Means for securing ground plates to electrical connector housing

Claim 1

An improved means for securing an externally mounted ground plate to an electrical connector, said ground plate being exposed at least along a mating face of the connector, the connector including a housing having opposed elongate sides and opposed ends defining said mating face, a plurality of electrical terminals disposed within said housing and exposed at said mating face for electrical connection to corresponding terminals of a mating connector, said mating face being adapted to be received within a complementary housing, said connector further including at least one ground plate secured along one of the elongate sides and having a leading edge thereof exposed at the mating face and adapted to be received within said complementary housing, the improved means comprising: a pair of tabs extending from said at least one ground plate proximate the leading edge thereof and engagable with cooperating slots on said end walls of said housing, said pair of tabs including outwardly extending locking lances which cooperate with said end wall slots to lockingly secure said at least one ground plate to said housing end walls; and said grounding plate further includes at least one inwardly directed flared aperture proximate the leading edge thereof, said inwardly directed flared aperture being adapted to be received within a slot along the edge of a housing sidewall and secured thereto by spreading the leading edge of the flared aperture outwardly by means of an appropriately shaped tool, thereby securing the leading edge of the ground plate to said housing along said mating face, whereby when said ground plate is secured to said housing, said pair of locking tabs hold said plate securely to the end walls of the connector housing and said at least one secured flared aperture holds said plate to said sidewall thereby minimizing stubbing of the ground plate when the mating face is received in the complementary connector.

Claim 5

A method of securing an externally mounted ground plate to an electrical connector including the steps of: providing a ground plate adapted to be disposed along at least one selected wall of a connector housing at a mating face thereof, said ground plate having at least one inwardly directed flared aperture proximate the leading edge thereof, said inwardly directed flared aperture being adapted to be received within a corresponding slot along the edge of a housing sidewall forming a rolled edge along the leading edge of said ground plate, said rolled edge being adapted to received with a cooperating recess in said selected housing wall; providing a recess in at least one selected wall at the mating face of a connector housing, said recess extending substantially the entire length of the mating face and adapted to receive said leading rolled edge of said ground plate; forming a pair of tabs to extend from said at least one ground plate member proximate the leading edge thereof and engagable with cooperating slots on end walls of said housing, said pair of tabs including outwardly extending locking lances which cooperate with said end wall slots to lockingly secure said at least one ground plate to said housing end walls; and securing said ground plate to said selected housing wall by lockingly engaging said ground plate tabs in said housing slots and by spreading the leading edge of the flared aperture outwardly by means of an appropriately shaped tool, thereby securing the leading edge of the ground plate to said housing along said mating face, whereby the overall dimensions of the mating face not being substantially increased thereby.

Claim 6

A method of securing an externally mounted ground plate to an electrical connector including the steps of: providing a ground plate adapted to be disposed along at least one selected wall of a connector housing at a mating face thereof, said ground plate having at least one inwardly directed flared aperture proximate the leading edge thereof, said inwardly directed flared aperture being adapted to be received within a corresponding slot along the edge of a housing sidewall forming a rolled edge along the leading edge of said ground plate, said rolled edge being adapted to received with a cooperating recess in said selected housing wall; providing a recess in at least one selected wall at the mating face of a connector housing, said recess extending substantially the entire length of the mating face and adapted to receive said leading rolled edge of said ground plate; forming a pair of tabs to extend from said at least one ground plate member proximate the leading edge thereof and engagable with cooperating slots on end walls of said housing, said pair of tabs including outwardly extending locking lances which cooperate with said end wall slots to lockingly secure said at least one ground plate to said housing end walls; and securing said ground plate to said selected housing wall by lockingly engaging said ground plate tabs in said housing slots and by spreading the leading edge of the flared aperture outwardly by means of an appropriately shaped tool, thereby securing the leading edge of the ground plate to said housing along said mating face, whereby the overall dimensions of the mating face not being substantially increased thereby.