US 9,853,404 B2 · Electrical connector having improved terminal arrangement

Abstract

An electrical connector includes: an insulative housing having a tongue portion, the tongue portion defining two opposite surfaces, each surface of the tongue portion including twelve terminal positions; and two rows of terminals being reversely-symmetrically arranged at the two surfaces of the tongue portion, each terminal having a contact portion exposed on the tongue portion, each row of terminals comprising two grounding terminals respectively arranged at the first and the twelfth terminal positions of the twelve terminal positions, and two power terminals respectively arranged at the fourth and the ninth terminal positions of the twelve terminal positions, the second, third, tenth and eleventh terminal positions of the twelve terminal positions being defined as vacant spaces, one or more further power terminals being arranged at the vacant spaces.

Drawings

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Drawings

Claims18

Dependent claims

An electrical connector comprising:

an insulative housing having a tongue portion, the tongue portion defining two opposite surfaces, each surface of the tongue portion including twelve terminal positions;
and
two rows of terminals being reversely-symmetrically arranged at the two surfaces of the tongue portion, each terminal having a contact portion exposed on the tongue portion, each row of terminals comprising two grounding terminals respectively arranged at the first and the twelfth terminal positions of the twelve terminal positions, and two power terminals respectively arranged at the fourth and the ninth terminal positions of the twelve terminal positions, the second, third, tenth and eleventh terminal positions of the twelve terminal positions being defined as vacant spaces, one or more further power terminals being arranged at said vacant spaces.

The electrical connector comprising:

an insulative housing including two rows of spaces to receive corresponding two rows of terminals along a transverse direction, wherein said two rows of terminals are arranged in a diagonally symmetrical manner with each other;
a pair of grounding contacts located at two opposite ends of each of said two rows;
a pair of power contacts located between said pair of grounding contacts in said transverse direction in each row;
a plurality of vacant spaces located between the pair of power contacts and the pair of grounding contacts in the transverse direction in two rows;
wherein
in said two rows of spaces, there are n vacant spaces between the power contacts and the grounding contacts on each side with regard to a center line of the housing, each vacant space is adapted to receive a power contact, a grounding contact or be vacant in combination, and at least one power contacts is received in one of said n spaces;
wherein
a total combination number for said n spaces with at least one power contact is regulated by a formula as follows:
Σ1nCp≧1=3n−Σ1nCp=0=3n−(Cg(n,0)+Cg(n,1)+Cg(n,2)+ . . . +Cg(n,n−1)+Cg(n,n)) wherein
Σ1nCp≧1 represents the total combination number for the n spaces with at least one power contact in said n spaces;
3n represents the total combination number for the n spaces among the power contact, the grounding contact and the vacancy;
Σ1nCp=0 represents the total combination number for n spaces without any power contact in any of the n spaces;
and
Cg (n,0) represents the combination factor under the situation that there is no grounding contacts in the n spaces, Cg (n,1) represents the combination factor under the situation that there is one grounding contacts in the n spaces, Cg (n,2) represents the combination factor under the situation that there are two grounding contacts in the n spaces, . . . , Cg (n,n−1) represents the combination factor under the situation that there are n−1 grounding contacts in the n spaces, and Cg (n,n) represents the combination factor under the situation that there are n grounding contacts in the n spaces.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Description6,030 words

Summary406 words

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to an electrical connector adapted for being normally and reversely mated with a mating plug, and more particularly to an arrangement of terminals of such electrical connector.

#2. Description of Related Art

Brief description of the drawings16 figures

#FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view showing an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the terminal arrangement in a first through fourth embodiments;

#FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the terminal arrangement in a fifth through seventh embodiments;

Detailed description5,368 words

#Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to from the FIG. 1 to the FIG. 16, an electrical connector 100 shown is a receptacle connector and comprises an insulative housing 10 having a tongue portion 11, two rows of terminals 20 affixed to the insulative housing 10, and a shell 30 covering the insulative housing 10. The tongue portion 11 defines two opposite surfaces. Each surface of the tongue portion 11 includes twelve terminal positions. The two rows of terminals 20 are reversely-symmetrically, along the transverse direction, arranged at the two surfaces of the tongue portion 11. In other words, the two rows of terminals 20 are diagonally arranged with each other on the tongue portion 11. Each terminal 22 comprises a contact portion 21 exposed on the tongue portion 11 and a soldering portion 22 exposed to the tail of the insulative housing 10.

#In USB Type-C standard specification, each row of the standard receptacle terminals has twelve terminals 20. In the first to the sixty-fifth embodiment of the present invention, each row of terminals 20 comprising a grounding terminal, a power terminal, a detecting terminal, a USB 2.0 positive terminal, a USB 2.0 negative terminal, a subsidiary terminal, another power terminal and another grounding terminal in first terminal position, the fourth terminal position, the fifth terminal position, the sixth terminal position, the seventh terminal position, the eighth terminal position, the ninth terminal position, and the twelfth terminal position of the twelve terminal positions, in sequence. The vacant spaces are the second terminal position, third terminal position, tenth terminal position and eleventh terminal position of the twelve terminal positions.

#In FIGS. 2 to 16, ‘A1-A12’ designate the first terminal position to the twelfth terminal position of the twelve terminal positions of the upper surface of the tongue portion 11 from left to right. ‘B1-B12’ designate the first terminal position to the twelfth terminal position of the twelve terminal positions of the lower surface of the tongue portion 11 from right to left. ‘GND’ designates the grounding terminal; ‘Vbus’ designates the power terminal; ‘CC1’ and ‘CC2’ designate the detecting terminals; ‘D+’ designates the USB 2.0 positive terminal; ‘D−’ designates the USB 2.0 negative terminal; ‘SBU1’ and ‘SBU2’ designate the subsidiary terminals.

Facts

Application

15/465,607Filed 22 Mar 2017

Priority

CN 2016 1 016356422 Mar 2016

Published

US 2017/0279233 A128 Sep 2017

Granted

26 Dec 2017

Term ends

22 Mar 2037

Estimated · how

20 years from earliest known nonprovisional domestic filing plus recorded patent term adjustment. Maintenance-fee lapses, terminal disclaimers and statutory extensions have not been checked. The continuity chain may be incomplete; this is not an enforceability determination.

Classification4 codes

H01R 24/60
Two-part coupling devices, or either of their cooperating parts, characterised by their overall structure: contacts spaced along planar side wall…
H01R 13/26
Contact members: pin or blade contacts for sliding co-operation on one side only
H01R 2107/00
Four or more poles
H01R
Electrically-conductive connections

Timeline

22 Mar 2016Priority claimedCN 2016 1 0163564
22 Mar 2017Application filedUS 15/465,607
22 Mar 2017Assigned to Foxconn Interconnect Technology Limitedassignment of assignor's interest
28 Sep 2017PublishedUS 2017/0279233 A1
26 Dec 2017GrantedUS 9,853,404 B2
12 Oct 2026TodayWithin its term
22 Mar 2037Term endsEstimated

Electrical connector having improved terminal arrangement

Life of this patent

Electrical connector having improved terminal arrangement

Life of this patent

Life of this patent

Abstract

Drawings

Drawings

Claims18

Description6,030 words

Drawings

Classification4 codes

Life of this patent

Description6,030 words