Patent Publication Number: US-2022239034-A1

Title: Electrical connector having insulative housing with a rear platform to secure a sealing member

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to electrical connector comprising an insulative housing, an outer cover enclosing the insulative housing to define a front chamber and a rear chamber, and a plurality of contacts secured to the insulative housing, exposed to the front chamber, and extending through the rear chamber, and a sealing member formed in the rear chamber to seal an interface between the insulative housing and the outer cover, wherein the insulative housing is designed to firmly secure the sealing member in place. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     China Patent No. 107293894 discloses an electrical connector comprising an insulative housing, an outer cover structure enclosing the insulative housing, a plurality of contacts secured to the insulative housing, and a rear sealing member to seal an interface between the insulative housing and the outer cover structure. Under environmental tests adhesion of the sealing member to the insulative housing and/or the outer cover structure may become deteriorated such that gas tight sealing effect is decreased. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An electrical connector comprises: an insulative housing having a base and a rear platform; an outer cover enclosing the insulative housing to define a front chamber and a rear chamber; a plurality of contacts secured to the insulative housing, exposed to the front chamber, and extending through the rear chamber; and a sealing member formed in the rear chamber to seal an interface between the insulative housing and the outer cover, wherein the rear platform has a peripheral face spaced a gap from the outer cover and the peripheral face has a roughened surface. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the electrical connector; 
         FIG. 3  is a partially exploded view of the electrical connector in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector taken along line A-A in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the electrical connector in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 6  another exploded view of the electrical connector in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 6 , an electrical connector  100  comprises an insulative housing  1 , an outer cover  3  enclosing the insulative housing  1  to define a front mating chamber  30  and a rear filling chamber  31 , a plurality of contacts  2  secured to the insulative housing  1 , exposed to the front chamber  30 , and extending through the rear chamber  31 , and a sealing member  5  formed in the rear chamber to seal an interface between the insulative housing  1  and the outer cover  3 . The electrical connector  100  may further include a fixing element  4  fastened to the outer cover  3 . 
     The insulative housing  1  includes a base  11  and a platform  12  protruding rearward from the base  11 . The base  11  has a front face  111 , a rear face  112 , and a peripheral face  113 . In this embodiment, the base  11  is substantially parallelpiped, though it may well be of other shapes. The peripheral face  113  includes a top face  1131  and a bottom face  1133  and a pair of side faces  1132  and  1134 . The peripheral face  113  abuts an inner wall face  32  of the outer cover  3 . In this embodiment, the platform  12  is also substantially parallelpiped, though it may be of other shapes, so that a peripheral face  121  thereof is spaced a gap  124  all way around from the inner wall face  32  of the outer cover  3 . The peripheral face  121  has a roughened surface with a surface roughness Ra greater than that of the peripheral face  113  of the base  11 . The platform  12  has a rear face  122  and a rounded or chamfered face  123  at a junction of the rear face  122  and the peripheral face  121 . A step  125  is defined at the rear face  112  of the base  11 . The peripheral face  121  includes faces  1211 ,  1213 ,  1212 , and  12124  corresponding to the top and bottom face  1131  and  1133  and the pair of side faces  1132  and  1134 , respectively. The chamfered face  123  ameliorates separation of the sealing member  5  from the insulative housing  1  due to different thermal coefficients of expansion thereof. In this embodiment, the surface roughness Ra of the peripheral face  121  is greater than 3.15 micrometer to obtain a stronger bond with the sealing member  5  when cured in place. Therefore, even if adhesion of the sealing member to the insulative housing and/or the outer cover were deteriorated, the sealing member  5  is still securely kept in place to perform its intended function. The rear face  122  of the platform  12  may also be roughened for further assisting in keeping the sealing member  5  in place. Moreover, the step  125  may also be roughened. The roughened face may be produced by suitable metalworking process on associated molding tools. 
     The outer cover  3  includes the front chamber  30  and a rear chamber  36 . The rear chamber  36  has a receiving part  361  accommodating the insulative housing  1  and the filling chamber  31 . The outer cover  3  has an inner wall  32  includes walls  321 ,  322 ,  323 , and  324  corresponding to the top and bottom face  1131  and  1133  and the pair of side faces  1132  and  1134 , respectively. The outer cover  3  is made of plastic material in this embodiment, though it may also be a metallic element. The outer cover  3  has a dividing wall  33 . Slots  34  are formed on the dividing wall  33  and the walls  321  and  322  for accommodating the terminals  2 . The wall  321  further has a pair of posts  35  for fastening the fixing element  4 . The sealing member  5 , e.g., glues cured in the filling chamber  31 , is firmly secured in place, especially adhering to the peripheral face  121  of the platform  12 , and to the rear face  122  of the platform  12  and the step  125  of the base  11  if roughened. 
     The terminals  2  are arranged in two rows and each terminal includes a contacting portion  21 , a soldering portion  23 , and a connecting portion  22 . The connecting portion  22  is secured in the insulative housing  1  and the contacting portion  21  protrudes into the front mating chamber  30 . 
     The fixing element  4  includes an upper piece  41  and a lower piece  42 . The upper piece  41  has a top plate  411  and a pair of side plates  412 . The top plate  411  has a pair of holes  4111  for receiving the pair of posts  35 . Each side plate  412  has a bottom edge  4122  and a pair of legs  4123 . The lower piece  42  has a bottom plate  421  and a pair of side plates  422 . The lower piece  42  is spot welded to the upper piece  41  at several positions  4121 .