JP3896335B2 - Intermediate substrate support for electrical connector connection structure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an intermediate substrate support for a connection structure of an electrical connector.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As this type of electrical connector connection structure, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.
[0003]
In this known connection structure, as shown in FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawings, two connectors 50 and 60 having contacts arranged in two rows are connected to each other.
[0004]
One connector 50 has a male terminal 52 having a pin-shaped contact portion implanted in a housing 51, and the other connector 60 has a female terminal 62 housed in a housing 61. In addition, the ground plates 53 and 63 are incorporated into the connectors 50 and 60 so as to be positioned between the two terminal rows. The two ground plates 53 and 63 are coupled by fitting the connecting terminal 70 into the coupling grooves 53A and 71 and 63A and 72 in the direction in which the surface is perpendicular to the ground plates 53 and 63, respectively. The
[0005]
The two connectors 50 and 60 are firmly fixed by fitting the end portions 51A and 61A of the housings 51 and 61 to each other.
[Patent Document 1]
US Pat. No. 4,616,893 (FIG. 2)
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional connector connection structure shown in FIG. 6, the male terminal 52 and the ground plate 53 as signal terminals, and the female terminal 62 and the ground plate 63 as signal terminals are formed as separate members. In addition, since there is a housing wall between the two, there is a limit to reducing the distance between the signal terminal and the ground plate, and it is difficult to achieve impedance matching. The distance is also unstable, making it unsuitable for high-speed signal processing.
[0007]
In addition, both connectors may be arranged on a circuit board and used to connect these two circuit boards. For this purpose, when the connectors of FIG. 6 are used and the connectors are attached to the circuit board, both connectors are attached with a slight deviation from the normal position on the circuit board. As a result, the connectors cannot be connected. Forcing the connection is not preferable because it causes maximum stress between the connector and the circuit board.
[0008]
In view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a support of the intermediate substrate can plurality easy support for the electrical connector connection structure.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, the object is to provide a support for holding the intermediate substrate by contacting the two connectors having elastic terminals and the surface of the intermediate substrate that can be connected via the terminals. The support body holds the side edge portions at both ends located in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the intermediate board, and the guide frame fitted to the two connectors, and the plurality of intermediate boards are positioned in parallel. At least the intermediate substrate and a coupling portion that fits and couples in the thickness direction of the intermediate substrate, and side edges at both ends in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the intermediate substrate with respect to the plate surface of the intermediate substrate and a support portion for supporting the contact intermediate substrate, and the support portion and the coupling portion is inclined in the thickness direction of the intermediate substrate with coupling unit guide frame and and said support portion is formed integrally It is accomplished by have become so that acceptable.
[0011]
Further, in the present invention, the support body is provided with a stopper surface that comes into contact with the connector in the fitting direction at the time of mating with the connector in order to determine the distance between the two connectors, and an opposing surface on both sides of the support body. facing against the surface of both intermediate substrate and a coupling portion that their faces held removably in position to be parallel, the guide frame, guide means for positioning each other fitted to the connector When, having a locking means for maintaining the fitting state when the fitting of the one connector, the stopper surface of the support is provided on the end face opposite to both connector fitting direction, said end face cross-sectional shape Is convexly curved, and the convex bay portion at the end face can form an arc having a radius equal to half the distance between the two opposing end faces of the support in the fitting direction.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.
[0014]
FIG. 1 is a front view of both connectors and the intermediate board forming the apparatus of the present embodiment before assembly, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional perspective view after assembly, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional perspective view of a part of the intermediate board. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view.
[0015]
As can be seen from FIG. 1, the electrical connector connection structure of the present embodiment has two connectors 10 and 10 that are positioned symmetrically above and below, and an intermediate substrate 20 for connecting them.
[0016]
The connector 10 is covered with a shield plate 12 over almost the entire area except for both ends of a housing 11 made of an insulating material, and a circuit board (not shown) has three ground legs 13 at both ends and a central portion. Z)) so that it can penetrate the corresponding hole. As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 12 has two rows of female terminals 14 and 15 obtained by punching a metal plate, alternately positioned in each row. Arranged. Terminals 14; 15 are straight base portions 14A; connecting portions 14B; 15B that can be extended from 15A in the lateral direction; base portions 14A; a pair of finger-like elastic portions 14C; 15C that extend in a right angle direction; 14D; 15D. When the connector 10 is arranged on the circuit board, the connection parts 14B and 15B are connected to the corresponding circuit part of the circuit board by soldering or the like. The finger-shaped elastic portions 14C; 15C of the two types of terminals 14; 15 have different lengths, but both have elasticity so that they can be elastically bent, and bend in a "<" shape inside the tip portion. Contact portions 14E; 15E are provided. The fixing portions 14D; 15D are press-fitted into the corresponding grooves of the housing 11 to hold the terminals 14; 15 themselves in the housing. Many of such terminals 14; 15 are used as signal terminals, and some are used as ground terminals.
[0017]
Thus, the connector 10 alternately has terminals 14; 15 having long and short finger-like elastic portions 14C; 15C in each row, and between each pair of finger-like elastic portions 14C facing each other and in a pair. An intermediate substrate 20 described later can be received between the finger-like elastic portions 15C. That is, the intermediate board 20 inserted in each row is in the region of the edge portion on the plate surface at both ends in the fitting direction of the connector, and is located slightly away from the terminal 15 and the edge in the vicinity of the edge. Thus, the terminal 14 is connected. In the present application, the region including the position in the vicinity of the edge and the position slightly separated from the edge is referred to as an “edge” in the present application.
[0018]
The housing 11 of the connector 10 also has columnar positioning protrusions 16 inserted into the corresponding holes of the circuit board at both ends in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the connector to position the connector with respect to the circuit board. Is provided.
[0019]
The intermediate board 20 is made in the same manner as the circuit board. As shown in FIG. 1, the signal connection portion 21 (end terminal) is provided in both the upper and lower edge regions at both ends in the connector fitting direction on both sides. The signal connection portion 21A is formed at a position close to the edge, and the signal connection portion 21B) is formed at a plurality of fixed intervals in two steps at a position slightly away from the end edge. On the other hand, in the ground connection portion 22, several of the positions of the plurality of signal connection portions 21 are used as positions for the ground connection portion 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the signal connection portion 21 and the ground connection portion 22 are provided on the upper edge portion and the lower edge portion of the intermediate substrate 20, but they are communicated with each other by the transmission portion. First, as is clear from FIG. 1, the ground connection portion 22 is communicated by a ground transmission portion 23 that covers the intermediate substrate 20 widely. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the signal connection unit 22 communicates with the ground transmission unit 23 so as to form an inner layer, that is, by a signal transmission unit 24 embedded in the intermediate substrate 20. . The signal transmission unit 24 has the same width as the signal connection unit 21 and is formed as an inner layer inside the base material (insulating material) 20 </ b> A of the circuit board 20. The signal transmission part 24 and the signal connection part 21 are electrically connected to each other by a short-circuit part 25 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the base 20A. The short circuit portion 25 is also electrically connected to the corresponding signal connection portion 21 provided on the opposite surface of the circuit board 20. That is, the corresponding signal connection portions 21 on both sides are electrically connected to the signal transmission portion 24. Such a configuration similar to the short-circuit portion 25 is applied to the ground connection portion, and the ground connection portions 22 on both surfaces of the circuit board 20 are electrically connected by the short-circuit portion 26.
[0020]
In this way, the two intermediate substrates 20 configured are held by the female signal terminals 14 and 15 in each row of the upper and lower connectors 10. Then, the contact portions 14E and 15E of the terminals 14 and 15 are brought into contact with the signal connection portion 21 and the ground connection portion 22 of the intermediate substrate 20, and the corresponding terminals of the upper and lower connectors 10 are electrically connected. At that time, the terminals 14 and 15 that contact the signal connection portion 21 are signal terminals, and the terminals 14 and 15 that contact the ground connection portion 22 are ground terminals. Also, since the finger-like elastic portions 14C; 15C having the contact portions 14E; 15E of the terminals 14; 15 can be elastically deformed, the two connectors 10 are slightly shifted from predetermined positions in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. Even if attached to the substrate, the intermediate substrate 20 is allowed to tilt in the thickness direction due to the elastic deflection, and the deviation is absorbed.
[0021]
In the present embodiment, the guide frame 30 and the support body 40 are provided as preferable forms in order to facilitate the insertion and attachment of the intermediate board 20 to the connector 10 and to prevent erroneous insertion.
[0022]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the guide frames 30 are located at both ends of the intermediate substrate 20, and the support body 40 is located between the two guide frames 30 as seen in FIG. 4. Yes. The guide frame 30 and the support body 40 may be formed separately or integrally, but in any case, the guide frame 30 hinders the tilting ability of the intermediate substrate 20 with respect to both the connectors 10. Made to never do.
[0023]
In FIG. 1, the guide frame 30 has a “U” -shaped main body portion 31 and a guide portion 32 as guide means. The main body portion 31 has a column portion 31A and two flange portions 31B and 31C, and has a “U” shape. An overhang portion 27 at the end of the intermediate substrate 20 is formed in the inner space of FIG. It is designed to accept from a right angle. As shown in FIG. 4, the pillar portion 31 </ b> A is provided with a stopper portion 31 </ b> D and a locking protrusion 31 </ b> E for positioning when the intermediate substrate 20 is received so as to contact the surface of the intermediate substrate 20. .
[0024]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide frame 30 has pin-shaped guide portions 32 and 33 extending vertically from the flange portions 31B and 31C, respectively. In the present embodiment, as a preferred form, both guide portions 32 and 33 have different shapes and dimensions. This is effective when it is necessary to make the intermediate substrate 20 distinguish the upper and lower directions. The guide portions 32 and 33 are inserted and positioned in guide holes (not shown) formed in the housing 11 of the connector 10. At that time, one guide portion 33 is provided with a lock claw 33A as a locking means, and when the guide portion 33 is completely inserted into the guide hole, the guide portion 33 is locked with an appropriate portion of the housing, and the guide portion 33 is removed. To prevent.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 4 , the support 40 extending between the guide frames 30 and 30 has thick support portions 41 and 42 at both ends and the center as seen in FIG. Then, it has the flange part 43 which forms 43 A of stopper surfaces in an upper-lower-end position. The distance between the stopper surfaces 43 </ b> A of the upper and lower flange portions 43 is substantially equal to the predetermined interval between the two connectors 10. The thicknesses of the support portions 41 and 42 and the flange portion 43 are determined so as to support the intermediate substrate 20 at a predetermined interval on both sides. This dimension is set so that the distance between the outer surfaces of the intermediate substrates 20 (the surface opposite to the surface in contact with the support portion 41) is substantially equal to the distance between the stopper portion 31D of the guide frame 30 and the locking projection 31E. ing. A columnar coupling portion 44 protrudes from the support portion 42. The cylindrical coupling portion 44 has a diameter that can penetrate the hole portion 28 formed at the corresponding position of the intermediate substrate 20. The substantially hemispherical head portion extends in a band shape and is locked to the hole portion 28. It has a protrusion 44A that runs along the surface of the head.
[0026]
In the apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above, the two connectors are coupled in the following manner.
{Circle around (1)} The two connectors 10 and 10 are attached to and electrically connected to corresponding circuit boards (not shown). The connection is made by soldering or the like after the connecting portions 14B and 15B of the terminals 14 and 15 are arranged on the corresponding circuit portion.
(2) On the other hand, the intermediate substrate 20 is attached to and supported by the guide frame 30 and the support body 40. As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, each of the intermediate substrates 20 is locked on one end side to the stopper portion 31 </ b> D of the guide frame 30, and then rotated in the direction of the arrow to move the other end side. Is snapped into the locking projection 31E. At that time, the coupling portion 44 is fitted into the hole portion 28 formed in the center portion of the intermediate substrate 20, and the protrusion 44 </ b> A is engaged with the hole portion 28. When the guide frame 30 and the support 40 are separate, the intermediate substrate 20 is attached by attaching the intermediate substrate 20 to the support 40 and holding it on the guide frame 30.
(3) Next, the assembly of the intermediate substrate 20, the guide frame 30 and the support 40 is attached to one connector 10, and the intermediate substrate 20 is connected to the connector 10. In the case of the present embodiment, the connector 10 is assembled first toward the guide portion 33 having the lock claw 33A on the guide frame 30. The guide portion 33 is guided and inserted into a corresponding guide hole (not shown) of the connector 10, and when the guide portion 33 is inserted to a predetermined depth, the lock claw 33A is locked to the housing and is prevented from coming off. At that time, the intermediate board 20 is inserted into the female terminals 14; 15 of the connector 10, and the contact portions 14 E; 15 E of the terminals (signal terminals and ground terminals) are connected to the signal connection portion 21 and the ground connection portion 22 of the intermediate board 20. Then, contact is made with contact pressure on both sides of the intermediate substrate 20. The insertion of the intermediate board 20 beyond the predetermined amount into the connector 10 is prevented by the stopper surface 43A of the support body 40 coming into contact with the corresponding surface of the housing 11.
(4) Then, the intermediate board 20 is connected to the other connector 10 in the same manner as in the above (3). At this time, since the previous connector is prevented from coming off by the lock claw 33A of the guide frame 30, the previous connector will not come off when the other connector 10 is attached. Thus, the corresponding terminals of the two connectors are electrically connected via the intermediate board.
(5) Next, when the two connectors are respectively attached to the circuit board, if there is a shift in the thickness direction of the intermediate board between the two circuit boards, the mounting position can be seen in FIG. In this way, the intermediate substrate 20 can be tilted by the bending deformation of the finger-like elastic portions 14C; 15C of the terminals 14; In that case, if the stopper surface 43A to be brought into contact with the housing is not flat, but a curved surface having a radius R as a convex curved surface, particularly a half of the distance between the upper and lower stopper surfaces 43A, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. For example, the inclination is extremely smooth, and the distance between the set two connectors does not change.
[0027]
The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. As described above, the guide frame and the support may be integrated or separated. In either case, since the guide frame is firmly assembled with the connector at the guide portion, the guide frame is required to allow the support to be tilted. Further, in the present invention, the intermediate board is supported by only one of the support and the guide frame, and the other can be made unnecessary. Further, both of them are unnecessary and the connector is supported only by the intermediate board. Is also possible.
[0028]
The support may support only one intermediate substrate, or a plurality of supports themselves may be provided to connect three or more intermediate substrates together to form an assembly. It can also be connected to a number of terminal row connectors.
[0029]
In the intermediate substrate itself, the signal transmission unit and the ground transmission unit may be formed on the same surface. In that case, both transmission parts form a strip-like surface parallel to each other.
[0030]
With regard to the connector, even if the finger-like elastic portions of the terminals are not formed in a female shape as a pair, one finger-like elastic portion may be held so as to sandwich the intermediate substrate with the housing surface. .
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the guide frame may be integrated with or separated from the support body. In any case, the guide frame is firmly assembled with the connector at the guide portion. In this case, the intermediate substrate can be supported by only one of the support and the guide frame, and the other can be omitted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a connector and an intermediate board forming an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention before assembly.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional perspective view of the one shown in FIG. 1 after assembly.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional perspective view of a part of an intermediate substrate.
4 is a cross-sectional view of the central portion of the intermediate substrate of FIG. 2. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 when there is a misalignment between both connectors.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional perspective view of a conventional connector in a separated state of each member.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Connector 30 Guide frame 32, 33 Guide means (guide section)
33A Locking means (lock claw)
40 Support bodies 41, 42 Support portion 43A Stopper surface 44 Coupling portion

Claims (2)

Two supports having elastic terminals and a support body that holds the intermediate board in contact with a surface of the intermediate board that can be connected via the terminals, and the support body includes both of the intermediate boards. The intermediate frame is held in a snap shape with the side edge of the guide frame, the guide frame is fitted to the two connectors, and the intermediate substrates are positioned in parallel with each other. A coupling portion that fits and couples in the plate thickness direction, and a support portion that abuts against the plate surface of the intermediate substrate at side edges at both ends in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the intermediate substrate and supports the intermediate substrate It has the door, and the support portion and the coupling portion is to so that is allowed inclination for the two connectors in the thickness direction of the intermediate substrate with coupling unit guide frame and and said support portion is formed integrally A support for an intermediate substrate, characterized in that The support body is in contact with the surface of the intermediate board at each of a stopper surface that comes into contact with the connector in the mating direction when mating with the connector and an opposing surface on both sides of the support body in order to determine the distance between the two connectors. A coupling portion that removably holds the intermediate boards at positions where their surfaces are parallel to each other, and the guide frame is fitted to the connector to position each other, and one connector The stopper surface of the support body is provided on an end face facing the both connectors in the fitting direction, and the end face has a convexly curved cross-sectional shape. convex Bay portion in said end face, supporting intermediate substrate according to claim 1, characterized in that in the fitting direction and forms a radius of the arc is equal to half the distance between the two end faces to the opposite of the support body.

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