Abstract:
An electrical connector assembly includes a receptacle connector and a flippable pug connector for connecting with a cable. The receptacle connector includes a terminal module assembly defining a mating tongue loading with two rows of contacts on opposing surface of the mating tongue and a metallic shell retained on the terminal module assembly and enclosing the mating tongue, thereby defining a mating cavity between the metallic shell and the mating tongue. The plug connector includes an insulating housing defining a center slot with side walls and two rows of contacts on the side walls and a metallic shell attached to an outer periphery of the insulating housing. The mating cavity of the receptacle connector is configured to be symmetrical to a horizontal center line without orientation limits so as to allow the plug connector to be mated in two opposite orientations, and the center slot receives the mating tongue.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 14/477,889 filed Sep. 5, 2014, a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 14/454,737 filed Aug. 8, 2014, a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 14/337,180 filed Jul. 21, 2014, and claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/916,147, filed Dec. 14, 2013, No. 61/919,681, filed Dec. 20, 2013, No. 61/926,270, filed Jan. 11, 2014, 61/917,363 filed Dec. 18, 2013, and 61/949,232 filed Mar. 6, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated entirely herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to a flippable plug connector used with a receptacle connector. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     US Patent Publication No. 20130095702A1 discloses a dual orientation plug connector, which has a connector tab with first and second major opposing sides and a plurality of electrical contacts carried by the connector tab. The plurality of contacts may include a first set of external contacts formed at the first major side and a second set of external contacts formed at the second major side. The first plurality of contacts may be symmetrically spaced with the second plurality of contacts and the connector tab may be shaped to have 180 degree symmetry so that it can be inserted and operatively coupled to a corresponding receptacle connector in either of two insertion orientations. 
     A receptacle connector corresponds to the plug connector. A sensing circuit in the receptacle or the electronic device in which the receptacle connector is housed can detect the orientation of the contacts and switch internal connections to the contacts in the connector jack as appropriate. When the contacts are more, the sensing circuit is more complicated, which will waste software switches or hardware switches. 
     Hence, a new and simple electrical plug connector and the complementary receptacle connector are desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a first connector for mounted to a printed circuit board and a flippable second connector for connecting with a cable. The first connector comprises a terminal module assembly defining a mating tongue loading with two rows of contacts on opposing surface of the mating tongue and a metallic shell retained on the terminal module assembly and enclosing the mating tongue, thereby defining a mating cavity between the metallic shell and the mating tongue. The second connector comprises an insulating housing defining a center slot with side walls and two twos of contacts on the side walls; and a metallic shell attached to an outer periphery of the insulating housing. The mating cavity of the receptacle connector is configured to be symmetrical to a horizontal center line with orientation limits so as to allow the second connector to be mated in two opposite orientations, and the center slot is receiving with the mating tongue. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a rear perspective view of a plug connector and a corresponding receptacle connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of plug connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front elevational view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6(A)  is front exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector of FIG; 
         FIG. 6(B)  is a rear exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a rear perspective view of the receptacle connector with the partially assembled housing of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a rear perspective view of the receptacle connector with the further partially assembled housing of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a rear perspective view of a shielding plate of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-section view of the receptacle connector mounted on a printed circuit board, essentially showing an engagement of the spring tabs and the metallic shell; 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-section view of the receptacle connector mounted on the printed circuit board, essentially showing an arrangement of the contacts and the shielding plate; 
         FIG. 12  is a front perspective view of another embodiment similar to  FIG. 6(A)  and  FIG. 6(B) ; 
         FIG. 13  is a front perspective view of a terminal module assembly of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a front perspective view of the shielding plate in  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 15  is a front perspective view of a receptacle connector of a second embodiment of this invention; which is mounted on a printed circuit board; 
         FIG. 16  is a front elevational view of the receptacle connector and the PCB of  FIG. 15 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a cross section view of the receptacle connector and the PCB taken along lines  17 - 17  in  FIG. 16 ; 
         FIG. 18  is front exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector in  FIG. 16 ; 
         FIG. 18  (A) is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the shell for use with the receptacle connector of  FIG. 16 ; 
         FIG. 18(B)  is a front view of the assembled terminal module assembly of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 16 ; 
         FIG. 19  is a front perspective view of the shielding plate in  FIG. 16 ; 
         FIG. 20  is a top elevational view of the terminal module assembly; 
         FIG. 21  is a bottom elevational view of the terminal module assembly; 
         FIG. 22(A)  is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the shielding plate for use with the receptacle connector; 
         FIG. 22(B)  is a front perspective view of the assembled terminal module assembly for use with the shielding plate of  22 (A); 
         FIG. 23  is a front exploded perspective view of the terminal module assembly of  FIG. 22(B)  and the metallic shield adapted to enclose thereon; 
         FIG. 24  is a front exploded perspective view of the plug connector (not showing the outer jacket) for use with the receptacle connector of  FIG. 15  or  FIG. 23 . 
         FIG. 25  is a front elevational view of the plug connector of  FIG. 24 ; 
         FIG. 26  is a cross-sectional view of the plug connector of  FIG. 24 ; 
         FIG. 27  is a rear assembled perspective view of the mated receptacle connector and plug connected according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 28  is a rear assembled perspective view of the plug connector and the receptacle connector of  FIG. 27  in an un-mated condition; 
         FIG. 29  is a rear assembled perspective view of the plug connector and the receptacle connector of  FIG. 27  in an un-mated condition; 
         FIG. 30  is a front exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 27 ; 
         FIG. 31  is rear exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 27 ; 
         FIG. 32  is a front exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 27  to show the discrete terminal modules; 
         FIG. 33  is a rear exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 27  to show the discrete terminal modules; 
         FIG. 34  is a front exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 27 ; 
         FIG. 35  is a rear exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 33 ; 
         FIG. 36  is a rear exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector and the plug connector according to another embodiment of the present invention′ 
         FIG. 37  is front exploded perspective view of the terminal module assembly of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 36 ; 
         FIG. 38  is a front exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 36 ; 
         FIG. 39  is a cross-sectional view of the assembled plug connector and receptacle connector to show the engagement between the shielding plate of the receptacle connector and the latch of the plug connector. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-11  showing a first embodiment of the present invention which includes a plug connector  200  connecting with a cable  27  and a receptacle connector  300  mounted upon a mother board. The plug connector  200  may be shaped to have 180 degree symmetry so that it can be inserted and operatively coupled to the receptacle connector  300  in either of two insertion orientations. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , the plug connector  200  including a paddle card  21  with circuit pads  211  on two opposite surfaces. An insulative housing  22  located in front of the paddle card  21 , is enclosed in a metallic shell  23  and defines a center slot  221  between two sidewalls  222  each equipped with a plurality of contacts  24 , each contact  24  having a front contacting section  241  extending into the center slot  221  and a rear mounting section  242  mechanically and electrically connected to a front region of the corresponding circuit pads  211 , respectively. The cable  27  extends rearwardly from the paddle card  21  and includes therein a plurality of conductive wires  271  respectively connected to a rear region of the paddle card  21 . A pair of spacers  25  is located behind the paddle card  21  and defines a plurality of through holes  251  into which the corresponding wires  271  extend, respectively. An insulating cover  26  is overmolded on the shell  23 , the paddle card  21  and the cable  27  to finalize the whole plug connector  200 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4-11 , the receptacle connector  300  includes a terminal module assembly  31  essentially composed of an upper terminal module  311  and a lower terminal module  312  commonly sandwiching a middle tongue  313  therebetween in a vertical direction. A plurality of upper contacts  321  are insert molded within the an upper insulator  331  to form the upper terminal module  311 , a plurality of lower contacts  322  are insert molded within a lower insulator  332  to form the lower terminal module  312 , and a shielding/grounding plate  34  is insert molded within a middle insulator  333  to form the middle tongue  313 , wherein the upper contact  321  includes a front contacting section  3211  seated upon one surface of the middle tongue  313  and a rear mounting section  3212  mounted upon the corresponding circuit pad of the mother board (not shown), and the lower contact  322  includes a front contacting section  3221  seated upon the other surface of the middle tongue  313  and a rear mounting section  3222  mounted upon the corresponding circuit pad of the mother board (not shown). 
     The shielding/grounding plate  34  include a front region  340  embedded in the insulator  333  of the mating tongue  313  and a rear region  348  exposed behind the insulator  333  of the mating tongue  313 . The rear region  348  defines an opening  345  in a middle portion along a transverse direction, a rearward extending rib  346  behind the opening  347 , a pair of retaining ribs  343  located at sides of the extending rib  346  respectively and bending downwards and a pair of spring tab  344  with outward arc portions  3441  extending from two rear side edges thereof. The middle tongue  313  is assembled to the lower terminal module  312  in an upper-to-lower direction as best shown in  FIG. 7 , wherein the retaining rib  343  are inserted into and retained in corresponding holes  3325  (labeled in  FIG. 6(A) ) and the opening  345  is guided and retained with a post  3326 , the extending rib  346  is received in a shallow recess defined on a top of the lower terminal module  312 , and the spring tabs  344  are located at side recess  3327  defined on side of the insulators of the lower terminal module. 
     The upper terminal module  311  is assembled to the middle tongue  313  and the lower terminal module  312  as best shown in  FIG. 8 , wherein the post  3326  protruding beyond the shielding/grounding plate  34  and inserted into an opening  3315  as best shown in  FIG. 11  through a lower face of the insulator of the upper terminal module  311 . Therefore, the terminal module assembly  31  is configurated. 
     A metallic shell  35  encloses the terminal module assembly  31  so as to form a mating cavity  301  in which the middle tongue  313  forwardly extends. The spring side tabs  344  electrically and mechanically contact the shell  35  as best shown in  FIG. 10 . Referring to  FIG. 9 , the shielding/grounding plate  34  includes front protruding edges  342  exposed outside of a corresponding edge of the middle insulator  333  for ESD (Electro Static Discharge) and anti-wearing during incorrect angular mating. The important issue of the mating plug connector  200  and receptacle connector  300  is that the plug connector  200  is flippable with regard to the receptacle connector  300  during mating with two different orientations. Understandably, to achieve this flippable function, the mechanical structure of the mating port of the receptacle connector  300  and that of the plug connector  200  optimally are of a symmetrical manner with regard to an imaginary horizontal center line. Correspondingly, the assignment of the contacts should be also in a symmetrical manner with regard to a center point in a diagonal manner, i.e., being reversed in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. 
       FIGS. 12-14  is are essentially similar to  FIGS. 4-11  to show the two features of the invention of which, the first one is the center insert molded shielding/grounding plate  34  encompasses the boundary of the mating tongue  313 ′ of the middle tongue  313  and the front edges  342 , exposed to corresponding front edges of the mating tongue  313 ′, to prevent damage of the mating tongue when the corresponding plug connector  200  or even an incorrect other type plug connector is improperly incorrectly mated/inserted in a sidewardly angular manner, and the second one is the mating tongue  313 ′ is essentially sandwiched between the upper insulator and the lower insulator in a flexible manner to prevent damage of the mating tongue when the plug connector  200  is incorrectly mated/inserted in an upward or downward tilted manner. 
       FIG. 15 through 21  shows the receptacle connector or first electrical connector  400  of a second embodiment for mounting to the printed circuit board  401 , including a metallic shell  45  and a terminal assembly  41  essentially composed of the upper terminal module  411  with the upper contacts  421  inserted molded thereon and the lower terminal module  412  with the lower contacts  422  insert molded thereon to commonly sandwich the middle shielding plate module  413  in the vertical direction in the assembling way wherein the mating tongue  413 ′ is provided by the middle shielding plate module  413  only and the shielding plate  44  is insert molded with the middle shielding plate module  413 . The shell  45  restrains the terminal assembly  41  in the front-to-back direction by the rear lower edge of the capsular configuration of the shell  45  rearwardly abutting against the lower terminal module  412  and the rear cover  451  forwardly abutting against both the upper terminal module  411  and the lower terminal module  412 . The rear cover forms a pair of locking ears  452  with lances  454  latched to the side region of the shell  45 . 
     The receptacle connector  400  has an outlet of mating cavity  402  as best shown in  FIG. 16  which is formed with the metallic shell  45 . The outlet of the mating cavity  402  has two parallel longer-line sides  403  and two half-circle sides  404  connecting with the longer-line side  403 , while the outlet of the receptacle connector  300  of the first embodiment is of rectangular shape as best shown in  FIG. 5 . The common ground is that the two receptacle connector is inserted with the corresponding plug connector in either of two insertion orientations. 
     The metallic shielding plate  44  for not only shielding but also reinforcing, defines two cutouts  441  in a front edge region and running through THE front edge thereof, and a thinned or even empty front region  442  wherein the front edge  443  extends slightly beyond the front edge  419  of the mating tongue  413 ′ so as to efficiently prevent damage to the mating tongue  413 ′ due to improper insertion of the (incorrect) plug connector. The cutout  441  is aligned with the corresponding power contact of the plug connector so as to prevent the power contact of the plug connector to contact the shielding plate  44 , referring to  FIG. 20 . On the other hand, other contacts of the plug connector can contact the front edge  443  of the shielding plate  44  during initial mating. It is noted as best shown in  FIG. 17  that thinned front edge region  442  may allow the front ends of the corresponding contacts to be inwardly deflected to form a lead-in configuration for better retention and easy insertion without a shorting risk induced by the external part. The shielding plate  44  further defines thinner regions  446  at a rear region thereof to improve SS impedance control. The spring tabs  444  are adapted to be electrically and mechanically connected to the shell  45 . The lateral side edges  447  of the shielding plate  44  protrude the mating tongue  413 ′ and a notch  448  is defined on each lateral side edges  447  to assure direct touch/lock with a metal latch  209  of a plug connector  500  shown in  FIGS. 24-26 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 24-26 , the plug connector  500  includes an insulative housing  502  defining a receiving cavity  504  with two rows of contacts  506  extending thereinto. The tails of the contacts  506  are mechanically and electrically connected to a paddle card  508  behind the housing  502 , and a cable  510  having a plurality of wires  514  mechanically and electrically connected to the paddle card  508 . The latch  209  defining a pair of lateral deflectable arms, is positioned in front of the paddle card  508  and extends into the receiving cavity  504  to mechanically and electrically connect to the shielding plate  44 . A metallic shell  512  encloses the housing  502 , and a pair of metallic covers enclosing the housing  502  and the paddle card  508  and is fastened to the cable  510 . 
       FIG. 22(A) - 23  show a third embodiment similar to the receptacle connector  400  of the second embodiment, wherein the shielding plate  54  of the receptacle connector protrudes out of the front edge and the side edge of the mating tongue  513  for performing the anti-mismating and efficient grounding and locking functions. Two thinner regions  541  and four cutouts  542  between the two thinner regions  541  are defined in the shielding plate, which are just aligned with the signal contacts  52  to improve SS impedance control. One major difference between the receptacle connector  400  in  FIGS. 16-21  and the receptacle connector  800  in  FIGS. 22(A) - 23  is that the former has the middle shielding plate module  413  itself to form the mating tongue while the latter has the upper mating tongue  812  of the upper terminal module  81  and the lower mating tongue  822  of the lower mating tongue  822  to commonly form the mating tongue  513 . 
     In another embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 27-35 , the plug connector  110  only partially shows the insulative housing  112  enclosed in the metallic shell  114  with a mating slot  116  and two rows of contacts  118  by two sides of the mating slot  116 . Different from the plug connector  10  of the first embodiment, the plug connector  110  defines a pair of chamfered structures  120  at two lower corners. Correspondingly, the receptacle connector  150  includes a terminal module assembly  152  enclosed in a shell  154  wherein the terminal module assembly includes an upper terminal module  156  and a lower terminal module  158  stacked and assembled with each other. A plurality of upper contacts  160  are insert molded within an upper insulator  162  to form the upper terminal module  156 , and a plurality of lower contacts  164  are insert molded within a lower insulator  166  to form the lower terminal module  158 , wherein compared with the lower insulator  166 , the upper insulator  162  further includes a mating tongue  168  on which both contacting sections  170  of the upper contacts  160  and those of the lower contacts  164  are seated on opposite surfaces thereof. The shell  154  defines a receiving cavity  172  into which the mating tongue  168  forwardly extends, and a pair of chamfered structure  172  in compliance with the chamfered structures  120  of the plug connector  110 . Understandably, the plug connector  110  is mated within the receptacle connector  150  in a single orientation only due to those chamfered structures  120  and  172 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 36-39  which are derived from the provisional application 61/949,232 and also disclosed in the copending application Ser. No. 14/454,737, the metallic shielding plate  602  of the terminal module assembly  604  of the receptacle connector  600  is mechanically and electrically connected with the metallic latch  612  of the plug connector  610  wherein the terminal module assembly includes the upper part having the upper insulator with the upper contacts, the lower part having the lower insulator with the lower contacts, and the middle part sandwiched between the upper part and the lower part and having the middle insulator enclosing the shielding plate  602 . 
     However, the disclosure is illustrative only, changes may be made in detail, especially in matter of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention.