Patent Publication Number: US-8979593-B2

Title: Low profile electrical connector

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. CN 201210150832.2, filed May 15, 2012 and to Chinese Patent Application No. CN 201220218672.6, filed May 15, 2012, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The application relates to the field of connectors, more specifically to the field of connectors suitable for use in low-profile applications. 
     DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     User identification data of a mobile communication device are stored in a SIM (subscriber identity module) card, and the SIM card is connected to the mobile communication device with a SIM electrical connector.  FIG. 1  illustrates a SIM card connector  1  in prior art, which is disclosed in a Singaporean patent application No. SG201106636-2. Generally, the SIM card connector  1  includes a terminal seat  10  and a metal shell  13 . The metal shell  13  and the terminal seat  10  are assembled together to form a space receiving the SIM card. The terminal seat  10  includes a housing  11  and a plurality of terminals  12 . The housing  11  is generally made from plastic, the plurality of terminals  12  are fixed to the housing  11  in an insert molding manner. 
     The metal shell  13  has a plurality of soldering points  131 , and each terminal  12  has a soldering portion  121 . When the SIM card connector  1  is mounted on a circuit board, the soldering point  131  and the soldering portion  121  are soldered on a corresponding soldering pad. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the terminal seat  10  adopts a unitary design, and therefore, the terminal seat  10  has considerable length and width. Long and wide terminal seat  10  is easy to warp, so that it is difficult to ensure that the soldering points  131  of the metal shell  13  and the soldering portions  121  of the terminals  12  of the SIM card connector  1  are coplanar after the SIM card connector  1  is assembled. 
     In addition, a structure of the terminal seat  10  would change generally after reflow is performed, which would worsen situations of warping of the terminal seat  10  and non-coplanarity of the soldering points  131  of the metal shell  13  and the soldering portions  121  of the terminals  12 . 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of above problems, the present application provides a new electrical connector. An embodiment of the present application provides an electrical connector, which includes a metal shell and two terminal seats, wherein the two terminal seats and the metal shell together define a mating slot. Each terminal seat includes a first end portion and a second end portion which are opposite, a housing, a metal frame and a plurality of terminals. The metal frame may be embedded in and fixed to the housing. The metal frame includes a bottom plate and two side plates. Each side plate includes a pivoting portion, each terminal seat is pivoted to the metal shell via the pivoting portions. The pivoting portion is positioned between the first end portion and the second end portion, and a distance from the pivoting portion to the first end portion is longer than a distance from the pivoting portion to the second end portion. The plurality of terminals are embedded in and fixed to the housing. Each terminal includes a contact portion and a soldering portion, the contact portion extends into the mating slot, and the soldering portion is positioned at the first end portion. 
     The depicted electrical connector has two terminal seats, therefore the terminal seats can be small and less likely to warp. The terminal seats are pivoted to the metal shell, and therefore, the soldering portions of the terminals can be adjusted relative to the metal shell. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       The present application is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements and in which; 
         FIG. 1  shows a SIM card connector in prior art; 
         FIG. 2  is a view of an embodiment of an electrical connector and an electronic card provided on a circuit board; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the electrical connector depicted in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is another exploded view of the electrical connector depicted in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective exploded view of an embodiment of terminals, an housing and a metal frame; 
         FIG. 6  is another perspective view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is an elevated side view illustrating that the terminal seats of an electrical connector in a first position; 
         FIG. 8  is an elevated side view illustrating the terminal seats of the electrical connector of  FIG. 7  in a second position; 
         FIG. 9  is a bottom view of an embodiment of an electrical connector; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a bottom view of an embodiment of a terminal seat; 
         FIG. 12  is a top view of an embodiment of a terminal seat; 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line  13 - 13  of  FIG. 11 ; and 
         FIG. 14  is a top view of an embodiment of a peripheral edge region. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The detailed description that follows describes exemplary embodiments and is not intended to be limited to the expressly disclosed combination(s). Therefore, unless otherwise noted, features disclosed herein may be combined together to form additional combinations that were not otherwise shown for purposes of brevity. Hereinafter embodiments of the present application will be described in details in combination with the drawings. 
       FIG. 2  is a view of an electrical connector  2  provided on a circuit board  3  and an electronic card  4  in an embodiment of the present application.  FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the electrical connector  2  of  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 4  is another exploded view of the electrical connector  2  of  FIG. 2 . Referring to  FIGS. 2-4 , an electrical connector  2  may be mounted on the circuit board  3  extending in a horizontal direction to receive an electronic card  4  (for example a SIM card). Although the present application takes a SIM card connector and the SIM card as an exemplary embodiment, the present application is not limited to them. The concept of the present application can be also applied to other electrical connectors. 
     The electrical connector  2  includes a metal shell  23  and a plurality of terminal seats  20 . The metal shell  23  is positioned on the plurality of terminal seats  20 , and the plurality of terminal seats  20  are connected to the metal shell  23  in a pivoting manner. The metal shell  23  and the plurality of terminal seats  20  together define a mating slot  5 , and the electronic card  4  can be inserted into the mating slot  5  from a mating direction  8 . 
     The metal shell  23  includes a top plate  231  and two side plates  232 . The two side plates  232  are respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the top plate  231 , therefore, two side plates  232  and the top plate  231  together form a receiving space which can receive the terminal seats  20 . The metal shell  23  may comprise a plurality of soldering pieces  233 , the plurality of soldering pieces  233  may be provided respectively in the two side plates  232 . The soldering piece  233  may be bent and positioned below the receiving space. With the soldering pieces  233 , the metal shell  23  may be soldered on the circuit board  3 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , each terminal seat  20  includes a first end portion  28  and a second end portion  29 , the first end portion  28  and the second end portion  29  are opposite. Each terminal seat  20  may comprise a housing  21 , a plurality of terminals  22 , and a metal frame  24 . The housing  21  may be formed of a resin, the metal frame  24  and the plurality of terminals  22  can be fixed to the housing  21  by an insert molding process so as to form the terminal seat  20 , wherein the plurality of terminals  22  may be arranged in a transverse direction  7 , and the transverse direction  7  may be perpendicular to the mating direction  8 . In an embodiment, in each terminal seat  20 , the metal frame  24  may be positioned at the second end portion  29  of the terminal seat  20 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the terminal  22  includes a flat plate portion  220 , a soldering portion  222 , a resilient arm  224 , and a contact portion  225 . The flat plate portion  220  includes a base  221  and two wing portions  223 . The resilient arm  224  obliquely extends upwardly from a first end  2211  of the base  221 . The contact portion  225  is formed at a distal end of the resilient arm  224 , and may extend into the mating slot  5 . The base  221  has a second end  2212 , the second end  2212  may be opposite to the first end  2211 , the soldering portion  222  extends from the second end  2212  of the base  221  and positioned at the first end portion  28 . The two wing portions  223  extend laterally from two side edges  2213  of the base  221  respectively. Each wing portion  223  includes a hollow portion  226 , the hollow portion  226  may comprise an middle portion  2261 , and the hollow portion  226  extends toward an edge  2231  of the wing portion  223  and forms an opening  2262  at the edge  2231 , wherein a width w of the opening  2262  is smaller than a width W of the middle portion  2261  in a direction parallel to a width direction of the opening  2262 . After embedding, a part of the housing  21  fills in the hollow portion  226  to allow interlocking formed between each flat plate portion  220  and the housing  21 , so as to allow the terminals  22  to be fixed to the housing  21 . 
     As the design of the electrical connector  2  adopts the plurality of terminal seats  20 , a length of the terminal seat  20  may be shortened in the mating direction  8  of the electronic card  4 , so as to avoid obvious warping generated in the length direction and influencing coplanarity of the soldering pieces  233  of the metal shell  23  and the soldering portions  222  of the terminals  22 . In addition, a mold required to manufacture the shorter terminal seat  20  is small, so as to reduce manufacturing cost. In an embodiment, the plurality of terminal seats  20  may be identical, so that the plurality of terminal seats  20  of the electrical connector  2  may be produced with the same mold, so as to reduce production cost. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the metal frame  24  includes a bottom plate  241  and two side plates  242 . The two side plates  242  are provided at two opposite sides of the bottom plate  241  to define two sides of the mating slot  5 . Each side plate  242  includes a pivoting portion  2421 , wherein each terminal seat  20  is pivoted to the metal shell  23  via the pivoting portions  2421  of the side plates  242 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , the pivoting portion  2421  of each side plate  242  may be positioned between the first end portion  28  and the second end portion  29  of the corresponding terminal seat  20 . In an embodiment, a distance L 1  from the pivoting portion  2421  of each side plate  242  to the first end portion  28  of the terminal seat  20  is longer than a distance L 2  from the pivoting portion  2421  to the second end portion  29 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , in an embodiment, the pivoting portion  2421  may be a pivoting shaft transversely protruding outwardly from the corresponding side plate  242 , and the side plate  232  of the metal shell  23  is provided with a corresponding pivoting hole  234  capable of allowing the pivoting shaft to rotate. The terminal seat  20  may pivot relative to the metal shell  23  to adjust the soldering portions  222  of the terminals  22  in an up-down direction relative to the soldering piece  233  of the metal shell  23 , so as to allow compensation for coplanarity deviation between the soldering portions  222  of the terminals  22  and the soldering pieces  233  of the metal shell  23 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7-10 , the side plate  242  of the metal frame  24  may comprise a first stopping portion  2422 , the first stopping portion  2422  may be close to the second end portion  29  of the terminal seat  20 , and the first stopping portion  2422  may stop at the metal shell  23 , as shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 10 . The side plate  242  of the metal frame  24  may further comprise a second stopping portion  2423 , the second stopping portion  2423  may be close to the first end portion  28  of the terminal seat  20 , and the second stopping portion  2423  may stop at the metal shell  23 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 , each terminal seat  20  may pivot between a first position ( FIG. 7 ) and a second position ( FIG. 8 ) relative to the metal shell  23 . When the terminal seat  20  is in the first position, a soldering face  2221  of the soldering portion  222  of the terminal  22  would be lower than a soldering face  2331  of the soldering piece  233  of the metal shell  23 . When the terminal seat  20  is in the second position, the soldering face  2221  of the soldering portion  222  of the terminal  22  would be flush with the soldering face  2331  of the soldering piece  233  of the metal shell  23 . 
     Before the electrical connector  2  is mounted on the circuit board  3 , as the pivoting portion  2421  is close to the second end portion  29  and the terminals  22  are close to the first end portion  28 , the soldering portions  222  of the terminals  22  would droop downwardly until the first stopping portion  2422  of the side plate  242  stops at the metal shell  23 . During a process of placing the electrical connector  2  on the circuit board  3 , the soldering portions  222  of the terminals  22  would first contact respective soldering pads on the circuit board  3 , during the subsequent placing process, the soldering portions  222  of the terminals  22  would continuously contact the respective soldering pads on the circuit board  3 , finally the soldering pieces  233  of the metal shell  23  contact the respective soldering pads on the circuit board  3 . It can be seen from that, a design that the terminal seat  20  may pivot relative to the metal shell  23  can ensure that both the soldering portions  222  of the terminals  22  and the soldering pieces  233  of the metal shell  23  can contact the respective soldering pads. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in an embodiment, the housing  21  includes a bottom face  211 , the terminal  22  includes a flat plate portion  220 , the flat plate portion  220  includes a bottom face  2201 , wherein the bottom face  2201  of the flat plate portion  220  is flush with the bottom face  211  of the housing  21  ( FIG. 13 ). 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the hollow portion  226  includes the opening  2262  at the edge  2231  of the wing portion  223  and the middle portion  2261  formed by extending into the wing portion  223 , wherein the width w of the opening  2262  is smaller than the width W of the middle portion  2261 . In an embodiment, the hollow portion  226  of the wing portion  223  is similar to a mortise of puzzle pieces. In an embodiment, the hollow portion  226  of the wing portion  223  includes a dovetail shape. That the wing portion  223  is provided with the hollow portion  226  may remedy a defect that the flat plate portion  220  is difficult to hold, and firmly hold the terminals  22  with the housing  21  so as to be not easily separated in the horizontal direction. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 11-13 , in order to increase a vertical and upward holding force, the hollow portion  226  of each wing portion  223  and a partial upper surface  2234  of each wing portion  223  are embedded in the housing  21 . In an embodiment, each wing portion  223  has a peripheral edge region  2232 , the peripheral edge region  2232  surrounds the hollow portion  226  along the edge  2263  of the hollow portion  226 , wherein the hollow portion  226  of each wing portion  223  and the peripheral edge region  2232  of each wing portion  223  are embedded in housing  21 . In other words, in an embodiment, a part of the housing  21  fills each hollow portion  226  and extends until to cover the peripheral edge region  2232  on the upper surface  2234  of each wing portion  223 , in this way, a partial surface of each wing portion  223  may be exposed, which may reduce the housing  21  covering the terminal  22 , so as to avoid warping of the terminal seat  20 . In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 14 , a peripheral edge region  2232 ′ may extend along the edge  2263  of the hollow portion  226  with an equal width, or expand outwardly from the edge  2263  of the hollow portion  226  with an equal distance (as shown with arrows in  FIG. 14 ). 
     The peripheral edge region  2232  may be considered as a region expanding outwardly from the edge  2263  of the hollow portion  226  on the wing portion  223 . In an embodiment, an area of the peripheral edge region  2232  does not exceed an exposed area of the wing portion  223  after the insert molding process. In an embodiment, the wing portion  223  can be two areas partitioned by a central line, wherein the peripheral edge region  2232  is positioned in one area, and more than half segments of the peripheral edge region  2232  do not expand to exceed the central line. In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 14 , the central line  100  may be determined by the following method. A plurality of first points P 1  are determined on the edge  2263  of the hollow portion  226 , a plurality of corresponding second points P 2  are determined on edges ( 101  and  102 ) and the side edge  2213  of the wing portion  223 . The plurality of first points P 1  and the plurality of second points P 2  are arranged in the same manner. In other words, if the plurality of first points P 1  equally divide the edge  2263  of the hollow portion  226 , the plurality of second points P 2  also equally divide the edges ( 101  and  102 ) and the side edge  2213 . Then, a midpoint of a connection line between the corresponding first point P 1  and the second point P 2  is determined. Finally, the central line  100  connecting a plurality of midpoints is determined. 
     Referring to  FIG. 13 , as the housing  21  extending from the hollow portion  226  only covers the peripheral edge region  2232  close to the edge  2263 , so as to allow most part area of the flat plate portion  220  not to be covered by the housing  21 , therefore, after injection and contraction, upper and lower sides of the flat plate portion  220  do not generate a too big difference caused by contraction of the housing material, so as to avoid warping of the terminal seat  20 . 
     In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 11 , each wing portion  223  includes at least one clamping portion  2233 , the at least one clamping portion  2233  defines an opening  2262 , wherein the at least one clamping portion  2233  is embedded in the housing  21 . In the present embodiment, each wing portion  223  includes two clamping portions  2233 , wherein the two clamping portions  2233  are embedded in the housing  21 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the metal frame  24  can be fixed to the housing  21  by the insert molding manner, thereby strengthening the housing  21 . In an embodiment, the metal frame  24  includes a bottom plate  241  and two side plates  242 . The bottom plate  241  includes two upright frames  2413  and a transverse frame  2411 , wherein the two upright frames  2413  are respectively connected to the two side plates  242 , and the transverse frame  2411  is connected to the two upright frames  2413 . In another embodiment, the bottom plate  241  may not comprise the two upright frames  2413 , wherein the transverse frame  2411  is connected to the two side plates  242 . 
     The transverse frame  2411  may be provided with a plurality of hollow portions  2412 , each hollow portion  2412  includes an middle portion  24121 . Each second hollow portion  2412  extends toward an edge  24111  of the transverse frame  2411  and forms a second opening  24112  at the edge  24111  of the transverse frame  2411 , wherein a width of the second opening  24112  is smaller than a width of the middle portion  24121  of the second hollow portion  2412  in a direction parallel to a width direction of the second opening  24112 . In an embodiment, each opening  24112  is defined by at least one clamping portion  24114 , wherein the at least one clamping portion  24114  is embedded in the housing  21 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , each upright frame  2413  includes a plurality of hollow portions  2414 . Each hollow portion  2414  includes an middle portion  24141 , each hollow portion  2414  extends toward an edge  24131  of the corresponding upright frame  2413  and forms an opening  24142  at the edge  24131 , a width of the opening  24142  is smaller than a width of the middle portion  24141  in a direction parallel to a width direction of the opening  24142 . 
     In an embodiment, each opening  24142  is defined by at least one clamping portion  24132 , wherein the at least one clamping portion  24132  is embedded in the housing  21 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12  as shown, in an embodiment, the transverse frame  2411  includes a bottom face  24113 . After embedding, the bottom face  24113  may be flush with the bottom face  211  of the housing  21 . In an embodiment, a part of the housing  21  fills each hollow portion  2412  and extends to cover a partial upper surface of the two upright frames  2413  and the transverse frame  2411 . In another embodiment, the above described part of the housing  21  may further fill each hollow portion  2414  of the upright frame  2413 . In an embodiment, similar to the above described wing portion  223 , each hollow portion  2412  and a peripheral edge region surrounding each hollow portion  2412  on the upper surface of the transverse frame  2411  are embedded in the housing  21 . 
     The electrical connector in the embodiments of the present application includes the plurality of terminal seats, wherein the terminal seat includes the housing and the terminals fixed to the housing. The design of the plurality of terminal seats is adopted so as to shorten the lengths of the terminal seats, so as to avoid a problem of poor coplanarity of the terminal soldering portions caused by warping of the housing which is caused by using long housing. The terminal seats are pivoted to the metal shell, in this way, a relative position between the soldering pieces of the metal shell and the soldering portions of the terminals can be adjusted in the up-down direction, so as to ensure that the soldering pieces of the metal shell and the soldering portions of the terminals can be properly soldered on the circuit board. In addition, the terminal includes the flat plate portion, and the flat plate portion includes the wing portion fixed to the housing and having the hollow portion. The part of the housing fills each hollow portion and extends to cover the partial upper surface of each wing portion, thereby avoiding warping of the terminal seat caused by non-uniform distribution of the housing material covered on upper and lower surfaces of the wing portions. 
     The disclosure provided herein describes features in terms of preferred and exemplary embodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications and variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of this disclosure.