Connector assembly having small profile

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to an electrial connector, and particularly to a power connector assembly for connecting an electrical device to a printed circuit board.

[0004] 2. Description of Prior Art

[0005] Power connector assemblies used in a system are employed not only for interconnecting power circuits and/or data communication cables but also for detecting the system status, e.g. whether the system is using outside power supply, whether the system is under charging or whether the system is using battery pack. A currently used power connector assembly 7 for a notebook, as shown in FIG. 7, has six pins 70 of equal size and aligned in a row, which has a large dimension in a longitudinal direction. Two of the six pins 70 are used as power pins and the others are used as signal pins. However, in recent years, along with an increasing demand for miniaturization in electronic devices, there is also a demand in power connectors for reduced size to minimize occupied space in notebooks and/or on a printed circuit board.

[0006] Hence, a power connector assembly with a reduced size is required to overcome the disadvantages of the currently used power connector assembly.

[0007] Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a power connector assembly having an improved pin arrangement thereby economizing the occupied space.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a power connector assembly having an improved pin arrangement thereby reducing the production cost.

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, a power connector assembly of the present invention includes a plug having a plug housing receiving a plurality of pins therein including power pins for transmitting power and signal pins for transmitting data, and a socket having a socket housing receiving a plurality of contacts in a plurality of passageways hereof for engaging with corresponding power pins and signal pins of the plug. The signal pins are arranged in a plurality of parallel rows, each signal pin being staggered with other signal pins in a different row. The power pins are arranged at oppositesides of the signal pins and larger than the signal pins. The arrangement of the passageways of the socket are defined corresponding to the pins in the plug. The passageways include outmost passageways and middle passageways. The outmost passageways are designed to receive the power pins and the middle passageways are designed to receive the signal pins. The outmost passageways are larger in dimension than the middle passageways. A printed circuit board defining a plurality of holes therein is provided for engaging with the pins of the plug. The holes are arranged in a plurality of rows and the holes at outmost sides are larger than others for receiving corresponding power pins.

[0010] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plug-and-socket power connector assembly in accordance with the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a plug of the present invention

[0013] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the plug shown in FIG. 2,

[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a socket of the present invention;

[0015] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the socket shown in FIG. 4;

[0016] FIG. 6 is a top view of a printed circuit board relating to the present invention; and

[0017] FIG. 7 is a perspective, exploded view of a conventional power connector assembly.

[0018] Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1, a power connector assembly 100 in accordance with the present invention comprises a plug 1 having a plurality of pins 11, 12 therein and a socket 2 having a plurality of contacts (not shown) therein. The pins 11, 12 of the plug are adapted to connect to conductive circuits (not shown) on a printed circuit board 3 (FIG. 6) and the contacts of the socket 2 connect to corresponding electrical cable (not shown). The pins 11, 12 and the contacts establish electrical connections between the electrical wires and the printed circuit board 3 when the plug 1 and the socket 2 are coupled together.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plug 1 of the present invention includes 4 plug housing 10 and a plurality of pins 11, 12 received in the plug housing 10. The plug housing 10 includes four side walls 13 surrounding the plurality of pins 11, 12 and a mating space 14 defined therebetween for receiving the mating socket 2. The plug housing 10 has an entrance 15 on a top thereof for the socket 2 being assembled therethrough into the mating space 14. A notch 131 is defined in one of the side walls 13 and communicates with the mating space 14. One end of the pin 11, 12 is received in the mating space 14, and functions as a contacting portion for engaging with a corresponding contact of the socket 2. The other end of the pin 11, 12 extends through a bottom. wall 16 of the plug housing 10 towards the printed circuit board 3, and fictions as a soldering portion for being soldered to the printed circuit board 3. In the preferred embodiment, the pins 11, 12 of the plug 1 include two power pins 12a, 12bfor power inputoutput power and four signal pins 11c, 11d, 11e, 11ffor data transmission. The soldering portions of the four signal pins 11c, 11d, 11e, 11fare positioned in a middle slot 181 which is defined in a bottom face 18 of the plug housing 10 and are divided into two pairs 11c, 11dand 11e, 11f. The signal pins 11 in the same pair are aligned with one another and parallel to the signal pins 11 in the other pair, while each signal pin 11 in the same pair is staggered with other signal pins in different pair. The four signal pins 11c, 11d, 11e, 11fare all spaced from each other a predetermined distance. The two power pins 12a, 12bare located at opposite sides of the four signal pins 11 and the soldering portions thereof are respectively received in two side slots 182 defined in the bottom face 18 of the plug housing 10. The power pins 12 are larger than the signal pins 11 as shown in FIG. 3. A post 19 is provided on the bottom face 18 standing near the power pin 12afor ensuring a right mating between the pins 11, 12 of the plug 1 and respective holes 30, 31 (FIG. 6) defined in the printed circuit board 3.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the socket 2 of the present invention includes a socket housing 20 and a plurality of contacts received in the socket housing 20. In the preferred embodiment, four passageways 21 are defined in the socket housing 20 extending from a top surface 22 of the socket housing 20 to a bottom surface 23 thereof for receiving corresponding contacts. The four passageways 21 are parallel to each other and include upper passageways 210 defined in the top surface 22 and lower passageways 211 defined in the bottom surface 23. The upper passageways 210 communicate with corresponding lower passageways 211. Two channels 25 are defined in the bottom surface 23 and respectively positioned at both sides of the four lower passageways 211 for correspondingly receiving the power pins 12 of the plug 1. Two openings 24 are defined in the top surface 22 and respectively positioned at both sides of the four upper passageways 210. The two openings 24 communicate with the corresponding channels 25. The socket housing 20 further has a protrusion 26 in the front thereof for correspondingly engaging with the notch 131 of the plug 1 to ensure a right mating between the socket 2 and the plug 1.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 6, the holes 30 defined in the printed circuit board 3 are arranged in two rows and staggered with each other for engaging with the corresponding signal pins 11 of the plug 1. Two holes 31, diameter of which is larger than that of the holes 30, are positioned at two opposite sides of the holes 30 for engaging with the corresponding power pins 12 of the plug 1. The aperture 32 is aligned with one of the holes 31 for retaining the post 19 of the plug 1.

[0023] In assembly, firstly, the plug 1 is assembled to the printed circuit board 3 with the post 19 thereof being inserted into the aperture 32 of the printed circuit board 3, and the pins 11, 12 of the plug 1 are received in the corresponding holes 30, 31 in the printed circuit board 3 and then soldered thereto. Then, the socket 2 is inserted into the mating space 14 of the plug 1 from the entrance 15 of the plug housing 10, whereby the power and signal pins 11, 12 of the plug 1 are received in the corresponding channels 25 and passageways 21, and the protrusion 26 of the socket 2 is engaged with the notch 131 of the plug 1 to ensure a right engagement.

[0024] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of 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.