TWM655235U - Electronic products with Type C electrical connector modules - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is an electronic product with a Type C electrical connector module, which mainly electrically connects a female connector of the Type C electrical connector module to one side of a flexible cable, and the other side of the flexible cable is inserted into a cable connector on a printed circuit board; in this way, the female connector is electrically connected to the printed circuit board through the flexible cable, so the female connector is no longer directly soldered to the printed circuit board. When the Type C electrical connector module is repaired or replaced, it is not necessary to remove the entire printed circuit board, which facilitates the repair and replacement operation.

Description

Electronic products with Type　C electrical connector modules

The invention relates to an electronic product with an electrical connector, in particular to an electronic product with a Type C electrical connector module.

In order to reduce the environmental impact and waste of resources caused by electronic waste, France has enacted law in 2021 to require that electronic products such as televisions, multi-function mobile phones, and laptops should be marked with repairability index information, and to regulate the "repairability index system" so that consumers can include the repairability index as one of the selection criteria when purchasing electronic products.

At present, most electronic products often use Type C electrical connectors for data transmission or charging. Please refer to FIG7 , a large-sized printed circuit board 50 is generally set inside the electronic product, and the female Type C connector 60 is welded to one side of the printed circuit board 50. Since this female Type C connector 60 is directly welded to the printed circuit board 50, it is necessary to disassemble the outer shell and take out the printed circuit board 50 for maintenance. The overall maintenance operation is quite difficult, and it is expected that it will not be able to obtain a better maintenance index according to the maintenance index system, so it needs to be further improved.

In view of the fact that the above-mentioned electronic products using Type C electrical connectors are difficult to repair, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide an electronic product with a Type C electrical connector module to improve the ease of repair of the Type C electrical connector module in the electronic product.

The main technical means used to achieve the above purpose is to make the electronic product with Type C electrical connector module include: A printed circuit board, on which a cable connector is provided; and A Type C electrical connector module, which is electrically connected to the printed circuit board and includes: A flexible cable, which has a plurality of first contacts and a plurality of second contacts; wherein the second contacts are plugged into the cable connector on the printed circuit board; and A female electrical connector, which includes a plurality of Type C terminals, the ends of which are electrically connected to the first contacts of the flexible cable.

From the above description, it can be known that the novel electronic product mainly electrically connects the female electrical connector to one side of the flexible flat cable, and then inserts the other side of the flexible flat cable into the flat cable connector on the printed circuit board so that the second contacts on it contact the pins respectively to be electrically connected to the printed circuit board; in this way, the female connector is electrically connected to the printed circuit board through the flexible flat cable, and the female connector is no longer directly soldered to the printed circuit board. In addition, the flexible flat cable can be easily plugged into and removed from the flat cable connector on the printed circuit board. When the Type C electrical connector module is repaired or replaced, it is not necessary to remove the entire printed circuit board, which facilitates the repair and replacement operation.

The present invention is aimed at improving electronic products using Type C electrical connectors. The following is a detailed description of the technical content of the present invention with multiple embodiments and drawings.

First, please refer to FIG. 1 , which shows a first embodiment of an electronic product 1 of the present invention, which includes a printed circuit board 10 and a Type C electrical connector module 20 .

Please refer to FIG. 2 , the printed circuit board 10 is provided with electronic components (not shown) of the electronic product 1 for soldering thereon to realize the function of the electronic product 1. In this embodiment, the printed circuit board 10 is provided with a cable connector 11, which is a pressurized electrical connector and includes a pin holder 12 and a plastic pressure plate 13. The pin holder 12 has a plurality of pins 121 arranged at intervals, and the pins 121 are soldered to the printed circuit board 10, and the plastic pressure plate 13 is pivotally connected to two opposite sides of the pin holder 12.

The Type C electrical connector module 20 is electrically connected to the printed circuit board 10 and includes at least a flexible cable 21 and a female electrical connector 30. The flexible cable 21 has a plurality of first contacts 22 and a plurality of second contacts 23, and the second contacts 23 are electrically connected to the printed circuit board 10. In this embodiment, the flexible flat cable 21 can be a FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) cable, and the first contacts 22 and the second contacts 23 are disposed on two opposite sides 211 and 212 of the flexible flat cable 21. The side 212 with the second contact 23 can be inserted into the pin seat 12 of the flat cable connector 11, and then the rubber pressing plate 13 thereon is pressed down to tightly press the second contacts 23 of the flexible flat cable 21 and the corresponding pins 121. In addition, the first contacts 22 include multiple groups of power contacts and/or multiple groups of signal contacts according to different applications, such as the following four contact patterns: as shown in FIG. 6A , the first contact pattern is that the first contacts 22 may include m GND contacts and m VBUS contacts; as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C , the second contact pattern is that the first contacts 22 may include m GND contacts, m VBUS contacts, a single CC1 contact and a single CC2 contact; as shown in FIG. 6D , the third contact pattern is that the first contacts 22 may include m GND contacts, m VBUS contacts, a single CC1 contact and a single CC2 contact. As shown in FIG1 , the fourth contact state is that the first contacts 22 may include m GND contacts, m VBUS contacts, a single TX1+ contact, a single TX1- contact, a single CC1 contact, a single D+ contact, a single D- contact, a single SUB1 contact, a single RX2+ contact, a single RX2- contact, a single TX2+ contact, a single TX2- contact, a single CC2 contact, a single SUB2 contact, a single RX1+ contact, and a single RX1- contact. In another embodiment, the rated current of the FFC cable is positively correlated with the spacing of the lines thereon, for example, the rated current of a line spacing of 0.05 mm is 0.5 A, and the rated current of a line spacing of 1 mm is 1 A. Therefore, if the rated current of the female electrical connector 30 is 5A, if an FFC cable with a line spacing of 1mm is used, the number of the GND contacts and the VBUS contacts of the flexible cable 21 can be matched with at least five, so m is not less than 5. If the limited board area is further considered, except for the TX1+ contact, the TX1- contact, the RX2+ contact, the RX2- contact, the TX2+ contact, the TX2- contact, the RX1+ contact and the RX1- among the first contacts of the flexible cable, the spacing of the remaining first contacts is not more than 1.5mm. In order to ensure that the first contacts of the differential signal (including the TX1+ contact, the TX1- contact, the RX2+ contact, the RX2- contact, the TX2+ contact, the TX2- contact, the RX1+ contact and the RX1-) transmit high-frequency signals smoothly, the spacing between them is respectively between 0.3mm and 1.2mm.

The female electrical connector 30 includes a plurality of Type C terminals 31 and a metal shell 32 covering the Type C terminals 31. The ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31 are electrically connected to the first contacts 22 of the flexible cable 21 respectively; in this embodiment, the spacing of the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31 matches the spacing of the first contacts 22 of the flexible cable 21, so the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31 of the female electrical connector 30 are directly welded to the first contacts 22 corresponding to the flexible cable 21. Therefore, the female electrical connector 30 of the Type C electrical connector module 20 of this embodiment uses the flexible cable 21 to electrically connect the printed circuit board 10, rather than being directly welded to the printed circuit board 10. The Type C terminals 31 may correspond to the first to fourth contact states mentioned above and have corresponding first to fourth terminal states respectively; that is, as shown in FIG. 6A , the first terminal state is that the Type C terminals 31 may include n GND terminals and n VBUS terminals; as shown in FIG. 6B , the second terminal state is that the Type C terminals 31 may include n GND terminals, n VBUS terminals, a single CC1 terminal and a single CC2 terminal (wherein, as shown in FIG. 6C , the single CC1 terminal and the single CC2 terminal may be further short-circuited); as shown in FIG. 6D , the third terminal state is that the Type C terminals 31 may include n GND terminals, n VBUS terminals, a single CC1 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal and a single CC2 terminal; as shown in FIG. 1 , the fourth terminal state is that the Type C terminals 31 may include n GND terminals, n VBUS terminals, a single CC1 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal and a single CC2 terminal. The C terminal 31 may include n GND terminals, n VBUS terminals, a single TX1+ terminal, a single TX1- terminal, a single CC1 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal, a single SUB1 terminal, a single RX2+ terminal, a single RX2- terminal, a single TX2+ terminal, a single TX2- terminal, a single CC2 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal, a single SUB2 terminal, a single RX1+ terminal, and a single RX1- terminal. In one embodiment, the number n of the GND terminals and the VBUS terminals in the first to fourth terminal modes is less than m; preferably, n=4.

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a partial three-dimensional exploded view of a second embodiment of the novel electronic product 1 ′. The female end electrical connector 30 ′ of the Type C electrical connector module 20 ′ adopts the fourth terminal pattern mentioned above, that is, it includes twenty-four Type C terminals 31 a and 31 b, wherein the ends 311 of twelve Type C terminals 31 a are exposed outside the metal housing 32 and arranged in another row. The twelve Type C terminals 31 a are two GND terminals, two VBUS terminals, a single TX1+ terminal, a single TX1- terminal, a single CC1 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal, a single SUB1 terminal, a single RX2+ terminal, and a single RX2- terminal. The other twelve Type C terminals 31b have their ends 311 exposed outside the metal housing 32 and arranged in another row. The twelve Type C terminals 31b are two other GND terminals, two other VBUS terminals, a single TX2+ terminal, a single TX2- terminal, a single CC2 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal, a single SUB2 terminal, a single RX1+ terminal, and a single RX1- terminal. The ends 311 of the two rows of terminals are arranged in a staggered manner and are located at the front and rear positions of the female electrical connector 30'. The flexible cable 21' of the present embodiment corresponds to the fourth contact pattern, that is, it includes twenty-six first contacts 22a, 22b, wherein several first contacts 22a have the same length, which may include three GND contacts, three VBUS contacts, a single TX1+ contact, a single TX1- contact, a single CC1 contact, a single D+ contact, a single D- contact, a single SUB1 contact, a single RX2+ contact, and a single RX2- contact; and the remaining first contacts 22b have the same length, but are shorter than the length of the previous set of contacts, and are arranged in an alternating manner, including three GND contacts, three VBUS contacts, a single TX2+ contact, a single TX2- contact, a single CC2 contact, a single SUB2 contact, a single RX1+ contact, and a single RX1- contact, but are not limited to this.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the Type C electrical connector module 20′ shown in FIG. 3 , the female electrical connector 30′ includes ends 311 of Type C terminals 31a and 31b arranged in a front-rear double row, and the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31a in the front row are directly welded to the longer contacts in the flexible cable 21′, while the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31b in the rear row are directly welded to the shorter contacts in the flexible cable 21′.

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which is a three-dimensional external view of a third embodiment of the novel electronic product 1 ″. Compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the Type C electrical connector module 20 ″ of the present embodiment further includes an adapter board 40. The adapter board 40 can be a circuit board smaller than the printed circuit board 10. The spacing between the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31 of the female electrical connector 30 of the present embodiment matches or is smaller than the spacing between the first contacts 22 of the flexible cable 21. The adapter board 40 includes a plurality of third contacts 41 and a plurality of fourth contacts 42. The spacing of the third contacts 41 matches the spacing of the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31 of the female electrical connector 30, so as to be respectively welded with the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31 of the female electrical connector 30, and the spacing of the fourth contacts 42 matches the spacing of the first contacts 22 of the flexible cable 21, so as to be respectively welded with the first contacts 22 of the flexible cable 21. In addition, the metal pins 321 of the metal shell 32 of the female electrical connector 30 of this embodiment can be directly welded on the adapter board 40.

Please refer to FIG. 5 , the female electrical connector 30 ′ can also be the same as the female electrical connector 30 ′ shown in FIG. 3 , and the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31a, 31b are arranged in a double row front and back, and the third contacts 41a, 41b of the adapter board 40 are arranged in a double row front and back to correspond to and weld the ends 311 of the Type C terminals 31a, 31b arranged in a double row front and back.

As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D , the fourth contacts of the adapter board 40 with the same potential are integrated into a single fourth contact 42 ′, so the six GND contacts and the six VBUS contacts of the flexible cable 21 can be short-circuited and connected through the corresponding single fourth contact 42 ′. For special applications, as shown in FIG. 6C , the CC1 contact and the CC2 contact on the adapter board 40 can be integrated into a single fourth contact 42 ′, so that the single CC1 contact and the single CC2 contact of the flexible cable 21 can be short-circuited and connected through the single fourth contact 42 ′.

In summary, the novel electronic product mainly electrically connects the female electrical connector of the Type C electrical connector module to one side of the flexible flat cable, and then inserts the other side of the flexible flat cable into the flat cable connector on the printed circuit board so that the second contacts on the flexible flat cable respectively contact the pins to be electrically connected to the printed circuit board; in this way, the female connector is electrically connected to the printed circuit board through the flexible flat cable, so the female connector is no longer directly soldered to the printed circuit board, and the flexible flat cable is easily plugged into and pulled out of the pressurized electrical connector on the printed circuit board. When the Type C electrical connector module is repaired and replaced, the Type C electrical connector module as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 can be directly pulled out without taking out the entire printed circuit board, which is convenient for repair and replacement operations.

The above is only an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any form. Although the present invention has been disclosed as above by the embodiments, it is not used to limit the present invention. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can make some changes or modifications to the technical contents disclosed above as equivalent embodiments within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention. However, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

1, 1', 1'': electronic products 10: printed circuit board 11: cable connector 12: pin holder 121: pin 13: plastic pressure plate 20, 20', 20'': Type C electrical connector module 21, 21': flexible cable 211: side 212: side 22, 22a, 22b: first contact 23: second contact 30, 30': female electrical connector 31, 31a, 31b: Type C terminal 311: end 32: metal shell 321: metal pin 40: adapter board 41, 41a, 41b: third contact 42, 42': fourth contact 50: Printed circuit board 60: Female Type C electrical connector

Figure 1: A three-dimensional exploded view of a first embodiment of the novel electronic product. Figure 2: A three-dimensional cross-sectional view of a combination of Figure 1. Figure 3: A partial three-dimensional exploded view of a second embodiment of the novel electronic product. Figure 4: A three-dimensional appearance view of a third embodiment of the novel electronic product. Figure 5: A three-dimensional cross-sectional view of Figure 4. Figures 6A to 6D: Multiple different flexible cable embodiments of the novel Type C electrical connector module. Figure 7: A three-dimensional exploded view of an existing electronic product.

1: Electronic products

10: Printed circuit board

11: Cable connector

12: Pin socket

121: Pin

13:Colloid pressure plate

20: Type C electrical connector module

21: Flexible cable

211: Side

212: Side

22: First contact

23: Second contact

30: Female electrical connector

31: Type C terminal

311: The end

32:Metal shell

Claims (16)

An electronic product with a Type C electrical connector module comprises: a printed circuit board having a flat cable connector disposed thereon; and a Type C electrical connector module electrically connected to the printed circuit board and comprising: a flexible flat cable having a plurality of first contacts and a plurality of second contacts; wherein the second contacts are plugged into the flat cable connector on the printed circuit board; and a female electrical connector comprising a plurality of Type C terminals, the ends of the Type C terminals being electrically connected to the first contacts of the flexible flat cable, respectively. An electronic product as described in claim 1, wherein: The distance between the ends of the Type C terminals of the female electrical connector matches the distance between the first contacts of the flexible cable; and The ends of the Type C terminals of the female electrical connector are respectively soldered to the first contacts of the flexible cable. The electronic product as described in claim 1 further comprises an adapter board, which comprises: A plurality of third contacts, which are respectively welded to the ends of the Type C terminals of the female electrical connector; and A plurality of fourth contacts, which are respectively welded to the first contacts of the flexible cable. An electronic product as described in claim 2, wherein: The ends of the Type C terminals of the female electrical connector are arranged in a front-rear double row; and The first contacts of the flexible cable are arranged in a staggered manner, the longer first contacts are welded to the ends of the Type C terminals of the female electrical connector in the front row, and the shorter first contacts are welded to the ends of the Type C terminals of the female electrical connector in the rear row. The electronic product as described in claim 3, wherein: The ends of the Type C terminals of the female electrical connector are arranged in a front-to-back double row; and The third contacts of the adapter board are arranged in a front-to-back double row to correspond to and weld the ends of the Type C terminals arranged in a front-to-back double row, respectively. An electronic product as described in claim 3 or 5, wherein the female electrical connector includes a metal shell, and the metal shell is welded to the adapter board. An electronic product as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The Type C terminals of the female electrical connector include n GND terminals and n VBUS terminals; and The first contacts of the flexible cable include m GND contacts and m VBUS contacts; wherein m＞n＞2. An electronic product as described in claim 7, wherein the distance between the first contacts is no greater than 1.5 mm. An electronic product as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The Type C terminals of the female electrical connector include n GND terminals, n VBUS terminals, a single CC1 terminal, and a single CC2 terminal; and The first contacts of the flexible cable include m GND contacts, m VBUS contacts, a single CC1 contact, and a single CC2 contact; wherein m＞n＞2. An electronic product as described in claim 9, wherein the distance between the first contacts of the flexible cable is no greater than 1.5 mm. An electronic product as described in claim 9, wherein the single CC1 contact and the single CC2 contact of the first contacts are short-circuited. An electronic product as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The Type C terminals of the female electrical connector include n GND terminals, n VBUS terminals, a single CC1 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal, and a single CC2 terminal; and The first contacts of the flexible cable include m GND contacts, m VBUS contacts, a single CC1 contact, a single D+ contact, a single D- contact, and a single CC2 contact; wherein m＞n＞2. An electronic product as described in claim 12, wherein the spacing between the first contacts of the flexible cable is no greater than 1.5 mm. An electronic product as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The Type C terminals of the female electrical connector include n GND terminals, n VBUS terminals, a single TX1+ terminal, a single TX1- terminal, a single CC1 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal, a single SUB1 terminal, a single RX2+ terminal, a single RX2- terminal, a single TX2+ terminal, a single TX2- terminal, a single CC2 terminal, a single D+ terminal, a single D- terminal, a single SUB2 terminal, a single RX1+ terminal and a single RX1- terminal; and The first contacts of the flexible cable include m GND contacts, m VBUS contacts, a single TX1+ contact, a single TX1- contact, a single CC1 contact, a single D+ contact, a single D- contact, a single SUB1 contact, a single RX2+ contact, a single RX2- contact, a single TX2+ contact, a single TX2- contact, a single CC2 contact, a single SUB2 contact, a single RX1+ contact and a single RX1- contact; wherein m＞n＞2. The electronic product as claimed in claim 14, wherein: The spacings of the TX1+ contact, the TX1- contact, the RX2+ contact, the RX2- contact, the TX2+ contact, the TX2- contact, the RX1+ contact and the RX1- among the first contacts of the flexible cable are respectively between 0.3 mm and 1.2 mm, and the spacings of the remaining first contacts are not greater than 1.5 mm. An electronic product as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the flat cable connector is a pressurized electrical connector, comprising: a pin holder on which a plurality of pins are arranged at intervals, and the pins are soldered to the printed circuit board; wherein the pins correspond to the second contacts of the flexible flat cable; and a plastic pressure plate pivotally connected to two opposite sides of the pin holder to press the second contacts of the flexible flat cable and the corresponding pins.

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