TWI449278B - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

Electrical connector

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector that reduces the number of wires used and reduces production costs.

In the prior art, a SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) connector is more and more widely used in various electronic devices, such as a notebook computer, a server, a network storage device, etc., which is a kind of Innovative hard disk transmission interface, which adopts serial transmission mode, can make signal transmission distance longer, avoids the electronic interference caused by high-speed parallel transmission, provides space for computer performance growth, improves data transmission performance and reliability, and at the same time It also improves the overall dynamics of the system.

Generally, the connector for SATA has an insulative housing, and the insulative housing is provided with a signal port and a power transmission port spaced apart from the signal port, and a plurality of terminals are arranged in the signal port and the power transmission port, and the two wires are respectively assembled and assembled. This SATA connector can be completed by overlapping the terminals of the signal port and the transmission port.

However, such a connector requires the use of two separate cables for production, so that not only the space but also the production cost is likely to increase. In addition, the connector of the other end of the two cables of the connector also needs to cooperate with the connection design of the two wires to reduce the lateral space. As a result, the product cannot be reduced in size and the cost cannot be reduced, which does not meet the requirements of today's market, which is light and short, and reduces production costs.

The structural design of the conventional connector must use two wires, which is easy to cause the problem of occupying space and increasing production cost, which does not meet the requirements of light and short in the market and lower production cost.

The present invention provides an electrical connector, comprising an insulative housing, a first terminal set, a second terminal set, a flexible cable and a connecting piece, wherein the insulative housing has a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion, and the first connecting portion is provided with One slot, the second connecting portion is provided with a second slot. The first terminal group is assembled to the first connecting portion, and the first terminal group includes a plurality of signal terminals and a plurality of virtual terminals, and the virtual terminals are connected to each other. The second terminal group is assembled to the second connecting portion, and the flexible cable is inserted into the first slot, and the flexible cable is provided with a plurality of contacts, and the signal terminals and the virtual terminals are respectively electrically connected to the flexible cable. The connecting piece is inserted into the insulative housing, and one end of the connecting piece extends to the first slot and is electrically connected to contact with any of the virtual terminals, and the other end of the connecting piece extends to the second slot and the at least one part of the second terminal set Contact forms electrical conduction.

The electrical connector provided by the present invention utilizes a plurality of dummy terminals in the first terminal group, and uses the connecting piece to electrically connect at least a portion of the second terminal group to the virtual terminals. The design of the present invention The two independent cables that are originally spaced apart can be integrated into a single cable, so that not only does not occupy space, but also reduces production costs. Therefore, the problem that the conventional technology is easy to cause an increase in space and production cost can be effectively solved.

Referring to the preferred embodiments shown in the first to ninth embodiments, the present invention provides an electrical connector 1 including an insulative housing 2, a first terminal set 3, a second terminal set 4, a flexible cable 5, and Connecting piece 6.

The insulative housing 2 has a first connecting portion 21 and a second connecting portion 22. The first connecting portion 21 has a first slot 211 and a plurality of first slots 212 connected to the first slot 211. The front end of the first connecting portion 21 is provided with a signal 埠214, and the signal 埠214 communicates with the first slot 211 via the first grooves 212. The second connecting portion 22 is provided with a second slot 221 and a plurality of second slots 222 communicating with the second slot 221. The front end of the second connecting portion 22 is provided with a power transmission port 223. The second trenches 222 are in communication with the second slot 221 .

The first terminal group 3 is assembled to the first connecting portion 21, and the first terminal group 3 includes a plurality of signal terminals 31 and a plurality of dummy terminals 32, and the dummy terminals 32 are electrically connected to each other. The signal terminals 31 are mounted on the first trenches 212. The dummy terminals 32 are mounted on the recesses 213, and the recesses 213 are blind holes that do not extend to the front end of the insulative housing 2. The outer shape of the insulating body 2 of the SATA electrical connector 1. In this embodiment, each signal terminal 31 has An elastic contact point 33 and an elastic fixing portion 34, and each of the dummy terminals 32 has only one elastic fixing portion 34.

The second terminal group 4 is assembled to the second connecting portion 22, and the second terminal group 4 includes a plurality of power terminals 41 and a plurality of ground terminals 42. The power terminals 41 and 42 are mounted on the second trenches 222. Each of the power terminals 41 has another elastic contact point 43 similar to the signal terminal 31 and another elastic fixing portion 44. The ground terminals 42 are located between the power terminals 41 and the first terminal group 3.

The front end of the flexible cable 5 is inserted into the first slot 211, and a plurality of contacts 51 are disposed on the front surface of the front end of the flexible cable 5, and a reinforcing member is disposed on the back surface of the flexible cable 5 with respect to the contacts 51. The plate 52, the reinforcing plate 52 increases the mechanical strength of the front end of the flexible cable 5 to facilitate insertion of the flexible cable 5 into the first slot 211. The signal terminals 31 and the dummy terminals 32 of the first terminal group 3 are Electrically conductive with the contacts 51 of the flexible cable 5 respectively.

The connecting piece 6 is inserted into the insulative housing 2, and the connecting piece 6 is electrically connected to the power terminals 41 of the second terminal group 4, and the connecting piece 6 is in non-contact state with the grounding terminals 42. One end extends to the first slot 211 and is in electrical contact with any of the dummy terminals 32, and the other end of the connecting piece 6 extends to the second slot 221 and is in contact with at least a portion of the second terminal group 4 to form an electrical continuity. Thus, the virtual terminal 32 is electrically connected to the partial second terminal group 4. Another option is that the second terminal group 4 is not provided with the ground terminal 42, the connecting piece The other end of the 6 can be in contact with all the terminals of the second terminal group 4, such that the virtual terminal 32 is electrically connected to all of the second terminal groups 4.

In the embodiment, the virtual terminals 32 of the first terminal group 3 include a plurality of virtual contact portions 321 and a lap portion 322, and the virtual contact portions 321 form a one-to-one contact with the contacts 51 of the flexible cable 5. The lap portion 322 is only in contact with the connecting piece 6. The virtual terminals 32 are located between the signal terminals 31 and the second terminal group 4, and the number of the contacts 51 of the flexible cable 5 is smaller than the sum of the number of the signal terminals 31 and the virtual terminals 32. This is because the dummy terminals 32 are provided with a lap 322 which is only in contact with the connecting piece 6.

The signal terminals 31 are in one-to-one contact with the contacts 51 of the flexible cable 5 by the elastic fixing portion 34, and the power terminal 41 is brought into contact with the connecting piece 6 by the other elastic fixing portion 44, so that the power terminals 41 The dummy terminals 32 can be electrically connected to the dummy terminals 32 via the connecting strips 6, and the number of the contacts 51 of the flexible cable 5 is equal to the sum of the number of the signal terminals 31 and the number of the power terminals 41.

The connecting piece 6 is a stamped metal sheet-shaped body. The connecting piece 6 includes an interference portion 61 and a contact portion 62 respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the interference portion 61. The interference portion 61 is fixed to the first connecting portion. Between 21 and the second connecting portion 22, the two contact portions 62 provided on the left and right sides of the interference portion 61 are in electrical contact with the dummy terminal 32 and the power terminal 41, respectively.

The housing 7 is assembled on the insulative housing 2, which covers the first slot 211 and the second slot 221 and the connecting piece 6, and fixes the flexible cable 5 to the insulative housing 2, wherein the housing 7 The metal stamping is formed and a plurality of grounding elastic pieces 71 are disposed on the grounding terminal 42.

It is to be noted that the present invention is to assemble the plurality of virtual terminals 32 and the flexible cable 5 to the first connecting portion 21, but is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the plurality of virtual terminals 32 and the flexible cable 5 may be assembled. In the second connecting portion 22, the relative position of the connecting piece 6 to the first slot 211 and the second slot 221 is also reversed.

In summary, the electrical connector of the present invention utilizes a plurality of dummy terminals in the first terminal group, and utilizes the connecting piece to electrically connect at least a portion of the second terminal group to the virtual terminals. The design allows the two independent cables arranged at the same time to be integrated into a single cable, so that not only does not occupy space but also reduces the production cost, so that the problem that the conventional technology is easy to cause an increase in space and production cost can be effectively solved.

The above detailed description is intended to be illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and other equivalents and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Changes are intended to be included in the scope of the patents covered by the present invention.

1‧‧‧Electrical connector

2‧‧‧Insulated body

21‧‧‧First connection

211‧‧‧first slot

212‧‧‧First groove

213‧‧‧ Groove

214‧‧‧Signal埠

22‧‧‧Second connection

221‧‧‧second slot

222‧‧‧Second trench

223‧‧‧Power transmission

3‧‧‧First terminal group

31‧‧‧ Signal Terminal

32‧‧‧Virtual terminals

321‧‧‧Virtual Contact

322‧‧‧ lap joint

33‧‧‧Elastic contact points

34‧‧‧Elastic fixation

4‧‧‧Second terminal group

41‧‧‧Power terminal

42‧‧‧ Grounding terminal

43‧‧‧Another elastic touch point

44‧‧‧Another elastic fixing

5‧‧‧Soft cable

51‧‧‧Contacts

52‧‧‧ reinforcing plate

6‧‧‧Connecting piece

61‧‧‧Interference Department

62‧‧‧Contacts

7‧‧‧Shell

71‧‧‧ Grounding shrapnel

The first figure is a perspective view of the electrical connector of the present invention.

The second figure is a partially exploded schematic view of the electrical connector of the first figure.

The third figure is a perspective exploded view of the electrical connector of the first figure.

The fourth figure is a perspective view of the virtual terminal of the third figure.

The fifth figure is a perspective view of the connecting piece of the third figure.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of the second figure taken along line AA.

The seventh figure is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of the second figure along the BB line segment.

The eighth figure is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of the second figure along the CC line segment.

The ninth drawing is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of the second figure along the DD line segment.

1‧‧‧Electrical connector

2‧‧‧Insulated body

21‧‧‧First connection

211‧‧‧first slot

212‧‧‧First groove

213‧‧‧ Groove

22‧‧‧Second connection

221‧‧‧second slot

222‧‧‧Second trench

3‧‧‧First terminal group

31‧‧‧ Signal Terminal

32‧‧‧Virtual terminals

4‧‧‧Second terminal group

41‧‧‧Power terminal

42‧‧‧ Grounding terminal

5‧‧‧Soft cable

51‧‧‧Contacts

52‧‧‧ reinforcing plate

6‧‧‧Connecting piece

7‧‧‧Shell

71‧‧‧ Grounding shrapnel

Claims (10)

An electrical connector includes: an insulative housing having a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion, the first connecting portion is provided with a first slot, and the second connecting portion is provided with a second slot a first terminal group is assembled to the first connecting portion, the first terminal group includes a plurality of signal terminals and a plurality of dummy terminals, and the dummy terminals are connected to each other; and a second terminal group is assembled to the second a connecting portion; a flexible cable is inserted in the first slot, the flexible cable is provided with a plurality of contacts, and the signal terminals and the virtual terminals respectively form electrical conduction with the flexible cable; and a connection Inserting the chip into the insulative housing, the connecting piece extends to the first slot and is electrically connected to any of the virtual terminals, and the other end of the connecting piece extends to the second slot and is at least one A portion of the second terminal set contacts form electrical conduction. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the second terminal group comprises a plurality of power terminals and a plurality of ground terminals, the connecting piece is electrically connected to the power terminals, and the connecting piece forms with the ground terminals. Non-contact state. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the second connecting portion further comprises a plurality of second trenches, the second trenches are connected to the second slot, the power terminals and the grounding terminals are Installed in the second The groove, each of the power terminals has an elastic contact point and an elastic fixing portion, and the elastic fixing portion is in contact with the connecting piece. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein the grounding terminals are located between the power terminals and the first terminal group, and the number of contacts of the flexible cable is equal to the signal terminals and the power sources The sum of the number of terminals. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the virtual terminals comprise a plurality of virtual contacts and a lap, the virtual contacts forming a one-to-one contact with the contacts of the flexible cable, and the lap The portion only makes contact with the connecting piece. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein each of the signal terminals has an elastic contact point and an elastic fixing portion, and the signal terminals are formed one by one by the contact of the elastic fixing portion and the flexible cable Contact, and each of the dummy terminals has only another elastic fixing portion. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein the first connecting portion further includes a plurality of first trenches and a plurality of recesses, the first trenches and the recesses are in communication with the first slot, The signal terminals are mounted on the first trenches, and the dummy terminals are mounted on the recesses, and the recesses are blind holes that do not extend to the front end of the insulating body. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein the virtual terminals are located between the signal terminals and the second terminal group, and the number of contacts of the flexible cable is smaller than the signal terminals and the virtual terminals The sum of the number of terminals. The electrical connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting piece is a stamped metal sheet-shaped body, the connecting piece comprises an interference portion and respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the interference portion body One of the side contact portions, the interference portion being fixed between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion. The electrical connector of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a housing assembled to the insulative housing, the housing covering the first slot, the second slot, and The connecting piece fixes the flexible cable to the insulating body.