Abstract:
The present invention provides a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connector with various types through combinations of the outer metallic shells and the inner terminal modules of the HDMI connector. The outer metallic shell may exhibit various types including with or without the presence of flange on the front edge of said outer metallic shell and with or without the application of the surface mount technology (SMT) to the solder pins. Therefore, the HDMI of the present invention is applicable to provide different types of connector to fulfill market requirements through the combinations of different types of module.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a HIGH DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE (HDMI) connector, and more specifically to a small connector utilized in digital TV, DVD player, deck-top box (video signal converter), and other digital Audio/Video (AV) product.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     LCD in nowadays has become a most popular output device for Audio/Video (AV) product. Since it plays an important role in the products of modern PC monitor and TV display, and in the light of connector for digital signal transmission has become a mainstream product in LCD industries, the HDMI connector of the invention is thus created to serve this purpose.  
         [0005]     The HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is a transmission interface utilized for the transmission of a high definition multimedia digital signal including high fidelity image and multi-channel audio signal. The earliest specification of the HDMI was established by several Audio/Video industries, such as HITACHI, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, Silicon Image, Thomson and Toshiba. It established the most frequently used standard specification based on DVI (Digital Visual Interface) for digital image signal transmission. The object of the invention is to transmit a digital screen signal between PC and LCD and display a live scene on LCD with high fidelity. Furthermore, the digital image signal transmitted by DVI also provides the effect of unauthorized copy proof, and its signal may be encoded at the transmitting end and decoded at receiving end that will provide the effect of preventing unauthorized reproduction of the image signal being transmitted. Although DVI improved the resolution and quality of picture on a LCD screen, however, DVI is not absolutely perfect, because it didn take the transmission of digital audio signal into account so far, therefore users need to connect additional line or use traditional AV terminal for signal transmission. This may not raise the question of compatibility among the signal transmissions in the application of personal computer, but it does cause chaos when used in the family theater set which is getting more and more popular among the consumers. Furthermore, as the digital products such as digital video camera and digital electronic camera are prevailed, it may become bothersome that if LCD TV requires a plurality connection lines. This may also increase the number of installation components for family theater set, and further increase the price of product. Therefore, the HDMI of the present invention is thus created for family theater set to eliminate the flaws of DVI mentioned above.  
         [0006]     The HDMI of the present invention is not only in compliance with the standard specification of DVI but also take digital audio signal into account in the design of HDMI connector, which is not only fully compatible with DVI but also capable of transmitting uncompressed data of digital AV signal without distortion. Furthermore, the HDMI also has advantages, such as, it complies with all kinds of video format specification used in the market, thus, it is capable of communicating with all kinds of product by all kinds of video transmission formats. Therefore, the HDMI provides the best quality and high fidelity video signal for consumer AV products, and because it supports all kinds of transmission format of digital video signal, resulted in less cable and smaller connector for the transmission of uncompressed data. Furthermore, the HDMI also succeeded the feature of unauthorized copy proof of DVI. It will alleviate the burden of movie filmmakers worrying that the export of the highest quality video products will come across with unauthorized reproduction by piracy. The HDMI connector also provides two-way communication for digital TV, DVD player, deck top box (signal converter) and other small connectors of digital AV products. The advantage is that the player provides the best image quality through determining which format is suitable for the received signal automatically. The HDMI connector is more convenient to install inside different AV products, because it is designed to reduce the volume of interface connector significantly.  
         [0007]     It is known from the mentioned above that the HDMI will be a mainstream connector for AV product in the future. The HDMI will be the first AV standard specification supported throughout the software supplier and system provider to CE (Consumer Electronics) makers in a chain link. Therefore, the HDMI connector needs to be built with a strong construction to comply with the demand of high speed transmission. The object of the invention is to provide such new type of connector construction for the newly developed system.  
         [0008]     The metallic housing of current general connector has several connection types to adapt the structure of the PCB (printed circuit board). The metallic housing has two major types an insertion type and a SMT (surface mount technology) type. The connectors are usually mounted at the edge of printed circuit board to adapt the requirements of the housing structure of product and provide interface function for the connection of external and internal circuit of the product. Current connector has a flange with screw holes for engagement with the housing by screws to reinforce the fixity of connection. Furthermore, current contact terminal units also utilize the insertion type and the SMT type, and produce various types of connector through combination of accessories. However, miscellaneous types of connector will cause a great confusion in the procurement of accessories due to lack of interchangeability of the accessories, and thus increase the cost of accessory stock.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The main object of the present invention is to provide a connector for high definition multimedia digital transmission interface which utilizes modular components in compliance with standard specification to assemble various types of connectors through combination of various modular components, therefore, minimize the number of components stock and thus reduce the cost of material.  
         [0010]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector for high definition multimedia digital transmission interface, which utilizes an uniform insulated housing to combine with the different metallic housing and the contact terminal assemblies to establish a standard and swift assembly works.  
         [0011]     To achieve the above objects, the HDMI connector in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulated housing, a metallic housing, and a contact terminal unit, characterized in that the insulated housing is an uniform standard design, whereas the metallic housing and the contact terminal unit are modular design. The structure of the metallic housing utilizes a standard design, and the solder pin and flange utilize modular design, wherein the solder pin is categorized in the vertical insertion type and the horizontal SMT type, and the flange is an optional selection according to the requirements of the products. The interior design of the metallic housing adapted to the engagement with the insulated housing utilizes the standard design, whereas the contact terminal unit is categorized in the vertical insertion type and the horizontal SMT type.  
         [0012]     The present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]     With reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG.2 , A HDMI connector of the present invention comprises an insulated housing  1 , a metallic housing  2 , and a contact terminal unit  3 , wherein the insulating housing  1  is an standard design, whereas the metallic housing  2  and the contact terminal unit  3  are modular design. The structure of the metallic housing  2  utilizes an standard design, and the solder pin  21  and flange  22  utilize modular design, wherein the solder pin  21  is categorized in the vertical insertion type  211  and the horizontal SMT type  212 , and the flange  22  is an optional selection according to the requirements of the products. The interior design of the metallic housing  2  adapted to the engagement with the insulated housing  1  utilizes the standard design, whereas the solder pin of the contact terminal unit  3  is categorized in the vertical insertion type  31  and the horizontal SMT type  32 .  
         [0014]     Because the embodiments of the invention present various types utilizing a combination of different module types, for purpose of convenient explanation the inventor designates the metallic housing  2  with flange  22  as and without flange  22  as and the metallic housing  2  with the solder pin  21  utilizes the vertical insertion type  211  is designated as and the horizontal SMT type  212  as and the contact terminal unit  3  with the solder pin  21  utilizes the vertical insertion type  211  of is designated as and the horizontal SMT type  212  as.  
         [0015]     The embodiment of ABC type connector structure will be described hereinafter. Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the insulated housing  1  has a rectangular main block  10 , and a flat terminal block  102  is projected from the front surface  101  of the main block  10 , there is a plurality of guide slots  103  furnished on the top and bottom side of the terminal block  102  for insertion of the terminal of contact terminal unit  3 , and the guide slots  103  is fed through the main body  10  to the hollow portion  15  at the rear part of the main body  10 . When the insulated housing  1  is inserted into the metallic housing  2 , the front surface  101  may thrust against the rear end of insertion slot at the bottom of the metallic housing  2  and retain the metallic housing  2  in place. The dented slots  111  are furnished at the two sides of the top surface  11  of the main body  10  hollowed at rear part; the function of the slots  111  is to latch with the resilient fold piece  201  on the top surface  26  to secure the fixity of the insulated housing  10  when moved into the metallic housing  2 . The slot  131  and the projection  132  are furnished on the both side surfaces  13  of the main body  10  whereby the slots  131  are mated with the inward projected stop wedge  231  of the metallic housing  2 , and the stop block  1311  is furnished at the end of the inner slots  131  may thrust with the stop wedge  231  to secure the insulated housing  1  inside the metallic housing  2  without further backward displacement, and the projection  132  mated with the slide slot  232  of the metallic housing  2  to secure the insulated housing  1  inside the metallic housing  2  without further forward displacement. The positioning paths  121  dented inward at rear part of the bottom surface  12  of the main body  10  provide an equal number of guide slots  103  for insertion of the terminals of the terminal block  102  to secure the solder pin at the insertion spot. And the bottom plate  122  extended from the front end of bottom surface  12  of the main body  10  with inclined end section of both sidewalls form a carrier to be integrated with the bottom surface  24  of the metallic housing  2  and firmly fixed with each other. The recess  123  furnished on the bottom plate  122  with position aligned with the clamp  241  on the bottom surface  24  of the metallic housing  2  to keep the clamp  241  remained available after the integration with the insulated housing  1 , furthermore, the positioning posts are also provided at the bottom of the insulated housing  1  to secure the connector firmly positioned on the printed circuit board.  
         [0016]     The interior structure design complies with the uniform standard adopted by the insulated housing  1 . The insertion opening  25  in the front end of the metallic housing  2  is furnished with error proof on both sides, this standard specification known in the industry will not be described herein. A feature of the invention is the integration structure of the insulated housing  1  and the rear part of the metallic housing  2 . The integration consists of the fold piece on the top surface  26 , the fold plate  202  extended to rear end, the inward projected stop wedge  231 , and the slide slot  232 , wherein the fold piece  201 , the inward projected stop wedge  231  and the slide slot  232  are interacted with the corresponding integration structure of the insulated housing  1  when inserted in the metallic housing  2 , wherein the fold piece  201 , the inward projected stop wedge  231  and the slide slot  232  are mated with the slot  111 , notch  131  and protrusion  132  respectively. Furthermore, the fold plate  202  is foldable to accommodate the whole insulated housing  1  inside the metallic housing  2  when the insulated housing  1  is inserted in, and there is a plurality of clamps  241  furnished on the top and bottom surfaces of the metallic housing  2  to latch the plug connector accordingly.  
         [0017]     From the above description, it is understood that the metallic housing  2  and the insulated housing  1  of the HDMI connector of the present invention are thus fabricated and assembled through a multiple locking mechanism to form a rigid and compact structure in compliance with the strict requirements of high definition multimedia interface device. The specification of fold piece  201 , fold plate  202 , inward projected stop wedge  231  and slide slot  232  are all standardized to form standard modules of the metallic housing  2 . The other feature of the invention is the design of the solder pin  21  and the flange  22 , wherein the flange  22  furnished with lock hole is foldable in an upward vertical direction to fulfill the requirements of the print circuit board and the housing structure. The invention utilizes a basic standard structure to incorporate with the variations of the solder pin  21  and flange  22  to form a standard mode of the metallic housing. There are four types of metallic housing  2  of the embodiment, AB type metallic housing module utilizes the flange  22  and the solder pin  21  with a vertical insertion type solder pin  211 , also referring to  FIG. 3 , Ab type metallic housing module utilizes the flange  22  and the solder pin  21  with the horizontal SMT type solder pin  211 , aB type metallic housing utilizes without the flange  22  and the solder pin  21  with a vertical SMT type solder pin  212 , and ab type metallic housing utilizes the flange  22  and the solder pin  21  with a vertical SMT type solder pin  212 .  
         [0018]     With reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the front end terminal contact portion of the contact terminal unit  3  of the embodiment 1 in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  is of standard specification, and the spike  33  for fixing terminal is furnished at the rear end of the contact portion, wherein the rear end of the spike  33  is folded to form the solder pin, and the terminal solder pin in the embodiment is the horizontal SMT type terminal solder pin  32 . There are two types of the contact terminal unit, one is the horizontal SMT type terminal solder pin  32  designated C type, and the other is the vertical insertion type terminal solder pin  31  designated c type (as shown in  FIG.4 ).  
         [0019]     The assembly method of the invention is first to place the terminals of the contact terminal unit  3  into the guide slots  103  of the terminal block  102  of the insulated housing  1 , followed by placing the terminal solder pin into the positioning path  121  on the bottom surface of the main body  10 , and the front surface  101  of the insulated housing  1  will thrust against the rear end of the bottom insertion slot of the metallic housing  2  when the whole insulated housing  1  inserted in the metallic housing  2 , wherein the notches  131  of the both side surfaces  13  being mated with the inward projected stop plate  231  of the metallic housing  2  thrust the stop block  1311  of the inner end of the notches  131  against the inward projected stop plate  231  to secure the insulated housing  1  in the inner part of the metallic housing  2  without further backward displacement. The projection  132  of the side surface  13  also cooperates with the slide slot  232  of the metallic housing  2  to secure the insulated housing  1  in the inner part of the metallic housing  2  without frontward displacement. Finally, the fold piece  201  on the top surface  20  of the metallic housing  2  is folded to mate with the slot  111  on the top surface  11  of the insulated housing I to reinforce the fixity of the insulated housing  1 , and the fold plate  202  of the metallic housing  2  is folded to accommodate the insulated housing  1  into the metallic housing  2 . As shown in the  FIG. 5 , a type of the invention presented by one of the module combinations designated as ABC type connector, wherein the solder pin  21  utilizes the vertical insertion type solder pin  211 , the terminal utilizes the horizontal SMT type terminal solder pin  32  and with the flange  22  on the metallic housing  2 .  
         [0020]     There is plurality of module types adopted for the invention. In  FIG. 6 , the embodiment No.  2  is an ABc type, which is composed of the solder pin  21  utilizing the vertical insertion type solder pin  211 , the vertical insertion type terminal solder pin  31  and the flange  22  on the metallic housing  2 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , the embodiment No.  3  is an AbC type which is composed of the solder pin  21  utilizing the horizontal SMT type solder pin  212 , the horizontal SMT type terminal solder pin  32  and the flange  22  on the metallic housing  2 . In  FIG. 8 , the embodiment No.  4  is an Abc type, which is composed of the solder pin  21  utilizing the horizontal SMT type solder pin  212 , the vertical insertion type terminal solder pin  31  and the flange  22  on the metallic housing  2 . In  FIG. 9 , the embodiment No.  5  is an aBC type which is composed of the solder pin  21  utilizing the horizontal SMT type solder pin  212 , the horizontal SMT type terminal solder pin  32  and without the flange  22  on the metallic housing  2 . In  FIG. 10 , the embodiment No.  6  is an aBc type which is composed of the solder pin  21  utilizing the horizontal SMT type solder pin  212 , the vertical insertion type terminal solder pin  31  and without the flange  22  on the metallic housing  2 . In  FIG. 11 , the embodiment No.  7  is an abC type which is composed of the solder pin  21  utilizing the horizontal SMT type solder pin  212 , the horizontal SMT type terminal solder pin  32  and without the flange  22  on the metallic housing  2 . In  FIG. 12 , the embodiment No.  8  is an abc type which is composed of the solder pin  21  utilizing the horizontal SMT type solder pin  212 , the vertical insertion type terminal solder pin  31  and without the flange  22  on the metallic housing  2 .  
         [0021]     From the above description it is understood that the HDMI connector in accordance with the present invention utilizes modular design to standardize the specification of the connectors. It provides four types of the metallic housing  2  and two types of the contact terminal unit  3  to compose eight types of the HDMI connector providing more flexibility and swiftness in assembly, and also simplifies material stocks and promotes mobility of the product variation in the assembly line.  
         [0022]     Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that there are a variety of modifications and changes that may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.