Shielded electrical connector

Abstract: An electrical connector assembly (10,30) includes a metal sheet (20,42), which is in electrical contact with a metal shell (14,32), is embedded in an internal partition (18,40) of a housing (24,44) separating rows of contacts (16,38) for reducing electrical cross-talk between the contacts (16,38).

Description: The invention relates to electrical connectors, especially to such connectors having several rows of contacts and an outer metallic shell, as well as to an electrical connector assembly including matable first and second electrical connectors. A shielded electrical connector has several rows of contacts inside the housing and an outer metallic shell for the purpose of shielding. Such shielded electrical connectors are widely used in computers, work stations and other types of electronic office equipment for the connection of signal-carrying lines. In such shielded electrical connectors, the metal shell prevents electromagnetic noise from penetrating into the connector, but it does not eliminate the problem related to cross-talk between contact pins. In order to solve the problem of cross-talk, a metal sheet is installed between the rows of the contact pins. Figure 10 is an oblique view of an electrical connector df a conventional type as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model 49-6543. As can be seen from Figure 11, pin-shaped contacts 1 are arranged basically in two rows separated by a metal sheet 2. At the time of connection, this metal sheet 2 is inserted in slits 3 of the housing shown in Figure 10. Figures 12 and 13 are oblique projections of the connector parts shown in Figures 10 and 11 with cross-sections made along lines A-A' and B-B'. The metal sheet 2 has a tie-in 4 which, at the time of connection, comes in contact with tie-in 6, thus electrically separating the two rows of contacts 1. However, the trend of decreasing dimensions of electronic equipment developed in recent years led to a necessity to reduce the dimensions of the connectors for interface devices. For example, in high-performance CPU's operating at 32 bits used in electronic equipment, the number of contacts in a given interface connector may be as high as 200. As a result of the requirements to increase the number of contacts in such small connectors, distances between the contacts were drastically reduced, which led to increased problems of cross-talk and insufficient speed of operation. In such cases, if measures were taken in the form of a metal sheet 2, such as is shown in Figures 10-13, this sheet often failed to produce a proper connection at the time of joining the two halves of the connector which often resulted in damage. Another effect of size scale-down is that the layer of insulating material between the contacts becomes very thin, which may lead to damage of the housing. In addition, if tie-ins 4 and 6 are provided for the metal sheet 2, as shown in Figures 10 and 13, the pitch of the signal contact pins 1 must be increased, which defeats the requirement of the decrease in dimensions of the connector. From document WO-A1-89/11169, an electrical connector assembly including matable first and second electrical connectors has come to be known. Each of said known connectors has a dielectric housing disposed within a metallic shell and a plurality of electrical contacts disposed in said dielectric housing in at least two rows. At least one of the electrical connectors has a metal sheet between adjacent rows of said electrical contacts. This document does not disclose a metal sheet being disposed in said dielectric housing between adjacent rows of electrical contacts and having bents at longitudinal ends thereof to conform with the shape of a metallic shell for electrical engagement with a surface of said metallic shell. Considering the above circumstances, the purpose of the instant invention is to offer a mechanically strong, miniature shielded electrical connector as well as an electrical connector assembly having a high density of contacts with substantially reduced cross-talk and reduced noise interference between the rows of contacts. This technical problem is solved according to the invention by an electrical connector assembly having the features given with claim 1 as well as by an electrical connector according to the features of claim 7. Dependent claims 2 to 6 and 8 to 11 exhibit further improvements. A shielded electrical connector consists of a housing, several rows of contacts separated by an internal partition of the housing, and a metal shell covering at least the perimeter of the mating portion. Additionally, it has a metal sheet incorporated in the above-mentioned internal partitions and making electrical contact with the metal shell. The above mentioned metal sheet can be either pressed into the internal partitions or it can be insert-molded when the housing is manufactured. The shielded electrical connector according to the instant invention, corresponding to the requirements of miniaturization and a high operating speed, has a metal sheet eliminating cross-talk between the contacts because it is disposed in the internal partitions of the housing, thus preventing the sheet's damage despite the insufficiency of its own strength. In addition, since the metal sheet is in contact with the metal shell, there is no need for the tie-in 4 (see Figs. 11-13) used in conventional connectors, which makes it possible to further reduce the dimensions of the connector and to eliminate the operation related to bending and installation of the tie-in during assembly of the connector, thus reducing its production costs. Such a design also eliminates the need for an additional conductive pad on the base board in the connectors in which tie-ins of the contacts are soldered to the conductive pads on the base board. Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the side of mating a shielded electrical connector according to the instant invention. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C' shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a plan view of the metal sheet of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a side view of the metal sheet of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D' shown in Figure 2. Figure 6 is a front view of the mating connector which mates with the connector of Figure 1 according to the instant invention. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view along line E-E' shown in Figure 6. Figure 8 is a plan view of the metal sheet inserted in the shielded electrical connector of Figure 6. Figure 9 is a side view of the metal sheet inserted in the shielded electrical connector of Figure 6. Figure 10 is an oblique view of an electrical connector according to a conventional utility model. Figure 11 is an oblique view of the sheet with contacts to be used with the connector of Figure 10. Figures 12-13 are oblique views of details shown in Figure 10 with cross-sections made along lines A-A' and B-B'. Figure 1 is a front view of the first embodiment of the shielded electrical connector according to the instant invention as seen from the side of a matching or mating connector; Figure 2 is a cross-section of the connector shown in Figure 1 along line C-C'; Figure 3 is a top and Figure 4 is a front view of the metal sheet incorporated in the shielded electrical connector; Figure 5 is a cross-section of the detail shown in Figure 2 along line D-D'. Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the shielded electrical connector 10 has a mating portion 12 protruding forwardly. The matching or mating portion 12 is surrounded by a metal shell 14 shaped approximately as the letter "D". The metal shell 14 is grounded to the base board (not shown in the drawing) by means of metal fasteners 15, thus reducing penetration of outside signal noise. Inside the connector 10, there are 4 rows of contacts 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d, arranged as upper and lower contacts, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Tie-ins 16a', 16b', 16c', and 16d' of contacts 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d extend from the housing 24 downward, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, to terminals made on the printed circuit board (not shown in the drawing) to which they are soldered. Contacts 16b of the second row and contacts 16c of the third row are separated by the internal partition 18 of the housing 24. A metal sheet 20 having the shape shown in Figures 3 and 4 is pressed into the internal partition 18. At both ends of the metal sheet 20, there are bends 21 and grooves 22 which can be seen in Figure 3. When the metal sheet 20 is pressed into the internal partition 18, the bends 21 come in contact with the metal shell 14, as shown in Figure 5. Due to this contact, an electrical connection is formed between the metal sheet 20 and the metal shell 14, thus preventing cross-talk between the upper rows of contacts 16a and 16b, and the two lower rows 16c and 16d. The metal sheet 20 does not have a tie-in similar to tie-ins 16a', 16b', 16c' and 16d' of the contacts 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d, which makes it possible to reduce the dimensions of contacts 10 and to facilitate assembly operations. In addition, since the metal sheet 20 is embedded in the internal partition 18 of the housing 24, it can be made of thin material because it is protected by the internal partition, thus eliminating the danger of break down or damage at the time of connection to another connector. Figure 6 is a front view of another embodiment of the shielded electrical connector according to this invention as seen from the side of a matching or mating connector; Figure 7 is a cross-section of the connector shown in Figure 6 along line E-E'; Figure 8 is a top and Figure 9 is a front view of the metal sheet incorporated in the shielded electrical connector according to the instant invention. The shielded electrical connector of Figure 7 is a mating connector for the shielded electrical connector shown in Figures 1-5. The shielded electrical connector 30 has a flange portion 30a and a metal shell 32 shaped like a letter "D" inside of which the protruding portion 12 of the shielded electrical connector 10 shown in Figures 1-2 is inserted. Inside the metal shell 32, there is a housing 44 having a protrusion 34 on both sides of which there are contacts 38a and 38b arranged in rows, and a protrusion 36 on both sides of which there are contacts 38c and 38d arranged in rows. The contacts 38a, 38b, 38c, and 38d form an electrical connection with the respective contacts 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d shown in Figure 2 when the connectors are joined together. Tie-ins 38a', 38b', 38c' and 38d' of the contacts 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d extend downward from the housing 44 as shown in Figures 6 and 7, and are soldered to terminals made on the printed circuit board (not shown in the Figure). Contacts 38b of the second row are separated from contacts 38c by the internal partition 40 of the housing 44 into which a metal sheet 42 of the shape shown in Figures 8-9 is embedded. The metal sheet has grooves 45, and at both ends of the metal sheet 42 bends 43 are formed which come in contact with the back side of the flange portion of the metal shell 32, thus producing an electrical connection between the metal sheet 42 and the metal shell 32. When the connector 10, shown in Figures 1-5, and the connector 30, shown in Figures 6-9, are mated together the metal sheet 20 of the connector 10 and the metal sheet 42 of the connector 30 form an electrical connection through metal shells 14 and 32, thus preventing cross-talk between contacts 16a, 16b; 38a, 38b of the upper two rows and contacts 16c, 16d; 38c, 38d of the lower two rows. It is also possible to make the electrical connection by sandwiching the tip 14a (see Figure 2) of the metal sheet between metal sheet 20 and metal sheet 42. In the two embodiments described above, metal sheets 20 and 42 are embedded in internal partitions 18 and 40 separating two upper rows and two lower rows of contacts, thus eliminating the possibility of cross-talk between these two rows. It is also possible to make several internal partitions with embedded metal sheets for further elimination of cross-talk between the contacts. In the embodiments described above, the metal sheet is inserted after the housing 24 or 44 was made, however, the housing can be made by an insert-molding method in which the metal sheet is embedded in the process of manufacture. As has been explained above, the shielded electrical connector according to the instant invention a has metal sheet, which is in contact with the metal shell, embedded by pressing or by insert molding into the internal partition thus eliminating cross-talk between the rows of contacts and preventing the internal partition from damage, resulting in implementation of a small sized, but effective electrical connector.

Claims: An electrical connector assembly a) including matable first and second electrical connectors (10, 30) each having a dielectric housing (24, 44) disposed within a metallic shell (14, 32) and a plurality of electrical contacts (16, 38) disposed in said dielectric housing (24, 44) in at least two rows, b) at least one of said first and second electrical connectors having a metal sheet (20, 42) disposed in said dielectric housing (24, 44) between adjacent rows of said electrical contacts (16, 38); characterized in that: c) said metal sheet (20, 42) has bents (21, 43) at longitudinal ends thereof to conform to the shape of the metallic shell (14, 32) for electrical engagement with a surface of said metallic shell (14, 32). The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the sheet (20, 42) is formed with a plurality of grooves (22, 45) which engage partitions (18, 40) formed in the housing (24, 44) of the electrical connector (10, 30) and are thereby maintained in position. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the bends (43) engage a rear flange (32a) of the metallic shell (32). The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the metal sheet (20, 42) is in electrical contact with their respective metallic shell (10, 30) and wherein electrical continuity exists between the metallic shell (14) of the first housing (24) and the metal sheet (42) of the second housing (44). The electrical connector assembly of claim 4, wherein at least one of the electrical connectors (10, 30) includes a metallic tip member (14a) which is sandwiched between the metal sheets (20, 42) when the first and second electrical connectors (10, 30) are mated together for establishing electrical connection between the metal sheets. The electrical connector assembly of claim 5, wherein the depth dimension of the first electrical connector's metal sheet (20) is larger than the depth dimension of the second electrical connector housing (44). An electrical connector (10; 30) a) including a dielectric housing (24; 44) disposed in a metallic shell (14; 32), and a plurality of electrical contacts (16; 38) disposed in said dielectric housing (24; 44) in at least two rows, b) said dielectric housing (24; 44) has a metal sheet (20; 42) disposed between adjacent rows of said electrical contacts (16; 38); characterized in that c) said metal sheet (20; 42) has bents (21; 43) at longitudinal ends thereof to conform to the shape of said metallic shell (14; 32) for electrical engagement with a surface of said metallic shell (14; 32). The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein the sheet (20; 42) is formed with a plurality of grooves (22; 45) which engage partitions (18; 40) formed in the housing (24; 44) of the electrical connector (10; 30) and are thereby maintained in position. The electrical connector of claim 7 or 8, wherein the bends (43) engage a rear flange (32a) of the metallic shell (32). The electrical connector of claim 7, 8, or 9, wherein the dielectric housing (24; 44) includes a metal sheet (20; 42) in electrical contact with the metallic shell (14; 32). The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein the connector includes a metallic tip member (14a) in contact with the metal sheet (20) for engaging the sheet (42) of a mating connector.

Inventors: FUJIURA YOSHITSUGU, KODAMA HIROMITSU, NIWA TAKEO, FUJIURA, YOSHITSUGU, KODAMA, HIROMITSU, NIWA, TAKEO
Applicants: WHITAKER CORP, THE WHITAKER CORPORATION
Application year: 1993
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R12, H01R13