Patent Publication Number: US-8992257-B2

Title: Shielded connector

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese patent application No. 2012-101731, filed on Apr. 26, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a shielded connector. 
     There is a shielded connector which is connected to a multiconductor shielded cable having a plurality of signal lines each of which includes a conductor including a plurality of twisted wires and an insulated sheath layer covering the conductor (for example, refer to JP-A-2003-173828). 
     A shielded connector  501  of a cable-side is shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     A shielded cable (shielded electric wire)  510  includes signal lines  511 , each of which includes a conductor  511   a  including a plurality of twisted wires and an insulated sheath layer  511   b  covering the conductor  511   a , a drain line  512  including a plurality of twisted copper wires, a metal foil  503  covering the signal lines  511  and the drain line  512 , and an insulated sheath (sheath part)  514  covering an outer periphery of the metal foil  503 . 
     In the shielded connector  501 , the signal lines  511  and the drain line  512  are exposed at an end part of the shielded cable  510 , the exposed end parts are respectively connected to terminals  520 , the terminals  520  are accommodated in terminal accommodation parts  531  of a dielectric member (inner housing)  530 , and a metallic outer conductor shell  540 , which is electrically connected to the central terminal  520  connected to the drain line  512 , is mounted onto the dielectric member  530 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , as a shielded electric wire such as USB 2.0 (differential connector for high-speed transmission), a special shielded electric wire  603  is used so as to satisfy transmission performance and noise-resistance performance. Since the shielded electric wire  603  has a stand-alone structure satisfying the performance, a sheath  629  comprised of an insulated sheath  615  and a shield foil  627  of the shielded electric wire  603  is required to be stripped at a connection part  625  to be connected to terminals  605 . Therefore, the part whose sheath  629  is stripped causes an impedance mismatch to thus deteriorate the transmission performance. Hence, a length of the sheath  629  that is stripped is preferable as short as possible. 
     However, if the length of the sheath  629  of the shielded electric wire  603  to be stripped is shortened, when terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  607  in which the terminals  605  are crimped to the shielded electric wire  603  are inserted into an inner housing  609 , all (four, for the USB 2.0) the terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  607  are simultaneously inserted with the terminals  605  being oriented or a semi-insertion state is intentionally made to align the terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  607 . The simultaneous insertion operation or alignment operation of the semi-insertion state lowers the operability of mounting the terminals  605  to the inner housing  609 . 
     SUMMARY 
     The presently disclosed subject matter may provide a shielded connector enabling a terminal to be easily inserted even when a length of a sheath of a shielded electric wire to be stripped is short. 
     The shielded connector may comprise: an inner housing including a plurality of terminal accommodation chambers into which terminals crimped to a plurality of shielded-wire ends of a shielded electric wire are inserted; and a shield shell including a shield part which covers the inner housing and a barrel part which crimps and fixes a sheath part of the shielded electric wire, wherein each of the terminal accommodation chambers has a space that is opened in a first direction at one side thereof and that is opened in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction at front and rear sides thereof, and a partition wall partitioning the space includes: an engaging part that restrains one of the terminals, which is inserted into the space from the one side, from moving in the second direction; and a temporary engaging part that prevents the one of the terminals, which is inserted into the space from the one side, from separating from the space. 
     The temporary engaging part may be configured by a flexible arm that is engaged with an engaging protrusion protruding from the one of the terminals. 
     The one of the terminals may be a male terminal. 
     The one side of the space may be closed by a front holder including a terminal through-hole through which a leading end of the male terminal passes. 
     The presently disclosed subject matter has been briefly described. The detailed configurations of the presently disclosed subject matter will be more clearly understood by reading through an illustrative embodiment for implementing the presently disclosed subject matter with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a shielded connector according to an illustrative embodiment of the presently disclosed subject matter. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a terminal shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3(   a ) is a perspective view of a mating connector and  FIG. 3(   b ) is a longitudinal sectional view of the mating connector shown in  FIG. 3(   a ). 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an inner housing having terminals mounted thereto. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the inner housing shown in  FIG. 4 , which is cut along an A-A direction. 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of the inner housing and terminal-mounted shielded electric wires shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the inner housing just before the terminal is mounted to a terminal accommodation chamber. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view before a front holder is mounted to the inner housing. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a shield shell while the inner housing is being incorporated. 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view of a shielded connector of the related art. 
         FIG. 11  is an exploded perspective view of main parts for illustrating a problem of the shielded connector of the related art. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, an illustrative embodiment of the presently disclosed subject matter will be described with reference to the drawings. 
     A shielded connector  11  of the illustrative embodiment can be appropriately used as a shielded connector of a cable-side of a USB 2.0 (differential connector for high-speed transmission). 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the shielded connector  11  includes male terminals  13  that are terminals, an inner housing  15 , a front holder  17 , a shield shell  19 , a shield shell cover  21 , and an outer housing  23 . Also, in the specification, the front side of the outer housing  23  (a left-lower side of  FIG. 1 ) is referred to as the front side, and the rear side of a shielded electric wire  25  (a right-upper side of  FIG. 1 ) is referred to as the rear side. 
     The male terminal  13  is made by sheet metal working and includes a tap-shaped electric contact part  27 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . A contact base end portion  29  of the electric contact part  27  is formed with an indent  31  that is an engaging protrusion and that is formed to protrude by an extrusion molding and the like. At the rear side of the contact base end portion  29 , a pair of front-rear moving control pieces  33  is provided to stand up. At the rear side of the front-rear moving control pieces  33 , a pair of conductor crimping pieces  35  for crimping an inner conductor of the shielded electric wire  25  is provided to stand up. The male terminal  13  is connected to the shielded electric wire  25  to thereby form a terminal-mounted shielded electric wire  37 . 
     The shielded electric wire  25  includes a plurality of (four, in this illustrative embodiment) inner conductors that are covered by inner protective coverings. In the specification, the inner conductor and the inner protective covering that covers the inner conductor are referred to as a shielded wire  41 . The plurality of shielded wires  41  are further covered by a shield foil  39 , which is an outer protective covering, and a sheath part  43 , thereby forming the shielded electric wire  25 . In the shielded electric wire  25 , a sheath  47  comprised of at least the sheath part  43  and the shield foil  39  is required to be stripped at a connection part  45  to be connected to the male terminal  13 . The part whose sheath  47  is stripped causes an impedance mismatch to thus deteriorate transmission performance. Hence, a length of the sheath  47  of the connection part  45  which is stripped is preferable as short as possible. 
     The inner housing  15  is formed of a synthetic resin material and includes a plurality of terminal accommodation chambers  51  (refer to  FIG. 4 ) into which the male terminals  13  crimped to a plurality of shielded-wire ends  49  of the shielded electric wire  25  are inserted. The terminal accommodation chamber  51  has a space  53  that is opened in one side, front and rear directions. The space  53  is opened in the one side direction (first direction), which is orthogonal to the front-rear direction (second direction), at the one side thereof to form a terminal insertion opening  55  (refer to  FIG. 7 ). Also, the space  53  is opened in the front direction (second direction) at the front side thereof to form an electric contact part insertion hole  57  on a front surface of the inner housing  15 . The space  53  is opened in the rear direction (second direction) at the rear side thereof to form a shielded wire extraction opening  59  on a rear surface of the inner housing  15 . 
     A partition wall  61  partitioning the space  53  of the terminal accommodation chamber  51  includes a recess-shaped engaging part  63  that restrains the male terminal  13 , which is inserted into the space  53  from the one side, from moving in the front-rear direction, and a temporary engaging part that prevents the terminal, which is inserted from the one side, from separating from the terminal insertion opening  55 . In the illustrative embodiment, the temporary engaging part is configured by a flexible arm  65  that is engaged with the indent  31  protruding from the male terminal  13 . A surface of the flexible arm  65 , which faces the terminal, is formed with a minute convex portion (bent portion), which makes it more difficult for the indent  31  to be separated, at an outer side than the indent  31 . Instead of the minute convex portion, a minute recess portion that is fitted with the indent  31  may be formed. 
     The front holder  17  shown in  FIG. 1  includes a front face plate and is inserted into a front side part of the inner housing  15 . The front face plate is formed with a plurality of (four, in this illustrative embodiment) terminal through-holes  67  that coincides with the electric contact part insertion holes  57  of the inner housing  15 . The front face plate is formed with a pair of holder side plates  73  extending rearward. The front holder  17  is mounted, so that the terminal insertion openings  55  of the one side of the inner housing  15  are closed by the holder side plates  73 . 
     The shield shell  19  shown in  FIG. 1  is formed by sheet metal working with a sheet metal material. The shield shell  19  includes a box-shaped shield part  75  that covers the inner housing  15  inserted therein. A barrel part  77 , which crimps and fixes the sheath part  43  of the shielded electric wire  25 , extends from the rear side of the shield part  75 . The inner housing  15  into which the male terminals  13  of the terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  37  are inserted is inserted into the shield shell  19 , so that the sheath part  43  of the terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  37  is crimped to the barrel part  77 . 
     The shield shell cover  21  is mounted so that it covers an upper opening of the shield shell  19  from the above. Engaging holes formed on both sides of the shield shell cover  21  are engaged with engaging claws formed on both sides of the shield part  75 , so that the shield shell cover  21  is fixed to the shield part  75 . 
     The outer housing  23  is formed into an angled cylinder shape with a synthetic resin material. The outer housing  23  has a shell mounting space  24  formed therein. The inner housing  15 , which is covered by the shield shell  19 , is inserted and held in the shell mounting space  24 . A mating connector  81  that will be described later is connector-fitted at the front side of the shell mounting space  24 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3(   a ) and  FIG. 3(   b ), the mating connector  81  includes an inner housing  87 , an outer shield shell  85  that covers an outer side of the inner housing  87 , and an outer housing  83 . 
     Each of female terminals  89  that are connected to shielded wires of a shielded electric wire (not shown) includes a box-shaped electric contact part and contacts the tap-shaped electric contact part  27  of the male terminal  13  shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     When the shielded connector  11  is connector-fitted, the inner housing  87  that accommodates therein the female terminals  89  is covered by the shield part  75  of the shield shell  19 . The outer shield shell  85  is provided with a barrel part  86  to upright stand, which is crimped and fixed to the sheath part  43  of the shielded electric wire  25 . 
     One side surface (upper surface in  FIG. 3(   a ) and  FIG. 3(   b )) of the outer housing  83  that accommodates therein the outer shield shell  85  and the inner housing  87  is provided with a lock arm  84  that is locked in a lock hole  23   a  of the outer housing  23  of the shielded connector  11 . 
     Subsequently, a sequence of assembling the shielded connector  11  is described. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , in order to assemble the shielded connector  11 , the male terminals  13  are crimped to the plurality of shielded-wire ends  49  of the shielded electric wire  25  to thus configure the terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  37 . Then, as shown in  FIG. 7 , each of the male terminals  13  of the terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  37  is arranged at one side of the corresponding terminal accommodation chamber  51 , and is then parallel shifted to be inserted from the terminal insertion opening  55 . 
     Then, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the front holder  17  is mounted from the front side of the inner housing  15 . Then, the inner housing  15  incorporating the front holder  17  is mounted to the shield part  75  of the shield shell  19 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . The sheath part  43  of the terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  37  to which the inner housing  15  is attached is crimped and fixed with the barrel part  77  of the shield shell  19 . The upper opening of the shield shell  19  is covered by mounting the shield shell cover  21  on the shield shall  19 . At last, the shield shell  19  is inserted into the outer housing  23 . 
     In the below, the operations of the shielded connector  11  having the above configuration are described. 
     In the shielded connector  11  of the illustrative embodiment, the terminal accommodation chamber  51  is opened at the one side of the inner housing  15  in the one side direction which is orthogonal to the front direction and the rear direction of the terminal accommodation chambers  51 . The shielded-wire ends  49  are respectively provided with the male terminals  13 . The shielded electric wire  25  is formed with the connection part  45  between the shielded wire  25  and the male terminals  13 . In the connection part  45 , the sheath  47  that binds together the plurality of shielded wires  41  is stripped, so that a restraint state by the sheath  47  is released, and the male terminals  13  can be thus separated from each other. In the connection part  45 , the sheath  37  is stripped within a short length range so that an impedance mismatch to deteriorate the transmission performance is not caused. When mounting the male terminals  13  to the terminal accommodation chambers  51 , each of the male terminals  13  is parallel arranged at one side of the corresponding terminal accommodation chamber  51  with the connection part  45  being bent. 
     In the shielded connector  11  of the illustrative embodiment, the male terminals  13  of the terminal-mounted shielded electric wires  37 , which have been inserted at one time in the related art, can be inserted one by one. That is, the male terminal  13  can be easily inserted just by parallel shifting it from one side of the terminal accommodation chamber  51  even when the connection part  45  is short. Thereby, the simultaneous insertion operation or alignment operation of the semi-insertion state of the male terminals  13  is not necessary. 
     Also, while the plurality of male terminals  13  are sequentially inserted into the terminal accommodation chambers  51 , the inserted male terminal  13  is restrained from being separated from the terminal accommodation chamber  51  by the flexible arm  65 , so that the operability is improved. The terminal insertion opening  55  is closed by the shield part  75  of the shield shell  19 , so that the male terminal  13  is not separated therefrom. Hence, it is possible to form the flexible arm  65  by the simple structure formed at the partition wall  61  of the terminal accommodation chamber  51 . 
     Also, in the shielded connector  11  of the illustrative embodiment, the terminal accommodation chamber  51  that is opened with the terminal insertion opening  55  at the one side of the inner housing  15  is provided with the flexible arm  65  that is engaged with the indent  31  protruding from the male terminal  13 , that is formed to protrude toward the one side and that can be thus bent in the direction of holding the male terminal  13  vertically. The male terminal  13  is formed with the protruding indent  31  on the surface facing the flexible arm  65 . Thus, the male terminal  13  that is inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber  51  with widening the flexible arm  65  is engaged with the flexible arm  65  to which the indent  31  is pressed by the elastic restoring force, and is thus restrained from being easily separated from the terminal insertion opening  55 . Therefore, since the male terminal  13  is temporarily engaged by the flexible arm  65  upon the terminal insertion operation, it is possible to easily perform the insertion/separation operation, so that the operability is improved. 
     Also, in the shielded connector  11  of the illustrative embodiment, the terminal is the male terminal  13 , so that the electric contact part of the terminal leading end part is generally formed to have a thickness narrower than the box-shaped female terminal. Hence, compared to the terminal accommodation chamber  51  having the same volume, the male terminal  13  has a smaller occupying area in the terminal accommodation chamber  51  than the female terminal. To that extent, it is possible to form the flexible arm  65  more easily, so that it is easy to obtain a flexible stroke of the flexible arm  65 . 
     Also, in the shielded connector  11  of the illustrative embodiment, when the front holder  17  is mounted to the inner housing  15 , the electric contact part  27  of the male terminal  13  that protrudes from the terminal accommodation chamber  51  penetrates the terminal through-hole  67  of the front holder  17 . Thereby, the electric contact part  27  of the male terminal  13  is positioned with high precision and is held with high strength. Also, when the front holder  17  is mounted, the one side of the space  53  in the terminal accommodation chamber  51 , which corresponds to the terminal insertion opening  55 , is closed by the front holder  17 . Thus, the terminal insertion opening  55  is securely closed by the dual structure of the front holder  17  and the shield part  75  covering the outer side thereof. 
     Thus, according to the shielded connector  11  of the illustrative embodiment, the male terminals  13  can be respectively inserted into the terminal accommodation chambers  51  from the one side thereof. Hence, even when the length of the sheath  47  of the shielded electric wire  25  that is stripped is short, it is possible to easily insert the male terminals  13 . 
     Also, the shielded connector of the presently disclosed subject matter is not limited to the above illustrative embodiment and can be appropriately modified and improved. The materials, shapes, sizes, the number, arrangement positions and the like of the respective constitutional elements in the illustrative embodiment are arbitrary and are not particularly limited insomuch as they can achieve the presently disclosed subject matter. 
     According to an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, the terminal accommodation chamber is opened at one side of the inner housing in a direction orthogonal to a front-rear direction of the terminal accommodation chamber. The shielded-wire ends are respectively provided with the terminals. The shielded electric wire is formed with a connection part between the shielded wire and the terminals. In the connection part, a sheath that binds together the plurality of shielded wires is stripped, so that a restraint state by the sheath is released and the terminals can be separated from each other. In the connection part, the sheath is stripped within a short length range so that an impedance mismatch to deteriorate the transmission performance is not caused. When mounting the terminals to the terminal accommodation chambers, each of the terminals is parallel arranged at one side of the corresponding terminal accommodation chamber  51  with the connection part  45  being bent. 
     Also, while the plurality of terminals is sequentially inserted into the terminal accommodation chambers, the inserted terminals are restrained from being separated from the terminal accommodation chambers by the temporary engaging parts, so that the operability is improved. A terminal insertion opening that is opened at the one side of the space in the terminal accommodation chamber is closed by the shield part of the shield shell, so that the terminal is not separated from the terminal accommodation chamber. Hence, it is possible to form the temporary engaging part by the simple structure formed at the partition wall of the terminal accommodation chamber. 
     According to an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, the terminal accommodation chamber that is opened with the terminal insertion opening at the one side of the inner housing is provided with the flexible arm that is engaged with the engaging protrusion protruding from the terminal, is formed to protrude toward the one side and can be thus bent in the direction of holding the terminal vertically. The terminal is formed with the protruding engaging protrusion on a surface facing the flexible arm. Thus, the terminal that is inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber with widening the flexible arm is engaged with the flexible arm to which the engaging protrusion is pressed by an elastic restoring force and is thus restrained from being easily separated from the terminal insertion opening. Therefore, since the terminal is temporarily engaged by the flexible arm upon the terminal insertion operation, it is possible to easily perform the insertion/separation operation, so that the operability is improved. 
     According to an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, the terminal is the male terminal, so that a terminal leading end part (electric contact part) is generally formed to have a thickness narrower than a box-shaped female terminal. Hence, compared to the terminal accommodation chamber having the same volume, the male terminal has a smaller occupying area in the terminal accommodation chamber than the female terminal. To that extent, it is possible to form the flexible arm more easily, so that it is easy to obtain a flexible stroke of the flexible arm. 
     According to an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, when the front holder is mounted to the inner housing, the leading end of the male terminal that protrudes from the terminal accommodation chamber penetrates the terminal through-hole of the front holder. Thereby, the leading end of the male terminal is positioned with high precision and is held with high strength. Also, when the front holder is mounted to the inner housing, the one side of the space in the terminal accommodation chamber, which corresponds to the terminal insertion opening, is closed by the front holder. Thus, the terminal insertion opening is securely closed by a dual structure of the front holder and the shield part covering an outer side thereof. 
     According to an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, the terminals can be respectively inserted into the terminal accommodation chambers from the one side thereof. Hence, even when the length of the shielded electric wire that is stripped is short, it is possible to easily insert the terminals  13 .