JP2001110527A - Shielded connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shielded connector which is made smaller and lighter, increases reliability in its connection with a plug and stability in its insertion and pull-out enduring a long period of use, and is effective in removing noise source during connection with the plug. SOLUTION: It comprises an insulated housing 10 holding a contact 1 and a metal shell 20 and a metal shield 30, both lying upon the surface of the insulated housing. The metal shell has a frame portion 22 which surrounds a fit-in opening 21 which a terminal section 310 of a pair connector P fits in. The metal shield 30 is interposed between the metal shell 20 and the insulated housing 10. The insulated housing 10 is formed into a box with one and more openings and has an upper plate section 10a, a bottom plate section 10b, a front section 10c with an insertion hole 12 for a terminal section and a back section 10d with an opening 11a to draw out the contact. Both side surfaces are left open, covered with a shield member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shielded connector provided with a shielding metal shell for preventing electrical noise on an outer peripheral surface of an insulating housing for holding a contact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known to dispose a metal shield member on the outer peripheral surface of a substantially box-shaped insulating housing of an electric connector for the purpose of preventing electric noise. Examples of this type of shielded electrical connector are disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-34679, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-83866, and the like. The disclosed electrical connector is a board-mounted connector in which a pair of substantially U-shaped shield members formed of a metal plate are arranged so as to overlap four or three outer peripheral surfaces of a substantially box-shaped insulating housing. You.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show examples of such a conventional shielded electrical connector. FIG. 15 shows the receptacle connector R, and FIG.
However, since the receptacle connector R is smaller than the plug connector P, FIG.

[0004] The receptacle connector R shown in FIG.
In the case of, the shield member is a metal shell 320 having a substantially U-shaped plane disposed on the outermost side, and a shield metal plate 330 having a substantially U-shaped cross section disposed between the metal shell 320 and the inner insulating housing. It consists of. The metal shell 320 is disposed so as to cover the front surface and both side surfaces of the insulating housing, and the shield metal plate 330 is disposed so as to cover the upper surface and both side surfaces of the insulating housing. Thereby, the four surfaces of the front surface, the upper surface, and both side surfaces of the insulating housing are shielded. The shield metal plate 320 is provided with an engagement piece 303 that engages with the engagement recess 311 on the surface of the terminal portion 310 that also serves as the shield metal of the plug connector (mating connector) P.

[0005] The metal shell 320 includes a front shield part 3.
23 and side shield portions 324, 324 on both sides. The front shield part 323 is provided with a fitting cylinder part 307 that forms an opening 321 for inserting the terminal part 310 of the plug connector P. The fitting tube portion 307 is formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape as shown in the figure, and protrudes toward the front side. The metal shell 320 is formed by drawing a portion of the fitting cylindrical portion 307 after punching a metal plate. Reference numeral 308 denotes a convex portion for giving a fitting polarity, and reference numeral 312 denotes a concave portion to be fitted with the convex portion 308. 313 indicates a pin contact.

[0006]

In recent years, electrical connectors have tended to be miniaturized, and the above-mentioned board-mounted connectors are also required to be miniaturized. In addition, it is desired that the manufacturing cost is low and the dimensional stability is high. Also,
It is also important to improve the shielding performance and stabilize the shield performance while reducing the size.

However, in the above-described connector, since the fitting tubular portion 307 is formed by drawing, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost is high, the outer shape is large, and it is difficult to reduce the size. . Also, the fitting cylinder 3
07 is drawn, there is also a problem that the dimensional stability of the fitting cylindrical portion 307 is not good. Further, if a large force due to “torsion” or the like is applied when the plug connector P is fitted in the fitting cylindrical portion 307 thus drawn, the drawing may return, that is, a so-called opening may occur depending on the degree of the force. It cannot be said that there is no. This point needs to be sufficiently considered in a connector where insertion and removal are frequently repeated.

[0008] Investigation of this type of connector from the viewpoint of further reducing the size and weight while maintaining the required shielding performance reveals that there is still room for improvement in the insulating housing itself. I understood. That is,
A conventional insulating housing is formed in a substantially box shape having six surfaces. However, when focusing on the original function of the insulating housing, it is sufficient that a function of holding the plurality of contacts and the shield member covering the insulating housing in an electrically insulated state can be exhibited in addition to the function of holding the plurality of contacts. In this regard, the conventional insulating housing has an extra thickness and a structural portion despite being structured to be covered with a metal shield member having excellent strength, so that further reduction in size and weight can be achieved. There was a problem that it was difficult to plan.

On the other hand, in a connector in which insertion and removal are frequently repeated, the contact stability (contact strength) between shield members between the plug connector and the receptacle connector gradually decreases due to wear or deformation of the fitting portion. Sticking may occur. Therefore, depending on the frequency of insertion and removal and the state of the insertion and removal, there is a possibility that the grounding stability for guiding the noise component to the ground on the substrate side is impaired, or the stability of insertion and extraction is impaired.

[0010] In particular, regarding the grounding stability, the rattling causes the electrical connection between the plug side and the receptacle side to become unstable, so that the transmitted noise component can be stably led to the ground side on the substrate side. There was concern that it would be difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the size and weight of a shielded connector, particularly on the receptacle side, and to reduce the length of the shielded connector. It is an object of the present invention to provide a shielded connector that can withstand abuse and improve the connection reliability with the plug side and the stability of insertion and removal, and is extremely effective in removing noise components when connected to the plug side.

[0012]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means. A first means of the present invention includes an insulating housing holding a contact, and a shield member overlapping the surface of the insulating housing, and the shield member surrounds a fitting opening in which a terminal portion of a mating connector is fitted. A metal shell having a surrounding frame portion,
A shielded connector including a metal shield disposed between the metal shell and an insulating housing, wherein the insulating housing is formed in a substantially box shape having a plurality of openings, and a part of an upper surface thereof is formed. An upper plate portion to be formed, a bottom plate portion to form a part of the bottom surface, a front portion having an insertion port for a terminal portion of a mating connector, and a rear portion having a contact outlet, and both side portions. Are released, and the released both side surfaces are covered with the shield member.

According to this means, the insulating housing itself can be reduced in size and weight by releasing the side portions on both sides of the insulating housing to eliminate the side plate portions on both sides. The size and weight of the entire connector can be reduced. Further, since the opened both side surfaces of the insulating housing are covered with the shield member, the strength of the entire connector and the necessary shield performance are sufficiently secured.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the metal shield has an upper surface shield portion covering an upper surface of the insulating housing, and a side shield portion covering both open side portions of the insulating housing. The side shield portions are provided with spring pieces that are in contact with the left and right side surfaces opposite to each other when the terminal portion of the mating connector is fitted, and that retain the fitted state of the terminal portion. I do.

According to the second means, the spring piece is provided on the side shield part of the metal shield. However, since both side parts of the insulating housing are open, both spring pieces are connected to the terminal part of the mating connector. Can be in contact with each other, and the terminal portion is held in a stable state without rattling.
As a result, the electrical connection between the plug side, which is the mating connector, and the receptacle side becomes stable, and the transmitted noise component can be stably guided to the ground on the substrate side. Also, the spring piece comes into contact with the side of the terminal,
When the plug connector is inserted or removed, frictional resistance and positioning action occur between the side surface of the terminal portion and the spring piece. Since the resistance and the positioning action are stabilized by the spring piece, the stability of insertion and removal is also improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an engaging piece which engages with a concave portion on the surface of a terminal portion of a mating connector when the terminal portion of the mating connector is fitted to the upper shield portion of the metal shield in the first and second means. And the engaging piece is guided into the insulating housing through an opening formed in the upper plate portion of the insulating housing.

According to the third means, the engaging piece provided on the upper shield portion of the metal shield engages with the concave portion on the surface of the terminal portion to hold the terminal portion. Therefore, in addition to the positioning action of the spring piece, the positioning action by the engaging piece is also applied to the terminal section, so that the terminal section is held in a more stable state.
As a result, the stability of the electrical connection between the plug side and the receptacle side (grounding stability) and the stability of insertion and removal can be further improved. Since the opening for guiding the engagement piece into the insulating housing is formed in the upper plate portion of the insulating housing, this opening also contributes to the weight reduction of the insulating housing.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached FIGS. In the embodiments shown in these figures, the present invention is applied to a so-called dip type electrical connector which is inserted into a circuit board and mounted.

As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1, the front view of FIG. 2, and the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the shielded connector R includes an insulating housing 10 holding the contact 1 and a surface of the insulating housing 10. And an overlapping shielding metal shell 20. The metal shell 20 has a fitting opening 2 for fitting a terminal portion of a mating connector (see FIG. 16).
1 and a frame portion 22 surrounding the fitting opening 21 are provided.

The frame portion 22 is formed as a continuous and continuous metal plate portion that goes around the periphery of the fitting opening 21. At the center lower part of the fitting opening 21, a frame portion 22 is provided.
Is formed on the projection 22a. The protruding portion 22a is a protruding portion that gives the mating polarity with the mating connector. As the mating connector, an existing plug connector similar to that shown in FIG. 16 can be used, so that it is not specifically illustrated here.

The insulating housing 10 has a substantially box shape having a plurality of openings, and is entirely formed of a high-strength resin. The insulating housing 10 will be specifically described. As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 8, and 9, the insulating housing 10 has an upper plate portion 1 that forms a part of the upper surface thereof.
0a, a bottom plate portion 10b forming a part of the bottom surface, and a front portion 10 having an insertion port 21 for a terminal portion of a mating connector.
c and a back portion 10d having a contact outlet 11a. Therefore, as is apparent from FIGS. 8 and 9, the insulating housing 10 is a resin molded product having a substantially U-shaped cross section (see FIG. 4) in which both side portions are opened and no side plate portion is provided from the beginning. Is configured as

As shown in FIG. 3, an opening 10 for guiding an engaging piece 32 of a metal shield 30 described later into the insulating housing 10 is formed in the upper plate portion 10a of the insulating housing 10.
e is provided. In the upper plate portion 10a, a portion near the front surface portion 10c is formed in a thin portion 10f which is thinned by the thickness of the metal shell 20. This is because the metal shell 30 partially overlaps the metal shield 30, so by adjusting the thickness of the upper plate portion 10a,
Consideration is given so that the surface of the metal shell 20 and the surface of the metal shield 30 are flush.

Since the insulating housing 10 has no side plate portion, as shown in FIG.
d has a structure that supports the upper plate portion 10a and the bottom plate portion 10b in a cantilevered state. For this reason, the rear portion 10d is formed to be thick as shown in order to increase the strength of the entire insulating housing 10.

The inside of the insulating housing 10 has a contact holding portion 11 and an insertion port 12 into which a pin contact of a mating connector is inserted. The tip 2 of the contact 1 is held by a tip holder 13 of the insulating housing 10. Near the tip 2 of the contact 1, the insertion slot 1
2 is formed so as to protrude into the insertion opening 2 so that the contact strength with the pin contact inserted into the insertion opening 12 is increased.

The tine 4 of the contact 1 is pulled out from the outlet 11a of the rear surface portion 10d of the insulating housing 10, is bent downward and extends straight, and projects below the lower surface of the insulating housing 10. This tine 4
Is inserted into a through hole or the like of the substrate and soldered. The connector R in the illustrated example is a 4-pin connector, and therefore, four contacts 1 are also arranged. In order to prevent the tines 4 of each contact 1 from being concentrated, the tines 4 are staggered.

The metal shell 20, as shown in FIG.
It is formed by punching a conductive metal plate to form an expanded metal shell 20A and then bending the conductive metal plate.
A front shield part 23 indicated by a front shield part 23 indicated by a mark, and side shield parts 24 on both sides indicated by a mark 24.
5, a bottom shield portion 26 indicated by, an engagement piece 27 indicated by, and fixing pieces 28 indicated by,
These portions constitute an overlapping portion on the surface of the insulating housing 10. Each overlapping portion indicated by is bent from a position indicated by a broken line in the drawing. As a result, the metal shell 20 has a configuration in which at least a part of each of the six surfaces of the insulating housing 10 has an overlapping portion.

As described above, since the metal shell 20 has the overlapping portions at least partially overlapping each of the six surfaces of the insulating housing 10, the metal shell 20 can be attached to the insulating housing 10 only by bending the overlapping portions. Can be easily and firmly fixed.

The metal shell 20 having an expanded shape 2
The joints (see FIG. 1) formed by bending 0A from the broken line portion are located on both side surfaces of the insulating housing 10, and the engagement pieces 2 are engaged so that the joints are flush with each other.
By having 7, 27, the seam can be prevented from protruding outward, and the outer shape can be reduced accordingly.
Moreover, the engagement piece 27 for preventing the joint from being opened.
The notches 29, 29 that engage with the engagement piece 27 are designed to closely engage with the engagement pieces 27 within the range of both plate thicknesses.
In the drawing, reference numeral 24a indicates a protruding piece which is inserted into a slot formed in a circuit board (not shown) and soldered.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the metal shell 20 after bending processing, and shows a completed connector R in a state where the inner insulating housing 10 is covered.
Further, the metal shield 30 formed by processing (punching and bending) a metal plate is provided. The metal shield 30 includes the insulating housing 10 and the metal shell 2.
0 and is constrained by the metal shell 20.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the metal shield, FIG. 12 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 13 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 14 is a right side view thereof. The metal shield 30 is formed in a substantially U-shape when viewed from the front, and has an upper shield part 31 that covers a part of the upper surface of the insulating housing 10.
It has side shield portions 33, 33 covering the opened both side surfaces of the insulating housing 10, spring pieces 34, 34 formed on those side shield portions, and an engagement piece 32 engaging with the terminal portion of the mating connector. are doing.

Each of the spring pieces 34, 34 has a function of maintaining the fitted state of the terminal portion by contacting the terminal portion surface (opposite both side surfaces) when the terminal portion of the mating connector is fitted to the receptacle connector R. The terminal is held in a stable state without play. That is, each spring piece 3
4 and 34 are plate-shaped having base ends 34a, 34a continuous with the side shield portions 33, 33 and free ends 34b, 34b extending from the base end.
4b and 34b extend to the rear side of the insulating housing along the side shield portion.

In order to form the respective plate-like spring pieces 34, 34 on the both-side shield portions 33, 33, cutouts 35, 35 of substantially U-shape are formed in the both-side shield portions 33, 33 as viewed from the side. ing. Each of the spring pieces 34, 34 is bent in the vicinity of the base ends 34a, 34a so as to protrude inward in a range of approximately the thickness. As a result, each spring piece 34, 34 is fitted into the fitting opening 2 into which the terminal portion is inserted.
1 are arranged on the left and right inner wall surfaces, respectively, and each spring piece 3
Consideration is given so that the terminals 4 and 34 are in contact with the left and right side surfaces of the terminal portion, respectively.

The engaging piece 32 is bent rearward through the bent portion 32a, and its free end 32b is located in the insulating housing 10. An engagement projection 32c is provided near the free end 32b to engage with the recess on the surface of the terminal.

In the present embodiment, the side portions on both sides of the insulating housing 10 are released to eliminate the side plate portions on both sides, so that the insulating housing 10 itself can be reduced in size and weight by that much. This makes it possible to reduce the size and weight of the entire connector. Also, the open both side portions of the insulating housing 10 are the metal shells 2.
0 and side shield portions 24 and 3 of metal shield 30
3, the strength of the entire connector and the necessary shielding performance are sufficiently ensured.

The spring pieces 34, 34 are provided on the side shield portions 33, 33 of the metal shield 30,
Since both side surfaces of the insulating housing 10 are open, the two spring pieces 34, 34 can respectively contact the side surfaces of the terminal portion (310) of the plug connector (P), and the terminal portion is stable without rattling. Hold in state. This allows
The electrical connection between the plug connector (P), which is the mating connector, and the receptacle connector R is stabilized, and the transmitted noise component can be stably guided to the ground on the substrate side. Further, since the spring pieces 34, 34 come into contact with the surface of the terminal portion, a frictional resistance and a positioning action are generated between the surface of the terminal portion and the spring pieces 34, 34 when the plug connector is inserted and removed. Since the resistance and the positioning action are stabilized by the presence of the spring piece, the stability of insertion and removal is also improved.

Further, by setting the spring pieces 34, 34 arranged on the left and right so as to contact the left and right side faces of the terminal portion, the terminal portion can be held so as to be sandwiched from both sides. Thereby, the stability of the electrical connection between the plug side and the receptacle side (grounding stability) and the stability of insertion and removal are further improved.

Each spring piece 34 has a plate-like shape, and its free end 34 b extends along the side shield portion 33 to the rear side of the insulating housing 10. For this reason, each spring piece 34,
As shown in the drawing, it is possible to make a part of the terminal part 34 contactable with the terminal part surface by a simple processing in which the part is bent in a direction approaching each other. In this case, since each of the spring pieces 34, 34 has a plate shape, the spring pieces 34 can be brought into uniform surface contact with the surface of the terminal portion. Also, the free end 34b of each spring piece 34, 34
Extends in the terminal insertion / extraction direction, so that the presence of the free ends 34b, 34b does not hinder the insertion / extraction of the terminal.

According to the above-described embodiment, the developed metal shell including the fitting opening 21 and the frame portion 22 into which the terminal portions of the mating connector are fitted is formed by punching a metal plate. The dimensional stability of the fitting opening 21 is achieved, and the fitting opening 21 can be made with high precision. Also, since punching can be used instead of drawing,
It is easy to manufacture, and it is possible to reduce cost and size. Furthermore, since the frame portion 22 surrounding the fitting opening 21 is formed of a continuous metal plate portion without a stop or a seam,
The shape is also excellent in strength.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size and weight of the shielded connector, especially on the receptacle side, and to withstand long-term abuse to connect with the plug side. It is possible to provide a shielded connector that is extremely effective in removing a noise component at the time of connection with the plug side while improving reliability and stability of insertion and removal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shielded connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the shield type connector.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the shield type connector.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the shield type connector.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the shield type connector.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a development view of the metal shell according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the metal shield according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the metal shield according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the metal shield according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a right side view of the metal shield according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a conventional shielded connector (receptacle connector).

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a conventional shielded connector (plug connector).

[Explanation of symbols]

 P Plug connector R Receptacle connector 1 Contact 2 Tip 3 Engagement projection 10 Insulating housing 10a Upper plate 10b Bottom plate 10c Front 10d Back 10e Opening 10f Thin wall 11 Insert opening 11a Drawer opening 20 Metal shell 21 Fitting opening 22 Frame part 23 Front shield part 24 Side shield part 25 Top shield part 26 Bottom shield part 27 Engagement piece 28 Fixed piece 29 Notch 30 Metal shield 31 Top shield part 32 Engagement piece 33 Side shield part 34 Spring piece 34a Base end Part 34b free end

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5E021 FA05 FA09 FA16 FB02 FC31 FC40 LA04 LA06 LA09 LA15

Claims (3)

[Claims] An insulating housing holding a contact, and a shield member overlapping a surface of the insulating housing, the shield member includes a frame portion surrounding a fitting opening in which a terminal portion of a mating connector is fitted. A shielded connector including a metal shell having a metal shield disposed between the metal shell and the insulating housing, wherein the insulating housing is formed in a substantially box shape having a plurality of openings, An upper plate part forming a part of the upper surface,
It has a bottom plate part forming a part of the bottom surface, a front part having an insertion port for a terminal part of a mating connector, and a back part having a contact outlet, and both side parts are released and released. A shielded connector in which the side portions formed by the shielding are covered by the shield member. The metal shield has a top shield portion covering the top surface of the insulating housing and a side shield portion covering both open side portions of the insulating housing, and the side shield portions have terminals of a mating connector. 2. The shielded connector according to claim 1, wherein spring pieces are provided to contact the left and right side faces of the terminal portion when the portion is fitted, and to maintain the fitted state of the terminal portion. 3. An upper surface shield portion of the metal shield has an engagement piece which engages with a concave portion on the surface of the terminal portion when the terminal portion of the mating connector is fitted, and the engagement piece is formed of an insulating housing. The shielded connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connector is guided into the insulating housing through an opening formed in the upper plate portion.