Electrical connector having improved grounding member

An electrical connector assembly comprising:

• a receptacle connector and a plug connector adapted to be mated with each other, said receptacle connector including:
• a terminal module assembly including an insulative front tongue plate defining opposite upper and lower surfaces in the vertical direction, an insulative rear body located behind the tongue plate in a front-to-back direction perpendicular to said vertical direction, and dimensioned larger than the tongue plate in both the vertical direction and a transverse direction perpendicular to both said front-to-back direction and said vertical direction, and a middle step structure located in a boundary between the tongue plate and the body and dimensioned with a size between said tongue plate and the body in both said vertical direction and said body;
• and
• a metallic grounding collar applied upon at least two opposite upper and lower faces of the step structure;
• said plug connector including a metallic spring plate having at least a spring finger deflectable in a vertical direction;
• said grounding collar defining a grounding region defining a specific area corresponding to the spring finger during mating;
• wherein
• a confrontation edge of the grounding collar is rearwardly offset from a front edge of the step structure at said specific area in order to leave space for allowing the corresponding spring finger to slide on the step structure in the front-to-back direction with a distance before slide upon the grounding region, during mating.

A method of coupling a receptacle connector and plug connector, comprising steps of:

• providing the receptacle connector with a metallic shield enclosing a terminal module assembly, said terminal module assembly, said terminal module assembly including a front tongue plate extending, in a front-to-back direction, forwardly from a rear body, and contacting sections of upper and lower contacts being exposed upon two opposite upper and lower surfaces of the tongue plate in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction, and a step structure being formed at a rear root portion of the tongue plate, and a metallic grounding collar applied upon at least two opposite upper and lower faces of said step structure in the vertical direction,
• providing the plug connector with a metallic grounding plate with at least one spring finger;
• wherein
• during mating, the spring finger firstly slides on the step structure in the front-to-back direction with a distance and successively slides on the grounding collar to complete an internal grounding path.