Multi-interface power contact and electrical connector including same

Multi-interface power contactor and electric connector including the contactor

Technical field

The present invention relates to a contactor and a connector for transmitting electric power.

Background technique

The power contactor known in the prior art includes some features and structures. When used in an electrical connector, these features and structures provide a board-to-board interface or a board-to-cable interface. For example, a power contactor that provides a board-to-board interface can adopt a main body part (for example, a flat wall) that uses itself (a jack contactor) or through a beam (plug-in contactor) extending from the main body part. ) Defines an engagement portion to engage the mating contactor. A number of terminals extend from the main body to be joined with the printed circuit board. When the electrical connector with the jack-type contactor is mated with the electrical connector with the plug-type contactor, the board-to-board interface is completed.

An example of the board-to-cable interface includes a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector using a plug-in contact similar to the above, the second electrical connector using a jack-type contactor, the contactor having A plug-in protrusion that extends from the main body member instead of extending from the circuit board joint terminal. When the power cable plug engages the plug protrusion on the jack contact and the mating first and second electrical connectors are engaged, a board-to-cable interface is obtained.

Summary of the invention

The present invention relates to a power contactor used in an electrical connector for transmitting power. The preferred power contactor includes several electrical interface parts to provide a board-to-board interface and a cable-to-board interface. According to a preferred embodiment of the contactor, there is now provided a power contactor for an electrical connector, the power contactor having: a contact wall; at least one terminal extending from the contact wall; and at least one plug-type protrusion , It extends from the contact wall. A part of the contact wall defines a first electrical interface to engage a contactor connected with the mating electrical connector. The terminal defines a second electrical interface for joining the circuit board. And the plug-type protrusion defines a third electrical interface to engage the cable plug-type connector.

According to another preferred contactor embodiment, there is now provided a power contactor for an electrical connector, the power contactor having a first contact wall and a second contact wall. A portion of each of the first and second contact walls collectively define an electrical interface to engage a contactor associated with a mating electrical connector. At least one of the first contact wall and the second contact wall includes extensions that define some electrical interfaces, which in addition to engaging the mating electrical connector also engages a number of separate, independent electrical parts .

According to another preferred embodiment of the contactor, there is now provided a two-part power contactor for an electrical connector, the power contactor having a first contact wall and a second contact wall, wherein the second contact The wall is not combined with the first contact wall. The first contact wall has a plug-type protrusion for engaging the cable plug and a terminal for engaging the circuit board. A portion of each of the first and second contact walls collectively define an electrical interface to engage the power contactor associated with the mating electrical connector.

The invention also relates to an electrical connector using a power contactor. According to a preferred embodiment of the connector, an electrical connector is now provided. The electrical connector includes an insulating housing and a power contactor, the power contactor being arranged in the insulating housing. The power contactor includes: a first electrical interface part that engages the contactor associated with the mating electrical connector; a second electrical interface part that engages the circuit board; and a third electrical interface part that engages the cable plug-in connection Device.

According to another preferred connector embodiment, an electrical connector is now provided, which has: an insulating housing; an integral power contactor; and a two-part power contactor. The integral power contactor has a first contact wall and a second contact wall coupled to the first contact wall. The two-part power contactor has a first contact wall and a second contact wall, wherein the second contact wall is not combined with the first contact wall.

According to another preferred embodiment of the connector, there is now provided an electrical connector, which includes: an insulating housing; a first power contactor, which is arranged in the insulating housing; and a second power contactor, which is arranged in the insulating housing in vivo. The first power contactor includes a contact wall and at least one terminal extending from the wall to engage the circuit board. The second power contactor includes: a contact wall; a plug-type protrusion extending from the wall to engage an AC or DC cable plug or a ground wire; and a terminal extending from the wall to engage the circuit board.

These and various other novel features and corresponding advantages are pointed out by the features in the appended claims that form a part of this application. However, in order to better understand these aspects of the present invention, reference should therefore be made to the drawings and the description of the drawings, which form another part, in which some preferred embodiments are shown.

Description of the drawings

It is believed that the present invention can be better understood through the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals represent the same features, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the first preferred electrical jack connector, the connection The connector includes a power contactor with plug-type protrusions that extend from the rear of the insulating housing to engage two independent plug-type connectors; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the first preferred power contactor The contactor includes some parts used to provide the cable-to-board interface and the board-to-board interface; Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the preferred connector shown in Figure 1, which shows the power contacts used to install the respective Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second preferred power contactor, the contactor includes some parts used to provide a board-to-board interface; Figure 5 is mated with a complementary socket connector A perspective view of the second preferred electrical jack connector. The second preferred electrical jack connector includes a number of power contacts having plug-in protrusions extending from the top of the insulating housing to engage the plug Plug connector; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a preferred two-part power contactor, the contactor includes spaced contact walls, one of the contact walls has a plug protrusion extending therefrom; and 7 is the third preferred electrical jack connector mated with the socket type connector. The jack connector includes: a power contactor for connecting the ground wire; and a covered cable port for Install AC or DC cable plugs.

detailed description

It is believed that the present invention can be better understood through the following detailed description of the drawings and preferred embodiments. In these drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same features. 1, the preferred power connector 10 is in the shape of a jack connector. The electrical connector 10 includes an insulating housing 11 having a mating surface 12 that engages a complementary electrical connector (tube socket connector). The mating surface 12 has a number of holes, which provide access to the power contactors, and the power contactors are arranged in the insulating housing 11. For example, the hole 20 provides access to the engaging portion of the first type of jack power contactor 30 (shown in FIG. 2), and the hole 21 provides access to the engaging portion of the second type of jack power contactor 60 (Shown in the figure), and the hole 22 provides access to the signal contactor 25. The first type of jack power contactor 30 includes at least one plug-shaped protrusion 34 to engage a cable plug connector such as the connectors 15 and 16 in FIG. 1.

Now, referring to Figure 2, it shows an exemplary first power contactor 30, the contactor 30 has opposed, preferably flat and parallel contact walls 31 and 32, these walls by means of one or more Bridge elements 33 to connect. The spaced-apart contact walls 31 and 32 create an intermediate space 35 for mounting a plug contact associated with a mating electrical connector (see, for example, the receptacle connector 100 shown in FIG. 5). The use of two contact walls can improve the electrical integrity of the above-mentioned connectors. In addition, the combination of the two contact walls 31, 32 with the intermediate space 35 (which allows air flow between the contact walls) improves the ability (and speed) to dissipate the heat generated by the power transmission. Although all the power contactors 30 shown in the drawings here include two separate contact walls, the power contactor contemplated by the present invention and defined by one or more appended claims may include only one contact wall. , Or include two contact walls: they are adjacent to each other so that no intermediate space (such as space 35) can be created. Similarly, the power contactor 30 shown has two separate bridge-shaped elements 33, but alternative embodiments may have one bridge-shaped element that extends along the main part of the edge of the contact wall, or may have Two or more bridge-shaped elements, these elements are arranged on one or more edges of the contact wall.

Portions of the contact walls 31 and 32 collectively define a first electrical interface 40 to engage the contactor associated with the mating electrical connector. Each contact wall 31 and 32 has a plurality of terminals 36 which extend from the bottom edge 37 to engage the printed circuit board, thus defining a second electrical interface 41. As described above, the plug-type protrusion 34 extends from the rear edge 39 of each contact wall 31 and 32, which rear edge defines the third electrical interface 42 to engage the cable plug-type connector. Therefore, the power contactor 30 is shaped to engage with three independent, separate electrical components, namely the mating connector, the cable plug connector and the printed circuit board. The power contactor 30 provides an interface from the cable to the board through the contact walls 31, 32 and the plug-in protrusion 34 and an interface from the board to the board through the contact walls 31, 32 and the terminal 36.

Now, referring to FIG. 3, it shows a rear perspective view of the electrical connector 10, which includes some silos 14 for mounting respective power contactors 30. As described above, the electrical connector 10 is equipped with additional contactors. These additional contactors include the second type of power contactor 60 and a number of signal contactors 25, which are shown as being loaded into the insulating housing 11. Although the power contactor 30 is formed to provide a wire-to-board interface and a board-to-board interface, the power contactor 60 is formed to provide only a board-to-board interface.

An exemplary power contactor 60 is shown in FIG. 4 and includes two spaced-apart contact walls 61 and 62 between which an intermediate space 65 is formed. The contact walls 61 and 62 are connected to each other by means of two bridge elements 63. A contactor associated with a mating electrical connector (not shown) engages a portion of each contact wall 61 and 62. Terminals 66 extend from the bottom edge 67 of each contact wall to connect to the printed circuit board. A person of ordinary skill in the art can easily understand that another type of electrical connector may include less than all types of power and signal contactors shown in the drawings. For example, another electrical connector of the present invention may only have a power contactor (power contactor 30 and/or power contactor 60), or only one power contactor (power contactor 30 or 60) and several signals. Contactor.

Another preferred electrical jack connector 110 is shown in FIG. 5 and is shown to mate with the receptacle connector 100. The electrical connector 110 includes an insulating housing 111 and is shown with a signal contact array 125, two power contactors 60 (see FIG. 4), and ten power contactors 130. Each power contactor 130 has a plug-type protrusion 134 that extends from the top 113 of the housing to engage the cable plug-type connector 115. The mating connectors 100, 110 are shown as being connected to the respective printed circuit boards 200 and 201, respectively.

Now, referring to FIG. 6, the exemplary power contactor 130 shown has two separate contact walls 131 and 132 and an intermediate space 135. In contrast to the contact wall of the power contactor 30, the contact walls 131, 132 are not connected to each other (ie, the exemplary power contactor 130 is a two-piece contact). The contact walls 131, 132 are each inserted into the connector housing 111, and their relative positions are maintained by the structure of the connector housing. A portion of each contact wall 131, 132 collectively defines an electrical interface 140 to engage a contact in a mating electrical connector. The terminal 136 extends from the bottom edge 137 of the contact wall 131, 132 to define the second electrical interface 141 and to engage the printed circuit board. The two spaced-apart contact walls preferably terminate on a common power supply layer in the printed circuit board through terminals 36. The contact wall 131 has a plug-type protrusion 134 that extends from the top edge 138 to define a third electrical interface 142 and engages the cable plug-type connector. The contact wall 132 is shown without a plug-type protrusion, but on the other hand may have a plug-type protrusion extending from the top edge.

Another preferred jack-type connector 210 is shown in FIG. 7 and mates with the socket-type connector 200. The jack connector 210 includes an insulating housing 211, a row of signal contactors 225, a number of power contactors 60 and a number of two-part power contactors 130. One of the two-part power contactors 130 includes a plug-type protrusion 134 for engaging the ground wire 300. The remaining power contactor is surrounded by a covered cable port 310 (thus not shown), which is shaped to install an AC or DC cable plug 312. The connector 210 shown has a vertically oriented cable port. But other connectors include a covered cable port that extends from the rear of the insulating housing.

The preferred power contactor is stamped from a suitable material such as phosphor bronze alloy, beryllium copper alloy or copper alloy with better conductivity or formed by other methods. The signal contactors are preferably "pin" type contactors. These contactors include a tail connected to a circuit board. These signal contactors are formed of a suitable material such as a copper alloy. The power contactor and the signal contactor may be plated with gold or a mixture of gold and nickel. The power contactor housing is preferably molded or formed of high temperature nylon filled with glass or other materials known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The number and arrangement of various preferred power contactors and signal contactors may be different from those shown in the drawings. In addition, the replacement electrical connector envisaged by the present invention includes only the power contactor and does not include the signal contactor. It should be understood that even though the above description and the structural details and functions of the present invention propose many features and advantages of the present invention, these disclosures are only explanatory. Correspondingly, within the principle of the present invention, the details can be changed within the entire scope indicated by the broad meaning defined by the appended claims, especially the shape, size and arrangement of these features can be changed.