TW202301751A - Connector assembly for preventing or reducing interference of parallel light sources - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector assembly includes a shield mask, a receptacle connector, and a light guiding member. The shield mask has a plurality of walls, a receiving space together defined by the plurality of walls, a front opening communicated to the receiving space, and an opening communicated to the receiving space. The receptacle connector is received in the rear segment of the receiving space in the shield mask. The light guiding member has at least two light guiding tubes. Each light guiding tube has a first segment disposed at the front and a second segment disposed at the rear. The first segments of the two light guiding tubes are located outside the shield mask and the second segments of the two light guiding tubes are penetrated through the opening and extended into the rear segment of the receiving space of the shield mask.

Description

connector assembly

The invention relates to a connector assembly, in particular to a connector assembly with a light guide.

Chinese utility model patent announcement number CN204166166U discloses a connector assembly, the top of the metal shell of the connector assembly is extended and bent to form a number of positioning pieces, and the upper end of the positioning piece is provided with a card slot, and the light guide tube corresponds to the card slot Positioning columns are respectively provided at the positions, and each positioning column is respectively clamped in the corresponding slot when the light guide tube is assembled on the top of the heat sink. However, the rear section of the disclosed light pipe is still located outside the rear end of the metal housing, which increases the space occupied by the entire connector assembly on the board. Moreover, there is no barrier between two side-by-side light guides, and the light at the end of the light guide near the light source will interfere with each other.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly that can improve at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art.

Therefore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the connector assembly includes a shield, a receptacle connector, and a light guide. The shielding case has a plurality of walls, an accommodating space defined by the walls, a front opening communicating with the accommodating space, and an opening communicating with the accommodating space. The socket connector is accommodated in the rear section of the accommodating space in the shielding case. The light guide has at least two light guides, each light guide has a first section at the front and a second section at the rear, the first sections of the two light guides are located outside the shielding cover, The second section of the two light pipes passes through the opening and extends into the rear section of the accommodating space of the shielding cover.

In some embodiments, the first section of each light pipe extends from front to back, the second section of each light pipe extends from top to bottom, and the walls of the shielding cover include a top wall, the rear end of the top wall is formed with the opening, the first section of the two light pipes is located above the near sides of the top wall of the shield, and the second section of the two light pipes passes through The back section of the accommodating space of the shielding case is extended through the opening on the top wall.

In some embodiments, the walls of the shield include a rear wall, and the second sections of the two light pipes are assembled on the rear wall.

In some implementation aspects, the second section of each light pipe has a fastening block, and the rear wall has fastening openings corresponding to the fastening blocks of the second sections of the two light pipes.

In some implementations, the fastening block has a fastening neck and a fastening head portion, the fastening opening has a first hole portion located above, a second hole portion located below, and communicates with the The necking channel between the first hole and the second hole, the first hole can pass through the buckle head and the buckle neck, and the buckle neck passes through the neck A channel enters the second bore portion and is retained within the second bore portion.

In some implementation aspects, the walls of the shielding cover include two side walls, and the second sections of the two light pipes are respectively assembled on the inner sides of the two side walls.

In some embodiments, each side wall has a tubular buckle integrally extending into the accommodating space, and the second sections of the two light pipes are respectively assembled to the tubular buckles on the two side walls.

In some implementation aspects, the tubular buckle is integrally cut from the wall body of the corresponding side wall, and the tubular buckle is a tubular structure curled toward the accommodating space, and the tubular buckle has a Two pipe openings at the upper end and the lower end, and a snap-in opening connected between the two pipe openings, the second section of each light pipe enters through the snap-in port and is assembled in the tubular buckle of the corresponding side wall .

In some implementation aspects, the second section of each light pipe has a protrusion, and the protrusion can be used to abut against the lower end of the tubular buckle.

In some implementation aspects, the top wall of the shielding case has at least two positioning pieces, and the first section of each light pipe has a positioning block matched with the corresponding positioning pieces.

In some implementation aspects, each positioning piece has a positioning groove, and the positioning block of the first section of each light pipe has a positioning neck capable of snapping into the positioning groove.

In some implementation aspects, the second sections of the at least two light pipes are respectively located on the left and right sides of the socket connector and separated by the socket connector.

The rear second section of the light guides of the connector assembly of the present invention extends into the rear section of the accommodating space of the shielding cover. Since the second sections of the two light guides are located in the shielding cover, the entire assembly can be reduced. space occupied on the circuit board. Furthermore, the second sections of the two light pipes are respectively located on the left and right sides of the socket connector and are separated by the socket connector, which can prevent or reduce mutual interference of parallel light sources.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same numerals.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a first embodiment of a connector assembly 100 of the present invention is suitable for plugging with a pluggable module (not shown). The connector assembly 100 includes a shielding case 1 , a receptacle connector 2 , and a light guide 3 . It should be noted that the number of the shielding cover 1, the socket connector 2 and the light guide 3 can be adjusted according to the needs and can be stacked or combined, which is not the same as in the first embodiment. The number is limited.

The shielding case 1 is, for example, made of metal material, and the shielding case 1 may be constructed of a metal plate through die stamping and bending. The shield 1 extends along a front-to-back direction D1 (the direction indicated by the arrow is the front, and the reverse direction is the rear) and has a top wall 11, and the top wall 11 extends along an up-down direction D2 (the direction indicated by the arrow is upward, and the opposite direction is the rear). A bottom wall 12 spaced opposite to each other along a left-right direction D3 (the direction indicated by the arrow is right, and the direction indicated by the arrow is left) is opposite to each other at intervals and connected to two sides of the top wall 11 and the bottom wall 12 respectively. A side wall 13, a rear wall 14 located at the rear end and connected to the top wall 11 and the rear edge of the side walls 13, and extends downward from the side walls 13 and is suitable for being fixed on a circuit board (not shown). jack (not shown) and/or a plurality of pins 15 connected to a ground trace. In addition, the shielding case 1 also has an accommodating space 16 which is defined by the top wall 11, the bottom wall 12, the side walls 13 and the rear wall 14 and is located inside, and is located at the front end and communicates with the accommodating space. 16 and a front opening 161 for the pluggable module to be inserted into, two openings 162 formed at the rear end of the top wall 11 and communicated with the accommodating space 16, and located behind the bottom wall 12 and communicated with A bottom opening 163 of the accommodating space 16 .

The receptacle connector 2 is covered by the shielding case 1 through the bottom opening 163 , so that the receptacle connector 2 is accommodated in the rear section of the accommodating space 16 in the shielding case 1 . In addition, the receptacle connector 2 is mechanically and electrically disposed on the circuit board. The receptacle connector 2 has an insulating base 21 and a plurality of terminals 22. The base 21 has a forward-facing insertion portion 211. , the terminals 22 are disposed in the socket portion 211 and the tail portion 221 thereof is electrically and mechanically connected to the circuit board. After the pluggable module enters the shielding cover 1 from the front opening 161, a plug board (not shown) of the pluggable module can be inserted into the insertion portion 211 of the socket connector 2, and Make the plug board contact the terminals 22 in the socket portion 211 of the receptacle connector 2 , so that the pluggable module and the receptacle connector 2 of the connector assembly 100 are docked with each other. In addition, the front opening 161 of the shielding case 1 is provided with a plurality of grounding members 17, and the grounding members 17 have a plurality of grounding members 17 extending backward from the front end opening 161 and distributed on the outside of the shielding case 1 and the inside of the shielding case 1. A plurality of elastic fingers 171, the elastic fingers 171 located outside the shield 1 are used to partially contact with a casing (not shown) at the periphery of a mounting hole (not shown), the The elastic fingers 171 located inside the shield 1 are used for contacting the pluggable module.

The light guide element 3 has two light guide tubes 31 and a plurality of connecting posts 32 connected to the two light guide tubes 31 . Each light pipe 31 has a first section 311 located at the front and extending from front to back, and a second section 312 located at the rear and extending from top to bottom. The first sections 311 of the two light pipes 31 are located at Outside the shielding case 1 and above the near sides of the top wall 11 of the shielding case 1, and assembled on the top wall 11; the second sections 312 of the two light pipes 31 respectively pass through the top wall 11 The two openings 162 extend into the rear section of the accommodating space 16 of the shielding cover 1, and are assembled on the rear wall 14. The second sections 312 of the two light pipes 31 are respectively located on the left and right sides of the socket connector 2. The two sides are separated by the socket connector 2. The first segment 311 has a light output end 311a at the front end, and the second segment 312 has a light input end 312a at the bottom end facing the light emitting element (not shown) on the circuit board. Since the second sections 312 of the two light pipes 31 are located in the shielding case 1 , the space occupied by the entire assembly on the circuit board can be reduced. Furthermore, the second sections 312 of the two light pipes 31 are respectively located on the left and right sides of the socket connector 2 and separated by the socket connector 2, which can prevent or reduce parallel light sources (self-luminous elements and light-emitting elements) and the light leaking out between the light incident ends 312a of the light pipe 31) interfere with each other.

It should be noted that the number of the opening 162 may be only one in a variant embodiment. In this variant embodiment, the second sections 312 of the two light guide pipes 31 pass through a strip-shaped opening together. The hole extends into the rear section of the accommodating space 16 of the shielding case 1 . Moreover, in other implementations, the number of light guide pipes 31 of the light guide member 3 can also be more than three, and the number of the openings 162 can also correspond to the number of light guide pipes 31 of the light guide member 3. The number is adjusted to be more than three, which is not limited by the first embodiment.

1 to 4, in the first embodiment, the top wall 11 of the shielding cover 1 has the two light guide pipes 31 extending upward from the left and right sides of the front section and corresponding to the light guide member 3 respectively. The first section 311 of each light pipe 31 has a positioning block 311b extending outward and matching with the corresponding positioning piece 111 . Each positioning piece 111 has a positioning groove 111a with an opening facing upward, and the positioning block 311b of the first section 311 of each light pipe 31 has a positioning neck that is located at the proximal end and can be snapped into the positioning groove 111a 311c.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 2 and FIGS. 5 to 7, the second section 312 of each light pipe 31 has a buckle block 312b extending backwards, and the rear wall 14 has a joint with the two light pipes 31 respectively. The fastening blocks 312 b of the second section 312 correspond to the two fastening openings 141 . The buckle block 312b has a buckle neck 312c and a buckle head portion 312d connected to the rear end of the buckle neck 312c, and each buckle opening 141 has a first hole 141a at the top and a first hole 141a at the bottom. A second hole portion 141b, and a constricted channel 141c communicating between the first hole portion 141a and the second hole portion 141b. During the assembly process, the first hole 141a can pass through the buckle head 312d and the buckle neck 312c, when the buckle neck 312c passes through the first hole 141a (as shown in FIG. 5 ), and then press the second section 312 of the light pipe 31 downward, so that the fastening neck 312c can enter the second hole 141b through the necking channel 141c and be held in the second hole 141b (as shown in Figure 6). In addition, when assembling, the second section 312 may be first assembled to the fastening opening 141 of the rear wall 14 , and then the first section 311 is assembled to the positioning piece 111 of the top wall 11 . In addition, in the first embodiment, the connecting posts 32 are connected between the first sections 311 of the two light guide pipes 31, and each connecting post 32 of the light guide 3 also has a downward extending and The support protrusions 321 lean against the support protrusions 321 of the top wall 11 , and the support protrusions 321 maintain a fixed distance between the first sections 311 of the two light pipes 31 and the top wall 11 .

Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 11 , the difference between the second embodiment of the connector assembly 100 of the present invention and the first embodiment is that the second sections 312 of the two light pipes 31 are respectively assembled on the sidewalls 13 At the inner side, each sidewall 13 has a tubular buckle 131 integrally extending into the accommodating space 16 , and the second sections 312 of the two light pipes 31 are respectively assembled to the tubular buckle 131 of the two sidewalls 13 . For example, each tubular buckle 131 is integrally cut from the wall body of the corresponding side wall 13 , and the tubular buckle 131 is a tubular structure that is curled toward the accommodating space 16 and close to the rear wall 14 , Each tubular buckle 131 has two tube openings 131a located at the upper end and the lower end respectively, and a snap opening 131b communicating between the two tube openings 131a and opening forward, the second section of each light guide tube 31 312 enters backward from the locking opening 131 b and is assembled in the corresponding tubular buckle 131 of the side wall 13 . Moreover, in the second embodiment, the second segment 312 of each light pipe 31 has a protrusion 312e, and the protrusion 312e can be used to lean against the lower end of the tubular buckle 131 to strengthen the The position of the light guide 31 relative to the shielding cover 1 in the up-down direction D2.

To sum up, the rear second section 312 of the light guides 3 of the connector assembly 100 of the present invention extends into the rear section of the accommodating space 16 of the shielding cover 1 , because the second sections of the two light guides 31 312 is located in the shielding case 1, so the space occupied by the whole assembly on the circuit board can be reduced. Furthermore, the second sections 312 of the two light pipes 31 are respectively located on the left and right sides of the socket connector 2 and are separated by the socket connector 2 , which can prevent or reduce mutual interference of parallel light sources.

But what is described above is only an embodiment of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the patent scope of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present invention. Within the scope covered by the patent of the present invention.

100:Connector assembly 1: shielding cover 11: top wall 111:Positioning film 111a: positioning groove 12: Bottom wall 13: side wall 131: Tubular buckle 131a: Tube opening 131b: Card entry 14: rear wall 141: Buckle opening 141a: the first hole 141b: second hole 141c: Neck channel 15: Pin 16:Accommodating space 161: front opening 162: opening 163: Bottom opening 17: Grounding piece 171: elastic fingers 2: socket connector 21: seat body 211: socket part 22: terminal 221: Tail 3: Light guide 31: Light pipe 311: first paragraph 311a: light output end 311b: positioning block 311c: Positioning the neck 312: second paragraph 312a: light incident end 312b: buckle block 312c: buckle neck 312d: buckle head part 312e: Bump 32: connecting column 321: Support convex part D1: Front and rear directions D2: up and down direction D3: left and right directions

Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the implementation manner with reference to the drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the connector assembly of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the first embodiment in Fig. 1; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment in FIG. 1 from another perspective; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, which is used to illustrate the assembly relationship between the positioning block of the light guide and the positioning piece of the shielding cover in the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view of the first embodiment, in which the light guide of the first embodiment has not been fully assembled to the shield; 6 is a partial perspective view of the first embodiment, in which the light guide of the first embodiment has been completely assembled to the shielding case; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, which is used to illustrate the assembly relationship between the fastening block of the light guide and the fastening hole of the shielding cover in the first embodiment; 8 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the connector assembly of the present invention, in which a part of the shielding cover of the second embodiment is cut away; Fig. 9 is a partial perspective view of the second embodiment in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a partial perspective exploded view of the second embodiment in Fig. 9, in which the light pipe of the light guide of the second embodiment has not been assembled to the shielding case; and FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of the second embodiment, which is used to illustrate the assembly relationship between the light guide tube of the light guide element and the tubular buckle of the shielding cover in the second embodiment.

100:Connector assembly

1: shielding cover

11: top wall

111:Positioning film

111a: positioning groove

12: Bottom wall

13: side wall

14: rear wall

141: Buckle opening

141a: the first hole

141b: second hole

141c: Neck channel

15: Pin

16:Accommodating space

162: opening

163: Bottom opening

17: Grounding piece

171: elastic fingers

2: socket connector

21: seat body

211: socket part

22: terminal

221: Tail

3: Light guide

31: Light pipe

311: first paragraph

311a: light output end

311b: positioning block

311c: Positioning the neck

312: second paragraph

312a: light incident end

312b: buckle block

312c: buckle neck

312d: buckle head part

32: connecting column

321: Support convex part

D1: Front and rear direction

D2: up and down direction

D3: left and right directions

Claims (12)

A connector assembly comprising: A shielding case has a plurality of walls, an accommodating space defined by the walls, a front opening communicating with the accommodating space, and an opening communicating with the accommodating space; a receptacle connector accommodated in the rear section of the accommodating space in the shielding case; and A light guide has at least two light guides, each light guide has a first section at the front and a second section at the rear, the first sections of the two light guides are located outside the shield , the second section of the two light pipes passes through the opening and extends into the rear section of the accommodating space of the shielding case. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first section of each light pipe extends from front to back, the second section of each light pipe extends from top to bottom, and the shielding cover The equal wall includes a top wall, the rear end of the top wall is formed with the opening, the first section of the two light guides is located above the near two sides of the top wall of the shielding cover, and the two light guides The second section of the pipe passes through the opening on the top wall and extends into the rear section of the accommodating space of the shielding case. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the walls of the shielding case include a rear wall, and the second sections of the two light pipes are assembled on the rear wall. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second section of each light pipe has a fastening block, and the rear wall has a buckle corresponding to the fastening blocks of the second sections of the two light pipes Connect the opening. The connector assembly according to claim 4, wherein the fastening block has a fastening neck and a fastening head portion, and the fastening opening has a first hole portion located above and a second hole located below part, and a necking passage connected between the first hole part and the second hole part, the first hole part can pass through the buckle head part and the buckle neck part, and the buckle neck part A portion enters the second bore portion through the constricted passage and is retained within the second bore portion. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the walls of the shielding cover include two side walls, and the second sections of the two light pipes are respectively assembled on inner sides of the two side walls. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein each side wall has a tubular buckle integrally extending into the accommodating space, and the second sections of the two light pipes are respectively assembled on the tubular buckles of the two side walls buckle. The connector assembly according to claim 7, wherein the tubular buckle is integrally cut from the wall body of the corresponding side wall, and the tubular buckle is a tubular structure curled toward the accommodating space, said The tubular buckle has two tube openings located at the upper end and the lower end respectively, and a snap-in opening connected between the two tube openings, the second section of each light guide enters from the snap-in opening and is assembled in the corresponding Inside the tubular snaps on the side walls. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second section of each light pipe has a protrusion, and the protrusion can be used to abut against the lower end of the tubular buckle. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the top wall of the shielding case has at least two positioning pieces, and the first section of each light pipe has a positioning block matched with the corresponding positioning pieces. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein each positioning piece has a positioning groove, and the positioning block of the first section of each light pipe has a positioning neck capable of being snapped into the positioning groove. The connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second sections of the at least two light pipes are respectively located on the left and right sides of the socket connector and separated by the socket connector.

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