Patent Publication Number: US-6705897-B2

Title: Rear-end electromagnetic shielding component of an electronic connector

Description:
This application is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 09/998,789, filed on Dec. 3, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,934, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference and for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electromagnetic shielding component for increasing the effect of electromagnetic shielding at the rear end of an electronic connector. 
     2. Related Art 
     The effect of electromagnetic disturbance is aggravated as the data transfer rate carried by an electronic connector is increased, so electronic connectors of different data transfer rates always have different electric safety standards applied to them. 
     It is a well-known art to use metal sheets or conductive material to hold an electronic connector and ground it to prevent electromagnetic waves from radiating out of the electronic connector. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,597, the electronic connector comprises a cone-shaped shield at its rear end. The cone-shaped shield consists of two components, which are assembled with each other via screws to clamp the exterior wire at the rear end of an electronic connector. However, such a method of electromagnetic shielding utilizes too many components and is complicated to assemble. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,542, there is another type of shield for use in a USB connector. The shield comprises two parts: a front shield for embracing the main body of the USB connector and a back shield for embracing the joint between the end of the USB connector and a cable. An assembly method such as hooking or clipping is still necessary for coupling the two parts. Moreover, the back shield consists of a tube member and a plate member, which is more difficult to manufacture. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,607, the structure of a metal shield for the electronic connector as disclosed seems more complicated. There are several finger-like clamping members for surrounding and binding the cable at the rear end of an electronic connector. However, they are many gaps between those finger-like clamping members to reduce the shielding effect of electronic connector. 
     As for the electronic connector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,392, the metal shield comprises a pair of shields at both sides of the electronic connector and a back shield at the rear end of the electronic connector. These three shields are put together by joint members such as hooks and buckles located between the engaging edges. In addition to the relatively excessive constituent components, the invention is also complicated to assemble. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main object of the invention is to provide an electromagnetic shielding component for use in an electronic connector, and especially an electromagnetic shielding component capable of enhancing the effect of electromagnetic shielding at the joint between the rear end of an electronic connector and a cable. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide an electromagnetic shielding component that is easy to assemble and manufacture. 
     The electromagnetic shielding component as disclosed in the invention is still made of metal sheets, but its novel feature is a plurality of strip-like tentacles included within the electronic connector. When the electronic connector is connecting to a cable, these tentacles will be squeezed to tightly close and hold the periphery of a cable with electric connection to the metal shield within the cable. Therefore, the rear end of the electronic connector and the cable can be tightly assembled with minimum clearance, preventing electromagnetic waves from radiating out. 
     Further scope of applicability of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow. However, the following description is for purposes of illustration only, and thus is not limitative of the invention, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a construction drawing of the first embodiment of the invention showing the exploded structure for each component. 
     FIG. 2 is an assembly drawing according to FIG. 1, showing the combination of all components. 
     FIG. 3 is a construction drawing of the second embodiment of the invention showing the exploded structure for each component. 
     FIG. 4 is a construction drawing of the third embodiment of the invention showing the exploded structure for each component. 
     FIG. 5 is an assembly drawing according to FIG. 4, showing the combination of all components. 
     FIG. 6 is a construction drawing of the second embodiment of the invention, showing an alternative construction for the shield. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows the first preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the electromagnetic shielding component mainly consists of two metal shield sheets combined to each other, and also comprises: 
     a first shield sheet  10  made of sheet metal, comprising a bottom wall  101 ; 
     a left wall  102   a  and a right wall  102   b , both are engaged to the first shield sheet  10 ; 
     a plurality of strip-like tentacles  103  extending from the first shield sheet  10  toward the cable  30 ; 
     a plurality of left wall openings  104   a  and a plurality of right wall openings  104   b ; and a second shield sheet  20  made of sheet metal, comprising: 
     a top wall  201 ; 
     a left wall  202   a  and a right wall  202   b , both of which are engaged to the top wall  201  and capable of fitting into the space between the left wall  102   a  and the right wall  102   b  of the first shield sheet, as shown in FIG. 2; they combine with each other through the buckling of a plurality of protruding members  207   a  and  207   b  lying on the left wall  202   a  and the right wall  202   b , respectively, and a plurality of said left wall openings  104   a  and right wall openings  104   b ; and 
     a constricting member  203  with a tongue member  205  in one end and a gap in the other, which is connected to the top wall  201  through a joint member  204  in the end thereof and extending along the axial direction of the cable  30 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, when the first shield sheet  10  and the second shield sheet  20  are combined with each other to hold an electronic connector (not shown in the drawings), only one&#39;s bare hands or a simple tool are needed to squeeze a plurality of strip-like tentacle  103  together to electrically ground the tentacles  103  and the metal shield sheet  31 , such as a metal-woven web or an aluminum sheet inside the cable  30 . Furthermore, the tentacles  103  can be tightly pressed to surround the periphery of the metal shield  31  by using the constricting member  203 . In the meantime, the tongue member  205  and the gap  206  will be coupled together. Through the inventive design of strip-like tentacles, the assembly clearance at the joint of the cable and the rear end of an electronic connector can be minimized. This enhances the electromagnetic shielding effect. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates the second preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the electromagnetic shielding component comprises: 
     a tube shaped shield shell  40  made of thin sheet metal with a cross section dependent on the profile of the electronic connector, comprising a top wall  401 , a bottom wall  402 , a left wall  403   a , and a right wall  403   b , all of which are engaged to one another and comprise a plurality of strip-like tentacles  404  at their rear ends that extend toward the cable  30 ; and 
     a tube shaped constricting ring  50  tightly onto the metal shield of said cable. 
     Further, the tube shaped constricting ring  50  could be a ring  50   a , as shown in FIG.  4 . The ring  50   a  comprising a lengthwise gap  503  with extending members  501   a  and  501   b  on either side thereof and the aforesaid strip-like tentacles  404  tightly constricted upon the metal shield sheet  31  of the cable  30 , as shown in FIG. 5, by a constricting screw  502  clamping the extending members  501   a  and  501   b  together. 
     As shown in FIG.  3  and FIG. 4, the cross-section of the shield shell  40  is rectangular, which is different from that of a cylinder-shaped cable. However, the strip-like tentacles  404  can be easily constricted tightly together because of the sheet metal&#39;s malleability, which electrically grounds the tentacles  104  and the metal shield sheet  31 , such as a metal-woven web or an aluminum sheet inside the cable  30 . 
     In another preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 6, the strip-like tentacles  404  are formed circular shape when manufacturing the shield shell  40  using press molding. Such a method makes the tentacles  404  in the rear end of the shield shell  40  embrace the periphery of the cable  30  more closely with even less clearance to further enhance the electromagnetic shielding effect. 
     The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.