Abstract:
An electrical connector ( 300 ) for mating with a mating electrical connector ( 500 ) includes an insulative housing ( 1 ), a number of terminals ( 4 ) received in the insulative housing, a shutter ( 2 ) movably assembled to the insulative housing. The insulative housing includes a mating portion ( 11 ) and a first engaging portion ( 16 ) mounted on the insulative housing, the first engaging portion comprising a limitation section ( 161 ) and a first guiding section ( 162 ). The shutter closes and opens the mating portion of the insulative housing and includes a second engaging portion ( 212 ) which mates with the first guiding section. The shutter is translating in a plane perpendicular to the mating electrical connector insertion direction between a closed portion and an open position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector with a shutter for dust-proof. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Electrical connectors are commonly used in devices, such as personal computers, for electrically connecting electronic parts mounted on circuit boards to each other. Before the electrical connectors mate with mating electrical connectors, mating portions of the electrical connectors are exposed to foreign matter, such as dust and dirt, during the mating process that can interfere with the operation of the electronic parts. Accordingly, the electrical connectors always need shutter devices for preventing the dust from entering into the interior thereof. 
   U.S. patent application Pub. No. 2003/0077929 discloses an electrical connector with a shutter. The electrical connector includes a mating connector fitting section and a shutter made by a pair of shutter members for closing said mating connector fitting section. The shutter member comprises a pair of arms provided at opposite ends in a lengthwise direction thereof and rotatably supported to opposite wall ends of said electrical connector for attaching said pair of shutter members to said electrical connector. And spring members for pulling said pair of shutter members toward each other, thereby covering said mating connector fitting section. The shutter members rotatablely move between a closed position and an open position. 
   Another conventional electrical connector with a shutter is disclosed in U.S. patent application Pub. No. 2002/0177336, the shutter of the electrical connector rotatablely move between a closed position and an open position as well. 
   However, according to the prior arts above, when the electrical connector is at the open position, the shutter members of the shutter are rotated to close to a printed circuit board connected with the electrical connector, or even contact said printed circuit board. So no electrical components can be arranged at the space of the printed circuit board near the side of the electrical connector, that disadvantage affects the integration of the printed circuit board. Furthermore, the structure of the shutters is complex, and the profile of the electrical connectors assembled with said shutters is high. 
   Hence, it is desired to provide an improved electrical connector with a shutter to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with a shutter to save space of a printed circuit board. 
   Anther object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with a shutter having simple structure and low-profile. 
   In order to achieve the object set forth, an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention includes an insulative housing, a plurality of terminals received in the insulative housing, a shutter movably assembled to the insulative housing. The insulative housing includes a mating portion and a first engaging portion mounted on the insulative housing, the first engaging portion comprising a limitation section and a first guiding section. The shutter closes and opens the mating portion of the insulative housing and includes a second engaging portion which mates with the first guiding section. The shutter moves in a plane perpendicular to the mating electrical connector insertion direction between a closed portion and an open position. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded, perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a partially side view of an insulative housing of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a mating electrical connector for engaging with the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded, perspective view of the mating electrical connector of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-section view taken along line  6 — 6  of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 7  is an assembled view of the electrical connector partially mating with the mating electrical connector; and 
       FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 7 , but the mating electrical connector mate with the electrical connector completely. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , an electrical connector  300  in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulative housing  1 , a plurality of terminals (not labeled) retained in the insulative housing  1 , a shielding device  5 , a positioning plate  17  and a shutter  2 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 1  in conjunction with  FIG. 2 , the insulative housing  1  is substantially rectangular in shape and made out of a material such as a synthetic resin. The insulative housing  1  has a base  10 , a pair of sidewalls  12 , a pair of end walls  13  and a pair of elongate tongues  14  extending in the lengthwise direction of the insulative housing  1 . A mating portion  11  for mating with a mating electrical connector  500  (shown in  FIG. 4 ) is provided at an upper surface of the insulative housing  1 , and a mating space  15  is defined between the base  10 , the sidewalls  12  and the end walls  13 , and comprises a pair of guiding chambers  151  in the vicinity of the end walls  13  respectively. Terminals retained in the insulative housing  1  are divided into three types: signal terminals  42 , power terminals  41  and grounding terminals (not labeled). 
   The sidewalls  12  of the insulative housing  1  are opposite to each other, each sidewall  12  comprises a pair of latching member  121  with a bulge  122  protruding outwardly from the sidewalls  12  near the end walls  13  respectively. A plurality of locating members  123  with a through hole  125  and a plurality of protrusions  124  are formed in turn on the outside surface of each side wall  12  between two latching members  121  in turn. All of the locating members  121 , the locating members  123  and the protrusions  124  are formed on lower portion of each sidewall  12 . Each sidewall  12  further defines a plurality of cutouts  120  at up edge thereof. 
   The pair of end walls  13  opposite to each other, and each end wall  13  comprises an first engaging portion  16  on an up surface thereof, two stopper member  132  on an outside surface thereof, and a groove  131  on an inside surface thereof throughout the base  10 . Each first engaging portion  16  comprises a limitation section  161  and a first guiding section  162  along which the shutter  2  moves between a closed position and an open position. Referring to  FIG. 3 , the first engaging portion  16  has a T-shaped cross-section, the limitation section  161  is a flat member parallel to the up surface of the end walls  13 , the first guiding member  162  is an elongate upright member. Height of the first guiding member  162  equals to thickness of the shutter  2 . The limitation sections  161  and the first guiding sections  162  extend along the end walls  12 , and each limitation section  161  further defines a gap  163  corresponding to the groove  131  to secure a grounding terminal (not labeled) at an inside edge thereof. 
   The elongate tongues  14  are formed within the mating space  15  and spaced apart from each other, and each elongate tongue  14  defines a plurality of direct smaller terminal passageways  142  for receiving signal terminals  42  and larger terminal passageways  142  for recovering power terminals  41  on both sides thereof, the larger terminal passageways  141  are defined at two side surfaces of one end of each elongate tongue  14 , all of the passageways  141 ,  142  are throughout of the base  10 . 
   The shutter  2  movably assembles with the insulative housing  1  to cover the mating portion  11  of the insulative housing  1 , comprises a pair of shutter members  21 ,  22  and a pair of coil springs  3 . The shutter members  21 ,  22  have symmetrical structures, and are arranged side by side in a plane. Take the shutter member  21  example for illustrating the structure of the shutter members  21 ,  22  in detail as below. The shutter member  21  is a substantially rectangle shaped plate, comprises a pair of arms  211  extending downwards from opposite ends in the lengthwise direction thereof, a pair of second engaging portion  212  adjacent to the ends, and a pair of oblique plates  213  inclining downwards from a main plate thereof. The second engaging portion  212  is an elongate slot opened on an inside edge near to the shutter member  22 , and corresponds in dimension to the first guiding section. Width of the second engaging portions  212  is larger than that of the first guiding sections  162 . The shutter member  22  comprises a pair of arms  221 , a pair of second engaging portion  222  and a pair of oblique plates  223  as the shutter member  21 . In assembly, the second engaging portions  212 ,  222  of two shutter members  21 ,  22  movably engage with two ends of one first guiding section  162  respectively below the limitation section  161 . Each oblique plane  213  of one shutter member  21  opposite to each oblique plane  223  of another shutter member  22  respectively, and oblique plates  213 ,  223  are corresponding to locations of the guiding chamber  151 . Each coil spring  3  connects two shutter members  21 ,  22  with two ends fixed to two arms  211 ,  221  of two shutter members  21 ,  22  in same ends respectively, and the stopper members  132  resist the arms  211 ,  221  to prevent the shutter members  21 ,  22  from overlapping. 
   The shielding device  5  for diverting the electrostatic discharge comprises a pair of shield members (not labeled), each shield member is made of metal and comprises a plurality of hooks  51  extending laterally and downwards from an up edge thereof, a plurality of cutouts  52  on an down edge thereof and a plurality of pins  53  extending downwards from the down edge thereof. Two shield members are assembled with the insulative housing  1 , and the hooks  51  engage with the cutouts  120  respectively, the cutouts  52  fasten on the latching members  121  and the protrusions  124 , and the pins  53  pass through the through holes  125  of the locating members  123 . 
   The positioning plate  17  is a plate-shaped, defines a plurality of small holes  173  and two elongate holes  172  through the plate body, and the small holes  173  and elongate holes  172  are corresponding to the small terminal passageways  142  and the lager terminal passageways  141 . Four latching members  171  extend upwards from four corners of the plate body for engaging with the bulges  122  of the latching members  121  of the insulative housing  1 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4–5 , the mating electrical connector  500  for mating with the electrical connector  300  comprises an insulative housing  6 , a pair of guiding devices  7 , a pair of shield plates  8 , a positioning plate  64  and a plurality of terminals. 
   The insulative housing  6  comprises a base  60 , a mating portion (not labeled) above the base  60  for mating with the electrical connector  300  and the guiding devices  7 . 
   The base  60  has a general shape of an elongate club, comprises a pair of side faces  601  along lengthwise direction and a pair of end faces  602 . Each side face  601  has a pair of tabs  603  for fixing the positioning plate  64 , a plurality of positioning members  606  with a through hole  607  thereof. Each end face  602  has a positioning member  604  with a through hole  605  for positioning a grounding terminal. The base  60  further defines a space (not labeled) in bottom portion for receiving and locating the positioning plate  64 . 
   The mating portion has a middle portion (not labeled), a pair of upright walls  623  and two concave chambers (not labeled) each defined between the middle portion and each upright wall. The middle portion protrudes upwards from a center portion of the base  60 , extends along the lengthwise direction of the base  60 . The middle portion comprises a pair of lengthwise sidewalls  611 , a pair of thick end walls  612  and a middle wall  610 . The middle wall  610  parallels to two sidewalls  611  and connects to the end walls  612 , two lengthwise receiving spaces (not labeled) for receiving the elongate tongues  14  of the electrical connector  300  are defined between the sidewalls  611  and the middle wall  610 . A plurality of passageways  614 ,  615  are defined on inside surfaces of the sidewalls  611  and two opposite side surfaces of the middle wall  610 . The passageways  614 ,  615  are throughout the base  60 . Each end wall  612  comprises a cutout  626  at an up edge thereof and a pair of upright slots  622  opened on two laterals respectively in end wall  612 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the concave chambers are defined in the base  60  to detach the middle portion from the upright walls  623 , the concave chamber comprises a cavity  624  with four grooves (not labeled) and two circular holes  625  extending downwardly from the cavity  624 . Each upright wall  623  comprises a cutout  626  corresponding to the cutout  627  and a pair of latching tabs  628  on two ends thereof. 
   The guiding devices  7  assembled with the insulative housing  6  comprises a pair of guiding members  71  and two pairs of coil springs  72 . The guiding members  71  are plates with substantial hill-shaped, each guiding member  71  comprises a body potion  710  and a top portion  711 , the body potion  710  comprises two pairs of latching protrusions  714  on two side faces and two posts  715  extending downwards from bottom face thereof. The top portion  711  comprises a pair of guiding faces  712  and a through hole  713  through two side surfaces thereof. One guiding member  71  and a pair of coil springs  72  are located in one concave chamber, lower section of the body portion  710  are received in upper space of the concave chamber, one end of each coil spring  72  locates in each circular hole  625 , and the other end of each coil spring  72  encircles around the post  715 . The guiding members  71  can move down by means of the latching protrusions  714  sliding along the grooves  628 . 
   The shield plates  8  cover the insulative housing  6 , each shield plate  8  includes a main portion  81  for covering the sidewall  611  of the middle portion and a plurality of latching pieces  82  and pins  83 . The main portions  81  have curving sections  811  at two ends thereof for attaching to the upright slots  622 , and the latching pieces  82  and the pins  83  pass through the through holes  605  of the positioning members  604  respectively to fix the shield plates  8  on the insulative housing  6 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4–5 , the positioning plate  64  assembled to the bottom face of the insulative housing  6  comprises four locking members  641  for engaging with the tabs  603  and a plurality of aperture (not shown) corresponding to the passageways  614 ,  615 . 
   Terminals received in the mating electrical connector  500  are divided into three types: signal terminals, power terminals and grounding terminals  63 . The signal terminals and the power terminals are retained in the corresponding passageways  614 ,  615  with lower ends passing through the apertures  641  of the positioning plate  64 . There are two grounding terminals  63  in the mating electrical connector  500 , each grounding terminal  63  (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) comprises a fixing end  633 , a middle portion  631  and a grounding end  632 . The fixing ends  633  have bending shape corresponding to mating face of the upright walls  623  and the base  60  to pass through the through holes  713  of the guiding devices  7  and assemble with the cutouts  626 ,  627  of the mating portions. The middle portions  631  are located in the insulative housing  6  by means of passing through the through holes  605  of the positioning members  604 . The grounding ends  632  extend downwards from the middle portion  631 , and each grounding end  632  has two grounding pins to electrically connect with a printed circuit board (not shown). 
   The mating electrical connector  500  and the electrical connector  300  mate to form an electrical connector assembly, as shown in  FIG. 8 . The process of mating the electrical connectors  300 ,  500  will now be described in greater detail with reference to  FIGS. 7–8 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the mating electrical connector  500  reversed is positioned substantially adjacent to the electrical connector  300  such that guiding faces  712  of the top portions  711  of the guiding devices  7  comes into contact with the oblique plates  213 ,  223  of the shutter members  21 ,  22 . In this state, the insulative housing  1  and the insulative housing  6  are not yet in contact, as the electrical connector  300  and the mating electrical connector  500  contact to each other, the top portions  711  of the guiding devices  7  push the oblique plates  213 ,  223  apart, due to the push force, the shutter members  21 ,  22  make transverse translation in the plane of the shutter members  21 ,  22  by the second engaging portions  212 ,  222  guiding along the first guiding section  162 , and the shutter members  21 ,  22  just move in the plane due to the limitation section  161  until the mating portion  11  of the electrical connector  300  exposed at an open position. At the same time, the coil springs  3  become longer with larger elasticity. After then, the guiding devices  7  are received in the guiding chamber  151 , and the electrical connector  300 ,  500  mate with each other with the terminals electrically connecting. If the mating electrical connector  500  is draw from the electrical connector  300 , the resilience of the coil springs  3  actuate the shutter members  21 ,  22  to the initial closed status due to the outside force eliminating, the second engaging portions  212 ,  222  guide the shutter  2  to slide along the first guiding section  162  until the arms  211 ,  221  are stopped by the stopper members  132  at a closed position. 
   In the process above, the shutter members  21 ,  22  move between the closed position and the open position, the engagement portion  16  engages with the second engaging portion  212 ,  222  to form a guiding and limitation mechanism, which guide the shutter  2  to slide along the guiding mechanism in plane of the shutter  2  and limit the shutter  2  not divorce from the plane. Thus at the open position, the shutter  2  is parallel to and apart from the printed circuit board, sequentially, electrical components can be arranged on the printed circuit board around the electrical connector  300 . 
   According to the principle cited above, the second engaging portion  211 ,  221  can be an elongate slot opened at inside edges of the shutter members  21 ,  22 , and the first engaging portion  16  can be several T-shaped or reversed trapezoid-shaped bumps distributed discontinuously on the end walls of insulative housing  1 ; the first engaging portion  16  of the insulative housing  1  can be an elongate slot defined in the end walls  13 , correspondingly, the second engaging portion  211 ,  221  can be a protrusion with a reversed T-shaped or trapezoid-shaped cross-section protruding from the lower surface of the shutter  2 . 
   It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.