JP2008130508A - Rush current supressing connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rush current suppressing connector capable of preventing generation of the rush current. <P>SOLUTION: One connector 1a has a current-carrying contactor 2a and a discharge contactor 3a, and the counter connector 1b has a current-carrying contactor 2b and a discharge contactor 3b. When the discharge contactor 3a and the discharge contactor 3b start contact mutually, so that the current-carrying contactor 2a and the current-carrying contactor 2b do not start contact mutually, the total length of the current-carrying contactors 2a, 2b is shorter than that of the discharge contactors 3a, 3b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inrush current suppressing connector capable of preventing the occurrence of an inrush current.

  A male connector which is one of conventional connectors is shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). The male connector 31 is configured such that a male energizing contact 32 lower than the outer wall 34 stands on a bottom portion 36 of a concave housing 35 made of an insulator surrounded by an outer wall 34.

  The male energizing contact (also referred to as a male pin) 32 is made of metal and has a protruding shape such as a prism, cylinder, or plate, and the height from the bottom 36 of the concave housing 35. There are several different types. The highest one or more contacts are ground contacts (ground pins) 311, the next higher one or more power contacts (power pins) 312, and the lowest one or more contacts are signal contacts. This is a child (signal pin) 313.

  4A and 4B show a female connector that is a counterpart of the male connector 31. FIG. The female connector 41 has a female energizing contact 42 embedded in a top portion 48 of a convex housing 47 made of an insulator.

  A female energizing contact (also referred to as a female pin) 42 is made of metal and has a shape that fits with the male pin, and is aligned with the top 48 of the convex housing 47. The female energizing contact 42 has no difference in height depending on the type, but the male energizing contact 32 is disposed opposite to the ground contact 311, the power contact 312, and the signal contact 313 of the male energizing contact 32. Each is used for that purpose.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the female connector 41 is opposed to the male connector 31 and both are brought closer to each other, first, the ground contact 311 of the male connector 31 is the female die for the ground of the female connector 41. Electrical connection between the grounds is achieved by contacting the energizing contact 42. When both are further brought closer to each other, the power contact 312 of the male connector 31 comes into contact with the female energization contact 42 for power supply of the female connector 41, and finally, the energization contacts 32 and 42 for signal use. Touch.

  By contacting the current-carrying contacts in this order, the device / board / cable to which the male connector 31 is attached and the device / board / cable to which the female connector 41 is attached, The ground potential becomes the same, the power supply potential becomes the same, and then the signal line is connected. The reverse is true when the male and female connectors 31, 41 are separated. Therefore, it is possible to perform so-called hot-line insertion / removal in which connection / separation is performed when the device / board / cable is in a live-line state.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-7008

  However, in the conventional connector, the ground contacts first contact each other when they are fitted together. At this time, there is a difference between the ground potentials of both devices as well as the devices, boards, and cables to which the male and female connectors are attached floating from the earth ground. Even if both devices, boards, and cables are connected to a common earth ground, there is a difference in the ground potential due to the difference in voltage drop that follows the ground path. Further, when one or both of the devices, the board, and the cable are charged with static electricity, there is a potential difference due to the static electricity between the ground potentials of both.

  Therefore, when the ground contacts come into contact with each other, an inrush current is generated from the ground of one device / board / cable to the ground of the other device / board / cable based on these potential differences. This inrush current not only causes noise to the ground, but also causes temporary instability (flapping) of the power supply voltage, or acts as noise on the signals of both devices, boards, and cables, causing abnormal operation and failure. Become.

  If any electronic component is provided in each ground line or between both grounds to alleviate the inrush current, there is a risk that both grounds may leave a potential difference and the impedance between the grounds may increase. is there. Moreover, an electronic component is required.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an inrush current suppressing connector that can solve the above-described problems and prevent the occurrence of an inrush current.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, one connector has a current-carrying contact made of a conductor and a discharge contact made of a material having a resistance higher than that of the conductor. The connector has a current-carrying contact made of a conductor and a discharge contact made of a material having a higher resistance than the conductor, and the discharge contact of the one connector and the discharge contact of the mating connector are mutually connected. When the contact is started, the energizing contact of the one connector and the energizing contact of the mating connector are not yet in contact with each other. The total length of the current carrying contacts of the connector is short.

  The material for the discharge contact may be a conductive resin.

  The energizing contact of the one connector and the energizing contact of the mating connector include a ground contact, a power contact, and a signal contact, respectively, and when the ground contacts start to contact each other, When the power contacts are not yet in contact, and the power contacts are in contact with each other, the total length of the current contacts in both connectors is such that the signal contacts are not in contact. May be different.

  Either one or both of the one connector and the mating connector may be a board-mounted connector fixed to a board.

  The one connector may be a board end connector, and the mating connector may be a board end connector.

  The one connector and / or the other connector may be a cable-mounted connector attached to a cable end.

  The one connector is a male connector in which a male energizing contact lower than the outer wall is erected on the bottom of the concave housing surrounded by the outer wall, and a discharging contact is provided along the inner periphery of the outer wall of the concave housing. The mating connector is a female connector in which a female energizing contact is embedded in the top of the convex housing and a discharging contact is provided along the outer periphery of the convex housing. The inner periphery of the discharge contact of the concave housing may be in contact with the outer periphery of the discharge contact of the convex housing.

  The energizing contact may be formed using any of gold, silver, copper, nickel, and tin.

  The present invention exhibits the following excellent effects.

  (1) Generation of inrush current can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), an inrush current suppressing connector according to the present invention includes one connector (for example, a male connector) 1a, which includes an energizing contact 2a and a conductor. A connector (for example, female connector) 1b having a discharge contact 3a made of a material having higher resistance and facing the one connector 1a is higher than the current carrying contact 2b made of a conductor and the conductor. A discharge contact 3b made of a resistance material, and when the discharge contact 3a of the one connector 1a and the discharge contact 3b of the mating connector 1b start to contact each other, The electrical contact 2a of the connector 1a and the electrical contact 2b of the mating connector 1b are not yet in contact with each other. Conductive for contacts 2a, those shorter total length of 2b.

  The order of contact of the contacts can be determined by the total length of the contacts of both connectors. However, in one connector 1a, the discharging contacts 3a are made longer than all the energizing contacts 2a, so that the mating connector In 1b, all the current-carrying contacts 2b and the discharge contacts 3b may have the same length.

  According to this configuration, when the male connector 1a and the female connector 1b are fitted, the discharging contact 3a is positioned at a portion that first contacts with a part of the female connector 1b, and the discharging contact 3b is male. When the connector 1a and the female connector 1b are fitted together, the connector 1a is first located at a portion that contacts a part of the male connector 1a.

  In the male connector 1a shown in FIG. 1A, a male energizing contact 2a lower than the outer wall 4 stands on the bottom 6 of a concave housing (protective cover) 5 surrounded by the outer wall 4, and the concave housing. A discharge contact 3a is provided along the inner periphery of the outer wall 4 to the tip of the outer wall 4.

  In the female connector 1 b shown in FIG. 1B, the female energizing contact 2 b is embedded in the top 8 of the convex housing (protective cover) 7, and the top 8 extends along the outer periphery of the convex housing 7. Discharge contact 3b is provided.

The discharge contacts 3a and 3b are formed of a conductive resin in which conductive particles are mixed with a resin. The discharge contacts 3a and 3b are preferably formed so that the resistance value between the mated substrate and the mating substrate is 10 ⁵ to 10 ⁹ Ω. As materials for the discharge contacts 3a and 3b, it is preferable to use materials having electrostatic diffusibility and electrostatic conductivity.

Here, the material having electrostatic diffusibility is a surface resistivity of 10 ⁵ to 10 ⁹ Ω / sq. Say things. In addition, the material having electrostatic conductivity is a surface resistivity of 10 ³ to 10 ⁵ Ω / sq. Say things.

  The male connector 1a and the female connector 1b are attached to a device, a board, and a cable according to applications. For example, it is mounted on a substrate by soldering or press fitting to form a substrate mounting type connector. It is good also as a cable mounting type connector attached to a cable.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the male connector 1a is attached to the substrate and the discharging contact 3a is electrically connected to the ground of the substrate. For example, the board on the male connector 1a side is the main device, and the female connector 1b side is the peripheral device. The female connector 1b is attached to the peripheral device, and the discharge contact 3b is electrically connected to the ground of the peripheral device.

  The details of the male energizing contact 2a and the female energizing contact 2b are the same as in the prior art. The male energizing contact 2a has the highest ground contact 11 from the bottom 6 and the next highest. There is a power contact 12 and the lowest signal contact 13. The male energizing contact 2a and the female energizing contact 2b are formed using any one of gold, silver, copper, nickel, and tin.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the female connector 1b is opposed to the male connector 1a and both are brought closer to each other, the discharge contact 3a of the male connector 1a first becomes the discharge contact of the female connector 1b. Contact 3b. At this time, even if both devices, boards, and cables to which the male and female connectors are attached have a potential difference due to electrostatic charging or other reasons, the discharge contacts 3a and 3b are made of a high resistance material, so a large inrush current is It does not occur, a small discharge current flows and power is consumed, and both discharge contacts approach the same potential. Thus, the inrush current is limited or electric energy is consumed, so that the above-mentioned problems such as noise are avoided.

  If the discharge contacts 3a and 3b are conductors (resistance values are small enough to be regarded as 0Ω), an inrush current is generated between the discharge contacts 3a and 3b due to a potential difference. Therefore, it is preferable that the discharge contacts 3a and 3b have an appropriate resistance value.

  Thereafter, when the female connector 1b is brought closer to the male connector 1a, the male energizing contact 2a and the female energizing contact 2b come into contact with each other. In particular, in this embodiment, among the male energizing contacts 2a, the ground contact 11 having the highest height from the bottom 6 contacts the ground energizing contact 2b. Since the ground potentials of the board on the male connector 1a side and the peripheral device on the female connector 1b side match each other, no inrush current occurs between the male and female energizing contacts 2a and 2b.

  As described above, the inrush current suppression connector of the present invention can suppress inrush current that occurs during hot-line insertion / extraction. By suppressing the inrush current, it is possible to protect the operating equipment, the board, the ground of the cable, the power source, and the signal from accidental noise. Therefore, stable operation of the device / board can be ensured.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described so far.

  In the embodiment, one connector 1a and the mating connector 1b are board-mounted connectors and cable-mounted connectors, but one connector is a board-end connector configured by plating a board with a conductor and a high-resistance material, The mating connector may be a board-to-board connector into which the board-end connector is inserted.

  In the embodiment, the discharge contacts 3a and 3b are formed separately from the concave housing 5 and the convex housing 7, and are attached to the concave housing 5 and the convex housing 7. It may be part or all.

  In the embodiment, the discharge contacts 3a and 3b are arranged separately from the energizing contacts 2a and 2b arranged on the bottom 6 of the concave housing 5 and the top 8 of the convex housing 7, but the discharge contacts The contacts may be formed in the same pin shape as the energizing contacts 2a and 2b and arranged together with the energizing contacts 2a and 2b. In this case, the height of the discharging contact from the bottom 6 is For example, when the two connectors are fitted together, the discharge contact is configured to come into contact before the energizing contacts 2a and 2b.

  In the embodiment, the discharge contacts 3a and 3b are provided on one connector 1a and the mating connector 1b. However, the discharge connector having only the discharge contacts 3a and 3b is connected to the one connector and the mating connector. May be provided separately, and the discharging connector may be fitted before fitting both connectors.

  In the embodiment, the discharge contacts 3a and 3b pass through the concave housing 5 and the convex housing 7, respectively, and are electrically connected to the device / board / cable on the side opposite to the place where they are in contact with each other. It may be configured such that the contact does not penetrate through the housing and is electrically connected to a current-carrying contact (for example, a ground contact) inside the housing. In other words, the ground contact is branched into two, and one is connected to the discharge contact. Thereby, the member and process which connect the contact for discharge to the ground of an apparatus, a board | substrate, and a cable become unnecessary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a structural diagram of the inrush current suppression connector which shows one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is sectional drawing of a male connector, (b) is sectional drawing of a female connector. It is sectional drawing in the middle of fitting the male connector and female connector of FIG. It is structural drawing of the conventional male connector, (a) is a front view, (b) is sectional drawing along the AA. It is a structural view of a conventional female connector, (a) is a front view, (b) is a cross-sectional view along the BB line. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view in the middle of fitting the male connector of FIG. 3 and the female connector of FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

1a One connector (male connector)
1b Mating connector (female connector)
2a Energizing contact (male energizing contact)
2b Contact for energization (contact for female energization)
3a Contact for discharge 3b Contact for discharge 5 Concave housing 7 Convex housing

Claims (8)

  One connector has a current-carrying contact made of a conductor and a discharge contact made of a material having a higher resistance than the conductor, and the mating connector facing the one connector is a current-carrying contact made of a conductor. A discharge contact made of a material having a higher resistance than the conductor, and when the discharge contact of the one connector and the discharge contact of the mating connector start to contact each other, The total length of the energizing contacts of both connectors is greater than the total length of the discharging contacts of both connectors so that the energizing contacts and the energizing contacts of the mating connector are not yet in contact with each other. Is an inrush current suppressing connector characterized by a short length.   2. The inrush current suppressing connector according to claim 1, wherein the material for the discharge contact is a conductive resin.   The energizing contact of the one connector and the energizing contact of the mating connector include a ground contact, a power contact, and a signal contact, respectively, and when the ground contacts start to contact each other, When the power contacts are not yet in contact, and the power contacts are in contact with each other, the total length of the current contacts in both connectors is such that the signal contacts are not in contact. The inrush current suppression connector according to claim 1, wherein the inrush current is different.   The inrush current suppressing connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one or both of the one connector and the mating connector are board-mounted connectors fixed to a board.   4. The inrush current suppression connector according to claim 1, wherein the one connector is a board end connector, and the mating connector is a board-to-board connector.   The inrush current suppressing connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one or both of the one connector and the mating connector are cable-mounted connectors attached to a cable end.   The one connector is a male connector in which a male energizing contact lower than the outer wall is erected on the bottom of the concave housing surrounded by the outer wall, and a discharging contact is provided along the inner periphery of the outer wall of the concave housing. The mating connector is a female connector in which a female energizing contact is embedded in the top of the convex housing and a discharging contact is provided along the outer periphery of the convex housing. 7. The inrush current suppressing connector according to claim 1, wherein an inner periphery of the discharge contact of the concave housing is in contact with an outer periphery of the discharge contact of the convex housing.   The inrush current suppressing connector according to claim 1, wherein the energizing contact is formed using any one of gold, silver, copper, nickel, and tin.

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