Abstract:
An electrical receptacle is provided and includes an insulative housing defining a first receiving space and a second space in communication with the first receiving space and a plurality of contacts comprising audio contacts, power contacts and at least one grounding contact. The audio contacts and the at least one grounding contact are received in the first receiving space and establish a path for transmitting audio signals, while the power contacts are received in the second receiving space and corporate with the at least one grounding contact to establish a path for power supply.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to a receptacle connector transmitting not only signals, but also power. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Communication devices, such as mobile phones, are being developed to be quickly interconnected to other devices while continuing to be portable with compact dimensions and reduced weight. Therefore, mobile phone manufacturers are squeezing their every once of ingenuity and stretching their utmost to design such that every component of the mobile phone can meet the grail: compact and light-weighted. At the same time manufacturers must ensure that all the electrical connections are good and reliable to maintain the quality and capability of signal transmission. The basic function of the mobile phone is to receive and transmit voice, and, more recently, images are also frequently transmitted after mobile phone is built-in with a camera, and the mobile phone has been used for surfacing through the Internet, however, no matter how many function may perform, it is limited by the capacity of the battery. As is well known, the mobile phone has an audio connector which receives a plug from an earphone, and also has a power connector which charges the battery. The mobile phone has to provide at least two real estates for incorporating those two connectors therein. 
     The mobile phone also is provided with an audio plug which is in a distal end of the ear phone for mating with the audio connector, and a power plug which mates with the power connector for power supply. That is to say, the manufacturers need provide two cable assemblies together with the mobile phone when the mobile phone is sold, which is not advantageous for reducing the cost. Hence, an improved electrical connector and an electrical plug are highly desired to overcome the aforementioned problem. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional receptacle connector. 
     In order to achieve the object set forth, a receptacle connector comprises an insulative housing defining a first receiving space and a second space in communication with the first receiving space and a plurality of contacts comprising audio contacts, power contacts and at least one grounding contact. The audio contacts and the at least one grounding contact are received in the first receiving space, while the power contacts are received in the second receiving space. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical receptacle mating with an electrical plug in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the electrical receptacle mating with the electrical plug shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the electrical receptacle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is another perspective view of the electrical receptacle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the electrical plug shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of the electrical plug shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of the electrical plug shown in  FIG. 1  without the insulative housing enclosing thereon; and 
         FIG. 8  is cross sectional view of the electrical receptacle mating with the electrical plug shown in  FIG. 1  along line  8 - 8 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe a preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an electrical connector assembly  100  according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided and comprises an electrical receptacle  1  and an electrical plug  2  mating with said receptacle. The electrical receptacle  1  is assembled onto a periphery of an electronic device and the detailed configuration will be described hereafter. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the electrical receptacle  1  comprises a rectangular insulative housing  10  and a plurality of contacts and retaining members received therein. The insulative housing  10  defines a circular receiving space  110  extending along a front-to-rear direction and creates a front opening  1101  and a rear opening  1102  at opposite ends thereof. A first groove  101 , a second groove  102 , a third groove  103 , a fourth groove  104 , a fifth groove  105 , a sixth groove  106 , a eighth groove  108  and a pair of seventh grooves  107  are respective defined at opposite sides of the receiving space  110  and arranged side-by-side along the front-to-rear direction. The contacts comprises a first contact  11 , a second contact  12 , a third contact  13 , a fourth contact  14 , a fifth contact  15 , a sixth contact  16  and a pair of seventh contacts  17  each received in the corresponding groove. The retaining member comprises a first retaining member  13  and a second retaining member  18 . 
     The first groove  101  runs through a bottom wall of the insulative housing  10  along the front-to-rear direction and is located besides and in communication with the receiving space  110 . The first groove  101  is located adjacent to the front opening  1101  and defines an aperture  1011  at a lateral edge thereof. The first contact  11  is designated and served as a grounding contact and comprises a plate-shaped body portion  111  with a plurality of bars at opposite sides thereof. The first contact  11  is inserted into the first groove  101  from the bottom wall of the insulative housing  10  with the tips interfering with the insulative housing. A resilient connecting portion  113  extends from one end of the body portion  111  upwardly and then downwardly so as to form a curved configuration, on a distal end of which, a contacting portion  114  protrudes outwardly and projects into the receiving space  110 . On the other end of the body portion  111 , a solder portion  112  perpendicularly extends outwardly and is received in the aperture  1011 . 
     The second groove  102  connects with the first groove  101  and extends along the front-to-rear direction. The second contact  12  is received in the second groove  102  and designated as a switching contact for cooperating with the first contact  11  so as to form a switch. The second contact  12  has a rectangular body portion  121 , an elongated connecting portion  123  extending forward from a side edge of the body portion  121  and a solder portion  122  extending from a bottom edge of the body portion  121 . A contacting portion  124  is bent outwardly from an upper edge of the connecting portion  123  and exposes in the mating space  110 . 
     The third groove  103  is defined at a lateral edge of the insulative housing  10  behind the second groove  102  and runs through the insulative housing  10  downwardly for receiving the first retaining member  13  therein. The first retaining member  13  comprises a body portion  131 , a plurality of bars  132  at opposite sides of the body portion  131  and a solder portion  133  extending from a bottom edge of the body portion  131 . The first retaining member  13  can increase the retaining force when the electrical receptacle  1  is mounted onto a printed circuit board. 
     The fourth, fifth and sixth grooves  104 ,  105 ,  106  are defined at the other side of the mating space  110  and arranged along the front-to-rear direction. The fourth, fifth and sixth contacts  14 ,  15 ,  16  are designated as the same configuration comparing with the first contact  11  and respectively received in the fourth, fifth and sixth grooves  104 ,  105 ,  106 . The fourth, fifth and sixth contacts  14 ,  15 ,  16  are arranged as audio contacts, particularly, the fourth contact  14  is designated and served as microphone contact, the fifth contact  15  is designated as right channel contact, and the sixth contact  16  is designated and served as left channel contact. 
     The eighth groove  108  is located between the rear opening  1102  and the sixth groove  105  and runs through the bottom wall along a transverse direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction. The second retaining member  18  is inserted into the sixth groove  105  and rides on the mating space  110 . The second retaining member  18  is made by bending a metallic tinsel, and comprises a connecting portion  181  and a pair of locking portions  182  perpendicularly extending from opposite sides of said connecting portion  181  and bending backwardly at a distal end thereof. The second retaining member  18  engages with the electrical plug  2  for increasing the interfering force when the electrical plug  2  is inserted into the mating space  110 . 
     A partition portion  109  is defined behind the eighth groove  108  and the rear opening  1102  is formed on the partition portion  109  and in communication with the mating space  110 . The dimension of the rear opening  1102  is smaller than that of the front opening  1101 , therefore, the electrical plug  2  which can only be received in the front opening  1101  can not pass through the rear opening  1102  and will be blocked by the partition portion  109 . The partition portion  109  divides the mating space  110  into a front mating space and a rear mating space. 
     The pair of seventh grooves  107  are respectively defined at opposite sides of the rear mating space for receiving the seventh contacts  17  therein. The seventh contacts  17  are designated as power contacts and each comprises a body portion  171 , a retaining portion  174  straightly extending downward from the body portion  171 , a contacting portion  172  extending outward from a lateral edge of the body portion  171 , and a solder portion  173  perpendicular extending outward from one end of the body portion  171 . 
     The first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth contacts  11 ,  12 ,  14 ,  15 ,  16  (generally designated as audio contacts) and the first and second retaining members  13 ,  18 , which are received in the front mating space and located in front of the partition portion  109 , form a standard audio jack. A standard audio plug can insert into the front mating space and contact with the audio contacts for transmitting audio signals. Moreover, the first contact  11 , which is designated as the grounding contact, together with the power contacts  17  form a perfectly path for power supply. That is to say, the electrical receptacle  1  can not only contact with a standard audio plug for transmitting audio signals, but also in contact with a power plug for providing power supply, which is beneficial for the manufacturers to reduce the size of the electronic devices and control the manufacturing cost. As the dimension of the rear opening  1102  is smaller than that of the front opening  1101 , the standard audio plug can not contact with the power contacts  17 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the electrical plug  2  is in a cylindrical shape and comprises a plurality of sleeves stacked together. The electrical plug  2  comprises a first contacting member  26 , a second contacting member  25 , a first sleeve  24 , a second sleeve  23 , a third sleeve  22  and a binding post  21 . 
     The binding post  21  comprises four individual binding sleeves, which are designated as a first binding sleeve  211  in an outmost circle and having a shortest length, a second binding sleeve  212  inside the first binding sleeve  211  and longer than the first binding sleeve  211 , a third binding sleeve  213  inside the second binding sleeve  212  and longer than the second binding sleeve  212 , and a fourth binding sleeve  214  inside the third binding sleeve  213  and longer than the third binding sleeve  213 . Insulators are filled between the adjacent binding sleeves and separate them from each other. Each binding sleeve is connected with a cable for transmitting different signals. 
     The first contacting member  26  comprises an elongated first connecting portion  262  and a columnlike first contacting portion  261  disposed at a front end of the first connecting portion  262 . The second contacting member  25  comprises an elongated second connecting portion  252  and a columnlike second contacting portion  251  disposed at a front end of the connecting portion  252 , wherein the diameter of the second contacting portion  251  is much bigger than that of the first contacting portion  261 . The second contacting member  25  is configured into a hollowed structure and defines an opening for the first connecting portion  262  to pass through. The first sleeve  24  and a second sleeve  23  respectively form a cylindrical conduct portion  241 ,  231  and a pipe  242 ,  232  connected with the conduct portion. The third sleeve  22  is also a hollowed structure and comprises a middle body portion  221  and a conduct portion  222  and a pipe  223  at opposite ends of the body portion  221 . The diameter of the body portion  221  is bigger than those of the conduct portion  222  and the pipe  223 . 
     The third sleeve  22  is slipping over the binding post  21 , and the pipe  223  is located outside the first binding post  211  for connecting with a grounding cable. The pipe  232  of the second sleeve  23  passes through the conduct portion  222  and the pipe  223 , and depends on the first binding post  211 , to which a microphone cable is terminated thereon. The diameter of the first binding post  211  is nearer to that of the pipe  232  of the second sleeve  23 . Similarly, the first sleeve  24  inserts into the second sleeve  23  and the pipe  242  depends on the second binding post  212 , to which a right channel cable is connected thereon. The second contacting member  25  inserts into the first sleeve  24  and depends on the third binding post  213 , to which a left channel cable is connected thereon. The first contacting member  26  inserts into the second contacting member  25  and depends on the fourth binding post  214 , to which a cable for transmitting power is connected thereon. After the above procedure is accomplished, every adjacent members are apart from each other, then insulators  27  are filled therebetween so as to form the electrical plug  2  as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     Before the first contacting member  26  is inserted into the second contacting member  25 , the electrical plug  2  works as a standard audio plug. After the first contacting member  26  is inserted therein, the first contacting member  26  and the third sleeve  22  can respectively act as a positive anode and a negative cathode of a power plug, that is to say, the electrical plug  2  can also be used as a power plug for power supply. This multiple function electrical plug can reduce the number of the accessories brought by electronic device, which is beneficial for reducing the cost of the electronic device. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , when the electrical plug  2  is inserted into the receiving space  110 , the contacting portion  114  moves inwardly to contact with the contacting portion  124  of the second contact  12 , and a control signal will be generated and sent to the electronic device to turn off the inside-built loudspeaker. With the further movement of the electrical plug, firstly, the right channel contact  15  and the left channel contact  16  will then in contact with the conduct portion  241  of the first sleeve  24  and the contacting portion  251  of the second contacting member  25 , then, the microphone contact  14  contact with the conduct portion  231  of the second sleeve  23 , and lastly the grounding contact  11  contact with the conduct portion  222  of the third sleeve  22 . At this moment, audio signal transmission is successfully accomplished. As the dimension of the second contacting member  25  is larger than that of the rear opening  1102 , the second contacting member  25  will be stopped in front of the partition portion  109 . However, as the dimension of the first contacting member  26  is smaller than that of the rear opening  1102 , the first contacting member  26  inserts into the rear mating space and contact with the power contacts  17 , therefore a power supply function is also accomplished right now. That is to say, users can enjoy the music in the electronic device by the audio transmission path established by the electrical connector assembly, at the same time, the electronic device can also be charged by the power transmission path established by the electrical connector assembly. If a signal function is needed, a control device can be arranged into the electrical connector assembly to choose the needed path. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.