Electrical connector with a grounding plate module for a higher signal transmission

The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector for a higher signal transmission.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,490,585 discloses an electrical connector for high speed transmission, which includes an insulative housing, a plurality of conductive terminals retained in the insulative housing, a first grounding bar and a second grounding bar. Conductive terminals include a plurality of differential signal terminal pairs and grounding terminals, the first grounding bar is electrically connected to contacting portions of the grounding terminals, and the second grounding bar defines a plurality of abutting portions abutting against retaining portions of the grounding terminals. The first grounding bar and the second grounding bar are connected by a bridging portion to reduce signal crosstalk and improve the high-frequency performance of the electrical connector, but with the increasing requirement for transmission rate of high frequency connectors, the grounding bar in the prior art can no longer meet its high frequency performance.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with an improved high frequency performance.

To achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical connector comprises: a longitudinal insulating housing; a plurality of terminals disposed in the insulating housing and comprising a plurality of differential-pair signal terminals and a plurality of grounding terminals arranged in a longitudinal direction of the insulating housing; and a grounding plate module retained in the insulating housing, wherein the grounding plate module comprises an electromagnetic interference (EMI) absorber and a grounding plate retained in the EMI absorber, and the grounding plate defines a plurality of grounding fingers extending out of the EMI absorber to contact with corresponding grounding terminals of the plurality of the terminals.

Other advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a receptacle connector and a plug connector mounted on printed circuit boards and mated with each other according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the receptacle connector and the plug connector disconnecting from each other in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector and the plug connector taken along a broken line 3 - 3 in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the plug connector in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the plug connector in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the plug connector of FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 7 is another perspective view of the plug connector of FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the grounding plate module of FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of the receptacle connector in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the receptacle connector in FIG. 9 ;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector in FIG. 9 ;

FIG. 12 is another perspective view of the receptacle connector in FIG. 11 ; and

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the grounding plate module of FIG. 12 .

Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 1 - 3 , an electrical connector of the present invention can be a plug connector or a receptacle connector. In this embodiment, an electrical connector assembly is illustrated, including and a receptacle and a plug connector, the receptacle connector 200 is mated with the plug connector 100 to transmit high-frequency signals. For the convenience of description, a front end is defined on an end of electrical connector confronting with a complementary connector, and the receptacle connector 200 and the plug connector 100 are mated with each other in a front-back direction in this embodiment. In the plug connector 100 , a mating tongue 112 projects forwards. In the receptacle connector 200 , the mating slot 201 opens forward.

Referring to FIGS. 4 - 8 , the plug connector 100 includes a longitudinal insulating housing 110 made from insulating material, a plurality of plug terminals 120 disposed in the plug insulating housing 110 , a grounding plate module 130 . The plurality of terminals 120 in this embodiment, includes four rows, three rows labeled with 120 b , 120 c , 120 d are inserted into the insulating housing 110 , the other one row labeled with 120 a is retained by insulting bar 140 and then inserted into the insulating housing 110 , the row 120 a include a plurality of differential-pair signal terminals S 1 and a plurality of grounding terminals G 1 . The grounding plate module 130 includes an EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) absorber 132 and a metallic grounding plate 131 retained in the EMI absorber 132 . The grounding plate 131 defines a plurality of grounding fingers 101 , 102 , 103 corresponding to the grounding terminals G 1 . The grounding plate module 130 is disposed on the insulating housing 110 . The EMI absorber 132 encases the grounding plate 131 . The grounding fingers extend out of the EMI absorber 132 to contact with the grounding terminals G 1 . The EMI absorber 132 is a magnetic loss material, which can absorb energy and reduce signal crosstalk by encasing the grounding plate 131 . In this embodiment, the EMI absorber 132 is molded at an outside of the grounding plate 131 by an injection molding process. The grounding plate module 130 is then fixed to the insulating housing 110 by assembling. In other embodiments, the grounding plate module 130 can be fixed to the insulating housing 110 by an injection molding process.

Referring to FIGS. 4 - 8 , the insulating housing 110 comprises a base 111 and a mating tongue 112 extending forwardly from the base 111 in the front-back direction. The mating tongue 112 forms opposite upper face 113 and lower face 114 . A raised portion 115 is formed on the upper face 113 . A plurality of passageways 116 are formed in the upper face 113 , the lower face 114 and the raised portion 115 . Each of the plug terminals 120 is accommodated in the passageways 116 and includes a contacting portion 121 exposed upon the mating tongue 112 , a leg portion 123 exposed to an outside of the insulating housing 110 and a retaining portion 122 . The retaining portion 122 is held at the base 111 . A narrowed section 124 is formed at a front end of the contacting portion 121 . The width of the narrowed section 124 along longitudinal direction is smaller than the width of the contacting section 121 . When the plug connector 100 is mated with the receptacle connector 200 , the narrowed section 124 of the grounding terminals G 1 can contact the terminals of the receptacle connector 200 preferentially. The grounding fingers comprise a plurality of first grounding fingers 101 , second grounding fingers 102 and third grounding fingers 103 . Each of the grounding terminals G 1 is in contact with the first grounding finger 101 , the second grounding finger 102 and the third grounding finger 103 respectively at different positions. The main purpose is to eliminate the potential difference between different parts of the grounding terminal G 1 as much as possible, so that the different parts of the grounding terminal G 1 can get same ground potentials as much as possible. It can improve signal crosstalk and move the resonance point of crosstalk to high frequency, thereby improving the performance of high frequency transmission. The grounding plate module 130 is arranged in the mating tongue 112 by inserting. The first grounding fingers 101 are in contact with the narrowed sections 124 . The second grounding fingers 102 are in contact with the contacting portions 121 . The third grounding fingers 103 are in contact with the retaining portions 122 . The grounding plate 131 corresponds to the three different positions of the grounding terminal G 1 by the first grounding finger 101 , the second grounding finger 102 and the third grounding finger 103 , so as to realize continuous impedance of the plug terminal 120 and avoid abrupt impedance changes.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the grounding plate 131 defines two main bars 133 and a plurality of bridging portions 134 connecting the two main bars 133 . The two main bars are arranged parallel to each other in the front-back direction. The bridging portions 134 extend along the front-back direction and are arranged corresponding to the differential-pair signal terminals S 1 . The main bars 133 and the bridging portions 134 is embedded in the EMI absorber 132 and the grounding fingers are exposed upon a plurality of hollow portions 135 defines on the EMI absorber 132 . The grounding finger comprises a bending portion 105 bending and extending from a side edge of the main bar 133 and a connecting portion 106 extending from the bending portion 105 in the front-back direction. The connecting portions 106 are in contact with the grounding terminals G 1 . The plurality of the first grounding fingers 101 and the plurality of the second grounding fingers 102 are arranged in one-to-one correspondence and extend from both sides of one main bar 133 in opposite directions. The plurality of the third grounding fingers 103 extend from the other main bar 133 in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of the second grounding fingers 102 . In the front-back direction, the second grounding fingers 102 are located between the first grounding fingers 101 and third grounding fingers 103 . The first grounding fingers 101 are in contact with the front ends of the grounding terminals G 1 . The first grounding fingers 101 , the second grounding fingers 102 and the third grounding fingers 103 connected to the same grounding terminal G 1 extend on the same straight line along the front-back direction. In the front-back direction, the distance between first grounding finger 101 and the second grounding finger 102 is smaller than the distance between the corresponding second grounding finger 102 and third grounding finger 103 . By connecting the first grounding finger 101 , the second grounding finger 102 and the third grounding finger 103 to different parts of the corresponding grounding terminal G 1 as dispersedly as possible, the better effect of improving the high-frequency performance can be achieved.

Referring to FIGS. 7 - 8 , the plurality of plug terminals 120 includes a row of first terminals 120 a exposed upon the lower face 114 , and a row of second terminals 120 b , a row of third terminals 120 c and a row of fourth terminals 120 d exposed upon the upper face 113 . The row of fourth terminals 120 d are located on the raised portion 115 and the row of second terminals 120 b and the row of second terminals 120 c are respectively located by two sides of the raised portion 115 . The row of first terminals 120 a or the row of second terminals 120 b include a plurality of differential-pair signal terminals S 1 and a plurality of grounding terminals G 1 alternately arranged with each other in the longitudinal direction. The row of third terminals 120 c and the row of fourth terminals 120 d include power terminals (not labeled). In this embodiment, the first grounding fingers 101 , the second grounding fingers 102 and the third grounding fingers 103 extend downwards and resist the grounding terminals G 1 in the row of first terminals 120 a . The row of first terminals 120 a is integrally formed, via an insert-molding process, within the insulating bar 140 . The insulating bar 140 with the row of first terminals 120 a is assembled in the insulating housing 110 from a back end. The insulating bar 140 forms a plurality of recesses 141 to receive the corresponding third grounding fingers 103 so as to increase the distance between the contact area of the second grounding finger 102 and that of the third grounding finger 103 for better electrical performance. The EMI absorber 132 includes a fixing block 136 arranged behind the hollow portions 135 . The row of second terminals 120 b and the row of third terminals 120 c are embedded and molded on the fixing block 136 . The signal crosstalk between plug terminals 120 can be improved.

Referring to FIGS. 9 - 13 , the receptacle connector 200 comprises a an insulating housing 210 extending in the longitudinal direction, a plurality of receptacle terminals 220 disposed in the insulating housing 210 , a grounding plate module 230 . The plurality of receptacle terminals includes four rows, two rows labeled with 220 a , 220 b are retained with the first insulating bar 240 and the second insulating bar 250 respectively, firstly, and then are assembled to the insulating housing 210 . Each of the two rows of terminals 220 comprise a plurality of differential-pair signal terminals S 2 and a plurality of grounding terminals G 2 . The grounding plate module 230 comprises a metallic grounding plate 231 and an EMI absorber 232 . The grounding plate 231 defining a plurality of grounding fingers corresponding to the grounding terminals G 2 . Similar to the structure of the plug connector 100 , the grounding plate module 230 is disposed on the insulating housing 210 . The EMI absorber 232 encases the grounding plate 231 . The grounding fingers extend out of the EMI absorber 232 to contact with the grounding terminals G 2 . The EMI absorber 232 is made from magnetic loss material, which can absorb energy and reduce signal crosstalk by encasing the grounding plate 231 . In this embodiment, the EMI absorber 232 is made by an injection molded process at an outside of the grounding plate 231 . The grounding plate module 230 is fixed to the insulating housing 210 by assembling. In other embodiments, the grounding plate module 230 can be fixed to the insulating housing 210 by an injection molding process.

Referring to FIGS. 9 - 13 , the insulating housing 210 comprises a mating slot 211 extending in the longitudinal direction and two side walls 212 located on both sides of the mating slot 211 . The mating slot 211 is used for an insertion with the mating tongue 112 of the plug connector 100 . A first side wall 212 of the insulating housing 210 defines a concave portion 213 correspondingly receiving the raised portion 115 . The receptacle terminals 220 are fixed on the side walls 212 . Each of the receptacle terminals 220 comprises an elastic contacting portion 221 extending into the mating slot 211 , a leg portion 223 extending outside the insulating housing 210 , and a middle portion 222 connecting the leg portion 223 and the contacting portion 221 . A second side wall 212 defines a longitudinal groove 214 in the longitudinal direction. The grounding plate module 230 is located in the longitudinal groove 214 . The grounding fingers comprise a plurality of first grounding fingers 201 and second grounding fingers 202 . Each of the grounding terminals G 2 is both in contact with the first grounding finger 201 and the second grounding finger 202 respectively at different positions. The main purpose is to eliminate the potential difference between different parts of the grounding terminal G 2 as much as possible, so that the different parts of the grounding terminal G 2 can get the same ground potential as much as possible. It can improve signal crosstalk and move the resonance point of crosstalk to high frequency, thereby improving the performance of high frequency transmission.

Referring to FIG. 13 , the grounding plate 231 comprises a main bar 233 extending in the longitudinal direction, first grounding fingers 201 and the second grounding fingers 202 extend from opposite sides of the main bar 233 in opposite directions and aligned with each other in the front-back direction. The grounding finger comprises a bending portion 203 bending and extending from a side edge of the main bar 233 and a connecting portion 204 bending in reverse from the bending portion 203 . The connecting portions 204 are in contact with the grounding terminals G 2 . The EMI absorber 232 encases the main bar 233 and the bending portions 203 . The connecting portions 204 extend out of the EMI absorber 232 . The connecting portions 204 of the first grounding fingers 201 and the second grounding fingers 202 are in contact with the middle portion 222 of the receptacle terminals 220 , so as to improve the high-frequency performance.

Referring to FIGS. 11 - 12 , the receptacle terminal 220 includes a row of first terminals 220 a arranged in a row below the mating slot 211 , a row of second terminals 220 b arranged in a row and above the mating slot 211 and on the right side of the recess 213 , A row of third terminal 220 c disposed above the slot 211 and on the left side of the recessed portion 213 and a row of fourth terminals 220 d disposed in the recessed portion 213 . The row of second terminals 220 b , the row of third terminals 220 c , and the row of fourth terminals 220 d commonly arranged in a row and above the mating slot 211 wherein, the row of fourth terminals 220 d are located on the recess 213 , and the row of second terminals 220 b and the row of third terminals 220 c are respectively located by two sides of the recess 213 . The row of first terminals 220 a of the receptacle terminals 220 is correspondingly mated with the row of first terminals 120 a of the plug terminals 120 . The row of fifth terminals 220 b is correspondingly mated with the row of second terminals 120 b . The row of first terminals 220 a and the row of second terminals 220 b both include a plurality of differential-pair signal terminals S 2 and a plurality of grounding terminals G 2 alternately arranged with each other in the longitudinal direction. The row of first terminals 220 a are embedded in the first insulating bar 240 . The middle portions 222 are exposed on a surface of the first insulating bar 240 and are connected to the first grounding fingers 201 and the second grounding fingers 202 . The row of second terminal 220 b are embedded in the second insulating bar 250 and assembled to the insulating housing 210 .

The above-mentioned embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of the present invention, any simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims of the present invention and the contents of the description should still belong to the present invention.