JP2000251986A - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pair of electrical connectors capable of being mounted on substrates with a small pressure by an automatic mounting device. SOLUTION: This pair of electrical connectors 100, 200 are mounted on edges 310 of substrates 300 by an automatic mounting device, the centers G of gravity of the electrical connectors 100, 200 themselves are situated inside edge end faces 310a of the substrates 300 at least when they are mounted flexible positioning pins 400 planted near the centers of gravity of housings 110, 210 of the electrical connectors 100, 200 are press-fitted into fit holes 500 on the edge part 310 side of the substrates 300 with a pressure by the automatic mounting device, and satisfactory mounting by the automatic mounting device is made possible by the positions of the centers G of gravity and the flexibility of the positioning pins 400.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connector which can be stably mounted on a substrate by an automatic mounting apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electronic device, an electrical connector is often attached to a substrate (such as a printed substrate).

[0003] In mounting the electrical connector on the board, the size of the electrical connector itself has been reduced due to recent demands for downsizing of electronic devices and down-sizing. On the other hand, an automatic mounting apparatus has been used for mounting on the board. Improving productivity.

In this automatic mounting apparatus, when the electrical connector is positioned and simply dropped into a predetermined position on the substrate side, it can be easily handled.
A certain amount of pressing force is required for mounting on the electrical connector side by using positioning pins (press-fit pins) provided in advance on the edge of the board or the like.

[0005]

However, since the pressing force of the automatic mounting apparatus is generally small (about 1 kg), it may not be possible to cope with the case where the positioning pin is used.

Further, when the electrical connector is mounted on the edge of the board, a part of the electrical connector protrudes from the board side, so that depending on the position of the center of gravity of the electrical connector,
It is easy to become unstable during mounting work by automatic mounting equipment or during reflow at the time of soldering, and there is a possibility that the electrical connector may drop from the edge of the board or move from a predetermined position, etc. There are concerns about problems such as deterioration of bonding properties and poor bonding.

In particular, in recent years, due to the high functionality of electronic devices and the large amount of information processing in connection with peripheral devices, it is required that a large number of contacts (contacts) be built in the electrical connector side as well, and higher densification is achieved. As a result, the allowable space for one contact is becoming smaller, but since the entire connector tends to be larger, it is increasingly important to mount the electrical connector on the board in a stable mounting state. Is coming.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and can be mounted on the edge of the substrate with a small pressing force, and a stable mounting state can be obtained by setting the position of the center of gravity. It is intended to provide an electrical connector adapted to be used.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical connector mounted on an edge portion of a board by an automatic mounting apparatus, wherein at least the electrical connector itself has a center of gravity in the mounted state. A flexible positioning pin implanted in the vicinity of the center of gravity of the housing of the electrical connector and located inside the edge end face of the electrical connector is pressed into the fitting hole on the edge side of the substrate by the automatic mounting device. The electric connector is characterized by being press-fitted with the electric connector.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connector according to the first aspect, wherein a length of the positioning pin is shorter than a depth of a fitting hole on an edge portion of the substrate.

[0011]

1 to 5 show an electric connector according to the present invention. One of them is a plug type and the other is a socket type from the structure of a built-in contact.

As is clear from FIGS. 3 and 4, both the plug-type electrical connector 100 and the socket-type electrical connector 200 are made of resin-made housings 110 and 210 which are long in the width direction (vertical direction in the figure). And the housing 1
As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of upper and lower first contacts 120, 220 and a second contact 130,
230 are built in at a high density. Each of the electrical connectors 100 and 200 is connected to an edge 31 of a board 300 such as a printed board installed on the electronic device side.
0.

Further, any electric connector 1
1, the center of gravity G is designed and manufactured so as to be located on the edge 310 of the substrate 300 and inside the edge 310a, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, these electric connectors 10
As described later, 0 and 200 are stably maintained as they are when they are simply placed on the edge 310 of the substrate 300 by the automatic mounting apparatus. If the center of gravity G is the edge surface 310 of the substrate 300,
a, the electrical connectors 100, 20
When the 0 is to be placed on the edge 310 of the substrate 300, the balance is easily lost, and even a slight displacement may cause the electrical connectors 100 and 200 to be inclined, so that operation with extremely high precision is required. Become like

The first of the plug-type electrical connectors 100
The contact 120 is made of a metal stamped product or the like, and the contact portion 121 at the tip thereof is on the front side of the housing 110 (FIG. 2).
It is attached to the upper side of the holder part 112 which protrudes into the fitting part 111 consisting of the opening (middle left side), and the extended lead part 122 in the middle part is buried in the housing 110 and downward from its rear end. The bent rearmost end is joined to a terminal joint portion 320 made of a metal layer formed on the edge surface side of the substrate 300 as a terminal leg 123 having a pin shape (for example, a prismatic shape or a flat plate shape is also possible). It has become.

The second type of the plug-type electrical connector 100
The contact 130 is also made of a metal stamped product or the like, and the contact portion 131 at the tip thereof is on the front side of the housing 110 (FIG. 2).
It is attached to the lower side of the holder portion 112 which protrudes into the fitting portion 111 having the opening (middle left side), and an extended lead portion 132 at an intermediate portion thereof is embedded in the housing 110 and faces downward from its rear end. The rearmost end which is bent and hangs down is inserted into and joined to a through hole 330 formed on the edge side of the substrate 300 as a pin-like (for example, prismatic or round bar-shaped) terminal leg 133. .

On the other hand, the socket-type electrical connector 20
The first contactor 220 is also formed of a metal stamped product or the like, and the contact portion 221 at the tip thereof is formed in a bent shape and is formed of an opening on the front side of the housing 210 (the right side in FIG. 2). While protruding upward in the fitting portion 211,
The extended lead portion 222 in the middle portion is buried in the housing 210, and the rearmost end bent downward from the rear end is formed as a terminal leg 223 having a pin shape (for example, a prismatic shape or a flat shape). The terminal 300 is joined to a terminal joint 320 made of a metal layer formed on the surface of the edge.

The socket-type electrical connector 20
Also, the second contact 230 of No. 0 is made of a metal stamped product or the like, and the contact portion 231 at the tip thereof is formed in a bent shape and is formed of an opening on the front side of the housing 210 (the right side in FIG. 2). While protruding downward in the fitting portion 211,
The extended lead portion 232 in the middle portion is embedded in the housing 210, and the rearmost end that is bent downward from the rear end and hangs down is a pin-like (for example, prismatic or round bar-like) terminal leg 233. The substrate 300 is inserted into a through hole 330 formed on the edge side of the substrate 300 and joined.

Further, the two electric connectors 100, 20
For the second contactors 130 and 230 of No. 0, a plurality of groups (three types) having different lengths of the lead portions 132 and 232 are prepared, and thereby the pin-shaped terminal legs 133 and 233 hang down. Since the positions are different, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, even the through holes 330 on the substrate 300 side are arranged in a plurality of rows (three rows) corresponding to this positional shift.

Thus, each of the electrical connectors 100, 2
The number of the contacts 120, 130, 220, 230 in 00 is large and is built in at a high density, and it is necessary even if the space between adjacent contacts, especially the lower second contacts 130 and 230 is narrow. Through hole 330 on the substrate 300 side
Can be arranged without difficulty at a high density.

The insertion length of the pin-shaped terminal legs 133 and 233 of the second contacts 130 and 230 depends on the depth t of the through hole 330 on the substrate 300 side, as will be apparent from the reason described later. On the other hand, the length is set to 0.5t to 1.0t.

Each of the electrical connectors 100,
On the side of the housings 110 and 210 of the base 200, there are two places (not limited to these two places, three or more places are possible) near both edges in the width direction on the bottom surface side in contact with the substrate 300 side. In addition, near the center of gravity G of the connector itself (coincidence or its vicinity), as shown in FIGS.
Positioning pin (press-fit pin) 400 having more flexibility
And this is fitted into a fitting hole 500 drilled at a corresponding position on the substrate 300 side. Further, the length of the positioning pin 400 is equal to the length of the fitting hole 5.
00, that is, shorter than the thickness of the substrate 300.

Here, the thickness of the substrate 300, that is, the depth of the through hole 330 is represented by t, and the pin-shaped terminal legs 133,
If the insertion length of the 233 is h and the length of the positioning pin 400 is L, the length L of the positioning pin 400 is
0, and more preferably, the length L of the positioning pin 400 is longer than the insertion length h of the pin-shaped terminal legs 133, 233, and the insertion length h of the terminal legs 133, 233. Is preferably at least １ ／ (0.5 t) or more of the thickness t of the substrate 300 from the relationship with the bonding strength of the solder described later. That is, from these facts, it is preferable that the relation of t ≧ L and h ≧ 0.5t be established between the respective parts.

The positioning pin 400 is formed of a resin having a high elasticity or a metal material having a spring property.
As the specific shape, for example, FIGS.
The shape shown in FIG. In FIG. 7 (a), the split groove 410 has three places and the inner diameter d2 is larger and thinner than the outer diameter d1, and in FIG. 7 (b), it is almost the same as that of FIG. 7 (a). 7 (c), the thickness is almost the same as that of FIG. 7 (a), while the split groove 410 is provided at two places.
In addition, the shape and the number of split grooves of the positioning pin 400 of the present invention are not limited to these, and the thickness can be appropriately set.

Each of the electrical connectors 100,
In order to mount the connector 200 on the edge 310 of the substrate 300, the electrical connector 10 is positioned by the automatic mounting apparatus on the edge 310 of the substrate 300 installed substantially horizontally.
0 or 200 is lowered, and the positioning pin 400 described above is lowered.
Is fitted to the fitting hole 500 and pressed in this state, so that the electrical connector 100 or 200 is temporarily fixed to the substrate 300 side.

At this time, since the positioning pin 400 has a split groove 410 and is easily contracted inward due to its flexibility, the positioning pin 400 has a relatively small pressing force by the automatic mounting apparatus, for example, about 1 kg or less. It can be smoothly fitted into the fitting hole 500 by the force.
Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, if a tapered inclined surface (squared surface) 420 is formed on the outer periphery of the positioning pin 400 on the distal end side, a smoother fitting can be achieved. can get.

At this time, as described above, the center of gravity G of each of the electrical connectors 100 and 200 is
Because it is on the inner side of the edge end surface 310a with
Even if a simple mounting is performed by the automatic mounting apparatus, the same state is stably maintained. In other words, the balance is not easily lost, and it is possible to stably cope with a slight displacement, etc., and an operation with a very high accuracy is not required. In other words, high-speed mounting becomes possible.

Of course, by this fitting, each second contact 130 or 230 of the electrical connector 100, 200
Are inserted into predetermined through holes 330 on the substrate 300 side, while the pin-shaped terminal legs 123 or 223 of each first contact 120 or 220 are inserted.
Is mounted on the terminal joint 320. Here, the substrate 30
Solder cream is applied in advance to the 0-side through-hole 330 and the terminal joint 320. At this time, since the inside diameter (diameter) of the through hole 330 is 1 mm or less, there is no possibility that the solder cream falls from this hole. Further, around the through hole 330, a land portion for solder made of a metal layer is provided.

Thus, the electrical connector 100 or 2
When the substrate 300 on which 00 is temporarily fixed is passed through a high-temperature environment such as a heating furnace (infrared reflow furnace) by a reflow method, the solder cream melts at about 180 ° C., and the second contact 130 or 230 is melted. Pin-shaped terminal legs 133, 2
33 is solder-bonded to the land portion 331 of the metal layer provided in the through hole 330 shown in FIG. Is soldered to the terminal joint 320 on the side.

At the time of this soldering connection, the electric connector 100 or 200 is in a state where it is easy to move due to vibration at the time of reflow, for example, because the press-fit state of the temporarily fixed temporary fixing by the positioning pin 400 is loosened. However, as described above, since the center of gravity G of each of the electrical connectors 100 and 200 is located inside the edge end surface 310a of the substrate 300, the mounted state is stably maintained as it is, so that good bonding is achieved. The state is obtained. In particular, when the connector's own weight is light, the mounting state is likely to be unstable. However, by setting the center of gravity G inside the board, there is no displacement or the like.
Again, a stable bonding state is obtained.

In addition, at the time of the above-mentioned joining, at least the second contactor 130 or 230 side has pin-shaped terminal legs 133, 2
33 is inserted into the through hole 330 so that the positioning pin 4
Even if the temporary fixing force by 00 is small, a large joint strength can be obtained as a whole. In particular, when the pin-shaped terminal legs 133 and 233 of each of the second contacts 130 or 230 are staggeredly inserted into the through holes 330 arranged in a plurality of rows on the substrate 300 side as described above, a plurality of joint portions are formed. Since the lines are arranged in a row and the respective adjoining joints are appropriately separated from each other, the joints are joined in a wider area and a larger joint strength is obtained.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the substrates 300, 300 on which the electrical connectors 100, 200 are mounted are provided.
When mating the electrical connectors 100 and 200 with each other, a considerably large external force is applied. However, the external connector can withstand such external force sufficiently, does not rattle easily, and has a stable and reliable connection state. Is obtained.

Each of the second contacts 130 or 230
Since the joining portions of the pin-shaped terminal legs 133 and 233 are all on the back side of the substrate 300, they can be visually checked and the joining status can be easily confirmed.

Of course, as described above, the positioning pins 4
Since both the length of 00 and the insertion length of the pin-shaped terminal legs 133 and 233 of each second contact 130 or 230 are set shorter than the depth t of the through hole 330 on the substrate 300 side,
There is no need to cut after insertion or joining, and the effect of reducing the number of steps can be obtained. At the same time, there is no hindrance in the reflow method.

Incidentally, the present inventors conducted experiments on the pressing force (insertion force) and the holding force after insertion of each positioning pin 400 shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C by the automatic mounting apparatus. As a result, the results shown in Table 1 were obtained.

Here, the positioning pin 400 shown in FIG. 7A has an outer diameter d1 = 1.05 mm and d2 = 0.6 m.
m, the outer diameter d1 of the positioning pin 400 in FIG.
1.05 mm, d2 = 0.4 mm, and the outer diameter d1 = 1.05 mm and d2 = 0.
6 mm, the thickness of the substrate 300 was t = 1.2 mm, and the inner diameter of the fitting hole 500 was 1.0 mm.

[0037]

[Table 1]

From Table 1, the specific pressing force and holding force corresponding to the pin shape can be found. In the case of FIG. 7 (a) which is thin and has a particularly large flexibility, the holding force is small due to the small pressing force, while FIG. 7 (b) has a large thickness or a small number of grooves.
7 and FIG. 7 (c), it can be seen that the holding force is increased by an increase in the pressing force. In any case, all may be about 1 kg or less, and there is no problem in using the automatic mounting apparatus. The pin shape may be properly used depending on the combination of the weight of the connector to be used and the substrate to be used.

In the above embodiment, each of the electrical connectors 100 and 200 is attached to the edge 310 of the board 300, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a case where only one electrical connector is mounted on the edge 310 of the board 300 and the other electrical connector is connected to an internal cable or an external cable in the electronic device.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, the electrical connector according to the present invention has the following excellent effects.

(1) First, in the electrical connector according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the center of gravity is inside the edge of the substrate and the positioning pins have flexibility, In mounting, a small pressing force by the automatic mounting device can sufficiently cope. In particular, by setting the center of gravity inward from the end face of the substrate edge, the stability at the time of mounting by the automatic mounting apparatus is good, and the balance is not easily broken, so that it is possible to stably cope with a slight displacement or the like. . That is, the operation accuracy of the automatic mounting apparatus can be given a margin, and as a result, the mounting can be performed at a high speed, and an improvement in productivity can be expected.

(2) Next, in the electric connector according to the present invention, since the length of the positioning pin of the electric connector is shorter than the depth of the fitting hole on the edge portion of the board, it is not necessary to carry out the post-process. Good productivity can be obtained without the need for cutting and without interruption during reflow or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a state in which a plug type and a socket type of an electrical connector according to the present invention are opposed to each other.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in the state of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a plug-type electrical connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a socket type electrical connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an edge portion of a board on which each electrical connector of FIG. 1 is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a rear view showing an edge of the substrate of FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing some shapes of positioning pins in the electrical connector of FIG. 1;

8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a plug type and a socket type of the electric connector of FIG. 1 are fitted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100, 200 Electrical connector 110, 210 Housing 111, 211 Fitting part 120, 220 First contact 121, 221 Contact part 122, 222 Lead part 123, 223 Terminal leg 130, 230 Second contact 133, 233 Pin-shaped Terminal leg 300 Board 310 Board edge 310a Edge end face 320 Terminal joint 330 Through hole 400 Positioning pin 410 Split groove 420 Inclined surface 500 Fitting hole

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electrical connector mounted on an edge of a substrate by an automatic mounting device, wherein at least the electrical connector itself has a center of gravity inside an edge of an edge of the substrate in the mounted state, and the electrical connector. An electrical connector, wherein a flexible positioning pin implanted in the vicinity of the center of gravity of the housing is press-fitted into a fitting hole on an edge side of the substrate by a pressing force of the automatic mounting device. 2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein a length of the positioning pin is shorter than a depth of a fitting hole on an edge of the substrate.