Patent Publication Number: US-10312628-B2

Title: Electrical connector with forward and rearward waterproof sealing

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 201720244877.4, filed Mar. 14, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to an electrical connector, and particularly relates to an electrical connector with high reliability. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Chinese Patent application CN201510382072.1 discloses a waterproof dual insertion orientation USB connector, which comprises a metal isolating middle plate, a first terminal group and a second terminal group respectively provided to both sides of the metal isolating middle plate, a metal fastener and a metal inner shell, the first and second terminal groups each comprise a contact portion and a soldering leg integrated with the contact portion, a first insulator is integrally formed on the first terminal group to form a first combination, a second insulator is integrally formed on the second terminal group to form a second combination, a third insulator is integrally formed to the metal isolating middle plate and the first or second combination to form a third combination, an insulative outer shell is integrally formed to the third combination and the second or first combination to form a fourth combination, the fourth combination comprises a mating portion mating with a mating connector, a retaining portion extending from a rear end of the mating portion, a tail portion formed to a rear end of the retaining portion and a step portion formed between the retaining portion and the tail portion, the first, second terminal groups and the metal isolating middle plate are integrally formed with and positioned in the insulative outer shell, the contact portions of the first, second terminal groups on a front end of the mating portion and the metal isolating middle plate between the contact portions are retained integrally by the insulative outer shell, the metal inner shell is sheathed on the step portion of the fourth combination, a gap between the metal inner shell and the step portion is sealed with a waterproof glue by a glue dispensing process. 
     Herein, the insulative outer shell is positioned in a front-rear direction by positioning tabs which are punched inwardly from the metal inner shell and the metal outer shell. This way of positioning the insulative outer shell needs to destroy the integrity of the metal inner shell and forms a through hole corresponding to the positioning tab, the waterproof performance is reduced. Moreover, the metal fastener is only sheathed to an outer periphery of a rear section of a tongue (that is the retaining portion), and because the metal fastener, the metal inner shell and the insulative outer shell are not securely engaged together, the metal fastener only tightly sheathes on the insulative outer shell to prevent the insulative outer shell from accidentally cracking and cannot firmly positions the insulative outer shell on the metal inner shell. In addition, since a dimension of an external contour of the connector is required to meet the interface specification, the metal fastener covering the rear section of the tongue will need to correspondingly reduce a thickness of the insulative outer shell of the rear section of the tongue, which will bring negative effect on the strength of the insulative outer shell. It can be seen that the existing matching structure between the insulative outer shell and the metal shell is defective, and the reliability of the connector is reduced, so it is really necessary to improve the connector. 
     SUMMARY 
     A technical problem to be resolved by the present disclosure is to provide an electrical connector, which can effectively improve the reliability of the electrical connector so as to overcome deficiencies in the prior art as above. 
     In view of the technical problem as above, the present disclosure provides an electrical connector comprising: a terminal base which comprises an insulative body and a plurality of conductive terminals fixed to the insulative body, the insulative body comprises a base and a tongue extended forwardly from the base, the base is provided with a plurality of latch projections; a metal inner shell which encloses to form an accommodating cavity passing through from front to back and used to accommodate the terminal base; a metal fixing member which comprises a stopping ring portion and two fixing portions bending from both sides of the stopping ring portion, the stopping ring portion is provided with a through hole for the tongue to pass therethrough, the fixing portions are provided with locking holes engaging with the latch projections of the terminal base, and the fixing portions are fixed to the metal inner shell; and a metal outer shell which is fixed to an outer side of the metal inner shell and is formed with a plurality of soldering legs extending downwardly. 
     In comparison with the prior art, by engaging the locking hole of the metal fixing member with the latch projection of the terminal base together and then sheathing the metal inner shell to the outer periphery of the metal fixing member and fixing the metal inner shell and the metal fixing member together, the electrical connector of the present disclosure may securely fix the terminal base  1  to the metal inner shell via the metal fixing member, and prevent the terminal base from being moved backwardly when the electrical connector mates with another mating connector and then may effectively improve the reliability of the electrical connector. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of an electrical connector and a circuit board of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of an electrical connector of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a further exploded perspective view on the basis of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7  are further exploded perspective views on the basis of  FIG. 5  viewed from two different angles. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     While the present disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the Figures, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the present disclosure, and is not intended to limit the present disclosure to that as illustrated. 
     As such, references to a feature are intended to describe a feature of an example of the present disclosure, not to imply that every embodiment thereof must have the described feature. Furthermore, it should be noted that the description illustrates a number of features. While certain features have been combined together to illustrate potential system designs, those features may also be used in other combinations not expressly disclosed. Thus, the depicted combinations are not intended to be limiting, unless otherwise noted. 
     In the embodiments illustrated in the Figures, representations of directions such as up, down, left, right, front and rear, used for explaining the structure and movement of the various elements of the present disclosure, are not absolute, but relative. These representations are appropriate when the elements are in the position shown in the Figures. If the description of the position of the elements changes, however, these representations are to be changed accordingly. 
     Hereinafter preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be further described in detail in combination with the accompanying figures. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the present disclosure provides a waterproof USB type-C electrical connector  10 , the electrical connector  10  is mounted on a circuit board  20  by a board mounting manner. 
     Combined with referring to  FIG. 4  to  FIG. 7 , the electrical connector  10  comprises: a terminal base  1 , a metal inner shell  2  sheathed on an outer periphery of the terminal base  1 , a metal fixing member  3  mounted on the terminal base  1  and positioned inside the metal inner shell  2 , a metal outer shell  4  mounted on an outer periphery of the metal inner shell  2 , a waterproof glue  5  applied to a joint between the terminal base  1  and a rear end of the metal inner shell  2 , and a sealing ring  6  surround an outer periphery of a front end of the metal inner shell  2 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the terminal base  1  comprises an insulative body  11 , and a plurality of conductive terminals  13  embedded in the insulative body  11  in an upper row and a lower row and a shielding sheet  15  spaced between the upper and lower rows of conductive terminals  13 . The insulative body  11  comprises a base  112 , a tongue  114  extending forwardly from the base  112  and a protruding portion  116  extending backwardly from the base  112 . Top and bottom sides of the base  112  each are provided with two latch projections  113  protruding outwardly. The protruding portion  116  is provided with an glue-filling channel  115  passing through from top to bottom at a position close to the base  112 , the plurality of conductive terminals  13  are embedded in the insulative body  11  and partially exposed to the glue-filling channel  115 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the metal inner shell  2  is formed to a hollow ring structure without an engaging slit by a metal drawing process. An accommodating cavity  29  is formed inside the metal inner shell  2  to pass through from front to back and accommodate the terminal base  1 . The protruding portion  116  of the insulative body  11  protrudes backwardly from the accommodating cavity  29 . The metal inner shell  2  is formed with a plurality of retaining projections  24  protruding inwardly, thus a retention force with another mating connector (not shown in the Figures) may be increased. 
     Specifically, the metal inner shell  2  comprises a top wall  21 , two side walls  22  positioned at both sides of the top wall  21  and a bottom wall  23 . The top wall  21  and the bottom wall  23  each are provided with the two retaining projections  24 . A flange  26  rising outwardly is formed to surround the front end of the metal inner shell  2 , which is beneficial to position and protect the sealing ring  6 . A position of the rear end of the metal inner shell  2  is approximately consistent with a position of the glue-filling channel  115  of the insulative body  11  in the front-rear direction. In other words, the glue-filling channel  115  is positioned at a rear end of the accommodating cavity  29 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the metal fixing member  3  is formed by integrally punching from a metal plate. The metal fixing member  3  comprises a stopping ring portion  31  and two fixing portions  32  bending and extending from upper and lower sides of the stopping ring portion  31 . In the embodiment, the stopping ring portion  31  is a flat plate provided with a through hole  39  in the middle, the stopping ring portion  31  is uprightly provided on a vertical plane perpendicular to the front-rear direction, and a rear side surface of the stopping ring portion  31  is attached to a front side surface of the base  112 ; the stopping ring portion  31  with such a structure may reliably prevent the base  112  from slipping forwardly, and need not to thin a thickness at a rear side of the tongue  114  and also is beneficial to enhance a structural strength of the tongue  114 . The fixing portion  32  is a flat plate bending backwardly and extending horizontally from a top side or a bottom side of the stopping ring portion  31 . A rear end of the fixing portion  32  protrudes backwardly from a rear end surface of the base  112 . The rear end of the metal inner shell  2  protrudes backwardly the rear end of the fixing portion  32 . 
     The stopping ring portion  31  is provided with the through hole  39  for the tongue  114  of the terminal base  1  to pass through. The through hole  39  is slightly larger than a contour of the tongue  114  viewed from the front, so that the metal fixing member  3  could be sheathed and fixed backwardly to the base  112  from the front of the tongue  114 . Two protruding edges  312  respectively protrude outwardly from left and right sides of the stopping ring portion  31 . The two protruding edges  312  can correspondingly abut against inner side surfaces of the two side walls  22  of the metal inner shell  2  to achieve positioning and grounding of the metal inner shell  2 . 
     The fixing portion  32  is provided with two locking holes  323  which may respectively engage with the latch projections  113  of the terminal base  1  so as to fix the metal fixing member  3  to the terminal base  1 . In the embodiment, the locking hole  323  is penetratingly provided at a corner between the stopping ring portion  31  and the fixing portion  32 . The fixing portion  32  is attached to an inner side of the top wall  21  or the bottom wall  23  of the metal inner shell  2 , and fixed to the metal inner shell  2  by laser welding. 
     The stopping ring portion  31  of the metal fixing member  3  may prevent the terminal base  1  from moving forwardly, the locking holes  323  and the latch projections  113  engage with each other to prevent the terminal base  1  from moving backwardly, so that the terminal base  1  may be positioned and fixed to the metal inner shell  2  in the front-rear direction. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the metal outer shell  4  is formed by integrally punching from a metal plate. The metal outer shell  4  is a cover structure open downwardly. The metal outer shell  4  may completely surround an outer periphery of the protruding portion  116  of the terminal base  1  to prevent electromagnetic radiation from leakage. The metal outer shell  4  is mounted on the outer periphery of the metal inner shell  2 . In the embodiment, the metal outer shell  4  is laser welded to the metal inner shell  2 . The metal outer shell  4  is formed with a plurality of soldering legs  47 ,  48  which extend downwardly and can be inserted and soldered to grounding pads of the circuit board  20  to achieve grounding of the metal outer shell  4 , the metal inner shell  2  and the metal fixing member  3 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the waterproof glue  5  is applied to the rear end surface of the base  112  of the insulative body  11  to seal a matching gap at the joint between the base  112  of the terminal base  1  and the rear end of the metal inner shell  2 , so as to achieve the purpose of improving the waterproof performance of the connector. The waterproof glue  5  is preferably also filled in a front-end surface of the glue-filling channel  115  to seal a minor crack formed by the difference of materials of the conductive terminal  13  and the insulative body  11  under expansion and contraction, the waterproof glue  5  adheres the metal inner shell  2 , the insulative body  11  and the conductive terminals  13 , so as to wholly seal the rear end of the accommodating cavity  29  to meet the higher level of waterproofing requirement. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , a front end of the sealing ring  6  is abutted by the flange  26  of the metal inner shell  2 , so that the sealing ring  6  can be prevented from slipping forwardly. The sealing ring  6  cooperates with an outer casing of an electronic device (not shown in the Figures, such as an outer casing of a mobile phone) to prevent external water from entering via an engaging slit between the metal inner shell  2  and the outer casing of the electronic device and flowing backwardly into the inside of the electronic device. 
     In the embodiment, the sealing ring  6  is made of an insulative material with greater elasticity, such as a silica gel. This may enhance elastic deformation capability when the sealing ring  6  engages with the outer casing of the electronic device, so as to achieve a better waterproof sealing performance. 
     A manufacturing and assembling process of the electrical connector  10  generally comprises the following steps: combining the conductive terminals  13  and the shielding sheet  15  together with a insert molding method to obtain the terminal base  1 ; sheathing and fixing the metal fixing member  3  to the terminal base  1 ; sheathing the metal inner shell  2  to the outer periphery of the terminal base  1 , and fixing the metal inner shell  2  to the metal fixing member  3  together by laser welding; applying the waterproof glue  5  to the rear end surface of the base  112  of the terminal base  1 , and filling the waterproof glue  5  to the glue-filling channel  115 ; mounting the metal outer shell  4  and fixing the metal outer shell  4  to the metal inner shell  2  by welding; finally, mounting the sealing ring  6  to the front end of the metal inner shell  2 . 
     In comparison with the prior art, by engaging the locking hole  323  of the metal fixing member  3  with the latch projection  113  of the terminal base  1  together and then sheathing the metal inner shell  2  to the outer periphery of the metal fixing member  3  and fixing the metal inner shell  2  and the metal fixing member  3  together, the electrical connector  10  of the present disclosure may securely fix the terminal base  1  to the metal inner shell  2  via the metal fixing member  3 , and prevent the terminal base  1  from being moved backwardly when the electrical connector  10  mates with another mating connector (not shown in the Figures), and then may effectively improve the reliability of the electrical connector. 
     The above disclosure only relates to the embodiments of the present disclosure, but does not limit implementation modes of the present disclosure. According to main conception and spirit of the present disclosure, a person skilled in the art may conveniently make various variations or modifications. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure is determined by the scope of the appended claims.