Patent Publication Number: US-2023163527-A1

Title: Plug connector with improved insertion reliability

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This patent application claims priority of a Chinese Patent Application No. 202122892800.7, filed on Nov. 22, 2021 and titled “PLUG CONNECTOR”, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a plug connector, which belongs to a technical field of connectors. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A plug connector in the related art includes a housing, a tongue plate, and a cable. A plurality of conductive pads are provided on at least one surface of the tongue plate. The plug connector includes a mating surface. The tongue plate generally protrudes beyond the mating surface. 
     In order to improve the mating stability of the plug connector when the plug connector is inserted into a mating receptacle connector, the plug connector further includes an extension plate protruding beyond the mating surface. The extension plate and the tongue plate are parallel to each other. 
     However, in the process of mating the plug connector with the receptacle connector, how to further ensure the insertion position of the plug connector so as to avoid damage to the tongue plate and the conductive pads due to insertion deviation, is a technical problem that needs to be solved by those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of the present disclosure is to provide a plug connector with high insertion reliability. 
     In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a plug connector, including: a housing, the housing including a mating surface; a built-in circuit board, the built-in circuit board being partially located in the housing, the built-in circuit board including a tongue plate and a plurality of conductive pads provided on the tongue plate; and a cable, the cable being electrically connected to the built-in circuit board; wherein the housing includes an extension plate extending along a mating direction of the plug connector; both the tongue plate and the extension plate protrude beyond the mating surface along the mating direction; and the extension plate further protrudes beyond the tongue plate along the mating direction; and wherein each lateral side of the plug connector defines a slot extending through the mating surface. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure is provided with an extension plate extending along the mating direction and protruding beyond the tongue plate. When the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector, the extension pate can be the first to contact the receptacle connector, which facilitates the realization of the initial positioning of the plug connector when inserted. In addition, two lateral sides of the plug connector of the present disclosure also respectively include slots extending through the mating surface, and the slots can be used to mate with positioning protrusions of the receptacle connector, which is beneficial to realize the secondary positioning of the plug connector. As a result, the insertion reliability of the plug connector is improved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective schematic view of a plug connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective schematic view of  FIG.  1    from another angle; 
         FIG.  3    is a right side view of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  4    is a left side view of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  5    is a partial enlarged view of a circled part A in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  6    is a partial enlarged view of a circled part B in  FIG.  3   ; 
         FIG.  7    is a partially exploded perspective view of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  8    is a partial perspective exploded view of  FIG.  7    from another angle; 
         FIG.  9    is a further partial perspective exploded view of  FIG.  7   ; 
         FIG.  10    is a partial perspective exploded view of  FIG.  9    from another angle; 
         FIG.  11    is a perspective exploded view of two return springs, two locking arms and a driving member in  FIG.  9   ; 
         FIG.  12    is a perspective exploded view of  FIG.  11    from another angle; 
         FIG.  13    is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in  FIG.  1   , wherein the locking arm is located at a locked position; 
         FIG.  14    is a schematic cross-sectional view of another state in  FIG.  13   , wherein the locking arm is located at an unlocked position; 
         FIG.  15    is a partial enlarged view of a frame part Din  FIG.  13   ; and 
         FIG.  16    is a partial enlarged view of a frame part E in  FIG.  14   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail here, examples of which are shown in drawings. When referring to the drawings below, unless otherwise indicated, same numerals in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The examples described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the application as detailed in the appended claims. 
     The terminology used in this application is only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments, and is not intended to limit this application. The singular forms “a”, “said”, and “the” used in this application and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates other meanings. 
     It should be understood that the terms “first”, “second” and similar words used in the specification and claims of this application do not represent any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, “an” or “a” and other similar words do not mean a quantity limit, but mean that there is at least one; “multiple” or “a plurality of” means two or more than two. Unless otherwise noted, “front”, “rear”, “lower” and/or “upper” and similar words are for ease of description only and are not limited to one location or one spatial orientation. Similar words such as “include” or “comprise” mean that elements or objects appear before “include” or “comprise” cover elements or objects listed after “include” or “comprise” and their equivalents, and do not exclude other elements or objects. The term “a plurality of” mentioned in the present disclosure includes two or more. 
     Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the case of no conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  to  10   , the present disclosure discloses a plug connector  100  including a housing  1 , a built-in circuit board  2  partly located in the housing  1 , a cable  3  electrically connected to the built-in circuit board  2 , a locking mechanism  4  installed in the housing  1 , and a pull strap  5  connected with the locking mechanism  4 . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the plug connector  100  is a high-speed interconnect plug connector, including but not limited to, a plug connector based on SFP (Small Form Factor Pluggable), QSFP (Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable), OSFP (Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable), QSFP-DD (Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable-Double Density), SFP-DD (Small Form Factor Pluggable-Double Density) or DSFP (Dual Chanel Small Form-factor Pluggable). The plug connector  100  is used to mate with a receptacle connector (not shown) along a mating direction M so as to realize high-speed data transmission. Correspondingly, the receptacle connector is a receptacle connector based on SFP (Small Form Factor Pluggable), QSFP (Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable), OSFP (Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable), QSFP-DD (Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable-Double Density), SFP-DD (Small Form Factor Pluggable-Double Density) or DSFP (Dual Chanel Small Form-factor Pluggable). 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  to  6   , in the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the housing  1  includes a first housing  11  and a second housing  12 . The housing  1  includes a mating surface  10  and two slots  13  located on opposite sides (for example, a left side and a right side) of the plug connector  100  and extending through the mating surface  10 . The slots  13  can be used to mate with positioning protrusions (not shown) of the receptacle connector, which is beneficial to improve the insertion reliability of the plug connector  100 . 
     Referring to  FIGS.  7  and  8   , the first housing  11  includes a first base  111 , a first extension portion  112  extending from the first base  111 , and an extension plate  113  extending from the first extension portion  112 . The first extension portion  112  includes a first surface  1121  (for example, an upper surface) and two openings  1122  extending through the first surface  1121  along a thickness direction T-T of the plug connector  100 . The openings  1122  are located on opposite sides (for example, a left side and a right side) of the first extension portion  112  along a width direction W-W of the plug connector  100 . Referring to  FIG.  7   , it is understandable to those skilled in the art that in the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the mating direction M is a rear-to-front direction, the width direction W-W is a left-right direction, and the thickness direction is a vertical direction. The mating direction M, the width direction W-W and the thickness direction T-T are perpendicular to each other. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the first extension portion  112  includes two convex portions  114  which protrude downwardly along the thickness direction T-T and are located on opposite sides (for example, a left side and a right side) of the first extension portion  112 . Each convex portion  114  extends along the mating direction M. The convex portion  114  includes a first front end surface  1140  and a locking portion  1141  located at a front portion of the convex portion  114 . In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the first front end surface  1140  is a vertical surface. The locking portion  1141  is of a U-shaped configuration. 
     The second housing  12  includes a second base  121  and a second extension portion  122  extending from the second base  121 . The first base  111  corresponds to the second base  121 , wherein the first base  111  is located above the second base  121  as a whole, and the first base  111  and the second base  121  are aligned in the vertical direction. The first extension portion  112  corresponds to the second extension portion  122 , wherein the first extension portion  112  is located above the second extension portion  122  as a whole, and the first extension portion  112  and the second extension portion  122  are aligned in the vertical direction. The second extension portion  122  includes a second front end surface  1220 . The first front end surface  1140  and the second front end surface  1220  are aligned with each other in the thickness direction T-T to jointly form the mating surface  10 . The second extension portion  122  includes a second surface  1221  (for example, a lower surface). The first surface  1121  and the second surface  1221  are disposed opposite to each other along the thickness direction T-T. A front side of the second extension portion  122  includes a locking slot  1222 . In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the locking slot  1222  is of a U-shaped configuration. The locking portion  1141  is fixed in the locking slot  1222  to prevent the first housing  11  and the second housing  12  from being separated from each other in the thickness direction T-T. The second extension portion  122  further includes two positioning posts  1223  on opposite sides. The positioning posts  1223  are used for positioning the built-in circuit board  2 . A rear side of the second extension portion  122  is further provided with a limiting protrusion  1224  which protrudes into a corresponding opening  1122  along the thickness direction T-T. 
     In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the plug connector  100  further includes a bolt  14  to assemble and fix the first base  111  and the second base  121 . Of course, in other embodiments, the first housing  11  and the second housing  12  may be assembled through a mutual locking structure (for example, a locking arm and a locking groove for mating with the locking arm). 
     Referring to  FIGS.  7 ,  9  and  10   , the built-in circuit board  2  includes a base plate  21  at least partially clamped between the first extension portion  112  and the second extension portion  122 , and a tongue plate  22  extending forward from the base plate  21 . Opposite sides of the base plate  21  include two positioning notches  211  matched with the positioning posts  1223 . At least one surface of the base plate  21  is provided with a plurality of soldering pads  212  which are used for soldering and fixing with the cable  3 . In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, two opposite surfaces (for example, an upper surface and a lower surface) of the base plate  21  are respectively provided with the soldering pads  212 , which is beneficial to maximize the use of the space of the base plate  21  as much as possible. A plurality of conductive pads  221  are provided on at least one surface of the tongue plate  22 . The conductive pads  221  are used to contact the conductive terminals (not shown) of the receptacle connector so as to realize data transmission. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the two opposite surfaces (for example, the upper surface and the lower surface) of the tongue plate  22  are respectively provided with the conductive pads  221 , which is beneficial to maximize the use of the space of the tongue plate  22  as much as possible. 
     As shown in  FIGS.  3  and  6   , both the tongue plate  22  and the extension plate  113  protrude beyond the mating surface  10  along the mating direction M. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, only one extension plate  113  is provided on a side of the tongue plate  22  along the thickness direction T-T of the plug connector  100 . In other words, one side of the tongue plate  22  along the thickness direction T-T of the plug connector  100  is provided with the extension plate  113 . However, on another side of the tongue plate  22  opposite to the extension plate  113 , there is no feature provided protruding beyond the mating surface  10  along the mating direction M. The extension plate  113  further protrudes beyond the tongue plate  22  along the mating direction M. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, a length of the extension plate  113  protruding beyond the mating surface  10  along the mating direction M is L 1 , a length of the tongue plate  22  protruding beyond the mating surface along the mating direction M is L 2 , where L 1 ≥2*L 2 . With this arrangement, by appropriately increasing the length of the extension plate  113 , when the plug connector  100  is inserted into the receptacle connector, the extension plate  113  will contact the receptacle connector as early as possible to achieve pre-positioning. This is also beneficial to protect the tongue plate  22  and avoid possible damage to the tongue plate  22  due to incorrect insertion angles or mismatched receptacle connectors. In addition, this design is also beneficial to increase the insertion depth of the plug connector  100  and improve the mating reliability of the plug connector  100  with the receptacle connector when the plug connector  100  is inserted in place. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a value range of L 1  is 12.0 mm to 13.0 mm, and a value range of L 2  is 3.8 mm to 3.9 mm. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a width of the extension plate  113  along the width direction W-W of the plug connector  100  falls within a range of 20.0 mm to 21.0 mm, and a width of the tongue plate  22  along the width direction W-W of the plug connector  100  falls within a range of 18.0 mm to 19.0 mm. The width of the extension plate  113  is slightly larger than the width of the tongue plate  22 , so that the tongue plate  22  can be protected by the extension plate  113  to some extent. 
     The slot  13  is provided on the first extension portion  112 ; or the slot  13  is provided on the second extension portion  122 ; or the slot  13  is formed between the first extension portion  112  and the second extension portion  122  in the thickness direction T-T of the plug connector  100 . In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the slot  13  is provided on the convex portion  114 . The slot  13  extends backwardly to communicate with the corresponding opening  1122 . A distance between the slot  13  and the first surface  1121  in the thickness direction T-T is smaller than a distance between the slot  13  and the second surface  1221 . In other words, the slot  13  is arranged on an upper side. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  9  to  16   , the locking mechanism  4  includes two locking arms  41  installed on two inner and opposite sides of the second housing  12 , a driving member  42  mated with the locking arms  41 , and two return springs  43  mated with the locking arms  41 , respectively. 
     Each locking arm  41  includes a locking protrusion  411  located at a front end of the locking arm  41 , an abutting portion  412  located at a rear end of the locking arm  41 , and a pivot portion  413  located between the locking protrusion  411  and the abutting portion  412 . The locking arm  41  is rotatable around the pivot portion  413 . The slot  13  extends backwardly to be adjacent to the locking protrusion  411 . This arrangement increases a length of each slot  13  along the mating direction M and is beneficial to increase an insertion depth of the plug connector  100 , thereby improving the insertion reliability of the plug connector  100 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the return spring  43  is a compression spring. One end of the compression spring abuts against the top of the locking arm  41 ; and another end of the compression spring abuts against a lower surface of the first extension portion  112 . A contact position of the locking protrusion  411  and the locking arm  41 , and a contact position of the return spring  43  and the locking arm  41  are located on two sides of the pivot portion  413 , respectively. With this arrangement, the locking arm  41  is equivalent to a seesaw of which a fulcrum is the pivot portion  413 . When no external force is applied, under the action of the compression spring, the locking protrusion  411  is located in the corresponding opening  1122  and protrudes upwardly beyond the first surface  1121 . Under this condition, the locking protrusion  411  can be matched with a corresponding locking structure of the receptacle connector, that is, this state is a locking state when the plug connector  100  is inserted into the receptacle connector. 
     As shown in  FIG.  5   , each limiting protrusion  1224  is located outside the corresponding locking protrusion  411  along the width direction W-W of the plug connector  100  so as to limit the locking protrusion  411 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to better fix the compression spring, each locking arm  41  further includes a mounting post  414 . One end of the compression spring is sleeved on the mounting post  414  to prevent the compression spring from leaving its original position after being stressed. 
     In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the pivot portion  413  includes a pivot hole. The first housing  11  includes a pivot shaft  116  that matches with the pivot hole. The pivot shaft  116  is integrally formed on the first housing  11 . The locking arm  41  is rotatable around the pivot shaft  116  under the action of the external force. Of course, in other embodiments, the pivot shaft  116  may also be integrally formed on the second housing  12 ; or the pivot shaft  116  is a separate shaft assembled to the first housing  11  and/or the second housing  12 . 
     Of course, in other embodiments, the return spring  43  may also be a tension spring. One end of the tension spring is fixed to the locking arm  41 , and the other end of the tension spring is fixed to the housing  1 . 
     In addition, each locking arm  41  further includes a first recess  415  located between the abutting portion  412  and the pivot portion  413 , and an inner abutting surface  412   a  exposed in the first recess  415 . In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the first recess  415  is located below the mounting post  414  and is aligned with the mounting post  414  in the vertical direction. The inner abutting surface  412   a  is provided on the abutting portion  412 . In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner abutting surface  412   a  is an inclined surface. 
     The driving member  42  is connected to the pull strap  5 . The driving member  42  includes two driving arms  421  located on opposite sides and a connecting rod  422  which connects the two driving arms  421 . Each driving arm  421  is located at a rear end of the corresponding locking arm  41  and abuts against the locking arm  41 . Each driving arm  421  includes a protruding portion  4211  received in the first recess  415 , a second recess  4212  for receiving the abutting portion  412 , a base portion  4213  connected to the protruding portion  4211  and a fixing portion  4214  protruding backwardly from the base portion  4213 . The protruding portion  4211  includes an outer abutting surface  4211   a  which abuts against the inner abutting surface  412   a.  In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer abutting surface  4211   a  is a curved surface. Through the cooperation of the curved surface and the inclined surface, the smoothness of the interaction between the driving arm  421  and the locking arm  41  is improved. As shown in  FIGS.  15  and  16   , the base portion  4213  is provided with a protrusion  4213   a  extending upwardly. The first housing  11  includes a limiting slot  115 . The protrusion  4213   a  is movable in the limiting slot  115  under the action of external force. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the fixing portion  4214  is insert-molded in the pull strap  5 . The connecting rod  422  connects the base portions  4213  of the two driving arms  421  to strengthen the structure of the driving member  42 , improve the stability of the driving member  42  when moving, and improve the synchronization of the movement of the two locking arms  41 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  9   , the pull strap  5  includes a first connecting portion  51  and a second connecting portion  52  which are respectively connected to the fixing portions  4214  of the two locking arms  41 . The first connecting portion  51  and the second connecting portion  52  respectively extend in a vertical direction and are parallel to each other. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the first connecting portion  51  and the second connecting portion  52  are both L-shaped. The pull strap  5  further includes a bridge portion  53  connecting the first connecting portion  51  and the second connecting portion  52 . The bridge portion  53  extends in a horizontal direction. 
     The pull strap  5  is movable in a direction opposite to the mating direction M under the pulling of the external force, so as to directly or indirectly drive the locking protrusions  411  to move away from the first surface  1121  in the thickness direction T-T. Specifically, referring to  FIGS.  14  and  16   , in the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, when the pull strap  5  moves in the direction opposite to the mating direction M under the pulling of the external force, each outer abutting surface  4211   a  of the protruding portion  4211  abuts against the inner abutting surface  412   a  of the abutting portion  412 , and slides on the inner abutting surface  412   a.  Under this condition, an upward force is generated to move the abutting portions  412  upwardly and compress the compression springs. At the same time, the locking protrusions  411  move downwardly to move away from the first surface  1121 . This state is an unlocked state of the plug connector  100 . 
     When the external force is removed, the return springs  43  release elastic force, so that the abutting portions  412  move downwardly. At the same time, the locking protrusions  411  move upwardly, and the locking arms  41  return to their original positions. 
     In the present disclosure, the two return springs  43  are provided to make the force of the locking arms  41  more even, which improves the stability of the movement of the locking arms  41 . 
     The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present disclosure and not to limit the technical solutions described in the present disclosure. The understanding of this specification should be based on those skilled in the art. Descriptions of directions, although they have been described in detail in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can still be made to the application, and all technical solutions and improvements that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the application should be covered by the claims of the application.