TWI841814B - Shielded electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject is to provide a shielded electrical connector capable of forming a key groove portion without reducing the strength of the shielding shell.

The shielded electrical connector (10) has an insertion and removal direction X with a counterpart connector (60) as an axial direction and has a shield shell (50). The shield shell (50) has a cylindrical body (51) made of a metal plate surrounding the above-mentioned axis and terminals (20, 30). The above-mentioned cylindrical body (51) has an outer plate (52). The outer plate (52) is located at an opening (51A) facing the counterpart connector. ) is folded in half over a portion of the circumferential direction of the opening edge (51A-1) of the connector and arranged to overlap with a portion of the outer surface of the cylindrical body (51), and a key groove (51D) in a notched shape extending in the axial direction and opening at the opening edge (51A-1) to receive the key portion (66) of the counterpart connector (60) is formed at least at the cylindrical body (51).

Description

Shielded electrical connector

The present invention relates to a shielded electrical connector.

As a shielded electrical connector, the following general electrical connector (hereinafter referred to as "connector") is well known, which has a shield shell, and the shield shell has a cylindrical body made of metal plate, and the cylindrical body made of metal plate surrounds the terminals arranged in a manner with the insertion and removal direction between the other connector as the axial direction around the above-mentioned axis.

Such a connector is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In Patent Document 1, a connector (a micro plug 1' in Patent Document 1) is a shield shell (shield 10') having a cylindrical body portion that is approximately angular, and surrounds terminals (contact pins 13a to 13e) that are arranged and held by a shell (in Patent Document 1, component symbols are not indicated in the figure). This shield shell (shield 10') is inserted into the corresponding cylindrical body portion of the shield shell (shield 20') of the other connector (micro socket 2') having a corresponding cylindrical body portion of approximately the same shape.

In the shield shell of the connector, a notch is formed extending in the axial direction as a key groove (recess 17) at one location in the circumferential direction (in the example shown, the center position in the connector width direction which is the terminal arrangement direction), and a protrusion (protrusion 28) provided as a key at a position corresponding to the key groove in the circumferential direction of the corresponding cylindrical body of the shield shell of the other connector is locked with the key groove. In this way, even if the other connector is a shield shell having a corresponding cylindrical body of the same shape, it is possible to prevent the mating of a other connector that is not a proper other device and has a protrusion provided as a key at a different position.

The shield shell of the connector is formed by bending a metal plate in the circumferential direction to form a cylindrical body with a slightly angled cylindrical shape, and the key groove portion is maintained in a state where a part of the metal plate is cut away. [Prior technical literature] [Patent literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-510237

[The problem that the invention is trying to solve]

In the connector of Patent Document 1, the shield shell is formed by only one metal plate around the entire circumference of the cylindrical body, and the key groove is formed as a cutout at one location in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the key groove portion is maintained in a state of being partially cutout at the shield shell.

In this state, the shield shell may have reduced strength at the key groove. Generally speaking, the shield shell is formed by bending a thin metal plate into a cylindrical shape, thereby making the cylindrical body small and lightweight while ensuring strength. Since this cylindrical body is the part that makes the corresponding part of the other connector engage and withdraw, it will be subjected to a large force when engaging and withdrawing. In particular, when the other connector is inserted with an oblique insertion or engaged and withdrawn in a tilted state, a huge force will be generated, causing stress concentration in the key groove, especially at the groove corner, which will cause damage and deformation of the shield shell and the engaging part with the terminal, etc.

The present invention is made in view of such a problem, and aims to provide a shielded electrical connector capable of forming a key groove without reducing the strength of the shielding shell. [Means for solving the problem]

The shielded electrical connector of the present invention is provided with a shielding shell, the shielding shell has an axial direction in the plugging and unplugging direction with the other connector, and has a cylindrical body made of a metal plate surrounding the terminal around the above-mentioned axis.

In this shielded electrical connector, in the present invention, the above-mentioned cylindrical body has an outer plate portion, and the outer plate portion is folded in half over a portion of the circumferential direction of the opening edge portion that receives the opening portion on the side facing the other connector and is arranged to overlap with a portion of the outer surface of the above-mentioned cylindrical body portion, and a key groove portion in the form of a notch that extends in the above-mentioned axial direction within the folded area and opens at the above-mentioned opening edge portion to receive the key portion of the above-mentioned other connector is formed at least in the above-mentioned cylindrical body portion.

In this type of invention, the shielding shell is formed with a key groove portion at least in a portion of the cylindrical body, and the shielding shell is folded in half at a portion of the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body to overlap the outer plate portion. By folding in half, a two-piece overlapping structure of the cylindrical body and the outer plate portion is formed, thereby improving the strength of the key groove portion and its periphery.

In the present invention, the shield case can be configured as follows: that is, the folded base of the outer plate at the edge of the opening has a curved surface that serves as a guide for introducing the other connector toward the receiving opening. By configuring the folded base of the outer plate as a curved surface, the curved surface serves as a guide, and the other connector can be introduced well.

In the present invention, the following structure can be adopted: that is, the shield case is formed with a locking groove portion that communicates with the key groove portion formed at the cylindrical body portion and is locked with the locking receiving portion of the other connector. By adopting such a structure, the locking groove portion is formed at the cylindrical body portion in communication with the key groove portion, and the key groove portion and the locking groove portion are not separated from each other and are tightly accommodated in a small area, thereby suppressing the reduction in the strength of the shield case.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the shield shell is formed with a hole portion communicating with the locking groove portion of the cylindrical body portion at the outer plate portion, and the hole portion is communicated with the locking groove portion of the cylindrical body portion. In this form, by overlapping the cylindrical body portion and the outer plate portion, the locking groove portion of the cylindrical body portion and the hole portion of the outer plate portion are communicated, and the locking groove portion is substantially expanded in the plate thickness direction, so that the locking force at the locking groove portion is increased.

In the present invention, the following structure can be adopted: that is, the folding base is formed with a folding groove communicating with the key groove at the folding position of the outer plate, and the folding groove includes the width of the key groove in the direction in which the folding base extends, and the width is wider than the key groove. With such a structure, the key of the other connector first enters the opening of the folding groove formed at the folding base, and then is introduced into the key groove, so the introduction becomes easy.

In the present invention, the following structure can be adopted: that is, the key groove is formed at both the cylindrical body and the outer plate, and the groove formed at the cylindrical body and the groove formed at the outer plate are connected to each other. [Effect of the invention]

The present invention is generally constructed as described above so that the shielding shell has an outer plate portion, which is folded in half within a part of the circumferential direction of the opening edge of the cylindrical body portion for introducing the other connector and is arranged to overlap with the outer surface of the above-mentioned cylindrical body portion. A key groove portion in the shape of a notch extending in the above-mentioned axial direction and opening at the above-mentioned opening edge to accommodate the key portion of the above-mentioned other connector is formed at least in the above-mentioned cylindrical body portion. Therefore, the strength of the key groove portion of the shielding shell and its periphery is improved.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a shielded electrical connector (hereinafter referred to as "connector") 10 of this embodiment. In FIG. 1 and subsequent drawings, in order to facilitate understanding of the directionality of the connector 10, the connector insertion and removal direction between the connector 10 and the other connector 60 is set as X, the connector width direction of the connector 10, which is the terminal arrangement direction, is set as Y, and the connector height direction at right angles to the XY plane is set as Z, thereby setting a three-dimensional space coordinate axis. In addition, FIG. 1 (A) is an upper three-dimensional view, FIG. 1 (B) is a lower three-dimensional view, and FIG. 1 (C) is a partial plan view.

The connector 10, as seen in FIG. 1(B) and FIG. 3, is a housing 40 made of an electrically insulating material in which "two types of terminals (i.e., a plurality of first terminals 20 and a plurality of second terminals 30) are arranged and maintained in a connector width direction Y" and a shielding shell 50 is installed, and a counterpart connector 60 shown in FIG. 2 is incorporated in the connector insertion and removal direction X.

As can be seen in FIG. 3 where each of the first terminal 20 and the second terminal 30 is pulled out of the housing 40 and marked, the lengths of the first terminal 20 and the second terminal 30 are different in the connector insertion and extraction direction X. The first terminal 20 has an L-shaped held portion 21 held by the housing 40, a contact portion 22 extending from the held portion 21 toward the front (left in FIG. 3) of the other connector 60 in the connector insertion and extraction direction X, and a connection portion 23 extending downward from the held portion 21 in the connector height direction Z. On the other hand, the second terminal 30 has an L-shaped held portion 31 held by the housing 40, a contact portion 32 extending from the held portion 31 toward the front of the other connector 60 in the connector insertion and removal direction X, and a connecting portion 33 formed at the lower end portion extending downward from the held portion 31 in the connector height direction Z and further bent twice in a crank shape. Since the second terminal 30 is longer than the first terminal 20 in the connector insertion and removal direction X, the connecting portion 33 of the second terminal 30 is located further rearward than the connecting portion 23 of the first terminal 20.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the housing 40 for holding the first terminal 20 and the second terminal 30 includes a housing body 41 for holding the held portion 21 of the first terminal 20 and the held portion 31 of the second terminal 30 by being integrally formed with the housing 40 or by being inserted into the housing 40, and a plate-shaped fitting portion 42 protruding from the front end of the housing body 41 in the connector insertion and removal direction X. On the upper surface of the housing body 41, shielding housing locking grooves 41A are formed at the edges at both ends in the connector width direction Y.

Furthermore, the housing body 41 is provided with a foot 41B (see FIG. 1(B)) on the bottom thereof for positioning with respect to a circuit board (not shown). The first terminal 20 and the second terminal 30 are configured such that the portions to be held 21 and 31 are partially accommodated in the housing body 41, and the contact portions 22 and 32 are respectively located below and above the plate-shaped engaging portion 42. Therefore, the contact portion 32 of the second terminal 30 is shown in FIG. 3, and the contact portion 22 of the first terminal 20 is shown in FIG. 4. In addition, the plurality of first terminals 20 are staggered in the connector insertion and removal direction X and formed into two rows (the connection portion 23 is formed into two rows, as shown in FIG. 1(B) and FIG. 4).

The shielding shell 50 is made by bending a metal plate, and as shown in FIG. 1 (A) and (B), it has a cylindrical body 51 mounted on the housing 40, and an outer plate 52 folded in half at the opening edge 51A-1 position at the front end of the cylindrical body 51 in the connector insertion and removal direction X and arranged in a manner overlapping the cylindrical body 51.

The cylindrical body 51 is mounted on the housing body 41 of the housing 40 as viewed in FIGS. 1(A) and (B) and reaches a position covering the periphery of the fitting portion 42 of the housing 40 in the connector insertion and extraction direction X. The cylindrical body 51, as seen in Figures 1(A), (B), and 3, covers the entire length of the connector in the plug-in direction X, and is a straight rectangular cylindrical body whose size does not change depending on the position in the connector plug-in direction X, regardless of the width in the connector width direction Y or the height in the connector height direction Z. The rear half of the cylindrical body 51 is installed in surface contact with the peripheral surface of the housing body 41, and the front half forms an annular space opened toward the front around the fitting portion 42. The annular space between the front half of the cylindrical body 51 and the fitting portion 42 forms an receiving opening 51A for receiving the other fitting portion of the other connector 60.

At the rear half of the upper plate 51-1 of the cylindrical body 51, a U-shaped window P1 is formed at both ends of the connector width direction Y, and a locking piece 51C is provided in the window P1. The locking piece 51C is in the shape of a single-sided supporting beam extending in the connector width direction Y, and is inclined downward toward the front end, and is locked with the shield shell locking groove 41A formed in the shell body 41 in the connector insertion and removal direction X.

Furthermore, the cylindrical body 51 has a key groove 51D extending in the connector insertion and removal direction X at two positions in the connector width direction Y in the front half thereof, a locking groove 51E connected to the key groove 51D, and a folding groove 51F connected to the key groove 51D at the opening edge 51A-1 of the cylindrical body 51 to facilitate folding of the semi-processed metal plate that is the material of the shield case 50 at the opening edge 51A-1. This folding groove 51F includes the range of the key groove 51D in the connector width direction Y, and its width is wider than the key groove 51D.

In addition, the cylindrical body 51 has a rear fixing foot 51G extending downward at the side plate 51-2 thereof, and has a dovetail groove-shaped coupling groove 51H1 for coupling the joint in the bending process of forming the cylindrical shape and a coupling protrusion 51H2 for coupling thereto at the bottom plate 51-3, as generally seen in FIG. 1 .

Furthermore, the cylindrical body 51 has a rear plate 51-4 at the rear end for closing the rear end of the cylindrical body 51.

The shield shell 50 has an outer plate 52 which is folded in half with the upper edge of the periphery of the opening edge 51A-1 as a folding base 51L and arranged to overlap with the upper surface of the cylindrical body 51 at the position of the opening edge 51A-1 at the front end of the cylindrical body 51 in the connector insertion and removal direction X.

The outer plate portion 52 is located on the upper plate portion 51-1 of the front half of the cylindrical body portion 51. At the rear edge of the outer plate portion 52, a concave edge portion 52A is formed at the middle position in the width direction Y of the connector and is sunken toward the front. Furthermore, at the position close to the two ends in the width direction Y of the connector, the locking hole portion 52B is arranged in a manner that overlaps with the locking groove portion 51E at the upper plate portion 51-1 of the cylindrical body portion 51 in the up-down direction (refer to Figure 1 (C)).

1 (A), (B) as seen in general, the outer plate portion 52 is provided with a front fixed leg 52C extending downward from the side wall thereof.

The shield case 50 having the cylindrical body 51 and the outer plate 52 in this manner has functional parts at various locations. These parts will be described below together with the manufacturing process of the shield case 50 .

The shield case 50 is formed by forming a metal plate having a flat shape as shown in FIG. 5 into a semi-processed product M, and then bending the semi-processed product M to form the shield case 50 as a finished product.

The semi-processed product M is bent or folded at multiple locations. In FIG. 5 , for these locations, the situation where "the two board surfaces are angled after processing, for example, processed in a manner that they are approximately right angles" is defined as "bend", and the location is marked with curve lines F1 to F3, F6 (all convex folds) and curve line f4 (concave fold). The situation where "the two board surfaces are processed in a manner that they overlap each other after processing" is defined as "folded", and is marked with fold line f5 (concave fold). The regions M1 to 6 divided by the curves F1 to F3 and F6 and the curve f4 and even the fold line f5 become parts of the shielding case 50 after being manufactured into a finished product.

Area M1 is an area that becomes the upper plate portion 51-1 of the cylindrical body 51, area M2 is an area that becomes the side plate portion 51-2 of the cylindrical body 51, area M3 is an area that becomes the bottom plate portion 51-3 of the cylindrical body 51, area M4 is an area that becomes the rear plate portion 51-4 of the cylindrical body 51, area M5 is an area that becomes the outer plate portion 52 described above, and area M6 is an area that becomes the front fixed leg 52C extending from the outer plate portion 52.

The semi-processed product M shown in FIG5 is convexly folded by a curve F1 between the regions M1 and M2, convexly folded by a curve F2 between the regions M2 and M3, convexly folded by a curve F3 between the regions M1 and M4, and concavely folded by a curve f4 between the regions M5 and M6, and these are bent at a substantially right angle. Furthermore, a concave fold is formed by a fold line f5 between the regions M1 and M5, and the regions M1 and M5 are folded in a manner overlapping each other.

In the boundary region between the region M1 and the region M2, a U-shaped window P1 is formed by providing a locking piece 51C so that the frame can be easily bent at the position of the bending line F1 and bent after being locked with the shield case locking groove 41A of the housing body 41. In addition, in the boundary region between the region M1 and the region M4, a window P2 is formed at the position of the bending line F3. Furthermore, in the boundary region between the region M1 and the region M5, a window portion P3 is formed at a position where the bending line f5 passes. After the bending process, this window portion P3 becomes a shape connected to the key groove portion 51D, the locking groove portion 51E, and the folding groove portion 51F described above.

In the region M2, notches S1 and S2 are formed at the edge thereof. In FIG. 5, the portion below the notch S1 forms the main side plate 51-2A. Between the notches S1 and S2, the secondary side plate 51-2B is provided. After being bent at the bending line F2, the main side plate 51-2A and the secondary side plate 51-2B form the side plate 51-2. The portion behind the notch S2 is not bent or folded, but is extended and formed into a foot shape, forming the above-mentioned rear fixed foot 51G. In addition, in the region M2, a side guide 51J is formed at the lower edge thereof.

The auxiliary side plate 51-2B is bent at the bending line F2 at its front end and rolled toward the bottom surface of the housing 40. The main side plate 51-2A is connected to the area M3 located on the side thereof. The above-mentioned coupling groove 51H1 is formed at the front end of one area M3, and the above-mentioned coupling protrusion 51H2 is formed at the front end of the other area M3.

The region M4 is bent at the bending line F3 to form the rear plate portion 51-4, and both ends of the connector in the width direction Y are further bent at the bending line F6 to form a rear plate portion bent portion 51-4A as if along the side plate portion 51-2.

As described above, the region M5 is formed with a recessed edge portion 52A in the middle of the connector width direction Y, and a window portion P4 serving as a locking hole portion 52B is formed at a position close to both ends of the connector width direction Y.

The region M6 has a front fixing leg 52C that is tapered toward the bottom and extends toward the front in FIG. 5 .

After the semi-processed product M formed by the metal plate of the shape of Figure 5 is bent with convex folds at the bending lines F1, F2, and F6 as generally observed in Figure 5, the connecting protrusion 51H2 of the area M3 is combined with the connecting groove 51H1 to form a cylindrical body 51, and the cylindrical body 51 is folded at the bending line f4 to set it into an angular tube shape with an opening toward the rear, and then the shell is inserted and installed in this cylindrical body 51 from the rear. Thereafter, a convex bend is made at the bend line F3, and the locking piece 51C is bent, thereby forming a shape as observed in FIG. 3 , and then a concave fold is made at the fold line f5 to form the outer plate portion 52, thereby making the shielding shell 50 as observed in FIGS. 1(A) to (C) embedded in the shell 40 and the locking piece 51C is locked in the shielding shell locking groove 41A of the shell body 41, thereby obtaining the connector 10.

The shield shell 50 in the connector 10 is formed into a finished product by bending and folding the semi-processed product M of the metal plate. As shown in FIG. 1 (A) and (B), the key groove portion 51D located at the upper plate portion 51-1 of the cylindrical body portion 51 extends in the front-rear direction, and is opened forward through the folding groove portion 51F at two positions at the front edge of the receiving opening portion 51A of the shield shell 50. The key groove portion 51D is closed in a cover shape at the top by the outer plate portion 52, and the periphery of the key groove portion 51D is reinforced by the outer plate portion 52. The key groove portion 51D is connected to the locking groove portion 51E at its side (connector width direction Y), and this locking groove portion 51E is connected to the locking hole portion 52B formed in the outer plate portion 52 and has the same shape as the locking groove portion 51E substantially expanding upward, thereby improving the locking ability in the locking between the locking locking protrusion 65B (refer to Figure 2) described later on the other connector 60.

At the receiving opening 51A, the side guide 51J protruding at the front end of the side plate 51-2 is bent and tilted outward in the connector width direction Y. In addition, the front edge of the area M3 in Figure 5, that is, the front edge of the lower side in Figures 1 (A) and (B), is tilted and bent outward (downward in the figure) in the connector height direction Z to form a lower guide 51K. Furthermore, the folded base 51L of the outer plate 52 (near the folding line f5 in Figure 5) is folded with rounded corners. The side guide portion 51J, the lower guide portion 51K, and the folded base portion 51L are used to provide smooth guidance when mating with the other connector 60.

Next, the counterpart connector 60 to be mated with the connector 10 will be briefly described based on FIG. 2 .

In Fig. 2, the other connector 60 has a mating portion protruding from a connector body 61 of the other connector 60 toward the connector 10 of Fig. 1. The connector body 61 is in a housing 62 in which an upper housing 62A and a lower housing 62B are joined, and a cable C is connected to a terminal (not shown) in the mating portion.

The mating portion includes a terminal retaining shell 63 that protrudes toward the connector 10 in the connector insertion and removal direction X, a shield shell 64 made of a metal plate mounted on the peripheral surface of the terminal retaining shell 63, and a locking arm 65 that is retained by the terminal retaining shell 63 and partially protrudes from the shield shell 64.

The terminal holding shell 63 is partially formed with a slit-shaped receiving groove 63A for receiving the fitting portion 42 of the connector 10 from the front end. In the receiving groove 63A, contact portions of corresponding terminals that contact the contact portion 32 of the second terminal 30 at the fitting portion 42 and the contact portion 22 of the first terminal 20 are respectively arranged on the upper inner wall surface and the lower inner wall surface of the groove (the corresponding terminals cannot be observed in FIG. 2).

The shield shell 64 surrounds the peripheral surface of the terminal holding shell 63. On the upper surface of the shield shell 64, at positions close to both ends in the connector width direction Y, a slit-like groove 64A extending in the connector insertion and removal direction X is formed, and a locking arm 65 is arranged in the groove 64A.

The locking arm 65 is provided with a hook-shaped locking protrusion 65B as a locking part at the front end of the wrist 65A, and only the locking protrusion 65B protrudes from the upper position of the shield case 64. When the locking protrusion 65B is subjected to an external force directed downward, the wrist 65A is elastically deformed in such a way that the locking protrusion 65B sinks into the inner side of the groove 64A.

The shield shell 64 is embossed at two positions separated from each other in the connector width direction Y at the front edge of the upper surface thereof so as to be approximately hemispherical in the plate thickness direction and protrude from the upper surface of the shield shell 64, thereby forming a protruding key portion 66. The front end (plate thickness) surface of the key portion 66 collides with the end surface of the fitting portion 42 of the connector 10 to prevent incorrect insertion. At this time, the key portion 66 and the fitting portion 42 have high strength against mutual collision because the end surfaces collide with each other. The key portion 66 is formed at a position that coincides with the key grooves 51D formed at two positions of the cylindrical body 51 of the shield shell 50 in the connector 10 described above in the connector width direction Y. Similarly, the locking arm 65 is located at a position that coincides with the "locking groove 51E formed in communication with the key groove 51D of the cylindrical body 51" in the connector width direction Y, and the position in the connector insertion and removal direction X is determined in such a way that "when the other connector 60 is fully engaged with the connector 10 to the correct position, the locking stop protrusion 65B of the locking arm 65 is locked in the locking groove 51E".

The connector 10 of the present embodiment constructed in this manner and the counterpart connector 60 are used in the following manner.

First, the foot 41B provided at the shell body 41 of the connector 10 shown in Fig. 1 (A) and (B) is inserted into the positioning hole of a specific circuit substrate (not shown), and then the first terminal 20, the second terminal 30, and the shielding shell 50 are connected to the above-mentioned circuit substrate. The connecting portion 23 of the first terminal 20 is inserted into the through hole of the circuit substrate and soldered, and the connecting portion 33 of the second terminal 30 is arranged at the corresponding pad of the above-mentioned circuit substrate and soldered. In addition, the front fixing foot 52C and the rear fixing foot 51G of the shielding shell 50 are respectively inserted into the corresponding grounding connection hole of the above-mentioned circuit substrate and fixed by soldering. The front fixing foot 52C and the rear fixing foot 51G are used to fix the circuit substrate and to provide conduction to a specific ground circuit of the circuit substrate.

Next, the other connector 60 is connected to the connector 10. The cable C is already connected to the terminal of the other connector 60 at the other connector 60. When the other connector 60 is connected to the connector 10, if the portion of the terminal holding shell 63 whose peripheral surface is covered by the shield shell 64 is inserted into the receiving opening 51A at the cylindrical body 51 of the shield shell 50 of the connector 10, the protruding fitting portion 42 of the front portion of the shell 40 of the connector 10 is inserted into the receiving groove 63A formed at the terminal holding shell 63. In this way, the contact portion 22 of the first terminal 20 and the contact portion 32 of the second terminal 30 arranged on the surface of the interlocking portion 42 are connected to the corresponding terminals of the other connector 60, and the shielding shell 64 of the other connector 60 is surrounded by the cylindrical body 51 of the shielding shell 50 of the connector 10 on the entire circumference to be shielded.

When the terminal retaining shell 63 covered by the shielding shell 64 of the other connector 60 is inserted into the receiving opening 51A of the cylindrical body 51 of the shielding shell 50 of the connector 10, when the insertion begins, it is guided toward the correct position in the connector width direction Y and the connector height direction Z by two side guides 51J, a lower guide 51K, and a folded base 51L with rounded corners formed at the edges of the opening of the receiving opening 51A of the cylindrical body 51 of the connector 10.

Then, the two key portions 66 formed at the shield shell 64 of the other connector 60 are guided to the two key groove portions 51D at the tubular body portion 51 of the connector 10. Since the key groove portion 51D is connected to the folding groove portion 51F having a wider width than the key groove portion 51D, the key portion 66 is first easily positioned in the folding groove portion 51F and then guided toward the key groove portion 51D. Assuming that the shielding shell 64 covering the terminal retaining shell 63 of the counterpart connector 60 is provided with a key portion at a position different from the correct position in the connector width direction Y, the key portion at the different position of the counterpart connector 60 cannot enter the key groove portion 51D of the connector 10, so that the insertion of the counterpart connector cannot be performed incorrectly.

The folding groove 51F formed at the shield shell 50 of the connector 10 forms an abutment surface 51F1 (see FIG. 1 (A), (B)) by the plate thickness surface facing the side of the other connector 60 in the connector insertion and extraction direction X of the cylindrical body 51 and the outer plate 52. On the other hand, the key portion 66 formed by embossing at the shield shell 64 of the other connector 60 forms an abutment surface 66A (see FIG. 6) facing the side of the connector 10 by its plate thickness surface. Therefore, when the other connector 60 is not formed with a key portion at the correct position and is another other connector that is not the correct other connector, the abutted surface of the key portion of the other connector abuts against the abutting surface 51F1 of the connector 10, thereby preventing the other connector from being inserted incorrectly. At this time, since the key portion is formed by embossing, the dimension of the connector in the height direction can be formed larger, and since the abutted surface of the key portion and the abutting surface 51F1 of the connector 10 are formed by the plate thickness surface, sufficient strength is ensured when they abut against each other. Assuming that the shield shell 50 of the connector 10 is not provided with a folding groove 51F forming the abutment surface 51F1, and the outer plate portion 52 of the shield shell 50 is formed with a folding base portion 51L with rounded corners in the entire area in the connector width direction Y, then the key portion of the other counterpart connector mentioned above may be elastically deformed downward due to the abutment with the rounded corner of the folding base portion 51L and may be induced toward the connector 10 in the connector insertion and removal direction X, resulting in the possibility of incorrect insertion. In order to prevent this situation, the abutment surface 51F1 at the connector 10 also has technical significance.

If the other connector 60 is inserted into the connector 10 in the connector insertion and removal direction X and is inserted into a specific position, the locking stop protrusion 65B that is squeezed by the cylindrical body 51 of the shielding shell 50 of the connector 10 and sunk into the inner side of the groove 64A at the beginning of the insertion is released by the elastic deformation of the locking arm 65, and protrudes from the groove 64A, and protrudes into the locking groove 51E formed at the cylindrical body 51, and further protrudes into the stop hole 52B of the outer plate 52 located above it, thereby preventing the other connector 60 from being pulled out of the connector 10. This blocking is strong and reliable because the cylindrical body 51 and the outer plate 52 are overlapped as two pieces and are blocked from both the locking groove 51E and the locking hole 52B.

The counterpart connector 60 may be engaged in a state of being tilted relative to the connector 10, that is, in a so-called tilted engagement. For example, as shown in FIG6 , one corner 60R1 at the front end of the counterpart connector 60 in the connector insertion and removal direction X enters the receiving opening 51A of the connector 10 to a greater extent than the other corner 60R2. In the receiving opening 51A of the connector 10, there is a plate-shaped engaging portion 42, and the contact portion 22 of the terminal 20 of the connector 10 and the contact portion 32 of the terminal 30 are located at each of the two sides (refer to FIG3 and FIG4 ). In this case, there is a possibility that the corner portion 60R1 of one of the other connectors 60 and the front end of the engaging portion 42 may collide with each other, causing damage to the front end of the engaging portion 42 formed of a thinner plate.

In order to prevent such a situation, the abutted surface 66A of the key portion 66 is abutted against the abutting surface 51F1 of the connector 10 in such a way that the corner portion 60R1 of the other connector 60 will not collide with the front end of the fitting portion 42 of the connector 10 even at the predicted maximum tilt angle, thereby preventing the wrong insertion of the other connector to a certain extent. In addition, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 6, the front end of the fitting portion 42 is positioned at a position that is only X1 away from the opening end of the receiving opening portion 51A of the connector 10 in the connector insertion and removal direction X. By combining the above two structures, the above conflict is prevented reliably.

When the mating of the other connector 60 begins in a state where it is tilted in the vertical direction, it is guided by the lower guide portion 51K and the folded base portion 51L of the connector 10 at the cylindrical body portion 51, and the tilt becomes smaller as the mating progresses.

The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment and can be modified. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , the key groove 51D may be formed not only in the cylindrical body 51 of the shield shell 50 but also in the outer plate 52. In this case, the key groove 51D of the cylindrical body 51 and the key groove 52D formed in the outer plate 52 are located at the same position in the connector width direction Y and communicated in the connector height direction Z through the folding groove 51F of the shield shell 50, and the key groove is expanded in the plate thickness direction, that is, in the connector height direction Z. In this case, the locking hole portion 52B at the outer plate portion 52 is communicated with the key groove portion 52D.

10: (Shielded electrical) connector

20: (First) terminal

30: (Second) terminal

50: Shielding shell

51: Cylindrical body

51A: Included in the opening

51A-1: Opening edge

51D: Key groove

51E: Lock the groove

51L: Folding base

52: Outer plate

52B: Locking hole

60:Other connector

65B: Locking part (locking stop protrusion)

66:Keys

[Figure 1] is a display of a shielded electrical connector as one of the embodiments of the present invention, (A) is an upper perspective view, (B) is a lower perspective view, and (C) is a partially cut-away plan view of an important portion. [Figure 2] is a perspective view showing a counterpart connector engaged with the connector of Figure 1. [Figure 3] is an upper perspective view showing the connector of Figure 1 with the shield shell in a semi-processed state separated and a portion of the terminal extracted. [Figure 4] is a lower perspective view showing the shield shell in a semi-processed state (same state as Figure 3) separated and displayed for the connector of Figure 1. [Figure 5] is a plan view of a semi-processed product of the shield shell in the connector of Figure 1 during processing. [Figure 6] is a plan view showing a state in which the other connector of the connector of Figure 1 is inserted at an angle that is too large and exceeds a specific range and can only be incompletely engaged by tilting. [Figure 7] is an upper three-dimensional view of the connector as another embodiment.

10: (Shielded electrical) connector

20: (First) terminal

23: Connection part

30: (Second) terminal

33: Connection part

40: Shell

41: Shell body

41A: Shielding shell card stop groove

41B: Feet

50: Shielding shell

51: Cylindrical body

51-1: Upper plate

51-2: Side panels

51-3: Bottom plate

51-4: Rear panel

51A: Included in the opening

51A-1: Opening edge

51C: Stopper

51D: Key groove

51E: Lock the groove

51F: Folding groove

51F1: Butt surface

51G: Rear fixed foot

51H1: junctional groove

51H2: Junction protrusion

51J: Lateral guide

51K: Lower guide part

51L: Folding base

52: Outer plate

52A: concave edge

52B: Locking hole

52C: Fixed foot in front

P1: Window

P3: Window

Claims (6)

A shielded electrical connector has an axial direction in the direction of insertion and removal with a counterpart connector, and is provided with a shield shell, the shield shell having a cylindrical body made of a metal plate surrounding the above-mentioned axis and terminals. The shielded electrical connector is characterized in that: The above-mentioned cylindrical body has an outer plate, the outer plate is folded in half over a portion of the circumferential direction at the opening edge of the opening portion on the side facing the counterpart connector and is arranged to overlap with a portion of the outer surface of the above-mentioned cylindrical body, and a key groove portion in the form of a notch extending in the above-mentioned axial direction and opening at the above-mentioned opening edge to receive the key portion of the above-mentioned counterpart connector is formed at least in the above-mentioned cylindrical body. The shielded electrical connector as recited in claim 1, wherein the shield shell is such that the folded base of the outer plate portion at the edge of the opening has a curved surface that serves as a guide for introducing the other connector toward the receiving opening. A shielded electrical connector as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the shield shell is formed with a locking groove portion that communicates with the key groove portion formed in the cylindrical body and is locked with the locking portion of the other connector. The shielded electrical connector as described in claim 3, wherein the shielding shell is formed with a hole portion at the outer plate portion that communicates with the locking groove portion of the cylindrical body portion, and the hole portion is communicated with the locking groove portion of the cylindrical body portion. A shielded electrical connector as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the folding base is formed with a folding groove portion communicating with the key groove portion at the folding position of the outer plate portion, and the folding groove portion includes the width range of the key groove portion in the direction in which the folding base portion extends, and the width is wider than the key groove portion. A shielded electrical connector as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the key groove portion is formed at both sides of the cylindrical body portion and the outer plate portion, and the groove portion formed at the cylindrical body portion and the groove portion formed at the outer plate portion are interconnected.

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