Cable connector assembly with improved contacts

• US 7,217,142 B1
• Filed: 07/03/2006
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Wu, Jerry
• Primary Examiner(s): Hyeon; Hae Moon
• Application Number:
  US11/481,151
• Time in Patent Office: 316 Days
• Field of Search: 439/610, 439/78, 439/79, 439/83, 439/700, 439/924.1, 439/541.5, 439/881
• US Class Current: 439/79
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/62 connecting to rigid printed circuits or like structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/5804 comprising a separate cable clamping part H01R13/5841 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6585 Shielding material individually surrounding or interposed between mutually spaced contacts
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6658 on printed circuit board H01R13/6666 - H01R13/6691 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 9/0515 Connection to a rigid planar substrate, e.g. printed circuit board

Abstract

A cable connector assembly (100) includes a housing (2), a number of POGO-type contacts (31, 32, 33) received in the housing, a circuit board (4) assembled to the housing, a number of conductive elements (34) each including a connecting portion (340) soldered with corresponding contact and a tail portion (342) soldered with the circuit board, a cable (6) electrically connecting with the circuit board, a metal front cover (1) assembled to the housing and a rear cover (7) assembled to the housing to enclose the rear of the housing, the contacts, the circuit board and the front end of the cable.

Claims

1. A cable connector assembly adapted for electrically connecting with a complementary connector along a mating direction, comprising:

an insulative housing defining a plurality of receiving passages extending therethrough along said mating direction;

a plurality of contacts respectively received in the receiving passages, each contact comprising a mating portion exposed beyond one end corresponding receiving passage, a media portion engagingly received in said receiving passage, and an end portion exposed beyond the other end of said receiving passage;

a circuit board assembled to the insulative housing;

a plurality of conductive elements, each conductive element comprising a connecting portion electrically connecting with the end portion of corresponding contact and a tail portion soldered with one end of the circuit board;

a cable electrically connecting with the circuit board;

a front cover made of metal material and capable of attracted by said complementary connector, said front cover assembled to the housing with the contacting portions of the contacts exposed in the front cover; and

a rear cover assembled to the housing to enclose rear of the housing, the conductive elements, the circuit board and front end of the cable; and

a strain relief member electrically connecting with the circuit board and the cable.

2. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conductive elements are divided into two groups oriented in opposite directions, and wherein the tail portions of the two groups of the conductive elements are respectively attached to opposite upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board to sandwich front end of the circuit board.

3. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each contact is of a POGO-type and the contacting portion thereof is capable of being actuated to move along a mating direction when the cable connector assembly mates with the complementary connector.

4. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contacts comprise a pair of ground contacts, a pair of power contacts and a center detect contact, and wherein the end portions of the power and ground contacts are substantially coplanar with the rear face of the insulative housing.

5. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the insulative housing defines a plurality of recesses recessed forwardly from the rear face thereof to communicate with corresponding receiving passages, and wherein the end portions of the power contacts and the ground contacts are respectively received in the recesses, and the connecting portions of the conductive elements are received in corresponding recesses to solder with corresponding end portions.

6. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the end portion of each of the ground contacts and power contacts is of column shape and each conductive element is of L-shape, and wherein the connecting portion of each conductive element defines a receiving opening to permit the end portion extending therethrough.

7. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 4, further comprising status indicator means assembled to the circuit board, wherein the circuit board comprises a light emitting diode, and wherein the detect contact is electrically connected with the LED for indication.

8. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the status indicator means overlaps said LED for spreading the light emitted by the LED outwardly to indicate the normal status of the cable connector assembly and a complementary connector.

9. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the status indicator means comprises a first light pipe overlapping the LED and a second light pipe overlapping the first light pipe and assembled to the rear cover to spread the light.

10. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first light pipe comprises a first body portion aligning with the LED and an engaging section extending forwardly from the first body portion to interferentially received in the insulative housing.

11. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second light pipe comprises a second body section aligning with the first light pipe and a positioning section extending from the second body section, and wherein the rear cover defines a receiving holes therethrough to receive the positioning section.

12. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cable comprises an inner conductor protruding through the stain relief member to directly electrically connect with the circuit board, and a metal braiding layer electrically connecting with the strain relief member.

13. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strain relief member forms a jointing portion extending forwardly therefrom to be soldered with the circuit board and the metal braiding layer of the cable.

14. A cable connector assembly comprising:

an insulative housing defining a mating port;

a plurality of contacts disposed in the housing;

a printed circuit board located on a rear side of the housing;

a plurality of L-shaped metallic pieces located between the housing and printed circuit board, each of said metallic piece including a vertical section through which a tail of the contact extends, and a horizontal section soldered upon a front edge of the printed circuit board;

wherein

said metallic pieces are arranged with two groups located by two sides of a vertical center line of the mating port while in a mirror image with each other so as to form a complementary manner of the whole assembly.

15. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 14, wherein a detect contact is located on said center line and has a tail extends into a silt of the printed circuit board.

16. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein the horizontal sections of the two groups and the tail of the detect contact are essentially located at three different levels.