The invention relates to a shield terminal and a shield connector.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-192474 discloses a shield terminal including an inner conductor terminal, an outer conductor terminal surrounding the inner conductor terminal and a dielectric interposed between the outer conductor terminal and the inner conductor terminal. The shield terminal is accommodated into a connector housing. The inner conductor terminal is a tab-like structure bent into an L shape and includes a board mounting tab extending in a vertical direction. The board mounting tab of the inner conductor terminal is inserted into a through hole of a circuit board. The outer conductor terminal is composed of an outer conductor terminal body covering the inner conductor terminal and a lid body for closing an opening on a back surface of the outer conductor terminal body. The outer conductor terminal body includes board mounting tabs projecting down from four corners of a pull-out opening through which the board mounting tab of the inner conductor terminal is pulled out. The respective board mounting tabs of the outer conductor terminal are inserted into through holes of the circuit board.
The outer conductor terminal body and the lid body cover and shield the board mounting tab of the inner conductor terminal. However, to reduce material cost and to improve yield, a shielding property of the inner conductor terminal may be ensured by removing a front wall that covers a front end of the board mounting tab of the inner conductor terminal and arranging the respective board mounting tabs of the outer conductor terminal around the board mounting tab of the inner conductor terminal. In the above case, the board mounting tabs of the outer conductor terminal are arranged on the four corners of the pull-out opening and are at positions separated from the board mounting tab of the inner conductor terminal. Thus, the shielding property of the inner conductor terminal may not be sufficient.
The present invention was completed on the basis of the above situation and aims to provide a shield terminal and a shield connector capable of improving a shielding property.
The invention is directed to a shield terminal with an inner conductor terminal including an inner conductor connecting piece to be connected to a conductive portion of a circuit board, and an outer conductor terminal including outer conductor connecting pieces to be connected to a ground of the circuit board. The outer conductor terminal surrounds the inner conductor terminal and has a pull-out opening through which the inner conductor connecting piece is pulled out toward the circuit board. The outer conductor connecting pieces are arranged to face the pull-out opening and include first and second outer conductor connecting pieces located on both sides across the inner conductor connecting piece in a plan view and a third outer conductor connecting piece located to face the inner conductor connecting piece in a direction orthogonal to an arrangement direction of the first and second outer conductor connecting pieces at a position between the first and second outer conductor connecting pieces in the arrangement direction. Thus, as compared to the case where the board mounting tabs of the outer conductor terminal are located diagonally to the four corners of the pull-out opening as in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-192474, the first to third outer conductor connecting pieces can be located near the inner conductor connecting piece and effectively shield the inner conductor terminal.
The pull-out opening may be formed by bending the third outer conductor connecting piece toward the circuit board, and the third outer conductor connecting piece may be arranged with a plate surface outside bend facing the inner conductor connecting piece. According to this configuration, the third outer conductor connecting piece is formed together with the pull-out opening in a high yield by bending after the stamping of a metal plate. Further, the inner conductor connecting piece is shielded satisfactorily by causing the plate surface of the third outer conductor connecting piece to face the inner conductor connecting piece.
The third outer conductor connecting piece may project from a central region excluding outer end parts of the outer conductor terminal and may be mounted through a connection hole of the circuit board. According to this configuration, stress transmitted to the outer conductor terminal in a heating environment can escape to the circuit board via the third outer conductor connecting piece projecting from the central region of the outer conductor terminal. Thus, a position of the outer conductor terminal will not deviate with respect to the circuit board.
A shield connector may include the above-described shield terminal with a dielectric between the inner conductor terminal and the outer conductor terminal. The shield connector also may include a connector housing for accommodating the shield terminal. The shield achieves a good shielding property, and the shield connector can be used suitably, for example, as a shield connector for high-speed communication of an automotive vehicle.
The connector housing may include a recess recessed in a direction retracted from a position where the third outer conductor connecting piece is connected to the ground portion of the circuit board. According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid contact of the connector housing with solder paste applied at the position where the third outer conductor connecting piece is connected to the ground portion of the circuit board and to improve mounting reliability on the circuit board. Further, the recess makes the connector housing less likely to deform and helps to ensure coplanarity with the circuit board.
An embodiment of the invention is described with reference to
As shown in
The inner conductor terminal 21 is formed, such as by bending a conductive metal plate. As shown in
The tab 25 is connected electrically to a mating terminal fitting in an unillustrated mating connector when the shield connector 10 is connected to the mating connector. The inner conductor connecting piece 26 is a strip of constant width, bent into a substantially L shape in a side view and composed of a vertical portion 27 extending down from a rear of the inner conductor body 24 and a conductor connecting portion 28 extending rearward from the lower end of the vertical portion 27. The conductor connecting portion 28 extends slightly obliquely down toward the rear and is connected electrically for signal transmission to a conductive land 91 formed on a surface of a printed circuit board 90.
The dielectric 23 is formed of an insulating synthetic resin having a predetermined dielectric constant and has a terminal accommodation chamber 29 penetrating in the front-rear direction. The inner conductor body 24 is accommodated into the terminal accommodation chamber 29. The tab 25 of the inner conductor terminal 21 projects forward from a front end opening of the terminal accommodation chamber 29 with the inner conductor body 24 held in the dielectric 23, and the conductor connecting portion 28 is exposed from a rear end opening of the terminal accommodation chamber 29. The dielectric 23 holds a clearance between the inner conductor terminal 21 and the outer conductor terminal 22 in an insulated state.
The connector housing 60 is made of synthetic resin and includes, as shown in
As shown in
Mounting holes 67 penetrate the base wall 61 in the front-rear direction (thickness direction of the base wall 61). As shown in
As shown in
The outer conductor terminal 22 is formed by applying bending and the like to a conductive metal plate stamped into a developed shape shown in
As shown in
The tubular portion 34 includes butting ends 36 in a lateral center of a lower part. As shown in
The tubular portion 34 includes two body-side slits 38 (only one is shown in
The inner locks 41 are formed by bending and raising side walls of the tubular portion 34 inward via the body-side slits 38 (see
As shown in
The outer conductor body 31 includes a pull-out opening 46 (see
The coupling 35 includes two body-side locks 47 projecting downward on lower parts of both left and right sides (both circumferential end parts), as shown in
Each of the body-side locks 47 includes a plate-like side plate 48 arranged such that plate surfaces thereof extend along the front-rear direction, and contacts 49 (see
The contacts 49 are pin-like parts having a substantially rectangular cross-section and are connected at two positions spaced apart in the vertical direction on a plate thickness part on the rear end of the side plate 48, and formed by being bent inwardly in a plate thickness direction toward the pull-out opening 46 (see
The hinge 32 is a narrow flexible link between the coupling 35 and the lid 33. The lid 33 is rotationally displaceable between an open state where the hinge 32 extends straight to open a rear side of the pull-out opening 46 and a closed state where the hinge 32 is curved and bent to close the rear side of the pull-out opening 46. As shown in
The back plate 51 has a rectangular shape in a back view and, as shown in
The two sides 52 are formed respectively by forwardly bending plate-like parts (see parts B of
As shown in
The first and second outer conductor connecting pieces 53, 54 have the same shape and project down from the back plate 51. As shown in
Next, functions of this embodiment are described.
First, the outer conductor terminals 22 are inserted into the mounting holes 67 of the base wall 61 of the connector housing 60. In this embodiment, four outer conductor terminals 22 are mounted into the corresponding mounting holes 67 (see
Subsequently, the dielectrics 23 are inserted into the outer conductor terminals 22 from behind, and then the inner conductor terminals 21 are inserted into the terminal accommodation chambers 29 of the dielectrics 23. Thereafter, the respective contacts 49 are bent and the lids 33 are turned to the closed state via the hinges 32. In the process of displacing the lid 33 to the closed state, the lid-side locks 56 of the sides 52 interfere with the corresponding body-side locks 47 and the sides 52 are expanded and resiliently deformed with parts coupled to the back plate 51 as fulcrums.
When the lid 33 reaches the closed state, the back plate 51 closed the opening in the rear surface of the outer conductor body 31, the lid-side locks 56 of the sides 52 ride over the body-side locks 47, and the sides 52 resiliently return to cover the corresponding body-side locks 47 from outside. Further, when the lid 33 reaches the closed state, front lower parts of the side plates 48 enter upper parts of the lid-side slits 55 of the sides 52 (see
Thereafter, the shield connector 10 is placed on the surface of the circuit board 90, and reflow soldering is applied to fix the shield connector 10 to the circuit board 90 via the fixing members 65. Further, the conductor connecting portion 28 of the inner conductor connecting piece 26 is connected to the conductive portion 91 of the circuit board 90 by reflow soldering, the tab 45 of the third outer conductor connecting piece 42 is inserted into the connection hole 95 of the circuit board 90 and connected to the third ground 94, and the ground connecting portions 58 of the first and second outer conductor connecting pieces 53, 54 are connected to the first and second ground portions 92, 93.
An electrical signal flowing in the inner conductor terminal 21 flows to the conductive portion 91 of the circuit board 90 via the inner conductor connecting piece 26. A return current corresponding to the electrical signal is generated in the outer conductor terminal 22. The return current flows along the inner surface of the outer conductor terminal 22 and is dropped to the first to third ground portions 92 to 94 of the circuit board 90 via the first to third outer conductor connecting pieces 42, 53 and 54.
The conductor connecting portion 28 of the inner conductor connecting piece 26 is pulled out rearward through a clearance open between the lower end of the back plate 51 and the circuit board 90 and between the hanging portions 57 of the first and second outer conductor connecting pieces 53, 54. As shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the outer conductor body 31 of the outer conductor terminal 22 is not at a position to cover a front side of the lower end part of the inner conductor connecting piece 26, and the back plate 51 thereof is not at a position to cover a rear side of the lower end part of the inner conductor connecting piece 26. However, as described above, the first and second outer conductor connecting pieces 53, 54 are near both left and right sides of the inner conductor connecting piece 26, and the third outer conductor connecting piece 42 is arranged on the axis passing through the inner conductor connecting piece 26 with the rear surface thereof facing the inner conductor terminal 21. Thus, the inner conductor connecting piece 26 is shielded effectively by the first to third outer conductor connecting pieces surrounding the inner conductor connecting piece 26. As a result, the shielding property by the outer conductor terminal 22 is ensured by the first to third outer conductor connecting pieces 42, 53 and 54.
According to this embodiment, the first to third outer conductor connecting pieces 42, 53 and 54 are arranged in a well-balanced manner to surround the inner conductor connecting piece 26 in a circle (virtual circle) in a plan view. The third outer conductor connecting piece 42 is grounded and connected to the third ground portion 94 substantially through a shortest path.
Specifically, the first to third outer conductor connecting pieces 42, 53 and 54 are arranged to face the pull-out opening 46 and, in a plan view, the first and second outer conductor connecting pieces 53, 54 are on both sides across the inner conductor connecting piece 26 and the third outer conductor connecting piece 42 faces the inner conductor connecting piece 26 in the axial direction (C direction of
The opening shape of the pull-out opening 46 is formed by bending the third outer conductor connecting piece 42 toward the circuit board 90. The third outer conductor connecting piece 42 is formed together with the pull-out opening 46 in a high yield by bending after stamping the metal plate. In addition, the third outer conductor connecting piece 42 is arranged with the plate surface outside the bend facing the inner conductor connecting piece 26. Thus, the third outer conductor connecting piece 42 satisfactorily shields the inner conductor connecting piece 26.
Furthermore, since the third outer conductor connecting piece 42 projects from a substantially central part (central region excluding outer end parts of the outer conductor terminal 22) of the lower end of the outer conductor body 31 in the front-rear direction and the width direction and is mounted through the connection hole 95 of the circuit board 90, even if stress that will deform the connector housing 60 acts on the outer conductor terminal 22 under a heating environment, such as during reflow soldering, that stress can escape to the circuit board 90 via the third outer conductor connecting piece 42 and a positional deviation of the outer conductor terminal 22 with respect to the circuit board 90 can be prevented.
Other embodiments are briefly described below.
The outer conductor terminal may not include the hinge and the lid and the outer conductor body may be configured as dividable separate bodies.
The outer conductor terminal may include an additional outer conductor connecting piece at a position to surround the inner conductor connecting piece in addition to the first to third outer conductor connecting pieces.
The third outer conductor connecting piece need not necessarily be arranged at the position on the axis passing through the inner conductor connecting piece to be at the same position as the inner conductor connecting piece in the width direction (arrangement direction of the first and second outer conductor connecting pieces) and may be arranged at a position between the first and second outer conductor connecting pieces (within a range defined by arrows L of
The first and second outer conductor connecting pieces may be arranged at positions deviated in the front-rear direction with respect to the inner conductor connecting piece on both left and right sides across the inner conductor connecting piece.
The first and second outer conductor connecting pieces may be shaped differently from each other.
The inner conductor connecting piece may be of a through hole mount type to be inserted into a connection hole of the circuit board.
The first and second outer conductor connecting pieces may be of a through hole mount type to be inserted into connection holes of the circuit board.
The third outer conductor connecting piece may be of a surface mount type by having a part to be arranged along the surface of the circuit board.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
JP2019-033561 | Feb 2019 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5934940 | Maranto | Aug 1999 | A |
5961350 | Shiu | Oct 1999 | A |
6113426 | Lin | Sep 2000 | A |
10566741 | Maesoba | Feb 2020 | B2 |
20130059472 | Saito | Mar 2013 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2008-192474 | Aug 2008 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20200274299 A1 | Aug 2020 | US |