Patent ID: 7320623

Claim:
A connector comprising: a fitting portion to be fitted to a mating connector in a first direction; a plurality of signal contacts disposed in the fitting portion in a first row extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a ground plate including a plurality of ground terminals disposed in the fitting portion in a second row parallel to the first row; a housing holding the signal contacts and the ground plate; and a conductive shell coupled to the housing; the shell comprising: a shell body partially covering the signal contacts and the ground plate; a bent portion formed at an end of the fitting portion and bent inward from the shell body; and a protecting portion extending from the bent portion along the shell body with a space which is kept between the protecting portion and the shell body in a third direction perpendicular to the first and the second directions; each of the ground terminals including: a spring portion extending in the fitting portion along the shell body; and a free end portion extending from the spring portion, inserted into the space, and contacted with the protecting portion.