PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10404021-B2
Application Number: US-201615274354-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Reliable connector receptacles having high signal quality

Abstract:
Connector receptacles and connector inserts that may be reliable, may readily manufactured, and may provide high signal quality for high speed signals with minimized signal noise, distortion losses, radiation, and interference. An example may provide a reliable connector receptacle by including a plurality of contacts, where each contact includes a first bend angling a contacting portion away from a tongue and a second bend angling a contacting portion towards the tongue, where the second bend is between the first bend and a front of the connector receptacle. Another example may provide a connector receptacle that may be readily manufactured by providing a tongue having tapered lead-ins for receiving contacting portions of contacts during assembly. Another example may provide a connector receptacle that provides isolation among signals by arranging through-hole portions of signal contacts in lines that are separated from each other by intervening through-hole portions of ground contacts.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A connector comprising:
 a housing having a front opening; 
 a plurality of contacts supported by the housing; and 
 a tongue supporting contacting portions of the plurality of contacts, the contacting portions extending from a rear of the housing towards the front opening of the housing, 
 wherein each contacting portion has a first bend to angle the contacting portion away from the tongue, and a second bend to angle the contacting portion towards the tongue, the second bend between the first bend and the front opening of the housing, and 
 wherein the first bend and the second bend are arranged to pre-bias the contacting portions of the plurality of contacts such that they apply a force against the tongue. 
 
     
     
       2. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the connector is a connector receptacle and the front opening accepts a connector insert when the connector insert is inserted into the connector receptacle. 
     
     
       3. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the first bend forms an angle of approximately 3 degrees and the second bend forms an angle of approximately 6 degrees. 
     
     
       4. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the contacts extend from a rear of the housing towards the front opening of the housing in a first direction, the tongue extends laterally in a second direction, the first bend angles the contacting portion in a third direction, and the second bend angles the contacting portion in a fourth direction, where the third direction and the fourth direction are opposite directions, and where the first, second, and third directions are orthogonal to each other. 
     
     
       5. The connector of  claim 1  wherein the tongue and housing are formed as a single piece. 
     
     
       6. The connector of  claim 5  wherein a rear of the tongue comprises a plurality of openings, each for a corresponding contact in the plurality of contacts. 
     
     
       7. The connector of  claim 6  wherein each of the plurality of openings at the rear of the tongue has a tapered lead-in. 
     
     
       8. The connector of  claim 7  wherein the connector is a High-Definition Multimedia Interface connector receptacle. 
     
     
       9. The connector of  claim 8  wherein the plurality of contacts each comprise a through-hole contact portion, where through-hole contact portions for a first differential pair and a second differential pair are positioned in a first line, through-hole contact portions for a third differential pair are positioned in a second line, and where through-hole contact portions for ground contacts associated with the first differential pair, the second differential pair, and the third differential pair are positioned between the first line and the second line. 
     
     
       10. A connector comprising:
 a housing having a front opening; and 
 a first plurality of contacts, each having a contacting portion extending from a rear of the housing to the front opening in a first direction, the contacting portions arranged in a first line extending in a second direction, wherein the contacting portion of each of the first plurality of contacts includes a first bend to angle the contacting portion towards a third direction and a second bend to angle the contacting portion towards a fourth direction, the second bend between the first bend and the front opening of the housing, the third direction opposite the fourth direction, where the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction are orthogonal to each other; and 
 a second plurality of contacts, wherein contacting portions for each of the second plurality of contacts are positioned on a bottom side of the front opening in the housing, wherein each contacting portion for each of the second plurality of contacts has a first bend towards the fourth direction to angle the contacting portion, and a second bend towards the third direction to angle the contacting portion, the second bend between the first bend and the front opening of the housing. 
 
     
     
       11. The connector of  claim 10  further comprising a tongue, wherein the contacting portions of the first plurality of contacts are positioned on a first side of the tongue. 
     
     
       12. The connector of  claim 11  further comprising the second plurality of contacts, wherein contacting portions for each of the second plurality of contacts are positioned on a second side of the tongue, wherein each contacting portion for each of the second plurality of contacts has the first bend towards the fourth direction to angle the contacting portion away from the tongue, and the second bend towards the third direction to angle the contacting portion towards the tongue, the second bend between the first bend and the front opening of the housing. 
     
     
       13. The connector of  claim 11  wherein a rear of the tongue comprises a plurality of openings, each for a corresponding contacting portion of the first plurality of contacts, wherein each opening comprises a tapered lead-in. 
     
     
       14. The connector of  claim 10  wherein the contacting portions of the first plurality of contacts are positioned along a top side of the front opening in the housing. 
     
     
       15. The connector of  claim 10  further comprising the second plurality of contacts, wherein the connector is a High-Definition Multimedia Interface connector receptacle, and wherein the first plurality of contacts and second plurality of contacts each comprise a through-hole contact portion, where through-hole contact portions for a first differential pair and a second differential pair are positioned in a first line, through-hole contact portions for a third differential pair are positioned in a second line, where through-hole contact portions for ground contacts associated with the first differential pair, the second differential pair, and the third differential pair are positioned between the first line and the second line. 
     
     
       16. A connector comprising:
 a plurality of contacts; 
 a housing; and 
 a tongue supporting the plurality of contacts, 
 wherein the plurality of contacts each comprise a through-hole contact portion, where through-hole contact portions for a first differential pair and a second differential pair are positioned in a first line, through-hole contact portions for a third differential pair are positioned in a second line, and where through-hole contact portions for ground contacts associated with the first differential pair, the second differential pair, and the third differential pair are positioned between the first line and the second line. 
 
     
     
       17. The connector of  claim 16  wherein each of the plurality of contacts further comprises a contacting portion, wherein each contacting portion has a first bend to angle the contacting portion away from the tongue, and a second bend to angle the contacting portion towards the tongue, the second bend between the first bend and a front opening of the housing. 
     
     
       18. The connector of  claim 17  wherein the plurality of contacts each extend from a rear of the housing towards the front opening of the housing in a first direction, the tongue extends laterally in a second direction, the first bend angles the contacting portion in a third direction, and the second bend angles the contacting portion in a fourth direction, where the third and fourth directions are opposite directions, and where the first, second, and third directions are orthogonal to each other. 
     
     
       19. The connector of  claim 17  wherein a rear of the tongue comprises a plurality of openings, each for a corresponding contacting portion of the plurality of contacts, wherein each opening comprises a tapered lead-in.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Power and data may be provided from one electronic device to another over cables that may include one or more wire conductors, fiber optic cables, or other conductors. Connector inserts may be located at each end of these cables and may be inserted into connector receptacles in the communicating or power transferring electronic devices. 
     Users may insert these connector inserts into connector receptacles many times. Occasionally, such an insertion may damage a connector receptacle. Such damage to the connector receptacle may reduce the functionality of the electronic device housing the connector receptacle. In a worst-case situation, such damage may render the electronic device inoperable. Accordingly, it may be desirable that these connector receptacles may be reliable and able to withstand a large number of insertions by connector inserts. 
     Various electronic devices may generate a large demand by consumers. Yield problems may impair a manufacturer&#39;s ability to deliver the electronic devices to fill this demand. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide connector receptacles that may be readily manufactured. 
     Also, contacts in a connector receptacle may convey high-speed signals along with power supplies and other signals. Connector structure can contribute signal noise, distortion and losses due to the fast rising/falling edges of the high speed signals. At high bit rates, these effects can degrade the electrical signal to the point when errors occur and system or device fails. Also, high-speed signals may generate electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radiation, which may couple to other devices and circuits in or associated with the electronic device. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide connector receptacles that are less susceptible to EMI and have a high signal quality. 
     Thus, what is needed are connector receptacles that may be reliable, may readily manufactured, and may provide high signal quality for high speed signals with minimized signal noise, distortion losses, radiation, and interference. 
     SUMMARY 
     Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles that may be reliable, may readily manufactured, and may provide high signal quality for high speed signals with minimized signal noise, distortion losses, radiation, and interference. 
     An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a reliable connector receptacle that is less susceptible to damage during an insertion of a connector insert. In some connector receptacles, a contact may lift or separate from a supporting tongue. The contact may then be bent when a front edge of the contact is engaged by a connector insert when the connector insert is inserted into the connector receptacle. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles that may include a number of contacts having contacting portions to mate with corresponding contacts in a connector insert, where the contacting portions may be formed to be bent or angled at one or more positions along their lengths. For example, a first bend may angle the contacting portion away from a supporting tongue and a second bend may angle the contacting portion towards the tongue. The second bend may be between the first bend and a front of the tongue and connector insert. This double-bend arrangement may increase an angle of the contacting portion relative to the tongue near a front of the tongue. This increased angle may help to prevent the separation of the contacting portion of a contact from a supporting tongue, thereby improving reliability of the connector receptacle. More specifically, the increased angle may provide a pre-bias force on the contacting portion pushing against the tongue. This pre-bias force may help to prevent the contacting portion from separating from the tongue, which may prevent the contacting portion from being bent when a connector insert is inserted into the connector receptacle. 
     Another illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a connector receptacle that is readily manufactured. A connector receptacle may include a housing having a tongue, where the tongue may be formed separately from the housing or as part of the housing. A rear of the tongue may include a number of openings, each for a corresponding one of a number of contacts. The rear openings may have tapered lead-ins to prevent contacting portions of the contacts from stubbing against the rear of the tongue when the contacts are inserted onto the tongue. 
     Another illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a connector receptacle that may provide high signal quality for high speed signals with minimized signal noise, distortion, losses, radiation, and interference. For example, through-hole contact portions of signal contacts may be arranged in lines that are separated from each other by intervening through-hole contact portions of ground contacts. A housing for the connector receptacle may be shielded with a top and a bottom shield. Also, the through-hole contact portions for its contacts may be arranged in an array, where the array has rows of tabs on each for four sides, the tabs connected to the top and bottom shields and arranged to fit in openings in a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate to form ground connections. 
     In these and other embodiments of the present invention, power supply and signal contacts may include through-hole contact portions. These through-hole contact portions may fit in openings in a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate to form electrical connections with traces in the printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. These through-hole contact portions may also provide mechanical stability for the combined connector receptacle. In other embodiments of the present invention, some or all of the contacts may terminate in surface-mount contacting portions. 
     While embodiments of the present invention may be useful in HDMI connector receptacles, these and other embodiments of the present invention may be used in other types of connector inserts and connector receptacles for different interfaces. 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, contacts, shields, EMI or ground contacts, beams, cross-beams, and other conductive portions of a connector receptacle or connector insert may be formed by stamping, metal-injection molding, machining, micro-machining, 3-D printing, or other manufacturing process. The conductive portions may be formed of stainless steel, steel, copper, copper titanium, phosphor bronze, or other material or combination of materials. They may be plated or coated with nickel, gold, or other material. The nonconductive portions, such as the housings, rear housings, tongues, and other structures may be formed using injection or other molding, 3-D printing, machining, or other manufacturing process. The nonconductive portions may be formed of silicon or silicone, rubber, hard rubber, plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), ceramics, or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. The printed circuit boards used may be formed of FR-4 or other material. Printed circuit boards may be replaced by other substrates, such as flexible circuit boards, in many embodiments of the present invention. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles and connector inserts that may be located in, and may connect to, various types of devices, such as portable computing devices, tablet computers, desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one computers, wearable computing devices, cell phones, smart phones, media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, power supplies, video delivery systems, adapters, remote control devices, chargers, and other devices. These connector receptacles and connector inserts may provide pathways for signals that are compliant with various standards such as one of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standards including USB Type-C, High-Definition Multimedia Interface® (HDMI), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), Ethernet, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt™, Lightning™, Joint Test Action Group (JTAG), test-access-port (TAP), Directed Automated Random Testing (DART), universal asynchronous receiver/transmitters (UARTs), clock signals, power signals, and other types of standard, non-standard, and proprietary interfaces and combinations thereof that have been developed, are being developed, or will be developed in the future. Other embodiments of the present invention may provide combined connector receptacles that may be used to provide a reduced set of functions for one or more of these standards. In various embodiments of the present invention, these interconnect paths provided by these connector inserts and connector receptacles may be used to convey power, ground, signals, test points, and other voltage, current, data, or other information. 
     Various embodiments of the present invention may incorporate one or more of these and the other features described herein. A better understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be gained by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an electronic system that may be improved by the incorporation of embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 4-10  illustrates steps in the manufacturing of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a contact having one or more bends according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 12  illustrates a side view of a portion of the rear of a tongue for a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 13  illustrates a side view of a connector receptacle during assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 14  illustrates another side view of a connector receptacle during assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a cutaway side view of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 16  illustrates a close-up view of a portion of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 17  illustrates a portion of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 18  illustrates a cutaway view of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 19  illustrates a portion of a pinout for an HDMI connector; 
         FIG. 20  illustrates positions of through-hole contact portions for the contacts illustrated in  FIG. 19 ; and 
         FIG. 21  illustrates contacts for a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an electronic system that may be improved by the incorporation of an embodiment of the present invention. This figure, as with the other included figures, is shown for illustrative purposes and does not limit either the possible embodiments of the present invention or the claims. 
     This example illustrates a monitor  130  that may be driven by one of two sources, specifically computer  110  or set-top box  140 . Computer  110  may provide video data over cable  120  to monitor  130 . Video data may be displayed on the video screen  132  of monitor  130 . Computer  110  may similarly include a screen  112 . Set-top box  140  may provide video data over cable  150  to monitor  130 . Again, this video data may be displayed on screen  132  of monitor  130 . In other embodiments the present invention, other types of devices may be included, and other types of data may be shared or transferred among the devices. For example, monitor  130  may be a monitor, an all-in-one computer, tablet computer, or other device having screen  132 . In these and other embodiments of the present invention, power may be shared among computer  110 , monitor  130 , and set-top box  140  over cables  120  and  150 . 
     Cables  120  and  150  may be various types of cables. For instance, they may be HDMI, Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, USB Type-C, or other types of cables. These cables may include connector inserts (not shown) that plug into connector receptacles (not shown) on the computer  110 , monitor  130 , and set-top box  140 . 
     These connector receptacles may become damaged when connector inserts attached to cables  120  and  150  are inserted into them. For example, an HDMI connector receptacle may include a tongue supporting contacting portions of a number of contacts. One or more of these contacting portions may lift or separate from the supporting tongue. The separated contacting portion may engage a connector insert as it is inserted into the connector receptacle. This may cause the contacting portion to become bent or damaged. This damage may render the device at least partially inoperable. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide reliable connector receptacles. Examples are shown in the following figures. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Connector receptacle  200  may include housing  210  having opening  211 . Tongue  220  may be located in an opening  211 . Tongue  220  may support a number of contacts  230  having contacting portions  232 . A number of EMI or ground contacts  240  may be located on the inside surface of housing  210  in opening  211 . Top shield  250  may at least partially surrounded housing  210 . Top shield  250  may include tabs  252 . Tabs  252  may be inserted into openings in a printed circuit board to form ground connections. Top shield  250  may further include side tabs  254 . Side tabs  254  may reside on, and be attached to, a top surface of a printed circuit board for mechanical support. Bottom shield  350  may cover a bottom portion housing  210  (which is shown at the top in this figure.) Contacts  230  may include through-hole contact portions  234 . 
     Connector receptacle  200  may include a front portion  202  and a rear portion  204 . Rear portion  204  may include tabs  252  and through-hole contact portions  234  for mating with a printed circuit board. Front portion  202  of connector receptacle  200  may reside at an edge or in a U-shaped notch in an edge of a printed circuit board. Again, side tab  254  may reside on a surface of a printed circuit board for alignment and mechanical purposes. Side tab  254  may further be soldered to a pad or contact on a surface of a printed circuit board (not shown) for grounding and mechanical support. 
     While embodiments of the present invention are well-suited to connector receptacles, tongue  220  may be a tongue of a connector insert. Where tongue  220  is a tongue of a connector insert, remaining portions of housing  210  may be omitted. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Connector receptacle  200  may include housing  210  supporting tongue  220 . Tongue  220  may be formed with housing  210  as a single piece, or tongue  220  may be formed separately from other portions of housing  210 . EMI or ground contacts  240  may be aligned with openings  219  in housing  210 . EMI or ground contacts  240  may be supported by beams  242 . Beams  242  may include tabs  244  that may be inserted into slots  212  in housing  210 . Two or more beams  242  may be joined by crossbeams  246 . 
     Bottom shield  350  may be fit over a bottom portion of housing  210 . Top shield  250  may be fit over bottom shield  350  and housing  210 . Openings  256  on top shield  250  may engage tabs  352  on bottom shield  350  to secure top shield  250  and bottom shield  350  together. Top shield  250  and bottom shield  350  may also be spot or laser welded to each other and to beams  242  and cross bars  246 . Contacts  230  may include through-hole contact portions  234  and may be at least partially housed in first rear housing  310 . Contacts  231  may similarly include through-hole contact portions  235  and may be at least partially housed in second rear housing  311 . Contacts  230  and  231  may be collectively referred to as contacts  230 , through-hole contact portions  234  and  235  may be collectively referred to as through-hole contact portions  234 , and rear housing portions  310  and  311  may be collectively referred to as housings  310 , for simplicity. 
     Connector receptacle  200  may be manufactured in very large numbers. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles that may be readily manufactured. Examples are shown in the following figures. 
       FIGS. 4-10  illustrate steps in the manufacturing of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 4 , posts  420  of rear housing  311  may be inserted into openings  410  in housing  310 . Features  430  of rear housing  310  may fit in features  440  of rear housing  311  to secure rear housings  310  and  311  to each other. Rear housing  311  may support a number of contacts  231  having contacting portions  233  and through-hole contact portions  235 . Rear housing  310  may support a number of contacts  230  having contacting portions  232  and through-hole contact portions  234 . Rear housing portions  310  and  311  may be formed by insert molding or other step. Rear housing portions  310  and  311  may be formed around at least middle portions of contacts  230  and  231 . 
     In  FIG. 5 , housing  210  may be provided. Housing  210  may include tongue  220  in opening  211 . Openings  219  may be located in sides of housing  210  to provide passageways for EMI or ground contacts  240  (shown in  FIG. 3 ). Tongue  220  may include a number of slots  226  on its top side and bottom side (not shown) for supporting a number of contacts (not shown). Housing  210  may include posts  218 . Posts  218  may be inserted into openings in a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate for alignment and mechanical strength. In  FIG. 6 , the assembled rear housings, collectively referred to as housings  310 , may be inserted into a rear of housing  210 . Contacting portions  232  of contacts, collectively referred to herein as contacts  230 , may be inserted into slots  226  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) on tongue  220  of housing  210 . In  FIG. 7 , EMI or ground contacts  240  may be aligned with openings  219  in housing  210 . Beams  242  may be inserted into notches  213  in sides of housing  210 . Tabs  244  may be inserted into slots  212  in housing  210 . 
     In  FIG. 8 , bottom shield  350  may be placed over a bottom surface and sides of housing  210 . In  FIG. 9 , bottom shield  350  may be attached to beams  242  (as shown in  FIG. 7 ) at points  243  by soldering or spot or laser welding. In  FIG. 10 , top shield  250  may be fit over a top surface and sides of housing  210 . Openings  256  of top shield  250  may accept notches  352  on bottom shield  350 . Top shield  250  and bottom shield  350  may be soldered or spot or laser welded together at various points. 
     Again, embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles that are reliable and less susceptible to damage. For example, they may be less susceptible to damage that may occur during an insertion of a connector insert into the connector receptacle. One embodiment of the present invention may provide a plurality of contacts where the contacts are less prone to separate from a tongue or other housing portion. Since they are less likely to separate from the tongue or other housing portion, they may be less susceptible to being bent by a connector insert when the connector insert is inserted into the connector receptacle. Examples of such contacts are shown in the following figures. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a contact according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, contact  230  is partially supported by housing  310 . Contacting portion  232  of contact  230  may include one or more bends. A first bend may be at location  1110 , while a second bend may be at location  1120 . The second bend at location  1120  may be between the first bend at location  1110  and a front of a connector receptacle or tip  237  of contact  230 . In this example, contact  230  may extend generally in a lateral direction  1130  from a rear of a connector receptacle to a front of a connector receptacle. A first bend at location  1110  may be in generally in the direction  1132 . The second bend at locations  1120  may be generally in the direction  1134 . Direction  1134  may be opposite of direction  1132 , and direction  1130  may be at least approximately orthogonal to directions  1132  and  1134 . Contacts  230  may be in a line on a tongue, where the line of contacts  230  and the tongue extend laterally in a direction  1136  into the plane of  FIG. 11 , such that direction  1130  may be at least approximately orthogonal to directions  1132  and direction  1136 . 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, the bends at locations  1110  and  1120  may have different magnitudes. For example, the first bend at location  1110  may form an angle  1130  of approximately 1, 2, 3, 4, or more than four degrees. The second bend at location  1120  may form angle  1140  that is approximately twice angle  1130 . For example, angle  1140  may be approximately 2, 4, 6, 8 or more than 8 degrees. This combination of bends may increase an angle between contacting portion  232  and a tongue or other housing portion of a connector. This is shown in more detail in  FIG. 16  below. 
     Again, embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles that are readily manufactured. In one embodiment of the present invention, openings and a rear of tongues  220  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) may include openings to allow for passage of contacting portions  232  of contacts  230 . These openings may include lead-ins to prevent stubbing of the contacting portions  232  of contacts  230  during assembly. An example is shown in the following figures. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates a side view of a portion of the rear of a tongue for a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure illustrates a rear of tongue  220  and contact  230  during the assembly of a connector receptacle. In this example, tongue  220  may include rear opening  1210 . The rear opening  1210  may be defined by tapered lead-ins  1220 . As contact  230  is inserted onto tongue  220 , contacting portion  232  may pass through rear opening  1210 . The tapered lead-ins  1220  may prevent stubbing of contact  230  and damage to contacting portions  232  of contacts  230  during their insertion. Tip  237  of contact  230  may have chamfered edge  239 , which may further help to avoid stubbing contacts  230  during insertion though rear opening  1210 . 
       FIG. 13  illustrates a side view of a connector receptacle during assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. Again, contacting portions  232  of contacts  230  may pass through openings  1210  in rear of tongue  220  in housing  210 . Openings  1210  may have sloped or tapered lead-ins  1220  to facilitate the passage of contacting portions  232  during assembly. 
       FIG. 14  illustrates another side view of a connector receptacle during assembly according to embodiments of the present invention. In this example, contacting portions  232  of contacts  230  are positioned on tongue  220  in housing  210  after having passed through openings  1210  having tapered lead-ins  1220 . 
       FIG. 15  illustrates a cutaway side view of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. A number of contacts  230  may be supported by rear housings  310 . Contacts  230  may include contacting portions  232  and through-hole contact portions  234 . Contacting portions  232  may be supported by tongue  220 . Tongue  220  may be located in opening  211  in housing  210 . Housing  210  may be shielded by bottom shield  350  and top shield  250 . 
     Again, it may be desirable that contacts  230  are not damaged when a connector insert is inserted into this connector receptacle. Accordingly, contacts  230  may include a number of bends such that tip  237  of contact  230  is less likely to separate from tongue  220 . In this particular embodiment, contacts  230  may include bends at locations  1110  and  1120 . The bend at  1110  may be in a downward angle such that contacting portion  232  is further away from tongue  220  at location  1120 . The second bend at location  1120  may angle contact  230  such that contact tip  237  may be adjacent to tongue  220 . This may provide a pre-bias on contact  230  such that it tends to stay in contact with tongue  220 . Contacting portions (not shown) on a top side of tongue  220  may follow a mirror image of contacting portions  232 . 
     It may also be desirable to shield signals on contacts  230  from outside sources. Accordingly, contacting portions  232  may be shielded on a top and sides by top shield  250  and on a bottom and sides by bottom shield  350 . Through-hole contact portions  234  may be shielded by tabs  252 . Tabs  252  may be formed as part of, or connected to, top shield  250  or bottom shield  350 . Tabs  252  may be indirectly connected to a shield through cross beam  242 , or tabs  252  may be arranged in lines on each side of an array of through-hole contact portions  234 , thereby shielding the array of through-hole contact portions  234 . 
       FIG. 16  illustrates a close-up view of a portion of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Again, contacts  230  may reside on tongue  220  and be supported by housing  210  (shown in  FIG. 15 ). Contacting portions  232  may include a downward bend  1110  angled away from tongue  220  and an upward bend  1120  angled towards tongue  220  such that tip  237  is held in position against tongue  220 . This arrangement may also increase an angle  1610  of approach between contacting portion  232  and tongue  220 . This increased angle of approach may provide a pre-bias to contact  230 , which help to prevent contacting portion  232  from separating from tongue  220 . Again, such a separation may allow a contact  230  to become bent during the insertion of a connector insert. 
     In other embodiments of the present invention, tongue  220  may be a tongue of a connector insert. For example, contacts  230  may include the same or similar bends as contacts for a connector insert. Also, in other embodiments of the present invention, contacts  230  may be located elsewhere in a connector receptacle or a connector insert. For example, contacts  230  may be located along a top or bottom side of a connector receptacle or connector insert opening. An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 17  illustrates a portion of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. Connector  1710  may be a portion of a connector receptacle or a connector insert. Connector  1710  may accept a tongue of a connector receptacle or a connector insert. This connector may include housing  1720  supporting a plurality of contacts  1730 . Contacts  1730  may be located in housing  1720  along a top and bottom side of opening  1721 . In this example, contacts  1730  may include a bend at location  1732  away from housing  1720  and bend at location  1734  towards housing  1720 , where location  1734  is between location  1732  and a front of housing  1720 . 
       FIG. 18  illustrates a cutaway view of a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. This connector receptacle may include a tongue  220  in opening  211  of housing  210  supporting a number of contacts  230 . Again, tongue  220  may be a tongue of a connector insert. In such a connector insert, housing  210  and its shields may be absent. During assembly, contacts  230  may be inserted through rear openings  1210  onto tongues  220 . Openings  1210  may have tapered lead-ins  1220 . 
     Modern screens, such as screen  132  in  FIG. 1 , may have very high resolutions. This may necessitate the transfer of data at very high bit rates between computer  110  or set-top box  140  and monitor  130 . Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles that may have an improved isolation between signal contacts signals in order to provide a high signal quality. An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 19  illustrates a portion of a pinout for an HDMI connector. This HDMI connector may include differential pairs TX 0   1910 , TX 1   1914  and TX 2   1912 . These differential pairs may have individual shield contacts for ground, such as ground contacts  1922 ,  1920 , and  1924 . 
       FIG. 20  illustrates positions of through-hole contact portions for the contacts illustrated in  FIG. 19 . These through-hole contact portions may be supported by housing  310 . In this example, through-hole portions for differential pairs TX 0   1910  and TX 2   1912  may be arranged in the first line  2010 . Through-hole contact portions for differential pair TX 1   1914  may be arranged in a second line  2020 . Ground contacts  1924 ,  1920 , and  1922  may be positioned between the two lines  2010  and  2020 . This may prevent cross coupling between the signals on the differential pair lines. 
       FIG. 21  illustrates contacts for a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. These contacts may include signal contacts for differential pairs TX 0   1910 , TX 2   1912 , and TX 1   1914 , as well as their grounds  1922 ,  1920 , and  1924 . In this example, ground contact  1920  may extend between differential pair contacts TX 0   1910  and TX 2   1912  for a majority of their length. Ground contacts  1922  and  1924  may be positioned below differential pair contacts for TX 0   1910  and TX 2   1912  and on each side of contacts for differential pair TX 1   1914 . This arrangement may improve the separation and shielding among these differential pair contacts. 
     In these and other embodiments of the present invention, power supply and signal contacts may include through-hole contact portions. These through-hole contact portions may fit in openings in a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate to form electrical connections with traces in the printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. These through-hole contact portions may also provide mechanical stability for the combined connector receptacle. In other embodiments of the present invention, some or all of the contacts may terminate in surface-mount contacting portions. 
     While embodiments of the present invention may be useful in HDMI connector receptacles, these and other embodiments of the present invention may be used in other types of connector inserts and connector receptacles for different interfaces. 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, contacts, shields, EMI or ground contacts, beams, cross-beams, and other conductive portions of a connector receptacle or connector insert may be formed by stamping, metal-injection molding, machining, micro-machining, 3-D printing, or other manufacturing process. The conductive portions may be formed of stainless steel, steel, copper, copper titanium, phosphor bronze, or other material or combination of materials. They may be plated or coated with nickel, gold, or other material. The nonconductive portions, such as the housings, rear housings, tongues, and other structures may be formed using injection or other molding, 3-D printing, machining, or other manufacturing process. The nonconductive portions may be formed of silicon or silicone, rubber, hard rubber, plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), ceramics, or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. The printed circuit boards used may be formed of FR-4 or other material. Printed circuit boards may be replaced by other substrates, such as flexible circuit boards, in many embodiments of the present invention. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may provide connector receptacles and connector inserts that may be located in, and may connect to, various types of devices, such as portable computing devices, tablet computers, desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one computers, wearable computing devices, cell phones, smart phones, media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, power supplies, video delivery systems, adapters, remote control devices, chargers, and other devices. These connector receptacles and connector inserts may provide pathways for signals that are compliant with various standards such as one of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standards including USB Type-C, High-Definition Multimedia Interface® (HDMI), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), Ethernet, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt™, Lightning™, Joint Test Action Group (JTAG), test-access-port (TAP), Directed Automated Random Testing (DART), universal asynchronous receiver/transmitters (UARTs), clock signals, power signals, and other types of standard, non-standard, and proprietary interfaces and combinations thereof that have been developed, are being developed, or will be developed in the future. Other embodiments of the present invention may provide combined connector receptacles that may be used to provide a reduced set of functions for one or more of these standards. In various embodiments of the present invention, these interconnect paths provided by these connector inserts and connector receptacles may be used to convey power, ground, signals, test points, and other voltage, current, data, or other information. 
     The above description of embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form described, and many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teaching above. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Thus, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20160923
Publication Date: 20190903
Grant Date: 20190903
Priority Date: 20160923
Inventors: JEON, JAMES M.
AMINI, MAHMOUD R.
DING, RUIHUA
LE ROUX, ALEX
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01R13/6471", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/26", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/05", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/724", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R24/60", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/724", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R24/60", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/26", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R2201/06", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/6471", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R2201/06", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/05", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/6471", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R12/724", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/05", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R2201/06", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/26", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R24/60", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 61686678