JP4205524B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric connector used for connecting a thin and thin connecting member such as an FPC (flexible printed circuit).

  In this type of electrical connector, there is a type in which the connecting member is smoothly inserted with zero insertion force.

  For example, the connecting member is inserted from the front of the housing with no insertion force between the opposing beams of the contact, while the locking member provided at the front portion of the housing is displaced to the lock position to fix the connecting member. A so-called front lock type electrical connector is provided.

On the other hand, while the connecting member is inserted from the front of the housing, the connecting member is inserted with no insertion force in a state where the distance between the opposing beams of the contacts is expanded by the operation of the rotatable cam member provided at the rear portion of the housing. There has been provided an electrical connector that releases expansion by a cam member after insertion and holds a connection member by elastic clamping force between beams (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-154556

  The former front lock type electrical connector has a problem that workability is poor because the connecting member insertion work and the locking work are performed on the same side of the housing.

  In the latter electrical connector of Patent Document 1, the cam member functions to allow the connection member to be clamped by the contact, and there is a problem that the connection member cannot be fixed with only the elastic clamping force between the beams. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector in which connection work of a connection member is easy and the connection member is surely fixed.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an insulating housing in which a connecting member can be inserted from the front , a plurality of contacts mounted on the housing from the rear of the housing and arranged side by side, and at least a rear portion of the housing. A rotation lock member that is disposed and is rotatable between a lock position for fixing the connection member inserted into the housing and a release position for releasing the lock, and the contact includes a rotation lock member. Including a lock portion that can be fixed in a locked position, an elastic piece portion having a contact portion, and a fixed piece portion facing the elastic piece portion, and a connecting member between the contact portion and the fixed piece portion of the elastic piece portion A clearance equal to or greater than the thickness is formed, and the rotation lock member includes a cover that can open the opening of the housing, and the cover includes a front edge, a rear edge, and a connection member that has been inserted into the opening. The It includes a pressurizing part for pressurizing the contact part of the tact and an engaging part engageable with the lock part of the contact, and a through hole is formed on the front edge of the cover to insert the front end of each fixed piece part. In the closed position of the cover, the pressurizing portions and the fixed piece portions are alternately arranged side by side, and the cover has a shaft portion along the front edge of the cover so as to be adjacent to each through hole. The shaft portion connects adjacent pressurizing portions below the fixed piece portion, and the engagement portion is formed of a protrusion provided on the rear edge of the cover and projecting toward the shaft portion side. The contact includes a first beam including an elastic piece portion, a second beam including a fixed piece portion, and a connecting portion connecting the rear ends of the first and second beams, and the lock portion includes It consists of a lock groove provided in the connecting portion .

  In the present invention, the operation of inserting the connecting member from the front of the housing can be performed, and the operation of fixing the connecting member at the rear of the housing can be performed, so that a backlock type electrical connector with good workability can be realized. In addition, since the lock member is fixed at the lock position using the lock portion of the metal contact having excellent strength, the connection member can be reliably fixed through the locking member being surely fixed.

Further, the contact includes a fixing piece portion opposed thereto and resilient piece having a contact portion, the thickness equal to or greater than the gap between the connecting member is formed between the fixing piece portion contact portion of the elastic piece portion The rotation lock member includes a cover that can open the opening of the housing, and the cover includes a pressurization unit for pressurizing the contact member inserted into the opening to the contact portion of the contact, Since it includes an engaging portion that can be engaged with the lock portion, the following advantages can be obtained. That is , the contact pressure between the connection member and the contact is determined by closing the cover after the connection member is smoothly inserted with zero insertion force with the cover as a lock member for backlock being opened. While securing the connecting member.

  Preferably, in the present invention, a pair of metal reinforcing plates fixed to the pair of side portions of the housing are provided, and each reinforcing plate has a support portion that rotatably supports a corresponding support shaft of the cover. May include. In this case, since the cover as a lock member is supported by the metal reinforcing plate, the lock strength can be remarkably increased because the cover is fixed to the lock position by the metal contact.

  Preferably, in the present invention, each reinforcing plate may include a lock portion capable of fixing the rotation lock member at the lock position. In this case, since the cover is locked by providing the lock portions on both the contact and the reinforcing plate, the lock strength can be further increased.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the electrical connector according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the rear when the cover is opened, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the electrical connector when the cover is completely closed as viewed obliquely from the rear. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the electrical connector as viewed obliquely from the front. 4 is a plan view of the electrical connector, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the electrical connector.

  With reference to FIG. 1, the electrical connector 1 is rotatably supported by an insulating housing 3 that holds a plurality of contacts 2 side by side, and a support shaft 4 having a round cross section. And an insulating cover 5. The cover 5 functions as a rotation lock member for fixing the connection member 7 inserted into the housing 3. In FIG. 1 and the following figures, the arrow X represents the front of the housing 3.

  3, 4 and 5, a square annular frame 6 is formed at the front portion of the housing 3, and the frame 6 is an insertion slot for inserting a connection member 7 such as an FPC (see FIG. 10A). Divide 8. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the inner surface of the frame 6 is formed on the inclined surface 6 b so that the width of the insertion port 8 becomes narrower in the insertion direction of the connection member 7, so that the insertion of the connection member 7 can be guided. It has become. As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 3 is provided with an opening 9 behind the frame 6, and the opening 9 is opened and closed as the cover 5 rotates as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The housing 3 has a bottom wall 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 7) connected to the lower frame 6a shown in FIG. 3 of the frame 6, and as shown in FIG. A plurality of contacts 2 inserted from the rear of the housing 3 are held side by side. Further, the housing 3 includes a pair of side walls 12 and 13 on both sides of the bottom wall 10, and the pair of side walls 12 and 13 define the side portion of the opening 9. A part of a metal reinforcing plate 15 is press-fitted and fixed in a fixing hole 14 (see FIG. 3) provided to open to the side walls 12 and 13 forward.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the reinforcing plate 15 includes a main body portion 16 that protrudes forward of the housing 3 and an insertion portion 17 that extends from the main body portion 16 and is press-fitted into the fixing hole 14. At the lower part of the main part 16, a fixing part 18 fixed to the surface of the substrate by soldering and the support shaft 4 of the cover 5 in cooperation with the front end parts of the side walls 12, 13 (only the side wall 13 is shown in FIG. 6). A support portion 19 for rotatably supporting is provided.

  Referring to FIG. 7, contact 2 has first and second beams 51 and 52 that extend forward, and a connecting portion 53 that connects the rear ends of both beams 51 and 52 at the rear of housing 3. And make a fork. The contact 2 includes a lead portion 24 extending rearward from the lower portion of the connecting portion 53 and a lock portion 54 formed of, for example, a lock groove at the rear end edge of the connecting portion 53. The lock part 54 of the contact 2 locks the cover 5 in the closed position, which is the lock position, by engaging with an engaging part made of, for example, a protrusion described later of the cover 5.

  The first beam 51 includes a fixing portion 21 with a locking protrusion (not shown) that is press-fitted into and fixed to the fixing hole 20 of the housing 3, and an elastic piece portion 22 that extends in front of the fixing portion 21. Is provided. The second beam 52 is fitted into a groove formed on the upper surface of the partition plate 25 whose base end portion 52a defines the upper portion of the fixing hole 20, is received and fixed at the bottom of the groove portion, and the front side portion is fixed. The fixed piece portion 23 extends in parallel with the elastic piece portion 22.

  The opening 9 of the housing 3 is formed to allow the connection member 7 to be inserted between the fixed piece 23 and the elastic piece 22 of the contact 2 through the insertion port 8.

  Most of the elastic piece portion 22 is accommodated in an accommodation groove 27 formed on the upper surface of the bottom wall 10 of the housing 3 and can be elastically bent with a rear end portion as a base end. At the front end of the elastic piece portion 22, a contact portion 28 made of an upward chevron is formed and protrudes from the accommodation groove 27.

  Referring to FIG. 8A, the cover 5 has a substantially rectangular plate shape, and has first and second end edges 29 and 30 that face each other. The pair of round support shafts 4 protrude from the left and right side portions of the first edge 29 of the cover 5 which face each other. In addition, a pair of protrusions 31 protrude from left and right side portions of the second end edge 30 of the cover 5 that face each other.

  With reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8A, the first end edge 29 of the cover 5 is formed with a through hole 35 through which the front end 34 of each fixed piece portion 23 is inserted. A shaft portion 36 is formed on the side of the first edge 29 of each through hole 35. Each shaft portion 36 is provided with a flat surface 36a on a part of its peripheral surface so as to form a D-shaped cross section.

  With reference to FIGS. 1, 7, and 8 </ b> B, a fixed piece portion receiving groove 37 for receiving the fixed piece portion 22 of the corresponding contact 2 in the closed state of the cover 5 is formed on the back surface 5 b of the cover 5. ing. The second end edge 30 of the cover 5 is provided with an engaging portion 43 corresponding to the end portion of the fixed piece portion receiving groove 37, which is a protrusion protruding toward the shaft portion 36 side. The engaging portion 43 can be engaged with the lock portion 54 of the contact 2.

  1, 8B, and 8C, the back surface 5b of the cover 5 is provided with a retaining protrusion 42 on each side of the first edge 29 side. With the cover 5 in the closed position, the retaining protrusions 42 engage with concave grooves (not shown) formed on both side edges of the connection member 7 to prevent the connection member 7 from being pulled out.

  1, 7 and 8C, the back surface 5b of the cover 5 has a pressurizing portion at a portion from the first edge 29 to a predetermined distance on both sides of the fixed piece portion receiving groove 37. 38 is formed. The pressurizing unit 38 is arranged side by side alternately with the fixed piece 23 of the contact 2 in the closed posture of the cover 5.

  The shaft portion 36 connects the pressurizing portions 38 and 38 adjacent to each other below the fixed piece portion 23 of the contact 2. Each shaft portion 36 is positioned on the contact portion 28 of the elastic piece portion 22 of the corresponding contact 2, but in the closed position of the cover 5, each shaft portion 36 and the contact portion 28 of the elastic piece portion 22 of the contact 2 corresponding to each shaft portion 36. A gap larger than the thickness of the connecting member 7 is provided between them.

  The pressure members 38 located on both sides of each contact 2 press the connecting member 7 toward the elastic piece 22 side of the contact 2 in the closed position of the cover 5 to ensure contact pressure (contact pressure). ing.

  The end surface 39 of the first edge 29 of the cover 5 is configured as a surface perpendicular to the surface 5a, and the end surface 39 includes the flat surface 36a of the shaft portion 36 as a part thereof. Yes. Further, the end surface 39 is provided with a drive unit 40 that is closer to the contact unit 28 side than the shaft unit 36 in the cover 5 in the closed or semi-closed posture. The drive unit 40 functions as interlocking means that links the operation of opening the cover 5 in the semi-closed posture with the insertion operation of the connection member 7.

  A chamfered portion 41 is formed between the surface 5 a of the cover 5 and the end surface 39. As shown in FIG. 9, in a state where the cover 5 is completely opened, that is, in a posture that slightly tilts to the opposite side beyond the standing posture, the chamfered portion 41 is inclined so as to open toward the insertion port 8, The connecting member 7 can be smoothly guided and inserted between the chamfered portion 41 and the contact portion 28 of the elastic piece portion 22.

  Next, the operation of the drive unit 40 will be described. Referring to FIG. 10A, the cover 5 is in a semi-closed posture that is not locked. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the connection member 7 is inserted through the insertion port 8, the insertion side end 7 a of the connection member 7 pushes the drive unit 40 on the end surface 39 on the base end side of the cover 5. Thus, the moment can be applied in the direction in which the cover 5 is opened, and the cover 5 can be opened in an upright state as shown in FIG. 10C.

  10C, the end surface 39 of the cover 5 including the drive unit 40 is parallel to the insertion direction of the connecting member 7 (that is, the front-rear direction of the housing 3). The connecting member 7 can be smoothly inserted between the elastic piece 22 and the contact portion 28 with no insertion force.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, after inserting the connecting member 7 to the proper insertion position where the insertion side end 7a of the connecting member 7 contacts the end face of the partition plate 25, the cover 5 is closed in the closing direction as shown in FIG. 11B. 11C, the cover 5 is completely closed, the engaging portion 43 of the cover 5 is engaged with the lock portion 54 of the contact 2, and the cover 5 is firmly in the closed position that is the lock position. Lock it. Thereby, the pressurizing part 38 presses the connecting member 7 to the contact part 28 of the elastic piece part 22 of the contact, and a reliable contact pressure can be obtained and the connecting member 7 can be surely fixed.

  According to the present embodiment, the connecting member 7 is inserted from the front of the housing 3, while the cover 5 as a rotation lock member is closed at the rear of the housing 3 to fix the connecting member 7. Thus, the backlock type electrical connector 1 with good workability can be realized. In addition, since the cover 5 as the rotation lock member is fixed in the closed position that is the lock position by using the lock portion 54 of the metal contact 2 having excellent strength, the connecting member is ensured by fixing the cover 5. 7 can be ensured.

  In addition, since the connecting member 7 can be smoothly inserted with no insertion force (Zero Insert Force) in a state in which the cover 5 as a rotation lock member for back-locking is opened, workability is improved. Can do.

  In addition, the cover 5 as a rotation lock member is supported by the rotation support portion 19 of the metal reinforcing plate 15, while being locked at the lock position by the metal contact 2, the lock strength is remarkably increased. can do.

  Furthermore, even if the cover 5 is in a semi-closed posture as shown in FIG. 10A, when the connection member 7 is inserted, the cover 5 can be automatically erected and opened. Therefore, the connecting member 7 can be smoothly inserted to a predetermined insertion position, and then the cover 5 is closed to achieve the lock.

  Accordingly, in order to attach the connection member 7 to the electrical connector 1 that has been automatically mounted on the board in the production line, the second end 30 of the cover 5 is lifted with a nail to unlock the electrical connector 1, and a large number of electrical connectors 1 are mounted. When the operation of opening the cover 5 of the connector 1 is performed, the total number of the covers 5 may not be strictly opened, and the operation can be greatly simplified. In addition, since the opening operation of the cover 5 is linked to the insertion operation of the connecting member 7, the structure can be greatly simplified as compared with the conventional case in which the extending beam is provided on the contact and the operation lever is provided outside. it can.

  In particular, it is only necessary to provide the drive unit 40 on the cover 5 as an interlocking means for interlocking the operation of opening the cover 5 in the semi-closed posture with the insertion operation of the connecting member 7, and the structure is very simple.

  Moreover, since the drive part 40 is provided in the end surface 39 of the cover 5, the cover 5 can be opened stably and the burden concerning the connection member 7 can also be reduced.

  In addition, since the rectangular annular frame 6 for defining the insertion port 8 is provided at the front portion of the housing 3 and the cover 5 is provided at the rear portion of the housing 3, it can be suitably applied to the so-called backlock type electrical connector 1.

  In particular, since the inner surface of the frame 6 includes the inclined surface 6 b that guides the insertion of the connection member 7, there is an advantage that the connection member 7 can be smoothly inserted into the insertion port 8. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 10B, the connection member 7 that receives the reaction force by pushing the drive unit 40 of the cover 5 can be firmly held by the frame 6, and as a result, the cover 5 in the semi-closed posture can be securely attached. It can be opened.

  In addition, since the pressurizing portion 38 is alternately arranged side by side with the fixed piece portion 23 of the contact 2 in the closing posture of the cover 5, compared with the case where the pressurizing portion is arranged below the fixed piece portion of the contact, The height of the electrical connector 1 can be significantly reduced.

  Moreover, since the shaft part 36 which connects between the pressurizing parts 38 adjacent to each other below the fixed piece part 23 of the contact 2 is provided, if the cover 5 receives an inadvertent force, It can be received by the fixed piece portion 23 of the contact 2 and the connection strength of the cover 5 to the housing 3 can be increased.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and for example, the upper frame of the square annular frame 6 may be abolished to form a groove-shaped frame.

  Further, the present invention can also be applied when connecting a connecting member such as FFC or PCB instead of the FPC.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the engaging portion 43 and the locking portion 54 as a structure for locking the cover 5 in the closed position are provided in the cover 5 and the contact 2, respectively, but instead of or in addition to this. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the engaging portion 43 </ b> A is provided on the pair of protrusions 31 of the cover 5, and the lock portion 54 </ b> A is provided on the rear end edge of the reinforcing plate 15 exposed to the rear of the housing 3. it can. Also in this case, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained. In particular, when the cover 5 is locked using both the contact 2 and the reinforcing plate 15, a very strong lock can be obtained.

  Further, with regard to the engaging portion 43 and the lock portions 54 and 54A, any one of them may be a groove and the other may be a protrusion.

  In addition, various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims of the present invention, such as applying the present invention to a vertical electrical connector in which the connecting member is inserted from above rather than from the lateral direction.

It is the schematic perspective view which looked at the electrical connector of one Embodiment of this invention from diagonally backward, and has shown the state by which the cover as a rotation lock member was open | released. It is the schematic perspective view which looked at the electrical connector of the state which closed the cover from diagonally back. It is the schematic perspective view which looked at the electrical connector of the state which closed the cover from diagonally forward. It is a top view of the electrical connector of the state which closed the cover. It is a front view of the electrical connector of the state which closed the cover. It is a side view of the electrical connector of the state which closed the cover. It is sectional drawing which follows the VII-VII line of FIG. 8A is a plan view of the cover, FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along line 8B-8B in FIG. 8A, and FIG. 8C is a sectional view taken along line 8C-8C in FIG. 8A. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector with the cover fully opened. FIG. 10A, FIG. 10B, and FIG. 10C are schematic cross-sectional views sequentially showing steps when the connecting member is attached to the electrical connector in which the cover is in a semi-closed posture. FIG. 11A, FIG. 11B, and FIG. 11C are schematic cross-sectional views sequentially showing the process of closing the cover that is automatically raised and opened. It is a side view of the electrical connector of another embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Electrical connector 2 Contact 3 Housing 4 Support shaft 5 Cover (Rotation lock member)
7 Connecting member 8 Insertion opening 9 Opening portion 15 Reinforcing plate 19 Supporting portion 20 Fixing hole 21 Fixing portion 22 Elastic piece portion 23 Fixing piece portion 24 Lead portion 28 Contact portion 31 Protruding portion 37 Fixing piece portion receiving groove 38 Pressurizing portion 39 End face 40 Driving portion 43, 43A Engaging portion 51 First beam 52 Second beam 53 Connecting portion 54, 54A Locking portion

Claims (3)

An insulating housing into which the connecting member can be inserted from the front;
A plurality of contacts mounted on the housing from the rear of the housing and arranged side by side ;
A rotation lock member disposed at least at the rear of the housing and rotatable between a lock position for fixing the connection member inserted into the housing and a release position for releasing the lock;
The contact includes a lock portion capable of fixing the rotation lock member at the lock position, an elastic piece portion having a contact portion, and a fixed piece portion facing the elastic piece portion, and is fixed to the contact portion of the elastic piece portion. A gap equal to or greater than the thickness of the connecting member is formed between the one part,
The rotation lock member includes a cover capable of opening the opening of the housing,
The cover includes a front edge, a rear edge, a pressurizing part for pressurizing the contact member inserted into the opening to the contact part of the contact, and an engaging part engageable with the lock part of the contact. Including
At the front edge of the cover, a through hole is formed through which the front end of each fixed piece is inserted,
In the closed posture of the cover, the pressurizing part and the fixed piece part are arranged alternately side by side,
The cover has a shaft portion along the front edge of the cover so as to be adjacent to each through hole, and this shaft portion connects the pressurizing portions adjacent to each other below the fixed piece portion,
The engaging portion is formed of a protrusion provided on the rear edge of the cover and protruding toward the shaft portion side,
The contact includes a first beam including an elastic piece portion, a second beam including a fixed piece portion, and a connecting portion that connects rear ends of the first and second beams,
The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock portion includes a lock groove provided in the connecting portion . Oite to claim 1, comprising a pair of metal reinforcing plates respectively fixed to the pair of side portions of the housing, a support for the corresponding support shafts of each of the reinforcing plates covers supports rotatably An electrical connector comprising: 3. The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein each reinforcing plate includes a lock portion capable of fixing the rotation lock member at the lock position.

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