JP4319096B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector including a plug connector and a receptacle connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector provided with a guide mechanism that facilitates connection between both connectors.

  An electrical connector composed of a plug connector and a receptacle connector is provided with a guide mechanism so that the contact is satisfactorily brought into contact at an appropriate position when the two connectors are connected. The structure of such a known electrical connector is briefly shown below.

8A and 8B show an electrical connector having a known guide mechanism. FIG. 8A is a side view of the electrical connector before connection, and FIG. 8B is a side view of the electrical connector connected. is there.
The electrical connector EC ′ includes a receptacle connector (hereinafter referred to as a receptacle) 1 and a plug connector (hereinafter referred to as a plug) 4. The plug 4 includes a plug housing 5 and guides at both ends of the plug housing 5. Protrusions 6 a and 6 b are provided, and the receptacle 1 is provided with a receptacle housing 2 and through holes 3 a and 3 b into which the guide protrusions 6 a and 6 b of the plug 10 are inserted at both ends of the receptacle housing 2. .
Each of the guide protrusions 6 a and 6 b is a columnar protrusion having a predetermined length, and is usually coupled integrally with the plug housing 5. These columnar protrusions have a pointed end in a cone shape, and the length thereof is longer than the thickness of the receptacle housing 2, that is, the height in the vertical direction of the receptacle housing 2, and the plug 1 and the receptacle 4 At the time of connection, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the tip portions 6 a ₁ and 6 b ₁ of the guide protrusions 6 a and 6 b protrude from the back surface of the receptacle housing 2 by a length L.

  Such a receptacle is attached to a wiring board constituting a device such as a personal computer. However, if the tip of the guide projection protrudes from the outlet of the through hole, a gap is formed between the receptacle and the wiring board at the portion that contacts the wiring board, and the mounting becomes unstable. A recess or a through hole is provided in the abutting portion so that no gap is generated.

However, in order to provide a recess or a through hole in the wiring board as described above, a separate operation is required. If such a through hole is provided, the effective area of the wiring board is reduced, and circuit design is reduced. It becomes a constraint.
In order to eliminate such a restriction, an electrical connector is also known that uses a guide pin that can be expanded and contracted to eliminate the need for a through hole in the wiring board (for example, see Patent Document 1 below).

9 shows two types of guide members of the electrical connector described in Patent Document 1 below, FIG. 9A is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing one of the guide members, and FIG. 9B is another guide member. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9A, guide members 40A and 40B described in the following Patent Document 1 are each provided with a guide pin 42 movably mounted on a guide post 41 provided at the end of the plug housing. When the distal end portion 42 a of the guide pin 42 comes into contact with the wiring board when coupled to the receptacle 50, the guide pin 42 compresses the spring 43 and the distal end portion 42 a is retracted in the guide post 41.
In the guide member 40B shown in FIG. 9B, the guide pin 42 is divided into an upper pin 421 and a lower pin 422, and is connected to be extendable.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-6805 (FIG. 1, paragraphs [0025] to [0026])

However, in the electrical connector described in Patent Document 1, since the guide pin 42 is only held in the coil spring 43, the plug abuts against the shutter member 51 and the like before the positioning is completed at the time of coupling with the receptacle. Then, the guide pin 42 is retracted into the guide post 41 and cannot be accurately positioned. For this reason, since the coupling is performed without accurate positioning, there is a risk of causing a connection failure of the contact.
In addition, the guide member 40A needs to be provided with a through hole 44a in the plug side substrate 44 instead of providing a through hole or the like in the receptacle side substrate.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, that is, the object of the present invention is to move the guide member at the initial stage of coupling when the plug connector and the receptacle connector are coupled. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector having a guide mechanism in which positioning of both connectors is accurately performed by temporarily stopping the connector.

In order to achieve the above object, an electrical connector according to a first aspect of the present invention has a concave portion provided with a stepped step portion on an inner peripheral surface at both ends, and a plurality of first contacts inside. A first connector comprising:
A guide member that is provided with a spiral groove on the outer peripheral surface, and a small protrusion that engages with the stepped portion, and is mounted on the concave portion so as to be able to rotate and move up and down;
A second connector comprising: a guide housing space into which the guide member is inserted; a convex portion that engages with the spiral groove at an inlet of the guide housing space; and a second contact connected to the first contact; An electrical connector comprising:
At the time of coupling the first and second connectors, the convex portion of the guide receiving space and the spiral groove of the guide member are engaged to insert the first connector into the second connector. From the start of insertion until the insertion to a predetermined position, the guide member is prevented from rotating and inserted vertically into the guide receiving space, and the small protrusion is locked to the stepped step portion. Thus, the guide member is prevented from dropping into the concave portion, and after the insertion to the predetermined position, the guide member is rotated, whereby the stepped step portion and the small protrusion are rotated. The guide member is dropped into the concave portion by releasing the lock.

  The invention according to claim 2 relates to the electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the guide member includes a conical tip portion and a cylindrical body portion connected to the tip portion, and the spiral shape. The groove is provided between the tip and the body, and is formed as a vertical groove from the tip to the connection portion between the tip and the body, and in a predetermined direction from the connection to a predetermined position. It is formed by the inclined groove | channel inclined.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the first connector (so-called plug connector) and the second connector (so-called receptacle connector) are coupled, the convex portion of the guide receiving space engages with the spiral groove, and the first connector Is further inserted into the second connector, the convex portion descends along the spiral groove, and the guide member rotates in a predetermined direction following the descent. That is, when the convex portion is near the entrance of the spiral groove, the guide member is at the highest position, and the first and second connectors are accurately positioned at this position.
Therefore, the guide member is retracted into the recess at the initial stage of coupling with the first and second connectors as in the prior art, so that the first and second contacts are positioned before accurate positioning is performed. No more starting to touch. As a result, inappropriate contact of the first and second contacts can be eliminated, and contact failure or damage of the contacts can be prevented.
Further, when the convex portion passes the vicinity of the entrance of the spiral groove, the guide member is dropped into the concave portion. Therefore, even if the tip portion of the guide member collides with the wiring board, the guide member has already been retracted into the concave portion. Thus, the collision causes the guide member to be retracted into the recess and come into contact therewith, and there is no need to provide a through hole in the contact portion.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the convex portion in the guide receiving space is engaged with the vertical groove of the spiral groove at the initial stage of coupling with the first and second connectors, the guide member has a simple structure. Can be prevented from rotating.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below exemplifies an electrical connector for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to specify the present invention for this electrical connector. Other embodiments within the scope are equally applicable.

  1 is an external perspective view showing an electrical connector comprising a receptacle connector and a plug connector according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the plug connector of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a guide member. 3 (a) is a perspective view seen from below, FIG. 3 (b) is a plan view, FIG. 3 (c) is a side view seen from one side, FIG. 3 (d) is a side view seen from the other side, FIG. 3 (e) is a perspective view seen from above, FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the plug housing and the guide member, FIG. 4 (a) is an external perspective view, and FIG. 4 (b) is a portion A in FIG. 4 (a). FIG. 5 is an external perspective view for explaining the attachment of the guide member to the plug housing, FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the connection process between the receptacle connector and the plug connector, a front view, a bottom view, and a main part. Enlarged bottom view, Fig. 7 shows the connection between the receptacle connector and the plug connector 7 (a) is a front view before connection of both connectors, FIG. 7 (b) is a front view showing the connected state, and FIG. 7 (c) is a view of FIG. 7 (a). It is a B section enlarged view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electrical connector EC is attached to a receptacle connector (hereinafter referred to as a receptacle) 30 that is attached to the main body of a personal computer or the like and an accessory device (eg, a port replicator, a docking connector, etc.). The plug 10 is provided with guide members 15a and 15b. The receptacle 30 has guide receiving spaces 32a and 32b into which the guide members 15a and 15b of the plug 10 are inserted. It has a formed configuration. Incidentally, the guide receiving spaces 32a and 32b are configured as bottomed recesses or through holes, which are the lengths of the guide members 15a and 15b inserted into the guide receiving spaces 32a and 32b and the receptacle 30. It is configured to be changed as appropriate according to the height relationship. In this embodiment, it is shown as a through hole.

Hereinafter, a guide mechanism for positioning individual components, that is, a plug, a receptacle, and both connectors will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plug 10 includes a plug housing 11 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, recesses 12 a and 12 b provided at both ends of the plug housing 11, and rotation and movement into the recesses 12 a and 12 b. Guide members 15 a and 15 b that are mounted so as to be movable up and down, coiled springs 16 a and 16 b that urge the guide members 15 a and 15 b, and a cover body 17 that covers the plug housing 11.

Further, the plug housing 11 includes a bottom portion 11a and a frame portion 11b having a predetermined height and size on the bottom portion, and recessed portions 12a and 12b in which guide members 15a and 15b are mounted at both ends, and the plug side It has a plurality of elongated through holes 13a and 13b to which the contacts 20a are attached, and is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material or the like.
Frame portion 11b is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that protrudes a predetermined height from the surface flat portion 11 ₀ of the block body, a plurality of elongated through-holes 13a in the frame portion, 13b are formed, these elongated through hole 13a , 13b, plug-side contacts 20a that contact the receptacle-side contacts 20b of the connection protrusions 34a, 34b of the receptacle 30 are mounted. For example, a signal contact is attached to the through hole 13a, and a power contact is attached to the through hole 13b.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cover body 17 has substantially the same shape as the plug housing 11, a protrusion opening 17 b is formed on the upper side, a side plate 17 a is formed on the outer periphery, and is formed by bending a metal plate material or the like. The
The outer peripheral side plate 17a has substantially the same height as the plug housing 11, and the side plate 17a further extends the side plate 17a at predetermined intervals, and a locking projection 19a is formed at the extended tip. . The locking projection 19a is inserted and fixed in a locking hole 19b provided at a position corresponding to the installation position of the locking projection 19a on the side surface of the plug housing 11 when the plug housing 11 is covered. For example, if the locking protrusion 19a is fixed to a wiring board (not shown) to which the plug 10 is attached by soldering, the role of the ground terminal is provided, which is more preferable.

The two recesses 12a and 12b provided at both ends of the plug housing 11 have the same shape. As shown in FIG. 4B, one of the recesses 12b is enlarged, and each of the recesses 12a and 12b has a substantially circular opening and a predetermined depth.
Referring to FIG. 4B, a small protrusion 14b is formed at the center of the recess 12b, and four locking steps 121a to 121d are stepped from the upper part to the lower part on the inner peripheral wall surface. It is formed. One end of a coiled spring 16b (see FIG. 2) is fixed to the small protrusion 14b. Further, it stepped engaging step 121a~121d, as seen in the engaging ledge portion 121a shown in FIG. 4 (b), and has a two-stage structure of the upper 121a ₁ and lower 121a _2. Incidentally, the other locking step portions 121b to 121d have the same shape.
These locking step portions 121a to 121d are locked with a protrusion 155 of a guide member 15b described later. For example stepped locking projection 121a, when the protrusions 155 of the guide member 15b is engaged with the upper 121a _1, the guide member 15b is ready for the most prominent from the flat surface 11 ₀ of the plug housing 11, then, guide member 15b is rotated, when the engagement between the upper 121a ₁ falls to the lower 121a ₂ out, a portion of the guide member 15b is lowered retracted into the recess 12b.

The movement of the guide member 15 b is the same even when the plug housing 11 is covered with the cover body 17. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the plug housing 11 is covered with the cover body 17, the guide member 15b from the flat surface 17 ₀ is projected, the projection 155 of the guide member 15b is engaged with the upper 121a ₁ when you are, most protruding guide member 15b from the flat surface 17 ₀ of the cover member 17, also the guide member 15b drops into the lower part 121a ₂ disconnected engagement between upper 121a ₁ is rotated, a portion of the guide member 15b Retracts into the recess 12b and becomes lower. Further, the other guide members 15a move in the same manner. Therefore, when the guide members 15a and 15b are retracted into the recesses 12a and 12b, the leading end portion 151 of each guide member is only in contact with the wiring board, so there is no need to provide a through hole in the wiring board.

Next, the structure of the guide members 15a and 15b provided in the plug 10 will be described. However, since each guide member 15a, 15b consists of the same shape, in FIG. 3, it demonstrates as the guide member 15 on behalf of one of them.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the guide member 15 has a bullet-shaped overall shape, that is, a cylindrical trunk portion 152, and a conical pointed tip portion 151 connected to one end of the trunk portion 152. And is formed of a resin material.
The length in the longitudinal direction is such that the four locking projections 155 to 155 of the guide member 15 are locked to the upper steps of the four stepped step portions when the guide member 15 is coupled to the receptacle 30, and the guide member is The length is set to protrude from the outlet of the opening of the receptacle in the protruding state. Further, the thickness of the body portion is slightly smaller than the openings of the recesses 12a and 12b and the guide receiving spaces 32a and 32b of the receptacle. Further, the body portion 152, is formed a cavity 153 ₀ to the bottom 153, at the time of assembly, coiled springs 16a in the cavity 153 within _0, one end of 16b is inserted.

As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3E, the guide member 15 has two vertically long grooves with a predetermined angle inclined at a predetermined angle at the boundary between the distal end portion 151 and the trunk portion 152. , So-called spiral grooves 154 ₁ , 154 ₂ are formed to face each other. Each spiral groove 154 ₁ , 154 ₂ is a concave groove having a predetermined width and depth, and the groove width of the concave groove is a convexity provided in the guide receiving spaces 32 a and 32 b of the receptacle 30. The grooves 33a and 33b are slightly wider than the portions 33a and 33b, and have a groove width that allows the protrusions 33a and 33b to move smoothly in the concave groove.
Each spiral groove 154 ₁ , 154 ₂ has the same shape, and from the tip portion 151 to the tip portion 151 and the trunk portion 152, like _one spiral groove 154 ₁ shown in FIGS. 3 (c) and 3 (e). inclination to near the boundary of, 'consist of _1, the vertical grooves 154' substantially perpendicular vertical groove 154 toward the bottom 153 from the distal end portion 151 which is inclined from the lower end of the _1, in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the guide member 15 and A groove 154 " ₁ is provided extending a predetermined length.

  Further, the guide member 15 is formed with four small protrusions 155 at a predetermined interval at a position slightly higher than the bottom portion 153. These small projections 155 are provided on the outer peripheral line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the body portion 152 in correspondence with the stepped projections in the recesses, and are linear projections having a predetermined width. The number of small protrusions is not limited to four, and an arbitrary number (two or more) may be selected according to the number of stepped protrusions in the recess.

The guide members 15a and 15b as described above are attached to the recesses 12a and 12b of the plug housing 11 in the following procedure.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, coil springs 16 a and 16 b are attached to the recesses 12 a and 12 b at both ends of the plug housing 11. As shown in FIG. 5A, these springs 16a and 16b are attached by fitting one end of each spring 16a and 16b into the small protrusions 14a and 14b. Then, the springs 16a, respectively guide member 15a to the other end of the 16b, while inserting the cavity 153 of 15b ₀ (see FIG. 3), the guide members 15a, 15b and the recesses 12a, 12b in the spring 16a, 16b urging force of (See FIGS. 5B and 5C). As shown in FIG. 5C, when the guide members 15a and 15b are merely fitted into the recesses 12a and 12b, the guide members 15a and 15b jump out of the recesses 12a and 12b due to the repulsive force of the springs 16a and 16b. As shown in FIG. 4, when the plug housing 11 is covered with the cover body 17, the periphery of the recesses 12a and 12b is covered. By covering in this way, the plurality of linear protrusions 155 provided on the outer periphery of the guide members 15a and 15b are locked to the peripheral edges of the openings 18a and 18b of the cover body 17 to prevent them from coming off.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the receptacle 30 has an elongated box-shaped receptacle housing 32 having an opening in the upper portion, and an opening having substantially the same size in a portion corresponding to the opening 31 of the receptacle housing 32. And a cover body 35 that covers the upper surface and side wall surface of the receptacle housing 32. The opening 35 a of the cover body 35 is an insertion port for the plug 10.
The receptacle housing 32 is provided with guide receiving spaces 32a and 32b into which guide members 15a and 15b are inserted at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and the guide members 15a and 15b are guide receiving spaces 32a in the guide receiving spaces 32a and 32b. , 32b are provided with convex portions 33a, 33b at portions where the spiral grooves 154 ₁ , 154 ₂ of the guide members 15a, 15b are located.

Next, a process of connecting the plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 30 as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 7. FIG.
First, when the plug 10 and the receptacle 30 as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 7 (a) are brought closer, the guide members 15a and 15b of the plug 10 and the receptacle 30 are first shown in FIG. 6 (b). The guide receiving spaces 32a and 32b come into contact with each other. This is because, as shown in FIG. 7C, the guide members 15a and 15b of the plug 10 are formed longer than the protruding portion 11c. Strictly speaking, the cylindrical body portions of the guide members 15a and 15b. 152a and 152b are longer than the tip of the protrusion 11c by a distance L0, and the distance L0 is at least 0 or more.

At this time, the guide housing space 32a, the projections 33a provided in the 32 b, 33b are vertical grooves 154 positioned at the front end portion 151 of the guide members 15a, 15b of the spiral-shaped groove ₁₅₄ 1, 154 _{2 '1} ( 154 ′ ₂ ) (see FIG. 6B, an enlarged bottom view of the main part). At this time, the guide members 15a and 15b have locking protrusions 155 provided on the side surfaces of the guide members 15a and 15b, and upper steps (121a ₁ ) of the locking step portions 121a to 121d provided in the recesses 12a and 12b. By locking each other, the guide members 15a and 15b are prevented from being pushed into the recesses 12a and 12b. That is, by preventing this push-in, the tip positions of the trunk portions 152a and 152b are held below the protruding portion 11c.

Subsequently, when the plug 10 is pushed into the receptacle 30, first, the protruding portion 11 c of the plug 10 is in the opening 31 of the receptacle 30, and the trunk portions 152 a and 152 b of the guide members 15 a and 15 b are in the guide receiving spaces 32 a and 32 b. introduced is guided by being inserted, when further pushed, 6 projections 33a of the receptacle 30 as shown in (c), 33b is spiral-shaped groove ₁₅₄ 1, 154 ₂ of the vertical grooves 154 _'1 (154 ' ₂ ) descends along the inclined groove 154 " ₁ (154" ₂ ), and following this lowering, the guide member 15 is reverse to the direction in which the inclined groove 154 " ₁ (154" ₂ ) is inclined. Rotate in the direction (clockwise in the enlarged bottom view of the main part in FIG. 6). Due to this rotation, the locking projections 155 of the guide members 15a and 15b that are locked in FIG. 6B and the upper steps (121a ₁ ) of the locking step portions 121a to 121d provided in the recesses 12a and 12b. The locking is released, and the locking protrusions 155 of the guide members 15a and 15b move to the lower steps (121a ₂ ) of the locking steps 121a to 121d provided in the recesses 12a and 12b, and thus the guide members 15a and 15b. Is pushed into the recesses 12a and 12b of the plug 10. If the plug 10 is pushed into the receptacle 30 to the position shown in FIG. 6C, the contacts of both connectors provided in the protrusion 11c and the opening 31 are well connected. Both connectors are connected as shown in FIG. 6D and FIG. 7B, and the series of connection steps is completed.

When the protrusions 33a and 33b are engaged with the vertical grooves 154 ′ ₁ (154 ′ ₂ ) by the connection as described above (see FIG. 6B), the guide members 15a and 15b The distal end portion 151 is inserted into the guide receiving spaces 32a and 32b of the receptacle 30 without being retracted into the recesses 14a and 14b, and the positioning of the plug and the receptacle is accurately maintained during this insertion process. Due to this positioning, as in the prior art, the guide member is retracted into the recess at the initial stage of coupling, and the two contacts come into contact with each other before accurate positioning is performed, causing contact failure or damage. Nothing will happen.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7B, the electrical connector after the connection as described above is such that the distal end portion 151 of the guide members 15a and 15b stays in the guide accommodating spaces 32a and 32b of the receptacle 30. become. That is, when the guide mechanism is configured as described above, the guide members 15a and 15b do not collide with the wiring board attached to the receptacle 30 and damage the wiring board.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an electrical connector comprising a receptacle connector and a plug connector according to one embodiment of the present invention, 2 is an exploded perspective view of the plug connector of FIG. 3 shows a guide member, FIG. 3A is a perspective view seen from below, FIG. 3B is a plan view, FIG. 3C is a side view seen from one side, and FIG. A side view seen from the other side, FIG. 3 (e) a perspective view seen from above, 4 shows the relationship between the plug housing and the guide member, FIG. 4 (a) is an external perspective view, FIG. 4 (b) is an enlarged view of portion A in FIG. 4 (a), FIG. 5 is an external perspective view illustrating attachment of the guide member to the plug housing, FIG. 6 is a perspective view, a front view, a bottom view, and a main part enlarged bottom view for explaining a connection process between the receptacle connector and the plug connector, FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which the receptacle connector and the plug connector are connected, FIG. 7 (a) is a front view before connection of both connectors, FIG. 7 (b) is a front view showing the connected state, FIG.7 (c) is the B section enlarged view of Fig.7 (a), 8 shows an electrical connector described in Patent Document 1, FIG. 8 (a) is a side view before connection, FIG. 8 (b) is a side view in a connected state, 9A and 9B show two types of guide members on which a conventional electrical connector is formed. FIG. 9A is an enlarged sectional view of one of the guide members, and FIG. 9B is another enlarged sectional view.

Explanation of symbols

EC electrical connector 10 plug connector 11 plug housing 12a, 12b recesses 121a-121d locking step 15a, 15b guide member 151 tip 154 ₁ , 154 ₂ vertical groove 155 locking projection 16a, 16b coiled spring 17 cover body 30 receptacle Connector 31 Opening 32 Receptacle housing 32a, 32b Guide receiving space 33a, 33b Convex

Claims (2)

A first connector having a concave portion provided with a stepped step on the inner peripheral surface at both ends, and having a plurality of first contacts inside;
A guide member that is provided with a spiral groove on the outer peripheral surface, and a small protrusion that engages with the stepped portion, and is mounted on the concave portion so as to be able to rotate and move up and down
A second connector comprising: a guide housing space into which the guide member is inserted; a convex portion that engages with the spiral groove at an inlet of the guide housing space; and a second contact connected to the first contact; An electrical connector comprising:
At the time of coupling the first and second connectors, the convex portion of the guide receiving space and the spiral groove of the guide member are engaged to insert the first connector into the second connector. From the start of insertion until the insertion to a predetermined position, the guide member is prevented from rotating and inserted vertically into the guide receiving space, and the small protrusion is locked to the stepped step portion. Thus, the guide member is prevented from dropping into the concave portion, and after the insertion to the predetermined position, the guide member is rotated, whereby the stepped step portion and the small protrusion are rotated. The electrical connector is characterized in that the guide member is dropped into the concave portion by releasing the locking. The guide member includes a conical tip portion and a cylindrical trunk portion connected to the tip portion, and the spiral groove is provided over the tip portion and the trunk portion. 2. The connecting portion between the tip portion and the body portion is formed by a vertical groove, and the connecting portion to a predetermined position is formed by an inclined groove inclined in a predetermined direction. Electrical connector.

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