Patent Publication Number: US-9843136-B1

Title: Electrical socket connector

Description:
The present disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201621269483.6, filed with the Chinese Patent Office on Nov. 22, 2016, titled “ELECTRICAL SOCKET CONNECTOR,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of a connector, and particularly, to an electrical socket connector. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the continuous innovation of technologies with regard to connectors, the development of the connectors has exhibited the following characteristics: the high speed and digitization of signal transmission, the integration of all kinds of signal transmission, the miniaturization of product volume, and the like. Upon designing a high speed connector, the stability and integrity of the signals are key points throughout the design process. In a high speed system, a differential signal connector is often employed; when high speed signals pass through the connector, there is huge crosstalk between signals, so, it is required to implement signal isolation. 
     SUMMARY 
     An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electrical socket connector. The electrical socket connector includes: an insulation body, first terminals, second terminals, and a first metal casing. The insulation body includes a basal part and a tongue plate connected to the basal part, and the tongue plate includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other. The first terminals each includes a first contact part, the second terminals each includes a second contact part, the first contact part is positioned on the first surface of the tongue plate, the second contact part is fixed on the second surface of the tongue plate, and center lines of some of the first contact parts and some of the second contact parts are vertically aligned with each other, wherein, 
     each first contact part includes a first front contact part and a first rear contact part, each second contact part includes a second front contact part and a second rear contact part, a width of the first front contact part is less than a width of the first rear contact part, and a width of the second rear contact part is less than a width of the second front contact part; 
     the tongue plate defines first recesses, each first recess is positioned between two adjacent first front contact parts, and each of the second front contact parts is exposed to two adjacent first recesses; and 
     the tongue plate defines second recesses, each second recess is positioned between two adjacent second rear contact parts, and each of the first rear contact parts is exposed to two adjacent second recesses. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, wherein elements having the same reference numeral designations represent like elements throughout. The drawings are not to scale, unless otherwise disclosed. 
         FIG. 1  is a stereogram of an electrical socket connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of first terminals of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of second terminals of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an assembling view of an insulation body, the first terminals and the second terminals of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is another assembling view of the insulation body, the first terminals and the second terminals of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 1 , but viewed from another angle; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial enlarged view of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is another partial enlarged view of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a stereogram of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 1 , but viewed from another angle; 
         FIG. 9  is a stereogram of an electrical socket connector according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded view of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     For better understanding of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to attached drawings and embodiments. It should be noted that, when an element is described as “being connected to” or “being fixed to” another, the two elements are directly connected/fixed or the two elements are indirectly connected/fixed with one or more intermediate elements included there between. The terms “vertical”, “horizontal”, “left”, and “right” and the like are intended to describe and not to limit the disclosure. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all of the technical and scientific terms used in this specification are commonly understood by those skilled in the art. In this specification, the terms are used only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments, and not intended to limit the disclosure. The term “and/or” as used in this specification includes any one or more of the associated listed items and all combinations thereof. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-5 ,  FIG. 1  is a stereogram of an electrical socket connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of first terminals of the electrical socket connector of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of second terminals of the electrical socket connector of the embodiment of the present disclosure. The electrical socket connector  10  of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an insulation body  11 , first terminals  12 , second terminals  13 , and a metal casing  14 . The first terminals  12 , the second terminals  13 , and the insulation body  11  are integrated by one-step embedding. 
     The insulation body  11  includes a basal part  111  and a tongue plate  112  extending from the basal part  111 . The tongue plate  112  includes a first surface  1121  and a second surface  1122  opposite to each other. The first terminals  12  each includes a first contact part  121 , a first connection part  122  and a first welding part  123 . The second terminals  13  each includes a second contact part  131 , a second connection part  132  and a second welding part  133 . The first contact part  121  is fixed on the first surface  1121  of the tongue plate  112 , the second contact part  131  is fixed on the second surface  1122  of the tongue plate  112 . The first connection part  122  and the second connection part  132  are fixed on the basal part  111 , and the first welding part  123  and the second welding part  133  extend out of the insulation body  11 . The center lines of some of the first contact parts  121  and some of the second contact parts  131  are vertically coincident; specifically, the center lines of some of the first contact parts  121  and the second contact parts  131  are vertically aligned. In the embodiment, the first contact parts  121  and the second contact parts  131  are mutually staggered by one contact part from left to right. As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , there is no second contact part  131  below the left-most first contact part  121 , and there is no first contact part  121  above the right-most second contact part  131 . 
     Each first contact part  121  includes a first front contact part  1211  and a first rear contact part  1212 , each second contact part  131  includes a second front contact part  1311  and a second rear contact part  1312 , a width of the first front contact part  1211  is less than a width of the first rear contact part  1212 , and a width of the second rear contact part  1312  is less than a width of the second front contact part  1311 . 
     The tongue plate  112  defines first recesses  1121 A. Each first recess  1121 A is positioned between two adjacent first front contact parts  1211 , and each second front contact part  1311  is exposed to two adjacent first recesses  1121 A, specifically, the noncontact surfaces of each second front contact part  1311  are exposed to two adjacent first recesses  1121 A, as shown in  FIG. 6 , which facilitates the fixation of the second terminals  13  in the process of injection molding. 
     The tongue plate  112  defines second recesses  1122 A. Each second recess  1122 A is positioned between two adjacent second rear contact parts  1312 , and each first rear contact part  1212  is exposed to two adjacent second recesses  1122 A, specifically, the noncontact surfaces of the first rear contact part  1212  are exposed to two adjacent second recesses  1122 A, as shown in  FIG. 7 , which facilitates the fixation of the first terminals  12  in the process of injection molding. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, the first terminals  12  each include a first grounding terminal  12 A and a first signal terminal  12 B, and the first grounding terminal  12 A extends on a front end of the tongue plate  112  and surpasses the first signal terminal  12 B in length. The second terminals  13  each include a second grounding terminal  13 A and a second signal terminal  13 B, and the second grounding terminal  13 A extends on the front end of the tongue plate  112  and surpasses the first signal terminal  13 B in length. 
     A plurality of third recesses  1121 B is positioned on front ends of the first surface  1121  of the tongue plate  112 . A plurality of fourth recesses  1122 B is positioned on front ends of the second surface  1122  of the tongue plate  112 . The third recesses  1121 B and the fourth recesses  1122 B are located in front of the first signal terminals  12 B and the second signal terminals  13 B. The arrangement of the third recesses  1121 B and the fourth recesses  1122 B shorten the front ends of the first and second signal terminals  12 B,  13 B, which is favorable to improving the high frequency response of the electrical socket connector  10 , and reducing the signal attenuation in the transmission process of high speed signals. 
     The tongue plate  112  includes first barriers  1121 C and second barriers  1122 C. Each first barrier  1121 C is positioned between two adjacent third recesses  1121 B and each second barrier  1122 C positioned between two adjacent fourth recesses  1122 B. An excess part of each first grounding terminal  12 A over a corresponding one of the first signal terminals  12 B is fixed on a corresponding one of the first barriers  1121 C. Similarly, an excess part of each second grounding terminal  13 A over a corresponding one of the second signal terminals  13 B is fixed on a corresponding one of the second barriers  1122 C. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, parts of the first grounding terminals  12 A fixed on the first barriers  1121 C and parts of the second grounding terminals  13 A fixed on the second barriers  1122 C are mutually staggered; the third recesses  1121 B on the first surface  1121  of the tongue plate  112  and the fourth recesses  1122 B on the second surface  1122  of the tongue plate  112  are mutually staggered, thus reducing the signal crosstalk in the signal transmission process. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the basal part  111  includes a front wall  1111 , a rear wall  1112 , and two sidewalls  1113 ,  1114  connecting the front wall  1111  and the rear wall  1112 . The tongue plate  112  extends from a front end of the front wall  1111 . The front wall  1111 , the rear wall  1112  and the two sidewalls  1113 ,  1114  cooperatively define an accommodation space  1115 . 
     The first connection parts  122  and the second connection parts  132  are partially exposed to the accommodation space  1115 . The first welding parts  123  extend out of the rear wall  1112 , the second welding parts  133  extend out of the front wall  1111  and are positioned in front of the rear wall  1112 , the first welding parts  123  and the second welding parts  133  are in the same plane, and the first welding parts  123  and the second welding parts  133  are all SMT welding legs. Two rows of pins of upper and lower terminals in conventional designs are changed into front and back rows of pins, which is favorable to assembly. 
     The rear wall  1112  defines a plurality of gaps  1112 A and each gap  1112 A is located between two adjacent first connection parts  122 ; likewise, arranging each gap II  12 A between two adjacent terminals is favorable to improving the high frequency response of the electrical socket connector  10 , and further reducing the signal attenuation in the transmission process of high speed signals. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , parts of the first connection parts  122 , which extend out of the front wall  1111  and are exposed to the accommodation space  1115 , and parts of the second connection parts  132 , which extend out of the front wall  1111  and are exposed to the accommodation space  1115 , are mutually staggered, which facilitates the formation of an accommodation space in the injection molding process, thus ensuring the first welding parts  123  and the second welding parts  133  are in the same plane. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, the first connection part  122  extends from the first contact part  121  and includes a bending part  1221  and a horizontal part  1222 . The bending part  1221  and the horizontal part  1222  are in the same plane as the first contact part  121 . The bending part  1221  is partially fixed on the front wall  1111  and partially extends out of the front wall  1111 , and the horizontal part  1222  is exposed to the accommodation space  1115 . 
     The metal casing  14  includes an upper wall, a lower wall, and two sidewalls. The two sidewalls respectively extend downward to form at least one welding leg  141 , which is configured to fix the electrical socket connector  10  on a printed circuit board; the front ends of the upper wall, the lower wall, and the two sidewalls all turn outward to form flanges  142 , which can expediently guide the plug-in connection of an electrical plug connector into the electrical socket connector  10 . At least one slot  143  is positioned on the upper wall, and the metal elastic piece in the slot  143  butts against the front wall of the basal part  111 , which can effectively prevent the over-insertion of the electrical plug connector  10 . 
       FIG. 8  is a stereogram of the electrical socket connector  10  in the embodiment of the present disclosure, viewed from another angle. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the metal casing  14  further includes a metal rear cover, which can enhance the anti-electromagnetic interference performance of the electrical socket connector  10 , thus ensuring the stability of the signal transmission. The two sidewalls extend backwards respectively to form fasteners  144 ; through the two fasteners  144 , the metal rear cover and the insulation body  11  are fixed together. 
       FIG. 9  is a stereogram of an electrical socket connector according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Different from the horizontal type electrical socket connector  10  in the abovementioned embodiment, the electrical socket connector  20  illustrated in  FIG. 9  is vertical type, and further includes at least one second metal casing fixed on the metal casing.  FIG. 10  is an exploded view of the electrical socket connector of  FIG. 9 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the electrical socket connector  20  includes at least one second metal casing  25  fixed on the first metal casing  24 , the first metal casing  24  includes a metal front wall  244 , a metal rear wall  245  and two metal sidewalls  246 , and the two metal sidewalls  246  respectively extend downward to form at least one welding leg  242 . The second metal casing  25  includes a flat part  251  and at least one second sidewall  252  extending from the flat part  251  and being tightly attached to the metal sidewalls  246 , the second sidewall  252  includes a second weld leg  2521  extending from the second sidewall, and the second metal casing  25  and the first metal casing  24  are fixed using laser welding. 
     In the embodiment, two second metal casings  25  are employed. The flat part  251  of one second metal casing  25  is tightly attached to the metal rear wall of the first metal casing  24 , and the flat part  251  of the other second metal casing  25  is tightly attached to the metal front wall of the first metal casing  24 . In other embodiments, one second metal casing  25  is also practicable and includes a flat part  251  tightly attached to the metal rear wall and two second side walls  252  formed by extension of the flat part  251  and tightly attached to the metal sidewalls. Likewise, the second sidewalls  252  include second weld legs  2521  formed by extension of the second sidewalls  252 , and the second metal casing  25  and the first metal casing  24  are fixed using laser welding. 
     The front ends of the metal front wall, the metal rear wall, and the two metal sidewalls all turn outward to form flanges  242 , which can expediently guide the plug-in connection of an electrical plug connector into the electrical socket connector  20  in use. At least one slot  243  is positioned on the upper wall, and the metal elastic piece in the slot  243  butts against the front wall of the basal part  111 , which can effectively prevent the over-insertion of the electrical plug connector. 
     Different from the techniques in the prior art, the first contact part  121  of the first terminals  12  of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first front contact part  1211  and a first rear contact part  1212 , the second contact part  131  includes a second front contact part  1311  and a second rear contact part  1312 , the width of the first front contact part  1211  is less than the width of the first rear contact part  1212 , and the width of the second rear contact part  1312  is less than the width of the second front contact part  1311 ; each first recess  1121 A is positioned between two adjacent first front contact parts  1211 , each second recess  1122 A is positioned between two adjacent second rear contact parts  1312 , as a result, the electrical socket connector  10 ,  20  has a compact structure, is easy to manufacture, and can improve the speed and stability of signal transmission and reduce the signal attenuation and crosstalk in high speed signal transmission process. 
     Finally it shall be noted that, the above embodiments are only used to describe but not to limit the technical solutions of the present disclosure; and within the concept of the present disclosure, technical features of the above embodiments or different embodiments may also be combined with each other, the steps may be implemented in an arbitrary order, and many other variations in different aspects of the present disclosure described above are possible although, for purpose of simplicity, they are not provided in the details. Although the present disclosure has been detailed with reference to the above embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art shall appreciate that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions disclosed in the above embodiments or equivalent substations may be made to some of the technical features, and the corresponding technical solutions will not depart from the scope of the present disclosure due to such modifications or substations.