Connector having pin groups with different pin lengths

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 95109409, filed Mar. 20, 2006. All disclosure of the Taiwan application is incorporated herein by reference.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a connector. More particularly, the present invention relates to a connector having different pin lengths.

2. Description of Related Art

Universal serial bus (USB) is usually used as the interface for transmitting digital signals, and as to some commonly used peripheral devices, such as earphones and speakers, to improve audio quality and simplify design, independent connectors are generally used for transmitting data and for differentiating the peripheral devices. However, as to those hand-held devices whose designs are going towards being light, thin, short, compact and small, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, GPS devices, music players, and game machines, the cost and the volumes thereof may be increased if various connectors are to be disposed therein.

Generally, the pin lengths of a connector are the same, the angle of inserting the connector is different when the user habit and the working environment are different. Signal misjudgment may be caused if the pin connection sequence in the connector is not consistent, for example, if the pin for transmitting signal is connected before the ground pin, signal misjudgment will be caused due to a lack of ground voltage level.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to provide a connector which is suitable for both USB and audio signal transmissions.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a connector is provided, wherein USB pins and audio signal pins are integrated into an insulating layer, so as to integrate the functions of various connectors.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a connector is provided, wherein pins of different lengths are disposed according to different functions so that the connector can be applied to different insertion angles, accordingly the accuracy of signal transmission is improved and signal misjudgment is avoided.

To achieve the aforementioned and other aspects, the present invention provides a connector for connecting a host and a peripheral device. The connector includes N pin groups and each of the pin groups has different pin length, wherein N is a positive integer and is greater than or equal to 3.

According to a connector in an embodiment of the present invention, if N is equal to 5, the connector includes 5 pin groups, the pin lengths of the pin groups are respectively L 1 ˜L 5 . Wherein L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , L 4 , L 5 are all positive integers, and L 1 >L 2 >L 3 >L 4 >L 5 .

To achieve the aforementioned and other aspects, the present invention provides a connector for connecting a host and a peripheral device. The connector includes two ground pins, three audio pins, a power supply pin, three signal pins, and two data pins. Wherein, the length of the ground pins is L 1 , the length of the audio pins is L 2 , the length of the power supply pin is L 3 , the length of the signal pins is L 4 , and the length of the data pins is L 5 . Wherein, L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , L 4 , L 5 are all positive integers and L 1 >L 2 >L 3 >L 4 >L 5 .

To achieve the aforementioned and other aspects, the present invention provides a connector for connecting a host and a peripheral device. The connector includes an insulating layer having a top surface and a bottom surface and N pin groups respectively disposed on the top surface and the bottom surface, wherein each of the pin groups has different pin length, N is a positive integer and N is greater than or equal to 3.

According to a connector in an embodiment of the present invention, if N is equal to 5, the connector includes 5 pin groups, and the pin lengths of the 5 pin groups are respectively L 1 ˜L 5 . Wherein L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , L 4 , L 5 are all positive integers and L 1 >L 2 >L 3 >L 4 >L 5 .

In overview, multiple pins are adopted in the present invention to integrate USB and audio signal transmission interfaces into a connector so that a single connector can perform more functions, accordingly, the number of connectors and the space required by the connectors in an electronic apparatus can be reduced. Meanwhile, pins of different lengths are disposed according to different functions so that the connector can be applied to different insertion angles, accordingly, the accuracy of signal transmission is increased and signal misjudgment is avoided.

In order to make the aforementioned and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, a preferred embodiment accompanied with figures is described in detail below.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the pin lengths of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the major pins of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 cut along line A˜A′.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 cut along line B˜B′.

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 cut along line C˜C′.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the pin lengths of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the pin lengths of the connector are classified into 5, which are respectively L 1 ˜L 5 . The 11 pins P 1 ˜P 11 in the present embodiment are classified into 5 pin groups based on the pin lengths L 1 ˜L 5 thereof. The first pin group is ground pins including pins P 5 and P 10 , which are referred to thereinafter as ground pins P 5 and P 10 , and the pin length thereof is L 1 . The second pin group is audio pins including pins P 6 , P 7 , and P 11 , which are referred to thereinafter as audio pins P 6 , P 7 , and P 11 , and the pin length thereof is L 2 . The third pin group is power supply pin including only pin P 1 , which is referred to thereinafter as power supply pin P 1 , and the pin length thereof is L 3 . The fourth pin group is signal pins including pins P 2 , P 3 , and P 4 , which are referred to thereinafter as signal pins P 2 , P 3 , and P 4 , and the pin length thereof is L 4 . The fifth pin group is data pins including pins P 8 and P 9 , which are referred to thereinafter as data pins P 8 and P 9 , and the pin length thereof is L 5 . Wherein L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , L 4 , and L 5 are all positive integers and L 1 >L 2 >L 3 >L 4 >L 5 .

In the present embodiment, the pins P 1 ˜P 11 are classified into 5 different lengths, wherein the pin length L 1 of the ground pins P 5 and P 10 is the longest. Thus, during normal operation, the ground pins P 5 and P 10 always connect the peripheral device and the host first regardless from which direction the user inserts the connector into the host, so that a common ground voltage level can be built up first between the host and the peripheral device to avoid signal misjudgment due to different user habit or working environment.

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 cut along line C˜C′, and FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view for showing the connection between the pins of FIG. 1 and a standard USB interface.

The data pins P 8 and P 9 are mainly used for providing a digital signal transmission path between the peripheral device and the host, and the pin length L 5 thereof is the shortest. The data pin P 9 provides a clock signal transmission path, and the peripheral device can transmit a device data to the host or the device data can be transmitted from the host to the peripheral device along with the clock signal through the data pin P 8 . The host determines the type of the peripheral device according to the device data and controls the peripheral device through data transmission.

In the usage of the connector, the aggregation of the ground pin P 5 , the power supply pin P 1 , and the signal pins P 2 , P 3 , P 4 has the function of connecting a USB interface and the ground pin P 5 , the power supply pin P 1 , and the signal pins P 2 , P 3 , P 4 are disposed on the same surface of the connector. Wherein the power supply pin P 1 provides the transmission path of the voltage source, the signal pins P 2 and P 3 provide the transmission path for differential signals in the USB, and the signal pin P 4 is used for determining the master-slave relationship between the host and the peripheral device during signal transmission based on the voltage level thereof. The aggregation of the ground pin P 5 , the power supply pin P 1 , and the signal pins P 2 , P 3 , P 4 is compatible to the pin functions of a USB interface, only the relative pin lengths are described in the present embodiment, and the respective pin function thereof should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art, therefore will not be described herein.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a connector according to the present embodiment. The pins P 1 ˜P 5 are disposed on the same surface of the connector 200 , which is referred to as the top surface of the insulating layer 220 in the present embodiment. The pins P 6 ˜P 11 are disposed on another side of the connector 200 , which is referred to as the bottom surface of the insulating layer 220 in the present embodiment. The outside of the connector 200 is surrounded by a case 210 . The insulating layer 220 isolates the pins P 1 ˜P 5 and the pins P 6 ˜P 11 . The connector 200 is connected to a host through a printed circuit board. In the present embodiment, the host can be a PDA, smart cell phone, GPS device, music player, and game machine.

Next, the structure of the connector in the present embodiment will be further described with cross-sectional views. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the major pins of a connector according to the present embodiment. With the signal pin P 3 as example, the cross-sectional view thereof cut along line A˜A′ is as shown in FIG. 4A , wherein the signal pin P 3 is disposed on the top surface of the insulating layer 220 . With the audio pin P 6 as example, the cross-sectional view thereof cut along line B˜B′ is as shown in FIG. 4B , wherein the ground pin P 5 and the audio pin P 6 are respectively disposed on the top and bottom surface of the insulating layer 220 . Obviously, the ground pin P 5 is closer to the opening of the case 210 than the audio pin P 6 , so that the ground pin P 5 can first come into contact with the corresponding pin of the socket when the connector 200 is connected to the socket. With the data pin P 8 as example, the cross-sectional view thereof cut along line C˜C′ is as shown in FIG. 4C , wherein the data pin P 8 is disposed on the bottom surface of the insulating layer 220 .

In the usage of the connector, the aggregation of the ground pin P 5 , the power supply pin P 1 , and the signal pins P 2 , P 3 , P 4 has the function of connecting a standard USB interface 300 (shown in FIG. 5 ) and also the ground pin P 5 , the power supply pin P 1 , and the signal pins P 2 , P 3 , P 4 are disposed on the same surface of the connector. Wherein the power supply pin P 1 provides the transmission path of the voltage source, the signal pins P 2 and P 3 provide the transmission path for differential signals in the USB, and the signal pin P 4 is used for determining the master-slave relationship between the host and the peripheral device during signal transmission based on the voltage level thereof. The aggregation of the ground pin P 5 , the power supply pin P 1 , and the signal pins P 2 , P 3 , P 4 is compatible to the pin functions of a standard USB interface 300 (shown in FIG. 5 ), only the relative pin lengths are described in the present embodiment, and the respective pin function thereof should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art, therefore will not be described herein.

In overview, even though only one pin combination suitable for USB and audio signal is used as example in the present embodiment for describing the present invention, the pin functions of the present invention are not limited thereto. The applications of the present invention in connectors of different pin functions or transmission interfaces can be easily understood based on the present disclosure by those having ordinary knowledge in the art, therefore will not be described herein.

According to the present invention, pins of different lengths are used for different pin functions so that signal misjudgment due to different user habit or working environment can be effectively avoided. Meanwhile, the functions of various connectors can be integrated into one single connector so that the space and design cost of hand-held electronic devices can be effectively reduced.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.