Patent Publication Number: US-2011070778-A1

Title: High-speed plug connector with a mounting bracket holding terminals

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a high-speed plug connector that appropriately arranges soldering sections of terminals thereof to effectively reduce mounting surface areas of a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the soldering sections are soldered. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Conventional Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 connectors are popularly used in various electronic devices. However, USB 2.0 protocol only allows a maximum transmission speed of 480 Mbps. Because electronic devices are constantly developed to increase transmission speeds, the USB 2.0 protocol does not meet current transmission speed requirement of new electronic devices. Therefore, the USB Implementers Forum (USB IF) established USB 3.0 protocol, with a theoretical maximum transmission speed of 5 Gbps. 
     However, a USB 3.0 connector having two rows of terminals is structurally complicated so that manufacturing a USB 3.0 connector is difficult. Due to the rows of terminals and other constraints USB 3.0 connectors are generally longer and broader than USB 2.0 connectors. Furthermore, the terminals of the USB 3.0 connector generate crosstalk and interfere with each other when transmitting high frequency signals. Moreover, two rows of soldering sections of the terminals, when soldered on a PCB, occupy more surface area of the PCB when compared to a conventional connector. Therefore, the USB 3.0 connector has a low production rate and a high manufacturing cost. 
     To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a high-speed plug connector to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the invention is to provide a high-speed plug connector that appropriately arranges soldering sections of terminals thereof to effectively reduce mounting surface areas of a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the soldering sections are soldered. 
     A high-speed plug connector in accordance with the present invention has an insulating housing, a mounting bracket, multiple first terminals, multiple second terminals and a shell. The first terminals are mounted on the insulating housing. The second terminals are mounted on the mounting bracket. Each terminal has a mounting section, a soldering section and a contacting section. The soldering sections are arranged in a transverse row instead of two rows to make the high-speed plug connector compact and reduce mounting surface areas of a PCB on which the soldering sections is soldered. 
     Other objectives, 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 a perspective view of a first embodiment of a high-speed plug connector in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the high-speed plug connector in  FIG. 1  omitting the shell; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded front perspective view of the high-speed plug connector in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded rear perspective view of the high-speed plug connector in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial exploded perspective view of an insulating housing and a mounting bracket of the high-speed plug connector in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6A  is a perspective of first and second terminals of the high-speed plug connector in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6B  is a perspective view of first and second terminals of a second embodiment of a high-speed plug connector in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of the first and second terminals of the high-speed plug connector in  FIG. 6A ; 
         FIG. 8A  is a plot of impedance against time for the first embodiment of the high-speed plug connector in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8B  is a plot of impedance against time for the second embodiment of the high-speed plug connector in  FIG. 6B . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 4 , a first embodiment of a high-speed plug connector accordance with the present invention may comply with type-A USB 3.0 plug connector standards and may be mounted on one end of a cable or in a portable device such as a flash memory storage device. 
     The high-speed plug connector of the first embodiment is a surface mount technology (SMT) type high-speed plug connector and comprises an insulating housing ( 10 ), a mounting bracket ( 20 ), multiple first terminals ( 30 ), multiple second terminals ( 40 ) and a shell ( 50 ). 
     With further reference to  FIG. 5 , the insulating housing ( 10 ) has a front end, a rear end, a base ( 11 ) and a tongue ( 12 ). 
     The base ( 11 ) has a front end, a rear end, a top and a bottom and may further have a fastening slot ( 111 ), multiple positioning grooves ( 112 ) and multiple assembling protrusions ( 116 ). The fastening slot ( 111 ) is defined in the base ( 11 ). The positioning grooves ( 112 ) are defined in the top of the base ( 11 ). The assembling protrusions ( 116 ) are formed on and protrude downward from the bottom of the base ( 11 ) and may be mounted through assembling holes in a PCB or a bracket in the aforementioned cable or portable device. 
     The tongue ( 12 ) is formed on and protrudes forward from the front end of the base ( 11 ) and has a top and a bottom. 
     The mounting bracket ( 20 ) is a separate component from the insulating housing ( 10 ), is mounted on the insulating housing ( 10 ) and has a mount ( 21 ) and an extension member ( 22 ). 
     The mount ( 21 ) may be mounted in the fastening slot ( 111 ) of the insulating housing ( 10 ). 
     The extension member ( 22 ) is formed on and protrudes backward from the mount ( 21 ) and may have a top surface, a bottom surface, a rear end and a mounting protrusion ( 23 ). The mounting protrusion ( 23 ) is formed on and protrudes from the top surface. 
     The first terminals ( 30 ) are mounted through the insulating housing ( 10 ) by an insert-molding process and are capable of implementing USB 2.0 signal transmission. Each first terminal ( 30 ) has a mounting section ( 31 ), a soldering section ( 32 ) and a contacting section ( 33 ). 
     The mounting section ( 31 ) is mounted securely in the insulating housing ( 10 ). 
     The soldering section ( 32 ) is formed on and protrudes downward from the mounting section ( 31 ) and out of the rear end of the base ( 11 ). 
     The contacting section ( 33 ) is formed on and protrudes forward from the mounting section ( 31 ) and may be mounted on the top of the tongue ( 12 ). 
     The second terminals ( 40 ) are mounted through the mounting bracket ( 20 ) by an insert-molding process, are capable of cooperating with the first terminals ( 30 ) to implement USB 3.0 signal transmission and may be mounted respectively in the positioning grooves ( 112 ) to prevent inadvertent transverse shift. Each second terminal ( 40 ) has a mounting section ( 41 ), a soldering section ( 42 ) and a contacting section ( 43 ). 
     The mounting section ( 41 ) is mounted securely in the mounting bracket ( 20 ). 
     The soldering section ( 42 ) is formed on and protrudes downward from the mounting section ( 42 ) and out of the rear end of the extension member ( 22 ). 
     The contacting section ( 43 ) is formed on and protrudes forward from the soldering section ( 42 ) and is located above the tongue ( 12 ) of the insulating housing ( 10 ). 
     The shell ( 50 ) covers the insulating housing ( 10 ), the mounting bracket ( 20 ), the first terminals ( 30 ) and the second terminals ( 40 ), has a cavity ( 500 ) and may further have a front end, a rear end, a top plate ( 51 ), two side plates ( 52 ), a bottom plate ( 53 ) and an open slot ( 513 ). 
     The cavity ( 500 ) is defined through the shell ( 50 ) and may hold a tongue of a corresponding socket connector. 
     The top plate ( 51 ) has a rear end. 
     The side plates ( 52 ) are formed on and protrude downward from the top plate ( 51 ). 
     The bottom plate ( 53 ) is formed between the side plates ( 52 ). 
     The open slot ( 513 ) is defined in the top plate ( 51 ) adjacent to the rear end and holds the mounting protrusion ( 23 ) of the mounting bracket ( 20 ). 
     In one of important aspects of the present invention, the soldering sections ( 32 ) of the first terminals ( 30 ) and the soldering sections ( 42 ) of the second terminals ( 40 ) are arranged alternately in a transverse row relative to the insulating housing ( 10 ). Furthermore, the first and second terminals ( 30 ) include multiple pairs of signal-transmission-terminals and multiple non-signal-transmission terminals (such as power terminals and grounding terminals). The soldering section ( 32 ,  42 ) of one of the non-signal-transmission terminals is located between the soldering sections ( 32 ,  42 ) of the signal-transmission-terminals of each pair. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the high-speed plug connector, the first terminals ( 30 ) are numbered as No. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 terminals (5, 6, 7, 8, 9) that are defined respectively as a super-speed negative signal receiving terminals (the aforementioned signal-transmission-terminal), a super-speed positive signal receiving terminal (the aforementioned signal-transmission-terminal), a signal-return-grounding terminal (the aforementioned non-signal-transmission terminal), a super-speed negative signal transmitting terminal (the aforementioned signal-transmission-terminal) and a super-speed positive signal transmitting terminal (the aforementioned signal-transmission-terminal). 
     The second terminals ( 40 ) are numbered as No. 4, 3, 2 and 1 terminals (4, 3, 2, 1) that are defined respectively as a power-return-grounding terminal (the aforementioned non-signal-transmission terminal), a positive signal terminal (the aforementioned signal-transmission terminal), a negative signal terminal (the aforementioned signal-transmission terminal) and a power terminal (the aforementioned non-signal-transmission terminal). The soldering sections ( 32 ,  42 ) of all of the first and second terminals ( 30 ,  40 ) in the transverse row are arranged according to a sequence of No. 5, 4, 6, 3, 7, 2, 8, 1 and 9 terminals (5, 4, 6, 3, 7, 2, 8, 1, 9) from a left side to a right side of the high-speed plug connector. 
     The following Table A is based on Section 5.3.1.2 of “USB 3.0 Specification, Revision 1.0” set forth by the USB IF. The Specification may be downloaded from the USB IF website: http://www.usb.org/home. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE A 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 High-speed Plug Connector Terminal Assignment 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                 Terminal Number 
                 Name 
                 Assignment 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 No. 5 terminal (5) 
                 StdA_SSRx− 
                 Super-speed negative signal 
               
               
                   
                   
                 receiving terminal 
               
               
                 No. 4 terminal (4) 
                 GND 
                 Power-return-grounding terminal 
               
               
                 No. 6 terminal (6) 
                 StdA_SSRx+ 
                 Super-speed positive signal 
               
               
                   
                   
                 receiving terminal 
               
               
                 No. 3 terminal (3) 
                 D+ 
                 Positive signal terminal 
               
               
                 No. 7 terminal (7) 
                 GND_DRAIN 
                 Signal return-grounding terminal 
               
               
                 No. 2 terminal (2) 
                 D− 
                 Negative signal terminal 
               
               
                 No. 8 terminal (8) 
                 StdA_SSTx− 
                 Super-speed negative signal 
               
               
                   
                   
                 transmitting terminal 
               
               
                 No. 1 terminal (1) 
                 VBUS 
                 Power terminal 
               
               
                 No. 9 terminal (9) 
                 StdA_Tx+ 
                 Super-speed positive signal 
               
               
                   
                   
                 transmitting terminal 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The definitions of the aforementioned first and second terminals ( 30 ,  40 ) are shown in Table A for clarity and convenience. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 6A and 7 , in the first embodiment, the soldering sections ( 32 ,  42 ) of the first and second terminals ( 30 ,  40 ) are SMT type soldering sections and are L-shaped. 
     With reference to  FIG. 6B , a second embodiment of the high-speed plug connector is a through hole technology (THE) type high-speed plug connector. Therefore, the soldering sections ( 32   a ,  42   a ) of the first and second terminals ( 30   a ,  40   a ) are THE type soldering sections and are straight. 
     With further reference to  FIG. 8A , a diagram of impedance against time shows a curve indicating impedance of the SMT type high-speed plug connector of the first embodiment during signal transmission. The unit of the impedance is “ohm” and that of the time is “10 −12  second (Pico-second, ps)”. As indicated by the curve, when signal transmission is implemented, maximum and minimum impedance values of the SMT type high-speed plug connector are 101.7 and 81.25 ohm and are within a limitation from 75 to 105 ohms of a standard USB 3.0 plug connector. Therefore, advantages of the SMT type high-speed plug connector include high frequency signal transmission. 
     With further reference to  FIG. 8B , a diagram of impedance against time shows a curve indicating impedance of the THE type high-speed plug connector of the second embodiment during signal transmission. As indicated by the curve, when signal transmission is implemented, maximum and minimum impedance values of the THE type high-speed plug connector are 101.9 and 76.5 ohm and are within the aforementioned standard limitation from 75 to 105 ohms. Therefore, advantages of the THE type high-speed plug connector include high frequency signal transmission. 
     The present invention has the following advantages: 
     1. The soldering sections ( 32 ,  32   a ,  42 ,  42   a ) of the first and second terminals ( 30 ,  30   a ,  40 ,  40   a ) are disposed alternately in a single row so that total length and size of the high-speed plug connector are reduced. Furthermore, a soldering section layout thereof is compact to effectively reduce mounting surface areas of a PCB on which the soldering sections ( 32 ,  32   a ,  42 ,  42   a ) are soldered. Therefore, the PCB still holds electronic components such resistors and capacitors according to its original PCB layout. In other words, the PCB would not need to change the PCB layout for mounting the high-speed plug connector thereon. 
     2. The soldering sections ( 32 ,  32   a ,  42 ,  42   a ) of the non-signal-transmission terminals such as No. 4, 7, 1 terminals (4,7, 1) are located respectively between of the soldering sections ( 32 ,  32   a ,  42 ,  42   a ) of the pairs of the signal transmitting or receiving terminals (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9) such as No. 5, 6, 3, 2, 8, 1 terminals (5, 6, 3, 2, 8, 1) to prevent crosstalk and improve signal transmission stability. 
     3. The insulating housing ( 10 ) and mounting bracket ( 20 ) are separate components instead of being formed together so that designing and manufacturing a mold for each component is easy and cheap when compared to a structurally complicated mold for molding an one-piece insulating housing holding all terminals of a conventional connector. Thus, manufacturing costs of the high-speed plug connector are lowered. 
     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. Changes may be made in the details, 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.