Electrical connector

Abstract

An electrical connector for high frequency data signal transmission includes a housing, at least one tunnel extending through the housing and at least one electrical lead extending through the at least one tunnel. At least a portion of the electrical lead in the tunnel is embedded in a surrounding material having a relative permittivity which is less than 2.

Claims

1. Electrical connector for high frequency data signal transmission comprising a housing comprising a base part and a cover part, at least one tunnel extending through the housing and at least one electrical lead extending through the at least one tunnel, wherein, in the at least one tunnel, at least a portion of the electrical lead is embedded in a surrounding material having a relative permittivity which is less than 2, at least one supporting element inserted into the tunnel and supporting the at least one electrical lead at a distance from a tunnel wall facing the at least one electrical lead, the supporting element having a perimeter and opposing ends, the electrical lead extends through the opposing ends, and the base part abuts one of the opposing ends and circumscribes the perimeter, and the cover part abuts the other of the opposing ends to capture the supporting element within the housing.

2. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the relative permittivity of the surrounding material is less than 1.5.

3. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the relative permittivity of the surrounding material is less than 1.1.

4. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the relative permittivity of the surrounding material is at least approximately 1.

5. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the relative permittivity of the surrounding material equals 1.

6. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding material is a fluid.

7. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding material is a gas.

8. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein at least an inner surface of a tunnel wall facing the at least one electrical lead is electrically conductive.

9. Electrical connector according to claim 8, wherein the housing is made of a conductive material.

10. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein a material of the supporting element is an insulating solid state material, comprising at least one of an insulating plastic material and a liquid crystal polymer; and wherein the relative permittivity of the surrounding material is less than a relative permittivity of the material of the supporting element.

11. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the at least one supporting element comprises two supporting elements that close-off the tunnel at opposite ends and the at least one electrical lead extends through each of the two supporting elements.

12. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the electrical lead surrounded by the surrounding material has a larger cross-sectional area than a portion of the electrical lead surrounded by the supporting element.

13. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the electrical lead is a flat strip and comprises at least one round edge.

14. Method of manufacturing an electrical connector according to claim 1, the method comprising the steps of: providing the housing, with the base part defining a first portion of the at least one tunnel extending through the housing and the cover part defining a second portion of the at least one tunnel, forming the supporting element to provide a first supporting element at a first portion of the at least one electrical lead and forming a second supporting element at a second portion of the at least one electrical lead by over-molding the first and second portions of the at least one electrical lead with a material forming the first and second supporting elements, wherein the first and second sections are separated from each other in a longitudinal direction of the at least one electrical lead, arranging the electrical lead with the first and second supporting elements in the first portion of the at least one tunnel defined by the base part, and attaching the cover part to the base part by means of riveting and/or welding.

15. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the base part defines a first portion of the tunnel and the cover part defines a second portion of the tunnel such that the base part and the cover part together form the tunnel.

16. Electrical connector for high frequency data signal transmission comprising a housing, at least one tunnel extending through the housing and at least one electrical lead extending through the at least one tunnel, wherein, in the at least one tunnel, at least a portion of the electrical lead is embedded in a surrounding material having a relative permittivity which is less than 2, wherein the housing comprises a base part defining a first portion of the tunnel and a cover part defining a second portion of the tunnel such that the base part and the cover part together form the tunnel, and the cover part is riveted to the base part.

17. Electrical connector for high frequency data signal transmission comprising a housing, at least one tunnel extending through the housing and at least one electrical lead extending through the at least one tunnel, wherein, in the at least one tunnel, at least a portion of the electrical lead is embedded in a surrounding material having a relative permittivity which is less than 2, wherein the housing comprises a base part defining a first portion of the tunnel and a cover part defining a second portion of the tunnel such that the base part and the cover part together form the tunnel, wherein the cover part comprises an inner ridge forming a portion of a wall of the tunnel and the base part comprises an outer ridge which is arranged adjacent to the inner ridge such that the inner ridge and the outer ridge define a gap between the inner ridge and the outer ridge, and the gap is filled with a solder material.

18. Electrical connector for high frequency data signal transmission comprising a housing, at least one tunnel extending through the housing and at least one electrical lead extending through the at least one tunnel, wherein, in the at least one tunnel, at least a portion of the electrical lead is embedded in a surrounding material having a relative permittivity which is less than 2, wherein the housing comprises a base part defining a first portion of the tunnel and a cover part defining a second portion of the tunnel such that the base part and the cover part together form the tunnel, wherein the housing comprises at least one intermediate part arranged between the base part and the cover part and the tunnel comprises at least a first tunnel defined by the base part and the intermediate part and at least a second tunnel is defined by the cover part and the intermediate part.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) At least one example embodiment will be described in the following purely by way of example with reference to possible designs and to the enclosed drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of an electrical connector according to a first design;

(3) FIG. 2a shows a cross sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 2b shows a cross sectional view along line B-B of FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 3a shows a perspective view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1 in a first step of assembly;

(6) FIG. 3b shows a perspective view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1 in a second step of assembly;

(7) FIG. 3c shows a perspective view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1 in a third step of assembly;

(8) FIG. 3d shows a perspective view of the assembled electrical connector of FIG. 1;

(9) FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an electrical connector according to a second design;

(10) FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an electrical connector according to a third design;

(11) FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of the electrical connector of FIG. 5;

(12) FIG. 7a shows a perspective view of the electrical connector of FIG. 5 in an initial step of assembly; and

(13) FIG. 7b shows a perspective view of the electrical connector of FIG. 5 in an advanced step of assembly.

(14) FIGS. 1 to 3d relate to a first design of an electrical connector for high frequency data signal transmission. FIG. 4 shows an electrical connector according to a second design. FIGS. 5 to 7b are directed to a third design of an electrical contact element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(15) FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of an electrical connector for high frequency data signal transmission. The electrical connector comprises a housing 10 with a tunnel 12 extending therethrough. Furthermore, the housing 10 comprises a base part 14 defining a first portion of the tunnel 12 and a cover part 16 defining a second portion of the tunnel 12. Hence, in an assembled state of the housing 10 the base part 14 and the cover part 16 together form the tunnel 12.

(16) In order to provide good shielding properties of the housing 10, the cover part 16 is tightly riveted to the base part 14, as will be described in detail below. Furthermore, although not shown in the drawings for the purpose of better illustration, the cover part 16 is additionally cold welded to the base part 14 by means of a solder material, thereby further enhancing the shielding properties of the housing 10. The solder material may be tin or a tin containing alloy.

(17) The solder material is intended to fill out a gap 18 which is formed between an inner ridge 20 of the cover part 16 and an outer ridge 22 of the base part 14, wherein the outer ridge 22 of the base part 14 is arranged adjacent to the inner ridge 20 of the cover part 16 (FIGS. 2a and 2b). The gap 18 is preferably formed as a capillary which allows the solder material to entirely fill out the gap 19 to enhance the shielding properties of the housing 10.

(18) As can be seen in FIGS. 2a and 2b the inner ridge 20 of the cover part 16 forms a portion of an inner wall 11 of the tunnel 12. Furthermore, at least the surface of the wall 11 of the tunnel 12 may be electrically conductive. However, in the present design, not only the surface of the wall 11 of the tunnel 12 is electrically conductive but the entire housing 10, i.e. the base part 14 and the cover part 16 are made of a conductive material, such as a metal material.

(19) Furthermore, at least one electrical lead 24 made of an electrically conductive material extends through the tunnel 12. The electrical connector according to the present design comprises two electrical leads 24 (FIGS. 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b). It should be noted that the electrical lead may comprise less or more than two electrical leads 24. Each electrical lead 24 comprises a flat strip section 24a (FIGS. 1, 2a, 2b and 3a) and a round section 24b (FIGS. 1 and 3a), with the round section 24b serving as connection portions 25 of the electrical connector. Although FIGS. 2a and 2b show two electrical leads 24 comprising rectangular flat strip sections 24a, the edges of the flat strip sections 24a may be rounded to minimize cornering effects.

(20) The electrical leads 24 are separated from each other and from the wall 11 of the tunnel 12 by means of a supporting element 26 made of made of an insulating solid state material. The insulating solid state material may be an insulating plastic material such as a liquid crystal polymer whose relative permittivity is 3.

(21) In particular, the electrical leads 24 are supported by two supporting elements 26, which are inserted into the tunnel 12 to support the electrical leads 24 at a distance from the wall 11 of the tunnel facing the electrical leads 24.

(22) As can be seen best in FIG. 1 each supporting element 26 comprises a protrusion 28 that is received in a pocket 30 formed in the tunnel 12 by the base part 14 and the cover part 16.

(23) In the tunnel 12 the electrical leads 24 are embedded in a surrounding material having a relative permittivity of less than 2. In the present design, the relative permittivity of the surrounding material is even lower than 2 as air is used as a surrounding material having a relative permittivity of nearly 1. It is to be understood that the surrounding material may be a material other than air, for example a fluid and preferably a gas, with the surrounding material having a relative permittivity of less than 1.5, preferably less than 1.1. Ideally the surrounding material should have a relative permittivity of 1.

(24) Since the relative permittivity of air used as surrounding material is nearly 1 and therefore rather low, the relative permittivity of the supporting elements 26 typically will be higher. Therefore, the relative permittivity of the surrounding material is less than the relative permittivity of the material of the supporting elements 26. As a consequence, for the same impedance, the cross-sectional area of the electrical leads 24 can be larger if the electrical leads 24 are surrounded by the surrounding material having a lower relative permittivity instead of the supporting elements 26 having a higher relative permittivity. The larger cross-sectional area of the electrical leads 24 is beneficial for high data transmission rates, as the current is mainly conducted at a radially outer surface of each of the electrical leads 24 as the frequency increases. Furthermore, a larger cross-sectional area of the electrical leads 24 is advantageous with regard to manufacturing tolerances.

(25) The electrical connector comprises four mounting pins 32 for attaching the electrical connector to a printed circuit board (PCB). Furthermore, on the other end, the housing 10 of the electrical connector, more specifically the base part 14, comprises a connection recess 34 configured to receive a connector plug which is not shown in the drawings. The connection recess 34 is additionally shielded by a shielding cap 36. The shielding cap 36 may be made of a conductive metal material. However, in favour of cost efficiency and a more balanced center of gravity of the electrical connector, the shielding cap 36 is preferably made of a plastic material. The plastic material of the shielding cap 36 may be conductive, but sufficient shielding properties may be also achieved if the plastic material is not conductive.

(26) It should be noted that although the connection recess 34 is arranged at right angle with regard to the mounting pins 32, the connection recess 34 may be arranged at other angles with regard to the mounting pins 32, for example at 45° or 180°.

(27) In the following the assembly of the electrical connector will be described with regard to FIGS. 3a to 3d.

(28) Assembly of the electrical connector begins at FIG. 3a with providing the base part 14 and the cover part 16 of the housing 10. Furthermore, two electrical leads 24 are provided. Each of the electrical leads 24 is over-molded with a common supporting element 26 at a first section of each of the electrical leads 24 and a common supporting element 26 at a second section of each of the electrical leads 24. The first and second sections of each of the electrical leads 24 are separated from each other in a longitudinal direction of each electrical lead 24.

(29) As can be seen in FIG. 3b, the electrical leads 24 are arranged in the first portion of the tunnel defined by the base part 14. In particular, the protrusions 28 of the supporting elements 26 of the over-molded electrical leads 24 are placed in the associated portions of the pockets 30 defined by the base part 14 (cf. also FIG. 1).

(30) In the next step shown in FIG. 3c, the cover part 16 is riveted onto the base part 14 of the housing 10. For this purpose, the base part 14 comprises two riveting mandrels 38, each of which is received in a corresponding riveting opening 40 of the cover part 16. It is to be understood that the base part 14 may comprise more or less than two riveting mandrels 38, i.e. the base part 14 may comprise one, two three, four, five or more riveting mandrels 38. Correspondingly, the cover part 16 may comprise more or less than two riveting openings 40, i.e. the cover part 16 may comprise one, two, three, four, five or more riveting openings 40. Furthermore, the base part 14 may comprise at least one riveting mandrel 38 and at least one riveting opening 40 and the cover part 16 may comprise at least one corresponding riveting opening 40 and at least one corresponding riveting mandrel 38. Such a configuration allows for an unambiguous assembly of the housing 10. It should also be mentioned that the base part 14 may only comprise at least one riveting opening 40 configured to receive at least one riveting mandrel 38 provided only on the cover part 16.

(31) During riveting, the solder material arranged between the base part 14 and the cover part 16 may then flow into the gap 18 due to heating during the riveting process. Optionally the solder material may liquefied by a subsequent cold welding process. In the last step of the assembly, the shielding cap 36 is attached onto connection recess 34 and the electrical connector is ready for use.

(32) FIG. 4 shows an electrical connector according to a second design. The electrical connector according to the second design differs from the electrical connector described above in that it comprises two tunnels 12, as becomes apparent from two connection recesses 34 arranged next to each other side by side in a row like manner. It is to be understood that the electrical connector may also have more than two tunnels 12 arranged in a row. As in the first design, the connection recesses 34 of the second design may be integrally formed with the base part 14.

(33) An electrical connector according to a third design is shown in FIGS. 5 to 7b, wherein FIGS. 7a and 7b show two different steps during the assembly of the electrical connector according to the third design.

(34) The electrical connector according to the third design differs from the electrical connector according to the first design in the number of tunnels 12. The electrical connector according to the third design comprises four tunnels 12, as becomes apparent from four connection recesses 34 shown in FIG. 5. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the connection recesses 34 and the tunnels 12, respectively, are arranged such that they form a two-rows/two-columns matrix. It is to be understood that an electrical connector may comprise different sorts of matrices, for example a three-rows/three-columns matrix, a two-rows/three-columns matrix or a three-rows/two-columns matrix. It is further to be understood that the number of rows and columns is not limited to two or three, i.e. other combinations are possible.

(35) As can be seen best from FIG. 6, the electrical connector according to the third design comprises an intermediate part 42 arranged between the base part 14 and the cover part 16. The intermediate part 42 is connected to the base part 14 by means of guide structures 44a configured to engage with corresponding guide structures 44b formed on the base part 14 (FIG. 7a). Each of the guide structures 44b of the base part 14 extends in a longitudinal direction from the corresponding riveting mandrel 38 towards a connection recess 34 of the base part 14.

(36) FIG. 6 shows, that the intermediate part 42 arranged between the base part 14 and the cover part 16 is configured to form at least one tunnel 12 between the base part 14 and the intermediate part 42 on one side of the intermediate part 42 and to form at least one tunnel 12 between the cover part 16 and the intermediate part 42 on the opposite side of the intermediate part 44.

(37) As can be further seen from FIG. 6 and FIG. 7a, the base part 14 and the intermediate part 42 each form two connection recesses 34, wherein the connection recesses 34 of the intermediate part 42 function in a manner similar to the connection recess 34 of the base part 14. Alternatively, all of the connection recesses 34 may be integrally formed with the base part 14.

(38) It is to be understood that an electrical connector may comprise more than one intermediate part 42 if the electrical connector has more than two rows of tunnels 12. Again, the base part 14 and the various intermediate parts 42 may form a row of connection recesses 34 each, or all of the connection recesses 34 may be integrally formed with the base part 14.

(39) Finally, it is to be mentioned that the base part 14 and/or the cover part 16 of the electrical connector according to the first, second and third designs may consist of more than one piece. In particular, the base part 14 and/or the cover part 16 each may comprise at least two sub-parts which are connected to each other along the length of the tunnel 12, to form the respective base part 14 and/or cover part 16. Furthermore, the housing 10 may be formed by at least two parts that are connected to each other in a direction traverse to the length of the tunnel 12, wherein each part of the housing 10 defines one portion of at least one tunnel 12.

(40) Furthermore, the intermediate part 44 may also be made of at least two sub-parts connected together to form the intermediate part 44.