阅读说明：本技术 电连接器组件 (Electrical connector assembly ) 是由 特倫斯·F·李托 帕特里克·R·卡西亚 于 2021-04-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种电连接器组件,其包括具有前配合槽和后接收腔的绝缘壳体及容纳在所述后接收腔内的端子模块组件,所述端子模块组件包括在横向方向上排列的一对高速端子模组及夹在所述一对高速端子模组之间的边带端子模组,每个所述高速端子模组包括在垂直于所述横向方向的竖直方向上彼此组装的上单元和下单元,所述上单元和所述下单元中的每一个均包括前端子子单元和后端子子单元,所述前端子子单元和所述后端子子单元中的每一个均包括差分对端子、与所述差分对端子在所述横向方向上交替地布置的接地端子,进一步包括与所述接地端子分离设置的金属接地件,所述金属接地件机械及电性地连接至所述接地端子。(The invention discloses an electrical connector assembly, comprising an insulating housing having a front mating groove and a rear receiving cavity, and a terminal module assembly accommodated in the rear receiving cavity, the terminal module assembly comprising a pair of high-speed terminal modules arranged in a transverse direction and a side band terminal module sandwiched between the pair of high-speed terminal modules, each of the high-speed terminal modules comprising an upper unit and a lower unit assembled to each other in a vertical direction perpendicular to the transverse direction, each of the upper unit and the lower unit comprising a front terminal subunit and a rear terminal subunit, each of the front terminal subunit and the rear terminal subunit comprising a differential pair of terminals, ground terminals arranged alternately with the differential pair of terminals in the transverse direction, further comprising a metal ground member provided separately from the ground terminals, the metal ground is mechanically and electrically connected to the ground terminal.)

1. An electrical connector assembly comprising an insulative housing having a front mating slot and a rear receiving cavity, and a terminal module assembly received in the rear receiving cavity, the terminal module assembly comprising a pair of high speed terminal modules arranged in a transverse direction and a side band terminal module sandwiched between the pair of high speed terminal modules, each of the high speed terminal modules comprising an upper unit and a lower unit assembled to each other in a vertical direction perpendicular to the transverse direction, each of the upper unit and the lower unit comprising a front terminal subunit and a rear terminal subunit, each of the front terminal subunit and the rear terminal subunit comprising a differential pair of terminals, a ground terminal arranged alternately with the differential pair of terminals in the transverse direction, characterized in that: further comprising a metal ground disposed separately from the ground terminal, the metal ground being mechanically and electrically connected to the ground terminal.

2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: the cable further comprises a cable connected with the high-speed terminal module and an external circuit board connected with the sideband terminal module, wherein the cable comprises a pair of inner conductors, a pair of inner insulating layers and a common metal shielding layer, the inner conductors are mechanically and electrically connected with the differential pair terminals, and the metal shielding layer is mechanically and electrically connected with the grounding terminal.

3. The electrical connector assembly of claim 2, wherein: the metal ground includes a convex portion and an arm connected to the corresponding ground terminal, respectively, and each of the convex portions may at least partially cover the corresponding cable.

4. The electrical connector assembly of claim 2, wherein: each of the front and rear terminal sub-units includes an insulator including a deformable post thereon, and the metallic ground includes a hole through which the deformable post extends to secure the ground to the insulator.

5. The electrical connector assembly of claim 4, wherein: the arms of the metal ground are soldered to the respective ground terminals.

6. The electrical connector assembly of claim 4, wherein: the arms of the metal grounding piece have elasticity, so that a welding process between the arms and the corresponding grounding terminals can be omitted.

7. The electrical connector assembly of claim 2, wherein: the metal ground is directly soldered to the ground terminal and the metal shield layer, the metal ground includes a convex portion covering the exposed metal shield layer and a horizontal portion contacting the corresponding ground terminal, and each of the convex portion and each of the horizontal portion includes a hole for soldering.

8. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: the side band terminal module includes a plurality of wafers stacked on each other in the lateral direction, each of the wafers including an insulator and an upper terminal unit and a lower terminal unit embedded in the insulator.

9. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: each of the upper unit and the lower unit includes a front terminal sub-unit and a rear terminal sub-unit connected as a single body.

10. The electrical connector assembly of claim 2, wherein: all the grounding terminals are connected together to form a whole through a transverse strip at the rear end, and the metal grounding piece is matched with the corresponding transverse strip so as to clamp the corresponding cable in the middle in the vertical direction perpendicular to the transverse direction.

[ technical field ] A method for producing a semiconductor device

The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, and more particularly, to an electrical connector assembly having a high-speed terminal module and a side band terminal module, and more particularly, to a high-speed terminal module in which a ground is connected to a cable.

[ background of the invention ]

U.S. patent No. 10,559,930 discloses an electrical connector having high speed terminals and side band terminals arranged in two rows. Us patent 10,069,262 discloses an electrical connector with a dual density terminal arrangement. U.S. provisional application serial No. 63/004,068 discloses how to manufacture a high speed terminal arrangement from a single terminal carrier. There is a need for an improved electrical connector assembly having the combined features of the three types of connectors described above.

[ summary of the invention ]

The present invention is directed to an electrical connector assembly having a high speed terminal module and a side band terminal module, wherein the high speed terminal module is mechanically and electrically connected to the metal ground.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme: an electrical connector assembly comprising an insulative housing having a front mating slot and a rear receiving cavity and a terminal module assembly received in the rear receiving cavity, the terminal module assembly includes a pair of high-speed terminal modules arranged in a lateral direction and a side band terminal module sandwiched between the pair of high-speed terminal modules, each of the high-speed terminal modules including an upper unit and a lower unit assembled to each other in a vertical direction perpendicular to the lateral direction, each of the upper unit and the lower unit includes a front terminal sub-unit and a rear terminal sub-unit, each of the front terminal sub-unit and the rear terminal sub-unit includes a differential pair terminal, a ground terminal arranged alternately with the differential pair terminal in the transverse direction, and further includes a metal ground provided separately from the ground terminal, the metal ground being mechanically and electrically connected to the ground terminal.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the advantages that: in the invention, the metal grounding piece which is separated from the grounding terminal is mechanically and electrically connected to the grounding terminal, so that better shielding protection effect can be achieved, and the electric connector assembly has good electric performance.

[ description of the drawings ]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector assembly consistent with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of another perspective of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of another perspective of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 3 and from another perspective.

Fig. 6 is an exploded view of a terminal module assembly of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an exploded view from another perspective of a terminal module assembly of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 1 taken along the direction a-a.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 1 taken along the direction B-B.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of another perspective of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is an exploded view of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 10.

Fig. 13 is an exploded view from another perspective of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is an exploded view of an upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 12 from yet another perspective.

Fig. 15 is a further exploded view of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 13.

Fig. 16 is an exploded view from another perspective of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a further exploded view of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a side band terminal module of the terminal module assembly of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 19 is a perspective view of another perspective of a side band terminal module of the terminal module assembly of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is an exploded view of a side band terminal module of the terminal module assembly of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 18.

Fig. 21 is an exploded view from another perspective of a side band terminal module of the terminal module assembly of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 20.

Fig. 22 is a further exploded view of the side band terminal module of the terminal module assembly of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 20.

Fig. 23 is a side view of a terminal of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 1 and a corresponding cable.

Fig. 24 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 25 is a perspective view of another perspective of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 24.

Fig. 26 is a perspective view of an upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 24.

Fig. 27 is an exploded view of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 24.

Fig. 28 is a perspective view of an inner terminal unit of the upper unit of the high-speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 27.

Fig. 29 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of an upper unit of a high speed terminal module of an electrical connector assembly consistent with the present invention.

Fig. 30 is an exploded view of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 29.

Fig. 31 is an exploded view from another perspective of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 30.

Fig. 32 is a further exploded view of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 30.

Fig. 33 is a further exploded view from another perspective of the upper unit of the high speed terminal module of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 32

[ description of main reference symbols ]

Insulating housing 110 of electrical connector assembly 100

High speed terminal module 122 of terminal module assembly 120

Front mating groove 111 of side band terminal module 180

Rear receiving chamber 112 guide slot 116

Unit 130 on fixing hole 114

Lower unit 130' metal housing 140

Outer terminal unit 160 inner terminal unit 170

Terminal unit 150 outer insulator 162

Terminal 164 and terminal 174

Ground terminal 165 of inner insulator 172

Differential pair terminal 166 front projection 161

Rear projection 163 front opening 148

Rear opening 149 deformable post 169

The ground member 300 receiving groove 167

Differential pair terminal 176 ground terminal 175

Front projection 173 and rear projection 179

Side projection 171 projection 177

Recess 178 securing hole 146

Retaining portion 144 cable 200

Upper channel 152 lower channel 152

Stator 412 conductor 202

Insulating layer 204 shield layer 206

Securing tab 142 hole 302

Arm 304 raised portion 306

Wafer 182 insulator 184

Terminal unit 187 on terminal group 186

Lower terminal unit 189 contact arm 196

Contact arm 198 tail 194

Tail 192 projection 183

Concave 185 convex 188

Guide rib 181 ground contact 430

Elastic arm 434 braid 456

Ground terminal 450 insulator 332

Terminal 336 insulator 334

Post 460 of terminal 338

Cable 451 conductor 452

Insulating layer 458 ground 500

Insulator 532 terminal 536

Insulator 534 terminal 538

Ground terminal 547 differential pair terminal 546

Cross bar 540 ground terminal 549

Differential pair terminal 548 boss portion 504

Horizontal portion 505 cable 551

Conductor 552 insulating layer 554

Shield 556 insulation layer 558

Hole 510

The following detailed description will further illustrate the invention in conjunction with the above-described figures.

[ detailed description ] embodiments

As shown in fig. 1 to 23, in order to provide the electrical connector assembly 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the electrical connector assembly 100 includes an insulating housing 110 and a terminal module assembly 120 received in the insulating housing 110, wherein the terminal module assembly 120 includes a pair of high-speed terminal modules 122 and a side band terminal module 180 sandwiched between the pair of high-speed terminal modules 122. The insulating housing 110 includes a front mating groove 111 and a rear receiving cavity 112. A plurality of guide grooves 116 are formed at the rear end of the insulative housing 110 for cooperating with the side band terminal module 180 of the terminal module assembly 120. A plurality of fixing holes 114 are formed on the upper and bottom walls of the insulative housing 110, and the fixing holes 114 are used for being matched with the high-speed terminal modules 122 of the terminal module assembly 120. A cutout (not shown) is provided in the bottom wall of the insulative housing 110 to allow the tail portions of the terminals to extend toward a printed circuit board (not shown) to which the insulative housing 110 is mounted.

Each of the high-speed terminal modules 122 includes upper and lower units 130 and 130 'stacked in a vertical direction, the upper and lower units 130 and 130' being similar or identical in structure to each other and arranged in a substantially symmetrical manner in the vertical direction, thereby saving design and manufacturing costs of a mold. Specifically, the upper unit 130 and the lower unit 130' are offset from each other in the lateral direction by a distance of half of the terminal pitch. Based on the similarity or identity between the upper unit 130 and the lower unit 130', only the upper unit 130 will be described in detail herein.

The upper unit 130 includes a metal housing 140, and a front or outer terminal unit 160 and a rear or inner terminal unit 170 assembled together by the metal housing 140. The outer terminal unit 160 and the inner terminal unit 170 together constitute a terminal unit 150. The outer terminal unit 160 and the inner terminal unit 170 are configured to be assembled and fitted to each other in the vertical direction. The outer terminal unit 160 includes a front or outer insulator 162 and a plurality of terminals 164 integrally formed in the front or outer insulator 162 by insert molding. The inner terminal unit 170 includes a plurality of terminals 174 and a rear or inner insulator 172 integrally formed with the plurality of terminals 174. The plurality of terminals 164 includes three ground terminals 165 and two pairs of differential pair terminals 166. The three ground terminals 165 and the two pairs of differential pair terminals 166 are arranged alternately in the lateral direction, wherein the tail portions of the ground terminals 165 are connected together by a cross bar (not shown). The terminals 164 may be manufactured by reference to U.S. provisional application No. 63/004,068.

The outer insulator 162 is provided with a front projection 161 and three rear projections 163 so as to be received in the front and rear openings 148 and 149 of the metal shell 140. The outer insulator 162 is provided with three deformable posts 169 for mating with a ground member 300, as will be described further below. A plurality of receiving grooves 167 are formed at the bottom side of the outer insulator 162 for receiving the contact portions of the inner terminal unit 170 corresponding to the terminals 174.

Accordingly, the plurality of terminals 174 includes two pairs of differential pair terminals 176 and three ground terminals 175. The two pairs of differential pair terminals 176 alternate with the three ground terminals 175. The tail portions of the ground terminals 175 are connected together by a cross-bar (not shown). The inner insulator 172 is provided with a plurality of front protrusions 173 and a plurality of rear protrusions 179, and the front protrusions 173 and the corresponding rear protrusions 179 are matched to be jointly accommodated in the rear opening 149 of the metal shell 140. The rear edge of the metal shell 140 abuts the rear projection 179.

It is to be noted that the metal shell 140, the outer insulator 162, and the inner insulator 172 are fixed to each other in the front-rear direction by the front opening 148 and the rear opening 149 of the metal shell 140, and the front protrusion 161 and the rear protrusion 163 of the outer insulator 162, and the front protrusion 173 and the rear protrusion 179 of the inner insulator 172. The inner insulator 172 further includes a plurality of side protrusions 171 to be received in the corresponding fixing holes 146 to ensure the firmness of the metal shell 140 and the outer and inner insulators 162 and 172 in the vertical and front-rear directions. As shown in fig. 16, the lower side of the inner insulator 172 is formed with a plurality of protrusions 177 to be received in corresponding recesses in the lower unit 130'. The bottom surface of the inner insulator 172 is formed with a recess 178 to receive a corresponding protrusion extending upward of the lower unit 130 'so as to ensure the holding force of the upper unit 130 and the lower unit 130' in the front-rear direction and the lateral direction.

It is to be noted that, after assembly, the metal shell 140 is held to the inner insulator 172 by the engagement of the fixing holes 146 with the respective side protrusions 171, and the outer insulator 162 is sandwiched between the metal shell 140 and the inner insulator 172 in the vertical direction. The metal case 140 of the upper unit 130 further includes a pair of holding portions 144 to hold to corresponding holding portions of the metal case of the lower unit 130'. A pair of channels (not labeled) are formed in the outer insulator 162 between the three rear projections 163 to allow the respective cables 200 to extend into. Similarly, the upper side of the inner insulator 172 forms a pair of upper channels 152 to accommodate the respective two cables 200 connected to the outer terminal unit 160. The lower side of the inner insulator 172 forms a pair of lower channels 152 for receiving two respective cables 200 connected to the inner terminal unit 170. The metal housing 140 further includes fixing pieces 142, and the fixing pieces 142 are securely held in the fixing holes 114 when the terminal module assembly 120 is assembled into the insulation housing 110.

The cable 200 includes, in order from the inside out, a pair of inner conductors 202, a pair of inner insulation layers 204, a common metallic or braided shield layer 206 and a common outer insulation layer (jacket). The inner conductors 202 are soldered to the tail portions of the differential pair terminals 166 and the shield 206 is mechanically and electrically connected to the cross-bars of the ground terminals 165. The ground member 300 is provided separately from the ground terminal 165, and the ground member 300 includes three holes 302, three arms 304, and two convex portions 306. The deformable post 169 extends through the aperture 302 to secure the ground member 300 to the outer insulator 162. The three arms 304 are respectively in contact fit with the corresponding ground terminals 165. Each of the raised portions 306 may cover the entire exposed inner insulating layer 204 in the vertical direction. The raised portion 306 covers the entire exposed inner insulating layer 204 in the vertical direction, which may reduce impedance compared to conventional designs where no ground covers the exposed insulating layer 204. The ground member 300 may further cover an upper portion of a front edge region of the shield layer 206, as desired.

It is to be noted that in the inner terminal unit 170, the arrangement between the terminals 174 and the inner insulator 172 and the cables 200 is similar to that in the outer terminal unit 160, but in a symmetrical or mirror image manner with the outer terminal unit 160. The metal ground 300 of the outer terminal unit 160 is assembled to the outer terminal unit 160 in a first vertical direction, and the metal ground of the inner terminal unit 170 is assembled to the inner terminal unit 170 in a second vertical direction opposite to the first vertical direction. The first vertical direction is a direction from top to bottom, the second vertical direction is a direction from bottom to top, and the shielding layer 206 of the cable 200 is located on an upper side of a corresponding cross bar of the ground terminal 165 of the outer terminal unit 160 and on a lower side of a corresponding cross bar of the ground terminal 175 of the inner terminal unit 170.

As shown in fig. 18-22, the side band terminal module 180 includes a plurality of wafers 182 stacked on each other in a lateral direction. Each of the wafers 182 includes an insulator 184 and a terminal group 186 held to the insulator 184 by insert molding, the terminal group 186 including an upper terminal unit 187 and a lower terminal unit 189. The upper terminal unit 187 includes a pair of contact arms 196 integrally formed with the upper terminal unit 187. The pair of contact arms 196 includes front and rear contact portions spaced apart in the front-rear direction, and the lower terminal unit 189 includes a pair of contact arms 198 integrally formed. The pair of contact arms 198 includes front and rear contact portions spaced apart in the front-to-rear direction. The upper terminal unit 187 also includes a pair of tails 194 spaced apart from each other in the fore-aft direction. The lower terminal unit 189 further includes a pair of tails 192 spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The tail portions 192 and 194 are for mounting to a printed circuit board. It is noted that the pair of contact arms 196 may be electrically separated from one another, if desired, by removing a T-shaped structure (not labeled) located between the corresponding pair of tail portions 194, since a stamped hole (not labeled) is formed in the insulator 184 to expose such T-shaped structure. Similarly, the pair of contact arms 198 may be electrically separated from one another by removing a T-shaped structure (not labeled) located between the respective pair of tail portions 192. In practice, the contact arms 196 and the contact arms 198 are not in the same vertical plane, but are offset from each other in the lateral direction. Accordingly, the insulator 184 forms a convex portion 183 and a concave portion 185 on both sides, thereby forming such an offset structure. This offset configuration also helps to align and stably stack the wafers 182 in the lateral direction. Each of the wafers forms an offset structure, as viewed in a front-rear direction perpendicular to the lateral and vertical directions, such that the upper terminal units 187 are offset from each other in the lateral direction with respect to the lower terminal units 189. Each of the wafers 182 also defines a projection 188 for receipt within a corresponding recess formed in an adjacent wafer 182. Each wafer 182 also includes guide ribs 181, which guide ribs 181 are received within the respective guide slots 116 when assembled. The thickness direction of the terminal group 186 is a lateral direction, and the thickness direction of the terminals 164 and 174 is perpendicular to the lateral direction.

As shown in fig. 24-28, another embodiment is shown, in which the arms 304 of the ground member 300 are replaced with resilient arms 434 of the ground member 430, as compared to the first embodiment, thereby eliminating the soldering process between the arms 304 and the corresponding ground terminals 175. In other words, in the present embodiment, when braid 456 is attached to a cross-bar (not labeled) of ground terminal 450, resilient arms 434 mechanically press against the corresponding ground terminal 450 without soldering. It will be appreciated that in this embodiment all other components remain the same as those of the first invention. The outer terminal unit includes a plurality of terminals 336 held in the insulator 332, and the inner terminal unit includes a plurality of terminals 338 held in the insulator 334. The ground member 430 is held to the insulator 332 by posts 460. The cable 451 is comprised of an inner conductor 452, an inner insulation 454, a braid 456, and an outer insulation 458. It is noted that, in the present invention, the ground members 300 and 430 cover the exposed inner insulating layers 204 and 454 substantially in the vertical direction to reduce the impedance. It is noted that the insulative housing 110 forms a plurality of passages (not labeled) beside the front mating grooves 111 to receive the contact portions of the corresponding terminals, respectively. The terminal group 186 is stamped and elastically deflectable in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the terminal group, and the terminals 164, 174 are stamped and elastically deflectable in a direction coincident with the thickness direction of the terminals.

As shown in fig. 29-33, a further embodiment is shown in which the arm 304 of the metal ground 500 is omitted, the other components being identical to those of the first embodiment, and the front terminal subunit including a plurality of terminals 536 retained in an insulator 532. The rear terminal subunit includes a plurality of terminals 538 retained in an insulator 534. The terminals 536 include three ground terminals 547 and two pairs of differential pair terminals 546 arranged alternately with the three ground terminals 547 in the lateral direction. The tail portions of the ground terminals 547 are connected together by a cross-bar 540. The terminals 538 include three ground terminals 549 and two pairs of differential pair terminals 548 laterally alternating with the three ground terminals 549. The tail portions of the ground terminals 549 are connected together by a cross-bar 540. The metal ground 500 is not held to the insulator 532 by the post 460. The ground member 500 includes two raised portions 504 and three horizontal portions 505. The cable 551 is composed of an inner conductor 552, an inner insulating layer 554, a common metallic shield 556 and an outer insulating layer 558. Each of the raised portions 504 covers the exposed common metal shield 556, and each of the horizontal portions 505 is connected to a corresponding ground terminal 547. Each of the raised portions 504 and each of the horizontal portions 505 is provided with a hole 510, and the metal ground 500 is directly welded to the cross-bar 540 of the ground terminal 547 and the common metal shield 556 through the holes 510.