Method for mounting a connector on a printed circuit board, and shielded connector and lower shielding plate for use in sush a method

• US 20010036769A1
• Filed: 03/14/2001
• Published: 11/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Framatome Connectors International
• Original Assignee: Framatome Connectors International
• Inventors: Fret, Marc, Panis, Werner, Otto, Nadia, Booghmans, Hubert
• Granted Patent: US 6,648,687 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 439/607
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/721 cooperating directly with the edge of the rigid printed circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/658 High frequency shielding arrangements, e.g. against EMI [Electro-Magnetic Interference] or EMP [Electro-Magnetic Pulse] coaxial coupling devices specially adapted for high frequency H01R24/40; for flat or ribbon cable connectors H01R12/774; for coaxial cable H01R9/05

Abstract

A shielded connector comprises a housing of insulating material accommodating a plurality of contact elements, and a shielding plate comprising a front half and a back half. The front half has a plurality of contact portions and the back half has contact ends for connection to a printed circuit board. The housing is provided with at least one channel at a front end thereof, this at least one channel being open at its back end and closed at its front end for receiving the front end of the shielding plate. The shielding plate is provided with a bend near its front end for cooperation with back end of the channel. The connector is mounted on a printed circuit board and then the shielding plate is mounted on the printed circuit board by first inserting the front end of the lower shielding plate into the at least one channel until the contact ends are at least substantially aligned with the through holes of the printed circuit board and thereafter inserting the contact ends into the through holes of the printed circuit board.

Claims

1. Method for mounting a connector on a printed circuit board, comprising providing a connector having a housing of insulating material with a plurality of contact elements, providing a printed circuit board having a plurality of through holes, mounting the connector on the printed circuit board, providing a shielding plate having contact ends at a back end and contact portions near a front end, and mounting the shielding plate on the printed circuit board by inserting the contact ends into through holes of the printed circuit board, characterized in that a housing is provided having at least one channel at a front end thereof, said channel being closed at its front end and open at its back end, and in that the shielding plate is mounted on the printed circuit board by first inserting its front end into said at least one channel until the contact ends are at least substantially aligned with the through holes of the printed circuit board and thereafter inserting the contact ends into the through holes of the printed circuit board.

2. Method according to

claim 1

, wherein the shielding plate is provided with a bend near its front end, wherein the front end of the shielding plate is inserted into said at least one channel until the bend meets the back end of the channel, wherein the bend is located such that the contact ends will be aligned with the through holes of the printed circuit board when the bend is located at the back end of the channel.

3. Method according to

claim 1

or

2

, wherein the shielding plate is provided with an inclined intermediate part between a front half and a back half of the shielding plate, wherein the back half is pressed towards the printed circuit board during inserting the contact ends into the through holes, wherein by the inserting step the inclined part is at least partially flattened to thereby push the front end of the shielding plate further into said at least one channel and to bring the contact portions in position.

4. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing at its front end is provided with a series of adjacent channels separated by ribs with a T-shaped cross section, wherein the front end of the shielding plate is provided with a series of fingers separated by slots, each finger having a contact spring, wherein during the step of mounting the shielding plate the fingers are inserted into the channels, wherein side edges of the fingers are received below the heads of the T-shaped ribs and the contact springs are received in slots between the heads of the T-shaped ribs.

5. Shielded connector and shielding plate, the connector comprising a housing of insulating material accommodating a plurality of contact elements, and the shielding plate comprising a front half and a back half, the front half having a plurality of contact portions and the back half having contact ends for connection to a printed circuit board, characterized in that the housing is provided with at least one channel at a front end thereof, said at least one channel being open at its back end and closed at its front end for receiving the front end of the shielding plate, and in that the shielding plate is provided with a bend near its front end for cooperation with a back end of the channel.

6. Shielded connector and shielding plate according to

claim 5

, wherein the front end of the housing is provided with a series of adjacent channels separated by ribs with a T-shaped cross section, wherein the front end of the shielding plate is provided with a series of fingers separated by slots, each finger having a contact spring, wherein the fingers are adapted to be received in the channels, wherein the heads of the T-shaped ribs are adapted to engage side edges of the fingers, wherein the width of the contact springs is less than the width of the slots between the heads of the T-shaped ribs.

7. Shielded connector, comprising a housing of insulating material accommodating a plurality of contact elements, characterized in that the housing is provided with at least one channel at a front end thereof, said at least one channel being open at its back end and closed at its front end for receiving the front end of a shielding plate.

8. Shielded connector according to

claim 7

, wherein said at least one channel is provided with a front wall with L-shaped cross section adapted to engage the front end of a shielding plate.

9. Shielded connector according to

claim 7

or

8

, wherein the front end of the housing is provided with a series of adjacent channels separated by ribs with a T-shaped cross section.

10. Shielding plate comprising a front half and a back half, the front half having a plurality of contact portions and the back half having contact ends for connection to a printed circuit board, characterized in that the shielding plate is provided with a bend near its front end for co-operation with a housing part of a connector.

11. Shielding plate according to

claim 10

, wherein the front end of the shielding plate is provided with a series of fingers separated by slots, each finger having a contact spring projecting outwardly with respect to the fingers.

12. Shielding plate according to

claim 10

or

11

, wherein an inclined intermediate section is provided between the front and back halves.

13. Shielding plate according to

claim 10

,

11

or 12, wherein the transitions between the intermediate part and the front and back halves are weakened.