JP3194215B2 - Electrical connector assembly and method of adjusting its mating holding force - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connection between a printed circuit board and a printed circuit board and an FPC.
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly used for connection of a (flat flexible cable) and a method for adjusting a fitting and holding force thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electric connector assembly of this type has an electric connector and an electric connector each having an insulating housing and a plurality of terminals mounted at a predetermined pitch on the insulating housing. And the two electrical connectors are fitted to each other so that the terminals are engaged with each other. As the overall size and density have been reduced, the terminals have become smaller and thinner, which means that when both electrical connectors are mated, the force holding the mated state will be weaker. Although this was a general tendency, the present situation is that an increase in the fitting holding force is required.

[0003]

Conventionally, in order to maintain the mating state between one electrical connector and the other electrical connector, lock members which can be engaged with each other are provided on each of the insulating housings so as to be engaged at the time of mating. However, due to the miniaturization, the lock member is also small, resulting in insufficient strength, and one or a small number of such lock members are provided at the end of the insulating housing or the like. Therefore, there is a problem that the engagement portion becomes a one-point concentrated type, and the holding force cannot be stably exhibited as a whole.

As means for maintaining the fitted state, means for engaging a projection formed on a terminal of one electrical connector and a recess formed on a terminal of the other electrical connector with each other have been known. 3-126
389, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-16381, etc.), in the case of a thin terminal, there is a problem in that the projection and the recess are engaged with each other between terminals without reliability, and a stable holding force cannot be secured. .

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and even if the size is reduced, the required fitting and holding force can be stably obtained as a whole, and the number of the terminals can be adjusted according to the number of poles and the use condition. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector assembly capable of adjusting a fitting and holding force and a method for adjusting the fitting and holding force.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made with the above object, and has a locking claw provided at a terminal of one electrical connector to engage the locking claw with an insulating housing of the other electrical connector. Adjustment is performed to obtain a necessary fitting and holding force.

That is, according to the present invention, one electrical connector and the other electrical connector, each having an insulating housing and a plurality of terminals mounted on the insulating housing at a predetermined pitch, are fitted to each other to form an electrical connector. An electrical connector assembly for engaging the terminals of
A lock claw is provided at a terminal of one of the electrical connectors, and a locking projection is formed on an insulating housing of the other electrical connector so as to correspond to the lock claw. An electrical connector assembly characterized in that the lock claw and the locking projection engage with each other and lock when the fitting is performed.

[0008] At least one locking claw of the terminal on the one electric connector side is provided for each terminal, whereas the locking projection of the insulating housing of the other electric connector corresponds to each locking claw of the terminal. Each of the lock claws may be provided so as to correspond to a part of all the lock claws.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for adjusting a fitting and holding force of an electric connector assembly, comprising: an electric connector having an insulating housing; and a plurality of terminals mounted on the insulating housing at a predetermined pitch. A method of adjusting the holding force in the fitted state by fitting both terminals to each other by fitting the other electrical connector together, and providing at least one lock claw on the terminal of one electrical connector. The insulating housing of the other electrical connector is provided with locking projections corresponding to the locking claws within a range of a maximum number of all locking claws and a minimum of zero, so that the locking claws engage with each other. An electric connector assembly characterized by adjusting the holding force of the mating state between one electric connector and the other electric connector by setting the number and distribution of protrusions. A fitting holding force adjustment method Nburi.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the locking claw provided on the terminal of one of the electrical connectors and the locking projection provided on the insulating housing of the other electrical connector are securely engaged with each other, and the two mating states are maintained. Force to be obtained. However, the required holding force can be stably obtained over the entire length of the insulating housing by adjusting the number and distribution of the locking projections engaging with the lock claws.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiment shown in the drawing is a printed circuit board 1.
And an electric connector assembly 3 used for connecting the printed circuit board 2 to the electric connector. Electric connector assembly 3
Is composed of a receptacle-type electrical connector 4 mounted on the printed circuit board 1 and a plug-type electrical connector 5 mounted on the printed circuit board 2.

One receptacle type electric connector 4
As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, an elongated rectangular insulating housing 6 formed by molding a plastic and a fixed pitch along the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing 6 are provided.
And a plurality of terminals 7 arranged in rows. A fitting portion 8 for the mating electrical connector 5 is formed on the fitting surface 6a of the insulating housing 6 along the elongated rectangular contour. Along the two opposing long sides of the fitting portion 8, terminal mounting grooves 9 are formed at a constant pitch so as to penetrate to the bottom surface 6b of the insulating housing 6, and are formed in the terminal mounting grooves 9 from the bottom surface 6b side. Terminal 7 is mounted.

The terminal 7 is formed by punching a thin metal plate, and has a mounting piece 10 provided above the base 7a.
The barb 1 formed on the side edge of the mounting piece 10 by fitting into the mounting hole 11 provided in the insulating housing 6 corresponding to
2 is bitten into the inner wall of the mounting hole 11 and locked, so that the terminal 7 is held. At one end of the base 7a of the terminal 7, an L-shaped contact piece 13 is continuously provided, and a contact portion 14 is protruded from the inside of the tip (on the side of the mounting piece 10). The lock piece 15 is erected so as to face the
A lock claw 16 protrudes outside the distal end of the lock piece 15. The other end of the base 7a of the terminal 7 has a base 7
A solder tail 17 is continuously provided in a substantially extending direction of a. As described above, when the terminal 7 is mounted on the insulating housing 6 such that the mounting piece 10 of the terminal 7 is fitted into the mounting hole 11 of the insulating housing 6, the contact piece 13 and the lock piece 15 are formed on the insulating housing 6. Fitting part 8
Meanwhile, the solder tail 17 extends outward along the bottom surface 6b of the insulating housing 6 and projects outward.

Next, the other plug-type electrical connector 5
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, an elongated rectangular insulating housing (generally referred to as a wafer) 18 formed by molding a plastic, and a fixed pitch along the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing 18 are provided. A plurality of terminals 19 mounted in a row (insert molding)
It is composed of The insulating housing 18 is formed so as to be able to mutually fit with the fitting portion 8 formed on the insulating housing 6 of the electric connector 4, and includes a board portion 20 and an elongated rectangular frame portion 21. Terminal 19
Are mounted at the same pitch as the terminals 7 of the electrical connector 4 along two opposing long sides of the elongated rectangular frame portion 21 so that the contact pieces 22 are along the inner wall and the end wall of the frame portion 21. And the solder tail 23 is
It extends outward in substantially the same plane as 0 and projects outward.

The frame 21 of the insulating housing 18
A lock recess 24 for receiving a lock claw 16 formed in the terminal 7 on the side of the electrical connector 4 is formed on the outer wall of the two long sides facing each other. The frame 2
The locking projection 2 adjacent to the locking recess 24 is provided at the end of the outer wall 1.
5 are formed.

FIG. 1 shows the above-mentioned electric connector 4 and the electric connector 5 fitted together. The solder tail 17 of the terminal 7 on the electric connector 4 side is attached to the printed circuit board 1 and the electric connector 5 side. Are soldered to the printed circuit board 2 by surface soldering. Fitting portion 8 formed on insulating housing 6 of electric connector 4 and insulating housing 1 of electric connector 5
8 are fitted into each other, and the contact portion 1 formed on the contact piece 13 of the terminal 7 on the side of the electric connector 4 is formed.
4 and the contact pieces 22 of the terminal 19 on the side of the electrical connector 5 are engaged with each other, and are electrically connected, so that the printed circuit boards 1 and 2 are connected. At this time, the lock claw 1 of the lock piece 15 provided in the terminal 7 on the side of the electrical connector 4
6 is a frame 2 of the insulating housing 18 on the side of the electrical connector 5.
1 is received in the lock concave portion 24 formed on the outer wall of the electric connector 4, and as a result, the lock claw 16 and the locking protrusion 25 adjacent to the lock concave portion 24 are engaged with each other, and the electric connector 4 and the electric connector 5 are fitted to each other. Is held.

The holding force in the fitted state is determined by the lock claw 1
In accordance with the number of engagement points between 6 and the locking projection 25, the number increases when the number of engagement points increases, and decreases when the number decreases. Therefore, according to the number of poles of the terminals 7 and 19 engaged with each other,
The number and distribution of the engagement portions between the lock claws 16 and the locking projections 25 are set so that an optimum holding force can be obtained. This is because the holding force based on the frictional force is also formed at the engaging portions of the terminals 7 and 19, and the holding force increases as the number of the engaging portions increases. For example, in the case of the embodiment, the terminals 7 and 19 have 20 poles (per row), all the terminals 7 are provided with the lock claws 16 via the lock pieces 15, and all the lock claws are provided on the insulating housing 18 side. When the terminals 7 and 19 have 100 poles, the locking projection 25 on the insulating housing 18 side is eliminated, and the friction between the engaging portions of the terminals 7 and 19 is provided. The force alone forms the holding force. When the terminals 7 and 19 have 30 to 80 poles, the number of the locking projections 25 is sequentially reduced, and the positions where the locking claws 16 and the locking projections 25 are engaged are arranged in a well-balanced manner.

The presence or absence of the locking projection 25 is determined by providing the locking projection 25 of the insulating housing 18 constituting the electrical connector 5 so as to be removable as described above, The setting can be made by deleting the locking projection 25 corresponding to the lock claw 16 that is not to be locked. Also, depending on the number of poles of the terminal 19, the locking projection 2
The presence or absence of 5 may be set in advance, and the insulating housing 18 may be molded using a mold prepared according to the setting. The engagement portion between the lock claw 16 and the locking projection 25 can be arranged in a well-balanced manner in the longitudinal direction of the electrical connectors 4 and 5, so that the holding force in the fitted state is stable over the whole. In addition, an appropriate holding force can be obtained by setting the number of engagement portions.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the fitting state of one electrical connector and the other electrical connector is determined.
Since the locking claw provided on the terminal of one electric connector and the engaging projection provided on the insulating housing of the other electric connector are held, the holding force is distributed in a well-balanced manner over the whole, and It is possible to provide an electrical connector assembly that can have an appropriate holding force, is highly reliable, and has good operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of an electrical connector assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the plug-type electrical connector of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the plug-type electrical connector of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the plug-type electrical connector of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the receptacle-type electrical connector of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the receptacle type electrical connector of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the receptacle type electrical connector of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Printed circuit board 3 Electric connector assembly 4, 5 Electrical connector 6 Insulating housing 6a Insulating housing fitting surface 6b Insulating housing bottom surface 7 Terminal 7a Terminal base 8 Fitting part 9 Terminal mounting groove 10 Mounting piece 11 Mounting hole DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Thorn 13 Contact piece 14 Contact part 15 Lock piece 16 Lock claw 17 Solder tail 18 Insulated housing 19 Terminal 20 Substrate part of insulating housing 21 Frame part of insulating housing 22 Contact piece 23 Solder tail 24 Lock concave part 25 Locking projection

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 12/16 H01R 13/639

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An insulating housing (6, 18), and a plurality of terminals (7, 19) mounted on the insulating housing (6, 18) at a predetermined pitch, respectively.
One electrical connector (4) and the other electrical connector (5)
DOO and the fitted each other in the electrical connector assembly to engage each other both terminals (7, 19) (3), the terminal (7) of one of the electrical connectors (4), wherein
The terminator of the other connector (5) when fitted
Contact part (14) for contacting the
The other connector (5) between the contact portion (14)
And a lock claw (16) for holding the fitting portion of the electrical connector (5), and the fitting of the other electrical connector (5) is provided.
The lock claws (1)
A locking projection (25) is formed corresponding to (6), and when the one electrical connector (4) and the other electrical connector (5) are fitted, the locking claw (16) and the locking projection (25) are formed. 25) are adapted to engage and lock with each other. 2. The locking claw (16) of the terminal (7).
Is provided at least one for each terminal (7), and the locking projection (25) of the insulating housing (18) is
Corresponding to each lock claw (16) of the terminal (7),
2. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of said electrical connector assemblies is provided so as to be removable. 3. The locking claw (16) of the terminal (7).
Is provided at least one for each terminal (7), and the locking projection (25) of the insulating housing (18) is
2. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connector assembly is provided so as to correspond to a part of all the lock claws. 4. An insulating housing (6, 18), and a plurality of terminals (7, 19) mounted on the insulating housing (6, 18) at a predetermined pitch, respectively.
One electrical connector (4) and the other electrical connector (5)
And the two terminals (7, 19) are engaged with each other to adjust the holding force in the fitted state. The terminal (7) of the one electrical connector (4) The other connector when mated
(5) A contact that contacts the terminal (19).
(14) between the connector (5) and the other connector (5)
To hold the insulating housing (18)
In addition, one locking claw (16) is provided, and the insulating housing (18) of the fitting portion of the other electrical connector (5) has a maximum number of all locking claws (16) and a minimum range of zero. A locking projection (25) is provided corresponding to the locking claw (16), and the locking claw (16) engages with each other.
And the number and distribution of the locking projections (25) and the distribution of the locking projections (25) to adjust the holding force of the fitted state between the one electrical connector (4) and the other electrical connector (5). A method for adjusting the fitting and holding force of the assembly.