Electrical connectors – Electromagnetic or electrostatic shield – Shielding individually surrounding or interposed between...
Reexamination Certificate
2003-05-01
2004-09-14
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Electromagnetic or electrostatic shield
Shielding individually surrounding or interposed between...
C439S079000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06790088
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hard-metric (abbreviated as HM) connector of the type used in exchangers, servers or computers. It uses a press-fit type of shield plate to facilitate the mounting of the shielded connector onto a printed circuit board.
2. Related Art
Referring to FIGS.
5
(A), (B) and (C) and
FIG. 6
, a conventional electrical connector
10
has a press-fit type of “L”-shaped shield plate
13
tentatively fastened to its body
12
by making the engagement extensions of a flat top
13
a
of the shield
13
to be engaged on a front side of the connector body
12
. The shield plate
13
has a vertical section
13
b
extending downward via bent round portion
13
c
. The rear part of the connector body
12
has its bottom raised to a level higher than the bottom of the front part, thus leaving a space to accommodate a printed circuit board
11
. As seen from FIGS.
5
(C) and
6
, the rear part of the connector body has the male contact portions
3
b
of the contact pieces
3
projecting downward from the raised bottom, and press-fit portions
13
d
of the vertical section
13
b
of the shield plate
13
extend parallel to the male contact portions
3
b
of contact pieces
3
so that their tapered ends may be coplanar with the tapering ends of the male contact portions
3
b
. The connector body
12
has female receptacles arranged in a lattice form on its front side, in which the female contact portions of the contact pieces
3
are inserted.
When the electrical connector
10
is fixed to the printed circuit board
11
, an “L”-shaped pressing tool having a round comer approximately corresponding to the bent round portion
13
c
of the shield plate
13
is applied to the shielded connector body, and then, a strong thrust is applied to the flat top
13
a
to push the male contact portions
3
b
and the press-fit portions
13
d
into the though-holes of the printed circuit board
11
.
Application of a several Newton-strong push to each male contact portion and press-fit portion is apt to bend some or all press-fit portions. Also disadvantageously, before applying a thrust to the connector the “L”-shaped shield plate needs to be tentatively fastened to the connector body
12
with a piece of double-sided adhesive tape. This is an elaborate, time consuming process.
One object of the present invention is to provide a shielded electrical connector which is guaranteed to be free of such defects as described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To attain this object an electrical connector comprising a connector body having contact pieces embedded therein and an “L”-shaped shield plate applied to the connector body with its horizontal and vertical sections lying on the top surface and rear side of the connector body respectively, the shield plate having press-fit portions formed at the lower end of the vertical section, is improved according to the present invention in that the shield plate has a plurality of thrust shoulders formed at its horizontal-to-vertical transition to push the press-fit portions.
The electrical connector can be fixed to a printed circuit board by applying a push to the thrust shoulders of the shield plate, thereby pushing the press-fit portions of the shield plate right in the through holes in exact linear-alignment with the through holes. Thus, the strong thrust can be transmitted to each press-fit portion without any possibility of causing it to be deformed or bent.
The shield plate may have engagement extensions formed ahead of its horizontal section, and engagement projections formed in its vertical section; and the connector body may have catch means formed on its front and rear sides respectively, whereby the shield plate can be attached to the connector body.
This arrangement facilitates the tentative fastening of the shield plate to the connector body without the necessity of using any adhesive agent and/or doubled-sided adhesive tape.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following description of a shielded electrical connector according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is shown in the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5336098 (1994-08-01), Zell et al.
patent: 5672064 (1997-09-01), Provencher et al.
patent: 6299484 (2001-10-01), Van Woensel
patent: 6322393 (2001-11-01), Doutrich et al.
patent: 6520803 (2003-02-01), Dunn
Ono Koji
Ooaku Kiyoshi
Honda Tsushin Kogyo Co. Ltd.
Ta Tho D.
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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