JP2007103389A - Electric connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric connector in which buckling of a terminal is avoided at the time of insertion engagement of the electric connectors installed at a circuit board. <P>SOLUTION: The terminal 12 of the connector 10 has a bending portion 12C between an elastic contact portion 12A and a fixing part to a periphery wall 13, and the elastic contact portion 12A is located at the opening side of a receiving recess 16 and the bending portion 12C is located at the bottom side of the receiving recess 16 respectively, and forms a continued S-shape by the elastic contact portion 12A and the bending portion 12C. The elastic contact portion 12A has a bending projection portion which is bent so as to be wound toward the bottom of the receiving recess 16 and protrudes to the receiving recess 16 side from a terminal groove 17, and at the time of contact with a terminal 32 of a mating connector 30, the bending projection portion is elastically displaced toward the inside of the terminal groove 17 in nearly orthogonal direction to the insertion engagement direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention belongs to the technical field of electrical connectors, and particularly relates to an electrical connector attached to a circuit board.

  As this type of electrical connector, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

  As shown in FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings, the connector of Patent Document 1 includes a socket-type connector 50 and a mating connector 60 fitted to the socket-type connector 50, and is attached to the corresponding circuit boards P1 and P2. It is done. In use, both connectors 50 and 60 are usually fitted in a state of being attached to a circuit board.

  In the drawing, the connector 50 is thin with a small height dimension relative to the width dimension, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape whose length dimension in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface is larger than the above width dimension. The housing 51 forms a receiving space 53 in the peripheral wall 52 for receiving the mating connector 60, and a fitting convex portion 54 for fitting with the mating connector 60 is provided at the center thereof.

  The terminal 55 of the connector 50 is attached from above so that a fixed portion bent in an inverted U shape at the middle portion sandwiches the peripheral wall 52 of the housing 51, and a contact portion 56 and an end portion on the receiving space 53 side are attached. Each of the connecting portions 57 connected to the circuit board P1 is provided at an end portion extending out of the housing 51. The contact portion 56 is formed as a curved portion at an end portion facing upward, and can be elastically displaced. The contact portion 56 rises from the bottom side of the receiving space 53 and protrudes toward the receiving space 53 and protrudes into the receiving space 53. A terminal 55 having the contact portion 56 extends from the contact portion 56 and has an inverted U shape. The fixed portion is attached to the peripheral wall 52 of the housing 51.

  In order to facilitate the mating of the mating connector 60, the connector 50 is provided with an introduction wall 58 projecting upward at both ends of the paper surface, and an inclined portion 59 is formed therein for introducing the mating connector 60. .

On the other hand, the mating connector 60 has an outer shape that can be received in the receiving recess 53 of the connector 50, and a terminal 62 is attached to the side surface of the housing 61. The terminal 62 has a contact portion 63 at an intermediate portion fixed to the side surface of the housing 61, and a connection portion 64 connected to the circuit board P2 at an end portion extending outward at the upper end. Yes.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-8753 (FIG. 12)

  In Patent Literature 1, when the mating connector 60 is fitted to the connector 50, the contact portion 63 of the terminal 62 of the mating connector 60 abuts on the contact portion 56 of the terminal 55 of the connector 50, thereby bending the terminal 55. The portion 56 receives forces from the contact portion 63 of the mating terminal 62 in the fitting direction (downward direction in FIG. 4) and in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction (lateral direction in FIG. 4). The lateral force causes the terminal 55 to bend so that the contact portion 56 is immersed in the terminal receiving groove formed in the housing 51.

  Further, when the contact portion 56 receives a downward force, the force is transmitted as it is from the lower portion of the contact portion 56 directly to the straight portion that extends downward, thereby causing an axial force to the straight portion. As shown in FIG. 4, in the terminal 55, a curved portion that is curved in a U-shape is formed at the tip of a straight portion that extends downward from the contact portion 56, and the curved portion is connected to the bottom of the housing 51. It is located with a slight gap in between. As described above, the downward force received by the contact portion 56 from the contact portion 63 is transmitted to the curved portion via the straight portion, and as a result, the curved portion is pressed against the bottom portion of the housing 51 and the bottom portion of the housing 51 Receives an upward reaction force. Therefore, the elongate straight portion located between the contact portion 56 and the curved portion of the terminal 55 undergoes buckling due to the downward axial force received from the contact portion 63 and the compressive stress due to the counter reaction force. May occur.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that avoids buckling of a terminal during connector fitting.

  The electrical connector according to the present invention is provided with a receiving recess formed by a substantially rectangular cylindrical inner wall surface of the peripheral wall for receiving the mating connector, and a plurality of openings are formed on the pair of opposing walls of the peripheral wall that open at the inner wall surface. In the electrical connector in which the elastic contact portions of the terminals respectively accommodated in the formed terminal grooves are arranged, the terminal has a curved portion between the elastic contact portion and the fixed portion with respect to the peripheral wall, and in the fitting direction of the connector The elastic contact portion is positioned on the opening side of the receiving recess and the curved portion is positioned on the bottom side of the receiving recess to form an S-shape that is continuous with the elastic contact portion and the bending portion, and the elastic contact portion is the bottom of the receiving recess. A curved projecting portion that is curved so as to be wound toward the terminal and projects from the terminal groove toward the receiving concave portion, and the curved projecting portion is substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction when contacting the terminal of the mating connector. Elastic toward the terminal groove It is characterized in that which is coordinated way.

  In the electrical connector having such a configuration, when the connector and the mating connector are fitted, when the elastic contact portion of the connector terminal contacts the terminal of the mating connector, the elastic contact portion of the terminal of the connector is Receives a force in the fitting direction and in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction. The force in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction causes the terminal to be elastically deformed at the contact position so that the elastic contact portion is immersed in the terminal groove.

  In the connector according to the present invention, the elastic contact portion is formed to be bent so as to be wound toward the bottom portion of the receiving recess, and the lower side of the elastic contact portion (the receiving recess) of the receiving recess. The bottom side portion is a curved free end. Therefore, even if the elastic contact portion receives a force in the fitting direction, the force is not transmitted to the lower side of the elastic contact portion.

  Further, a tensile force due to the force in the fitting direction acts on the upper side (receiving recess opening side) of the elastic contact portion that is above the contact position. The portion of the curved portion that extends downward (in the fitting direction) from the contact portion in the terminal groove and the contact position in the elastic contact portion have a relatively large interval in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction. Even if the elastic contact portion receives a force in the fitting direction at the contact position, the force acts on the portion extending downward as a bending moment instead of an axial force that generates a compressive force. Therefore, the terminal is not compressed and buckled by the force received from the mating connector.

  In the mating connector to be fitted with the electrical connector, it is preferable that the terminal has a click protrusion in the vicinity of the contact portion and at a front position in the fitting direction than the contact portion. Thereby, even if it is a case where it cannot visually check that connectors were fitted, fitting completion can be checked by a click feeling.

  As described above, the present invention is formed such that the elastic contact portion is curved so as to be wound toward the bottom portion of the receiving recess, and is elastic by contact with the mating connector when mated with the mating connector. Since the force applied to the contact portion does not act as a compressive force on any part of the terminal, buckling of the terminal due to contact with the mating connector can be avoided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2 show a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one connector before mating with the other connector, and FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the one connector. Part breakage).

  As shown in FIG. 1, one connector 10 and the other connector 30 are configured by holding a plurality of terminals 12 and 32 in thin housings 11 and 31 obtained by molding an electrical insulating material, respectively. ing.

  The housing 11 of one connector 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape that is wide with respect to the height as seen in FIG. 1 and extends long in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 (vertical direction in FIG. 2). . The housing 11 has a fitting convex portion 14 at a central position in the peripheral wall 13, and the peripheral wall 13 and the fitting convex portion 14 are connected by a bottom portion 15. A space between the peripheral wall 13 and the fitting convex portion 14 forms a receiving concave portion 16 for receiving the connector 30 as a mating connector.

  A plurality of slit-like terminal grooves 17 extending in a plane parallel to the paper surface in FIG. 1 are formed in opposing walls of the peripheral wall 13 (left and right peripheral wall portions in FIG. 1) in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface at a predetermined interval. Yes. Each terminal groove 17 is opened upward and formed deep on the side facing the fitting convex portion 14 and shallow on the outside thereof.

  The upper surface of the peripheral wall 13 has an outer region 13A at both ends in the vertical direction shown in FIG. 2 and an inner region 13B inside thereof. In the intermediate area (terminal arrangement area) in the vertical direction, there is no outer area and only the inner area 13B. The surface of the inner region 13B adjacent to the opening edge of the receiving recess 16 through a small chamfered portion is located one step on the bottom side of the receiving recess 16 with respect to the outer region 13A, and is a surface that is substantially parallel to the outer region 13A. I am doing. The outer region 13A and the inner region 13B are shifted through the inclined portion 13C.

  As apparent from FIG. 1, the upper surface 14A of the fitting convex portion 14 is a surface substantially parallel to the surface of the outer region 13A and the surface of the inner region 13B, and is slightly depressed with respect to the surface of the inner region 13B. is there. Further, the fitting convex portion 14 is provided with a stepped concave portion 18 at the lower portion of the side surface, and a lock locking portion 18A for locking with the mating connector is formed at the stepped portion.

  The terminal 12 of the connector 10 is made, for example, by punching a metal plate having a plane parallel to the paper surface in FIG. 1, with an elastic contact portion 12A at one end, a connection portion 12B at the other end, and an intermediate portion. Have an S-shaped curved portion 12C. The elastic contact portion 12A is positioned on the receiving recess 16 side with respect to the curved portion, is bent so as to be wound toward the bottom portion of the receiving recess 16, and is formed by protruding from the terminal groove 17 into the receiving recess 16. ing. Accordingly, when the other connector 30 as the mating connector enters the receiving recess 16, the elastic contact portion 12 </ b> A is elastically bent mainly in a lateral direction perpendicular to the entry direction by the contact force when the connector 30 abuts on the connector 30. .

  The connecting portion 12B is bent in an L shape, protrudes out of the housing 11, and is positioned at the same level as the bottom surface of the housing 11.

  The curved portion 12C having an S-shape has an outer curved portion positioned upward and an inner curved portion positioned downward, and the outer curved portion is press-fitted from above to the peripheral wall 13 of the housing. The inner curved portion functions as a fixing portion and is provided in the terminal groove 17 to give flexibility to the terminal and to allow elastic displacement in the lateral direction of the elastic contact portion 12A.

  Next, the other connector 30, which is the mating connector, is formed with an outer shape and a fitting recess 33 such that the housing 31 is received in the receiving recess 16 of the connector 10 and fits with the fitting protrusion 14.

  On the outer surface of the housing 31, slit-like terminal grooves 34 parallel to the paper surface are directed laterally at respective positions corresponding to the plurality of terminal grooves 17 of the connector 10 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1. An opening is formed. Each terminal groove 34 accommodates a terminal 32. This terminal 32 is also made by punching a metal plate in the same manner as the terminal 12 of the connector 10, and the terminal 32 has a contact portion 32A and a connection. It has a part 32B and a curved part 32C. In the case of this terminal 32, the curved portion 32C provides flexibility as a whole, and has a click protrusion 32A-1 protruding from the terminal groove 34 in the vicinity of the contact portion 32A (front position in the fitting direction). .

  In FIG. 1, the lower surface 31 </ b> A of the housing 31 forms a flat surface around the fitting recess 33, and the fitting recess 33 is shaped and dimensioned to fit into the fitting protrusion 14 of the connector 10. ing. The inner wall surface of the fitting recess 33 has a lock that engages with the lock locking portion 18A of the connector 10 in order to maintain the fitting when the connector 30 and the connector 10 are fitted to a predetermined depth. A claw portion 33A is provided.

  Such connectors 10 and 30 of this embodiment are used in the following manner.

  1) First, the two connectors 10 and 30 are respectively attached to corresponding circuit boards (not shown), and the terminals 12 and 32 are connected to the corresponding circuit portions. This connection is made by soldering the connection portions 12B and 32B of the terminals 12 and 32 to the circuit portions, respectively. The circuit board usually projects larger than the connectors 10 and 30.

  2) The connectors 10 and 30 attached to the circuit board are brought to positions where they can be fitted with each other facing each other. As shown in FIG. 1, if the connectors 10 and 30 are brought close to each other along the alternate long and short dash line, they may be fitted as they are, but the visual field is blocked by the circuit board and the fitting state cannot be visually confirmed. Therefore, in many cases, the lower surface 31A of the housing 31 of the connector 30 comes into contact with the upper surface (the outer region 13A and the inner region) of the peripheral wall 13 of the connector 10 when it is shifted to the left and right and back in FIG.

  3) Next, when the lower surface 31A of the housing 31 of the connector 30 is slid on the upper surface of the peripheral wall 13 of the connector 10 and the connector 30 is moved back and forth and back and forth, the width of the housing 31 of the connector 30 becomes the inner region 13B of the connector 10. Since it is smaller than the range (precisely, the inner region 13B including the inclined portion 13C), the housing 31 easily enters the range of the inner region 13B. Once inside, the range of the inner region 13B is an immersive upper surface portion, so that the lower surface 31A of the connector 30 does not deviate from this range even if the above operation is performed unless intended. That is, it is in contact with the immersive upper surface.

  4) When the above operation is performed while the lower surface 31A of the connector 30 slides the immersion upper surface portion of the inner region 13B of the connector 10, the connector 30 is introduced toward the receiving recess 16 of the connector 10 and brought into the fitting position. At this point, the movement of the connector 30 stops, so that it can be determined that the connector 30 matches the fitting position. At the time of the above operation, a force is simultaneously applied downward (in the fitting direction), so that the connector 30 enters the fitted state. In this state, further force is applied to push the connector 30 deeply into the receiving recess 16.

  5) When the connector 30 starts to be inserted into the receiving recess 16 of the connector 10, the fitting convex portion 14 of the connector 10 is fitted into the fitting recess 33 of the connector 30, and both are accurately positioned at the normal fitting position. . When the fitting further proceeds, the contact portion 32A of the terminal 32 of the connector 30 and the elastic contact portion 12A of the terminal 12 of the connector 10 contact each other and receive elastic pressure, and both are elastically displaced in the lateral direction perpendicular to the fitting direction. In particular, since the elastic contact portion 12A is curved so as to be wound downward, the elastic pressure is surely directed in the lateral direction, and the terminal, that is, the portion of the curved portion 12C adjacent to the elastic contact portion 12A is buckled. Will not bring.

  6) When the fitting is performed up to a predetermined position, the lock claw portion 33A of the connector 30 is engaged with the lock engagement portion 18A of the fitting convex portion 14 of the connector 10, the fitting is held, and the connector after the fitting Missing between each other is prevented. Immediately after that, the click protrusion 32A-1 of the terminal 32 of the connector 30 exceeds the most protruding portion of the elastic contact portion 12A of the terminal 12 of the connector 10, and at this point, a click feeling is obtained and the fitting reaches a predetermined position. You can confirm that

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the previous embodiment, the immersion upper surface portion was formed on the upper surface of the peripheral wall of the housing of the connector in order to guide the mating connector 30 to the range close to the fitting position. However, in this embodiment, the fitting is located at the center instead of the peripheral wall. The upper surface of the joint convex portion is projected from the peripheral wall, and a flat portion having substantially the same level as the upper surface of the peripheral wall is formed around the upper surface.

  In FIG. 3, the fitting protrusion 14 of the connector 10 has an upper surface on the protruding upper surface 14 </ b> A protruding in the height direction from the upper surface 13 </ b> A- 1 of the peripheral wall 13, and the peripheral portion of the protruding upper surface 14 </ b> A. The upper surface 13A-1 and a flat portion 14B having substantially the same height level are provided, and the protruding upper surface 14A and the flat portion 14B are connected by an inclined portion 14C.

  In this embodiment, when the connector 30 is fitted, when the connector 30 is displaced in the left-right and front-rear directions with respect to the positional relationship of the one-dot chain line in FIG. Abuts on the protruding upper surface 14A. In this state, when the connector 30 is slid to the left and right and back in the same manner as in the previous embodiment, the lower surface 31A of the connector 30 falls into the flat portion 14B of the connector 10 via the inclined portion 14C, and near the fitting position. It falls within the range and will not leave this range. When the above slide movement operation is continued, the connectors are brought into the mating position, and since the same force is applied to the lower part (fitting direction) at the time of the operation, the mating state is automatically entered. Achieve mating.

  The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment and can be variously modified. For example, it is sufficient if the immersion upper surface portion and the flat portion are provided in a part of the circumferential direction, but the range is also arbitrary, and may be provided in the entire circumference. Further, the immersion upper surface portion and the flat portion may be accompanied by a slight inclination. In the first embodiment, the fitting convex portion 14 of the connector 10 and the fitting concave portion 33 of the connector 30 may be omitted.

  Although the inclination part showed the example of the taper surface, it may be curving.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector before mating with one connector and the other connector, showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of one connector of FIG. 1. It is sectional drawing before fitting of the other connector which shows other embodiment and the other connector which is one side. It is sectional drawing before the fitting of the conventional connector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector 14A (Protrusion) Upper surface 12 Terminal 14B Flat part 12A Elastic contact part 14C Inclination part 13 Perimeter wall 16 Receiving recessed part 13B Inner area 18A Lock latching part 13C Inclined part 30 Mating connector 14 Fitting convex part 32A-1 Click protrusion

Claims (2)

  A receiving recess formed by a substantially rectangular cylindrical inner wall surface of the peripheral wall for receiving the mating connector is provided, and is opened in the inner wall surface and accommodated in a plurality of terminal grooves formed in a pair of opposing walls of the peripheral wall, respectively. In the electrical connector in which the elastic contact portions of the terminals are arranged, the terminal has a curved portion between the elastic contact portion and the fixed portion with respect to the peripheral wall, and the elastic contact portion opens in the receiving recess in the connector fitting direction. And the curved portion is located on the bottom side of the receiving recess to form an S-shape that is continuous with the elastic contact portion and the curved portion, and the elastic contact portion is curved to be wound toward the bottom of the receiving recess. And has a curved projection protruding from the terminal groove toward the receiving recess, and the curved projection is elastically displaced toward the terminal groove in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction when contacting the terminal of the mating connector. What to do The electrical connector according to claim.   It is a connector fitted to the electrical connector of Claim 1, Comprising: The terminal has a click protrusion in a fitting direction front position rather than a contact part in the contact part vicinity, The electrical connector characterized by the above-mentioned.

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