the second row.

21. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein:

the first row of conductive terminal assemblies and the second row of conductive terminal assemblies each include a plurality of conductive terminal layers,

Each of the plurality of conductive terminal layers includes a portion of the outer finger of the outer layer portion and a portion of the inner finger of the inner layer portion,

the outer fingers of the outer layer portion are interspersed such that an outer finger of a first one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers is adjacent an outer finger of another one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers, an

The inner fingers of the inner layer portion are interspersed such that an inner finger of the first one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers is adjacent to an inner finger of another one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers.

22. The electrical connector of claim 21, wherein the outer fingers and the inner fingers are arranged in columns, each column extending parallel to a direction of a column and perpendicular to a direction of the row, and each column including fingers of the first conductive terminal layer and fingers of other conductive terminal layers of the plurality of conductive terminal layers.

23. The electrical connector of claim 21, wherein the plurality of wires are electrically connected to the plurality of wires,

the conductive terminal assemblies of the first row and the conductive terminal assemblies of the second row each include a conductive outer member positioned adjacent to the first surface of the first conductive terminal layer, and

24. The electrical connector of claim 23, wherein for each of the first row of conductive terminal assemblies and the second row of conductive terminal assemblies,

25. The electrical connector of claim 24, wherein the conductive terminal layers of each of the conductive terminal assemblies of the first and second rows are held together by a groove in the housing.

26. The electrical connector of claim 20, wherein the plurality of wires are electrically connected to the plurality of wires,

The housing includes a first row of terminal chambers and a second row of terminal chambers configured to receive a first row of conductive terminal assemblies and a second row of conductive terminal assemblies, respectively, the first row of terminal chambers and the second row of terminal chambers including a plurality of paired terminal chambers that receive paired conductive terminal assemblies, and

for each pair of terminal chambers, the terminal chambers of the first row of the terminal chambers are mirror images of the terminal chambers of the second row of the terminal chambers.

27. An electrical power terminal, the electrical power terminal comprising:

a plurality of conductive terminal layers stacked on top of each other, wherein:

each conductive terminal layer of the plurality of conductive terminal layers comprises a plurality of fingers arranged in a plurality of layer portions, the layer portions comprising an outer layer portion and an inner layer portion, wherein a contact surface is arranged on the fingers, the fingers comprising at least a first finger of a first layer portion and a second finger of a second layer portion, the first layer portion and the second layer portion being parallel to the direction of the row,

the first fingers of the first layer portion are interspersed such that a first finger of a first one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers is adjacent to a first finger of another one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers,

The second fingers of the second layer portion are interspersed such that a second finger of the first one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers is adjacent to a second finger of another one of the plurality of conductive terminal layers,

the contact surfaces of the first fingers of the first layer portion of the first conductive terminal layer are aligned in at least a first row parallel to the direction of the row,

the contact surfaces of the first fingers of other ones of the plurality of conductive terminal layers are aligned in at least a second row parallel to the direction of the row,

the contact surfaces of the second fingers of the second layer portion of the first conductive terminal layer are aligned in at least a third row parallel to the row direction, and

the contact surfaces of the second fingers of other ones of the plurality of conductive terminal layers are aligned in at least a fourth row parallel to the direction of the row.

28. The power terminal of claim 27, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth rows are different from one another.

29. The power terminal of claim 27, wherein:

The first row and the second row are the same row including an outer row, and

30. The power terminal of claim 27, wherein the first and second fingers are arranged in columns, each column extending parallel to a direction of a column and perpendicular to a direction of the column, each column including fingers of a first conductive terminal layer and fingers of other conductive terminal layers of the plurality of conductive terminal layers.

31. The power terminal of claim 27, wherein the power terminal further comprises:

a conductive member positioned adjacent to the first surface of the first conductive terminal layer,

wherein other ones of the plurality of conductive terminal layers include a second conductive terminal layer positioned adjacent to the second surface of the first conductive terminal layer.

32. The power terminal of claim 31, wherein the power terminal comprises a plurality of power terminals,

the first frame and the second frame are aligned with each other to form an outer frame of the power terminal.

33. The power terminal of claim 32, wherein:

the first frame includes a plurality of first alignment portions, and

34. The power terminal of claim 33, wherein the conductive member includes a plurality of third alignment portions configured to engage with the first alignment portions and/or the second alignment portions such that the conductive member is in a fixed position relative to the first conductive terminal layer and/or the second conductive terminal layer.

35. The power terminal of claim 33, wherein the first alignment portion is a hole in the first frame and the second alignment portion is a protrusion configured to extend into the hole.

36. The power terminal of claim 34, wherein the third alignment portion of the conductive member is a hole, the first alignment portion is a hole in the first frame, and the second alignment portion is a protrusion of: the protrusion extends from the first surface of the second frame and is configured to extend through the aperture of the first conductive terminal layer into the aperture of the conductive member.

37. The power terminal of claim 36, further comprising:

a connector configured to hold a plurality of the conductive terminal layers together, wherein the connector is a metal member or an insulating member.

38. The power terminal of claim 36, further comprising:

a plastic part molded around a portion of the plurality of conductive terminal layers to hold the plurality of conductive terminal layers together.

39. The power terminal of claim 32, wherein:

a plurality of first protrusions extending from the first frame, a plurality of second protrusions extending from the second frame, and a plurality of first protrusions combined with a plurality of second protrusions to form a first row of mounting tails.

40. The power terminal of claim 39, wherein:

a plurality of third protrusions extending from the conductive member and forming a second row of mounting tails parallel to the first row of mounting tails.

41. The power terminal of claim 40, wherein the conductive member comprises:

a lever portion from which the third protrusion extends;

a base portion (316), the base portion (316) comprising an outer side and an inner side, the inner side configured to contact a first surface of the first conductive terminal layer; and

-an inclined portion (317), the inclined portion (317) connecting the base portion and the stem portion such that the base portion extends in a first plane and such that at least a portion of each of the third protrusions extends in a second plane different from the first plane.

42. The power terminal of claim 41, wherein:

each of the first fingers of the first conductive terminal layer includes:

a first elongate portion attached to and coplanar with the first frame; and

A first free end extending from the first elongated portion,

the first free end is curved and has a convex side supporting one of the contact surfaces of the first finger, and

each of the second fingers of the second conductive terminal layer includes:

a second elongated portion attached to and coplanar with the second frame; and

a second free end extending from the second elongate portion, the second free end being curved and having a convex side supporting one of the contact surfaces of the second finger.

43. The power terminal of claim 42, wherein:

the conductive member includes a third conductive terminal layer of the other conductive terminal layers of the plurality of conductive terminal layers,

the conductive member includes at least one third finger having a contact surface, and

the at least one third finger includes:

A third elongated portion attached to the base portion (316) and coplanar with the base portion (316); and

a third free end portion extending from the third elongated portion,

the third free end is curved and has a convex side supporting the contact surface of the at least one third finger.