JP2555601Y2 - Movable connector - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to a movable connector which can be movably fixed within a certain range so as to enable smooth mutual connection when mated with a mating connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an electrical connector has a pair of connectors, a plug (male) connector and a receptacle (female) connector, and when they are fitted together, the respective contacts come into electrical contact with each other. ing.

The plug and the receptacle connector may be mounted on a pair of circuit boards arranged in parallel, or may be mounted on a panel of a modular electronic device which is called a drawer connector and which is removably inserted into and removed from each other. is there. In electrical connectors mounted on these circuit boards or panels (hereinafter referred to as panel-mounted connectors), at least one of the connectors is movable with respect to the other connector due to a dimensional error between both panels and an installation error. It is necessary to be. That is, if both connectors are immovably mounted and fixed to the panel, when the two panels are brought close to each other and the two connectors are fitted together, the two connectors will not be aligned with the mating connector without fail and will collide, and the contact will not contact. Alternatively, there is a possibility that the contacts and the insulating housing may be damaged. In order to solve such an alignment problem of the panel-mounted connector, a so-called movable connector in which the connector can be moved within a certain range with respect to the panel has been proposed, and is widely used in electronic devices such as an electronic copying machine or an electronic application device. I have.

A conventional example of such a movable connector is disclosed in
It is disclosed in 64-27982. This publication discloses, as a conventional example, a movable connector in which an umbrella-shaped elastic locking piece is integrally formed on a column protruding from a flange of a connector housing. Further, as a new movable connector, a plurality of holding spring members such as an annular shape integrally formed of the same plastic material are formed on an end flange of the connector housing. Such a flange with an elastic spring member is housed in the holding groove at the end of the panel, and the connector is attached to the panel. As a result, the connector is movably held on the panel within a certain range determined by the elastic deformation range of the spring member of the housing.

[0005]

The movable connector described above has the following problems. That is, in the conventional movable connector using the umbrella-shaped elastic locking piece, it is necessary to protrude sufficiently long from the flange of the connector housing to obtain a sufficient elasticity and a movable range. As a result, when handling such a connector, it may be entangled with a locking piece of another connector, resulting in poor workability and breakage or permanent deformation of the locking piece. Further, in the case of a movable connector having an annular holding spring member on the flange, it is necessary to form a special concave groove at the end of the mounting panel and to form the opposite end of the panel so as to be able to come and go. Large structural constraints. The possibility that the spring member is damaged or permanently deformed during handling is the same as in the case of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional movable connector as described above, and to minimize the amount of protrusion (dimension) from the connector housing and to provide an excellent handling workability in which a sufficient movable range can be obtained. Provide a movable connector.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A movable connector according to the present invention includes an insulating housing having at least one contact receiving cavity formed substantially at the center of a substantially plate-like base, and formed near both ends of the base of the insulating housing. formed in a substantially rectangular shape opening, comprising a pair of panel mounting member attached to a mounting hole of a panel, the respective panel mounting member, upper and lower surfaces to protrude respectively outwardly substantially "Le" shape of the base Freedom to spread
It has two elastic legs having ends, and the upper part of the elastic legs is a connecting piece crossing each of the substantially rectangular openings, and the elastic legs are connected by the elastic legs.
Coupled to said base portion so as to be positioned on either side of the focal piece, across the panel between the free end and the front SL base, the bullet
The sex leg is elastically deformed around the connecting piece and is held movably.

A protective projection extending downward is formed at the center of the pair of elastic legs, and when the pair of elastic legs is inserted into the opening and pressed toward each other, the elastic deformation limit is reduced. It is desirable to prevent excessive deformation
No.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a movable connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the movable connector of the present invention, and FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C show a plan view, a front view and a side view, respectively. Also,
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a panel mounting member of the movable connector of FIG.

FIGS. 1A to 1C show a receptacle connector including a plurality of receptacle contacts. The connector 10 has a connector housing 12 which in this particular embodiment includes two rows of eighteen receptacle contacts 11,
The plate base 13 protrudes upward from the center. A plurality of guide ribs 14 are provided on the outer periphery of the raised portion in the vertical direction. In the vicinity of both ends of the base 13 of the connector housing 12, a pair of panel mounting members 20 projecting from the upper surface and the bottom surface of the base 13 are provided. FIG.
As is clear from (A), each panel mounting member 20 has a base 13
Are formed in a substantially rectangular opening 15 formed at the center, and are connected to the base 13 by connecting pieces 21 that cross both ends of the central portion and across the opening 15.

Referring to FIGS. 1C and 2, the panel mounting member 20 for holding or mounting the receptacle type movable connector 10 in the mounting hole of the panel will be described in detail. As described above, each panel mounting member 20 is connected to the base 13 by a pair of connecting pieces 21 protruding upward from the periphery (the left and right sides in the figure) of the opening 15 of the base 13. The panel mounting member 20 extends substantially downward from the base 13 through the opening 15 from both ends of the plate-like portion 22 extending along the longitudinal direction of the opening 15 from the top of the column (or plate) -like connecting piece 21. It has a pair of elastic legs 23 and 24 in the shape of a letter. As a result, it should be noted that, when viewed from the side of FIG. 1C, the panel mounting member 20 has a substantially inverted W shape, and in this particular embodiment, projects above and below the base 13 with substantially equal dimensions.
By projecting the elastic legs 23, 24 of the panel mounting member 20 above and below the base 13, the projecting dimensions of the elastic legs 23, 24 from the panel mounting surface (bottom surface) of the base 13 are sufficiently short and sufficiently large. It is possible to obtain Further, since the panel mounting member 20 is protected by the base 13, the possibility of collision with other objects and damage during handling is minimized.

Furthermore, each elastic leg 2 of the panel mounting member 20
Tapers 23a and 24a are formed on the outer surfaces of the distal ends of 3 and 24, respectively. When the movable connector 10 is inserted into the mounting hole of the panel, the tapered portions 23a and 24a come into contact with the mounting holes and have elastic legs 23 and 24a.
Work smoothly toward each other (inward). At this time, one or both of the elastic legs 23 and 24 may be damaged or permanently deformed due to excessive deformation. Therefore, elastic legs are provided on the lower surface of the base 13 so as to cross the opening 15.
A protective projection 25 may be formed between 23 and 24. This protection projection
Since the amount of inward deformation of the elastic legs 23 and 24 is limited by 25, for example, the possibility that excessive deformation occurs in only one of the elastic legs is eliminated.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an example of a panel 30 for mounting the movable connector 10 of FIG. The panel 30 has a pair of mounting holes 31 and 32 into which the panel mounting member 20 of the movable connector 10 is inserted, and a substantially rectangular large hole 33 between them. The rectangular hole 33 functions as a passage for drawing out a wire connected to the receptacle contact 11 of the movable connector 10. Each of the mounting holes 31 and 32 of the panel 30 has a substantially rectangular shape with a predetermined dimension, and the movable connector 10 held in the mounting holes 31 and 32 is movable as described later.

FIG. 4 is a model sectional view for explaining the operation of the base 13, the panel mounting member 20 and the panel 30 of the movable connector 10. As is apparent from FIG.
In the normal state, the outermost ends of the tapers 23a and 24a at the tips of the elastic legs 23 and 24 are larger than the mounting holes 31 (or 32) of the panel 30 and the width of the center of the elastic legs 23 and 24 is larger than that of the mounting holes 31. It is selected small. Therefore, the movable connector 10 is
And movable within the gap between the elastic legs 23 and 24 and the mounting hole 31 and the elastic deformation range of the elastic legs 23 and 24, that is, movable. Moreover, when excessive force acts, the protective projection 25
, The elastic legs 23, 24 effectively prevent breakage.

Next, the connector system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5, which is a cross-sectional view showing a state of engagement with a mating (plug-type) connector 40 which is engaged with the movable connector 10 of FIG. A brief description will be given. For convenience of explanation, the movable connector
Although the receptacle contact 11 of 10 is omitted, a well-known receptacle contact formed by stamping and bending a metal plate or machining a metal bar may be used.

In this specific example, the plug connector 40 has a recess 41 for receiving the receptacle-type movable connector 10, and has two rows of pin-shaped contacts 42 protruding and held in the recess 41. Each contact 42 has a contact portion 43 having a thin end, a holding portion 44 with a barb pressed and held in an opening 47 of an insulating housing 46 of the plug connector 40, and a conductive pad formed on a surface (an upper surface in the drawing) of a circuit board 50. SMT connection part 45 which is connected by soldering (not shown)
Having. A taper 48 is formed inside the concave portion 41 of the insulating housing 46 in front (downward in the figure) to facilitate the fitting with the receptacle connector 10. Although not shown in the figure, a guide groove corresponding to the guide rib 14 formed on the outer wall of the insulating housing 11 of the connector 10 is formed on the inner wall of the concave portion 41 of the insulating housing 46,
The fitting operation of the two connectors 10 and 40 is facilitated.

Although the movable connector of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiment, the present invention should not be limited to only such an embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof. It will be understood by those skilled in the art. That is, the most significant feature of the movable connector of the present invention is that the panel mounting member is formed in the opening of the base of the insulating housing and the thickness of the base is actively utilized, and the elastic legs are connected to the base through the opening. The point is that it is projected on both upper and lower surfaces. Therefore, the panel mounting surface need not necessarily be the lower surface of the base as in the illustrated embodiment, but may be the upper surface.
In that case, the panel mounting member has a vertically inverted structure.
Also, the specific structure of the elastic holding legs can be arbitrarily modified according to the specific embodiment. Further, the movable structure may be provided on only one or both of a pair of mating connectors.

[0018]

As can be understood from the above description, the panel mounting portions of the movable connector of the present invention are provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the base.
Each of the projections has a free end that expands in an approximately "L" shape on the outside
It has two elastic legs that cross a substantially rectangular opening
Connected to the base so that they are located on both sides of the connecting piece
Elastic legs around the connecting piece with the panel between the
The following effects can be obtained because it is elastically deformed and held movably. In other words, a sufficient operating range can be obtained despite its low profile
Connector can be obtained. The mounting member is in the opening and is protected from the outside.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view, a front view, and a side view of a preferred embodiment of a receptacle-type movable connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a panel mounting member formed on an insulating housing of the movable connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a mounting hole of a panel for mounting the movable connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the panel mounting member of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a fitting state of the movable connector of FIG. 1 with a mating connector used for fitting.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Movable connector 12 Insulated housing 13 Base 15 Opening 20 Panel mounting member 21 Connecting piece 23, 24 Elastic leg 30 Panel 31, 32 Mounting hole

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An insulating housing having at least one contact receiving cavity formed substantially at a center of a substantially plate-shaped base; and a substantially rectangular opening formed near both ends of the base of the insulating housing ; Installed in panel mounting hole
Comprising a pair of panel mounting member kicked, the respective panel mounting member is substantially "to protrude respectively outwardly on the upper and lower surfaces of the base
It has two elastic legs with free ends that expand in a ""
The top of the elastic leg is connected to the base such that the resilient leg connecting piece transverse to the respective substantially rectangular opening is located on both sides of the connecting piece, said between said free end and before SL base With the panel interposed, the elastic legs elastically deform around the connecting piece.
A movable connector characterized in that it is shaped and held so as to be movable.