TWI584543B - Connector and the method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

Connector and its making method

The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector and a method of making same.

In recent years, with the development of the technology industry, electronic devices such as notebook computers (NB), tablet computers, and smart phones have frequently appeared in daily life. The types and functions of electronic devices are becoming more diverse, and the convenience and practicality make these electronic devices more popular and can be used for different purposes. In addition to the functions of the electronic device itself, a connector is usually provided inside the electronic device to enable the electronic device to connect to other external devices, thereby increasing the application function of the electronic device.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional connector. The connector 50 generally includes an insulative housing 52 and a plurality of electrically conductive terminals 54. Each of the electrically conductive terminals 54 includes a body segment 54a and at least one extension 54b. The body segment 54a is secured within the insulative body 52 and the extension 54b of the electrically conductive terminal 54 is coupled. The body segment 54a extends to the outside of the insulative body 54. Since the connector 50 of this type is usually manufactured separately, multiple guides are separately prepared. The electrical terminal 54 presses the conductive terminal 54 into the insulative housing 52. Such a manufacturing method can be realized by fixing the insulating body 52 by a fixing mechanism. Thus, the insulative housing 52 needs to have a considerable thickness to be smoothly fixed to the fixing mechanism. In addition, the conductive terminals 54 are limited by process factors and are typically only vertically inserted into the insulative housing 52. That is, the extending direction of the main body segment 54a is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the insulative housing 52 (as shown in FIG. 1). Therefore, in order to accommodate the body segment 54a of the conductive terminal 54, the thickness of the insulative housing 52 needs to be substantially the same as the length of the body segment 54a. As such, the overall thickness of the connector 50 becomes thick, which is disadvantageous for use in an electronic product of a thin design. On the other hand, some techniques are currently used to laminate insulating laminates onto completed conductive terminals. Although such a technique can reduce the overall thickness of the connector, the conductive terminals are prone to bending during the pressing process, and the insulating layer is easily peeled off from the conductive terminals, thereby affecting the reliability of the connector.

The invention provides a method for manufacturing a connector, which can reduce the overall thickness of the connector and improve the reliability of the connector.

The invention provides a connector with a thin design and good reliability.

The method of fabricating the connector of the present invention includes the following steps. A substrate is provided. Forming a plurality of conductive terminals arranged in an array on the substrate, wherein each of the conductive terminals has a body segment and two extending segments, and the two extending segments extend from the same end of the body segment away from the body segment. An insulating material is injection molded to form an insulating body to fix the substrate and the conductive terminal in the insulating body, wherein the main body of each conductive terminal The two extensions extend from the body segments to the outside of the insulation body and are located on opposite sides of the insulation body. The array of conductive terminals is separated such that the conductive terminals are not connected to each other.

The connector of the present invention includes a substrate, an insulative body, and a plurality of conductive terminals. The conductive terminals are integrally formed on the substrate. The conductive terminals are arranged in an array and are not connected to each other, wherein each of the conductive terminals has a body segment and two extending segments, the body segments are fixed in parallel in the insulating body, and the two extending segments extend from the same end of the body segment away from the body segment. And each extending outside the insulating body and located on opposite sides of the insulating body.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of forming a conductive terminal on the substrate comprises a punching or etching process.

In an embodiment of the invention, the method of fabricating the connector further includes: plating a protective layer on the conductive terminal after the step of forming a conductive terminal on the substrate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the method for fabricating the connector further includes: after separating the array of the conductive terminals, fixing the insulating body to a metal frame.

In an embodiment of the invention, the insulative housing has at least one first engaging structure at one end of the insulative housing, and the metal frame has at least one second engaging structure at one end of the metal frame and corresponding to the first The snap structure. The step of fixing the insulating body to the metal frame further includes fixing the insulating body to the metal frame by interfering with the first engaging structure and the second engaging structure.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of forming the insulative body described above The method further includes simultaneously forming a plurality of openings on the insulating body. The openings correspondingly expose the conductive terminals, and the body segments of the conductive terminals are adjacent to the corresponding openings and are fixed in the insulating body, and the two extending portions each extend from the corresponding opening to the outside of the insulating body.

In an embodiment of the invention, the connector further includes a metal frame, and the insulating body is fixed to the metal frame.

In an embodiment of the invention, the insulative housing has at least one first engaging structure at one end of the insulative housing, and the metal frame has at least one second engaging structure at one end of the metal frame and corresponding to the first The snap structure. The insulating body is fixed to the metal frame by interfering with the first engaging structure and the second engaging structure.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first engaging structure includes a card slot, and the second engaging structure includes a protruding post.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first engaging structure is adapted to move relative to the second engaging structure to adjust a distance between the insulating body and the metal frame.

In an embodiment of the invention, the insulative housing has a plurality of openings. The opening correspondingly exposes the conductive terminal. The main body segments of the respective conductive terminals are adjacent to the corresponding openings and are fixed in the insulating body, and the two extending portions each extend from the corresponding opening to the outside of the insulating body.

In an embodiment of the invention, the distance between the two extensions of each of the conductive terminals is less than the distance between the two extensions relative to the body segment.

Based on the above, the connector of the present invention and the manufacturing method thereof are capable of fixing a substrate on which a conductive terminal has been formed while ejecting an insulating material to form an insulating body. Insulate the body. In this way, the step of fixing the conductive terminals to the insulative housing is performed in the same process as the step of forming the insulative housing, so that the main body segments of the respective conductive terminals can be fixed in parallel in the insulating body, that is, the extending direction of the conductive terminals can be regarded as parallel. Insulating body. Thus, the present invention can effectively reduce the thickness required for the insulating body to cover the conductive terminals, and the conductive terminals are not easily separated from the insulating body. Accordingly, the method of fabricating the connector of the present invention can reduce the overall thickness of the connector and improve the reliability of the connector, so that the connector has a thin design and good reliability.

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

50, 100‧‧‧ connectors

52, 120‧‧‧Insulated body

54,110‧‧‧Electrical terminals

54a, 112‧‧‧ main body

54b, 114a, 114b‧‧‧ extension

102‧‧‧Substrate

122‧‧‧ openings

124‧‧‧First engagement structure

130‧‧‧Metal frame

132‧‧‧Second snap-in structure

D1, d2‧‧‧ distance

D‧‧‧ Extension direction

L‧‧‧ Length direction

T‧‧‧thickness

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional connector.

2 is a flow chart showing the fabrication of a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3A to 3D are schematic views of a method of fabricating the connector of Fig. 2.

4 is a partially enlarged schematic view of a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the connector of Figure 4;

2 is a flow chart showing the fabrication of a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 3A to 3D are schematic views of a method of fabricating the connector of Fig. 2. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D , in the embodiment, the manufacturing method of the connector 100 includes the following steps: In step S110, a substrate 102 is provided. In step S120, a plurality of conductive terminals 110 arranged in an array are formed on the substrate 102. In step S130, an insulating material is injection molded to form the insulative housing 120 to fix the substrate 102 and the conductive terminal 110 in the insulative housing 120. In step S140, the array of conductive terminals is separated such that the conductive terminals 110 arranged in an array are not connected to each other. In step S150, the insulative housing 120 is fixed to the metal frame 130. A schematic diagram of a manufacturing process of the connector 100 corresponding to the above steps S110 to S150 is shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D, respectively. Hereinafter, a method of fabricating the connector 100 of the present embodiment will be sequentially described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3A to 3D.

First, referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3A, in step S110, the substrate 102 is provided. In the present embodiment, the substrate 102 has electrical conductivity and flexibility, and the material thereof is, for example, a copper alloy. However, in other embodiments, the substrate 102 may be made of a suitable material, and the invention is not limited thereto.

Next, referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3B, in step S120, a plurality of conductive terminals 110 arranged in an array are formed on the substrate 102. In this embodiment, each of the conductive terminals 110 has a body segment 112 and two extensions 114a and 114b. The body section 112 is parallel to the substrate 102, and the two extensions 114a and 114b extend from the same end of the body section 112 away from the body section 112 and each extend to opposite sides of the substrate 102, wherein the substrate 102 The opposite sides of the substrate 102 are, for example, the upper and lower sides of the substrate 102 (external to the plane of the drawing relative to FIG. 3B), and can be more clearly understood by referring to the subsequent drawings (eg, FIG. 3C to FIG. 5). This feature. In FIG. 3B, the conductive terminals 110 arranged in an array are arranged in four rows, and each row is arranged at equal intervals. The conductive terminals 110, but the present invention does not limit the number and arrangement of the conductive terminals 110, which can be adjusted according to requirements. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the step of forming the conductive terminals 110 on the substrate 102 includes a punching process in which a portion of the substrate 102 around each of the conductive terminals 110 is removed during the stamping process to substantially The outer shape of the conductive terminal 110 is formed, and the two extensions 114a and 114b extending from the same side of the main body segment 112 are respectively bent toward the opposite sides of the substrate 102 by punching, thereby protruding beyond the substrate 102. At this time, the main body segments 112 of the respective conductive terminals 110 are still connected to each other by the residual substrate 102. Thus, a plurality of conductive terminals 110 can be integrally formed on the substrate 102. However, in other embodiments, the step of forming the conductive terminals 110 by the substrate 102 may be, for example, first removing a portion of the substrate 102 around each of the conductive terminals 110 by etching, and then forming conductive by stamping. Terminal 110. The conductive terminal 110 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described manufacturing method, and an appropriate process can be selected according to requirements. In addition, after the step of forming the conductive terminal 110 on the substrate 102, the conductive terminal 110 may be plated to form a protective layer (not shown) on the surface of the conductive terminal 110, but the present invention does not limit the plating of the conductive terminal 110. no.

Next, referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3C , in step S130 , the insulating material is injection molded to form the insulative housing 120 to fix the substrate 102 and the conductive terminal 110 in the insulative housing 120 . Specifically, in the present embodiment, the insulating material is, for example, plastic, but the invention is not limited thereto. Since the fabrication method has formed the conductive terminal 110 on the substrate 102 in step S120, wherein the body segment 112 of the conductive terminal 110 is parallel to the substrate 102, and the two extensions 114a and 114b are oriented toward the substrate. The opposite sides of 102 extend. Therefore, the substrate 102 is disposed in a mold (not shown), and the flowing insulating material flows into the mold, and the substrate 102 and the conductive terminal 110 of the connection substrate 102 can be fixed to the insulating body 120 while the insulating material is formed. Insulating body 120. The substrate 102 can be parallel to the insulative body 120 by the design of the mold. As such, the body segments 112 of the conductive terminals 110 can be fixed in parallel in the insulative housing 120, and the two extensions 114a and 114b extend from the main body segment 112 to the outside of the insulative housing 120 and on opposite sides of the insulative housing 120. The opposite sides of the insulative housing 120 are, for example, upper and lower sides of the insulative housing 120 (above the upper side of the drawing and the lower side of the drawing with respect to FIG. 3C). In addition, in the embodiment, in the step of forming the insulative housing 120 (step S130), the method further includes simultaneously forming a plurality of openings 122 on the insulative housing 120, for example, the shape of the mold is designed in advance to insulate the insulating material. The body 120 has a plurality of openings 122 at the same time. The opening 122 correspondingly exposes the conductive terminal 110 , wherein the body segment 112 of each conductive terminal 110 is adjacent to the corresponding opening 122 and is fixed in the insulative housing 120 , and the two extending segments 114 a and 114 b each extend from the corresponding opening 122 to the insulative housing 120 . outer.

Next, referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3C, in step S140, the array of conductive terminals 110 is separated such that the conductive terminals 110 are not connected to each other. In this embodiment, after the step of forming the insulative housing 120 and simultaneously fixing the substrate 102 and the conductive terminal 110 in the insulative housing 120, the conductive terminal 110 fixed in the insulative housing 120 is still retained by the residual substrate 102. Connected to each other (as shown in Figure 3B). In order to prevent each of the conductive terminals 110 from interfering with each other while transmitting signals, the array of conductive terminals 110 must be separated from each other. Therefore, after the insulating body 120 is completed, it can be The illustrated mold disconnects the joints of the respective conductive terminals 110 arranged in an array. In this way, the respective conductive terminals 110 can be made independent of each other without being connected. However, in the foregoing steps, each of the conductive terminals 110 has been plated first, so that the two extended segments 114a and 114b and the body segment 112 of each of the conductive terminals 110 are electrically connected to each other. Accordingly, since the two extensions 114a and 114b extend from the main body segment 112 to the outside of the insulative housing 120 and on opposite sides of the insulative housing 120, when the connector 100 is disposed on a circuit board (not shown), The connector 100 can be connected to the circuit board (for example, a conductive pad on the circuit board) by the two extensions 114a and/or 114b, or when the connector 100 is disposed in an electronic device (not shown), the connector 100 can be Other external devices are connected by two extensions 114a and/or 114b. At this time, the connector 100 can transmit a signal through the conductive terminal 110.

Finally, referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3D, in step S150, the insulative housing 120 is fixed to the metal frame 130. In the present embodiment, when the step S140 is completed, the connector 100 of the present invention has been substantially completed. However, the connector 100 of the present embodiment can selectively configure the metal frame 130 to enhance the mechanical strength of the connector 100. Specifically, in the embodiment, the insulative housing 120 has two first engaging structures 124 at opposite ends of the insulative housing 120, and the metal frame 130 has two second engaging structures 132 located opposite to the metal frame 130. Both ends, and corresponding to the first engaging structure 124. Therefore, in the step of fixing the insulative housing 120 to the metal frame 130 (step S150), the insulating body 120 is further fixed to the metal frame 130 by interfering with the first engaging structure 124 and the second engaging structure 132. on. The first engaging structure 124 is, for example, a card slot, and the second engaging structure 132 is, for example, The studs, so the two can cooperate and interfere. As such, the connector 100 provided with the metal frame 130 has good mechanical strength. However, in other embodiments not shown, the number, position and type of the first engaging structure and the second engaging structure of the connector can be adjusted according to requirements, and the connector can also omit the configuration of the metal frame. It is not limited to the above embodiment.

4 is a partially enlarged schematic view of a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the connector of Figure 4; Referring to FIG. 3D , FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , in the embodiment, the connector 100 completed by the foregoing manufacturing method includes a substrate 102 (shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B ), a plurality of conductive terminals 110 , and insulation. Body 120. The conductive terminals 110 are integrally formed on the substrate 102, and the conductive terminals 110 are arranged in an array and are not connected to each other. In other words, in the connector 100 fabricated by the foregoing steps, the substrate 102 and the conductive terminal 110 are fixed in the insulative housing 120. At this time, the conductive terminals 110 are separated from each other, but since the substrate 102 is fixed in the insulating body 120 when the conductive terminals 110 are still connected to each other, the residual material of the substrate 102 remaining after the array of the conductive terminals 110 is separated remains Will be in the insulative body 120. In addition, each of the conductive terminals 110 has a body segment 112 and two extending segments 114a and 114b. The body segments 112 are fixed in parallel in the insulative housing 120, and the two extending segments 114a and 114b are from the same end of the body segment 112 away from the body segment 112. The directions extend and extend to the opposite sides of the insulative housing 120, such as the upper and lower sides of the insulative housing 120 shown in FIG. Further, in the present embodiment, the insulative housing 120 has a plurality of openings 122. The opening 122 correspondingly exposes the conductive terminal 110. The body segment 112 of each of the conductive terminals 110 is adjacent to the corresponding opening 122 and is fixed to In the insulative housing 120, the two extensions 114a and 114b each extend from the corresponding opening 122 to the outside of the insulative housing 120 for connecting a circuit board or other external device not shown and transmitting signals in a subsequent application.

In addition, in the embodiment, the connector 100 is more selectively configured with a metal frame 130 (shown in FIG. 3D). The insulative housing 120 is secured to the metal frame 130 to enhance the mechanical strength of the connector 100. The arrangement relationship between the insulative housing 120 and the metal frame 130 is as described above, and will not be further described herein. The first engaging structure 124 and the second engaging structure 132 fix the insulating body 120 to the metal frame 130 by interference, and the first engaging structure 124 is adapted to move relative to the second engaging structure 132 to The distance between the insulative housing 120 and the metal frame 130 is adjusted. As such, the first engaging structure 124 and the second engaging structure 132 can not only fix the insulating body 120 to the metal frame 130 but increase the mechanical strength of the connector 100, and can also adjust the relative distance between the insulating body 120 and the metal frame 130. The flatness of the extension of each of the conductive terminals 110 to the metal frame 130 is improved to improve the soldering effect of the conductive terminals 110 of the connector 100 in subsequent applications.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 5, in the embodiment, since the main body segments 112 of the conductive terminals 110 are fixed in parallel in the insulative housing 120 by the above-described manufacturing manner, the main body segments 112 of the respective conductive terminals 110 are The extending direction D is substantially parallel to the length direction L of the insulative housing 120. Moreover, the distance d1 between the two extensions 114a and 114b of each of the conductive terminals 110 of the present embodiment is smaller than the distance d2 of the two extensions 114a with respect to the main body segment 112 (in FIG. 5, the extension 114a is indicated relative to the main body segment 112). the distance). In other words, the distance d1 between the two extensions 114a and 114b It can be considered as the height of the conductive terminal 110, and the distance d2 of the two extensions 114a with respect to the body segment 112 can be regarded as the length of the conductive terminal 110, and the height of the conductive terminal 110 is smaller than the length of the conductive terminal 110. As such, since the main body segment 112 of the conductive terminal 110 is fixed in parallel in the insulative housing 120, and the two extended segments 114a and 114b are exposed outside the insulative housing 120, the thickness t of the insulative housing 120 can be reduced to less than the conductive terminal. The height of 110 (distance d1). Even if the insulating body 120 needs to cover most of the conductive terminals 110 and only expose portions of the two extending portions 114a and 114b, the thickness t of the insulating body 120 only needs to be disposed close to the height (distance d1) of the conductive terminals 110. The manufacturing method of the present embodiment can effectively reduce the requirement for the insulating body 120 to cover the conductive terminal 110, as compared with the technique of inserting the conductive terminal into the insulating body vertically, so that the thickness of the insulating body needs to be close to the length of the conductive terminal. The thickness t is to reduce the overall thickness of the connector 100. In addition, since the connector 100 of the present embodiment fixes the conductive terminal 110 in the insulative housing 120 while forming the insulative housing 120 by the injection molding process, the conductive terminal 110 and the insulative housing 120 are not easily separated. Accordingly, the manufacturing method of the connector 100 of the present embodiment can reduce the overall thickness of the connector 100 and improve the reliability of the connector 100, so that the connector 100 has a thin design and good reliability.

In summary, the connector of the present invention and its manufacturing method fix the substrate on which the conductive terminal has been formed in the insulating body while injecting and molding the insulating material to form the insulating body. In this manner, the step of fixing the conductive terminals to the insulative housing is performed in the same process as the step of forming the insulative housing, and the main body segments of the respective conductive terminals can be fixed in parallel in the insulating body, wherein the extending direction of the conductive terminals is parallel to the insulating body. The length direction, and the height of the conductive terminal is smaller than the length of the conductive terminal. Therefore, the thickness of the insulative housing covering the conductive terminals only needs to be substantially equal to the height of the conductive terminals. Thus, the present invention can effectively reduce the thickness required for the insulating body to cover the conductive terminals, and the conductive terminals are not easily separated from the insulating body. Accordingly, the method of fabricating the connector of the present invention can reduce the overall thickness of the connector and improve the reliability of the connector, so that the connector has a thin design and good reliability.

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‧‧‧Connector

110‧‧‧Electrical terminals

112‧‧‧ main body

114a, 114b‧‧‧ extension

120‧‧‧Insulated body

122‧‧‧ openings

124‧‧‧First engagement structure

130‧‧‧Metal frame

132‧‧‧Second snap-in structure

Claims (8)

A method of manufacturing a connector, comprising: providing a substrate; forming a plurality of conductive terminals arranged in an array on the substrate, wherein each of the conductive terminals has a body segment and two extension segments, the two extension segments from the body The same end of the segment extends away from the body segment; an insulating material is injection molded to form an insulating body to fix the substrate and the conductive terminals in the insulating body, wherein the body segment of each of the conductive terminals The two extensions extend from the main body segment to the outside of the insulating body and are located on opposite sides of the insulating body; the array of the conductive terminals are separated such that the conductive terminals are connected to each other. And connecting the insulative housing to a metal frame, wherein the insulative housing has at least one first engaging structure at one end of the insulative housing, and the metal frame has at least one second engaging structure, One end of the metal frame corresponds to the first engaging structure, and in the step of fixing the insulating body to the metal frame, the insulating body is further included The first engaging structure is fixed to the metal frame by interfering with the second engaging structure, and the first engaging structure is adapted to move relative to the second engaging structure to adjust the insulating body and the A distance between the metal frames. The method of fabricating the connector of claim 1, wherein the step of forming the conductive terminals on the substrate comprises a stamping or etching process. The method for manufacturing the connector according to claim 1, further comprising: After the step of forming the conductive terminals on the substrate, a protective layer is plated on the conductive terminals. The method of manufacturing the connector of claim 1, wherein the step of forming the insulating body further comprises simultaneously forming a plurality of openings on the insulating body, the openings correspondingly exposing the conductive terminals The body segment of each of the conductive terminals is adjacent to the corresponding opening and is fixed in the insulating body, and the two extending segments each extend from the corresponding opening to the outside of the insulating body. A connector includes: a substrate; an insulative housing; a plurality of conductive terminals integrally formed on the substrate, the conductive terminals being arranged in an array and not connected to each other, wherein each of the conductive terminals has a body segment and Two extensions, the body segments are fixed in parallel in the insulating body, and the two extensions extend from the same end of the body segment away from the body segment, and each extends outside the insulating body to be located on the insulating body And a metal frame, the insulative housing is fixed to the metal frame, wherein the insulative housing has at least one first engaging structure at one end of the insulative housing, and the metal frame has at least one second card a first structure of the metal frame corresponding to the first engaging structure, the insulating body being fixed to the metal frame by interfering with the first engaging structure and the second engaging structure, the first The engaging structure is adapted to move relative to the second engaging structure to adjust a distance between the insulating body and the metal frame. The connector of claim 5, wherein the first engaging structure comprises a card slot, and the second engaging structure comprises a stud. The connector of claim 5, wherein the insulative housing has a plurality of openings, the openings correspondingly exposing the conductive terminals, the main body segment of each of the conductive terminals being adjacent to the corresponding opening and fixed to the The insulating body, and the two extensions each extend from the corresponding opening to the outside of the insulating body. The connector of claim 5, wherein a distance between the two extensions of each of the conductive terminals is less than a distance of the two extensions relative to the body segment.