Electrical connector with improved soldering characteristic to be mounted on a printed circuit board

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention generally relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector with improved soldering characteristic to be mounted on a print circuit board (PCB).

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,801 B2, discloses a conventional electrical connector which includes an insulative housing and a plurality of contacts assembled to the insulative housing. The insulative housing has a top wall, a mounting wall and a pair of side walls connecting the top and mounting walls. The insulative housing further defines a longitudinal hole therethrough for receiving a mating plug. The contacts each have a soldering portion coplanar with one another to be surface mounted on a PCB. However, with a trend that electrical devices have lower profile, the electrical connectors mounted in the electrical devices are accordingly smaller and smaller. Meanwhile, the insulative housing becomes so thin that it may easily be warpaged, especially the side walls. As a result, the soldering portions of the contacts cannot be coplanar with one another anymore due to the deformation of the insulative housing and the contacts retained in the insulative housing can't be wonderfully mounted on the PCB to ensure a reliable signal transmission.

[0005] Hence, it is desired to have an electrical connector solving the problem above.

[0006] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with an improved insulative housing to ensure the surface mounting of the contacts on a PCB.

[0007] In order to attain the objective above, an electrical connector mounted on a PCB comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of contacts retained in the insulative housing. The insulative housing comprises a base extending along a longitudinal direction and a mating portion protruding forwardly from a front surface of the base. The mating portion defines a receiving hole extending into the base for receiving the plug. The base has a mounting wall facing to the PCB with a slot defined therethrough in another direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The slot extends forwardly substantially along the longitudinal direction from a position of the mounting wall. The slot extends through the mating portion and in communication with the receiving hole. The contacts have a plurality of contact portions extending into the receiving hole. With this arrangement, the slot can counteract a deformation of the insulative housing to ensure the soldering tails of the contacts coplanar with one another, thereby facilitating the contacts to be mounted on the PCB.

[0008] Other objects, 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.

[0009] The features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with its objects and the advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements in the figures and in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3, but viewed from another aspect; and

[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of contacts mating with a corresponding plug inserted thereinto.

[0015] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, an electrical connector 100 according to the preferred embodiment is an audio jack connector mounted on a PCB 4 for mating with a corresponding plug 200 (shown in FIG. 5). The electrical connector 100 comprises an insulative housing 1 and a plurality of contacts 2 retained in the insulative housing 1. The contacts 2 include a first contact 21, a second contact 22, a first switch terminal group and a second switch terminal group.

[0017] The insulative housing 1 has a front face (not labeled) for engaging with the plug 200, a rectangular-shaped base 11 and a mating portion 12 extending forwardly from a front surface 110 of the base 11. The base 11 extends along a longitudinal direction. The mating portion 12 defines a receiving hole 10 extending inwardly through the base 11 in the longitudinal direction. The base 11 has a top wall 13, a mounting wall 14 opposite to the top wall 13, a pair of first and second side walls 15, 16 connecting the top and mounting walls 13, 14, and a rear face 17 opposite to the mating portion 12. The top wall 13 defines a L-shaped depression 131 communicating with the receiving hole 10. The mounting wall 14 is adapted for being mounted on the PCB 4. A first retaining groove 132 is formed vertically through the top and mounting walls 13, 14, wherein the first retaining groove 132 is in communication with the depression 131 for receiving the first contact 21. The mounting wall 14 defines a slot 141 extending from an intermediate position thereof and further extending forwardly and terminating at the front face. The slot 141 extends through the mounting wall 14 in another direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction wherein the slot 141 is in communication with the receiving hole 10. Besides, the slot 141 extends along the longitudinal direction. A second retaining groove 142 is formed opposite to the first retaining groove 132 wherein the second retaining groove 142 communicates with the receiving hole 10 for receiving the second contact 22. The base 11 defines a pair of first and second slits 171, 172 extending inwardly from the rear face 17 and positioned at one side of the receiving hole 10 for receiving the first switch group. A pair of third and fourth slits 173, 174 are disposed inwardly from the rear face 17 at the other side of the receiving hole 10 of the base 11 for accommodating the second switch group. The first, second, third and fourth slits 171, 172, 173 and 174 are all in communication with the receiving hole 10.

[0018] The first contact 21 is used for transmitting signals and has a first stationary portion 211 retained in the first retaining groove 132, a L-shaped extending portion 212 perpendicular to the first stationary portion 211 and a first soldering tail 213. The extending portion 212 includes a first contact portion 214 extending into the receiving hole 10 for electrically engaging with the corresponding plug 200.

[0019] The second contact 22 is used for transmitting signals too. The second contact 22 is L-shaped and has a second soldering tail 223 and a second stationary portion 221 received in the second retaining groove 142. The second stationary portion 221 has a second contact portion 224 extending into the receiving hole 10 for abutting against the plug 200.

[0020] The first switch group includes a first switch terminal 23 and a second switch terminal 24 for detachably engaging with the first switch terminal 23. The first switch terminal 23 comprises a first retaining section 231, an arm 232 extending forwardly and bending backwardly from the first retaining section 231, and a first tail section 233 perpendicular to the first retaining section 231. The arm 232 has an engaging section 234 for mating with the plug 200. The second switch terminal 24 has a second retaining section 241 received in the second slit 172 and a second tail section 243. The first switch group is normally open. In detail, the arm 232 of the first switch terminal 23 disengages from the second retaining section 241 before insertion of the plug 200. When the plug 200 is inserted into the receiving hole 10, the arm 232 is driven by the plug 200 to contact the second retaining section 241, thereby forming a first switch signal in the PCB 4.

[0021] The second switch group includes a third switch terminal 25 and a fourth switch terminal 26 for detachably engaging with the third switch terminal 25. The third switch terminal 25 comprises a third retaining section 251, a cantilever 252 extending forwardly from the third retaining section 251, and a third tail section 253 perpendicular to the third retaining section 251. The cantilever 252 has an engaging portion 254 for mating with the plug 200. The fourth switch terminal 26 has a fourth retaining section 261 received in the fourth slit 174 and a fourth tail section 262. The second switch group is normally close. In detail, the cantilever 252 of the third switch terminal 25 contacts the fourth retaining section 261 before insertion of the plug 200. When the plug 200 is inserted into the receiving hole 10, the cantilever 252 is driven by the plug 200 to be disengaged from the fourth retaining section 261, thereby forming a second switch signal in the PCB 4.

[0022] In assembly, the first and second contacts 21, 22 are attached to the insulative housing 1 from the top wall 13 and the mounting wall 14, respectively. The first and the second soldering tails 213, 223 extend beyond the first and second side walls 15, 16 respectively for being mounted on the PCB 4 through surface mounted technology (SMT). The first, second, third and fourth switch terminals 23, 24, 25 and 26 are inserted into the first, second, third and fourth slits 171, 172, 173 and 174, respectively. The soldering tails 213, 223 together with the first, second, third and fourth tail sections 233, 243, 253 and 263 extend beyond the insulative housing 1. The soldering tails 213, 223, the first, second, third and fourth tail sections 233, 243, 253 and 263 together with the mounting wall 14 are coplanar with one another to be surface mounted on the PCB 4.

[0023] Comparing with the prior art, the mounting wall 14 defines a slot 141 extending through the mating portion 12. The slot 141 can counteract a deformation of the insulative housing 1, thereby ensuring the soldering tails 213, 223 and other tail sections 233, 243, 253, 263 coplanar with one another when mounted to the PCB 4. As a result, the soldering characteristic of the electrical connector 100 in this configuration is improved.

[0024] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous, characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosed is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of number, shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.