Abstract:
An electrical connector apparatus consists of first and second electrical connectors ( 2, 3 ). The second electrical connector ( 3 ) is inserted into the first electrical connector ( 2 ) in an oblique direction and then fully plugged to the first electrical connector ( 2 ) by turning the second electrical connector ( 3 ). The first electrical connector includes an insulative housing ( 22 ), at least one contact element ( 24 ) provided in the insulative housing ( 22 ), and a metal shutter ( 28 ) pivoted to the insulative housing ( 22 ) to cover the contact element ( 24 ) in the insulative housing ( 22 ). The second electrical connector ( 3 ) includes a plate member ( 320 ) which enters between the metal shutter ( 28 ) and the contact element ( 24 ) upon plugging.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector system provided on a portable information device, such as a PDA, and especially to an electrical connector system with an electrical connector being inserted into a mating electrical connector at an angle or in an oblique direction. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     JP 2003-168527 discloses a conventional electrical connector system of this type. The electrical connector system consists of first and second electrical connectors. In order to reduce the plugging/unplugging force, the second electrical connector is plugged into the first electrical connector in an oblique direction and then turned to complete the plugging. In order to permit the second electrical connector being inserted into the first electrical connector at an initial plugging stage, the first electrical connector has a tapered outer face extending forwardly. Also, it has a relatively large shutter to protect its contact elements in the insulative housing. This shutter is slid into the interior against a coil spring by the second electrical connector inerted into the first electrical connector. 
     However, it is necessary to provide a relatively large storage space in the first electrical connector to house the retreated shutter. In addition, the plugging angle between the first and second lelectrical connectors is determined by the angle of the tapered outer face of the first electrical connector so that it is impossible to make plugging at a given angle. Moreover, the terminals make contact at the final stage of plugging, providing the limited cleaning effect. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an electrical connector apparatus having a small storage space for the metal shutter. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide an electrical connector apparatus capable of plugging at a given angle. 
     It is still another object of the invention to provide an electrical connector apparatus having the improved cleaning effect. 
     According to an aspect of the invention there is provided an electrical connector apparatus consisting of first and second electrical connectors, with the second electrical connector inserted into the first electrical connector in an oblique direction and then fully plugged to the first electrical connector by turning the second electrical connector. The first electrical connector comprising an insulative housing, at least one contact element provided in the insulative housing, and a metal shutter pivoted to the insulative housing to cover the contact element in the insulative housing. The second electrical connector comprising a plate member which, when the first and second electrical connectors are plugged to each other, enters between the metal shutter and the contact element. 
     According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an electrical connector apparatus consisting of a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector. The first electrical connector comprising an insulative housing with a pair of guide walls extending forwardly and connected by a lower curved guide face extending forwardly to provide a convex front face and at least one first contact element extending forwardly and being flexible in a direction perpendicular to a plugging direction. The second electrical connector comprising a plate member to define a plugging space into which the guide walls are inserted in an oblique angle at an initial plugging stage and fitted by turning the second electrical connector to a full plugging stage, and at least one second contact element extending forwardly so as to come into contact with the first contact element from the initial plugging stage to the full plugging stage. 
     With such structures as described above, it is possible to make a smooth oblique plugging. The contact elemetns of the first and second electrical connectors are brought into contact with each other from the initial plugging stage to the complete plugging stage, thereby providing the improved cleaning effect. 
     The fitst electrical connector may include a metal shutter rotatably attached to the insulative housing to cover the first contact element. The metal shutter may be turned upwardly by the plate member of the second electrical connector so as to permit the plate member to enter between the first contact element and the metal shutter, thereby minimizing the storage space for the metal shutter. The metal shutter may be housed in the plugging space of the second electrical connector, thereby minimizing the storage space for the metal shutter. 
     The first electrical connector may be secured to a first member with a regulation projection and the second electrical connector may be secured to a second member with a regulation recess for engagement with the regulation projection to regulate a the angle at which the second electrical connector is inserted into the first electrical connector. The first regulation member may be a recess provided in the first member and the second regulation member is a raised rib provided on the second member and having a tapered face. 
     According to the invention, the metal shutter is turned to the retreated position so that there is no need for a large storage space, permitting miniaturization of the apparatus. Also, it is possible to make plugging at a given angle. The contact elements are brought into contact at the initial plugging stage and subject to sliding movement, thereby providing the improved cleaning effect. The metal shutter shields the plugging section, minimizing an EMI (electromagnetic interference). 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a sectional view of a cradle and a case wherein an electrical connector apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention is installed; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the electrical connector apparatus; 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of a female electrical connector of the electrical connector apparatus; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the female electrical connector; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom view of a male electrical connector of the electrical connector apparatus; 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of the male electrical connector; 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view taken along line  8 — 8  of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIGS. 9–13  are sectional views showing in sequence how to plug the male and female electrical connectors; and 
         FIGS. 14–18  are sectional views showing in sequence how an axiliary mechanism regulates an angle at which the male and female electrical connectors are plugged. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     1. Uses 
     In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an electrical connector system  1  consists of a first or female connector  2  and a second or male connector  3 . The female connector  2  and the male connector  3  are secured to a cradle  4  and a case  5 , respectively. The cradle  4  is made by bending a rectangular resinous plate at right angles along a center line to provide an L-shaped section. It is placed on a table  6 , with the central portion upward, for use. The case  5  is made of a rectangular resinous plate. It is movable on the cradle  4  that is at rest. A case receiving section  40  is provided on the bottom  42  of the cradle  4 . 
     The female connector  2  and the male connector  3  are electrically connected to boards  41  and  51  which are disposed in the cradle  4  and the case  5 , respectively. When the case  5  is fully attached to the cradle  4  as shown in  FIG. 1 , the male connector  3  is plugged to the female connector  2  to electrically connect the boards  51  and  41 . A projection  43  on the bottom  42  of the cradle  4  fits in a recess  52  of the case  5  to lock the case  5  to the cradle  4 . 
     2. Female Connector 
     The structure of the female connector  2  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3–5 . The female connector  2  includes a female insulative housing  22 , female terminals  24 , a female metal shell  26 , a metal shutter  28 , and a coil spring  29 . 
     2-1. Female Insulative Housing 
     The female insulative housing  22  includes a front section  210  to be plugged to the male connector and a rear section  220 . The front section  210  has an opening in its top face  212  except for opposite edges of the female insulative housing  22 . The movable metal shutter  28  normally closes the opening in the top face  212 . A pair of guide walls  213  are provided on the opposite edges of the front section  210  to help plugging between the female and male connectors  2  and  3 . The guide walls  213  are connected by a lower guide surface  214  which is curved upwardly to a pair of convex front faces  215 . A shaft  216  is provided at the rear end of the guide face  214  to rotatably support the metal shutter  28 . A lower face step-down section  217  is provided rear the front faces  215  of the guide walls  214 . A plurality of terminal grooves  218  are provided in an open upper face  212  of the step-down section  217 . 
     Unlike the front section  210 , the rear section  220  has a front rectangular section and is wider than the front section  210 . A pair of screw holes  221  are provided in opposite side portions to secure the board. The opposite side portions extend downwardly to provide a pair of rear vertical walls  222 . The female insulative housing  22  is screwed to the board  41  with the screw holes  221 . A plurality of terminal fixing grooves  223  are provided in the rear section  220  corresponding to the terminal grooves  218  of the front section  210 . 
     2-2. Female Terminal 
     The female terminal  24  includes a fixing section  241 , a support section  242 , and a spring section  243 . The fixing section  241  is soldered to the board  41  and disposed between the rear vertical walls  222 . The support section  242  is press fitted in the terminal fixing groove of the rear section  220  to support the female terminal  24  in place within the female insulative housing  22 . The spring section  243  is brought into spring contact with a male terminal of the male connector  3  when the female and male connector  2  and  3  are plugged to each other. It extends through a replacement space  219  above the terminal groove  218  and has a free end near the front face  215  of the guide projection  213 . When it is brought into contact with the male terminal  34 , it is flexed in a direction perpendicular to the plugging direction into the terminal groove  218  of the female insulative housing  22 . It has a V-shaped contact portion  244  to facilitate contact with the male terminal  34  of the male connector  3 . 
     2-3. Female Metal Shell 
     The female metal shell  26  is made by bending and cutting a thin metal sheet so as to cover the upper face  224  of the rear section  220  of the female insulative housing  22  down to the rear portions of the screw holes  221 , projecting to the board  41  to provide an extended wall  228 , which connects the female metal shell  26  to a ground of the board  41 . The female metal shell  26  does not cover the upper face of the front portion  225  of the rear section  220  so that when the metal shutter  28  is opened, it is prevented to abut against the metal shutter  28 . 
     2-4. Metal Shutter and Coil Spring 
     The metal shutter  28  is rotatably provided above the opened upper face  212  of the female insulative housing  22  so as to cover the female terminals  24 . The rotary motion or open/close operation of the metal shutter  28  is made by the contact with the male connector  3 . To facilitate the open operation by the male connector  3 , the front edge  280  of the metal shutter  280  is curved upwardly. 
     A pair of opposite sides of the metal shutter  28  are bent downward to provide a pair of pivot arms  281 , which cover the rear portions of the guide walls  213 . The metal shutter  28  is rotatably attached to the female insulative housing  22  by fitting the pivot arms  281  over the pivot shaft  216 . The coil spring  29  is put around the pivot shaft  216  between the pivot arm  281  and the female insulative housing  22  for biasing the metal shutter  28  to normally close the opened upper face  212 . Consequently, the metal shutter  28  is kept in the closed position unless it receives a force greater than the coil spring  29 . As a result, the female terminals  24 , especially the spring sections  243 , are shielded from the outside both electronically and mechanically. 
     3. Male Connector 
     In  FIGS. 6–8 , the male connector  3  includes a male insulative housing  32 , a plurality of male terminals  34 , and a male metal shell  36 . 
     3-1. Male Insulative Housing 
     The male insulative housing  32  includes a rear section  310  and a plate section  320  extending forwardly from the rear section  310  and having a predetermined width. The rear section  310  has a plurality of terminal fixing holes  311  for arranging and fixing terminals  34  and upper and lower engaging grooves  312  and  313  to fix the male metal shell  36  (as shown upside down in  FIG. 8 ). The upper engaging groove  312  extends laterally along the rear wall  314  while the lower engaging groove  313  extends laterally along the front wall  315  and is narrower than the upper engaging groove  312 . These engaging grooves  312  and  313  engage the engaging edge  361  to secure the male metal shell  36  to the male insulative housing  32 . The male insulative housing  32  has a pair of rear vertical walls  316  to flank exposed portions of the male terminals  34 . 
     The plate section  320  of the male insulative housing  32  has a plurality of terminal grooves  321  corresponding to the terminal fixing holes  311  and a thin front edge  323  along which the front ends of male contacts are bent. 
     3-2. Male Terminals 
     The male terminal includes a fixing section  340  and a support section  341 . The fixing sections  340  are soldered to a board  51 . They are arranged between the rear vertical walls  316  of the male insulative housing  32  and exposed to the outside. The support section  341  is press fitted in the terminal fixing hole  311  and arranged on the plate section  320  to support the male terminal  34  in a predetermined position within the male insulative housing  32 . Also, it comes into contact with a female contact of the female connector  2  when the male and female connectors  3  and  2  are plugged to each other. Unlike the spring female terminal  24 , it is fixed upon contact with the female terminal  24 . Its front portion is bent to the thin edge  323  to facilitate contact with the female terminal  24 . 
     3-3. Male Metal Shell 
     The male metal shell  36  is made by bending and cutting a thin metal plate so as to have a substantially cylindrical shape which covers the rear section  310  and the upper face  326  and side faces  327 , and the bottom face  328  of the male insulative housing  32 . The front edges  360  and  362  of the male metal shell  36  are bent outwardly to avoid collision with the female connector  2  upon plugging. The plugging space  363  for receiving the female connector  2  is defined by the male metal shell  36  and the rear section  310  of the male insulative housing  32 . The plate section  320  of the male insulative housing  32  extends forwardly to the entry opening  364  of the plugging space  363 . 
     4. Operation 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , when the case  5  approaches the cradle  4  from obliquely above, the male connector  3  approaches the female connector  2  from obliquely above. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the guide walls  213  of the female connector  2  enter the plugging space  363  of the male connector  3  along the guide face  214  through the contact between the front face  213  and the male metal shell  36  (“initial oblique plugging stage”). The front plate section  320  with the thin edge  323  comes into contact with the front edge  280  of the metal shutter  28 , turning it upwardly and enters under the metal shutter  28 . The metal shutter  28  enters the escape space  325  defined by the plate section  320  of the male connector  3  and the bottom of the male metal shell  36 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the male connector  3  is further inserted into the female connector  2  by turning the case  5  along the cradle  4 , turning the male connector  3  along the curved guide face  214  of the female connector  2 . As the plate section  320  of the male connector  3  turns downwardly, the metal shutter  28  of the female connector  2  is returned to the original position by the coil sprint  29 . The support sections  341  of the male terminals  34  come into spring contact with the contact portions  341  of the female terminals  24 . This spring contact between the contact portions  244  of the female terminals  24  and the male terminals  34  is kept until the male connector  3  is unplugged from the female connector  2 . In this way, the female terminals  24  slide on the male terminals  34  during the plugging operation, thus providing the cleaning effect. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , when the case  5  further approaches the cradle  4 , the plate section  320  of the male connector  3  enters deeply in the space  284  between the metal shutter  28  and the female terminals  24 . Simultaneously, the metal shutter  28  of the female connector  2  is further turned to the original position by the coil spring  29 . Finally, when the case  5  is fully mounted on the cradle  4 , the male connector  3  is fully plugged into the female connector  2 , with the metal shutter  28  in the original position as shown in  FIG. 13 . 
     In this way, at the initial plugging stage, the male and female connectors  3  and  2  are plugged at a given oblique angle through the contact between the upper wall  365  of the male metal shell  36  and the front faces  215  of the guide walls  213  of female connector  2 . Since the metal shutter  28  is turned to the retreated position, there is no need for a large storage space of the metal shutter  28 . 
     Alternatively, the case  5  may be moved along the cradle bottom  42  in the straight direction of an arrow A in  FIG. 13  to directly plug the male connector  3  to the female connector  2 . However, this direct plugging method makes the plugging force much higher than that of the plugging-by-turning method as described above. 
     5. Auxiliary Structure 
     The auxiliary structure for regulating the plugging angle between the male and female connectors  3  and  2  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 14–18 . 
     A rectangular recess  54  is provided in an outer wall of the case  5  for receiving at a predetermined angle a triangular rib  44  that is provide on the inner side  47  of the case receiving section  40 . The triangular rib  44  has a flat top face  45  and a tapered bottom face  46 . The rectangular recess  54  and the triangular rib  44  cooperate to regulate auxiliary the plugging angle between the male and female connectors  3  and  2  as shown in  FIGS. 14-18 . However, the plugging angle between the male and female connectors  3  and  2  is mainly determined by the contact between the front faces  215  of the guide walls  213  and the upper wall  365  of the male metal shell  36 . 
     6. Others 
     It is noted that the cradle and the case are not essential for the invention. Instead of the female terminals, the male terminals or both male and female terminals may be made flexible. The invention is applicable for electrical connectors for which the initial oblique plugging operation is useful.