JP4133954B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector that is electrically connected to a mating connector inserted from an opening, and more particularly to a connector that includes a movable shutter that closes the opening.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electronic devices such as digital cameras, videos, and mobile phones have been provided with interface connectors called sockets (or receptacles) so that data can be transmitted to and received from a computer. The socket has an opening, and a mating connector called a plug attached to the tip of a cable or the like is inserted into the socket through the opening, and the socket and the plug are electrically connected.

  In a connector that is fitted to a mating connector, such as a socket or a plug, if the mating connector is not fitted, dust may adhere to contacts provided in the connector, resulting in poor contact. For this reason, there has been proposed a connector provided with a dustproof shutter that covers the contact when the counterpart connector is not inserted (for example, Patent Document 1).

  The connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a substantially rectangular cylindrical housing cover having openings at both ends, a substantially plate-shaped housing base partially protruding from an opening (first opening) on one end side of the housing cover, A plurality of contacts arranged in parallel are held on the housing base. These contacts extend from the opening (second opening) on the other end side of the housing cover to the first opening side, and a portion exposed from the housing cover is covered with a shutter.

  The shutter of the connector includes a plate-like slide portion that is substantially parallel to the housing base, and a substantially rectangular plate-shaped receiving portion that is substantially orthogonal to the slide portion. A pair of springs extending from the second opening side to the first opening side are provided inside the housing cover, and these springs are in contact with both end sides of the receiving portion of the shutter to move the shutter to the first opening side. Energize. Thus, when the mating connector is inserted from the first opening side of the housing cover, the shutter is pushed by the mating connector and moves to the second opening side to expose the contact. On the other hand, when the mating connector is removed, the shutter is pushed from the second opening side to the first opening side by the elasticity of the spring to cover the contact exposed from the housing cover.

As described above, the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 is protected against dust by covering the contact exposed from the housing cover with the shutter. Further, since the shutter is urged toward the first opening by the pair of springs, the first opening which is the fitting surface is automatically opened and closed when the mating connector is inserted and removed.
JP 2004-95514 A

  However, since the above-described connector urges the shutter, a pair of springs that come into contact with both ends of the substantially rectangular plate-shaped receiving portion are used, so that the number of parts increases. In addition, these springs need to be miniaturized in order to be accommodated in the housing cover. For this reason, the above connector has poor assemblability. Furthermore, in order to cover the contacts exposed from the housing cover, the shutter of the connector is composed of two plate-like portions substantially orthogonal to each other, and the structure is complicated.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector with a shutter that reduces the number of components, has a simple structure, and is easy to assemble. It is another object of the present invention to provide a connector that can prevent excessive projection of a shutter that automatically opens and closes and prevents erroneous mating of a mating connector.

  The present invention provides the following inventions in order to solve the above problems.

  (1) A substantially cylindrical shell having a first opening and a second opening, a housing held in the shell, and a plurality of contacts held in the housing, the first opening of the shell The housing is electrically connected to a mating connector inserted from the housing, and the housing has a substantially plate-like base portion that closes the second opening of the shell, and extends from the base portion to the first opening side of the shell. A substantially plate-shaped holding portion that holds the plurality of contacts in a state of being arranged in parallel, and includes a hole through which the holding portion of the housing passes, and closes the first opening of the shell. A connector further comprising: a shutter; and a substantially cylindrical elastic member that is provided in the shell so as to surround the holding portion of the housing and biases the shutter from the second opening side to the first opening side.

  In the present invention, contacts are arranged in parallel in a holding portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the base portion from the substantially center of the base portion of the substantially plate-shaped housing, and an elastic member surrounding the holding portion is provided in the shell to provide a first shell. A substantially plate-shaped shutter that closes the opening is configured to be urged. Thereby, the substantially whole surface of the plate-shaped shutter can be supported and urged by one elastic member. Therefore, according to the present invention, the number of parts of the connector can be reduced to facilitate the assembly of the connector, the manufacturing cost of the connector can be reduced, and the shutter can be urged stably.

  In the present invention, since the contact is held in the shell, by closing the first opening of the shell, dust can be prevented from entering the inside of the shell, and the contact can be protected from dust. For this reason, the shutter can be formed in a substantially flat plate shape that closes the first opening, and the shape of the shutter can be simplified. The shutter is formed with a hole through which the holding portion of the housing that holds the contact passes, so that the shutter reciprocates in the shell between the first opening side and the second opening side without complicating the structure of the shutter. It is configured to be able to.

  (2) The connector according to (1), wherein the elastic member is a substantially elliptic spring.

  The substantially elliptic spring surrounds the holding portion of the housing that holds the plurality of contacts arranged in parallel, and comes into contact with both end sides of the substantially long plate-shaped shutter, thereby uniformly biasing the shutter.

  (3) The shell has a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape, and is provided with restricting portions that protrude inward of the first opening at four corners of the edge on the first opening side, respectively (1) or (2 ) Connector.

  According to the present invention, the shutters can be received by these restricting portions by providing the restricting portions protruding inside the first opening at the four corners of the one end edge of the shell. For this reason, by inserting the shutter into the shell from the second opening side of the shell and locking the shutter to the restricting portion, it is possible to prevent the shutter from protruding excessively and to easily assemble the connector.

  (4) The restricting portion of the shell is opposed to the first edge with a pair of first bent pieces provided on both ends of the first edge of the first opening and the first opening. And a pair of second bent pieces provided at both ends of the second edge, wherein the second bent piece is larger than the first bent piece.

  According to the present invention, the first bent piece and the second bent piece facing each other across the first opening are different in size, and the opening surface of the first opening is on the side where the first bent piece is provided (this is the upper side). And the side on which the second bent piece is provided (this is the lower side) are asymmetric. For this reason, when the other connector does not coincide with the up and down direction of the connector according to the present invention, insertion of the other connector is hindered by these bent pieces, and erroneous fitting between the connectors can be prevented.

  (5) The connector according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the shell includes a guide portion extending outward from an end edge on the first opening side.

  According to the present invention, by providing the guide portion that opens from the edge of the first opening toward the outside of the shell, the mating connector can be easily guided to the first opening of the connector according to the present invention along the guide portion. If the shape of the first opening is a substantially rectangular shape, it is preferable that the guide portion is provided on each of the pair of long sides facing each other. The guide part may also be provided so as to surround the first opening.

  (6) The connector according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the base portion of the housing has a locking groove in which a base end side of the elastic member is locked.

  According to the present invention, the elastic member can be disposed in a state where a predetermined distance is provided between the elastic member and the housing holding portion by providing the locking groove in the base portion. For this reason, it can prevent that an elastic member contacts a contact, and can prevent a short circuit etc. of a contact.

  (7) The substantially plate-like holding portion of the housing has a plurality of contacts arranged in parallel on each of a pair of opposing surfaces, and holds the plurality of contacts in any one of (1) to (6). Connector.

  In the connector according to the present invention, the holding portion of the housing that holds the contacts is separated from the wall surface of the shell. For this reason, in this invention, a contact can be arrange | positioned on both surfaces of the plate-shaped member which comprises a holding | maintenance part, and a pole number can be increased.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the number of parts of a connector can be reduced and assembly of a connector can be made easy. Further, according to the present invention, the shutter for dust-proofing the contacts can be opened and closed more stably and reliably. Furthermore, according to the present invention, a connector having a shutter that automatically opens and closes can be more easily fitted to a counterpart connector.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted or simplified.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the connector 10 in an assembled state. 3 (a) is a front view of the connector 10 of FIG. 2, FIG. 3 (b) is a left side view thereof, FIG. 3 (c) is a right side view, FIG. 3 (d) is a plan view, and FIG. e) is a bottom view, FIG. 3F is a rear view, and FIG. 3G is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. The connector 10 includes a substantially rectangular cylindrical shell 20, a housing 30, a plurality of contacts 40, a shutter 50, and an elliptic spring 60 as an elastic member.

  4A and 4B show the shell 20, wherein FIG. 4A is a perspective view, FIG. 4B is a front view, and FIG. 4C is a rear view. The shell 20 includes a substantially rectangular plate-shaped upper wall 201, a substantially rectangular plate-shaped lower wall 202 parallel to the upper wall 201, and a pair of substantially parallel plates that connect one end edge of the upper wall 201 and the lower wall 202. The first opening 210 and the second opening 220 are formed at both ends.

  The upper wall 201 is formed with a substantially rectangular insertion hole 211 substantially parallel to a direction extending from one side wall 203 side to the other side wall 203 side, and the lower wall 202 is substantially the same as the insertion hole 211. A pair of substantially rectangular insertion grooves 212 extending in the orthogonal direction is formed.

  On the edge of the shell 20 on the first opening 210 side, four restriction portions 230 and a pair of first guide portions 241 and second guide portions 242 are provided. The restriction portion 230 includes a pair of first bent pieces 231 extending from the side edge of the upper wall 201 on the first opening 210 side to the inside of the first opening 210, and the first opening 210 from the side edge of the lower wall 202 on the first opening 210 side. A pair of second bent pieces 232 extending inwardly.

  The first guide portion 241 is provided between the pair of first bent pieces 231, and is provided between the upper first guide portion 241 a extending from the first opening 210 to the outside of the shell 20 and the pair of second bent pieces 232. And a lower first guide portion 241b extending outward from the first opening 210. The second guide portion 242 is provided between the first bent piece 231 and the second bent piece 232 facing each other with the side wall 203 interposed therebetween, and extends outward from the first opening 210.

  The shell 20 is an independent member formed by integrally processing metal or the like, and is preferably made of a metal such as stainless steel to maintain strength, but may be made of a resin such as plastic. The shell 20 preferably has a plate thickness of about 0.3 to 0.6 mm in consideration of providing the restriction portion 230 and the like. Further, a reinforcing tab 240 may be provided on the pair of side walls 203 constituting the shell 20. The tab 240 stabilizes the posture of the connector 10 and improves the bonding strength between the board (not shown) and the connector 10.

  Next, the housing 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 shows the housing 30 in a state where the contacts 40 are not held, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a plan view, (d) is a rear view, and (e) is a front view. (C) is a sectional view taken along line AA, and (f) is a sectional view taken along line BB.

  The housing 30 includes a substantially thick plate-like base portion 310, a substantially plate-like holding portion 320 standing upright from a substantially center of the base portion 310, and a pair of wing portions 330 extending outward from both ends of the base portion 310. . A substantially elliptical annular locking groove 311 surrounding the base end of the holding portion 320 is formed on one surface of the base portion 310. A protrusion 313 is provided on one of a pair of end edges of the base 310 that connects the pair of wing parts 330, and a pair of legs 312 extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the end edge is provided on the other end edge. Yes.

  The holding part 320 is formed with a groove 321 for holding the contact 40 on each of both surfaces. In this embodiment, 16 grooves 321 are formed on both surfaces of the holding portion 320, and 16 contacts 40 are held on each surface. The holding part 320 may hold the contacts 40 on both surfaces as in this embodiment, but may hold the contacts 40 only on one side. The groove 321 of the holding portion 320 passes through the base portion 310, and one end edge of the contact 40 held by the groove 321 extends through the base portion 310 to the back surface of the housing 30 and extends toward the leg 312 side.

  The contact 40 is a leaf spring made of a conductive material such as brass or phosphor bronze, and is bent at substantially right angles at two locations as shown in FIG. The contact 40 includes a contact part 410, a connection part 420, and a fixing part 430. The contact portion 410 extends along the holding portion 320 of the housing 30, and one end of the connection portion 420 is connected to the base end of the contact portion 410 and extends along the base portion 310 of the housing 30 substantially perpendicular to the contact portion 410. The fixing portion 430 is connected to the other end of the connection portion 420 and extends substantially parallel to the contact portion 410 so as to be substantially orthogonal to the connection portion 420.

  In the present embodiment, a short pin type contact 40 having a short contact portion 410 is provided on a surface (hereinafter referred to as a lower surface) closer to the leg 312 among the surfaces of the holding portion 320 of the housing 30, and faces the lower surface. A long pin type contact 40 having a long contact portion 410 is provided on the side surface (hereinafter referred to as an upper surface). The long pin type contact 40 on the upper surface further includes a long contact portion 410 and a short contact portion 410.

  6A is a perspective view of the shutter 50, FIG. 6B is a front view thereof, FIG. 6C is a rear view thereof, and FIG. 6D is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC. As shown in FIG. 6, the shutter 50 has a substantially rectangular plate shape with a hole 510 penetrating from the front to the back. The shape of the hole 510 is not limited as long as the hole 510 is large enough to pass the holding portion 320 of the housing 30 in a state where the contact 40 is held.

  On the front surface of the shutter 50, four corners are cut out, and a pair of first cutout portions 531 is formed at one end of a pair of long sides facing each other. A pair of second cutout portions 532 having different sizes from the first cutout portions are formed at the other ends of the long side. The first cutout portion 531 is large enough to fit the first bent piece 231 of the shell 20, and the second cutout portion 532 is big enough to fit the second bent piece 232 of the shell 20.

  An annular groove 511 surrounding the substantially rectangular hole 510 is formed on the back surface of the shutter 50. The annular groove 511 has an elliptical shape that is approximately the same size as the cross section of the elliptical cylindrical spring 60, and the tip of the spring 60 accommodated in the shell 20 is locked.

  Hereinafter, a procedure for assembling these components to form the connector 10 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the shutter 50 is inserted into the shell 20 from the second opening 220 side of the shell 20 with the front face as the first opening 210 and the back face as the second opening 220 side. In the shutter 50, the side where the first cutout portion 531 is provided is brought into contact with the upper wall 201 provided with the first bent piece 231 of the shell 20, and the piece provided with the second cutout portion 532 is contacted with the first cutout portion 531. In a state where the two folded pieces 232 are in contact with the lower wall 202 provided, the second bent piece 232 is moved from the second opening 220 side to the first opening 210 side. In the shutter 50 moved to the first opening 210 side, the first cutout portion 531 is engaged with the first bent piece 231 of the shell 20, and the second cutout portion 532 is engaged with the second bent piece 232. Thus, the first opening 210 is held in the shell 20 in a closed state.

  Next, the spring 60 and the housing 30 with the contact 40 held in the groove 321 are inserted into the shell 20 from the second opening 220 side of the shell 20. The distal end of the spring 60 is locked in an annular groove 511 on the back surface of the shutter 50, and the proximal end is locked in a locking groove 311 formed in the base portion 310 of the housing 30. Accordingly, the spring 60 is held in the shell 20 in a state of being separated from the holding portion 320, and it is possible to prevent the contact 40 and the spring 60 from coming into contact with each other and short-circuiting.

  Further, the protrusion 313 of the base portion 310 of the housing 30 is inserted into the insertion hole 211 formed in the upper wall 201 of the shell 20, and the pair of legs 312 are inserted into the insertion grooves 212 of the lower wall 202 of the shell 20. . Thereby, the housing 30 is fixed and held in the shell 20.

  In the connector 10 assembled in this manner, the substantially plate-like base portion 310 of the housing 30 closes the second opening 220 of the shell 20. Further, the contact 40 held by the holding portion 320 of the housing 30 extends to the outside of the housing 30 along a groove 321 in which the base end of the contact portion 410 passes through the base portion 310. The connection portion 420 of the contact 40 extending to the outside of the housing 30 extends substantially parallel to the wall surface of the base portion 310, is bent in a plane substantially the same as the edge of the base portion 310, extends from the connection portion 420, and contacts the contact portion. A fixing portion 430 substantially parallel to 410 extends toward the outside of the housing 30.

  The fixing portion 430 of the contact 40 extending to the outside of the housing 30 is fixed to a substrate such as a printed wiring board by soldering or the like, so that the connector 10 can be fixed to the substrate. In this case, the bonding strength between the board and the connector 10 can be increased by fixing the tab 240 provided on the side wall 203 of the shell 20 to the board with solder or the like.

  Next, the fitting between the connector 10 according to the present invention and the counterpart connector will be described. In the state where the mating connector is not inserted, the connector 10 has the first opening 210 closed by the shutter 50 as shown in FIG. When the mating connector is inserted into the connector 10, the mating connector is inserted into the connector 10 from the first opening 210 and moved toward the second opening 220.

  The shutter 50 of the connector 10 comes into contact with the tip of the mating connector and is pushed by the mating connector as the mating connector is moved to the second opening 220 side, and shrinks the spring in the shell 20 toward the second opening 220 side. fall back. As a result, the first opening 210 is opened, the contact 40 is exposed and contacts the contact of the counterpart connector, and the connector 10 and the counterpart connector are electrically connected.

  When removing the mating connector from the connector 10, the mating connector is moved from the second opening 220 side to the first opening 210 side and pulled out from the connector 10. When the mating connector is removed in this way, the shutter 50 of the connector 10 is pushed from the second opening 220 side to the first opening 210 side by the elasticity of the spring 60. The shutter 50 pushed out toward the first opening 210 comes into contact with the restricting portion 230 of the shell 20, stops being advanced, and closes the first opening 210 while being held in the shell 20.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the connector 10 including the shutter 50 that has a simple configuration and is easy to assemble and that automatically opens and closes when the mating connector is inserted and removed. Further, since the shell 20 is provided with the restriction portions 230 having different shapes on the upper wall 201 side and the lower wall 202 side, it is possible to prevent the mating connector from being inserted into the connector 10 in an incorrect direction. Furthermore, since the shell 20 is provided with two sets of guide portions 241 and 242 that open to the outside of the shell 20, the mating connector is gradually spaced from the first opening 210 side toward the second opening 220 side. Guided by the edges of the narrow guide portions 241 and 242 and guided to the first opening 210 of the connector 10, the insertion becomes easy.

  The present invention can be used for a connector provided in an electronic apparatus such as a video camera.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the connector. (A) is a front view, (b) is a left side view, (c) is a right side view, (d) is a plan view, (e) is a bottom view, (f) is a rear view, g) is a sectional view taken along line XX. The shell of the said connector is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a rear view. The housing of the said connector is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a top view, (d) is a bottom view, (e) is sectional drawing in the AA line, (f) ) Is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB. The shutter of the said connector is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a rear view, (d) is sectional drawing in CC line.

Explanation of symbols

10 Connector 20 Shell 30 Housing 40 Contact 50 Shutter 60 Spring (Elastic Member)
210 1st opening 220 2nd opening 230 Control part 231 1st bending piece 232 2nd bending piece 241,242 Guide part 310 Base 311 Locking groove 320 Holding part

Claims (5)

A substantially cylindrical shell having a first opening and a second opening; a housing held in the shell; and a plurality of contacts held in the housing; and inserted from the first opening of the shell. A connector that is electrically connected to the mating connector,
The housing has a substantially plate-like base portion that blocks the second opening of the shell, and a substantially plate-like shape that extends from the base portion to the first opening side of the shell and holds the plurality of contacts arranged in parallel. A holding part,
A substantially plate-like shutter having a hole through which the holding portion of the housing passes, and closing the first opening of the shell;
A substantially cylindrical elastic member provided in the shell so as to surround the holding portion of the housing and urging the shutter from the second opening side to the first opening side ;
The shell has a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape, and is provided with restricting portions that protrude inward of the first opening at the four corners of the edge on the first opening side,
The restricting portion of the shell includes a pair of first bent pieces provided on both ends of the first edge of the first opening, and a second facing the first edge with the first opening interposed therebetween. A pair of second bent pieces provided at both ends of the edge, wherein the second bent piece is larger than the first bent piece . The connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is a substantially elliptic spring. The shell connector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a guide portion extending outwardly from the end edge of the first opening side. The base of the housing, the connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has a locking groove having a base end side of the elastic member is locked. Substantially plate-shaped holding portion of the housing, the connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that for holding a plurality of contacts each pair of opposed faces disposed in parallel.

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