KR102397522B1 - Connector assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector assembly is provided. Wherein the connector assembly includes a connector body part electrically connected to an inserted mating connector through a fastening part, wherein the connector body part is exposed to a surface of the mating part so as to be in contact with a terminal of the mating connector so that the mating connector and a terminal pin including a first portion extending in an insertion direction and a second portion bent from the first portion into the fastening portion and not exposed.

Description

connector assembly {CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY}

The present invention relates to a connector assembly.

The electronic device includes a connection device for receiving data communication or external input. Such a connection device is composed of a connector assembly mounted on a printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as a PCB board) in the electronic device and a plug connector fastened corresponding thereto to communicate data with an external device or to supply power by connecting to a power device. is being utilized

When the connector assembly and the mating connector are repeatedly fastened, foreign substances generated due to friction between terminal pins electrically connected to each other or molds in which the terminal pins are arranged may accumulate between the terminal pins. Conductive foreign substances are accumulated between adjacently arranged terminals. Such a foreign material may cause a connection failure due to a resistance recognition error between adjacent terminals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly capable of preventing short circuit defects caused by accumulation of dust due to friction with a mating connector between terminal pins of a connector.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

A connector assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems is a connector assembly including a connector body portion electrically connected to an inserted mating connector through a fastening portion, wherein the connector body portion includes a terminal of the mating connector and a terminal pin including a first part exposed on the surface of the fastening part so as to be in contact with and extending in an insertion direction of the mating connector, and a second part bent from the first part into the fastening part and not exposed .

In some embodiments of the present invention, the terminal pins are disposed spaced apart from each other in the width direction of the fastening part on the lower surface of the fastening part from a plurality of upper surface terminal pins spaced apart from each other in the width direction of the fastening part on the upper surface of the fastening part It may include a plurality of lower surface terminal pins.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the connector body portion includes a mold filling between the plurality of upper surface terminal pins and the plurality of lower surface terminal pins to insulate the terminal pins, and a mid-coupled to the mold inside the connector body portion It may further include a plate.

In some embodiments of the present invention, only the top terminal pin to which the ground voltage GND is applied among the plurality of top terminal pins may contact the mid plate at the second portion.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of upper surface terminal pins extend in a straight line from a first upper surface terminal pin including the first portion and the second portion and a surface of the fastening portion without including the second portion and a second upper surface terminal pin that is formed, wherein the first upper surface terminal pin may be directly adjacent to the second upper surface terminal pin.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the mold may include a spaced region covering the second portion on the surface.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the level of the surface of the separation region may be substantially the same as the level of the first portion of the terminal pin.

A connector assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems is a connector assembly including a connector body part electrically connected to an inserted counterpart connector through a fastening part, wherein the connector body part includes an upper surface of the fastening part and and a mold for filling and insulating the upper surface terminal pin and the lower surface terminal pin respectively exposed on the surface of the lower surface and contacting the terminal of the connector mating connector, and the upper surface terminal pin and the lower surface terminal pin, wherein the terminal pin is exposed and a spaced area covering at least a part of the spaced area so that the spaced area is not substantially equal to the level of the upper surface of the upper surface terminal pin or the lower surface terminal pin.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the connector body part further includes a mid plate coupled to the mold inside the connector body part, and at least one terminal pin of the upper surface terminal pin and the lower surface terminal pin comprises the mid plate and the lower terminal pin. The mid plate may be in contact with the inside of the connector body.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a ground voltage GND may be applied to the upper surface terminal pin or the lower surface terminal pin in contact with the mid plate.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of upper surface terminal pins extend in a straight line from a first upper surface terminal pin including the first portion and the second portion and a surface of the fastening portion without including the second portion and a second upper surface terminal pin that is formed, wherein the first upper surface terminal pin may be directly adjacent to the second upper surface terminal pin.

Other specific details of the invention are included in the detailed description and drawings.

The connector assembly of the present invention includes a spaced area that does not expose some of the terminal pins disposed on the surface of the fastening part to prevent short circuit failure due to accumulation of metallic dust that may occur due to detachment of the mating connector.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is a perspective view of a connector assembly in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view of a connector assembly according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a shell removed from the connector assembly of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view illustrating the connector assembly of FIG. 1 with a shell removed;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a part of a mold removed from the connector assembly of FIG. 3 .
6 is a cross-sectional view of the connector assembly of FIG. 1 ;
7 is a reference diagram for explaining the effect of the connector assembly according to some embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case in which the connector assembly of FIG. 1 is coupled to a counterpart connector;
9 and 10 are perspective views for explaining a connector assembly according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs It is provided to fully inform the possessor of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

When one component is referred to as “connected to” or “coupled to” with another component, it means that it is directly connected or coupled to another component or intervening another component. including all cases. On the other hand, when one component is referred to as “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” with another component, it indicates that another component is not interposed therebetween. “and/or” includes each and every combination of one or more of the recited items.

When a component is referred to as “on” or “on” another component, it includes all cases in which another component is interposed in the middle as well as directly above the other component. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as “directly on” or “directly above” another component, it indicates that other components are not interposed therebetween.

Spatially relative terms "below", "beneath", "lower", "above", "upper", etc. It can be used to easily describe the correlation between components and other components. The spatially relative terms should be understood as terms including different orientations of the device during use or operation in addition to the orientation shown in the drawings. For example, when an element shown in the drawings is turned over, a component described as "beneath" or "beneath" of another element may be placed "above" the other element. . Accordingly, the exemplary term “below” may include both directions below and above. Components may also be oriented in other orientations, and thus spatially relative terms may be interpreted according to orientation.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, the singular also includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise in the phrase. As used herein, “comprises” and/or “comprising” refers to the presence of one or more other components, steps, operations, and/or elements mentioned. or addition is not excluded.

Although the first, second, etc. are used to describe various elements, these elements are not limited by these terms, of course. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the first component mentioned below may be the second component within the spirit of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used with the meaning commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, terms defined in a commonly used dictionary are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless clearly defined in particular.

1 is a perspective view of a connector assembly according to some embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a connector assembly according to some embodiments of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are by removing the shell from the connector assembly of FIG. It is a perspective view and a rear perspective view, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of the mold removed from the connector assembly of FIG. 3 . 6 is a cross-sectional view of the connector assembly of FIG. 1 ;

1 to 6 , the connector assembly according to some embodiments of the present invention may include a connector body part 100 , a sealing part 200 , a back plate 300 , and a housing part 400 .

The connector body 100 may include a plurality of terminal pins 110 and 160 , a mold 115 , a step portion 120 , a stopper 130 , mounting terminal portions 170 and 180 , a mid plate 190 , and the like. can

The connector body part 100 may include a fastening part 101 that is physically coupled to a counterpart connector connected to the connector assembly.

The outer surface of the connector body part 100 may be surrounded by the housing part 400 . As illustrated, the housing 400 may have an insertion hole 410 that penetrates in the insertion direction of the mating connector, and the housing 400 may expose the fastening portion 101 through the insertion hole. Terminal pins 110 and 160 and mounting terminal units 170 and 180 may be disposed on the outer surface of the connector body 100 exposed by the housing 400 .

Specifically, the terminal pins 110 and 160 are disposed on the connection part 101, which is the front part of the exposed connector body part 100, so as to be in contact with the counterpart connector connected to the connector assembly. In addition, mounting terminal units 170 and 180 are disposed on the rear and lower surfaces of the exposed connector body 100 to be electrically connected to the board to which the connector assembly is coupled.

The upper terminal pin 110 may be disposed on the upper surface of the fastening part 101 , and the lower terminal pin 160 may be disposed on the lower surface of the fastening part 101 . The upper terminal pin 110 and the lower terminal pin 160 may be separated from each other by the mold 115 . The upper terminal pin 110 and the lower terminal pin 160 may be formed of a material having electrical conductivity.

Since the mold 115 electrically separates the upper terminal pin 110 and the lower terminal pin 160 , the mold 115 may include an insulating material, specifically, a material such as PC (polycarbonate).

The upper surface terminal pin 110 may include a plurality of upper surface terminal pins 111 , 112 , and 113 arranged side by side. The plurality of upper terminal pins 111 to 113 may extend from the surface of the connector body 100 in the insertion direction of the counterpart connector.

Connectors according to some embodiments of the present invention may be configured to satisfy the USB type C standard. Accordingly, the upper terminal pin 110 may be assigned a signal line to satisfy the USB type C standard.

Specifically, the first upper surface terminal pin 111 may be assigned as a signal line providing the ground voltage GND. The second upper surface terminal pin 112 may be allocated so that signals TX and RX for data transmission are applied. The third upper surface terminal pin 113 may be assigned as a VBUS pin providing a power supply voltage. However, as described above, the example of the signal line assignment of the first to third upper surface terminal pins 111 to 113 is premised on the assumption that the USB type C standard is satisfied, which may vary according to the application example of the connector assembly.

The upper surface terminal pin 110 may extend in a fastening direction of the mating connector to be connected to the second mounting terminal unit 180 .

The upper surface of the fastening part 101 may include a first separation area ( 116 in FIG. 3 ). The first separation region 116 may cover a portion of the upper surface terminal pin 110 exposed to the upper surface of the fastening unit 101 .

Here, it has been described that the first spaced region 116 can 'cover' a part of the upper surface terminal pin 110 , but the level of the surface of the first spaced region 116 is different from the mold constituting the surface of the fastening part 101 . It may be substantially equal to the level of the upper surface of 115 . That is, the level of the surface of the first separation region 116 may be formed substantially flat without protruding or recessing from the mold 115 . This may be because the upper terminal pin 110 is formed in a shape bent into the fastening part 101 in the first separation region 116 as described later.

When the terminal pin 160 also satisfies the USB type C standard, a signal line may be assigned. That is, the same signal line may be allocated to each of the upper terminal pins 110 and the lower terminal pins 160 opposite to each other. Accordingly, the ground voltage GND, the data transmission signals TX and RX, and the power voltage VBUS signal may be applied to the lower terminal pin 160 as well, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The lower terminal pin 160 may extend in a fastening direction of the mating connector to be connected to the first mounting terminal unit 170 .

A lower surface of the fastening part 101 may include a second separation area ( 166 in FIG. 4 ). The second separation region 166 may cover a portion of the lower surface terminal pin 160 exposed to the lower surface of the fastening part 101 .

Similar to the first separation area 116 of the upper surface of the fastening part 101 , the second separation area 166 may be substantially equal to the level of the lower surface of the mold 115 . That is, the level of the surface of the second separation region 166 may be formed to be substantially flat without protruding or recessing from the mold 115 .

The characteristics of the first spaced region 116 and the second spaced region 166 may be more distinctly revealed compared to the surface of the stepped portion 120 surrounding the fastening portion 101 . This is because, unlike the separation regions 116 and 166 formed to be flat with the surface of the fastening part 101 , the stepped part 120 protrudes from the fastening part 101 .

The mounting terminal units 170 and 180 may include a first mounting terminal unit 170 and a second mounting terminal unit 180 . The first mounting terminal unit 170 may include a plurality of terminal pins bonded to the board and arranged side by side in the width direction of the connector assembly. Similarly, the second mounting terminal unit 180 may also include a plurality of terminal pins bonded to the board and arranged side by side in the width direction of the connector assembly.

The first mounting terminal unit 170 may be disposed closer to the front surface of the connector assembly, ie, closer to the fastening unit 101 than the second mounting terminal unit 180 . The first mounting terminal unit 170 may be connected to a terminal pin 160 extending therefrom. The second mounting terminal unit 180 may be connected by extending the upper terminal pin 110 .

The sealing part 200 may be in contact with the rear surface of the connector body part 100 inserted into the housing part 400 and may fill and seal the housing part 400 . Waterproof and dustproof of the connector assembly may be maintained by the sealing part 200 . In addition, the back plate 300 may block the rear surface of the housing part 400 filled therein by the sealing part 200 .

5 and 6 , the upper surface terminal pin 110 may be divided into first to third portions 110_1 to 110_3. The first to third portions 110_1 to 110_3 may be sequentially divided in an insertion direction of the counterpart connector. Accordingly, the second part 110_2 may be positioned between the first part 110_1 and the third part 110_3 .

The first part 110_1 is defined as a part of the upper surface terminal pin 110 exposed to the surface of the fastening part 101 . Accordingly, the first portion 110_1 may be a portion in contact with the counterpart connector.

The second part 110_2 is defined as a part that extends from the first part 110_1 and is not exposed by being bent into the fastening part 101 . Accordingly, the second part 110_2 may not be exposed to the surface of the fastening part 101 . Also, the second portion 110_2 may be defined as a portion of the upper surface terminal pin 110 covered by the separation region 116 . Accordingly, the second part 110_2 formed by bending into the fastening part 101 is covered by the spaced apart region 116 of the fastening part 101 and is not exposed to the surface of the fastening part 101 .

The third portion 110_3 may be defined as a portion extending parallel to the extending direction of the first portion 110_1 . However, since the third part 110_3 is covered by the step part 120 , it is not exposed to the surface of the fastening part 101 .

The lower surface terminal pin 160 may also have the same shape as the upper surface terminal pin 110 divided into the first to third portions 110_1 to 110_3. That is, the lower terminal pin 160 has a portion exposed to the fastening portion 101 surface, a portion bent into the fastening portion 101 and covered by the separation region 166 , and covered by the step portion 120 . It can be divided into parts.

Meanwhile, the mid plate 190 is disposed inside the fastening part 101 . The mid plate 190 including the metallic material may constitute the fastening part 101 together with the mold 115 .

When the second portion 110_2 of the upper surface terminal pin has a shape bent into the fastening part 101 , some of the plurality of upper surface terminal pins 110 may contact the mid plate 190 with each other.

However, the mid plate 190 only contacts the first upper surface terminal pins 111 and does not contact the other upper surface terminal pins 112 and 113 . That is, the mid plate 190 is in contact with the first upper terminal pin 111 to which the signal line of the ground voltage GND is allocated, and the second and second terminals to which the terminal voltage VSUB or the data transmission signals RX and TX are allocated. 3 Do not contact the upper terminal pins 112 and 113. Therefore, a short circuit defect problem due to the contact between the upper surface terminal pin 110 and the mid plate 190 does not occur.

Effects of the upper terminal pin and the lower terminal pin included in the connector assembly of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 .

7 is a reference view for explaining an effect of a connector assembly according to some embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a case in which the connector assembly of FIG. 1 is coupled to a counterpart connector.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in the connector assembly shown in the reference diagram, the upper terminal pins 110A and 110B are exposed as they are without being covered by the separation area 116 of FIG. 3 .

The connector assembly forms dust due to friction while being repeatedly coupled with the mating connector, and some of this may be accumulated in the intermediate area IA between the two upper surface terminal pins 110A and 110B. However, when dust formed from a metallic material such as the upper surface terminal pins 110A and 110B accumulates in the intermediate region IA, it may cause an electrical failure by shorting between the two upper surface terminal pins 110A and 110B.

In particular, the dust formed by friction between the connectors tends to accumulate in the space between the tip 510 and the stepped portion 120 of the mating connector, that is, the space on the separation regions 116 and 166 of the present invention.

The connector assembly of the present invention includes spaced areas 116 and 166 between the upper surface terminal pin 110 exposed to the outside of the fastening portion 101 and the stepped portion 120 . Due to the shape of the second part 110_2_ of the upper surface terminal pin formed by bending into the fastening part 101 and the spaced areas 116 and 166 covering it, dust is separated from the tip 510 of the mating connector and the step part 120 ), even if it accumulates in the space between the terminals, it is possible to prevent electrical failure due to a short circuit between the terminal pins.

In addition, since the terminal 520 of the mating connector contacts the first part 110_1 of the upper surface terminal pin exposed to the outside of the fastening part 101 , regardless of the shape of the bent second part 110_2 , the mating connector electrical connection can be maintained.

9 and 10 are perspective views for explaining a connector assembly according to some embodiments of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 9 , the shape of the separation region 1116 may be different from that of the above-described embodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 9 , the separation region 1116 may expose some of the plurality of upper surface terminal pins to the surface of the mold 1115 . The outermost upper surface terminal pin 1110 among the plurality of upper surface terminal pins may be exposed to the outside without being covered by the separation area 1116 . The outermost upper surface terminal pin 1110 may be formed to extend in a straight line without being bent inside the mold 1115 .

As described above, the separation region 1116 may prevent electrical failure due to metallic dust accumulated between the plurality of upper surface terminal pins or lower surface terminal pins. However, even when the separation region 1116 is formed as shown in FIG. 9 , the effect of preventing electrical failure is maintained because the outermost top terminal pin 1110 and the adjacent top terminal pin are not exposed in the separation region 1116 . .

On the other hand, since the outermost upper surface terminal pin 1110 is formed to extend in a straight line without being bent inside the mold 1115 , it may not come into contact with the mid plate 1119 .

Referring to FIG. 10 , in some embodiments, the shape of the top terminal pins 1210 may be different from that of the top terminal pins in the above-described embodiments.

Specifically, the upper surface terminal pins 1210 may include an upper surface terminal pin 1110a not exposed by the separation region 1116 and an exposed upper surface terminal pin 1110b.

That is, the upper surface terminal pin 1110a may include a portion that is bent into the mold 1115 and is not exposed, and the upper surface terminal pin 1110b may not include a portion that is bent into the mold 1115 and is not exposed. .

Also, the upper surface terminal pin 1110a and the upper surface terminal pin 1110b may be alternately disposed. Accordingly, the upper surface terminal pins 1110b exposed on the surface of the mold 1115 may have sufficient space therebetween to sufficiently prevent short circuit failure due to metallic dust.

Also, since the upper surface terminal pin 1110b does not include a bent portion, electromagnetic interference (EMI) characteristics may be superior to that of the bent upper surface terminal pin 1110a.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can realize that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without changing its technical spirit or essential features. you will be able to understand Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.

100: connector body 101: fastening part
110: top terminal pin 115: mold
116: separation area

Claims (11)

A connector assembly comprising a connector body electrically connected to an inserted mating connector through a fastening portion, the connector assembly comprising:
The fastening part includes a stepped part protruding from the fastening part,
The connector body portion,
A first portion extending in an insertion direction of the mating connector by being exposed to be spaced apart from the stepped portion on a surface of the fastening portion so as to be in contact with the terminal of the mating connector, and bending from the first portion into the fastening portion of the mating connector A connector assembly including a terminal pin extending to the step portion along the insertion direction of the connector and including a second portion not exposed to the surface of the fastening portion. The method of claim 1,
The terminal pins include a plurality of upper surface terminal pins spaced apart from each other in the width direction of the fastening part on the upper surface of the fastening part;
and a plurality of lower surface terminal pins spaced apart from each other in a width direction of the fastening part on a lower surface of the fastening part. 3. The method of claim 2,
The connector body portion,
a mold filling between the plurality of upper surface terminal pins and the plurality of lower surface terminal pins to insulate the terminal pins; and
The connector assembly further comprising a mid plate coupled to the mold inside the connector body. 4. The method of claim 3,
A connector assembly in which only an upper surface terminal pin to which a ground voltage (GND) is applied from among the plurality of upper surface terminal pins is in contact with the mid plate at the second portion. 4. The method of claim 3,
The plurality of upper surface terminal pins include a first upper surface terminal pin including the first portion and the second portion;
and a second upper surface terminal pin extending in a straight line from the surface of the fastening part without including the second part,
The first upper surface terminal pin is directly adjacent to the second upper surface terminal pin. 6. The method of claim 5,
and wherein the mold includes a spaced area on a surface covering the second portion. 7. The method of claim 6,
A level of a surface of the separation region is substantially equal to a level of the first portion of the terminal pin. A connector assembly comprising a connector body electrically connected to an inserted mating connector through a fastening portion, the connector assembly comprising:
The connector body portion,
an upper surface terminal pin and a lower surface terminal pin exposed on the surfaces of the upper surface and the lower surface of the fastening part, respectively, and contacting the terminal of the mating connector;
and a mold filling and insulating between the upper surface terminal pin and the lower surface terminal pin,
The mold includes a spaced area covering at least a portion so that the terminal pins are not exposed,
The level of the upper surface of the separation region is substantially the same as the level of the upper surface of the upper surface terminal pin or the lower surface terminal pin. 9. The method of claim 8,
The connector body portion further includes a mid plate coupled to the mold inside the connector body portion,
At least one terminal pin of the upper surface terminal pin and the lower surface terminal pin is in contact with the mid plate inside the connector body part. 10. The method of claim 9,
A connector assembly to which a ground voltage (GND) is applied to the upper surface terminal pin or the lower surface terminal pin in contact with the mid plate. 11. The method of claim 10,
The upper surface terminal pin has a first upper surface including a first portion exposed on a surface of the fastening part and extending in an insertion direction of the mating connector, and a second part bent from the first part into the fastening part and not exposed. terminal pins,
and a second upper surface terminal pin extending in a straight line from the surface of the fastening part without including the second part,
The first upper surface terminal pin is directly adjacent to the second upper surface terminal pin.

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