JP2001203432A - Substrate-connecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate-connecting device which electrically connects substrates to each other, or connects the substrate to a connection terminal, without requiring excess space. SOLUTION: A substrate-connecting device is structured by an electrical substrate (connector substrate) 10 and a plurality of connectors 21, 22 having insertion ports 21b, 22b for inserting contactor terminals of another electrical substrates (not shown), and the substrate connecting device has a mounting structure that at least one of the plurality of connectors 21, 22 is shifted and mutual positions are relatively moved in vertical and aslant directions, so that when these connectors 21, 22 are mounted, the insertion ports 21b, 22b are directed longitudinally and they are disposed substantially in parallel and adjacent to each other on the electrical substrate 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a board connecting device including a connector for connecting an electric board and an electric board or an electric connection terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a technique relating to a board connection device in recent years, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-177203 teaches an example of mounting an electric component on a camera. In this example, a structure in which a rigid printed circuit board is mounted on a camera is proposed, and teaches that a plurality of connectors are used on a large flat surface for electrical connection. Such a conventional mounting technique is used for a wide range of electric devices.

[0003]

However, when a printed circuit board is incorporated in a device, the insertion opening of the connector for connecting the above-described connector connection portion requires a large space at the front thereof. If the connector connection portion is arranged near the edge of the mounting board or is arranged at the center of the mounting board, a large space is required at the center of the board.

[0004] Therefore, when a plurality of connectors are mounted on a substrate, there is a disadvantage that a large extra space is required only for that purpose, and that the arrangement of the connectors is restricted. In addition, a separate strip-shaped flat cable is required, and the routing of those cables becomes complicated, so that the inside of the electronic device main body becomes complicated, which causes poor contact and maintenance trouble. The problem described above was likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a board connecting device for electrically connecting boards or a board and a connecting terminal without requiring an extra space.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention takes the following measures. According to the first invention, there are provided an electric board and a plurality of connectors having insertion ports for inserting contact terminals of another electric board, and the plurality of connectors have the insertion ports oriented in the same direction. The electric board connecting device is mounted on the electric board adjacent to and substantially parallel to the electric board, and the electric board has a displacement means for displacing at least one of the plurality of connectors so that their relative positions can be displaced in parallel. I do.

According to the second invention, the first electric board,
A first connector mounted on the first electrical board, and a second connector mounted on the first electrical board adjacent to the first connector and parallel to the first connector. The present invention proposes an electric board connection device that has the first connector and the second connector that are installed so as to be relatively displaceable or relatively displaced. According to the third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of rectangular connectors and a notch are provided between these connectors, and the connectors are mounted in parallel with each other in the longitudinal direction and adjacent to each other. An electric board connecting device having a single electric board which allows relative movement of the electric board is proposed.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the gist of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments and modifications thereof. In FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an embodiment of the board connection device of the present invention developed. The board connection device exemplified here has an electric board 10 called a “connector board” having a connector having a plurality of contacts on a single electric board, and a first connector of the same type and size as shown in the drawing. Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FP)
C). The name "connector board" is derived from mounting a plurality of connector members on the end of the board, but may be a part of a main board or the like.

First connector 21 and second connector 22
Inside the connector, contact points 21a and 22a in the connector are arranged side by side, and an electronic device (for example, a camera) not shown
A first insertion board 31 and a second insertion board 32 which will be described later as different electric boards extending from other parts of the main body are inserted and inserted into the insertion opening 21b of the first connector 21 and the insertion opening 22b of the second connector 22, respectively. , And can be connected.

A specific description will be given of a state before the board connection device of this embodiment, which includes one connector board 10 and a plurality of connector members, is mounted in a camera. The connector board 10 has a flat surface as shown in FIG. A connector group 21a of the first connector 21 and a group 22a of connectors of the second connector 22 are arranged in tandem in a longitudinal direction based on a flexible printed circuit board that spreads like a circle. Is provided with a hole 13 cut out in an inverted “U” shape. The island 15 provided at the center adjacent to the hole 13 is provided with the first connector 2.
1 is a connector mounting area. In other words, the two rectangular first and second connectors 21 and 22 are mounted in parallel across the notch of a predetermined shape (in this case, an inverted U-shape).

On both sides adjacent to the hole 13, connecting portions 11a and 11b extend in parallel, and a mounting region for the second connector 22 is connected in parallel with the mounting region for the first connector 21 described above. Have been. These communication parts 11a, 11
b has a flexibility to be easily bent into a wave shape, an S shape, or a Z shape, serves as a displacement means having a displacement area that follows the deformation displacement, and displaces the connectors as described later (FIG. 2). Reference)).

Connector lead groups 18a and 18b projecting outward from the first and second connectors 21 and 22, respectively.
Are the land pattern groups 17a, 1 on the connector board 10.
7b. More specifically, the portions of the connector lead groups 18a and 18b extending to the outside of the connector are respectively land pattern groups 17a and 1 provided at the circuit end of a predetermined circuit pattern on the connector board 10.
7b is connected by soldering or conductive tape.

On the other hand, the parts which constitute the connector internal contact groups 21a and 22a and are continuously provided therein are contact terminals, and these contact terminals are respectively connected to the first and second connector insertion openings 21b and 21b at the time of connection. It serves as a movable contact point for first and second insertion substrates 31 and 32 described later that are inserted into the 22b.

FIG. 2 shows a mounting structure of the board connection device of this embodiment. As described above, the first and second insertion boards 31 and 32 extending from other electric circuits (not shown) are inserted into the first and second connector insertion ports 21b and 22b of each connector. At each end of the first insertion board 31 and the second insertion board 32 inserted into the first connector 21 and the second connector 22, respectively, a contact plate 31a, 32a and a reinforcing plate in front and back relation to the contact group are provided. Backing plates 31b and 32b are provided, and the end portions of these insertion substrates are flattened to facilitate the insertion operation.

The connector board 10 is slightly displaced in the vertical direction on a predetermined base (not shown) in a state where the two connecting members of the first connector 21 and the second connector 22 are parallel.
One (second connector 2)
2) is displaced downward and rearward and is relatively displaced so as to be obliquely below the other (first connector 21), and can be electrically connected to the first insertion board 31 and the second insertion board 32 as shown in the figure. State.

The first connector 21 and the second connector 2
If it is necessary to fix the device 2 to the device in this displaced state, it may be fixed to a base (not shown) using an adhesive or a double-sided tape. That is, the connectors are installed in a state where they are displaced relative to each other. Further, when attaching the connector board 10 to the device or the like, only one connector may be fixed and the other may be in a free state. That is, the respective connectors are installed in the device or the like in a relative displacement state. The same is true even when both connectors are left free.

The first connecting portion 11a and the second connecting portion 11b provided on the connector board 10 are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other so as to be shifted from each other, and a first connector mounting area (for the first connector 21). That is, the island portion 15) and the second connector mounting area for the second connector 22 are arranged in a substantially stepwise manner with their connector insertion ports 21b and 22b directed in the same longitudinal direction. A first insertion board 31 is connected to the first connector 21, and a second insertion board 32 is connected to the second connector 22 in the second connector mounting area, as shown in the drawing.

(Function and Effect 1) According to this embodiment, when a plurality of connector members are mounted on the same board, at least one of them can be relatively displaced, for example, parallel to the other connector member. are doing. That is,
A plurality of connector members can be displaced so as to form a step structure. With this configuration, when the connector board 10 according to the present embodiment is incorporated into the camera body, the two connector members, the first connector 21 and the second connector 22, are separated from each other to maintain a slight vertical difference. It can be installed in a small space that is vacant on a slope. Therefore, the extra space required in the conventional flat FPC mounting structure is not required, and the electrical connection between different substrates and between the substrate and the connection terminals can be achieved with a small space.

The first connector 21 and the second connector 2
The hole 13 between the holes 2 can be made as narrow as possible. For example, if the hole 13 is formed in a narrow slit having an inverted U-shape, the substrate area can be made smaller, and these two holes can be adjusted to the extent of displacement that fits the empty space in the device. The position of the two connector members can be arbitrarily adjusted.

Such a mounting structure is suitable when a space in the horizontal direction cannot be made large inside the electronic device.
For example, the structure is such that the connector board 10 can be incorporated by effectively utilizing a small space remaining in an oblique direction.

The above embodiment can be modified into a plurality of forms as follows. (Modification 1) FIG. 3 shows a mounting structure of a board connection device as Modification 1 of the above embodiment. The connector board 10 of this example is also housed in, for example, a camera, and the two connector members of the first connector 21 and the second connector 22 are vertically shifted to positions having different heights with a step. . However, in this example, the two connector members are arranged in a state where the vertical relationship is reversed and the two connector members are vertically displaced. Note that the planar shape of the connector board 10 of this example may be substantially the same as that of the above-described embodiment.

The first modification differs from the first embodiment in that
This is an example in which the first connector 21 and the second connector 22 are mounted so that their relative vertical positions are different from each other, and is also one of the forms of operation of the board of the embodiment. Specifically, one (the first connector 21) can be mounted by being displaced downward and rearward and being displaced in parallel so as to be obliquely below the other (the second connector 21).

Therefore, according to the first modification, the relative vertical relationship between the two connector members at the time of mounting has a degree of freedom that can be reversed if necessary, so that it is suitable for the space shape of the internal space of the device. In this case, the first and second insertion boards 31 and 32 can be electrically connected as shown in the drawing, as in the above-described embodiment.

(Modification 2) The following modifications may be made. For example, FIG. 4 shows a state in which the board connection device of Modification 2 is expanded. This example specifically shows that one of the features is that the in-connector contact groups 21a and 22a of the two connector members face each other and are displaced in the vertical direction (FIG. 5). reference).

When the connector board 10 is developed in a plane shape, the shape of the hole 13 formed by cutting out the board 10 has a substantially "D" shape, and a hole adjacent to the "D" is formed. A first connector 21 and a second connector 22 are arranged in parallel on two first and second island portions 15a and 15b provided at a distance L from each other in the longitudinal direction with the portion 13 interposed therebetween. You. And these two islands 15a and 1
Communication portions 11a and 11b are formed so as to communicate with each other. The two first and second insertion boards 31 and 32 are inserted into the in-connector contact groups 21a (22a) of the first and second connectors 21 and 22, respectively, as described above. .

FIG. 5 shows that the two first and second insertion boards 31 and 32 are the first and second connectors 21 and 21 of the second modification.
The state inserted in 22 is shown by a perspective view. Connector board 10
When the two first and second connectors 21 and 22 are vertically displaced, the connecting portions 11a and 11b can be displaced (bent) so that the first connector 21 is positioned obliquely above the second connector 22. is made of. Similarly, two first and second insertion substrates 31 and 32 horizontally face the in-connector contact groups (21a and 21b) of these two first and second connectors 21 and 22 as shown in FIG. m2 is added and inserted respectively.

The board connection device according to the second modification can be expected to have the same or better effects as those of the above-described embodiment and the first modification. That is, this example is convenient when you want to connect two insertion boards that intersect in the opposite direction to the connector, or when there is not much space at the front of the insertion port of each connector, for example, when assembling into a camera. It is. And easy and reliable installation becomes possible,
This is also useful in downsizing a small electronic device that does not have an extra horizontal space.

(Modification 3) Further, the following modifications may be made with respect to the orientation of the above-mentioned opposedly disposed connector members. FIG. 6 shows the mounting structure of the third modification.
In this example, the connector member of the same type and the same size (first,
The second connectors 21 and 22) are arranged so as to face each other on the connector board 10 such that the connector insertion ports 21b and 22b face each other. However, in this example, the up-down relationship between the two connector members is opposite to that in the above-described second modification, and the two connector members are arranged in a state shifted in the vertical direction. Note that the planar shape of the connector board 10 itself in this example may be substantially the same as the above-described embodiment or each of the modifications.

As shown in the figure, two first and second insertion boards 31 and 32 for interconnection with other circuit parts are inserted into the opposing connector contact groups 21a and 22a. Similarly, the two first and second insertion substrates to be inserted are provided with contact groups 31a and 32a and backing plates (reinforcement plates) 31b and 32b, respectively, in a front-to-back relationship.

As described above, the third modification is similar to the mounting structure illustrated in FIG.
This is an example in which the connectors 22 are mounted so that the relative vertical positions of the connectors 22 are different from each other. Specifically, one connector (the first connector 21) is displaced downward and rearward, and the other (the second connector 21) is displaced obliquely downward and rearward. Then, electrical connection with the first insertion board 31 and the second insertion board 32 having a degree of freedom as shown in the drawing can be performed. According to the third modification, the same effect as that of the second modification can be obtained.

As a specific example of mounting each of the above-described substrate connection devices on an electronic device, for example, a perspective view of FIG. 7 is used to attach an exterior member to a camera equipped with the substrate connection device according to the present invention. Show the previous appearance. In this camera, an electric element 60 and a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards on which ICs 62, 63 or other electric parts are mounted are connected to each other by the connector board 10, the predetermined insertion boards 31, 32, 31 ', 32' and the like. The camera body 100 is mounted and stacked on the base 50 in a state where the camera body 100 is connected via the camera, and a finder unit 70, a photographing lens 80, and other units directly related to photographing are built in.

More specifically, the first and second connectors 21 and 22
And the first and second connectors 21 ′ and 2, similarly to the board described in the above-described embodiment having a step structure connectable to the first and second insertion boards 31 and 32.
2 ′, each having first and second insertion substrates 31 ′, 3
The substrates described in Modification Example 1 having a step structure connectable to each of 2 ′ are incorporated in the first mounting section 20 and the second mounting section 20 ′ of the camera body 100, respectively.

By using such a plurality of types of board connection devices (connector boards) for electronic equipment, it is possible to compactly integrate a plurality of stacked connector groups in a slight gap inside the equipment in an aligned state. This eliminates the need for a large planar space, and reduces the complexity of conventional twisting and handling of flat cables and the like. Also,
If the board connection device of the exemplary embodiment or each modified example is used in combination as appropriate so as to correspond to individual gaps, it is possible to perform orderly connector connection even in a small gap generated inside a small electronic device. In addition, it is possible to incorporate various electric boards in a space-efficient manner without increasing the size of the housing of the electronic device.

(Other Modifications) An example of a connector board on which two connector members of the same type and the same size are mounted has been described.
The planar shape and size of the connector board, and the orientation, size, and number of connector members mounted on the board can be appropriately modified other than those illustrated. In the invention of the embodiment of the present invention, only one of the connecting portions 11a and 11b connecting the two connectors may be provided as long as there is a margin in the wiring conductive pattern. Therefore, in this case, the U-shaped hole and the E-shaped hole shown in the above description are formed as L-shaped notches.

Although the electronic device used as an explanation is a small camera, the board connection device of the present invention can be similarly applied to other electronic devices. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, the description has been given based on the embodiment and the plurality of modified examples. However, the present invention includes the following invention. (1) An electric board and a board contact insertion port for electrically connecting to another board, and a hole or notch provided in the electric board parallel to each other with the insertion ports oriented in the same direction. And a plurality of connectors mounted on the electric board adjacent to each other across the portions.

(2) A first electric board, a first connector mounted on the first electric board, and the electric board adjacent to the first connector on the first electric board. And a second connector mounted in parallel with the first connector so as to straddle the hole or notch provided in the electrical board connection device.

(3) A plurality of rectangular connectors, an electric board on which the plurality of connectors are mounted parallel and adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction, and at least one of the plurality of connectors provided on the electric board. And a displacement means capable of relatively moving in the thickness direction of the electric board connecting device.

(4) It is possible to provide an electric board connecting device, wherein the connectors are arranged substantially parallel and adjacent to each other, and these connectors are displaced and shifted from each other in the height direction.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a board connecting device capable of electrically connecting the boards or the board and the connecting terminal without requiring an extra space.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a development of an embodiment of a board connection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary perspective view showing a mounting structure of the board connection device of the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary perspective view showing a mounting structure of a board connection device as a first modification of the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a second modified example of the board connection device of the embodiment.
FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a mounting structure of a board connection device according to a second modification;

FIG. 6 is a third modification of the board connection device of the embodiment.
FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a camera body equipped with the board connection device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electric board (connector board), 11 ... Communication part (displacement means), 11a, 11b ... First and second communication parts, 13 ... Hole part (notch part), 15 ... Island part (central part mounting area) ), 15a: first island portion (first mounting region), 15b: second island portion (second mounting region), 17a, 17b: first and second land pattern groups, 18: connector lead, 18a, 18b: first and second connector lead groups, 20: first mounting portion, 21: first connector, 21a, 21b: internal contact group of connectors, 22: second connector, 31, 32: first, first 2 insertion board (other electrical board), 31a, 32a ... contact group, 31b, 32b ... backing board (reinforcement board), 60 ... electric element, 62, 63 ... IC, 70 ... finder unit, 80 ... taking lens, 100 ... the camera body.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electric board, comprising: a plurality of connectors each having an insertion port for inserting a contact terminal of another electric board; wherein the plurality of connectors face the insertion ports in the same direction. An electric board connection device mounted adjacent to and substantially parallel to an electric board, the electric board having a displacement unit that enables parallel displacement of at least one of the plurality of connectors with respect to each other. . A first electrical board, a first connector mounted on the first electrical board, and a first connector mounted on the first electrical board adjacent to the first connector. A second connector mounted in parallel with the connector, wherein the first connector and the second connector are installed so as to be relatively displaceable or relatively displaced. Board connection device. 3. A connector having a plurality of rectangular connectors and a notch between the connectors, wherein the connectors are mounted parallel to and adjacent to a longitudinal direction, and the plurality of connectors are relatively movable. And a single electrical board,
An electric board connection device, comprising: