Patent Publication Number: US-6908319-B2

Title: Electrical connector with shutter

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector with a shutter covering a mating portion of the connector having a plurality of electrical contacts arranged therein, wherein the shutter is configured to be freely opened and closed by introduction and withdraw of a mating connector. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Electrical connectors are used in a wide variety of applications for making electrical contacts within an electrical system or between electrical systems. In a typical arrangement, an electrical connector has a mating portion with a plurality of electrical contacts arranged therein. The mating portion is configured to be fit to a mating connector. When the mating connector is not fit into the mating portion, however, the mating portion is exposed. Thus, foreign matter may enter the exposed mating portion and adhere to the contacts, whereby electrical connection may be interrupted or compromised when the mating portion is fit to the mating connector. 
     To protect the electrical connector from foreign matter, it may be provided with a shutter that has a pair of shutter members covering the mating portion and configured to freely open and close. 
     When a mating connector is mated with an electrical connector connected to a circuit board, for example, the mating connector having electric charge may cause electrostatic discharge between the contacts of the electrical connector and the mating connector and may cause damage to components on the circuit board connected to the electrical connector. A conductor connected to the ground line of a circuit board may be disposed in front of the connector contacts to discharge the mating connector. Consequently, electrostatic discharge that may occur during mating is redirected to the conductor. 
     In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the invention to provide an electrical connector with a shutter that both prevents foreign matter from adhering to contacts and prevents electrostatic discharge from causing damage to an electronic circuit associated with the electrical connector. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This and other objects are achieved by an electrical connector with a plurality of contacts therein and a conductive shutter rotatable between a closed position covering the plurality of contacts and an open position exposing the plurality of contacts. A shield member encircles the plurality of contacts and is configured to make electrical contact with the conductive shutter when the conductive shutter is in the closed position. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an electrical connector with a shutter is provided, including a housing having a mating portion with a plurality of contacts arranged therein. A pair of shutter members, which are rotatably supported by the housing, extend in the direction of the contact arrangement and have edges that are brought together and separated by rotation. At least one of the pair of shutter members is electrically conductive. The shutter members are urged in a direction of bringing the edges close to each other, into a closed position in which the shutter members cover the mating portion and the plurality of contacts therein when the edges are close to each other. The shutter members are rotated to an open position, in which the edges are separated from each other, exposing the mating portion and the plurality of contacts therein. The housing includes a shield member encircling the housing and the plurality of contacts therein. The shield has a protruding piece which is sandwiched between the pair of shutter members when the edges are close to each other. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is plan view showing an electrical connector with a shutter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the electrical connector with a shutter of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view showing a housing provided in the electrical connector with a shutter of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line A-A′ of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view showing a mating connector for mating to the electrical connector with the shutter of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of the mating connector of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a side view showing the mating connector of FIG.  5  and the electrical connector with a shutter of  FIG. 1  as they are brought into contact with one another; and 
         FIG. 8  is a side view showing the mating connector of FIG.  5  and the electrical connector with a shutter of  FIG. 1  as the mating connector is inserted into the electrical connector with a shutter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in  FIGS. 1-8 , an electrical connector is provided with a shutter to both prevent foreign matter from adhering to contacts of the electrical connector and prevent electrostatic discharge from causing damage on an electronic circuit associated with the electrical connector. 
     An electrical connector  1  is provided with a shutter, as shown in FIG.  1 . In the illustrated embodiment, the electrical connector  1  is a surface mount technology (SMT) type connector that is mounted on a surface of a circuit board (not shown). The electrical connector  1  has a housing  10 , a pair of shutter members  20 , and a biasing member such as spring member  30 . The housing  10  has a mating portion  11  wherein a plurality of contacts  100  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the housing  10 . The mating portion  11  of the housing  10  is covered with the pair of shutter members  20 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , when there is no mating connector inserted into the mating portion  11  of the electrical connector  1 . In the following description, the face of the connector  1  proximate the pair of shutter members  20  as shown in  FIG. 1  will be referred to as a front face, and the opposite face, connected, for example, to a circuit board, will be referred to as a rear face. 
     The housing  10  of a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector  1  will next be described in greater detail with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 .  FIG. 3  is a plan view showing the housing  10  with the shutter  20  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  omitted for clarity.  FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line A-A′ of FIG.  3 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the housing  10  of  FIG. 3  has a mating portion  11  which protrudes from a bottom wall  10   a  toward the front face (upper side of  FIG. 4 ) of the electrical connector. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the mating portion  11  extends along the longitudinal direction of the housing  10 . A plurality of contacts  100  are arranged on both edges extending along the longitudinal direction of the mating portion  11 . Of these contacts  100 , four contacts  100   a  arranged on the right side of  FIG. 3  have legs  101   a  of surface-mounting type that are connected to the power supply line of a circuit board. A number of contacts  100   b  that are provided on the left side of the four contacts  100   a  have legs  101   b  of surface-mounting type that are connected to a signal line of the circuit board. 
     Further, the housing  10  has a shield member  13  surrounding the housing  10 . The shield member  13  is a conductor, which serves to shield the plurality of contacts  100  from surrounding electromagnetic noise. The shield member  13  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The shield member  13  covers both ends  10   b  of the housing  10  at the front face of the connector  1  and a side wall  10   c  provided along the longitudinal direction of the housing  10 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the shield member  13  has legs  131  which may be connected to the ground line of the circuit board. Moreover, the shield member  13  also has wide portions  13   a  and narrow portions  13   b  that cover portions  10   d  of side wall  10   c . The portions  10   d  extend along the longitudinal direction of housing  10  at predetermined intervals on the front of the housing. Additionally, the shield member  13  has contact portions  132  shown in FIG.  4 . The contact portions  132  are provided from the narrow portion  13   b , and extend toward the rear side of housing  10 . As will be described later, a surface for making contact with the shield member  13  is provided on the mating connector  9  (shown in FIGS.  5  and  6 ). The contact portions  132  make contact with shield contact surfaces  930  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) of the mating connector  9  when the mating portion  91  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) of the mating connector  9  is fit into the mating portion  11  of the electrical connector  1  with the shutter of FIG.  3 . The shield member  13  also has portions covering the front sides of side walls  10   e  extending along the short side of the housing  10 , and protruding pieces  133  protrude outward from these portions of the shield member  13 . Further, the wide portion  13   a  is bent around side wall  10   c  at the lower wall  10   a  and is brought into contact with the inner surface of side wall  10   c  of the housing  10 . With this configuration, even when the contact portions  132  are pressed by the shield members  93  of the mating connector, the shield member  13  may be prevented from expanding outwardly. 
     The mating portion  11  of connector  1  has a convex portion  111  protruding to the front side in the housing  10 . A tip face  111   a  of the convex portion  111  is further forward than the other walls  10   c  and  10   e . Since the other walls  10   c  and  10   e  are further to the rear of housing  10  than the tip face  111   a , the rotation of the shutter members  20  is not interrupted by side walls  10   c ,  10   e . All of the contacts  100  are disposed behind the tip face  111   a.    
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 3 , notched holes  14  are provided on both ends of the bottom wall  10   a  of the housing  10 . When connector  1  is mated with the mating connector  9 , the mating connector  9  is partly inserted into the notched holes  14 . Shafts  15  for rotatably supporting the pair of shutter members  20  are provided on the side walls  10   e  extending along the short side of the housing  10 . 
     Referring again to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the pair of shutter members  20  and the spring member  30  will be described below. 
     The pair of shutter members  20  have a first shutter member  21  and second shutter member  22 , at least one of which shutter members  21 ,  22  is electrically conductive. Both of the shutter members  21  and  22  extend the longitudinal length of housing  10 , from one side wall  10   e  to the other side wall  10   e  extending along the short side of the housing  10 . The shutter members  21  and  22  are rotatably supported by the shafts  15  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) provided on each of the short side walls  10   e , respectively. In the pair of shutter members  20 , a lower edge  21   a  of the first shutter member  21  and an upper edge  22   a  of the second shutter member  22  are disposed closest to each other at the front face of the mating portion  11  (shown in FIG.  3 ). The pair of shutter members  20  rotate in the directions such that the lower edge  21   a  of the first shutter member  21  and the upper edge  22   a  of the second shutter member  22  are brought into proximity or contact with each other and conversely so that the edges  21   a ,  22   a  separate from each other, respectively. Namely, in  FIG. 1 , the first shutter member  21  is rotated in the upward direction of  FIG. 1 , and the second shutter member  22  is rotated in the downward direction of FIG.  1 . 
     As best shown in  FIG. 7 , the first shutter member  21  is bent along the longitudinal length of first shutter  21 , such that a bent portion  212  terminates with the lower edge  21   a  of first shutter member  21  extending toward the rear of housing  10  and into close proximity or contact with the tip face  111   a  of the convex portion  111  of housing  10  when the first shutter member  21  is in the closed position. The second shutter member  22  is bent in a like manner, such that a bent portion  222  terminates with the upper edge  22   a  of lower shutter member  22  extending toward the rear of housing  10  and into close proximity or contact with the tip face  111   a  of the convex portion  111  of housing  10  when the second shutter member  21  is in the closed position. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the spring member  30  is disposed adjacent the side wall  10   e  extending along the short side of the housing  10 . On the side where the spring member  30  is disposed, a locking portion  211  locking one end of the spring member  30  is provided on the end of the first shutter member  21 . On the same side, a locking portion  221  locking the other end of the spring member  30  is provided on the end of the second shutter member  22 . The spring member  30  urges the pair of the shutter members  20  toward a closed position, bringing the lower edge  21   a  of the first shutter member  21  and the upper edge  22   a  of the second shutter member  22  toward each other. Therefore, the pair of shutter members  20  are closed except when external force is applied. An advantage of the present invention is that the pair of shutter members are normally closed, thereby preventing foreign material from adhering to the plurality of contacts  100 . 
     The mating connector  9  will next be described with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The mating connector  9 , shown in  FIG. 5 , has a housing  90 . The housing  90  has a mating portion  91  protruding from a base portion  99 . The mating portion  91  has plurality of contacts  900  ( 900   a ,  900   b ) arranged therein. The contacts  900  correspond to the plurality of contacts  100  of the electrical connector  1  with the shutter (shown in FIG.  1 ). As shown in  FIG. 5 , on the mating portion  91 , a groove  91   a  is formed which receives the mating portion  11  of the electrical connector  1 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , each of the plurality of contacts  900  has a leg  901  inserted into a through hole of a circuit board. Further, cam members  92  protruding in the mating direction are provided on both sides of the mating portion  91 . The cam member  92  has a tapered shape which is defined by tapered faces  92   a  and  92   b  so as to substantially coincide with a space between the bent portion  212  of the first shutter member  21  and the bent portion  222  of the second shutter member  22 . The housing  90  has shield members  93  similar to the shield member  13  of the electrical connector  1 . Contact surfaces  930  are provided on shield members  93  at positions corresponding to the contact portions  132  ( FIG. 4 ) provided on the shield member  13  of the electrical connector  1 . The shield member  93  has a plurality of legs  932 , which may be connected to the ground line of a circuit board. Raised pieces  931  are provided on the shield member  93 . The raised pieces  931  make contact with an opening edge of a panel (not shown) where the mating connector  9  is attached. 
     Further, the housing  90  has two conductive members  94 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the conductive members  94  each have a leg  941 , which may be connected to the ground line of a circuit board. The conductive member  94  is a conductor which extends from the leg  941  to the tapered face  92   a  of the cam member  92 , passes through the tapered face  92   b  via the tip of the cam member  92 , and returns to the leg  941 . A guide plate  95  arranging the legs  901  of the plurality of contacts  900  is attached to the bottom of the housing  90 . Latch arms  951  temporarily and securely locking the guide plate  95  to the housing  90  are provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the guide plate  95  ( FIG. 6  shows a temporary locking state). Bosses  952  protrude from the bottom of the guide plate  95 . The bosses  952  position the guide plate  95  on a substrate (not shown) where the mating connector  9  is mounted. 
     The process of mating the mating connector  9  to the electrical connector  1  having a shutter will next be described with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
     In the electrical connector  1 , the pair of shutter members  20  is closed before the electrical connector  1  is fit into the mating connector  9  of FIG.  5 . The protruding piece  133  provided on the shield member  13  is sandwiched between the first shutter member  21  and the second shutter member  22 . Therefore, the electrical connector  1  with the shutter in the closed state as illustrated in  FIG. 7  forms a current path including: at least one of the pair of shutter members  20 , the protruding piece  133 , and the leg  131 . Further, when the pair of the shutter members  20  is closed, the lower edge  21   a  of the first shutter member  21  and the upper edge  22   a  of the second shutter member  22  are in contact with the tip face  111   a  on the convex portion of the mating portion  11 . Even when the pair of shutter members  20  is pressed by an external foreign matter toward the rear of housing  10 , the pair of shutter members  20  are supported by the tip face  111   a , preventing deformation or movement of the pair of shutter members  20 , and consequently preventing contact of the foreign matter with the plurality of contacts  100 . Moreover, the convex portion provides an air gap between the pair of closed shutter members  20  and the plurality of contacts  100  of the electrical connector  1 , thereby increasing the arcing threshold voltage between the shutter members  20  and the plurality of contacts  100 . 
     In a connector arrangement, as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the mating connector  9  is brought into contact with the electrical connector  1  in order to mate the connector  9  with the electrical connector  1 . The tips of the cam members  92  of the mating connector  9  are initially brought into contact with the pair of shutter members  20  provided on the electrical connector  1 . The conductive member  94 , passing over the tip of the cam member  92  of the mating connector  9 , makes electrical contact with at least one conductive shutter member  20  of the electrical connector  1 . The shutter members  21  and  22  are in contact with the protruding piece  133  of the shield member  13 . Thus, electrostatic discharge, which might otherwise occur between the electrical connector  1  and the mating connector  9 , is instead directed from the conductive member  94  of mating connector  9  through at least one conductive shutter member  20  into the protruding piece  133  of shield  13 . Therefore, discharge current does not flow into components on a circuit board where the electrical connector  1  is mounted. Hence, it is possible to prevent electrostatic discharge from causing damage to a component of a circuit board. 
     When the mating connector  9  is inserted into the electrical connector  1 , as shown in  FIG. 8 , the pair of shutter members  20  are pressed by the cam members  92  and are rotated around the shafts  15  provided in the housing  10 . Namely, in  FIG. 8 , the first shutter member  21  starts rotating counterclockwise and the second shutter member  22  starts rotating clockwise while going against the urging force of the spring member  30  (partly shown in FIG.  7 ). When the pair of shutter members  20  starts rotating, the lower edge  21   a  of the first shutter member  21  and the upper edge  22   a  of the second shutter member  22  start separating from each other, leading to exposure of the mating portion  11  (not shown in  FIG. 8 ) of the electrical connector  1  to the mating connector  9 . Further, both of the shutter members  21  and  22  start separating from the protruding pieces  133  of the shield member  13 . 
     Then, when the insertion of the mating connector  9  continues until the mating portion of the mating connector  9  is fit into the mating portion of the electrical connector  1 , the cam members  92  of the mating connector  9  are positioned in the notched holes  14  of the housing  10  in the electrical connector  1 . When the mating portion of the electrical connector  1  and the mating portion of the mating connector  9  are fit to each other, the pair of shutter members  20  are rotated until bent portions  212 ,  222  ( FIG. 8 ) of the shutter members  21  and  22  overlap the portions  10   d  of side walls  10   c  extending along the longitudinal direction at the front of the housing  10  (shown in FIG.  3 ). Base peripheral walls  99   a  ( FIG. 5 ) of the mating connector  9  are in contact with the bent portions  212  and  222  of the shutter members  21  and  22 . Thus, the pair of shutter members  20  are held open until the mating connector  9  is removed. 
     As described above, according to the electronic connector with the shutter of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a foreign matter from adhering to the contacts and prevent electrostatic discharge from causing damage to an electronic circuit at a connecting destination.