Electrical connector shell and grounding spring therefor

摘要

An electrical connector includes a plastic housing having a plurality of cavities into which filter elements are inserted. The cavities communicate with a passage in which contacts are held such that the filter elements contact the electrical contacts. The filter elements are biased against the electrical contacts by a grounding spring having integral fingers extending into the cavities to provide an inwardly directed resilient biasing force when the grounding spring is secured to the connector by, for example, tabs which fit into slots in the dielectric housing. The grounding spring also includes a flange which fits over a mating flange on the housing and is sandwiched between the housing and a corresponding connector or electrical device when the connector is coupled with the corresponding connector or electrical device to thereby provide a direct and uninterrupted ground path from the filter element to the corresponding connector or electrical device. The filter elements may be chip capacitors, metal oxide varistor chips, or similar EMI protection elements.