Connector

• US 6,821,158 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2003
• Issued: 11/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Iida, Mitsuru, Tanaka, Hirohisa, Hoshino, Narutoshi, Takeyama, Hidetoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Truc T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Harvey, James R.
• Application Number:
  US10/344,705
• Publication Number:
  US 20030176111A1
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 439/607, 439/492-495, 439/660
• US Class Current: 439/660
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/592 connections to contact elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/79 connecting to rigid printed circuits or like structures

Abstract

A connector has a connector plug and a connector receptacle for connecting a cable and a substrate. The connector plug has a shell made of a conductive material with both sides open, and an insulator made of a resin molding. The insulator has a first fitting part on a first side for mating with the connector receptacle, a second fitting part on the other side for mating with the cable, and a plurality of contacts disposed on the second fitting part side. The shell has flexible parts for flexibly contacting a connector receptacle shell mated with the first fitting part. The insulator is fit into the shell from an opening on one side of the shell.

Claims

1. A connector having a connector plug and a connector receptacle for connecting a cable and a substrate, the connector plug comprising:

a shell formed of a conductive material, being open on both sides thereof, and having a shoulders;

an insulator made of a resin molding and having a first fitting part on a first side thereof that mates with the connector receptacle, a second fitting part on a second side thereof that mates with the cable, and a plurality of contacts disposed on the second fitting part side, said plurality of contacts being insert molded in said insulator;

the connector receptacle comprising a shell;

the shell of the connector plug having flexible parts that flexibly contact the shell of the connector receptacle mated with the first fitting part;

the insulator being fit into the shell of the connector plug from a first opening on one side of the shell of the connector plug; and

said shoulder holds the cable to the contacts, and is formed on the second fitting part side on an inside of the shell of the connector plug opposite the contacts.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the insulator has recesses substantially U-shaped in section and formed on a surface of the insulator so as to extend toward the first fitting part from a base between the contacts, and the flexible parts are disposed inside the recesses.

3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the cable is a flexible printed circuit board.

4. The connector according to claim 3, wherein a pressing part that presses and positions the flexible printed circuit board to the inside surface of the shell of the connector plug is formed at an edge of a second opening of the shell of the connector plug on the second fitting part side.

5. The connector according to claim 3, wherein the shell of the connector plug has stops formed on both sides of the second opening thereof that prevent removal of the flexible printed circuit board, and the flexible printed circuit board has a protrusion formed on both sides at an end thereof, wherein when the end of the flexible printed circuit board is inserted to the second opening of the shell of the connector plug that is then provisionally positioned at a first position with respect to the insulator and when both the shell of the connector plug and the flexible printed circuit board are slid toward the first fitting part side from the first position to a second position where the insulator and the shell of the connector plug engage, the contacts flexibly deform to hold the flexible printed circuit board between the contacts and the inside surface of the shell of the connector plug.

6. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector receptacle comprises a plurality of contacts that conductively contact the contacts of the connector plug, a support frame made of an insulation material that supports and arrays the contacts of the connector receptacle, a first shell made of a metal extending in a direction in which the contacts of the connector receptacle are arrayed, and a second shell made of a metal extending in a direction in which the contacts of the connector receptacle are arrayed, wherein the first and second shells engage with each other so that the contacts of the connector receptacle and the support frame are disposed therebetween, and an insertion opening for inserting the connector plug is formed therebetween, and wherein a plurality of recesses enabling free insertion and removal of the contacts of the connector receptacle are formed to the support frame along an open edge of the insertion opening.

7. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector receptacle comprises a plurality of contacts that conductively contact the contacts of the connector plug, a support frame made of an insulation material that support and arrays the contacts of the connector receptacle, a first shell made of a metal extending in a direction in which the contacts of the connector receptacle are arrayed, and a second shell made of a metal extending in a direction in which the contacts of the connector receptacle are arrayed, wherein the first and second shells engage with each other so that the contacts of the connector receptacle and the support frame are disposed therebetween, and an insertion opening for inserting the connector plug is formed therebetween, and wherein the support frame has a fitting hole into which is press fit a first tab projecting from one of the first and second shells to the other shell.

8. The connector according to claim 7, wherein the tab is welded to the other shell.

9. The connector according to claim 7, wherein an insulation member for insulating between the first shell and each of the contacts of the connector receptacle is formed integrally to the first shell, and the insulation member has a press-fitting part to which is press fit a second tab projecting from the second shell toward the insulation member.