Abstract:
An electrical connector ( 100 ) adapted to receive an electronic module ( 4 ) has a shield ( 1 ) with a number of resilient locking members ( 123 ). The resilient locking member ( 123 ) further has a cantilever ( 1232 ) abutting the electronic module ( 4 ). The locking member ( 123 ) holds the electrical module ( 4 ) firmly while allowing easy access to the module ( 4 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector in which an electronic module is received. 
   2. Description of Prior Art 
   With the development trend of miniature and multifunctional electronic devices, consumer electronics devices such as cell phone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) etc., are designed to provide camera module for capturing pictures. Therefore, there is a demand employing socket connectors to mount the camera module to those electronics devices. 
   A CN Patent No. 2687894, issued on Mar. 23, 2005, discloses such a connector. The connector comprises an insulated base, a number of U-shaped contacts mounted in the insulated base, and a shield encompassing the insulated base so that a space is formed to receive a camera module. The contact has a securing portion received in the insulated base, and a contact portion folded from the securing portion and extending beyond the insulated base for electrical connection to a corresponding pad of the camera module. The shielding is stamped from an integral metallic piece and has four continuous shielding walls, each of which has a number of openings and retaining tabs or arms formed in the opening and extending into the receiving space for holding the camera module. 
   However, the retaining arms are ineffective from shock of the electronic device. Further, the retaining arms are inconvenient to rework the defective camera module. 
   Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electrical modular connector to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector holding the camera module firmly. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector with improved locking structure. 
   It is further object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector which is easy to rework. 
   In order to achieve such objects set forth, an electrical connector adapted for receiving an electronic module comprises a metallic shield. The shield includes a plurality of walls defining a receiving space therebetween. At least one wall has a locking member, the locking member including a pair of resilient arms, an end portion connecting said arms, and a cantilever extending inwardly from the said end portion and located in the receiving space. The electrical connector further has an insulated base assembled in the shield and a plurality of contacts secured on the insulated base. 
   These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understand through consideration of the following description. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, together with its objects and the advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical connector in accordance with the principle of the present invention, in which a camera module is demonstrated; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the electrical connector; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the electrical connector; 
       FIG. 4  is another exploded view of the electrical modular connector; and 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the camera module. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Reference will now be made in detail to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an electrical connector  100  according to the present invention is adapted for receiving an electronic module  4 , which is a camera module  4  in the preferred embodiment. The electrical connector  100  comprises a shield  1  accommodating said camera module  4 , a insulated base  2  retained at the bottom of the shield  1 , and a plurality of contacts  3  secured in the insulated base  2 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the shield  1  will be described in detail. The shield  1  is stamped from a metallic sheet and bent to form a rectangular configuration as shown in the present invention. The shield  1  comprises a first wall  11 , a second wall  12 , a third wall  13  and a fourth wall  14 , which are connected together to form a receiving space  10 . 
   The first wall  11  includes a cutout  110  defined at center section, an ear portion  111  extending from the upper edge (not labeled) of the first wall  11  around the cutout  110  and folded outwardly and downwardly, a pair of resilient tab  112  symmetrically located at two opposite sides of the cutout  110 , a pair of apertures  113  formed below the cutout  110 , and a plurality of terminals  114  defined at the low edge of the first wall  11 . The resilient tabs  112  each have a distal end (not labeled) that extends into the receiving space  10  for abutting the camera module  4 . The ear portion  111  makes the cutout  110  closed and free from distortion. The ear portion  111  also guides the camera module  4  when mounted into the electrical connector  100 . 
   The second wall  12  and the fourth wall  14  face oppositely and has the same construction, therefore, only the second wall  12  will be described in detail for simplicity. The second wall  12  includes a guiding portion  120  folded outwardly at the upper edge, a pair of resilient tabs  122  defined at center section of the second wail  12  and extending downwardly from the guiding portion  120  toward the receiving space  10 , a pair of resilient locking members  123  symmetrically defined at two opposite sides of the resilient tabs  122 , and a plurality of terminals  124  formed at the lower edge of the second wall  22 . The resilient locking member  123  has resilient base portion  1231  and a cantilever  1232  extending from the base portion  1231  in substantially opposite direction. The base portion  1231  includes a pair of spaced resilient arms  12310  upwardly extending from the lower edge of the second wall  12  adjacent to the terminals  124 , and an end portion  12311  connecting the resilient arms  12310 . The pair of resilient arms  1231  and the end portion  12311  form an opening  1230  so that the cantilever  1232  can move therein. The cantilever  1232  extends from the lower edge of the end portion  12311  of the base portion  1231  and has a distal end  12321 . The distal end  12321  extends into the receiving space  10  for retaining the camera module  4  and is crimped outwardly for easy reworking. 
   The third wall  13  has three resilient tabs  131  equally spaced thereon, a pair of apertures  132  located below the resilient tabs  131 , and a plurality of terminals  133  formed on the lower edge. The third wall  13  further has a swallow-tail shaped jointing line  134  formed adjacent to the resilient tab  131  so as to connect all the four walls  11 ,  12 ,  13 ,  14  together. 
   The insulated base  2  includes a longitudinal base portion  21  and a pair of arms  22  oppositely extending from each longitudinal edge of said base portion  21 . The base portion  21  has a plurality of passageways extending through the base portion  21  in the lateral direction. The base portion  21  further has a pair of protrusions  221  on each longitudinal edge that mate with the corresponding apertures  113 ,  132  of the first wall  11  and the third wall  13 , so that the insulated base  2  is retained at the bottom of the shield  1 . 
   The contact  3  includes a body portion  32  secured in the base portion  21  of the insulated base  2 , a contacting portion  31  extending beyond the base portion  21  for connecting to a pad of the camera module  4 , and soldering portion  33  extending below the base portion  21  for connecting to a printed circuit board on which the connector  100  is mounted. The contacting portion  32  and the soldering portion  33  of a contact are situated on opposite sides of the base portion  21  of the insulated base  2  in the latitudinal direction. However, the contacting portions  31  of adjacent contacts  3  are located at different sides of the base portion  21 . 
   Now referring to  FIG. 5 , the camera module  4  illustrates basic structure of a camera used in cell phone, PDA, and the like. The camera module  4  has two sidewalls  41 , a front wall  42 , and a rear wall same as the front wall  42 . One of the sidewalls  41  has a bulge  410 , which inserts into the cutout  110  of the shielding  1 . A pair of recesses  420  is formed at the bottom portion of the front wall  42  into which the distal end  12321  of the locking member  123  extends when the camera module is assembled in the connector  100 . 
   When the camera module  4  is inserted into the connector  100 , the bulge  410  is received in the cutout  110  of the shield  1  and the lower end of the bulge  410  sits on the lower edge of cutout  110 , the distal end  12321  extends into the recess  420 , and the resilient tabs  112 ,  122   131  on each wall  11 ,  12 ,  13 ,  14  of the shielding  1  abut against the camera module  4 , which provides retaining force in six directions such that the camera module is mounted in the connector  100  firmly. As the cantilever  1232  superposes on the base portion  1231 , the locking provides sufficient biasing force, and ease of reworking on the camera module  4 . 
   While the preferred embodiment of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.