JP4911543B2 - Electrical connector having fixing metal fitting and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector having a fixture and a method for manufacturing the same.

  As an electrical connector having a fixing metal fitting, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

  In this known connector, as shown in FIG. 9 of the accompanying drawings, a plurality of terminals 51 are implanted in the housing 50, and the terminals 51 are bent and extended toward the side at the bottom portion of the housing. 51A. In addition, a fixing bracket 52 having strength is attached in the vicinity of the end portion in the longitudinal direction of the housing 50. The fixing metal 52 also has leg portions 52A that extend laterally at the bottom position of the housing. As shown in the upper part of the drawing, the fixing bracket 52 has a mounting portion 53 having a complicated shape, and this mounting portion is press-fitted into a corresponding groove of the housing and held by the housing 50.

  In use, the connector is disposed on an attachment surface to be attached, for example, on the surface of the circuit board, and the connection portion 51A of the terminal 51 and the leg portion 52A of the fixing bracket 52 are in contact with the surface of the circuit board. The connecting portion 51A is soldered to the corresponding circuit portion to be contacted, and the leg portion 52A is soldered to the corresponding portion. The connector is held on the circuit board by fixing the legs 52A of the fixing metal 52 with solder.

JP-A-9-139242

  However, the known connector of FIG. 9 has some problems to be solved due to the need for a separate fixing bracket. First, fixing fixtures must be prepared, the number of parts is increased, the number of processes and assembly are complicated, and the cost is increased.

  Furthermore, since the manufacturing process of the terminal and the fixing bracket is different, the management of the dimensions is also different. When the connector is mounted on the circuit board, a step is generated between the terminal and the fixing bracket, and the flatness with respect to the circuit board is increased. There is a problem that they do not match.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such problems, and to provide an electrical connector that has an inexpensive mounting bracket, has the same flatness with respect to the circuit board, and can be reliably mounted on the circuit board, and a method for manufacturing the same. .

  According to the present invention, a plurality of terminals and a plurality of fixing brackets are held in a housing, and the other end side of the terminal having a contact portion on one end side is used as a connection portion, and the fixing bracket having a buried portion in the housing on one end side. The present invention relates to an electric connector in which the other end side is extended as a fixing leg portion to be outside a housing and positioned on a mounting surface to be connected, and a terminal and a fixing bracket are arranged in the same row, and a manufacturing method thereof.

In the electrical connector and the manufacturing method thereof, in the present invention, the metal band is punched, and the metal band is processed into a shape having a band-shaped carrier and a plurality of strips of the same shape extending from the band-shaped carrier. A strip is formed, and the strips of the strip with carrier are collectively bent into the same shape in the thickness direction while maintaining the width of the strip as it is, and oriented in the connector insertion / removal direction. a curved portion located at the other party at one end of the vertical portion, than the transverse portions facing laterally and a straight portion positioned at substantially the same level as the bottom surface of the housing are respectively formed on the other party at the other end, with the carrier The terminals and fixing brackets formed by bending from the strips are held in the housing by integral molding with the housing in an arrayed state, and at least a part of the curved portion is exposed at the one end side so that it can be connected to the mating connector Close contact The strip pieces are arranged in the housing and the terminal as a prelude to the part, have the embedded portion, which is held buried in the end wall portion forming the opposite ends of the housing located in the arrangement direction across the terminals The strips including the vertical portion in the embedded portion are used as fixing brackets, and then the carrier is separated and removed from the strips with a carrier.

  In the electrical connector and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention, when forming the strip with carrier, a plurality of strip-shaped carriers are cut without cutting them into a length corresponding to the range of the predetermined number of strips. You may hold | maintain at the housing of a connector, and you may cut | disconnect when isolate | separating into an individual connector after bending of this strip.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the fixing bracket and the terminal are formed as a strip with a carrier and are held by the housing, there is no need to process and attach the fixing bracket in a separate process from the terminal, thus constituting the connector. In addition, the fixing bracket and the terminal can be formed integrally with the housing at the same time, and the cost of the connector can be reduced. In addition, since the fixing bracket and the terminal are simultaneously assembled in the same manner, the fixing bracket and the terminal have the same flatness with respect to the circuit board, and a reliable mounting on the circuit board can be obtained. Also in the manufacturing method, the process can be simplified. Furthermore, since the fixing bracket is firmly held by the housing at the buried portion, the fixing strength is improved.

The connector of one Embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a top view, (B) is a front view, (C) is a partially broken side view. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1 and a fixing bracket before insertion into a housing. FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views of the connector of FIG. 1, in which FIG. 1A is a terminal position, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector and the mating connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the connector of other embodiment of this invention, (A) is a terminal position, (B) is a cross section in a fixing bracket position. It is sectional drawing of the connector of further another embodiment of this invention, (A) is a terminal position, (B) is a cross section in a fixing bracket position. It is sectional drawing of the connector of further another embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the connector of further another embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the conventional connector.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (A) is a partially broken plan view of the connector, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a side view.

  A connector 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a plurality of terminals 3 and a fixture 4 are held by a housing 2 made of an insulating material. The housing 2 is formed in a horizontally long shape as seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and terminals 3 and fixing brackets 4 are arranged at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction on both sides thereof. Two of the fixing metal fittings 4 are provided at both ends in the arrangement direction.

  The housing 2 is opened upward, and a receiving portion 5 for receiving a mating connector is formed in a bottomed concave shape. An introduction taper portion 5A for facilitating the reception of the mating connector is provided on the upper edges of both ends of the receiving portion 5 in the longitudinal direction as the terminal arrangement direction.

  The terminal 3 is disposed along the opposing inner edge extending in the longitudinal direction of the receiving portion 5, and the fixing bracket 4 is positioned on both ends thereof. The terminal 3 and the fixture 4 are made of the same metal plate and the same metal mold at the same time. For example, in the case of FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2, two points having a series of strips A2 that are punched out of a metal plate and extend in a comb-teeth shape from the strip-shaped carrier A1 at a constant interval p. A member indicated by a chain line is formed and bent as shown by a solid line. These strips A2 are used as terminals and as fixtures. This bending process is performed before these strips A2 are held in the housing. The carrier A1 may be disconnected before being held by the housing, or may be disconnected after the holding.

  Thus, since the terminal 3 and the fixture 4 are formed of strips having the same shape, the terminal 3 will be described with respect to its shape. As shown in FIG. 3A, the terminal 3 has a straight contact portion 3A on one end side and a straight connection portion 3B on the other end side with respect to the intermediate portion bent in an approximately L shape. is doing. The contact portion 3A faces inward of the receiving portion 5 of the housing and protrudes on the same surface as the receiving portion or slightly protrudes, and the upper end portion is curved in a substantially semicircular shape to form an introduction portion 3C. As can be seen from FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, the introduction portion 3C is wider than the other portions. The connecting portion 3B extends horizontally from the intermediate portion 3D to the other end bent slightly in a crank shape, and is positioned at substantially the same level as the bottom surface 2A of the housing 2. The bottom surface 2A of the housing is disposed on the circuit board. When in contact with the surface of the corresponding fixing portion of the circuit board. As shown in FIG. 3B, in the fixing metal 4, the part corresponding to the connection part 3 B of the terminal 3 becomes a fixing leg part 4 B, and the connection part 3 B of the terminal 3 and the leg part 4 B of the fixing metal part 4. And the flatness with respect to the circuit board match (become located on the same plane).

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the terminal 3 and the fixture 4 are connected to the carrier A <b> 1 in a bent shape and are arranged in a molding die (not shown). 2 and is held by the housing 2, and then the carrier A1 is cut off to take a form as shown in FIGS. After the molding, the contact portion 3A of the terminal 3 is located on the same surface or slightly protruding from the inner surface of the receiving portion 5 as described above (see FIG. 3A), and the fixing bracket 4 is located above the intermediate portion. The portion (the portion corresponding to the portion extending from the intermediate portion of the terminal 3 to the introduction portion 3C) is buried in the wall portions at both ends of the housing 2 in the terminal arrangement direction, and is firmly held by the housing 2 (FIG. 3B ))reference).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the mating connector 10 has terminals 12 implanted in the housing 11. In this embodiment, the terminal 12 is obtained by punching a metal plate parallel to the paper surface of FIG. 4 into the shape shown in the figure, and has a C-shaped contact portion 12A having elasticity and a locking portion 12B having locking protrusions. The leg portion 12 </ b> C extends horizontally outside the housing 11. The housing 11 has slits 13 formed at positions corresponding to the arrangement positions of the terminals 3 of the connector 1, and the terminals 12 are inserted into the slits 13 from above in FIG. 4. When the locking portion 12B is press-fitted into the slit, the locking protrusion 12B prevents the locking protrusion 12B from coming off from a predetermined position.

  In use, the connection portion 3B of the terminal 3 and the leg portion 4B of the fixing bracket 4 are soldered to the corresponding circuit portion and the fixing portion of the circuit board, respectively, and the connector 12 of the connector 1 of the present invention is connected. 12C is soldered to the corresponding circuit portion of the circuit board. Thus, the connector of the present invention obtains a fixing force on the circuit board even by soldering at the connection portions 3B of many terminals, but the fixing metal 4 firmly held by the housing at the portions 4A, 4C, 4D. Most fixing force can be secured by soldering at the leg 4B. Both circuit boards are electrically connected by elastic contact between the contact portions 3A and 12A of the terminals when the connectors 1 and 10 are fitted.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described forms, and other forms are possible. For example, in the example of FIGS. 1 to 4, the terminals and the fixing metal fittings are held in the housing by integral molding with the housing, but these can be press-fitted into the housing and attached. FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B) show the situation at the positions corresponding to FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B), respectively, and each part of the terminal and the fixing bracket is also indicated by the same reference numerals as in FIG. Yes. The terminal 3 press-fitted from below in FIG. 5A is supported by both surfaces of the slit 5 </ b> A of the housing 2 (opposing surfaces parallel to the paper surface), and the contact portion 3 </ b> A faces the receiving portion 5. Further, the fixing bracket 4 is held on the left and right end surfaces of the slit by using the elasticity of the portion 4A by being press-fitted into the slit 5A from below.

In the example of FIG. 6, the shape of the contact portion 3 </ b> A of the terminal 3 is different from that of FIG. 5, and the terminal and the fixture are held by integral molding as in FIGS. 1 to 4. Show. As shown in FIG. 6A, the terminal 3 has an S-shaped contact portion 3A that extends along the bottom of the receiving portion 5 of the housing 2 and is bent upward. The intermediate portion 3D is bent in a U-shape, and strengthens the holding force by molding with the housing. And the connection part 3B is extended horizontally from the housing lower part. On the other hand, all of the fixing brackets 4 are integrally molded with the housing except for the leg portions 4B extending outside the housing, and are firmly held.

  The present invention can also be applied to the mating connector type shown in the embodiment of FIGS. In the connector of FIG. 7, terminals not shown are exactly the same as the terminals of the connector of FIG. 7, the fixing bracket 22 having the same form as the terminal 12 in FIG. 4 has a curved elastic press-fit portion 22A, a locking portion 22B provided with a locking projection, and a leg portion 22C. . The elastic press-fit portion 22A, the locking portion 22B, and the leg portion 22C of the fixing bracket 22 correspond to the contact portion 12A, the locking portion 12B, and the connection portion 12C of the terminal 12 in FIG. 7 is press-fitted into the corresponding groove 11A of the housing 11, and thus the fixing fitting 22 is firmly fixed by press-fitting both the elastic press-fit portion 22A and the locking portion 22B into the housing. Retained.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a connector of a type in which the contact portion of the terminal protrudes from the side surface of the housing. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, step portions are formed on both side portions of the housing 31, and a window portion 31 </ b> B is formed on the step portion side surface 31 </ b> A, and the contact portion 3 </ b> A of the terminal 3 projects therefrom. The fixing metal 4 is formed of a strip having the same shape as the terminal 3, and the leg 4B corresponding to the connecting part 3B of the terminal 3 protrudes outside the housing, but the other part is formed by integral molding with the housing. It is buried in the housing.

  In the present invention as described above, the number of terminals and fixing metal fittings can be easily changed only by changing the size of the receiving portion of the housing at the time of molding. That is, when a large fixing force is required for the fixing bracket, the number of terminals can be slightly reduced and the number of fixing brackets can be increased by this amount. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 4B Leg part 2 Housing 5 Receiving part 3 Terminal 22 Fixing metal fitting 3A Contact part A1 Carrier 3B Connection part A2 Strip strip 4 Fixing metal fitting

Claims (2)

A plurality of terminals and a plurality of fixing brackets are held in the housing, the other end side of the terminal having a contact portion on one end side is a connection portion, and the other end side of the fixing bracket having a buried portion in the housing is fixed on one end side In the method of manufacturing an electrical connector in which the terminals and the fixtures are arranged in the same row, the metal strips are punched out. The metal strip is processed into a shape having a strip-shaped carrier and a plurality of strips of the same shape extending from the strip-shaped carrier to form a strip with a carrier, and the strip with the carrier and bent in the thickness direction in the same shape and collectively while maintaining the width of Said sub strips, a curved portion located at one end side of the other party of the longitudinal portion facing the insertion direction of the connector, directed laterally The other end ahead of the horizontal part And a straight portion positioned at substantially the same level as the bottom surface of the housing are formed respectively, to the housing by integral molding with the housing in an array state port a fixing bracket formed by bending a strip piece with the carrier to At the one end side, at least a part of the curved portion is exposed, and a strip strip disposed in the housing as an introduction portion to the contact portion connectable with the mating connector is used as a terminal, and both ends in the arrangement direction of the terminal The embedded portion is embedded and held in the end wall portion that forms both ends of the housing , and the strip portion including the vertical portion is used as a fixing bracket in the embedded portion . A method of manufacturing an electrical connector having a fixing bracket, wherein the carrier is separated and removed from the strip. A plurality of terminals and a plurality of fixing brackets are held in the housing, the other end side of the terminal having a contact portion on one end side is a connection portion, and the other end side of the fixing bracket having a buried portion in the housing is fixed on one end side In the electrical connector in which the terminals and the fixtures are arranged in the same row, the metal strips are punched out by extending the outside of the housing as the leg portions for use, and positioned on the mounting surface to be connected. The strip is processed into a shape having a strip-shaped carrier and a plurality of strips of the same shape extending from the strip-shaped carrier to form a strip with carrier, and the strip of the strip with carrier is formed into the strip. and bent in the thickness direction in the same shape and collectively while maintaining the width of the strip, and a bent portion located at one end side of the other party of the longitudinal portion facing the insertion direction of the connector, than the lateral portion facing the lateral direction On the other end of the other side And a straight portion located substantially at the same level as the bottom surface of the grayed formed respectively, held in the housing by integral molding with the housing in a fixed bracket the arrangement state and formed pin by bending the strip pieces with the carrier At least one part of the curved portion is exposed on the one end side, and the strips arranged in the housing as the introduction portion to the contact portion connectable with the mating connector are used as terminals, and the terminals are arranged at both ends in the arrangement direction. It has a buried portion that is buried and held in an end wall portion that is positioned and forms both ends of the housing , and a strip that includes the vertical portion in the buried portion is used as a fixing bracket, and then a thin with a carrier An electrical connector having a fixing bracket, wherein the carrier is separated and removed from the strip.

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