The present invention relates to an electrical connector, especially an electrical connector having a shield member attached to an opening of a front panel of an electrical device.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 09-266028 has disclosed an electrical connector. As shown in FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B), the electrical connector includes a connector main body 51 holding a terminal and a shield case 52 with a bottomless inverted U shape for covering the connector main body 51. The shield case 52 includes extending portion 53 and leg portions 54 extending downwardly from sidewalls hereof. The extending portions bend at the right angle and hold a bottom surface of the connector main body 51 (FIG. 4(B)). The leg portions 54 enter corresponding holes of a circuit board and are fixed to the circuit board with solder. The shield case 52 includes contact pieces 55 as a part of an upper surface thereof for elastically contacting with a shield case of a mating connector.
The shield case 52 also includes a wall 56 bending upwardly in a direction perpendicular to the sidewalls and ear portions 57 bending toward sideways at a front surface thereof, i.e., an engaging surface relative to the mating connector. The ear portions 57 have holes and drawn portions drawn in a plate thickness direction around the holes to form screw holes 57A. The connector is attached to an opening of a front panel of an electrical device. The wall 56 and the ear portions 57 of the shield case 52 abut against a back surface of the front panel. Screws are inserted into the screw holes 57A to fix the connector from a side of the front panel.
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 09-266028
In the connector disclosed in Patent Reference 1, the ear portions 57 of the shield case 52 to be attached to the front panel are flush with the back surface of the front panel. The screw holes 57A of the ear portions 57 are drawn to increase rigidity. However, in Patent Reference 1, it is difficult to fix the connector to the front panel with the ear portions 57 for the following reasons.
First, the wall 56 and the ear portions 57 for regulating the position to be fixed to the front panel are formed through a process of bending the shield case 52. In a process of bending a metal plate, it is difficult to obtain high processing accuracy, especially a plane position. That is, it is difficult to position the wall 56 and the ear portions 57 exactly on a same plane. As a result, when the connector is fixed to the front panel, the connector tends to rattle.
Second, the wall 56 does not extend to a large extent, and the ear portions 57 are reinforced through the metal drawn process, thereby making the wall 56 and the ear portions 57 rigid. Accordingly, it is difficult to absorb the rattle through elasticity, so that the screws near the ear portions 57 are easy to become loose. On the other hand, if the screws are strongly tightened to obtain elasticity, an excessive stress may be caused in the ear portions and a surrounding area.
Further, the wall 56 and the ear portions 57 are formed to position on the same plane. Accordingly, they tend to move along the back surface of the front panel, thereby making it difficult to position them.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having a shield case, in which it is easy to accurately attach the electrical connector to a front panel. Further, it is possible to prevent a fixing screw from being loose.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.