TWI581512B - Electrical connector and electronic device - Google Patents

Description

Electrical connector and electronic device

The present invention relates to an electrical connector and an electronic device, and more particularly to an electrical connector and an electronic device using the same.

Generally, an electrical connector is usually disposed in an electronic device, and is electrically connected to an expansion device through an electrical connector, thereby enabling the electronic device to expand its use efficiency. Among them, with the advancement of technology, electronic devices are moving toward a trend of thinning. In addition, the electrical connectors that are disposed in the electronic device must also be miniaturized to meet the trend of thinning the electronic device.

However, as people's requirements for the function and performance of electronic devices are increasing, the number of necessary contacts on electronic devices is gradually increasing. Accordingly, electrical connectors need to have more contacts than are known to fit therewith. In this way, the increase in the number of pins of the electrical connector also increases the size and volume thereof relatively, which occupies a large space on the circuit board, making it difficult for the electrical connector to meet the miniaturization standard, and the electronic device using the same. It is difficult to meet the trend of thinning.

The present invention provides an electrical connector that is generally small in size.

The present invention provides an electronic device in which the size of the electrical connector is small, so that it can conform to the trend of thinning.

The electrical connector of the present invention includes a circuit board and a plurality of spring pieces. The shrapnel is placed on the circuit board. Each of the elastic pieces includes a plurality of contact portions, a plurality of fixing portions, and a plurality of insulating portions. The fixing portion is fixed on the circuit board and electrically connected to the circuit board. The contact portion is connected to the corresponding fixing portion and protrudes from the fixing portion in a direction away from the circuit board. Each of the insulating portions connects the two adjacent fixing portions such that the respective fixing portions are connected to each other and insulated from each other.

The electronic device of the present invention includes a body and an electrical connector. The body includes a connection end. The electrical connector includes a circuit board and a plurality of elastic pieces. The shrapnel is placed on the circuit board. Each of the elastic pieces includes a plurality of contact portions, a plurality of fixing portions, and a plurality of insulating portions. The fixing portion is fixed on the circuit board and electrically connected to the circuit board. The contact portion is connected to the corresponding fixing portion and protrudes from the fixing portion in a direction away from the circuit board. Each of the insulating portions connects the two adjacent fixing portions such that the respective fixing portions are connected to each other and insulated from each other.

Based on the above, the electrical connector of the present invention connects the two adjacent fixing portions of the elastic piece and insulates them from each other by the insulating portion, thereby shortening the spacing between the respective fixing portions and the contact portions, thereby being able to be in a limited space. Increase the number of contacts of the electrical connector and reduce the size and volume of the electrical connector. Moreover, the electronic device using the electrical connector can easily conform to the current trend of thinning.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

10‧‧‧Electronic devices

100, 100a, 100b‧‧‧ electrical connectors

110‧‧‧PCB

120, 120a, 120b‧‧‧ shrapnel

122‧‧‧Contacts

124‧‧‧Fixed Department

126‧‧‧Insulation

200‧‧‧ ontology

210‧‧‧Connected end

D1, D2‧‧‧ direction

S1‧‧‧ long side

S2‧‧‧ Short side

1 is a top plan view of an electrical connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of Figure 1.

3 is a top plan view of an electrical connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a top plan view of an electrical connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the embodiment, the electrical connector 100 can be applied to a portable electronic device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer, and can also be applied to other electronic devices such as a charger. However, in other embodiments, the invention is also applicable to other electrical connectors having similar configurations. The electrical connector 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a circuit board 110 and a plurality of elastic pieces 120. The elastic piece 120 is disposed on the circuit board 110. In detail, the elastic pieces 120 are arranged side by side and in parallel with each other on the circuit board, and a space can be maintained between the elastic pieces 120.

Further, each of the elastic pieces 120 includes a plurality of contact portions 122 , a plurality of fixing portions 124 , and a plurality of insulating portions 126 . It should be noted that FIG. 1 illustrates that the electrical connector 100 has two elastic pieces 120, and each elastic piece 120 has three contact portions 122 and a pair. The three fixing portions 124 are required. However, the present embodiment is for illustrative purposes only, and the present invention does not limit the number of the elastic pieces 120 and the contact portions 122, the fixing portions 124, and the insulating portions 126 included therein. The fixing portion 124 is fixed on the circuit board 110 and electrically connected to the circuit board 110. The contact portion 122 is connected to the fixing portion 124 and protrudes from the fixing portion 124 in a direction away from the wiring board 110. In this embodiment, the contact portion 122 and the fixing portion 124 may be integrally formed, and the contact portion 122 protruding from the fixing portion 124 may be formed through a process such as stamping. Thus, the fixing portion 124 may surround and connect the periphery of the contact portion 122. .

In the present embodiment, the insulating portions 126 respectively cover and connect the two adjacent fixing portions 124 of the elastic pieces 120 as shown in FIG. 1 so that the fixing portions 124 in the respective elastic pieces 120 are connected to each other and insulated from each other. In this embodiment, the material of the insulating portion 126 may include plastic, and the material of the contact portion 122 and the fixing portion 124 may include metal. In this embodiment, the insulating portion 126 is formed between the two adjacent fixing portions 124 of each of the elastic pieces 120 by the technique of In-Mold Forming (IMF) to connect the fixing portions of the elastic pieces 120. 124, and each of the fixing portions 124 is insulated from each other. In such a configuration, the fixing portions 124 of the respective elastic pieces 120 are connected and insulated from each other through the insulating portion 126, so that the spacing between the contact portions 122 of the respective fixing portions 124 can be shortened, thereby reducing the electrical connector. 100 size and volume.

In detail, the upper surface of the circuit board 110 may include a long side S1 and a short side S2 adjacent to each other. In the embodiment, the fixing portion 124 in each of the elastic pieces 120 is along a direction parallel to the long side S1. D1 is connected to each other through the insulating portion 126. In other words, the extending direction of each of the elastic pieces 120 is parallel to the long side S1. Specifically, the number of the elastic pieces 120 may be, for example, two, which is parallel to the short side S2 as shown in FIG. The direction D2 is arranged side by side on the circuit board 110. In such a configuration, the elastic pieces 120 of the electrical connector 100 can be arranged in a double row, and the spacing between the contact portions 122 of the fixing portions 124 is very small, that is, the electrical connector is used to couple with other electronic devices. The electrical contacts (ie, the contact portions 122 of the shrapnel 120) are more densely arranged, thereby reducing the size and volume of the electrical connector 100.

Referring to FIG. 3, the electrical connector 100a of the present embodiment is similar to the electrical connector 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2, so that the component numbers and parts of the foregoing embodiments are used, but in this embodiment, different from the foregoing embodiment. The upper surface of the circuit board 110 includes a long side S1 and a short side S2 adjacent to each other, and the fixing portions 124 of the respective elastic pieces 120 are connected to each other through the corresponding insulating portion 126 along a direction D2 parallel to the short side S2. . In other words, the extending direction of each of the elastic pieces 120 is parallel to the short side S2. Specifically, the number of the fixing portions 124 of each of the elastic pieces 120 may be two, for example, and the elastic pieces 120 may be disposed side by side on the circuit board 110 along the direction D1 parallel to the long side S1 as shown in FIG. In such a configuration, the fixing portions 124 of the electrical connector 100 may be arranged in a double row, and the fixing portions 124 of the double row are connected to each other through the insulating portion 126 and insulated from each other, and each fixing portion 124 and each contact portion 122 The spacing between the electrical contacts for coupling with other electronic devices (ie, the contact portion 122 of the shrapnel 120) is more dense, thereby reducing the electrical connector 100. Size and volume.

In the foregoing embodiment, the contact portions 122 of each of the elastic pieces 120 are symmetrically arranged and aligned with each other to be in a collinear configuration. That is to say, the contact portions 122 of the respective elastic pieces 120 are arranged along the same line. However, please refer to Figure 4, different In the embodiment of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the embodiment, the contact portions 122 of the elastic pieces 120 may be staggered with each other to form a non-collinear arrangement. In addition, in the embodiment, the number of the fixing portions 124 of the respective elastic pieces 120 may be different from each other. For example, the elastic piece 120a located above the circuit board 110 in FIG. 4 may have three fixing portions 124 and corresponding three. The contact portion 122, and the elastic piece 120b located below the circuit board 110 can have two fixing portions 124 and two corresponding contact portions 122. Of course, the number of the contact portion 122 and the fixing portion 124 of the embodiment is only used. By way of example, the present invention does not limit the number of the contact portions 122 and the fixing portions 124 of each of the elastic pieces 120 and the arrangement of the contact portions 122. Therefore, in such a configuration, the present invention can improve the design flexibility of the electrical connectors 100, 100a, 100b.

The electrical connectors 100, 100a, 100b of the previous embodiments can be applied to smart phones, tablets, chargers or other electronic devices suitable for electrical connectors. FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment in which the electrical connector 100 is applied to the electronic device 10. However, the present invention does not limit the range of application of the electrical connectors 100, 100a, 100b. Referring to FIG. 5, in the embodiment, the electronic device 10 can be, for example, a smart phone, including a body 200 and the electrical connector 100 in the foregoing embodiment. Of course, this embodiment is only for exemplification, and the electrical connectors 100a, 100b of the foregoing embodiment may also be applied to the electronic device 10. The main body 200 of the electronic device 10 includes a connecting end 210, and the circuit board 110 of the electrical connector 100 is disposed at the connecting end 210 and electrically connected to the main body 200. Thus, since the spacing between the elastic pieces 122 of the electrical connector 100 is small and the size of the electrical connector 100 is reduced, the volume of the electronic device 10 can also be reduced to conform to the trend of thinning. It should be noted here that the electrical connector 100 of the embodiment It is used as a socket electrical connector of the electronic device 10 to be electrically connected to a corresponding plug electrical connector. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the electrical connector 100, 100a, 100b It can also be disposed on the plug and used as a plug electrical connector to electrically connect to the socket electrical connector of other electronic devices.

In summary, the electrical connector of the present invention uses the insulating portion to connect and fix the fixing portions in the respective elastic pieces, thereby shortening the spacing between the fixing portions and the contact portions, thereby enabling a limited space. The number of contacts of the electrical connector is increased, and the size and volume of the electrical connector can be reduced. Moreover, the electronic device using the electrical connector can easily conform to the current trend of thinning. In addition, the electrical connector of the present invention does not limit the number of the fixing portions and the contact portions of the respective elastic pieces and the arrangement of the contact portions, thereby improving the design flexibility of the electrical connector.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Electrical connector

110‧‧‧PCB

120‧‧‧Shrap

122‧‧‧Contacts

124‧‧‧Fixed Department

126‧‧‧Insulation

D, D2‧‧ Direction

S1‧‧‧ long side

S2‧‧‧ Short side

Claims (9)

An electrical connector includes: a circuit board; a plurality of elastic pieces disposed on the circuit board, wherein each of the elastic pieces includes a plurality of contact portions; a plurality of fixing portions, the fixing portions are fixed on the circuit board and are The circuit board is electrically connected, and each of the contact portions is connected to the corresponding fixing portion and protrudes away from the circuit board in a direction away from the circuit board; and a plurality of insulating portions, each of the insulating portions connecting two adjacent fixing portions, The two adjacent fixing portions are connected to each other and insulated from each other. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the materials of the insulating portions comprise plastic, and the materials of the contacts and the fixing portions comprise metal. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein an upper surface of the circuit board includes a long side and a short side adjacent to each other, and the fixing portions of each of the elastic pieces are parallel to the long side. The directions are connected to each other through corresponding insulating portions. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein the number of the elastic pieces is two, and is arranged side by side on the circuit board in a direction parallel to the short side. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein an upper surface of the circuit board includes a long side and a short side adjacent to each other, and the fixing portions of each of the elastic pieces are parallel to the short side. The directions are connected to each other through corresponding insulating portions. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein the number of the elastic pieces is two, and is arranged side by side on the circuit board in a direction parallel to the long side. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the contact portions of each of the elastic pieces are aligned with each other. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the contact portions of each of the elastic pieces are staggered with each other. An electronic device includes: a body, including a connecting end; and an electrical connector, comprising: a circuit board disposed at the connecting end and electrically connected to the body; a plurality of elastic pieces disposed on the circuit board Each of the elastic pieces includes: a plurality of contact portions; the plurality of fixing portions are fixed on the circuit board and electrically connected to the circuit board, and the contact portion is connected to the fixing portion and protrudes from the fixing plate in the direction away from the circuit board. And a plurality of insulating portions respectively connecting two adjacent fixing portions of each of the elastic pieces, so that the fixing portions in each of the elastic pieces are connected to each other and insulated from each other.