JP2023139357A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a circuit board connection connector having with less the number of components in a construction adapted to a heavy current while having a large floating amount.SOLUTION: In a receptacle connector 1 attached to a circuit board and fitted along a vertical direction, a receptacle contact 30 comprises: a plate-like fixing part 33; a first spring element 341 that is deviated in the vertical direction; a second spring element 342 that is deviated in a front/back direction; and a contact part. The first spring element 341 and the second spring element 342 are continued with an angle of about 90 degrees in a plate-like shape, and a contact part 31 nips a mating contact 70 at a fitting time from a lateral direction so as to be continued to a tip end part of the second spring element 342. The tip end part of the contact part 31 is provided with a stopper part 35 extended in a lower direction, and the tip end part of a stopper part 35 and a regulation part 170 of a housing are contacted when generating a position deviation at a space from the mating connector 50 at the time of fitting, and thus, the deformation of the contact part 31 is suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention is a connector equipped with a floating mechanism for connecting circuit boards.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART The connector described in patent document 1 and patent document 2 is disclosed as a connector equipped with a floating mechanism for connecting circuit boards, and compatible with large currents.
The connector described in Patent Document 1 is composed of two types of housings. There is a main body housing that is fixed to the circuit board, and as a separate member there is a floating housing that has a floating mechanism. The contact also has a two-piece structure consisting of two parts. Furthermore, reinforcing tabs are provided on the left and right sides of the connector to ensure the strength of the connection between the connector and the circuit board. As described above, the connector described in Patent Document 1 has a large number of parts constituting the connector and is expensive.
The connector described in Patent Document 2 is compatible with large currents and proposes a low-profile floating connector. The structure of the contact has only one U-shaped fold that forms the movable part. Therefore, the required spring length naturally increases, and the connector becomes bulky in the height direction. Furthermore, since the developed length of the contact in the pitch direction becomes large, the yield of reel material in the production process is likely to be low, resulting in an increase in costs.

JP2021-57311A JP 2021-34275 Publication

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. The object of the present invention is to provide an inter-circuit board connector that has a large floating amount, is suitable for large currents, and has a small number of parts.

A connector according to the present invention includes (1) a contact and a housing that are attached to a circuit board that extends in the front-back and left-right directions and that fit into a mating connector that descends in the vertical direction, the contacts being A plate-shaped fixed part that is made by bending a metal plate-shaped body and extends parallel to the circuit board, a first spring element that is connected to the fixed part and is displaced mainly in the vertical direction, and a first spring element that is displaced mainly in the front-back direction. the first spring element and the second spring element are plate-shaped and are continuously provided at an angle of approximately 90 degrees, and the contact part is a generally left-right symmetrical inverted Ω shape that connects to the tip of the second spring element and sandwiches from the left and right the mating contact that descends from above when mating, and extends downward at the tip of the contact portion. A stopper portion is provided, and when a positional deviation occurs between the mating connector and the mating connector, deformation of the contact portion is suppressed within an elastic range by contact between the tip of the stopper and a predetermined portion of the housing. It is characterized by:

According to this invention, the contact includes the first spring element and the second spring element and can be displaced back and forth and left and right, and since the elastic region can be long, the amount of displacement is also large. In addition, the connector is constructed from only one type of housing and contacts, and has a small number of parts. For large currents, the width from the contact portion of the contact to the elastic portion and fixed portion is substantially uniformly wide, and the cross-sectional area is also large.

Preferably, in the connector according to the present invention, (2) the housing according to the above (1) has a front surface, a rear surface, a bottom surface, a top surface, and left and right side surfaces each having a row of accommodating portions for accommodating the contacts therein. It has a cubic shape with a wall surface, and has an opening for accommodating the contact in the accommodating portion on either one of the front surface and the rear surface constituting the accommodating portion, and either the front surface or the rear surface The other side is provided with a slit, and the upper surface is characterized in that an upper surface opening is provided at a position corresponding to the accommodating portion.

According to this invention, large openings are provided on the front, rear, and top surfaces of the housing. This provides a connector that is favorable for heat dissipation and is unlikely to cause heat build-up in response to large currents. On the front and rear surfaces, the openings are approximately 80% of the wall surface, and on the top surface, the openings are approximately 50%.

Preferably, in the connector according to the present invention, (3) the connector according to (1) or (2) above includes at least four of the accommodating portions, and at least two of the fixing portions of the contacts are provided on the front side. , at least two fixing parts are provided on the rear surface side, and the difference in number between the fixing parts provided on the front surface side and the fixing parts provided on the rear surface side is at most one.

According to this invention, the contact fixing portions are arranged in a staggered manner on the front and rear surfaces of the housing. Thereby, the connector is connected to the circuit board in a well-balanced manner. As a result, a connector can be obtained in which the attachment of reinforcing metal fittings can be omitted.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the main parts showing the connection state between the contacts of the receptacle connector and the contacts of the mating connector according to the present embodiment, (1) is a state in which the mating contacts are shifted to the left, and (2) is a state in which the mating contacts are shifted to the left. (3) is a state in which there is no deviation from the other party's contact, and (3) is a state in which the other party's contact is shifted to the right. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the fitted state of the receptacle connector and the mating connector, in which (1) is an external perspective view, and (2) is a side view showing the fitted state when installed on a circuit board. It is a diagram. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the receptacle contact, in which (1) is a perspective view of the single unit state, (2) is a perspective view of the state in which it is fitted with a mating contact, and (3) is a perspective view of the receptacle contact. It is a developed view before being separated from the reel and before the shape is created. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the receptacle housing and the receptacle contact, in which (1) is a state before the receptacle contact is assembled, and (2) is an external perspective view showing the state in which the receptacle contact is assembled. It is. FIG. 5 is a main part view showing the process of fitting the receptacle connector and the mating connector at an angle, with (1) being a sectional view and (2) being a perspective view. FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of a receptacle contact according to the second embodiment.

A connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described according to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a main part diagram showing the connection state between the contacts of the receptacle connector and the contacts of the mating connector according to the present embodiment, in which (1) shows the state where the mating contacts are shifted to the left, and (2) shows the state where the mating contacts are shifted to the left. (3) is a state in which the counterpart contact is not displaced, and (3) is a condition in which the counterpart contact is displaced to the right. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the fitted state of the receptacle connector and the mating connector, in which (1) is an external perspective view, and (2) shows the fitted state when it is attached to a circuit board. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the receptacle contact, in which (1) is an external perspective view of the single unit, (2) is an external perspective view showing a state in which it is fitted with a mating contact, and (3) is an external perspective view of the receptacle contact. is a developed view before being separated from the reel and before the shape is created. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the assembly of the receptacle housing and the receptacle contact, where (1) shows the state before the receptacle contact is assembled, and (2) shows the state where the receptacle contact is assembled. It is an external perspective view. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a process of fitting the receptacle connector and a mating connector at an angle, with (1) being a sectional view and (2) being a perspective view. Note that the technical scope of the present invention is not interpreted to be limited to this embodiment, and various changes can be made to the constituent elements without departing from the gist of the invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the receptacle connector 1 according to the present embodiment is fitted into a mating connector 50 along the vertical direction. The receptacle connector 1 and the mating connector 50 are both connected to a circuit board (not shown) and are fitted together with their top surfaces facing each other. When the receptacle connector 1 and the mating connector 50 are fitted together, misalignment may occur, and this misalignment may occur in the left-right direction, the front-back direction (front and back directions passing through the page), and the up-down direction. Furthermore, when the receptacle contact 30 is attached to a moving object such as an automobile, vibrations may propagate and occur between the contact portion between the receptacle contact 30 and the other contact 70.
The receptacle connector 1 according to the present embodiment has a function of following the mating connector 50 to ensure an appropriate connection state when such positional displacement or vibration occurs.

When mating, if the mating connector 50 is misaligned to the left with respect to the receptacle connector 1, as shown in (1) in FIG. 1, the receptacle contacts 30 are dragged by the mating contacts 70. In this way, the entire body is displaced to the left. At this time, the first spring element 341 of the spring portion 34 is displaced upward, and the second spring element 342 is displaced leftward to ensure the connection state with the other contact 70. That is, the contact portion 31 is entirely displaced to the left in response to the positional shift while maintaining the clamping posture.

When the mating connector 50 is displaced to the right with respect to the receptacle connector 1, as shown in (3) of FIG. 1, the receptacle contact 30 is dragged by the mating contact 70, and the whole Displace to the right. At this time, the first spring element 341 of the spring portion 34 is displaced downward, and the second spring element 342 is displaced rightward to ensure the connection state with the other contact 70. That is, the contact portion 31 is entirely displaced to the right in response to the positional shift while maintaining the clamping posture.

As shown in FIG. 3, the receptacle contact 30 according to this embodiment extends rearward from the rear end of the rectangular fixing part 33 at a point where the short connecting part 32 is one step lower. On the other hand, a long spring portion 34 extends forward from the front end. The spring portion 34 includes a first spring element 341 that extends in the front-rear direction, and a second spring element 342 that extends in the up-down direction and is connected to the tip thereof. A contact portion 31 formed in an inverted Ω shape is provided from the tip of the second spring element 342 . The contact portion 31 has a structure in which the other contact 70 is held between a pair of contact surfaces 310 and 311, and is electrically and mechanically connected to the other contact 70 at the top formed near the center. Above the tops of the contact surfaces 310 and 311, the contact surfaces 310 and 311 have a tapered expansion, which guides the mating contact 70 to the inner part during fitting. The pair of contact surfaces 310 and 311 form symmetrical tops and are connected at the lower end of the back. The contact surfaces 310 and 311 have a larger width than the spring portion 34, and the width ratio thereof is approximately twice that of the spring portion 34.

The end of the contact portion 31 is continuous with the stopper portion 35, as shown in FIG. The stopper portion 35 extends downward along the vertical direction, and has a stopper surface 350 in the horizontal direction at its tip. The stopper part 35 is located generally above the fixing part 33 at a predetermined distance. The stopper portion 35 is elastically movable in the vertical direction within the limited space.

As shown in FIG. 3(3), the receptacle contact 30 has a developed shape that is long in the longitudinal direction and short in the width direction. Thereby, it is possible to mold it into a reel shape with a narrow pitch.

As shown in FIG. 4, the receptacle housing 10 is a rectangular parallelepiped with a rectangular cross section and includes four contact accommodation spaces 160 for accommodating the contacts 30 therein. The front surface is covered with a front wall 130, and openings 131 are provided at the right and left ends for assembling the contacts 30, which are connected to the contact accommodating space 160. A slit 132 connected to the contact accommodating space 160 is provided in the middle portion. The upper surface is covered with an upper wall 110, and is provided with an upper surface opening 111 that connects to the contact accommodation space 160. The left and right sides are entirely covered with side walls 150.

As shown in FIG. 4, the receptacle housing 10 includes a front wall 130, a rear wall, and an upper wall 110 each having an opening 131 and an upper opening 111 on the front, rear, and upper surfaces, and efficiently dissipates the heat generated during energization. Since the heat is diffused into the surrounding area, heat buildup is effectively suppressed.

When the mating connector 50 is fitted with an inclination, the tip of the mating contact 70 comes into contact with the contact surface 311 of the receptacle contact 30, as shown in FIG. When the degree of inclination is large and a strong force is applied to push down the receptacle contact 30 downward, the stopper portion 35 is pushed down so that the stopper surface 350 at the tip is formed on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the receptacle housing 10. 170. Due to the contact, displacement of the receptacle contact 30 is regulated at this position, and excessive deformation is suppressed.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the receptacle contact 30 according to the second embodiment. In the receptacle contact 30 according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the stopper portion 35 is provided with an L-shaped stopper surface 350b. The sides are cut in a straight line. This suppresses wear and tear on the receptacle housing 10 due to contact between the stopper portion 35 and the restriction portion 170. Moreover, the yield of reel material is further improved.

<Effect>
- By providing the first spring element 341 of the spring portion 34 below the contact portion 31, a sufficient spring length can be ensured, and the height dimension of the receptacle connector 1 can be reduced.
- Since the first spring element 341 that is movable in the vertical direction of the receptacle contact 30 expands the distribution of stress generated during fitting, a receptacle connector 1 with a large floating amount can be obtained.
- Since the width dimensions of the contact surfaces 310 and 311 of the receptacle contacts 30 are large, a receptacle connector 1 is obtained that can absorb misalignment of the mating contacts 70 over a wide range.
- Since the front wall 130, rear wall, and upper wall 110 of the receptacle housing 10 are provided with large openings 131, 111, the receptacle connector 1 with excellent heat dissipation properties can be obtained.
- Since the stopper part 35 of the receptacle contact 30 and the regulating part 170 of the receptacle housing 10 come into contact with each other, a receptacle connector 1 is obtained in which deformation damage to the contact surfaces 310 and 311 can be suppressed.
- Since the force with which the spring portion 34 deforms is smaller than the force with which the contact surfaces 310 and 311 deform, the receptacle connector 1 can be obtained which floats before the contact portion 31 deforms.
- Since no floating housing is required in addition to the receptacle housing 10, a floating connector with a simple structure and fewer assembly steps can be obtained.
- Since the width dimension of the receptacle contact 30 is large and a sufficient cross-sectional area can be secured, a receptacle connector 1 suitable for large currents can be obtained.
- Since the stopper part 35 is provided at the end of the receptacle contact 30, the receptacle connector 1 can be obtained which can suppress excessive deformation due to prying insertion and removal.
- Since the deformation pressure of the spring portion 34 of the receptacle contact 30 is smaller than the contact pressure, a receptacle connector 1 with high reliability of connection that can handle large currents can be obtained.

1 Receptacle connector 10 Receptacle housing 110 Upper wall 111 Upper surface opening 120 Lower wall 130 Front wall 131 Opening 132 Slit 140 Rear wall 150 Side wall 160 Contact accommodation space 170 Regulating section 30 Receptacle contact 31 Contact section 310 311 Contact surface 32 Connection section 33 Fixed part 34 Spring part 341 First spring element 342 Second spring element 35 Stopper part 350 Stopper surface 50 Mate connector 60 Mate housing 70 Mate contact B Circuit board

Claims (3)

A connector that is attached to a circuit board that extends in the front-rear and left-right directions and that fits into a mating connector that descends along the vertical direction, and includes contacts and a housing,
The contact is made by bending a metal plate-shaped body, and includes a plate-shaped fixing part extending parallel to the circuit board, a first spring element connected to the fixing part and displacing mainly in the vertical direction, and a first spring element displacing mainly in the vertical direction. comprising a second spring element that is displaced in the direction and a contact portion that connects to the contact portion of the other contact,
The first spring element and the second spring element are plate-shaped and are continuously provided at an angle of approximately 90 degrees,
The contact portion has a generally bilaterally symmetrical inverted Ω shape that connects to the tip of the second spring element and clamps from the left and right a mating contact that descends from above when mating, and
A stopper portion extending downward is provided at the tip of the contact portion,
The connector is characterized in that, when a misalignment occurs between the mating connector and the mating connector, deformation of the contact portion is suppressed within an elastic range due to contact between the tip of the stopper and a predetermined portion of the housing. Connector with. The housing according to claim 1 has a cubic shape with walls on the front, rear, bottom, top, and right and left sides, and has a row of accommodating portions for accommodating the contacts therein, and the accommodating portions are configured of the housing. One of the front surface and the rear surface is provided with an opening for accommodating the contact in the accommodating portion, the other of the front surface and the rear surface is provided with a slit, and the upper surface is provided with an opening for accommodating the contact in the accommodating portion. A connector characterized by having an opening on the top surface at a position corresponding to. The connector according to claim 1 or 2 includes at least four of the accommodating portions, at least two of the fixing portions of the contacts are provided on the front side, at least two are provided on the rear side, and at least two of the fixing portions of the contacts are provided on the front side. A connector characterized in that the difference in number between the fixed portions provided and the fixed portions provided on the rear side is one at most.