Electrical connector having a shielding shell upwardly abutting a grounding plate

An electrical connector includes: an insulative housing having a base and a tongue; an upper and a lower rows of contacts secured to the insulative housing and exposed, respectively, to two opposite faces of the tongue; a grounding plate arranged between the upper row of contacts and the lower row of contacts; and a shielding shell enclosing the insulative housing, wherein the grounding plate has a pair of side tails exposed to an outside of the insulative housing, and the shielding shell has a pair of soldering legs upwardly abutting the pair of side tails of the grounding plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electrical connector including an insulative housing retaining two rows of contacts and a middle grounding plate, and a shielding shell enclosing the insulative housing, wherein the shielding shell has a pair of soldering legs upwardly abutting the grounding plate reliably.

2. Description of Related Arts

U.S. Pat. No. 9,935,401 discloses an electrical connector, comprising an insulative housing having a base and a tongue, an upper and a lower rows of contacts secured to the insulative housing and exposed, respectively, to an upper and a lower faces of the tongue, a grounding plate arranged between the upper row of contacts and the lower row of contacts, and a shielding shell consisting of an inner shell and an outer cover enclosing the insulative housing. The grounding plate has a pair of soldering tails. The outer cover of the shielding shell has a pair of soldering legs and the inner shell of the shielding shell has a pair of contacting pieces in contact with the pair of soldering tails of the grounding plate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An electrical connector comprises: an insulative housing having a base and a tongue; an upper and a lower rows of contacts secured to the insulative housing and exposed, respectively, to two opposite faces of the tongue; a grounding plate arranged between the upper row of contacts and the lower row of contacts; and a shielding shell enclosing the insulative housing, wherein the grounding plate has a pair of side tails exposed to an outside of the insulative housing, and the shielding shell has a pair of soldering legs upwardly abutting the pair of side tails of the grounding plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIGS. 1-11, an electrical connector100comprises an insulative housing1having a base15and a tongue14, an upper and a lower rows of contacts2secured to the insulative housing1and exposed, respectively, to an upper and a lower faces of the tongue14, a grounding plate3arranged between the upper row of contacts21and the lower row of contacts22in a vertical direction, and a shielding shell4enclosing the insulative housing1. The insulative housing1, the contacts2, and the grounding plate3constitute a contact module. The electrical connector may further comprise an insulative outer cover5, a front sealing member6, and a rear sealing member7.

Referring specifically toFIGS. 3 and 7-8, the insulative housing1includes a base15and a tongue14extending forwardly from the base in a front-to-back direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. The base15has a front main portion151and a rear extension152. A middle step1511is formed between the portions151and152. The insulative housing1is constructed of a first insulator11, a second insulator12, and a third insulator13molded in a known manner with the first and second insulators. The first insulator11has a base portion111, a tongue portion112, and an inclined portion113therebetween. The base portion111has a planar part1111, a pair of blocks1112, three positioning holes1113, two latching holes1114, and a window1115. The inclined portion113has a step1131.

The second insulator12has a base portion121, a tongue portion122, and an inclined portion123therebetween. The base portion121has a planar part1211, a pair of latches1212, three positioning holes1213, and a window1214. The inclined portion123has a step1231, a pair of side recesses1232, and a middle recess1233.

The third insulator13has a tongue portion131and a base portion132. The base portion132has a respective pair of recesses1321on each of an upper and a lower portions thereof.

Referring toFIGS. 1, 5, and 7, each contact2has a contacting portion23exposed to the tongue14, a securing portion24secured to the base15, and a soldering portion25extending outside the base15for mounting to a printed circuit board (not shown). The upper contacts21and the first insulator11constitute an upper contact module unit; the lower contacts22and the second insulator12constitute a lower contact module unit. The contact module includes the upper and lower contact module units.

Referring toFIGS. 7-8, the grounding plate3includes a main portion31between the tongue portions112and122, a plate portion33between the base portions111and121, and an angled/transitional portion32between the inclined portions113and123. The main portion31has a pair of front protrusions311. The angled portion32has a hole321through which the step1231extends to abut the step1131. The plate portion33has holes331aligned with the positioning holes1113and1213for filling up with molten plastics during molding. The grounding plate3has a pair of side tails332extending initially rearwardly in the front-to-back direction, and further sidewardly in the transverse direction perpendicular to both the vertical direction and the front-to-back direction, and exposed to an outside of the insulative housing1. The side tail332has a downwardly inclined end3321. The pair of side tails332are positioned under the pair of blocks1112of the base portion111.

Referring toFIGS. 3-4 and 9, the shielding shell4has a tubular portion41, a rear cover42, and a step43therebetween. The step43is accommodated on the step1511. The tubular portion41has features411received in the recesses1321, a first pair of stops412received in the recesses1232, and a second pair of stops413received in the recess1233. The rear cover42is leveled higher than the tubular portion41and has a pair of soldering legs421for mounting to the aforementioned printed circuit board (not shown). A notch422is formed at a junction of the leg. The soldering leg421has a bearing portion4212for resting the inclined end3321of the side tail332. Preferably, the bearing portion4212has an upper protrusion4211for upwardly abutting the side tail332. The rear cover42is located above the plate portion33while the bearing portions4212of the soldering legs421are located under the side tails332of the plate portion33. After assembling the shielding shell4, the par of blocks1112are at the notch422and the pair of side tails332of the grounding plate3are clamped between the pair of blocks1112and the pair of bearing portions4212of the soldering legs421.

Referring toFIGS. 1-2 and 5-6, the insulative outer cover5may include a tubular portion51, a pair of lugs52, and a rear covering portion53. The lug52has a hole521.

Since the side tail332is bent to have a downwardly inclined end3321in a slightly oblique manner, and the bearing portion4212of the soldering leg421is located below the side tail332and has the protrusion4211, a positive retention and reliable contact between the side tail332, which has a lying L-shaped configuration, and the soldering leg421, which has an upstanding L-shaped configuration, for effective grounding is achieved. In this embodiment, the soldering leg421is configured not to hinder the middle step1511when the housing1is forwardly assembled into the shielding shell4in a front-to-back direction. Understandably, the soldering leg421can be bent to his final position after the housing1has been assembled into the shielding shell4alternately.