EP2525442B1

EP2525442B1 - Electrical connector

Info

Publication number: EP2525442B1
Application number: EP12168528.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shinichi Katsuki; Daisuke Kitazawa; Akihito Sukegawa; Shinichi Asano
Original assignee: Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2011-05-20
Filing date: 2012-05-18
Publication date: 2018-12-26
Anticipated expiration: 2032-05-18
Also published as: JP2012243650A; JP5747653B2; CN102801011B; EP2525442A2; EP2525442A3; CN102801011A

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, in particular to an electrical connector used for data transmission for automobiles.

Background Art

Connectors used to connect cables and print circuit boards (PCBs) have conventionally been standardized according to various schemes. In automobile technology, a particularly known scheme is the scheme called "FAKRA," which is normally employed in Europe and America. FAKRA is the Automotive Standards Committee (Normenausschuss Kraftfahrzeuge) in the German Standards Organization (Deutsches Institut fur Normung) representing international standardization interests in the automotive field. The standard popularized by FAKRA is called "FAKRA standard," named after the organization that has planned the standard scheme, and has been used for numerous automotive applications as diverse as GPSs, AM/FM radios, cellular phones, air-bag systems and multimedia devices.
As a connector used to connect a transmission cable in accordance with the FAKRA standard, a connector disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is known, for example.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a single-pole jack (receptacle) connector of the SMB type in the FAKRA standard (FAKRA-SMB). This jack and a plug connector make a connection for a single coaxial cable. In the FAKRA standard, a jack key of the jack can only connect to a keyway of a corresponding plug. Secure positioning and locking of connector housings are facilitated by way of a FAKRA-defined latch receiving part on a jack housing and a corresponding latch on a plug housing.
As a connector used in the automobile technology, a right-angle type 4-pole jack disclosed in Non Patent Literature 1 is known, for example.
A main body of this jack is formed by disposing an insulating member having four L-shaped pins disposed therein within a hollow part of a covering body molded by brass die-casting, a technique where dimensional accuracy can easily be attained. Specifically, the covering body has a hollow cylindrical part into which a tip part of a plug is inserted from one open end, and a cuboid-shaped main body part which is continuous with the other end side of the cylindrical part for communication with the inside of the cylindrical part. A seamless, L-shaped cylindrical hollow is formed within the cylindrical part and the main body part, and four pins are arranged within this hollow. Each of the four pins, provided within the cylindrical part, is formed of a first elongated part extending along the axial direction of the cylindrical part, and of a second elongated part extending orthogonally from the first elongated part. A portion of the second elongated part, projecting downward from the lower surface of the main body part, constitutes a terminal part (lead part).

Citation List

Patent Literature

PTL 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-272752

Non Patent Literature

NPL 1: HDS_Catalog_2010 (Rosenberger Hochfrequenztechnik GmbH & Co. KG, published in April 2010)
The document EP 2 270 932 discloses an electrical connector mountable on a circuit board according to the preamble of claim 1.

Summary of Invention

Technical Problem

In the conventional 4-pole jack, the housing is a die-cast article and the dimension of the housing may therefore be easily adjusted to stabilize the jack's own characteristic impedance; however, the problem is that the production of the jack itself is highly costly.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector including a plurality of contact pins, which offers desired characteristic impedance as well as can achieve reduced production costs.

Solution to problem

To achieve at least one of the abovementioned objects, an electrical connector reflecting one aspect of the present invention is an electrical connector mountable on a circuit board, the electrical connector including: a plurality of contact pins to be connected to respective contacts of a mating connector; an insulating housing including the plurality of contact pins spaced at a predetermined spacing from each other; and a shield case covering the insulating housing, characterized in that at least one of the plurality of contact pins comprises a projecting part that projects toward another adjacent contact pin such that a spacing between the at least one contact pin and the another contact pin is smaller than the predetermined spacing.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The connector of the present invention that includes a plurality of contact pins offers desired characteristic impedance as well as can achieve reduced production costs.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig.1 is a perspective view illustrating a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig.2 is a perspective view of a connector main body without a cover in the same connector;
Fig.3 is a front view illustrating the same connector;
Fig.4 is a rear view illustrating the same connector;
Fig.5 is a plan view illustrating the same connector;
Fig.6 is a bottom view illustrating the same connector;
Fig.7 is a left side view illustrating the same connector;
Fig.8 is a right side view illustrating the same connector;
Fig.9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Fig. 3;
Fig.10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating connection of the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig.11 is a plan view of a circuit board to which the same connector is attached;
Fig.12 is a perspective view of a plug to be connected to the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig.13 is a front view illustrating the same plug;
Fig.14 is a rear view illustrating the plug to be connected to the same connector;
Fig.15 is a plan view illustrating the plug to be connected to the same connector;
Fig.16 is a bottom view illustrating the plug to be connected to the same connector;
Fig.17 is a left side view illustrating the plug to be connected to the same connector;
Fig.18 is a right side view illustrating the plug to be connected to the same connector;
Fig.19 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of Fig. 13;
Figs.20A and 20B are diagrams illustrating comparison of characteristic impedances between contact pins and round pins;
Fig.21 is a diagram illustrating a state of connection between a comparison target jack including the round pins illustrated in Fig.20B, and the plug;
Figs.22A to 22D are plan views schematically illustrating variations of the contact pins in the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figs.23A and 23B are plan views schematically illustrating variations of the contact pins in the same connector; and
Fig.24 is a side view schematically illustrating a variation of the contact pins in the same connector.

Description of Embodiments

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Figs.1 to 9 are diagrams illustrating a configuration of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that front, rear, left and right in the present embodiment mean front, rear, left and right of the electrical connector, as seen from a direction facing a mating connector.
Electrical connector 10 illustrated in Figs.1 to 9 is used for data transmission cable 30 (see Fig.12) in the automobile technology. Electrical connector 10 is jack connector 10 (hereinafter referred to as "jack") to be connected to plug 20 (see Figs.10 and 12 to 19) provided at an end part of cable 30.
Jack 10 illustrated in Figs.1 and 3 to 9 includes jack main body 100 including contact pins 110, and cylindrical cover 13 attached to jack main body 100. Jack 10 is a connector in which a connection direction of plug 20 (see Fig.10) intersects with a lead-out direction of terminal parts (lead parts) 118 (see Figs.3, 4 and 6 to 9), which are led out from jack main body 100 and connected to a circuit board on which jack 10 is to be mounted. In other words, jack 10 is a right-angle connector to be attached to a circuit board in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the mating connector is fitted.
As illustrated in Fig.9, jack main body (connector main body) 100 includes cuboid-shaped main body base part 100b which is continuous with one end of a cylindrical connecting part 100a, which includes plug insertion opening 102 that opens at the other end of cylindrical connecting part 100a.
Jack main body 100 includes an insulating housing (hereinafter referred to as "housing") 140 having a plurality of contact pins 110 (here, four contact pins 110-1 and 110-2) disposed therein; and shield case 160 covering housing 140.
Housing 140 is molded here with an insulative material, here, with resin. Housing 140 includes cuboid-shaped housing base part 142, and convex part 144 projecting from one surface of housing base part 142. The outer surfaces of housing base part 142 and convex part 144 are covered by shield case 160.
Shield case 160 in jack 10 of the present embodiment is formed by machining a plate-shaped conductive member, here, a sheet metal. As illustrated in Fig.2, shield case 160 includes box-shaped base covering part (cuboid-shapedcovering part) 162 opening on one surface (here, the lower surface), and cylindrical covering part 164 inserted into another surface (the front surface) 162a of base covering part 162. Drawing is performed on the other surface (the front surface) 162a of base covering part 162, whereby opening part 162b is also formed. Shield case 160 is formed by inserting cylindrical covering part 164, which is made by bending a sheet metal in cylindrical form, into opening part 162b. It should be noted that cylindrical covering part 164 is formed to have its outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the opening part. The diameter of cylindrical covering part 164 is reduced during the insertion into the opening part, and then is expanded by springback. Thereby, cylindrical covering part 164 fits in the inside of the opening part so as to be tightly fixed to one surface of base covering part 162.
In shield case 160, base covering part 162 covers the outer periphery of housing base part 142, except the bottom surface of housing base part 142. Also, cylindrical covering part 164 covers the outer periphery of convex part 144 of housing 140.
The plurality of contact pins 110 (110-1, 110-2) are thus disposed in housing 140 covered by shield case 160. It should be noted that contact pin 110-1 and contact pin 110-2 have similar configurations, only except different lengths of their first elongated parts 112. Accordingly, the basic configurations of both of contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 will be collectively described as contact pin 110.
Contact pin 110 is a conductive elongated member. As illustrated in Fig.9, contact pin 110 is formed into L-shape by means of first elongated part 112 and second elongated part 114 that is orthogonal to an extending direction of first elongated part 112.
The plurality of contact pins 110 (110-1, 110-2) are fixed to housing 140 so as to be positioned in a matrix form along the length of contact pins 110, within shield case 160.
Specifically, first elongated parts 112 of respective contact pins 110 are arranged parallel to the axial direction of cylindrical covering part 164, respectively, within cylindrical covering part 164 of shield case 160.
First elongated parts 112 are spaced at equal distances from the inner surface of cylindrical covering part 164. Moreover, respective first elongated parts 112 are positioned in a matrix form at vertical/horizontal pitch P within cylindrical covering part 164, as seen from an opening side of cylindrical covering part 164 (see Fig.3). It should be noted that pitch P, for example, is 2 mm in the FAKRA standard. Moreover, second elongated parts 114 are disposed to extend downward from rear end parts of first elongated parts 112 within base covering part 162 of shield case 160.
As illustrated in Fig.6, second elongated parts 114 are positioned in a matrix form with respect to circuit board 40 (see Figs.10 and 11) on which jack 10 is mounted, within base covering part 162.
The configuration of contact pin 110 (110-1, 110-2) will be specifically described.
As illustrated in Fig.9, first elongated part 112 has a contact part 115 projecting from the front surface of convex part 144 of housing 140, and fixed part 116 that is continuous with contact part 115 and is fixed within housing base part 142. First elongated part 112 is formed into rod shape by means of contact part 115 and fixed part 116.
Contact part 115 is arranged so as to project toward an opening part (corresponding to plug insertion opening 102) side of cylindrical covering part 164, within cylindrical covering part 164. Contact part 115 fits into the inside of plug contact 26 of insertion part 24 of plug 20 (see Fig.10) that is inserted into cylindrical covering part 164, and thereby comes into contact with plug 20.
Fixed part 116 has a width larger than that of contact part 115, due to the presence of rib 116a formed on the outer peripheral surface along the axial direction. Fixed part 116 is press-fitted into housing base part 142 via rib 116a so as to be fixed to housing 140. Thereby, fixed part 116 fixes contact pin 110 itself to housing 140.
Second elongated part 114 extends downward from fixed part 116 of first elongated part 112. Second elongated part 114 has terminal part 118, and projecting part 120 projecting toward another adjacent contact pin 110 in an anterior-posterior direction, within base covering part 162.
Terminal part 118 extends downward from projecting part 120 (120-1, 120-2) so as to project downward from lower surface of jack 10.
Terminal part 118 is to be connected to a circuit pattern on circuit board 40 on which jack 10 is mounted. The respective locations of terminal parts 118 are defined such that they are positioned at predetermined spacings as illustrated by way of positions of attachment holes 41 on circuit board 40 illustrated in Fig.11.
Herein, projecting part 120 is formed into a shape of long plate extending in the longitudinal direction on second elongated part 114. Projecting part 120 is formed to project from the outer periphery of a shaft part (corresponding to terminal part 118) of second elongated part 114, so as to extend toward another projecting part 120, within base covering part 162.
Thereby, projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2 arranged close to each other come closer to each other than between the shaft parts (corresponding to terminal parts 118) of their second elongated parts 114. Thereby, contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 disposed at the predetermined spacing (between terminal parts 118) come closer to each other between both second elongated parts 114 than between terminal parts 118-1 and 118-2.
Projecting part 120 (120-1, 120-2) is formed here by pressing a predetermined portion of a cross-sectionally circular, rod-shaped pin forming contact pin 110, into flat-plate shape.
In addition, as illustrated in Fig.9, projecting part 120 of each contact pin 110 projects in the anterior-posterior direction of jack 10, that is, in the extending direction of first elongated part 112. Thereby, a plurality of second elongated parts 114 placed in the anterior-posterior direction of jack 10 come closer to each other between projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2 than a spacing between their terminal parts 118-1 and 118-2, within base covering part 162 formed by machining the sheet metal to be cuboid-shaped.
In other words, spacing D between projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2 of second elongated parts 114 is smaller than spacing d between terminal parts 118-1 and 118-2 of second elongated parts 114, which are placed along the anterior-posterior direction of jack 10 (that is, an insertion-extraction direction of plug 20).
Thereby, in jack 10 of the present embodiment, the plurality of contact pins 110 come close to each other between projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2, without reducing spacing d between terminal parts 118-1 and 118-2.
In jack 10 including contact pins 110 surrounded by shield case 160 formed by machining the sheet metal, contact pins 110 connect to plug 20 at contact parts 115 of first elongated parts 112 arranged within cylindrical covering part 164 of shield case 160. Moreover, contact pins 110 have a smaller distance between contact pins 110 because of projecting parts 120 (120-1, 120-2) formed on second elongated parts 114 arranged within cuboid-shaped base covering part 162 of shield case 160. Thereby, contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 arranged along an insertion direction come closer to each other than a distance between terminal parts 118-1 and 118-2.
Plug 20 illustrated in Figs.12 to 19 is a right-angle type plug 20 that is attached to a tip part of cable 30 so that the direction of the connection to jack 10 is orthogonal to a lead-out direction of cable 30. Cable 30 led out from plug 20 is assumed here to be a 4-core (signal line) coaxial cable in which diagonally positioned cores transmit a pair of signals. It should be noted that the number of cores of cable 30 may be any plural number, and a combination of the cores may be any combination instead of a diagonal combination.
In plug 20, cylindrical insertion part 24 projects from plug main body 22, which is attached to the tip part of cable 30, so as to be orthogonal to the lead-out direction of cable 30.
As illustrated in Figs.13 and 19, plug main body 22 includes plug contacts 26 to be in contact with contact pins 110 of jack 10, plug housing 222 to which plug contacts 26 are fixed, and shield case 224 covering plug housing 222.
Insertion part 24 is contoured to fit the shape of cylindrical connecting part 100a of jack 10, and fits into cylindrical connecting part 100a of jack 10 via fitting opening 21.
The outer periphery of insertion part 24 is configured with plug cover 28.
Plug cover 28 fits into the inside of cover 13 of jack 10 so as to engage with engaged part 16 of cover 13 by means of latch 29.
Plug contacts 26 are disposed in fitting convex part 222a, which is arranged within insertion part 24 of plug housing 222, so that plug contacts 26 correspond to the locations of contact pins 110 of jack 10 are arranged. The outer periphery of fitting convex part 222a is surrounded by cylindrical covering part 226 of shield case 224. In other words, plug contacts 26 are arranged in a matrix form within cylindrical covering part 226 of shield case 224, as seen from fitting opening 21 side. Moreover, plug contacts 26 are spaced at equal distances from the inner surface of cylindrical covering part 226. Cylindrical covering part 226 fits onto the outside of cylindrical covering part 164 of jack 10.
As illustrated in Fig.10, jack 10 of the present embodiment has the plurality of contact pins 110 to be connected to plug contacts 26 of plug 20, respectively. The plurality of contact pins 110 are spaced at the predetermined spacing from each other in housing 140. Shield case 160 covers housing 140. Jack 100 is mounted on circuit board 40. At least one contact pin among the plurality of contact pins 110, here, each of all contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 includes projecting part 120 projecting toward another one of contact pins 110-2 and 110-1 provided adjacent to each other.
Each of projecting parts 120 provides a smaller spacing between adjacent pins 110-2 and 110-1 (corresponding to spacing D between projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2) than the above predetermined spacing (corresponding to pitch P).
Specifically, second elongated parts 120-1 and 120-2 of contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 adjacent to each other in the anterior-posterior direction, that is, the extending direction of first elongated part 112, are spaced at the predetermined spacing in the extending direction of first elongated part 112. Projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2 respectively project from second elongated parts 114-1 and 114-2 toward each other.
Spacing D between projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2 of second elongated parts 114 is smaller than spacing P between first elongated parts 112 (i.e., D<P).
In jack 10, contact pins 110 arranged within cylindrical covering part 164 can be arranged within housing 140 so that distances between respective first elongated parts 112 of contact pins 110 and the inner surface of cylindrical covering part 164 can be equal. In addition, in jack 10, contact pins 110 can be arranged to come closer to each other via projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2, than distance d between terminal parts 118, within cuboid-shaped base covering part 162. This changes capacitance of contact pins 110.
According to this configuration, jack 10 can decrease a characteristic impedance caused during use even when a portion of shield case 160 covering contact pins 110 has cuboidal shape.
Figs.20A and 20B are diagrams illustrating comparison of characteristic impedances between jack 10 of the present embodiment, and a jack (also referred to as "comparison target jack") having all contact pins 110 formed of round pins without projecting parts 120 in the configuration of jack 10 in the present embodiment. Specifically, Fig.20A illustrates a result of obtaining a TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) waveform for jack 10 including projecting parts 120 on contact pins 110, by numerical analysis. Moreover, Fig.20B illustrates a result of obtaining a TDR waveform for the target jack by the numerical analysis. It should be noted that, in Figs.20A and 20B, the vertical axis indicates a calculated value of the characteristic impedance (Ω), and the horizontal axis indicates a time (ps) during which an incident wave is reflected within an object and returns. In addition, each of solid lines (thick lines) L1 and L11 indicates a waveform of a transmitted signal at a frequency of 2 GHz, each of solid lines (thin lines) L2 and L21 indicates a waveform of a transmitted signal at a frequency of 1.5 GHz, and each of dashed lines L3 and L31 indicates a waveform of a transmitted signal at a frequency of 1 GHz.
Moreover, in Fig.20A, the above described times of second elongated parts 114 (corresponding to terminal parts 118 and projecting parts 120) and first elongated parts 112 (corresponding to fixed parts 116 and contact parts 115) are 0 to 400 ps and 400 to 800 ps, respectively. Moreover, the above described times 0 to 400 ps and 400 to 800 ps in Fig.20B correspond to the second elongated parts (without projecting parts) and first elongated parts 112 of the comparison target jack, respectively. Moreover, in each jack, any reference value of the characteristic impedance is assumed to be set to X Ω. Fig.21 is a diagram illustrating a state of connection between comparison target jack 1 including the round pins illustrated in Fig.20B, as the contact pins, and plug 20 of the present embodiment. In other words, comparison target jack 1 illustrated in Fig.21 includes L-shaped round pins 2 and 3 formed by bending round rods made of the same material, instead of L-shaped contact pins 110 in jack 10. Other components of comparison target jack 1 are assumed to be the same as those of jack 10 and assigned the same reference characters, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. Comparison target jack 1 illustrated in Fig.21 fits in plug 20. Contact parts 2a and 3a configuring tip parts of round pins 2 and 3 in comparison target jack 1 fit into the inside of plug contacts 26, and thereby come into contact with plug 20.
In jack 10 (see Fig.20A), the characteristic impedance with respect to the above described time of 0 to 400 ps has remarkably decreased to a value close to X Ω, in comparison with comparison target jack 1 (see Fig.20B). In other words, in jack 10 according to the present embodiment, increase in the characteristic impedance in projecting parts 120 (portions of the second elongated parts surrounded by cuboid-shaped base covering part 162) is suppressed to be smaller than that in comparison target jack 1 having the contact pins formed of round pins 2 and 3 (see Fig.21).
This is because, in the configuration of jack 10, the capacitance in contact pins 110 decreases as contact pins 110 placed in the anterior-posterior direction come closer to each other due to projecting parts 120, that is, as distance D between contact pins 110 becomes smaller. Thereby, the characteristic impedance is reduced regardless of the level of the frequency.
Jack 10 of the present embodiment can thus decrease the characteristic impedance without changing the spacing between terminal parts 118 of respective contact pins 110, in the plurality of contact pins 110.
A configuration of a conventional 4-pole jack having a jack main body that is formed by die-casting and covers pins will be described here. According to the configuration, for example, it has been possible to address the case where pin locations and a spacing between the pins within the jack main body are defined. In other words, in the conventional 4-pole jack, since the jack main body is formed by die-casting, dimensions can be easily designed so that the jack main body itself can be designed to reduce the characteristic impedance to a preferred value depending on the contact pin locations. For example, the jack main body (connector main body) can be designed and easily formed to have the plurality of contact pins surrounded by a seamless, cylindrical inner peripheral surface so that the distances between the respective contact pins and the inner peripheral surface may be equal. However, production cost for the jack itself is increased due to the die-casting used for the jack main body.
In contrast, in the present embodiment, even jack 10 with a previously set spacing between terminal parts 118 can be formed by using a more inexpensive sheet metal than die-casting, for shield case 160, without molding housing 140 by die-casting. Thereby, a reduction in the production cost for jack 10 itself can be achieved, and mass production of jack 10 as an inexpensive product can be easily achieved.
Moreover, jack 10 uses four L-shaped contact pins 110 including projecting parts 120 extending from outer peripheral surfaces of shaft portions in the anterior-posterior direction of jack 10. In other words, in jack 10 of the present embodiment, second elongated parts 114-1 and 114-2 of adjacent contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 in the plurality of contact pins 110 are spaced at predetermined spacing D in the extending direction of first elongated part 112. Projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2 provided on second elongated parts 114-1 and 114-2 project toward respective opposing second elongated parts 114-2 and 114-1 in the extending direction of first elongated part 112. Thereby, contact pins 110 to be used in jack 10 may be only two types of contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 including projecting parts 120-1 and 120-2. Hence, a cost reduction can be achieved in comparison with the case of preparing three or more different contact pins in one jack 10.
Moreover, according to jack 10 of the present embodiment, in second elongated parts 114 placed in the anterior-posterior direction of jack 10 within cuboid-shaped base covering part 162 of shield case 160, projecting part 120 may be configured on one second elongated part so as to extend toward another second elongated part.
In other words, any configuration of projecting part 120 may be employed as long as projecting part 120 extends more than terminal part 118 in an outer peripheral direction so as to come close to another close contact pin.
Figs.22A to 22D, 23A and 23B are diagrams for describing examples of other arrangements of contact pins 110 including projecting parts 120, and are schematic plan views schematically illustrating arrangements of cable contact pins within cuboid-shaped base covering part 162 in shield case 160. Fig.22A illustrates the arrangement of contact pins 110 in the above described jack 10 of the present embodiment. Figs.22B to 22D, 23A and 23B illustrate jacks 10B to 10F having arrangement patterns of contact pins 110 different from that in the configuration of jack 10.
In jacks 10B to 10F illustrated in Figs.22B to 22D, 23A and 23B, contact pins 110 include projecting parts 120 extending from the outer surfaces of the shaft portions (terminal parts 118) of second elongated parts 114, in different directions, respectively.
As illustrated in the respective arrangement patterns of contact pins 110 in jacks 10B to 10F, the direction in which projecting part 120 projects may thus be configured as any direction as long as projecting part 120 is configured to come close to the other contact pin.
Moreover, the length of the projection, that is, the width of the projection, of projecting part 120 from the outer peripheral surface of the shaft part of second elongated part 114, that is, terminal part 118 (the length of second elongated part 114 in the axial direction) may be in any range. In Fig.24, contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 provide widths W of projections of respective projecting parts 120A and 120B (the lengths of second elongated parts 114 in the axial direction) smaller than the lengths of projecting parts 120 illustrated in Fig.9 (illustrated by imaginary lines in Fig.24). It should be noted that Fig.24 illustrates contact pins 110-1 and 110-2 in which only the heights of projecting parts 120 (lengths W of second elongated parts 114 in the axial direction) have been configured to be changed, in jack 10 (not shown) mounted on circuit board 40.
As illustrated in Fig.24, contact pins 110 may have a lateral projection at an elongated portion (second elongated parts 114-1 and 114-2) within cuboid-shaped base covering part 162 in shield case 160. As with projecting parts 120 of jack 10 illustrated in Fig.9, it is more effective that the projection extends as far as possible, that is, it is more effective that, within base covering part (cuboid-shaped covering part) 162, the projection extends from the upper end to the lower end of second elongated part 114, the lower end excluding the terminal part.

Industrial Applicability

The electrical connector according to the present invention includes a plurality of contact pins, and provides such advantageous effects including desired characteristic impedance and reduced production costs. Accordingly, the electrical connector according to the present invention is useful as a jack in which the distance between the contact pins, the characteristic impedance and the like have been previously set.

Reference Signs List

10 jack (electrical connector)
20 plug
21 fitting opening
30 cable
40 circuit board
41 attachment hole
100 jack main body
100a cylindrical connecting part
100b main body base part
102 insertion opening
110, 110-1, 110-2 contact pins
112 first elongated part
114 second elongated part
115 contact part
116 fixed part
118, 118-1, 118-2 terminal parts
120, 120-1, 120-2, 120A, 120B projecting parts
140 housing
142 housing base part
144 convex-shaped part
160 shield case
162 base covering part
164, 226 cylindrical covering parts
222 plug housing
224 shield case

Claims

An electrical connector (jack 10) moutable on a circuit board, the electrical connector comprising: a plurality of contact pins (110) to be connected to respective contacts of a mating connector; an insulating housing (140) including the plurality of contact pins (110-1, 110-2) spaced at a predetermined spacing from each other; and a shield case (160) covering the insulating housing (140),
characterized in that
at least one contact pin (110-1) of the plurality of contact pins (110) comprises a projecting part (120-1) projecting toward another adjacent contact pin (110-2) such that a spacing between the at least one contact pin (110-1) and the another contact pin (110-2) is smaller than the predetermined spacing, wherein:
each contact pin (110-1, 110-2) of the plurality of contact pins (110) includes:
a first elongated part (112) comprising a contact part (115) formed on one end of the first elongated part (112), the contact part (115) connecting to a mating contact; and

a second elongated part (114) comprising a terminal part (118) extending from the other end of the first elongated part (112) in a direction orthogonal to an extending direction of the first elongated part (112), the terminal part (11) to be connected to a circuit board;

the second elongated parts (114) of the contact pins (110-1, 110-2) adjacent to each other in the plurality of contact pins (110) are spaced at the predetermined spacing in the extending direction of the first elongated part (112);

the shield case (160) includes:
a cuboid-shaped covering part (base covering part 162) surrounding the second elongated part (114); characterized in that the shield case further includes a cylindrical covering part surrounding the first elongated part (112) and in that the projecting part (120-1,120-2) projects toward the respective opposing second elongated part (114) in the extending direction of the first elongated part (112) and

the projecting part (120-1) projects from a portion of the second elongated part (114) within the cuboid-shaped covering part (162), the projecting part (120-1) extending from an upper end to a lower end of the second elongated part (114), the lower end excluding the terminal end (18).
The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the shield case (160) is formed of a plate-shaped conductive member.
The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the plurality of contact pins (110) comprise four contact pins (110-1, 110-2) disposed at the predetermined spacing in a matrix form.
The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the projecting part (120-1) is flat-plate shaped.