JP2000030780A - Connector for printed wiring board - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a locking mechanism properly functioning in the time of mounting, and permitting smooth vertical movement of an alignment plate loaded so as to move vertically to a housing. SOLUTION: This connector for printed wiring board is provided with an insulating housing 2, plural contacts 3 mounted to the housing 2 and having lead parts 3a projecting downwards from a bottom part 5 of the housing 2, and an alignment plate 4 having plural perforated holes into which the lead parts 3a of the contacts 3 are inserted to be aligned and held, and loaded so as to move vertically to the housing 2. Slide posts 16 and lock beams 17 are separately and prominently provided to both ends of the alignment plate 4. The slide posts 16 are formed higher than the lock beams 17, and are contained in void spaces 11 formed inside guide bosses 10 provided to both ends of the housing 2 so as to slide vertically. The lock beams 17 are elastically constituted, and locking nails 22 provided to the upper ends of them lock on locking projections 26 formed on side walls of the guide bosses 10, thus the alignment plate 4 is loaded so as to move vertically to the housing 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrical connector mounted on a printed wiring board, and more particularly, to an electrical connector which can easily and surely be inserted into a through hole of a printed wiring board by aligning and holding lead portions of contacts. The present invention relates to an improvement in a connector for a printed wiring board provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of connector is disclosed in, for example,
7711, JP-A-8-213118, JP-A-4-179078 and the like,
An insulating housing, a plurality of contacts disposed in the housing, the leads protruding below the bottom of the housing, and a plurality of through holes provided through the leads of the contacts for alignment and holding. And an alignment plate that is mounted to be movable up and down with respect to the housing. By having the alignment plate, the lead portions of the plurality of contacts are aligned and held, so that the lead portions of the printed wiring board can be easily inserted into the through holes. In addition to being able to be inserted accurately, it not only enables automatic mounting of multi-pole electrical connectors on printed wiring boards, but also effectively prevents lead parts from being damaged or bent during inspection and transport of electrical connectors. It is.

[0003] In order to exhibit the above-mentioned excellent effects, a slide function for smoothly moving the alignment plate up and down with respect to the housing, and fixing the alignment plate to the housing at a mounting position are required. It is necessary to have a lock function for holding.

[0004]

However, in each of the above-described conventional connectors, one lock beam (or engagement piece) protruding from both ends of the alignment plate has a sliding function and a locking function. Have been. That is, since the lock beam (or the engagement piece) itself provided with the lock claw at the upper end is configured elastically, the slide function for moving the alignment plate up and down with respect to the housing has insufficient strength. There was a problem. Conversely, if the strength of the lock beam (or the engagement piece) is increased in order to ensure the sliding function, the lock function requiring elasticity is reduced, and the lock at the mounting position may be incomplete.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and separates a member having a sliding function from a member having a locking function so that both functions can be sufficiently exhibited and the vertical movement of the alignment plate can be smoothly performed. It is another object of the present invention to provide a printed wiring board connector having a good locking function.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an insulating housing, a plurality of contacts disposed in the housing, and having a lead portion projecting below a bottom of the housing. A printed wiring board connector, comprising: a plurality of through holes that penetrate and hold the lead portions of the contacts, and an alignment plate that is mounted to be vertically movable with respect to the housing. A slide post and a lock beam are separately protruded from both ends of the alignment plate, and the slide post is formed higher than the lock beam and formed inside guide bosses provided at both ends of the housing. The lock beam is resiliently accommodated in the formed space, and the lock beam is elastically configured, and a lock claw provided at an upper end is provided on a side of the guide boss. It engages a locking projection provided on a surface, wherein the alignment plate is attached to the movable state up and down relative to the housing.

Here, the lock beam has an upper lock claw and a lower lock claw provided apart from each other in a vertical direction,
A lock projection provided on a side wall surface of the guide boss is engaged between the upper lock claw and the lower lock claw, and the alignment plate is vertically movably mounted on the housing. It is preferable that the movement of the lock claw is completed by the lock claw getting over the lock protrusion and the lock claw is mounted.

The lower portion of the wall formed between the side wall surface of the guide boss and the cavity portion below the bottom is formed as an elastic plate-like piece having a lower end as a free end. When the lock projection is provided at the lower end of the side wall surface of the piece,
A good locked state is obtained at the mounting position. In this case, it is preferable that the elastic plate-like piece is elastically formed by forming the wall surface on the side of the cavity portion into a tapered surface, thereby gradually reducing the thickness downward.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show a connector for a printed wiring board according to the present invention. The connector 1 includes an insulating housing 2, a number of contacts 3 disposed on the housing 2, and a plurality of contacts 3 having lead portions 3 a protruding below a bottom 5 of the housing 2.
And an insulative alignment plate 4 which is mounted below the bottom 5 and is movable up and down.

The housing 2 is formed of a liquid crystal polymer,
Two rows of recesses 6,6 for receiving mating connectors (not shown)
Are provided to open upward with a central partition wall 7 interposed therebetween, and a housing space portion 8 in which the alignment plate 4 is fitted so as to be freely fitted is formed below the bottom portion 5. A guide boss 10 having an inclined surface 9 for guiding a mating connector is provided at both ends of the housing 2. Inside the guide boss 10, a space 11 for accommodating a slide post 16 of the alignment plate 4 described later is formed. A lock beam 1 of an alignment plate 4 to be described later is provided on a bottom 5 adjacent to the guide boss 10.
A fitting hole 12 into which the fitting 7 is fitted is provided. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the housing 2 is covered with a shell 13 formed by punching and bending a thin metal plate.

The contact 3 is formed by punching and bending a conductive metal sheet such as phosphor bronze.
A lead portion 3a which penetrates through the bottom 5 and projects downward and is inserted into a through hole of a printed wiring board (not shown);
A contact portion 3b is provided at a constant pitch along opposing side wall surfaces of the concave portion 6 of the housing 2 and contacts a contact of a mating connector (not shown).

The alignment plate 4 is formed of a liquid crystal polymer similarly to the housing 2, and as shown in FIG. 4, through holes for penetrating and holding the leads 3a of the respective contacts 3. A rectangular plate-shaped main body 14 provided with a pair of slide beams 16 and two lock beams 17 protruding from surfaces of both ends of the plate-shaped main body 14 (surfaces facing the bottom 5 of the housing 2). , 17. In addition, positioning posts 18 are protrudingly provided on the rear surfaces of both ends of the plate-shaped main body 14. Slide post 16
Is formed higher than the lock beam 17 and the alignment plate 4
When the slide post 16 is inserted into the cavity 11 of the housing 2 and accommodated below the bottom 5 of the housing 2, the outer wall 19 of the slide post 16 perpendicular to the plate-shaped main body 14 is empty. The inner wall surface 20 of the part 11 is in sliding contact with the inner wall surface 20 and can be moved up and down smoothly.

On the other hand, the two lock beams 17, 17
Each of the lock beams 17 is formed as an elastic beam having an upper end as a free end, with the elongated holes 21 provided adjacent to the inside of the slide post 16 being separated from each other and located on both sides of the slide post 16. The upper lock claw 22 is elastically attached to the plate-shaped main body 14 and has an upper lock claw 22 protruding toward the slide post 16 at the upper end. The lower ends of both lock beams 17, 17 have a common lower lock claw 2
3 is provided so as to extend over both lock beams 17,
A part of the lower lock claw 23 extends to the inner wall of the elongated hole 21.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the wall formed between the side wall surface 24 of the guide boss 10 and the cavity 11 is located below the fitting hole 12 provided in the bottom 5. The located wall portion is formed on an elastic plate-like piece 25 that fits into the long hole 21 of the alignment plate 4 at the time of mounting, and the lower end edge of the elastic plate-like piece 25 is shared with the upper lock claw 22 of each lock beam 17. Is provided with a lock projection 26 which engages with the lower lock claw 23 of the boss. The elastic plate-shaped piece 25 has a tapered wall surface 27 on the side of the cavity portion 11 to gradually reduce its thickness downward to form an elastic beam having a lower end provided with the lock projection 26 as a free end. , Elastically configured.

When the alignment plate 4 is mounted on the housing 2 of the connector 1 having the above structure, the lead portions 3a of the contacts 3 provided on the housing 2 are connected to the plate-like main body 1 of the alignment plate 4.
4 while being aligned and held through the through hole 15 provided in
The slide posts 16 at both ends of the plate-shaped main body 14 are inserted into the space 11 of the guide boss 10 and
7 and the lock projection 2 of the elastic plate-like piece 25.
6, and the plate-shaped main body 14 is accommodated in the accommodation space 8 below the bottom 5 of the housing 2 so as to be freely fitted. At this time, since the lock beam 17 and the elastic plate-like piece 25 are elastically configured, the upper lock claw 22 easily climbs over the lock projection 26 and is properly and securely engaged. Further, the outer wall 19 of the slide post 16 is slidably in contact with the inner wall surface 20 of the cavity 11 so that the alignment plate 4 can be smoothly moved up and down with respect to the housing 2.

The connector 1 in which the alignment plate 4 is mounted so as to be movable up and down with respect to the housing 2 until it is mounted on a printed wiring board as shown in FIGS.
As shown in (b), the lock projection 26 is located on the upper lock claw 2.
2 and the lower locking claw 23 are relatively movably locked in the vertical direction. At this time, the lead portions 3a of the contacts 3 are aligned while being held in the through holes 15 of the alignment plate 4. Accordingly, the lead portion 3a can be prevented from being damaged or bent during transportation or handling of the connector 1, and when the connector 1 is mounted on the printed wiring board, the printed wiring board is held in a posture in which the lead portions 3a are aligned and held. Can be accurately inserted into the through hole.

In order to mount the connector 1 on the printed wiring board, positioning posts 18 projecting from the rear surfaces of both ends of the alignment plate 4 are used.
Is inserted into a positioning hole provided in the printed wiring board to determine the position, and then the connector 1 is pressed toward the printed wiring board. Due to this pressing, the plate-shaped main body 14 of the alignment plate 4 relatively moves to the bottom 5 side of the housing 2, and the lead portions 3 a of the contacts 3 are aligned and held by the through holes 15 of the plate-shaped main body 14, and Accurately inserted into through hole. Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, as the plate-shaped main body 14 moves to the bottom 5 side, the lower lock claw 23 of the lock beam 17 rides over the lock protrusion 26 and is locked on the upper surface of the lock protrusion 26. Then, the movement is completed and the device is mounted. At this time, since the lock beam 17 and the elastic plate-like piece 25 are both elastically configured, the lower lock claw 23 easily gets over the lock projection 26 and is securely locked.

Although the top type embodiment in which the connector is inserted and removed in the vertical direction with respect to the printed wiring board has been described above, the present invention can be implemented in other forms.
Various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims. For example, a similar effect can be obtained in a side type embodiment in which a connector is inserted and removed in a direction parallel to a printed wiring board.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention,
As a means for attaching an alignment plate that is vertically movable with respect to the housing of the connector, a slide post and a lock beam are separately provided at both ends of the alignment plate, so that the alignment plate can be moved up and down smoothly. At the same time, a good lock function is obtained. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the alignment plate is securely locked during mounting.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, both the lock beam of the alignment plate provided with the lock claw and the plate-shaped piece on the housing side provided with the lock protrusion with which the lock claw is engaged. Because it is constructed elastically,
The engagement between the lock claw and the lock protrusion can be performed extremely smoothly and reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a printed wiring board connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of the alignment plate.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the housing.

6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of a main part showing a state where the alignment plate is vertically movably engaged with the housing of the connector.
(C) is a principal part sectional view showing the locked state of the alignment plate with respect to the housing when the connector is mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 2 Housing 3 Contact 3a Lead part 3b Contact part 4 Alignment plate 5 Bottom part 8 Accommodation space part 10 Guide boss 11 Vacancy part 12 Fitting hole 14 Plate body 15 Through hole 16 Slide post 17 Lock beam 18 Positioning post 21 Length Hole 22 Upper lock claw 23 Lower lock claw 24 Side wall surface of guide boss 10 Elastic plate-like piece 26 Lock protrusion 27 Tapered wall surface

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An insulating housing, a plurality of contacts disposed in the housing, the leads protruding below the bottom of the housing, and a plurality of through holes penetrating through the leads of the contacts and holding the contacts. A printed wiring board connector comprising: an alignment plate mounted to be movable up and down with respect to the housing. The slide post is formed higher than the lock beam, and is accommodated in a space formed inside a guide boss provided at both ends of the housing so as to be slidable up and down. The beam is elastically configured, and a lock claw provided on an upper end is engaged with a lock protrusion provided on a side wall surface of the guide boss, so that the alignment plate is A connector for a printed wiring board, which is mounted to be movable up and down with respect to a housing. 2. The lock beam has an upper lock claw and a lower lock claw provided vertically separated from each other, and a lock protrusion provided on a side wall surface of the guide boss is provided with the upper lock claw and the lower lock claw. And the alignment plate is mounted in a vertically movable state with respect to the housing, and the lower lock claw rides over the lock projection, thereby completing the movement and entering the mounted state. The printed wiring board connector according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An elastic plate-like piece having a lower end as a free end, wherein a lower portion of said wall formed between a side wall surface of said guide boss and said space portion is formed at a lower end as a free end. The printed wiring board connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock projection is provided at a lower end of a side wall surface of the piece. 4. The elastic plate-like piece is characterized in that a wall surface on the side of the cavity portion is formed as a tapered surface, so that the elastic plate-shaped piece gradually decreases in thickness downward and is elastically configured. The printed wiring board connector according to claim 3.