KR960002139B1 - Electrical connector assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

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Description

Electrical connector assembly

1 is a perspective view of a plug connector assembly of the electrical connector system of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of a right angle receptacle or header connector assembly of the electrical connector system of the present invention.

3 is an exploded perspective view of the main components of the plug connector assembly of FIG. 1 with the cover removed to facilitate illustration.

4 is a partial cross-sectional plan view of the housing of FIG.

5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view through the cover of the plug connector assembly of FIG. 1 showing the cover in a mating position causing the latch means of the connector assembly to be moved outwards in an actuating latching condition;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 6, with the cover moved to move the latch means inward to separate the connector assembly.

8 is a plan view of a blank of sheet metal material from which the terminals of the header connector assembly of FIG. 2 are manufactured.

FIG. 9 is a plan view similar to FIG. 8 showing an overlaid box for terminals. FIG.

FIG. 10 is an end view as viewed toward the right end of FIG.

11 is a front view of the inner housing of the header connector assembly of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the housing of FIG. 11 as viewed toward the right end of FIG.

13 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the front shroud means of the shield of the header connector assembly taken along line 14-14 of FIG. 2, showing the rear of the connector assembly as a side view.

15 is a side view of another form of shield for a header connector assembly.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

20 plug connector assembly 22 header connector assembly

28: housing 30, 32: shield

34,94 Module 36: Female terminal

42: joint 62: channel

76: latch arm

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to electrical connector technology, in particular an electrical connector system comprising a plug connector assembly for connecting a multi-conductor cable and a corresponding right angle connector assembly in the form of a header for connecting to a substrate such as a printed circuit board. It is about.

Electrical connectors are provided in a wide variety of shapes for connecting multicore cables. As electrical connectors have become smaller and the number of wires in a multi-core cable has increased, electrical connectors of the aforementioned features have become increasingly complex to accommodate a relatively large number of conductors connected to relatively small connectors. In particular, this implies that when the multicore cable is a shielded cable, the electrical connector must have shielding capability, such as to provide shielding means not only for the terminals in the connector but also for the terminal portions protruding from the connector in the contact area with the mating connector. If so.

Because of the miniaturization of electrical connectors with high density terminal arrangements, no external connector hardware has actually been used to facilitate assembly of the connector parts, and assembly of the connector is often made by connector components formed by mutually coupling and complementary formation. It should be achieved that the connector components are assembled together by the elements or parts of the components themselves which are fitted together in a fixed relationship during final assembly. This is difficult to achieve, and it is also difficult to provide the connector with desirable means such as various latch means for connector components, suitable shields for connector terminals, latch means between mating connectors, and the like. Providing a simple electrical connector system with the features described as a modular form complicates the design of the connector system into a compact high density connector.

The present invention aims to provide an electrical connector system incorporating a modular design, having the features described as a plug and header connector assembly structure that is easy to assemble and that can reliably connect conductors to respective terminals.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electrical connector system for high density applications.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the electrical connector system of the present invention comprises a shielded module plug connector assembly and a shielded module receptacle or header connector assembly, wherein the header connector assembly is adapted to connect to a substrate such as a printed circuit board. It has a rectangular shape.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plug connector assembly comprises a housing having a cavity with an open end.

The plurality of terminal accommodating modules are sized and shaped to be positioned side by side in a nested array such that they are located in the cavity of the housing through one open end. Complementary interlockable latch means are provided between the housing and each terminal receiving module to hold all modules in a nested array in the cavity.

As described herein, the housing of the plug connector assembly and all terminal receiving modules are integrally molded as a dielectric material. Complementary interlockable latch means are ribs as a common latch located on the inside of the cavity of the housing extending along the entire array of modules, and formed on the outside of each module and interlocked with common latch ribs on the inside of the cavity. It is provided in the form of a shoulder as possible individual latch. The cavity is rectangular, and the modules are thin and long such that their length is equal to the length of one side of the rectangular cavity and the width is added to the length of the other side of the rectangular cavity in total.

The plug connector assembly is a shielded electrical connector assembly and includes a top conductive shield element or shield and a bottom conductive shield element or shield that are located on top and bottom of the connector housing. Each shield includes sidewalls located on the side of the housing. Complementary interlockable latch means are provided between the side of the housing and the side wall of each shield for supporting the shield on the housing. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the connector housing is molded with a horizontal channel on each side of the housing. The shield is made of a stamped and shaped sheet metal material and includes a tab that snaps into the channel of the housing.

A feature of the present invention is the provision of a cover around the plug connector assembly to facilitate engagement and disengagement of the plug connector assembly with the receptacle or header connector assembly. In particular, one of the shields of the plug connector assembly includes at least one latch arm biased out of the plug connector assembly in a normal state. The latch arm can move between a convenient latching position outward when the connector assemblies are engaged and an inwardly biased unlatching position that allows the connector assemblies to disengage. The outer cover is movable in the engagement / disengagement direction with respect to the shield member or shield and the inner housing of the plug connector assembly. To move the latch arm to the inoperative unlatching position when the cover is moved in the disengaging direction relative to the connector assembly, and to cause the latch arm to move to the operating latch position when the cover is moved in the engaging direction relative to the plug connector assembly. Complementary mutually engageable cam means are provided between the outer cover and the latched arm.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the receptacle or header connector assembly includes a housing forming a module receiving cavity. Generally, a plurality of flat terminal modules are nested in a cavity in parallel relationship. Each terminal module includes a plurality of coplanar flat terminals surrounded by an overmolded module enclosure and held in a predetermined array. The terminals have a terminal portion protruding from the box.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the terminals of the header connector assembly are made of stamped and molded thin metal material. The overlaid module box is made of a dielectric material such as molded plastic. The housing includes open ends in a right angle plane to form a right angle shape of the header connector assembly. The terminals are arranged at right angles with opposing ends protruding from the open end of the housing. The terminal module includes interlocking locking means integrally molded with opposite sides of the module to keep the modules together in parallel in the housing cavity. The housing has locking means at opposite sides of the cavity to lock-engage with the distal end module of the plurality of modules in a parallel relationship within the housing.

The right angle header connector assembly is a shielded connector. An integral conductive shield member or shield is positioned around the housing and surrounds an upper wall covering at least a portion of the upper portion of the housing, opposing sidewalls covering at least a portion of each side of the housing, and ends of the terminals protruding from the front of the housing. Includes shroud wall means. The integral conductive shield is made of one piece of stamped and molded metal material. A latch means is provided between the housing and the integral conductive shield to hold the shield on the housing. The front face of the housing is rectangular and the shroud wall means of the unitary conductive shield is formed by four walls forming a rectangular shroud that is complementary to the rectangle of the front face of the housing.

Another feature of the invention relates to a terminal in a plug connector assembly and a terminal in a receptacle or header connector assembly. In particular, the terminals in the plug connector assembly are female terminals each having a pair of parallel jaws in the form of a cantilever beam. The terminal of the header connector assembly is a male terminal made of a stamped and molded sheet metal material. The present invention contemplates the means being positioned such that the smooth sides of the sheet metal material from which the means are made engage with the jaws of the female terminals when the connector assembly is engaged.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In particular, the novel features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The present invention, together with the objects and advantages of the present invention, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate like elements.

1 and 2, the present invention is implemented with an electrical connector system including a first connector assembly 20 (FIG. 1) and a second connector assembly 22 (FIG. 2). The first connector assembly 20 is in the form of a plug connector assembly, and the second connector assembly 22 is in the form of a right angle receptacle or header connector assembly. Plug connector assembly 20 includes a plug end 20a (FIG. 1) for insertion into receptacle end 22a (FIG. 2) of header connector assembly 22. FIG. The header connector assembly is designed for mounting on a substrate, such as a printed circuit board, and includes a board lock leg 24 described in detail below.

Referring to FIG. 3 with respect to FIG. 1, the plug connector assembly 20 includes a dielectric outer cover 26 (FIG. 1), an inner dielectric housing 28 (FIG. 3), and an upper shielding element or shield. Part 30, bottom shielding element or shield 32, a plurality of terminal accommodating modules 34 positioned within the housing 28, and a plurality of female terminals 36 mounted in each module 34. It includes. Each terminal 36 is connected to an individual electrical wire 38 by crimping, which individual wires form a multi-core cable 40 (FIG. 1).

As best shown in FIG. 3, the inner housing 28 of the plug connector assembly 20 is provided at the top or top wall 28a, bottom or bottom wall 28b and opposite side or sidewalls 28c. And a cavity 42 formed by the open end. The cavity 42 forms an anterior mouse 44 in which the module 34 is inserted in the direction of arrow "A".

Although only one terminal receiving module 34 is shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of modules are of a size and shape that are placed in parallel in an nested array such that they are located within the cavity 42 of the housing 28 via the mouse 44. It can be seen from FIG. Each module 34 has a plurality of channels extending rearward of the module between the front pin receiving openings 46, by which the female terminal 36 is loaded rearward into the module, or It can be loaded from the open side. When the modules are stacked on top of each other, the top surface 55 of each module surrounds the channel of the module 34. Each module has a plurality of latching tabs 48 (FIG. 3) for latching behind the shoulder 50 of the terminal 36 to hold the terminal in the channel of the module. While not limited to an exact number, it can be seen that each module 34 has six pin receiving openings 46 to receive six terminals 36. As shown in FIG. 1, the five modules 34 are positioned in parallel in a stacked array within the connector assembly, such that the front plug end 20a of the connector assembly is represented by five rows of six pin receiving openings. It can also be seen in FIG. 3 that each module 34 each has a latching shoulder 52 as a separate latch on opposite sides of the module near the rear of the module.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 with respect to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the vertical ribs 54 as inwardly protruding common latches extend along the inside of the side wall 28c of the housing 28. These ribs are formed with latching shoulders 54a as cantilever portions that engage behind the latching shoulders 52 of the module to hold the module in the housing.

The side wall has horizontal slits 56 (FIG. 5) to provide elasticity to the rear region of the side wall. As a result, the rear portion of the side wall is biased outward when the module 34 is inserted into the cavity 42 of the housing, and the latching shoulders 52, 54a snap into latching engagement when the module is fully inserted into the housing. As can be seen in FIG. 3, each module 34 fits on the front edge 60 of the sidewall 28c such that the latching shoulders 52, 54a form a fully inserted position of the module in the latching engagement state. It has a front flange 58 that touches and protrudes outward. Each of the housing 28 and all terminal accommodating modules 34 are integrally molded as a dielectric material with the latching shoulder 52, the rib 54 and the latching shoulder 54a integrally molded together with the respective components. .

From the foregoing, the latching shoulders 52, ribs 54 and latching shoulders 54a are arranged between the housing 28 and the module 34 to keep all modules in a nested array within the cavity 42 of the housing. It can be seen that they are combined to provide complementary mutually engaging latch means. Ribs 54 and latching shoulders 54a form a common latching means on the housing extending over the entire height of the array of modules to mutually engage with each latching shoulder 52 of each module. In addition, the cavity 42 is rectangular, and the modules have a length (width in view) equal to the length of one side of the rectangular cavity, the width (height in view) sums up the other It can be seen that the length of the side is thin and long.

Referring to FIG. 3 with respect to FIG. 1, the terminal 36 is located within the module 34, and the module 34 is then disposed within the housing 28, and the entire assembly snaps onto the housing 28. It is shielded by the fitted top shield 30 and bottom shield 32. In particular, the channel 62 is integrally molded along the outside of the sidewall 28c of the housing 28. The channel forms an upper projection ledge 62a and a lower projection 62b. The shield is made of a stamped and shaped metal material. The upper shield 30 includes an upper wall 30a and an opposing side wall 30b and a cable shroud portion 30c protruding to the rear of the upper wall and the side wall. Each side wall 30b of the upper shield 30 is positioned to snap under the upper protrusion 62a of the channel 62 of the side wall 28c arranged side by side of the housing 28 to form an inner tab ( 64). Likewise, the bottom shield 32 includes a bottom wall 32a, opposing side walls 32b and a cable shroud portion 32c protruding rearward of the shield. Each of the side walls 32b includes a pair of tabs 66 formed to snap onto the lower protrusion 62b of the channel 62 outside of the side wall 28c of the housing 28. In addition, the side wall 32b of the bottom shield 32 has a cutout 68 at its upper edge to receive the tab 64 of the upper shield 30 for the purpose described below.

In assembling the plug connector assembly 20, the bottom shield 32 shows an arrow “B” above the housing 28 until the tab 66 snaps onto the lower protrusion 62b of the channel 62 of the housing. It moves upward in the direction of (FIG. 3). At the front edges of the bottom wall 32a and the side wall 32b of the bottom shield, an inwardly facing flange 70 is provided which abuts against the front of the housing 28 and the front of the flange 58 of the module 34. . Once the bottom shield is snapped on, the top shield 30 moves downward in the direction of arrow "C" until the tab 64 snaps under the top protrusion 62a of the channel 60 of the side wall of the housing. Moved, with the sidewalls 30b of the upper shield overlapping the sidewalls of the bottom shield. The cutout 68 of the bottom shield accommodates the movement of the tab 64 of the upper shield to a latched position below the upper projection 62a. The upper shield 30 has an indented corner portion 72 at the junction of the top wall and the side wall of the shield to be positioned into the recessed area 74 of the housing 28. The front end of the indented corner portion 72 abuts against the shoulder 74a formed by the recessed area 74. Each of the top shield 30 and the bottom shield 32 completely surrounds the top wall, bottom wall and sidewalls of the housing 28 to shield the terminals 36 in the module 34 disposed in the cavity 42. It can be seen that they are combined to be cheap. The cable shroud portions 30c and 32c are combined to completely enclose the boundary area between the individual wires 38 connected to the terminal 36 and the multi-core cable 40.

A crimpable collar 75 (FIGS. 6 and 7) slides over the cable 40 when assembly of the connector 20 begins. The outer insulator of the shielded cable is stripped to expose the shield (not shown) of the cable. After the top shield 30 and the bottom shield 32 are assembled over the housing 28, the crimpable collar 75 slides over the cable shroud portions 30c and 32c in contact with the shield of the cable. The collar 75 is then crimped in a known manner to deform the collar and cable shroud portions 30c and 32c.

A feature of the invention lies in the design of the outer cover 26 (FIG. 1), which is designed to be movable relative to the assembled shields 30 and 32 and the housing 28 in the cover, The cover is used to actuate the latch means between the plug connector assembly 20 and the header connector assembly 22. In particular, referring again to FIG. 3 with respect to FIG. 1, a pair of latch arms 76 formed integrally with the shield and bent rearwards from the front edge 78 of the side wall 30b have an upper shield 30. ) Is provided. Each latch arm includes a latching tab 80 positioned to snap into the latch arm and to snap into a hole 91 (FIG. 2) of the header connector assembly 22. The latch arm also has a curved distal end 76a that projects outward from the body of the latch arm. It can be seen that the latch arm 76 forms an automatically biased elastic arm toward the outwardly projecting position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, by the shield being press-molded from the thin metal material. . As shown in FIG. 1, the curved distal end 76a of the latch arm projects into the side opening 82 of the outer cover 26 behind the front edge 82a of the side opening 82 as a recess.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 with respect to FIG. 1, FIG. 6 shows the position of the outer cover 26 as shown in FIG. It can be seen that the inclined wall 26a of the cover is in engagement with the inclined wall 84 of the cable shroud portion of the shield. In this position, the latch arm 76 is in an outwardly working latching position, where it can be seen that the curved end portion 76a of the latch arm protrudes into the opening 82 of the cover behind the front edge 82a. . When the plug connector assembly 20 is moved in the engagement direction indicated by the arrow “D” (FIG. 6), the operator grips the outside of the cover 26. With the inclined wall 26a of the cover engaged with the shields 30 and 32, the front mating plug end 20a of the plug connector assembly 20 is the mating receptacle end of the header connector assembly 22 (FIG. 2). 22a can be inserted into. Immediately before engagement, the latch arm 76 is tilted away from the sidewall 30b in the direction of arrow "A" shown in FIG. During engagement, the latch arm 76 will initially contact the sidewall 136 of the header shield 92 and move the sidewall 30b in the direction of arrow “E” (FIG. 6) so that the latch arm enters the header shield. Is joined inward toward. Upon insertion, the latching tab 80 of the latch arm snaps into the hole 91 (FIG. 2) of the header connector assembly.

When the operator wants to detach the connector assemblies 20, 22, the operator grips the cover 26 and pulls it in the direction of arrow "F" (FIG. 7). The cover moves relative to the shield 30 and latch arm 76 until the front edge 82a of the opening 82 engages with the curved end portion 76a of the latch arm. Thereby, the latch arm is pressed inward in the direction of the arrow "E" and the connector can be disconnected as the latching tab 80 moves out of the hole 91. The cover 26 has a pair of protrusions (not shown) on the top and the bottom of the inner surfaces facing the shields 30 and 32, respectively. When the cover 26 moves in the "F" direction, the protrusion contacts the leading edge 77 of the crimpable collar 75 so that the vertical member 82b moves backwards past the curved end 76a of the latch arm. To prevent them. In essence, the front edge 82a of the cover 6 and the curved end portion 76a of the latch arm move the latch arm to the unlatched position to disengage the connector assembly as shown in FIG. A complementary joinable cam means is formed between the latch arms.

Looking at a right angle receptacle or header connector assembly 22 (FIG. 2), the connector assembly includes a dielectric housing 90 (FIG. 11) integrally molded from a plastic material or the like. The integral conductive shield 92 is made of one piece of stamped and molded thin sheet metal material (FIG. 2). The plurality of flat terminal modules 94 are positioned nested within the module receiving cavity 96 in the housing 90, with the modules in a vertically parallel relationship. Each terminal module 94 includes a plurality of coplanar terminals on the same plane that are surrounded by an overlaid module box as described in detail below and held in a predetermined array. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the terminal comprises a terminal pin portion 100 which protrudes from the module in the front-surface means 93 of the shield 92, and a printed circuit board for connecting to a circuit trajectory on the substrate. A tail portion 98 protrudes out of the bottom of the connector assembly to be inserted into a suitable hole in the same substrate.

8 shows how the terminals for the header connector assembly 22 are made from a stamped blank B of strip metal material in the form of a strip. A group of five terminals 102 are stamped at right angles from a blank, and a group of five terminals 102 are stamped at right angles from a blank at a right angle of the terminal, and the terminal pin portion 100 at ends perpendicular to the terminals. ) And tail portion 98 are formed. The blank comprises an indexing strip 104 movable through a tool with a suitable applied pressure, wherein the longitudinal web 106 and the transverse web 108 space apart a group of terminals and the transverse indexing strip 104. Connect. For the purposes described below, the flat surface or side surface of the terminal 102 stamped from the side of the blank of sheet metal material is smooth compared to the edge of the terminal formed by the stamping process.

9 and 10 show an overlaid box 110 completely enclosing a right angle terminal 102 as seen in FIG. 8, wherein the pin portion 100 and tail 98 are overlaid and molded. It remains protruding from the box.

After the terminal is overlaid with the box 110, the webs 106 and 108 are cut to coincide with the stamped edges of the pin portion 100 and the tail 98, and include the terminals surrounded by the overlaid box. The right angle terminal module 94 (FIG. 2) remains.

Comparing FIGS. 9 and 10 with FIG. 2, five terminal modules 94 are arranged side by side to be inserted into a corresponding row array of pin receiving openings 46 in plug connector assembly 20 (FIG. 1). An array of six vertical modules of terminals is nested within the cavity 96 of the housing 90.

11 through 13 illustrate the shape of the housing 90 of the header connector assembly 22 including the module receiving cavity 96 (FIGS. 11 and 13). The housing is integrally molded from a dielectric material and includes a top wall 112, a bottom wall 114, and opposing sidewalls 116. The front of the housing is an open end 118 through which the terminal pin portion 100 protrudes. The back 120 of the housing is open and the bottom of the housing is partially to insert the right angle module 94 into the housing with the terminal tail 98 protruding out of the bottom of the housing so that it is mounted in a suitable hole in the printed circuit board. It has an open end 122 which is open to it.

Complementary interlockable locking means are provided on opposite sides of the terminal module 94 to support the modules together in a side by side relationship within the cavity 96 of the housing 90. In particular, as can be seen in Figures 9 and 10, one side of each box 110 is provided with a boss boss 124 protruding, the opposite side of each box in a complementary shape An indented recess 126 (FIG. 10) is provided. The bosses and recesses are rectangular so that when the terminal modules are placed in parallel in parallel, the bosses of the terminals protrude into the recesses of adjacent modules to lock the entire module together. In addition, the side walls 116 of the housing 90 may be recessed 128 (FIG. 13) in the left side wall and a boss (not shown) in the right side wall to lock the mutually locked modules in the housing. have.

Referring to FIG. 14 with respect to FIG. 2, the unitary conductive shield 92 includes an upper wall 130 for covering a portion of the upper dielectric housing 90 and an opposing sidewall for covering a portion of the sidewall 116 of the housing. 132 and rectangular shroud wall means 93 that surround the terminal pin portion 100 of the terminal 102 protruding from the front of the housing. In particular, as can be seen from the above description, the front face of the dielectric housing 90 is generally rectangular. The shroud wall means 93 of the unitary conductive shield 92 comprises four wall portions in the form of top wall portion 134, opposing side wall portions 136 and bottom wall portion 138. These wall portions are of complementary shape and are combined to protrude from the rectangular front of the housing 90 to form a rectangular shroud that surrounds the protruding pin portion 100 of the terminal 102.

The conductive shield 92 is made of one piece of sheet metal material, and the bottom wall portion 138 of the terminal pin shroud is made of two portions that meet at the junction line 140 (FIG. 2).

When assembled, the integral conductive shield 92 of the header connector assembly 22 is mounted on the dielectric housing 90. The shield is positioned on top of the housing in the direction of arrow "G" (FIG. 14), and a latch means is provided between the housing and the shield to hold the shield on the housing. The latch means is provided in the form of a hole 142 in the side wall 132 of the shield for receiving the outwardly projecting boss 144 protruding outward from the side wall 116 of the housing. An upper portion of the boss 144 includes a chamfer 144a for guiding the shield sidewall over the boss and for snapping the sidewall into contact with the sidewall of the housing once the boss 144 enters the hole 142. It can be seen that formed.

FIG. 15 shows a somewhat schematic view of another unitary shield 92 ', which is inclined to cover all of the top, back and opposing sides of the dielectric housing 90. And a back wall 131 and a side wall 132 '. The shield 92 'also has a second substrate lock leg 24 located on each side of the housing. In other respects, the same reference numerals have been used for the shield 92 'corresponding to the portion or wall of the shield described with respect to the shield 92 (FIGS. 2 and 14).

Polarization of the plug and receptacle assembly is provided by a finger 150 integrally formed adjacent the bottom wall 138 in front of the side wall 136 of the shielding shroud means 93. The dielectric outer cover 26 of the plug connector assembly 20 includes a stepped portion 152 on each side adjacent to the bottom portion of the plug connector assembly. The width of the cover at the stepped portion is smaller than the width of the upper portion of the plug connector assembly, and such reduced width is slightly less than the distance between the fingers 150 so that the plug connector assembly is inserted into the receptacle when properly positioned. If the plug connector assembly is upside down and tries to be inserted into the receptacle, the latch arm 76 positioned for the center point of the plug connector assembly or for the vertical member 82b will contact the finger 150 and prevent engagement of the connector.

Finally, the feature of the right angle header connector assembly 22 in the position of the terminal module 94 and the terminal 102 is that the smooth flat side of the protruding terminal pin portion 100 corresponds to the terminal 36 (FIG. 3). The terminal is positioned to engage with the smooth portion. In particular, the terminal 36 is a female terminal formed by jaws 51 in the form of a pair of opposing cantilever beams. Each terminal 36 is made of a stamped and shaped sheet metal material, whereby the jaws 51 comprise a parallel side of the smooth side of the sheet metal on which the terminals are stamped and shaped. Comparing the terminal module 94 (FIG. 2) of the header connector assembly 22 with the terminal housing module 34 of the plug connector assembly 20 (FIG. 1), the terminal housing module 34 has six terminals. It can be seen that there are an array of five horizontal modules, whereas the terminal module 94 is an array of six vertical modules of five terminals. In this way, the smooth sheet metal side of the terminal pin portion 100 engages the smooth sheet metal of the jaws 51 of the female terminal 36 from the description of the manufacture of the module 94 in relation to FIGS. 8 and 9. I can see that well. Therefore, at the surface contacted between the surfaces of the male and female terminals, less wear to the plating material on the terminals occurs when the connector assembly is engaged and disengaged.

It is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or main features of the invention. Accordingly, the examples and examples of the present invention are illustrated in all respects and not by way of limitation, and the invention is not limited to the details described herein.

Claims (15)

A housing 28 having an open end cavity 42 integrally molded from a dielectric material, and a size and shape that is integrally molded from a dielectric material and positioned in parallel in a nested array to be positioned in a cavity of the housing through an open end of the housing A plurality of terminal accommodating modules 34 and complementary mutually engageable latch means between the housing and each terminal accommodating module for holding all the modules in a nested array in the cavity; The latch means is integrally molded with the housing and the module and includes a pair of common latches 54 located on opposite sides of the housing and individual latches 52 disposed on the end face of the module; Wherein each common latch extends along an array of modules to mate with individual latches of the module, and includes a cantilever portion (54a) on the opposite side. The cavity of claim 1, wherein the cavity is rectangular in shape, the module being elongated such that its length is equal to one side length of the rectangular cavity and the sum of the widths of all of the modules is equal to the other side length of the rectangular cavity. And an electrical connector assembly. Insulated housing 28 having top wall 28a, bottom wall 28b and opposing sidewalls 28c, and stamped and molded with a metallic material, located above the top wall 28a and bottom wall 28b of the housing, respectively. And a top conductive shield 30 and a bottom conductive shield 32 each comprising side walls 30b and 32b positioned over at least a portion of the side wall 28c of the housing, and the housing to maintain the shield on the housing. Complementary mutually engaging latch means between the side wall and the side wall of each shield; The latch means is formed from a single channel 62 formed in the housing and extending along each sidewall parallel to the top and bottom walls of the housing, and from each sidewall of the shield and each one of the channels on the housing. Electrical connector assembly comprising at least one latching tab (64,66) snapped to. A shielded electrical connector assembly 20 for mating with a suitable mating connector assembly 22, comprising: an insulated housing 28 having a top wall 28a, a bottom wall 28b, and opposing sidewalls 28c, respectively; A shield member comprising individual top conductive shielding elements 30 and bottom conductive shielding elements 32, respectively having side walls 30b, 32b positioned above the top wall and the bottom wall and positioned over at least a portion of the sidewalls of the housing; A latch arm 76 integrally molded from the shield member and folded back from the front edge 78 of the sidewall of the shield member to latch the connector assembly to the appropriate mating connector assembly; And the latch arm extends rearwardly outwardly of the insulating housing and has a latching tab (80) on the latch arm. Stamped and molded metal shields 30 and 32, integrally formed with the shield and folded back from the front edge 78 of the shield to latch the connector assembly to a suitable mating connector assembly 22; A pair of resilient latch arms 76 that are movable between an operating latching position to which the connector assembly is coupled and a non-operating unlatching position that allows the connector assembly to disengage and are biased outwardly of the inner connector assembly toward the operating latching position under normal conditions. An inner connector assembly (8) and recess means (82) for receiving the latch arm in an actuated latching position that is located about at least a portion of the inner connector assembly and is movable relative to the inner connector assembly in a mating / disengaging direction and is biased outwardly Outer cover (26), and the outer cover Complementary between the outer cover and the latch arm to move the latch arm to the non-actuated unlatched position when it is moved and to move the latch arm to the actuated latched position when the cover is moved relative to the inner connector assembly in the engagement direction. Electrical connector assembly (76a, 82a, 82b). 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the complementary engageable cam means is external to move the latch arm inward against the bias towards the non-operational unlatching position when the cover is moved relative to the inner connector assembly in the disengaging direction. And an cam portion on the cover. 6. Electrical connector assembly according to claim 5, comprising stop means (26a, 84) between the outer cover and the inner connector assembly to limit the movement of the cover relative to the inner connector assembly in the mating direction. A housing means 90 that forms a module receiving cavity 96 and includes open ends 118, 122 in a vertical plane, and a plurality of flat terminal modules 94 stacked side by side in a cavity of the housing means, Each terminal module comprising a plurality of coplanar flat terminals 102 made of a stamped sheet metal material and formed at right angles with opposing ends 98,100 protruding from the open ends of the housing means, wherein each module And the terminals of the connector are surrounded by a module box (110) made of a dielectric material and overlaid and held in a predetermined array, the opposite ends of the terminals protruding from the box. 9. The terminal module according to claim 8, characterized in that the terminal module comprises complementary interlockable locking means (124, 126) on opposite sides of the terminal module to hold the modules together in the side-by-side relationship in a cavity of the housing means. Electrical connector assembly. 10. The electrical connector assembly of claim 9, wherein the cavity has locking means (126, 124) for locking engagement with at least one end module of the plurality of modules in side by side relationship. Forming a module receiving cavity 96 and providing a housing 90 having open ends 118 and 122 in a vertical plane, forming a plurality of flat terminals 102 into a rectangular array on the same plane, Forming and covering the module box 110 around the flat terminal on the same plane with the opposite ends 98 and 100 of the terminal protruding from the module box 100 to form two flat terminal modules 94; Stacking the terminal modules side by side in a cavity of the housing such that opposing ends of the housing protrude from the open end of the housing means. A plurality of female terminals having a pair of opposing cantilever beams 51 made of sheet metal material having opposite smooth surfaces and vertical edges and having opposing contact surfaces formed from the smooth surface of the sheet metal material ( A first connector assembly (20) having a first housing (28) having therein 36 and a second housing (96) having a plurality of means (102) therein for engaging the female terminal; A second connector assembly 22 connected to the one connector assembly, wherein the means comprises a sheet metal material having smooth surfaces and vertical edges on opposite sides so that each means has a pair of opposing surfaces formed from the smooth surface. And the means in the second housing such that the opposing surface of the means engages with the opposing contact surface of the female terminal when the connector assembly is assembled. Electrical connector system, characterized in that located in. 13. The electrical connector system of claim 12 wherein the contact beams of female terminals are parallel and parallel to the opposing surface of the means. 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second connector assembly comprises a plurality of means modules 94 located within the second housing, each module in a predetermined set position by a box of dielectric material 110. And an array of right angle means (102) maintained. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first connector assembly comprises a plurality of female terminals located in the first housing, wherein each female terminal module is associated with a manipulator module of the second connector assembly. Electrical connector system, characterized in that located vertically.