Patent Publication Number: US-11381039-B2

Title: Electrical connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to the electrical connector for high frequency transmission. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     US application publication number 20090221165 discloses an electrical connector equipped with a grounding bar for enhancing electrical performance. Anyhow, currently the transmission speed will become 32GT/s and the transmission bandwidth will become 128 Gbps so such a simple grounding bar with the single contacting point for the corresponding grounding contact may not satisfy the required criteria. 
     Therefore, it is desired to provide an electrical connector with an improved grounding bar for achieving the required performance under the aforementioned transmission criteria. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An electrical connector includes an insulative housing with a base and a mating tongue forwardly extending from the base in a front-to-back direction, and a plurality of contacts retained in the housing. The contacts include a plurality of differential-pair contacts and a plurality of grounding contacts alternately arranged with each other in the transverse direction. A metallic grounding plate is forwardly inserted into the horizontal center slot of the mating tongue with at least two sets of spring tangs welded to spaced positions of the corresponding grounding contacts, respectively so as to have each grounding contacts mechanically and electrically connected with the grounding plate at at least two spaced positioned in the front-to-back direction. 
     Other 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 DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical connector according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is another exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a combination including the grounding plate and the first set of contacts of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1  along line  6 - 6  to show how the grounding plate cooperates with the first set of contacts; and 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the connector connector of  FIG. 1  to show how the grounding plate cooperates with the second set of contacts. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     An electrical connector  100  includes an insulative housing  1 , a plurality of contacts  2  retained to the housing  1 , a metallic grounding plate  3 , a first insulator  4  and a second insulator  5 . The contacts  2  includes a plurality of differential-pair contacts S 1  and a plurality of grounding contacts S 2  alternately arranged with each other along the transverse direction. The grounding plate  3  includes a plurality of first spring tangs  31 , second spring tangs  32  and third spring tangs  33  to be welded to different positions of the corresponding grounding contacts G 1 , respectively. 
     In detail, the housing  1  includes a base  11  and a mating tongue  12  forwardly extending from the base  11  in the front-to-back direction. The mating tongue  12  forms opposite upper face  121  and lower face  122 . A plurality of passageways  123  are formed in the upper face  121  and the lower face  122 . A raised portion  120  is formed on the upper face  121 . The contact  2  includes a contacting section  21  received in the passageway  123 , a tail  22  extending outside of the housing  1 , and a retaining section  23  between the contacting section  21  and the tail  22 . A narrowed section  24  is formed at a front end of the contacting section  21  with flanges  241  on two sides. The passageway  123  forms the corresponding block  124  for compliance with the flanges  241 . 
     The contacts  2  are forwardly assembled into the housing  1  from a rear side of the housing  1 , and includes a first set of contact  2   a  occupying all the lower face  122 , and a second set of contacts  2   b , a third set of contacts  2   c  and a fourth set of contacts  2   d  commonly sharing the upper face  121  wherein the four set of contacts  2   d  are located on the raised portion  120  and the second set of contacts  2   b  and the third set of contacts  2   c  are respectively located by two sides of the raised portion  120 . 
     The first set of contacts  2   a  includes a plurality of differential-pair contacts S 1  and a plurality of grounding contacts G 1  alternately arranged with each other in the transverse direction as well as the differential-pair contacts S 2  and the grounding contacts G 2  of the second set of contacts  2   b  and the differential-pair contacts S 4  and the grounding contacts G 4  of the fourth set of contacts  2   d  while all the third set of contacts  2   c  are the power contacts P 3 . 
     The grounding plate  3  is forwardly assembled into the housing  1  and essentially located at a center position of the mating tongue  12  so as to be located between the first set of contacts  2   a  and the other contacts  2   b ,  2   c  and  2   d  in the vertical direction. The grounding plate  3  is essentially of a frame structure with front and rear transverse bars  34  linked by a plurality of bridges  35 . The transverse bars  34  extend in the transverse direction while the bridges extend in the front-to-back direction. The first spring tangs  31 , the second spring tangs  32  and the third spring tangs  33  extend downwardly from the transverse bar  34  wherein the first spring tang  31  and the second sprint tang  32  respectively extend forwardly and rearwardly from the front transverse bar  31 , and the third spring tang  33  extends forwardly from the rear transverse bar  31 . Each grounding contact G 1  mechanically and electrically contacts all the corresponding first spring tang  31 , the second spring tang  32  and the third spring tang  33  at different positions for reducing the electromotive force difference along the grounding contact G 1  and eliminating the crosstalk. In a top view, the first spring tang  31 , the second spring tang  32  and the third spring tang  33  are aligned with one another in the front-to-back direction, while the bridge  35  is located between the two contacts of the corresponding pair of the differential-pair contacts. Also, in a top view, in the grounding plate  3 , a plurality of rectangular frame structures are formed by cooperation of the transverse bars  34  and the corresponding bridges  35 . Each frame structure receives at least one second spring tang and one third spring tang therein. 
     The first spring tang  31  contacts the narrowed section  24 , the second spring tang  32  contacts the contacting section  21 , and the third spring tang  33  contacts the retaining section  23 . The distance between the contact area  36  of the first spring tang  31  and the contact area  36  of the second spring tang  32  is smaller than the distance between the contact area  36  of the second spring tang  32  and the contact area  36  of the third spring tang  33 . Notably, the spot welding may be applied upon the contact area  36  for securing the spring tang to the grounding contact G 1 . 
     The front and rear transverse bars  31  further include a plurality of fourth spring tangs  37  and fifth spring tangs  38  upwardly extend therefrom to contact the contacting sections  21  and the retaining sections  23  of the corresponding grounding contacts G 2  of the second set of contacts  2   b . Via cooperation of all the first spring tangs  31 , the second spring tangs  32 , the third spring tang  33 , the fourth spring tangs  34  and the fifth spring tangs  35 , a circuit loop for grounding is formed. In this embodiment, the width of the first set of contacts  2   a  is smaller than that of the second set of contacts  2   b . In opposite, the widths of the first, second third spring tangs  31 ,  32 ,  33  which work with the first set of contacts  2   a , are larger than those of the fourth and fifth spring tangs  37 ,  38  which work with the second set of contacts  2   b.    
     All first set of contacts  2   a  are integrally formed, via insert-molding, within a first insulator  4  which is located behind the housing  1 . The first insulator  4  forms a plurality of recesses  41  to receive the corresponding third spring tangs  33  so as to allow the increased distance between the contact area of the second spring tang  32  and that of the third spring tang  33  for better electrical performance. Similarly, all second set of contacts  2   b  are integrally formed, via insert-molding, within a second insulator  5  located behind the housing  1 . The second insulator  5  also forms a plurality of recesses (not labeled) to receive the corresponding fifth spring tang  38  as shown in  FIG. 7 . The rear region of the grounding plate  3  can be sandwiched between the first insulator  4  and the second insulator  5  in the vertical direction. Differently, both the third set of contacts  2   c  and the fourth set of contacts  2   d  are directly secured to the housing  1  without involvement of any insulator. It is also understood that the mating tongue  12  forms a plurality of cavities (not labeled) in aligned with the corresponding grounding contacts in the vertical direction to allow the corresponding spring tangs to extend. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various alterations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without in any way departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.