Patent Publication Number: US-8979589-B2

Title: Shield connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a shield connector used for allowing shield electric cables to be connected with each other by mating a male connector and a female shield with each other. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
       FIG. 1  shows a conventional shield connector described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2011-34773 (Patent Literature 1) and Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2011-65882 (Patent Literature 2). A shield connector is formed with a male shield connector  110  and a female shield connector  120 . The male and female shield connectors  110 ,  120  are used for connecting shield electric cables  130 . 
     The shield electric cable  130  has a coaxial structure formed with a core wire  131  made by twining together a plurality of wires, an inner cover  132  made of an insulation covering the core wire  131 , a shield member  133  made of a braided wire covering an outer periphery of the inner cover  132  and an outer cover  134  made of an insulation covering an outer periphery of the shield member  133 . The core wire  131  serves to transmit a high frequency signal and the male and female connectors  110 ,  120  are used for connecting the core wires  131 . 
     The male and female connectors  110 ,  120  are formed respectively with inner terminals  111 ,  121  connected to the core wires  131  of the shield electric cables  130 , outer terminals  112 ,  122  connected to the shield members  133  of the shield electric cables  130  and inner housings  113 ,  123  receiving therein the inner terminals  111 ,  121 . 
     The inner terminals  111 ,  121  are made of conductive metal where electric connecting portions  111   a ,  121   a  on the distal end sides are integrated respectively with crimp barrel portions  111   b ,  121   b  on the base end sides. The crimp barrel portions  111   b ,  121   b  are crimped to the core wires  131  (of the shield electric cables  130 ) exposed by peeling off the inner covers  132 , thus fixing the core wires  131  to be conductive with the core wires  131 . Mating the male shield connector  110  with the female shield connector  120  allows the electric connecting portions  111   a ,  121   a  to contact each other and to be conductive with each other. In this case, an electric connecting portion  111   a  of the male shield connector  110  is formed into a thin cylinder and an electric connecting portion  121   a  of the female shield connector  120  is formed into a thick cylinder. The electric connecting portion  111   a  of the mating connector  110  on the male side enters into the electric connecting portion  121   a  of the shield connector  120  on the female side, to thereby allow the electric connecting portions  111   a ,  121   a  to be electrically connected with each other. 
     The inner housings  113 ,  123  made of insulation resin receive the respective inner terminals  111 ,  121 . In the state of receiving the inner terminals  111 ,  121 , the inner housings  113 ,  123  are assembled into the respective outer terminals  112 ,  122 . 
     The outer terminals  112 ,  122  are formed with conductive metal where cylindrical portions  112   a ,  122   a  on the distal end sides are integrated respectively with the shield member connecting portions  112   b ,  122   b  on the base end sides. The shield member connecting portions  112   b ,  122   b  on the base end sides are crimped to the shield members  133  exposed by peeling off the outer covers  134 . This crimping connects the shield member connecting portions  112   b ,  122   b  to the shield members  133  of the shield electric cables  130 . 
     The cylindrical portions  112   a ,  122   a  are members for mating the mating connector  110  with the shield connector  120  and formed into configurations capable of mating with each other. In  FIG. 1 , the cylindrical portion  112   a  of the male shield connector  110  is formed into a cylinder having a large diameter and the cylindrical portion  122   a  of the female shield connector  120  is formed into a cylinder having a small diameter, thus rendering the mutual mating. This mating brings the shield electric cables  130  connected to the shield connectors  110 ,  120  into a connection state. In this way, the outer terminals  112 ,  122  are formed into different configurations for allowing the mutual mating. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In the conventional structure, for connecting the male shield connector  110  with the female shield connector  120 , it is necessary to mate outer terminals  112 ,  122  have different configurations. This caused such a problems as that not only special metal molds for preparing the outer terminals  112 ,  122  are individually needed, but also the metal mold cost is increased. Further, for crimping the shield members  133  of the shield electric cables  130  to the shield member connecting portions  112   b ,  122   b  of the outer terminals  112 ,  122 , different applicators should be used, thus making the crimping operation cumbersome. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide male and female shield connectors capable of being mated with each other without the need of having the outer terminals formed into different configurations thus enabling to share a metal mold and an applicator between the male and female connectors and to reduce cost. 
     A first aspect of the present invention provides a shield connector to be connected to a terminal of a shield electric cable having a core wire with an outer periphery covered with a shield member via insulation, the shield connector comprising: an inner terminal connected to an end of the core wire and provided with an electric connecting portion electrically connected with a mating terminal; an insulation inner housing to receive therein the inner terminal; and an outer terminal into which the inner housing receiving therein the inner terminal is incorporated, and which is to be mated with a mating connector in a state where the shield member is connected to the outer terminal and the electric connecting portion of the inner terminal is positioned in the outer terminal, wherein the outer terminal has the same configuration as that of an outer terminal of the mating connector, thus making the outer terminals sharable between male and female connectors. 
     The outer terminal may include: a terminal body portion incorporating the inner housing which receives the inner housing receiving the inner, a shield member connecting portion to which the shield member is connected, and a cylindrical portion in which the electric connecting portion of the inner terminal is positioned and which is to be mated with the mating connector, wherein the cylindrical portion may include a first semi-cylindrical wall formed with a slit and a second semi-cylindrical wall opposing the first semi-cylindrical wall, the outer terminal of the shield connector and the outer terminal of the mating connector may be mated with each other in a reversed state (upside down) in the mating state of the shield connector with the mating connector, the first semi-cylindrical wall of the outer terminal of the shield connector may be positioned inside a second semi-cylindrical wall of the outer terminal of the mating connector, and a first cylindrical wall of the outer terminal of the mating connector may be positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall of the outer terminal of the shield connector. 
     The cylindrical portion of the shield connector may be provided with a stopper portion, the mating connector may include a cylindrical portion provided with a stopper portion, and the stopper portion of the shield connector and the stopper portion of the mating connector may be engaged with each other, to thereby prevent an upward-downward deviation of the shield connector and the mating connector. 
     According to the first aspect of the present invention, the outer terminal has the same configuration as that of the outer terminal of the mating connector, thus making the outer terminals sharable between the male and female shield connectors. Thus, the mating can be accomplished without preparing the outer terminals in different configurations between the male and female shield connectors. Thus, the metal mold for producing the outer terminals and the applicator for crimping the outer terminals to the shield electric cable can be shared, thus enabling to reduce the cost, and besides improving the workability. 
     Further, since the cylindrical portion of the outer terminal is mated with the outer terminal of the mating connector in an upside-down state, the outer terminals of the male and female connectors can be easily mated. Further, the outer terminals are mated in such a configuration as that the first semi-cylindrical wall of the cylindrical portion is positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall of the outer terminal of the mating connector, and the first semi-cylindrical wall of the outer terminal of the mating connector is positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall, thus the cylindrical portion of the shield connector and the cylindrical portion of the mating connector can be mated in a mutually positioned manner. Thus, the outer terminal of the shield connector and the outer terminal of the mating connector can be reliably mated, thus stabilizing the mating state. 
     Further, the stopper portions engaged with each other to prevent the upward-downward deviation are provided at the cylindrical portion of the outer terminal of the shield connector and the cylindrical portion of the outer terminal of the mating connector, thus enabling to maintain the accuracy of the mating state with the mating connector. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view showing a male shield connector and a female shield connector mated with each other, according to a conventional example. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing that a shield connector has been assembled, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an inner terminal of the shield connector, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing an inner housing of the shield connector, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing that an outer terminal of the shield connector is connected with an outer terminal of a mating connector side, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view showing an inside of the connected state in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view for explaining the connection with the mating connector. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view for explaining the connection with the mating connector. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a state in which the inner housing of the shield connector is assembled into the outer terminal, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing that the shield connector is connected with the mating connector, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11(   a ) is a cross sectional view showing a state in which the shield connector is connected with the mating connector and  FIG. 11(   b ) is a graph showing an impedance characteristic responding to  FIG. 11(   a ), according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 11 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , a shield connector  1  is mated and electrically connected with a mating connector  11 , to thereby allow shield electric cables  2  (connected respectively with the connectors  1 ,  11 ) to be connected with each other. The mating of the connectors  1 ,  11  is implemented with outer terminals  5 ,  15  of the shield connector  1  and mating connector  11  having the same configuration and with the outer terminals  5 ,  15  of the connectors  1 ,  11  reversed upside down (refer to  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 11 ). As the mating connector  11 , one like the shield connector  1  is used. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a shield electric cable  2  is connected to the shield connector  1 . As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 11 , the shield electric cable  2  has a coaxial structure formed by a central core wire  21  formed by twining together a plurality of conductive wires, an inner cover  22  made of an insulation resin and so provided as to cover an outer periphery of the core wire  21 , a shield member  23  made of conductive braided wires and so provided as to cover an outer periphery of the inner cover  22  and an outer cover  24  made of an insulation resin and so provided as to cover an outer periphery of the shield member  23 . The core wire  21  transmits a high frequency signal and the shield member  23  shields an electromagnetic wave. The above shield electric cable  2  is used for connection with the shield connector  1  with the shield member  23  exposed by peeling off the outer cover  24  and the core wire  21  exposed by peeling off the inner cover  22 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 11 , the shield connector  1  is formed with an inner terminal  3 , an inner housing  4  and an outer terminal  5 . The mating connector  11  to be connected with the shield connector  1  is also formed with an inner terminal  13 , an inner housing  14  and an outer terminal  15 . As will be described later, the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  is formed into the same configuration as that of the outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1 . 
     The entirety of each of the inner terminal  3  and outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1  is made of a conductive metal and the inner housing  4  is made of an insulation resin. The core wire  21  of the shield electric cable  2  is connected to the inner terminal  3  and the shield member  23  of the shield electric cable  2  is connected to the outer terminal  5 . 
       FIG. 3  shows the inner terminal  3 , where an electric connecting portion  31  connected with the inner terminal  13  of the mating connector  11  is provided at a distal end side in an axial direction and a crimp barrel portion  32  connected with the core wire  21  of the shield electric cable  2  is provided at a base end side in the axial direction. The electric connecting portion  31  in a form of a tapered cylinder extends in the axial direction. By entering into and having a contact with the inner terminal  13  of the mating connector  11 , the electric connecting portion  31  becomes conductive with the inner terminal  13  of the mating connector  11  (refer to  FIG. 11 ). Thus, the shield connector  1  according to the embodiment is a male connector and the mating connector  11  is a female connector. 
     The crimp barrel portion  32  includes a bottom piece  33  and a pair of rectangular plate-like crimp pieces  34  rising from respective sides of the bottom piece  33 . The crimp barrel portion  32  is formed into substantially an alphabetical U having an open upper portion. The core wire  21  (of the shield electric cable  2 ) exposed by peeling off the inner cover  22 , with its terminal contacting the electric connecting portion  31 , is inserted into the electric connecting portion  31 . Further, a terminal portion following the terminal contacts the bottom piece  33  of the crimp barrel portion  32 . Then, with the terminal portion contacting the bottom piece  33 , the crimp pieces  34  are bent and crimped to the core wire  21 , to thereby fix the core wire  21  to the inner terminal  3 . The above summarizes that the core wire  21  of the shield electric cable  2  is fixed to the inner terminal  3  in an electrical connecting state with the inner terminal  3 . 
     The inner terminal  3  is provided with an impedance adjusting portion  35 . The impedance adjusting portion  35  is to be provided between the electric connecting portion  31  and the crimp barrel portion  32 . Between the electric connecting portion  31  and the bottom piece  33  of the crimp barrel portion  32 , the impedance adjusting portion  35  has a bottom plate portion  36  continuous with the electric connecting portion  31  and bottom piece  33 . Further, the impedance adjusting portion  35  is formed into substantially U-shape having a pair of rectangular plate-like side plate portions  37  rising from respective sides of the bottom plate portion  36  in such a manner as to extend in a substantially vertical direction. In this case, the pair of side plate portions  37  are formed to be positioned in such a manner as to protrude more outwardly than the pair of crimp pieces  34  of the crimp barrel portion  32 . That is, the bottom plate portion  36  is larger in width than the bottom piece  33  of the crimp barrel portion  32 , and the pair of side plate portions  37  are provided on respective sides of the bottom plate portion  36  having the large width, thereby the rectangular plate-like side plate portions  37  are positioned more outside than the crimp pieces  34  of the crimp barrel portion  32 . With the side plate portions  37  positioned outwardly as described above, the impedance adjusting portion  35  is mated with the inner housing  4  (a later discussed mating groove portion  42  of the inner housing  4 ), thus allowing the impedance adjusting portion  35  to position the inner terminal  3  relative to the inner housing  4 . Further, the side plate portion  37  of the impedance adjusting portion  35  is provided in a position adjacent, via a cutout portion  38 , to the crimp piece  34  of the crimp barrel portion  32  on the base end side. 
     With respect to the impedance adjusting portion  35 , the core wire  21  (of the shield electric cable  2 ) extending from the electric connecting portion  31  to the crimp barrel portion  32  contacts the bottom plate portion  36 , thus allowing the side plate portions  37  to surround the core wire  21  from right and left in this contact state. Thus, in a portion of forming the impedance adjusting portion  35 , the impedance is lowered, and even if there is a portion having a high impedance at other portion of the shield connector  1 , the impedance of the entirety of the shield connector  1  is adjusted to be averaged. Thus, the high frequency performance can be improved. Providing the impedance adjusting portion  35  at the inner terminal  3  dispenses with adding to the shield connector  1  other additional parts for averaging the impedance, thus preventing increase of the number of parts of the shield connector  1  as well as facilitating assembling of the shield connector  1 . 
     The above inner terminal  3  is received in the inner housing  4  and the inner housing  4  receiving therein the inner terminal  3  is assembled into the outer terminal  5 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the inner housing  4  is formed to be substantially cylindrical extending in the axial direction. The inner housing  4  is formed with a receiving recess portion  41  along the axial direction. The receiving recess portion  41  has an upper portion opened, and the inner terminal  3  is dropped into the receiving recess portion  41  from the opened upper portion of the receiving recess portion  41 . This dropping-in allows the inner terminal  3  to be received in the inner housing  4 . With the inner terminal  3  received in the inner housing  4 , the electric connecting portion  31  of the inner terminal  3  protrudes from a distal end of the inner housing  4  toward a mating terminal  13 , thus allowing the electric connecting portion  31  to have contact with the mating terminal  13  (refer to  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 11 ). 
     The receiving recess portion  41  is formed with the mating groove portions  42 . The mating groove portion  42  is rectangular and formed on each of both sides in the center portion in the longitudinal direction of the receiving recess portion  41 . The side plate portion  37  of the impedance adjusting portion  35  of the inner terminal  3  mates with the mating groove portion  42 . With the side plate portion  37  mated with the mating groove portion  42 , the inner terminal  3  is fixed to the inner housing  4  in a state in which positioning of the inner terminal  3  relative to the inner housing  4  has been made. Thus, the inner terminal  3  can be surely received in a fixed position of the inner housing  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the outer terminal  5  has such a structure as that a cylindrical portion  51 , a terminal body portion  52  and a shield member connecting portion  53  are continuously formed from the distal end side to the base end side in the axial direction. 
     The shield member connecting portion  53  on the base end side is formed to have two combinations of a pair of rectangular plate-like crimp pieces  54  rising in an opposed manner along the longitudinal direction. The shield member connecting portion  53  is to be fix the shield member  23  (of the shield electric wire  2 ) which was exposed by peeling off the outer cover  24 . This fixing is accomplished after the inner housing  4  receiving therein the inner terminal  3  is set at the terminal body portion  52  by crimping the crimp piece  54 , the peeled-off shield member  23  getting out on the base end side of the inner housing  4 . This operation brings the shield member  23  of the shield electric cable  2  into a conductive state with the outer terminal  5 . 
     The terminal body portion  52  is positioned closer to the distal end side in the axial direction than the shield member connecting portion  53  and has a pair of rectangular plate-like body pieces  55  rising in an opposed manner. The inner housing  4  receiving therein the inner terminal  3  is incorporated into the terminal body portion  52  so as to be positioned between the body pieces  55 . While the inner housing  4  being incorporated into the terminal body portion  52 , the body pieces  55 , covering the outside of the inner housing  4  on respective sides of the inner housing  4 , serves to reduce the exposing amount of the inner housing  4 . 
     The cylindrical portion  51  thus provided closer to the distal end side in the axial direction than the terminal body portion  52  is positioned on the mating connector side. The entirety of the cylindrical portion  51  has a cylindrical outer configuration, into which, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the substantially cylindrical inner housing  4  is inserted. Further, as shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 11 , the electric connecting portion  31  (of the inner terminal  3 ) getting out from the distal end of the inner housing  4  is positioned inside the cylindrical portion  51 . As shown in  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 11 , the cylindrical portion  51  is to be mated with the mating connector  11 , thus accomplishing connecting of the male and female connectors. 
     The cylindrical portion  51  is formed with a first semi-cylindrical wall  56  and a second semi-cylindrical wall  57 , respectively, positioned in upper and lower positions. The first semi-cylindrical wall  56  is formed with a slit  58  along the longitudinal direction (refer to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 9 ). Forming of the slit  58  brings the first semi-cylindrical wall  56  into a state of having two divided pieces  56   a ,  56   b . In the above structure, elasticity capable of sagging and recovering is given to each of the divided pieces  56   a ,  56   b . With the elasticity given to the divided pieces  56   a ,  56   b , the first semi-cylindrical wall  56  sags at the time of mating with the mating connector  11 , thus enabling to easily mate the cylindrical portion  51  with the mating connector  11 . 
     The second semi-cylindrical wall  57  in the lower position is so formed as to oppose the first semi-cylindrical wall  56  in the upper position. The second semi-cylindrical wall  57  has a connector pick protrusion at its distal end. The connector pick protrusion  59  operates to pick the mating connector  11  at the time of mating with the mating connector  11 . Thus, the mating of the male and female connectors  1 ,  11  can be accomplished easily and reliably. 
     In addition to the above, the cylindrical portion  51  is formed with a stopper portion  60  as shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 10 . The stopper portion  60  is so formed as to protrude, as a small piece, from the end face at each of the divided pieces  56   a ,  56   b  of the first semi-cylindrical wall  56 . At the time of mating of the shield connector  1  with the mating connector  11 , the stopper portion  60  is engaged with a stopper portion  15   g  of the mating connector  11 . This engaging is made to prevent upward-downward deviations at the time of mating of the shield connector  1  with the mating connector  11 . 
     The shield connector  1  having the above structure is a male connector. The shield connector  1  on this male side and the mating connector  11  on the female side are mated with each other, to thereby accomplish the connection between the connectors. 
     The mating connector  11  serving as the female connector is a shield connector, like the shield connector  1 , has the same configuration as that of the shield connector  1  on the male side. That is, the mating connector  11  has an inner terminal  13  having the same configuration as that of the inner terminal  3  of the shield connector  1  on the male side, an inner housing  14  having the same configuration as that of the inner housing  4  of the shield connector  1  on the male side, and an outer terminal  15  having the same configuration as that of the outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1  on the male side. 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the inner terminal  13  of the mating connector  11  on the female side has a crimp barrel portion  13   a  connected to the core wire  21  by being crimped to the core wire  21  of the shield electric cable  2 , an electric connecting portion  13   b  connected to the end of the core wire  21 , and an impedance adjusting portion  13   c  having the same configuration as that of the impedance adjusting portion  35  of the shield connector  1  on the male side. 
     In this case, the electric connecting portion  31  of the shield connector  1  on the male side enters into the electric connecting portion  13   b , to thereby bring the electric connecting portion  13   b  into contact with the electric connecting portion  31  of the shield connector  1  and make the electric connecting portion  13   b  conductive with the electric connecting portion  31 . For allowing the above entry of the electric connecting portion  31 , the electric connecting portion  13   b  is formed to be cylindrical. The impedance adjusting portion  13   c  is provided between the crimp barrel portion  13   a  and the electric connecting portion  13   b . In the portion provided with the impedance adjusting portion  13   c , the impedance is so operated as to be lower, like the shield connector  1  on the male side. This averages the impedance of the entirety of the mating connector  11 , thus enabling to improve the high frequency performance of the mating connector  11 , like the shield connector  1  on the male side. 
     Like the inner housing  4  of the shield connector  1  on the male side, the inner housing  14  of the mating connector  11  receives therein the inner terminal  13 . For receiving the inner terminal  13 , like the shield connector  1  on the male side, the inner housing  14  is formed with a receiving recess portion (not shown). In the above receiving of the inner terminal  13 , the cylindrical electric connecting portion  13   b  is brought into a state of protruding to the shield connector side on the male side. Further, the inner housing  14  is formed with a mating groove portion (not shown) with which, like the shield connector  1  on the male side, the impedance adjusting portion  13   c  of the inner terminal  13  is mated to thereby position and fix the inner terminal  13 . 
     The outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  has such a structure as that, as shown in  FIG. 11 , a cylindrical portion  15   a  having the same configuration as that of the cylindrical portion  51  of the shield connector  1  on the male side, a terminal body portion  15   b  having the same configuration as that of the terminal body portion  52  of the shield connector  1  on the male side, and a shield member connecting portion  15   c  having the same configuration as that of the shield member connecting portion  53  of the shield connector  1  on the male side are continuously formed along the axial direction. The inner housing  14  receiving therein the inner terminal  13  is assembled into the terminal body portion  15   b , and the shield member connecting portion  15   c  is crimped and connected with the shield member  23  that is exposed by peeling off the outer cover  24 . 
     The cylindrical portion  51  of the tapered shield connector  1  on the male side is mated with the cylindrical portion  15   a . As shown in  FIG. 6 , like the cylindrical portion  51  of the shield connector  1  on the male side, the cylindrical portion  15   a  is formed with a first semi-cylindrical wall  15   d  given elasticity capable of sagging by forming a slit (not shown) and a second semi-cylindrical wall  15   e  positioned in the upper portion and opposing the first semi-cylindrical wall  15   d  positioned in the lower portion. Further, a distal end of the second semi-cylindrical wall  15   e  is formed with a connector pick protrusion  15   f  like the connector pick protrusion  59  on the shield connector  1  side. The first semi-cylindrical wall  15   d  is formed with the stopper portion  15   g  like the stopper portion  60  on the shield connector side. 
     The above outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  has the same configuration as that of the outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1  on the male side and can be shared between the mating connector  11  and the shield connector  1 . In this case, the mutual mating is implemented with the male and female connectors  1 ,  11  vertically reversed relative to each other. That is, in the mating connector  11  on the female side, the outer terminal  15  is set upside down relative to the outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1  on the male side, and the outer terminal  15  is mated with the outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1  on the male side in this upside-down state (refer to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 ). 
     As stated above, configuring the structure such that the outer terminals  5  and  15  mutually mated have the same configuration and can be mated in the upside-down state makes the outer terminals  5 ,  15  shared between the male connector  1  and the female connector  11 . Thus, it is not necessary to make the outer terminals  5 ,  15  in different configurations for mutual mating, thus eliminating the need of producing the outer terminals  5 ,  15  in different configurations. Thus, the need of separately preparing metal molds for production can be eliminated, thus enabling to reduce the production cost. 
     Next, an explanation will be given on mating and thereby connecting the male connector  1  and the female connector  11 . 
       FIG. 7  shows the inside of the shield connector  1  on the male side before the mating. The inner housing  4  receiving therein the inner terminal  3  is incorporated into the outer terminal  5 . Before the mating as shown in  FIG. 7 , a center axis A (upper) of the outer terminal  5  is deviated from a center axis B (lower) of the inner terminal  3 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a confronting state for mating the male connector  1  with the female connector  11 . The confronting is implemented with the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  on the female side in an upside-down state relative to the outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1  on the male side. That is, the confronting is so implemented that the first semi-cylindrical wall  56  of the cylindrical portion  51  of the shield connector  1  on the male side is caused to face the second semi-cylindrical wall  15   e  of the cylindrical portion  15   a  of the mating connector  11  on the female side and the second semi-cylindrical wall  57  of the cylindrical portion  51  of the shield connector  1  on the male side is caused to face the first semi-cylindrical wall  15   d  of the cylindrical portion  15   a  of the mating connector  11  on the female side. 
     In this case, the confronting is implemented by deviating upward and downward the center axes A, C of the outer terminals  5 ,  15  each by an amount equivalent to a plate thickness of one of the respective cylindrical portions  51 ,  15   a . Then, the male connector  1  is mated with the female connector  11  in this state. In this case, the connector pick protrusion  59  in the second semi-cylindrical wall  57  of the cylindrical portion  51  of the connector  1  on the male side picks the first semi-cylindrical wall  15   d  of the cylindrical portion  15   a  of the mating connector  11  on the female side and the connector pick protrusion  15   f  in the second semi-cylindrical wall  15   e  of the cylindrical portion  15   a  of the mating connector  11  on the female side picks the first semi-cylindrical wall  56  of the cylindrical portion  51  of the shield connector  1  on the male side, to thereby implement the mating. Thus, the male connector  1  can be mated with the female connector  11  easily and reliably. 
     With the above mating, the first semi-cylindrical wall  56  of the shield connector  1  on the male side is positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall  15   e  in the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  on the female side while the first semi-cylindrical wall  15   d  in the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  on the female side is positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall  57  of the shield connector  1  on the male side. This allows the center axes A, C of the respective outer terminals  5 ,  15  to coincide coaxially. Further, the mating of the male connector  1  with the female connector  11 , as shown in  FIG. 8 , allows that, in the shield connector  1  on the male side, the center axis B of the inner terminal  3  coincides with the center axis A of the outer terminal  5  (center of an inner diameter D of the outer terminal  5 ). With the center axes B and A coinciding with each other at the time of the mating, the high frequency performance of the shield connector  1  on the male side can be maintained. 
     Further, the first semi-cylindrical wall  56  of the cylindrical portion  51  is positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall  15   e  of the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11 , and the first semi-cylindrical wall  15   d  of the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  is positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall  57 , thus the cylindrical portion  51  and the cylindrical portion  15   a  of the mating connector  11  can be mated in such a manner as to be mutually positioned. Thus, the outer terminal  5  and the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  can be reliably mated, thus stabilizing the mating state. 
       FIG. 5  and  FIG. 10  show a state in which the outer terminals  5 ,  15   a  of the respective male connector  1  and female connector  11  are mated by vertically reversing the outer terminals  5 ,  15   a , as set forth above. In the mating state of the outer terminals  5 ,  15   a , the stopper portions  60 ,  15   g  formed at the respective cylindrical portions  51 ,  15   a  are engaged with each other, thus enabling to prevent upward-downward deviations of the outer terminals  5 ,  15 . This can maintain the accuracy of the mating state. 
     In addition to this, the slits formed at the first semi-cylindrical walls  56 ,  15   d  of the respective cylindrical portions  51 ,  15   a  are covered with the mating second semi-cylindrical walls  15   e ,  57  mated with the first semi-cylindrical walls  56 ,  15   d . Thus, the high frequency performance can be maintained despite the formation of the slits. 
       FIG. 11  shows a state in which the cylindrical portions  51 ,  15   a , respectively, at the shield connector  1  on the male side and the mating connector  11  on the female side are mated with each other. In each of the male connector  1  and the female connector  11 , the open portion is formed at the shield member  23  portion of the shield electric cable  2 , to thereby rise the impedance in the shield member portion (portion M in  FIG. 11 ). However, in either of the connectors  1 ,  11 , the impedance adjusting portions  35 ,  13   c  are formed at the inner terminals  3 ,  13 , thus acting to lower the impedance near the portion M where the impedance rises (portion N in  FIG. 11 ). With this, the entire impedance can be averaged, thus enabling to improve the high frequency performance. Increasing and decreasing the area of the above impedance adjusting portion  35  can adjust the impedance adjusting amount, thus enabling to easily adjust the impedance. 
     As explained above, according to the embodiment, the outer terminal  5  has the same configuration as that of the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11 , thus making the outer terminals  5 ,  15  sharable between the male and female shield connectors  1 ,  11 . Thus, the mating can be accomplished without the need of preparing the outer terminals having different configurations between the male and female shield connectors  1 ,  11  to be connected. Thus, the metal mold for producing the outer terminals  5 ,  15  and the applicator for crimping the outer terminals  5 ,  15  to the shield electric cable can be shared, thus enabling to reduce the cost not only improving the workability. 
     Further, since the cylindrical portion  51  of the outer terminal  5  is mated with the cylindrical portion  15   a  of the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  in an upside-down state, so that the outer terminals of the shield connectors  1 ,  11  to be mutually connected can be easily mated. Further, the outer terminals  5 ,  15  are mated such that the first semi-cylindrical wall  56  of the cylindrical portion  51  is positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall  15   e  of the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11 , and that the first semi-cylindrical wall  15   d  of the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  is positioned inside the second semi-cylindrical wall  57 , thus the cylindrical portion  51  and the cylindrical portion  15   a  of the mating connector  11  can be mated in a mutually aligned state. Thus, the outer terminal  5  and the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  can be reliably mated, thus stabilizing the mating state. 
     Further, the stopper portions  60 ,  15   g  engaged with each other to thereby prevent the upward-downward deviation are provided at the cylindrical portion  51  of the outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1  and the cylindrical portion  15   a  of the outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11 , thus enabling to maintain the accuracy of the mating state with the mating connector  11 . 
     According to the embodiment, the inner terminal  13 , inner housing  14  and outer terminal  15  of the mating connector  11  on the female side are the same in configuration as the inner terminal  3 , inner housing  4  and outer terminal  5  of the shield connector  1  on the male side. However, the inner terminal  3 ,  13  may have different configurations and the inner housings  4 ,  14  may have different configurations, provided that the outer terminals  5 ,  15  for mating the male and female connectors  1 ,  11  have the same configuration. Even in the case of the inner terminals  3 ,  13  having the different configurations, the impedance adjusting portions  35 ,  13   c  can be formed at the male and female connectors  1 ,  11  when it is necessary to improve the high frequency performance of each of the male and female connectors  1 ,  11  is necessary.