JP4396927B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to contacts and connectors.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a floating type connector that is a connector including a receptacle-side connector and a plug-side connector and electrically connects a printed board and a printed board is known (see Patent Document 1 below).

  The receptacle-side connector includes a molded resin portion and a plurality of contacts which are connection metal terminals.

  The molded resin portion is movably disposed on the printed circuit board. An accommodation space for accommodating the mating connector is formed at the center of the molded resin portion.

  The contact has a contact portion, a bending portion, and a soldering portion. The contact portion is disposed in the accommodation space. The curved portion continues to the contact portion. A portion of the curved portion is disposed in the accommodation space, and the remaining portion is drawn from the molded resin portion. The soldering part is connected to the curved part and is outside the molded resin part. The soldering part is soldered to the printed board.

  The plug-side connector also includes a molded resin portion and a plurality of contacts that are connection metal terminals.

  The molded resin portion of the plug side connector is accommodated in the receptacle space of the receptacle side connector.

  The contact of the plug-side connector has a contact portion that contacts the contact portion of the receptacle-side connector, and is disposed on both sides of the molded resin portion of the plug-side connector.

  In the conventional connector described above, the molded resin portion of the receptacle-side connector and the molded resin portion of the plug-side connector do not fit.

In this connector, a structure is employed in which the fitting state between the connectors is maintained by a frictional force when the contacts come into contact with each other.
JP 2002-367694 A (see paragraphs 0016 and 0018 and FIG. 1)

  If the contact is made smaller in order to further reduce the size of the connector described above, the contact force of the contact is weakened accordingly. When the contact force of the contacts becomes weak, not only the contact between the contacts becomes unstable, but also there is a possibility that the receptacle-side connector is easily detached from the plug-side connector due to an external force or the like. In order to prevent the receptacle-side connector from being easily detached from the plug-side connector, a locking member for locking the plug-side connector may be provided on the receptacle-side connector, but this increases the size of the connector.

  This invention is made in view of such a situation, The subject is providing the contact and connector which can maintain the connection state of connectors reliably while enabling miniaturization of a connector. .

In order to solve the above-described problem, a connector according to the invention of claim 1 is a connector composed of a first connector and a second connector connectable to the first connector, wherein the contacts of the first connector are connected. A contact portion and a contact portion of the contact of the second connector that contacts the contact portion are provided with a plurality of conductive spiral microsprings that can be engaged with each other, and the spiral microspring is provided on the contact portion. It protrudes from the surface in the contact direction with respect to the said other party connector of the said contact part, The said helical microspring is elastically deformable to the said contact direction, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  When the spiral microspring of the first connector and the spiral microspring of the second connector are engaged with each other, the contacts are electrically connected and mechanically coupled, and the first connector and the second connector are simple. No longer separates.

  As described above, according to the contact of the present invention, the connector can be miniaturized and the connected state of the connectors can be reliably maintained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a usage state of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this connector includes a first connector 3 and a second connector 3 ′.

  The first connector 3 is mounted on the first printed circuit board 21. The second connector 3 ′ is mounted on the second printed circuit board 22. Since the second connector 3 ′ has exactly the same structure as the first connector 3, only the first connector 3 will be described below.

  The first connector 3 includes a plurality of contacts 5 and one insulator 7.

  The contact 5 has one contact body 51 and a plurality of spiral microsprings 52 (see FIG. 6E). The contact body 51 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and has conductivity. The upper surface of the contact main body 51 is a contact portion 51a. The lower surface of the contact body 51 is a connection portion 51b. The plurality of spiral micro springs 52 have conductivity and are formed on the surface of the contact portion 51a. The plurality of spiral micro springs 52 are arranged in two dimensions at equal intervals.

  The insulator 7 has an insulating frame 71 and a partition wall 72 and is integrally formed with a resist film 70 described later. A space surrounded by the insulating frame 71 is divided into a lattice shape by a partition wall 72 to form a plurality of contact accommodating spaces 73.

  The first connector 3 is fixed to the first printed circuit board 21 by an anisotropic conductive film 9. Each contact 5 of the first connector 3 is electrically connected to an electrode (not shown) of the first printed circuit board 21 through the anisotropic conductive film 9. Incidentally, the anisotropic conductive film 9 has adhesiveness and conducts electricity in the thickness direction, but does not conduct electricity in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction.

  When the first connector 3 mounted on the first printed circuit board 21 and the second connector 3 ′ mounted on the second printed circuit board 22 are pressed against each other, the spiral microsprings 52 of both the connectors 3 and 3 ′ are pressed. Are intertwined with each other. As a result, the first printed circuit board 21 and the second printed circuit board 22 are electrically connected, and the coupled state between the first connector 3 and the second connector 3 ′ is maintained. In order to separate the first connector 3 and the second connector 3 ′, the first connector 3 and the second connector 3 ′ may be separated from each other. At this time, the spiral microsprings 52 are unwound by the extension of the spiral microsprings 52, and the spiral microsprings 52 return to the original state.

  2A is a sectional view showing an initial stage of the manufacturing process of the connector shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2B is a plan view thereof, and FIGS. 3A to 3L are diagrams for explaining the manufacturing process of the spiral microspring of the connector shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a mask used when manufacturing the spiral micro spring of the connector shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 5A to 5D are planes showing a process of sequentially connecting the arcuate conductors shown in FIG. 6A to 6E are perspective views showing a process of sequentially connecting the arcuate conductors shown in FIG.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the connector 3 of this embodiment is demonstrated based on drawing.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2A, a resist is applied on the gold plating 12 applied to the upper surface of the silicon wafer 11, and then exposed to a resist film 70 on the gold plating 12 so that a portion 12a of the gold plating 12 is exposed. Form.

  Next, the contact film 73 is formed by etching the resist film 70. Thereby, the gold plating 12 is exposed in the contact accommodating space 73.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the silicon wafer 11 passes through its center point 110, and is divided into four regions (hereinafter, these four regions are referred to as a first for convenience sake by an X axis (virtual axis) and a Y axis (virtual axis) orthogonal to each other. -4th quadrants 111-114), and at least one connector 3 is made in each quadrant 111-114. There are two marks 11m on the X-axis and Y-axis, respectively. The mark 11m is displayed on the silicon wafer 11. All the marks 11m are separated from the center point 110 by the same distance.

  Next, a part 12a of the gold plating 12 is connected to a direct current power source, and nickel plating is performed on the gold plating 12 exposed in the contact housing space 73 by electrolytic plating, and the contact housing space 73 is filled with this nickel plating. The contact body 51 is formed by this nickel plating (see FIG. 2B).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, a resist 131 ′ is applied on the resist film 70 and the contact body 51.

  Thereafter, the mask 17 shown in FIG. 4 is set in the exposure apparatus. The mask 17 passes through the center point 170 and is divided into four regions (hereinafter, these four regions are referred to as first to fourth quadrants 171 to 174 for convenience) by an X axis (virtual axis) and a Y axis (virtual axis) orthogonal to each other. ). In each quadrant 171 to 174, a plurality of arc-shaped light shielding portions 17a are arranged at equal intervals along the X direction and the Y direction so as to face the same direction. The direction of the arc-shaped light shielding portion 17a is different for each quadrant 171-174. The direction of the arc-shaped light shielding part differs by 90 ° between adjacent quadrants. Further, the central angles θ of all the arc-shaped light-shielding portions 17a are equal and set in a range of 90 ° <θ <180 °. There are two white marks (not shown) on the X and Y axes, respectively. All marks displayed on the mask 17 are separated from the center point 170 by the same distance.

  Next, the mask 17 is projected onto the mark 11m of the silicon wafer 11 to align the mask 17, and then the first quadrant 171, second quadrant 172, third quadrant 173, and fourth quadrant of the mask 17 are aligned. The resists 131 ′ are exposed by projecting patterns 174 to the first quadrant 111, the second quadrant 112, the third quadrant 113, and the fourth quadrant 114 of the silicon wafer 11, respectively.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3B, a resist film 131 having an arcuate hole 131a is formed.

  Next, nickel plating is applied to a part of the contact main body 51 exposed at the arc-shaped groove 131a by electrolytic plating, and the arc-shaped groove 131a is filled by this nickel plating. As a result, the first arcuate conductor 52a is formed as shown in FIGS. 3C, 5A and 6A.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3D, a resist 141 ′ is applied on the resist film 131 and the first arcuate conductor 52a.

  Thereafter, the mask 17 is rotated by 90 °, and the mark of the mask 17 is projected onto the mark 11m of the silicon wafer 11 to align the mask 17, and then the first quadrant 171, the second quadrant 172, the second quadrant of the mask 17 are aligned. The patterns of the third quadrant 173 and the fourth quadrant 174 are projected onto the second quadrant 112, the third quadrant 113, the fourth quadrant 114, and the first quadrant 111 of the silicon wafer 11, respectively, and the resist 141 'is exposed.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 3E, a resist 141 having an arcuate hole 141a is formed.

  Next, sputtering is performed on the resist film 141 to form a sputtered film 161 on the resist film 141 and in the arc-shaped hole 141a. A part of the arc-shaped sputtered film 161a formed in the arc-shaped hole 141a overlaps the first arc-shaped conductor 52a.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3G, the sputtered film 161 is removed together with the resist film 141, leaving only the arc-shaped sputtered film 161a.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3H, a resist 131 ′ is applied on the resist film 131 and the arc-shaped sputtered film 161.

  Thereafter, exposure is performed (the direction of the mask 17 is the same as in FIG. 3E), and as shown in FIG. 3I, a resist film 131 having an arcuate hole 131a is formed.

  Next, the arc-shaped sputtered film 161a exposed by the arc-shaped groove 131a is subjected to nickel plating by electrolytic plating, and the arc-shaped groove 131a is filled by this nickel plating. As a result, the second arcuate conductor 52b is formed as shown in FIGS. 3J, 5B and 6B. One end of the second arcuate conductor 52b is coupled to the first arcuate conductor 52a.

  Thereafter, the mask 17 is rotated by 90 °, and the mark of the mask 17 is projected onto the mark 11m of the silicon wafer 11 to align the mask 17, and then the first quadrant 171, the second quadrant 172, the second quadrant of the mask 17 are aligned. The patterns of the three quadrants 173 and the fourth quadrant 174 are projected to the third quadrant 113, the fourth quadrant 114, the first quadrant 111, and the second quadrant 112 of the silicon wafer 11, respectively, and are similar to the steps shown in FIGS. 3D to 3I. Through the steps, a third arcuate conductor 52c is formed as shown in FIGS. 3K, 5C, and 6C.

  Next, the mask 17 is rotated by 90 °, the mark of the mask 17 is projected onto the mark 11m of the silicon wafer 11 to align the mask 17, and then the first quadrant 171, the second quadrant 172 of the mask 17, The patterns of the third quadrant 173 and the fourth quadrant 174 are projected onto the fourth quadrant 114, the first quadrant 111, the second quadrant 112, and the third quadrant 113 of the silicon wafer 11, respectively, and are similar to the steps shown in FIGS. 3D to 3I. Through the steps, the fourth arcuate conductor 52d is formed as shown in FIGS. 3K, 5D, and 6D.

  Thus, a spiral conductor 52A is formed.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6E, two spiral conductors 52A are combined to form one spiral microspring 52.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3L, the resist film 131 is removed from the spiral microspring 52.

  Next, the silicon wafer 11 is cut along the X axis, the Y axis, and the dicing line DL shown in FIG. 2B to obtain four chips.

  Finally, silicon is removed from the four chips together with the gold plating 12. In this way, four 25-core (5 × 5) connectors 3 can be obtained.

  According to this embodiment, since the contacts 5 are made conductive by entwining the helical microsprings 52 with each other, it is possible to reduce the size of the connector and to reliably maintain the connection state between the connectors. be able to.

  In the above-described embodiment, the spiral microspring 52 of one connector 3 and the spiral microspring 52 of the other connector 3 ′ are entangled with each other so that the connected state of both connectors 3 and 3 ′ is maintained. However, the mode of engagement between the spiral microspring of one connector and the contact portion of the contact of the other connector is not limited to the entanglement, and the spiral microspring is used as the contact portion of the contact of the other connector. You may make it hook. In this case, the contact portion of the contact of the other connector does not need to be provided with the spiral microspring, but it must have a shape such that the spiral microspring of one connector is caught.

  Moreover, although the arc-shaped portion of the pattern of the mask 17 is the arc-shaped light shielding portion 17a, the arc-shaped portion may be a light-transmitting portion and the other portions may be light-shielding portions according to the resist to be used.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view of a connector in use according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing an initial stage of the manufacturing process of the connector shown in FIG. FIG. 2B is a plan view of the same. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a state in which a resist film is formed. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a state in which arcuate holes are formed. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing a state in which the first arcuate conductor is formed. FIG. 3D is a diagram showing a state in which a resist film is formed. FIG. 3E is a diagram showing a state in which arcuate holes are formed. FIG. 3F is a diagram showing a state in which a sputtered film is formed. FIG. 3G is a diagram showing a state in which an unnecessary portion of the sputtered film is removed. FIG. 3H is a diagram showing a state in which a resist film is formed. FIG. 3I is a diagram showing a state in which arcuate holes are formed. FIG. 3J is a diagram showing a state in which the second arcuate conductor is formed. FIG. 3K is a diagram illustrating a state in which third and fourth arc-shaped conductors are formed. FIG. 3L is a view showing a state where the resist film is removed. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a mask used when manufacturing the spiral micro spring of the connector shown in FIG. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a state in which a first arcuate conductor is formed. FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the second arcuate conductor is connected to the first arcuate conductor. FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating a state in which the third arcuate conductor is connected to the second arcuate conductor. FIG. 5D is a diagram illustrating a state in which the fourth arcuate conductor is connected to the third arcuate conductor. FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a state in which a first arcuate conductor is formed. FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a state in which the second arcuate conductor is connected to the first arcuate conductor. FIG. 6C is a perspective view showing a state in which the third arcuate conductor is connected to the second arcuate conductor. FIG. 6D is a perspective view showing a state in which the fourth arcuate conductor is connected to the third arcuate conductor. FIG. 6E is a perspective view showing a completed state.

Explanation of symbols

3 1st connector 3 '2nd connector 5 contact 51 contact main body 51a contact part 52 spiral micro spring

Claims (1)

In a connector composed of a first connector and a second connector connectable to the first connector,
A plurality of conductive spiral microsprings that can be engaged with each other are provided on the contact portion of the contact of the first connector and the contact portion of the contact of the second connector that contacts the contact portion,
The spiral microspring protrudes from the surface of the contact portion in a contact direction of the contact portion with the mating connector, and the spiral microspring is elastically deformable in the contact direction.

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