JP2000100527A - Connector and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To exclude complication of the structure of an injection molding die, a rise in the cost of facilities, and troubles with position adjusting work, etc., due to a reduction in the interval of contact arrays in a connector. SOLUTION: A plug connector 10 is formed when a plurality of thin plate conductors 141-144 each constituting a contact 14 and a plurality of thin plate insulators 161-165 constituting a main body 16 are arranged parallel to one another and laminated alternately and fixed together. The plug connector 10 is a layered product having integrated base parts 22 and projecting parts 24, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of thin plate conductors 141-144 are exposed to the side end face 103 of the plug connector 10 and aligned and arranged. A pair of side end faces 103b of each projecting part 24 constitute a connecting surface 103b for electrically connecting each contact 14 of the plug connector 10 with each contact of a corresponding jack connector, and the side end face 103c of each base part 22 constitutes an approximately flat mounting surface 103c for surface mounting the plug connector 10 on a circuit board.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connector, and more particularly to a connector having a plurality of contacts and a main body fixedly supporting the contacts in a mutually insulated state. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing such a connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as electronic devices have become smaller and thinner, there has been a demand for miniaturization and reduction in height of various built-in electronic components. In accordance with such requirements, for example, a board connector used to electrically connect a pair of circuit boards to each other also requires a contact row for the purpose of reducing the occupied area on the board and increasing the line density. The pitch is being narrowed.

[0003] A conventional connector generally includes an electrically insulating body and a plurality of contacts which are press-fitted and fixed to a plurality of holes formed in the body. The main body is formed from a resin material through an injection molding process, and the contact is formed from a copper material through a press molding process. Therefore, the manufacture of a connector usually requires an injection mold and a press mold. Further, when assembling a plurality of contacts to the main body, an automatic assembling machine may be used.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a conventional connector,
As the pitch of the contact row is reduced, various problems to be solved have arisen. For example, it is necessary to design the body so as to reliably prevent short-circuiting between adjacent contacts,
As a result, the structure of the injection mold tends to be complicated, and it tends to be difficult to maintain the molding accuracy. In addition, since the hole wall portion of the main body is necessarily thin, there is a fear that when a plurality of contacts are assembled to the main body, damage such as a crack may easily occur in the hole wall portion sandwiched between adjacent contacts.

In the conventional connector, when manufacturing connectors having different numbers of contacts and different arrangement pitches, a plurality of types of injection molding dies are required for manufacturing a body having a different shape, and equipment costs are relatively high. Tend to be. Furthermore, in order to accurately mount the connector on the circuit board, the tips of the leads extending from the main body of the multiple contacts assembled to the main body are aligned on the same plane while preventing short circuits. In some cases, a position adjustment operation is required. Such a position adjustment operation becomes complicated and requires skill as the arrangement pitch of the contacts is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of narrowing the pitch of contacts corresponding to the miniaturization of electronic equipment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that can effectively eliminate various problems such as damage to a hole wall portion of a main body, a rise in equipment costs, and a complicated position adjustment operation. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing such a connector.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of contacts and an electrically insulating main body fixedly supporting the contacts in a mutually insulated state. In the connector provided, the plurality of contacts are formed of a plurality of thin plate conductors, the main body is formed of a plurality of thin plate insulators, and the plurality of thin plate conductors and the plurality of thin plate insulators are alternately and parallelly stacked. Provided is a connector having a body structure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the connector according to the first aspect, wherein the plurality of thin plate conductors and the plurality of thin plate insulators are fixed to each other with an adhesive. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the connector according to the first or second aspect, at least one end surface of the laminate is a connector connection surface, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of thin plate conductors are exposed on the connector connection surface. An aligned connector is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the connector according to any one of the first to third aspects, at least one end face of the laminate is a board mounting surface, and
Provided is a connector in which outer peripheral surfaces of a plurality of thin conductors are exposed and aligned. An invention according to claim 5 is a method for manufacturing a connector comprising a plurality of contacts and an electrically insulating body for fixing and supporting the contacts in a mutually insulated state, wherein the plurality of thin plate-shaped conductor materials are provided. And a plurality of sheet-shaped insulator materials are alternately and parallelly laminated to form a laminated base material, and the laminated base material is cut into a desired shape, and a plurality of sheet conductors and a plurality of sheet insulators are alternately formed. And a method for manufacturing a connector, characterized in that a laminated body formed by laminating in parallel with each other is formed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a connector according to the fifth aspect, a plurality of conductor materials and a plurality of insulator materials are fixed to each other with an adhesive to form a laminated base material. Provide a way. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a connector according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the cut surfaces of the plurality of conductor materials are exposed and aligned on at least one end surface of the laminate, and the cut surfaces are arranged on the cut surfaces. Provided is a manufacturing method in which a plating process is performed. According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the connector manufacturing method according to any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, wherein the manufacturing method includes separating the laminate at a desired lamination position.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 (a)-(c) show a plug (male) connector 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
(C) shows a jack (female) connector 12 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The plug connector 10 includes a plurality of contacts 14 and an electrically insulating main body 16 for fixing and supporting the contacts 14 in a mutually insulated state. Similarly, the jack connector 12 includes a plurality of contacts 18 and the contacts 1
8 having an electrically insulating body for fixing and supporting each other in a mutually insulated state
And

The plug connector 10 includes a plurality of thin plate conductors 141 to 144 each forming a contact 14 and a plurality of thin plate insulators 161 to 165 forming a main body 16.
By arranging them in parallel with each other and alternately stacking them one by one and fixing them to each other, a laminate having a substantially T-shaped planar shape as shown in the figure is formed. This laminate is made of a thin plate insulator 1
The upper end face 101 and the lower end face 102 parallel to each other defined by 61 and 165, respectively, and the upper end face 10
1 and a plurality of side end faces 103 substantially orthogonal to the lower end face 102
And On each of the side end surfaces 103, the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of thin plate conductors 141 to 144 and the plurality of thin plate insulators 1
The outer peripheral surfaces of 61 to 165 are arranged alternately and in parallel with each other. Therefore, the thin plate conductors 141 to 144
And only the outer peripheral surfaces of the thin plate insulators 162 to 164 are exposed to the respective side end surfaces 103.

The plug connector 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped base portion 22 forming a T-shaped arm portion and an upright protruding portion from substantially the center of one side end surface 103a of the base portion 22, and has a T-shaped leg portion. And a substantially rectangular parallelepiped protruding portion 24 is integrally provided. The protrusion 24 includes a pair of side end surfaces 103b that are orthogonal to the side end surfaces 103a of the base 22 and extend parallel to each other. These side end faces 103b are plug connector 1
0 of each contact 14 and each contact 1 of the jack connector 12
8 and a connector connection surface 103b (hereinafter, simply referred to as a connection surface 103b) for electrically connecting each of them. Further, a side end surface 103c opposite to the side end surface 103a of the base portion 22 has a substantially flat board mounting surface 103c (hereinafter, referred to as a facing surface) which is arranged to face the circuit board when the plug connector 10 is surface-mounted on the circuit board described later. (Hereinafter simply referred to as a mounting surface 103c).

The jack connector 12 has a plurality of thin plate conductors 181 to 184 each forming a contact 18 and a plurality of thin plate insulators 201 to 205 forming a main body 20 arranged in parallel with each other. By alternately laminating them and fixing them to each other, a laminate having a substantially U-shaped planar shape as shown in the figure is formed. The laminated body includes upper and lower end surfaces 121 and 122 parallel to each other defined by thin plate insulators 201 and 205, and a plurality of side end surfaces 1 substantially orthogonal to the upper and lower end surfaces 121 and 122, respectively.
23. On each of the side end faces 123, the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of thin plate conductors 181 to 184 and the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of thin plate insulators 201 to 205 are arranged alternately and parallel to each other. Therefore, the thin plate conductors 181 to 1
84 and the thin plate insulators 202 to 204 are exposed only at their outer peripheral surfaces to the respective side end surfaces 123.

The jack connector 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped base 26 forming a U-shaped bottom portion and a pair of ends extending from both ends of one side end surface 123a of the base 26 to form a U-shaped arm portion. And an extension 28 of the same. These extensions 28 intersect with the lateral end faces 123a of the base 26,
A pair of side end surfaces 123b extending in a convex shape symmetrical to each other.
Is provided. The side end faces 123b are elastically deformable connector connection faces 123b (hereinafter simply referred to as connection faces 123b) for electrically connecting the contacts 18 of the jack connector 12 and the contacts 14 of the plug connector 10, respectively.
). Also, the side end surface 12 of the base 26
The side end face 123c opposite to 3a is a substantially flat board mounting surface 123c (hereinafter simply referred to as the mounting surface 123c) that is disposed to face the circuit board when the jack connector 12 is surface-mounted on a circuit board described later. Constitute.

A projection 24 of the plug connector 10 is provided between the connection surfaces 123b of the two extension portions 28 of the jack connector 12.
Is defined. And preferably, the interval α between the apexes of the two connection surfaces 123b which are closest to each other is the two connection surfaces 1 of the protrusion 24 of the plug connector 10.
03b is slightly smaller than the interval β. Due to this dimensional relationship, the protrusion 24 of the plug connector 10 is pressed into the receiving portion 30 of the jack connector 12.
At this time, both connection surfaces 123b of the jack connector 12 are slightly elastically deformed due to the shape thereof, and the thin plate conductors 141 to 144 of the jack connector 12 are turned into the thin plate conductors 181 to 184 of the plug connector 10 at a desired contact pressure. Contact

That is, each contact 1 of the plug connector 10
4 is each thin conductor 14 exposed on the pair of connection surfaces 103b.
The outer peripheral surface portions of 1 to 144 function as contact portions for slidingly contacting the contacts of another connector to form an electrical connection. Similarly, each contact 18 of the jack connector 12 is connected to each of the thin conductors 181 to 18 exposed on the pair of connection surfaces 123b.
The outer peripheral surface portion of 4 functions as a contact portion. In order to establish an accurate electrical connection between the plug connector 10 and the jack connector 12, each of the thin plate conductors 141 to 144 and each of the thin plate conductors 181 to 181 are connected between the connection surface 103 b and the connection surface 123 b of both. 184 must be precisely aligned with each other. To enable such alignment,
For example, it is preferable that at least one connector is provided with a guide structure for accurately guiding the other connector to a predetermined interconnection position.

As will be described later, the plug connector 10
Each contact 14 has an outer peripheral surface portion of each of the thin plate conductors 141 to 144 exposed on the mounting surface 103c serving as a lead portion fixedly connected to an electrode pad on the surface of the circuit board.
Similarly, in each contact 18 of the jack connector 12, an outer peripheral surface portion of each of the thin plate conductors 181 to 184 exposed on the mounting surface 123c functions as a lead portion. Therefore, in order to establish accurate electrical connection between the plug connector 10 and the jack connector 12 and the corresponding circuit board, it is preferable to provide a positioning structure for accurately positioning both connectors on the circuit board.

Next, a method of manufacturing the plug connector 10 and the jack connector 12 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a plurality of thin plate-shaped conductor materials 32 made of, for example, phosphor bronze and a plurality of thin plate-shaped insulator materials 34 made of a resin material are alternately stacked in parallel with each other. Then, the laminated base material 3 shown in FIG.
6 is formed. At this time, the adjacent conductor material 32 and insulator material 34 are fixed to each other by, for example, an adhesive 38. Subsequently, the laminated base material 36 is subjected to, for example, laser fusing,
By means of wire cutting, press punching, etc., FIG.
(B) is cut into a desired shape as indicated by a broken line. As a result, two stacked bodies, that is, the plug connector 10 (FIG. 1) and the jack connector 12 (see FIG. 1) are arranged from one laminated base material 36 so that the cut surfaces of the plurality of conductive materials 32 are exposed and arranged on the side end surfaces. FIG. 2) is formed.

As means for cutting the laminated base material 36, punching with a press die is most advantageous in consideration of mass productivity. However, in this case, there is a risk that the "slump" of the insulator material 34 may occur on the side end surface of the cut laminate, that is, the cut surface, to cover the cut surface of the conductor material 32. Therefore, at least the connection surface 103b and the mounting surface 103c of the plug connector 10 and at least the connection surface 123b and the mounting surface 1 of the jack connector 12
23c is desirably subjected to finish processing in order to eliminate such dripping of the insulator material 34.

Further, since the copper material is exposed on the cut surface of each conductor material 32 on the side end face of the cut and formed laminate, there is a fear that damage such as corrosion may occur if the copper material is left as it is. Therefore, each of the thin plate conductors 141 to 141 of the plug connector 10
144 and the outer peripheral surface of each of the thin plate conductors 181 to 184 of the jack connector 12 are at least connected to the connection surface 103.
b, 123b and mounting surfaces 103c, 123c,
It is desirable to perform plating. Such plating treatment is performed by using a resin material having a property that is difficult to perform plating on the insulator material 3.
4 and is carried out by an electroless plating step after the cutting step. In the electroless plating process, each thin plate conductor 1
On the outer peripheral surfaces of 41 to 144 and 181 to 184, for example, an underlayer of nickel and an uppermost layer of gold are formed.

In the above-described manufacturing method, the laminated base material 36 can be formed by using a larger number (for example, 100) of conductor materials 32 and insulator materials 34. in this case,
After cutting and forming a laminate having a desired shape from the laminate base material 36, the laminate is separated into several pieces at desired lamination positions, whereby a connector having a desired number of cores (that is, the number of contacts) can be manufactured. . Such a separation step is performed by the adhesive 38
This is an operation for separating the adhered surfaces from each other, and can be performed relatively easily by hand, depending on the type of the adhesive 38.

As described above, the connector according to the present invention is formed by alternately laminating a plurality of thin plate conductors and a plurality of thin plate insulators. That is, the arrangement pitch of the thin plate conductors can be freely changed, and the narrow pitch can be easily promoted. Moreover, unlike the conventional structure where the contact is inserted into the hole in the body,
Even when the pitch is narrowed, the adjacent contacts are reliably insulated by the thin plate insulator, and the contacts are surely prevented from being damaged by the contacts.

[0024] Further, with regard to manufacturing, a press mold for a contact, an injection mold for a main body, and an automatic assembling machine are unnecessary, and moreover, just by cutting and separating a laminated base material into a desired shape, various shapes and numbers of cores are required. Since a connector can be obtained, an increase in equipment cost can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the lead portions of the plurality of contacts are constituted by the outer peripheral surface portions of the thin conductors exposed on the substantially flat mounting surface of the connector, the position adjustment work of the lead portions is unnecessary, and the connector is mounted on the circuit board. Surface mounting can be performed accurately only by positioning with.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a jack connector 40 according to still another embodiment of the present invention, together with the plug connector 10 of FIG. The jack connector 40
A substantially rectangular parallelepiped base 42 and one side end face 40 of the base 42
3a, a pair of extending portions 44 extending substantially upright from both ends.
And are integrally provided. The jack connector 40 has substantially the same laminate structure as the jack connector 12 of FIG. A detailed description of such identical components will be omitted.

A pair of extension portions 44 of the jack connector 40
Are bent in a direction approaching each other on their free end sides and extend in a plane-symmetrical convex shape with respect to each other.
3b is defined. The side end surfaces 403b are elastically deformable for electrically connecting the contacts 46 of the jack connector 40 (see FIG. 5B) and the contacts 14 of the plug connector 10 (FIG. 1). Connector connection surface 4
03b (hereinafter, simply referred to as a connection surface 403b). Further, a side end surface 403c opposite to the side end surface 403a of the base 42 has a substantially flat board mounting surface 403c (hereinafter, referred to as a face) which is arranged to face the circuit board when the jack connector 40 is surface-mounted on the circuit board described later. (Hereinafter simply referred to as a mounting surface 403c).

The projections 24 of the plug connector 10 are provided between the connection surfaces 403b of the two extensions 44 of the jack connector 40.
Is defined. And preferably, the interval α between the apexes of the two connection surfaces 403b which are closest to each other is the two connection surfaces 1 of the protrusion 24 of the plug connector 10.
03b is slightly smaller than the interval β. Due to this dimensional relationship, the protrusion 24 of the plug connector 10 is pressed into the receiving portion 48 of the jack connector 40.
At this time, the free ends of both extension portions 44 that define both connection surfaces 403b of the jack connector 40 are slightly elastically deformed as shown by the arrow F in the figure due to their shapes. As a result, each thin conductor (not shown) of the jack connector 40 is brought into contact with each thin conductor 18 of the plug connector 10 at a desired contact pressure.
1-184 (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the plug connector 10 and the jack connector 40 are surface-mounted on the circuit boards 50 and 52 via the mounting surfaces 103c and 403c, respectively. In this state, the protrusions 24 of the plug connector 10 are press-fitted into the receiving portions 48 of the jack connector 40, whereby the two circuit boards 50 and 52 are arranged in parallel with each other and are electrically connected to each other. At this time,
Between the plug connector 10 and the jack connector 40,
The respective contacts 14, 46 are accurately aligned with each other (FIG. 5B).

Each circuit board 50, 52 has a surface 50
a, 52a, a plurality of contacts 1 of each connector 10, 40
A plurality of electrode pads 54 are formed corresponding to the arrangement of 4, 46 (FIG. 5C only for the jack connector 40).
Shown). A solder paste 56 is applied to each electrode pad 54 in advance. At the time of mounting, the connectors 10 and 40 are connected to their mounting surfaces 103c and 403c by the circuit board surface 50.
a and 52a are mounted on the circuit boards 50 and 52 so as to be substantially parallel to each other, and the exposed outer peripheral surface portions of the respective contacts 14 and 46 are accurately brought into contact with the respective electrode pads 54. In this state, each of the connectors 10 and 4 is subjected to a well-known reflow soldering process and the like.
0 is surface-mounted on each of the circuit boards 50 and 52.

It is needless to say that the jack connector 40 having the above configuration has the same operation and effect as the jack connector 12 described above. Further, in the jack connector 40, the free ends of both the extension portions 44 can be more easily elastically deformed.
The connection work with is facilitated. 2 can be surface-mounted on a circuit board in the same manner as the jack connector 40.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in a connector capable of narrowing the pitch of contacts corresponding to the miniaturization of electronic equipment, the structure of the injection mold accompanying the narrowing of the pitch. Problems such as increased complexity, damage to the hole wall portion of the main body, increased equipment costs, and complicated position adjustment work can be effectively eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view of a plug connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is an upper perspective view, (b) is a lower perspective view, and (c).
It is an upper side plan view.

FIG. 2 is a view of a jack connector according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is an upper perspective view, (b) is a lower perspective view, and (c) is an upper plan view.

3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a method of manufacturing the plug connector of FIG. 1 and the jack connector of FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 3A is an exploded perspective view of a laminated base material, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a combination of the plug connector of FIG. 1 and a jack connector according to still another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3A is a plan view before interconnection, and FIG. 3B is a plan view after interconnection.

5A and 5B are diagrams showing a surface mounting type of the plug connector and the jack connector of FIG. 4 together with a corresponding circuit board, and FIG.
It is a front view after interconnection, (b) a side view after interconnection, and (c) an enlarged side view of a mounting surface portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Plug connector 103 ... Side end surface 103b ... Connection surface 103c ... Mounting surface 12, 40 ... Jack connector 123, 403 ... Side end surface 123b, 403b ... Connection surface 123c, 403c ... Mounting surface 14, 18, 46 ... Contact 141, 142, 143, 144, 181, 182, 1
83, 184: Thin-plate conductors 16, 20: Body 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 201, 2
02, 203, 204, 205 ... thin plate insulator 32 ... conductor material 34 ... insulator material 36 ... laminated base material 50, 52 ... circuit board

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A connector comprising: a plurality of contacts; and an electrically insulating body for fixedly supporting the contacts in a mutually insulated state, wherein the plurality of contacts comprise a plurality of thin conductors,
The connector, wherein the main body is formed of a plurality of thin plate insulators, and has a laminated structure in which the plurality of thin plate conductors and the plurality of thin plate insulators are alternately and parallelly stacked. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of thin plate conductors and the plurality of thin plate insulators are fixed to each other with an adhesive. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein at least one end surface of the laminate is a connector connection surface, and outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of thin plate conductors are exposed and aligned on the connector connection surface. connector. 4. The laminate according to claim 1, wherein at least one end surface of the laminate is a substrate mounting surface, and outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of thin plate conductors are exposed and aligned on the substrate mounting surface. 2. The connector according to item 1. 5. A method of manufacturing a connector, comprising: a plurality of contacts; and an electrically insulative body for fixedly supporting the contacts in a mutually insulated state, comprising: a plurality of thin plate-shaped conductor materials; Alternately and in parallel with each other to form a laminated base material, cutting the laminated base material into a desired shape, and alternately and parallelly forming a plurality of thin plate conductors and a plurality of thin plate insulators. A method of manufacturing a connector, comprising: forming a laminated body formed by laminating a connector. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of conductor materials and the plurality of insulator materials are fixed to each other with an adhesive to form the laminated base material. 7. The connector according to claim 5, wherein cut surfaces of the plurality of conductor materials are exposed and aligned on at least one end surface of the laminate, and the cut surfaces are plated. Production method. 8. The method for manufacturing a connector according to claim 5, wherein the laminate is separated at a desired lamination position.