JP2013020838A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To absorb displacement of a mounting position of a mating connector without enlarging a connector.SOLUTION: A connector (1) comprises a housing (2) having a housing space (14), a relay member (3), on which a conductor pattern (76) to a mating connector (96) is formed, a pair of leaf spring parts (5) floatably supporting the relay member in the housing space, and a plug (4) fixed to the relay member so that it projects from an opening (12) formed on the housing and is coupled to the mating connector.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a small connector for a CI card used in a television apparatus.

  Conventionally, a connector mounted with a floating structure is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This connector is configured by fixing a floating housing to the free ends of a number of terminals extending from a fixed housing. The free end side of many terminals is integrally held by the floating housing with the contact portions exposed. When the connector is inserted into and removed from the mating connector, the floating housing is moved relative to the fixed housing by elastic deformation of a large number of terminals. By the movement of the floating housing, the connectors are connected to each other so as to absorb the displacement of the mounting position of the mating connector.

JP2011-48982A

  However, in the conventional connector as described above, the displacement of the mating connector is absorbed by the elastic deformation of a large number of terminals, so the length of the terminal has to be secured to the extent that this displacement can be absorbed. . For this reason, there existed a problem that a connector enlarged.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the connector which can absorb the position shift of the other party connector, without enlarging a connector.

  The connector of the present invention is formed in the housing having a housing space, a relay member in which a conduction path to the mating connector is formed, a support member that supports the relay member in a floating manner in the housing space, and the housing. And a connecting member fixed to the relay member so as to protrude from the opening and to be connected to the mating connector.

  According to this configuration, since the relay member to which the connecting member is fixed is floated with respect to the housing, when the mating connector is misaligned, the misalignment is absorbed and the connector is appropriately connected to the mating connector. Can connect. Further, unlike the conventional configuration using the elastic deformation of the terminal, the relay member is floated by the support member, so that it is not necessary to use a long terminal for the conduction path, and the connector is not enlarged.

  Moreover, this invention is a leaf | plate spring which elastically contacts with respect to the said relay member from the side orthogonal to the connection direction connected to the said other party connector in the said connector. According to this configuration, the relay member can be supported in a floatable manner by the elastic contact force of the leaf spring, and the displacement of the mating connector can be absorbed with a simple configuration.

  According to the present invention, in the connector described above, a card is mounted in the housing space of the housing, and the conduction path of the relay member is formed to conduct the card and the mating connector. According to this configuration, it is possible to absorb the misalignment of the mating connector without enlarging the entire connector in the card connector.

  In the connector according to the present invention, the relay member includes a vertical board on which the connecting member is fixed. In the board, the electrode pitch with respect to the connecting member is larger than the electrode pitch with respect to the card. A conductor pattern is formed to be small. According to this structure, since the electrode pitch matched with the connection member is smaller than the electrode pitch matched with the card | curd in a board | substrate, a connection member can be reduced in size rather than a card | curd. Therefore, the mating connector coupled to the coupling member can be reduced in size, and the mounting area of the mating connector on the main board can be saved. Further, since the board is accommodated vertically in the housing, an increase in the size of the entire connector can be minimized.

  In the connector according to the present invention, the support member supports the relay member and the card so as to float in the accommodation space. According to this configuration, the card is supported together with the relay member in the housing so as to be able to float, so that the card does not shake in the housing and no noise is generated.

  Moreover, this invention is a leaf | plate spring which elastically contacts with respect to the said relay member and the said card | curd from the side orthogonal to the connection direction connected with the said other party connector in the said connector. According to this configuration, the card can be supported so as to float together with the relay member by the elastic force of the leaf spring, and the mounting position of the mating connector can be shifted while preventing the card from shaking in the housing with a simple configuration. Can be absorbed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the shift | offset | difference of the attachment position of the other party connector can be absorbed, without enlarging a connector.

It is a perspective view of the card | curd concerning this Embodiment. It is the perspective view which open | released the upper direction of the connector which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a perspective view of the terminal holding body which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a top view of the relay substrate concerning this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the attachment state of the connector which concerns on this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the shift | offset | difference absorption structure of the connector which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the card connector which concerns on a modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, a card connector for a television apparatus having a CI (Common Interface) will be described as an example. However, the connector is not limited to the card connector and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the connector of the present invention can be applied to a cable connector.

  First, before describing the connector according to the present embodiment, a card serving as a mounted member will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a card according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the card 9 is a CI card inserted into a CI slot of a television device or the like, and is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from above. A plurality of socket terminals 91 are provided in two upper and lower rows on one end surface in the longitudinal direction of the card 9, the side on which the socket terminals 91 are provided is the leading end side in the insertion direction, and the opposite side is the rear end side in the insertion direction. It is said. On both side surfaces on the front end side of the card 9, cutout portions 92a and 92b cut out from the front end toward the rear end side are formed. The cutout portion 92a is formed by cutting out an intermediate portion in the thickness direction, and the cutout portion 92b is formed by cutting out the lower end portion in the thickness direction.

  The front and back of the card 9 are identified by the difference in shape between the left and right cutouts 92a and 92b. In the present embodiment, one surface cut by the notch 92b on the front end side of the card 9 is the front surface, and the opposite side is the back surface. The card 9 is mounted to the back of the connector 1 only when it is inserted into the connector 1 with the notch 92b facing upward.

  Next, the overall configuration of the connector will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view in which the upper part of the connector according to the present embodiment is opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the terminal holder according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the relay board according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the connector 1 according to the present embodiment has a housing 2 made of synthetic resin. The housing 2 is formed in a box shape having an insertion port on the front surface by mounting the upper housing 22 having the lower surface and the front surface opened on the lower housing 21 having the upper surface and the front surface opened. A relay member 3 that relays the card 9 and the mating connector 96 (see FIG. 5) is housed in the back of the housing 2. The relay member 3 holds a large number of pin terminals 61 that are inserted into the socket terminals 91 of the card 9.

  Further, a plug (connecting member) 4 that protrudes outward is fixed to the relay member 3 through the opening 12 (see FIG. 6) of the back wall portion 23 of the housing 2. The opening 12 is formed to be slightly larger than the plug 4 and projects the plug 4 outward with play (gap). A large number of terminals (not shown) are provided in the plug 4 so as to be electrically connected to the large number of pin terminals 61. Further, the housing 2 is provided with a pair of partition walls 25 extending from the insertion port 11 side (see FIG. 5) to the substantially intermediate position along the side wall portions 24. The pair of partition walls 25 guides the side surface of the card 9 and restricts the movement of the relay member 3 toward the insertion port 11 (prevents removal). A pair of leaf springs (supporting portions) 5 are provided between the pair of partition walls 25 and the side wall portions 24.

  The pair of leaf springs 5 are formed by bending a metal plate material, and are connected on the back wall portion 23 side by a connecting plate portion 51 extending in the width direction. Each leaf spring 5 is formed with a pair of front and rear elastic contact pieces 53 a and 53 b on a side plate portion 52 along the side wall portions 24. The elastic contact piece 53 a is a cantilever spring that is cut up and raised from the middle position of the side plate portion 52 as a base end, and elastically contacts the side surface of the relay member 3. The elastic contact piece 53 b is a cantilever spring that is cut up and raised from the middle position of the side plate portion 52 as a base end, and elastically contacts the side surface of the card 9 through the notch 13 provided in the partition wall portion 25. The relay member 3 and the card 9 are supported in a floating manner in the accommodation space 14 by being elastically contacted from both sides by a pair of leaf springs 5.

  The relay member 3 and the card 9 are supported so as not to swing within the housing 2 by the elastic force of the pair of leaf springs 5. For this reason, the noise in the housing 2 generated by the swinging movement of the relay member 3 and the card 9 is suppressed. An elastic contact piece 53c bent toward the accommodation space 14 side is formed on the back wall portion 23 side of the pair of side plate portions 52, and is elastically contacted with the ground terminal 73 (see FIG. 4) of the relay member 3. Therefore, the side surface of the card 9 elastically contacted with the elastic contact piece 53 b and the ground terminal 73 are electrically connected via the leaf spring 5, and electrostatic noise generated on the outer surface of the card 9 is applied to the ground terminal 73. Washed away.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the relay member 3 is configured by attaching a relay substrate (substrate) 7 to which a plug 4 is fixed to a card holding portion 6 to which a front end side of a card 9 is mounted. The card holding unit 6 holds a large number of pin terminals 61 in a terminal holding unit 62 extending in the width direction in the accommodation space 14. A large number of pin terminals 61 are arranged in two rows along the extending direction of the terminal holding portion 62, protrude toward the insertion slot 11, and are connected to the large number of socket terminals 91 of the card 9. Further, the card holding portion 6 guides the insertion of the card 9 together with the pair of partition portions 25 by a pair of guide portions 63 extending forward from both ends in the extending direction of the terminal holding portion 62.

  In the pair of guide portions 63, an upper wall portion 64, a bottom wall portion 65, and a side wall portion 66 are formed along the front surface, back surface, and side surfaces of the card 9. Protrusions 67 a and 67 b corresponding to the notches 92 a and 92 b of the card 9 are formed on the side wall 66 of each guide 63. The convex portions 67 a and 67 b extend to the insertion port 11 side from the pin terminal 61. Therefore, when the card 9 is inserted in an inverted state, the insertion of the card 9 is restricted by the convex portion 67 b and the pin terminal 61 is prevented from being inserted into the socket terminal 91. As described above, the card 9 is prevented from being erroneously inserted into the connector 1 by the pair of guide portions 63.

  In addition, the card holding part 6 is provided with a pair of protrusions 68 protruding from both ends of the terminal holding part 62 to the back. A vertical relay board 7 having a plate surface facing the card insertion direction is attached to the pair of protrusions 68. The relay substrate 7 extends in the width direction in the accommodation space 14, and the plug 4 is fixed to the back surface opposite to the card holding unit 6. Conductive paths for conducting the pin terminals 61 and the terminals in the plug 4 are formed on both plate surfaces of the relay substrate 7. The relay substrate 7 is provided with a large number of electrode holes 74 arranged in two upper and lower rows as a part of the conduction path. Each electrode hole 74 is inserted with a pin terminal 61 protruding from the terminal holding portion 62 to the back.

  The conduction path of the relay substrate 7 is formed such that the electrode pitch of the plug 4 is smaller than the electrode pitch of the electrode hole 74 on the back surface 72. That is, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the electrode pitch for the card 9 is converted from the electrode pitch for the card 9 through the conduction path of the relay substrate 7. Thus, by electrically connecting the pin terminal 61 to the plug 4 through the relay substrate 7 in which the conduction path is formed, the small plug 4 that does not depend on the electrode pitch of the pin terminal 61 can be used.

  Here, the relay board will be briefly described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, the relay substrate 7 has a large number of electrode holes 74 arranged side by side in two rows in the middle in the height direction. The many electrode holes 74 are through holes and penetrate from the front surface 71 toward the back surface 72. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, a large number of electrode pads 75 for the plug 4 are provided on the back surface 72 of the relay substrate 7 in a space that deviates vertically from the electrode hole 74. A large number of electrode pads 75 are arranged side by side with an electrode pitch smaller than that of the electrode holes 74.

  The relay substrate 7 is a multilayer substrate composed of a plurality of layers, and a conductor pattern (conduction path) 76 as shown by a broken line is formed between the layers. These conductor patterns 76 connect the electrode holes 74 and the electrode pads 75, and are arranged in the space above and below the intermediate region in the height direction where the many electrode holes 74 are arranged. Thus, since the pin terminal 61 and the terminal of the plug 4 are electrically connected via the conductor pattern 76 of the relay substrate 7, the card 9 and the small plug 4 having different electrode pitches can be connected without increasing the size of the housing 2. Can connect.

  In addition, a pair of ground terminals 73 are formed on the back surface 72 of the relay substrate 7 at both ends in the extending direction. As described above, the side surface of the card 9 is electrically connected to the pair of ground terminals 73 via the pair of leaf springs 5. The connector 1 configured in this manner functions as a card slot of the television device by being connected to the counterpart connector of the television device.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5, the attachment of the connector to the rear panel of the television apparatus will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the attachment state of the connector according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the rear panel of the television device is indicated by a broken line.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the rear panel 8 of the television apparatus is provided with a step for attaching the connector 1. A main board 95 is disposed inside the upper portion 81 of the back panel 8, and a socket-type mating connector 96 is attached on the main board 95. An opening 84 that exposes the insertion port of the mating connector 96 to the outside is formed in the side wall portion 82 between the upper end portion and the lower portion of the back panel 8. In addition, an attachment region for the connector 1 is provided in the lower portion 83 of the back panel 8 so as to face the mating connector 96 with the opening 84 interposed therebetween.

  The attachment region of the connector 1 is formed slightly lower on the side close to the side wall portion 82 and slightly higher on the side away from the side wall portion 82. The slightly lower portion is a front end support surface 85 that supports the front end portion 26 of the housing 2, and the slightly higher portion is a rear support surface 86 that supports the rear portion 27 of the housing 2. It has become. A pair of long holes 87 for positioning the housing 2 are formed in the front end support surface 85. The pair of elongated holes 87 extend in parallel along the connecting direction of the connector 1 with a predetermined interval. An engagement hole 88 for hooking the housing 2 is formed in the rear support surface 86.

  The connector 1 has a plug 4 protruding from the opening of the housing 2. The upper and lower surfaces of the housing 2 are formed such that the front end portion 26 supported by the front end support surface 85 is higher than the rear portion 27 supported by the rear support surface 86. The front end portion 26 of the housing 2 is provided with a pair of positioning pins 28 corresponding to the pair of elongated holes 87, and the rear portion 27 of the housing 2 is provided with a hook 29 corresponding to the engagement hole 88. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the connector 1 is positioned in the left-right direction with respect to the opening 84 by inserting the pair of positioning pins 28 and the hooks 29 into the pair of elongated holes 87 and engaging holes 88, respectively. Then, when the connector 1 is slid toward the opening 84, the plug 4 is inserted into the mating connector 96 (socket). Since the hook 29 is formed in a substantially L shape facing forward from the rear end of the housing 2, the hook 29 is locked to the back panel 8 by the slide of the connector 1. A card 9 is attached to the connector 1 attached to the back panel 8 from the insertion slot 11 of the housing 2.

  In the connector 1 configured as described above, the electrode pitch with respect to the plug 4 is formed smaller than the electrode pitch with respect to the card 9, and thus the plug 4 is downsized. Therefore, the mating connector 96 connected to the connector 1 can be reduced in size, and the mounting area of the mating connector 96 on the main board 95 can be saved. In the connector 1, the plug 4 is supported so as to float with respect to the housing 2 by a leaf spring 5 provided in the housing 2. Therefore, even when the mounting position of the main board 95 and the counterpart connector 96 with respect to the TV panel is misaligned, the connector 1 can be connected to the counterpart connector 96 by absorbing this misalignment.

  With reference to FIG. 6, the displacement absorption of the connector when a displacement occurs in the mounting position of the mating connector will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a connector displacement absorbing structure according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, a main board 95 is attached to the rear panel 8 of the TV with a slight lateral displacement. On the other hand, since the housing 2 is attached to the rear panel 8 in a laterally positioned state, a slight deviation occurs between the center line L1 of the plug 4 and the center line L2 of the mating connector 96. ing. In the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the relay member 3 to which the plug 4 is fixed is supported so as to be floatable from the side by a pair of leaf springs 5, and the plug 4 has play from the opening 12 of the housing 2. Protruding in the state.

  For this reason, the relay member 3 is moved in the left-right direction with respect to the housing 2 attached to the rear panel 8 in a positioning state due to the difference in the amount of bending of the left and right leaf springs 5. More specifically, the relay member 3 is moved to the leaf spring 5 side where the amount of bending is reduced by increasing the amount of bending of the one leaf spring 5 and decreasing the amount of bending of the other leaf spring 5. With this configuration, the plug 4 can be moved in the left-right direction with respect to the housing 2, and the plug 4 can be connected to the mating connector 96 with the center lines L1 and L2 aligned as shown in FIG. 6B.

  In FIG. 6B, the plug 4 is connected to the mating connector 96 with the card 9 attached to the connector 1, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The card 9 may be mounted after the plug 4 and the mating connector 96 are connected. Further, since the front end portion and the middle portion of the card 9 are elastically contacted from both sides by the elastic contact pieces 53a and 53b of the pair of leaf springs 5, the inclination of the card 9 with respect to the housing 2 is suppressed.

  As described above, according to the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the relay member 3 is floated with respect to the housing 2, and therefore, when the mounting position of the mating connector 96 is displaced, this displacement is absorbed. Thus, the plug 4 and the mating connector 96 can be appropriately connected. Further, unlike the conventional configuration using the elastic deformation of the terminal, it is not necessary to use a long terminal for the conduction path, and the connector 1 is not enlarged. In addition, since the electrode pitch with respect to the plug 4 is smaller than the electrode pitch with respect to the card 9 in the relay substrate 7, the plug 4 can be made smaller than the card 9. Therefore, the mating connector 96 connected to the plug 4 can be reduced in size, and the mounting area of the mating connector 96 on the main board 95 can be saved. Further, since the relay board 7 is accommodated in the housing 2 in the vertical direction, an increase in the size of the entire connector can be minimized.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change and implement variously. In the above-described embodiment, the size, shape, and the like illustrated in the accompanying drawings are not limited to this, and can be appropriately changed within a range in which the effect of the present invention is exhibited. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the plug is provided in the approximate center of the relay board. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The pin terminal and the plug terminal may be connected via the conductor pattern of the relay board. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the plug 104 may be provided in the substantially lower half of the relay board 107. . In this case, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, a large number of electrode holes 111 are arranged side by side in two rows in the upper and lower portions of the relay substrate 107, and the electrode for the plug 104 is disposed in the substantially lower half portion of the relay substrate 107. The pad 112 is arranged. In FIG. 7, the leaf spring is omitted for convenience of explanation.

  In the present embodiment, the plug is supported by the pair of leaf springs so as to float. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The plug may be configured to support the plug in a floatable manner. For example, the plug may be supported by a buffer material instead of the leaf spring, or a part of the housing may be cut and raised to form the support member.

  In the present embodiment, the relay member is provided with a plug and the mating connector is described as a socket-type connector. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. A socket may be provided on the relay member, and the mating connector may be a plug-type connector.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, although it was set as the structure which absorbs the position shift of the left-right direction of the other party connector, it is not limited to this structure. Any configuration that absorbs misalignment between connectors may be used. For example, a configuration that absorbs misalignment in the vertical direction may be employed. In this case, the relay member is supported from above and below in the housing. Further, the relay member sandwiched by the matching leaf springs may be slid in the vertical direction to absorb the vertical displacement between the connectors.

  In the present embodiment, the CI card used in the television apparatus as an example of the card has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. Any card may be used as long as it can be attached to the connector. For example, the card may be applied to a card connector such as a multimedia card, an SD card, a reduce size multimedia card, a memory stick, or a PCI card.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration is compatible with one type of card, but is not limited to this configuration. The electrode pitch conversion using the relay substrate and the absorbing structure for the misalignment of the mating connector can also be applied to a combine-type card connector that can face a plurality of types.

  In the present embodiment, the card connector has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The electrode pitch conversion using the relay substrate and the structure for absorbing the displacement of the mating connector can be applied to cable connectors other than the card connector.

  As described above, the present invention has the effect of absorbing the displacement of the mounting position of the mating connector without increasing the size of the connector, and in particular, a small size for an IC card used in a television device. Useful for connectors.

1 Connector 2 Housing 3 Relay Member 4 Plug (Connecting Member)
5 leaf spring (support)
7 Relay board (board)
9 Card 11 Insertion slot 12 Opening 14 Housing space 61 Pin terminal 73 Ground terminal 74 Electrode hole 75 Electrode pad 76 Conductor pattern (conduction path)
95 Main board 96 Mating connector

Claims (6)

A housing having a receiving space;
A relay member in which a conduction path to the mating connector is formed;
A support member that supports the relay member in a floating manner in the accommodating space;
A connector comprising: a connecting member fixed to the relay member so as to protrude from an opening formed in the housing and to be connected to the mating connector.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the support member is a leaf spring that elastically contacts the relay member from a side perpendicular to a connection direction connected to the mating connector. A card is mounted in the housing space of the housing,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the conduction path of the relay member is formed to conduct the card and the mating connector. The relay member has a vertical substrate to which the connecting member is fixed,
The connector according to claim 3, wherein a conductor pattern is formed on the substrate such that an electrode pitch with respect to the connecting member is smaller than an electrode pitch with respect to the card.   The connector according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the support member supports the relay member and the card so as to float in the accommodation space.   6. The plate spring according to claim 3, wherein the support member is a leaf spring that elastically contacts the relay member and the card from a side perpendicular to a connecting direction connected to the mating connector. The connector according to the above.

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