Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6488514
-
Patent Number
6,488,514
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, July 18, 200122 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, December 3, 200221 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 439 101
- 439 108
- 439 570
- 439 608
- 439 9241
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An electrical connector equipped with a guiding column comprises a housing (21); at least one guiding column (23) extending forwardly from the housing (21) to be inserted into a guiding aperture (14B) of a mating connector (10); at least one ground terminal (24) having a contact section (24A) for contact with a ground member (12) of the mating connector (12); and a side recess (23B) provided in the guiding column (23) to receive the ground terminal (24) such that the contact section (24A) of the ground terminal (24) projects from the side recess (23B) for making sliding contact with the ground member (12) of the mating connector (10).
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and, particularly, to an electrical connector equipped with a ground terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese patent application Kokai No. 10-255906 discloses an electrical connector of this type. This connector is shown in
FIG. 14
for facilitating understanding.
In
FIG. 14
, a connector
60
has a ground pin terminal
61
. The pin terminal
61
is made by machining a metallic material so as to provide a threaded section
62
. A housing
63
has a receiving section
64
for receiving the threaded section
62
. A ground terminal
65
is provided in the receiving section
64
and having a fixing flange
65
A, a threaded tube
65
B, and a connecting section
65
C extending from the fixing flange
65
A in an L-shaped form. Such a connector
60
is attached to a circuit board P
1
and the connecting section
65
C is connected to a corresponding section with a solder
66
.
A mating connector
70
comprises a housing
71
having a ground terminal
72
that has a fixing flange
72
A secured to the housing
71
, a threaded tube
72
B, and a connecting section
72
C extending from the fixing flange
72
A in an L-shaped form. A bush
73
has a threaded section
73
A screwed into the threaded tube
72
B, an intermediate section with a window
73
B provided above the threaded section
73
A, and an enlarged head section
73
C above the intermediate section. The connector
70
is attached to a panel
74
by screwing the bush
73
into the ground terminal
72
so that the panel
74
is held between the housing
71
and the head section
73
C. A hollow section is provided in the intermediate section and the head section
73
C of the bush
73
for receiving the pin terminal
61
. A U-shaped contact member
75
is provided on the bush
73
and has a contact section
75
A slightly projecting from the window
73
B into the hollow portion.
Similarly to the above connector
60
, the connector
70
is attached to a circuit board P
2
and the connecting section
72
is soldered to a corresponding section with a solder
76
.
When the connector
60
is plugged into the connector
70
, the pin terminal
61
enters the hollow portion of the bush
73
and makes contact with the contact section
75
and the threaded section
73
A so that it is grounded through the ground terminal
72
.
However, the above connector has several disadvantages about grounding.
First of all, the number of parts or components is very large. The connector
60
requires both the ground terminal
65
and the pin terminal
61
for grounding while the connector
70
needs the bush
73
, the contact piece
75
, and the ground terminal
72
. The structures of these components are very complicated. The ground terminals
65
and
72
for the connectors
60
and
70
require threaded tubes
65
B and
72
B, respectively. The bush
73
for the connector
70
has the three stepped sections, the window section
73
B, and the threaded section
73
A below the head section
73
C. The contact piece
75
requires complex press working so as to adapt for the pin terminal
61
of the connector
60
.
Consequently, not only the manufacturing cost is high but also the connector becomes large. Also, the assembling becomes complex, and the electrical resistance can be high and the contact can be unstable. The pin terminal for contact with the ground terminal must be made of a metal material, which requires machining for providing the required shape and size, resulting in the increased cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a compact electrical connector having simpler shape and structure and lower cost than ever before.
According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector equipped with a guiding column, which comprises a housing; at least one guiding column extending forwardly from the housing to be inserted into a guiding aperture of a mating connector; at least one ground terminal having a contact section for contact with a ground member of the mating connector; and a side recess provided in the guiding column to receive the ground terminal such that the contact section of the ground terminal projects from the side recess for making sliding contact with the ground member of the mating connector.
Since the ground terminal is provided within the guiding column, a compact connector is obtained. The ground terminal is made of a metal strip so that it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.
The guiding column may be made integrally with the housing as a unit and the ground terminal may have a connection section at the rear end so that the terminals are provided close to the guiding column, making the structure simpler and the connector smaller than before. The guiding column may be made of a metallic material and supported by the housing so as to make contact with the ground terminal and have a connection section at the rear end.
Where the shield case is attached to the housing, it is preferred that the ground terminal be made integrally with the shield case as a unit. Also, it is preferred that the guiding column be made of a metallic material so as to make contact with the shield case.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an electrical connector to be plugged with a connector equipped with a guiding column, which comprises a housing having an attaching face to be attached to a circuit board and a guiding aperture for receiving said guiding column; a ground member provided in said guiding aperture for sliding contact with a ground terminal of said guiding column-equipped connector; and an extended section extending from said ground member by a distance no greater than a thickness of said circuit board.
The guiding column is guided by the guiding aperture longer than before by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the circuit board so that the contact between the ground member and the ground terminal of the mating connector is made more stable than before and the connector can be made compact by the presence of the extended section, which extends into the circuit board.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a plan view of part of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIGS.
2
(A)-(C) are sectional views taken along lines A—A, B—B, and C—C of
FIG. 1
, respectively;
FIG. 3
is a sectional view of part of the electrical connector and another electrical connector prior to plugging;
FIG. 4
is a sectional view of the electrical connectors when plugging begins;
FIG. 5
is a sectional view of the electrical connectors when plugging is completed;
FIG. 6
is a sectional view of part of an electrical connector according to the second embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 7
is a sectional view of part of an electrical connector according to the third embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 8
is a sectional view of part of an electrical connector according to the fourth embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 9
is a sectional view of part of an electrical connector according to the fifth embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 10
is a sectional view of part of an electrical connector according to a modification to the fifth embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 11
is a sectional view of part of an electrical connector according to the second modification to the fifth embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 12
is a sectional view of part of an electrical connector according to the sixth embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 13
is a sectional view of part of an electrical connector according to the seventh embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 14
is a sectional view of conventional electrical connectors.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to
FIGS. 1-11
.
In FIGS.
1
-
2
(C), a connector
10
comprises a substantially rectangular housing
11
made of an insulative material and a shield case
12
made of a metal sheet and attached over the housing
11
. The housing has a circumferential wall
13
to define a receiving cavity
14
for receiving a mating connector. The receiving cavity
14
consists of a pair of plugging recesses
14
A and a pair of guiding apertures
14
B.
The inner and outer faces of the circumferential wall
13
are covered by the shield case
12
with a U-shaped section. A plurality of attaching legs
12
A extend downwardly from the outer face of the shield case
12
. They are inserted through apertures in a circuit board P
1
and soldered on the lower face of the circuit board P
1
. A pair of tongue sections
12
B extend downwardly from the inner face of the circumferential wall
13
through the guiding apertures
14
. When the connector
10
is mounted on the circuit board P
1
, the tongue sections
12
B reach the lower face of the circuit board P
1
through apertures in the circuit board P
1
that are provided corresponding to the guiding apertures
14
.
An arranging plate
15
is provided at the center of the receiving section
14
. A plurality of grooves
15
A are provided in either face of the arranging plate
15
in which the contact sections
16
A of (signal) terminals
16
are arranged. As shown in FIG.
2
(A), a leg of the U-shaped portion of each contact section
16
A slightly project from the groove
15
A and is flexible. The free end of the L-shaped portion forms a connection portion
16
B extending along the bottom of the housing
11
. When the connector
10
is placed on the circuit board P
1
, the connection portion
16
B makes contact with a corresponding circuit trace of the circuit board P
1
for soldering.
In
FIG. 3
, another connector
20
to be plugged into the connector
10
comprises a housing
20
and a plurality of (signal) terminals
22
provided on the housing
20
. Each terminal
22
has a contact section
22
A that makes contact with the contact section
16
A of a terminal
22
when the connector
20
is plugged into the connector
10
. A pair of guiding columns
23
are provided on the housing
21
to fit into the guiding apertures
14
B, assuring the correct plugging relationship between both the connectors
10
and
20
. Each guiding column
23
extends forwardly from the housing
21
and has a tapered head
23
A. It is provided with a side recess
23
B to receive a ground terminal
24
that is made of a metal strip and flexible. The ground terminal
24
has a contact bend
24
A that projects from the side recess
23
B and a connection portion
24
B at the other end. When the connectors
10
and
20
are plugged together, the contact section
24
A slides on the tongue portion
12
B of the shield case
12
up to the rear end. When the connector
20
is placed on a circuit board P
2
, the connection portion
24
B goes through a corresponding aperture of the circuit board and is soldered to a corresponding circuit trace on the lower face of the circuit board.
A shield case
25
covers the outside face of the housing
21
. When the connectors
10
and
20
are plugged together, it makes contact with at least part of the shield case
12
for electrical connection. It has a connection leg
25
A that goes through an aperture of the circuit board P
2
and is soldered to a corresponding circuit trace on the lower face of the circuit board.
The connectors
10
and
20
are plugged together as follows.
(1) The connectors
10
and
20
attached to the circuit boards P
1
and P
2
, respectively, are placed as shown in
FIG. 3 and
, then, the head portions
23
A of the guiding columns
23
for the connector
20
are put into the guiding apertures
14
B of the connector
10
as shown in FIG.
4
.
(2) The contact sections
24
A of the ground terminals
24
make contact with the ground member or shield case
12
of the connector
10
before the contact sections
16
A and
22
A of the signal terminals
16
and
22
for the connectors
10
and
20
come to contact.
(3) When the connectors
10
and
20
reach the plug completion position, the contact sections
24
A of the ground terminals
24
reach the rear ends of the tongue portions
12
B of the shield case
12
. At this point, the contact sections
16
A and
22
A of the connectors
10
and
20
are in contact with each other. The shield case
12
and
25
do not appear to be in contact in
FIG. 5
but they are in contact with each other on faces parallel to the drawing sheet. The faces perpendicular to the drawing sheet may also be made contact with each other.
In
FIG. 6
, according to the second embodiment of the invention, the ground terminals
24
of the connector
20
are made integrally with the shield case
25
. It is preferred that a slit is provided between the ground terminal
24
and the shield case
25
to facilitate the flexure of the ground terminal
24
.
In
FIG. 7
, according to the third embodiment of the invention, the ground terminal
24
of the connector
20
is brought into spring contact with the circuit board P
2
without soldering. It is press-fitted in the side recess
23
B.
In
FIG. 8
, according to the fourth embodiment of the invention, the ground terminal
24
of the connector
20
press-fitted in the side recess
23
B so as to make spring contact with the shield case
25
.
In
FIG. 9
, according to the fifth embodiment of the invention, the guiding column
33
is made of a metallic material separately from the housing
21
. The ground terminal
24
is provided in the side recess
33
B. This guiding column
33
is stronger than those of the above embodiments. It is press-fitted to the housing.
Alternatively, as shown in
FIG. 10
, the ground terminal
24
is provided in the side recess
33
B opened in the direction opposite to that of FIG.
9
.
As shown in
FIG. 11
, the ground terminal
24
is connected to the guiding column
33
. The side recess
33
B is made smaller than the above embodiments and the ground terminal
24
is welded to the guiding column
33
or press-fitted in the side recess
33
B for electrical and mechanical connection. The guiding column
33
has a connection section
35
A at the lower end.
In
FIG. 12
, according to the sixth embodiment of the invention, the guiding column
33
is made of a metallic material and the ground terminal
24
is made integrally with the shield case
25
.
In
FIG. 13
, according to the seventh embodiment of the invention, the guiding column
33
is made of a metallic material and the ground terminal
24
is made of integrally with the shield case
25
and provided such that the contact section
24
A faces inwardly.
As has been described above, according to the invention, the ground terminal is housed in the guiding column so that it is possible to provided a compact connector. Also, it is made of a metal strip so that the shield connection is made stable at low cost. Since the guiding column may be made integrally with the housing, it is possible to provide it close to the signal terminals for minimizing the connector. The ground terminal may be made integrally with the shield case to minimize the number of parts and assembling steps, making the structure simpler and the manufacturing cost lower than before.
Where the connector has a guiding aperture, the grounding member makes use of the thickness of a circuit board to increase the length of sliding on the contact section of a ground terminal for a mating connector so that it is possible to provide stable contact and contact of the ground terminal prior to the signal terminals.
Claims
- 1. An electrical connector comprising:a housing; at least one guiding column provided on a longitudinal end of said housing and extending forwardly from said housing to be inserted into a guiding aperture of a mating connector; a side recess provided in said guiding column and having an opening on a side of said guiding column; and at least one ground terminal having a contact section and accommodated in said side recess such said contact section projects laterally from said opening of said recess for making sliding contact with a ground member of said mating connector.
- 2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein said guiding column is made integrally with said housing as a unit and said ground terminal has a connection section at a rear end.
- 3. The electrical connector according to claimed 1, wherein said guiding column is made of a metallic material and supported by said housing so as to make contact with said ground terminal and has a connection section at a rear end thereof.
- 4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, which further comprises a shield case attached to said housing and made integrally with said ground terminal.
- 5. The electrical connector according to claim 3, which further comprises a shield case attached to said housing so as to make contact with said guiding column.
- 6. An electrical connector comprising:a housing; at least one guiding aperture provided in said housing and having an open bottom for receiving a guiding column of a mating connector; a shield case provided outside said housing; and at least one ground member extending from said shield case into an inside wall of said guiding aperture for sliding contact with a ground terminal of said mating connector.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2000-218879 |
Jul 2000 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
RE35508 |
Lemke et al. |
May 1997 |
E |
5919063 |
Wang |
Jul 1999 |
A |
6007352 |
Azuma et al. |
Dec 1999 |
A |