Patent Publication Number: US-2022224058-A1

Title: Electrical connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to the electrical connector with better stability of assembly. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     China Patent No. 209374758 discloses an electrical connector including an insulative housing extending in a longitudinal direction and a metal shell assembled an outside of the insulative housing. The metal shell includes two side plates at both ends in the longitudinal direction. Each side plate is provided with a first upper fixing portion and a first lower fixing portion which respectively abut against the upper and lower surfaces of the insulative housing. The insulative housing is fixed between the first upper fixing portion and the first lower fixing portion, thereby restricting the displacement of the metal shell in the vertical direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. However, the two side plates of the metal shell and the insulative housing are not provided with corresponding holding structures in the longitudinal direction, which cannot effectively prevent the side plates from being deformed in the longitudinal direction due to external force. China Patent No. 211829411 discloses an electrical connector including an insulative housing, an outer metallic shield surrounding the insulative housing and an inner metallic shield attached upon one side of the insulative housing. There is a lack of mutual holding structure between the inner metallic shield and the outer metallic shield, and they may fall off due to the weak holding. 
     Therefore, it is desired to provide an electrical connector with better stability of assembly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the instant invention is to provide an electrical connector with better stability of assembly. To achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical connector includes an insulative housing with an first wall and a second wall extending in a longitudinal direction and spaced from each other in a parallel relation with a mating slot therebetween, an inner metallic shield covering the insulative housing, and an outer metallic shield. The mating slot is forwardly exposed to an exterior. The insulative housing includes a pair of side walls connecting the first wall and second wall. The inner metallic shield includes a main plate attached to the outer surface of the first wall and side portions bent from the main plate and attached to the outer surface of the side wall. The outer metallic shield includes a main plate located on the outer side of the main plate and a pair of second plates bent from the main plate. A pair of the second plates attached to the outer surface of the side portions respectively. The insulative housing is provided with grooves forwardly exposed to an exterior in the front-to-back direction at two opposite ends in the longitudinal direction of the second wall. Each of the second plates is provided with a first hook portion adjacent to the second wall. The first hook portion includes a bent portion bent inward and attached to the surface of the second wall, and a vertical portion bent from the bent portion to the direction of the first wall. The vertical portion is fixed in the groove. One of the side portion of the inner metallic shield and the second plate of the outer metallic shield is provided with a protrusion, and the other is provided with a recess for receiving and holding the protrusion. 
     Other advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical connector of a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is another perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is another perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is another exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a further exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a further exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is another exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1  taken along lines  10 - 10 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the inner metallic shield and the outer metallic shield of the electrical connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a part of the exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 13  is another exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an electrical connector of a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 16  is another exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a further exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 15 ; and 
         FIG. 18  is a further exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of  FIG. 16 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 1-13  illustrating an electrical connector  100  of a first embodiment of this invention, the electrical connector  100  is of a right angle type, that is, a mating direction of the electrical connector  100  is a front-to-back direction. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5-10 , the electrical connector  100  includes an insulative housing  1  with a first wall  11  and a second wall  12  extending in a longitudinal direction and spacing from each other in an upright direction with a mating slot  10  therebetween, a plurality of contacts  2  arranged on the insulative housing  1 , an inner metallic shield  4  covering the insulative housing  1 , and an outer metallic shield  3 . The mating slot  10  is exposed to an exterior through a front face. The insulative housing  1  includes a pair of side walls  13  connecting with the first wall  11  and second wall  12 . Each of the contacts  2  includes a contacting section  21  extending into the mating slot  10  and a soldering section  22  extending out of the second wall  12 . The inner metallic shield  4  includes a main portion  40  attached to the outer surface of the first wall  11  and two side portions  41  bent from the main portion  40  and attached to the outer surfaces of the side walls  13 . The two side portions  41  clamp the insulative housing  1 . The outer metallic shield  3  includes a main plate  31  located beside the outer side of the first wall  11  and a pair of side plates  32  bent from the main plate  31 . A pair of the side plates  32  are attached to the outer surface of a pair of the side walls  13  respectively. The side portions  41  of the inner metallic shield  4  is sandwiched between the side walls  13  and the side plate  314  of the outer metallic shield  3 . The main plate  11  is separated from the main plate  40  by a distance. A longitudinal slot  5  as labeled in  FIG. 1  is provided between the main plate  31  and the inner metallic shield  4  for mating with a protruding portion (not shown) of a mating plug. Therefore, the longitudinal slot  5  formed by the inner metallic shield  4  and the main plate  31  has strong strength of structural. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 9 , the insulative housing  1  is provided with a grooves  120  at each end of the second wall in the longitudinal direction, and extending forward. Each of the side plates  32  is provided with a first hook portion  320  adjacent to the second wall  12 . The first hook portion  320  includes a bent portion  3201  bent inward and attached to the bottom surface of the second wall  12 , and a vertical portion  3202  bent from the bent portion  3201  toward the first wall  11 , i.e., the upright direction. The vertical portion  3202  is fixed in the groove  120 . The groove  120  is used to fix the vertical portion  3202 . The engaging structure of the first hook portions  320  and the grooves  120  are beneficial to avoid displacement of the second plate  32  in the longitudinal direction due to external force. This is beneficial to improve the dimensional accuracy of the electrical connector  100 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the outer surface of the second wall  12  between the groove  120  and two opposite ends in the longitudinal direction of the second wall  12  is cut off partially to accommodate the bent portion  3201 . The outer metallic shield  3  is assembled to the insulative body  1  from front to back. The vertical portion  3202  is assembled to the groove  120  from a front end of the groove  120 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , in this embodiment, each of the side plates  32  is provided with two second hook portions  320 A arranged in the front-to-back direction at each end, and the second hook portions  320 A abuts against the insulative housing  1  for preventing the side plates  32  backwards. The groove  120  does not penetrate the rear end of the second wall  12 . The second hook portions  320 A abuts against the rear end of the groove  120  backwards, which can restrict the displacement of the outer metallic shield  3  toward the rear. 
     There is a restriction structure between the main plate  31  and the first wall  11  for restricting the moving of the outer metallic shield  3  in the front-to-back direction. Referring to  FIGS. 3-10 , the main plate  31  includes a partitioning plate  311  arranged at the front end thereof and an abutting plate  312  arranged at the rear end thereof. The partitioning plate  311  is separated from the first wall  11  by a distance. The abutting plate  312  includes an inclined portion  3121  bent and extended from the partitioning plate  311  to the first wall  11  and a limiting portion  3122  extending horizontally rearward from the inclined portion  3121 . The limiting portion  3122  is attached to the surface of the first wall  11 . The first wall  11  is recessed from its surface to form a first stepped surface  111  facing forward and a second stepped surface  112  facing rear. The limiting portion  3122  is accommodated in the recess and abuts against the first stepped surface  111  backward. The limiting portion  3122  is provided with protruding tabs  3123  extending forward. The protruding tabs  3123  abut against the second stepped surface  112  forward. This is beneficial to limit the displacement of the outer metallic shield  3  in the front-to-back direction and ensure that it is firmly assembled on the insulative housing  1 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 9-13 , the first wall  11  is provided with a hole  110  penetrating through the first wall  11  in the thickness or upright direction of the first wall  11 . The contacts  2  are fixed to an insulative block  14 . The insulative block  14  is provided with a holding protrusion  140  protruding into the hole  110 . The holding protrusion  140  abuts against the inner surface of the hole  110  backward. The front end of the insulative block  14  abuts against the first wall  11  and the second wall  12 . Referring to  FIG. 10 , the second stepped surface  112  is formed on the inner surface of the hole  110 . The protruding tabs  3123  are received in the slot  110  at the same time. The front end of the protruding tabs  3123  extends obliquely toward the recessed direction of the slot  110 , so that the protruding tab  3123  firmly abuts the second stepped surface  112 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , one of the side portion  41  of the inner metallic shield  4  and the side plate  32  of the outer metallic shield  3  is provided with a protrusion  6 , and the other is provided with a recess  7  for receiving and holding the protrusion  6 . The protrusion  6  and the recess  7  are buckled together, so as to increase the interference force between the inner metallic shield  4  and the outer metallic shield  3 . The protrusion  6  and the recess  7  are arranged near the front end of the mating slot  10 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7-9 , the side portions  41  extend from the two longitudinal opposite ends of the main portion  40  towards the second wall  12 . The protrusion  6  is provided on the side portions  41 . The side plate  32  is provided with the recess  7  corresponding to the protrusion  6 . The recess  7  penetrates through the side plate  32  along the longitudinal direction. The side portion  41  includes an arm  411  extending from the two opposite longitudinal ends of the main portion  40  towards the second wall  12  and a clamping end  412  bent from the arm  411  towards the mating slot  10 . The arms  411  are arranged close to the side wall  13 . The clamping ends  412  are inserted into the side wall  13 . The protrusion  6  is arranged on the arm  411 . The side wall  13  is provided with a cutout  130  penetrating the front surface  131  and the outer surface  132  of the side wall  13 , the clamping ends  412  are arranged in the cutouts  130 . The cutout  130  penetrates the side wall  13  along the longitudinal direction and communicates with the mating slot  10 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-7 , the main portion  40  is provided with notches  401  retracted in the longitudinal direction. The side plate  32  of the outer metallic shield  3  is provided with resistant tab  321  bent inward, the resistant tab  321  presses against the first wall  11  at a position of the notch  401 . The resistant tab  321  is pressed against the two opposite ends in the longitudinal direction of the first wall  11 . The resistant tab  321  abut forward against the side portion  41  to further limit the forward displacement of the outer metallic shield  3 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 14-18  illustrating an electrical connector  200  of the second preferred embodiment of the invention, which has a similar interface to the electrical connector  100  while is of an upright type of connector, i.e., with a upright mating direction. Main features are descript hereinafter, and the same elements are labeled with same numerals corresponding to the first embodiment. The outer metallic shield  3  of the electrical connector  200  further includes a longitudinal plate  33  parallel to the main plate  40  and fittingly attached to the outer surface of the second wall  12 . The outer metallic shield  3  is surrounded around the insulative housing  1 . The contacts  2  includes a contacting section  21  extending into the mating slot  10  and a soldering section  22  extending out of the insulative housing  1 . As shown in  FIG. 15 , the side wall  13  of the insulative housing  1  is provided with a trough  133 . The side plate  32  is provided with an elastic tab  322  abutting against the trough  133  in order to fix the outer metallic shield  3  to the insulative housing  1 . Similarly, one of the side portion  41  of the inner metallic shield  4  and the second plate  32  of the outer metallic shield  3  is provided with protrusions  6 , and the other is provided with recesses  7  for receiving and holding the protrusion  6 . In other embodiments, the protrusion  6  can also be provided on the side plate  32  of the metallic shield  3 , and the recess  7  can be provided on the side portion  41  of the inner metallic shield  4  at the position corresponding to the protrusion  6 . 
     Compared with the conventional receptacle disclosed in the aforementioned China Patent CN209374758U, the invention includes the grooves and the first hook portions fixed in the grooves for improving the dimensional accuracy of the electrical connector  100 . Compared with the conventional receptacle disclosed in the aforementioned China Patent CN211829411U, the invention includes the protrusion  6  and the recess  7  for receiving and holding the protrusion  6 , which can increase the interference force between the inner metallic shield  4  and the outer metallic shield  3 . 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various alterations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without in any way departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.