WO1997028581A1

WO1997028581A1 - Shield case

Info

Publication number: WO1997028581A1
Application number: PCT/US1997/001608
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoshitsugu Fujiura; Yuji Ikeda
Original assignee: The Whitaker Corporation
Priority date: 1996-01-30
Filing date: 1997-01-30
Publication date: 1997-08-07
Also published as: JPH09213419A

Abstract

The invention is directed to a shield case providing for a reliable retention of a multi-conductor cable even if the cable clamp made as an integral part of the shield case is fabricated of a thin sheet material. Cable clamps (5, 25) made as integral parts of respectively the upper shield case (1) and the lower shield case (21) are intended for clamping over a part of the outer sleeve of the multi-conductor cable (30). At one end of the cable clamp (5) of the upper shield case (1), a tab (6a) and stoppers (6) located at its both sides are made, and at the other end, an opening (7) is provided. At one end of the cable clamp (25) of the lower shield case (21), a tab (26a) and stoppers (26) located at its both sides are made, and at the other end, an opening (27) is provided.

Description

SHIELD CASE

This invention relates to shield cases whose purpose is to cover electrical connectors and to shield them from electromagnetic interference incoming from outside or to block electromagnetic interference which can leak from the connectors to the outside, and to retain multi-conductor cables secured to the connectors by means of cable clamps.

An example of the conventional shield case can be found in the shield case, Japanese Utility Model

Publication No. 1992-66071, shown in Figure 9. This shield case includes an upper shield case 100 and a lower shield case 110 with their respective main bodies 101, 111 enveloping an electrical connector 120. The lower shield case 110 has a cable clamp 112 made as an integral part of the main body 111 which retains the external sleeve of the multi-conductor cable connected to the electrical connector 120. In the middle part of this cable clamp 112, a bead 113 is provided which prevents the cable clamp 112 from becoming loose. At both sides of the cable clamp 112, paired lugs 114 are provided facing inside. The purpose of these lugs is to provide a more reliable retention of the multi-conductor cable 121 in the cable clamp 112. Components denoted by number 130 in the drawing are lock arms whose purpose is to lock the connector with a matching connector. The upper and the lower shield cases 100 and 110 are retained together by an enclosure 140 made of an insulating material. Users of conventional shield cases may encounter some problems if the sheet material from which the cable clamp 112, on the lower shield case 110, is made too thin. Namely, if the cable clamp 112 is too thin and a strong pressure is applied to it from the multi- conductor cable 121, the upper shield case 100 and the lower shield case 110 can separate from the multi- conductor cable 121.

Therefore, this invention was made to eliminate the disadvantages, and its purpose is to offer a shield case which can reliably retain multi-conductor cable even if the cable clamp is thin by making the shield case a single unit.

The invention is directed to a shield for covering an electrical connector. The shield comprises an upper shield body and a lower shield body. The upper shield body and the lower shield body each have cable clamps made as integral parts of the upper and lower shield bodies. The cable clamps clamp over a portion of the external sleeve of a multi-conductor cable connected to the electrical connector. The cable clamp of the upper shield body has at one end a tab with a stopper and at the other end an opening. The cable clamps of said lower shield body have at one end a tab with a stopper which can be inserted in the opening in the upper shield body, and at the other end an opening into which the tab of the upper shield body is received.

A embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of the upper shield.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the upper shield shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a right view of the upper shield shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the cable clamp of the upper shield case before bending.

Figure 5 is a front view of the cable clamp of the upper shield case before bending. Figure 6 shows the first step in the process of clamping of a multi-conductor cable in the cable clamps of the upper and lower shield cases.

Figure 7 shows the second step in the process.

Figure 8 shows the third step in the process. Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional shield case.

Below, we give explanations concerning an embodiment of this invention with reference to the attached drawings. Fig. 1 is a front view of the upper shield case; Fig. 2 is a top view of the case shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a right view of the case shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively top and front views of the cable clamp which is an integral part of the upper shield case before it is bent. Figs. 6-8 are schematic drawings showing various stages of the process of the securing of multi-conductor cable in the cable clamps of the upper and lower shield cases.

The shield case includes an upper shield case l and a lower shield case 21 having the same configuration as the upper case 1, see Figs. 6-8. Here, we leave out the reason why the lower shield 21 case has the same configuration as the upper shield case 1.

The upper shield case 1 includes the main body 2 enveloping the electrical connector, not shown in the drawing, and a cable clamp 5 clamping over a portion of the outer sleeve of the multi-conductor cable 30, see Fig. 5. The cable clamp 5 is made as an integral part of the main body 2 and is located at the rear end of the main body 2. In this embodiment, the upper shield case 1 is made by stamping and forming out of a 0.2 mm thick metal sheet. The main body 2 includes a bottom section 3 and a side wall 4 made by bending upward either right or left edge of the bottom section 3. The base 5a of the cable clamp 5 has at one end a tab 6a and lugs 6, facing down m Fig. 1, stamped at both sides of the tab, and an opening 7 made at the other end. The base is bent upward in a configuration suitable for the clamping of the outer sleeve of a multi-conductor cable 30. The tab 6a of the cable clamp 5 can be inserted in the opening 27 made in the cable clamp 25 of the lower shield case 21, and the tab 26a of the cable clamp 25 of the lower shield case 21 can be inserted in the opening 7 of the cable clamp 5, see Fig. 6. In order to facilitate the insertion of the tab 6a of the cable clamp 5 in the opening 27 of the lower shield case 21, its tip is tapered and an inclined surface 6b is formed on its upper surface. The opening 7 has a trapezoid shaped cut-out 7c which makes it easier to insert the tab 6a of the lower shield case 21 whose tapered sides guide side surfaces of the tab 6a. At the back end of the main body 2 of the bottom section 3, an indentation 8 is made to accommodate a multi-conductor cable 30. An upward extending connector stopper 9, for the purposes of retaining an electrical connector, is made by punching and is provided on the left or right side of the bottom section 3. At the front end of the bottom section 3, tabs 10, extending down in Fig. 1, are provided whose purpose is to be engaged with the anchorage, not shown in the drawing, of an electrical connector. Items 11 and 12 in drawings of Figs, l through 3 are parts for securing the electrical connector. Next, using Figs. 6-8 for reference, we will explain the method of clamping the multi-conductor cable. First, an electrical connector with the multi- conductor cable 30 attached to it is placed on the lower shield case 21 and the upper shield case 1 is placed on the top of the electric connector. At this time, as shown in Fig. 6, the tab 26a of the cable clamp 25 of the lower shield case 21 is inserted in the opening 7 of the upper shield case 1, and the tab 6a of the cable clamp 5 of the upper shield case 1 is inserted in the opening 27 of the lower shield case, thus enveloping the electrical connector between the lower shield case 21 and the upper shield case 1. In this state, stopper 26 of the lower shield case 21 comes in contact with the upper edge 7a of the opening 7 of the upper shield case 1, and the outer surface of the cable clamp 25 of the lower shield case 21 comes in contact with the lower edge 7b of the opening 7 of the upper shield case 1. On the other side, the stopper 6 of the upper case 1 comes in contact with the lower edge 27a of the opening 27 of the lower shield case 21, and the outer surface of the cable clamp 5 of the upper shield case 1 comes in contact with the upper edge 27b of the opening 27 of the lower shield case 21. As a result, the multi-conductor cable 30 becomes enclosed between the upper shield case 1 and the lower shield case 21.

Next, the upper shield case 1 and the lower shield case 21 are pressed from the top and the bottom by anvils, not shown in the drawing, applied approximately at the centers of the cases, as shown m Fig. 7. After that, as shown in Fig. 8, the tab 26a of the lower shield case 21 is bent down by a crimper, not shown in the drawing, and the tab 6a of the upper shield case 1 is bent up by the crimper. In this state, the tab 26a of the lower shield case 21 is bent around the edge of the opening 7 of the upper shield case 1 so that the apex of the stopper 26 comes against the outer surface of the upper shield case 1 beyond the opening 7 and the outer surface of the cable clamp 25 of the lower shield case 21 comes against the lower edge 7b of the opening 7 of the upper shield case 1. The tab 6a of the upper shield case 1 is bent around the edge of the opening of the lower shield case 21 so that the apex of the stopper 6 comes against the outer surface of the lower shield case 21 beyond the opening 27 and that the outer surface of the cable clamp 5 of the upper shield case 1 comes against the upper edge 27b of the opening 27 of the lower shield case 21. Therefore, in this state, the upper shield case 1 and the lower shield case 21 can reliably retain the multi-conductor cable 30.

In addition, due to the fact that the upper shield case 1 and the lower shield case 21 are of the same shape, their production is easy and production costs are considerably lower.

In this embodiment of the invention, one end of the cable clamp 5 of the upper shield case 1 has a tab 6a at both sides of which stoppers 6 are made and the other end has an opening 7. One end of the cable clamp 25 of the lower shield case 21 has a tab 26a to be inserted in the opening 7 made in the upper shield case 1 on both sides of which stoppers 26 are provided and the other end has an opening 27 into which the tab 6a of the upper shield case 1 can be inserted. Because of such a design, in which the tab 26a of the lower shield case 21 is inserted in the opening 7 of the upper shield case 1 and the tab 6a of the upper shield case 1 is inserted in the opening 27 of the lower shield case 21 and tabs 26a, 6a are bent, both shield cases 1, 21 are secured to each other. In addition, stopper 26 can be engaged with the matching edge, thus supplementing the retaining strength of the cable clamp. The upper shield case and the lower shield case are held together by means of the tab of the lower shield case which is passed through the opening made in the upper shield case and bent back, and by means of the tab of the upper sheet case of the upper shield case which is passed through the opening made in the lower shield case and bent back. A reliable retention of multi- conductor cable can be obtained even if the upper shield case and the lower shield case are made of a thin sheet material.

Claims

hat is claimed is:

1. A shield for covering an electrical connector, the shield comprising an upper shield body and a lower shield body, characterized in that the upper shield body (1) and the lower shield body (21) each have cable clamps (5, 25) made as integral parts of said upper and lower shield bodies (1, 21), the cable clamps clamp over a portion of the external sleeve of a multi-conductor cable connected to the electrical connector, said cable clamp (5) of said upper shield body (1) has at one end a tab (6a) with a stopper (6) and at the other end an opening (7) , said cable clamps (25) of said lower shield body (21) has at one end a tab (26a) with a stopper (26) which can be inserted in the opening (7) m the upper shield body, and at the other end an opening (27) into which the tab (6a) of the upper shield body (10) is received.

2. The shield of claim 1, wherein the upper shield body (1) and the lower shield body (21) are identical.

3. The shield of claim 1, wherein the stopper (6) comprises lugs.

4. The shield of claim 1, wherein the tab (6a) has an inclined surface (6b) to allow ease of insertion.

5. The shield of claim 1, wherein the opening (7) has a trapezoid shaped cut-out (7c) to allow ease of insertion of the tab (6a) .

6. The shield of claim 1, wherein the said cable clamps (5) have bases (5a) with indentions (8) being disposed on the upper and lower shield bodies proximate to the bases (5a) .

7. The shield of claim 1, wherein the upper and lower shield bodies (1, 21) have connector stoppers and tabs for retaining the electrical connector thereto.