JP2012099402A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of improving transmission characteristics of a high-frequency signal.SOLUTION: A connector 1 includes: a plurality of pairs of contacts 3 each having 3a and 3b which are each long and thin and placed at a distance from each other in parallel; and a plurality of first supporting parts (41-1 to 41-7, 42-1 to 42-7) attached in a longitudinal direction of corresponding contacts (3a, 3b). In at least one region, interior surfaces 32 of the contacts of each pair face to each other while being separated from each other by air; and exterior surfaces 31 of the contacts of each pair face to the outside direction with respect to each other; the center part of each exterior surface 31 is attached to each corresponding first supporting part in a longitudinal direction of each contact; and the edge of each exterior surface 31 is not attached to any of the plurality of first supporting parts.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector used for electrically connecting a circuit board to another circuit board or an electronic device.

In a device that handles a large amount of data and has a plurality of circuit boards, such as a communication device such as a router or a repeater, and an information processing device such as a server or a storage system, for transmitting signals between the plurality of circuit boards. A circuit board called a backplane is used. A terminal included in a circuit board called a daughter board including an arithmetic circuit such as a processor that actually performs information processing or a memory and a corresponding terminal on the backplane are connected using a connector.
In recent years, in the apparatus as described above, the transmission speed of signals transmitted between substrates has been increased, and depending on the apparatus, the transmission speed may be higher than 10 Gbit / sec. As the transmission speed is increased, the frequency of the transmitted signal is also increased. Therefore, the connector is required to be able to transmit a high frequency signal.

  Thus, connectors that enable high-speed signal transmission have been developed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). For example, Patent Document 1 states that “a high-speed connector includes a plurality of wafer-shaped components (400) in which two rows of conductive terminals (420) are supported by an insulating support body, and the support includes a row. Including an internal cavity (133) disposed between the conductive terminals of each of the horizontal terminals 133. The terminals are arranged to create a horizontal terminal pair, and the internal cavities of each horizontal terminal pair arranged in a two-terminal array. "Defining an air channel between".

Special table 2008-535184 gazette Special table 2008-535185 gazette Special table 2008-535187 Special table 2008-535188 gazette

  The connector is required to suppress insertion loss and crosstalk between adjacent contact pairs as much as possible in order to accurately transmit a high frequency signal.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of improving the transmission characteristics of a high frequency signal.

  According to one aspect of the invention, a connector is provided. The connector includes a plurality of contact pairs including two contacts that are elongated, substantially parallel and spaced apart, and a plurality of first supports attached along the longitudinal direction of the corresponding contacts. Part. In at least one region, the inner surfaces of the contacts of each contact pair are opposed to each other and separated by air, and the outer surfaces of the contacts of each contact pair are directed outward with respect to each other, and the central portion of the outer surfaces Are attached to the corresponding first support portions along the longitudinal direction of the contact, and the end portions of the outer surfaces are not attached to the first support portions.

  According to another aspect of the invention, a connector is provided. This connector is attached along a longitudinal direction of a plurality of contact pairs arranged in substantially concentric circles, including two elongated, substantially parallel and spaced apart contact pieces. A plurality of first support portions. In at least one region, the inner surfaces of the contacts of each contact pair are opposed to each other and separated by air, and the outer surfaces of the contacts of each contact pair are directed outward with respect to each other, and the central portion of the outer surfaces Are attached to the corresponding first support portions along the longitudinal direction of the contact, and the end portions of the outer surfaces are not attached to the first support portions.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the connector which can improve the transmission characteristic of a high frequency signal.

It is the schematic perspective view which looked at the connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention from front diagonally upward. It is the schematic perspective view which looked at the connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention from back diagonally upward. It is the schematic perspective view which looked at the connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention from the front diagonally downward. It is the schematic perspective view of the wafer which looked at the wafer which supports one contact contained in each of a plurality of contact pairs from one side. It is the schematic perspective view of the wafer which looked at the wafer shown by FIG. 4 from the other surface. It is a figure which shows the cross section of the connector in the surface A of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the area | region B in FIG. (A) is an electric field vector diagram showing the direction and strength of an electric field vector between a pair of contacts included in a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a pair of conventional techniques according to a comparative example. It is an electric field vector diagram showing the electric field between contacts. (A) is a figure which shows the dimension of each part of the connector by this embodiment used for simulation, (B) is a figure which shows the dimension of each part of the connector by a comparative example used for simulation. It is the schematic perspective view of the wafer which looked at the wafer which is a supporting member from one side by other embodiments. It is the schematic perspective view of the wafer which looked at the wafer shown by FIG. 10 from the other surface. It is a figure which shows the cross section of the wafer in the surface D of FIG. It is a schematic perspective view of the contactor pair which the connector by other embodiment has. It is the schematic perspective view which looked at the contactor pair and the wafer which supports the contactor pair from another side by other modification. FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view of the contact pair and the wafer shown in FIG. 14 as viewed from the other side.

  Hereinafter, a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This connector is used, for example, to connect a backplane and other circuit boards or electronic devices. In this connector, for example, a member that supports a plurality of contact pairs that transmit signals by the differential transmission method is provided in a region where the electric field strength generated between the contact pairs during signal transmission is as low as possible. It is done. As a result, this connector suppresses an increase in the capacitance component of the impedance between both terminals of the contact connected to the circuit board or the like due to the electric field generated during signal transmission, and improves transmission characteristics.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a connector according to one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front (in this embodiment, a cap side to be described later) obliquely from above, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic perspective view which looked at the connector which concerns from back diagonally upward. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the connector according to one embodiment of the present invention as seen from the front obliquely downward.
The connector 1 includes a cap 2, a plurality of contact pairs 3, and a plurality of wafers 4.

The cap 2 is an example of a housing, and holds each wafer 4 so that the distance between the contacts included in each contact pair supported by the wafer 4 is kept constant. Therefore, the cap 2 has a box shape with one side surface opened. In the end face 2a opposite to the opened face, a plurality of one end portions (not shown) of each contact pair 3 and terminals of the circuit board connected to the end portions can be inserted. The hole 21 is formed. Rails (not shown) that define the direction in which the wafer 4 is inserted are formed on the inner surfaces of the upper wall 2b and the lower wall 2c of the cap 2 along a direction parallel to the side wall 2d. . Further, even if the upper wall 2b or the lower wall 2c of the cap 2 is formed with a hole for engaging with the protrusion formed on the upper end or the lower end of the wafer 4 to prevent the wafer 4 from falling off. Good.
The material constituting the cap 2 is preferably a dielectric. The materials are industrial plastics such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene styrene copolymer resin (ABS resin), polybutylene terephthalate resin (PBT resin), polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate resin (PC). Resin), polyphenylene oxide resin (PPO resin), polysulfone (PSF resin), polyetherimide resin (PEI resin), polyether ketone resin (PEK resin), polyamide resin (PA resin), polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate resin (PCT) Resin), polyphenylene sulfide resin (PPS resin), polyether sulfone (PES resin), polyether itself and a resin composed of a copolymer thereof may be included. The material may contain an insulating filler such as glass fiber in order to increase the rigidity.

Each of the plurality of contact pairs 3 transmits, for example, a signal between two circuit boards connected to the connector 1 by a differential transmission method. For this purpose, each of the plurality of contact pairs 3 includes two contacts 3a and 3b separated by an air gap having a certain width and substantially parallel. The contacts 3a and 3b are elongated and have a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape. The contacts 3a and 3b are arranged so as to be line symmetric with respect to the center line of the air gap along the longitudinal direction of the contacts 3a and 3b. The two contacts 3a and 3b are separately supported by two wafers 4a and 4b, respectively. One ends of the contacts 3 a and 3 b are arranged in a two-dimensional array on the bottom surface of the connector 1. The plurality of contact pairs 3 can be electrically connected to terminals provided on a circuit board (for example, a daughter board) disposed in proximity to the bottom surface of the connector 1.
One contact included in each contact pair may transmit a high-frequency signal, and the other contact may be grounded.

In the present embodiment, the plurality of contact pairs 3 are arranged substantially concentrically. The plurality of contact pairs 3 extend upward from the bottom surface of the connector 1, bend about 45 °, bend about 45 ° again, and be directed toward the end surface 2 a of the cap 2. Thus, each contact 3a, 3b included in the plurality of contact pairs 3 is bent at a substantially right angle along the inner surface. The other ends of the contacts 3 a and 3 b included in each of the plurality of contact pairs 3 are formed so as to protrude from the front end portion of the wafer 4 toward the end surface 2 a of the cap 2.
According to the modification, each contact may be bent in a curved shape such as an arc or an elliptical arc from the bottom surface of the connector toward the end surface of the cap.

In the present embodiment, the other end of each contact 3 a, 3 b is located inside the cap 2 rather than the end surface 2 a of the cap 2. Further, the other ends of the contacts included in each contact pair 3 are inserted one by one into one hole 21 formed in the end face 2a. The other end of each contact 3a, 3b connects a terminal of a circuit board such as a backplane inserted into the hole 21 from the outside of the connector 1, or each contact 3 of the connector 1 and a terminal of the circuit board. Therefore, it can be electrically connected to the terminal of the mating connector.
The contacts 3a and 3b included in each contact pair 3 are formed of, for example, a metal such as copper, gold, silver, nickel, an alloy thereof, or other conductive material.
Moreover, it is preferable that the connector 1 suppresses the reflection of the signal which arises in the connection position of each contactor pair 3 and the terminal of a circuit board. Therefore, the distance between the contact 3a and the contact 3b included in each contact 3, the line width, and the material constituting the contact are connected to the contact pair 3 in the differential characteristic impedance of each contact 3. It may be determined to be equal to the differential characteristic impedance of the terminal of the circuit board.

  Each of the plurality of wafers 4 is an example of a support member that supports each contact included in the contact pair 3. In the present embodiment, each of the plurality of wafers 4 is a wafer 4a that supports a contact 3a located on the right side of the contacts 3a and 3b included in each contact pair 3 when viewed from the end face 2a side of the cap 2. And a wafer 4b that supports a contact 3b located on the left side when viewed from the end face 2a side of the cap 2. The wafers 4a and 4b are formed as plate-like members. The wafers 4a and 4b are formed, for example, so as to be symmetric when viewed from the end face 2a side.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the wafer 4 when the wafer 4a supporting the contact 3a is viewed from one side. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the wafer 4a when the wafer 4a is viewed from the other surface. Further, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cross section of the connector 1 in the plane A of FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of region B in FIG.
The upper and lower ends of the wafers 4a and 4b have shapes that engage with rails formed on the inner surfaces of the upper wall 2b and the lower wall 2c of the cap 2, respectively. The wafers 4a and 4b are inserted into the cap 2 along the rails. Further, the wafers 4a and 4b may have protrusions that engage with holes formed in the upper wall 2b or the lower wall 2c of the cap 2 as a latch at the upper end or the lower end thereof.
Wafers 4a and 4b are each preferably formed of a dielectric. The dielectric has a dielectric constant of about 1.5 to 8, and includes, for example, resin materials similar to various resin materials that can be included in the material constituting the cap 2. Further, the dielectric may include an insulating filler such as glass fiber.

In the present embodiment, seven contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 are attached to one wafer 4a in a line. Similarly, seven contacts 3b-1 to 3b-7 are mounted in a row on one wafer 4b. Then, with the wafers 4a and 4b attached to the cap 2, respectively, the contact 3a-1 and the contact 3b-1 face each other and are arranged so as to be separated by an air gap having a predetermined width. The contact 3a-1 and the contact 3b-1 constitute one contact pair 3-1. Similarly, in a state where the wafers 4a and 4b are respectively attached to the cap 2, the contacts 3a-2 to 3a-7 and the contacts 3b-2 to 3b-7 are respectively contact pairs 3-2 to 3-7. Configure.
The contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 and the wafer 4a are integrally formed by, for example, insert molding. Similarly, the contacts 3b-1 to 3b-7 and the wafer 4b are integrally formed by, for example, insert molding.

The wafers 4a and 4b are contacted with each other to prevent the contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 and 3b-1 to 3b-7 from being deformed when the circuit board is attached to or detached from the connector 1. The first support portions 41-1 to 41-7, 42- provided between the second support portion 43-1 and the second support portion 43-2 along the longitudinal direction of the contact. 1 to 42-7.
The first support portions 41-1 to 41-7 and 42-1 to 42-7 are close to the outer surface 31 of the contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 and 3b-1 to 3b-7, respectively. It is formed. In addition, the outer surface of a contactor is a surface on the opposite side of the inner surface 32 of the contactor facing the other contactors that form a contactor pair together with the contactor. In addition, “the first support portion is close to the outer surface of the contact” means that not only the first support portion is disposed so that the outer surface of the contact and the first support portion are in contact, but also the contact. It is also included that the first support portion is disposed so that an air gap less than the thickness of the contact is generated between the outer surface of the child and the first support portion.

  In the present embodiment, with respect to the wafer 4a, the first support portions 41-1 to 41-7 are close to the right side of the contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 when the wafer 4a is viewed from the end surface 2a side. To be arranged. Regarding the wafer 4b, the first support portions 42-1 to 42-7 are arranged so as to be close to the left side of the contacts 3b-1 to 3b-7 when the wafer 4b is viewed from the end face 2a side. Is done. In addition, each 1st support part may be in contact with the contactor or may be separated.

  Further, the first support portions 41-1 to 41-7 are formed in a lattice shape on the wafer 4a so that the adjacent first support portions are also separated by the air gap. Similarly, the first support portions 42-1 to 42-7 are formed in a lattice shape on the wafer 4b. Thus, adjacent contact pairs among the contact pairs 3-1 to 3-7 supported by the wafers 4a and 4b are separated by the air gap.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the first support portion 41-in the short direction of the contacts parallel to the outer surface 31 of the contacts 3 a-4 to 3 a-6 and 3 b-4 to 3 b-6 indicated by the arrow Y. The width Wa of 4 to 41-6 and 42-4 to 42-6 is preferably equal to or less than the width Wl in the short direction of the contacts 3a-4 to 3a-6 and 3b-4 to 3b-6. In the present embodiment, the width Wa in the short direction of the first support portion is narrower than the width W1 of the contact in the short direction. In the short direction, both ends of the contacts 3a-4 to 3a-6 and 3b-4 to 3b-6 are respectively connected to the first support portions 41-4 to 41-6 and 42-4 to 42-6. It is preferable that they coincide with both ends of the surface on the side close to the contactor or protrude from the surface on the close side. In the present embodiment, both ends of the contact in the short direction protrude beyond both ends of the surface of the first support portion on the side close to the contact. In other words, the center part of the outer surface 31 of the contactor is attached to the corresponding first support part along the longitudinal direction of the contactor, and the end part of the outer surface 31 of the contactor is attached to the first support member. Absent. Therefore, the contact 3a has a predetermined width from both ends of the contacts 3a-4 to 3a-6 and 3b-4 to 3b-6 on the outer surface 31 of the contacts 3a-4 to 3a-6 and 3b-4 to 3b-6. -4 to 3a-6 and 3b-4 to 3b-6 are not in contact with the first support portions 41-4 to 41-6 and 42-4 to 42-6. Therefore, at least most of the first support portion does not exist in the region where the electric field strength is strong. For this reason, since the ratio of the volume of the part of the 1st support part located in the field where electric field strength is strong to the volume of the whole 1st support part decreases, the capacity component of impedance becomes smaller.

  In addition, since the ratio of the volume of the part of the 1st support part located in the area | region where electric field strength is strong with respect to the volume of the whole 1st support part decreases more so that predetermined width is large, the capacitive component of impedance becomes smaller. This is preferable. The predetermined width can be, for example, 1/4 or more of the thickness of the contact supported by the first support portion (that is, the width of the contact in the Z direction in FIG. 7). If the predetermined width is 1/4 or more of the contact thickness, when forming a wafer by insert molding, it is possible to fix the contact with both ends in the short direction of the contact with a mold, so the contact positioning accuracy with respect to the wafer Can be improved. Further, in order to increase the rigidity of the connector 1, the width Wa in the short direction of each first support portion is not less than 1/3 of the width W1 in the short direction of the contact supported by the first support portion. Preferably there is.

  Since each first support portion is arranged in this manner, the proportion of air in the region where the electric field strength generated between the contacts included in each contact pair is strong increases, so that the distance between both ends of each contact The capacitance component of the impedance becomes smaller.

Each contact 3a-1 to 3a-7 is fixed by a second support portion 43-1 provided in the vicinity of the end of the contact 3a-1 to 3a-7 on the cap 2 side. The second support portion 43-1 is inserted into the hole 21 formed in the end surface 2a of the cap 2 so that the terminal of the circuit board is connected to the contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 from the outside of the cap 2. It is formed so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction, that is, in a vertical direction. On the other hand, each contact 3a-1 to 3a-7 is fixed by a second support 43-2 provided in the vicinity of the end of the contact 3a-1 to 3a-7 on the bottom side of the connector 1. Yes. The second support portion 43-2 moves the contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 toward the circuit board in order to connect the terminals of the circuit board to the contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7. Are formed so as to extend in a substantially orthogonal direction, that is, in a horizontal direction. That is, the second support portions 43-1 and 43-2 intersect with the contact pairs 3-1 to 3-7.
As described above, the wafer 4a and the wafer 4b are formed so as to be bilaterally symmetric when viewed from the end face 2a side, so that the two supporting portions 42-1 to 42-7 are also connected to the wafer 4b. Two second supports are formed.

FIG. 8 (A) is an electric field vector diagram showing the direction and strength of an electric field vector between a pair of contacts included in the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 (B) is a comparative example. It is an electric field vector diagram showing the electric field between a pair of contacts contained in the connector by a prior art.
8A and 8B show cross sections of three contact pairs 801, 802, and 803, respectively. In FIG. 8A, the first support portions 811 to 816 of the wafer are provided outside the contact pairs 801 to 803. On the other hand, in the comparative example shown in FIG. 8B, the first support portions 821 to 824 are adjacent to each other, but the adjacent contactor pairs are separated by an air gap, but the first support portions 821 to 824 are adjacent to each other. It is provided so that it may straddle the contactor pair.
Also, the arrows shown in the figure represent electric field vectors when currents flowing in opposite directions flow through the upper contact and the lower contact of the central contact pair 802, respectively, and the longer the arrow, The electric field is strong.

As is apparent from FIGS. 8A and 8B, the strength of the electric field generated in the contact pair 802 passing through the first support portions 811 to 816 of the connector according to the present embodiment is as follows. It is weaker than the electric field passing through the first support portions 821 to 824. As a result, the capacitance component of impedance in the connector according to the present embodiment is smaller than the capacitance component of impedance in the connector according to the comparative example. Therefore, signal leakage between adjacent contact pairs due to this capacitive component is suppressed, so that the crosstalk generated in the connector according to the present embodiment can be made smaller than the crosstalk generated in the connector according to the comparative example. Since the connector according to the present embodiment has a small capacitance component of impedance, the transmission delay time can be shortened.
Furthermore, in order to make the characteristic impedance of the contact pair coincide with the impedance of the terminal of the circuit board connected to the contact pair, the smaller the capacitance component of the impedance, the larger the cross-sectional area of the contact. As a result, the connector according to the present embodiment can also suppress insertion loss.

Hereinafter, the transmission characteristics of the connector according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 8 (A) and the connector according to the comparative example shown in FIG. 8 (B) obtained by simulation based on electromagnetic field analysis using a two-dimensional finite element method. The transmission characteristics are shown.
FIG. 9A shows the dimensions of each part of the connector according to the present embodiment used in the simulation, while FIG. 9B shows the dimensions of each part of the connector according to the comparative example used in the simulation. In FIGS. 9A and 9B, the unit is millimeter.
Further, the dielectric constant of the first support portion of the connector according to this embodiment and the connector according to the comparative example is 4.0 and the dielectric loss is 0.01, and the differential characteristic impedance of the connector according to this embodiment and the connector according to the comparative example is 100Ω. The frequency of the transmitted signal is 2.5GHz.

なお、表１における性能向上率は、次式により算出される。
性能向上率 ＝ （比較例における伝送特性値−本実施形態による伝送特性値）
／本実施形態による伝送特性値 Table 1 shows transmission characteristics of the connector according to the present embodiment and the connector according to the comparative example.

In addition, the performance improvement rate in Table 1 is calculated by the following equation.
Performance improvement rate = (Transmission characteristic value in comparative example-Transmission characteristic value according to this embodiment)
/ Transmission characteristic value according to this embodiment

  As described above, the connector according to the present invention reduces the volume of the resin located in a region where the electric field strength generated by the high frequency signal transmitted through the contact pair during signal transmission is strong, thereby reducing the capacitance component of the impedance. Can be suppressed. Therefore, this connector can suppress the occurrence of crosstalk and insertion loss that occur when transmitting a high-frequency signal.

According to another embodiment, each support member includes at least the first support part in the middle of the first support part in order to prevent the first support part and the contactor from being deformed. You may further have at least 1 2nd support member which connects some.
For example, connectors may be inserted and removed hundreds or thousands of times on terminals on the daughter board or terminals on the backplane to maintain the device or replace the daughter board. . Therefore, it is desirable that the connector be robust so that it will not be damaged by repeated mounting and removal of such circuit boards. Further, the attachment of the connector to the circuit board is often performed by press-fitting through a press-fit terminal having elasticity, for example. When press-fitting, a load of 3N to 50N is applied to each connector per pin. Some connectors have more than 100 pins, so the total load on one connector can exceed 5000N. The connector is preferably robust so as not to be damaged by such a load during press fitting.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a wafer as a support member as viewed from one side according to another embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of the wafer as seen from the other surface according to another embodiment. Each part of the wafer 5 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is given the same reference numeral as the reference numeral for the corresponding component shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The wafer 5 is provided with second support portions 43-1 to 43-7 extending along a substantially radial direction of each contact pair. The second support portions 43-1 to 43-7 are arranged such that adjacent contact pairs among the plurality of contact pairs 3-1 to 3-7 are separated by an air gap in at least some of the regions. The 1st support part provided for every contact is fixed.
In particular, at least one second support portion is substantially orthogonal to the direction in which pressure is applied to the contact pair 3 and the first support portion when the terminal of the circuit board is connected to the end of the contact pair 3. It is preferable that it is provided so as to extend in the direction in which it moves. In the present embodiment, the wafer 5 includes five second support portions 43-1 to 43-5 that connect the first support portions 41-1 to 41-7, and the first support portion 41-1. To 41-5, and a second support portion 43-7 for connecting the first support portions 41-1 to 41-3 are formed.
The second support portions 43-3 to 43-5 are provided at positions where the contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 are bent. Further, the second support portion 43-6 is formed between the second support portions 43-3 and 43-5. Further, the second support portion 43-7 is formed between the second support portions 43-4 and 43-5. Thus, since the wafer 5 has a plurality of second support portions, the wafer 5 is robust so as not to be damaged by a load when the terminals of the circuit board are connected to the contact pairs.
Similarly, the wafer that supports the contact that is paired with the contact that the wafer 5 supports also includes a second support that connects at least some of the first supports.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the cross section of the wafer 5 in the plane D of FIG. 10-12, the 2nd support part 43-3 surrounds the outer periphery of each contactor 3a-1 to 3a-7, and the 1st support part 41-1 which respond | corresponds to each contactor. Fix to ~ 41-7 (indicated by a two-dot chain line). Similarly, the other second support portions also fix the respective contacts to the corresponding first support portions. Furthermore, in FIG. 12, the contacts 3b-1 to 3b-7 that make a pair with the contacts 3a-1 to 3a-7 are indicated by two-dot chain lines. The contacts 3b-1 to 3b-7 are also surrounded by a second support portion 43-3 ′ (indicated by a two-dot chain line) included in another wafer that supports the contacts. Therefore, in a place where each contact is fixed by the second support portion, the space between the two contacts included in the contact pair is filled with a dielectric.
Note that the second support portion may fix the contact to the first support portion by another fixing method.

In addition, the support unit that fixes the contact to the first support unit is separate from the second support unit that connects the first support units so that adjacent contact pairs are separated by an air gap. It may be provided.
In this case, between the contact pairs, the end of the second support portion on the contact pair side is formed so as to be farther from the contact than the surface of the first support portion on the side close to the contact. Is preferred. The electric lines of force radiated from the outer surface of one contact included in the contact pair reach the other contact through the rear of the contact further than the outer surface. Therefore, by forming the second support portion as described above, charging of the second support portion due to the electric field generated between the two contacts included in the contact pair can be suppressed.

  According to another modification, each wafer may be formed by assembling a plurality of members instead of a single member. In this case, as indicated by a dotted line C in FIG. 7, in order to improve the rigidity of the first support portion, the outer side of the first support portion along the short direction of the contactor parallel to the outer surface of the contactor. The diameter width may be increased as the distance from the contact increases. The lines of electric force radiated from the outer surface of one contact and reach the other contact are separated from the contact in the short direction of the contact as they move away from the contact behind the outer surface of the contact. Take a simple route. Therefore, even if the outer diameter width of the first support portion is increased as the distance from the contact increases, the electric field strength in the region where the first support portion exists is relatively weak. Therefore, by forming the first support portion in this way, the connector can improve the rigidity of the first support portion without deteriorating the transmission characteristics for high frequency signals.

  Moreover, in embodiment shown by FIGS. 10-12, a 2nd support part supports each contactor so that each contactor may be pinched | interposed from the side which has a 1st support part, and the other side, and each contactor is supported. It fixes to the corresponding 1st support part. That is, in a fixed position where the second support portion fixes the contact to the first support, the contact is surrounded by the second support and the first support that are dielectrics. On the other hand, in the non-fixed position where the contact is not fixed to the first support, only the first support is close to the contact. Therefore, the cross-sectional area of the dielectric near the contact at the fixed position is larger than the cross-sectional area of the dielectric at the non-fixed position. Therefore, if the thickness of the contact is equal between the fixed position and the non-fixed position, the characteristic impedance of the contact at the fixed position may be different from the characteristic impedance of the contact at the non-fixed position.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a contact pair included in a connector according to still another embodiment. In FIG. 13, the contact pairs 10-1 to 10-7 include contacts 10a-1 to 10a-7 and 10b-1 to 10b-7, respectively. Each contact is fixed to the corresponding first support by the second support at the fixing positions 101 to 105. The fixed position 101 is set so that the characteristic impedance of each contact at the fixed positions 101 to 105 matches the characteristic impedance of each contact at the non-fixed positions 111 to 116 where the contact is not fixed to the first support portion. The thickness of each contact in -105 is smaller than the thickness in the cross section in an unfixed position. For example, it is assumed that the width of the contact at the unfixed position is set to 0.76 mm and the thickness is set to 0.2 mm so that the characteristic impedance of the contact is 100Ω. If the dielectric constant of the member that fixes the contact to the first support, such as the second support, is 3.5, the contact impedance of the contact at the fixed position is maintained at 100Ω. The width is set to 0.3 mm and the thickness is set to 0.2 mm. Therefore, the contact pair according to this modification can prevent reflection of a high frequency signal transmitted through the contact at the boundary between the fixed position and the unfixed position.

According to still another modification, when the connector is used in an apparatus in which two substrates are arranged so as to be substantially parallel, the contacts included in each contact pair of the connector are linear. It may be formed.
FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view of a contact pair and a wafer supporting the contact pair as viewed from one side according to still another embodiment. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the contact pair and the wafer as viewed from the other side.
As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the two contacts 3 a-1 to 3 a-7 and 3 b-1 to 3 b-7 included in each contact pair 3-1 to 3-7 are respectively in the horizontal direction. Are formed in a straight line, and are substantially parallel and spaced apart. Therefore, the first support portions 41-1 to 41-7 and 42-1 to 42-7 included in the wafers 6a and 6b that support the contacts are also formed linearly. And also in this embodiment, the 1st support part is attached to the center part of the outer surface of a corresponding contact child, while it is not attached to the edge part of the outer surface of a contact child.
In this embodiment, when a circuit board is connected to any end portion of the contact pair, pressure is applied along the longitudinal direction of the contact pair, that is, along the horizontal direction. Therefore, the rigidity of the contact pair and the first support portion is high with respect to the pressure generated when the circuit board is connected to the connector. Therefore, in the present embodiment, only the two second support portions 43-1 and 43-2 for fixing the first support portion and the contact pair are provided in the vicinity of the respective end portions of the contact pair.

  As described above, those skilled in the art can make various modifications in accordance with the embodiment to be implemented within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 2 Cap 2a End surface 21 Hole 3, 3-1 to 3-7 Contactor pair 3a, 3b, 3a-1 to 3a-7, 3b-1 to 3b-7 Contactor 31 Outer surface of a contactor 32 Contactor Inner surface 4, 4a, 4b, 5, 6a, 6b Wafer (support member)
41-1 to 41-7, 42-1 to 42-7 1st support part 43-1 to 43-7 2nd support part

Claims (11)

A plurality of contactor pairs comprising two contacts that are elongated, generally parallel and spaced apart;
Each having a plurality of first support parts attached along the longitudinal direction of the corresponding contact,
In at least one region, the inner surfaces of the contacts of each contact pair face each other and are separated by air;
The outer surfaces of the contacts of each of the contact pairs are directed outward with respect to each other,
The center portion of the outer surface is attached to the corresponding first support portion along the longitudinal direction of the contact, and the end portion of the outer surface is not attached to the first support portion.
connector. A plurality of second supports, each second support connecting at least some of the contact pairs;
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of first support portions are arranged in a region between the plurality of second support portions.   The connector according to claim 2, wherein each of the second support portions is oriented along a substantially intersecting direction of the contact pair.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a cap that holds the plurality of first support portions.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of contact pairs transmits a signal by a differential transmission method. The first support part and the second support part are dielectrics,
The impedance of the contact at a fixed position where the contact is fixed to the first support by the second support is different from the fixed position, and the contact is fixed to the first support. The thickness of the contact at the fixed position is smaller than the thickness of the contact at the unfixed position so as to match the impedance of the contact at an unfixed position that has not been performed. A connector according to claim 1.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact of each contact pair is bent at a substantially right angle along an inner surface of the contact.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the contacts of each contact pair are formed in a straight line. A plurality of contact pairs arranged in substantially concentric circles, including two contacts arranged in an elongated, substantially parallel and spaced apart configuration;
Each having a plurality of first support parts attached along the longitudinal direction of the corresponding contact,
In at least one region, the inner surfaces of the contacts of each contact pair face each other and are separated by air;
The outer surfaces of the contacts of each of the contact pairs are directed outward with respect to each other,
The center portion of the outer surface is attached to the corresponding first support portion along the longitudinal direction of the contact, and the end portion of the outer surface is not attached to the first support portion.
connector. A plurality of second supports, each second support connecting at least some of the contact pairs;
The connector according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of first support portions are disposed in a region between the plurality of second support portions.   The connector according to claim 10, wherein each of the second support portions is oriented along a substantially radial direction of the contact pair.

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