JP2009064676A - Receptacle connector, electronic apparatus, and manufacturing method for receptacle connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a receptacle connector or the like which is hard to be broken even by an excessive insertion force. <P>SOLUTION: In the receptacle connector, a first side has a contact for making an electronic connection to a shell, is provided with an insulating member fitted in the shell from one side of the shell and a projection part fixed to the shell, is electrically connected to a plug connector by fitting the plug connector from the other side of the shell. When the receptacle connector is fitted in the plug connector, an end part of the plug connector is locked by the projection part. As the end part of the plug connector is locked by the projection part when it is fitted to the plug connector, the receptacle connector which is hard to be broken even by the excessive insertion force is available. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a receptacle connector, an electronic device, and a method of manufacturing a receptacle connector.

  Currently, various interface standards are used to connect hardware used for information, communication, computers, and the like.

USB (Universal Serial Bus), one of them, is one of the serial bus standards for connecting peripheral devices to computers, and is used for data exchange between hardware such as mobile phones and mobile devices. It became an important standard supported by. In particular, after the advent of USB 2.0 with High Speed mode that can transfer data at high speed, USB has spread rapidly to significantly improve the transfer speed, and now it is most frequently used for connecting to peripheral devices. It is thought that USB is used. In addition, Mini USB, which uses a small connector, has been introduced to deal with the downsizing of devices.

However, the miniaturization of devices has been further advanced, and it has been necessary to cope with new standards in order to cope with further miniaturization.

Therefore, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has formulated the specifications for the micro-USB standard for small devices such as mobile phones, and announced the specifications.

There are various structures and shapes for the receptacle connector used in the interface standard described above. As one of those examples, a receptacle connector as shown in the following figure can be mentioned. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 12 is a left side view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 13 is a front view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 14 is a rear view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 15 is a right side view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in which the internal mechanism of the receptacle connector is omitted.

JP2003-197302 JP2003-197318 Universal Serial Bus Micro-USB Cables and Connectors Specification Revision 1.01 April 4, 2007 USB Implementers Forum, Inc (USB-IF) Design registration No. 1305173

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described background art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a receptacle connector that is not easily broken even by an excessive insertion force.

According to this invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the configuration as described in the claims is adopted. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

The first aspect of the present invention is:
Shell,
An insulating member having a contact for making an electrical connection and fitted to the shell from one side of the shell;
A protrusion fixed to the shell,
By fitting the plug connector from the other side of the shell, it is electrically connected to the plug connector,
When the plug connector is fitted, the end of the plug connector is locked by the protruding portion.

According to this configuration, when the plug connector is fitted, the end portion of the plug connector is locked by the protrusion, so that a receptacle connector that is not easily broken even by an excessive insertion force can be obtained.

The second aspect of the present invention is
In the above-described receptacle connector, a clearance is formed between the insulating member and the plug connector when the plug connector is connected.

According to this configuration, due to the presence of the clearance, an excessive force is not applied to the insulating member when mated with the plug connector, and a receptacle connector that is more difficult to break even with an excessive insertion force can be obtained.
Is obtained.

The third aspect of the present invention is
In the above-described receptacle connector, the protrusions are formed in at least two locations inside the shell.

According to this configuration, since the force from the plug connector can be dispersed stably, a receptacle connector that can realize a stable connection with the plug connector can be obtained.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is
In the above-described receptacle connector, the protrusions are formed in at least three locations inside the shell.

According to this configuration, since the plug connector can be locked by the surface formed by the protrusions, a receptacle connector that can realize a more stable connection with the plug connector is obtained.

The fifth aspect of the present invention provides
In the above-described receptacle connector, the protrusion is formed integrally with the shell, and is formed by bending a part of the shell into the shell.

According to this configuration, since the forming process is simple, and a protruding portion having high strength can be formed, a receptacle connector that is not easily broken even with an excessive insertion force can be obtained even though the manufacturing process is simple.

The sixth aspect of the present invention provides
The insulating member has a recess;
In the above-described receptacle connector, at least a part of the protrusion is accommodated in the recess.

According to this configuration, since a part of the space that should have been occupied by the insulating member can be provided to the protrusion, a receptacle connector in which each component efficiently occupies a small space can be obtained.

The seventh aspect of the present invention provides
An insulating member fitted to the shell from one side of the shell, and a protrusion fixed to the shell; The receptacle connector is electrically connected to the plug connector by fitting the plug connector from the other side, and when the plug connector is fitted, the end of the plug connector is locked by the protrusion. A manufacturing method comprising:

In the method of manufacturing a receptacle connector, the protrusion is formed by bending a part of the shell.

According to this configuration, since the machining process is simple, and a protrusion having high strength can be formed, a receptacle connector that is difficult to break even with an excessive insertion force can be obtained even though the manufacturing process is simple.

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a receptacle connector or the like that is not easily broken even by an excessive insertion force.

Other objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description based on the embodiments of the present invention described later and the accompanying drawings.

[Background to the idea]

The present inventors have come to notice the following matters in the development by daily trial and error.
The receptacle connector used in the interface standard has various structures and shapes as described above. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an external appearance of the receptacle connector. FIG. 19 is a front view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 20 is an exploded view of the receptacle connector. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a state in which the plug connector (cable plug) and the receptacle connector are fitted. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view before the plug connector and the receptacle connector are fitted together. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the plug connector and the receptacle connector are fitted.

In these structures, when the plug connector 80 and the receptacle connector 60 are fitted, the tip of the plug connector 80 abuts against an insulating member 81 whose main material is the insulator resin of the receptacle connector. As shown in the drawing, it is intended that the fitting is completed when the tip of the plug connector 80 abuts against the front surface of the insulating member 81. In this state, electrical conduction is ensured.

In these structures, the contact portion on the receptacle connector 60 side has several contacts 75 incorporated in the insulating member 81, and each of the contacts 75 is individually soldered on the land of the printed circuit board 90. The shape for is formed. The shell 61 has a structure in which the insulator member 81 is incorporated, and a shape for soldering and fixing to the shell fixing land of the printed circuit board 90 is formed. The soldering portion for fixing the shell 61 considers mechanical strength, and is designed to ensure a soldering area and a solder fillet corresponding to this. As described above, mechanical strength is usually taken into account for soldering the shell, but the soldering portion for obtaining electrical continuity of each contact is often weaker than the soldering strength of the shell. Therefore, when the plug connector 80 and the receptacle connector 60 are mated, if the tip of the plug connector 80 abuts the front surface of the insulator member 81 of the receptacle connector 60, an excessive force is applied after the mating is completed. There is a possibility that the soldered portion of the contact incorporated in the member is broken and a conduction failure is caused.

Further, the fitting of the plug connector 80 and the receptacle connector 60 is generally performed manually. In particular, a connector used as an external interface of, for example, a personal computer or a mobile phone is assumed to be manually fitted by a user. At that time, the fitting may be performed with an appropriate insertion force, and the case may be too small or too large. If it is too small, there is no problem if it is re-fitted, but if it is too large, the above-described destruction occurs, resulting in poor conduction, and a problem that the predetermined function cannot be performed occurs. Furthermore, the same problem may occur when an excessive force is applied to the receptacle connector 60 due to the dropping of the device in the fitted state. The present inventors came up with the idea after trial and error that these points are important in realizing a receptacle connector that is not easily broken even by an excessive insertion force.

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

[Receptacle connector shape, etc.]

FIG. 1 is a view showing the appearance of the receptacle connector of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view of the receptacle connector of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the receptacle connector of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the plug connector (cable plug) and the receptacle connector of the present embodiment are fitted.

As shown in the figure, the receptacle connector 10 includes a shell (housing) 11 and an insulating member 21 housed from the back of the shell 11.

The material of the shell 11 is made of stainless steel or the like, and the shell 11 is originally formed from a single plate by bending or drilling. A seam 12 is provided on the bottom surface to improve the shell opening strength, thereby ensuring high strength. The shell 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the width is larger than the height. When the shell 11 is viewed from the front, it has a cross-sectional shape that is approximately a square shape. No walls are formed on the front and back surfaces, and the interior is substantially hollow. Therefore, the shell 11 can be accommodated by fitting the plug connector 30 from the front and the insulating member 21 from the back.

At the front surface of the shell 11, the end portions 13 each consisting of four sides of a square shape are bent by about 45 degrees and are formed so as to be slightly opened in four directions toward the outside of the shell 11. Therefore, it is possible to facilitate positioning by aligning the central axis when connecting to the plug connector 30. The bottom plate of the shell 11 is formed with a rectangular plate-like fixing portion 15 that extends in a direction perpendicular to the side surface, one on each side. The fixing unit 15 is used when fixing the receptacle connector 10 to the printed circuit board 40. A substantially rectangular hole 14 is formed in two places on the top plate of the shell 11. When connecting with the plug connector 30, the protrusions 31 formed at two locations on the top plate of the plug connector 30 are fitted into the holes 14 formed on the top plate of the shell 11, and the connection strength Is increasing.

Two semi-elliptical protrusions 16 are formed at a position behind the hole 14 in the top plate of the shell 11 by bending a part of the top plate into the shell 11. Also, at the position of the bottom plate of the shell 11 corresponding to the same depth in the axial direction as the position where the projection 16 of the top plate is formed, the two projections 16 by the same manufacturing method are formed in a semi-elliptical shape. Has been.

The shape of the protrusion 16 is not limited to a semi-elliptical shape, but may be a semi-circular shape, a shape similar to a concave portion described below, a rectangular shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a fan shape, or the like.

FIG. 4A is a sectional view and an overall view of a protrusion of the receptacle connector of the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the method for forming the protrusion 16, the horizontal direction is bent and the vertical direction is cut. In this manner, the strength of the protrusion 16 is improved by properly using the method of forming the protrusion 16 in the vertical direction for bending and cutting. If the formation of the protrusion 16 is a square, the four directions are cut, and the strength of the protrusion 16 is slightly weakened.

The insulating member 21 includes a horizontally-long rectangular parallelepiped support portion 22 and a rectangular plate-like connection portion 23 extending vertically from the front surface and a slightly upper portion of the support portion 22. The main material of the insulating member 21 is an insulating resin. Five grooves are formed in a streak pattern on the bottom surface of the connecting portion 23, and a metal wiring 24 is embedded in each groove so as to expose the lower surface and the end surface thereof. When connecting to the plug connector 30, the metal wiring 24 is electrically connected to the metal wiring formed inside the plug connector 30. On the bottom surface of the insulating member 21, five contacts 25 extending in the direction opposite to the connection portion 23 are formed. The contact 25 transmits an electrical signal from the metal wiring 24 or the like, and when the receptacle connector 10 is mounted on the printed circuit board 40, the contact 25 is electrically connected to the printed circuit board 40 by soldering and fixed. Will be. As described above, the insulating member 21 is fitted into the shell from the back of the shell 11 and stored. In order to prevent the space area occupied by the support part 22 after storage from overlapping with the space area where the protrusions 16 are formed, recesses 26 that form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped space are formed at four positions of the support part 22. As a result, when the insulating member 21 is fitted and housed inside the shell, a part or all of the protrusion 16 is housed inside the recess 26.

[Details when plug connector and receptacle connector are mated]

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view when the plug connector and the receptacle connector of the present embodiment are fitted. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view before the plug connector and the receptacle connector of the present embodiment are fitted. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the plug connector and the receptacle connector of the present embodiment are fitted. As shown in the figure, when the plug connector 30 and the receptacle connector 10 are fitted, the tip on the plug connector 30 side is received by the projection 16 of the shell 11 of the receptacle connector 10.

As described above, four recesses 22 are provided on the surface of the insulator member 22 of the receptacle connector 10 against which the plug connector 30 abuts, and the protrusions 16 are provided on the shell 11 so as to enter the portions. At this time, the position of the protrusion 16 is designed so that one surface of the fracture surface of the protrusion 16 is at the same position as a predetermined abutting surface when the plug connector 30 is accommodated. Further, the front surface of the support portion 22 of the insulator member 21 is provided with a step and a step of the protrusion 16 of the shell 11, and when the insulator member 21 is stored in the shell 11, it is slightly deeper in the axial direction than the front surface of the protrusion 16. Design to be. In other words, when the tip of the plug connector 30 hits the protrusion 16 of the shell 11, the tip of the plug connector 30 is locked to the protrusion 16, and the dimensions are designed so that an excessive insertion force is not applied to the insulator member 16. . Thus, when the plug connector 30 is fitted, the insertion force of the plug connector 30 can be received by the protrusion 16 of the shell 11 of the receptacle connector 10.

In the present embodiment, a gap (clearance) 41 is formed between the tip of the plug connector 30 and the insulator member 16. As a result, the insulator member 21 of the receptacle connector 10 is not subjected to a large load, and it is possible to further prevent breakage of the soldered portion between the contact 21 fixed to the insulator member 21 and the printed circuit board 40. become able to.

The reason why the protrusions 16 are provided at three or more locations is to determine the abutting position when the plug connector 30 is inserted and mated, and the plug connector if the projections of the shell are abutted at least at three or more locations. There is an advantage that can be received on the intended predetermined surface without being fitted diagonally. If the protrusions 16 are formed at least one on the top plate and the bottom plate of the shell 11, the recesses 16 are formed on the top and bottom of the shell 11, respectively, so that the plug connector 30 is connected to the shell 11 It can be held in a state of being stably stored inside. Therefore, it is desirable that the protrusions 16 are formed in the shell 11 at least at two places, and more preferably at three places.

Expressing these embodiments from other aspects, the electrical connector for fitting the plug connector and the receptacle connector is composed of a combination of an insulating resin incorporating a shell and a contact, and the electrical connector is a board to be mounted. In the structure having the soldered part of each contact and the soldered part of the shell as the soldering part, the shell soldering strength is designed to be sufficiently higher than the soldering strength of the contact, and the plug connector and the receptacle connector are fitted. At this time, a structure is adopted in which the end of the plug connector is received by a protrusion provided on the shell.

A receptacle connector for connecting electronic devices or electronic components in the electronic device is mainly connected by fitting with a plug connector with a cable. By using the receptacle connector of the above-described embodiment, it is possible to easily ensure electrical signal conduction during fitting. Even when an excessive insertion force is generated when the plug connector and the receptacle connector are fitted, a structure is adopted in which an excessive stress is not applied to the soldered portion of the contact and the board. As a result, destruction of the part is avoided, and electrical continuity as a connector is ensured.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even when an excessive insertion force is generated when the plug connector and the receptacle connector are fitted, an excessive stress is not applied to the soldered portion between the contact and the substrate, and a sufficient machine is provided. The plug connector can be abutted by a shell soldered with a suitable strength, and as a result, a connector that is highly resistant to excessive insertion force and can ensure electrical conduction can be realized. Therefore, a receptacle connector excellent in durability can be obtained by this embodiment.

[Assembly method of receptacle connector]

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a comparison of the assembly method of the receptacle connector having the structure so far and the receptacle connector of the present embodiment. In the figure, the receptacle connector of the structure so far is shown on the left side, and the receptacle connector of this embodiment is shown on the right side.

In either case, first, the insulating member 21 is housed from the back surface of the shell 11. Next, the substantially inverted trapezoidal back part 18 connected by the top plate of the shell 11 and the two support parts 17 is bent by approximately 90 degrees, and the claw-like members formed around it are approximately 30 degrees. The insulating member 21 is fixed inside the shell 11 by bending or the like.

As described above, even with the structure of the present embodiment, the external dimensions, the assembling method, and the number of parts are not particularly changed, and the manufacturing cost does not increase as compared with the receptacle connector having the structure so far. Therefore, the idea of the present embodiment can be quickly incorporated into standard products so far, and it can be said that the application is wide.

[Other Embodiments]

The connector of this embodiment can be used for connection of various electronic devices. Examples include man-machine interface (human interface device), keyboard, pointing device, mouse, trackball, pen tablet, game controller, remote control receiver, printing / optical / video equipment, printer, image scanner, digital camera, CCD camera Units (Web cameras, etc.), video input / output devices (TV tuners, etc.), audio equipment, audio equipment (mini discs, portable digital audio players, etc.), MIDI interfaces, USB sound devices (USB sound source speakers, etc.), storage devices (storage devices) ), External storage devices (floppy (registered trademark) disk drive, hard disk drive, MO drive, optical drive, semiconductor memory device, memory card reader, etc.) , USB memory, connection / conversion / communication equipment, USB hub, conversion cable for connecting peripheral devices such as SCSI, parallel, serial, etc., cable for direct data connection between computers (cable connection), Network adapter (LAN card or wireless LAN) connected via USB, modem terminal adapter-dial-up connection, ISDN, broadband line such as CATV / ADSL / FTTH, router, mobile phone, PHS, AIR-EDGE PHONE and FOMA Active movable equipment such as robots, toy missile launchers, toy switches, display equipment for advertising POP, equipment using bus power sources such as mini lights, electric fans and air purifiers, game consoles and development Peripheral equipment for use.

The interface to which the idea of the present embodiment is applied is applicable not only to USB and micro USB, but also to various types. Examples include AUX terminal, AV terminal, D-subminiature, DFP, DIN connector, DV terminal, Digital Visual Interface, D terminal, HDMI, High-Definition Multimedia Interface, Mini-DVI, Mini-VGA, RCA terminal, RF terminal , RGB21 pin,
Registered jack, S / PDIF, SCART terminal, S terminal, VGA terminal, XLR type connector, crimp terminal, AV multi, edge connector, card edge connector, card edge, clip, IC test clip, game port, composite video signal, Examples include component terminals, component video signals, vacuum feedthrough, special D terminals, wiring connectors, and phone plugs.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a printed wiring board is mainly used has been described. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the present embodiment can be applied to various wiring boards. Examples include organic wiring boards, rigid wiring boards, paper base copper clad laminates, glass base copper clad laminates, heat resistant thermoplastic wiring boards, composite copper clad laminates, flexible substrates, polyester copper clad films, glass Cloth / epoxy copper-clad laminate, polyimide copper-clad film, inorganic wiring board, ceramic wiring board, alumina wiring board, high thermal conductivity wiring board, low dielectric constant wiring board, low-temperature sintered wiring board, metal wiring board, metal Base wiring board, metal core wiring board, enamel wiring board, composite wiring board, resistance / capacitor built-in wiring board, resin / ceramic wiring board, resin / silicon wiring board, glass substrate, silicon substrate, diamond substrate, paper phenol substrate, paper epoxy Substrate, glass composite substrate, glass epoxy substrate, Teflon (registered trademark) substrate, alumina substrate, composite substrate, organic material Or the like can be mentioned a composite substrate of the equipment fee. The structure may be a single-sided board, a double-sided board, a two-layer board, a multilayer board, a build-up board, or the like.

[Interpretation of rights, etc.]

The present invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments. However, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can make modifications or substitutions of the embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention. That is, the present invention has been disclosed in the form of exemplification, and the contents described in the present specification should not be interpreted in a limited manner. In order to determine the gist of the present invention, the claims section described at the beginning should be considered.

It will also be appreciated that illustrative embodiments of the invention achieve the above objects, but that many modifications and other examples can be made by those skilled in the art. The elements or components of each embodiment described in the claims, specification, drawings, and description may be employed in combination with one or more other elements. The claims are intended to cover such modifications and other embodiments, which are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the receptacle connector of this embodiment. It is a front view of the receptacle connector of this embodiment. It is an exploded view of the receptacle connector of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state which a plug connector (cable plug) and the receptacle connector of this embodiment fit. It is sectional drawing and the whole figure of the projection part of the receptacle connector of this embodiment. It is sectional drawing at the time of a plug connector and the receptacle connector of this embodiment fitting. It is sectional drawing before a plug connector and the receptacle connector of this embodiment fit. It is sectional drawing of the state which the plug connector and the receptacle connector of this embodiment fitted. It is a figure which shows the comparison of the assembly method of the receptacle connector of a structure until now, and the receptacle connector of this embodiment. It is a perspective view of a receptacle connector. It is a top view of a receptacle connector. It is a bottom view of a receptacle connector. It is a left view of a receptacle connector. It is a front view of a receptacle connector. It is a rear view of a receptacle connector. It is a right view of a receptacle connector. It is a perspective view of a receptacle connector. It is AA sectional drawing which abbreviate | omitted the internal mechanism of the receptacle connector. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of a receptacle connector. FIG. 19 is a front view of the receptacle connector. It is a front view of a receptacle connector. It is an exploded view of a receptacle connector. It is a figure which shows the state which a plug connector (cable plug) and a receptacle connector fit. It is sectional drawing before a plug connector and a receptacle connector fit. It is sectional drawing of the state which the plug connector and the receptacle connector fitted.

Explanation of symbols

10 Receptacle connector
11 Shell (housing)
12 seam
13 Edge
14 holes
15 Fixed part
16 Protrusion
17 Support section
18 Rear side
21 Insulating material
22 Support Department
23 Connection
24 Metal wiring
25 contacts
26 Recess
30 Plug connector
31 Protrusion
40 PCB
41 Clearance
60 Receptacle connector
61 shell
75 contacts
80 plug connector
81 Insulator material
90 PCB

Claims (9)

Shell,
An insulating member having a contact for making an electrical connection and fitted to the shell from one side of the shell;
A protrusion fixed to the shell,
By fitting the plug connector from the other side of the shell, it is electrically connected to the plug connector,
When the plug connector is fitted, the end of the plug connector is locked by the protrusion. 2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, wherein a clearance is formed between the insulating member and the plug connector when the plug connector is connected.   2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are formed at least at two locations inside the shell.   2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are formed at least at three locations inside the shell. 2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is formed integrally with the shell, and a part of the shell is bent inside the shell. The insulating member has a recess;
2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the protrusion is accommodated in the recess. A shell that can be connected by fitting a plug connector from the front, has a top plate and a bottom plate, and is formed from a single plate,
A support portion and a connection portion formed in contact with the support portion, and an insulating member fitted and housed from the back of the shell;
The bottom plate of the shell has a fixing portion fixed to a wiring board,
The top plate and the bottom plate of the shell each have two substantially semi-elliptical protrusions formed by bending a part of the top plate and the bottom plate of the shell inside the shell,
The insulating member has a recess;
At least a portion of the protrusion is housed inside the recess,
The connection part in the previous period has metal wiring electrically connected to the plug connector,
The support portion is electrically connected to the metal wiring and has a contact fixed to the wiring board,
When mated with the plug connector, the end of the plug connector is locked to the protrusion, so that an excessive force by the plug connector is not applied to the insulating member. And receptacle connector.   8. An electronic device comprising the receptacle connector according to claim 1. An insulating member fitted to the shell from one side of the shell, and a protrusion fixed to the shell; The receptacle connector is electrically connected to the plug connector by fitting the plug connector from the other side, and when the plug connector is fitted, the end of the plug connector is locked by the protrusion. A manufacturing method comprising:
The method of manufacturing a receptacle connector, wherein the protrusion is formed by bending a part of the shell.