Electrical connectors – With vitreous-type envelope – Having bayonet-coupling contact
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-02
2001-01-09
Bradley, Paula (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With vitreous-type envelope
Having bayonet-coupling contact
C439S607070, C439S352000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06171150
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector, and particularly a connector for high frequency signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art connector is identified by the numeral
100
in
FIGS. 31
to
35
, and is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 5-27983. The prior art connector
100
is for high frequency signals and is to be connected with one end of an unillustrated shielded cable. The connector
100
is comprised of electrical connection elements
101
, a retainer
102
, and a ground terminal
103
.
The shielded cable is comprised of a core wire inside and a shield layer for surrounding the core wire. Although not shown in detail, each electrical connection element
101
is provided with two kinds of terminal fittings: an inner terminal to be connected with the core wire and an outer terminal to be connected with the shield layer.
The retainer
102
is inserted into the connector housing
104
from behind (direction of an arrow A in FIG.
31
), whereas the ground terminal
103
is mounted from underneath the connector housing
104
(direction of an arrow B in FIG.
33
).
In general, side type retainers, which are mounted in a direction normal to the mounting direction of the electrical connection elements
101
, are preferred since they have a strongest force to lock the terminals.
The conventional retainer
102
is a rear type retainer which is mounted in the same direction as the electrical connection elements
101
. However, its force to lock the electrical connection elements
101
is smaller than the locking force of the side type retainer.
Use of the side type retainer with the connector housing
104
, will cause the retainer and the ground terminal
103
to interfere with each other if a mount hole for the retainer is provided in a side surface of the connector housing
104
. This interference occurs because the ground terminal
103
is mounted in a direction normal to the mounting direction of the electrical connection elements
101
. Accordingly, it is difficult to provide the mount hole for the retainer.
In view of the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector having a ground terminal, in which connector a side type retainer is mountable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided a connector, comprising an electrical connection element and a connector housing. The housing comprises a connection element receptacle for substantially accommodating the electrical connection element that is connected with the leading end of a shielded cable. The connector also has a ground terminal to be mounted in a ground terminal receptacle that substantially communicates with the connection element receptacle so as to be brought into contact with one side surface of the electrical connection element. A retainer mount hole is formed in one side surface of the connector housing and communicates with the connection element receptacle at a side opposite the side the ground terminal. A retainer is insertable into the retainer mount hole to lock the electrical connection element.
Accordingly, since the retainer is assembled at the side of the electrical connection element opposite from the ground terminal, it can be constructed as a so-called side retainer.
It is empirically known that a contact portion between the ground terminal and the electrical connection element is better to be a surface than to be a point since the surface contact ensures a satisfactory high frequency characteristic. A surface contact portion can be an elastic contact piece, which more easily tolerates a molding error of the connector than a mere projection. An attempt can be made to provide a ground terminal that is inserted from one side of the connector housing with an elastic contact piece as in the prior art. However the transverse dimension of the connector housing has to be increased due to the necessity to provide a deformation permitting space for the insertion of the ground terminal.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ground terminal comprises an elastic contact piece which can be brought elastically into surface contact with the electrical connection element. Accordingly, the ground terminal receptacle is open in the rear surface of the connector housing.
Preferably, the elastic contact piece is deformable in a space defined between the connection element receptacle and the ground terminal receptacle. Accordingly, the deformation permitting space for the elastic contact piece takes advantage of the connection element receptacle, and the elastic contact piece easily can be provided on the ground terminal without increasing the size of the connector housing.
The ground terminal may be provided with at least one push-in portion which can be pushed into a slot provided in the ground terminal receptacle, and the elastic contact piece is formed on the push-in portion, preferably by bending.
Most preferably, the push-in portion is fitted into a notch being provided in the connector housing when the ground terminal is mounted in the ground terminal receptacle, so that the elastic contact piece substantially faces the connection element receptacle. Accordingly, the connector can be made stable and compact.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the electrical connection element comprises an inner terminal to be connected with a core wire of the shielded cable, an outer terminal to be connected with a shield of the shielded cable, and an insulating member for insulating the inner and outer terminals from each other.
Preferably, the outer terminal comprises push-in portions which project sideways from the outer terminal and can be pushed into grooves formed in inner walls of the connection element receptacle, and the retainer locks the electrical connection element by being engaged with the push-in portions. Accordingly, since the electrical connection element is comprised of the inner terminal, the outer terminal, and the insulating member provided between the outer and inner terminals, it is difficult to provide a locking portion that projects into the space inside the outer terminal, as in a side retainer of a usual connector. Thus, by forming the push-in portions to project from the outer terminal of the electrical connection element and by using the push-in portions to lock the retainer, a structure that projects into the inner space of the outer terminal can be avoided. Furthermore, since the push-in portions are pushed into the grooves of the connection element receptacle, they also contribute to the stable mounting of the electrical connection element.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5169340 (1992-12-01), Nakata et al.
patent: 5171166 (1992-12-01), Sato et al.
patent: 5529506 (1996-06-01), Onoda
patent: 5580268 (1996-12-01), Miyazawa
patent: 5651704 (1997-07-01), Fukushima et al.
patent: 5741162 (1998-04-01), Kourimsky et al.
patent: 5766041 (1998-06-01), Morin et al.
patent: 0 732 780 (1996-09-01), None
patent: 2 747 846 (1997-10-01), None
Aoyama Masahiko
Koide Takashi
Saito Masashi
Bradley Paula
Casella Anthony J.
Gilman Alexander
Hespos Gerald E.
Porco Michael J.
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