Electrical connector having improved contact module and method for making same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016359256-A1
Application number	US-201615199995-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 1, 2016
Priority date	Jun 5, 2015
Publication date	Dec 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electrical connector includes a number of first contacts and a number of second contacts, an insulative housing, a shielding plate, and a metallic shell. The insulative housing has a base portion, a tongue portion, and a number of receiving grooves running through the base portion to the tongue portion. The tongue portion defines a first surface and a second surface. The receiving grooves are exposed on the first surface and the second surface. The insulative housing, the second contacts, and the shielding plate are insert-molded to form a contact module, and the first contacts are assembled to the receiving grooves.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electrical connector comprising:
a plurality of contacts having a plurality of first contacts and a plurality of second contacts, each first contact having a first engaging section and each second contact having a second engaging section; an insulative housing having a base portion, a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base portion, and a plurality of receiving grooves running through the base portion to the tongue portion in an front-and-rear direction, the tongue portion defining a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface in an up-and-down direction perpendicular to the front-and-rear direction, the receiving grooves exposed in the first surface and the second surface in the up-and-down direction; and a metallic shielding plate located between the first engaging sections and the second engaging sections; wherein the insulative housing, the second contacts, and the shielding plate are integrally formed together to form a contact module via an insert-mold process, while the first contacts are forwardly assembled to the receiving grooves once the contact module is formed; wherein the first contacts are exposed upon the first surface and the second contacts are exposed upon the second surface.

2 . The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the base portion defines a plurality of slots connecting with the receiving grooves in the up-and-down direction and exposed to an exterior in the up-and-down direction.

3 . The electrical connector as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising an insulative member molded to a rear end of the contact module with the first contacts for fastening the first contacts.

4 . The electrical connector as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the insulative member includes a covering portion fills the slots along the up-and-down direction, and the receiving grooves along the front-and-rear direction.

5 . The electrical connector as claimed in claim 4 , wherein said insulative member presses the first contacts in the up-and-down direction.

6 . The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the insulative housing defines a through hole extending therethrough in the up-and-down direction, and the shielding plate defines a plurality of openings aligned with the through hole in the up-and-down direction so as to remove corresponding bridges which are originally respectively linked between every two neighboring second contacts and located in the through hole for facilitating said insert-molding process to form said contact module while being punched out once the contact module has been formed.

7 . The electrical connector as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising an insulative member molded to a rear end of the contact module with the first contacts for fastening the first contacts, wherein said insulative member fills the through hole and the corresponding openings.

8 . The electrical connector as claimed in claim 7 , wherein said through hole is formed around a root section of the tongue portion.

9 . A method of making an electrical connector, comprising the steps of:
providing a plurality of first contacts, second contacts and a metallic shielding plate; insert molding the second contacts and the shielding plate within an insulative housing, the insulative housing comprising a base portion and a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base portion along a front-to-rear direction, and a plurality of receiving grooves running through the base portion to the tongue portion, the tongue portion defining a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface in an up-and-down direction perpendicular to said front-to-rear direction, the receiving grooves exposed on the first surface and the second surface in the up-and-down direction, the second contacts exposed upon the second surface; and inserting said first contacts into the receiving grooves along the front-and-rear direction to have the first contacts exposed on the first surface.

10 . The method as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the housing comprises a plurality of slots communicating the corresponding receiving grooves to an exterior in the up-and-down direction.

11 . The method as claimed in claim 9 , further including a step of overmolding an insulative member upon the housing to fill said slots in the up-and-down direction after the first contacts are inserted into the corresponding receiving grooves.

12 . The method as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the housing forms a through hole extending therethrough in the up-and-down direction, and the shielding plate forms a plurality of openings aligned with the through hole in the up-and-down direction, and said second contacts are further equipped with a plurality of bridges respectively linked between every neighboring two second contacts and located in the through hole, and wherein the bridges are removed via a puncher extending through said through hole and the corresponding openings.

13 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , further including a step of overmolding an insulative member upon the housing to fill the through hole and the openings in the up-and-down direction.

14 . The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein said through hole is formed around a root section of the tongue portion.

15 . The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein said insulative member is overmolded after the first contacts are inserted into the corresponding receiving grooves.

16 . An electrical connector comprising:
an insulative housing including a base portion and a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base portion along a front-to-back direction, said tongue portion defining opposite upper and lower surfaces in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction, said housing further defining a through hole in the vertical direction; a plurality of upper contacts disposed in the housing with corresponding upper contact sections exposed upon the upper surface; a plurality of lower contacts disposed in the housing with corresponding lower contacting sections exposed upon the lower surface, the upper contacting sections and the lower contacting sections at least partially being respectively aligned with each other in the vertical direction; and a metallic shielding plate embedded within the tongue portion between the upper contacting sections and the lower contacting sections in the vertical direction, said shielding plate defining a plurality openings aligned with the through hole in the vertical direction; the upper contacts being originally equipped with corresponding upper bridges respectively linked between every adjacent two upper contacting sections and aligned with the corresponding openings in the vertical direction, and the lower contacts being originally equipped with corresponding lower bridges respectively linked between every adjacent two lower contacts sections and aligned with the corresponding openings in the vertical direction; wherein the upper bridges and the lower bridges are offset from each other in the front-to-back direction for not overlapping in the vertical direction so as to having said upper bridges and the lower bridges removed without interference after said upper contact, said lower contacts and said shielding plate are integrally formed within the insulative housing to form a contact module via a single insert-molding process.

17 . The electrical connector as claimed in claim 16 , wherein both said openings and said through hole are filled with an insulative member via an overmolding process once said con

Assignees

• Foxconn Interconnect Technology Ltd

Inventors

• Zhang jian-li

Classifications

• H01R24/60

  Contacts spaced along planar side wall transverse to longitudinal axis of engagement · CPC title

• H01R13/405 Primary

  Securing in non-demountable manner, e.g. moulding, riveting · CPC title

• H01R2107/00

  Four or more poles · CPC title

• H01R13/6581

  Shield structure · CPC title

• H01R43/24

  Assembling by moulding on contact members · CPC title