Patent Publication Number: US-6986681-B2

Title: HDMI connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a HIGH DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFRACE (HDMI) connector. Specifically, the present invention relates to a small HDMI connector used in digital televisions, DVD players, deck-top boxes or video signal converters and other digital Audio/Video (AV) products. 
   2. Description of the Related Prior Art 
   Nowadays, Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) have become the output device of choice for use in AV products. The increasing role of LCDs in AV products such as PC monitors and TV displays, etc. has created a need for connectors capable of transmitting digital signals between the former and the latter. The enhanced HDMI device of the present invention is a connector capable of transmitting digital signals between AV products, such as PC monitors and TV displays, and LCDs. 
   A HDMI device is a transmission interface utilized for transmitting high definition multimedia digital signals, including high fidelity images and multi-channel audio signals. The earlier HMDIs were disclosed by AV manufacturers, such as HITACHI, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, Silicon Image, Thomson and Toshiba. These manufacturers established the use of HDMIs based on the standard specification of Digital Visual Interface (DVI) technology, which protects against signal detection and privacy by encoding signals at the transmitting end and decoding signals at the receiving end. Although the DVI technology improved the resolution and quality of pictures on LCD screens and protected against detection and piracy, however, it lacked the ability to transmit digital audio signal and thus required users to incorporate an additional line or use traditional AV terminal for signal transmission. Having an additional line to compensate for lack of signal transmission capabilities is not only of compatibility concerns when used with personal computers but is chaotic when used with family theater electronics, whose usage have greatly increased among consumers. Additional lines connected to family theater electronics substantially increase the number of installation components and further increase the prices of these products. Furthermore, using DVI technology with smaller electronic devices such as digital video cameras would be cumbersome. 
   The HDMI connector of this invention is not only in compliance with the standard specification of the aforementioned generic DVI technology, but its design is capable of both transmitting digital signal transmission and transmitting uncompressed signal data. Furthermore, the present HDMI design enhances compatibility with various video specification formats, and when used with various AV consumer products provides video signals of both high quality and high fidelity. In addition, this device is smaller as compared with prior art connectors, this device uses less cable or connection for transmitting uncompressed data and this device is capable of protecting against signal detection and piracy by encoding signals at the transmitting end and decoding signals at the receiving end. Furthermore, this device provides two-way communication for digital appliances, such as TV, DVD player, deck top box (signal converter) and small connectors of other digital AV products and this device can be conveniently installed inside different AV products, thus reducing the interface connector volume significantly. 
   Based on the aforementioned paragraphs above, the HDMI connector of the present invention will no doubt become a mainstream connector of the AV industry. We expect this connector to become the first connector based on AV standard specification technology, which will be supported by both software suppliers and system providers of consumer electronics. 
   HDMI connectors are usually mounted on the edge of printed circuit boards to accommodate the housing structure of the host product and to provide interface function for connecting external and internal circuits of the host product. Unlike the present invention, components of prior art HDMIs such as metallic housings and terminal units are not interchangeable. That is, because a metallic housing of a HDMI connector could comprise of a vertical insertion type housing or a surface mount technology horizontal type (SMT) housing and a terminal unit of a HDMI connector could comprise of a vertical insertion type unit or a SMT type unit, using existing HDMI connectors create a procurement nightmare due to lack of interchangeability. The present invention discloses HDMIs with interchangeable metallic housings and terminal units, which reduces confusion in accessories procurement due to lack of interchangeability and reduces cost associated with purchasing and stockpiling related accessories due to lack of interchangeability. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An object of this invention is to disclose HDMI connectors capable of using modified metallic housing components, modified terminal unit components and a single, uniform insulated housing component. 
   Another object of this invention is to disclose modified HDMI connectors yets capable of complying with standardized HDMI specifications. 
   Yet, another object of this invention is to disclose HDMI connectors which use a uniform insulated housing design combined with variable metallic housing design and with variable contact terminal design for assembling distinct embodiments of the present invention. 
   Still, another object of this invention is to disclose HDMI connectors with modified solder pins and modified flanges, wherein the solder pins are comprised of vertical insertion types and horizontal insertion types. 
   Yet still, another object of this invention is to disclose HDMI connectors with or without flanges optionally based on the requirements of the product being assembled. 
   Still further, another object of this invention is to disclose HDMI connectors with terminal unit comprised of vertical insertion types and horizontal insertion types. 
   In order to provide an understanding of the principles associated with the present invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be use to describe the same. However, no limitation of the scope of the invention is herby intended. Thus, any alteration and modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein and any additional application of the principle of the present invention as illustrated herein which would normally occur to one skill in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure are to be considered within the scope of the present invention described herein. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the HDMI connector components illustrating the metallic housing, the insulated housing and the terminal contact unit of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the HDMI connector components illustrating the metallic housing, the insulated housing and the terminal contact unit of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the HDMI connector&#39;s metallic housing embodiments illustrating four types of metallic housing. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates two types of contact terminal unit elements, wherein a first type is comprised of spikes whose rear ends are bent and flattened to form horizontal SMT type terminal solder pins, and a second type is comprised of spikes whose rear end are not bent and not flattened to form vertical insertion type pins. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention illustrating a combination module designated as “ABC” type connector. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention illustrating a combination module designated as “ABc” type connector. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the third embodiment of the present invention illustrating a combination module designated as “AbC” type connector. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the fourth embodiment of the present invention illustrating a combination module designated as “Abc” type connector. 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the fifth embodiment of the present invention illustrating a combination module designated as “aBC” type connector. 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the sixth embodiment of the present invention illustrating a combination module designated as “aBc” type connector. 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the seventh embodiment of the present invention illustrating a combination module designated as “abC” type connector. 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the eight embodiment of the present invention illustrating a combination module designated as “abc” type connector. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The HDMI connector of the present invention is comprised of an insulated housing, a metallic housing and a contact terminal unit. The insulated housing is standardized or un modified, but the metallic housing and the contact terminal unit are modified and combined with the insulated housing to form the HDMI connector of the present invention. The structure of the metallic housing is primarily modified in the following ways: either having a metallic housing with or without a flange; and having a metallic housing with a vertical insertion solder type pin or with a horizontal (SMT) type solder pin. In a similar fashion, the structure of the contact terminal unit is primarily modified in the following ways: either a contact terminal unit wherein a first type is comprised of spikes whose rear ends are bent and flattened to form horizontal SMT type terminal solder pins; or a second type comprised of spikes whose rear ends are not bent and not flattened to form vertical insertion type pins. 
   The interior design of the metallic housing is adapted to engage and interlock with the insulated housing when a combination module is formed. Because the present invention possesses many different combination modules, the inventor has used the following notations to designate each embodiment:  FIG. 5  as the “ABC” type HDMI connector;  FIG. 6  as the “ABc” type HDMI connector;  FIG. 7  as the “AbC” type HDMI connector;  FIG. 8  as the “Abc” type HDMI connector;  FIG. 9  as the “aBC” type HDMI connector;  FIG. 10  as the “aBc” type HDMI connector;  FIG. 11  as the “abC” type HDMI connector; and  FIG. 12  as the “abc” type HDMI connector. These designations are influenced by the modifications made to a metallic housing and a contact terminal unit, which are combined with an insulated housing to form a particular HDMI combination module. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , wherein an “ABC” type connector will be described herein, the insulated housing  1  has a rectangular main body  10  with a flat terminal block  102  projected from the front surface  101  of the main body  10 . On the terminal block, there is a plurality of guided slots  103  on both the front and the reverse surfaces of the terminal block wherein portions of the terminal contact unit  3  is fitted when assembled. The guided slots extend from the front of the main body  10  to the hollow portion  15  at the rear end of the main body. 
   Thus when the insulated housing  1  is inserted into the metallic housing  2 , the front surface  101  of the insulating housing  1  is thrust against the rear end insertion slots at the bottom of the metallic housing  2 , which maintains the metallic housing in place. Also, dented slots  111  located on the rear end of the insulting housing&#39;s top surface  11  are designed to latch and fix the former with the resilient fold portions  201  located on the top surface  26  of the metallic housing  2 . In a similar fashion, slots  131  and projections  132  are furnished on both side surfaces  13  of the main body  10  of the insulating housing  1  and each slot  131  is designed to fit within a corresponding inward projection stop wedge  231  located on the metallic housing  2 . Simultaneously, each stop block  1311  adjacent each slot  131  on both side surfaces  13  of the main body  10  is designed to thrust against their respective stop wedge  231 , and the projections  132  are mated with the slide slots  232  of the metallic housing  2  to secure the insulated housing therein without further backward and forward displacement respectively. 
   In addition, the positioning paths  121  at the rear portions of the bottom surface  12  of the insulating housing provide equal number of guide slots for inserting the terminals of the terminal contact unit  3  to secure the solder pins at points of insertion, and the bottom plate  122  extending from the front end of the bottom surface  12  of the main body  10  having inclined end section on both sidewalls form a carrier, which integrates with the bottom surface  24  of the metallic housing  2  thereby firmly fixing the insulating housing within the metallic housing. Also, recesses  123  furnished on the bottom plate  122  are positioned and aligned with clamps  241  and yet the recesses remain available after integration of the insulated housing with the metallic housing, and positioning posts are provided at the bottom of said insulated housing to secure and to position the connector firmly on a printed circuit board. 
   The interior structure design of the metallic housing corresponds to the insulated housing. A critical feature of this invention is the integration of the insulated housing and rear portion of the metallic housing. This integrated and interlocking structure consist of a fold structure piece  201  on the top surface  26  of the metallic housing, a fold plate  202  extended towards the rear end of the metallic housing, inward projected stop wedges  231  on opposite sides of the metallic housing and slide slots  232  on opposite sides of the metallic housing  2 . The metallic housing elements corresponds to the insulating housing elements, such that the fold structure piece  201 , the inward projected stop wedges  231  and the slide slots  231 , all components of the metallic housing, are mated with slots  111  located on the insulating housing, notches  131  on opposite sides on the insulating housing and the protrusions  132  located on the insulating housing respectively. Furthermore, the fold plate  202  is designed to accommodate the whole insulated housing  1  inside the metallic housing  2 , wherein a plurality of clamps  241  furnished on the top and bottom surfaces of the metallic housing  2  are designed to latch onto the plug connector accordingly. 
   From the aforementioned description, it is understood that the metallic housing  2  and the insulated housing  1  are fabricated and assembled through a multiple locking mechanism to form a rigid and compact structure consistent with the strict design requirements of HDMI devices. In addition to the fold structure piece  201 , the fold plate  202 , the inward projected stop wedges  231  and the slide slots  232  of the metallic housing other features include solder pins  21  and a flange  22  furnished with a lock hole, which folds in a vertical upward direction and fulfill the requirements of both the printed circuit board and the housing structure. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates four types of metallic housing embodiments: an “AB” type metallic housing with a flange  22  and with vertical insertion type solder pins  211  on opposite ends of the metallic housing; an “Ab” type metallic housing with a flange  22  and with horizontal SMT type solder pins  212  on opposite sides of the metallic housing; an “aB” type metallic housing without a flange  22  and with vertical insertion type solder pins  211  on opposite sides of the metallic housing; and an “ab” type metallic housing with a flange  22  and with horizontal SMT type solder pins  212  on opposite sides of the metallic housing. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  and the front end terminal contact portion of the contact terminal unit  3 , there are disclosed spikes  33  whose front ends are used for fixing the contact terminal within the insulating housing when inserted and whose rear ends are folded to form solder pins.  FIG. 4  illustrates the two types of contact terminal unit elements of the present invention. A first type designated by “C” is a contact terminal unit with spikes  33  whose rear ends are bent and flattened to form horizontal SMT type terminal solder pins  32 . A second type designated by “c” is a contact terminal unit with spikes  33  whose rear end are not bent and not flattened to form vertical insertion type pins  32 . 
   The assembling process of the present HDMI invention begins with placing the terminals of the contact unit  3  into the guide slots  103  of the terminal block  102  of the insulated housing and placing the terminal solder pin into the positioning path  121  on the bottom surface of the main body  10 . The front surface  101  of the insulated housing  1  will thrust against the rear end of the bottom insertion slot of the metallic housing  2  when interlocked with each other. The notches  131  of the side surfaces  13  of the insulated housing are mated with the corresponding inward projected stop plates  231  of the metallic housing, thereby thrusting the stop block  1311  against the inward projected stop plates  231 , and thus securing the insulated housing in the metallic housing without backward displacement. The projections  132  of the side surfaces  13  mates with the side slots  232  to secure the insulated housing in the metallic housing without forward displacement. In addition the fold piece  201  on the top surface  20  of the metallic housing is folded to mate with the slot  111  on the top surface  11  of the insulated housing to reinforce the interlocking of the insulated and metallic housings, and the fold plate  202  of the metallic housing  2  is folded to accommodate the insulated housing  1  into the metallic housing  2 . 
     FIG. 5  through  FIG. 12  illustrate the various preferred embodiments and module combination modules of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 5 , which is the first embodiment of this invention, there is disclosed a combination module designated as “ABC” type connector with vertical insertion type solder pins  211 , with horizontal SMT type terminal solder pins  32  and with a flange  22  attached to the metallic housing  2 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , which is the second embodiment of this invention, there is disclosed a combination module designated as “ABc” type with vertical insertion type solder pins  211 , with vertical insertion type solder terminal pins  31  and with a flange  22  attached to the metallic housing  2 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , which is the third embodiment of this invention, there is disclosed a combination module designated as “AbC” type with horizontal SMT type solder pins  212 , with horizontal SMT type terminal solder pins  32  and with a flange  22  attached to the metallic housing  2 . Referring to  FIG. 8 , which is the fourth embodiment of this invention, there is disclosed a combination module designated as “Abc” type with horizontal SMT type solder pins  212 , with vertical insertion type terminal solder pins  32  and with a flange  22  attached to the metallic housing  2 .  FIG. 5  through  FIG. 8  constitute the first four embodiments of this invention. 
     FIG. 9  through  FIG. 12  constitute the second four embodiments of this invention. Referring to  FIG. 9 , which is the fifth embodiment of this invention, there is disclosed a combination module designated as “aBC” type with vertical insertion type solder pins  211 , with horizontal SMT type terminal solder pins  32  and without a flange  22  attached to the metallic housing  2 . Referring to  FIG. 10 , which is the sixth embodiment of this invention, there is disclosed a combination module designated as “aBc” type with vertical insertion type solder pins  211 , with vertical insertion type terminal solder pins  32  and without a flange  22  attached to the metallic housing  2 . Referring to  FIG. 11 , which is the seventh embodiment of this invention, there is disclosed a combination module designated as “abC” type with horizontal SMT type solder pins  212 , with horizontal SMT type terminal solder pins  32  and without a flange  22  attached to the metallic housing  2 . Referring to  FIG. 12 , which is the eighth embodiment of this invention, there is disclosed a combination module designated as “abc” type with horizontal SMT type solder pins  212 , with vertical insertion type terminal solder pins  32  and without a flange  22  attached to the metallic housing  2 . 
   The present invention is comprised of four metallic housing modules, a single insulated housing module and two contact terminal units modules, which enhance flexibility and swiftness during the assembling process, reduce the need to stockpile materials and promote mobility of the product variation along the assembly line due the presence of interchangeable components. 
   Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that there are a variety of modifications and changes that may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.