Electrical connector with an improved terminal base

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9409331-B2
Application number	US-201414583748-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2014
Priority date	Dec 27, 2013
Publication date	Aug 9, 2016
Grant date	Aug 9, 2016

Abstract

An electrical connector includes a terminal base and plurality conductive contacts, and the conductive contacts defining a first group of contacts, and the first group of contacts including several signal contacts and several grounding contacts arranged with the signal contacts at intervals. The terminal base includes an insulative housing, and a conductive plastic block integrally molded with the insulative housing and combining with the insulative housing seamlessly, the conductive plastic block electrically contacts with the grounding contacts to electrically connect the grounding contacts together. Therefore, the seamless state prevents any loose from the conductive plastic block and the insulative one, which could make the terminal base to be steadier.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector comprising:
a terminal base;
a plurality of conductive contacts retained in the terminal base, the conductive contacts including a first group of contacts, and the first group of contacts including a set of signal contacts and a set of grounding contacts arranged with the signal contacts at intervals;
wherein the terminal base includes an insulative housing, and a conductive plastic block integrally molded with the insulative housing and combining with the insulative housing seamlessly, the conductive plastic block electrically contacts with the grounding contacts to electrically connect the grounding contacts together; wherein
the insulative housing includes a main portion and a tongue plate extending forwardly from the main portion, and each of the first group of contacts include a contact portion located in the tongue plate, a retaining portion retained in the main portion and a soldering tail extending through a rear surface of the main portion, wherein the conductive plastic block is set in the main portion and abuts against the retaining portions of the all grounding contacts; wherein
the tongue plate defines a plurality of slots, and the slots pass backwards through the rear surface of the main portion, wherein the main portion defines a groove communicating with the slots and corresponding to the retaining portions of the signal contacts, and the conductive plastic block defines several protruding portions protruding into the groove and electrically and mechanically abutting against the retaining portions of the grounding contacts.

2. The electrical connector as described in claim 1 , wherein the insulative housing and the conductive plastic block is made by twice-step injection molding.

3. The electrical connector as described in claim 1 , wherein the main portion of the insulative housing defines a side surface parallel with the tongue plate, wherein the conductive plastic block is flush with the side surface of the main portion, and the conductive plastic block is flush with the back surface of the main portion.

4. The electrical connector as described in claim 1 , wherein the side surface or the back surface of the conductive plastic block forms at least an injection port for molding.

5. The electrical connector as described in claim 1 , wherein the tongue plate defines a first surface and a relative second surface, and the first surface has a convex rib separating the first surface into two parts, wherein the first group of contacts is arranged in one of the two parts of the first surface, and the conductive contacts define a second group of contacts arranged in another part of the first surface and a third group of contacts arranged in the second surface, wherein the third group of contacts includes several signal contacts and several grounding contacts arrange with the signal contacts at intervals, and the terminal base comprises another conductive plastic block integrally molded with the insulative housing and combine with the insulative housing seamlessly, the another conductive plastic block electrically contacts with the grounding contacts of the third group of contacts to electrically connect them together.

6. The electrical connector as described in claim 5 , wherein another conductive plastic block is flush with the side surface and the back surface of the main portion.

7. The electrical connector as described in claim 1 , wherein the insulative housing defines a pair of guide arms on both sides of the tongue plate and extending forwardly from the main portion, and the guide arms are spaced from the tongue plate.

8. The electrical connector as described in claim 1 , wherein the slots present as a ladder-shape, one surface of the conductive plastic block is flush with the tongue plate and the other surface of the conductive plastic block forms a space from the insulative housing.

9. An electrical connector comprising:
a terminal base including an insulative housing and a conductive plastic block, said insulative housing extending along a lengthwise direction;
a plurality of conductive contacts retained in the housing in one row along said lengthwise direction, each of said contacts extending along a front-to-back direction perpendicular to said lengthwise direction, said contact being categorized with signal contacts and grounding contacts; and
said conductive plastic block integrally molded with the insulative housing after the insulative housing is formed, and extending along said lengthwise direction to selectively mechanically and electrically connect to the corresponding grounding contacts; wherein
in the terminal base, the insulative housing and the conductive plastic block commonly form a plurality of channels located above and aligned with retaining portions of the corresponding conductive contacts, respectively, in a vertical direction perpendicular to both said lengthwise direction and said front-to-back direction, said conductive plastic block directly faces said channels in said vertical direction, and said channels extend rearwardly through a rear surface of the terminal base in said front-to-back direction.

10. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said housing is made via a first injection molding and said conductive plastic block is made a second injection molding applied upon the formed housing.

11. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 10 , wherein all the contacts are retained by the housing via an insert molding process during the first injection molding, and the selected grounding contacts are retained by the conductive plastic block via another insert molding process during the second injection molding.

12. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said conductive plastic block respectively contacts the corresponding grounding contacts in said vertical direction.

13. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said conductive plastic block is located around a rear side of the housing and exposed rearwardly and upwardly to an exterior in both the front-to-back direction and a vertical direction perpendicular to both said lengthwise direction and said front-to-back direction.

14. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said insulative housing forms protrusions intimately located in front of the conductive plastic block in said front-to-back direction, and cooperating with said conductive plastic block to commonly downwardly press the same grounding contacts in said vertical direction, respectively.

15. A method of making an electrical connector, comprising steps of:
injection molding an insulative housing;
retaining a plurality of conductive contacts to the housing wherein said contacts are categorized with signal contacts and grounding contacts, each of said contacts extending along a front-to-back direction;
injection molding a conductive plastic block upon the insulative housing so as to form a complete terminal base; wherein
said conductive plastic block mechanically and electrically connect to the selected grounding contacts, respectively; wherein
all the conductive contacts is retained to the insulative housing via an insert-molding process during injecting molding the insulative housing, and said selected grounding contacts are further retained to the conductive plastic block via another insert-molding process during injection molding the conductive plastic block; wherein
the housing and the conductive plastic block commonly form a plurality of channels respectively facing the corresponding contacts in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-b

Assignees

• Foxconn Interconnect Technology Ltd

Inventors

• Liu Xing-Liang
• Luo Hong-Jing

Classifications

• B29C45/14639 Primary

  for obtaining an insulating effect, e.g. for electrical components · CPC title

• B29C2045/1673

  injecting the first layer, then feeding the insert, then injecting the second layer · CPC title

• H01R31/08

  Short-circuiting members for bridging contacts in a counterpart · CPC title

• H01R13/6599

  Dielectric material made conductive, e.g. plastic material coated with metal · CPC title

• H01R12/725

  containing contact members presenting a contact carrying strip, e.g. edge-like strip · CPC title