JP3354866B2 - Docking connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a docking connector suitable for interconnecting electronic equipment, especially multifunctional electronic equipment such as electronic calculators and electronic office machines, with other electronic equipment or peripheral equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic device such as a personal computer, a docking connector is provided for interconnecting with an external unit and the like. Is required. For example, a docking connector has been developed in which 240 contacts are provided in a housing having a total length of about 60 mm, and the pitch between the contacts is 0.6 mm. The trend is to increase the number of contacts and increase the density of mounting. In such a multi-pole docking connector having a high density, it is extremely important to properly align all the corresponding contacts of a pair of mating connectors and electrically connect them.

In order to enable such docking connectors to be correctly aligned and easily connected,
A docking connector having a positioning structure provided with a guide pin and a guide bush is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-4-3242.
No. 72, JP-A-9-283214, and the like.

[0004]

However, in such a positioning structure provided with a guide pin and a guide bush,
Usually 0.2 to 0. between the guide pin and the guide bush.
Since there is a gap of 4 mm, the pitch between contacts is 0.6
A mm docking connector is not an effective means of properly aligning and electrically connecting all corresponding contacts.

Further, in this type of docking connector, a pair of connectors are mounted on a circuit board (printed wiring board) of an electronic device for interconnecting each other, and only a fitting portion is exposed to the outside. It is difficult, and the fitting connection is often done by groping, and there is a risk of reverse fitting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to improve the positioning accuracy of a pair of connectors that are fitted and connected to each other, and to accurately position and electrically connect corresponding contacts. It is an object of the present invention to provide a docking connector capable of effectively preventing reverse fitting.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a pair of connectors in which a number of contacts to be fitted and connected to each other are arranged. A docking connector provided with a positioning guide pin protruding from a mating surface and a guide bush into which the guide pin is fitted into the other connector, wherein the one connector is fitted from a base of an insulating housing. Two rows of insulating partitions projecting from the mating side and extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction are provided, and the large number of contacts are arranged at a predetermined pitch along both surfaces of the two rows of insulating partitions. Is provided in the insulating housing with an elongated opening extending in the longitudinal direction in which the two rows of insulating partitions are accommodated, and the plurality of openings are formed along the inner surface extending in the longitudinal direction of the opening. Contacts are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and furthermore, an insulating partition which fits between the two rows of insulating partitions at the time of fitting is provided in the opening, and the plurality of contacts are formed at predetermined pitches along both surfaces of the insulating partition. And an insulating housing for the one connector.
Metal shell covering the front surface of the two rows surrounds the two rows of insulating bulkheads
Having a flat cylindrical portion, the flat cylindrical portion being connected to the other connector.
Fits outside the metal shell that covers the insulation housing of the
And the opening edge of the flat cylindrical portion is expanded.
Is formed in an open shape, the time of mating of the pair of connectors, first fitted the guide pin to the guide bush, followed both edges of the two rows of insulating partition wall is engaged at both ends in a side of the opening Between the corresponding contacts
To absorb the positional deviation in the
The flat cylindrical part of the connector is the metal shell of the other connector.
Nested on the outside of the
It is configured to absorb positional displacement in the contact pressure direction between the tacts .

[0008] At the time of fitting and connecting the pair of connectors ,
The first stage in which the guide pin fits into the guide bush
Positioning and installation in the insulated housing of the one connector
Both ends of the two rows of insulating partition walls are connected to the other connector.
Engage the inner surfaces of both ends of the opening provided in the insulating housing
And the flat tubular portion of the one connector is
Nested outside the metal shell of the other connector
With the second stage positioning to fit,
Absorbs displacement between contacts in the pitch direction and contact pressure direction
And highly accurate positioning becomes possible.

[0009] Further, by making the diameters of the two guide pins one thicker and the other thinner so as to make them different from each other, it is possible to reliably prevent reverse fitting when fitting and connecting the pair of connectors. . In particular, when the tip of the large-diameter guide pin is formed in a hemispherical shape, and the tip of the small-diameter guide pin is formed in a tapered shape, and the tip shapes of both guide pins are changed, reverse fitting is visually observed. And can be easily confirmed.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a use state in which a docking connector according to the present invention is fitted and connected, and FIG. 2 shows a fitting portion between a guide pin and a guide bush described later. The docking connector includes a pair of connectors 1 and 2. One connector (male connector) 1 is mounted on a circuit board 3 of an electronic office equipment such as a personal computer, and is attached with a fitting portion protruding from a panel 4. The other connector (female connector) 2 is mounted on a circuit board 5 of an external unit such as an external storage device, and is attached with a fitting portion protruding from a panel 6.

3 to 6 show one connector (male connector) 1. FIG. The connector 1 has a total length of about 60m
m, a height of about 8 mm, and a depth of about 15 mm. Are provided with two rows of long insulating partitions 12, 12 protruding toward the fitting side and extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction, and contact portions of a large number of contacts 13 are provided in grooves provided on both surfaces of each insulating partition 12. 13a is a predetermined pitch (for example, 0.6
mm). Therefore, the contact 13
Are arranged in four rows at high density. Further, if a housing structure in which two rows of long insulating partition walls 12, 12 are provided on the front surface of the insulating housing 10 as described above is employed, not only the density of the contacts 13 can be increased, but also the conventional one can be realized.
Compared with a housing structure having a long row of insulating partition walls, warpage can be effectively prevented from occurring during the injection molding of the insulating housing 10, and there is also an advantage that productivity can be improved.

The contact 13 disposed on the insulating housing 10 as described above extends through the insulating housing 10 to the rear side, and is bent downward to form the connection terminal portion 13b.
Are inserted in the openings 15 of the tine plate 14 arranged in the cutout on the rear side of the insulating housing 10 and are arranged in eight rows in a staggered manner to achieve high density.

The shielding metal shell 16 covering the front surface of the insulating housing 10 has a horizontally long flat cylindrical portion 16a surrounding the two rows of insulating partition walls 12,12. Opening edges of the flattened tubular section 16a is as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5
In addition, it is formed in an expanded shape. In addition, the flat cylindrical portion 16a
A plurality of contact protrusions 16b projecting inward are formed on both upper and lower surfaces. A locking piece 17 having an opening 18 is integrally connected to a central portion of both upper and lower edges of the metal shell 16 and both ends, and the locking piece 17 is bent along the upper and lower outer surfaces of the insulating housing 10. , A projection 19 having an opening 18 protruding from the outer surface of the insulating housing 10.
, The metal shell 16 is assembled and fixed to the front surface of the insulating housing 10.

A pair of guide pins 2 projecting from the front surface, that is, the fitting surface, are provided at both ends 11, 11 of the insulating housing 10.
1 and 22 are attached. One guide pin 21
Has a large diameter and a hemispherical tip portion 21a, and the other guide pin 22 has a small diameter and a tapered tapered tip portion 22a. The two guide pins 21 and 22 have different appearances but the same length, and protrude forward from the flat cylindrical portion 16 a of the metal shell 16. The guide pins 21 and 22 have a screw shaft portion 23 to be attached to the insulating housing 10. 2 and 6
Shows a screw shaft portion 23 of the guide pin 21. The screw shaft portion 23 is formed integrally with the guide pin 21 together with a hexagonal head 24 provided between the screw shaft portion 23 and the guide pin 21. The guide pin 22 also has a screw shaft portion 23 and a hexagonal head 24 similarly to the guide pin 21. On the other hand, the insulating housing 10
At both ends 11, 11, there are provided mounting holes 25, 25 penetrating from the front surface to the rear surface. A holding fitting 26 is fitted inside the mounting hole 25. The holding fitting 26 has a screw hole 27 into which the screw shaft 23 is screwed and a bifurcated leg 28 projecting to the bottom side of the insulating housing 10. Then, the screw shaft portion 23 is inserted into the mounting hole 25 from the front side of the insulating housing 10 and screwed into the screw hole 27 of the holding metal fitting 26 so that the guide pins 21 and 22 are fixed to the insulating housing 10 and the holding metal fitting is fixed. 26 is also fixed.
The screw shaft portion 23 is also used when attaching the panel 4 as shown in FIG.

FIGS. 7 to 10 show the other connector (female connector) 2. FIG. Similarly to the connector 1 described above, the connector 2 has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape having a flat rectangular parallelepiped with a total length of about 60 mm, a height of about 8 mm, and a depth of about 15 mm, and excluding the rear side except for both ends 31, 31. A flat cylindrical shape having an insulating housing 30 formed and having a longitudinally extending elongated opening 33 projecting to the fitting side and extending in the front side of the insulating housing 30 and accommodating two rows of insulating partitions 12, 12 of the connector 1. A housing portion 32 is provided, and an insulating partition wall 34 is provided in an opening 33 of the flat cylindrical housing portion 32 so as to fit between the two rows of insulating partition walls 12 when the connector 1 is fitted. I have. Both ends of the insulating partition 34 are connected to inner surfaces of both ends of the opening 33. And the opening 33
Contact portions 35a of a large number of contacts 35 are provided at predetermined pitches (for example, 0.6 m
m), and contact portions 35a of a large number of contacts 35 are also arranged at predetermined pitches (for example, 0.6 mm) in grooves provided on both surfaces of the insulating partition wall 34. Therefore, the contacts 35 are arranged at a high density of four rows. Further, as described above, the flat cylindrical housing portion 32
Adopting a housing structure in which an insulating partition wall 34 is provided in the opening 33 of not only makes it possible to increase the density of the contacts 35, but also to effectively prevent warpage from occurring during the injection molding of the insulating housing 31, There is also the advantage of improving productivity.

The contacts 35 disposed on the insulating housing 30 as described above extend through the insulating housing 30 and extend rearward, and the connection terminals 35b bent downward are formed in the cutouts on the rear side of the insulating housing 30. It is inserted into the opening 37 of the arranged tine plate 36 and is arranged in eight rows in a staggered manner to achieve high density.

The front surface of the insulating housing 10 and the outer peripheral surface of the flat cylindrical housing portion 32 are covered with a shielding metal shell 38. Locking pieces 39 each having an opening 40 are integrally connected to the central portion of the upper and lower ends of the metal shell 38 and both ends thereof. The locking pieces 39 are arranged along the upper and lower outer surfaces of the insulating housing 10. The metal shell 38 is assembled and fixed to the insulating housing 30 by bending and engaging the opening 40 with a projection 41 protruding from both upper and lower outer surfaces of the insulating housing 30.

A pair of guide bushes 42, 43 projecting from the front surface, that is, the fitting surface, are attached to both ends 31, 31 of the insulating housing 30. Guide bush 4
2 has a guide hole 44 into which the large-diameter guide pin 21 of the connector 1 fits in a sliding contact state, and a taper 45 is formed at an open end of the guide hole 44 to facilitate the fitting. A hexagonal head 46 and a circular projection 47 are provided at a portion of the guide bush 42 protruding from the front surface of the insulating housing 30, and a mounting screw portion 48 is provided behind the hexagonal head 46. The guide bush 43 has the same hexagonal head 46 as the guide bush 42 except that the guide hole 49 into which the small-diameter guide pin 22 of the connector 1 is fitted in sliding contact and the size of the taper 50 provided at the opening end thereof are different. , Circular protrusion 4
7 and a mounting screw portion 48.

On the other hand, both ends 31,
At 31 are mounting holes 51, 51 penetrating from the front to the back.
(See FIG. 10). A holding fitting 52 is fitted inside the mounting hole 51. The holding metal fitting 52 has a screw hole 53 into which the mounting screw part 48 is screw-fitted, and a bifurcated leg part 54 projecting to the bottom side of the insulating housing 30. Then, the guide bushes 42 and 43 are inserted into the mounting holes 51 from the front side of the insulating housing 30 and screwed into the screw holes 53 of the holding fittings 52 so that the guide bushes 42 and 43 are mounted and fixed to the insulating housing 30.
The holding bracket 52 is also fixed. Guide bush 42, 43
Is also used when the panel 6 is attached as shown in FIG.

A pair of connectors 1 configured as described above
And 2 are each a contact 1 as shown in FIGS.
3 and 35 are inserted into the through holes 60 of the circuit boards 3 and 5, and
With the legs 28 and 54 of 6 and 52 pressed into the openings 61 and 62 of the circuit boards 3 and 5, respectively, the connection terminals 13b and 35b of the multiple contacts 13 and 35 are connected to the circuit board 3
And 5 are soldered and fixed.

Next, referring to FIGS . 1 and 11, a description will be given of a fitting operation for fitting and connecting the pair of connectors 1 and 2 to each other.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the other connector 2 is brought closer to the one connector 1, and the guide pin 21 of the connector 1 is fitted into the guide hole 44 of the guide bush 42 of the connector 2, and the guide pin 22 Are positioned so as to fit into the guide holes 49 of the guide bush 43. At this time,
When the large-diameter guide pin 21 is erroneously opposed to the guide bush 43 and the small-diameter guide pin 22 is opposed to the guide bush 42, the difference between the diameters of the two guide pins 21 and 22 and the difference between the tip shapes are different. The reverse fitting can be prevented beforehand because it can be easily visually confirmed. When the guide pins 21 and 22 and the guide bushes 42 and 43 are positioned correctly, the large displacement between the connector 1 and the connector 2 is absorbed. However, guide pin 2
Since there is a slight gap between the contact holes 1 and 22 and the guide holes 44 and 49, a slight positional shift may remain between the corresponding many contacts 13 and the contacts 35. Further, when the connector 2 is moved closer to the connector 1, both ends 12a, 12a of the two rows of insulating partition walls 12, 12 of the connector 1 are moved.
a is the opening 33 of the flat cylindrical housing portion 32 of the connector 2
And both connectors 1 and 2 are more accurately positioned. Then, a slight displacement in the pitch direction between the corresponding contacts 13 and the contacts 35 is also absorbed, and all the corresponding contacts 13 and the contacts 35 of both connectors 1 and 2 are correctly aligned and electrically connected. Connectors 1 and 2
Are fitted. On the other hand, when the connector 1 and the connector 2 are fitted, the flat cylindrical portion 16a of the metal shell 16 of the connector 1 is nested outside the metal shell 38 of the connector 2 and the inner contact protrusion 16b is fitted into the metal shell 38. In addition to making elastic contact, the insulating partition wall 34 of the connector 2 is fitted between the two rows of insulating partition walls 12 of the connector 1, and the contact pressure direction of the contacts 13 and 15, ie, the vertical direction in FIGS. The position shift to is surely absorbed. Also,
By absorbing the vertical displacement, the contact pressure between the corresponding contact 13 and the contact 35 is made uniform, and a highly reliable electrical connection is obtained.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the pair of connectors are mated, the guide pins are inserted into the guide bush in the first stage, and the two ends of the two rows of insulating partition walls provided in the insulating housing of one connector are connected to the insulating housing of the other connector. together to engage the opposite ends in the side surface of the formed opening, said Bian of the one connector
The flat cylindrical portion is outside the metal shell of the other connector.
The second stage of positioning that nests into the
In the pitch and contact pressure directions between a number of
By absorbing the positional deviation, extremely accurate positioning can be performed, and a large number of contacts densely mounted can be accurately aligned to realize a highly reliable electrical connection.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, when the pair of connectors are fitted and connected, reverse fitting can be reliably prevented. In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the reverse fitting can be easily confirmed visually, it is more effective in the manufacturing process of the connector itself and the electronic device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a use state of a docking connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a fitting portion between a guide pin and a guide bush of the docking connector.

FIG. 3 is a front view of one connector (male connector) constituting the docking connector.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view of another connector (female connector) constituting the docking connector.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 8;

11A and 11B are explanatory views of the fitting connection of the docking connector, wherein FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a positional relationship immediately before fitting.
(B) is a sectional view of an essential part showing a fitting completed state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 One connector 2 The other connector 3,5 Circuit board 4,6 Panel 10 Insulating housing 12 Insulating partition 12a Both end edges 13 Contact 13a Contact part 13b Connection terminal part 16 Metal shell 16a Flat cylindrical part 21,22 Guide pin 30 Insulation Housing 32 Flat cylindrical housing 33 Opening 33a Inner side surface of both ends 34 Insulating partition 35 Contact 35a Contact portion 35b Connection terminal 38 Metal shell 42, 43 Guide bush

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/62-13/658 H01R 12/16

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector comprising a pair of connectors in which a number of contacts to be fitted and connected to each other are arranged. Positioning guide pins protruding from a fitting surface are provided near both ends of one connector, and the other connector is provided on the other connector. A docking connector provided with a guide bush into which the guide pin is fitted, wherein the one connector has two rows of insulating partitions protruding from a base of an insulating housing toward a fitting surface and extending in parallel with a longitudinal direction. A plurality of contacts are arranged at a predetermined pitch along both surfaces of the two rows of insulating bulkheads. The other connector has a longitudinal section in which the two rows of insulating bulkheads are accommodated in an insulating housing. A plurality of contacts arranged at a predetermined pitch along an inner surface extending in a longitudinal direction of the opening, and further provided with Insulating partition wall that fits between the two rows of insulating partition wall is provided in the opening, the plurality of contact along the both sides of the insulating partition wall is disposed at a predetermined pitch, further insulation of the one connector The front of the housing
A flat tube in which a covering metal shell surrounds the two rows of insulating partition walls
And the flat cylindrical portion insulates the other connector.
Structured to fit outside the metal shell covering the housing
And the opening edge of the flat cylindrical portion is formed in an expanded shape.
Made which are, at the time of fitting of said pair of connector, first the guide pin is fitted into the guide bush, followed by both edges of the two rows of insulating partition wall is engaged with the both ends in the side surface of the opening, Corresponding
To absorb the displacement in the pitch direction between the contacts
And the flat tubular portion of the one connector is the other
Nested outside the metal shell of one of the connectors
In the contact pressure direction between the corresponding contacts.
Docking connector that is configured to absorb this . 2. A docking connector according to claim 1, wherein said guide pins have different diameters. 3. The docking device according to claim 2, wherein the tip of the large-diameter guide pin of the two guide pins is formed in a hemispherical shape, and the tip of the small-diameter guide pin is formed in a tapered shape. connector.