TWI493800B - Connector structure - Google Patents

Description

Connector structure

The present invention relates to a connector structure, and more particularly to a connector structure that is simple and convenient to assemble 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 front end of 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 two independent wires are arranged. The front end is respectively inserted into the slot at the rear end of the insulating body and overlaps with the plurality of terminals assembled in the signal port and the power transmission port, so that the structure of the SATA connector can be completed, because the metal wire of the cable and the terminal form a parallel direction. Electrical contact, so the extension direction of the cable is parallel to the length direction of the terminal and extends toward the rear of the insulating body.

However, when the conventional SATA connector is limited in product space when assembled in an electronic product, and the extension direction of the cable needs to be parallel to the length direction of the insulating body, the conventional SATA connector cable needs to be bent. Additional processing such as folding, which complicates the process and increases the time cost, is not economical. In addition, the conventional SATA connector requires two separate cables for the production, so that not only the space but also the production cost is increased, and the connector of the other end of the two cables of the SATA connector is also connected. In order to match the design of the joints of the two cables, the horizontal space cannot be reduced, which leads to the inability to downsize the product and the inability to reduce the cost, which does not meet the requirements of light and short in the market today and lower production costs.

The extension direction of the conventional connector cable is perpendicular to the length direction of the insulating body. If the extension direction of the cable is changed, additional processing such as bending and folding is required to increase the complexity and time cost, and the conventional connector is known. The need to use two cable lines, which easily leads to the problem of increasing space and production costs, does not meet the requirements of today's market is light and short and reduces production costs.

The present invention provides a connector structure comprising an insulative housing, a plurality of first terminals, a plurality of second terminals, a cover and a flexible cable, wherein the insulative housing has a first connecting portion, and the rear end of the insulative housing has a rear surface. The plurality of first terminals are assembled to the first connecting portion, and the first terminal has a lap that protrudes from the rear surface. The cover body is assembled to the insulative housing, and the cover body has a bearing surface having opposite short sides and two long sides connected to the two short sides. The bearing surface is disposed opposite to the rear surface, and the rear surface is formed between the rear surface and the bearing surface. A gap is provided with an opening corresponding to any short side of the bearing surface. The flexible cable is composed of a plurality of metal wires and an insulating layer covering the metal wires. The flexible cable has a contact portion and a body portion. The contact portion is disposed in the gap, and the body portion extends from the opening to the gap. In addition, the metal wires of the contact portion are located on the same plane and are in electrical contact with the overlapping portion of the first terminal, and the metal wires of the contact portion extend in a direction parallel to the long side of the bearing surface.

The connector structure provided by the present invention can be disposed on the rear surface of the insulating body by using a single flexible cable, which can replace the two independent wires arranged in the prior interval, so that it is not necessary to add additional bending and folding. The process can change the extending direction of the cable, and has the advantages of less space occupation and cost reduction, so that the problem that the conventional technology is easy to cause the process complexity, the space and the production cost increase can be effectively solved.

Referring to the preferred embodiments shown in the first to seventh embodiments, the present invention provides a connector structure 1 including an insulative housing 2, a plurality of first terminals 3, a plurality of second terminals 4, a cover 5, and a soft Cable 6.

The insulative housing 2 has a first connecting portion 21 and a second connecting portion 22 spaced apart from the first connecting portion 21 . The rear end of the insulative housing 2 has a rear surface 23 , and the first connecting portion 21 and the second connecting portion 22 . A plurality of trenches 24 are provided to connect the front and rear ends and the rear surface 23 of the insulative housing 2, a signal 埠211 is disposed at the front end of the first connecting portion 21, and a power transmission port 221 is disposed at the front end of the second connecting portion 22 on the rear surface 23. A plurality of grooves 25 corresponding to the grooves 24 are provided. The length direction of the grooves 25 is perpendicular to the length direction of the rear surface 23, and the openings of the grooves 24 are located in the grooves 25.

The plurality of first terminals 3 are assembled in the grooves 24 of the first connecting portion 21, and the first terminal 3 has a pair of connecting portions 31, a fixing portion 32, an extending portion 33 and a lap portion 34, wherein the lap portion 34 is protruded from the rear surface 23 to be electrically connected to the flexible cable 6 , and the extending portion 33 is disposed in the recess 25 for electrically connecting with the adjusting strap 34 and the flexible cable 6 , the fixing portion 32 The first terminal 3 is interposed and fixed in the trench 24, and the mating portion 31 is connected to a mating connector (not shown). The first terminal 3 includes a signal terminal and a ground terminal according to its function. The plurality of second terminals 4 are assembled in the trenches 24 of the second connecting portion 22, and the second terminals 4 include a power terminal and a ground terminal according to their functions.

The cover body 5 is assembled to the insulative housing 2, the cover body 5 has a bearing surface 51 having two opposite short sides 511 and two long sides 512 connected to the two short sides 511. The bearing surface 51 is opposite to the rear. The surface 23 is disposed, and a gap 52 is formed between the rear surface 23 and the bearing surface 51. The gap 52 is provided with an opening 521 corresponding to any short side 511 of the bearing surface 51.

The flexible cable 6 is composed of a plurality of metal wires 61 and an insulating layer 62 covering the metal wires 61. The flexible cable 6 has a contact portion 63 and a body portion 64. The contact portion 63 is disposed in the gap 52. The main body portion 63 extends from the opening 521 to the gap 52. The metal wires 61 of the contact portion 63 are located on the same plane and are in electrical contact with the overlapping portions 34 of the first terminals 3, and the contact portion 63 is The metal wires 61 extend in a direction parallel to the long sides 512 of the bearing surface 51.

In this embodiment, the metal wires 61 of the body portion 64 extend in a direction parallel to the length direction of the insulative housing 2 to meet the requirements of the product space design. However, other design options are as shown in the body portion 64. The process of folding, bending or dividing can also be applied to the present invention, that is, the present invention only limits the contact portion 63 to the gap 52, but there is no particular limitation on the body portion 63 extending beyond the gap 52. As long as it can meet the needs of customers.

The metal wires 61 of the contact portion 63 are exposed on the side of the insulating layer 62 facing the rear surface 23 and facing away from the bearing surface 51, and the insulating layer 62 of the contact portion 63 is attached to the bearing surface 51 of the cover 5. This design makes it easy to assemble the process. When the cover 5 is assembled to the rear end of the insulative housing 2, the overlapping portion 34 of the first terminal 3 extends to the gap 52 and passes through the contact portion 63 of the flexible cable 6, and the bearing surface 51 is provided with a complex The plurality of slots 513, the lap portion 34 can be fitted into the recess 513 and form a stable electrical connection with the metal wires 61 of the contact portion 63.

In addition, the extending portion 33 of the first terminal 3 disposed in the recess 25 is closely adjacent to the rear surface 23, and the metal of the contact portion 63 is avoided in order to avoid a short circuit with the metal wires 61 of the contact portion 63. The wire 61 is exposed to a distance between one side of the insulating layer 62 and the rear surface 23 to maintain a safe distance. However, it is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the depth of the groove 25 may be deepened, and there is no need to form a space between the contact portion 63 and the rear surface 23 to maintain a safe distance, and the contact portion 63 may be held fixed. Between the rear surface 23 and the bearing surface 51, the height of the gap 52 is approximately equal to the thickness of the flexible wiring 6, and the width of the gap 52 is approximately equal to the width of the flexible wiring 6.

It is to be noted that, in the present invention, the flexible cable 6 is laterally disposed on the rear surface 23 of the insulative housing 2 to overlap the plurality of first terminals 3 and the second terminals 4. In this embodiment, the first The spacing between the terminal 3 and the second terminal 4 is greater than the spacing between the metal wires 62 of the contact portion 63, and the design of the extending portion 33 can easily make the first terminal 3 and the second terminal 4 electrically Connected to the flexible cable 6. It can be understood that the length of each of the extensions 33 is equal to the vertical distance between the opening of the groove 24 and any of the metal wires 62 of the contact portion 63. In addition, the ground terminals of the plurality of first terminals 3 and the second terminals 4 designed to be grounded can be electrically connected to the same metal wire 61 of the contact portion 63, so that the width and the saving of the flexible cable 6 can be reduced. The effect of space.

In summary, the connector structure of the present invention is disposed on the rear surface of the insulative housing by using a single flexible cable, which can replace the two independent cables that are originally spaced apart, so that there is no need to increase the bending and folding. The additional process can change the extension direction of the cable, and has the advantages of less space occupation and cost reduction, so that the problem that the conventional technology is easy to cause the process complexity, the space and the production cost increase can be effectively solved. In addition, the lateral arrangement of the single flexible cable of the present invention on the rear surface of the insulative housing is also advantageous in that the pitch width between the metal wires in the wire is smaller than the pitch between the terminals.

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‧‧‧Connector structure

2‧‧‧Insulated body

21‧‧‧First connection

211‧‧‧ signal 埠

22‧‧‧Second connection

221‧‧‧Power transmission

23‧‧‧Back surface

24‧‧‧ trench

25‧‧‧ Groove

3‧‧‧First terminal

31‧‧‧Docking Department

32‧‧‧ Fixed Department

33‧‧‧Extension

34‧‧‧ lap joint

4‧‧‧second terminal

41‧‧‧Power terminal

42‧‧‧ Grounding terminal

5‧‧‧ cover

51‧‧‧ bearing surface

511‧‧‧ Short side

512‧‧‧ long side

513‧‧‧Inlay

52‧‧‧ gap

521‧‧‧ openings

6‧‧‧Soft cable

61‧‧‧Metal wire

62‧‧‧Insulation

63‧‧‧Contacts

64‧‧‧ Body Department

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

The second figure is a partial exploded view of the connector structure of the first figure.

The third figure is a partially exploded schematic view of the connector structure of the first figure in the other direction.

The fourth figure is a perspective exploded view of the connector structure of the first figure.

The fifth figure is a perspective view of the insulative body of the fourth figure.

The sixth figure is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector structure of the first figure along the AA direction.

The seventh figure is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector structure of the first figure along the BB direction.

1‧‧‧Connector structure

2‧‧‧Insulated body

211‧‧‧ signal 埠

221‧‧‧Power transmission

5‧‧‧ cover

521‧‧‧ openings

6‧‧‧Soft cable

Claims (10)

A connector structure includes: an insulative housing having a first connecting portion, a rear end of the insulative housing having a rear surface; a plurality of first terminals assembled to the first connecting portion, the first terminal having a lap joint protruding from the rear surface; a cover body assembled to the insulative housing, the cover body having a bearing surface having opposite short sides and connecting to the short a second side of the edge, the bearing surface is disposed relative to the rear surface, and a gap is formed between the rear surface and the bearing surface, the gap is provided with an opening corresponding to any of the short sides of the bearing surface; The flexible cable is composed of a plurality of metal wires and an insulating layer covering the metal wires. The flexible cable has a contact portion and a body portion, and the contact portion is disposed in the gap. The metal portion of the contact portion is located on the same plane and is in electrical contact with the overlapping portion of the first terminals, and the metal of the contact portion is formed. Extension of the wire A direction parallel to the line length of the edge of the supporting surface. The connector structure of claim 1, wherein the metal wires of the body portion extend in a direction parallel to a length direction of the insulating body. The connector structure of claim 1, wherein the metal wires of the contact portion are exposed on a side of the insulating layer facing the rear surface and The insulating layer of the contact portion is attached to the bearing surface of the cover body. The connector structure of claim 3, wherein the metal wires of the contact portion are exposed to a side of the insulating layer to form a space between the side surface and the rear surface. The connector structure of claim 1, wherein the contact portion is clamped and fixed between the rear surface and the bearing surface, the height of the gap being substantially equal to the thickness of the flexible cable, the width of the gap being substantially equal to the softness The width of the cable. The connector structure of claim 1, wherein the lap portion extends to the gap and passes through the contact portion of the flexible cable, the bearing surface is provided with a plurality of slots, and the lap portion is fitted to the connector Insert slot. The connector structure of claim 1, wherein the first connecting portion is provided with a plurality of grooves for assembling the first terminals, and the rear surface is provided with a plurality of grooves corresponding to the grooves, The length direction of the groove is perpendicular to the length direction of the rear surface, and the openings of the grooves are located in the grooves. The connector structure of claim 7, wherein the first terminals are each provided with an extension portion, and the extension portion is disposed in the recess, the length of the extension portion being equal to the opening of the groove and the contact portion. The vertical distance between any of these metal wires. The connector structure of claim 1, wherein a spacing between the first terminals is greater than a spacing between the metal wires of the contact portion. The connector structure according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: a plurality of second terminals, wherein the insulative housing has a second connecting portion spaced apart from the first connecting portion, the The two terminals are assembled to the second connecting portion, and the first terminals and the portions of the second terminals are electrically connected to the same metal wire of the contact portion.