Patent Publication Number: US-2012040558-A1

Title: Electrical connector provided with a grounding terminal structure

Description:
This application claims the benefits of the Taiwan Patent Application Serial NO. 099215374 filed on Aug. 11, 2010, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, more particularly to an electrical connector including a grounding metal plate and a grounding terminal integrally formed with the grounding metal plate. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In order to transmit a great burden of information between the CPU and the display device in a computer set, an electrical connector using low voltage differential signaling serves as signal transmission interface due to its high-speed signal transmission therethrough and due to its noise immunity. Such type of electrical connector is generally known as LVDS connector since it can transmit a tremendously large amount of information within a single time interval and since noise is subtracted away therefrom. In order to protect the interior components and resist the electromagnetic interference, a metal cover member covers the connector from an exterior thereof and a plurality of grounding terminals are soldered to the metal cover member to form a grounding wire such that electrical charge from the metal cover member is guided via the grounding wire to the grounding terminal, hence into the earth. 
     However, the signal transmission terminals within the prior art LVDS are connected densely and are arranged closely such that it is difficult to conduct soldering or welding process when required. A tin-soldering process is generally carried out to coupled electrically the required terminals and in case of accidentally touching an adjacent terminal during the soldering process, a short circuit may result and leading to inferior quality of the connector. In addition, the tin-soldering process itself causes high expense and time consuming for the manufacturers. 
     According to the prior art technique, the metal cover member is generally bent, punched or cut out to form a flexible strip section prior to assembly. During assembly of the metal cover member over the insulated body, the flexible strip section is to be coupled electrically with the ground terminal. However, during the assembly, the flexible strip section may possibly be engaged electrically to the other undesired terminal. Thus, short circuits may result within the connector and hence the connector must be discarded. 
     Moreover, during insertion of the terminals into the insulated body, the entire terminals are held in alignment firstly into a row and then the row of terminals is inserted into the terminal grooves simultaneously at the same time. In the event, even if one terminal is not aligned with the rest of terminals prior to the insertion, there may result in failure of terminal insertion, hence leading to poor quality or discarding of the connector. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to eliminate or improve the aforesaid drawbacks, the object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector, which does not require additional connecting structure between the grounding terminals and the grounding metal plate and an insert-molding process is used for fixing an insulated body on the terminals. 
     The electrical connector according to the present invention is generally called to possess a grounding terminal structure, and includes an insulated body, a conduction terminal, a grounding terminal, and a grounding metal plate. The insulated body includes a holding tongue portion having upper and lower surfaces and a front end thereof. The conduction terminal is disposed on the upper surface of the tongue portion and has a contact section. The grounding terminal is disposed on the upper surface of the tongue portion, is spaced apart from the conduction terminal and has a connection section. The grounding metal plate is disposed below and attached to the lower surface of the tongue portion in such a manner that the grounding metal plate is integrally formed with the connection section of the grounding terminal proximate to the front end of the tongue portion. The contact section of the conduction terminal is also located proximate to the front end of the tongue portion. During the manufacturing, the insulated body is mounted on the conduction and grounding terminals and the grounding metal plate such the latter three are hold securely relative to the insulated body. 
     As described above, the electrical connector of the present invention is said to possess the grounding terminal structure and therefore does not need other structure for electrically connected to the grounding terminal and the grounding metal plate since the latter two are integrally formed with each other. In other words, there is no need to conduct the soldering process and hence economizing the labor time. In addition, the problem of accidentally touching an adjacent terminal during the tin-soldering process and hence leading a short circuit as encountered in the prior art manufacturing can be avoided. Furthermore, since insert-molding process is used in the present invention for mounting the insulated body relative to the conduction terminal and the grounding terminal, the latter two are stably and securely fixed on to the insulated body after production. Moreover, the need of holding the entire terminals in alignment firstly into a row during insertion of the terminals into the insulated body in the prior art is also avoided. Hence there is no failure of terminal insertion as encountered in the prior art manufacturing process. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an electrical connector of the present invention having a grounding terminal structure; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective and exploded view of the electrical connector of the present invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective and exploded view of the electrical connector of the present invention, wherein the elements shown in  FIG. 2  are turned upside down to illustrate lower structures thereof of; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a cross-sectional view of a grounding terminal and a grounding metal plate employed in the electrical connector of the present invention prior to assembly; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional views of a conduction terminal and the grounding metal plate employed in the electrical connector of the present invention prior to assembly; 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  shows a top planar view of a relatively large metal plate from which the conduction terminal, the grounding terminal and the grounding metal plate are fabricated during manufacturing process in order to form the electrical connector of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is top planar view, illustrating a state after partially assembly of some elements during manufacturing to form the electrical connector of the present invention 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 5 , wherein  FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an electrical connector of the present invention having a grounding terminal structure;  FIG. 2  is a perspective and exploded view of the electrical connector of the present invention shown in  FIG. 1 ;  FIG. 3  is a perspective and exploded view of the electrical connector of the present invention, wherein the elements shown in  FIG. 2  are turned upside down to illustrate lower structures thereof;  FIG. 4  illustrates a cross-sectional view of a grounding terminal and a grounding metal plate employed in the electrical connector of the present invention prior to assembly while  FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of a conduction terminal and the grounding metal plate employed in the electrical connector of the present invention prior to assembly. 
     Note that the electrical connector  1  of the present invention uses differential signaling for transmitting information in high-speed, is generally known as LVDS (low voltage differential signaling) connector and includes an insulated body  100 , a plurality of conduction terminals  200 , a plurality of grounding terminals  300 , a grounding metal plate  400  and a metal cover member  500 . 
     The insulated body  100  includes a main portion  110 , a holding tongue portion  120  and a fixing portion  150 . The main portion  110  has a bottom side formed with a plurality of engaging blocks  111  (see  FIG. 3 ). The tongue portion  120  projects frontward from the main portion  110 , and has upper and lower surfaces and a front end  120 F thereof (see  FIG. 1 ). The fixing portion  150  is disposed above the main portion  110 . The upper surface of the tongue portion  120  is formed with a plurality of terminal reception channels  130 , which extends through the fixing portion  150 . The lower surface of the tongue portion  120  is formed with a grounding chamber  140  in spatial communication with each of the terminal reception channels  130 . 
     The conduction terminals  200  are disposed respectively within the terminal reception channels  130  in the tongue portion  120  and extend through the fixing portion  150 , which, in turn, enhances retention of the terminals  200  within the terminal reception channels  130 , as best shown in  FIG. 5 . Each conduction terminal  200  has a contact section  210  and a termination section  220  opposite to the contact section  210 . As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the contact section  210  of each conduction terminal  200  is slightly spaced apart from the grounding metal plate  400 . In other words, the conduction terminals  200  and the grounding metal plate  400  are insulated relative to each other. The contact sections  210  of the conduction terminals  200  are located proximate to the front end  120 F of the tongue portion  120  while the termination sections  220  of the conduction terminals  200  are terminating within the main portion  110  of the insulated body  100 . 
     The grounding terminals  300  are also disposed respectively within the terminal reception channels  130  in the tongue portion  120  and extend through the fixing portion  150  in such a manner that an adjacent pair of the conduction terminal  200  and the grounding terminal  300  are arranged on the tongue portion  120  in parallel manner and are spaced apart from each other. In fact, the conduction and grounding terminals  200 ,  300  are alternately arranged on the tongue portion  120  in parallel manner. Each grounding terminal  300  has a connection section  310  proximate to the front end  120 F of the tongue portion  120  and a termination section  320  terminating in the main portion  110  of the insulated body  100 . As best shown in  FIG. 4 , after assembly, the connection sections  310  of the grounding terminals  300  are integrally formed with the grounding metal plate  400  proximate to the front end  120 F of the tongue portion  120 . In this embodiment, the conduction and grounding terminals  200 ,  300  may have the same structure while the contact and connection sections  210 ,  310  of the conduction and grounding terminals  200 ,  300  are flushed with one another and the termination sections  220 .  320  thereof are flushed with one another along a predetermined direction D 1 . 
     The grounding metal plate  400  is disposed below and attached to the lower surface of the tongue portion  120  and extends along the predetermined direction D 1  in such a manner that a section of the grounding metal plate  400  is engaged within the grounding chamber  140  (see  FIG. 3 ) in the tongue portion  120 . Note that the other section of the grounding metal plate  400  is formed with a plurality of grounding recesses  410  (see  FIG. 3 ) respectively receiving the engaging blocks  111  of the main portion  110  of the insulated body  100  after assembly. 
     The metal cover member  500  is mounted securely above the tongue portion  120  of the insulated body  100  and is further integrally formed with the grounding metal plate  400 . 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  show a top planar view of a relatively large metal plate (A 1 ) from which the conduction terminals  200 , the grounding terminals  300  and the grounding metal plate  400  are fabricated during manufacturing process in order to form the electrical connector of the present invention. During the manufacturing process, the relatively large metal plate (A 1 ) is punched, bent and cut out in such a manner to form the conduction terminals  200 , the grounding terminals  300  and the grounding metal plate  400 , as best illustrated in  FIG. 6 , so that a connection part (A 2 ) of the metal plate (A 1 ) is integrally formed with the conduction terminals  200 , the grounding terminals  300  and the grounding metal plate  400  at this time. 
     Afterward, the large metal plate (A 1 ) is bent downward from an adjoining position of the grounding terminals  300  and the grounding metal plate  400 , the adjoining position is proximate to the connection sections  310  of the grounding terminals  300 , thereby obtaining a semi-finished electrical connector of the present invention, as best shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     Finally, the large metal plate (A 1 ) is placed within a mold (not shown in the drawings) and the insert-molding process is conducted by injecting plastic material into the mold in order to form the insulated body  100 . After removal of the mold from the insulated body  100 , the connection part (A 2 ) is cut off from a position proximate to the termination sections  220 ,  320  of the conduction and grounding terminals  200 ,  300 . Hence the conduction terminals  200 , the grounding terminals  300  and the grounding metal plate  400  are mounted on the insulated body  100 , as best shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     As described above, the grounding terminals  300  and the grounding metal plate  400  are integrally formed with each other to define a terminal grounding structure for grounding purpose such that the electrical connector of the present invention is said to possess the grounding terminal structure and therefore does not need other structure for electrically connected to the grounding terminals  300  and the grounding metal plate  400  since the latter two are integrally formed with each other. In other words, there is no need to conduct the soldering process and hence economizing the labor time. In addition, the problem of accidentally touching an adjacent terminal during the soldering process and hence leading a short circuit as encountered in the prior art manufacturing can be avoided. Furthermore, since insert-molding process is used in the present invention for mounting the insulated body  100  relative to the conduction terminals  200  and the grounding terminals  300 , the latter two are stably and securely fixed on to the insulated body  100  after production. Moreover, the need of holding the entire terminals in alignment firstly into a row during insertion of the terminals into the insulated body in the prior art is also avoided. Hence there is no failure of terminal insertion, and leading to better quality and no discarding of the electrical connector of the present invention. 
     While the invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.