Patent Publication Number: US-11646535-B2

Title: Terminal module for easy determination of electrical performance and backplane connector thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This patent application claims priority of a Chinese Patent Application No. 202022085168.0, filed on Sep. 21, 2020 and titled “TERMINAL MODULE AND BACKPLANE CONNECTOR”, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a terminal module and a backplane connector, which belongs to a technical field of high-frequency/high-speed connectors. 
     BACKGROUND 
     An existing backplane connector usually includes a plurality of terminal modules disposed side by side. Each terminal module usually includes signal terminals, ground terminals, and a conductive plastic beside the signal terminals and the ground terminals. In general, the backplane connector has higher requirements for signal transmission quality during data transmission. In order to achieve better shielding performance, the conductive plastic is usually designed to be in contact with the ground terminals. By this design, all the ground terminals are connected as a whole through the conductive plastic, which increases the shielding area. 
     When the backplane connector leaves the factory, electrical tests (for example, high voltage test, short/open circuit test, etc.) are necessary tests. As mentioned above, if the conductive plastic is brought into contact with the ground terminals, theoretically, the multiple ground terminals are connected to each other under the transmission of the conductive plastic. However, because the conductive plastic and the ground terminals are made of different materials, the conductivity of the conductive plastic is usually much lower than that of ordinary metal parts, which may cause non-conduction even if the conductive plastic completely contacts the ground terminals. This kind of existing design will sometimes conduct and not conduct during electrical testing, so that it is difficult to determine whether the product is qualified when testing the electrical performance. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of the present disclosure is to provide a terminal module which is easy to determine the electrical performance and a backplane connector having the terminal module. 
     In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a terminal module, including: an insulating member including a mating surface and a mounting surface; a plurality of conductive terminals, each conductive terminal including a fixing portion fixed to the insulating member, a mating portion extending beyond the mating surface, and a mounting foot extending beyond the mounting surface, the plurality of conductive terminals including at least a group of signal terminals, a first ground terminal and a second ground terminal, wherein the first ground terminal and the second ground terminal are both adjacent to the group of signal terminals, and wherein the group of signal terminals are located between the first ground terminal and the second ground terminal; and a conductive plastic mounted to the insulating member; wherein the terminal module includes a first rib, a second rib, and a groove located between the first rib and the second rib; the first rib corresponds to the fixing portion of the first ground terminal, the second rib corresponds to the fixing portion of the second ground terminal, the groove corresponds to the fixing portions of the group of signal terminals; the first rib is adjacent to the fixing portion of the first ground terminal but not in contact with the fixing portion of the first ground terminal; and the second rib is adjacent to the fixing portion of the second ground terminal but not in contact with the fixing portion of the second ground terminal. 
     In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a terminal module, including: an insulating member; a plurality of conductive terminals, each conductive terminal including a fixing portion fixed to the insulating member and a mating portion extending beyond the insulating member, the plurality of conductive terminals including a group of signal terminals, a first ground terminal and a second ground terminal, wherein the first ground terminal and the second ground terminal are both adjacent to the group of signal terminals, and wherein the group of signal terminals are located between the first ground terminal and the second ground terminal; and a conductive plastic mounted to the insulating member; wherein the terminal module includes a first rib, a second rib, and a groove located between the first rib and the second rib; the first rib corresponds to the fixing portion of the first ground terminal, the second rib corresponds to the fixing portion of the second ground terminal, the groove corresponds to the fixing portions of the group of signal terminals; the first rib is so adjacent to but not in contact with the fixing portion of the first ground terminal that coupling is capable of occurring; and the second rib is so adjacent to but not in contact with the fixing portion of the second ground terminal that coupling is capable of occurring. 
     In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a backplane connector, including: an insulating portion; and a plurality of terminal modules, each terminal module including: an insulating member including a mating surface and a mounting surface; a plurality of conductive terminals, each conductive terminal including a fixing portion fixed to the insulating member, a mating portion extending beyond the mating surface, and a mounting foot extending beyond the mounting surface, the plurality of conductive terminals including at least a group of signal terminals, a first ground terminal and a second ground terminal, wherein the first ground terminal and the second ground terminal are both adjacent to the group of signal terminals, and wherein the group of signal terminals are located between the first ground terminal and the second ground terminal; and a conductive plastic mounted to the insulating member; wherein each terminal module includes a first rib, a second rib, and a groove located between the first rib and the second rib; the first rib corresponds to the fixing portion of the first ground terminal, the second rib corresponds to the fixing portion of the second ground terminal, the groove corresponds to the fixing portions of the group of signal terminals; the first rib is adjacent to the fixing portion of the first ground terminal but not in contact with the fixing portion of the first ground terminal; and the second rib is adjacent to the fixing portion of the second ground terminal but not in contact with the fixing portion of the second ground terminal; and wherein the insulating portion defines a plurality of receiving grooves to receive the mating portions, and two adjacent terminal modules are symmetrically disposed along a plane located between the two adjacent terminal modules. 
     Compared with the prior art, in the present disclosure, the first rib is adjacent to the fixing portion of the first ground terminal but not in contact with the fixing portion of the first ground terminal, and the second rib is adjacent to the first ground terminal but not in contact with the fixing portion of the second ground terminal. As a result, on one hand, the conductive plastic can play a positive role in shielding the terminals; on the other hand, by making the first ground terminal and the second ground terminal non-conducting, it is convenient to determine the accuracy of the electrical test. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a backplane connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a partially exploded perspective view of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a partial perspective exploded view of a terminal module of the backplane connector in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is a perspective exploded view of another terminal module; 
         FIG.  5    is a further perspective exploded view of  FIG.  4   ; 
         FIG.  6    is a partial perspective exploded view of the terminal module of the backplane connector in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  7    is a further perspective exploded view of  FIG.  6   ; 
         FIG.  8    is a partial perspective exploded view of the terminal module of the backplane connector in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  9    is a partial perspective exploded view of the terminal module of the backplane connector in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  10    is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in  FIG.  1    and taking the first embodiment, the second embodiment or the fourth embodiment as an example; 
         FIG.  11    is a partial enlarged view of a frame portion B in  FIG.  10   ; 
         FIG.  12    is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in  FIG.  1    and taking the third embodiment as an example; and 
         FIG.  13    is a partial enlarged view of a frame portion C in  FIG.  12   . 
     
    
    
     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  and  2   , the present disclosure discloses a backplane connector  100  including an insulating portion  20 , a plurality of terminal modules  10 , and a holding piece  30  connecting the terminal modules  10  as a whole. The insulating portion  20  defines a receiving groove  201  for receiving parts of the terminal modules  10 . Each terminal module  10  includes an insulating member  1 , a plurality of conductive terminals  2  fixed to the insulating member  1 , and a conductive plastic  3  mounted to the insulating member  1 . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, two adjacent terminal modules  10  are disposed symmetrically along a plane located between the two adjacent terminal modules  10 . In the following, only one terminal module  10  is taken as an example for description. 
     Each insulating member  1  includes at least one holding portion  11 . The holding piece  30  is used to fix the holding portions  11  of all the terminal modules  10 . The holding portion  11  may be a protrusion and/or a groove. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the holding portion  11  includes a first holding portion  111  located at a top of the insulating member  1  and a second holding portion  112  located at a rear end of the insulating member  1 . Correspondingly, the holding piece  30  includes a first holding piece  301  that is matched with the first holding portion  111  and a second holding piece  302  that is matched with the second holding portion  112 . Referring to  FIGS.  1  and  2   , in the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, a bottom of the first holding portion  111  defines a first holding groove  1111 . The first holding piece  301  includes a first protruding piece portion  3011  inserted into the first holding groove  1111 . The second holding portion  112  includes a second holding groove  1121 . The second holding piece  302  includes a second protruding piece portion  3021  inserted into the second holding groove  1121 . 
     The insulating member  1  is made of insulating material, and includes h a mating surface  12  and a mounting surface  13 . The mating surface  12  is substantially perpendicular to the mounting surface  13 . 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of conductive terminals  2  are insert-molded with the insulating member  1 . From a structural point of view, each conductive terminal  2  includes a fixing portion  21  fixed to the insulating member  1 , a mating portion  22  extending beyond the mating surface  12  and a mounting foot  23  extending beyond the mounting surface  13 . The mating portion  22  is received in the receiving groove  201  of the insulating portion  20  to mate with a mating connector (not shown). The mounting foot  23  is used for electrical connection with a circuit board (not shown). From a functional point of view, the plurality of conductive terminals  2  include at least a group of signal terminals S, a first ground terminal G 1  and a second ground terminal G 2 . The first ground terminal G 1  and the second ground terminal G 2  are both adjacent to the group of signal terminals S. The group of signal terminals S are located between the first ground terminal G 1  and the second ground terminal G 2 . This layout can improve the shielding effect on the signal terminals and improve the quality of data transmission. 
     The terminal module  10  includes a first rib  14 , a second rib  15  and a groove  16  located between the first rib  14  and the second rib  15 . The first rib  14  corresponds to the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1 . The second rib  15  corresponds to the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 . The groove  16  corresponds to the fixing portions  21  of the group of signal terminals S. The first rib  14  is adjacent to the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1  but not in contact with the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1 . The second rib  15  is adjacent to the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2  but not in contact with the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 . In some embodiments, the first rib  14  is so adjacent to the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1  that coupling is capable of occurring, which is beneficial to improve the shielding effect on the signal terminals and improve the quality of data transmission. Similarly, the second rib  15  is so adjacent to the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2  that coupling is capable of occurring. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  3  to  7   , in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first rib  14  and the second rib  15  are disposed on the conductive plastic  3 . For example, the first rib  14  and the second rib  15  are integrally formed with the conductive plastic  3 . Both the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1  and the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2  are at least partially exposed to the insulating member  1 . The terminal module  10  includes a first isolation portion  17  between the first rib  14  and the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1 , and a second isolation portion  18  located between the second rib  15  and the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 . 
     Referring to  FIGS.  3  to  5 ,  10  and  11   , in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the first isolation portion  17  includes a first non-conductive coating  171  disposed on the first rib  14 , and the second isolation portion  18  includes a second non-conductive coating  181  disposed on the second rib  15 . Of course, in other alternative embodiments, the first non-conductive coating  171  and the second non-conductive coating  181  may also be disposed on the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1  and the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 , respectively. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first non-conductive coating  171  and the second non-conductive coating  181  are both silk-screened coatings. A plurality of first ribs  14  are provided and discontinuously disposed along an extension direction of the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1 . A plurality of second ribs  15  are provided and discontinuously disposed along an extension direction of the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 . This arrangement facilitates the molding of the first rib  14  and the second rib  15 . 
     Referring to  FIGS.  6 ,  7 ,  10  and  11   , in a second embodiment of the present disclosure, the first isolation portion  17  includes a first non-conductive film  172  pasted on the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1 , and the second isolation portion  18  includes a second non-conductive film  182  pasted on the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 . It can be understood that in other alternative embodiments, the first isolation portion  17  may also include a first non-conductive film  172  pasted on the first rib  14 , and the second isolation portion  18  may also include a second non-conductive film  182  pasted on the second rib  15 . In some embodiments, the first non-conductive film  172  and the second non-conductive film  182  may be polyester films. In other alternative embodiments, the first non-conductive film  172  can also be replaced by a first insulating block, and the second non-conductive film  182  can also be replaced by a second insulating block. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  8 ,  12  and  13   , in a third embodiment of the present disclosure, the first isolation portion  17  includes a first non-conductive isolation portion  173  disposed between the first ground terminal G 1  and the first rib  14 , and the second isolation portion  18  includes a second non-conductive isolation portion  183  disposed between the second ground terminal G 2  and the second rib  15 . The first non-conductive isolation portion  173  and the second non-conductive isolation portion  183  are integrally formed with the insulating member  1 . 
     Referring to  FIGS.  9 ,  11  and  12   , in a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, both the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1  and the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2  are at least partially exposed to the insulating member  1 . The first isolation portion  17  includes a first non-conductive isolation member  174  disposed on the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1 . The second isolation portion  18  includes a second non-conductive isolation member  184  disposed on the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 . In some embodiments, the first non-conductive spacer  174  and the second non-conductive spacer  184  may be integrally formed with the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1  and the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 , respectively. 
     Compared with the prior art, in the present disclosure, the first rib  14  is adjacent to the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1  but not in contact with the fixing portion  21  of the first ground terminal G 1 , and the second rib  15  is adjacent to the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2  but not in contact with the fixing portion  21  of the second ground terminal G 2 . With this arrangement, on one hand, the conductive plastic  3  can play a positive role in terminal shielding; on the other hand, the first ground terminal G 1  and the second ground terminal G 2  are not conducted, thereby facilitating the judgment of the accuracy of the electrical test. 
     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.