Patent Publication Number: US-9413091-B2

Title: Electrical connector assembly with improved contact arrangement

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, and more particularly to an electrical connector assembly having improved arrangement of contacts. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Universal Serial BUS (USB) is a widely used input/output interface adapted for many electronic devices, such as personal computers and related peripherals. Nowadays, USB-IF has published several specification editions for USB, and transmitting rate of USB has become higher and higher. As electronic industry develops, higher transmitting rate of USB based connection accessory is needed. 
     A USB 3.0 specification over USB 2.0 has been adopted for transmitting high speed data. A USB 3.0 connector has five additional contacts for high speed signal transmission. A USB 3.0 connector of Powered-B type has two lateral contacts, one of the two lateral contacts being a power contact, and the other one being a ground contact. The power contact can supply power for peripheral equipment connected with the USB 3.0 connector of Powered-B type, without the need of additional power supply. For the present, the USB 3.0 POWER-B has two power supplies, +5V and +12V. The +5V power supply supplies power source for the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, and the +12V power supply supplies power source for the peripheral electronic devices. When the mating connector is connected to the USB 3.0 connector, the mating order of the contacts is as follows: the +5V contact, the +12V contact, the USB 2.0 contact, the USB 3.0 contact. In this mating order, since the +12V power supply is immediately following the +5V power supply, the recognition thereof is made difficult, i.e., it is prone to error by a power system circuit and increases the difficulty in power system circuit designs. 
     Hence, an electrical connector assembly with improved arrangement of contacts is desired to overcome the above problems. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, an electrical connector assembly comprises: 
     an insulative housing defining a receiving space; 
     a plurality of contacts retained in the insulative housing, the contacts comprising a set of first contacts and a set of second contacts, each of the first and second contacts having a contacting portion and a tail portion, the second contacts received in the receiving space;
 
a cable electrically connected with the plurality of contacts; and
 
a shielding member enclosing on the insulative housing to form a cavity, the cavity receiving the first contacts; wherein
 
the second contacts are for transmitting high speed signal and comprise a power contact, a negative contact for transmitting negative signal, a positive contact for transmitting positive signal, a first grounding contact return to the power connect, a power provided by device (DPWR) contact, and a second grounding contact return to the DPWR contact;
 
the contacting portion of each of the set of second contacts is spaced a respective contacting distance from a front end surface of the insulative housing; and
 
the contacting distances of the power contact and the grounding contact are equal to each other and the shortest, the contacting distances of the negative contact and the positive contact are equal to each other and longer than the contacting distance of the power contact, the contacting distances of the first contacts are equal to each other and longer than the contacting distance of the positive contact, and the contacting distances of the DPWR contact and the second grounding contact are equal to each other and longer than the contacting distance of the first contact.
 
     The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective assembled view of an electrical connector assembly according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partly exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a further exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a further exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a further exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown in  FIG. 5  from a different perspective; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view of the contacts arrangement of the electrical connector assembly according to the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is a front view of the electrical connector assembly according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , an electrical connector assembly  100  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an insulative housing  1 , a plurality of first and second contacts  2 ,  3  retained in the insulative housing  1 , a spacer  4  assembled to the insulative housing  1  for retaining the first and second contacts  2 ,  3 , a shielding member  5  enclosing on the insulative housing  1 , a cable  6  electrically connected with the first and second contacts  2 ,  3 , an inner insulator  7  molded on an electrical connection between the cable  6  and the first and second contacts  2 ,  3 , a front cover  8 , and a back cover  9  over-molded on the cable  6 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4-6 , the insulative housing  1  includes a main portion  11 , an extension portion  12  extending upwards from a top surface of the main portion  11 , and a pair of positioning posts  13  extending rearwards from a back end surface of the main portion  11 . A receiving space  110  is formed by four conjunctive walls of the main portion  11 , and extending along a mating direction of the electrical connector  100 . The main portion  11  has a plurality of passageways  112  communicating with the receiving space  110 . Four of the passageways  112  are recessed downwardly from an inner surface of a bottom wall of the main portion  11 , and the remaining four passageways  112  are recessed upwardly from an inner surface of a top wall of the main portion  11 . Each positioning post  13  is a tiny column extending along a horizontal direction. 
     The extension portion  12  is defined on one side of the main portion  11  along a transverse direction, thus the extension portion  12  together with the main portion  11  forms an L-shaped configuration. The extension portion  12  has a dent  121  depressed downwards from an upper surface thereof The extension portion  12  defines a plurality of slots  122  extending along the mating direction. Front parts of the slots  122  are arranged in the dent  121  and rear parts of the slots  122  are communicated with an exterior in the vertical direction. 
     The first contacts  2  are used for transmitting high speed signal. Each first contact  2  comprises a resilient contacting portion  21 , a tail portion  23 , and a connecting portion  22  connecting the contacting portion  21  with the tail portion  23 . Tail portions  23  of the first contacts  2  are arranged on a first level along the horizontal direction. The first contacts  2  are received in the corresponding slots  122  of the extension portion  12 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5, 6, and 8 , each of the second contacts  3  includes a stiff contacting portion  31 , a retaining portion  32  extending backwards from corresponding contacting portion  31 , and a tail portion  33  on a back end thereof A bending portion  34  is defined between the retaining portion  32  and the tail portion  33 . The second contacts  3  are labeled as  3   a  to  3   h  in sequence, the contacting portions  31  of the second contacts  3  are arranged in two horizontal rows, and tail portions  33  of the second contacts  3  are arranged on a second level along the horizontal direction. The second contacts  3  with upper contacting portions  31  are labeled as  3   a,    3   b,    3   c,    3   d  from left to right, and comprise a power contact  3   a  connecting to a +5V power source, a negative signal contact  3   b,  a positive signal contact  3   c,  and a grounding contact  3   d  (ground return to the power contact  3   a ). The second contacts  3  with lower contacting portions  31  are labeled as  3   e,    3   f,    3   g,    3   h  along a right to left direction, and comprise a DPWR (power provided by device) contact  3   e  connecting a +12V power source, a pair of grounding contacts  3   f,    3   g  (ground return to DPWR) sharing a common tail portion, and a spare contact  3   h.  The pair of grounding contacts  3   f,    3   g  are linked together by a conjoining portion  35  connecting two bending portions  34  of the two contacts  3   f,    3   g.    
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , the line A denotes a front end face of the insulative housing  1 . When the electrical connector assembly  100  is inserted into a mating connector, the first and second contacts  2 ,  3  are electrically connected with the mating connector in a certain sequence, and the portion of the first and second contacts  2 ,  3  contacted by the mating connector initially has a contacting distance to the front end face of the insulative housing  1 , and the contacting distances of the contacting portions of the first and second contacts  2 ,  3  are defined as h. The contacting distance h 1  of the power contact  3   a,  the grounding contact  3   d,  and the spare contact  3   h  is the shortest. The contacting distance h 2  of the negative contact  3   b  and the positive contact  3   c  is longer than the contacting distance h 1 . The contacting distance h 3  of the first contacts  2  is longer than the contacting distance h 2 . The contacting distance h 4  of the DPWR contact  3   e  and the grounding contacts  3   g,    3   f  is longer than the contacting distance h 3 . The shorter the contacting distance of the first and the second contacts  2 ,  3 , the earlier the first and the second contacts  2 ,  3  connect with the mating connector. Thus, such contacting distance management makes the mating connector sequentially connect with the power contact  3   a,  the grounding contact  3   d  and the spare contact  3   h,  the negative contact  3   b  and the positive contact  3   c,  all the first contacts  2 , the DPWR contact  3   e,  the grounding contacts  3   g,    3   f    
     Referring to  FIGS. 4-6  , the spacer  4  is assembled to the back end surface of the insulative housing  1  and comprises a front engaging portion  41  and a back supporting portion  42 . The engaging portion  41  defines a pair of holes  412  in a front surface thereof for retaining the corresponding positioning posts  13 . The supporting portion  42  defines a plurality of grooves  421  on a top surface and a bottom surface thereof to receive corresponding tail portions  23 ,  33 . After the first contacts  2  and the second contacts  3  are assembled to the insulative housing  1 , the tail portions  23 ,  33  are exposed beyond the back end surface of the insulative housing  1  and inserted into the grooves  421  of the spacer  4 . The cable  6  is electrically connected with the first and the second contacts  2 ,  3 . 
     Referring again to  FIGS. 4-6 , the shielding member  5  is made of metallic material and includes a first shell  51  and a second shell  52  cooperated with each other. The second shell  52  comprises a tube portion  520  enclosing the main portion  11  and a drawer portion  521  extending backwardly from the tube portion  520  for latching with the first shell  51 . 
     The first contacts  2  are assembled in the corresponding slots  122  of the insulative housing  1  and the second contacts  3  are assembled in the corresponding passageways  112  of the insulative housing  1 . The contacting portions  31  of the second contacts  3  are divided into two groups on different horizontal levels. The spacer  4  is attached to the back end surface of the insulative housing  1  and the positioning posts  13  of the insulative housing  1  are inserted into the corresponding holes  412  of the spacer  4 . Then the insulative housing  1  is assembled to the second shell  52 . A cavity  120  is formed by the extension portion  12  of the insulative housing  1  and an upper wall of the second shell  52  and is located above on one side of the receiving space  110 . The first contacts  2  are arranged in the cavity  120 , and the second contacts  3  are placed in the receiving space  110 . The first shell  51  is assembled to the drawer portion  521  of the second shell  52 . The inner insulator  7  is molded on rear segments of the first and second shell  51 ,  52 , and enclosed on a front part of the cable  6 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , the front cover  8  is made of insulative material and assembled on the shielding member  5  and the inner insulator  7  along a front to back direction. The back cover  9  is over-molded on the cable  6  and the inner insulator  7 , a front section of the back cover  9  is received in the front cover  8 , and a back section of the back cover  9  is adjacent to a rear end of the front cover  8  to form a zero clearance fit. 
     The arrangement of the first and second contacts  2 ,  3  makes the mating connector connect to the electrical connector assembly  100  in the following order: the spare contact  3   h,  the power contact  3   a  and grounding contact  3   d,  the negative contact  3   b  and positive contact  3   c,  the first contacts  2 , the DPWR contact  3   e  and grounding contacts  3   f,    3   g.  Such order prevents false recognition of the two power supplies by power system circuits, enables the system circuits to have a simple circuit for recognizing different power supplies, and helps simplify related circuits. In practical operation, the different contacting distances of the contacts  2 ,  3  can be arranged to be contacted in an order so as to facilitate distinct identification of the two power supply contacts. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous, characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosed is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of number, 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.