JP2017130329A - Connector and connector unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of easily and stably performing an electrical connection between circuit boards by providing a predetermined degree of freedom in an insertion/ejection direction or a fitting position.SOLUTION: A connector 11 comprises: a receptacle 12 including a fitting recess 14 and including multiple female-side contacts 18 on an inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess 14; and a plug 13 including a fitting projection 15 that can be inserted into and ejected from the fitting recess 14, and including multiple male-side contacts 19 on an outer peripheral surface of the fitting projection 15. In the connector, the fitting recess 14 includes the inner peripheral surface that is formed arcuate, and an opening 26 through which the fitting projection 15 can be inserted and ejected, and the opening 26 is elastically spread, such that the fitting projection 15 can be inserted and ejected. The fitting projection 15 includes the outer peripheral surface in an arcuate shape corresponding to the arcuate inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess 14 and when the fitting projection is inserted into the fitting recess 14, the plug 13 is rotatable relatively to the receptacle 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector and a connector unit for electrical connection between circuit boards.

  Conventionally, a connector using a conductive pattern formed on a flexible substrate as a contact is known (see Patent Document 1). In this connector, each contact provided on the female housing (receptacle) and the male housing (plug) is formed by a conductive pattern of a flexible substrate, and the contacts of the receptacle and the plug are interconnected via an elastic connecting member. Is.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an inter-board connector including a header having a plurality of header contacts and a socket having a plurality of socket contacts. The socket contact includes a flat-plate-like socket side connection portion extending in the length direction, and the socket side connection portion is provided with an insertion fixing hole extending in the length direction. The insertion fixing hole is configured such that the press-fitting portion is press-fitted by moving the opening and the protruding portion of the corresponding header contact inserted therein in the length direction of the insertion fixing hole.

JP-A-8-31527 JP 2014-137899 A

  In the above conventional connector, since the insertion and removal directions and fitting positions of the receptacles and plugs provided on the respective circuit boards to be interconnected are fixed, the respective circuit boards are determined depending on the mounting positions of the receptacles and plugs. The insertion / extraction position and the fitted position are also fixed.

  In addition, when the circuit boards to be interconnected are at positions separated from each other, electrical connection with each circuit board is attempted through a connection base material such as a flexible flat board or a flat cable. There is a possibility that an excessive load is applied to the connector or an electrical contact failure occurs due to the connection substrate being routed.

  In addition, since the circuit board is accommodated in a limited space in the electronic device, when a plurality of circuit boards are connected within this space, wiring is performed when the connector insertion / extraction direction and the fitting position are fixed. There was a problem that work and maintenance became complicated.

  As described above, the conventional connector has no degree of freedom at the time of insertion / removal or after fitting, and cannot flexibly cope with the arrangement and routing of interconnected circuit boards.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector and a connector unit that can easily and stably perform electrical connection between circuit boards by providing a predetermined degree of freedom in the insertion / extraction direction and the fitting position. It is.

  In order to solve the above problems, the connector of the present invention has a fitting recess, a receptacle having a plurality of female contacts on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess, and a fitting that can be inserted into and removed from the fitting recess. In the connector having a convex portion and a plug having a plurality of male contacts on the outer peripheral surface of the fitting convex portion, the fitting concave portion has the inner peripheral surface formed in an arc shape and the fitting The projection has an opening that can be inserted and removed, and the opening is elastically expanded to allow the fitting projection to be inserted and removed. The fitting projection is an arc on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess. An arcuate outer peripheral surface corresponding to the shape is provided, and the plug is rotatable with respect to the receptacle when inserted into the fitting recess.

  The connector unit of the present invention is connected to a pair of connectors, a flexible connection base having both ends connected to one of the receptacles or plugs of the pair of connectors, and the other of the receptacles or plugs of the pair of connectors. And a pair of circuit boards.

  According to the connector of the present invention, since the fitting concave portion of the receptacle and the fitting convex portion of the plug are formed to have an arc-shaped inner peripheral surface and outer peripheral surface, respectively, the direction in which the plug is inserted into and removed from the receptacle And the position after fitting can be moved within a predetermined range. As a result, each contact formed on the receptacle and the plug can be electrically connected in a natural state, and contact failure and deterioration over time of each contact can be prevented. Furthermore, the arrangement of circuit boards to be interconnected and the routing of cables and the like can be facilitated.

  In addition, according to the connector unit of the present invention, a pair of connectors, a flexible connection base whose both ends are connected to one of the receptacle or plug of the pair of connectors, and the other of the receptacle or plug of the pair of connectors are connected. By providing a pair of circuit boards to be connected, it is possible to easily connect the circuit boards apart from each other without applying an excessive load to the receptacle and the plug.

It is a perspective view which shows the connection form between the circuit boards using the connector of this invention. It is sectional drawing (a) and side view (b) of the receptacle of the said connector. It is sectional drawing (a) and side view (b) of the plug of the said connector. It is sectional drawing which shows the 1st connection form by the said connector. It is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd connection form by the said connector. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the said connector. It is sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the connector unit of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the other structural example of the said connector unit.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a connector and a connector unit according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a form in which two circuit boards A and B are electrically connected using a connector 11 of the present invention. The connector 11 includes a female connector (receptacle) 12 formed by a cylindrical member having an opening 26 at one end, and an arc-shaped outer peripheral surface 25 corresponding to the arc-shaped inner peripheral surface 24 of the cylindrical member. It is comprised by the combination with the male connector (plug) 13 formed of the cylindrical member which has. The receptacle 12 and the plug 13 are formed with a plurality of female contacts 18 and male contacts 19 corresponding to terminal electrodes (not shown) formed on the circuit boards A and B.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the receptacle 12 extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical member and has a fitting recess 14 that is recessed in an arc shape and a planar base that supports the fitting recess 14 on the circuit board A. The first housing 20 having an elastic portion 16 and a plurality of female contacts 18 are formed, and a flexible substrate (FPC) 22 covering the first housing 20 is formed.

  The fitting recess 14 includes the inner peripheral surface 24 and the opening 26, and the plug 13 can be inserted and removed by elastically expanding the opening 26. The inner peripheral surface 24 is formed to have a rotation range of 180 degrees or more around the connection portion 16 a with the base portion 16. Further, the opening 26 is formed with a predetermined opening width centering on a direction orthogonal to the reference surface, with the base portion 16 serving as a mounting surface of the circuit board A serving as a reference surface.

  The FPC 22 extends from the back surface of the base portion 16 placed on the circuit board A to the front surface, and extends from the outside of the fitting recess 14 to the inner peripheral surface 24. A plurality of female contacts 18 are formed in the FPC 22 with the center of the back surface 16 b of the base portion 16 and the bottom of the inner peripheral surface 24 as non-conductive portions 28. The female contact 18 is electrically separated with the non-conductive portion 28 interposed therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the plug 13 extends in the longitudinal direction of the columnar member, and has a fitting convex portion 15 that protrudes in an arc shape and a planar shape that supports the fitting convex portion 15 on the circuit board B. The second housing 21 including the base portion 17 and a plurality of male contacts 19 are formed, and a flexible substrate (FPC) 23 covering the second housing 21 is formed. The fitting convex portion 15 is formed to have an arc-shaped outer peripheral surface 25 that abuts along the inner peripheral surface 24 of the fitting concave portion 14, and is connected to the base portion 17 via an arm portion 27. Yes.

  The FPC 23 covered with the second housing 21 extends from the back surface 17b of the base portion 17 placed on the circuit board B to the front surface, and extends so as to wrap around the entire outer peripheral surface 25 through the outside of the arm portion 27. . A plurality of male contacts 19 are formed on the FPC 23 with the center of the back surface 17 b of the base portion 17 and the top of the outer peripheral surface 25 as non-conductive portions 29. The male contact 19 is electrically separated across the non-conductive portion 29.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the opening width of the opening 26 of the fitting recess 14 is smaller than the maximum diameter of the fitting protrusion 15. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, when the receptacle 12 and the plug 13 are fitted, the fitting convex portion 15 is pressed against the opening 26, and the opening 26 is elastically expanded. By being inserted, it is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface 24 of the fitting recess 14. With respect to this insertion, it is possible to hold the circuit board A and the circuit board B in parallel, or even in a state where the circuit board B is slightly inclined, and even after insertion, the circuit board B is inclined to a predetermined angle. be able to.

  After the receptacle 12 and the plug 13 are fitted, the plug is within the opening width of the opening 26 of the fitting recess 14 while maintaining the electrical connection between the corresponding female contact 18 and male contact 19. 13 can be rotated in a predetermined direction. As a result, the fitting angle between the receptacle 12 and the plug 13 can be appropriately adjusted according to the space in the electronic device in which the circuit boards A and B are incorporated.

  The female side contact 18 and the male side contact 19 are formed by copper foil patterns having the same pitch as the electrode terminals provided on the circuit boards A and B.

  The FPCs 22 and 23 have a structure in which conductive patterns to be the female contact 18 and the male contact 19 are formed on an insulating base film via an adhesive layer (not shown). The female side contact 18 and the male side contact 19 are obtained by bonding a plurality of elongated rectangular conductive foils on a base film at a constant pitch. The number of the female side contacts 18 and the male side contacts 19 is provided corresponding to the electrode terminals provided on the circuit boards A and B.

  The receptacle 12 and the plug 13 are provided with fitting guides (not shown) in the first housing 20 and the second housing 21, respectively, for guiding rotation when fitting and after fitting. The fitting guide is formed by, for example, a guide groove provided along the inner peripheral surface of the first housing 20 of the receptacle 12 and a guide protrusion provided along the outer peripheral surface of the second housing 21 of the plug 13. can do. By engaging the guide protrusion with the guide groove, the positioning of the corresponding female side contact and male side contact is facilitated. In addition, the female contact and the male contact do not deviate when rotating to a predetermined angle after fitting.

  Since the opening width of the opening 26 in the receptacle 12 is formed to be smaller than the maximum diameter of the fitting convex portion 15, the plug 13 is elastically fitted to the receptacle 12 so that it can be intentionally pulled out. As long as you do not perform any difficult operations, you will not be able to easily escape.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the receptacle 12 and the plug 13 are fitted, a connector composed of two electrically independent contact points can be formed with the respective non-conductive portions 28 and 29 therebetween. . The plug 13 fitted to the receptacle 12 can be rotated within the opening width of the opening 26 provided in the receptacle 12. However, by providing the non-conducting portions 28 and 29, the plug 13 can be moved within the opening width. For example, the electrical independence of the bipolar contacts can be maintained.

  In the connection form shown in FIG. 4, the electrode terminals A1 and B1 formed on the circuit boards A and B are electrically connected one-on-one by the connector 11 including the receptacle 12 and the plug 13. In this connection form, the female side contact 18 and the male side contact 19 are electrically independent via the non-conductive portions 28 and 29, but the circuit board via the base portions 16 and 17. A and the circuit board B are electrically connected.

  In the connection form shown in FIG. 5, the electrode terminal A1 of the circuit board A, the electrode terminal B1 of the circuit board B, the electrode terminal A2 of the circuit board A, and the electrode terminal of the circuit board B are connected by the connector 11 including the receptacle 12 and the plug 13. B2 is electrically connected to each other independently. The female-side contact 18 and the male-side contact 19 formed on the receptacle 12 and the plug 13 are electrically separated through non-conducting portions 28 and 29, respectively. The lengths of the non-conducting portions 28 and 29 are formed in accordance with the opening width of the opening portion 26 provided in the receptacle 12, so that the plug 13 can be rotated with respect to the receptacle 12. If so, the electrode terminals A1, A2 and the electrode terminals B1, B2 are not short-circuited, and electrical independence is maintained.

  FIG. 6 shows a modification of the connector 11. The connector 41 of this embodiment is formed by inclining an opening 46 provided in the fitting recess 44 of the receptacle 42. The opening 46 is set at a position inclined in a predetermined angular direction α from a direction orthogonal to the base portion 47 serving as a reference surface for mounting on the circuit board. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, the plug 43 having the fitting convex portion 45 can be inserted / removed from an oblique direction, and insertion / removal in a place where the space on the circuit boards A, B is narrow. Work can be facilitated.

  FIG. 7 shows a pair of connectors 31a and 31b, a flexible connection base 32 having both ends connected to one of the receptacle 12 or plug 13 of the pair of connectors, and the receptacle 12 or plug 13 of the pair of connectors 31a and 31b. 2 shows a configuration example of a connector unit 30 including a pair of circuit boards A and B connected to the other of the two.

  The flexible connection base material 32 can be formed by a bendable flexible board or a flat cable in which a plurality of conductive wires are arranged in parallel, and a pair of plugs 13 are connected to both ends thereof. On the other hand, a pair of receptacles 12 is connected to one end of each of the circuit boards A and B. In the pair of connectors 31a and 31b, either the receptacle 12 or the plug 13 may be provided on the flexible connection base 32 or the circuit boards A and B.

  By using the flexible connection base material 32, the circuit boards A and B located at separate positions can be interconnected without applying an excessive force between the receptacle 12 and the plug 13.

  Further, instead of the receptacle 12 constituting the connector unit 30, a receptacle 42 having an inclined opening 46 as shown in FIG. 6 is used, so that a pair of plugs 43 provided at both ends of the flexible connection base material 32 can be obtained. The insertion / extraction direction can be changed. Further, when the plug 43 is fitted, it can be inclined to a position close to the end surfaces of the circuit boards A and B. As a result, like the connector unit 40 shown in FIG. 8, the flexible connection including the pair of plugs 43 to the pair of receptacles 42 provided on the front and back surfaces of the circuit boards A and B arranged in parallel, respectively. When connected via the base material 32, it is possible to connect at the shortest distance while suppressing bending deformation of the flexible connection base material 32 and without applying an excessive load on both the receptacle 42 and the plug 43. .

A, B circuit board A1, B1 electrode terminal A2, B2 electrode terminal α angle direction 11 connector 12 receptacle 13 plug 14 fitting recess 15 fitting projection 16 base portion 16a connection portion 16b back surface 17 base portion 17b back surface 18 female side contact 19 Male side contact 20 1st housing 21 2nd housing 22 FPC
23 FPC
24 inner peripheral surface 25 outer peripheral surface 26 opening 27 arm portion 28 non-conductive portion 29 non-conductive portion 30 connector unit 31a, 31b connector 32 flexible connection base material 40 connector unit 41 connector 42 receptacle 43 plug 44 fitting recess 45 fitting convex Part 46 Opening 47 Base part

Claims (9)

A receptacle having a fitting recess and having a plurality of female contacts on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess, and a fitting convex portion that can be inserted into and removed from the fitting concave portion, and an outer peripheral surface of the fitting convex portion In a connector provided with a plug having a plurality of male contacts
The fitting concave portion has the inner peripheral surface formed in an arc shape and an opening through which the fitting convex portion can be inserted and removed, and the fitting convex portion is inserted and removed by elastically spreading the opening. Enable
The fitting convex portion has an arc-shaped outer peripheral surface corresponding to the circular arc shape of the inner peripheral surface of the fitting concave portion, and the plug can be rotated with respect to the receptacle when inserted into the fitting concave portion. Connector. The receptacle includes a first housing having a fitting recess, and the plurality of female contacts are provided on a surface of the first housing,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the plug includes a second housing having a fitting convex portion, and the plurality of male contacts are provided on a surface of the second housing.   3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the female contact and the male contact are formed by patterning each contact on a flexible substrate.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein an opening width of the fitting recess is smaller than a maximum diameter of the fitting protrusion.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the opening of the fitting recess is provided in a direction orthogonal to a reference surface provided in the receptacle or in a predetermined angular direction with respect to the reference surface.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the fitting recess is formed by a cylindrical member having an opening at one end, and the cylindrical member is made of an elastic material.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the fitting convex portion is formed of a cylindrical member.   A pair of connectors according to any one of claims 1 to 7, a flexible connection substrate having both ends connected to one of the receptacles or plugs of the pair of connectors, and a connection to the other of the receptacles or plugs of the pair of connectors A connector unit comprising a pair of circuit boards.   The flexible connection base material is a flexible flat substrate or a flexible flat cable on which a conductive pattern for electrically connecting a plurality of female contacts provided on the receptacle and a plurality of male contacts provided on the plug is formed. The connector unit according to claim 8.

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