PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9954318-B2
Application Number: US-201514845113-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Pin alignment and protection in combined connector receptacles

Abstract:
Combined connector receptacles that provide isolation between individual connector receptacles and have structures arranged to reduce or eliminate damage to through-hole contact portions during insertion of the combined connector into a board.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A combined connector receptacle comprising:
 a first connector receptacle having a first plurality of contacts, each having a contacting portion at a first end and a through-hole contact portion at a second end, the though-hole contact portion extending from a bottom surface of a first housing; 
 a second connector receptacle having a second plurality of contacts, each having a contacting portion at a first end and a through-hole contact portion at a second end, the though-hole contact portion extending from a bottom surface of a second housing, where the bottom surface of the first housing and the bottom surface of the second housing are co-planar; and 
 an organizer having a first plurality of openings and a second plurality of openings, a through-hole contact portion of each of the first plurality of contacts of the first connector receptacle passing through a corresponding opening in the first plurality of openings and a through-hole contact portion of each of the second plurality of contacts of the second connector receptacle passing through a corresponding opening in the second plurality of openings. 
 
     
     
       2. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 1  wherein the first connector receptacle further comprises the first housing around a portion of each of the first plurality of contacts and the second connector receptacle further comprises the second housing around a portion of each the second plurality of contacts. 
     
     
       3. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 2  wherein the first connector receptacle further comprises a third plurality of contacts, each having a contacting portion at a first end and a through-hole contact portion at a second end, and a third housing around a portion of each the third plurality of contacts. 
     
     
       4. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 3  wherein the organizer has a third plurality of openings, a through-hole contact portion of each of the third plurality of contacts of the first connector receptacle passing through a corresponding opening in the third plurality of openings. 
     
     
       5. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 2  further comprising a first shield between the first connector receptacle and the second connector receptacle. 
     
     
       6. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 5  wherein the first shield comprises a first tab, the organizer having a fourth opening, the first tab passing through the fourth opening. 
     
     
       7. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 6  further comprising a second shield substantially around the first connector receptacle and the second connector receptacle, wherein the first shield is connected to the second shield. 
     
     
       8. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 2  wherein the first connector receptacle further comprises a third housing around each the first plurality of contacts and a fourth housing around each the first plurality of contacts, wherein the first, third, and fourth housings are not in contact with each other. 
     
     
       9. A combined connector receptacle comprising:
 a first connector receptacle comprising a first assembly including a first plurality of contacts positioned in a first housing portion, a second housing portion, and a third housing portion, wherein the first housing portion and the second housing portion are orthogonal and the third housing portion is between and at an oblique angle to the first housing portion and the second housing portion; and 
 a second connector receptacle comprising a second assembly including a second plurality of contacts positioned in a fourth housing portion. 
 
     
     
       10. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 9  further comprising an organizer having a first plurality of openings for through-hole contact portions of the first plurality of contacts and a second plurality of openings for through-hole contact portions of a the second plurality of contacts. 
     
     
       11. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 10  wherein the first housing portion, the second housing portion, and the third housing portion do not contact each other. 
     
     
       12. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 11  wherein the third housing portion may move relative to the fourth housing portion. 
     
     
       13. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 12  further comprising a first shield having a first portion substantially between the first housing portion, the second housing portion, and the fourth housing portion, the first shield having a second portion orthogonal to the first portion and substantially between the third housing portion and the fourth housing portion. 
     
     
       14. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 13  wherein the second portion of the first shield comprises a first tab, the organizer having a third opening, the first tab passing through the third opening. 
     
     
       15. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 14  further comprising a second shield substantially around the first connector receptacle and the second connector receptacle, wherein the first shield is connected to the second shield. 
     
     
       16. A combined connector receptacle comprising:
 a first connector receptacle comprising a first assembly including a first plurality of contacts each having a contacting portion at a first end and a through-hole contact portion at a second end, the contacting portion and a through-hole contact portion orthogonal to each other; 
 a second connector receptacle comprising a second assembly including a second plurality of contacts each having a contacting portion at a first end and a through-hole contact portion at a second end, the contacting portion and a through-hole contact portion orthogonal to each other; and 
 a first shield between the first connector receptacle and the second connector receptacle, the first shield having a first portion between the contacting portions of the first plurality of contacts and the contacting portions of the second plurality of contacts, the first shield further having a second portion orthogonal to the first portion and between through-hole contact portions of the first plurality of contacts and through-hole contact portions of the second plurality of contacts. 
 
     
     
       17. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 16  further comprising an organizer having a first plurality of openings for through-hole contact portions of the first plurality of contacts and a second plurality of openings for through-hole contact portions of a the second plurality of contacts. 
     
     
       18. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 17  wherein the first assembly further comprises a first housing portion, a second housing portion, and a third housing portion, wherein the first housing portion, the second housing portion, and the third housing portion are not in contact with each other. 
     
     
       19. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 17  wherein the second portion of the first shield comprises a first tab, the organizer having a third opening, the first tab passing through the third opening. 
     
     
       20. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 17  further comprising a second shield substantially around the first connector receptacle and the second connector receptacle, wherein the first shield is connected to the second shield. 
     
     
       21. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 1  wherein the organizer has a substantially planar form-factor. 
     
     
       22. The combined connector receptacle of  claim 1  wherein the organizer is substantially planar.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The number of types of electronic devices that are commercially available has increased tremendously the past few years and the rate of introduction of new devices shows no signs of abating. Devices, such as tablet, laptop, netbook, desktop, and all-in-one computers, cell, smart, and media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, and others, have become ubiquitous. 
     Power and data may be provided from one device to another over cables that may include one or more wire conductors, fiber optic cables, or other conductor. Connector inserts may be located at each end of these cables and may be inserted into connector receptacles in the communicating or power transferring devices. 
     These connector receptacles may be located in openings of enclosures in electronic devices. In some circumstances, it may be desirable to combine more than one connector receptacle into a single unit, which may be referred to as a combined connector receptacle. 
     Various problems may arise when connector receptacles are combined into a single unit. For example, contacts in one connector receptacle may convey a high-speed signal having relatively fast edges. High frequency signal components may couple onto contacts in another connector receptacle in the unit, thereby degrading the performance of the other connector receptacle. Similarly, contacts in one connector receptacle may convey a signal that is sensitive to coupling. Signal components may couple onto this contact, thereby degrading performance of that connector receptacle. 
     Also, contacts in a receptacle may terminate in through-hole contact portions that may be inserted into a board, such as a printed circuit board, during device assembly. Including more than one connector receptacle in a single unit may make the insertion of the through-hole contact portions more complicated. Specifically, the number of contacts and corresponding through-hole contact portions may increase, thereby making alignment of the through-hole contact portions more difficult. 
     Thus, what is needed are combined connector receptacles that provide isolation between individual connector receptacles and have structures arranged to reduce or eliminate damage to through-hole contact portions during insertion of the combined connector into a board. 
     SUMMARY 
     Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide combined connector receptacles that provide isolation between individual connector receptacles and have structures arranged to reduce or eliminate damage to through-hole contact portions during insertion of the combined connector into a board. 
     An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide isolation between connector receptacles in a combined connector receptacle unit. A combined connector receptacle may include a first assembly including one or more housings for a first connector receptacle and a second assembly including one or more housings for a second connector receptacle. Shielding may be located between the first assembly and the second assembly to isolate contacts in each connector receptacle from each other. The shielding between assemblies may be connected to further shielding around both the first and second assemblies. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the shielding between the first connector receptacle and the second connector receptacle may include a first portion between contacting portions of contacts for the first connector receptacle and the contacting portions contacts for the second connector receptacle. The shielding may further have a second portion orthogonal to the first portion and between through-hole contact portions of the contacts for the first connector receptacle and through-hole contact portions of the contacts for the second connector receptacle. 
     These and other embodiments of the present invention may provide structures for aligning through-hole contact portions of the contacts in the first and second connector receptacles assemblies to each other. This alignment may aid in the insertion of the through-hole contact portions into a board supporting the combined connector receptacle. The structures may include an organizer having a number of openings, the openings including at least a first opening to accept a first through-hole contact portion of a first connector receptacle and a second opening to accept a second through-hole contact portion of a second connector receptacle. 
     In these and other embodiments of the present invention, the first assembly may include a first housing around a first number of through-hole contact portions of a first connector receptacle and the second assembly may include a second housing around a second number of through-hole contact portion of a second connector receptacle. The first housing may move laterally, rotationally, and vertically relative to the second housing such that the first number of through-hole contact portions may be aligned to the second number of through-hole contact portions. After alignment, an organizer may be fit over the first number of through-hole contact portions and the second number of through-hole contact portions. The combined connector receptacle may then be inserted into a board, such as a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. 
     In these and other embodiments of the present invention, a first assembly for a first connector receptacle may include a series of housings. The series of housings may include a first housing, a second housing, and a third housing where the first and third housings are approximately at right angles. The second housing may be located between the first and third housing and may be at an oblique angle relative to the first and third housings. The first housing may be attached to a tongue in a connector receptacle, while the third housing may be around at least a portion of each of a number of through-hole contact portions for the first connector receptacle. This arrangement may allow the third housing to move relative to the tongue of the connector receptacle. This, in turn, may allow the third housing to move relative to a fourth housing supporting a number of through-hole contact portions for a second connector receptacle. This may allow the through-hole contact portions for the first connector receptacle to be aligned to the through-hole contact portions for the second connector receptacle. After alignment, an organizer may be fit over the through-hole contact portions for the first connector receptacle and the through-hole contact portions for the second connector receptacle. The through-hole contact portions of the combined connector receptacle may then be inserted into a board, such as a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. 
     In these and other embodiments of the present invention, the organizer may be fit against one or more housings of the one or more connector receptacles in a combined connector receptacle unit. The through-hole contact portions of the combined connector receptacle unit may then be inserted into corresponding holes in a board, such as a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. In other embodiments of the present invention, the organizer may be positioned away from the housings towards ends of the through-hole contact portions. During assembly, a combined connector receptacle unit may be placed on the board such that an organizer contacts or is near the board. The combined connector receptacle unit may be pushed onto the board such that the organizer is moved towards the housings and the through-hole contact portions are pushed into corresponding openings in a board, such as a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, contacts, shields, and other conductive portions of combined connector receptacles may be formed by stamping, metal-injection molding, machining, micro-machining, 3-D printing, forging, 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 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), or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. The printed circuit boards used may be formed of FR-4, BT 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 combined connector receptacles 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 combined connector receptacles 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 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 a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a side cutaway view of a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a partially exploded view of a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a connector receptacle and a through-hole contact portion organizer according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an underside of a combined connector receptacle with a through-hole contact portion organizer in place; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an exploded view of a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a further exploded view of a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a combined connector receptacle and organizer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a combined connector receptacle according to 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 embodiments of the present invention or the claims. 
     This combined connector receptacle may include upper or first housing  100  and lower or second housing  101 . First housing  100  may include a first connector receptacle  110 . First connector receptacle  110  may include tongue  112 . Tongue  112  may support a number of contacts  114 . 
     Lower or second housing  101  may include a second connector receptacle  120 . Second connector receptacle  120  may include tongue  122 . Tongue  122  may support a number of contacts  124 . Electromagnetic interference (EMI) ground contacts  126  and  128  may also be included in the opening of second connector receptacle  120 . 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, first connector receptacle  110  and second connector  120  receptacle may be various types of connector receptacles, such as one of the USB standards including USB Type-C, HDMI, DVI, Ethernet, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, Lightning, JTAG, TAP, DART, UART, or 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. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the first connector receptacle  110  may be a USB Type-C connector receptacle, while second connector receptacle  120  may be an HDMI connector receptacle. 
     Shield  130  may surround the upper or first housing  100  and the lower or second housing  101 . Shield  130  may include tabs  132 . Tabs  132  may be arranged to be soldered into openings of a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate supporting this combined connector receptacle. Posts  102  may be used to provide mechanical alignment between this combined connector receptacle and a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. Tabs  134  may be used in mechanically aligning a height of this combined connector receptacle to a printed circuit board. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a side cutaway view of a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. As before, first or upper housing  100  may include a first connector receptacle  110 . First connector receptacle  110  may include a tongue  112  supporting a number of contacts  114  on a top side and a number of contacts  115  on a bottom side. Contacts  114  and contacts  115  may include contacting portions on tongue  112 . Contact portions of contacts  114  and  115  may form electrical connections with corresponding contacts in a connector insert when the connector insert is inserted into first connector receptacle  110 . Contacts  114  and  115  may terminate in through-hole contact portions  116  and  118 . The second or lower housing  101  may include a second connector receptacle  120 . Second connector receptacle  120  may include tongue  122 . Tongue  122  may support a number of contacts  124  on a top side and a number of contacts  123  on a bottom side. Contacts  124  and  123  may include contacting portions on tongue  122 . Contact portions of contacts  124  and  123  may form electrical connections with corresponding contacts in a connector insert when the connector insert is inserted into second connector receptacle  120 . Contacts  124  and  123  may terminate in through-hole contact portions  125  and  127 . Second connector receptacle  120  may include EMI ground contacts  128  and  126 . 
     First connector receptacle  110  may further include an assembly comprising a number of housing portions around contacts  114  and a number of housing portions around contacts  115 . In this specific embodiment, three housing portions, housing portion  210 , housing portion  220 , and housing portion  230  may be formed around each of contacts  114 . Similarly, housing portion  212 , housing portion  222 , and housing portion  232  may be formed around each of contacts  115 . Housing portion  210  may be separate from housing portion  220 , which may in turn be separate from housing portion  230 . Similarly, housing portion  212  may be separate from housing portion  222 , which may in turn be separate from housing portion  232 . Housing portion  210  may be at least approximately orthogonal to housing portion  230 , while housing portion  212  may be at least approximately orthogonal to housing portion  232 . Intermediary housing portions  220  and  222  may be at an oblique angle between housing portions  210  and  230 , and housing portions  212  and  232 , respectively. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, housing portions  210  and  212  are joined using posts and corresponding holes or openings, and housing portions  230  and  232  are similarly joined using posts and corresponding holes or openings, while housing portions  220  and  222  are separate. In other embodiments of the present invention, these various housings may be separate or joined in various ways. 
     Again, it may be difficult to align through-hole contact portions of first connector receptacle  110  to through-hole contact portions of second connector receptacle  120 . By employing these assemblies having multiple housings, housings  230  and housing  232  may be free to move relative to second housing  101 . This may facilitate the alignment of through-hole contact portions  116  and  118  to through-hole contact portions  125  and  127 . This alignment may be enabled by the ability of housing portions  230  and  232  to move relative to second housing  101  in vertical, rotational, and both lateral directions. 
     It may be difficult to electrically isolate contacts in a first connector receptacle  110  from contacts in a second connector receptacle  120  in a combined connector receptacle. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may include shielding between the two connector receptacles  110  and  120 . In this example, shield  200  may have a first horizontal portion between contacting portions of contacts  114  and  115  in first connector receptacle  110  and contacting portions of contacts  124  and  123  in second connector receptacle  120 . Shield  200  may further include a second vertical portion terminating in tab  202 . This second vertical portion may be placed between through-hole contact portions  116  and  118  of first connector receptacle  110  and through-hole contact portions  125  and  127  of second connector receptacle  120 . 
     Shield  130  may substantially surround first or upper housing  100  and second or lower housing  101 . Shield  130  may electrically connect to shield  200 . Shield  130  may further include tabs  132 . Tabs  132  may be inserted into openings in a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. Second housing  101  may include post  102  for mechanical alignment. Again, post  102  may be inserted into a corresponding opening in a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. 
     Again, it may be difficult to be able to insert through-hole contact portions  116 ,  118 ,  125 , and  127 , along with tabs  132  and  202 , into a printed circuit board without bending or crushing any of them. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may include an organizer  300 . One or more through-hole contact portions  116  or  118  of the first connector receptacle  110  and one or more through-hole contact portions  125  or  127  of the second connector receptacle  120  may pass through organizer  300 . Organizer  300  may help keep these through-hole contact portions aligned during insertion into a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a partially exploded view of a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Again, this combined connector receptacle may include a first housing  100  for a first connector receptacle  110 . The combined connector receptacle may include a second housing  101  for a second connector receptacle  120 . 
     The first connector receptacle  110  may include tongue housing  312  supporting tongue  112 . The first connector receptacle  110  may further include an assembly comprising a number of housing portions around contacts  114  and  115 . Specifically, housing portion  210 , housing portion  220 , and housing portion  230  may be formed around portions of contacts  114 . Contacts  114  may terminate in through-hole contact portions  116 . Housing portion  212 , housing portion  222 , and housing portion  232  may be formed around portions of contacts  115 . Contacts  115  may terminate in through-hole contact portions  118 . During assembly, contacts  114  and  115  may be inserted into tongue housing  312  such that they reside on tongue  112 . Tongue housing  312  may be inserted into an opening in first housing  100 . The opening in first housing  100  may include a number of crush ribs to secure tongue housing  312  in place. 
     Second connector receptacle  120  may include housing portion  310  supporting contacts  124 , which may terminate in through-hole contact portions  125 , and housing portion  311  supported contacts  123 , which may terminate in through-hole contact portions  127 . Housing portion  310  and  311  may be attached and inserted into second housing  101 , such that contacts  124  and  123  reside on tongue  112 . Second connector receptacle  120  may include side ground or EMI contacts  128 . First connector receptacle  110  may be isolated from second connector receptacle  120  by Shield  200 . Shield  200  may include tabs  202  to mate with tabs  104  on first housing  100 . Shield  200  may also include tabs  204  to mate with tabs  105  on second housing  101 . Post  103  on second housing  101  may fit in an opening (not shown) in first housing  100  to secure the two housing portions together. 
     As before, one or more through-hole contact portions  116  or  118  of first connector receptacle  110  may pass through organizer  300 . Similarly, at least one of through-hole contact portions  125  or  127  may pass through organizer  300 . This may help to align these through-hole contact portions during the assembly of this combined connector receptacle. 
     Again, it may be difficult to align the many through-hole contact portions of a combined connector receptacle to each other such that they may be inserted into corresponding openings in a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate during assembly of the electronic device. An example of an organizer that may be employed by an embodiment of the present invention is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a connector receptacle and a through-hole contact portion organizer according to an embodiment of the present invention. This example may include a combined connector receptacle having through-hole contact portions  116  and  118  for a first connector receptacle  110  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ), and through-hole contact portions  125  and  127  of second connector receptacle  120  (as shown in  FIG. 1 .) Specifically, contacts  116  may emerge from housing portion  230 , through-hole contact portions  118  may emerge from housing portion  232 , through-hole contact portions  125  may emerge from housing portion  310 , and through-hole contact portions  127  may emerge from housing portion  311 . Emerging from the underside of the combined connector receptacle along with these through-hole contact portions are shield tabs  202  and  129 . 
     Given this large number of through-hole contact portions and shield tabs, it may be very difficult to insert them all into corresponding holes of a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate without crushing or otherwise damaging any of them. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may include organizer  300 . Organizer  300  may include openings  416  for through-hole contact portions  116 , openings  418  for through-hole contact portions  118 , openings  425  for through-hole contact portions  125 , openings  427  for through-hole contact portions  127 , openings  402  for tabs  202 , and notches  429  for tabs  129 . Organizer  300  may provide the alignment and mechanical support for these through-hole contact portions and tabs during insertion into a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an underside of a combined connector receptacle with a through-hole contact portion organizer in place. Again, organizer  300  may have openings to allow passage of one or more through-hole contact portions  116  or  118  of a first connector receptacle  110  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ), and one or more through-hole contact portions  125  or  127  of second connector receptacle  120  (as shown in  FIG. 2 .) Tabs  202  and  129  may fit in openings or notches in organizer  300 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an exploded view of a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. First housing  100  may support a first connector receptacle  110 . First connector receptacle  110  may include tongue housing portion  312 . Tongue housing portion  312  may include tongue  112 . Tongue  112  may support ground contacts  610 . Tongue housing portion  312  may further include a joining portion  614  having ground connections  612 . Ground connections  612  may be soldered or laser-welded to a top of shield  130 . First connector receptacle  110  may further include an assembly including housing portions  210 ,  220 , and  230  formed around contacts  114 , and housing portions  212 ,  222 , and  232  formed around contacts  115 . During assembly, contacts  114  and  115  may be inserted into tongue housing portion  312 . Tongue housing portion  312  may then be inserted into an opening in first housing  100 . 
     Second housing  101  may support second connector receptacle  120 . Second connector receptacle  120  may include contacts  123  and  124  supported by housing portions  311  and  310 , respectively. During assembly, contacts  124  and  123  may be inserted into second connector receptacle  120  such that they reside on tongue  122 . Second connector receptacle  120  may further include ground contacts structures  128  and  630 . Ground contacts structure  630  may be soldered or laser welded to shield  200 , while side ground contacts  128  may be soldered or laser welded to sides of shield  130 . Shield  200  may be located between first housing  100  and second housing  101 . Shield  130  may substantially surround the first connector receptacle  110  and second connector receptacle  120 . Organizer  300  may include passages for through-hole contact portions of contacts in the first connector receptacle  110  and second connector receptacle  120 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a further exploded view of a combined connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, housing portions  210 ,  220 , and  230  are shown as separate from housing portions  212 ,  222 , and  232 . In various embodiments of the present invention, housing portion  210  may be free to move relative to housing portion  212 , though in other embodiments of the present invention, attachment features, such as posts and corresponding openings, may be used to fix these two housing portions together. Similarly, in other embodiments of the present invention, housing portion  230  may be free to move relative to housing portion  232 , though in other embodiments of the present invention, attachment features, such as posts and corresponding openings, a be used to fix these two housing portions together. Typically, intermediate housing portions  220  and  222  are not attached and are free to move relative to each other, though in other embodiments the present invention, these may be fixed to each other as well. 
     Also in this figure, housing portions  310  and  311  are shown as separate housing portions. As with other housing portions, various posts and corresponding openings may be used to attach these two housing portions to each other. 
     Again, ground contact portion  630  may be soldered or laser welded to shield  200 . Side ground contacts  128  may be soldered or laser welded to sides of shield  130 . Similarly, sides of shield  200  may be soldered or laser welded to sides of shield  130 . Sides of bottom ground contact structure  126  may similarly be soldered or laser welded to sides of shield  130 . In this arrangement, shield  130  may provide electrical isolation between the combined connector receptacle and other components in an electronic device, shield  200  may provide isolation between first connector receptacle  110  and second connector receptacle  120 , while ground contacts structures  630 ,  126 , and  128  may provide in EMI ground contacts for the second connector receptacle  120 . An organizer  300  may include openings for through-hole contact portions for contacts in the first connector receptacle  110  and second connector receptacle  120 . 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, the organizer may be installed flush to a bottom surface of a combined connector receptacle. In other embodiments of the present invention, the organizer may be installed a distance away from the bottom surface of the combined connector receptacle. In this embodiment, as the combined connector receptacle is installed, a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate may push the organizer such that it is, or is nearly, flush with the bottom side of the combined connector receptacle after insertion. An example is shown in the following figure. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a combined connector receptacle and organizer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In an initial state, organizer  300  may be installed a distance away from a bottom side of the combined connector receptacle. The combined connector receptacle may be in the process of being inserted into a printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate  800 . In a final state, the combined connector receptacle may be inserted into the printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate  800 . In this final state, organizer  300  may be obscured by shield  130  of the combined connector receptacle. Tab  134  may be used to control a height of the insertion of the combined connector receptacle into printed circuit board  800 . In other embodiments of the present invention, organizer  300  may be flush, or nearly flush, with an underside of the combined connector receptacle before the combined connector receptacle is mated with printed circuit board or other appropriate substrate  800 . 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, contacts, shields, and other conductive portions of combined connector receptacles may be formed by stamping, metal-injection molding, machining, micro-machining, 3-D printing, forging, 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 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), or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. The printed circuit boards used may be formed of FR-4, BT 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 combined connector receptacles 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 combined connector receptacles may provide pathways for signals that are compliant with various standards such as one of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standards including USB-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 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: 20150903
Publication Date: 20180424
Grant Date: 20180424
Priority Date: 20150903
Inventors: LEE, JAE HWANG
JEON, JAMES M.
AMINI, MAHMOUD R.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01R13/659", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R27/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R27/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R27/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/659", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/659", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 58190488