JP2001332344A - Electric connector and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an electric connector in which fitting operation is easy and fitting which is sure and with a good precision is made possible. SOLUTION: This is the electric connector in which on the first substrate 3a which forms a plug 3 and on the second substrate which forms a socket 5, the first guides 7g, 5g, to respectively perform guiding of a wide range and the second guides 3h, 5h which perform guiding of a narrow range by succeeding the guide by the first guides 7g, 5g have been correspondingly installed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an electrical connector for making electrical connections between circuits and devices, and a method of manufacturing the same. In particular, the present invention relates to a minute electrical connector having a high terminal density and suitable for a very small connector, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of semiconductor IC technology, the development of small, lightweight, high-performance electronic devices using the semiconductor IC technology is urgent. Along with this, there is a demand for further miniaturization of the connection connector used in the device. The minimum pitch of a connector formed by press working or injection molding is about 300 micrometers, and a smaller connector is demanded.

Recently, a micro connector having a pitch of 80 micrometers has been manufactured on a trial basis using a LIGA process based on processes such as X-ray lithography, plating, and mold formation. Regarding the circumstances in this area, see JP-A-10-18916
This is described in No. 8. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-18916
No. 8 itself proposes a pin connector of a superposition type as a micro connector in view of its strength.

[0004]

However, in the electric connector proposed so far, especially when the plug and the socket need to be controlled on the order of micrometers when the plug and the socket are connected, it is necessary to make the connection easy. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector capable of performing an easy and accurate and reliable fitting operation and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an electric connector according to the present invention comprises a first substrate forming a plug and a second substrate forming a socket.
A first guide for performing a wide range of guidance, a plurality of electrode terminals, and a second guide for inheriting the guidance of the first guide and performing a narrow range of guidance on the second substrate and the second substrate, respectively. Provided. Thereby, fitting can be easily performed by guiding the first guide, and accurate and reliable fitting can be performed by the second guide.

In addition, if the second guide and the plurality of electrode terminals are provided correspondingly on the first substrate and the second substrate by collective processing, the electrode terminals and the second terminals are provided. Since the positional relationship between the guides can be formed with high precision, more accurate fitting of the plug and the socket can be obtained.

[0008] Further, the guiding range of the first guide is
By setting the guide range in the millimeter order and the guide range in the second guide to the micrometer order, it is possible to provide a highly accurate electrical connector that can be easily fitted. Here, the millimeter order is considered to be in the range of 1 to 0.1 millimeter, and the micrometer order is considered to be in the range of 100 to 1 micrometer.

Also, the plug side of the first guide is set as the inner surface of the housing on the first board, and the socket side is set as the side face of the second board, so that the guide range of the first guide can be widened. Can also be simplified.

Further, if an elastic portion is formed on the side surface of the fitting portion of the second guide, a dimensional error in manufacturing the second guide and a second
It is possible to flexibly cope with a positional error between the guide and the electrode terminal.

Further, one of a plurality of electrode terminals formed on the first substrate and the second substrate may be of a fork shape type to obtain an operational feeling represented by a clicking feeling. It is possible, and it is also possible to lengthen the effective fitting length.

Further, a method of manufacturing an electrical connector is described in which a second guide for performing a narrow range of guidance by inheriting the guidance of a first guide for performing a wide range with a plurality of electrode terminals for a plug and a socket on the same substrate. If the guide is formed by batch processing and then the same substrate is separated into the first substrate and the second substrate, the first substrate and the second substrate are manufactured under the same conditions, so that the precision And the manufacturing efficiency can be improved.

(Operation) A plug connected to a printed circuit board or the like and a socket connected to a wiring lead or the like face each other, and both first guides are brought into contact with each other to start fitting.
By the guidance of the first guide, both rear second guides are fitted, and guided by the second guide, the electrode terminals on the plug and the socket are contact-connected.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 5 show the configuration of an embodiment of the electrical connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the entire structure of the electric connector.
(A) is a plan view, (b) is an elevation view. FIG. 1 shows a product formed on the first substrate by making the first substrate transparent. 2 to 4 show components of the electrical connector of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a housing, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a plug body, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a socket body. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory perspective view of the plug in which the plug, the socket, and the housing are combined, with a first substrate partially cut away. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the plug of FIG. 3 and the socket of FIG. 4 are arranged so that the surfaces on which the electrode terminals are formed face each other.

The electrical connector 1 comprises a plug 3 and a socket 5
Consists of The plug 3 forms the electrode terminals 3e and the second guides 3h, 3h on the first substrate 3a by batch processing, here a microprocess, and fixes the housing 7 separately prepared. The socket 5 is collectively processed on the second substrate 5a, here, the electrode terminal 5e is formed by a microprocess.
And second guides 5h, 5h. The side surfaces 5g, 5g of the second substrate 5a in this example also have a function as a first guide.

Each of the first guides 7g provided on the housing 7 has a slope portion 7c, and the first guide 5g of the socket 5 is inserted by being guided by the slope portion 7c. The guide range of the first guide 7g is on the order of millimeters, for example, ± 350 micrometers (700 micrometers in range), or ± 500 micrometers (1000 in range).
(Micrometers). The second guide 3h on the side of the plug 3 has a U-shape here, and the second guide 5h on the side of the socket 5 opposed thereto has a slope portion 5i at both ends, and fits into the second guide 3h of the plug 3. Guided together. The slope portion 5i is formed such that the guide range of the second guide 5h is on the order of micrometers, for example, ± 100 micrometers (200 micrometers in range). Electrode terminal 3 of plug 3
e is a flat pin shape, and the electrode terminal 5e on the socket 5 corresponding thereto has a fork shape at the tip. As a result, an electrode terminal structure having a long effective fitting length with an insertion feeling (click feeling) can be obtained.

The first substrate 3a and the second substrate 5a are here made of a silicon substrate, on which the electrode terminals 3
e, 5e and the second guides 3h, 5h are formed with high precision by a microprocess described later. Housing 7
Is made of an alumina substrate, on which first guides 7g, 7g are integrally formed.

The arrangement of the first guide, the second guide, and the electrode terminals is such that when the socket is inserted into the plug, contact is started in this order.

At the time of use, both the plug 3 and the socket 5 have the input ends of the electrode terminals connected to other wires. Here, the plug 3 is connected to the printed circuit board 9 and the socket 5.
Shows an example in which is connected to the wiring lead 11.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the second embodiment in which the shapes of the second guides 3h and 5h in the above embodiment are changed. FIG. 6 shows only one pair of second guides. The other pair of second guides is symmetric or the same shape. FIG.
(A) shows the state before the fitting of the second guide 30h on the plug and the second guide 50h on the socket, and (b) shows the state after the fitting. The second guide 50h has a hole 51 penetrating through the side surface of the fitting portion and a lower portion of one side surrounding the hole raised from a substrate (corresponding to a sheet of paper in this case) so as to protrude outward.
An elastic portion 52 having 2a is provided. By doing this,
When the second guides 30h and 50h are fitted as shown in (b), the elastic portion 52 bends toward the hole 51, and the position of the second guide 50h is determined based on the inner surface 31 of the second guide 30h. . Since the fitting error can be absorbed by the elastic portion 52 and the surface on the side opposite to the elastic portion 52 can be used as a reference, positioning by fitting can be surely performed.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a third embodiment in which the shapes of the second guides 40h and 60h in the second embodiment are further changed. FIG. 7 shows only two pairs of second guides arranged on the left and right of the electrode terminals of the electrical connector. FIG. 7 shows a state before the second guide 40h on the plug and the second guide 60h on the socket are fitted. The second guide 60h has two through holes 61,
61 and a lower portion of one side surrounding each of these holes is lifted from a substrate (corresponding to a sheet of paper in this case), and a projection 62 is protruded outward.
The elastic part 62 having a is provided. In this way, when the second guides 40h and 60h are fitted, the elastic portion 62
Is bent toward the hole 61, and the inner surface 41 of the second guide 40h is bent.
, The position of the second guide 60h is determined. Since the fitting error can be absorbed by the elastic portion 62 and the surface on the side opposite to the elastic portion 62 can be used as a reference, positioning by fitting can be surely performed. In the example of FIG. 7, a plurality of (two in this case) elastic portions 62 are provided on each second guide 60h, which is also effective for stability of positioning after fitting and prevention of separation of the plug and the socket.

The elastic portion shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 can be provided not on the second guide on the socket side but on the second guide on the plug side.

Next, a method for manufacturing the above electrical connector will be described.

FIG. 8 shows a manufacturing process of the electrode terminal and the second guide.

The electrode terminals on the plug side and the socket side and the second guide are simultaneously formed on one silicon substrate, and then separated into a plug and a socket by a wafer cutting device such as a dicer. As a result, a connector having a placement accuracy and a fitting accuracy that is not affected by subtle changes in process conditions can be obtained. In the mass production process, a plurality of plugs and sockets are simultaneously formed on one silicon substrate.

(1) A silicon substrate is prepared, and in steps 1 to 3 of FIG. 8, after removing a natural oxide film, a silicon oxide film is formed on the surface.

(2) In order to make the electrode terminal contact portion (fork-shaped portion) of the socket elastic and movable, a gap is provided between the contact portion bottom surface and the substrate. Therefore, a sacrificial layer is formed in steps 4 to 16 in FIG. First, Cr / Ni is deposited as an electroforming seed layer for the sacrificial layer, the electrode terminals, and the second guide. The patterning of the sacrificial layer is performed by a photolithography process. In step 7, a resist is applied, and in steps 9 to 10, exposure and development are performed via a photomask for forming a sacrificial layer. Here, copper is selected for the sacrifice layer in consideration of the selectivity of etching with the material nickel for the electrode terminals, and copper is electroformed and plated in step 14 to form a sacrifice layer.
Similarly, a sacrificial layer is formed below the elastic portion of the second guide in the above-described second and third embodiments. Thereafter, the resist applied in step 7 is removed.

(3) Next, in steps 17 to 27 of FIG. 8, electrode terminals and second guides on the left and right thereof are formed. Nickel was selected as the material of the electrode terminal and the second guides on the left and right sides thereof in order to secure the contact pressure of the electrode terminal. The patterning of the electrode terminals and the second guides on the left and right thereof is performed by a photolithography process. In step 19, a thick-film resist is applied, and in steps 21 to 22, exposure is performed through the electrode terminals and the left and right second guide forming photomasks, and development is performed. In step 24, nickel is electroformed and plated to form electrode terminals and second guides on the left and right thereof. Thereafter, the resist applied in step 19 is removed.

(4) Further, steps 28 to 30 in FIG.
Then, the sacrificial layer and the seed layer are removed, and gold plating is applied to the electrode terminals in step 31 to reduce the contact resistance of the contacts and prevent corrosion. After washing in step 32, the formation of the electrode terminals and the second guide on the substrate is completed.

(5) Thereafter, as described above, the wafer is cut into individual plugs and sockets by a wafer cutting device such as a dicer. With this, the socket is basically completed.

(6) Separately, a first guide is formed on a housing formed of an alumina substrate as shown in FIG. 2, and the first guide side is bonded to the first substrate of the plug. Thereby, the plug is basically completed.

The plug 3 and the socket 5 completed above are:
The wiring section and the wiring leads of the printed circuit board are connected and used. The socket 5 has electrode terminals 3e, 5e in a space formed by the first substrate 3a of the plug and the housing 7.
Is inserted with their faces facing each other. In insertion, the first
When the guides 7g and 5g come into contact with each other and continue insertion,
The second guides 3h and 5h are inserted into contact, and finally the electrode terminals 3e and 5e come into contact. The insertion is completed when the tip of the second guide 5h comes into contact with the bottom of the second guide 3h, and the plug and the socket are in the completed connection state.

The plug 3 and the socket 5 are separated by pulling out the socket from the plug.

In the above manufacturing process, patterning can be realized by using any light from infrared rays to X-rays if it is lithography. However, in this embodiment, the electrical connector is manufactured using UV photolithography. did.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, a first guide for guiding a wide range is provided on a first substrate forming a plug and a second substrate forming a socket, respectively.
By providing a plurality of electrode terminals and a second guide that inherits the guidance of the first guide and performs guidance in a narrow range, fitting can be easily performed by the guidance of the first guide, and the accuracy of the second guide can be improved. Good and secure fitting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the entire configuration of an electric connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is a plan view and (b) is an elevation view.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a housing in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a plug main body in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the socket body in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in which the first substrate of the plug in which the plug, the socket, and the housing are combined is partially cut away.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a second guide according to the second embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) shows a state before the second guide on the plug and the second guide on the socket are fitted, (B) shows the state after fitting.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a second guide according to the third embodiment, showing a state before the second guide on the plug and the second guide on the socket are fitted.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a manufacturing process of an electrode terminal and a second guide in the first to third embodiments.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 electrical connector, 3 plug, 3a first substrate, 3
e electrode terminal, 3h second guide, 5 socket, 5a
Second substrate, 5e Electrode terminal, 5h Second guide, 5g
Side of the second substrate, 5i slope, 7 housing,
7g 1st guide, 7c slope part, 9 printed circuit board, 11 wiring lead, 30h second guide, 31 inner surface, 50h second guide, 51 hole, 52 elastic part, 5
2a protrusion, 40h 2nd guide, 41 inner surface, 60h
Second guide, 61 hole, 62 elastic part, 62a projecting part.

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] May 10, 2001 (2001.5.1
0)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0006

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an electrical connector according to the present invention comprises a first substrate forming a plug and a second substrate forming a socket, wherein the first substrate is provided. On the upper and second substrates, a first guide for conducting a wide range, a plurality of electrode terminals, and a second guide for inheriting the guidance of the first guide and conducting a narrow range are respectively provided on the upper and second substrates. Provide. Thereby, fitting can be easily performed by guiding the first guide, and accurate and reliable fitting can be performed by the second guide.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0008] Further, the guiding range of the first guide is
By setting the guide range in the millimeter order and the guide range in the second guide to the micrometer order, it is possible to provide a highly accurate electrical connector that can be easily fitted. Here, 1 0.1 mm and the order of millimeters, area by der of 1 micrometer to 100 the order of micrometers.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0013

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

(Operation) A plug connected to a printed circuit board or the like and a socket connected to a wiring lead or the like face each other, and both first guides are brought into contact with each other to start fitting.
The induction of the first guide, fitted a second guide both after the electrode terminals on the second guided by the guide on the plug and socket are contact-connected.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0023

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 7 shows an example of the third embodiment, further changing the shape of the second guide 3 0h, 5 0h in the second embodiment described above. FIG. 7 shows only two pairs of second guides arranged on the left and right of the electrode terminals of the electrical connector. FIG. 7 shows a state before the second guide 40h on the plug and the second guide 60h on the socket are fitted. The second guide 60h has two through holes 61,
61 and a lower portion of one side surrounding each of these holes is lifted from a substrate (corresponding to a sheet of paper in this case), and a projection 62 is protruded outward.
The elastic part 62 having a is provided. In this way, when the second guides 40h and 60h are fitted, the elastic portion 62
Is bent toward the hole 61, and the inner surface 41 of the second guide 40h is bent.
, The position of the second guide 60h is determined. Since the fitting error can be absorbed by the elastic portion 62 and the surface on the side opposite to the elastic portion 62 can be used as a reference, positioning by fitting can be surely performed. In the example of FIG. 7, a plurality of (two in this case) elastic portions 62 are provided on each second guide 60h, which is also effective for stability of positioning after fitting and prevention of separation of the plug and the socket.

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Explanation of sign

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Description of Signs] 1 electrical connector, 3 plug, 3a first substrate, 3
e electrode terminal, 3h second guide, 5 socket, 5a
Second substrate, 5e Electrode terminal, 5h Second guide, 5g
First guide ( side surface of second substrate ) , 5i slope portion, 7
Housing, 7g First guide, 7c Slope, 9
Printed circuit board, 11 wiring leads, 30h second guide, 31 inner surface, 50h second guide, 51 holes, 5
2 elastic part, 52a projecting part, 40h second guide, 4
1 inner surface, 60h second guide, 61 hole, 62 elastic part, 62a projecting part.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Toshinori Umino 3-7-3 Yaguchi, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Hiroo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Susumu Sugiyama 1-1-1 Nojihigashi, Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture Ritsumeikan University of Biwako / Kusatsu Campus Faculty of Science and Technology (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Toriyama 1-1-1 Nojihigashi, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga Ritsumeikan University Biwako / Kusatsu Campus Faculty of Science and Technology F-term (reference) 5E021 FA05 FA11 FB02 FB08 FC31 HA01 HA07 5E051 BA07 BA08 BB01 BB04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A first guide comprising a first substrate forming a plug and a second substrate forming a socket, and a first guide for guiding a wide range on the first substrate and the second substrate, respectively. And a plurality of electrode terminals and a second guide that inherits the guidance of the first guide and performs guidance in a narrow range. 2. On the first substrate and the second substrate,
The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrode terminals and the second guide are provided corresponding to the plurality of electrode terminals by batch processing. 3. The electricity as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide range of the first guide is on the order of millimeters, and the guide range of the second guide is on the order of micrometers. connector. 4. The plug side of the first guide is the first guide.
4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the housing on the substrate is a side surface of the second substrate. 5. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein one or more elastic portions are formed on a fitting side surface of the second guide. 6. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of electrode terminals formed on the first substrate and the second substrate has a fork shape. An electrical connector according to claim 1. 7. A second guide for performing a narrow range induction, which inherits a first guide for performing a wide range, together with a plurality of electrode terminals, for a plug and a socket, is formed on the same substrate by collective processing. 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising separating the same substrate into the first substrate and the second substrate.