Patent Publication Number: US-8968033-B2

Title: Electrical connector and interface thereof

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/639,873, filed Apr. 28, 2012, 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 assembly, and more particularly to the corresponding receptacle and plug and the interfaces thereof 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A so-called c-Link connector requires a new interface for differentiation from the currently existing HDMI Type C connector having two chamfered structure on two opposite bottom corners of the mating port and DiiVA connector having a recessed area on an underside of the mating port, thus preventing mis-match. 
     In addition, robustness is desired to resist improper bending for miniaturization of the connector. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly including a receptacle and a plug. The plug comprises a plug insulative housing with a front mating region, a plurality of plug contacts disposed in the housing with plug contacting sections exposed upon the mating region and a plug metallic shell enclosing the front mating region to commonly define a plug mating port. The plug metallic shell defines essentially a rectangular cross-section including two opposite long sides and two opposite short sides perpendicular to each other. Wherein a pair of chamfered structures is formed on two opposite corners along one of the two long sides, and a centered recessed area is formed on the other of said two long sides. The front mating region intimately abuts against the other of the two long sides. The receptacle comprises a receptacle insulative housing with a front mating tongue thereof, a plurality of receptacle contacts disposed in the receptacle housing with receptacle contacting sections exposed upon the front mating tongue and a receptacle metallic shell enclosing the front mating tongue to commonly define a receptacle mating port. Wherein the contour of the receptacle metallic shell is similar to that of the plug metallic shell and adapted to intimately and compliantly surround the plug metallic shell during mating under condition that the mating tongue is sandwiched between the mating region and the plug metallic shell. 
     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 an exploded perspective view showing an electrical connector assembly having the plug and the receptacle of a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged partial exploded perspective view showing the connector assembly of  FIG. 1  ready for mating; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the plug of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front elevational view showing the plug of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view to show a receptacle similar to the receptacle of  FIG. 1  and further equipped with the light pipes in the recessed area; 
         FIG. 6  is a front elevational view to show the receptacle of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of another embodiment of a plug of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is a front elevational view of the plug of  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , an electrical connector assembly  100  includes a plug  10  connecting with a cable  201  and a receptacle  50  mounted on a printed circuit  202 . The plug  10  includes a plug insulative housing  12  with a front mating region  14 . A plurality of plug contacts  16  are disposed in the plug housing  12  with plug contacting sections  18  exposed upon the mating region  14 . A plug metallic shell  20  encloses the mating region  14  to commonly form a plug mating port  22 . The plug metallic shell  20  defines essentially a rectangular cross-section including two opposite long sides  24  and two opposite short sides  26  perpendicular to each other wherein a pair of chamfered structures  28  are formed on two opposite corners  27  of the lower long side  24   b  with the short side  26   a ,  26   b  while a centered recessed area  30  is formed on the upper long side  24   a . A pair of deflectable/retractable latches  32  is located on two lateral side regions  34  of the plug mating port  22  beside the recessed area  30 . It is noted that the pair of latches  32  are essentially close to the chamfered structures  28  in a top view so as to maximize the contact amount available in the plug  10 . 
     The receptacle  50  is surrounded with a receptacle metallic shell  60 . A recessed area  70  is defined on an upper long side  64   a  for snugly and compliantly receiving the plug metallic shell  20  therein. A flange  76  is defined at a front edge of the recessed area  70  to guide and shielding the plug shell  20 . 
     Referring further to  FIGS. 5-6  show a receptacle similar to the receptacle of  FIG. 1  and further equipped with the light pipes  80  in the recessed area. The receptacle is designated to mate with the plug showing in  FIGS. 1-4 , so the receptacle is labeled with same references to that in  FIGS. 1-4 . The receptacle  50  includes a receptacle housing  52  with a front mating tongue  54 . A plurality of receptacle contacts  56  are disposed in the receptacle housing  52  with receptacle contacting sections  58  exposed upon the mating tongue  54 . A receptacle metallic shell  60  encloses the mating tongue  54  to commonly define a receptacle mating port  62  wherein a contour of the receptacle metallic shell  60  is similar to that of the plug metallic shell  20  and includes two opposite long sides  64  and two opposite short sides  66  with a pair of chamfered structures  68  on two opposite corners along the lower long side  64   b  and a recessed area  70  on the upper long side  64   a  for snugly and compliantly receiving the plug metallic shell  20  therein under condition that the mating tongue  54  is sandwiched between the mating region  14  and the lower long side  24  of the plug metallic shell  20 . The upper long side  64  is further equipped with a pair of locking holes  72  on two lateral side regions  74  of the receptacle mating port  62 . Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the flanges  76  is formed on the front edge of the receptacle metallic shell  60  in alignment with the recessed area  70  for guiding and shielding. Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , without the flange structure on the front edge, a pair of light pipes  80  extends on the recessed area  70  for communication with an exterior. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the plug  10 ′ defines a mating cavity  90 ′ in the middle level with two rows of contacts  16 ′ by two sides in the vertical direction in comparison with the mating cavity  90 ′ at the lower level in the first embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-4 . The receptacle insulating housing defines two front mating regions  14   a ′,  14   b ′ and contacting sections  18   a ′,  18   b ′ of the two rows contacts  16 ′ are exposed upon said two mating regions  14   a ′,  14   b′.    
     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.