Connector and connector pair

Abstract

The first group of terminals include a plurality of signal terminals, the second group of terminals include high frequency terminals that transmit signals of a higher frequency than the signals transmitted by the signal terminals, the second group of terminals include an elastically deformable contact part and a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate, the substrate connecting part extending in the opposite direction as the direction that the contact part elastically deforms, the first ground includes a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate and extends in a direction different from the direction that the substrate connecting part of the second group of terminals extends, and the first group of terminals includes a contact part and a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate, the substrate connecting part extending in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the substrate connecting part of the second group of terminals.

Description

CONNECTOR AND CONNECTOR PAIRTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a connector and a connector pair.BACKGROUND

[0002] Conventionally, connectors such as board-to-board connectors have been used to electrically connect pairs of parallel circuit boards to each other. Such connectors are attached to each of opposing surfaces of the pair of circuit boards, and fitted together to secure electric conduction. Furthermore, in order to reduce the influence of noise and radio waves from the outside and also to suppress the emission of noise and radio waves to the outside, a technique of providing a shielding member has been proposed (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 2016-177884).

[0003] FIG. 24 is a perspective view depicting a conventional connector.

[0004] In the drawing, 811 represents a housing of a receptacle connector serving as a connector mounted on a surface of a first circuit board (not depicted), which has a mating recessed part 812 into which a plug connector mounted on a surface of a second circuit board (not depicted) is inserted and mated. Four sides of the mating recessed part 812, which has a rectangular shape in plan view, are demarcated by side wall parts 814. Furthermore, a pair of protruding parts 813 are formed protruding from a bottom plate 818 thereof in the mating recessed part 812. Note that an opening part 818a is formed in the bottom plate 818 between the protruding parts 813.

[0005] Furthermore, a plurality of terminals 861 are attached to each of the protruding parts 813 aligned in a longitudinal direction of the protruding parts 813. Each terminal 861 has a contacting part 865 protruding from an inner wall surface of the side wall part 814 and a tail part 862 protruding from the protruding part 813 into the opening part 818a. The tail part 862 is soldered to a connection pad formed on a surface of the first circuit board. Furthermore, when the receptacle connector is mated with the plug connector, the contacting part 865 contacts a terminal of the plug connector to conduct electricity.

[0006] Furthermore, a conductive shell 851 is attached to the housing 811 so as to entirely cover an outer wall surface of the side wall part 814. The conductive shell 851 has a plurality of substrate connecting parts 851a, and the substrate connecting parts 851a are soldered to the connection pad formed on a surface of the first circuit board. Thus, an outer circumferential surface of the housing 811 is covered by the conductive shell 851. Therefore, an electromagnetic shielding action by the conductive shell 851 is achieved for the receptacle connector and for the plug connector inserted in and mated to the mating recessed part 812.SUMMARY

[0007] However, this type of conventional connector cannot handle the size reduction and increased signal speeds of recent electronic devices. In electronic devices such as laptop computers, tablets, smart phones, digital cameras, music players, game machines, navigation devices, and the like, a compact and low-profile housing and accompanying compact and low-profile components are required, and a high-speed signal is required to handle an increase in the amount of communication data and a higher communication speed and data processing speed. However, the aforementioned conventional connector cannot sufficiently respond to the demand for a compact and low-profile connector because the dimensions of each part of the housing 811 are large and the strength is insufficient when the dimensions of each part are reduced. Furthermore, the speed of various types of signals is increasing, and transmitting high frequency signals is sometimes required, but the aforementioned conventional connector cannot transmit high frequency signals because the electromagnetic shielding function is not sufficiently high. Furthermore, the contact reliability between the terminal and the mating terminal of the mating connector is not sufficiently high, so the connection reliability with the mating connector is insufficient.

[0008] Herein, in order to solve the problems of the conventional connector, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a highly reliable connector and connector pair that exhibit high strength and achieve high connection reliability and a high shielding effect, while having a compact and low profile.

[0009] Therefore, the first connector includes a first housing, first group of terminals and second group of terminals retained in the first housing, a first shield surrounding the first housing, and a first ground provided between the first group of terminals and the second group of terminals; wherein the first group of terminals include a plurality of signal terminals, the second group of terminals include high frequency terminals which transmit signals with a higher frequency than the signals transmitted by the signal terminal, the second group of terminals include an elastically deformable contact part and a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate, the substrate connecting part extending in the opposite direction as the direction that the contact parts elastically deform, the first ground includes a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate and extends in a direction different from the direction that the substrate connecting parts of the second group of terminals extend, and the first group of terminals include a contact part and a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate, the substrate connecting part extending in a direction perpendicular to the direction that the substrate connecting parts of the second group of terminals extend.

[0010] Furthermore, in another first connector, the first housing includes a protruding part that protrudes in a mating direction, and the protruding part retains the second group of terminals and the first ground.

[0011] Furthermore, in yet another first connector, the first shield includes a substrate connecting part and a contact part to the second connector, the contact part being elastically deformable in the same direction as the extension direction of the substrate connecting part.

[0012] Furthermore, in yet another first connector, a space is provided between the contact parts of the second group of terminals and the first shield facing the contact parts.

[0013] Furthermore, in yet another first connector, a space is provided between the end part of the substrate connecting parts of the second group of terminals and the first shield facing the end parts.

[0014] Furthermore, in yet another first connector, the first shield includes a substrate connecting part that is located on a straight line passing through the substrate connecting part of the second group of terminals and the substrate connecting part of the first ground, and extends toward the outside of the first connector.

[0015] Furthermore, in yet another first connector, the second group of terminals are arranged to form a terminal row extending in a first axial direction, and include high frequency terminals located at least at both ends of the terminal row and ground terminals located between the high frequency terminals, the high frequency terminals and the ground terminals having the same shape.

[0016] A connector pair contains the first connector of the present disclosure, and a second connector that mates with the first connector.

[0017] The second connector includes a second housing, third group of terminals, and fourth group of terminals retained in the second housing, a second shield surrounding the second housing, and a second ground provided between the third group of terminals and the fourth group of terminals; wherein the third group of terminals include a plurality of signal terminals, the fourth group of terminals include high frequency terminals which transmit signals with a higher frequency than the signals transmitted by the signal terminal, the fourth group of terminals include an elastically deformable contact part and a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate, the substrate connecting part extending in the opposite direction as the direction that the contact parts elastically deform, the second shield includes a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate, the substrate connecting part extends in a direction different from the extension direction of the substrate connecting parts of the second group of terminals, and the third group of terminals include a contact part and a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate, the substrate connecting part extending in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the substrate connecting parts of the fourth group of terminals.

[0018] Furthermore, in another second connector, the second housing includes a protruding part that protrudes in a mating direction, and the protruding part retains the fourth group of terminals and the second shield.

[0019] Furthermore, in another second connector, the second ground includes a contact plane of the first connector.

[0020] Furthermore, in yet another second connector, a space is provided between the contact parts of the third group of terminals and the second ground facing the contact parts.

[0021] Furthermore, in yet another second connector, a space is provided between the end part of the substrate connecting parts of the third group of terminals and the second ground facing the end parts.

[0022] Furthermore, in another second connector, the second shield includes a substrate connecting part that extends toward the outer side of the second connector.

[0023] Furthermore, in yet another second connector, the fourth group of terminals are arranged to form a terminal row extending in a first axial direction, and include high frequency terminals located at least at both ends of the terminal row and ground terminals located between the high frequency terminals, the high frequency terminals and the ground terminals having the same shape.

[0024] Another connector pair contains the second connector of the present disclosure, and a first connector that mates with the second connector.

[0025] Furthermore, in yet another connector pair, the first connector of the present disclosure is mated with the second connector of the present disclosure.

[0026] Furthermore, in yet another connector pair, the second group of terminals and the fourth group of terminals have the same shape.

[0027] According to the present disclosure, a connector and connector pair can exhibit high strength, achieve high connection reliability and a high shielding effect, and have improved reliability while having a compact and low profile.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] FIG. 1 is a first perspective view depicting a state before mating of the first connector with the second connector according to the present embodiment;

[0029] FIG. 2 is a second perspective view depicting a state before mating of the first connector with the second connector according to the present embodiment;

[0030] FIG. 3A is a perspective view depicting the first connector according to the present embodiment when viewed from a mating surface, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 A when viewed from a mounting surface;

[0031] FIG. 4A is a plan view of the first connector according to the present embodiment, and where FIG. 4B is a first side surface view of the of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C is a second side surface view of the of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4A;

[0032] FIG. 5 is a plan view of the mounting surface side of the first connector according to the present embodiment;

[0033] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the first connector according to the present embodiment;

[0034] FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the first housing of the first connector according to the present embodiment from the mating surface side, and FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 7A when viewed from a mounting surface side;

[0035] FIG. 8 A is a perspective view when viewed from a mating surface side of a condition where the terminal and the grounding plate are attached to the first housing of the first connector according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view of embodiment depicted in FIG. 8A when viewed from a mounting surface side;

[0036] FIG. 9A is a plan view of the mating surface side of a condition where the terminal and the grounding plate are attached to the first housing of the first connector according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view in the direction of arrow A-A shown in FIG. 9A;

[0037] FIG. 10A is a plan view of the mating surface side of a condition where the terminal, grounding plate, protector, and first shield are attached to the first housing of the first connector according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a cross- sectional view in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 10 A;

[0038] FIG. 11 A is a perspective view when viewed from a mating surface depicting the second connector according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 11B is a perspective view of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 11 A but when viewed from a mounting surface;

[0039] FIG. 12A is a plan view of the mating surface side of the second connector according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 12B is a first side surface view of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 12A, and FIG. 12C is a second side surface view of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 12A;

[0040] FIG. 13 is a plan view of the mounting surface side of the second connector according to the present embodiment;

[0041] FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the second connector according to the present embodiment;

[0042] FIG. 15A is a perspective view when viewed from a mating surface side of the second housing of the second connector according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 15B is a perspective view when viewed from a mounting surface side of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 15 A;

[0043] FIG. 16 is a perspective view when viewed from a mating surface side of a condition where the terminal is attached to the second housing of the second connector according to the present embodiment and FIG. 16B is a perspective view of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 16A when viewed from a mounting surface side;

[0044] FIG. 17A is a plan view of the mating surface side of a condition where the terminal is attached the second housing of the second connector according to the present embodiment and FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view in the direction of arrow C-C shown in FIG. 17 A;

[0045] FIG. 18 A is a plan view of the mating surface side of a condition where the terminal and the second shield are attached to the second housing of the second connector according to the present embodiment and FIG. 18B is a cross-sectional view in the direction of arrow D shown in FIG. 18 A;

[0046] FIG. 19A is a perspective view as viewed from the second connector side of a condition where mating of the first connector to the second connector is completed according to the present embodiment and FIG. 19B is a perspective view as viewed from the first connector side of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 19 A;

[0047] FIG. 20A is a plan view as viewed from the second connector side of a condition where mating of the first connector and the second connector is completed according to the present embodiment, FIG. 20B is a first side surface view of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 20A, and FIG. 20C is a second side surface view of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 20A;

[0048] FIG. 21 is a plan view of a condition where mating of the first connector and second connector is completed according to the present embodiment, as viewed from the first connector;

[0049] FIG. 22A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line E-E in FIG. 20A in a condition where mating of the first connector and second connector is completed,according to the present embodiment and FIG. 22B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F-F in FIG. 20Athe embodiment depicted in FIG. 22A;

[0050] FIG. 23 A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line G-G in FIG. 20A of a second set in a condition where mating of the first connector and second connector is completed, according to the present embodiment and FIG. 23B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line H-H in FIG. 20A of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 23 A; and

[0051] FIG. 24 is a perspective view depicting a conventional connector.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Embodiments will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0053] FIG. 1 is a first perspective view of the first connector and the second connector of the present embodiment prior to mating; FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the first connector and the second connector of the present embodiment prior to mating; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first connector of the present embodiment; FIG. 4 includes three side views of the first connector of the present embodiment; FIG. 5 is a plan view of the mounting surface side of the first connector of the present embodiment; FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the first connector of the present embodiment; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the first housing of the first connector of the present embodiment; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the first housing of the first connector of the present embodiment in a condition where the terminals and grounding plate are attached; FIG. 9 includes two side views of the first housing of the first connector of the present embodiment in a condition where the terminals and grounding plate are attached, and FIG. 10 includes two side views of the first housing of the first connector of the present embodiment in a condition where the terminal, grounding plate, protector and first shield are attached. Note that, in FIG. 3, (a) is a perspective view seen from the mating surface side, and (b) is a perspective view seen from the mounting surface side; in FIG. 4, (a) is a plan view of the mating surface side, (b) is a first side view, and (c) is a second side view; in FIGS. 7 and 8, (a) is a perspective view seen from the mating surface side, and (b) is a perspective view seen from the mounting surface side; in FIG. 9, (a) is a plan view of the mating surfaceside, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line A-A in (a); and in FIG. 10, (a) is a plan view of the mating surface side, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along arrow B in (a).

[0054] In the drawings, 10 is a connector of the present embodiment and represents a first connector as one of a pair of board-to-board connectors that form a connector pair. The first connector 10 is a surface mounting type receptacle connector mounted on a surface of a first substrate (not depicted) serving as a mounting member and is mated to a second connector 101 as a counterpart connector. Furthermore, the second connector 101 is the other connector of the pair of substrate-to-substrate connectors and is a surface mounting type plug connector mounted on a surface of a second substrate (not depicted) serving as a mounting member.

[0055] Note that the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 of the connector pair according to the present embodiment are preferably used to electrically connect the first substrate to the second substrate but can also be used to electrically connect other members. For example, the first substrate and the second substrate are each a printed circuit board, a flexible flat cable (FFC), a flexible circuit board (FPC), or the like as used in electronic devices or the like but may be any type of board.

[0056] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, expressions indicating direction such as up, down, left, right, front, rear, longitudinal, width, and the like used to describe a configuration and operation of each part of the connector pair first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are relative rather than absolute and are appropriate when each part of the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are in positions depicted in the drawings. However, these directions should be interpreted as changing in accordance with a change in position when the position thereof is changed.

[0057] Furthermore, the first connector 10 has: a first shield 50 as a first outer side shield, which is a shield formed by punching, drawing, or the like process on a conductive metal plate; and a first housing 11 as a housing of the first connector 10 integrally formed by an insulating material such as a synthetic resin or the like. The first housing 11 has a flat bottom plate 18, a first protruding part 13 protruding as aportion upward from an upper surface of the bottom plate 18, and comer parts 17 protruding upward from four corners of the bottom plate 18.

[0058] The comer part 17 is a portion that is connected to the first shield 50 when the first shield 50 is integrated with the first housing 11 by over-molding or insert molding. In other words, the first housing 11 is molded by filling a cavity of a die in which the first shield 50 is internally set in advance, with an insulating material such as synthetic resin or the like and is integrally connected to the first shield 50 at the corner part 17. Therefore, the first housing 11 and first shield 50 do not exist separately; however, the first housing 11 and first shield 50 are depicted as existing separately in FIG. 6 for convenience of description.

[0059] As depicted in FIGS. 6 to 9, each of the corner parts 17 includes an upper wall part 17a shaped like one of four sections of a cylindrical wall, having an arc shape with a center angle of approximately 90 degrees in plan view; a cylindrical outer wall part 17b extending downward (Z-axis, negative direction) from the outer edge of the upper wall part 17a; a cylindrical inner wall part 17c extending downward from the inner edge of the upper wall part 17a; and a pair of flat side wall parts 17d extending downward from the edge of the upper wall 17a corresponding to the two ends of an arc with a center angle of approximately 90 degrees. Furthermore, the inner wall part 17c has a shield storage part 17e recessed to store the inner wall 51 at the corner part 50c of the first shield 50. Furthermore, the lower end of the inner wall part 17c is connected to the tip end of the connecting part 18a extending outward at each of the four comers of the bottom plate 18. Incidentally, an inclined surface 17f including a sloping flat surface or a bent surface is formed at each of the comer parts 17 on the side of the mating surface 10a. As a result, when the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are mated, even if the comer part 17 abuts a member of the second connector 101, the relative movement between the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 is smooth, and the mating operation can be completed smoothly.

[0060] The first protruding part 13 is an essentially rectangular-shaped member extending in the width direction (Y-axis direction as the first axial direction) of the firstconnector 10, and includes a pair of outer side protruding parts 13a extending in the width direction of the first connector 10 on both sides in the longitudinal direction (Y- axis direction as the second axial direction) of the first connector 10, a pair of inner side protruding parts 13b extending in the width direction of the first connector 10 at the center in the longitudinal direction, and a pair of slit shaped first groove parts 13c formed to separate both ends of the outer side protruding part 13a from the inner side protruding part 13b. It should be noted that the expressions "longitudinal direction" and "width direction" are not absolute, but are merely used to indicate the relatively long direction (X-axis direction) and relatively short direction (Y-axis direction) of the external dimensions of the first connector 10 in the example depicted in the figure, and the first connector 10 can also be configured so that the length in the X-axis direction is shorter than the length in the Y-axis direction. Incidentally, an inclined surface 13f including a sloping flat surface or a bent surface is formed at each mating surface 10a side of the first protruding part 13. As a result, when the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are mated, even if the first protruding part 13 abuts a member of the second connector 101, the relative movement between the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 is smooth, and the mating operation can be completed smoothly.

[0061] In addition, second group of terminals storage cavities 15a as a plurality of outer cavities are formed on the outer side surface of the outer side protruding part 13a in the X-axis direction, and grounding plate contact part storage cavities 15b as a plurality of inner cavities are formed on the inner side surface of the outer side protruding part 13a in the X-axis direction. In the example depicted in the figure, the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a and the grounding plate contact part storage cavity 15b are formed so as to penetrate the bottom plate 18 in the plate thickness direction (the Z-axis direction as the third axial direction). Note that a lower surface 18d, which is the surface on the Z-axis negative side of the bottom plate 18, may be formed with a plurality of recessed surface parts 18e recessed further toward the Z-axis positive side than the lower surface 18d.

[0062] A plurality (three in the example depicted in the figure) of the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a are formed at a prescribed (for example, 0.35 [mm]) pitch in a width direction. Note that the pitch and the number of the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, a plurality of second group of terminals 71, which are terminals stored in each of the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a and attached to the first housing 11, are also provided at a similar pitch on both outer sides of the first protruding part 13. In other words, the second group of terminals 71 of the first connector 10 are arranged in sets containing a plurality along each of the counterpart short side storage recessed parts 12c to form a second group of terminals row as a pair of parallel terminal rows.

[0063] The second group of terminals 71 is a high frequency terminal group and includes first high frequency terminals 71 A as high frequency terminals. Furthermore, the second group of terminals 71 may include a first ground terminal 7 IB as a ground terminal. In the example depicted in the figure, each second group of terminals row includes a pair of first high frequency terminals 71 A and one first ground terminal 71B, the first high frequency terminals 71A are arranged at both ends of the second group of terminals row, and the first ground terminal 7 IB is provided between the first high frequency terminals 71 A at both ends. Note that the number and arrangement of the first high frequency terminals 71A and the first ground terminals 71B in each second group of terminals row are not limited to the example depicted in the figures and can be changed as appropriate.

[0064] With the present embodiment, the first high frequency terminal 71 A and the first ground terminal 7 IB have the same shape, configuration, and dimensions, and the first high frequency terminals 71A and the first ground terminals 71B are described collectively as second group of terminals 71.

[0065] A grounding plate 85 serving as a first ground is stored and retained in the grounding plate contact part storage cavity 15b. The grounding plate 85 is a conductive member integrally formed by subjecting a conductive metal plate to processing such as punching and bending, and as depicted in FIG. 6, includes a generally T-shapedcenter part 86 and a pair of end parts 87 connected to both ends of the center part 86. Each end 87 is an essentially gate (arch) to fork-shaped member having two leg portions, with an upper connecting part 87a connected to the center upper end, and a tail part 88 serving as a substrate connecting part connected to the lower end of the leg part on the outer side in the width direction (Y-axis direction).

[0066] The upper connecting part 87a has a general U-shape when viewed from the side (Y-axis direction), is bent by 180 degrees or more, and the tip end (lower end) faces obliquely downward toward the end part 87. Furthermore, the upper connecting part 87a includes a contact part 87b that is a bent portion that bulges out in a direction away from the end part 87. The contact part 87b is a portion that contacts with a partition wall 155 of the second shield 150 provided in the second connector 101.

[0067] Furthermore, the tail part 88 is connected to the lower end of the leg part of the end part 87 so as to be bent at approximately 90 degrees and extends in the same direction as the bulging direction of the contact part 87b. In other words, when the grounding plate 85 is attached to the first housing 11, the tail part 88 extends inward in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the first connector 10 and is connected by soldering or the like to a connection pad that is linked to a conductive trace of the first substrate. Note that it is assumed that the conductive trace is a ground line.

[0068] The grounding plate 85 is fixed to the first housing 11 by being press fit into the grounding plate contact part storage cavity 15b from the mounting surface 10b side, which is the lower surface (Z-axis negative surface) of the first connector 10. Note that the grounding plate 85 is not necessarily attached to the first housing 11 by press mating but may be integrated with the first housing 11 by overmolding or insert molding. Here, for convenience of description, a case of inserting and retaining in the grounding plate contact part storage cavity 15b will be described. As depicted in FIG. 9, when the grounding plate 85 is retained in the grounding plate contact part storage cavity 15b, at least the contact part 87b of each upper connecting part 87a protrudesinto the first groove part 13c and can contact the partition wall 155 of the second shield 150 inserted into the first groove part 13c.

[0069] Furthermore, the protector 80 is attached to the inner side protruding part 13b. The protector 80 is a member integrally formed by subjecting the conductive metal plate to processing such as punching, bending, and the like, and as depicted in FIG. 6, has a pair of side plates 81 extending in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the first protruding part 13, and a pair of end plates 82 extending in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the first protruding part 13. Each side plate 81 is a flat member extending in the width direction (Y-axis direction) and the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) of the first protruding part 13, and a pair of leg parts 81b extending downward are connected to the vicinity of both ends. In addition, each end plate 82 includes a flat main body part 82c extending in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) and vertical direction (Z-axis direction) of the first protruding part 13, a flat upper plate part 82a extending in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) and the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the first protruding part 13, and a linking part 82b bent approximately 90 degrees to connect the upper end of the main body part 82c to the outer end in the width direction of the first protruding part 13 on the upper plate part 82a. Note that the outer ends of the first protruding part 13 in the longitudinal direction of the upper plate part 82a are linked to the upper ends of the side plates 81 in the vicinity of both ends by bent linking plates 83.

[0070] Furthermore, the inner side protruding part 13b is stored in an inner space 80a defined in four directions by the side plates 81 and the end plates 82. The upper part of the inner space 80a is widely open so that the upper plate part 82a and the first group of terminals 61 do not overlap each other when viewed from the Z-axis direction. Therefore, even if an excessive load is applied from above to the upper plate part 82a due to a mating operation or the like, a situation in which the upper plate part 82a and the first group of terminals 61 are in mutual contact and cause a short circuit is avoided.

[0071] Furthermore, a tail part 84 serving as a substrate connecting part is connected to the lower ends of the main body part 82c of each end plate 82 near both ends. Thetail part 84 is connected to the lower end of the main body part 82c so as to be bent at approximately 90 degrees and extends outward in the width direction of the first protruding part 13. In other words, when the protector 80 is attached to the first housing 11, the tail part 84 extends outward in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the first connector 10 and is connected by soldering or the like to a connection pad that is linked to a conductive trace of the first substrate. Note that it is assumed that the conductive trace is a ground line.

[0072] The protector 80 is fixed to the first housing 11 by being mated to the mating surface 10a side of the first connector 10 (surface in the positive direction of the Z axis) so as to cover at least a portion of the outer surface of the inner side protruding part 13b. It should be noted that the protector 80 does not necessarily have to be attached to the first housing 11 by mating thereto but may be integrated with the first housing 11 by overmolding or insert molding. However, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the following describes a case where the protector 80 is retained in place by being mated onto the outside of the inner side protruding part 13b. When the protector 80 is attached to the first housing 11, each side plate 81 covers at least a portion of the side wall of the inner side protruding part 13b in each first groove part 13c, faces the contact part 87b of the grounding plate 85, and can contact the partition wall 155 of the second shield 150 that enters the first groove part 13c. Furthermore, the outer end of the inner side protruding part 13b in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the first connector 10 is covered by the end plate 82 and is therefore protected from damage and deformation.

[0073] Furthermore, counterpart long side storage recessed parts 12b, as recessed parts into which the long side part 150a of the second shield 150 of the second connector 101 enter, are formed on both outer ends of the first protruding part 13 in the width direction (Y-axis direction), and counterpart short side storage recessed parts 12c, as recessed parts into which the second side wall part 112 of the second connector 101 and the short side part 150b of the second shield 150 enter, are formed on both outer ends of the first protruding part 13 in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction), or in other words, on the outside of the outer side protruding part 13a. Inthe example depicted in the figure, the counterpart long side storage recessed part 12b and the counterpart short side storage recessed part 12c are formed so as to penetrate the bottom plate 18 in the plate thickness direction, but these parts do not necessarily have to penetrate the bottom plate 18 in the plate thickness direction.

[0074] A long side recessed part 18b is formed in the bottom plate 18 on the widthwise outer side of the first protruding part 13, and a short side recessed part 18c is formed in the bottom plate 18 on the longitudinal outer side of the first protruding part 13. Thereby the bottom plate 18 can be formed with smaller dimensions in the width direction and the length direction.

[0075] Furthermore, the first group of terminals storage recessed parts 16 are formed in the first protruding part 13 near both ends in the width direction. The first group of terminals storage recessed parts 16 are through holes formed so as to penetrate the bottom plate 18 in the plate thickness direction (Z-axis direction). In the example depicted in the figure, a total of two are formed, one near each end in the width direction of the inner side protruding part 13b, but the number and arrangement thereof can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the first group of terminals 61, which are stored in each of the first group of terminals storage recessed parts 16 and attached to the first housing 11, are also arranged facing each other, one by one, near both ends in the width direction of the inner side protruding part 13b. The first group of terminals 61 are terminals of a signal terminal group including a pair of signal terminals serving as low frequency terminals facing each other.

[0076] The first group of terminals storage recessed part 16 has a roughly rectangular through hole shape when viewed from above, and has a first group of terminals storage groove 16a as a signal terminal storage groove extending in the vertical direction formed on the inner wall surface at both outer ends in the width direction (Y-axis direction), and a contact part storage recessed part 16b formed so as to recess into the inner wall surface at both inner ends in the width direction.

[0077] The first shield 50 is a member integrally formed by punching, drawing, or the like on a conductive metal plate, and as depicted in the drawings, is an essentially rectangular frame shaped member which surrounds an entire circumference of the first housing 11 when viewed from above, or in other words, in plan view. Furthermore, the first shield 50 includes a plurality of (one pair in the example depicted in the FIG.) long side parts 50a extending linearly in the longitudinal direction of the first connector 10, a plurality of (one pair in the example depicted in the FIG.) short side parts 50b extending linearly in the width direction of the first connector 10, and a plurality (four in the example depicted in the figure) of comer parts 50c as bent parts that are bent by approximately 90 degrees that connect one end of the long side part 50a and one end of the short side part 50b.

[0078] Furthermore, the first shield 50 contains: an outer wall 52; an inner wall 51 essentially parallel to the outer wall 52 on an inner side of the outer wall 52; and a linking part 53 that connects and integrates an upper end of the outer wall 52 with an upper end of the inner wall 51. While the outer wall 52 is a wall that is contiguous over the entire circumference, the inner wall 51 has a slit part 53a formed in the portion near the comer parts 50c of the long side parts 50a and the short side parts 50b such that a mating spring part 51a and a mating positioning part 51b are separated. Note that an enclosed space surrounded on the circumference by the portion corresponding to a long side part 50a, a short side part 50b and a comer part 50c of the inner wall 51 is a storage part 50d in which the second connector 101, which is a plug connector, is inserted and stored.

[0079] The mating spring part 5 la is a portion extending linearly within the range of each long side part 50a and within the range of each short side part 50b, and when the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are in a mated state, the mating spring part elastically contacts the outer wall 152 of the second shield 150 of the second connector 101 and functions as a ground spring that maintains the conductive state between the first shield 50 and the second shield 150. Furthermore, the mating positioning part 5 lb is a portion where a portion of the long side part 50a and a portion of the short side part 50b are connected to both sides of the bent comer part 50c, andwhen the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are mated, guides the second connector 101 that is to be inserted into the storage part 50d. Specifically, the second connector 101 is inserted into the storage part 50d while the outer wall 152 of the second shield 150 is in contact with the mating positioning part 51b, thereby positioning is performed between the second connector 101 and the first connector 10.

[0080] Furthermore, the upper end of the mating spring part 5 la is connected to the lower end of the linking part 53, and contains the oblique surface part 5 Id that extends obliquely downward to the inside of the storage part 50d, an engaging protruding part 51c formed on a lower end of the oblique surface part 5 Id and protruding to the inside of the storage part 50d, and an inner wall lower part 51e extending substantially vertically downward from the lower end of the engaging protruding part 51c. Furthermore, the engaging protruding part 51c is a portion that engages with an engaging protruding part 152c formed on an outer wall 152 of a second shield 150 of the second connector 101 when the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are in a mated state and extends linearly in the longitudinal direction or width direction of the first connector 10. The mating spring parts 51a are not connected to the first housing 11 but are relatively flexible and can be elastically deformed in a direction of approaching or separating from the outer wall 52, since both ends are separated from other portions by the slit part 53a.

[0081] In addition, a comer part 50c included in the mating positioning part 51b is a portion that is connected to the first housing 11 when the first shield 50 is integrated with the first housing 11 by over-molding or insert molding, and specifically, is a portion that is integrated with the corner part 17. Note that the other portions in the first shield 50 are separated from the first housing 11. Therefore, when the first shield 50 and the first housing 11 are integrated, the outer wall 52 and the linking part 53 at the comer part 50c cover the outer wall part 17b and the upper wall part 17a at the corner part 17. Furthermore, the inner wall 51 at the corner part 50c is stored in the shield storage part 17e formed in the inner wall part 17c at the corner part 17.

[0082] This ensures that the comer part 50c and corner part 17 are firmly integrated and cannot be separated. Furthermore, the comer part 50c is integrated with the corner part 17 of the first housing 11, and at least the space demarcated by the outer wall 52, the inner wall 51, and the linking part 53 is filled with an insulating material that constitutes the first housing 11. In other words, the corner part 50c is robust because the backside is filled with the constituent material of the first housing 11. Note that the constituent material of the first housing 11 is preferably also present in the slit parts 53a on both sides of the corner part 50c. Furthermore, the mating positioning part 51b including the corner part 50c has high robustness; therefore, even if the portion near the mating surface 101a of the second shield 150 of the second connector 101 comes into contact, deformation or damage will not occur.

[0083] A flange part 54 serving as an outwardly extending flat substrate connecting part is connected to the lower end of the outer wall 52 through the bent part 52a bent at an angle of approximately 90 degrees. The bent part 52a and the flange part 54 are connected to the lower end of the outer wall 52 in a continuous manner around the entire circumference. Note that in the example depicted in the drawings, a small notch 54a is formed in a plurality of locations on the flange part 54, but the notch 54a can be omitted as appropriate.

[0084] The flange part 54 functions as a substrate connecting part, a lower surface of which is parallel to the surface of the first substrate and is a portion connected by soldering or the like to the connection pad on the surface. The connection pad is typically connected to a ground line. Furthermore, the outer wall 52 is a continuous wall along the entire periphery thereof; the upper end thereof is connected to a portion that is continuous with the linking part 53, the portion including a location extending in cross section in a direction orthogonal to the outer wall 52; the lower end thereof is connected to a member that is continuous similar to the flange part 54 that extends in cross section in a direction orthogonal to the outer wall 52; therefore, rigidity thereof is relatively high, and deformation does not readily occur. In the present embodiment, an example is described where the flange part 54 is connected to the lower end of theouter wall 52 continuously over the entire circumference, but the flange part 54 may be connected only to a portion if relatively high rigidity is not required.

[0085] Furthermore, when the first housing 11 is connected to the first shield 50 in the storage part 50d, a first recessed part 12 that mates with the second connector 101 is formed in the storage part 50d, which is a recessed part with a circumference surrounded by the inner wall 51 and a lower part is demarcated by the bottom plate 18. As described above, a pair of slit-like first groove parts 13c extending in the width direction are formed between the outer side protruding parts 13a on both sides of the inner side protruding part 13b. Furthermore, a counterpart long side storage recessed part 12b as a space is formed between the outer sides of both widthwise ends of the first protruding part 13, as a portion of the first recessed part 12, and the inner wall 51 of the long side part 50a. Furthermore, a counterpart short side storage recessed part 12c as a space is formed between the outer sides of both longitudinal ends of the first protruding part 13 and the inner wall 51 of the short side part 50b.

[0086] The first group of terminals 61 are members integrally formed by processing such as punching, bending, and the like on a conductive metal plate, and include a retained part 63 as a main body part, a tail part 62 as a substrate connecting part connected to the lower end of the retained part 63 so as to be bent at approximately 90 degrees, an outer side connecting part 65 as a bent contact part connected to the upper end of the retained part 63, and a lower side connecting part 64 with an approximately U-shaped side surface connected to the lower end of the outer side connecting part 65. A contact part 65a is formed near the lower end of the outer side connecting part 65 so as to bulge inward in the width direction of the first connector 10, and further includes an inner side connecting part 66 as a contact part connected to the tip end of the lower side connecting part 64. The inner side connecting part 66 is bent and connected to the lower side connecting part 64 and extends upwardly (Z-axis positive direction). A contacting part 66a bent so as to bulge toward the contact part 65a is formed in the vicinity of an upper end of the inner side connecting part 66. The contact part 66a is similar to the contacting part 65a of the outer side connecting part 65 and is the portion that contacts the first group of terminals 161 provided in the second connector 101. Inother words, the first group of terminals 61 of the present embodiment is provided with the contacting part 65a of the outer side connecting part 65 and the contacting part 66a of the inner side connecting part 66, which face each other, and is configured to make two-point contact with the first group of terminals 161 of the second connector 101. When the first group of terminals 61 are attached to the first housing 11, the contact part 65a of the outer side connecting part 65 and the contact part 66a of the inner side connecting part 66 face each other in the first group of terminals storage recessed part 16.

[0087] Furthermore, the first group of terminals 61 is press-fitted into the first group of terminals storage recessed part 16 from a mounting surface 10b side, which is a lower surface (Z-axis negative direction surface) of the first connector 10, and is fixed to the first housing 11 based on the retained part 63 being sandwiched from two sides by inner side surfaces of the first group of terminals storage groove 16a. Note that the first group of terminals 61 is not necessarily attached to the first housing 11 by press mating but may be integrated with the first housing 11 by over-molding or insert molding. Herein, for convenience of description, a case in which the retained part 63 is pressed into and retained by the first group of terminals storage groove 16a will be described.

[0088] Furthermore, the tail part 62 is connected so as to be bent approximately 90 degrees to the lower end of the retained part 63, extends in a left-right direction (Y- axis direction), in other words, outward in the width direction of the first connector 10, and is connected to the connection pad connected to a conductive trace of the first substrate by soldering or the like. Note that the conductive trace may be a power line that supplies power but is typically a signal line. In addition, the signal line is described assuming that the signal line does not transmit a high frequency signal, but rather transmits a low frequency signal with a frequency which is lower in frequency than the high frequency signal (for example, a frequency of less than 10 [GHz]). Note that the tail part 62 is visible when viewed from a mating direction of the first connector 10, in other words, from a mating surface 10a side.

[0089] The second group of terminals 71 are members formed as a single unit by subjecting a conductive metal plate to processing such as punching, bending, and the like, and include a retained part 73 as a main body part, a tail part 72 as a substrate connecting part connected to the lower end of the retained part 73 so as to be bent at approximately 90 degrees, and an upper connecting part 75 as an elastically deformable contact part connected to the upper end of the retained part 73. The upper connecting part 75 has a general U-shape when viewed from the side surface (Y-axis direction), is bent by 180 degrees or more, and the tip end (lower end) faces obliquely downward toward the retained part 73. Moreover, the tail part 72 is generally L-shaped when viewed from the side with a bend of 90 degrees and extends in an L-shape from one end of the U-shape. Furthermore, the upper connecting part 75 includes a contact part 75a that is a bent portion that bulges out in a direction away from the retained part 73. The contact part 75a is a portion that comes into contact with the second group of terminals 171 of the second connector 101 and is a recessed contact point that protrudes in the X-axis direction. In other words, the second group of terminals 71 of the present embodiment include only one contact part 75a and are configured to make a one-point contact with the second group of terminals 171 of the second connector 101.

[0090] The retained part 73 extends in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and is a portion that is press-fitted and retained in the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a. The second group of terminals 71 is press-fitted into the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a from a mounting surface 10b side, which is a lower surface (Z-axis negative direction surface) of the first connector 10, and is fixed to the first housing 11 based on the retained part 73 being sandwiched from two sides by inner side surfaces of the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a. Note that the second group of terminals 71 is not necessarily attached to the first housing 11 by press mating but may be integrated with the first housing 11 by over-molding or insert molding. Herein, for convenience of description, a case in which the retained part 73 is pressed into and retained by the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a will be described.

[0091] As depicted in the figure, the second group of terminals storage cavities 15a are formed on the outer side surface in the X-axis direction of the pair of outer side protruding parts 13a, such that the openings of the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a formed in one outer side protruding part 13a and the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a formed in the other outer side protruding part 13a face in opposite directions. Therefore, the second group of terminals 71 retained in the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a formed in one outer side protruding part 13a and the second group of terminals 71 retained in the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a formed in the other outer side protruding part 13a are oriented so as to face in opposite directions to each other. As depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10, a protruding part 15al is formed near the lower end of the rear wall of the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a, and the retained part 73 is positioned by the back surface thereof abutting against the protruding part 15al, such that a gap part 15a2 is formed on the rear surface side near the upper end of the retained part 73. As a result, when the contact part 75a comes into contact with and is pressed against the second group of terminals 171 provided on the second connector 101, the upper connecting part 75 is able to elastically deform and displace inward in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the first connector 10.

[0092] Furthermore, the tail part 72 is connected to the lower end of the retained part 73 so as to be bent at approximately 90 degrees and extends in the same direction as the bulging direction of the contact part 75a. In other words, when the second group of terminals 71 are attached to the first housing 11, the tail part 72 extends outward in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the first connector 10 and is connected by soldering or the like to a connection pad that is linked to a conductive trace of the first substrate. Furthermore, the direction that the tail part 72 extends is perpendicular to the direction that the tail part 62 of the first group of terminals 61 extends, so the mated condition is fixed by being sandwiched from all 4 sides, thereby preventing rotation. Note that when the second group of terminals 71 are first high frequency terminals 71A, the conductive traces are described as signal lines, typically high frequency signal lines that transmit high frequency signals such as RF signals (forexample, frequency of 10 GHz or more). Furthermore, when the second group of terminals 71 are first ground terminals 7 IB, the conductive traces are ground lines.

[0093] Furthermore, the first connector 10 is placed on the surface of the first substrate with a solder sheet (not depicted) applied to the mounting surface 10b side and is fixed and mounted on the surface of the first substrate by heating and melting the solder sheet using a heating furnace or the like. Note that means for connecting the first shield 50, the first group of terminals 61, the second group of terminals 71, the protector 80, the grounding plate 85, and the like to the connection pad of the first substrate and the like is not necessarily limited to soldering, and may be, for example, conductive adhesive or the like. Moreover, even with soldering, soldering may be performed not by applying a solder sheet but by applying a solder paste, transferring cream solder, hot-dip galvanizing, jet soldering, or the like. Herein, for convenience of description, a case where a solder sheet is used will be described. The solder sheet is applied to the lower surface of the flange part 54 of the first shield 50, the lower surface of the tail part 62 of the first group of terminals 61, the lower surface of the tail part 72 of the second group of terminals 71, the lower surface of the tail part 84 of the protector 80, and the lower surface of the tail part 88 of the grounding plate 85.

[0094] When the solder sheet provided in this manner is heated and melted, and the first connector 10 is mounted on the surface of the first substrate, the bent part 52a and the flange part 54, which are continuously connected over an entire circumference to the lower end of the outer wall 52 that is continuous over the entire circumference in the first shield 50, are connected to the connection pads on the surface of the first substrate without a gap. Therefore, the strength of the first shield 50 connected to the connection pads on the surface of the first substrate is high, and consequently, the strength of the entire first connector 10 with an outer circumference surrounded by the first shield 50 is high. Furthermore, an electromagnetic shielding effect exerted by the first shield 50, which is connected without a gap to the connection pads on the surface of the first substrate, is very high, and the first connector 10 with an outer circumference surrounded by the first shield 50 is very effectively electromagnetically shielded. In particular, the smoothness of the lower surface of the flange part 54 ishigh. Thus, the strength of the first shield 50 connected to the connection pads on the surface of the first substrate can be made extremely high. Moreover, since no gap is created between the connection pads on the surface of the first substrate, the electromagnetic shielding effect can also be made extremely high. Furthermore, the direction that the mating spring part 51a at the short side part 50b is displaced is the opposite direction to the direction that the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71 A extends, so that even when the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are mated together, the first high frequency terminal 71 Ais sandwiched, thereby improving contact reliability.

[0095] Furthermore, in each of the pair of parallel second group of terminals rows, the first high frequency terminals 71 A are provided at both ends, and the first ground terminal 71B is provided between the first high frequency terminals 71 A at both ends. Therefore, the first high frequency terminals 71 A at both ends in each second group of terminals row are effectively shielded by the first ground terminal 7 IB, crosstalk between the first high frequency terminals 71 A at both ends is prevented, and the signal integrity (SI) characteristics of each first high frequency terminal 71A are improved. Furthermore, the first group of terminals 61 are provided between the first high frequency terminals 71A at both ends of one second group of terminals row and the first high frequency terminals 71A at both ends of another second group of terminals row, and the lower surface of the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71 A connected to the connection pad on the surface of the first substrate connected to the high frequency signal line and the lower surface of the tail part 62 of the first group of terminals 61 connected to the connection pad on the surface of the first substrate connected to the low frequency signal line are arranged in positions that overlap when viewed from the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the first connector 10. Therefore, the first high frequency terminals 71A located on both sides of the first group of terminals 61 are effectively shielded by the first group of terminals 61, crosstalk between the first high frequency terminals 71A on both sides is prevented, and the SI characteristics of each first high frequency terminal 71A are improved. Furthermore, the plurality of grounding plates 85 and side plates 81 of the protector 80 are provided between the second group of terminals rows, so the first high frequencyterminal 71 A of one second group of terminals row and the first high frequency terminal 71A of the other second group of terminals row are effectively shielded, crosstalk between the first high frequency terminals 71A is prevented, and the SI characteristics of each of the first high frequency terminals 71 A are improved.

[0096] Furthermore, the inner side protruding part 13b in which the first group of terminals 61 are stored is surrounded on four sides by the protector 80, so the low- frequency signals transmitted by the first group of terminals 61 do not affect the first high frequency terminals 71 A, improving the SI characteristics of each of the first high frequency terminals 71 A.

[0097] Furthermore, each of the first high frequency terminals 71 A is provided in the vicinity of the corner parts 50c of the first shield 50, as depicted in FIG. 5, so the distance from the center of the lower surface of the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71A, which is connected to the connection pad on the surface of the first substrate connected to the high frequency signal line, to the lower surface of the flange parts 54 on the long side parts 50a and short side parts 50b of the first shield 50, which are connected to the connection pads on the surface of the first substrate connected to the ground line, are roughly the same distance. In addition, the distance from the center of the lower surface of the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71 A to the center of the lower surface of the tail part 72 of first ground terminal 7 IB, which is connected to the connection pad on the surface of the first substrate connected to the ground line, is also approximately equal to the same distance. Furthermore, the tail part 72 of first high frequency terminal 71 A and the tail part 88 of the grounding plate 85 extend in opposite directions from each other, so the distance from the center of the lower surface of the tail part 72 of first high frequency terminal 71 Ato the center of the lower surface of the tail part 88 of the grounding plate 85, which is connected to the connection pad on the surface of the first substrate connected to the ground line, is longer and is approximately equal to the same aforementioned distance. In this manner, the distances from the center of the lower surface of the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71 A, which is connected to the connection pad of the high frequency signal line, to the lower surface of the firstshield 50, the first ground terminal 7 IB, and the grounding plate 85, which are members connected to the connection pads of the ground lines present on all four sides, are approximately equal. Therefore, a configuration can be obtained that is similar to a coaxial structure such as a coaxial cable having a center at the lower surface of the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71 A, and the SI characteristics of the first high frequency terminal 71 A are further improved.

[0098] Thus, the first connector 10 can transmit a high frequency signal even with a compact and low profile, because the strength and the electromagnetic shielding effect are high. For example, even if the dimensions in the longitudinal, width, and height directions of the first connector 10 are set to 3.3 [mm] or less, 2.3 [mm] or less, and 0.7 [mm] or less, the first high frequency terminal 71 A can transmit a high frequency signal of approximately 60 [GHz],

[0099] In particular, in the example depicted in the figures, the first connector 10 has four first high frequency terminals 71 A, and thus is able to meet the recent demand for faster signal speeds, and further has four configurations approximating a coaxial structure, and thus is able to maintain high frequency performance.

[0100] Next, the configuration of the second connector 101 will be described.

[0101] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the second connector of the present embodiment, FIG. 12 is a three-sided view of the second connector of the present embodiment, FIG. 13 is a plan view of the mounting surface side of the second connector of the present embodiment, FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the second connector of the present embodiment, FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the second housing of the second connector of the present embodiment, FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the second housing of the second connector of the present embodiment with terminals attached, FIG. 17 is a two-sided view of the second housing of the second connector of the present embodiment with terminals attached, and FIG. 18 is a two-sided view of the second housing of the second connector of the present embodiment with terminals and the second shield attached. Note that, in FIG.11, (a) is a perspective view seen from the mating surface side, and (b) is a perspective view seen from the mounting surface side; in FIG. 12, (a) is a plan view of the mating surface side, (b) is a first side view, and (c) is a second side view; in FIGS. 15 and 16, (a) is a perspective view seen from the mating surface side, and (b) is a perspective view seen from the mounting surface side; in FIG. 17, (a) is a plan view of the mating surface side, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line C-C in (a); and in FIG. 18, (a) is a plan view of the mating surface side, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along arrow D in (a).

[0102] The second connector 101 according to the present embodiment includes: a second shield 150 as a second outer side shield, which is a mating shield formed by punching, drawing, or the like process on a conductive metal plate; and a second housing 111 as a counterpart housing integrally formed using an insulating material such as a synthetic resin or the like. As depicted in FIG. 14, the second housing 111 includes a housing center part 117, and a housing first side part 119A and a housing second side part 119B disposed on both sides of the housing center part 117 in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction). Note that the housing first side part 119A and the housing second side part 119B have the same shape, configuration and dimensions, and the housing first side part 119A and the housing second side part 119B are collectively described as the housing side part 119.

[0103] The housing side part 119 is a portion that is connected to the second shield 150 when the second shield 150 is integrated with the second housing 111 by overmolding or insert molding. In other words, the second housing Ill is molded by filling a cavity of a die in which the second shield 150 is internally set in advance, with an insulating material such as synthetic resin or the like and is integrally connected to the second shield 150 at the housing side part 119. Therefore, the second housing 111 and the second shield 150 do not exist separately, but in FIG. 14, for convenience of description, the second housing 111 and the second shield 150 are illustrated as if they exist separately.

[0104] Each housing side part 119 has a shape like one of two parts of a roughly rectangular tray divided in the X-axis direction when viewed in plan view, and has a roughly rectangular, flat bottom plate 114 and a second side wall part 112 extending upward (in the negative Z-axis direction) from the three outer edges around the bottom plate 114. Note that the outer edge of the bottom plate 114 where the second side wall part 112 is not present is connected via the housing center part 117 to the outer edge of the bottom plate 114 of the other housing side part 119 where the second side wall part 112 is not present.

[0105] Each second side wall part 112 includes a long wall part 112a as a protruding part extending in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the second connector 101, a pair of short wall parts 112b extending in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the second connector 101, and a bent wall part 112c bent at approximately 90 degrees connecting both ends of the long wall part 112a to one end of each short wall part 112b, and has a roughly U-shaped configuration when viewed in plan view. Furthermore, in each housing side part 119, the space defined by the second side wall part 112 and the bottom plate 114 forms an outer side recessed parted part 113a into which the outer side protruding part 13a of the first connector 10 is inserted and stored. In addition, the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a is formed as a plurality of cavities on the inner side surface in the X-axis direction of the long wall part 112a, and second group of terminals storage openings 115b that are connected with each of the second group of terminals storage cavities 115a are formed in the bottom plate 114. In the example depicted in the figure, the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a and the second group of terminals storage opening 115b are formed to penetrate the bottom plate 114 in the plate thickness direction (Z-axis direction). Note that the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a and the second group of terminals storage opening 115b are described collectively as the second group of terminals storage recessed parts 115.

[0106] A plurality (three in the example depicted in the figure) of the second group of terminals storage recessed parts 115 are formed at a prescribed (for example, 0.35 [mm]) pitch in the width direction. Note that the pitch and the number of the secondgroup of terminals storage recessed parts 115 can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the second group of terminals 171 as fourth group of terminals which are stored in each of the second group of terminals storage recessed parts 115 and attached to the second housing 111 are also arranged in a plurality of sets at the same pitch on the inner side of each long wall part 112a. In other words, the second group of terminals 171 of the second connector 101 are arranged in sets of pluralities along each long wall part 112a to form a second group of terminals row as a pair of parallel terminal rows.

[0107] The second group of terminals 171 is a high frequency terminal group and includes second high frequency terminals 171 A as high frequency terminals. Furthermore, the second group of terminals 171 may include a second ground terminal 171B as a ground terminal. In the example depicted in the figure, each second group of terminals row includes a pair of second high frequency terminals 171 A and one second ground terminal 17 IB, the second high frequency terminals 171 A are arranged at both ends of the second group of terminals row, and the second ground terminal 171B is provided between the second high frequency terminals 171A at both ends. Note that the number and arrangement of the second high frequency terminals 171A and the second ground terminals 17 IB in each second group of terminals row are not limited to the example depicted in the figures and can be changed as appropriate.

[0108] With the present embodiment, the second high frequency terminal 171 A and the second ground terminal 17 IB have the same shape, configuration, and dimensions, and the second high frequency terminals 171 A and the second ground terminals 17 IB are described collectively as second group of terminals 171.

[0109] Furthermore, the housing center part 117 includes a flat center bottom plate 117a and linking parts 117b that link the center bottom plate 117a to the bottom plate 114 of the housing side parts 119. Furthermore, second protruding parts 116 are formed on both ends of the center bottom plate 117a in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the second connector 101 as protruding parts that protrude upward. A first group of terminals storage groove 116a serving as a signal terminal storage groove extending in the vertical direction is formed on the outer surface of each second protruding part116, and one first group of terminals 161 serving as a third group of terminals is stored in each of the first group of terminals storage grooves 116a and attached to the second housing 111. The first group of terminals 161 forms a signal terminal group containing a pair of terminals facing each other and serves as low frequency terminals.

[0110] Furthermore, an inner side recessed part 113b where the second housing 111 is not present is provided on the outer side of the housing center part 117 in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the second connector 101. The outer end portion of the inner side protruding part 13b of the first connector 10 in the width direction (Y axis direction) covered by the end plate 82 of the protector 80 of the first connector 10 is inserted and stored in the inner side recessed part 113b. Note that the outer side recessed parted part 113a and the inner side recessed part 113b are collectively described as second connector recessed parts 113.

[0111] The second shield 150 is a member integrally formed by punching, drawing, or the like on a conductive metal plate, and as depicted in the drawings, is an essentially rectangular frame shaped member which surrounds an entire circumference of the second housing 111 when viewed from above, or in other words, in plan view. Furthermore, the second shield 150 includes a plurality of (one pair in the example depicted in the FIG.) long side parts 150a extending linearly in the longitudinal direction of the second connector 101, a plurality of (one pair in the example depicted in the FIG.) short side parts 150b extending linearly in the width direction of the second connector 101, and a plurality (four in the example depicted in the figure) of corner parts 150c as bent parts that are bent by approximately 90 degrees that connect one end of the long side part 150a and one end of the short side part 150b.

[0112] The second shield 150 also includes an outer wall 152, an upper plate 153 connected to a portion of the upper end of the outer wall 152, and a pair of partition walls 155 connected to the upper plate 153 and serving as a second ground. Each partition wall 155 is a flat plate-shaped member extending in the vertical direction (Z- axis direction) approximately parallel to the outer wall 152 of the short side part 150b, and the upper end (Z-axis negative end) is located lower than the upper plate 153 (Z-axis positive direction). The flat surface of the partition wall 155 functions as a contact flat surface that contacts with the contact part 87b of the grounding plate 85 of the first connector 10. Furthermore, the partition wall 155 is also connected to the diagonal connecting part 153a of the upper plate 153 via the bent connecting part 155a that is connected to the upper ends of both ends of the partition wall 155 and are bent at approximately 90 degrees. In this manner, the partition wall 155 is connected to the upper plate 153 via the bent connecting part 155a and the diagonal connecting part 153a, so the connection strength between the partition wall 155 and the upper plate 153 is enhanced.

[0113] The upper plate 153 covers only a portion of the edge of the second shield 150 on the mating surface 101a side, so a large opening is formed in the second shield 150 on the mating surface 101a side. Furthermore, the space surrounded by the portion corresponding to the long side part 150a of the outer wall 152 and a pair of partition walls 155 forms a center storage part 150dl into which the inner side protruding part 13b covered by the protector 80 of the first connector 10 is inserted and stored. In addition, the space surrounded by the portions corresponding to the long side part 150a, the short side part 150b and the corner part 150c of the outer wall 152 and one of the partition walls 155, and the spaces located on both sides of the center storage part 150dl form the side storage parts 150d2 into which the outer side protruding part 13a of the first connector 10 is inserted and stored. The center storage part 150dl is a space corresponding to the inner side recessed part 113b of the second housing 111, and the side storage part 150d2 is a space corresponding to the outer side recessed parted part 113a of the second housing 111. Furthermore, the partition wall 155 is a member that separates the center storage part 150dl and the inner side recessed part 113b from the side storage part 150d2 and the outer side recessed parted part 113a. Note that the center storage part 150dl and the side storage parts 150d2 are collectively described as storage parts 150d. The storage part 150d corresponds to the second connector recessed part 113 of the second housing 111.

[0114] The outer wall 152 has a long side part 150a and a short side part 150b formed with an engaging protruding part 152c that bulges outward. The size, number,arrangement, and the like of the engaging protruding parts 152c can be set as appropriate, but in the example depicted in the figure, the engaging protruding parts 152c include a first engaging protruding part 152cl having a relatively high outward protruding height, and a second engaging protruding part 152c2 having a relatively low outward protruding height, and one first engaging protruding part 152cl is provided in the center of each of the long side parts 150a and short side parts 150b, and one second engaging protruding part 152c2 is provided on both sides of the first engaging protruding part 152cl on each of the long side parts 150a and short side parts 150b. When the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are mated, the engaging protruding part 51c of the inner wall 51 of the first shield 50 moves along the outer wall 152 of the second shield 150 while elastically contacting the outer wall 152, and is elastically displaced when coming into contact with the engaging protruding part 152c, and after riding up over the engaging protruding part 152c, is elastically restored to the original shape and engages with the engaging protruding part 152c. Furthermore, the mating spring part 51a including the engaging protruding part 51c is a long, thin member extending in the extension direction of the long side part 50a and the short side part 50b of the first shield 50, such that the center portion in the extension direction is more flexible than both end parts, or in other words, is more easily elastically deformed. Therefore, if a first engaging protruding part 152cl with a relatively high protruding height is provided in the center of the long side part 150a and the short side part 150b, and second engaging protruding parts 152c2 with a relatively low protruding height are provided on both sides thereof, then when the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 are mated, the engaging protruding part 51c of the first shield 50 can smoothly ride up over the engaging protruding part 152c and reliably engage with the engaging protruding part 152c.

[0115] In addition, the second side wall part 112 and the bottom plate 114 in the housing side part 119 are portions that are connected to the second housing 111 when the second shield 150 is integrated with the second housing 111 by overmolding or insert molding and are portions that are integrated with the second shield 150. This ensures that the second shield 150 and the second housing 111 are integrated and cannot be separated. Furthermore, the second side wall part 112 and the bottom plate114 covering the periphery of the housing side part 119 are filled with the constituent material of the second housing 111 on at least a portion of the rear sides and are therefore robust and will not deform or break even if contacted with the vicinity of the mating surface 10a of the first shield 50 of the first connector 10. Note that the outer surface of the second side wall part 112 has a bulging part 112d at a position corresponding to the engaging protruding part 152c. The engaging protruding part 152c is formed by bulging a portion of the flat outer wall 152, and a dimple, or in other words, a recessed part, is formed on the rear side thereof. Therefore, when the second housing 111 is molded integrally with the second shield 150 by overmolding or insert molding, the bulging part 112d is formed by the constituent material of the second housing 111 penetrating into the dimple on the rear side of the engaging protruding part 152c.

[0116] A flange part 154 serving as an outwardly extending flat substrate connecting part is connected to the lower end of the outer wall 152 through the bent part 152a bent at an angle of approximately 90 degrees. The bent part 152a and the flange part 154 are connected to the lower end of the outer wall 152 in a continuous manner around the entire circumference. Note that in the example depicted in the drawings, a small notch 154a is formed in a plurality of locations on the flange part 154, but the notch 154a can be omitted as appropriate.

[0117] The flange part 154 functions as a substrate connecting part, a lower surface of which is parallel to the surface of the second substrate and is a portion connected by soldering or the like to the connection pad on the surface. The connection pad is typically connected to a ground line. Furthermore, the outer wall 152 is itself a continuous wall around the entire circumference, and in addition, a portion of the upper end is connected to an upper plate 153, and both ends of the partition wall 155 are connected to the upper plate 153. Therefore, the outer wall 152 has relatively high rigidity and is less likely to deform. In the present embodiment, an example is described where the flange part 154 is connected to the lower end of the outer wall 152 continuously over the entire circumference, but the flange part 154 may be connected only to a portion thereof if relatively high rigidity is not required.

[0118] The first group of terminals 161 is a member integrally formed by punching, bending, or the like process on a conductive metal plate, and has: an outer side connecting part 165 as the contact part extending in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), a tail part 162 as a substrate connecting part connected to a lower end of the outer side connecting part 165, an upper connecting part 164 connected to the upper end of the outer side connecting part 165, and an inner side connecting part 166 as the contact part connected to the lower end of the upper connecting part 164 and facing the outer side connecting part 165. Furthermore, the second terminals 161 may be integrated with the second housing 111 by over-molding or insert molding. In other words, the second housing Ill is molded by filling a cavity of a die in which the second terminals 161 are set in advance with an insulating material such as a synthetic resin.

[0119] As a result, the second terminal 161 is integrally attached to the second protruding part 116 so that at least a portion thereof is embedded in the first group of terminals storage groove 116a of the second protruding part 116 in the second housing 111, and at least a portion of the surface of the outer side connecting part 165, the upper connecting part 164, and the inner side connecting part 166 are exposed on the outer surface, upper surface, and inner surface of the second protruding part 116. Note that the surfaces of the outer side connecting part 165 and the inner side connecting part 166 function as contacting parts and contact the first group of terminals 61 of the first connector 10. In addition, the tail part 162 extends outward in the width direction from the housing center part 117 to the second housing 111 and is connected to a connection pad linked to a conductive trace of the second substrate. Note that the conductive trace may be a power line that supplies power but is typically a signal line. In addition, the signal line is described assuming that the signal line does not transmit a high frequency signal, but rather transmits a low frequency signal with a frequency which is lower in frequency than the high frequency signal (for example, a frequency of less than 10 [GHz]). Note that the tail part 162 is visible when viewed from a mating direction of the second connector 101, in other words, from a mating surface 101a side.

[0120] The second group of terminals 171 are members formed as a single unit by subjecting a conductive metal plate to processing such as punching, bending, and the like, and include a retained part 173 as a main body part, a tail part 172 as a substrate connecting part connected to the lower end of the retained part 173 so as to be bent at approximately 90 degrees, and an upper connecting part 175 as an elastically deformable contact part connected to the upper end of the retained part 173. The upper connecting part 175 has a general U-shape when viewed from the side surface (Y-axis direction), is bent by 180 degrees or more, and the tip end (lower end) faces obliquely downward toward the retained part 173. Moreover, the tail part 172 is generally L- shaped when viewed from the side with a bend of 90 degrees and extends in an L- shape from one end of the U-shape. The upper connecting part 175 includes a contact part 175a that is a bent portion that bulges out in a direction away from the retained part 173. The contact part 175a is a portion that comes into contact with the second group of terminals 71 of the first connector 10 and is a recessed contact point that protrudes in the X-axis direction. In other words, the second group of terminals 171 of the present embodiment include only one contact part 175a and are configured to make a one-point contact with the second group of terminals 71 of the first connector 10.

[0121] The retained part 173 extends in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and is a portion that is press-fitted and retained in the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a. The second group of terminals 171 is press-fitted into the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a from a mounting surface 101b side, which is a lower surface (Z-axis positive direction surface) of the second connector 101, and is fixed to the second housing 111 based on the retained part 173 being sandwiched from two sides by inner side surfaces of the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a. Note that the second group of terminals 171 is not necessarily attached to the second housing 111 by press mating but may be integrated with the first housing 11 by over-molding or insert molding. Herein, for convenience of description, a case in which the retained part 173 is pressed into and retained by the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a will be described.

[0122] As depicted in the figure, the second group of terminals storage cavities 115a are formed on the inner side surface in the X-axis direction of a pair of long wall parts 112a, so the openings of the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a formed in one long wall part 112a and the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a formed in the other long wall part 112a face each other. Therefore, the second group of terminals 171 retained in the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a formed in one long wall part 112a and the second group of terminals 171 retained in the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a formed in the other long wall part 112a are positioned so as to face each other. As depicted in FIG. 18, a protruding part 115al is formed near the lower end of the rear wall of the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a, and the retained part 173 is positioned by the back surface thereof abutting against the protruding part 115al, such that a gap part 115a2 is formed on the rear surface side near the upper end of the retained part 173. As a result, when the contact part 175a comes into contact with and is pressed against the second group of terminals 71 provided on the first connector 10, the upper connecting part 175 is able to elastically deform and displace outward in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the second connector 101.

[0123] Furthermore, the tail part 172 is connected to the lower end of the retained part 173 so as to be bent at approximately 90 degrees and extends in the same direction as the bulging direction of the contact part 175a. In other words, when the second group of terminals 171 are attached to the second housing 111, the tail part 172 extends inward in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the second connector 101 and is connected by soldering or the like to a connection pad that is linked to a conductive trace of the second substrate. Note that when the second group of terminals 171 are second high frequency terminals 171 A, the conductive traces are described as signal lines, typically high frequency signal lines that transmit high frequency signals such as RF signals (for example, frequency of 10 GHz or more). Furthermore, when the second group of terminals 171 are second ground terminals 17 IB, the conductive traces are ground lines.

[0124] Furthermore, the second connector 101 is placed on the surface of the second substrate with a solder sheet (not depicted) applied to the mounting surface 101b side, and is fixed and mounted on the surface of the second substrate by heating and melting the solder sheet using a heating furnace or the like. Note that means for connecting the second shield 150, the first group of terminals 161, the second group of terminals 171, and the like to the connection pad of the second substrate and the like is not necessarily limited to soldering, and may be, for example, conductive adhesive or the like. Moreover, even with soldering, soldering may be performed not by applying a solder sheet but by applying a solder paste, transferring cream solder, hot-dip galvanizing,jet soldering, or the like. Herein, for convenience of description, a case where a solder sheet is used will be described. The solder sheets are respectively applied to the lower surface of the flange part 154 of the second shield 150, the lower surface of the tail part 162 of the first group of terminals 161, and the lower surface of the tail part 172 of the second group of terminals 171.

[0125] When the solder sheet provided in this manner is heated and melted, and the second connector 101 is mounted on the surface of the second substrate, the bent part 152a and the flange part 154, which are continuously connected over an entire circumference to the lower end of the outer wall 152 that is continuous over the entire circumference in the second shield 150, are connected to the connection pads on the surface of the second substrate without a gap. Therefore, the strength of the second shield 150 connected to the connection pads on the surface of the second substrate is high, and consequently, the strength of the entire second connector 101 with an outer circumference surrounded by the second shield 150 is high. Furthermore, an electromagnetic shielding effect exerted by the second shield 150, which is connected without a gap to the connection pads on the surface of the second substrate, is very high, and the second connector 101 with an outer circumference surrounded by the second shield 150 is very effectively electromagnetically shielded. In particular, the smoothness of the lower surface of the flange part 154 is high. Thus, the strength of the second shield 150 connected to the connection pads on the surface of the second substrate can be made extremely high. Moreover, since no gap is created between theconnection pads on the surface of the second substrate, the electromagnetic shielding effect can also be made extremely high.

[0126] Furthermore, in each of the pair of parallel second group of terminals rows, the second high frequency terminals 171A are provided at both ends, and the second ground terminal 171B is provided between the second high frequency terminals 171 A at both ends. Therefore, the second high frequency terminals 171 Aat both ends in each second group of terminals row are effectively shielded by the second ground terminal 171B, crosstalk between the second high frequency terminals 171A at both ends is prevented, and the SI characteristics of each second high frequency terminal 171 A are improved. Furthermore, the second group of terminals 161 are provided between the second high frequency terminals 171 A at both ends of one second group of terminals row and the second high frequency terminals 171A at both ends of another second group of terminals row, and the lower surface of the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171 A connected to the connection pad on the surface of the second substrate connected to the high frequency signal line and the lower surface of the tail part 162 of the first group of terminals 161 connected to the connection pad on the surface of the second substrate connected to the low frequency signal line are arranged in positions that overlap when viewed from the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the second connector 101. Therefore, the second high frequency terminals 171 A located on both sides of the first group of terminals 161 are effectively shielded by the first group of terminals 161, crosstalk between the second high frequency terminals 171A on both sides is prevented, and the SI characteristics of each second high frequency terminal 171 A are improved. Furthermore, a plurality of partition walls 155 are provided between the second group of terminals rows, the second high frequency terminals 171 A of one second group of terminals row and the second high frequency terminal 171 A of the other second group of terminals row are effectively shielded, crosstalk between the second high frequency terminals 171A is prevented, and the SI characteristics of each second high frequency terminal 171 A are improved.

[0127] Furthermore, both sides of the inner side recessed part 113b storing the first group of terminals 161 are shielded by the partition walls 155, the low frequencysignals transmitted by the first group of terminals 161 do not affect the second high frequency terminals 171A, and the SI characteristics of each second high frequency terminal 171 A are improved.

[0128] Furthermore, each of the second high frequency terminals 171 A is provided in the vicinity of the corner parts 150c of the second shield 150, as depicted in FIG. 13, so the distance from the center of the lower surface of the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171 A, which is connected to the connection pad on the surface of the second substrate connected to the high frequency signal line, to the lower surface of the flange parts 154 on the long side parts 150a and short side parts 150b of the second shield 150, which are connected to the connection pads on the surface of the second substrate connected to the ground line, are roughly the same distance. In addition, the distance from the center of the lower surface of the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171 A to the center of the lower surface of the tail part 172 of second ground terminal 17 IB, which is connected to the connection pad on the surface of the second substrate connected to the ground line, is also approximately equal to the same distance. Furthermore, the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171A extends toward the partition wall 155 of the second shield 150, so the distance from the center of the lower surface of the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171 A to the partition wall 155 that contacts with the grounding plate 85 of the first connector 10 becomes longer and becomes approximately equal to the same distance as above. In this manner, the distances from the center of the lower surface of the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171A, which is connected to the connection pad of the high frequency signal line, to the lower surface of the second shield 150, the lower surface of the second ground terminal 17 IB, and the partition wall 155 which are members connected to the connection pads of the ground lines present on all four sides, are approximately equal. Therefore, a configuration can be obtained that is similar to a coaxial structure such as a coaxial cable having a center at the lower surface of the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171A, and the SI characteristics of the second high frequency terminal 171 A are further improved.

[0129] Thus, the second connector 101 can transmit a high frequency signal even with a compact and low profile, because the strength and the electromagnetic shielding effect are high. For example, even if the dimensions in the longitudinal, width, and height directions of the first connector 10 are set to 2.9 [mm] or less, 1.9 [mm] or less, and 0.7 [mm] or less, the second high frequency terminal 171 can transmit a high frequency signal of approximately 60 [GHz],

[0130] Next, the operation of mating together the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 with the above configuration will be described.

[0131] FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the state in which mating of the first connector and the second connector of the present embodiment is complete; FIG. 20 is a three-sided view of the state in which mating of the first connector and the second connector of the present embodiment is complete; FIG. 21 is a plan view as seen from the first connector side of a state in which mating of the first connector and the second connector of the present embodiment is complete; FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the first set in a state in which mating of the first connector and the second connector of the present embodiment is complete; and FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the second set in a state in which mating of the first connector and the second connector in the present embodiment is complete. Note that, in FIG. 19, (a) is a perspective view as seen from the second connector side, and (b) is a perspective view as seen from the first connector side; in FIG. 20, (a) is a plan view as seen from the second connector side, (b) is a first side view, and (c) is a second side view; in FIG. 22, (a) is a cross- sectional view along the E-E arrow in FIG. 20(a) and (b) is a cross-sectional view along the F-F arrow in FIG. 20(a); and in FIG. 23, (a) is a cross-sectional view along the G-G arrow in FIG. 20(a), and (b) is a cross-sectional view along the H-H arrow in FIG. 20(a).

[0132] Here, the first connector 10 is surface mounted on the first substrate by connecting by soldering the bent part 52a of the first shield 50 and the lower surface of the flange part 54, the lower surface of the tail part 62 of the first substrate terminals 61, the lower surface of the tail part 72 of the second group of terminals 71, the lowersurface of the tail part 84 of the protector 80, and the lower surface of the tail part 88 of the grounding plate 85 to connection pads linked to conductive traces of the first substrate (not depicted). In addition, the conductive trace connected to the connection pad that is connected to the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71A is a signal line that transmits a high frequency signal such as an RF signal; the conductive trace connected to the connection pad that is connected to the tail part 62 of the first group of terminals 61 is a signal line that transmits a low frequency signal that is lower in frequency than the high frequency signal; and the conductive trace connected to the connection pads that are connected to the bent part 52a and the flange part 54 of the first shield 50, the tail part 72 of the first ground terminal 7 IB, the tail part 84 of the protector 80, and the tail part 88 of the grounding plate 85 is a ground line.

[0133] Similarly, the second connector 101 is surface mounted on the second substrate by connecting, by soldering, the lower surface of the bent part 152a and flange part 154 of the second shield 150, the lower surface of the tail part 162 of the first group of terminals 161, and the lower surface of the tail part 172 of the second group of terminals 171 to connection pads linked to the conductive traces of the second substrate (not depicted). In addition, the conductive trace connected to the connection pad that is connected to the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171A is a signal line that transmits a high frequency signal such as an RF signal; the conductive trace connected to the connection pad that is connected to the tail part 162 of the first group of terminals 161 is a signal line that transmits a low frequency signal that is lower in frequency than the high frequency signal; and the conductive trace connected to the connection pads that are connected to the bent part 152a and the flange part 154 of the second shield 150, and the tail part 172 of the second ground terminal 17 IB is a ground line.

[0134] First, as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operator places the mating surface 10a of the first connector 10 against the mating surface 101a of the second connector 101, and when the positions of the outer side protruding part 13a of the first connector 10 and the inner side protruding part 13b covered by the protector 80 match the positions of the outer side recessed parted part 113a and inner side recessed part 113b of thesecond connector 101, respectively, the alignment of the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 is completed.

[0135] In this state, when the first connector 10 and / or the second connector 101 is moved in a direction approaching the mating side, or in other words, in the mating direction, the second shield 150 of the second connector 101 is inserted into the storage part 50d of the first shield 50 of the first connector 10, the first protruding part 13 of the first connector 10 is inserted into the second recessed part 113 of the second connector 101, and the outer side protruding part 13a of the first connector 10 and the inner side protruding part 13b covered by the protector 80 are inserted into the outer side recessed part 113a and the inner side recessed part 113b of the second connector 101, respectively.

[0136] Note that the connecting part 53 of the first shield 50 is present on the mating surface 10a of the first connector 10 so as to surround a circumference thereof, and the outer wall 152 and the upper plate 153 of the second shield 150 are present on the mating surface 101a of the second connector 101. Therefore, the mating surface 10a of the first connector 10 and the mating surface 101a of the second connector 101 will not be damaged or broken even when coming into contact with each other. Furthermore, the inner side protruding part 13b of the first connector 10 is covered by the protector 80, and therefore will not be damaged or broken during mating.

[0137] Furthermore, in the initial mating state, or in other words, in a state where the part near the mating surface 101 a of the second shield 150 of the second connector 101 enters slightly into the storage part 50d of the first shield 50 of the first connector 10, the portion near the mating surface 101a of the outer wall 152 at the corner part 150c of the second shield 150 comes into contact with the oblique surface part near the upper end of the mating positioning part 51b (near the mating surface 10a) in the comer part 50c of the first shield 50, and is inserted into the storage part 50d while in contact with and being guided by the oblique surface part. Thereby, the second connector 101 is positioned with respect to the first connector 10. Note that the corner part 50c included in the mating positioning part 51b is integrated with the corner part 17 of the firsthousing 11, and the back side thereof is filled with the insulating material constituting the first housing 11, and therefore the comer part is robust. Therefore, the mating positioning part 5 lb has high robustness, so even if the portion near the mating surface 101a of the second shield 150 of the second connector 101 comes in contact, the mating positioning part 51b will not be deformed or damaged.

[0138] Furthermore, the portions of the outer wall 152 on the long side part 150a and the short side part 150b of the second shield 150 near the mating surface 101a contact with the oblique surface part 5 Id of the mating spring part 51a of the first shield 50, and then move along the oblique surface part 5 Id. Thereby, damage to the mating spring part 51a can be reduced, and the second shield 150 will smoothly enter and be stored in the storage part 50d of the first shield 50.

[0139] Next, as depicted in FIGS. 19 to 23, when the mating of the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 is completed, the first group of terminals 61 of the first connector 10 and the first group of terminals 161 of the second connector 101 will be conductive, and the second group of terminals 71 of the first connector 10 and the second group of terminals 171 of the second connector 101 will be conductive.

[0140] Specifically, a pair of second protruding parts 116 of the housing center part 117 of the second housing 111 are inserted into a pair of first group of terminals storage recessed parts 16 of the inner side protruding part 13b of the first housing 11, and as depicted in FIG. 23(b), in the first group of terminals storage recessed part 16, the contact part 65a of the outer side connecting part 65 and the contact part 66a of the inner side connecting part 66 of the mutually facing first group of terminals 61 contact with the outer side connecting part 165 and the inner side connecting part 166 of the first group of terminals 161 exposed on the outer surface and inner surface of the second protruding part 116.

[0141] At this time, the lower side connecting parts 64 of the first group of terminals 61 and a vicinity thereof have an essentially U-shaped shape and are elastically deformable, such that the interval between the mutually facing outer side connectingpart 65 contacting part 65a and the inner side connecting part 66 contacting part 66a is elastically expandable. Therefore, the interval between the contacting part 65a on the outer side connecting part 65 and the contacting part 66a on the inner side connecting part 66 are elastically pushed apart by the first group of terminals 161 inserted therebetween and as a reaction thereof, the first group of terminals 161 is elastically sandwiched from two sides by the contacting part 65a of the outer side connecting part 65 and the contacting part 66a of the inner side connecting part 66. As a result, the contacting part 65a of the outer side connecting part 65 of the first group of terminals 61 and the outer side connecting part 165 of the first group of terminals 161, as well as the contacting part 66a of the inner side connecting part 66 of the first group of terminals 61 and the inner side connecting part 166 of the first group of terminals 161, maintain contact and do not separate even when subjected to shock or vibration, and thus can maintain a stable state of electrical conduction. Furthermore, the first group of terminals 61 of the first connector 10 and the first group of terminals 161 of the second connector 101, which correspond to each other, are in contact at two points, or in other words, in a so-called two-point contact state, and even if the contact at one point is released, the contact at the other point is maintained, so the contact state can be stably maintained.

[0142] Furthermore, the outer side protruding part 13a of the first housing 11 is inserted into the outer side recessed part 113a of the second housing 111, and as depicted in FIG. 22, the contact parts 75a of the second group of terminals 71 stored in the second group of terminals storage cavity 15a of the outer side protruding part 13a contact with the contact parts 175a of the second group of terminals 171 stored in the second group of terminals storage cavity 115a of the long wall part 112a. At this time the contact parts 75a of the second group of terminals 71 of the first connector 10 and the contact parts 175 a of the second group of terminals 171 of the second connector 101 are capable of elastic displacement in the longitudinal direction of the first connector 10 and the second connector 101, because the bent upper connecting parts 75 and the upper connecting parts 175 themselves are capable of elastic deformation. As a result, the contacting part 75a of the second group of terminals 71 and the contacting part 175 a of the second group of terminals 171 corresponding to each other,maintain contact, and do not separate even when subjected to shock or vibration, and thus can maintain a stable state of electrical conduction. Furthermore, the upper connecting parts 75 of the second group of terminals 71 and the upper connecting parts 175 of the second group of terminals 171 both have a roughly U-shape when viewed from the side, so the second group of terminals 71 and the second group of terminals 171 do not elastically deform or buckle even when coming into contact with each other when mated, and thus high contact reliability can be obtained even when the terminals are small and have a low profile. Furthermore, when viewed from the mating direction (Z-axis direction), the tail parts 72 of the second group of terminals 71 and the tail parts 172 of the second group of terminals 171 overlap each other. Furthermore, the second group of terminals 71 and the second group of terminals 171 may all have the same shape. In this case, as depicted in FIG. 22, the second group of terminals 71 and the second group of terminals 171 are rotationally symmetrical with respect to each other when rotated 180 degrees about the Y axis.

[0143] Incidentally, it is important that the second group of terminals 71 are the first high frequency terminals 71 A and the second group of terminals 171 are the second high frequency terminals 171 A, but the second group of terminals 71 which are the first high frequency terminals 71A and the second group of terminals 171 which are the second high frequency terminals 171A, which correspond to each other, are in a so-called single contact state in which contact is made at only one point, and no unintended stubs or divided circuits are formed in the signal transmission line from the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71 A to the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171A. Therefore, the impedance of the transmission line can be stabilized, and favorable SI characteristics can be achieved.

[0144] Furthermore, a pair of partition walls 155 of the second shield 150 are inserted into a pair of first groove parts 13c located on both sides of the inner side protruding part 13b of the first housing 11 and contact with and are conductive to the contact parts 87b of each upper connecting part 87a of the grounding plate 85, as depicted in FIG. 23(a). As a result, the conduction distance from the contact part 87b that contacts the partition wall 155 via the tail part 88 of the grounding plate 85 to the ground line ofthe first substrate is shorter than the conduction distance from both ends of the partition wall 155 via the upper plate 153, the outer wall 152, and the flange part 154 to the ground line of the second substrate, thereby achieving potential equalization that makes the ground potential of the partition wall 155 equal to the ground potential of other members connected to the ground line. Therefore, the SI characteristics of the first high frequency terminal 71 A and the second high frequency terminal 171 A are further improved.

[0145] In this manner, the first high frequency terminal 71A and the second high frequency terminal 171 A, which are in mutual contact, have approximately the same distance to each member connected to the ground line present in the vicinity, so a configuration approximating a coaxial structure such as a coaxial cable can be obtained. Therefore, the impedance of the signal transmission line from the tail part 72 of the first high frequency terminal 71 A to the tail part 172 of the second high frequency terminal 171 Ais stabilized, and favorable SI characteristics can be obtained.

[0146] Furthermore, when the second shield 150 of the second connector 101 is inserted into the storage part 50d of the first shield 50 of the first connector 10, the outer surface of the outer wall 152 of the second shield 150 contacts or approaches the inner surface of the inner wall 51 of the first shield 50 and the engaging protruding part 152c formed on the outer wall 152 of the second shield 150 and the engaging protruding part 51c formed on the inner wall 51 of the first shield 50 are engaged. Note that the mating spring part 51a of the inner wall 51, in which the engaging protruding part 51c is formed, is separated from another portion by the slit part 53a at two ends thereof and is relatively flexible; and a state of engagement with the engaging protruding part 152c of the outer wall 152 of the second shield 150 can be reliably maintained. As a result, the first shield 50 and the second shield 150 become locked and release of the mating state between the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 is prevented. Furthermore, the first shield 50 and the second shield 150 are in contact with each other and are electrically conductive and at equipotential; therefore, electromagnetic shielding is improved.

[0147] As described above, in the present embodiment, the first connector 10 includes the first housing 11, the first group of terminals 61 and the second group of terminals 71 retained by the first housing 11, the first shield 50 surrounding the first housing 11, and the grounding plate 85 provided between the first group of terminals 61 and the second group of terminals 71. The first group of terminals 61 includes a plurality of signal terminals, the second group of terminals 71 includes a first high frequency terminal 71 A that transmits signals having a higher frequency than signals transmitted by the signal terminal, and the second group of terminals 71 includes an elastically deformable upper side connecting part 75 and a tail part 72 connected to the substrate, the tail part 72 extending in a direction opposite to the direction that the upper side connecting part 75 elastically deforms, the grounding plate 85 including a tail part 88 connected to the substrate and extending in a direction different from the extension direction of the tail part 72 of the second group of terminals 71, the first group of terminals 61 including an outer side connecting part 65 and an inner side connecting part 66, and a tail part 62 is connected to the substrate, the tail part 62 extending in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the tail part 72 of the second group of terminals 71.

[0148] Thus, the first connector 10 can transmit a high frequency signal even with a compact and low profile, because the strength and the electromagnetic shielding effect are high. Therefore, a first connector 10 that is compact and has a low profile can be provided, which still exhibits high strength and provides a high shielding effect, thus being highly reliable.

[0149] Furthermore, the first housing 11 includes an outer side protruding part 13a that protrudes in the mating direction, and the outer side protruding part 13a retains the second group of terminals 71 and the grounding plate 85. Furthermore, the first shield 50 includes a flange part 54 and a mating spring part 5 la which is a contact part with the second connector 101, and the mating spring part 5 la is elastically deformable in the same direction as the extension direction of the flange part 54. Furthermore, a counterpart long side storage recessed part 12b which is a space is provided between the upper connecting part 75 of the second group of terminals 71 and the first shield50 facing the upper connecting part 75. Furthermore, a counterpart long side storage recessed part 12b which is a space is provided between the end of the tail part 72 of the second group of terminals 71 and the first shield 50 facing the end part of the tail part 72. Furthermore, the first shield 50 exists on a straight line passing through the tail parts 72 of the second group of terminals 71 and the tail part 88 of the grounding plate 85 and includes a flange part 54 that extends toward the outside of the first connector 10. Furthermore, the second group of terminals 71 are arranged to form a terminal row extending in the Y-axis direction and includes the first high frequency terminals 71A located at least on both ends of the terminal row and the first ground terminals 71B located between the first high frequency terminals 71A, and the first high frequency terminals 71 A and the first ground terminals 71B have the same shape.

[0150] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the connector pair includes a first connector 10 and a second connector 101 that mates with the first connector 10.

[0151] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the second connector 101 includes the second housing 111, the first group of terminals 161 and the second group of terminals 171 retained by the second housing 111, the second shield 150 surrounding the second housing 111, and the partition plate 155 provided between the first group of terminals 161 and the second group of terminals 171. The first group of terminals161 includes a plurality of signal terminals, the second group of terminals 171 includes a second high frequency terminal 171 A that transmits signals having a higher frequency than signals transmitted by the signal terminal, and the second group of terminals 171 includes an elastically deformable upper side connecting part 175 and a tail part 172 that is connected to the substrate. The tail part 172 extends in a direction opposite to the direction that the upper connecting part 175 elastically deforms, the second shield 150 includes a flange part 154 connected to the substrate, the flange part 154 extends in a direction different from the extension direction of the tail part 172 of the second group of terminals 171, and the first group of terminals 161 includes an outer side connecting part 165 and an inner side connecting part 166, and a tail part162 connected to the substrate, the tail part 162 extending in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the tail part 172 of the second group of terminals 171.

[0152] Thus, the second connector 101 can transmit a high frequency signal even with a compact and low profile, because the strength and the electromagnetic shielding effect are high. Therefore, a second connector 101 that is compact and has a low profile can be provided, which still exhibits high strength and provides a high shielding effect, thus being highly reliable.

[0153] Furthermore, the second housing 111 further includes a long wall part 112a that protrudes in the mating direction, and the long wall part 112a retains the second group of terminals 171 and the second shield 150. Furthermore, the partition plate 155 includes a contact flat surface with the first connector 10. Furthermore, an outer side recessed part 113a serving as a space exists between the upper connecting part 175 of the second group of terminals 171 and the partition plate 155 facing the upper connecting part 175. Furthermore, an outer side recessed part 113a serving as a space exists between the end part of the tail part 172 of the second group of terminals 171 and the partition plate 155 facing the end part of the tail part 172. Furthermore, the second shield 150 includes a flange part 154 that extends toward the outer side of the second connector 101. Furthermore, the second group of terminals 171 are arranged to form a terminal row extending in the Y-axis direction and includes the second high frequency terminals 171A located at least on both ends of the terminal row and the second ground terminal 17 IB located between the second high frequency terminals 171 A, and the second high frequency terminals 171 A and the second ground terminals 17 IB have the same shape.

[0154] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the connector pair includes a second connector 101 and a first connector 10 that mates with the second connector 101. Furthermore, the connector pair is formed by mating the first connector 10 and the second connector 101 together. Furthermore, the second group of terminals 71 of the first connector 10 and the second group of terminals 171 of the second connector 101 have the same shape.

[0155] Note that the disclosure herein describes features relating to suitable exemplary embodiments. Various other embodiments, modifications, and variations within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto will naturally be conceived of by a person of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the disclosure herein.

[0156] The present disclosure can be applied to a connector and a connector pair.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A first connector, comprising:(a) a first housing, first group of terminals and second group of terminals retained in the first housing, a first shield surrounding the first housing, and a first ground provided between the first group of terminals and the second group of terminals; wherein(b) the first group of terminals include a plurality of signal terminals;(c) the second group of terminals include high frequency terminals transmitting signals having a higher frequency than the signals transmitted by the signal terminals;(d) the second group of terminals include elastically deformable contact parts and substrate connecting parts connected to a substrate, the substrate connecting parts extending in a direction opposite to the direction that the contact parts elastically deform;(e) the first ground includes a substrate connecting part connected to a substrate, and extends in a direction different from a direction that the substrate connecting part of the second group of terminals extend; and(f) the first group of terminals include a first contact part and a substrate connecting part, the substrate connecting part extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction that the substrate connecting parts of the second group of terminals extend.

2. The first connector according to claim 1, wherein the first housing includes a protruding part that protrudes in a mating direction, and the protruding part retains the second group of terminals and the first ground.

3. The first connector according to claim 1, wherein the first shield includes a substrate connecting part and a contact part to the second connector, the contact part being elastically deformable in the same direction as the extension direction of the substrate connecting part.

4. The first connector according to claim 1, wherein a space exists between the contact part of the second group of terminals and the first shield facing the contact part.

5. The first connector according to claim 1, wherein a space exists between an end part of the substrate connecting part of the second group of terminals and the first shield facing the end part.

6. The first connector according to claim 1, wherein the first shield exists on a straight line passing through the substrate connecting part of the second group of terminals and the substrate connecting part of the first ground, and includes a substrate connecting part extending toward an outside of the first connector.

7. The first connector according to claim 1 , wherein the second group of terminals are arranged to form a terminal row extending in a first axial direction, and include high frequency terminals located at least at both ends of the terminal row and ground terminals located between the high frequency terminals, the high frequency terminals and the ground terminals having the same shape.

8. A connector pair, comprising: the first connector according to claim 1; and a second connector that mates with the first connector.

9. A second connector, comprising:(a) a second housing, third group of terminals and fourth group of terminals retained in the second housing, a second shield surrounding the second housing, and a second ground provided between the third group of terminals and the fourth group of terminals; wherein(b) the third group of terminals include a plurality of signal terminals;(c) the fourth group of terminals include high frequency terminals transmitting signals having a higher frequency than the signals transmitted by the signal terminals;(d) the fourth group of terminals include elastically deformable contact parts and substrate connecting parts connected to a substrate, the substrate connecting partsextending in a direction opposite to the direction that the contact parts elastically deform;(e) the second shield includes a substrate connecting part connected to a substrate, and the substrate connecting part extends in a direction different from a direction that the substrate connecting part of the fourth group of terminals extend; and(f) the third group of terminals include a contact part and a substrate connecting part connected to the substrate, the substrate connecting part extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction that the substrate connecting parts of the fourth group of terminals extend.

10. The second connector according to claim 9, wherein the second housing includes a protruding part that protrudes in a mating direction, and the protruding part retains the fourth group of terminals and the second shield.

11. The second connector according to claim 9, wherein the second ground includes a contact plane with the first connector.

12. The second connector according to claim 9, wherein a space exists between the contact part of the fourth group of terminals and the second ground facing the contact part.

13. The second connector according to claim 9, wherein a space exists between an end part of the substrate connecting part of the fourth group of terminals and the second ground facing the end part.

14. The second connector according to claim 9, wherein the second shield includes a substrate connecting part that extends toward the outer side of the second connector.

15. The second connector according to claim 9, wherein the fourth group of terminals are arranged to form a terminal row extending in a first axial direction, and include high frequency terminals located at least at both ends of the terminal row andground terminals located between the high frequency terminals, the high frequency terminals and the ground terminals having the same shape.

16. A connector pair, comprising: the second connector according to claim 9; and a first connector that mates with the second connector.

17. A connector pair in which the first connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and the second connector according to any one of claims 9 to 15 are mated together.

18. The connector pair according to claim 17, wherein the second group of terminals and the fourth group of terminals have the same shape.

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