JP3279917B2 - Electrical connector assembly - 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 assembly and an electrical connector used for the same, and more particularly to a housing such as a memory card connector having a plurality of rows of terminals projecting from a wall surface substantially perpendicular to a main board surface. And an electrical connector used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the progress of various electronic devices such as microprocessors, small electronic devices using memory cards, hard disk drives (HDDs) and the like have become widespread. This electronic device includes a memory card or H
A PC card connector is used to accommodate and connect the DD. As this PC card connector, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, a plurality of rows of terminals 152 are provided protrudingly on the wall surface of a housing 151 perpendicular to the main board, and these terminals 152 are bent at right angles to correspond to the main board. A connector device 150 connected to a conductive path by soldering is known (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-332573).

[0003]

By the way, when the size of electronic equipment becomes smaller and higher, for example, when the pitch of the terminals becomes about 0.5 mm, the dimensions of the terminals themselves also become smaller. In this case, since the terminals themselves are easily deformed, it is extremely difficult to align a large number of terminals and connect them to the main board by soldering, so that careful handling of the connectors themselves is required. In order to solve this problem, a flexible substrate (FPC) having a large number of conductive paths formed on one surface is used, and the flexible substrate is bent into a U-shape by a slider and the upper surface of a mating connector mounted on the main substrate. A method of connecting from is considered. However, according to this method, the flexible board protrudes from the upper surface of the mating connector, so that the height of the entire memory card connector in the vertical direction cannot be kept low, and it is impossible to cope with miniaturization. Also, when connecting and pulling out the flexible board to and from the mating connector, the connection and pulling out are performed by operating the slider, and the entire connector cannot be moved to pull out and insert the flexible board. Have difficulty.

On the other hand, as a flat cable connector to be attached to the end of the flat cable, for example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of contacts 220 are inserted and fixed from the front end of the flat cable insertion into the insulating housing 210 having the cable insertion hole 211 formed along the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing 210, and the tine portions 223 of the contacts 220 are connected to the circuit board 240. A flat cable connector 200 soldered to a connector is known (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-354).
No. 28). When the flat cable 230 is inserted into the cable insertion hole 211 of the insulating housing 210, the flat cable 230 is sandwiched between the side wall 221 of the contact 200 and the elastic contact piece 222, and the flat cable 230 The elastic contact piece 222 of the contact 200 makes elastic contact with the conductive path formed on the surface of the contact 200. But,
In this flat cable connector 200, a plurality of contacts 220 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing 210 and are brought into contact with separate conductive paths formed on the surface of the flat cable 230. The density is low, and it is not possible to cope with miniaturization of electronic equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly capable of reducing the vertical height of the entire connector and corresponding to miniaturization.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly which can connect and disconnect a flexible board to and from a mating connector by moving the entire connector, thereby facilitating the connection and extraction operations. is there.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector capable of mounting contacts at high density.

An electric connector assembly according to the present invention is a housing having a frame having a grip portion, and a plurality of rows of terminals attached to the frame via a support member and projecting from a wall surface substantially perpendicular to a main board. If both ends are connected to the terminals, and a flexible substrate having a plurality of conductive paths formed on the surface, is supported by the supporting member while being inserted into the flexible substrate, the main substrate by manipulating the grip part Insert between contact row of the mating connector in a substantially horizontal state relative to, said conductive path comprises a slider into contact with the contact row, to the slider insertion into between the contact row by the operation of the grip portion A contact piece with which the wall surface of the housing abuts, and the flexible member when being pulled out from between the contact rows by operating the grip portion. Characterized in that a contact portion abutting the contact piece of the cable substrate.

[0009]

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a plan view of an electric connector assembly according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a right side view of the electric connector assembly, FIG. 3 is a left side view of the electric connector assembly, and FIG. 14 shows a state where a flexible board is inserted into a mating connector. FIG. In FIG. 1, the main substrate 100 is omitted.

In these figures, the electrical connector assembly 1 includes an upper frame 10 having a gripper and a lower frame 2.
And a plurality of rows of terminals 32, 42 attached between the front ends of the upper frame 10 and the lower frame 20 by a pair of left and right support members 60a, 60b and protruding from a wall 31 substantially perpendicular to the main board 100. An upper housing 30 and a lower housing 40, a flexible board (FPC) 80 having both ends connected to terminals 32 and 42 of the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40, and a pair of left and right Support members 60a, 6
0b, and by operating the upper frame 10, the mating connector 9 is held substantially horizontally with respect to the main board 100.
And a slider 50 inserted between the 0 contact rows. A PC card (not shown) is inserted into each of the upper frame 10 and the lower frame 20.

FIG. 4 shows a frame, a housing, a support member,
5A and 5B are a right side view and a left side view of the upper frame, respectively, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are lower frame views respectively showing a state before assembling the slider and the rear stay. 3 is a right side view and a left side view of FIG. Upper frame 10
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (A) and (B), housing mounting portions 11a and 11b for mounting the housing 30 on both sides of the front end of the flat plate are formed by bending downward, and both side surfaces of the flat plate are It is configured to be bent. Mounting screws (not shown) are provided on the housing mounting portions 11a and 11b.
Are provided. Also, gripping portions indicated by reference numeral 17 are provided on both bent side surfaces of the upper frame 10. On both sides of the upper frame 10, PC
An ejector lever 12 for taking out a card is slidably provided, and an ejector arm 13 connected to a front end of the ejector lever 12 and pushing out a PC card (not shown) is pivotally supported in front of the upper frame 10. At the rear end of the ejector lever 12, a fixing portion 15 fixed to the ejector lever 12 and an ejector knob 14 including a rotating portion 16 are provided. Also, the lower frame 20 is
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a housing mounting portion 21 for mounting the housing 40 on both sides of the front end of the flat plate.
a and 21b are formed by bending upward, and both side surfaces of the flat plate are bent upward. Housing mounting part 2
As in the upper frame 10, screw holes (not shown) through which mounting screws are inserted are provided in 1a and 21b. On both sides of the lower frame 20, P
An ejector lever 22 for taking out the C card is slidably provided, and an ejector arm (not shown) pivotally supported on the front side of the lower frame 20 is connected to the front end of the ejector lever 22 and pushes out the PC card. ing. At the rear end of the ejector lever 22, an ejector knob 24 comprising a fixed portion fixed to the ejector lever 22 and a rotating portion is provided.
Is provided.

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the upper housing. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the upper housing 30 is provided with a plurality of rows of terminals 32 protruding from a wall surface 31 substantially perpendicular to the main board 100 which is the front end surface of the housing body.
A pair of flexible board positioning bosses 33 on the left and right sides of
The housing mounting surfaces 34a, 34b on which the housing mounting portions 11a, 11b of the upper frame 10 are located are formed on both left and right sides of the upper surface, and the lower housing 40 is formed on the lower surface.
Is formed with a positioning projection 36 for positioning with respect to.
Through holes 35 for mounting screws are formed in the housing mounting surfaces 34a and 34b. The lower housing 40 has substantially the same configuration as the upper housing 30, but differs in that a positioning recess (not shown) is formed on the upper surface to engage with the positioning protrusion 36 of the upper housing 30.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a plan view and a right side view of the right support member, respectively, and FIGS. 9A and 9B are a plan view and a left side view of the left support member, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8A and 8B, the right support member 60a
A slider supporting through-hole 61a for supporting the right support portion 54a of the slider 50 is formed at the front side of the mounting surface with respect to the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40, and the upper frame is provided substantially at the center of the mounting surface and on the housing mounting side. A housing holding portion 62a for holding the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40 is bent through the housing mounting portion 11a of the housing 10 and the housing mounting portion 21a of the lower frame 20, and the housing holding portion 6 is provided on the rear side of the mounting surface.
On the opposite side to 2a, housing mounting portions 64a and 66a for mounting to the computer-side housing are formed by bending. A screw hole 63a having a female screw portion is formed in the housing holding portion 62a, and a housing mounting through hole 65a is formed in each of the housing mounting portions 64a and 66a. The left support member 60b has a substantially symmetrical shape with the right support member 60a as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9A and 9B, and has a mounting surface for the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40. The left supporting portion 54b of the slider 50
Is formed at a substantially central portion of the mounting surface and on the housing mounting side via the housing mounting portion 11b of the upper frame 10 and the housing mounting portion 21b of the lower frame 20. A housing holding portion 62b for holding the lower housing 40 is formed by bending, and housing mounting portions 64b and 66b for mounting to a computer-side housing are provided on the rear side of the mounting surface and opposite to the housing holding portion 62b. It is bent. A screw hole 63b having a female screw portion is formed in the housing holding portion 62b, and a housing mounting through hole 65b is formed in each of the housing mounting portions 64b and 66b.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show a modification of the supporting member which can be used for both the right supporting member and the left supporting member, and are a plan view and a left side view of the supporting member, respectively. This support member 110 is similar to that shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), a slider support through-hole 111a for supporting the right support portion 54a of the slider 50 in front of the mounting surface for the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40,
Slider supporting through hole 11 supporting left supporting portion 54b
1b is formed, and a housing holding portion 112 for holding the upper housings 30 and 40 is bent and formed on the housing mounting side on the rear side of the mounting surface, and the housing holding portion 112 is located substantially at the center of the mounting surface. On the other side, a housing mounting portion 114 for mounting to the computer side housing,
116 is formed by bending. Housing holding section 11
2 has a screw hole 113 having a female screw portion formed therein, and the housing mounting portions 114 and 116 have housing mounting through holes 115 respectively.
Are formed. By using the support member 110, it is not necessary to separately manufacture the right support member and the left support member, and the cost can be reduced.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the flexible substrate. The flexible substrate 80 has a plurality of signal terminal insertion holes 81 and grounding terminals 82 inserted into the terminals 32 and 42 of the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40 at both ends of the flat plate, and is inserted through the flexible substrate positioning boss. A plurality of conductive paths 8 are formed on the surface.
5, 86 (only some of them are shown) are alternately formed in two rows at a predetermined pitch. In this embodiment, the pitch between the conductive paths 85 and 86 is 1.2 mm. A hole 84 is formed at the center of the flexible substrate 80 so that the flexible substrate 80 can be easily bent, and a contact piece with which the contact portions 53a and 53b (see FIG. 12) of the slider 50 abut on both left and right sides. 87 are provided.

FIGS. 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D are a plan view, a front view, a right side view, and (A) of a slider, respectively.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8D-8D of FIG. Slider 50
As shown in FIGS. 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D, stoppers 55 are inserted into the mating connector 90 (see FIG. 2) by operating the upper frame 10 on both sides of the front end of the flat plate.
a, 55b and the stoppers 55a, 55b.
The substrate crossing portion 56 where the flexible substrate 80 lies between
And a right support portion 54a supported by the slider support through-hole 61a of the right support member 60a on the right side of the flat plate, and a left support portion 54b supported by the slider support through-hole 61b of the left support member 60b on the left side. Has been established. The outer surfaces of the stoppers 55a and 55b constitute guide surfaces 56 when the mating connector 90 is inserted between the contact rows by operating the upper frame 10. Also, on both sides of the rear end of the slider 50,
When the mating connector 90 is inserted between the contact rows by operating the upper frame 10, the wall surface 31 of the upper housing 30 is
The left abutment piece 51b that abuts (see FIG. 7) and the right abutment piece 51a that abuts on the wall surface of the lower housing 40 are bent upside down. Left contact piece 51b
The upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40 are formed by bending the upper and lower right contact pieces 51a upside down.
When the slider 50 contacts the left contact piece 51b and the right contact piece 51a, the slider 50 does not rotate or fall down. Further, inside the left contact piece 51b and the right contact piece 51a, auxiliary contact pieces 52a and 52b which are assisted when the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40 contact these contact pieces 51b and 51a are provided. Each is bent upside down. Furthermore, contact portions that contact the contact pieces 87 (see FIG. 11) of the flexible substrate 80 when the upper frame 10 is pulled out from between the contact rows by operating the upper frame 10. 53
a, 53b project downward. Contact parts 53a, 53
b is manufactured by stamping, as shown in FIG. In addition, 70a shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0b denotes a left rear stay, which is formed by bending housing attachment portions 71a, 71b to the computer-side housing, and through holes 72a, 72b for screws are formed in the housing attachment portions 71a, 71b, respectively. .

To assemble the frame, housing, support member, flexible board, slider and rear stay,
First, the flexible substrate 80 is bent and laid down so as to sandwich the substrate crossing portion 56 of the slider 50, and positioning holes 83 formed at both ends of the flexible substrate 80 are inserted into the flexible substrate positioning bosses 33 of the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40. , 43 and the signal terminal insertion holes 81 and the ground terminal insertion holes 82 are
To solder. Next, the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40 are overlapped, and the housing mounting portions 11a and 11b of the upper frame 10 and the housing mounting portions 21a and 21b of the lower frame 20 are connected to the housing mounting surfaces 34a and 34b of the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40. And supporting members 60a, 60 on both left and right sides with a housing mounting surface (not shown) of
Attachment is made by an attachment screw (not shown) according to Ob.
At this time, the support portion 54a of the slider 50 is supported by being inserted into the through hole 61a for the slider of the right support member 60a.
The support portion 54b is supported by being inserted into the slider through hole 61b of the left support member 60b. Thereafter, the right rear stay 70a and the left rear stay 70b are attached from the side surfaces of the upper frame 10 and the lower frame 20. Thereby, the frame, the housing, the support member, the flexible board, the slider, and the rear stay are assembled.

FIGS. 13A, 13B and 13C are front views of mating connectors to which a flexible board is connected, respectively.
FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13B-13B, FIG.
It is sectional drawing which followed the 3C-13C line. Mating connector 9
The reference numeral 0 indicates that the connector housing 91 extends from the front end in the flexible board insertion direction to the rear in the flexible board insertion direction in a direction substantially horizontal to the main board as shown in FIGS. 13 (A), 13 (B) and 13 (C). Flexible board receiving opening 9
3 is formed so as to cross in the longitudinal direction of the connector housing 91, and a contact pair including a first contact 92a and a second contact 92b and a contact pair including a third contact 92c and a fourth contact 92d are formed on the connector housing 91. The housing is arranged alternately at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the housing. In this embodiment, the pitch of the contact pairs is 1.2 mm each.
Pitch. The first contact 92a and the second contact 92b are inserted and fixed from the front end of the connector housing 91 in the flexible board insertion direction and the rear end of the connector housing 91 in the flexible board insertion direction.
The flexible substrate 80 to be inserted into the third substrate 3 comes into contact with the separate conductive paths 85, 85 (see FIG. 11) formed on the flexible substrate 80 so as to be sandwiched from above and below. or,
Similarly, the third contact 92c and the fourth contact 92d are inserted and fixed from the front end of the connector housing 91 in the flexible board insertion direction and the rear end thereof in the flexible board insertion direction. And contacts the separate conductive paths 86, 86 (see FIG. 11) formed in the flexible substrate 80 so as to be sandwiched therebetween. Thereby, separate conductive paths 85 from above and below of the flexible substrate 80,
Since the contacts in contact with 85, 86, and 86 are provided along the longitudinal direction of the connector housing 91, high-density mounting of the contacts is possible. In addition, the conductive paths formed on the flexible substrate 80 with which the contact pair including the first contact 92a and the second contact 92b are in contact may not be separate. The same applies to the conductive path formed on the flexible substrate 80 with which the contact pair consisting of the third contact 92c and the fourth contact 92d contacts. Both side surfaces of the flexible substrate receiving opening 93 constitute a guide surface 97 for guiding the guide surface 56 of the slider 50. As shown in FIG. 13B, the first contact 92
The contacts of the second contact 92a and the second contact 92b are located on the rear side of the flexible substrate receiving opening 93, and as shown in FIG.
The contact d is located on the front side of the flexible substrate receiving opening 93, and both contact pairs are configured to be shifted back and forth. Thus, the insertion force when the flexible substrate 80 is inserted into the flexible substrate receiving opening 93 together with the slider 50 is reduced, and these can be easily inserted. Note that a positioning post 95 for the main board is protruded from the lower surface of the connector housing 91, and a solder peg 94 for the main board is provided.

The conductive paths 85 and 86 of the flexible substrate 80
To the first contact 92 of the mating connector 90.
a, the upper frame 10 must be in contact with the second contact 92b, the third contact 92c, and the fourth contact 92d.
The flexible board 80 and the slider 50 are held by the flexible board receiving opening 9 of the mating connector 90.
3 and the stopper 5 of the slider 50 along the opening 93.
What is necessary is just to insert until 5a, 55b contacts the connector housing 91. At this time, the wall surface 31 of the upper housing 30
Also, the wall surfaces of the lower housing 40 abut against the left and right abutting pieces 51b, 51a of the slider 50, and the plurality of conductive paths 85, 86 of the flexible board 80 are reliably stabilized by the slider 50 in the first contact 92 of the mating connector 90.
a, contacts the second contact 92b, the third contact 92c, and the fourth contact 92d. At this time, the slider 5
Since 0 is inserted into the mating connector 90 while being substantially horizontal with respect to the main board 100, the slider 50 does not need to be bent in the vertical direction with respect to the main board 100, and the vertical height of the entire connector is kept low. Can be. When the flexible substrate 80 and the slider 50 are inserted, the slider 50
Is guided along the guide surface 97 of the flexible board receiving opening 93, so that there is no displacement of the fitting position to the mating connector. Also, the conductive paths 85 and 86 of the flexible substrate 80 and the first contacts 9 of the connector 90
2a, a second contact 92b, a third contact 92c,
To release the contact with the fourth contact 92d, the user holds the grip portion 17 of the upper frame 10 and pulls out the flexible board 80 and the slider 50 from the flexible board receiving opening 93 of the mating connector 90. At this time, the right support member 60 connected to the upper frame 10 and the lower frame 20
The slider 50 is pulled by the a and the left support member 60b, and the slider 50 is pulled while the contact portions 53a and 53b of the slider 50 are in contact with the contact pieces 87 of the flexible substrate 80. Therefore, the flexible substrate 8 connected to the terminal 32 of the upper housing 30 and the terminal 42 of the lower housing 60
No load is applied to both ends of the zero, and the state of connection of the flexible substrate 80 to the housing terminals is not adversely affected. As described above, since the connection and pull-out of the flexible board 80 to and from the mating connector 90 can be performed by operating the gripping portion 17 of the upper frame 10, the connection and pull-out work can be easily performed.

[0023]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a frame is provided.
By operating the gripping part of the slider, the slider
To the mating connector in a substantially horizontal state.
Easy connection and removal of the flexible board to the mating connector
Easy to do. In addition, operation by operating the grip of the frame
Housing when hand connector is inserted between contact rows
Flexible because the wall abuts the slider abutment piece
Ensure that the conductive path of the substrate is stable with the slider
Contact the contact row of the mating connector. In addition,
Row of contacts of the mating connector by operating the gripping part of the system
When the slider is pulled out from between
As it comes into contact with the board, it can
The load is not applied to both ends of the connected flexible board.
No, the connection state of the flexible board to the housing terminal
Does not adversely affect

[0024]

[0025]

[0026]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electrical connector assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the electrical connector assembly shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the electrical connector assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded plan view showing a state before assembling a frame, a housing, a support member, a slider, and a rear stay.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a right side view and a left side view of the upper frame, respectively.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a right side view and a left side view of the lower frame, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the upper housing.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a plan view and a right side view, respectively, of a right support member.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a plan view and a left side view of a left support member, respectively.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show a modified example that can be used for both the right support member and the left support member. FIGS. 10A and 10B are a plan view and a left side view of the support member, respectively.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a flexible substrate.

12 (A), (B), (C), and (D) are a plan view, a front view, a right side view of the slider, and 8D- of (A), respectively.
It is sectional drawing along 8D.

FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C are front views of mating connectors to which a flexible board is connected, a cross-sectional view taken along line 13B-13B of FIG. 13A, and 13C-1 of FIG.
It is sectional drawing which followed the 3C line.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing a state where a flexible board is inserted into a mating connector.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a conventional memory card connector.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a conventional flat cable connector.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrical connector assembly 10 Upper frame 17 Gripping part 20 Lower frame 30 Upper housing 32, 42 Terminal 40 Lower housing 50 Slider 51a Right contact piece 51b Left contact piece 53a, 53b Contact part 60a Right support Member 60b Left support member 80 Flexible board 85 Conductive path 90 Mating connector 91 Connector housing 92a First contact 92b Second contact 93 Flexible board receiving opening 100 Main board

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-51-49472 (JP, A) JP-A-4-370678 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 12/22 H01R 12/18 H01R 12/28

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A housing having a plurality of rows of terminals attached to the frame via a support member and projecting from a wall surface substantially perpendicular to a main board; and both ends connected to the terminals. is a flexible substrate having a plurality of conductive paths formed on the surface, the is supported by the supporting member while being inserted into the flexible substrate, in a substantially horizontal position with respect to the main substrate by manipulating the grip part Insert between contact row of the mating connector, the conductive path comprising a slider into contact with the contact row, to the slider, the wall surface of the housing during insertion to between the contact row by the operation of the gripper is brought contact piece and abutting abutment the abutting piece of the flexible substrate during withdrawal from between said contact row by the operation of the gripping portion in contact Electrical connector assembly is characterized by providing and.