JP2013143286A - Board connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a board connector the width dimension of which can be reduced while reducing the manufacturing cost.SOLUTION: In a board connector C being fixed to a board 40, a terminal metal 30 for connection with the board 40 is extended from the rear side of a housing 10. A rib 16 being press fitted in a groove 52 of a fixing member 50 for holding the board 40 is provided on the side 10B of the housing 10 in the width direction. On the rear side 10A of the housing 10, an elastic engaging piece 22 engaging with a through hole 42 of the board 40 when being inserted thereinto is provided on the inside of the rib 16 in the width direction of the housing 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to a board connector.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for fixing a board connector to a board, a method is known in which a mounting portion provided in a housing is screwed to the board (for example, described in Patent Document 1 below). By firmly fixing the board connector to the board by screwing, the stress applied to the connecting portion between the terminal fitting provided on the board connector and the board can be relaxed.

JP 2002-216870 A

  However, the fixing method as described above has a problem that it is difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost because the number of parts is increased by the number of screws and a step of screwing is required. Further, since the mounting portion is provided so as to protrude to the side of the housing, there is a problem in that the board connector has a large size in the width direction, and accordingly, a space must be secured on the board.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a board connector that can reduce the manufacturing cost and can reduce the width of the board connector. And

  The present invention is a board connector fixed to a board, a terminal fitting connected to the board is extended from a rear side surface of the housing, and a fixing member that holds the board on an end face in the width direction of the housing A rib that is press-fitted into the groove portion is provided, and an elastic locking piece that locks into the through hole by being inserted into the through hole of the substrate is provided on the rear side surface of the housing rather than the rib. It is provided inside the width direction of the housing.

  According to such a configuration, instead of screwing the board connector to the board, the board connector can be fixed to the board by inserting the elastic locking piece into the through hole of the board. The number of points and the screwing process can be reduced, and thus the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, by pressing the rib into the groove of the fixing member, the connector for the board is fixed to the fixing member without rattling, so the terminal fitting can be connected to the board without the need for strong fixing such as screwing. The stress applied to the portion can be relaxed. And since the elastic locking piece is provided at the inner side in the width direction of the housing than the rib, as compared with the case where the mounting portion for screwing is provided protruding to the side of the housing The width of the board connector can be reduced. That is, according to the configuration of the present invention, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the width dimension of the board connector can be reduced.

  In addition, a protective wall that protects the extending portion of the terminal fitting is provided at least at the end in the width direction of the housing on the rear side surface of the housing, and the elastic locking piece is arranged in the width direction of the housing. It is good also as what is located inside the outer surface of the protective wall with which the edge part was equipped. According to such a structure, the dimension of the width direction of a housing can be made small compared with the case where an elastic locking piece is provided in the outer side of a protective wall.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the board connector which can make the width dimension of the board connector small can be provided.

The perspective view which shows the housing of the connector for substrates in this embodiment The top view which shows the connector for boards in the state fixed to the board Rear view showing the board connector fixed to the board Side view showing the board connector fixed to the board FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a locking structure between the board connector and the board, corresponding to a cross section taken along the line BB in FIG. 4. The perspective view which shows the connector for a board | substrate of the state fixed to the fixing member FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing structure between a board connector and a fixing member, and a cross-sectional view corresponding to a cross section at the position AA in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the shape of the groove part of a fixing member

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The board connector C in the present embodiment is an airbag connector connected to an airbag circuit, and is a male connector that can be mated with a female connector (not shown) on the other side. Hereinafter, in each component member, the fitting surface side with the mating connector will be referred to as the front, and the upper side in FIG.

  The board connector C includes a housing 10 made of a synthetic resin material and a plurality of terminal fittings 30. The housing 10 has a hood portion 11 that has a horizontally long rectangular shape and opens forward, and a mating connector is closely fitted to the hood portion 11.

  A cylindrical cam pin 12 (see FIG. 3) is provided on the upper surface of the hood portion 11 so as to protrude downward from the inner surface of the hood portion 11. The cam pin 12 is inserted into the cam groove of the mating connector and moved along the cam groove, so that the board connector C and the mating connector are attracted to each other by a cam action to reach a proper mating state. It has become.

  The housing 10 is formed with a plurality of terminal insertion holes 13 into which the terminal fittings 30 are press-fitted. The plurality of terminal insertion holes 13 are formed in a plurality of stages (three stages in the present embodiment) in the vertical direction in a state of being arranged in the width direction of the housing 10.

  The terminal fitting 30 is an elongated metal bar, and is bent into a substantially L shape as a whole (see FIG. 6). One end side of the terminal fitting 30 press-fitted into the terminal insertion hole 13 protrudes forward from the back surface of the hood portion 11 and can be electrically connected to the corresponding counterpart terminal fitting. Further, the other end side of the terminal fitting 30 extends from the rear side surface 10A of the housing 10 and bends downward, and is inserted into a through hole 41 formed in the substrate 40 to be connected to a conductive path (not shown) by soldering or the like. Connected.

  A protective wall 14 is provided on the rear side surface 10 </ b> A of the housing 10 to physically and mechanically protect the extended portion of the terminal fitting 30. The protective wall 14 is provided so as to partition the rear side surface 10A of the housing 10 into a plurality of compartments (three compartments in the present embodiment) with the extending portion of the terminal fitting 30 interposed therebetween. A plurality of protective walls 14 are provided on the rear side surface 10A of the housing 10 (four in this embodiment), a pair of which is provided at both ends in the width direction of the housing 10, and one of the other protective walls 14 is provided. One is provided near the center in the width direction of the housing 10, and the other is provided at a position where one of the partitions partitioned by the protective wall 14 at the center is further divided into two (FIG. 2). And FIG. 3). The protective walls 14 provided at both ends of the housing 10 are referred to as end protective walls 14A, and the other protective walls 14 are referred to as intermediate protective walls 14B.

  Each of the end protection wall 14A and the intermediate protection wall 14B has a substantially rectangular plate shape that rises substantially perpendicular to the rear side surface 10A of the housing 10. The end protection wall 14A and the intermediate protection wall 14B have the same protruding dimension from the rear side surface 10A of the housing 10 and the upper end position. The upper ends of the protective walls 14A and 14B are located above the upper end of the terminal fitting 30 (see FIG. 3), and the rear end is at a position equivalent to the rear end of the terminal fitting 30 (see FIG. 2). As a result, the extended portion of the terminal fitting 30 is covered on both sides by the end protection wall 14A or the intermediate protection wall 14B for each section so that foreign matter or the like is not easily contacted, and deformation of the terminal fitting 30 is prevented. .

  The pair of end protection walls 14 </ b> A are disposed outside the terminal insertion holes 13 located at both ends in the width direction of the housing 10. The end protection wall 14A has a dimension (thickness dimension) in the width direction of the housing 10 larger (twice or more) than the intermediate protection wall 14B. As shown in FIG. 2, the front end portion of the end protection wall 14 </ b> A has a shape in which the width dimension decreases toward the rear side surface 10 </ b> A of the housing 10, and a part (about half) of the width direction is a side surface (housing 10). (End face in the width direction) 10B protrudes outward from 10B.

  The intermediate protective wall 14B is provided so as to linearly partition the adjacent terminal insertion holes 13 from the uppermost terminal insertion hole 13 to the lowermost terminal insertion hole 13. Further, the end protection wall 14A has a vertical dimension (height dimension) smaller than that of the intermediate protection wall 14B, and the lower end of the end protection wall 14A reaches below the middle terminal insertion hole 13. The end protection wall 14A is formed with a lightening hole 15 that opens to the back side.

  The side surface 10 </ b> B of the housing 10 is provided with a rib 16 that is press-fitted into a groove portion 52 formed in a wall portion 51 of a casing (fixing member) 50. The rib 16 will be described in detail later.

The substrate 40 is fixed to the casing 50. In the drawing, only a pair of wall portions 51 constituting a part of the casing 50 is shown.
The casing 50 is made of metal (made of aluminum die-casting), and its overall shape is substantially box-shaped although not shown, and the upper portion of the wall 51 is closed by a lid member not shown.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the wall portion 51 has a wall shape that rises along the side edge of the substrate 40, and the substrate 40 is fixed to the wall portion 51 by fixing means such as screws. The pair of wall portions 51 rise on both sides of the board connector C, and the upper ends thereof are located above the upper ends of the board connector C.

The board connector C is fixed to the edge of the board 40 so that the hood part 11 faces the outside from the pair of wall parts 51.
In the pair of wall portions 51, a groove portion 52 that forms a fixing structure with the board connector C is formed. The groove 52 is recessed in the inner wall surface 51A of the wall 51 (see FIGS. 6 to 8). The groove 52 extends in the up-down direction and opens at the lower end side, so that the rib 16 of the board connector C can be inserted from below. The groove portion 52 has a shape in which the dimension in the front-rear direction (width dimension) gradually narrows upward from the lower end. In addition, the groove part 52 is made one step wider than the part above it from the lower end to the insertion position of the crushing protrusion part 19 of the rib 16 mentioned later.

  The ribs 16 provided on the side surface 10B of the housing 10 are formed over the entire height of the housing 10 (see FIG. 4). The rib 16 includes a main body portion 17 having a shape in which a dimension in the front-rear direction (width dimension) is narrowed from the lower end toward the upper end, an abutment protrusion 18 protruding from the rear side of the main body portion 17, and the main body portion 17. And a crushing protrusion 19 projecting from the front side of the. The front and rear end surfaces of the main body portion 17 are inclined so as to follow the shape of the groove portion 52 (see FIG. 7). A convex portion 21 is provided on the rear end surface of the main body portion 17 so as to extend in the vertical direction.

The projecting dimension of the main body portion 17 from the side surface 10B of the housing 10 is constant over the whole, and only the upper end portion is gradually reduced from the lower side toward the upper end (see FIG. 3).
The contact protrusion 18 is provided at the lower end portion of the main body portion 17. The abutting protrusion 18 is elongated along the outer edge (protruding edge) of the main body 17 and protrudes rearward from the main body 17 with a semicircular cross section.

  The crushing protrusion 19 is provided at the center of the main body 17 in the up-down direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the crushing protrusion 19 includes a seat portion 19 </ b> A that is formed over the entire width of the main body portion 17, and a crushing portion 19 </ b> B that is elongated along the outer edge of the seat portion 19 </ b> A. The seat 19A has a substantially rectangular flat plate shape that is long in the vertical direction.

  The crushing portion 19B is provided over the entire height of the seat portion 19A, and protrudes from the seat portion 19A in a substantially triangular shape with a protruding end pointed. The upper end surface of the crushing portion 19B is an inclined surface in which the projecting dimension from the seat portion 19A decreases upward (see FIG. 4).

  The protruding dimension of the crushing protrusion 19 from the main body 17 is substantially constant as a whole. The projecting dimension is set such that the dimension (width dimension) in the front-rear direction of the rib 16 including the crushing projecting part 19 is smaller than the dimension of the groove part 52 on the lower end side in the same direction.

  On the rear side surface 10 </ b> A of the housing 10, there is provided an elastic locking piece 22 that is inserted into the through hole 42 of the substrate 40 and locks to the through hole 42. The fixing to the board 40 by the elastic locking piece 22 functions as temporary fixing until the terminal fitting 30 of the board connector C is soldered to the board 40.

  The elastic locking piece 22 is provided below the end protection wall 14A, and is located on the inner side of the rib 16 and the outer surface of the end protection wall 14A (end surface in the width direction of the housing 10). The elastic locking piece 22 has an elastic leg portion 23 that can be elastically displaced in the width direction of the housing 10, and a shaft portion 24 inserted into the through hole 42 of the substrate 40 at the tip (lower end) thereof, and the substrate 40. A locking claw 25 that can be locked in the through hole 42 is provided (see FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the elastic leg portion 23 has a thickness dimension (dimension in the width direction of the housing 10) smaller than that of the end protection wall 14A, and the end portion of the end protection wall 14A extends along the inner surface of the end protection wall 14A. It hangs down. As shown in FIG. 1, the elastic leg portion 23 has a shape in which the width dimension in the front-rear direction is gradually reduced toward the lower end. In addition, on the inner side surfaces of the end protection wall 14A and the elastic leg portion 23, a ridge portion 26 extending linearly in the vertical direction from the upper end to the lower end is provided.

  The locking claw 25 is provided at the lower end portion of the shaft portion 24 and protrudes laterally (inward) from the shaft portion 24. In a state where the board connector C is fixed to the board 40, the shaft portion 24 projects to the lower side of the board 40 (opposite side of the board connector C mounting side), and the locking claw 25 is engaged with the lower surface of the board 40. Stop (see FIG. 3).

  Further, a leg protection wall 27 is provided below the end protection wall 14A so as to cover the outer side of the elastic leg 23 (the side opposite to the locking claw 25) of the elastic locking piece 22. The leg protection wall 27 hangs down along the outer surface of the end protection wall 14A, and the entire outer surfaces of the end protection wall 14A and the leg protection wall 27 are flat surfaces without any irregularities (see FIG. 4). The shaft portion 24 and the locking claw 25 protrude below the leg protection wall 27, and when the board connector C is fixed to the board 40, the lower end of the leg protection wall 27 is close to the plate surface of the board 40. Arranged.

  At the lower end of the leg protection wall 27, a backlashing projection 28 having a backlashing function is projected (see FIG. 1). The backlash projection 28 is formed in a thin wall shape having a width dimension (dimension in the front-rear direction) equivalent to that of the shaft portion 24, provided at a position away from the shaft portion 24 by a predetermined dimension, and the substrate 40 together with the shaft portion 24. Is inserted into the through hole 42 (see FIG. 5). Note that the backlashing projection 28 is accommodated in the through hole 42 without protruding downward from the through hole 42.

  The outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 24 and the locking claw 25 and the outer peripheral surface of the backlashing projection 28 are arcuate surfaces along the through-hole 42 of the circular substrate 40. Further, the inner side surface of the shaft portion 24 and the inner side surface of the backlashing projection portion 28 (facing surfaces of the shaft portion 24 and the backlashing projection portion 28) are flat surfaces and are substantially parallel to each other.

Next, an example of a method for fixing the board connector C to the board 40 and the casing 50 will be described.
First, the board connector C is fixed to the board 40. While inserting the end of the terminal fitting 30 into the terminal insertion hole 13 of the substrate 40, the elastic locking piece 22 and the backlash projection 28 are inserted into the through hole 42 of the substrate 40. Then, the latching claw 25 comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the through hole 42 and the elastic leg 23 is elastically displaced toward the leg protection wall 27. When the latching claw 25 passes through the through hole 42, the elastic leg 23 is elastic. Returning, the locking claw 25 is locked to the back surface of the substrate 40. At this time, the operator can obtain a good lock feeling. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 24 and the outer peripheral surface of the backlashing projection portion 28 are pressed against the peripheral surface of the through hole 42, and the backlash between the elastic locking piece 22 and the substrate 40 is prevented. Thus, the board connector C is temporarily fixed to the board 40.

  Thereafter, the board connector C is fixed to the casing 50. The rib 16 of the board connector C is inserted into the groove 52 of the casing 50, and the board connector C is pushed in the entering direction. In the initial stage of the pushing operation, the board connector C is pushed in smoothly because the entrance of the groove 52 is wider than the width of the tip of the rib 16. Eventually, the crushing protrusion 19 is smoothly inserted into the groove 52, and when the board connector C is further pushed in, the contact protrusion 18 is inserted into the groove 52. In the final stage of the pushing operation, the contact protrusion 18 contacts the front side surface of the groove portion 52, so that the crush protrusion 19 is strongly pressed against the side surface of the groove portion 52 and is crushed. In addition, although the contact protrusion 18 is also slightly crushed, the amount of crushing is made smaller than the amount of crushing of the crushing protrusion 19.

  Then, substantially the entire rib 16 is inserted into the groove 52, and further pushing operation is restricted, and the fixing of the board connector C to the casing 50 is completed. At this time, the inner wall surface 51A of the wall portion 51 of the casing 50 is disposed close to the outer surface of the end protection wall 14A, and between the inner wall surface 51A of the wall portion 51 and the outer surface of the end protection wall 14A, Only the minimum necessary clearance for fixing the board connector C to the casing 50 is secured.

Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.
In the board connector C of this embodiment, ribs 16 that are press-fitted into the groove portions 52 of the casing 50 that holds the board 40 are provided on both side faces 10B of the housing 10, and the board 10 is provided on the rear side face 10A of the housing 10. The elastic locking piece 22 that locks into the through hole 42 by being inserted into the through hole 42 of the 40 is provided to be located on the inner side in the width direction of the housing 10 than the rib 16.

  Thereby, instead of screwing the board connector C to the board 40, the board connector C can be fixed to the board 40 by inserting the elastic locking pieces 22 into the through holes 42 of the board 40. In addition, the number of parts and the process of screwing can be reduced, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, by pressing the rib 16 into the groove portion 52 of the casing 50, the board connector C is fixed to the casing 50 without rattling, so that the terminal fitting 30 and The stress applied to the connection portion with the substrate 40 can be relaxed. And since the elastic locking piece 22 is provided in the inner side of the width direction of the housing 10 rather than the rib 16, when the attaching part for screwing is provided protruding to the side of the housing 10 As compared with this, the width dimension of the board connector C can be reduced. That is, according to the board connector C of the present embodiment, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the width dimension of the board connector C can be reduced.

  Further, end protection walls 14A that protect the extended portions of the terminal fittings 30 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the housing 10 on the rear side surface 10A of the housing 10, and the elastic locking pieces 22 are provided with the end protection walls 22A. It is located inside the outer surface of 14A. Thereby, the dimension of the width direction of the housing 10 can be made small compared with the case where the elastic locking piece 22 is provided in the outer side of the end protection wall 14A.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to an airbag connector. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is also applied to other types of board connectors that are not used for airbags. be able to.
(2) In the embodiment described above, the housing 10 is provided with the pair of elastic locking pieces 22, but this is not a limitation, and the number of elastic locking pieces may be changed as appropriate. It is good also as above.
(3) In the above embodiment, the elastic leg portion 23 is formed in a shape that tapers toward the lower end. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the elastic leg portion is formed in a columnar shape having a constant width dimension. Also good.
(4) In the above embodiment, the locking claw 25 of the elastic locking piece 22 protrudes outward from the shaft portion 24, but the elastic locking piece has a locking claw that can be locked in the through hole of the substrate. As long as it has any shape, for example, the locking claw may protrude from the shaft part inwardly or inward and outward, and it has a plurality of shaft parts having locking claws. Also good.
(5) In the above embodiment, the rib 16 includes the main body portion 17, the abutting protrusion 18 protruding from the rear side of the main body portion 17, and the crushing protrusion 19 protruding from the front side of the main body portion 17. However, the shape of the rib is not limited to this, and the shape of the rib may be any shape as long as it can be press-fitted into the groove. It is good also as what consists only of a main-body part with a large width dimension.

C ... Connector for board 10 ... Housing 10A ... Rear side surface 10B ... Side surface (end surface in the width direction of the housing)
14A ... Edge protection wall (protection wall)
16 ... Ribs 22 ... Elastic locking pieces 30 ... Terminal fittings 50 ... Casing (fixing member)
52 ... groove 40 ... substrate 42 ... through hole

Claims (2)

A board connector fixed to the board,
A terminal fitting connected to the substrate extends from the rear side of the housing,
A rib that is press-fitted into a groove portion of a fixing member that holds the substrate is provided on an end surface in the width direction of the housing,
In addition, an elastic locking piece that is inserted into the through hole of the substrate to be locked into the through hole is provided on the rear side surface of the housing so as to be located on the inner side in the width direction of the housing than the rib. Board connector. A protective wall that protects the extending portion of the terminal fitting is provided at least in the widthwise end of the housing on the rear side of the housing,
The board connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic locking piece is provided on an inner side of an outer surface of a protective wall provided at an end in the width direction of the housing.

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