Electrical connector with improved terminal module

1. An electrical connector comprising:

a terminal unit enclosed in the metallic shield,

said terminal unit including:

a terminal module and an insulative tongue piece to commonly define a mating tongue extending into the shield,

said terminal module including a first terminal module, a second terminal module commonly sandwiching a metallic shielding plate therebetween,

the first terminal module including a first front insulator and a first rear insulator spaced from each other with a first space therebetween in a front-to-back direction, a plurality of first contacts integrally assembled with said first front insulator and said first rear insulator, via a first stage insert-molding process, with middle connection regions thereof exposed in the first space;

the second terminal module including a second front insulator and a second rear insulator spaced from each other with a second space therebetween in the front-to-back direction, a plurality of second contacts integrally assembled with said second front insulator and said second rear insulator, via another first stage insert-molding process, with middle connection sections thereof exposed in said second space;

said insulative tongue piece being integrally assembled with the terminal module via a second stage insert-molding process; wherein

each of said first contacts has on the middle connection a mark derived from removal of a corresponding linking bridge which is linked between every adjacent two first contacts for assuring true positions of the first contacts during the first stage insert-molding process; wherein

each of said second contacts has on the middle connection a mark derived from removal of a corresponding linking bridge which is linked between every adjacent two second contacts for assuring true positions of the second contacts during the first stage insert-molding process.

2. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of said first space and said second space is at least partially filled with material of said insulative tongue piece.

3. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1 , further including a pair of first and second metallic grounding collars respectively assembled upon the first rear insulator and the second insulator before the second stage insert-molding process and retained by the insulative tongue piece after the second stage insert-molding process.

4. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 3 , wherein said first and second metallic grounding collars are assembled to the corresponding first rear insulator and said rear insulator in opposite vertical directions perpendicular to said front-to-back direction.

5. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 4 , wherein said first and second metallic grounding collars are interferentially retained to the corresponding first and second rear insulators, respectively, before the second stage insert-molding process.

6. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 3 , wherein said first grounding collar and said second grounding collar covers the corresponding first space and second space in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction.

7. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 6 , wherein each of said first grounding collar and said second grounding collar further includes a pair of bent section at two opposite ends in a transverse direction perpendicular to both said front-to-back direction and said vertical direction to cover the corresponding first space and second space in the transverse direction.

8. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 3 , wherein said insulative tongue piece covers a front end edge of the mating tongue, and a front edge of each of the corresponding first grounding collar and second grounding collar.

9. A method of making an electrical connector comprising steps of:

providing a first terminal module with a plurality of first contacts integrally formed, via a first-stage insert-molding process, with opposite first front insulator and first rear insulator which are spaced from each other with therebetween a first space in front-to-back direction, wherein a plurality of first linking bridges are respectively linked between every adjacent two first contacts in the first space during said first stage insert-molding process while being removed after the first stage insert-molding process;

providing a second terminal module with a plurality of second contacts integrally formed, via another first stage insert-molding process, with opposite second front insulator and second rear insulator which are spaced from each other with therebetween a second space in the front-to-back direction, wherein a plurality of second linking bridges are linked between every adjacent two second contacts in the second space during said another first stage insert-molding process while being removed after said another first stage insert-molding process;

providing a metallic shielding plate sandwiched between the first terminal module and said second terminal module to commonly form a base; and

applying an insulative tongue piece upon the base via a second stage insert-molding process to form a complete mating tongue of the electrical connector.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said first space and said second space is at least partially filled with material of said insulative tongue piece during the second stage insert-molding process.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9 , further including a step of providing a pair of metallic grounding collars assembled upon the corresponding first rear insulator and second rear insulator, respectively, after said first stage insert-molding process and said another first stage insert-molding process and before the second stage insert-molding process.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein said pair of grounding collars are assembled to the corresponding first rear insulator and second rear insulator in opposite vertical directions perpendicular to said front-to-back direction.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein said pair of grounding collars respectively cover the corresponding first space and second space in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein said pair of grounding collars further cover the corresponding first space and second space in a transverse direction perpendicular to both said front-to-back direction and said vertical direction.

15. An electrical connector comprising:

a first terminal module including:

a first front insulator and a first rear insulator spaced from each other with therebetween a first space in a front-to-back direction;

a plurality of first contacts integrally assembled, via a first stage insert-molding process, with said first front insulator and said first rear insulator, each of said first contacts forming a pair of marks on two opposite lateral side edges where a pair of linking bridges are originally linked in a transverse direction, which is perpendicular to said front-to-back direction, during the first stage insert-molding process while being removed after the first stage insert-molding process;

an insulative tongue piece integrally formed with said first terminal module via a second stage insert-molding process so as to form a complete mating tongue of the electrical connector where front contacting sections of the first contacts are exposed in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction; wherein

said first space is at least partially filled with material of said insulative tongue piece during the second stage insert-molding process.

16. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 15 , further including a first metallic grounding collar assembled upon the first rear insulator after the first stage insert-molding process and integrally assembled with the insulative tongue piece after the second stage insert-molding process.

17. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 16 , wherein said first grounding collar covers the first space in a vertical direction perpendicular to both said front-to-back direction and said transverse direction.

18. The electrical connector as claimed ion claim 17 , wherein said first grounding collar further covers the first space in the transverse direction.

19. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 17 , wherein said insulative tongue piece covers a front edge of the mating tongue and a front edge of the first grounding collar.