Waterproof electrical connector and method for making the same
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A waterproof electrical connector comprising:
- a metallic shell;
a plurality of terminals partly disposed inside the metallic shell, each terminal comprising a contacting portion, a retaining portion extending downwardly from the contacting portion, and a soldering portion extending backwardly from the retaining portion, each terminal defining a contacting region; and
an insulative housing insert-molded with the metallic shell and the terminals, the insulative housing comprising a base portion, a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base portion, and a cover portion extending forwardly from the base portion and at least partly covering the metallic shell, the tongue portion retaining and exposing the terminal contacting portion, the base portion retaining the terminal retaining portion while exposing the terminal soldering portion;
the metallic shell and the base portion forming a passageway, the base portion having a mold cavity extending through an upper surface thereof, the contacting region exposed to outside via the mold cavity;
whereinthe mold cavity and the passageway are spaced apart from each other along an insertion direction;
whereinthe mold cavity extends through the base portion along a first direction perpendicular to the tongue portion, the contacting region is a part of the contacting portion and defines an upper surface, a lower surface, and a side surface, and the upper surface and the lower surface are exposed outwardly via the mold cavity;
whereinthe mold cavity extends through an upper surface of the base portion along a first direction perpendicular to the tongue portion, the contacting region includes a part of the contacting portion and a part of the retaining portion and defines an upper surface, a rear surface, and a side surface, and the upper surface and the rear surface are exposed outwardly via the mold cavity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A waterproof electrical connector (100) includes a number of terminals (2), a metallic shell (1), and an insulating housing (3) molded outside of the metal shell (1) to thereby define a passageway (10). The insulating housing (1) includes a base portion (33) and a tongue portion (31) extending forwardly from the base portion (33). The base portion (33) includes at least one mold cavity (331) for inserting a mold. The mold cavity (331) and the passageway (10) are spaced apart from each other along the insertion/extraction direction for having better waterproof function.
23 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A waterproof electrical connector comprising:
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a metallic shell; a plurality of terminals partly disposed inside the metallic shell, each terminal comprising a contacting portion, a retaining portion extending downwardly from the contacting portion, and a soldering portion extending backwardly from the retaining portion, each terminal defining a contacting region; and an insulative housing insert-molded with the metallic shell and the terminals, the insulative housing comprising a base portion, a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base portion, and a cover portion extending forwardly from the base portion and at least partly covering the metallic shell, the tongue portion retaining and exposing the terminal contacting portion, the base portion retaining the terminal retaining portion while exposing the terminal soldering portion; the metallic shell and the base portion forming a passageway, the base portion having a mold cavity extending through an upper surface thereof, the contacting region exposed to outside via the mold cavity;
whereinthe mold cavity and the passageway are spaced apart from each other along an insertion direction;
whereinthe mold cavity extends through the base portion along a first direction perpendicular to the tongue portion, the contacting region is a part of the contacting portion and defines an upper surface, a lower surface, and a side surface, and the upper surface and the lower surface are exposed outwardly via the mold cavity;
whereinthe mold cavity extends through an upper surface of the base portion along a first direction perpendicular to the tongue portion, the contacting region includes a part of the contacting portion and a part of the retaining portion and defines an upper surface, a rear surface, and a side surface, and the upper surface and the rear surface are exposed outwardly via the mold cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for making a waterproof electrical connector, comprising the steps of:
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providing a metallic shell and a plurality of terminals, the metallic shell defining a passageway, each terminal defining a contacting region and comprising a contacting portion, a retaining portion extending downwardly from the contacting portion, and a soldering portion extending backwardly from the retaining portion; inserting the contacting portions of the terminals in the passageway from a rear end of the metallic shell along an extraction direction, and each contacting portion of the terminal defining an upper surface, a lower surface, and a side surface; pressing at least one first mold against a rear portion of the contacting portion for positioning the terminal; inserting at least one second mold in the passageway along an insertion direction to press against the upper surface of the front end of the contacting portion and the lower surface of the contacting portion for positioning the terminal; forming an insulative housing by insert-molding, cutting off material strips of the metallic shell and the terminals, and removing the at least one first mold, the at least one second mold, and the third mold to define at least one mold cavity, the insulative housing comprising a base portion, a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base portion, and a cover portion extending forwardly from end edges of the base portion and at least partly covering the metallic shell, the contacting portion retained in the tongue portion and exposed outwardly from the tongue portion, the retaining portion retained in the base portion, the soldering portion extending outwardly from the insulative housing, the at least one mold cavity located at the base portion of the insulative housing, the contacting region exposed outwardly via the at least one mold cavity. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An electrical connector comprising:
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a metallic shell defining a passageway surrounded by opposite top and bottom walls in a vertical direction, and opposite lateral side walls in a transverse direction perpendicular to said vertical direction, the passageway of said shell forwardly communicating with an exterior via a front opening in a front-to-back direction perpendicular to both said vertical direction and said transverse direction; an insulative housing unitarily forming a rear base portion, a tongue portion forwardly extending from the base portion in said front-to-back direction, and received in the passage, and a cover portion forwardly extending from the base portion and enclosing the shell therein; and a plurality of contacts integrally formed with the tongue portion and the base portion, each of said contacts defining a horizontal contacting section exposed upon the tongue portion, a tail section extending out of the rear base portion for mounting to a printed circuit board, and a connecting sections linked between the horizontal contacting section and the tail section and rearwardly hidden from an exterior by the base portion;
whereinin alignment with a specific position of the contacting section of each of the contacts in a vertical direction, the base portion forms a mold cavity extending through an upper side of the base portion in the vertical direction so as to allow a first mold piece to extend therethrough in the vertical direction from the upper side of the housing to downwardly abut against an upper surface of the connecting section of the corresponding contact and a second mold to extend into the passageway from said front opening to upwardly abut against the contacting section of the corresponding contact for securing said contact in position in a balanced manner in the vertical direction during an insert molding process of integrally forming the housing with both the shell and the contacts. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification