Patent Publication Number: US-2023163533-A1

Title: Electrical connector

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of China patent application serial no. 202111375028.X, filed on Nov. 19, 2021. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to an electrical connector. 
     Description of Related Art 
     With the advance of technology, various connectors for different electronic products have emerged, among which the electrical connector adapted for cables is one of the most ubiquitous connectors. Currently, the type-C connector is a connector widely used for cables as it realizes positive and negative insertion. However, the terminals in the existing type-C connector are disposed on the inner side of the connector housing, making the coplanarity degree of arc height of the terminals relatively unstable and the true position of the terminal-related elements difficult to be controlled. Such design therefore requires the metallic sheet for the terminals to undergo a second shaping processing. 
     SUMMARY 
     The disclosure provides an electrical connector capable of controlling effectively the coplanarity degree of arc height of the terminals and reducing the manufacturing difficulty by stacking the elements. 
     The electrical connector of the disclosure includes an inner housing, two first components, a plurality of terminals, two second components, two metallic sheets, and an outer housing. The inner housing has a insertion space, an inner wall surface, an outer wall surface, and a plurality of first openings. The inner wall surface faces toward the insertion space. The outer wall surface faces away from the insertion space. The first openings connect the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface. The terminals are respectively disposed in the first component and assembled to the outer wall surface along with the first components. Connecting ends of the terminals extend from the outer wall surface through the first opening to the insertion space. The second components are assembled to the inner housing and shield the connecting ends and the first openings. The metallic sheets are assembled to the inner housing and stacked on the second components. The outer housing accommodates the inner housing, the terminals, the first components, the second components, and the metallic sheets. 
     The electrical connector of the disclosure includes an inner housing, two first components, two terminal module, and an outer housing. The inner housing has a insertion space, an inner wall surface, an outer wall surface, and a plurality of first openings. The inner wall surface faces toward the insertion space. The outer wall surface faces away from the insertion space. The first openings connect the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface. Each terminal module comprises a first component and one set of terminals, and each terminal module is disposed on the outer wall surface of the inner housing. A plurality of connecting ends of the terminals extend from the outer wall surface through the first openings to the insertion space, and another electrical connector is suitable to be inserted into the insertion space along an insertion axis and connected with the connecting ends. The outer housing accommodates the inner housing, the terminals, and the two first components. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the two first components, the two second components, the two metallic sheets, and the terminals are disposed symmetrically with respect to the inner housing. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, a gap exists between the first components and the inner housing along the insertion axis, and the second components fill the gap. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the second components are structurally connected subsequently between the first components and the inner housing. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the first components have a positioning protrusion, the inner housing has a first positioning groove, and the positioning protrusion is fitted into the first positioning groove. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the metallic sheets have a plurality of positioning bends respectively fitted into a second positioning groove of the inner housing and a third positioning groove of the first components. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the metallic sheets further have a plurality of bent contact fingers, the inner housing further has a plurality of second openings connecting the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface, and the bent contact fingers pass through the second opening and protrude from the inner wall surface. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the electrical connector further includes a grounding sheet disposed in the inner housing and partially extending into the insertion space. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the inner housing includes two inner housing parts forming a closed annular structure and the insertion space, each of the inner housing parts has part of the outer wall surface, part of the inner wall surface, and part of the first openings. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the electrical connector further includes a grounding sheet assembled and clamped between the two inner housing parts. 
     Based on the above, in the electrical connector of the disclosure, the first components of an insulator is disposed in the inner housing and partially overlapped on the outer wall surface, and the connecting ends of the terminals extend to the insertion space through the first openings of the inner housing, then the second components is assembled to the outer wall of the inner housing and shields the first openings and the connecting ends, and the metallic sheets are disposed on the outer wall surface of the inner housing and stacked on the second components. Accordingly, these elements may apply a pressure in advance on the terminals during assembly and allow the part where these terminals extend into the insertion space to have good coplanarity degree of arc height due to the overlap of the elements, such that the true position of the elements related to the terminals in the electrical connector may be controlled effectively during the production, and the difficulty in producing the elements related to the terminals in the electrical connector may be reduced, improving the production yield of the electrical connector. 
     In order to make the above features and advantages of the disclosure more comprehensible, the following embodiments are described in detail with the drawings as follows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a cross-sectional view of part of the elements of the electrical connector in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    and  FIG.  4    respectively illustrate exploded views of the electrical connector in  FIG.  1    from different perspectives. 
         FIG.  5    to  FIG.  7    are schematic diagrams of some components of the electrical connector shown in  FIG.  1   , respectively. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z are also provided in the drawings for the reference of the subsequent description of elements. In  FIG.  1   , the electrical connector  100  of this embodiment is, for example, a type-C connector for cables, and it is suitable for connecting with another electrical connector (not shown) along an insertion axis A 1  (equivalent to the X-axis). 
       FIG.  2    is a cross-sectional view of part of the elements of the electrical connector in  FIG.  1   .  FIG.  3    and  FIG.  4    are respectively exploded views of the electrical connector in  FIG.  1    from different perspectives, and  FIG.  4    further omits some elements to show the relative relationship of the remaining elements. Note that the housing  150  is omitted in  FIG.  2    for a clearer presentation of the structural relationship of the electrical connector  100 . Please refer to  FIG.  1    to  FIG.  4    at the same time. In this embodiment, the electrical connector  100  includes an inner housing  110 , two insulators  120 , a plurality of terminals  130 , two metallic sheets  140 , and an outer housing  150 . 
     In this embodiment, the inner housing  110  is an insulative housing and has an insertion space  111 , an inner wall surface  112 , and an outer wall surface  113 . The inner wall surface  112  faces toward the insertion space  111 , and the outer wall surface  113  faces away from the insertion space  111 . Another electrical connector is suitable to be inserted to the insertion space  111  of the inner housing  110  along the insertion axis A 1 . Here, the inner housing  110  is composed of two inner housing parts  110   a  and  110   b  that form a closed annular structure and the insertion space  111 . The two inner housing parts  110   a  and  110   b  are disposed symmetrically with respect to the insertion axis A 1 . 
     Please refer to  FIG.  2    to  FIG.  4   . In this embodiment, the two insulators  120  and the two metallic sheets  140  correspond to each other and are disposed in the inner housing  110 . The two insulators  120  are partially stacked on the outer wall surface  113  of the inner housing  110  along the Z-axis, and the two metallic sheets  140  are disposed on the outer wall surface  113  of the inner housing  110  along the Z-axis. The terminals  130  are disposed along the arrangement axis (equivalent to the Y-axis), and the terminals  130  are respectively disposed on the two insulators  120 . 
     Specifically, in this embodiment, the two insulators  120  are disposed symmetrically with respect to the insertion axis A 1 , and the two metallic sheets  140  are disposed symmetrically with respect to the insertion axis A 1 . The inner housing  110  has a plurality of first openings  114 , and the terminals  130  protrude from the outer wall surface  113  through the first openings  114  to protrude from the inner wall surface  112  and extend to the insertion space  111 , so as to connect with another electrical connector. Each metallic sheet  140  is stacked on the corresponding insulator  120  along the Z-axis to partially cover the portion of the aforementioned terminals  130  extending into the insertion space  111 . 
     In this embodiment, one of the insulators  120  and the corresponding metallic sheet  140  are disposed in the inner housing part  110   a  of the inner housing  110  along the Z-axis, and the other insulator  120  and the corresponding metallic sheet  140  are disposed in the inner housing part  110   b  of the inner housing  110  along the Z-axis. 
     In this embodiment, the insulator  120  is made of an insulative material and includes a first component  121  and a second component  122 , the terminals  130  are disposed in the first component  121  and assembled to the outer wall surface  113  along with the first component  121 , the connecting ends  131  (marked in  FIG.  2   ) of the terminals  130  extend through the first opening  114  of the inner housing  110  to the insertion space  111 . The second component  122  is assembled to the outer wall surface  113  to shield the first opening  114  and the connecting ends  131 . Because the insulator  120  and the metallic sheets  140  are disposed on the outer wall surface  113  of the inner housing  110  and each metallic sheet  140  is stacked on the corresponding insulator  120  along the Z-axis, when the above elements are assembled, a pressure may be applied in advance to the terminals  130  disposed in the insulator  120 . Accordingly, the part where the terminals  130  extend into the insertion space  111  has good coplanarity degree of arc height, such that the true position of the elements (for example, the insulator  120  and the metallic sheets  140 ) related to the terminals  130  may be controlled effectively during the production, and the production difficulty of the elements related to the terminals  130  (such as the insulator  120  and the metallic sheets  140 ) may be reduced, improving the production yield of the electrical connector  100 . 
     Here, the degree of coplanarity of the arc height refers to the degree of coincidence of the arc surfaces of the part where the terminals  130  extend into the insertion space  111 . The true position specifies the geometric shapes and regulates the deviation of the insulator  120  and the metallic sheets  140  from their ideal position according to design. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  3    and  FIG.  4   . In this embodiment, a grounding sheet  160  is further included. The grounding sheet  160  is assembled and clamped between the two inner housing parts  110   a  and  110   b , and partially protrudes from the inner wall surface  112 . When the electrical connector  100  is connected to another electrical connector, the grounding sheet  160  is adapted to hold another electrical connector, such that this another electrical connector may be firmly seated in the insertion space  111  of the inner housing  110 . 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG.  3    and  FIG.  4   , the outer housing  150  in this embodiment has an accommodating space  151  for the inner housing  110 , the two insulators  120 , the terminals  130 , the two metallic sheets  140 , and the grounding sheet  160  in the accommodating space  151  along the insertion axis A 1 . 
       FIG.  5    to  FIG.  7    are respectively schematic diagrams of part of elements of the electrical connector shown in  FIG.  1   . Here, upon the basis of the inner housing  110  (especially the inner housing part  110   a ) shown in  FIG.  2   , the terminals  130 , the first component  121 , the second component  122 , and the metallic sheets  140  are stacked one by one to show different states in  FIG.  5    to  FIG.  7   . The electrical connector  100  is further described below. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  2   ,  FIG.  3   , and  FIG.  5   . First, in this embodiment, each terminal  130  has the aforementioned connecting end  131  extending into the insertion space  111  and protruding from the inner wall surface  112 , and these connecting ends  131  respectively have an arc surface  131 - 1 . Another electrical connector is suitable to be inserted into the insertion space  111  of the inner housing  110  along the insertion axis A 1  and connected to the connecting ends  131  of the terminals  130 . 
     In this embodiment, the first openings  114  connect the inner wall surface  112  and the outer wall surface  113 , and the connecting ends  131  of the terminals  130  respectively pass through the first openings  114  from the outer wall surface  113  of the inner housing  110  and abut against bearing parts  118  of the inner housing  110 . Compared with the suspended connecting ends of the terminals in a conventional electrical connector, the arc surfaces  131 - 1  of the connecting ends  131  of this embodiment have good coplanarity degree of arc height. 
     Next, please refer to  FIG.  2   ,  FIG.  5   , and  FIG.  6   . In this embodiment, the second component  122  extends from the first component  121  along the X-axis and covers and shields the connecting ends  131  of the first openings  114  and the terminals  130 , and the second component  122  is located between the terminals  130  and the corresponding metallic sheets  140 , which is equivalent to shielding the part where the terminals  130  extend from the first component  121 . In other words, there is a gap G 1  between the first component  121  and the inner housing  110  along the insertion axis A 1  as shown in  FIG.  5   , and the second component  122  substantially fills the gap G 1  after being assembled to the inner housing  110 . 
     Note here that in this embodiment, the first component  121  and the terminals  130  are combined by, for example, insert molding, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. One of the first component  121  and one set of the terminals  130  forms a terminal module, and each terminal module is disposed on the outer wall surface  113  of the inner housing  110 . Meanwhile, the first component  121  and the second component  122  are two independent elements that may be assembled separately, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the first component  121  and the second component  122  may be fabricated by integral molding, depending on the requirements of the fabrication process. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  3   ,  FIG.  4   , and  FIG.  5   . In this embodiment, each first component  121  has a positioning protrusion  121 - 1 , and the inner housing  110  has a corresponding first positioning groove  115 . The positioning protrusion  121 - 1  of each first component  121  is fitted into the corresponding first positioning groove  115  of the inner housing  110  to limit the movement of the terminals  130  coupled to the first component  121  in the insertion axis A 1  and the arrangement axis. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  2   ,  FIG.  6   , and  FIG.  7   . In this embodiment, the inner housing  110  has a plurality of second openings  116 , and the second openings  116  connect the inner wall surface  112  and the outer wall surface  113 . Each metallic sheet  140  includes a plurality of bent contact fingers  141 , and the second openings  116  correspond to the bent contact fingers  141 . Each bent contact  141  passes through the corresponding second opening  116  from the outer wall surface  113  and protrudes from the inner wall surface  112  to connect with another electrical connector inserted in the insertion space  111  of the inner housing  110 . 
     Specifically, each metallic sheet  140  has positioning bends  142  and  143  extending along the Z-axis, the inner housing  110  has a second positioning groove  117  corresponding to the positioning bend  142 , and the first component  121  has a third positioning groove  121 - 2  corresponding to the positioning bend  143 . The positioning bend  142  of each metallic sheet  140  is fitted into the corresponding second positioning groove  117  of the inner housing  110  along the Z-axis, and the positioning bend  143  is fitted into the third positioning groove  121 - 2  of the first component  121 , so as to limit the movement of the metallic sheets  140  in the insertion axis A 1  and the arrangement axis while securing the fixed relationship between the metallic sheet  140  and the inner housing  110  and the fixed relationship between the metallic sheet  140  and the first component  121 . 
     To sum up, in the electrical connector of the disclosure, as the insulator is disposed in the inner housing and partially overlapped on the outer wall surface, and the metallic sheets are disposed on the outer wall surface of the inner housing and stacked on the insulator, the elements are able to apply a pressure in advance on the terminals disposed on the insulator during assembly. Accordingly, the part where the terminals extend into the insertion space has good coplanarity degree of arc height due to the overlap of the elements, such that the true position of the elements related to the terminals in the electrical connector may be controlled effectively during the production, and the difficulty in producing the elements related to the terminals in the electrical connector may be reduced, improving the production yield of the electrical connector.