Flippable electrical connector

• US 9,748,702 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2016
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Foxconn Interconnect Technology Limited (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Foxconn Interconnect Technology Limited (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Little, Terrance F., Cheng, Chih-Pi, Hsiao, Hsueh-Lung, Szu, Ming-Lun, Chen, Chao-Chieh
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, HIEN D
• Application Number:
  US15/338,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20170047693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 304 Days
• Field of Search: 439 79, 439660, 4396074, 43960711
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/724 containing contact members forming a right angle
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6587 for mounting on PCBs
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2107/00 Four or more poles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/28 Coupling parts carrying pins, blades or analogous contacts and secured only to wire or cable
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/60 Contacts spaced along planar side wall transverse to longitudinal axis of engagement
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/24 Assembling by moulding on contact members
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/117 Pads along the edge of rigid circuit boards, e.g. for pluggable connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/184 Components including terminals inserted in holes through the printed circuit board and connected to printed contacts on the walls of the holes or at the edges thereof or protruding over or into the holes
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09063 Holes or slots in insulating substrate not used for electrical connections
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10189 Non-printed connector
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4922 with molding of insulation

Abstract

A method of making a receptacle connector includes: Step 1: providing an upper terminal module making via a first inserting molded process; Step 2: providing an lower terminal module making via another first inserting molded process; Step 3: stacking the upper and lower terminal modules together in a vertical direction so as to provide a main basis; Step 4: applied an insulative filler on the main basis via a second insert molding process, wherein the insulative filler fills and completes the front tongues of the upper and lower terminal module thereby forming a mating tongue for inserting a plug connector.

Claims

1. A receptacle connector, comprising:

a terminal module comprising;

an upper part of the terminal module having an upper insulator and a row of upper contacts inserting molded in the upper insulator, wherein the upper insulator comprises a rear base and a front tongue extending forward from the rear base, the upper contacts comprises contacting sections disposed in the front tongue and leg sections extending out of the rear base;

a lower part of the terminal module stacked on the upper insulator having a lower insulator and a row of lower contacts inserting molded in the lower insulator, wherein the lower insulator comprises a rear base and a front tongue extending forward from the rear base, the lower contacts comprises contacting sections disposed in the front tongue and leg sections extending out of the rear base;

a metallic plate with at least one lateral latching side edge, sandwiched between the upper and lower insulators so as to form a main basis;

an insulative filler on the main basis via an insert molding process, wherein the insulative filler fills and completes the front tongues of the upper and lower terminal module thereby forming a mating tongue for inserting a plug connectors;

wherein a grounding collar is disposed on a root of the front tongues and embedded in the insulative filler after the insert molding process;

wherein a front tip of each contacting sections of the upper and lower contacts exposes to a front end of corresponding front tongue and then hind in the insulative filler;

wherein the metallic plate defines a central opening, through some portions of which protrusions of both said upper insulator and said lower insulator extend to each other for securing the upper insulator and the lower insulator together, and other portions of said opening are filled with the second structure; and

wherein the upper insulator defines a plurality of through holes filled with the second structure, and the lower insulator defines a plurality of through holes filled with material same with that of the second structure during said second insert molding.

2. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein a front tip of each contacting sections of the upper and lower contacts is embedded within the corresponding front tongue and the front ends of the front tongues hind in the filler.

3. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper insulator defines a plurality of upper grooves extending along the front-to-back direction under an upper surface of the upper insulator and being not aligned with the contacting sections of the corresponding upper contacts in the vertical direction but being laterally offset therefrom, and the lower insulator defines a plurality of lower grooves extending along the front-to-back direction above a bottom surface of the lower insulator and being not aligned with the contacting sections of the corresponding lower contacts in the vertical direction but being laterally offset therefrom, said upper grooves and said lower grooves being filled with a second structure after a second insert molding process.

4. A receptacle connector, comprising:

an insulative housing defining a base and a mating tongue forwardly extending therefrom in a front-to-back direction with a thicken step structure formed around a root thereof in transverse direction and a vertical direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction, the mating tongue defining an upper and lower surfaces thereof;

a row of upper contacts and a row of lower contacts disposed in the insulative housing with contacting sections exposed upon the upper and lower surfaces of the mating tongue respectively;

wherein the insulative housing comprises an upper insulator, a lower insulator and an insulative filler, the upper insulator is equipped with the upper contacts, the lower insulator is equipped with the lower contacts;

a boundary line is formed between the filler and the upper and lower insulator, and the insulating filler shares the same upper surface with the upper insulator and the same lower surface with the lower insulator on the mating tongue;

wherein the upper contacts are embedded in upper insulator to form an upper part via a first insert molding process, and the lower contacts are embedded in the lower insulator to form a lower part via another first insert molding process, the insulating filler surrounds the upper and lower parts to form the mating tongue and the base via a second insert molding process after the upper and lower insulator are stacked together in the vertical direction;

wherein a pair of grounding collar is surrounded in the step structure and two opposite ends of each grounding collar is embedded in the insulative filler;

wherein the step portion has a front rib in front of the grounding collar to resist the grounding collar; and

wherein a front tip of each contacting sections of the upper and lower contacts exposes to a front end of corresponding front tongue and then hind in the insulative filler.

5. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein parts of the boundary line on the upper and lower surfaces of the mating tongue is located in front of the contacting sections of the upper and lower contacts.

6. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein parts of the boundary line on the upper and lower surfaces of the mating tongue is located behind the contacting sections of the upper and lower contacts.

7. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the step portion has a front tilt face.

8. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 4, comprising a shielding plate wherein the shielding plate is embedded in the mating tongue and the base and has a pair of immovable latching side edges expose to lateral sides of the mating tongue.