JP2010113976A - Electrical connector assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector assembly securing retention force of a contact in a female housing, and capable of making a contact length long between contacts. <P>SOLUTION: A convex part 34 is formed on a front end surface of a receptive cavity 24 of a female-type receptacle housing 20. A concave part 62 is formed on a front end surface of a male-type plug housing 60. In the connector assembly 1, a receptacle connector 10 and a plug connector 50 are insertion-coupled in a state which the convex part 34 of the receptacle housing 20 is inserted in the concave part 62 of the plug housing 60. A contact 40 penetrates the convex part 34 and the concave part 62 to be in contact with a corresponding contact 70. With this connector assembly 1, a retention hole 32 with the contact 40 to be press fitted is formed at the convex part 34, thus, a press-fitting length of the contact 40 is to be long. And also, a contact length between the contact 40 and the contact 70 can be made longer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly including an electrical connector (female connector) having a female housing and an electrical connector (male connector) having a male housing fitted to the female connector.

  To reduce the size and height of electronic equipment, to increase the mounting density of electronic circuits, or to arrange a plurality of circuit boards (hereinafter simply referred to as boards) in the vertical direction, either or both A connector (hereinafter simply referred to as a connector) is widely mounted on a substrate. This connector is generally composed of an assembly in which a female receptacle connector and a male plug connector are fitted together. The receptacle connector mainly includes a male contact and a female housing that holds the male contact. The plug connector mainly includes a female contact electrically connected to the male contact of the receptacle connector and a male housing that holds the female contact. The female housing includes a hood-shaped receiving cavity, and the male housing is received inside the receiving cavity to constitute a connector assembly (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

JP 2002-151207 A JP 2006-216433 A

Along with the downsizing of electronic equipment, in addition to mounting the connector on a substrate, it is required to downsize the connector (assembly) itself. One way to reduce the size of the connector is to make the housing thinner. However, in the case of a connector that holds a contact by press-fitting the contact into a holding hole provided in the housing, especially in the female housing, the contact holding portion cannot be thickened. There is a risk that the basic function of the housing will be reduced. On the other hand, when the thickness of the contact holding portion of the female housing is increased in order to secure the holding force of the contact, the length of contact between the contacts is shortened. In this case, for example, in a connector assembly in which the receptacle connector is mounted on the substrate and the plug connector is connected to the wire harness, the contact between the contacts may not be ensured when the wire harness is pulled.
The present invention has been made based on such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly capable of ensuring the contact holding force in the female housing and increasing the contact length between the contacts.

The connector assembly of the present invention is configured by fitting a female first connector and a male second connector to each other, and the first connector contacts the second contact of the second connector. A plurality of first contacts; and a female first housing that holds the plurality of first contacts and has a receiving cavity that receives the second connector. The second connector includes a plurality of second contacts that contact the first contacts of the first connector, and a male second housing having a second holding portion that holds the plurality of second contacts. Yes.
In the connector assembly of the present invention having the above basic configuration, a convex portion is formed on the bottom surface of the receiving cavity of the first housing. In addition, a concave portion corresponding to the convex portion is formed on the front end surface of the second housing facing the bottom surface of the receiving cavity. In the connector assembly of the present invention, the first connector and the second connector are fitted in a state where the convex portion is inserted into the concave portion, and at least one first contact penetrates the convex portion and the concave portion. In contact with the second contact.

  The connector assembly of the present invention secures the holding force of the first contact in the female first housing in which it is difficult to secure the thickness of the holding portion by providing a convex portion on the first housing of the first connector. On the other hand, since the first connector and the second connector are fitted with the convex portion inserted in the concave portion, the contact length between the first connector and the second connector can be increased.

The connector assembly of this invention can form a convex part for every 1st contact, and can also form a recessed part for every 2nd contact. However, in the case of a multipolar connector assembly having a large number of first contacts and second contacts, the distance between the first (second) contacts is narrow, so in a female or male housing made by injection molding It is not easy to form a convex portion (concave portion) for each first (second) contact. Therefore, in the case of a multipolar connector assembly, it is preferable to form a convex portion for each predetermined number of first contacts and form a concave portion corresponding to the convex portion.
The connector assembly of the present invention is applied not only when the second housing is configured as a single unit, but also when the second housing is composed of a housing body that holds the second contact and a cover housing that houses the housing body. The In this case, the front end surface of the cover housing protrudes from the front end surface of the housing body, so that a recess can be formed. And the cover housing can open the part corresponding to a recessed part, and can also provide a front side wall in the part corresponding to a recessed part.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while ensuring the holding force of the contact in a female housing, the connector assembly which can lengthen the contact length of contacts can be provided.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a female receptacle connector (first connector) 10 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the front, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the receptacle connector 10 as viewed from the rear. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector assembly 1 configured by fitting the receptacle connector 10 and the male plug connector (second connector) 50 to each other, and FIG. 4 shows the receptacle connector 10 shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of a state where the plug connector 50 is separated.

The receptacle connector 10 includes an insulating housing 20, a plurality of conductive contacts 40, and insulating tine plates 45 and 47. The housing 20 is positioned at a predetermined position on the substrate with its lower surface in contact with the surface of the substrate (not shown, the same applies hereinafter).
The plug connector 50 includes an insulating housing 60 and a plurality of conductive contacts 70. The plug connector 50 is received in the receiving cavities 24 to 26 of the receptacle housing 20 and is fitted to the receptacle housing 20 to constitute the connector assembly 1.
Hereinafter, main elements will be described in the order of the receptacle connector 10 and the plug connector 50.

<Receptacle housing 20>
A female receptacle housing (first housing) 20 that holds a plurality of contacts 40 is integrally formed by injection molding a resin.
The receptacle housing 20 includes a fitting portion 21 to which the plug connector 50 is fitted on the front side. In the fitting part 21, three receiving cavities 24 to 26 partitioned by partition walls 22 and 23 are formed. The plug connector 50 is fitted to the receptacle connector 10 by being inserted into the receiving cavities 24 to 26.

  The receptacle housing 20 includes a cover 27 on the rear side. The cover 27 includes an upper wall 28 and a pair of left and right side walls 29 and 30. A rear end portion of the contact 40 including the tine portion 43 is disposed inside the cover 27 surrounded by the upper wall 28 and the side walls 29 and 30.

A contact holding wall 31 is formed at the boundary between the fitting portion 21 and the cover 27 (FIGS. 3 and 4). The contact 40 is held in the receptacle housing 20 by being press-fitted into a holding hole 32 formed in the contact holding wall 31.
The contact holding wall 31 includes a convex portion 34 protruding from the base portion 33 toward the receiving cavity 24 (25, 26). The front end surfaces of the base portion 33 and the convex portion 34 form the bottom surface of the receiving cavity 24 (25, 26). Since the holding hole 32 is formed in the convex portion 34 that is thicker than the base portion 33, the contact 40 penetrates the convex portion 34. The convex portion 34 has a thickness that allows a sufficient press-fitting allowance to hold the press-fitted contact 40.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of (10 in the example of FIG. 5) contacts 40 are regarded as one block, and one convex portion 34 is provided for each block. In the present invention, the convex portion 34 can be provided independently for each contact 40, but is it difficult to form a fine cavity corresponding to the convex portion 34 in a mold used for injection molding? Even if it can be formed, the production cost is increased. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the convex part 34 for every block like this Embodiment. By doing so, it is possible to obtain a sufficient press-fitting allowance for holding the contact 40 while ensuring the ease of manufacturing the receptacle housing 20.
The protruding height of the convex portion 34 should be set in consideration of the thickness of the base portion 33 so that a press-fitting allowance sufficient to hold the contact 40 can be obtained.
In the receptacle housing 20, the side on which the substrate is arranged is down, and the opposite side is up. In the receptacle housing 20, the side on which the plug connector 50 is fitted is the front, and the side on which the tine plates 45 and 47 are arranged is the rear. This definition shall also apply to the present invention.

<Contact 40>
The male contact (first contact) 40 includes a contact portion 41 that contacts the contact 70 of the plug connector 50, a drooping portion 42 having a tine portion 43 inserted into a connection hole of the board, and a contact portion 41. It has the bending part 44 which connects the drooping part 42 (FIG. 3).
The contact portion 41 extends substantially parallel to the mating direction with the mating connector, and the hanging portion 42 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the mating direction. The contact 40 is formed by punching a thin metal plate and bending the bent portion 44 at approximately 90 °. The contact 40 is made of a highly conductive and highly elastic material such as a copper alloy.

  The plurality of contacts 40 are held in the receptacle housing 20 by being press-fitted into the contact holding wall 31. In this state, the tine portion 43 of each contact 40 is inserted into the connection hole of the substrate. The tine portions 43 of the contacts 40 are arranged in parallel with each other, and the tine portions 43 of all the contacts 40 are arranged so as to correspond to the connection holes of the substrate. The tine portion 43 is fixed to the substrate by soldering in the connection hole.

  A plurality of contacts 40 are arranged along the width direction of the receptacle housing 20, and a plurality of contacts 40 are arranged along the vertical direction of the receptacle housing 20. In the vertical direction of the receptacle housing 20, the lowermost contact 40 with the hanging portion 42 closest to the contact holding wall 31 has a short contact portion 41 (hereinafter referred to as a protruding length) protruding from the back surface of the contact holding wall 31, and The length of the drooping portion 42 up to the tine plate 45 (hereinafter, drooping length) is short. The contact 40 has the shortest distance from the tine plate 45 to the contact portion 41. Conversely, in the vertical direction, the contact 40 with the hanging portion 42 farthest from the contact holding wall 31 has a long protruding length and a long hanging length.

<Tine plates 45, 47>
In the tine plates 45 and 47, a plurality of positioning holes 46 and 48 penetrating through both upper and lower surfaces are formed in the same arrangement as the tine portions 43 of the plurality of contacts 40. The positioning holes 46 and 48 are usually tapered at the upper end so that the tine portion 43 of the contact 40 can be easily inserted.

  When the tine plate 45 (47) is assembled to the receptacle housing 20, the contact 40 is press-fitted into the contact holding wall 31 to bring the tine portion 43 into a predetermined alignment state, and then the tine plate 45 (47) is attached to the cover 27. Approach the contact 40 from below. At this time, each contact 40 and the corresponding positioning hole 46 (48) are aligned. Even if the position of the tine portion 43 is shifted, the position shift can be corrected by inserting the tine portion 43 through the positioning hole 46 (48). By inserting all the tine portions 43 through the corresponding positioning holes 46 (48), it is possible to align all the tine portions 43 with the connection holes of the substrate. By assembling the tine plate 45 (47) to a predetermined position of the receptacle housing 20, the assembly of the tine plate 45 (47) to the receptacle housing 20 is completed.

Next, main elements of the plug connector 50 will be described.
<Plug housing 60>
The male plug housing (second housing) 60 that holds the plurality of contacts 70 is integrally formed by injection molding of resin.
The plug housing 60 includes a base portion 61 and a concave portion 62 that is recessed backward from the base portion 61 on the front end surface thereof.
The concave portion 62 is formed at a position corresponding to the convex portion 34 of the receptacle housing 20, and the size of the concave portion 62 is set so as to coincide with the outer diameter of the convex portion 34. Therefore, when the plug connector 50 and the receptacle connector 10 are completely fitted, the convex portion 34 is inserted into the concave portion 62 with almost no gap. At this time, the base portion 61 of the plug housing 60 is inserted into the stepped portion formed by the base portion 33 and the convex portion 34 of the receptacle housing 20 without a gap.

The plug housing 60 is formed with a plurality of cavities 63 extending from the rear end of the recess 62, and a holding hole 65 is formed from the rear end of each cavity 63. The contact 70 is held in the plug housing 60 by being press-fitted into the holding hole 65. The front end side of the contact 70 held by the plug housing 60 is exposed in the cavity 63.
Although not shown, a lock mechanism for preventing the plug housing 60 and the receptacle housing 20 from coming off can be provided as appropriate. In the plug housing 60, the side on which the receptacle housing 20 is fitted is the front, and the opposite side is the rear. This definition shall also apply to the present invention.

<Contact 70>
The female contact (second contact) 70 includes a contact portion that contacts the contact 40 of the receptacle connector 10 and has a hollow structure. The contact 70 is formed by bending a thin metal plate having a predetermined width into a prismatic shape, and is made of a highly conductive and highly elastic material such as a copper alloy.

The plurality of contacts 70 are held in the plug housing 60 by being press-fitted into the holding holes 65 of the plug housing 60. In this state, the tip of each contact 70 is exposed to the cavity 63, and the contact 40 is inserted into the contact 70 in the exposed portion, and the contact 40 and the contact 70 are electrically connected. Further, the contact 70 has a rear end portion exposed from the rear end of the plug housing 60 and is connected to the wire harness.
A plurality of contacts 70 are arranged along the width direction of the plug housing 60 corresponding to the contacts 40, and along the vertical direction of the plug housing 60.

  In the electrical connector assembly 1, the convex portion 34 is provided in the receptacle housing 20, the concave portion 62 is provided in the plug housing 60, and the convex portion is provided in the concave portion 62 in a state where the receptacle connector 10 and the plug connector 50 are fitted to each other. 34 is inserted without a gap. Further, the contact 40 passes through the convex portion 34 and the concave portion 62 and comes into contact with the corresponding contact 70. By comprising in this way, the electrical connector assembly 1 can acquire the following effect | actions and effects.

  In the electrical connector assembly 1, the receptacle housing 20 includes a convex portion 34, and a holding hole 32 into which the contact 40 is press-fitted is formed in the convex portion 34. Therefore, compared with the case where the contact holding wall 31 is composed only of the base portion 33, the press-fitting allowance of the contact 40 can be increased, so that the receptacle housing 20 has a strong force for holding the contact 40.

  Further, in the electrical connector assembly 1, the convex portion 34 of the receptacle housing 20 is inserted into the concave portion 62 of the plug housing 60 in a state where the receptacle connector 10 and the plug connector 50 are fitted to each other. Therefore, since the contact length between the contact 40 and the contact 70 can be further increased, even if the wire harness connected to the plug connector 50 is pulled for some reason, the contact between the connector 40 and the connector 70 is maintained. It's easy to do.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, when the contact holding wall 31 does not include the convex portion 34 and the bottom surface of the receiving cavity is flat (Comparative Example 1), the force for holding the contact 40 is insufficient. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the contact holding wall 31 has the same thickness as the convex portion 34, but the plug housing 60 does not have the concave portion 62 (Comparative Example 2), the contact holding wall 31 contacts the contact holding wall 31. The distance to 70 becomes longer, and the contact length between the contact 40 and the contact 70 becomes shorter.

<Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The present invention is not limited to a single plug housing 60 as in the first embodiment, but includes a plug connector 80 having a plug housing 110 including a housing main body 90 and a cover housing 100 that houses the housing main body 90. Can be applied to.

  The receptacle connector 10 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the vertical dimension is set such that the base 33 is small and the convex portion 34 is large.

  The housing main body 90 is formed with a plurality of cavities 93 extending from the front end toward the rear end, and a holding hole 95 is formed from the rear end of each cavity 93. The contact 70 is held in the housing body 90 by being press-fitted into the holding hole 95. The front end side of the contact 70 held by the housing main body 90 is exposed in the cavity 93. The front end surface 91 of the housing main body 90 is a flat surface except for the cavity 93.

  The cover housing 100 includes a cavity 103 that accommodates the housing main body 90, and has a box-like shape with an open front end. In a state where the housing main body 90 is inserted all the way into the cavity 103, the front end surface 105 of the cover housing 100 protrudes ahead of the front end surface 91 of the housing main body 90. Therefore, a recess is formed in the front end surface of the plug housing 110.

  The electrical connector assembly 2 including the receptacle connector 10 and the plug connector 80 is provided with a convex portion 34 in the receptacle housing 20 and a concave portion in the front end surface of the plug housing 110 so that the receptacle connector 10 and the plug connector 80 are mutually connected. The convex part 34 is inserted in a recessed part in the fitted state. Similarly to the first embodiment, the electrical connector assembly 2 configured as described above also has a strong force for the receptacle housing 20 to hold the contacts 40. Further, since the convex portion 34 of the receptacle housing 20 is inserted into the concave portion of the plug housing 110 in a state where the receptacle connector 10 and the plug connector 80 are fitted to each other, the contact length between the contact portion of the contact 40 and the contact 70 is increased. The length can be made longer.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the cover housing 100 having the front end opened is shown. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the present invention can be applied to the cover housing 100 in which the front side wall 107 is provided and the opening is closed. Even in this case, a concave portion corresponding to the convex portion 34 can be provided on the front end surface of the plug housing 110. The front side wall 107 corresponds to this recess. However, if the front side wall 107 is thick, the effect of providing the concave portion is lost. Therefore, it is necessary to set the thickness of the front side wall 107 in consideration of this point.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on suitable embodiment, this invention is not limited to these embodiment.
In the first and second embodiments, the connector assembly in which the receptacle connector 10 is mounted on the board is shown. However, both the female first connector and the male second connector are not mounted on the board. The present invention can be applied.
Further, although the contact 40 included in the receptacle connector 10 is L-shaped, the shape of the contact is arbitrary in the present invention. For example, both male and female contacts can be applied straight.
Other than this, as long as the gist of the present invention is not deviated, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.

It is the perspective view which looked at the receptacle housing which comprises the connector assembly which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention from the front. It is the perspective view which looked at the receptacle housing which comprises the connector assembly which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention from back. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional view showing the connector assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a view showing the receptacle connector and the plug connector separately. It is a top view which shows the convex part formed in the receptacle housing which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a cross-sectional view of the connector assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the example of a change of the connector assembly which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector assembly according to Comparative Example 1. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector assembly according to Comparative Example 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2 ... Electrical connector assembly 10 ... Receptacle connector (first connector)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Receptacle housing (1st housing), 21 ... Fitting part, 22, 23 ... Partition wall, 24-26 ... Receiving cavity, 27 ... Cover, 28 ... Upper wall, 29, 30 ... Side wall, 31 ... Contact holding wall 32 ... holding hole 33 ... base part 34 ... convex part 40 ... contact 45 ... tine plate 50, 80 ... plug connector (second connector)
60, 110 ... plug housing (second housing), 61 ... base, 62 ... recess, 63 ... cavity, 65 ... holding hole, 90 ... housing body (second housing), 91 ... front end face, 93 ... cavity, 95 ... Holding hole, 100 ... Cover housing (second housing), 103 ... Cavity, 105 ... Front end face, 107 ... Front side wall 70 ... Contact

Claims (3)

An electrical connector assembly configured by fitting a female first connector and a male second connector to each other,
The first connector is
A plurality of first contacts;
A female first housing holding a plurality of the first contacts and having a receiving cavity for receiving the second connector;
The second connector is
A plurality of second contacts in contact with the first contacts of the first connector;
A male second housing holding a plurality of the second contacts,
A convex portion is formed on the bottom surface of the receiving cavity of the first housing,
A concave portion corresponding to the convex portion is formed on the front end surface of the second housing facing the bottom surface of the receiving cavity,
With the convex portion inserted into the concave portion, the first connector and the second connector are fitted,
The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first contacts passes through the convex portion and the concave portion and contacts the second contact. The convex portion is formed for each predetermined number of the first contacts,
The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion is formed corresponding to the convex portion. The second housing comprises a housing body that holds the second contact, and a cover housing that houses the housing body,
The recess is formed by projecting the front end surface of the cover housing from the front end surface of the housing body,
The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cover housing includes a front side wall corresponding to the recess.

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