Connector assembly

Abstract

A connector assembly is formed by fitting a connector (100) with a mating connector (200). The connector has a first terminal (41) and a second terminal (42), a ground terminal (40) having a shielding portion (plate portion (44)) located between the first terminal and the second terminal, and a frame-shaped conductive housing (50); the mating connector has a mating first terminal (71) and a mating second terminal (72) respectively connected to the first terminal and the second terminal, a mating ground terminal (70) having a mating shielding portion (mating plate portion (73)) located between the mating first terminal (71) and the mating second terminal (72), and a frame-shaped conductive mating housing (80); the ground terminal (40) and the housing (50) are integrally formed by bending a metal plate. The ground terminal (40) and the mating ground terminal (70) are connected to each other by elastic contact between the shielding portion and the mating shielding portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector assembly formed by fitting a connector and a mating connector opposite to each other. Background Art

[0002] Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B 、 Figure 2 Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-121439) which shows, respectively, as an example of the prior art, a connector (referred to as a socket in Patent Document 1) 10 and a mating connector (referred to as a plug in Patent Document 1) 20 that are mutually fitted to form a connector assembly.

[0003] The connector 10 is configured such that signal terminals 12, 13, 14 and ground terminals 15, 16 are mounted on a connector housing 11, and a shell-shaped conductor 17 is also mounted. The shell-shaped conductor 17 forms a substantially rectangular ring that is continuous in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side of the connector housing 11, surrounding the outer periphery of the upper surface and the upper part of the side surface of the connector housing 11.

[0004] The signal terminals 12 to 14 are arranged with the ground terminals 15, 16 interposed therebetween, and the signal terminals 12 to 14 are separated from each other by the ground terminals 15, 16. The ground terminals 15, 16 are formed by punching a plate material and have the Figure 1B shape shown.

[0005] The connector housing 11 has a fitting portion insertion hole 11a at the center, and the signal terminals 12 to 14 and the ground terminals 15, 16 are exposed in the fitting portion insertion hole 11a. In Figure 1A 、 1B , 12a to 16a respectively denote the connection ends of the signal terminals 12 to 14 and the ground terminals 15, 16 to the mounting substrate.

[0006] The mating connector 20 is configured such that signal terminals 22, 23, 24 are mounted on a connector housing 21, and a shell-shaped conductor 25 is also mounted. The signal terminals 22 to 24 are held on protrusions 26a to 26c that are arranged in the central portion of the insert molding resin portion 26 of the connector housing 21. The shell-shaped conductor 25 has a shape along the peripheral wall portion 27 of the connector housing 21.

[0007] As described above, the existing connector 10 and the mating connector 20 respectively include shell-shaped conductors 17 and 25 as external shielding members, and the connector 10 includes ground terminals 15, 16 that constitute an internal shielding member for shielding between the signal terminals 12 to 14, thereby achieving a structure that implements EMC countermeasures and crosstalk countermeasures between signal terminals.

[0008] However, in the connector 10, the shell-shaped conductor 17 that constitutes the external shield and the ground terminals 15 and 16 that constitute the internal shield are separate (independent components), and the ground terminals 15 and 16 are also separate. Accordingly, the number of components is large and the assembly man-hours are also large. Summary of the Invention

[0009] In view of this problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly that can reduce the number of components compared to the prior art in a structure where both the connector and the mating connector that constitute the connector assembly are provided with an external shield and an internal shield.

[0010] A connector assembly is formed by fitting a connector and a mating connector. The connector has a first terminal and a second terminal, a ground terminal having a shielding portion located between the first terminal and the second terminal, and a frame-shaped conductive outer shell; the mating connector has a mating first terminal and a mating second terminal respectively connected to the first terminal and the second terminal, a mating ground terminal having a mating shielding portion located between the mating first terminal and the mating second terminal, and a frame-shaped conductive mating outer shell;

[0011] The ground terminal and the outer shell are integrally formed by bending a metal plate.

[0012] The ground terminal and the mating ground terminal are connected to each other by elastic contact between the shielding portion and the mating shielding portion.

[0013] In addition, the shielding portion is composed of a plate portion having a plate surface parallel to the fitting direction of the connector and the mating connector.

[0014] The mating shielding portion is composed of a mating plate portion having a mating plate surface parallel to the fitting direction.

[0015] The plate portion is composed of a pair of adjacent U-shaped portions.

[0016] The mating plate portion is formed in a shape having a pair of protrusions that form a concave portion between them.

[0017] The plate surface and the mating plate surface are parallel to each other, and the thickness of one of the plate portion and the mating plate portion is within the range of the thickness of the other.

[0018] The pair of protrusions are respectively inserted and located inside the U-shaped portions of the pair of U-shaped portions.

[0019] The legs of the adjacent U-shaped portions of the pair of U-shaped portions are respectively inserted and located in the concave portion.

[0020] Protrusions formed to project outward from the front ends of the adjacent L-shaped legs are elastically contacted with the pair of protrusions respectively.

[0021] In addition, the shielding portion has a contact portion that elastically displaces in a contact direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the connector and the other-side connector.

[0022] The other-side shielding portion has an other-side plate surface parallel to the fitting direction.

[0023] The contact direction of the contact portion is perpendicular to the other-side plate surface and the contact portion elastically contacts the other-side plate surface.

[0024] In a connector assembly in which one connector and the other connector are combined with each other, one connector has an integral metal component. A part of the metal component is all or part of the housing, and all or part of the remaining portion of the metal component is all or part of the ground terminal. The housing functions as an external shield. The ground terminal has a shielding portion that functions as an internal shield.

[0025] According to the present invention, in a connector assembly formed by fitting a connector and an other-side connector, in the connector, a housing constituting an external shield and a ground terminal having a shielding portion serving as an internal shield for electromagnetic shielding between different terminals are integrally formed by bending a metal plate. Therefore, the number of components and the assembly man-hours can be reduced accordingly, and thus it can be formed at low cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1A is a perspective view showing a connector constituting an existing connector assembly.

[0027] Figure 1B is Figure 1A a cross-sectional view of the shown connector.

[0028] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the other-side connector constituting an existing connector assembly.

[0029] Figure 3A is a perspective view showing, from above, one connector according to Embodiment 1 of a connector assembly according to the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3B is, from below, Figure 3A a perspective view of the shown connector.

[0031] Figure 4A is Figure 3A a front view of the shown connector.

[0032] Figure 4BYes Figure 4A Cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in

[0033] Figure 5 Shows Figure 3A Perspective view of the ground terminal integrated with the housing in

[0034] Figure 6 Shows Figure 3A Perspective view of the insulator and the terminals held by the insulator in

[0035] Figure 7A Perspective view showing the mating connector of Embodiment 1 of the connector assembly according to the present invention as viewed from above.

[0036] Figure 7B Is a perspective view of the mating connector shown in Figure 7A as viewed from below.

[0037] Figure 8A Is Figure 7A Front view of the mating connector shown in

[0038] Figure 8B Is Figure 8A Cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in

[0039] Figure 9 Is Figure 7A Perspective view of the mating housing in

[0040] Figure 10 Shows Figure 7A Perspective view of the mating insulator and the mating terminals held by the mating insulator in

[0041] Figure 11A Top view showing Embodiment 1 of the connector assembly according to the present invention.

[0042] Figure 11B Front view showing Embodiment 1 of the connector assembly according to the present invention.

[0043] Figure 11C Is Figure 11B Cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in

[0044] Figure 11D Is Figure 11B Cross-sectional view taken along line F-F in

[0045] Figure 12A Perspective view showing one of the connectors of Embodiment 2 of the connector assembly according to the present invention as viewed from above.

[0046] Figure 12B Is a perspective view of the connector shown in Figure 12APerspective view of the shown connector.

[0047] Figure 13 shows Figure 12A a perspective view of the ground terminal integrated with the housing.

[0048] Figure 14A is a perspective view of the mating connector of the second embodiment of the connector assembly according to the present invention as viewed from above.

[0049] Figure 14B is viewed from below Figure 14A a perspective view of the shown mating connector.

[0050] Figure 15A is Figure 14A a front view of the shown mating connector.

[0051] Figure 15B is Figure 15A a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in

[0052] Figure 16A a top view showing the second embodiment of the connector assembly according to the present invention.

[0053] Figure 16B is Figure 16A a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in

[0054] Explanation of reference numerals

[0055] 10 Connector

[0056] 11 Connector housing

[0057] 11a Insertion hole for fitting part

[0058] 12 - 14 Signal terminals

[0059] 12a - 14a Connection ends

[0060] 15, 16 Ground terminals

[0061] 15a, 16a Connection ends

[0062] 17 Shell-shaped conductor

[0063] 20 Mating connector

[0064] 21 Connector housing

[0065] 22 - 24 Signal terminals

[0066] 25 Shell-shaped conductor

[0067] 26 Insert molding resin part

[0068] 26a - 26c Protrusions

[0069] 27 peripheral wall part

[0070] 40, 40’ grounding terminals

[0071] 41 First terminal

[0072] 41a Contact piece

[0073] 41b Connection part

[0074] 42 Second terminal

[0075] 42a Contact piece

[0076] 42b Connection part

[0077] 43 C-shaped part

[0078] 43a Leg part

[0079] 43b Protrusion

[0080] 43c Leg part

[0081] 44 Plate part

[0082] 45 Connecting part

[0083] 46 Held part

[0084] 46a Protrusion

[0085] 47 Extension part

[0086] 48 C-shaped part

[0087] 48a Plate surface

[0088] 48b Leg part

[0089] 49 Contact part

[0090] 50 Housing

[0091] 51, 52 Outer wall part

[0092] 51a, 52a Bending part

[0093] 53 Notch

[0094] 60 Insulator

[0095] 61 Recess

[0096] 62 Slit

[0097] 70, 70’ Opposite side grounding terminals

[0098] 71 Opposite side first terminal

[0099] 71a Connection part

[0100] 72 Second terminal on the other side

[0101] 72a Connecting portion

[0102] 73 Side plate portion on the other side

[0103] 74 Recessed portion

[0104] 75 Protruding portion

[0105] 76 Connecting portion

[0106] 77 Extension portion

[0107] 78 Flat plate portion

[0108] 78a Plate surface

[0109] 80 Outer housing on the other side

[0110] 81, 82 Outer wall portions

[0111] 81a, 82a Protrusions

[0112] 81b Extension portion

[0113] 82b Protrusion

[0114] 83 Connecting portion

[0115] 84, 85 Notches

[0116] 90 Insulator on the other side

[0117] 91 Bottom plate portion

[0118] 92 Side wall

[0119] 93 Recessed portion

[0120] 100, 100' Connectors

[0121] 200, 200' Connectors on the other side Detailed implementation manners

[0122] The embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and by way of examples.

[0123] [Embodiment 1]

[0124] Figure 3A , Figure 3B , Figure 4A , Figure 4B FIGS. are diagrams showing one of the connectors 100 constituting the connector assembly according to the present invention in Embodiment 1. The connector 100 is composed of a first terminal 41, a second terminal 42, a ground terminal 40, a housing 50, and an insulator 60. In this example, the ground terminal 40 is integrally formed with the housing 50 that constitutes the outer contour of the connector 100.Figure 5 FIG. Figure 5 is a diagram showing details of the integrally formed ground terminal 40 and the housing 50. Figure 6 FIG. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the insulator 60 and the first terminal 41 and the second terminal 42 held by the insulator 60.

[0125] The insulator 60 is made of resin and has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. The first terminals 41 are respectively mounted on both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the insulator 60, and a total of four second terminals 42, two in each of two columns, are respectively mounted on the central portion of the insulator 60.

[0126] The first terminal 41 has a pair of contact pieces 41a facing each other, and the second terminal 42 also has a pair of contact pieces 42a facing each other. The connection portions 41b and 42b of these first terminal 41 and second terminal 42 to the substrate are located on the bottom surface side of the insulator 60. In this example, the two first terminals 41 are for high-frequency signals (for high-speed transmission), and the four second terminals 42 are for low-frequency signals (for low-speed transmission).

[0127] The conductive housing 50 is formed by bending a metal plate and is composed of a square frame body formed of two bodies having outer walls in a U-shaped shape. At the upper ends of the outer wall portions 51 respectively located on the opposite two sides forming the long sides of the square and the outer wall portions 52 respectively located on the opposite two sides forming the short sides of the square, bent portions 51a and 52a are respectively formed so as to protrude slightly inward of the frame.

[0128] Two ground terminals 40 integrated with the housing 50 are formed inside the frame of the housing 50, and both ends of the ground terminal 40 are connected and supported by the opposite outer wall portions 51. The ground terminal 40 is provided at two positions in the longitudinal direction of the housing 50.

[0129] The ground terminal 40 has a plate portion 44 at the center, and the plate portion 44 is formed by a pair of U-shaped portions 43 that are adjacent and located in the same plane and open upward, and protrusions 43b are formed so as to protrude outward from each other on the front end side of the adjacent U-shaped leg portions 43a of the pair of U-shaped portions 43.

[0130] The ground terminal 40 is composed of the above-described plate portion 44, connection portions 45 that are respectively bent and extended from the lower ends of the opposite outer wall portions 51 toward the inside of the frame, held portions 46 that are bent and erected from the respective connection portions 45, and extension portions 47 that extend from the upper ends of the respective held portions 46 and respectively reach the front ends of the outer legs 43c of the pair of U-shaped portions 43 that are located on the outer side of each other. It should be noted that a pair of protrusions 46a are respectively formed so as to protrude in the width direction on each of the held portions 46.

[0131] At the lower ends of the outer wall portions 51, two slightly smaller notches 53 are formed in the portions sandwiched by the two connecting portions 45. These notches 53 are held on the insulator 60 and are provided corresponding to the positions of the connecting portions 42b of the second terminals 42 exposed on the bottom surface side of the insulator 60.

[0132] As described above, the housing 50 integrally formed with the ground terminals 40 is mounted on the insulator 60 holding the first terminal 41 and the second terminal 42. The mounting is performed by covering the housing 50 from above the insulator 60 and pressing it in. At this time, the respective pairs of holding portions 46 each having a protrusion 46a of the two ground terminals 40 are respectively pressed into the recesses 61 at four locations of the insulator 60 and are fixedly held. In addition, the plate portions 44 each composed of a pair of U-shaped portions 43 of the two ground terminals 40 are respectively inserted into the slits 62 of the insulator 60 and are respectively located between the first terminal 41 and the second terminal 42 and constitute a shielding portion, thereby completing Figure 3A 、 3B 、the connector 100 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

[0133] Next, the mating connector 200 that mates with the above-described connector 100 to form a connector assembly will be described.

[0134] Figure 7A 、 Figure 7B 、 Figure 8A 、 Figure 8B FIGS. 20 to 24 are views showing the mating connector 200. The mating connector 200 includes a mating first terminal 71, a mating second terminal 72, a ground terminal 70, a mating housing 80, and a mating insulator 90. Figure 9 FIG. 25 is a view showing the details of the mating housing 80, Figure 10 FIG. 26 is a view showing the state where the mating housing 80 is removed from the mating connector 200.

[0135] The mating insulator 90 is made of resin and has a bottom plate portion 91 and side walls 92 respectively provided at four corner portions of the bottom plate portion 91. The mating first terminals 71 are respectively mounted at both longitudinal ends of the bottom plate portion 91, and two mating second terminals 72 are mounted at two positions in two rows at the central portion of the bottom plate portion 91, for a total of four. In addition, mating ground terminals 70 are respectively mounted between the two mating first terminals 71 and the four mating second terminals 72.

[0136] The mating first terminal 71 is columnar and has a connecting portion 71a with the substrate at the lower end. The mating second terminal 72 is plate-shaped and has a connecting portion 72a with the substrate at the lower end. The two mating first terminals 71 are for high-frequency signals, and the four mating second terminals 72 are for low-frequency signals.

[0137] As Figure 8BAs shown, the counterparty-side ground terminal 70 has a counterparty-side plate portion 73 at the center in the elongation direction. The counterparty-side plate portion 73 is formed in a shape having a pair of protruding portions 75 that form a recess 74 opening upward between them. The pair of protruding portions 75 protrude onto the bottom plate portion 91 of the counterparty-side insulator 90. In the counterparty-side plate portion 73, the connecting portion 76 connecting the lower ends of the pair of protruding portions 75 is located on the bottom surface side of the counterparty-side insulator 90 and is exposed. The counterparty-side ground terminal 70 is composed of the counterparty-side plate portion 73 having the above-described structure and extending portions 77 respectively extending from both ends of the connecting portion 76 of the counterparty-side plate portion 73. The counterparty-side plate portions 73 of the two counterparty-side ground terminals 70 are respectively located between the counterparty-side first terminal 71 and the counterparty-side second terminal 72 to form a counterparty-side shielding portion.

[0138] The square-frame-shaped conductive counterparty-side housing 80 is formed by bending a metal plate. As Figure 9 shown, it includes outer wall portions 81 respectively located on opposite sides of the long sides of the square, outer wall portions 82 respectively located on opposite sides of the short sides of the square, and a pair of connecting portions 83 connecting the upper ends of the outer wall portions 81 and 82. The pair of connecting portions 83 have plate surfaces that respectively slightly block both ends in the long side direction of the square frame.

[0139] On the outer side surfaces of the pair of outer wall portions 81, elongated convex portions 81a are respectively formed extending in the side direction, and on the outer side surfaces of the pair of outer wall portions 82, elongated convex portions 82a are also respectively formed extending in the side direction. It should be noted that at both ends in the side direction of the pair of outer wall portions 81, extending portions 81b that are bent and extended toward the outer wall portion 82 are formed.

[0140] Two notches 84 are formed at the lower ends of each outer wall portion 81, and further, notches 85 are respectively formed on both sides in the side direction of these two notches 84. The notches 84 are set to correspond to the positions of the connection portions 72a of the counterparty-side second terminal 72 that are held by the counterparty-side insulator 90 and exposed on the bottom surface side of the counterparty-side insulator 90, and the notches 85 are set to correspond to the positions of the extending portions 77 of the counterparty-side ground terminal 70 that are held by the counterparty-side insulator 90 and exposed on the bottom surface side of the counterparty-side insulator 90. Protrusions 82b are formed protruding outward from each other at both ends in the side direction of each outer wall portion 82.

[0141] The counterparty-side housing 80 having the above-described structure is mounted on the counterparty-side insulator 90, and the counterparty-side insulator 90 holds the counterparty-side first terminal 71, the counterparty-side second terminal 72, and the counterparty-side ground terminal 70. The mounting of the counterparty-side housing 80 is performed by covering the counterparty-side housing 80 from above the counterparty-side insulator 90 and pressing it in. The two outer wall portions 82 having the protrusions 82b straddle the two side walls 92 of the counterparty-side insulator 90 and are respectively pressed into the recesses 93 formed on the outer sides of the side walls 92 to complete Figure 7A 、7B the mating connector 200 shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

[0142] The above-described connector 100 and the mating connector 200 are respectively mounted on the opposing surfaces of opposing substrates, forming a board-to-board connector that is mutually engaged and connected. In the connector 100, the connecting portions 41b and 42b of the first terminal 41 and the second terminal 42, the portions of the plate portion 44 of the ground terminal 40 (the middle portions of the U-shaped portions of the pair of U-shaped portions 43) exposed on the bottom surface of the insulator 60, and the housing 50 are welded to the corresponding pads or patterns on the substrate for connection.

[0143] On the other hand, in the mating connector 200, the connecting portions 71a and 72a of the mating first terminal 71 and the mating second terminal 72, the connecting portion 76 and the extension portion 77 of the mating plate portion 73 of the mating ground terminal 70, and the mating housing 80 are welded to the corresponding pads or patterns on the substrate for connection.

[0144] Figure 11A , 11B FIGS. 11C and 11D are views of a connector assembly according to the present invention showing the engagement of the connector 100 and the mating connector 200, with the illustration of the substrate omitted.

[0145] By the engagement of the mating connector 200 with the connector 100, the first terminal 41 and the mating first terminal 71, and the second terminal 42 and the mating second terminal 72 are respectively engaged and connected. In addition, the convex portions 81a and 82a provided on the mating housing 80 are inserted over the bending portions 51a and 52a of the housing 50 and engaged, so that the mating housing 80 is engaged inside the housing 50.

[0146] On the other hand, the plate portion 44 of the ground terminal 40 and the mating plate portion 73 of the mating ground terminal 70 have plate surfaces that are parallel to each other and parallel to the engagement direction of the connector 100 and the mating connector 200. As Figure 11D shown, the pair of protrusions 75 of the mating plate portion 73 are respectively inserted into and located within the U-shaped portions of the pair of U-shaped portions 43 of the plate portion 44, and the adjacent leg portions 43a of the pair of U-shaped portions 43 are respectively inserted into and located within the recesses 74 of the mating plate portion 73. When the adjacent leg portions 43a are inserted into the recesses 74, they are elastically deformed in a direction approaching each other, and the protrusions 43b provided on the front end side of the leg portions 43a are elastically contacted with the inner side surfaces of the pair of protrusions 75 by the elastic restoring force of the leg portions 43a. Thereby, the plate portion 44 constituting the shielding portion between the first terminal 41 and the second terminal 42 and the mating plate portion 73 constituting the mating shielding portion between the mating first terminal 71 and the mating second terminal 72 are electrically connected to each other.

[0147] Thus, in this example, the plate portion 44 and the counter side plate portion 73 are combined to form a shield between the first terminal 41 for high-frequency signals and the counter side first terminal 71 and the second terminal 42 for low-frequency signals and the counter side second terminal 72. In Figure 11D the portion a surrounded by a dashed line shows the portion forming the shield, and through this shield, electromagnetic interference between terminals (between the terminals for high-frequency signals and the terminals for low-frequency signals and between the two terminals for high-frequency signals) is shielded.

[0148] The plate portion 44 and the counter side plate portion 73 have the same thickness (plate thickness) in this example, and the plate portion 44 and the counter side plate portion 73 are combined in such a manner that the ranges where the thicknesses are located coincide, that is, they form a single plate. The gap between the plate portion 44 and the counter side plate portion 73 and the gap between the adjacent U-shaped leg portions 43a of the plate portion 44 inserted into and located in the recess 74 of the counter side plate portion 73 are smaller than the thicknesses of these plate portion 44 and the counter side plate portion 73, whereby good shielding performance is ensured in this example.

[0149] It should be noted that the thickness of the plate portion 44 and the thickness of the counter side plate portion 73 do not necessarily have to be the same. In the case where the thicknesses are different, the plate portion 44 and the counter side plate portion 73 are combined in such a manner that the range where the thickness of the other is located is within the range where the thickness of one of them is located. Thus, in the case where the thickness of the plate portion 44 is different from the thickness of the counter side plate portion 73, the gap between the plate portion 44 and the counter side plate portion 73 and the gap between the U-shaped leg portions 43a located in the recess 74 are smaller than the thickness of the thinner one of the plate portion 44 and the counter side plate portion 73.

[0150] [Embodiment 2]

[0151] In the above-described Embodiment 1, the shielding portion of the ground terminal 40 located between the first terminal 41 and the second terminal 42 of the connector 100 is the plate portion 44 formed by a pair of U-shaped portions 43. In addition, the counter side shielding portion of the counter side ground terminal 70 located between the counter side first terminal 71 and the counter side second terminal 72 of the counter side connector 200 is the counter side plate portion 73 having a shape with a pair of protruding portions 75 forming the recess 74 therebetween. However, these shielding portions may also adopt other structures.

[0152] Embodiment 2 is an embodiment in which the shielding portions provided in the ground terminal and the counter side ground terminal in the connector and the counter side connector are set to other structures like this, Figure 12A 、 Figure 12B shows the connector 100' in Embodiment 2, Figure 13 shows the ground terminal 40' integrated with the housing 50 in the connector 100'. In addition, Figure 14A 、 Figure 14B 、 Figure 15A 、Figure 15B Shows the mating connector 200'. Figure 16A 、 Figure 16B Shows the mated state of the connector 100' and the mating connector 200'. Among these Figure 12A 、 Figure 12B 、 Figure 13 、 Figure 14A 、 Figure 14B 、 Figure 15A 、 Figure 15B 、 Figure 16A 、 Figure 16B In, for Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B 、 Figure 4A 、 Figure 4B 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6 、 Figure 7A 、 Figure 7B 、 Figure 8A 、 Figure 8B 、 Figure 9 、 Figure 10 、 Figure 11A 、 Figure 11B 、 Figure 11C 、 Figure 11D The parts corresponding to the structure of the first embodiment shown are labeled with the same reference numerals, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0153] In this example, the mating shield portion of the mating ground terminal 70' is as Figure 15B shown, and is composed of a substantially square flat plate portion 78. The mating ground terminal 70' is composed of the flat plate portion 78 and extension portions 77 respectively extending from both lower ends of the flat plate portion 78. The flat plate portion 78 protrudes onto the bottom plate portion 91 of the mating insulator 90 and is located between the mating first terminal 71 and the mating second terminal 72. The lower side of the flat plate portion 78 and the extension portions 77 are exposed on the bottom surface side of the mating insulator 90.

[0154] On the other hand, as Figure 13 shown, the shield portion of the ground terminal 40' is composed of a pair of adjacent U-shaped portions 48. The adjacent U-shaped leg portions of the pair of U-shaped portions 48 are formed into contact portions 49 that are elastically displaceable in the contact direction perpendicular to the plate surface 48a of the U-shaped portion 48, and the contact portion 49 has a shape bent into "<". The ground terminal 40' is the same as the ground terminal 40 in the first embodiment, and has a connecting portion 45, a held portion 46, and an extension portion 47. The mutually outer legs 48b of the pair of U-shaped portions 48 are respectively formed by extending from the extension portion 47.

[0155] Each pair of U-shaped portions 48 of the two ground terminals 40' are respectively inserted into the slit 62 of the insulator 60 and are respectively located between the first terminal 41 and the second terminal 42.

[0156] In a connector assembly in which the connector 100' is fitted and connected to the mating connector 200', in this example, as Figure 16B shown, on the plate surface 78a of the flat plate portion 78 having a plate surface (mating connector plate surface) parallel to the fitting direction, the contact portion 49 that is elastically displaceable in the contact direction perpendicular to the fitting direction elastically contacts with the plate surface 78a perpendicular thereto. Thus, a pair of U-shaped portions 48 constituting the shielding portion of the ground terminal 40' and the flat plate portion 78 constituting the mating side shielding portion of the mating side ground terminal 70' are electrically connected and combined, and between the first terminal 41 and the mating side first terminal 71 and between the second terminal 42 and the mating side second terminal 72, a shield is formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment to shield electromagnetic interference between the terminals.

Claims

1. A connector assembly formed by fitting a connector with a mating connector. The connector includes a first terminal and a second terminal, a ground terminal having a shielding portion located between the first terminal and the second terminal, and a conductive housing in a frame shape. The mating connector includes a mating first terminal and a mating second terminal respectively connected to the first terminal and the second terminal, a mating ground terminal having a mating shielding portion located between the mating first terminal and the mating second terminal, and a conductive mating housing in a frame shape. It is characterized in that the ground terminal and the housing are integrally formed by bending a metal plate, the shielding portion is composed of a plate portion having a plate surface parallel to the fitting direction of the connector and the mating connector, the mating shielding portion is composed of a mating plate portion having a mating plate surface parallel to the fitting direction, the plate portion is composed of a pair of adjacent U-shaped portions, the mating plate portion is formed in a shape having a pair of protrusions that form a recess between them, the plate surface and the mating plate surface are parallel to each other, and the thickness of one of the plate portion and the mating plate portion is within the range of the thickness of the other, the pair of protrusions are respectively inserted and located within the U-shapes of the pair of U-shaped portions, the legs of the adjacent U-shapes of the pair of U-shaped portions are respectively inserted and located within the recess, protrusions formed to protrude outward from each other on the front end side of the legs of the adjacent U-shapes are elastically contacted with the pair of protrusions respectively, so that the shielding portion and the mating shielding portion are elastically contacted, the ground terminal and the mating ground terminal are connected to each other through the elastic contact of the shielding portion and the mating shielding portion.

Images