JP2011100576A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ZIF connector with contact pressure reduced accompanying increase of the number of cores of the contact. <P>SOLUTION: Pressure welding modules 30A, 30B are provided with a support plate 31 attached in free opening with a fulcrum in a housing 20 as a center, a wiring board 32, and an elastic electrode 33 coming in contact with a counterpart contact of a counterpart connector 50 as the pressure welding modules 30A, 30B are biased in a closing direction. The elastic electrode 33 consists of a rubber-piece like elastic pad 332, and an FPC 333 having a contact pattern connected to a wiring pattern of the wiring board 32. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) connector.

  This type of ZIF connector is disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2, and after being inserted into a mating connector, is contacted with a contact (terminal, contact) and a mating contact (mating terminal, mating contact), and the mating connector The contact (terminal, contact) and mating contact (mating terminal, mating contact) are configured to be released before being removed from the connector, resulting in a very large frictional force during insertion / extraction. Suitable for multi-core (multi-pole, multi-terminal, multi-layer, multi-stage) connection.

  Thus, ZIF connectors that tend to be multi-core are required to have a contact structure corresponding to the arrangement for making multi-core contacts and the repulsive force for stable contact with the mating contact in a limited space. .

JP 2003-142215 A JP 2005-129470 A

  However, the conventional ZIF connectors including those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 increase the repulsive force as the contact pressure increases as the number of cores increases, increasing the load on the housing holding the contacts. . For this reason, it is necessary to increase the strength of the housing, leading to an increase in the size of the housing.

  Further, in the conventional ZIF connector, it is difficult to make a multi-pole contact multi-stage in a limited space because of the problem of the connection method between the stages, the structure, and the structure corresponding to the repulsive force of the contact pressure.

  Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the repulsive force of the contact pressure caused by the multi-core multi-stage in a limited space while making the multi-core high-density contact arrangement multi-stage. It is to provide a ZIF connector.

  According to the present invention, a housing engaged with the mating connector, a first position where the mating connector is inserted / removed with a zero insertion / removal force around a fulcrum in the housing, and a second position connected to the mating connector, A pressure contact module rotatably provided between the pressure contact module and a pressure contact operation member that urges the pressure contact module to the second position according to an operation. The pressure contact module includes a support plate and a plurality of parallel contact members. The wiring board mounted on the support plate, and attached to the front end side of the wiring board, and when the pressing module is urged to the second position by the pressing operation member, An elastic electrode in contact with the mating contact of the mating connector, the elastic electrode comprising an elastic pad and a plurality of parallel contact patterns connected to the wiring pattern of the wiring board Connector characterized in that it consists an FPC having obtained.

  The press contact module may include a plurality of steps including the wiring board and the elastic electrode, and each of the plurality of steps may be sequentially formed in a step shape.

  The contact patterns of the elastic electrodes of adjacent stages may be alternately positioned in the pattern parallel direction.

  The FPC of the elastic electrode includes a margin, the pressure contact module further includes a lid plate, and the lid plate is stacked on the wiring board via the margin portion of the FPC. The elastic electrode and the wiring board are held on the support plate by engaging with the support plate in a state, and the connection between the contact pattern of the FPC and the wiring pattern of the wiring board is maintained. It may be.

  The pressure contact operating member may be a shaft with a lever, and may urge the pressure contact module by rotating a pressing portion according to a turning operation of the lever.

  A spring for urging the pressure contact module to the first position may be further included.

  Rotate between a first position where the mating connector is inserted and removed with zero insertion / removal force around the fulcrum in the housing and a second position where the mating connector is connected so as to form a pair with the pressure contact module. A second press contact module provided movably and a second press operation member for urging the second press contact module to the second position according to an operation may be further included.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, a connector system including the connector and the mating connector can be obtained.

  The connector by this invention can reduce the repulsive force of the contact pressure of the contact accompanying multi-core multi-stage.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a ZIF connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, with a part thereof broken so that the inside can be seen. (A) And (b) is sectional drawing which shows the state just before fitting with the ZIF connector and mating connector which were shown by FIG. (A) And (b) is sectional drawing which shows the state at the time of fitting with the ZIF connector shown in FIG. 1, and a mating connector. (A) is a partial exploded perspective view of the ZIF connector shown in FIG. 1, (b) is a perspective view showing a state before mating with the mating connector. (A) is a perspective view which shows the press-contact module in the ZIF connector shown by Fig.4 (a), (b) is a partial exploded perspective view. (A)-(c) is a perspective view which shows the elastic electrode in the press-contact module shown by FIG. (A) And (b) is sectional drawing for demonstrating the connection method with the connection object of the ZIF connector shown by FIG. (A)-(d) is a perspective view which shows the other party connector by the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state before fitting of the connector system which consists of a ZIF connector and the other party connector by the Example of this invention. (A) And (b) is sectional drawing for demonstrating the connection path | route in the connector system which consists of a ZIF connector and the other party connector by the Example of this invention.

  The ZIF connector according to the present invention, like the conventional ZIF connector, is inserted into the mating connector, then contacts the contact (terminal, contact) and the mating contact (mate terminal, mating contact), and is removed from the mating connector. The contact between the contact (terminal, contact) and the mating contact (mating terminal, mating contact) is released before, so that a fitting operation with electrical connection is performed.

  The ZIF connector includes a housing to be inserted into the mating connector, an open position (first position) at which the mating connector and the mating connector are inserted and withdrawn around the fulcrum in the housing, and a closed position (second position) at which the mating connector is connected. And a pressure contact operating member that urges the pressure contact module in a closing direction in accordance with an operation.

  The pressure welding module has a support plate attached to be able to open and close around the fulcrum of the housing, a plurality of parallel wiring patterns, a wiring board attached on the supporting plate, and attached to the tip side on the wiring board. And an elastic electrode that comes into contact with the contact of the mating connector when the pressing module is urged in the closing direction by the pressing operation member.

  The elastic electrode is composed of a rubber piece-like elastic pad, a base film, and an FPC having a plurality of parallel contact patterns connected to the wiring pattern of the wiring board.

  Therefore, this ZIF connector uses an elastic electrode with a low repulsive force to reduce the increase in contact pressure associated with the increase in the number of cores, thereby enabling stable contact. In addition, the wiring pattern and the holding structure that make the elastic electrode multi-stage enable multi-core multi-stage in a limited space.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[ZIF connector]
Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 (a) and (b), FIG. 3 (a) and (b), and FIG. 4 (a) and (b), a ZIF connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a mating connector. 50, the connector system for electrically connecting the probe card PC to which the mating connector 50 is to be connected to the semiconductor chip inspection device (not shown) to which the ZIF connector 10 is to be connected is configured. .

  The ZIF connector 10 includes a housing 20 made of resin, a pressure contact module (first pressure contact module) 30A, and a lever-equipped shaft 40A as a pressure contact operation member.

  The housing 20 is fitted into a mating connector 50 mounted on the plate surface of the probe card PC.

  The pressure contact module 30 </ b> A is provided in the housing 20 so as to be rotatable between an open position in which the mating connector 50 is inserted and removed with a fulcrum shaft 43 as an axis and a closed position in which the mating connector 50 is connected. Yes.

  When connecting the ZIF connector 10 and the mating connector 50, the lever-equipped shaft 40A moves the pressure contact module 30A in the closing direction by the shaft pressing portion 401 rotating toward the pressure contact module 30A according to the lever operation by the user. Energize. Thereby, the ZIF connector 10 is brought into contact with the mating connector 50 with electrical connection. The contact is maintained until the lever operation for releasing the connection between the ZIF connector 10 and the mating connector 50 is performed by the user and the pressing module 30A is opened by the biasing force of the spring 44 described later.

  The ZIF connector 10 further includes a pressure contact module (second pressure contact module) 30B, a lever-equipped shaft 40B as a second pressure contact operation member, and a spring 44 described later.

  The pressure contact module 30B has an open position in which it is inserted into and extracted from the mating connector 50 with a fulcrum shaft 43 as an axis in the housing 20 so as to form a pair with the pressure welding module 30A and a closed position connected to the mating connector 50. It is provided so as to be freely rotatable.

  The shaft 40B with a lever urges the pressure contact module 30B in the closing direction by rotating the pressing portion 401 of the shaft toward the pressure contact module 30B according to the lever operation of the user. Thereby, the ZIF connector 10 is brought into contact with the mating connector 50 with electrical connection. The contact is maintained until a lever operation for releasing the connection between the ZIF connector 10 and the mating connector 50 is performed by the user and the pressing module 30B is opened by a biasing force of a spring 44 described later.

  The spring 44 is attached between the pair of pressure contact modules 30A and 30B around the fulcrum shaft 43, and normally biases the pair of pressure contact modules 30A and 30B in the opening direction. As a result, when the ZIF connector 10 is inserted into and removed from the mating connector 50, the pair of pressure contact modules 30A and 30B are both in the open position (the posture in which the lower side in the drawing is open with the fulcrum shaft 43 as the center), and the insertion / extraction force is increased. Nearly zero.

  In the present embodiment, the ZIF connector has a pair of pressure contact modules, but may have a single pressure contact module.

  5A and 5B, the pressure contact module 30A includes a support plate 31, a wiring board 32, and an elastic electrode 33. In addition, since the press contact module 30B has the same structure, the description is omitted.

  The support plate 31 is attached to the housing 20 so as to be able to be opened and closed with the fulcrum shaft 43 as an axis.

  The wiring board 32 is a so-called double-sided board, has a plurality of parallel wiring patterns 321 a and 321 b, and is mounted on the support plate 31. Reference numeral 32r indicates the base end of the wiring board 32, and reference numeral 32d indicates the front end of the wiring board 32.

  The wiring pattern 321a extends from the base end 321ar for connection to an inspection apparatus (not shown), which is a connection target, to the tip 321ad corresponding to the elastic electrode 33 (the upper surface in FIG. 5). Formed on top. Each of the base end 321ar and the tip 321ad of the wiring pattern 321a has a land shape. On the other hand, the wiring pattern 321b passes through a through hole in the middle from the base end 321br to 321bd on the first plate surface (the lower surface in FIG. 5) of the wiring board 32 for connection to an inspection apparatus (not shown) that is a connection target. The wiring board 32 is formed over the first plate surface and the second plate surface so as to extend to the tip 321bd on the second plate surface of the wiring board 32 corresponding to the elastic electrode 33. The leading end 321bd and the base end 321br of the wiring pattern 321b are also in a land shape. As is clear from FIG. 5B, the wiring patterns 321a and 321b are alternately positioned in the pattern parallel direction.

  The elastic electrode 33 is attached to the tip 32d side on the wiring board 32, and as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the pressure contact module 30A is closed by the lever-equipped shaft 40A (the pressure contact module 30A is in the open position). The contact of the mating connector 50 is pressed and contacted. As is apparent from FIG. 3B, the lever-equipped shaft 40A is in the open position when the pressing portion 401 is positioned outward according to the lever operation by the user, and the pressing portion 401 is inward. When in position, the pressure contact module 30A is in the closed position. The pressing part 401 is configured to be biased via the support plate 31 and the wiring board 32. For this reason, the urging point (force point) by the pressing portion of the lever-equipped shaft 40A and the contact point (action point) of the elastic electrode 33 with the mating contact are substantially aligned, and the force point and the action point are far from each other. Stable contact is achieved compared to the case where

  Further, referring to FIGS. 6A to 6C, the elastic electrode 33 includes an FPC (Flexible Printed Cable or Flexible) that wraps a base film 331 and a rubber piece or gel piece-like elastic pad 332 bonded to the upper and lower surfaces thereof. Printed Circuit board) 333. The FPC 333 is a double-sided FPC in which a pattern is formed on an aramid film thinner than a normal FPC such as a thickness of 4 μm, for example, and includes a margin 336 without an elastic pad 332. The FPC 333 also has a plurality of parallel contact patterns 333 a and 333 b connected to the wiring patterns 321 a and 321 b of the wiring board 32.

  The contact pattern 333a extends from the base end 333ar connected to the tip 321ad (FIG. 5) of the wiring pattern 321a on the second plate surface of the wiring board 32 to the tip 333ad corresponding to the mating contact of the mating connector 50 through the through hole. In addition, it is formed across the outer side surface 333 o and the inner side surface 333 i of the FPC 333. On the other hand, the contact pattern 333b extends from the base end 333br connected to the tip of the wiring pattern 321b on the second plate surface of the wiring board 32 to the tip 333bd corresponding to the mating contact of the mating connector 50, so that the outer surface 333o of the FPC 333 is reached. Is formed. As is apparent from FIG. 6C and the like, the contact pattern 333a and the contact pattern 333b are alternately positioned in the pattern parallel direction.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the pressure contact module 30A includes a support plate 31, a wiring board 32 (first-stage wiring board), and an elastic electrode 33 (first-stage elastic electrode). In addition, an insulating intermediate plate 36, a wiring board 37 (second-stage wiring board), and an elastic electrode 38 (second-stage elastic electrode) are also included.

  The second-stage wiring board 37 is configured to be stepped upward from the first-stage wiring board 32 in the insertion direction of the ZIF connector and the mating connector. The wiring board 37 is also a so-called double-sided board, and has a plurality of parallel wiring patterns 371a and 371b as shown in FIG. 5B.

  The number of stages of the elastic electrode and the wiring board is not limited to two as in this embodiment, and may be three or more.

  Here, the connection between the ZIF connector 10 and an inspection device (not shown) is performed as follows. For example, through holes are provided at the base ends of the wiring boards 32 and 37, the wiring patterns on both plate surfaces are gathered on one side, and the FPC 90 connected to the inspection apparatus as shown in FIG. Solder to one surface of the wiring boards 32 and 37, or solder the FPC connection ZIF connector to one surface of the wiring boards 32 and 37, and connect the FPC 90 connected to the inspection device to the ZIF connector for FPC connection Connect through. Alternatively, as a countermeasure against noise, a plurality of coaxial cables are connected to the inspection apparatus, and the coaxial cables 95 are soldered to the wiring boards 32 and 37 as shown in FIG.

  The ZIF connector 10 is assembled as follows. First, the pressure contact modules 30A and 30B are assembled. That is, as shown in FIG. 5B, the pressure contact module 30A includes a wiring board 32, an elastic electrode 33, an intermediate plate 36, a wiring board 37, an elastic electrode 38, and a cover plate 39 on a support plate 31. Assembling is performed by laminating using holes formed with positioning holes corresponding to 313 and engaging the pair of engaging claws 396 of the lid plate 39 with both side portions of the support plate 31. Each of the elastic electrode 33, the elastic electrode 38, the wiring board 32, and the wiring board 37 is mechanically held on the support plate 31 via the intermediate plate 36, and the FPC 333 has a contact pattern wiring board 32 and wiring board 37. Maintains electrical connection to the wiring pattern. The pressure contact module 30B is assembled in the same manner. Next, the fulcrum shaft 43 is inserted into the hole of the housing 20 with the pressure contact modules 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B combining the fulcrum portions sandwiched between the two springs 44 positioned in the housing 20. Next, the lever-equipped shafts 40 </ b> A and 40 </ b> B are attached to the housing 20. Next, connection to an inspection apparatus or the like is made as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B as necessary.

  Further, referring to FIGS. 8A to 8D, the mating connector 50 is inserted into and removed from the ZIF connector 10, and has a stepped insulator 51, and is press-fitted into the insulator 51, and the elastic electrode 33 and the elasticity of the ZIF connector 10. Corresponding to the contact pattern of the electrode 38, a plurality of parallel contacts 52a, 52b, 57a, and 57b are provided. The contacts 52a and 57a have a rod shape whose upper end is bent in a U-shape. On the other hand, the contacts 52b and 57b have a rod shape.

  As shown in FIG. 9, guide ribs 58 are formed on both side surfaces of the insulator 51. On the other hand, a guide groove 28 is formed in the housing 20 of the ZIF connector 10 corresponding to the guide rib 58, and the ZIF connector 10 and the mating connector 50 are positioned in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the height direction. The

  After the ZIF connector 10 is inserted into the mating connector 50, the user operates the lever-equipped shafts 40A and 40B to establish electrical connection between the ZIF connector 10 and the mating connector 50, as shown in FIG. As shown, the contact 52a of the mating connector 50, the contact path A1a through the contact pattern 333a of the elastic electrode 33 and the wiring pattern 321a of the wiring board 32 in the pressure contact module 30A of the ZIF connector 10, the contact 57a of the mating connector 50, and the ZIF connector. 10 pressure contact module 30A, contact path A2a through contact pattern 383a of elastic electrode 38 and wiring pattern 371a of wiring board 37, contact 52a of mating connector 50, and pressure contact module 30B of ZIF connector 10. The contact path B1a passing through the contact pattern 333a of the elastic electrode 33 and the wiring pattern 321a of the wiring board 32, the contact 57a of the mating connector 50, and the contact pattern 383a of the elastic electrode 38 and the wiring board 37 of the pressure contact module 30B of the ZIF connector 10 A plurality of connection paths B2a passing through the wiring pattern 371a are formed.

  Further, alternately with these connection paths, as shown in FIG. 10B, the contact 52b of the mating connector 50, the contact pattern 333b of the elastic electrode 33 in the pressure contact module 30A of the ZIF connector 10, and the wiring pattern 321b of the wiring board 32. The connection path A1b passing through the connector, the contact 57b of the mating connector 50, the connection path A2b passing through the contact pattern 383b of the elastic electrode 38 and the wiring pattern 371b of the wiring board 37 in the pressure contact module 30A of the ZIF connector 10, and the contact 52b of the mating connector 50 In addition, the contact path B1b through the contact pattern 333b of the elastic electrode 33 and the wiring pattern 321b of the wiring board 32 in the pressure contact module 30B of the ZIF connector 10, the contact 57b of the mating connector 50, and A connection path B2b go through wiring patterns 371b of the contact patterns 383b and the wiring board 37 of the elastic electrode 38 in pressure contact module 30B of the IF connector 10 are each plurality constructed.

10 ZIF connector (connector)
20 Housing 28 Guide groove 30A Pressure welding module (first pressure welding module)
30B Pressure welding module (second pressure welding module)
31 Support plate 313 Positioning dowel 32 Wiring board 32r Base end 32d Tip 321a, 321b Wiring pattern 321ar, 321br Base end 321ad, 321bd Tip 33, 38 Elastic electrode 331, 381 Base film 332, 382 Elastic pad 333, 383 FPC
333i, 383i Base end 333o, 383o Tip 333a, 333b, 383a, 383b Contact pattern 333ar, 333br, 383ar, 383br Base end 333ad, 333bd, 383ad, 383bd Tip 336, 386 Blank part 36 Pattern 39 Cover plate 396 Engagement claw 40A Shaft with lever (Pressure operation member (first pressure operation member))
40B Shaft with lever (Pressure operation member (second pressure operation member))
401 pressing portion 43 fulcrum shaft 44 spring 50 mating connector 51 insulator 52a, 52b, 57a, 57b contact 58 guide rib 90 FPC
95 Coaxial cable A1a, A2a, B1a, B2a, A1b, A2b, B1b, B2b Connection path PC probe card

Claims (8)

A housing that engages with a mating connector;
A pressure contact module provided so as to be rotatable between a first position at which the mating connector is inserted and removed with a zero insertion / extraction force around a fulcrum in the housing, and a second position connected to the mating connector;
A pressing operation member that urges the pressing module to the second position according to an operation;
The pressure welding module is
A support plate;
A wiring board having a plurality of parallel wiring patterns, and mounted on the support plate;
An elastic electrode attached to the front end side of the wiring board and contacting the mating contact of the mating connector when the pressing module is urged to the second position by the pressing operation member;
The elastic electrode is
An elastic pad;
A connector comprising: an FPC having a plurality of parallel contact patterns connected to the wiring pattern of the wiring board. The pressure welding module has a plurality of stages including the wiring board and the elastic electrode,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of stages is sequentially formed in a step shape.   The connector according to claim 2, wherein the contact patterns of the elastic electrodes of adjacent stages are alternately positioned in a pattern parallel direction. The FPC of the elastic electrode has a margin,
The pressure contact module further includes a cover plate,
The cover plate is held on the support plate by engaging the support plate in a state where the cover plate is stacked on the wiring substrate via the margin of the FPC. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connection between the contact pattern of the FPC and the wiring pattern of the wiring board is maintained.   5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the pressure contact operating member is a shaft with a lever, and the pressure contact module is urged by rotating a pressing portion according to a rotation operation of the lever. .   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a spring that urges the pressure contact module to the first position. Rotate between a first position where the mating connector is inserted and removed with zero insertion / removal force around the fulcrum in the housing and a second position where the mating connector is connected so as to form a pair with the pressure contact module. A second pressure contact module provided movably,
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a second press-contact operation member that biases the second press-contact module to the second position according to an operation.   A connector system comprising the connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and the mating connector.

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