TWI692155B - Connection system - Google Patents

Abstract

A connection system includes a connector and a mating device. The connector includes first insulation housing, terminals, and a metal housing. The first insulation housing includes a base portion, an extending portion, and terminal slots. The metal housing encloses the base portion. Each of the terminals is respectively received in the terminal slots. Each of the terminals respectively includes a contact portion, a bending portion, and an interfering portion. Each interfering portion is fixed to the base portion. Each bending portion respectively has elastic capability. A connecting line between each interfering portion and bending portion does not pass through the contact portion. The mating device includes second insulation housing, conductors, and an edge portion. The edge portion is in the second insulation housing. The second insulation housing includes a pressing wall. Each conductor respectively extends to a surface of the edge portion. A receiving space is formed between the edge portion and the press wall.

Description

Connect the system

The invention relates to a connection system, in particular to a connection system applied to electrically connect a circuit board and a cable.

Existing network systems can be connected to each device by a connection system composed of communication media such as coaxial cables or twisted pairs. For example, the vehicle network system will connect various electronic control units, sensors and meters through the connection system equipment. Due to the increasing application of car audio and video and automatic driving assistance, the car network system also needs to combine various video and computer equipment, such as reversing video equipment, driving recorder, navigator, blind spot detector, image recognition equipment, radar and so on. Existing in-vehicle network systems have higher requirements for communication, not only faster transmission speed, but also better anti-interference and anti-noise effects. As there are more communication devices and terminal devices, and the connection system is more complicated, the production and assembly costs increase.

U.S. Patent No. 9,337,561 discloses a plug-type connector that includes a contact body. The contact body includes a pair of guide surfaces and a receiving port. The contact body is made of a conductive material. The guide surface has a multi-layer reinforced area. The receiving port is located here. Between the segment guide surfaces. U.S. Patent No. 9,614,311 discloses a plug-type connector and an electrical contact, which include a connecting arm that can be elastically guided and a mating member parallel to the connecting arm. The docking member is set at a starting position when it is in a connecting position, and the connecting arm is elastically guided to move laterally relative to the displacement direction of the docking member. U.S. Patent No. 9,799,978 discloses a connecting element made of a conductive material. In order to allow the connecting element to repeatedly pass through the housing in the insertion direction, the connecting element includes a main body extending in the insertion direction and an elastic positioning member located on the upper side of the main body. The piece has a slope inclined toward the insertion direction.

The electrical connection part of the terminal in the conventional connector is surrounded and protected by the metal shell, so the material demand of the metal shell is high, and the metal shell needs to be processed, which will make it difficult to reduce the manufacturing and assembly costs . Moreover, the conventional connectors are still insufficient for anti-interference and anti-noise effects.

The purpose of the present invention is to propose a connection system in order to reduce the manufacturing and assembly costs and achieve better anti-interference and anti-noise effects.

In an embodiment disclosed by the present invention, the connection system includes a connector and a pairing device that can be matched with each other to establish an electrical connection relationship. The connector includes a first insulating housing, a plurality of terminals, and a metal housing. The first insulating housing includes a base, an extension, and a plurality of terminal slots. The plurality of terminal slots extend from the base to the extension. The metal housing covers the base, each of the terminals is received in the plurality of terminal grooves, and each of the terminals is fixed to the base of the first insulating housing. The pairing device includes a second insulating housing, a plurality of conductors, and a board edge portion. The board edge portion is located in the second insulating housing. The second insulating housing includes a crimping wall, and each of the conductors extends to A surface of the board edge is formed between the board edge and the crimping wall.

In the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, the board edge of the pairing device may refer to the edge of the circuit board, each of the conductors refers to at least partially exposed traces on the circuit board, and the second insulating case The body is directly positioned on the circuit board. However, in applications of other embodiments, most of the board edge portion may be an insulating material different from the circuit board, and each of the conductors may be a metallized material on the surface of the board edge portion or The metal part formed by the traditional sheet metal processing method, of course, the edge of the board may also be a circuit board different from the circuit board. The so-called "metallized" refers to the surface of the insulating board through, for example, electroplating (plating), physical or chemical vapor deposition (PVD/CVD), laser activation metallization (laser activation) or placement of conductivity Plastic (conductive plastic) and other means make part of the surface of the edge of the board have conductive properties.

According to the above embodiment of the present invention, the metal housing can only cover the first insulating housing base, and protect the terminals by the first insulating housing base and the extension, so that the use ratio of the metal material can be reduced, thereby reducing the metal housing Processing and assembly costs. Moreover, through the design of the ground terminal, better anti-interference and anti-noise effects can also be achieved.

FIGS. 1 to 6 are the connection system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the connection system 10 includes a connector 100 and a pairing device 200, and the connector 100 and the pairing device 200 can communicate with each other. Match to establish an electrical connection relationship. The connection system 10 can be used to transmit high-frequency electronic signals, such as network communication connections, but is not limited thereto. In the connection system disclosed in the first embodiment, the connector 100 is used to connect a cable (not shown), and the mating device 200 is used to be mounted on the circuit board 20, and the cable and the circuit board 20 can be mated with the connector 100 The devices 200 are electrically connected and transmit signals to each other; however, in a variant application of this embodiment, the connector 100 can also be mounted on a circuit board, and the counterpart device 200 can be mounted on a cable end. In other modified embodiments of this embodiment, the connector 100 and the pairing device 200 may be installed on different cables or on different circuit boards, so as to establish an electrical connection relationship between the two cables or the two circuit boards.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 100 includes a first insulating housing 110, a plurality of terminals 120 and a metal housing 130. The first insulating housing 110 includes a base 111, an extension 112 and a plurality of terminal grooves 113. The extension 112 of the first insulating housing 110 extends forward from the base 111, and each terminal groove 113 extends from the base 111 to the extension 112. The metal case 130 covers the base 111 but does not cover the extension 112, and each terminal 120 is accommodated in the plurality of terminal grooves 113 respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, each terminal 120 has a contact portion 121, a bent portion 122, and an interference portion 123. The interference portion 123 is fixed to the base portion 111, and the interference portion 123 has an interference relationship with the base portion 111. The 123 can be fixed and positioned in the base 111 by means of insert mold.

In the disclosure of the first embodiment, the so-called interference relationship refers to the proper friction between two adjacent objects, through which the two objects have a stable relative position, so those skilled in the art can understand The embedding is only a means of forming an interference relationship.

In the disclosure of the first embodiment, the bent portion 122 elastically extends from each terminal groove 113, and the connection between the interference portion 123 and the bent portion 122 does not pass through the contact portion 121, that is, the interference portion 123 and the bent portion 122 may be in the same Plane, but the contact 121 is not in this plane. In this embodiment, most of the terminals 120 are arranged in a group of two in the first insulating housing 110. The set of terminals 120 is, for example, differential signal terminals (differential signal terminals), which can be used to transmit differential signals.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the pairing device 200 includes a second insulating housing 210, a plurality of conductors 220 and a board edge 230. The board edge 230 is located in the second insulating housing 210. In this embodiment, the second insulating housing 210 is fixed to the edge 21 of the circuit board 20, and the board edge 230 extends from the edge 21 of the circuit board 20 into the second insulating housing 210, and each conductor 220 is It extends from the corresponding line on the circuit board 20 to the surface of the board edge 230, and the conductor 220 of the mating device 200 is arranged at a position corresponding to the terminal 120 of the connector 100.

In the pairing device 200 disclosed in the first embodiment, the conductor 220 is, for example, a metal trace printed on the surface of the board edge 230; however, in other implementations, the board edge 230 may be different from The insulating material of the circuit board 20, and each of the conductors 220 may be a conductive material with metallic characteristics formed on the board edge 230 by appropriate means.

In the first embodiment, the second insulating housing 210 includes a crimping wall 211, and the crimping wall 211 is a surface facing the board edge 230 where the conductor 220 is provided, and in the second insulating housing 210, the board edge There is a distance between the portion 230 and the crimping wall 211, so that the two can jointly define the receiving space 240, and the crimping wall 211 is provided at a corresponding position of the curved portion 122.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the connector 100 and the mating device 200 are matched with each other, the extending portion 112 will enter the receiving space 240 between the crimping wall 211 and the edge portion 230, and the crimping wall 211 forces the bent portion 122 is elastically deformed, and the contact portion 121 is driven by each bent portion 122 to be displaced toward each conductor 220 on the surface of the board edge portion 230. During the movement of each terminal 120, the contact portion 121 will contact each conductor 220 to form an electrical connection relationship, so as to transmit electronic signals between the connector 100 and the counterpart device 200.

In this embodiment, in the initial free state, that is, before the connector 100 is mated with the mating device 200, the contact portion 121 is accommodated in each terminal groove 113, and each of the terminals 120 belongs to a type with elastic restoring force Flexible terminal. Each bent portion 122 is a bent portion between each interference portion 123 and the contact portion 121, and each terminal 120 bent portion 122 is a line that deviates from each interference portion 123 and the contact portion 121, that is, each terminal 120 interference portion 123, bent portion 122 and the contact portion 121 are not arranged on the same straight line. Since each terminal groove 113 penetrates both sides of the extension portion 112, each bent portion 122 can extend at least partially out of each terminal groove 113. Therefore, when the extension portion 112 enters the receiving space 240, the crimping wall 211 will contact the bent portions 122 extending out of the terminal grooves 113 and force the bent portions 122 to elastically deform, and the bent portions 122 cause the contact portions 121 to exert a forward force Press on the corresponding conductors 220. Although in the disclosure of the first embodiment of the present invention, the contact portion 121, the bent portion 122 and the interference portion 123 of each terminal 120 are not in the same plane, however, in some cases, the contact portions of each terminal 120 121 and the interference portion 123 can jointly define a plane.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, the connector 100 further includes a plurality of ground terminals 140, and each ground terminal 140 is located around the metal housing 130 and connected to the metal housing 130 to transmit the differential signal The pair of terminals 120 provides proper electromagnetic shielding (EMI shielding). In the disclosure of the first embodiment of the present invention, there are two ground terminals 140, two terminals 120 are located between the two ground terminals 140, and the ground terminals 140 and the terminals 120 are arranged in a row. As shown in FIG. 5, each ground terminal 140 includes a dimple 141 and a side elastic piece 142. Each bump 141 is located on each side elastic piece 142, and each side elastic piece 142 is extended and bent outward from each ground terminal 140. The bump 141 and the side elastic piece 142 elastically abut the metal shell 130.

In the disclosure of the foregoing first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, the connector 100 further includes a fixing shell 150. The fixing shell 150 includes a fixing portion 151, a mating portion 152 and a receiving opening 153 and the plurality of ground terminal grooves 154, the docking portion 152 extends forward from the fixing portion 151, the receiving opening 153 and the plurality of ground terminal grooves 154 extend from the fixing portion 151 to the docking portion 152, and the docking portion 152 can match the receiving space 240. The base portion 111 of the first insulating housing 110 is fixed to the fixing portion 151 by interference, the extension portion 112 of the first insulating housing 110 is accommodated in the accommodating opening 153, and each ground terminal 140 is accommodated in the plurality of ground terminal grooves 154 respectively. The extension portion 112 and the docking portion 152 together form a structure for insertion into the second insulating housing 210. The relative positions of the first insulating housing 110, the metal housing 130 and the plurality of ground terminals 140 are fixed through the fixing shell 150.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in this embodiment, each ground terminal 140 has a contact portion 143, a bent portion 144, and an interference portion 145. Each interference portion 145 has an interference relationship with the fixing portion 151, each bending portion 144 elastically extends from each ground terminal groove 154, the connection between each interference portion 145 and the bending portion 144 does not pass through the contact portion 143, and the crimping wall 211 It is further provided at a position corresponding to each bent portion 144. In addition, the pairing device 200 further includes a plurality of ground conductors 250. Each ground conductor 250 extends from a corresponding line on the circuit board 20 to the surface of the board edge 230, and the ground conductor 250 corresponds to the ground terminal 140 of the connector 100. The ground conductor 250 is, for example, a metal line printed on the surface of the board edge 230, but it is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the conductor 220 is a group of two, and there are two ground conductors 250, the second conductor 220 is located between the two ground conductors 250, and the ground conductor 250 and the conductor 220 are arranged on the surface of the board edge 230 For a row.

Similar to the contact portion 121 of each terminal 120 can be accommodated in each terminal groove 113 in the initial free state, before the connector 100 is matched with the mating device 200, the contact portion 143 of each ground terminal 140 is also in the initial free state It is accommodated in each ground terminal groove 154. When the connector 100 and the mating device 200 are matched, the mating portion 152 and the extension portion 112 enter the receiving space 240 together, the crimping wall 211 forces each bending portion 144 to elastically deform, and each contact portion 143 is driven by each bending portion 144 to face each The ground conductor 250 is displaced, and each contact portion 143 is pressed against the corresponding ground conductor 250 with a positive force.

As shown in FIG. 2, the connector 100 further includes a housing 160, a waterproof ring 170, a gasket 180 and a positioning frame 190. The fixed shell 150 is located in the outer shell 160, and a waterproof ring 170 made of an elastic material is installed between the outer shell 160 and the fixed shell 150. The gasket 180 is sheathed on the outer edge of the cable, and the gasket 180 and the waterproof ring 170 may be elastic materials similar to silicone rubber. The waterproof ring 170 can be tightly filled between the outer shell 160 and the fixed shell 150, and the gasket 180 is provided in the gap between the cable shell 160, so that the external liquid or moisture cannot penetrate the cable, the shell 160 and the The gap between the fixing shells 150 enters the connector 100. The positioning frame 190 is disposed on the outside of the fixing case 150. The positioning frame 190 has a function of ensuring that the connector 100 and the mating device 200 are positioned when matched. Therefore, the positioning frame 190 belongs to a terminal position assurance (TPA) component.

7 and 8 are the connection system 10a of the second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the connector 100a of the second embodiment transmits a differential signal terminal 120 and a pairing device 200a There are four groups of conductors 220 each. In the connection systems 10 and 10a of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the same and similar components and component connection relationships will not be described in detail. The following mainly describes the number and configuration relationship of the multiple sets of terminals 120 and the multiple sets of conductors 220, but in actual The application is not limited to these embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the mating portion 152 of the connector 100 a is stacked in two layers on top and bottom, each mating portion 152 has two sets of terminals 120, and the mating portions 152 of each layer extend from the fixing portion 151, Each docking portion 152 has two receiving openings 153. There are four first insulating housings 110 of the connector 100a, each base portion 111 is fixed to the fixing portion 151, and each extension portion 112 is received in each receiving opening 153, and each set of terminals 120 is provided in each first insulating housing 110. There are six ground terminals 140 of the connector 100a, three ground terminals 140 are provided on each mating portion 152, and the three ground terminals 140 of each mating portion 152 are spaced apart from each other. Each group of terminals 120 on each docking portion 152 is located between every two adjacent ground terminals 140, and the terminals 120 and ground terminals 140 on each docking portion 152 are symmetrical between the terminals 120 and ground terminals on the other docking portion 152 140.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the two sides of the board edge portion 230 of the pairing device 200 a are respectively provided with two sets of conductors 220 and three ground conductors 250, and each conductor 220 and each ground conductor 250 on the two surfaces of the board edge portion 230 It corresponds to each terminal 120 and each ground terminal 140 on the two butt joints 152, respectively. The second insulating housing 210 of the pairing device 200a includes two crimping walls 211, and each crimping wall 211 faces two opposite surfaces of the board edge 230 where the conductor 220 is provided. Two accommodating spaces 240 are respectively formed between the board edge 230 and the two crimping walls 211, and each crimping wall 211 is provided at a position corresponding to each of the curved portions 122 and 144 on each butting portion 152.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the connector 100 a and the mating device 200 a match each other, each mating portion 152 enters the corresponding receiving space 240 respectively, and each crimping wall 211 forces the corresponding bending portions 122 and 144 to elastically deform, each The contact portions 121 and 143 are driven by the corresponding bent portions 122 and 144 to be displaced toward the corresponding conductor 220 and the ground conductor 250, and each contact portion 121 and 143 is pressed against the corresponding conductor 220 and the ground conductor 250 with a positive force.

In the foregoing disclosure of the present invention, the connector belongs to a cable end connector, and the connector is a terminal fixed to the cable; the pairing device belongs to a circuit board connector ( circuit board connector). However, the aforementioned disclosure is only the preferred and feasible embodiment disclosed by the present invention, and those skilled in the art can make appropriate modifications according to the disclosure of the present invention, for example, modify the connector to a circuit board connector, or use the The mating connector is modified to a cable terminal connector. If the mating connector is modified to a cable terminal connector, the circuit board may be built in the cable terminal connector.

In addition, in the foregoing disclosure of the present invention, the pairing device is a straddle mount connector that straddles the opposite surfaces of the circuit board. Those skilled in the art can modify the pairing device disclosed in the present invention to be fixed A surface mount connector (SMT connector, Surface Mount Technology connector) on a surface of the circuit board.

According to the above embodiment of the present invention, the metal shell only needs to cover the first insulating shell base, and the terminals are protected by the first insulating shell base and the extension, and the ground terminal is protected by the fixed shell, so that the metal material can be reduced To reduce the processing and assembly costs of the metal shell, while maintaining the overall strength and protection. Moreover, through the design of the ground terminal, better anti-interference and anti-noise effects can also be achieved.

Although the technical content of the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone who is familiar with this art and makes some changes and retouching without departing from the spirit of the present invention should be covered in the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of the attached patent application.

10, 10a: Connect the system

20: circuit board

21: Edge

100, 100a: connector

110: the first insulating shell

111: base

112: Extension

113: Terminal slot

120: Terminal

121: Contact

122: Curved part

123: Interference Department

130: Metal shell

140: ground terminal

141: bump

142: Side shrapnel

143: Contact

144: Curved part

145: Interference

150: fixed shell

151: Fixed part

152: Docking Department

153: Containment port

154: Ground terminal slot

160: shell

170: waterproof ring

180: pad

190: positioning frame

200, 200a: pairing device

210: second insulating case

211: Crimp wall

220: conductor

230: board edge

240: containment space

250: ground conductor

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a connection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, where a connector is used to match a mating device; FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a view of the present invention A cross-sectional view of the connection system of the first embodiment, where the connector has not yet been matched with the mating device; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connection system of the first embodiment of the present invention, where the connector is mated with the mating device; A partial exploded view of the connector of the first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the connector of the first embodiment of the invention, with some elements omitted; FIG. 7 is a connection system of the second embodiment of the invention A schematic diagram in which a connector is used to match a mating device; and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a connection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention, where the connector matches a mating device.

100: connector

110: the first insulating shell

111: base

112: Extension

113: Terminal slot

120: Terminal

130: Metal shell

140: ground terminal

150: fixed shell

151: Fixed part

152: Docking Department

153: Containment port

154: Ground terminal slot

160: shell

170: waterproof ring

180: pad

190: positioning frame

Claims (11)

A connection system includes a connector and a mating device that can be matched with each other to establish an electrical connection relationship, wherein the connector includes a first insulating housing, a plurality of terminals, and a metal housing, the first insulating housing includes A base part, an extension part and a plurality of terminal grooves, the plurality of terminal grooves extend from the base part to the extension part, the metal shell covers the base part but not the extension part, and each of the terminals is respectively received in the plurality of terminals Each of the terminals has a contact portion, a bent portion, and an interference portion, each of the terminal interference portions is fixed to the base of the first insulating housing, and each of the terminal bent portions elastically extends from each of the terminals Slot; the pairing device includes a second insulating housing, a plurality of conductors and a board edge portion, the board edge portion is located in the second insulating housing, the second insulating housing includes a crimping wall, each conductor Extending to the surface of the board edge portion, a receiving space is formed between the board edge portion and the crimping wall, and the crimping wall is provided at a corresponding position of each of the terminal bending portions; and the connector matches the mating device At this time, the extending portion enters the receiving space, the crimping wall forces each terminal bending portion to elastically deform, and each terminal contact portion is driven by each bending portion to be displaced toward each conductor. The connection system as described in item 1 of the patent application range, wherein the connector further includes a fixing shell, the fixing shell includes a fixing portion and a mating portion, the mating portion matches the receiving space, and the first insulating housing The base portion is fixed to the fixing shell fixing portion, and the first insulating shell extension is accommodated in the fixing shell. The connection system as described in item 2 of the patent application scope, wherein the connector further includes a plurality of ground terminals, and the fixing shell further includes a plurality of ground terminal slots, each of the ground terminals There is a contact portion and a bent portion, each of the ground terminals is fixed to the fixed shell, each of the ground terminal bent portions is elastically extended from each of the ground terminal grooves, and the pairing device further includes a plurality of ground conductors, the connection When the device is matched with the paired device, each of the ground terminal contact portions is driven by each of the bent portions to be displaced toward each of the ground conductors. The connection system as described in item 3 of the patent application scope, wherein before the connector is mated with the counterpart device, each of the terminal contact portions is received in each of the terminal grooves, and each of the ground terminal contact portions is received in Each of these ground terminal slots. The connection system as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the connector is used to connect a cable. The connection system as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the pairing device is used for mounting to a circuit board. The connection system as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the pairing device is a riding board type connector. The connection system as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the connector further includes a plurality of ground terminals located around the metal housing and connected to the metal housing. The connection system as described in item 8 of the patent application scope, wherein the connector further includes a fixing shell, the fixing shell includes a fixing portion and a mating portion, the mating portion matches the receiving space, and the first insulating housing The base portion is fixed to the fixing shell fixing portion, the first insulating shell extension is accommodated in the fixing shell, and each of the ground terminals is fixed to the fixing shell. The connection system as described in item 9 of the patent application scope, wherein the connector further includes a positioning frame disposed on the outer side of the fixing shell, the positioning frame is provided to ensure that the connector and the mating device are positioned when matched. The connection system as described in item 9 of the patent application scope, wherein the connector further includes a housing and a waterproof ring, wherein the fixing shell is located in the housing, and the waterproof ring is installed in the housing and the fixing shell between.

Images