Background
In electronic devices such as 3C medical equipment, data centers, servers, switches, scanners, digital cameras, copiers, and the like, it is generally necessary to mount an electrical connector on a circuit board such as a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to electrically connect with a counterpart connector to which a plurality of wires are connected, thereby achieving electrical connection of the wires to the circuit board.
When a counterpart connector is inserted into an electrical connector mounted on a circuit board to be fittingly connected with an electrical connection portion of the electrical connector, the electrical connection portion of the electrical connector is easily pushed, resulting in unstable electrical connection between the counterpart connector and the electrical connector and between the electrical connector and the circuit board. In order to further fix the electrical connection portion of the electrical connector on the circuit board and prevent the electrical connection portion from being pushed when a counterpart connector is inserted into the electrical connector, a housing is generally mounted at a distal end of the electrical connection portion so that the distal end of the electrical connection portion abuts against the housing, whereby the electrical connection portion is not easily pushed by the inserted counterpart connector.
However, the housing of the electrical connector of the prior art has a complicated structure, and laser welding is generally used to increase the strength of the housing during manufacturing, which results in a complicated manufacturing process and increased manufacturing cost of the electrical connector. And when the mating connector is repeatedly inserted into the electrical connector for a long time, there is still a risk that the housing cannot withstand the stress applied by the electrical connection portion of the electrical connector for a long time and the electrical connection portion is pushed.
It is therefore desirable to provide an electrical connector that is suitable for mounting on a circuit board with a simple structure and fabrication process and that is capable of forming a stable electrical connection.
Disclosure of Invention
An object of embodiments of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that is suitable for mounting on a circuit board, has a simple structure and a simple manufacturing process, and can form a stable electrical connection.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical connector comprising: a first housing adapted to be secured to a circuit board; an electrical connection comprising: a first connecting portion adapted to be electrically connected to a counterpart connector and at least partially mounted in the first housing, and a second connecting portion adapted to be electrically connected to the circuit board; and a second housing adapted to receive the second connecting portion, the second housing comprising: a substantially rectangular top wall; two side walls extending downward from opposite sides of the top wall, respectively; and an end wall extending downward at a rear end of the top wall, two cutouts being formed in the joint portions of the end wall and the two side walls, respectively, and two corner portions of a rear portion of the second connecting portion abutting at least partially against the two cutouts, respectively.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an electrical connection portion includes: a support portion made of an insulating material; and a plurality of connection terminals supported by the support portion and each having a first end on the first connection portion to be electrically connected to the counterpart connector and a second end on the second connection portion to be electrically connected to the corresponding electrical contact of the circuit board.
According to an aspect of the present invention, each cutout is formed to be upwardly recessed at a lower end of a junction of the end wall and the side wall.
According to an aspect of the invention, the depth of the cutout in the thickness direction of the electrical connector is 0.35 mm to 0.45 mm.
According to one aspect of the invention, the top wall, the end wall and the two side walls of the second housing are integrally formed.
According to an aspect of the invention, the second housing further comprises: and two welding parts respectively extending downwards from the two side walls so as to weld the second shell to the circuit board.
According to an aspect of the invention, the second housing further comprises: and two fixing arms respectively extending downward from the top wall at opposite sides of the top wall to elastically fix the second connection portion.
According to an aspect of the invention, the second housing further comprises: two receiving holes extending from the top wall to the side wall at the fixing arm to allow the fixing arm to move through the receiving holes.
According to an aspect of the present invention, fixing grooves are formed in the second connecting portion to allow the two fixing arms to be inserted and fixed therein, respectively.
According to one aspect of the present invention, two mounting portions are provided on the first housing to fix the first housing to the circuit board.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a hollow cavity is provided in the first housing to at least partially accommodate the first connection part mounted therein.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the first housing has formed thereon: two first positioning holes formed in the two sidewalls at opposite sides, respectively; and two second positioning holes formed in the top wall to allow viewing of the position of the second connection portion.
Detailed Description
The technical scheme of the invention is further specifically described by the following embodiments and the accompanying drawings. In the specification, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar components. The following description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings is intended to explain the general inventive concept of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention.
Furthermore, in the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the disclosure. It may be evident, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in schematic form in order to simplify the drawing.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; fig. 2 is a top view of the electrical connector 100 shown in fig. 1; fig. 3 is a bottom view of the electrical connector 100 shown in fig. 1.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrical connector 100 comprising: a first housing 20, an electrical connection 30, and a second housing 10.
The first housing 20 is adapted to be secured to a circuit board (not shown) to secure the electrical connector 100 thereto.
The electrical connection portion 30 includes: a first connecting portion 31 adapted to be electrically connected to a counterpart connector (not shown) and at least partially mounted in the first housing 20; and a second connection portion 32 adapted to be electrically connected to the circuit board. When the counterpart connector is inserted into the first housing 20 of the electrical connector 100, it is electrically connected with the circuit board via the electrical connection portion 30.
The second housing 10 is adapted to accommodate the second connecting portion 32, and the second housing 10 includes: a substantially rectangular top wall 11; two side walls 12 extending downward on opposite sides of the top wall 11, respectively; and an end wall 13 extending downward at the rear end of the top wall 11, two cutouts 15 being formed in the junctions 16 of the end wall 13 and the two side walls 12, respectively, and two corner portions 321 of the rear portion of the second connecting portion 32 abutting at least partially at the two cutouts 15, respectively.
When the mating connector is inserted into the first housing 20 of the electrical connector 100, the first connection portion 31 abuts to be electrically connected to the first connection portion 31, so that a pushing force is applied to the first connection portion 31 mounted in the first housing 20 in the insertion direction, and the end wall 13 abuts against the rear portion of the second connection portion 32 to prevent the electrical connection portion 30 from being pushed, at this time, the end wall 13 receives the pushing force applied by the second connection portion 32, and the pushing force generates stress in the second housing 10 which causes deformation of the material of the second housing 10, and most of the stress is concentrated in the joint portion 16 of the end wall 13 and the two side walls 12, so that the joint portion 16 is easily deformed. Since the cutouts 15 are formed in the joint portion 16 and the two corner portions 321 of the rear portion of the second connecting portion 32 abut at least partially at the two cutouts 15, respectively, a large stress is prevented from being generated in the joint portion 16 when the counterpart connector is inserted into the first housing 20. This does not cause the second housing 10 to be deformed even in the case where the counterpart connector is repeatedly inserted into the electrical connector 100 according to the present invention for a long period of use, prevents the electrical connection portion 30 from being pushed, thereby improving the strength of the second housing 10 and extending the service life of the electrical connector 100. Since the electrical connection portion 30 is stably positioned on the circuit board, stable electrical connection is formed between the counterpart connector and the electrical connector 100 and between the electrical connector 100 and the circuit board. It should be understood that the electrical connector 100 may also be referred to as a receptacle connector and the mating connector may also be referred to as a plug connector.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the electrical connection portion 30 includes: one support portion 33 made of an insulating material and a plurality of connection terminals 34. A plurality of connection terminals 34 are supported by the support portion 33 to be located on the upper and lower surfaces of the support portion 33, respectively, and a first end 341 of each connection terminal 34 is located on the first connection portion 31 to be electrically connected to the counterpart connector, and a second end 342 of each connection terminal 34 is located on the second connection portion 32 to be electrically connected to a corresponding electrical contact (not shown) of the circuit board, thereby forming an electrical connection between the counterpart connector and the circuit board.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the second housing 10 of the electrical connector 100 shown in fig. 1; fig. 5 is another perspective view of the second housing 10 shown in fig. 4; fig. 6 is a plan view of the second housing 10 shown in fig. 4; fig. 7 is a bottom view of the second housing 10 shown in fig. 4; fig. 8 is a side view of the second housing 10 shown in fig. 4; fig. 9 is a front view of the second housing 10 shown in fig. 4; fig. 10 is a rear view of the second housing 10 shown in fig. 4.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, each cutout 15 is formed to be upwardly recessed at a lower end of a junction 16 of the end wall 13 and the side wall 12. The incision 15 includes, for example: a horizontal curved top surface 151 provided by the junction 16; a first side 152 provided by the end wall 13 and extending downwardly at one end of the arcuate top surface 151; and a second side surface 153 provided by the side wall 12 and extending downward at the other end of the arc-shaped top surface 151.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the depth of the cut 15 in the thickness direction of the electrical connector 100 is 0.35 mm to 0.45 mm. This depth must not be too great, otherwise the junction 16 of the end wall 13 with the two side walls 12 is too short, resulting in a joint 16 of lesser strength, the joint 16 being easily deformed when the end wall 13 is pushed several times; and this depth cannot be too small, otherwise the junction 16 of the end wall 13 with the two side walls 12 is too long, causing the two corner portions 321 of the rear portion of the second connecting portion 32 to abut mostly at the junction 16 instead of at the cut-out 15, thereby generating a large stress in the junction 16, eventually causing the junction 16 to deform.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the top wall 11, the end wall 13 and the two side walls 12 of the second housing 10 are integrally formed, and the structure is relatively simple. This eliminates the need to provide extensions to the two side walls 12 and bend the extensions to weld the extensions to the end walls 13 using a laser welding process when fabricating the second housing 10, simplifying the fabrication process and housing structure and reducing the cost of the electrical connector 100.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second housing 10 further includes: two soldering portions 121 extending downward from the two side walls 12, respectively, to solder the second housing 10 to a circuit board.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second housing 10 further includes: two fixing arms 111 extending downward from the top wall 11 at opposite sides of the top wall 11, respectively, to elastically fix the second connection portion 32, preventing the second connection portion 32 from being pushed when the counterpart connector is inserted into the first housing 20, further enhancing the stability of the electrical connection between the counterpart connector and the electrical connector 100 and between the electrical connector 100 and the circuit board.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second housing 10 further includes: two receiving holes 14 extending from the top wall 11 to the side wall 12 at the fixing arm 111 to allow the fixing arm 111 to move through the receiving holes 14, enhancing the elastic fixation of the fixing arm 111 to the second connecting portion 32.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, fixing grooves 322 are formed in the second connecting portion 32 to allow two fixing arms 111 to be respectively inserted and fixed therein to further stabilize the fixed connection between the fixing arms 111 and the second connecting portion 32.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, two mounting portions 22 are provided on the first housing 20 to fix the first housing 20 to a circuit board. The mounting portion 22 may be any form of member suitable for securing the first housing 20 to a circuit board. For example, the mounting portion 22 may be provided with a threaded hole 221 to screw the first housing 20 to the first housing 20, may be snap-fit into a recess (not shown) on a circuit board, or the like. This further enhances the stability of the electrical connection between the first connecting portion 31 mounted in the first housing 20 and the counterpart connector.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first housing 20 is provided therein with a hollow cavity 21 to at least partially accommodate the first connection part 31 mounted therein. The provision of the hollow cavity 21 in the first housing 20 facilitates the fixation of the first connection portion 31 in the circumferential direction of the first connection portion 31.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein the first housing 20 has formed thereon: two first positioning holes 122 formed in the two side walls 12 at opposite sides, respectively; and two second positioning holes 112 formed in the top wall 11 to allow the position of the second coupling parts 32 to be observed, i.e., whether the second coupling parts 32 are fixed in place and pushed, which helps to judge whether the second housing 10 is deformed.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described above are exemplary and can be modified by those skilled in the art, and that the structures described in the various embodiments can be freely combined without conflict in structure or principle.
Having described preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims, and the invention is not to be limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein.