JP4910538B2 - Module connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a module connector, and more particularly to a module connector for connecting a game machine module to a printed wiring board.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic device such as a game machine includes a printed wiring board therein, and an electronic component such as a game machine module is attached to the printed wiring board. In addition, since electronic components that are vulnerable to heat cannot be directly attached by soldering, they are connected to a printed wiring board using a module connector. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  Thus, the module connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a bowl-shaped housing having a module receiving recess that is open on the top surface, a contact terminal provided on the housing, and a fixing means for the module stored in the module receiving recess. The contact terminal is formed by bending an elastic metal plate approximately 180 ° to have one end portion as a terminal portion and the other end portion being elastically contacted and electrically coupled to the contact portion of the module. .

  Further, the contact terminals are arranged in parallel to the left and right of the bottom plate center portion from the respective contact terminal insertion holes provided at both ends of the bottom plate of the module receiving recess so as to confront the bent portion. The bent portion is inserted, and the contact portion of each contact terminal is formed in an inverted octagonal shape that is expanded to the left and right, and corresponds to each contact portion of the module accommodated in the module accommodating recess. The contact portion of the contact terminal is configured to be elastically connected.

  Further, the module connector described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a module locking tool as a fixing means for the module accommodated in the housing, and the module locking tool has an upper end portion of the elastic metal plate 180. ° Bend to form a bent part, and the lower end part is bent at a right angle to form a fixed piece, and the bent part forms a slit from the bent part to the tip, The two spring portions are divided and formed to have an independent spring structure, and a first locking piece and a second locking piece having different heights are formed at the tip portions of the spring portions. ing. Further, the first and second locking pieces are formed with a sliding portion inclined downward, and the lower end portion of the sliding portion is formed substantially horizontally to be a locking portion having a different height. Yes.

Thus, the module locking tool is inserted from the four module locking tool insertion grooves. At this time, the module locking tool is press-fitted and inserted into the fixing grooves provided on the inner side surfaces of the left and right side plates of the housing, and after the insertion, the module locking tool is fixed to a printed circuit board or the like by the fixing piece.
JP 2003-92168 A

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the contact terminals are provided in two rows facing each other, and the contact terminals constituting each row are extended into the housing from different directions facing each other. And inserted into the housing. For this reason, a slight dimensional error may occur between the two rows during manufacturing. Even a slight difference in dimensions can have a significant effect on product assembly.

Also, due to the dimensional error between the two rows, there is a difference in the elastic force in each row, and when the module is inserted into the housing, the uniform elastic contact force cannot be obtained in the module, Since the means for fixing the module cannot be obtained, the module accommodated in the housing is liable to tilt or rattle, and in the worst case, there is a problem of causing poor electrical contact with the contact terminal.

  Furthermore, the module locking tool as the module fixing means has a very complicated structure, and the module locking tool cannot be expected to reliably and properly fix the module accommodated in the housing. There is also.

  Therefore, there is a technical problem to be solved in order to obtain a uniform elastic contact force on the module, and to suppress the inclination and backlash in the housing of the module. It aims at solving.

The present invention has been proposed in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, and the invention according to claim 1 includes a saddle-shaped housing having a module housing portion with an open front surface, contact terminals provided on the housing, and a module housing portion. a module connector comprising a fixing means of the module to be accommodated,
A connector for a module in which contact terminals are arranged on the inner surface of a back plate forming a part of the module housing portion, in parallel with a pair of left and right side plates forming a part of the module housing portion, and in a horizontal row from the same direction. In
The module connector employs a vertical type that is mounted upright on a printed wiring board, and the outer surface of the bowl-shaped housing is covered with a metal shield case, and the left and right lower ends of the shield case. The module connector is provided with a fixing piece protruding in parallel with the lead portion of the contact terminal .

  According to this configuration, when the contact terminals are inserted into the housing, the plurality of contact terminals are arranged in parallel with the left and right side plates forming a part of the module housing portion and in the horizontal direction from the same direction. It is possible to set the plurality of contact terminals in a state where the plurality of contact terminals are commonly held by one positioning tool and positioned with high accuracy. As a result, the dimensional accuracy is improved, and an even and appropriate elastic contact force can be applied from the plurality of contact terminals to the contact portion of the module.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a module connector in which each of the contact terminals has a contact portion of the contact terminal arranged in a horizontal row at the center of the inner surface of the back plate in the module housing portion.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to apply a uniform elastic contact force to the contact portion of the module from a plurality of contact terminals arranged in a row in the center portion of the inner surface of the back plate that forms a part of the module housing portion. it can.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a module connector in which the contact terminal is arranged such that an elastic force is applied in a direction perpendicular to an inner surface of a back plate forming a part of the module housing portion.

  According to this configuration, since the elastic force is imparted from the contact terminal to the contact portion of the module from the back plate that forms a part of the module housing portion toward the front surface side from the plurality of contact terminals, A uniform and appropriate elastic contact force can be applied to the contact portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the module is inserted into the module housing portion, the module is elastically deformed and pushed into recesses provided on the inner side surfaces of the left and right side plates of the housing forming a part of the module housing portion. Is inserted to a predetermined position in the module housing portion, it is released from the recesses provided in the left and right side plates by elastic restoring force and engages with a locking portion provided at the front end portion of the module, and the module is connected to the module receiving portion. Provided is a module connector in which elastic holding pieces formed so as to be fixed in a receiving portion are provided at four corners of the inner side surface of the left and right side plates of the housing.

  According to this configuration, the module inserted into the module housing portion can be prevented from coming off by the elastic holding piece and the locking portion, and the module can be securely held in the module housing portion.

  The invention according to claim 5 provides a module connector in which the elastic holding piece is integrally formed of the same member as the shield case covering the housing.

  According to this configuration, the elastic holding pieces are integrally formed of the same member as the shield case, thereby holding the four corners of the module accommodated in the housing with an equal pressing force.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of contact terminals can be simultaneously positioned and provided with a predetermined dimensional accuracy with respect to the housing. Elastic contact force can be applied, and the inclination and backlash of the module inserted into the module housing portion can be suppressed at the same time, thereby improving the reliability of the product.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to apply an equal and appropriate elastic contact force to the contact portion of the module from a plurality of contact terminals. It is possible to improve the reliability of the product by suppressing the inclination and backlash of the module inserted in the unit.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the elastic contact force can be applied more uniformly from the contact terminal to the contact portion of the module than in the substantially perpendicular direction, the module is accommodated similarly to the effect of the first or second aspect of the present invention. It is possible to improve the reliability of the product by suppressing the inclination and backlash of the module inserted in the unit.

  In the invention according to claim 4, the module inserted into the module housing portion can be securely held by the elastic holding piece and the locking portion, so that the module can be securely held. In addition to the effects of the invention, the quality as a module connector is improved, and the reliability can be further improved.

  Since the invention according to claim 5 can reduce the number of assembly parts, the cost can be reduced in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 4, and the four corners of the module accommodated in the housing can be equally pressed. Since it is held, tilting and backlash in the housing of the module can be suppressed, and the quality performance as a connector can be further improved.

  Hereinafter, the module connector of the present invention will be described with reference to preferred embodiments. In order to achieve the object of obtaining a uniform elastic contact force on a module and suppressing inclination and rattling in the module housing portion of the module, A module connector comprising a contact terminal provided in the housing and a fixing means for the module housed in the module housing portion, wherein the contact terminal is formed on the inner surface of the back plate forming a part of the module housing portion. This is realized by providing a module connector which is parallel to a pair of left and right side plates forming a part of the housing portion and arranged in a horizontal row from the same direction.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a module connector of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the module connector 1 of the present embodiment is an example of a vertical type that is mounted upright on a printed wiring board (not shown), and includes a housing 2. A plurality of contact terminals 3, 3... Are disposed inside the housing 2, and the outer surface of the housing 2 is covered with a metal shield case 4.

  The housing 2 is an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin, and includes a rectangular back plate 2a, an upper plate 2b, a bottom plate 2c, left and right side plates 2d, 2e extending forward from the periphery of the back plate 2a. The back plate 2a, the upper plate 2b, the bottom plate 2c, and the left and right side plates 2d and 2e define a bowl-shaped open front module housing portion 5 having a substantially square shape.

  A fitting groove 6 extending from the open end toward the back plate 2a is formed in the left and right central portion of the inner surface of the bottom plate 2c, and a locking projection 7 is provided on the outer surface of the upper plate 2b and the left and right side plates 2d and 2e. It has been. A plurality of terminal grooves 8, 8... Are formed in the back plate 2a along the inner surfaces of the left and right side plates 2d, 2e in parallel in the vertical direction. Each of the terminal grooves 8, 8... Is provided with contact terminals 3, 3,..., And a part of each of the terminal grooves 8, 8. 3 is formed in a state of passing through the back plate 2a in the front-rear direction.

  The contact terminal 3 is formed by processing an elastic metal conductive plate. When the housing 2 is formed, the contact terminal 3 is inserted with the lead terminal portion 3a protruding outward from the bottom plate 2c and integrated with the housing 2. Is done. At the time of the insert molding, each contact terminal 3, 3 ... is a positioning tool (not shown) on the bottom plate 2c side, and the main body portion 3b having the lead terminal portion 3a is parallel to the inner surfaces of the left and right side plates 2d, 2e, and The main body 3 b is arranged in the vertical direction along the terminal groove 8. Each of the contact terminals 3, 3... Has an elastic pressure contact arm 3c formed by folding the free end of the main body 3b into a substantially U shape, and has an arcuate shape toward the front side at the free end of the elastic pressure contact arm 3c. The contact portion 3d is formed so as to protrude from the top. As shown in FIG. 2, the contact portions 3d of the contact terminals 3, 3... Are arranged in a row in the module housing portion 5 at the center in the vertical direction of the back plate 2a.

  The shield case 4 is formed by integrally processing a metal plate material, and is attached so as to cover the opening end surface and the outer surface of the upper plate 2b of the housing 2. The upper holding portion 4b having a substantially inverted L shape in side view, and left and right side plates The opening end faces of 2d and 2e and left and right clamping parts 4d and 4e having a substantially inverted U shape in side view and attached to cover the inner side face and the outer side face are integrally provided. The shield case 4 is attached to the housing 2 so as to be covered from the front side, but should not be limited thereto.

  Further, the upper clamping part 4b and the left and right clamping parts 4d and 4e of the shield case 4 are latched corresponding to the above-described locking projections 7 formed on the upper plate 2b and the left and right side plates 2d and 2e, respectively. Each of the holes 10 is provided, and when the shield case 4 is attached to the housing 2, the engaging protrusion 7 is engaged with the engaging hole 10, whereby the shield case 4 is stably attached to the housing 2. Furthermore, elastic holding pieces 12, 12, 12, 12 are provided at the four corners of the module housing portion 5 in the module housing portion 5 through notches 11, 11 formed in the upper and lower portions of the left and right clamping portions 4 d, 4 e. It has been. A locking claw 13 is formed at the free end of each elastic holding piece 12 and is bent obliquely toward the inner wall surfaces of the left and right side plates 2d, 2e facing each other. On the other hand, a fixed piece 14 projects from the left and right lower end portions of the shield case 4 in parallel with the lead portion 3a of the contact terminal 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, a module 15 attached to a printed wiring board (not shown) using the module connector 1 includes a rectangular wiring board 16 (also serving as a locking portion). A lens sheet 17 is fixedly disposed on the upper surface of 16. In addition, press contact grooves 18 are formed at four corners on the upper surface of the wiring board 16, and a fitting protrusion 20 that fits into the fitting groove 6 on the housing 2 side faces outward on the lower outer surface. Projected.

  6 to 8 show a use state in which the module 15 is attached to the module connector 1. A mode in which the module 15 is attached to the module connector 1 according to FIGS. 6 to 8 will be described below. First, when the module 15 is attached to the module connector 1, the module 15 is inserted into the module housing portion 5 from the wiring board 16 side with the fitting groove 6 and the fitting projection 20 corresponding to each other. When the module 15 is inserted into the module housing portion 5, the side wall of the wiring board 16 is brought into pressure contact with the elastic holding pieces 12, 12... At the four corners, and the locking claws 13 of the elastic holding piece 12 are attached to the elastic holding pieces 12. Due to the elastic deflection, the module 15 can be inserted into a predetermined position by being temporarily pushed into the notch 19 of the housing 2 and released.

  When the module 15 is inserted to a predetermined position and the wiring board 16 exceeds the tip of the locking claw 13, the locking claw 13 is returned toward the module 15 by the elastic restoring force of the elastic holding piece. As shown in FIG. 7, the locking claws 13, 13, 13, 13 are in pressure contact with the four pressure contact grooves 18, 18, 18, 18 formed on the outer wall surface of the module 15, respectively. While sandwiching both side surfaces, the module 15 is prevented from swinging, and the distal end portion of each locking claw 13 is engaged with the wiring board 16 also serving as a locking portion, thereby preventing the module 15 from coming off. Thus, the contact portion 3d of the contact terminal 3 is brought into pressure contact with the contact portion provided on the bottom surface of the wiring board 16 of the module 15 to be electrically connected, and signal transmission between the module connector 1 and the module 15 is performed. Is achieved.

  In this mounted state, as shown in FIG. 8, the contact terminal 3 is elastically deformed so that the main body 3b is moved into the elongated hole 9, and the contact 3d is elastic substantially vertically from the back plate 2a to the front. A force is applied and the module 15 is brought into pressure contact with the contact portion. However, the position of the pressing force applied from each contact terminal 3, 3... Is a position aligned in a row in the center of the back plate of the module housing portion 5. At this position, the module 15 receives an equal contact force. It will be.

  As a method of loading the contact terminals 3, 3... Substantially perpendicularly from the back surface of the module housing portion 5 to the front surface side with respect to the contact portion of the module 15, the above-described embodiment is applied. Should not be limited to the structure. Each contact terminal 3, 3... Is inserted into the housing 2, inserted into the housing 2 with the roots of each contact terminal 3, 3... Connected, and when the insertion is completed, the connecting portion is cut and removed. By doing so, the contact terminals can be simultaneously inserted into the housing 2.

  Therefore, according to the module connector 1 of the present embodiment, the plurality of contact terminals 3, 3... Are parallel to the inner wall surfaces of the left and right side plates 2d, 2e of the module housing portion 5 and in the same direction in a horizontal row. That is, since it extends from the back plate 2a side, insert molding is performed with a plurality of contact terminals 3, 3... Held by one positioning tool (not shown) at the time of insert molding to the housing 2. Is possible. Thereby, the dimensional accuracy with respect to the housing of each contact terminal 3,3 ... improves, and it is possible to reliably apply an even elastic contact force to the contact portion of the module 15 from the plurality of contact terminals 3,3 .... Therefore, it is possible to expect an improvement in quality performance as a module connector by suppressing the inclination and backlash of the module 15 inserted into the module housing portion 5.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention naturally extends to the modified ones.

The perspective view of the connector for modules shown as one embodiment of the present invention. The front view of a connector same as the above. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 2. The perspective view of the electronic component which shows an example of the module used for the connector for modules of this invention. The front view of the connector for modules shown in the use condition which attached the electronic component shown in FIG. CC sectional view taken on line CC in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in FIG. 6.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Module connector 2 Housing 2a Back plate 2b Top plate 2c Bottom plate 2d Left side plate 2e Right side plate 3 Contact terminal 3a Lead part 3b Body part 3c Elastic pressure contact arm 3d Contact part 4 Shield case 5 Module accommodation part 6 Fitting groove 7 Engagement Stop projection 8 Terminal groove 12 Elastic holding piece 13 Locking claw
14 fixed piece 15 module 16 wiring board

Claims (5)

And Masugata housing having a module receiving portion of the front opening, and the contact terminals arranged on the housing, a module connector comprising a fixing means of modules housed in the module housing section,
A connector for a module in which contact terminals are arranged on the inner surface of a back plate forming a part of the module housing portion, in parallel with a pair of left and right side plates forming a part of the module housing portion, and in a horizontal row from the same direction. In
The module connector employs a vertical type that is mounted upright on a printed wiring board, and the outer surface of the bowl-shaped housing is covered with a metal shield case, and the left and right lower ends of the shield case. The module connector is characterized in that a fixed piece protrudes in parallel with the lead portion of the contact terminal .   2. The module connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact terminals of the contact terminals are arranged in a horizontal line at the center of the inner surface of the back plate in the module housing portion.   3. The module connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact terminal is disposed so that an elastic force is applied in a direction perpendicular to an inner surface of a back plate forming a part of the module housing portion.   When the module is inserted into the module housing portion, the module is elastically deformed and pushed into recesses provided on the inner side surfaces of the left and right side plates of the housing forming a part of the module housing portion, and the module is placed in a predetermined position in the module housing portion. When it is inserted, it is formed so that it can be detached from the recesses provided on the left and right side surfaces by an elastic restoring force and engaged with a locking part provided at the front end part of the module so that the module can be fixed in the module housing part. 4. The module connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic holding pieces are provided at four corners of the inner surface of the left and right side plates of the housing.   5. The module connector according to claim 4, wherein the elastic holding piece is formed integrally with the same member as the shield case covering the housing.

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