RACK PLATING
A method of plating the connector frames includes, in part, placing the frames in a vibrating bowl to enable the bowl's vibrations load the frames in a predefined orientation onto the vibrating bowl's channel. The properly oriented frames are delivered from this channel to a track. Subsequently, a multitude of sub-racks securely engage and lift the frames from the track. The sub-racks are afterwards aggregated to form a larger rack which transports the frames to a plating tank in which the plating operation is performed. Optionally, the spacing between adjacent frames in the track is such that no contact between adjacent frames can occur. Each sub-rack has a multitude of hooks or springs adapted to engage the frames. The sub-racks may be aggregated in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction to form the larger rack.
This application is the U.S. National Stage entry of PCT/CN2012/081245, filed Sep. 11, 2012, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to electrical connectors such as audio, video and data connectors.
The use of mobile consumer electronic devices is on the rise. Such devices often communicate with other electronic devices or charging stations via one or more connectors disposed in a connector-cable assembly. The increased complexity and functions performed by such devices, i.e., smart-phones, media players, and the like, require new approaches to the electrical connectors that such devices use.
Many standard data connectors are only available in sizes that are limiting factors in making portable electronic devices smaller. Furthermore, many conventional data connectors, such as a USB connector, can only be mated with a corresponding connector in a single, specific orientation. It is sometimes difficult for the user to determine whether such a connector is oriented in the correct insertion position. In addition to the orientation problem, even when such a connector is properly aligned, the insertion and removal of the connector is not always precise, and may have an inconsistent feel. Further, even when the connector is fully inserted, it may have an undesirable degree of wobble that may result in either a faulty connection or breakage. Moreover, many conventional connectors also include an interior cavity that is prone to collecting and trapping debris which may interfere with the electrical connections and affect signal integrity.
Many other commonly used data connectors, including standard USB connectors, mini USB connectors, FireWire connectors, as well as many of the proprietary connectors used with common portable media electronics, suffer from some or all of these deficiencies. Furthermore, with the increased demand for mobile consumer devices, the manufacturing processes used to fabricate these devices would benefit from automation.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of the present invention relate to electronic connectors that overcome many or all of the above described shortcomings of conventional connectors. Other embodiments of the present invention relate to methods of manufacturing such electronic connectors.
Some embodiments of the present invention relate to improved processes for manufacturing plug connectors that have a reduced plug length and thickness and are easy to insert in and remove from a corresponding receptacle connector.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method of plating the connector frames includes, in part, placing the frames in a vibrating bowl to enable the bowl's vibrations load the frames in a predefined orientation onto the vibrating bowl's channel. From this channel, the frames are delivered to at least one track from which a multitude of sub-racks securely engage and lift the frames. The sub-racks carrying the frames are subsequently aggregated to form a larger rack which transports the frames to a plating tank in which the plating operation is carried out.
In one embodiment, the spacing between adjacent frames in the track is such that no contact between adjacent frames can occur. In one embodiment, each sub-racks has a multitude of hooks each adapted to engage at any given time an opening of one frame. In another embodiment, each sub-rack has a multitude of springs each adapted to engage at any given time one frame. In one embodiment, the sub-racks are aggregated in a horizontal direction to form the larger rack. In another embodiment, the sub-racks are aggregated in a vertical direction to form the larger rack.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus adapted to aggregate a plurality of frames for a plating operation includes, in part, a track, a multitude of sub-racks and a major rack. The track is adapted to receive the frames in a predefined orientation and at a known rate from a vibrating bowl. The sub-racks are adapted to engage and lift the frames from the track. The major rack is adapted to receive and aggregate the sub-racks carrying the frames and transport the frames so aggregated to a plating tank in which the plating operation is carried out.
Embodiments of the present invention relate to electronic connectors that overcome many of the shortcoming of commercially available connectors. For example, some embodiments of the present invention relate to connectors that have a reduced size and are easy to insert in and remove from a corresponding receptacle connector.
Tab 44 is adapted to be inserted into a corresponding receptacle connector during a mating operation and includes a first contact region 46a formed on a first major surface 44a and a second contact region 46b (not shown) formed at a second major surface 44b (not shown) opposite surface 44a. Surfaces 44a, 44b extend from a distal tip of the tab to a flange 109. When tab 44 is inserted into a corresponding receptacle connector of a host device, surfaces 44a and 44b abut a housing of the receptacle connector. Tab 44 also includes first and second opposing side surfaces 44c, 44d (not shown) that extend between the first and second major surfaces 44a, 44b. In one embodiment, tab 44 is between 4 to 7 mm wide, between 1 to 2 mm thick and has an insertion depth (the distance from the distal tip of insertion end 44 to flanged end 109) between 5 to 10 mm.
Tab 44 includes a ground ring 105 that may be made from stainless steel or another conductive material. Connector 100 also includes retention features 102a, 102b (not shown) formed as curved pockets in the sides of ground ring 105. Retention features 102a, 102b do not extend to either of upper surface 44a or lower surface 44b. Ground ring 105 may be fabricated using a variety of techniques such as a metal injection molding process. Body 42 is shown in
Disposed within tab 44 and body 42 is a printed circuit board (PCB) 104 that extends into ground ring 105 between contact regions 46a and 46b towards the distal tip of connector 100. PCB 104 is mounted using a hot bar solder and brought into electrical communication with contacts 106 of first and second contact regions 46a and 46b. One or more integrated circuits (ICs), such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) may be mounted on PCB 104 to provide information regarding connector 100 and any accessory or device that connector 100 is part of The ICs may perform such functions as authentication, identification, contact configuration, signal transfer and current or power regulation.
PCB 104 includes a multitude of bonding pads 110 each of which is connected to a contact or contact pair within regions 46a and 46b. Wires disposed in cable 43 are soldered to bonding pads 165 to form electrical connections to contacts 106. Generally, there is one bonding pad and one wire in cable 43 for each set of electrically independent contacts 106, e.g., a pair of matching connected contacts, one in region 46a and one in region 46b that are electrically coupled to each other through PCB 104. In other words, each wire in cable 43 is attached to a bonding pad 110 of PCB 104 to form an electrical contact with one of the electrically independent contacts 106 of regions 46a and 46b. One or more ground wires (not shown) of cable 43 are also soldered to the PCB bonding pad to provide a ground connection to which ground ring 105 is also connected.
As seen from the exemplary embodiment shown in
In one embodiment, plug connector 100 is the primary physical connector providing connection to an ecosystem of products that includes both host electronic devices and accessory devices. Examples of host devices include smart phones, portable media players, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers and other computing devices. Plug connector 100 may be incorporated into an accessory device that is part of such an ecosystem to enable the host and the accessory to communicate with each other via plug connector 100. Examples of accessory devices include docking stations, charge/sync cables and devices, cable adapters, clock radios, game controllers, audio equipment, memory card readers, headsets, video equipment and adapters, keyboards, medical sensors such as heart rate monitors and blood pressure monitors, point of sale (POS) terminals, as well as numerous other hardware devices that can connect to and exchange data with the host device.
Printed circuit board 104 (
After attaching ICs 108a, 108b, PCB 104 is inserted through a back opening of frame 105 so as to position bonding pads 112 in opening 106. Next, contact assemblies 116a, 116b (see
The ground ring/PCB/contact assembly structure, shown in
Referring to
Once positioned on a track 210, the frames are engaged and lifted by one or more sub-racks.
To improve the plating performance, avoid shading, and increase the electrical current density during the plating operation, the distance between adjacent frames in track 210 is selected such that no contact between such frames can occur. In one embodiment, the distance between adjacent frames in a track is defined by the height and width of each of the frames. For example, if the width and height of each frame are 6.6 mm and 9.57 mm respectively, the separation between adjacent frames in track 210 may be selected to be approximately 3 mm.
Once a predetermined number of sub-racks 220 have securely engaged a sufficient number of the frames, the sub-racks are transported to a major rack. Such a transportation may be automated, semi-automated or manual.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, each sub-rack includes a multitude of resilient and elastic strips each adapted to securely engage a different frame prior to lifting the frame off the track.
Once a predetermined number of sub-racks 230 have securely engaged a sufficient number of the frames, the sub-racks are transported to a major rack. Such a transportation may be automated, semi-automated or manual.
As described above, in some embodiments, a multitude of tracks 210 are positioned in parallel to receive the frames from the vibrating bowl's channel. In such embodiments, the sub- racks may be placed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the track's direction, thereby to securely engage multiple frames from multiple tracks at any given time. Accordingly, in such embodiments, the distance between adjacent frames in each track may be substantially reduced.
In one embodiment, frames 105 are plated with Nickel. In some embodiments, the plating process may be a nickel electroplating process using nickel sulfate or an electroless nickel plating process, e.g., high phosphorus electroless nickel. For nickel electroplating, the plating process make include a number of steps such as electrolytic degreasing, rinsing with pure water, activating acid, rinsing with pure water, nickel pre-plating, rinsing with pure water, nickel plating, rinsing with pure water, rinsing with hot pure water, cooking in an oven, and drying on a counter. Alternatively, other standard nickel electroplating processes and electroless nickel plating processes may be used at step 834.
The above embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and not limitative. Various alternatives and equivalents are possible. The invention is not limited by the engaging mechanism, spring, hook or otherwise, used to engage and lift the frames off a track. The invention is not limited by the spacing between the frames in a track. Nor is the invention limited by the number of frames secured by each sub-rack. Other additions, subtractions or modifications are obvious in view of the present disclosure and are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A method of plating a plurality of frames each associated with a different one of a plurality of connectors, the method comprising:
- placing the plurality of frames in a vibrating bowl;
- loading each of said plurality of frames onto a channel of the vibrating bowl and in a predefined orientation in response to vibrations of the vibrating bowl;
- transferring said plurality of frames from the vibrating bowl's channel to at least one track;
- using a plurality of sub-racks to engage and lift the plurality of frames from the at least one track;
- aggregating the plurality of sub-racks to form a rack; and
- transporting the rack to a plating tank to plate the plurality of frames.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein adjacent frames in the at least one track are spaced apart so as to inhibit contact therebetween.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein a distance between adjacent frames in the track is defined by a height and a width of the plurality of frames.
4. The method claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of sub-racks has a plurality of hooks each adapted to engage an opening of at least one of the plurality of frames.
5. The method claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of sub-racks has at least one spring adapted to engage a cavity of at least one of the plurality of frames.
6. The method of claim 4 further comprising:
- aggregating the plurality of sub-racks in a horizontal direction to form the rack.
7. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
- aggregating the plurality of sub-racks in a vertical direction to form the rack.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein said plating is nickel plating.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein said plating is performed using a metal selected from a group consisting of Chrome, Gold, and Palladium.
10. The method claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of sub-racks has at least one spring adapted to engage an opening of at least one of the plurality of frames.
11. An apparatus adapted to aggregate a plurality of frames each associated with a different one of a plurality of connectors, the apparatus comprising:
- a track adapted to receive the plurality of frames along a predefined orientation and at a known rate from a vibrating bowl;
- a plurality of sub-racks adapted to engage and lift the plurality of frames from the track; and
- a rack adapted to receive and aggregate the plurality of sub-racks, said track being further adapted to be transported to a plating tank to plate the plurality of frame.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said track is adapted to maintain a predefined distance between adjacent frames to inhibit contact therebetween.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein a distance between adjacent frames in the track is defined by a height and a width of the plurality of frames.
14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality of sub-racks has a plurality of hooks each adapted to engage an opening of at least one of the plurality of frames.
15. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality of sub-racks has at least one spring adapted to engage a cavity of at least one of the plurality of frames.
16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said rack is adapted to receive and aggregate the plurality of sub-racks in a horizontal direction.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said rack is adapted to receive and aggregate the plurality of sub-racks in a vertical direction.
18. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said plating is nickel plating.
19. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said plating is performed using a metal selected from a group consisting of Chrome, Gold, and Palladium.
20. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality of sub-racks has at least one spring adapted to engage an opening of at least one of the plurality of frames.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 11, 2012
Publication Date: Jun 4, 2015
Inventors: Brett A. Rosenthal (San Francisco, CA), Wayne Cowan (Shenzhen)
Application Number: 13/878,392