Electrical connectors – Including or for use with tape cable – With mating connection region formed by bared cable
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-04
2001-07-24
Abrams, Neil (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with tape cable
With mating connection region formed by bared cable
C439S607070
Reexamination Certificate
active
06264500
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric connector used in small electronic devices, such as notebook computers, and more particularly to an electric connector for effecting electrical connections of a plurality of extra-fine cables.
2. Description of the Related Art
Before now, a plurality of extra-fine cables was used for the internal wiring of small electronic devices, such as notebook computers.
Some known examples of such a plurality of extra-fine cables (referred to below simply as “cables”) are the following: a bundle of a plurality of single cables wherein extra-fine conductors are contained in insulators, a flexible flat cable wherein a row of a plurality of extra-fine conductors is contained in an insulator, or a bundle of a plurality of extra-fine coaxial cables.
Meanwhile, an electric connector is used as an apparatus to connect each of such a plurality of cables to each terminal formed on a printed circuit board.
This electric connector is constituted of a receptacle having a plurality of female contacts and a plug having a plurality of male contacts corresponding to the plurality of female contacts, and causes the male contacts to fit into the corresponding female contacts to contrive an electrical connection between the male and female contacts.
Before now, in order to connect a corresponding plurality of cables to each of the male contacts established in this plug, the conductor of each cable was soldered to the corresponding male contact or each cable conductor was bonded by pressure one by one, to each corresponding male contact by means of a pressure-bonding tool.
However, with such a conventional electric connector in which the soldering work or pressure-bonding work must be performed to form an electrical connection between each cable conductor and each male contact, these works are troublesome and are also a factor in erroneous wiring.
Also, with a conventional electric connector, a large amount of space is occupied by the soldered portion or pressure-bonded portion as a result of connecting each cable conductor with each male contact by the soldering process or pressure-bonding process. For this reason, it is difficult to decrease the interval between each of the male contacts and thereby it is difficult to contrive the miniaturization of the electric connector itself.
Also, another well-known example of the conventional electric connector is a so-called RA-style electric connector, wherein a plug is fitted from a direction parallel to the printed circuit board to a receptacle installed on a printed circuit board.
These types of electric connectors include those where metal shield covers are installed on both the plug and receptacle, to prevent as much as possible effects of damage from electromagnetic waves.
FIG. 25
is a schematic perspective view of a conventional electric connector
81
with a shield cover of an RA-style electric connector wherein metal shield covers are installed on both the plug and receptacle to prevent as much as possible effects of damage from electromagnetic waves.
The electric connector
81
comprises a receptacle
83
, wherein a plurality of male contacts
82
are installed in a row, and a plug
84
, wherein female contacts are installed in a row so as to be opposite to each of the male contacts
82
in the receptacle
83
.
The receptacle
83
is constituted from a receptacle housing
85
in which the plurality of male contacts
82
is aligned in a row at a prescribed interval, and a rectangular receptacle shield cover
86
made of a metal plate and installed to surround the periphery of the receptacle housing
85
. A pair of tongue pieces
86
a
is formed as part of this receptacle shield cover
86
on both sides thereof. This pair of tongue pieces
86
a
is mounted on rectangular conductive pattern
88
, formed on the printed circuit board
87
at positions opposite to the tongue pieces
86
a
, and affixed thereto by an affixation process such as soldering. The conductive pattern
88
is connected to a ground, not shown in the drawings.
Meanwhile, as shown in FIG.
25
and
FIG. 26
which shows a cross section of the plug
84
installed in the receptacle
83
, the plug
84
is constituted of a plug housing
90
and a rectangular plug shield cover
91
. In the plug housing
90
, a plurality of female contacts
89
, each having a two-pronged end in which each of the aforementioned male contacts
82
is inserted and supported, is aligned in a row and at a prescribed interval. The rectangular plug shield cover
91
is made of a metal plate installed to surround the periphery of the plug housing
90
.
Pairs of tongue pieces
91
a
,
91
b
are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the plug shield cover
91
. Each of the tongue pieces
91
a
,
91
b
is in sliding contact with the upper or lower surfaces of the receptacle shield cover
86
, when the plug
84
is installed as shown in
FIG. 26
, and ensures electrical conductivity with the receptacle shield cover
86
.
In
FIGS. 25 and 26
, the reference number
92
shows a bundle of a plurality of cables connected to each of the female contacts
89
.
However, a disadvantage of the conventional electric connector
81
with a shield cover is that it is not possible to reduce the thickness of a small electronic device such as a portable phone which uses the electric connector
81
with such a shield cover. This is because, as shown in
FIG. 25
, the receptacle
83
is covered on its periphery with the receptacle shield cover
86
and as a result, as shown in
FIG. 26
, the height H of the receptacle
83
is increased by the thickness of the receptacle shield cover
86
on the upper and lower surfaces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric connector which can easily connect a plurality of cables and further reduce the interval between the contacts.
Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide an electric connector with a shield cover wherein the height of the receptacle is reduced as much as possible.
To resolve the foregoing issues in the conventional electric connectors, an electric connector of the first invention is provided a non-conductive cable holder having a plurality of cable guide slots at a prescribed interval and formed in U-shape along a forward direction; this cable holder is formed in U-shape by being disposed along the aforementioned plurality of cable guide slots corresponding to each of the cable conductors extending from each of the cable terminals of a plurality of cables. The electric connector is also provided a receptacle having a plurality of female contacts for holding each of the cable conductors disposed in the cable guide slots and forming electrical connections with the corresponding cable conductors.
An electric connector of the second invention is an electric connector with a shield cover, comprising a receptacle covered with a receptacle shield cover and disposed on a printed circuit board and a plug covered with a plug shield cover and inserted in the aforementioned receptacle. The electric connector of the second invention is constituted so that the receptacle is covered with the receptacle shield cover, but with the side of the shield cover opposite the printed circuit board removed; shielding conductive pattern to cover all of one side of the receptacle is formed on the portion of the printed circuit board opposite the receptacle. Thus, the entire receptacle is covered by the shielding conductive pattern and the receptacle shield cover.
Other objects and effects of the present invention can be easily confirmed with the following detailed explanation and appended figures.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3253248 (1966-05-01), Brown
patent: 3667101 (1972-06-01), Kloth
patent: 3696319 (1972-10-01), Olsson
patent: 4365856 (1982-12-01), Yaegashi et al.
patent: 5327641 (1994-07-01), Olsson
patent: 5897394 (1999-04-01), Adachi
patent: 431432 (1991-09-01), None
Great Britain 9804702.0 Search Report completed Sep. 24, 1998.
Abrams Neil
I-Pex Co., Ltd.
Varndell & Varndell PLLC
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