JP2010009748A - Connector, and manufacturing method of connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector having a simple structure with the small number of components, easy to be manufactured, and capable of obtaining high shielding effect even if a contact module is downsized, and to provide a manufacturing method thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The contact module 30 has a plurality of holding plates, and a conductive layer 32 and an insulating part 45 are formed, respectively, on opposed surfaces of the adjacent holding plates. An insulator material member 60 is held between the insulating parts of the respective adjacent holding plates, and at least one of the contacts is held between the insulator material member and the two insulating parts located at both sides of the insulator material member. The two contacts located side by side in a thickness direction of the contact module held on both sides of the insulator material member are made with identical specifications. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector having a plurality of contact modules and a method for manufacturing the same.

  In recent years, information communication devices, broadcast video devices, FA system control devices, medical devices, semiconductor manufacturing devices, testers, and the like have been required to process enormous amounts of information with high speed and high accuracy. Therefore, a high shield function is required for a connector applied to these devices.

The connector (plug connector 3) disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a front housing 5 and a plurality of contact modules 6 fixed to the front housing 5 in a state of being overlapped in a specific direction.
Each contact module 6 includes an insulator 28, a plurality of signal contacts 16 fixed to the insulator 28, and a plurality of metal shield members (first ground plate 14, second ground) embedded in the insulator 28 by insert molding. Plate 15). One end of each signal contact 16 is connected to the circuit board, and the other end can be connected to a contact pin of another connector (receptacle connector 4).
The first ground plate 14 and the second ground plate 15 include a plurality of substantially L-shaped portions 18 and convex ribs 22. The substantially L-shaped portion 18 and the convex rib 22 partially surround the periphery of each signal contact 16 in the insulator 28 and electromagnetically shield each signal contact 16.
JP 2005-197163 A

  However, the connector of Patent Document 1 requires a shield member (first ground plate 14 and second ground plate 15) in order to exert a shielding effect, and the shield member needs to have a complicated shape. is there. For this reason, the number of parts is increased, and it is difficult to increase the productivity and the manufacturing cost tends to increase.

Further, the metal shield member is intended to cover the periphery of each signal contact 16, but since there are many regions where the shield member does not exist inside or outside the integrally molded product 27, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient shielding effect. .
Further, since a plurality of shield members are embedded in the insulator 28, it is difficult to reduce the size of the integrally molded product 27 (space saving is difficult). For this reason, the contact module 6 is increased in size, and as a result, the connector is increased in size.
Further, since a plurality of shield members are embedded in the insulator 28, it is difficult to increase the density of each contact module 6 (increase the number of signal contacts 16 per one contact module 6).

  An object of the present invention is to provide a connector that has a small number of parts, has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture, and can provide a high shielding effect even if the contact module is miniaturized, and a method for manufacturing the connector.

  The connector of the present invention is a connector comprising a plurality of contact modules each having a plurality of contacts each having one end connected to a plurality of contact pins projecting from the other connector and the other end connected to the circuit board. Provided with a plurality of sandwiching plates arranged in the thickness direction of the contact module, a conductive layer and an insulating portion are formed on opposite surfaces of the adjacent sandwiching plates, and an insulating member is sandwiched between the insulating portions of the adjacent sandwiching plates The at least one contact is sandwiched between the insulating member and the two insulating portions located on both sides of the insulating member, and the two contacts arranged in the thickness direction are sandwiched between the insulating members. It is characterized by having the same specifications.

  In the insulating portion of each of the sandwiching plates, one end is opened at the end surface of the sandwiching plate, and an opening recess that constitutes a fitting hole that communicates the inside and outside of the contact module when the adjacent sandwiching plates are joined is formed. It is preferable that the contact pin that has entered the contact module through the fitting hole is electrically connected to the contact in the contact module.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that a contact holding groove for fitting and holding the contact is recessed in at least one of the insulating portion facing the thickness direction and the facing surface of the insulating member.

It is also possible to implement part of the contacts as signal contacts and the rest as ground contacts.
That is, a part of the plurality of contacts may be sandwiched between the insulating portion and the insulating member, and the remaining contacts may be held by the conductive layer.

It is also possible to implement in a single transmission mode.
That is, a plurality of insulating portions may be formed on each of the opposing surfaces of the adjacent sandwiching plates between the conductive layers, and one contact may be sandwiched between each insulating portion and the insulating member. .

  According to another aspect of the connector of the present invention, one end is inserted into the other connector and connected to the plurality of contacts built in the other connector, and the other end is connected to the circuit board. In the connector including a plurality of contact modules having pins, the contact module includes a plurality of sandwiching plates arranged in the thickness direction of the contact module, and each of the adjacent sandwiching plates is formed with a conductive layer and an insulating portion, Sandwiching at least one contact pin between the insulating member and the two insulating portions located on both sides of the insulating member, sandwiching an insulating member between the insulating portions of the adjacent holding plates; The two contact pins arranged in the thickness direction across the insulating member have the same specifications.

  In the insulating portion of each of the sandwiching plates, one end is opened at the end surface of the sandwiching plate, and an opening recess that constitutes a fitting hole that communicates the inside and outside of the contact module when the adjacent sandwiching plates are joined is formed. It is preferable that the contact pin protrudes outside the contact module through the fitting hole.

  It is preferable that a contact holding groove for fitting and holding the contact pin is provided in at least one of the insulating portion facing the thickness direction and the facing surface of the insulating member.

Also in this embodiment, a part of the contact pins can be used as signal contact pins and the rest can be used as ground contact pins.
That is, a part of the plurality of contact pins may be sandwiched between the insulating portion and the insulating member, and the remaining contact pins may be held by the conductive layer.

It is also possible to implement in a single transmission mode.
That is, a plurality of the insulating portions are formed between the opposing surfaces of the adjacent sandwiching plates between the conductive layers, and the contact pins are sandwiched one by one between the insulating portions and the insulating member. Good.

In any aspect, the contact module may be constituted by a pair of the clamping plates.
Further, the contact module can be constituted by three or more clamping plates.

Further, in any aspect, it is possible to form the conductive layer on the entire facing surface of each sandwich plate and form the insulating portion on a part of the surface of the conductive layer.
Further, the conductive layer may be continuous with a pair of side edge portions of the insulating portion located on both sides of the sandwiched contact.

Furthermore, in any aspect, a conductive layer continuous with the conductive layer formed on the facing surface may be formed on the surface portion of the sandwiching plate excluding the facing surface.
The sandwich plate is constituted by a conductive layer portion that is plated on the surface of the resin member and includes a recess for an insulating portion on the inner side surface, and an insulating portion made of a resin material that covers the recess for the insulating portion. Also good.
Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a holding member for integrating the contact modules by mounting the contact modules on the contact module group formed by stacking the plurality of contact modules.

  The connector manufacturing method of the present invention is a connector manufacturing method including a plurality of contact modules each having one end connected to a plurality of contact pins protruding from another connector and the other end connected to a circuit board. A step of forming a plurality of conductive layer portions plated with a plurality of resin material surfaces; a step of forming a plurality of sandwich plates by covering a part of the surface of each conductive layer portion with an insulating portion made of a resin material; Forming a plurality of sandwiching plates in a thickness direction of the contact module, and disposing the insulating member between adjacent sandwiching plates, located on both sides of the insulating member and the insulating member. At least one of the contacts is sandwiched between the two insulating portions, and the thickness is sandwiched between the insulating members. Is characterized by having a step of integrating steps for forming a plurality of said contact modules by the same specification to each other two of said contacts arranged in a direction, and each contact module.

  According to another aspect of the connector manufacturing method of the present invention, one end is inserted into the other connector and connected to the plurality of contacts built in the other connector, and the other end is connected to the circuit board. In a method of manufacturing a connector having a plurality of contact modules having a plurality of contact pins, a step of forming a plurality of conductive layer portions plated with a plurality of resin material surfaces, and insulating a portion of the surface of each conductive layer portion from a resin material Forming a plurality of sandwiching plates by covering each with a portion, forming a plurality of insulating members, arranging the plurality of sandwiching plates in the thickness direction of the contact module, and disposing the insulating member between adjacent sandwiching plates At least one contact pin between the insulating member and the two insulating portions located on both sides of the insulating member. And forming the plurality of contact modules by making the two contact pins arranged in the thickness direction across the insulating member the same specification, and integrating the contact modules A step.

  In any aspect, the step of integrating the contact modules includes a step of stacking the plurality of contact modules to form a contact module group, and a step of attaching a holding member to the contact module group. realizable.

According to the first, sixth, eleventh and twelfth aspects of the present invention, each contact is composed of one type of contact (in the case of single transmission as in the case of claim 5 or claim 10), or is composed of two types of contacts. Even in the case of (Claim 4 or 9), the number of parts of the receptacle connector (Claim 1) and the plug connector (Claim 6) is less than that of a conventional connector using a metal shield member. It will be easy. In addition, since the two contacts arranged in the thickness direction of the contact module with the insulating member in between have the same specifications (same material, same length), if a differential pair is configured with these two contacts, It is possible to reduce the possibility of a difference in transmission characteristics between the pairs.
Furthermore, since a metal shield member is not required, the contact module can be made smaller than the prior art when the same number of contacts as the prior art connector is provided, and the contact density in the contact module can be increased. .
Furthermore, since the surface area of the conductive layer can be increased, the shield effect of the connector can be enhanced. Therefore, the connector to which the present invention is applied can transmit signals at high speed.

  According to the second and seventh aspects of the invention, the housing, which is a necessary element in the conventional connector, is unnecessary, and the number of parts is further reduced.

  According to the third and eighth aspects of the invention, the contact can be more reliably held by the adjacent clamping plates.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the invention, since the shield region by the conductive layer with respect to the contacts sandwiched by the insulating layer is expanded, a more excellent shielding effect can be obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 14, when the contact is sandwiched between the insulating layers formed on the opposing surfaces of the adjacent sandwiching plates, the conductive layer of the pair of sandwiching plates completely surrounds the contact. Fully shielded. Therefore, a very excellent shielding effect can be obtained.

  When the conductive layer is formed on the entire surface of the sandwiching plate as in the invention of the fifteenth aspect, the surface area of the insulating layer becomes extremely large, so that a more excellent shielding effect can be obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 16, it becomes possible to easily manufacture the holding plate.

  According to the invention of claim 17, the contact module group can be easily integrated.

According to the invention described in claim 18, the number of parts is small, the structure is simple, a high shielding effect can be obtained even if the contact module is downsized, and the two contacts arranged in the thickness direction of the contact module with the insulating member interposed therebetween. When a differential pair is configured, a receptacle connector including a contact module that can reduce the possibility of a difference in transmission characteristics between the differential pairs can be easily manufactured.
Similarly, according to the nineteenth aspect of the invention, the number of components is small, the structure is simple, a high shielding effect can be obtained even if the contact module is miniaturized, and two insulating elements are arranged in the thickness direction of the contact module. When a differential pair is configured with contact pins, it is possible to easily manufacture a plug connector including a contact module that can reduce the possibility of a difference in transmission characteristics between the differential pairs.

  According to the twentieth aspect of the present invention, since the contact module group can be easily integrated, the manufacture of the connector becomes easier.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the front-rear and left-right directions in the following description are based on the directions of the arrows in the figure.
The connector 10 of the present embodiment is a differential transmission connector having a ground contact (ground contact pin) and a signal contact (signal contact pin). For example, information communication equipment, broadcast video equipment, FA systems The present invention can be applied to control devices, medical devices, semiconductor manufacturing devices, testers, and the like. The connector 10 includes a receptacle connector 20 and a plug connector 100 that are detachable from each other and are electrically connected to each other by being coupled as shown in FIG.

First, the receptacle connector 20 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS.
The receptacle connector 20 includes three contact modules 30, a connecting rod 80, and a holding member 90 as large components.
First, the structure of the contact module 30 will be described.
Each of the three contact modules 30 includes a pair of sandwiching plates 31 that are symmetrical with each other, an insulating member 60 that is positioned between the left and right sandwiching plates 31, six ground contacts 70A, 70C, and 70E, and six And ground contacts 70B, 70D, and 70F.
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the clamping plate 31 is obtained by integrating two types of resin members.
The left and right conductive layer portions (conductive layers) 32 that are the base material of the sandwiching plate 31 are symmetrical to each other, and a mold (not shown) is used so that the insulating synthetic resin material has the shape shown in FIG. After the molding, the entire surface of the molded product is plated. Examples of the plating method include so-called resin plating and thin film forming methods (evaporation method, sputtering method, etc.). In the case of resin plating, after the surface of the molded product is degreased and washed, the surface is activated using a catalyst, and electroless plating, strike nickel plating, electrolytic copper plating, nickel plating, and finish plating are performed in this order. Or you may shape | mold by MID (Molded Interconnect Device).
As shown in the drawing, on the opposing surfaces of the left and right conductive layer portions 32, three insulating portion recesses 33, 34, and 35 communicating with the front end surface and the bottom surface of the conductive layer portion 32 are provided. Also, two protrusions positioned between the insulating portion recess 33 and the insulating portion recess 34, and between the insulating portion recess 34 and the insulating portion recess 35, and a position directly below the insulating portion recess 35. The opening recess 37 extending rearward from the front end surface of the conductive layer portion 32, the end storage portion (contact holding groove) 38 wider than the opening recess 37 connected to the rear end of the opening recess 37, and the end portion A communication portion (contact holding groove) 39 extending from the storage portion 38 to the bottom of the conductive layer portion 32 is recessed. As shown in the figure, the thickness of the portion located directly below the two protrusions and the insulating recess 35 is approximately half the thickness of the upper end and the lower end of the conductive layer portion 32.
Further, the front part of the upper end part of the conductive layer part 32 is a front side step part 36 that is lowered by one step compared to the rear part, and the front side step part 36 has a front side member narrower than the front side step part 36 on the upper surface. The joint convex part 40 is protrudingly provided. In addition, a rear engagement recess 41 is formed in the vicinity of the upper end of the rear end surface of the conductive layer portion 32, and a key groove 42 is formed at a corner of the ceiling surface of the rear engagement recess 41. . In addition, a key groove 43 is recessed in the lower end portion of the front end portion of the outer surface of the left and right conductive layer portions 32.
Insulating portions 45 made of synthetic resin are fitted into the opposing surfaces of the left and right conductive layer portions 32 formed in such a shape as shown in FIGS. The thickness of the left and right insulating portions 45 is substantially the same as the depth of the insulating portion recess 34 and the insulating portion recess 35, and the left and right insulating portions 45 are bilaterally symmetric. The insulating portion 45 is formed separately from the conductive layer portion 32 using a mold (not shown), and is substantially the same as the recessed portions 33, 34, 35 for the insulating portion, as shown in FIGS. The fitting protrusions 46, 47, 48 have the same shape, and the fitting protrusions 46, 47, 48 include an opening recess 49 having the same shape as the opening recess 37 and a rear end of the opening recess 49. An end accommodating portion (contact holding groove) 50 having the same shape as the end accommodating portion 38, and a communicating portion (contact holding groove) 51 extending from the rear end of each end accommodating portion 50 to the lower end of the insulating portion 45, Is further provided, and three communicating portions (contact holding grooves) 52 are provided in the lower end portion of the insulating portion 45.
The insulating portion 45 having such a structure is integrated with the conductive layer portion 32 by fitting the fitting protrusions 46, 47, and 48 into the insulating portion recesses 33, 34, and 35, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the insulating portion 45 integrated with the conductive layer portion 32 has an inner surface located immediately below the two protruding portions and the insulating portion recess 35 of the conductive layer portion 32. The communication portions 52 are continuous with the side surfaces of the portions and communicate with the corresponding communication portions 39 of the conductive layer portion 32.

The insulating member 60 sandwiched between the left and right sandwiching plates 31 is a plate-shaped member made of synthetic resin. The shape of the side surface of the insulating member 60 is substantially the same as the fitting recess 55 (a recess formed between the upper and lower plate thickness portions) recessed in the opposing surfaces of the left and right conductive layer portions 32, and the thickness thereof. Is approximately half the thickness of the upper and lower ends of the conductive layer portion 32.
Six opening recesses 61 having the same shape as the opening recesses 37 and the opening recesses 49 are provided in the front end portions of the left and right side surfaces of the insulating member 60 so as to be arranged in the vertical direction. An end accommodating portion 38 (contact holding groove) 62 having the same shape as the end accommodating portion 38 and the end accommodating portion 50 connected to the rear end of the recessed portion 61 is recessed.

  A total of six contacts are sandwiched between the right side surface of the left clamping plate 31 and the left side surface of the insulating member 60 and between the left side surface of the right clamping plate 31 and the right side surface of the insulating member 60. This contact includes three ground contacts 70A, 70C, and 70E and three signal contacts 70B, 70D, and 70F. Each of the contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F is manufactured by stamping, and is plated on a base material (for example, phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, titanium copper, stainless steel, Corson copper alloy). (For example, nickel (Ni) plating), and then finish plating (for example, gold (Au) plating, tin (Sn) -copper (Cu) plating, tin (Sn) -lead (Pb) plating)). Is. The side surfaces of the contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F are all substantially L-shaped, and their lengths (shapes) are different from each other. The front end portions of the contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F are spring-like bifurcated portions 71, and the lower end portions are press-fit terminals 72.

The contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F are integrated with the left and right clamping plates 31 and the insulating member 60 in the following manner.
First, the spring-like bifurcated portion 71 of the ground contacts 70A, 70C, 70E is accommodated in the three end accommodating portions 38 of the conductive layer portion 32 of the left and right clamping plates 31, and the spring-like bifurcated portion 71 and the press-fit terminal are accommodated. 72 is fitted into a communication part 39 continuous to each end storage part 38 and a communication part 52 of the insulating part 45 continuous to each communication part 39, and each press-fit terminal 72 is connected to the communication part 52. Project downward. Further, the spring-like bifurcated portions 71 of the signal contacts 70B, 70D, and 70F are accommodated in the three end accommodating portions 50 of the insulating portions 45 of the left and right clamping plates 31, and the spring-like bifurcated portions 71 and the press-fit terminals 72 are accommodated. The portion between the two is fitted into a communication portion 51 continuous to each end storage portion 50, and each press-fit terminal 72 is projected below the communication portion 51. Then, the left half of the insulating member 60 is fitted into the fitting recess 55 of the left holding plate 31, and the right half of the insulating member 60 is fitted into the fitting recess 55 of the right holding plate 31. Then, the opposing surfaces of the left and right clamping plates 31 come into contact with each other, and the spring-like bifurcated portions 71 of the respective contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F are stored in the corresponding end storage portions 62 of the insulating member 60. Is done. Further, a fitting hole is formed by the opening recesses 37 of the left and right clamping plates 31 and the opening recesses 61 of the insulating member 60 facing the opening recesses 37, and the left and right opening recesses 49, A fitting hole is formed by the opening recess 61 of the opposing insulating member 60.
The signal contacts 70B, 70D, and 70F of the contact module 30 assembled in this way are adjacent to each other with the insulating member 60 interposed therebetween to form a differential pair. That is, the adjacent signal contacts 70B, the adjacent 70Ds, and the adjacent 70F form a differential pair.

When the three contact modules 30 assembled in this way are stacked in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. 5, one contact module group 75 is completed. The members for connecting the contact modules 30 of the contact module group 75 so as not to separate from each other are the connecting rod 80 and the holding member 90.
The connecting rod 80 is a resin member having a substantially L-shaped cross section having substantially the same length (left-right dimension) as the left-right dimension of the contact module group 75, and includes a substantially horizontal insertion protrusion 81 and a substantially vertical contact part 82. It has. Further, a pair of engaging protrusions 83 are provided at both ends of the upper surface of the insertion protrusion 81, and a pair of engagements wider than the engaging protrusion 83 is provided between the left and right engaging protrusions 83. The protrusion 84 is protrudingly provided.
The holding member 90 is a resin member having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and includes a vertical portion 91 and an upper piece portion 92 and a lower piece portion 93 that extend rearward from both upper and lower end portions of the vertical portion 91. . The vertical portion 91 has six rows of through-holes 94 arranged vertically in the left-right direction. Further, a pair of engaging protrusions 95 project from the left and right ends of the front end portion of the upper surface of the lower piece 93, and the engagement protrusion 95 having a width wider than that of the engaging protrusion 95 is provided between the left and right engaging protrusions 95. A mating protrusion 96 is provided. Further, three engaging grooves 97 extending rearward are formed in the front part of the lower surface of the upper piece part 92.

Since the rear end surface of the contact module group 75 is formed with a groove extending in the left-right direction formed by the rear engagement recess 41 of each contact module 30, the insertion protrusion 81 of the connecting rod 80 is fitted into this groove. Then, the front surface of the contact portion 82 contacts the rear end surface of the upper end portion of the contact module 30 (see FIGS. 1, 2, and 11). Further, the left and right engagement protrusions 83 engage with the outer key grooves 42 of the left and right contact modules 30, and the left and right engagement protrusions 84 are adjacent to the right contact module 30 and the center contact module 30. Since the recess formed by the matching key groove 42 and the recess formed by the adjacent key groove 42 of the left contact module 30 and the central contact module 30 are engaged, Are joined together.
On the other hand, when the holding member 90 is put on the front part of the contact module group 75, the upper piece 92 fits into the recess formed by the front side step part 36 of each contact module 30, and the lower piece part 93 becomes the contact module group. Engage with the front of the lower surface of 75. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the three engagement grooves 97 of the upper piece portion 92 are fitted into the front engagement convex portions 40 of the contact modules 30. Further, a pair of engaging protrusions 95 projecting from the lower piece 93 are engaged with the outer key grooves 43 of the left and right contact modules 30, and the left and right engaging protrusions 96 are connected to the right contact module 30. The holding member 90 is engaged with the concave portion formed by the adjacent key groove 43 of the central contact module 30 and the concave portion formed by the left contact module 30 and the adjacent key groove 43 of the central contact module 30. Thus, the front portions of the contact modules 30 are coupled to each other.
The contact module group 75, the connecting rod 80, and the holding member 90 are integrated in this manner.
When the press-fit terminals 72 of the contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F of the assembled receptacle connector 20 thus constructed are driven into the through holes of the circuit board CB1 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), each ground The press-fit terminals 72 of the contacts 70A, 70C, and 70E are connected to the ground pattern on the circuit board CB1, and the press-fit terminals 72 of the signal contacts 70B, 70D, and 70F are connected to the circuit pattern on the circuit board CB2.

Next, the plug connector 100 will be described mainly using FIGS. 13 and 14.
The plug connector 100 includes three contact modules 110, a connecting rod 80, and a holding member 130 as large components.
The structure of the contact module 110 is substantially the same as that of the contact module 30 of the receptacle connector 20. Only the structures of the ground contact pins 115A, 115C, and 115E and the signal contact pins 115B, 115D, and 115F are different.
As shown in FIG. 14, each of the contact pins 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D, 115E, and 115F has a contact end portion 116 and a press-fit terminal 117, and the front and rear lengths thereof are contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, and 70D. , Longer than 70E, 70F. The contact end portion 116 is a portion connected to the spring-like bifurcated portion 71 of the contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F. Each of the contact pins 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D, 115E, and 115F is manufactured by stamping and is formed on a base material (for example, phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, titanium copper, stainless steel, Corson copper alloy) After plating (for example, nickel (Ni) plating), finish plating (for example, gold (Au) plating, tin (Sn) -copper (Cu) plating, tin (Sn) -lead (Pb) plating)) It is a thing.
The ground contact pins 115 </ b> A, 115 </ b> C, and 115 </ b> E are communication portions of the opening recess (contact holding groove) 37, the end storage portion (contact holding groove) 38, the communication portion (contact holding groove) 39, and the insulating portion 45 of the conductive layer portion 32. (Contact holding groove) 52 and the contact end portion 116 is located behind the contact module 110 from the fitting hole formed by the opening concave portion 37 of the conductive layer portion 32 and the opening concave portion (contact holding groove) 61 of the insulating member 60. Protruding. On the other hand, the signal contact pins 115B, 115D, and 115F are fitted into the opening concave portion 49 (contact holding groove), the end portion storing portion (contact holding groove) 50, and the communication portion (contact holding groove) 51 of the insulating portion 45, and contact An end 116 protrudes rearward of the contact module 110 from a fitting hole formed by the opening recess 49 of the insulating portion 45 and the opening recess (contact holding groove) 61 of the insulating member 60.
The signal contact pins 115B, 115D, and 115F of the contact module 110 that are adjacent to each other with the insulating member 60 interposed therebetween constitute a differential pair. That is, the adjacent signal contact pins 115B, the adjacent 115D, and the adjacent 115F constitute a differential pair.

A connecting rod 80 is attached to the front portion of the contact module group 120 formed by overlapping the three contact modules 110 in the left-right direction, and the front portions of the contact modules 110 are coupled to each other by the connecting rod 80.
Meanwhile, the rear part of the contact module group 120 is coupled by the holding member 130.
The holding member 130 is a resin member having a substantially H-shaped cross section, and includes a vertical portion 131, a contact module holding portion 132 and a contact module holding portion 133 that extend forward from both upper and lower ends of the vertical portion 131, and a vertical portion. A receptacle connector holding part 134 and a receptacle connector holding part 135 extending rearward from 131 are provided. In the vertical portion 131, six rows of through holes 136 arranged vertically are formed in six rows in the left-right direction. Further, an engagement protrusion 95 and an engagement protrusion 96 are provided on the upper surface of the contact module holding part 133 in the same manner as the lower piece part 93, and an engagement groove 97 is provided on the lower surface of the contact module holding part 132. Is recessed in the same manner as the upper piece 92.
The contact module holding part 132 and the contact module holding part 133 are attached to the rear part of the contact module group 120 in the same manner as the upper piece part 92 and the lower piece part 93, and the rear part of the contact module 110 is coupled to each other by being attached. The Further, the contact end portion 116 of each contact pin 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D, 115E, 115F passes through the corresponding through hole 136 of the vertical portion 131 and protrudes rearward of the vertical portion 131.
When the press-fit terminals 117 of the contact pins 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D, 115E, and 115F of the plug connector 100 are driven into the through holes of the circuit board CB2 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), the ground contact pins 115A, 115C, and 115E are obtained. The press-fit terminals 117 are connected to the ground pattern on the circuit board CB2, and the press-fit terminals 117 of the signal contact pins 115B, 115D, and 115F are connected to the circuit pattern on the circuit board CB2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the receptacle connector 20 and the plug connector 100 configured as described above are covered with the receptacle connector holding portion 134 of the holding member 130 on the upper surface 92 of the holding member 90 and the receptacle connector holding portion 135 is placed on the lower piece portion. 93, the contact end portions 116 of the ground contact pins 115A, 115C, 115E of the plug connector 100 are fitted into the fitting holes (opening recess 37, opening recess 49, opening recess 61) of the receptacle connector 20. In addition, the spring-like bifurcated portions 71 of the corresponding ground contacts 70A, 70C, 70E are connected to the spring-like bifurcated portions 71 while elastically deforming the corresponding ground contacts 70A, 70C, 70E. Similarly, the contact end portions 116 of the signal contact pins 115B, 115D, and 115F of the plug connector 100 are fitted into the fitting holes (opening recess 37, opening recess 49, and opening recess 61) of the receptacle connector 20, and the receptacle connector 20 is connected. Are connected to each spring-like bifurcated portion 71 while elastically deforming the spring-like bifurcated portion 71 of the corresponding signal contact 70B, 70D, 70F.
Accordingly, the ground contacts 70A, 70C, 70E and the ground contact pins 115A, 115C, 115E are electrically connected to the ground pattern of the circuit board CB1 on the receptacle connector 20 side and the ground pattern of the circuit board CB2 on the plug connector 100 side. On the other hand, the signal contacts 70B, 70D, and 70F and the signal contact pins 115B, 115D, and 115F are electrically connected to the circuit pattern of the circuit board CB1 on the receptacle connector 20 side and the circuit pattern of the circuit board CB2 on the plug connector 100 side. .

In the present embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 12, the periphery of each signal contact 70B, 70D, 70F and the signal contact pins 115B, 115D, 115F is completely covered by the insulating portion 45 and the insulating member 60. The periphery is completely covered by the recessed portions 33, 34, and 35 for the insulating portion that are recessed in the conductive layer portion 32. Further, the entire surface (outer side surface) of the sandwiching plate 31 is constituted by the conductive layer portion 32, and a recess (insulating portion recess portion 33) is formed on the surface (inner side surface) of the conductive layer portion 32 facing the other sandwiching plate 31. , 34, and 35) (the surface area of the inner surface of the conductive layer portion 32 is extremely large), and the signal contact pins 70B, 70D, and 70F and the signal contact pins are formed by the respective recess portions 33, 34, and 35 for the insulating portion. 115B, 115D, and 115F are reliably shielded (it can be very effectively prevented from picking up external noise and leaking noise generated by itself during transmission). Therefore, the connector 10 having excellent shielding characteristics and capable of high-speed transmission is obtained.
In addition, since the contacts forming the differential pair have the same specifications (the same material and the same shape (length)), it is possible to reduce the possibility of a difference in transmission characteristics between the differential pairs. Specifically, it is possible to suppress signal time deviation (jitter) and waveform waviness (ringing), and to improve signal quality by a synergistic effect with excellent shielding characteristics.

Furthermore, since the sandwiching plate 31 constituting the contact module 30 and the contact module 110 is a resin molded product, even if it has a complicated shape part such as a recess for an insulating part or a contact holding groove, productivity does not decrease. Easy to produce.
In addition, since the metal shield member is not embedded in the contact module 30 and the contact module 110, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional connector, and the contact is provided when the same number of contacts as the conventional connector is provided. The module 30 and the contact module 110 can be made smaller than the conventional technology.
Moreover, since the contact module 30 and the contact module 110 are integrated by using the holding member 90 and the holding member 130 instead of the housing required in the conventional connector, manufacturing (assembly) is easy also in this respect. It can be said that.
Also, an opening recess 37, an end storage portion 38, a communication portion 39 provided in the sandwiching plate 31, an opening recess 49 provided in the insulating portion 45, an end storage portion 50, a communication portion 51, a communication portion 52, and Each of the contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F and the contact pins 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D, 115E, and 115F are sandwiched by the opening recess 61 and the end storage portion 62 that are recessed in the insulating member 60. The contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F and the contact pins 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D, 115E, and 115F can be firmly held by the sandwiching plate 31 and the insulating member 60 and are easy to manufacture (assemble). And high productivity.
Further, since the through hole 136 is formed in the vertical portion 131 of the holding member 130, each contact pin 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D, 115E, 115F) can be easily held at a predetermined position (alignment can be easily ensured). ). Similarly, since the through hole 94 is formed in the vertical portion 91 of the holding member 90, the contact pins 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D, 115E, and 115F can be easily guided accurately into the receptacle connector 20 (each contact 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, 70F).

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the said embodiment, this invention can be implemented, giving various deformation | transformation.
For example, two insulating members 145 may be disposed between the left and right clamping plates 31 as in the modification shown in FIGS. 15 and 16.
On both side surfaces of the insulating member 145, as in the case of the conductive layer portion 32, insulating portion recesses 33, 34, 35, an opening recess 37, an end storage portion 38, and a communication portion 39 are formed. An insulating portion 45 is fitted on the surface. Further, a front step 146 is formed at the front of the upper end of the insulating member 145, and a pair of left and right front engaging projections 147 protrude from the upper surface of the front step 146. Further, a rear engagement recess 148 is formed in the vicinity of the upper end portion of the rear end surface of the insulating member 145, and a key groove 149 is formed in the lower end portion of the front end surface of the insulating member 145.
Between the fitting recess 55 of the left sandwiching plate 31 and the fitting recess 55 on the left side of the left insulating member 145, and on the left side of the fitting recess 55 on the right side of the left insulating member 145 and the right insulating member 145. Insulating members 60 are respectively fitted between the recesses 55 and between the fitting recess 55 of the right clamping plate 31 and the right fitting recess 55 of the right insulating member 145, and adjacent clamping plates 31. The contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F are sandwiched between the insulating member 60 and the adjacent insulating member 145 and the insulating member 60.
Although not shown, the rear part of the contact module group in which the contact modules 140 having such a structure are overlapped in the left-right direction is formed with an engagement protrusion having a shape corresponding to the rear engagement recess 41 and the rear engagement recess 148. If the front end of the contact module group is connected by a holding member provided with an engagement protrusion corresponding to the key groove 43 and an engagement groove corresponding to the front engagement protrusion 147, Receptacle connector and plug connector are completed.

15 and FIG. 16 is composed of four pairs of clamping plates (clipping plates 31 and 6) (one set is composed of contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, and 70F arranged in the vertical direction). In addition, since the insulating member 145 and the two insulating portions 45 are sandwiched between the insulating member 145 and the three insulating members 60, the two sets of contacts are composed of the two sandwiching plates 31 and the one insulating member 60. There are the following advantages over the contact module 30 sandwiched between:
First, in the contact module 30, for example, a total of six clamping plates 31 are required to sandwich six sets of contacts, but in this modification, four are sufficient. That is, the number of parts, the number of assembling steps, and the processing time for processes such as plating performed for each part can be reduced, so that the productivity can be improved and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
Secondly, the contact module 140 is composed of the sandwiching plate 31, the insulating member 145 that is thicker than the sandwiching plate 31 and has higher mechanical strength, and the sandwiching plate that includes the two insulating portions 45. Compared with the contact module 30, the mechanical strength of the contact module and the contact module group can be increased.
Further, in the modified examples of FIGS. 15 and 16, among the sandwiching plates constituting the contact module 140, the plate thickness of the conductive layer portions 32 on the left and right side portions is made smaller than half the plate thickness of the insulating member 145. If the holding member for the receptacle connector and the holding member for the plug connector are not provided with left and right side walls, all the contacts 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, 70F and the contact pins 115A, 115B, 115C, 115D 115E and 115F can be arranged in the left-right direction with the same spacing in the left-right direction, and a plurality of plug connectors or receptacle connectors.
Note that the receptacle connector and the plug connector may be configured with one or three or more insulating members 60 positioned between the left and right clamping plates 31.

Moreover, the implementation in the modification shown in FIG. 17 is also possible.
On the inner side surface of the conductive layer portion (conductive layer) 32 ′ of the receptacle connector 150 of this modified example, an opening concave portion 37 that is a concave portion for holding a ground contact, an end accommodating portion 38, and a communicating portion 39 are formed. Absent. That is, the receptacle connector 150 has only signal contacts 70B, 70D, and 70F.
Even when the ground contact is omitted as described above, if the distance between the differential pairs is adjusted to an appropriate distance by adjusting the thickness of the insulating member 60 (depth of the fitting recess 55), the gap between the differential pairs The occurrence of crosstalk can be suppressed (electromagnetic interference can be suppressed).
Of course, this modification can be applied to a plug connector.

Further, two or more signal contacts 70B, 70D, 70F and signal contact pins 115B, 115D, 115F arranged in the vertical direction between the opposing fitting protrusions 46, 47, 48 and the insulating member 60 are sandwiched. Also good. Also in this case, the contact and the contact pin that face in the left-right direction across the insulating member 60 have the same specifications.
Alternatively, the contact holding groove may be formed only in one of the two opposing conductive layer portions, or the contact holding groove may be formed only in one of the opposing insulating portion and insulating member.

  Furthermore, in both of the above embodiments, the side edges of the sandwiching plate 31 and the insulating part recesses 33, 34, 35 of the sandwiching plate made up of the insulating member 145 and the two insulating parts 45 (parts extending in parallel with the contacts). In the embodiment, the upper and lower edges of the recesses 33, 34, and 35 for the insulating portion are all covered by the conductive layer portions 32 and 32 ', but a part of them is covered by the conductive layer portion. You may implement as a shape which is not. FIG. 18 shows an example of this, and a part (upper part) of the insulating portion recess 33 is not covered with the conductive layer portion 32 ″. Although FIG. 18 shows a modification of the receptacle connector, it can be naturally applied to a plug connector.

Further, the insulating portion may be integrally formed (so-called two-color molding) on the conductive layer portion 32 (conductive layer portion 32 ′) using a mold.
Furthermore, after plating is formed on the entire surface of the synthetic resin material, the conductive layer portion (plating) where the insulating portion is formed may be removed, and the insulating portion may be formed in the removed portion.

It is a perspective view of the separation state of the plug connector and receptacle connector of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view when a plug connector and a receptacle connector are connected. It is the perspective view which looked at the receptacle connector from front diagonally upward when disassembled into three contact modules, a holding member, and a connecting rod. It is the perspective view which looked at the receptacle connector from back diagonally upward when disassembled into three contact modules, a holding member, and a connecting rod. It is the perspective view which looked at the receptacle connector from the front diagonally upward when disassembled into a contact module group, a holding member, and a connecting rod. It is a disassembled perspective view when the contact module of a receptacle connector is isolate | separated into three members. It is an expansion perspective view of a clamping board. It is an exploded perspective view when the contact module of the receptacle connector is completely separated. It is an expansion perspective view of a conductive layer part. It is an expansion perspective view of the contact (signal contact) of a receptacle connector. It is an enlarged side view of a receptacle connector. It is sectional drawing which follows the XII-XII arrow line of FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the back diagonally upward when a plug connector is decomposed | disassembled into a contact module group, a holding member, and a connecting rod. It is a disassembled perspective view when the contact module of a plug connector is completely separated. It is a disassembled perspective view of the contact module of the receptacle connector of the 1st modification. It is an expansion perspective view of a conductive layer part. It is sectional drawing similar to FIG. 12 of the 2nd modification. It is an expansion perspective view of the clamping board of a 3rd modification.

Explanation of symbols

10 Connector 20 Receptacle Connector 30 Contact Module 31 31 ′ Holding Plate 32 32 ′ 32 ″ Conductive Layer (Conductive Layer)
33 34 35 Insulating recess 36 Front step 37 Opening recess (contact holding groove)
38 End storage (contact holding groove)
39 Communication part (contact holding groove)
40 Front side engaging convex part 41 Rear side engaging concave part 42 43 Key groove 45 Insulating part 46 47 48 Fitting protrusion 49 Opening concave part (contact holding groove)
50 End storage (contact holding groove)
51 52 Communication part (contact holding groove)
55 Fitting recess 60 Insulating member 61 Opening recess 62 End storage (contact holding groove)
70A 70C 70E Ground contact 70B 70D 70F Signal contact 71 Spring-like bifurcated part 72 Press-fit terminal 75 Contact module group 80 Connecting rod 81 Insertion protrusion 82 Contacting part 83 84 Engaging protrusion 90 Holding member 91 Vertical part 92 Upper piece part 93 Lower piece 94 Through hole 95 96 Engagement protrusion 97 Engagement groove 100 Plug connector 110 Contact module 115A 115C 115E Ground contact pin 115B 115D 115F Signal contact pin 116 Contact end 117 Press-fit terminal 120 Contact module group 130 Holding member 131 Vertical part 132 Contact module holding part 133 Contact module holding part 134 Receptacle connector holding part 135 Receptacle connector holding part 136 Through hole 140 Emissions tact module 145 insulating member 146 front stepped portion 147 front engagement convex portion 148 rear-side engaging recesses 149 keyways 150 receptacle connector CB1 CB2 circuit board

Claims (20)

In a connector provided with a plurality of contact modules, each having one end connected to a plurality of contact pins protruding from the other connector and the other end connected to a circuit board,
The contact module includes a plurality of clamping plates arranged in the thickness direction of the contact module,
Forming a conductive layer and an insulating part on the opposing surface of each adjacent sandwich plate,
Sandwiching an insulating member between the insulating parts of the adjacent holding plates,
Sandwiching at least one of the contacts between the insulating member and the two insulating portions located on both sides of the insulating member,
A connector characterized in that the two contacts arranged in the thickness direction across the insulating member have the same specifications. The connector according to claim 1, wherein
In the insulating portion of each of the sandwiching plates, one end is opened at the end surface of the sandwiching plate, and an opening recess that constitutes a fitting hole that communicates the inside and outside of the contact module when the adjacent sandwiching plates are joined is formed.
A connector in which the contact pin that has entered the contact module through the fitting hole is electrically connected to the contact in the contact module. The connector according to claim 1 or 2,
A connector in which a contact holding groove for fitting and holding the contact is recessed in at least one of the insulating portion facing the thickness direction and the facing surface of the insulating member. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A connector in which a part of the plurality of contacts is sandwiched between the insulating portion and the insulating member, and the remaining contacts are held by the conductive layer. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A plurality of the insulating portions are sandwiched between the conductive layers on each of the opposing surfaces of the adjacent clamping plates,
A connector in which one contact is sandwiched between each insulating portion and the insulating member. In a connector provided with a plurality of contact modules each having one end inserted into the other connector and connected to a plurality of contacts incorporated in the other connector, and the other end connected to a circuit board.
The contact module includes a plurality of clamping plates arranged in the thickness direction of the contact module,
Forming a conductive layer and an insulating part on the opposing surface of each adjacent sandwich plate,
Sandwiching an insulating member between the insulating parts of the adjacent holding plates,
Sandwiching at least one of the contact pins between the insulating member and the two insulating portions located on both sides of the insulating member;
A connector characterized in that the two contact pins arranged in the thickness direction across the insulating member have the same specifications. The connector according to claim 6, wherein
In the insulating portion of each of the sandwiching plates, one end is opened at the end surface of the sandwiching plate, and an opening recess that constitutes a fitting hole that communicates the inside and outside of the contact module when the adjacent sandwiching plates are joined is formed.
A connector in which the contact pin protrudes outside the contact module through the fitting hole. The connector according to claim 6 or 7,
A connector in which a contact holding groove for fitting and holding the contact pin is provided in at least one of the insulating portion facing the thickness direction and the opposing surface of the insulating member. The connector according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
A connector in which a part of the plurality of contact pins is sandwiched between the insulating portion and the insulating member, and the remaining contact pins are held by the conductive layer. The connector according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
A plurality of the insulating portions are sandwiched between the conductive layers on each of the opposing surfaces of the adjacent clamping plates,
A connector in which one contact pin is sandwiched between each insulating portion and the insulating member. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
A connector in which the contact module is constituted by a pair of the clamping plates. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
A connector in which the contact module is constituted by three or more clamping plates. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
A connector in which the conductive layer is formed on the entire opposing surface of each sandwich plate, and the insulating portion is formed on a part of the surface of the conductive layer. The connector according to claim 13, wherein
A connector in which the conductive layer is continuous with a pair of side edges of the insulating portion located on both sides of the sandwiched contact. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
The connector which formed the conductive layer which continued the said conductive layer formed in this opposing surface in the surface part except the said opposing surface of the said clamping board. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 15,
The clamping plate
A conductive layer portion plated on the surface of the resin member and provided with a recess for an insulating portion on the inner side surface;
A connector constituted by the insulating portion made of a resin material covering the concave portion for the insulating portion. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 16,
A connector comprising a holding member for integrating the contact modules by mounting the contact modules on a contact module group formed by stacking the plurality of contact modules. In a method of manufacturing a connector having a plurality of contact modules each having one end connected to a plurality of contact pins protruding from another connector and the other end connected to a circuit board,
Forming a plurality of conductive layer portions plated with a plurality of resin material surfaces;
Forming a plurality of sandwiching plates by covering a part of the surface of each conductive layer part with an insulating part made of a resin material,
Forming a plurality of insulating members;
Arranging a plurality of the clamping plates in the thickness direction of the contact module, and disposing the insulating member between adjacent clamping plates;
At least one of the contacts is sandwiched between the insulating member and the two insulating portions located on both sides of the insulating member, and the two contacts are arranged in the thickness direction with the insulating member interposed therebetween. Forming a plurality of the contact modules by setting the same specifications to each other, and integrating the contact modules,
A method for manufacturing a connector, comprising: Method of manufacturing a connector comprising a plurality of contact modules each having one end inserted into another connector and connected to a plurality of contacts incorporated in the other connector, and the other end connected to a circuit board In
Forming a plurality of conductive layer portions plated with a plurality of resin material surfaces;
Forming a plurality of sandwiching plates by covering a part of the surface of each conductive layer part with an insulating part made of a resin material,
Forming a plurality of insulating members;
Arranging a plurality of the clamping plates in the thickness direction of the contact module, and disposing the insulating member between adjacent clamping plates;
At least one of the contact pins is sandwiched between the insulating member and the two insulating portions located on both sides of the insulating member, and two of the above are arranged in the thickness direction with the insulating member interposed therebetween. Forming a plurality of contact modules by making the contact pins have the same specifications, and integrating each contact module;
A method for manufacturing a connector, comprising: In the manufacturing method of the connector according to claim 18 and 19,
The step of integrating the contact modules is
A step of stacking the plurality of contact modules to form a contact module group, and a step of attaching a holding member to the contact module group;
A method of manufacturing a connector having

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