Electrical connector shield with dual function of mechanical...

Details Electrical connector shield with dual function of mechanical... Electrical connector shield with dual function of mechanical...

2000-01-27

2001-05-22

Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...

Retaining means

Reexamination Certificate

active

06234827

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND TO THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrical connector. In particular, the present invention relates to a connector used in connecting electronic devices such as personal computers and the like.
In recent years, connectors termed universal serial bus (USB) connectors as shown in
FIG. 5
have been used in computers. Because of component crowding in small space areas in computers and like devices, the connectors used are sometimes referred to as “small” or “miniature” connectors.
This connector comprises a connector socket
2
A, which can be mounted onto a substrate of a printed circuit board
1
A and the like, and a connector plug
3
A, which is inserted into and connects to connector socket
2
A. Connector socket
2
A is equipped with a shield case
4
A, which is constructed by bending and shaping a metal plate into a tube of rectangular section.
An insulated housing
6
A, which supports four contact pins
5
A side by side in the cross direction, is built into the inside of shield case
4
A. The middle section of contact pin
5
A is attached to the base of insulated housing
6
A. Contact pin
5
A has an external connection end
5
a
, which leads out from one end of shield case
4
A. An end support part
6
b
is formed integrally on the top half of base
6
a
of insulated housing
6
A. End support part
6
b
has approximately half of the vertical thickness of shield case
4
A. A contact end
5
b
of contact pin
5
A is supported by the lower surface of end support part
6
b.
Connector plug
3
A, which connects to connector socket
2
A, also has a shield case
7
A, which is a tube of rectangular section. Shield case
7
A is insertable inside shield case
4
A. A cavity
8
A, which receives end support part
6
b
, is formed in the interior of a plug shield
7
a
of shield case
7
A. A contact end
10
a
of a contacter
10
A, which is supported by an end support part
9
a
of an insulated housing
9
A, is positioned directly below cavity
8
A.
However, in the “small” connector of the prior art as described above, a pair of locking tabs
11
A,
11
B are formed by cutting out and offsetting locking tab structure from both the top wall and bottom walls of shield case
4
A. On the top wall and bottom wall of plug shield
7
a
, there are locking slots
12
A,
12
B, corresponding to locking tabs
11
A,
11
B. Connector plug
3
A is locked into connector socket
2
A by dropping locking tabs
11
A,
11
B into corresponding locking slots
12
A,
12
B. Furthermore, in this connector, in order to protect the interior of connector socket
2
A and connector plug
3
A from the effects of external magnetic fields and external electric fields, there are contact pieces
13
A which are cut out and offset on the right and left side walls of connector socket
2
A. The ends of contact pieces
13
A are pressed against and contact the surface of the corresponding side walls of shield case
7
A, and there is grounding between shield case
4
A and shield case
7
A.
In other words, in the connector described above, four locking tabs
11
A,
11
B and two contact pieces
13
A are bent and shaped on the perimeter walls of shield case
4
A of connector socket
2
A. Locking tabs
11
A,
11
B and contact pieces
13
A become a hindrance, and there is a limit to the degree of miniaturization possible with the connector.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The above problems of the prior art were considered. The object of the present invention is to obtain a construction for locking a connector plug to a connector socket by a relatively simple construction that is capable of miniaturization and that can reliably shield external magnetic fields and the like.
In order to achieve this objective, the present invention is a connector, comprising: a connector socket, having a shield case, which is a metal plate bent and formed into a tube of rectangular cross section, and an insulating housing, which supports a plurality of contact pins and is built into the interior of the shield case; a connector plug, having a plug part which is inserted into an insertion opening of the connector socket; an elongated contact member, a fore length of which has a longitudinal cross-section of shallow “V” shape; this contact member being formed by cutting out and offsetting a part of a top wall of the shield case; a protrusion which is engagable with the contact member to effect locking of the connector plug to the connector socket, the protrusion being provided on an upper surface of the plug part.
In the description of the preferred embodiment to follow, it will be understood that the protrusion can be a bead or it can be an element bent out of the plug shield, which plug shield is a metal plate that itself is bent and processed into a rectangular cross section tube.
The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same elements.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5127847 (1992-07-01), Kato et al.

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