Connector assembly having power contacts which comprise a plurality of contact inserting portions

A connector assembly has a plug and socket; the plug includes an insulative body, at least one first power contact, at least one second power contact and a metal shield. The insulative body has a base portion and a tongue portion extending from the base portion. The tongue portion includes a plurality of power contact grooves and penetrates through the base portion, and at least one first convex portion defined in a periphery of the tongue portion. The first power contact and the second power contact are respectively formed on the power contact grooves of the insulative body for connection to a power source in a socket of host device. The metal shield encloses the tongue portion of the insulative body to cover the tongue portion. Consequently, the charging speed can be increased, reducing charging time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No. 201210326696.8 filed in China, P.R.C. on Sep. 6, 2012, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, more particularly, to a Micro-USB connector assembly.

2. Related Art

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus communication standard designed to provide a standard communication port between computer hardware and a host computer. Recently, the marketplace has developed consumer devices applying Universal Serial Bus to most consumer applications. A Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) supports plug and play installation, and its development has increased due to the demand of higher data transmission and stability.

USB 2 has a maximum speed of 480 Mbps, which was considered adequate at the time of release but is now unsatisfactory due to the large size of multimedia data requiring high storage capacities of 64 GB or greater and the fact that cell phones and PDAs now have large capacity built-in storage, so a full transfer of data at 480 Mbps between devices can take a long time. The biggest difference between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 is the speed at which it communicates with the computer's host controller, and the biggest advantage of USB 3.0 is its backward compatibility with USB 2.0. In comparison to USB 2.0, USB 3.0 has a maximum transfer speed of 4.8 Gbps, which is almost 10 times faster than USB 2.0. The standard claims a theoretical “maximum” transmission speed of up to 5 Gbit/s (625 MB/s). USB 3.0 reduces the time required for data transmission, reduces power consumption, and supports optical transmission. An optical USB cable in which an optical signal is transmitted using optical waveguides has recently been proposed. Fast speed is not the only difference; power usage and requirements for USB 3 devices are much “greener”.

According to the trend of portable devices toward lightweight and thin product design, of all forms of USB connectors manufactured and in use, micro USB connectors are the primary option for new mobile electronics. Micro USB connectors are half the size of their mini USB counterparts, and have almost become the standard interface allowing consumers to not only charge their phones but also to send and receive data from the same port.

Portable devices use Micro-USB connectors for data transmission or charging. In conventional Micro-USB use, a portable device can only draw a small current after digital negotiation with the host or hub, resulting in a long charge time. It is needed to provide an efficient power transfer device.

In order to solve the problem(s), the present invention introduces a connector to increase power charging speed.

SUMMARY

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly which is able to increase USB device power charging speed.

In order to accomplish the aforementioned objective, the connector assembly of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has a plug including:

an insulative body having a base portion and a tongue portion extending from the base portion, a plurality of power contact grooves arranged on a top surface of the tongue portion and penetrating through the base portion and at least one first convex portion defined in a periphery of the tongue portion;

at least one first power contact including a first contact base portion and a plurality of first contact inserting portions, one side of the first contact base portion extending to the first contact inserting portions, the first contact inserting portions being inserted into the power contact groove of the insulative body, the width of the first contact base portion being larger than or equal to the summation of the widths of the first contact inserting portions;

at least one second power contact including a second contact base portion and a plurality of second contact inserting portions, one side of the second contact base portion extending to the second contact inserting portions, the second contact inserting portions being inserted into the power contact groove of the insulative body, the width of the second contact base portion being larger than or equal to the summation of the widths of the second contact inserting portions; and

a metal shield enclosing the tongue portion of the insulative body to cover the tongue portion.

Another objective of the preferred embodiment of the present invention lies in the fact that the socket for connecting the plug is provided including:

a connector body provided with a plurality of contact grooves;

a plurality of connect terminals securely fixed in the contact grooves within the connector body for conducting electricity; and

a connector metal shield enclosing the connector body and embossing on the surface of the connector metal shield to accommodate the first convex portion and the second convex portion for connecting to the metal shield.

It is to be noted from the objectives of the preferred embodiment of the present invention that the insulative body of the plug has first convex portions formed on two opposite sides of the tongue portion for a specified socket, which prevents the plug of the present invention from connection to an unwanted USB. The invention provides a fool-proofing device to prevent users from plugging the plug in sockets which are not designed for the structure of the present invention. In addition, the socket has a connector metal shield which embosses on the outer surface of the connector metal shield for accommodation of the first convex portion and the second convex portion to connect to the metal shield to provide the connection for the plug and socket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature, and is in no way intended to limit the present teachings, applications, or uses. Those of skill in the art will recognize that the following description is merely illustrative of the principles of the invention, which may be applied in various ways to provide many different alternative embodiments.

FIG. 1is an illustration of a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. There is shown the connector assembly has a plug1, which comprises a metal shield14and an insulative body11which has a first body portion116and a second body portion117. In the preferred embodiment, the connector is utilized in Micro-USB device.

FIGS. 2 and 3are illustrations of the preferred embodiment of the present invention that the plug is illustrated in exploded perspective views. The insulative body11has a base portion111and a tongue portion112extending from the base portion111. The tongue portion112includes a plurality of power contact grooves113arranged on a top surface of the tongue portion112and penetrated through the base portion111and at least one first convex portion118defined in a periphery of the tongue portion112.

In addition, the insulative body11has one first body portion116secured another second body portion117, such that a capacity space is formed inside the insulative body11to accommodate the base portion111and the tongue portion112. The recess114is defined on an outer surface of the first body portion116. The second body portion117comprises a bump1171and a rib1172on the top surface; the inner surface of the first body portion116has a groove1161to receive the bump1171so as to securely connected the first body portion116to the second body portion117, the rib1172provides extra strength to connection of the first body portion116and the second body portion117. The second body portion117is assembled with the first body portion116by the groove1161receiving the bump1171, and the rib1172of the first body portion116also stiffens the second body portion117as both joined together.

Furthermore, the insulative body11has a plurality of latches115arranged in the capacity space of the first body portion116for fixedly connecting the plug1to the socket2, the latches115comprise a fixing part1151that has an elastic arm1155extending through the first body portion116from the fixing part1151and forming a nail1156at a distal end of the elastic arm1155. The fixing part1151includes a first fixing arm1152extending backward from top of the fixing part, a second fixing arm1153extending backward from bottom of the fixing part, and a third fixing arm1154extending forward from bottom of the fixing part1151. Thus the retention of the latches115is strengthened by the fixing part1151in the insulative body11.

The plug1has at least one first power contact12and at least one second power contact13. The first power contact12includes a first contact base portion122and a plurality of first contact inserting portions123, one side of the first contact base portion122is extending to the first contact inserting portions123, the first contact inserting portions123is inserted into the power contact groove113of the insulative body11, the width of the first contact base portion122is larger than or equal to the summation of the widths of the first contact inserting portions123. The second power contact13includes a second contact base portion131and a plurality of second contact inserting portions132, one side of the second contact base portion131is extending to the second contact inserting portions132, the second contact inserting portions132is inserted into the power contact groove113of the insulative body11, the width of the second contact base portion131is larger than or equal to the summation of the widths of the second contact inserting portions132. In this embodiment, a contact121is further disposed between the first power contact12and the second power contact. In the prefer embodiment, there are electric contacts embedded on both of the first power contact12and the second power contact13in the second body portion117of the insulative body11for connection to a power source in a socket of host device.

A metal shield14encloses the tongue portion112of the insulative body11and has a protruding ring141formed on an edge of upper surface of the metal shield14to fix into the recess to fix into the recess114firmly.

FIG. 4is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention that the plug is illustrated in front view. InFIG. 4, two first convex portions118are formed on two lateral sides of the tongue portion112for slidably plugging the plug1into the socket2. The outer surface of the first body portion116has a recess114and the metal shield14is provided with a protruding ring141formed on an edge of upper surface to fix into the recess114. Then the metal shield14is secured to the first body portion116.

InFIGS. 5,6,7,8and9, the socket2for connecting the plug1constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is composed of a connector body21, a plurality of connect terminals22and a connector metal shield23.

The connector body21is provided with a plurality of contact grooves211. A plurality of connect terminals22securely fix in the contact grooves211within the connector body21to conduct electricity. A connector metal shield23encloses the connector body21and embosses on the surface of the connector metal shield23for accommodation of the first convex portion118and the second convex portion233to connect to the metal shield14. Please refer toFIG. 9, in which embodiment the connector metal shield23comprises at least one rivet231on the surface of the connector metal shield23for assembling the connector body21inside the connector metal shield23, avoiding the connector body21slipping away from the connector metal shield23as the plug1is connecting to the socket2. The connector metal shield23has at least one concave part232defined at an outer face of the connector metal shield23, and the connector body21has at least one concave groove212defined at an outer face of the connector body21to receive the concave part232of the connector metal shield23. In this way, the stability of binding the connector body21to the connector metal shield23will be guaranteed. Also, the connector metal shield23could be bent downward as a pin, which restricts and fixes the connector body21inside the connector metal shield23.

With references to all figures, as mentioned previously, the connection functional description is described here. The plug1has at least one first power contact12and at least one second power contact13being disposed at the power contact groove113of the insulative body11. The first power contact12provides a short circuit to pin1and pin2and the second power contact13provides a short circuit to pin4and pin5of the

Micro-USB. The first power contact12and the second power contact13will pass the electric current. Accordingly, the width of the first power contact12and the second power contact13are increased. In experiment, the electrical device can be charged with electric current of 2.5 A rapidly with the embodiment. In addition, the pin3in the Micro-USB is disconnected and will not be active electrically.

Moreover, the insulative body11of plug1has a first convex portion118extending from the outer surface of the tongue portion112, so the plug1is unable to plug the Micro-USB in the prior art, the invention provides a fool-proofing device to prevent users from plugging the plug1in the conventional sockets which are not designed from the structure of the present invention.

In addition, the invention includes the socket2for connecting the plug1, in which a connector metal shield23encloses the connector body21and embosses on the surface for accommodation of the first convex portion118and the second convex portion233. Please refer toFIG. 8, in which two second convex portions233are formed on both side of connector metal shield23corresponding to the first convex portion118. Accordingly, the structure of the socket2is able to connect the plug1, and the nail1156of the elastic arm1155in the latches115connects the connector metal shield23in the socket2. Furthermore, the socket2is able to connect any plug compatible to Micro-USB in prior art.

With reference to all Figures, the invention has advantages over background art. The socket2is able to provide big electric current to charge USB pluggable devices, which utilize the invention. Product Competitiveness is promoted because of the socket2is compatible with conventional plug for most of Micro-USB.

It is to be noted that although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described, other modifications, alterations or minor change to the structure should still be within the scope defined in the claims. As those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.