JP6198069B2 - Board connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a board connector.

  As an example of a board connector, a connector using a so-called straight terminal fitting instead of an L-shape is known. The straight type terminal fitting is provided with a terminal connection portion connected to the mating terminal on one end side in the length direction and a board connection portion connected to the circuit board on the other end side. In this terminal fitting, the terminal connection part is accommodated in the terminal accommodating part provided in the connector housing, while the board connecting part protrudes rearward of the terminal accommodating part, the connector housing is fixed to the circuit board, and each terminal The board connecting portion of the metal fitting is inserted into the corresponding mounting hole of the circuit board and fixed by soldering. Then, as the mating connector is fitted, the mating terminal is inserted from the front of the terminal accommodating portion and connected to the terminal connection portion of the terminal fitting.

  When straight type terminal fittings are used in this way, the pressing force received when the mating terminal is connected is transmitted as it is to the board connecting portion side, and there is a risk that stress is applied to the soldered portion. In order to solve such a problem, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-3924 (Patent Document 1 below), a terminal connection portion connected to a mating terminal provided at one end in the length direction and provided at the other end A board connection portion connected to the circuit board and a stress relaxation portion capable of elastic bending are provided between the terminal connection portion and the board connection portion. By providing the stress relaxation portion in this manner, the pressing force received by the terminal connection portion is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the stress relaxation portion, and it is possible to suppress stress from being applied to the soldered portion.

JP 2012-3924 A

  By the way, in general, the connector housing and the terminal fitting are each provided with a dimensional tolerance so that the terminal fitting can be securely received, and this dimensional tolerance causes a clearance between the terminal fitting and the terminal housing portion of the connector housing. Has occurred. With this clearance, the terminal fitting moves relative to the connector housing when a vibrating force is transmitted from the outside. In the connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-3924 (Patent Document 1), when a vibrating force is transmitted, the terminal fitting repeatedly moves relative to the connector housing, and repeated stress is applied to the stress relaxation portion of the terminal fitting. As a result, the stress relaxation portion may be broken.

  The board connector disclosed in the present specification includes a terminal connection portion connected to a counterpart terminal, a board connection portion connected to the board, and the counterpart terminal between the terminal connection portion and the board connection portion. There are provided a terminal fitting provided with a stress relaxation portion that can be elastically bent in the fitting / removing direction, and a terminal receiving portion for receiving the terminal fitting with a clearance in the fitting / removing direction with respect to the mating terminal. A connector housing, and a spring member that is provided in the connector housing and biases the terminal fitting in a fitting or detaching direction with the mating terminal.

  According to such a configuration, by providing the spring member that urges the terminal fitting in the fitting or detaching direction with the mating terminal, the terminal fitting moves to the full size of the terminal accommodating portion in the fitting or detaching direction. Become. That is, the clearance between the terminal fitting and the terminal accommodating portion is eliminated in the fitting or detaching direction due to the biasing force of the spring member. Therefore, even if a vibrating force is transmitted from the outside, the terminal fitting can be suppressed from moving relative to the terminal accommodating portion, and excessive stress is prevented from being generated in the stress relaxation portion. Can do.

An embodiment of the board connector disclosed in this specification may have the following configuration.
You may project the rib which contacts a part of said terminal metal fitting in the said terminal accommodating part.
According to such a configuration, the clearance between the terminal fitting and the terminal accommodating portion is filled with the rib, so that the relative movement generated by the clearance can be suppressed.

The terminal connecting portion may have a rectangular tube shape into which the mating terminal can be inserted, and the rib may be provided so as to contact a corner portion of the terminal connecting portion.
In such a structure, since it contacts the corner part of the terminal connection part of a rectangular tube-shaped terminal metal fitting, the shakiness by clearance can be suppressed more reliably. In addition, when the rib is brought into contact with the corner portion, the corner portion has high rigidity, so that the influence of the deformation of the terminal fitting can be suppressed.

  According to the board connector disclosed in the present specification, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of repeated stress in the stress relaxation portion.

Schematic sectional view of the specification state of the board connector according to the embodiment Partial cross-sectional view of board connector Partial plan view of board connector with retainer removed

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the board connector 10 of this embodiment is integrated with a board case 13 that houses the board 11. The board connector 10 is fitted with a relay connector 80 fixed to a device side case K of a device such as a transmission.
In the following description, the fitting and detaching directions of the board connector 10 and the relay connector 80 will be referred to as the front-rear direction, and the fitting direction will be described as the front direction.

  The relay connector 80 includes a plurality of tab-shaped relay terminals 81 and a relay connector housing 83 that accommodates the relay terminals 81. The relay connector housing 83 includes a board side hood portion 85 that fits with the board connector 10, a device side hood portion 87 that is attached to the equipment side case K and fits with the device side connector C, and a board side hood portion 85. A partition wall 89 that separates from the device-side hood 87 is provided. The relay terminal 81 passes through the partition wall portion 89 and protrudes from the board side hood portion 85 and the device side hood portion 87. An electrical signal or the like between the substrate 11 and the device can be transmitted via the relay terminal 81. The relay connector housing 83 is fixed to the device side case K with bolts B.

  A substrate case 13 that accommodates the substrate 11 includes a substrate support portion 15 that supports the substrate 11, a substrate connector 10, and an outer periphery of the substrate connector 10 that protrudes toward the relay connector 80, and a substrate-side hood portion 85. And a case hood portion 17 that is externally fitted. The board connector 10 includes a plurality of terminal fittings 20, a connector housing 40 that accommodates the terminal fittings 20 in an aligned manner, and a front retainer 60 that prevents the terminal fittings 20 accommodated in the connector housing 40 from coming off. ing.

  The terminal fitting 20 is formed by press-molding a metal plate excellent in conductivity. As shown in FIG. 2, a terminal connection portion 21 to which a relay terminal 81 (see FIG. 1) is connected from the front, The board connection portion 29 that protrudes from the rear surface of the connector housing 40 and is connected to the board 11, and is elastically bent between the terminal connection portion 21 and the board connection portion 29 in the front-rear direction (the direction in which the relay terminal 81 is fitted and detached). The shape is provided with a possible stress relaxation portion 31.

  The terminal connection portion 21 has a rectangular tube shape that is open on both the front and rear sides, and an elastic contact piece 23 that is folded back from the tip edge is disposed on the ceiling surface of the terminal connection portion 21. Then, by inserting the tab-shaped relay terminal 81 from the front, the relay terminal 81 is elastically sandwiched between the elastic contact piece 23 and the bottom surface, and electrical connection is taken. The terminal connection portion 21 has a double plate on the bottom side, and the front end edge 21A is crushed so that the double plate is integrated. The terminal connection portion 21 has four corner portions 21B (see FIG. 3), and press contact ribs 49 to be described later are in contact with the corner portions 21B.

  A first lance 25 is provided on the ceiling surface of the terminal connection portion 21 so as to be engaged with a connector housing 40 described later. The first lance 25 is formed in a cantilever shape with the rear end side as a free end. On the other hand, a second lance 27 is provided on the lower surface of the bottom surface of the double plate of the terminal connection portion 21 to prevent the terminal connection portion 21 from falling off the connector housing 40 described later. The second lance 27 is cut and raised in a cantilever shape with the front end side as a free end.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a board connection portion 29 is provided at the rear end portion of the terminal fitting 20 so as to protrude from the connector housing 40. The board connecting portion 29 is formed to have a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section when the left and right side edges of the flat plate with the protruding end (rear end) tapered are turned downward. In the state where the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the corresponding cavity 41 to the proper position, the board connecting portion 29 has a length region of approximately ½ on the front end side protruding rearward from the rear surface of the connector housing 40. It is configured as described above and is soldered to the substrate 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a stress relaxation portion 31 is provided behind the terminal connection portion 21 and in front of the substrate connection portion 29. The stress relaxation portion 31 is formed of a flat plate that extends from the rear edge of the plate on the ceiling surface of the terminal connection portion 21 and connects the substrate connection portion 29. The slit is formed in the central portion in the width direction of the flat plate, and the stress relaxation portion 31 is formed by bending into a valley shape in which the central portion in the length direction is depressed. And this stress relaxation part 31 can be elastically bent in the front-back direction by changing the width | variety (size in the front-back direction) of the bent valley.

  Protection plates 33 are disposed on both the left and right sides of the stress relaxation portion 31 so as to extend from the rear edges of the left and right side plates of the terminal connection portion 21 described above. The rear end portions of both protection plates 33 are bent so as to be close to each other, and serve as contact plates 35 with which the springs 37 abut. A spring 37 is disposed between the contact plate 35 and a contact surface 43 of the connector housing 40 described later. The spring 37 is a metal coil spring, and is compressed by abutting against the contact plate 35 of the terminal fitting 20 and the abutting surface 43 of the connector housing 40 to urge the terminal fitting 20 forward.

  The connector housing 40 is made of synthetic resin and is formed integrally with the substrate case 13 as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. In the connector housing 40, a cavity 41 into which the terminal fitting 20 is inserted is formed in three stages in the figure. The cavity 41 has a shape opened on both the front and rear sides, and the height dimension of the cavity 41 is different between the front portion 41A and the rear portion 41B with a contact surface 43 described later as a boundary. The spring 37, the stress relieving part 31, and the terminal connection part 21 can be accommodated in the front part 41A of the cavity 41, and the substrate connection part 29 can be accommodated in the rear part 41B of the cavity 41. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the abutting surface 43 is located behind substantially half of the dimension in the front-rear direction of each cavity 41 so that the spring 37 abuts on the abutting surface 43. The abutting surface 43 is provided so as to be perpendicular to the bottom surface of the front portion 41A of the cavity 41, and is about half the height of the front portion 41A. The rear portion 41B of the cavity 41 behind the abutting surface 43 is an inclined surface whose inner surface other than the ceiling surface is directed toward the rear opening 41D so that the height and width dimension thereof are gradually reduced. As described above, the rear portion 41B of the cavity 41 is gradually narrowed, so that each substrate connecting portion 29 is easily held at the regular arrangement position.

  Further, the opening 41 </ b> C on the front side of each cavity 41 is expanded, and an expansion portion 45 through which the first lance 25 passes is provided. The back wall surface 45 </ b> A of the extension portion 45 is perpendicular to the ceiling surface of the front portion 41 </ b> A of the cavity 41. And since the front-end | tip part of the 1st lance 25 touches the back wall surface 45A of this expansion part 45, the 1st lance 25 can be locked to the back wall surface 45A.

  A recess 47 that can accommodate the second lance 27 is provided on the bottom surface of the front portion 41 </ b> A of each cavity 41. The recess 47 has a vertical surface 47 </ b> A perpendicular to the bottom surface of the cavity 41. The second lance 27 can be locked to the vertical surface 47 </ b> A because the tip of the second lance 27 comes into contact with the vertical surface 47 </ b> A of the recess 47. Note that the position of the vertical surface 47A is positioned forward of the position of the tip of the second lance 27 when the terminal fitting 20 is inserted in the normal position, and therefore, an excessive force is applied to the second lance 27 by the spring 37. Is suppressed. The position of the vertical surface 47A is such that the terminal retainer 20 is urged forward by the spring 37 so that the front retainer 60 described later is mounted even when the second lance 27 comes into contact with the vertical surface 47A. It is determined to be in a position that does not interfere.

  In the front portion 41A of the cavity 41, as shown in FIG. The press-contact rib 49 is provided at a position where the terminal connection portion 21 is arranged in a state where the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the corresponding cavity 41 to the normal position, and press-contacts the corner portion 21B of the terminal connection portion 21. As shown, the projections are provided so as to draw arcs at the four corners of the cavity 41.

  The front retainer 60 is made of a synthetic resin like the connector housing 40, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a flat plate portion 61 covering the front surface of the connector housing 40 and a side edge portion 63 along the side of the connector housing 40, It has a shallow basin shape. An insertion hole 65 through which the relay terminal 81 can be inserted is formed in the flat plate portion 61 by an arrangement aligned with the opening 41 </ b> C on the front side of the cavity 41. A tapered lead-in surface is formed on the inner edge of each insertion hole 65. Further, each insertion hole 65 is smaller than the opening 41 </ b> C on the front side of the cavity 41, and the rear surface 61 </ b> A of the flat plate portion 61 is a front stop of the terminal fitting 20. The cavity 41 of the connector housing 40 covered with the flat plate portion 61 is a terminal accommodating portion 50 in which the terminal fitting 20 is accommodated.

As shown in FIG. 1, a locking projection 67 that can be locked to the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 40 is provided at the tip of the side edge 63 of the front retainer 60. Therefore, the side edge 63 of the front retainer 60 is pushed along the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 40, and the locking protrusion 67 is locked and fixed to the step on the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 40.
Further, a seal ring 69 is fitted on the outer periphery of the connector housing 40 and behind the front retainer 60 so as to take a seal with the relay connector 80 and is prevented from coming off by the front retainer 60.

Then, the effect | action of this embodiment is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 2, each terminal fitting 20 is inserted from the front opening 41 </ b> C into the corresponding cavity 41 arranged in the connector housing 40 with the board connecting portion 29 first. At this time, the board connecting portion 29 is inserted along the ceiling surface of the cavity 41, guided by the slope of the rear half portion 41B, and protrudes from the rear opening 41D. The contact plate 35 comes into contact with the spring 37 previously inserted, and the insertion is temporarily accommodated when the second lance 27 provided in the terminal connection portion 21 is accommodated in the recess 47. In addition, when the second lance 27 comes into contact with the vertical surface 47A, the spring 37 is biased so that the terminal fitting 20 does not protrude forward more than a predetermined amount.

  When the insertion of all the terminal fittings 20 is completed, the front retainer 60 is attached to the connector housing 40 from the front. At this time, the rear surface 61A of the flat plate portion 61 of the front retainer 60 comes into contact with the front end edge 21A of the bottom surface of the terminal connection portion 21, and the terminal connection portion 21 and the protective plate 33 provided continuously are pushed backward. When the protective plate 33 and the contact plate 35 are pushed rearward, the spring 37 elastically contracts rearward and the spring 37 is stopped at the abutting surface 43, so that the spring 37 attaches the terminal fitting 20 to the front. It will be in a state of rushing. As shown in FIG. 1, the locking protrusion 67 of the front retainer 60 is locked and fixed to the step on the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 40.

  When the terminal fitting 20 and the front retainer 60 are thus attached to the connector housing 40, that is, when the board connector 10 is completed, the board 11 is attached to the board case 13 of the board connector 10. And the part which protruded in the back surface side of the board | substrate 11 in each terminal metal fitting 20 is soldered with respect to the land provided in the back side of the board | substrate 11, and it respond | corresponds to each terminal metal fitting 20 (FIG. 2). The lands are electrically connected.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the relay connector 80 is fitted from the front to the board connector 10 to which the board 11 is thus mounted. When the relay connector 80 is fitted, the relay terminal 81 is inserted toward the terminal connection portion 21. At this time, since the relay terminal 81 is pushed in from the front, the terminal fitting 20 receives a backward force, so that the stress relaxation part 31 elastically bends to temporarily absorb the pushing amount, and the board connection part 29 is soldered. Suppressing stress on the portion H.

  When the relay terminal 81 is further pushed in, the first lance 25 is locked to the back wall surface 45 </ b> A in the cavity 41, whereby the terminal connection portion 21 is stopped later, and the relay terminal 81 is inserted into the terminal connection portion 21. Further, during the fitting between the relay connector 80 and the board connector 10, the stress relieving part 31 is in an elastically deformed state by applying a force that pushes the terminal connecting part 21 backward. When the connection between the relay connector 80 and the board connector 10 is finished and the force for pushing backward is not applied, the terminal connecting portion 21 is moved forward by the force biased forward by the spring 37 and is properly Returning to the position, the relay terminal 81 is properly connected to the terminal connection portion 21.

  When the relay connector 80 and the board connector 10 are properly fitted, the spring 37 is elastically deformed so as to contract as described above. Therefore, the spring 37 urges the contact plate 35 and the terminal connection portion 21 connected to the front, whereby the front edge 21A of the bottom surface of the terminal connection portion 21 is pressed against the rear surface 61A of the flat plate portion 61 of the front retainer 60. Yes. Therefore, there is no clearance in the front-rear direction between the terminal fitting 20 and the terminal accommodating portion 50.

  Further, when the pressure-contact ribs 49 are in pressure contact with the four corners 21B of the terminal connection part 21, rattling is caused by the clearance between the terminal connection part 21 and the cavity 41 (terminal housing part 50) in the vertical and horizontal directions. Also disappear. Therefore, even if the vibrating force is transmitted from the outside, it is possible to suppress the terminal fitting 20 from moving relative to the terminal accommodating portion 50. Further, when the press-contact rib 49 is brought into contact with the corner portion 21B of the terminal connection portion 21, the corner portion 21B has high rigidity, so that the influence of deformation of the terminal fitting 20 can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by providing the spring 37 that biases the terminal fitting 20 forward, the terminal fitting 20 moves to a position where it abuts on the rear surface 61A of the flat plate portion 61 of the front front retainer 60. It will be. That is, the clearance between the terminal fitting 20 and the terminal accommodating portion 50 is eliminated in the front-rear direction due to the biasing force of the spring 37. Therefore, even if the vibrating force is transmitted from the outside, it is possible to suppress the terminal fitting 20 from moving relative to the terminal accommodating portion 50. Further, the pressure-contact rib 49 eliminates rattling due to the clearance between the terminal fitting 20 and the terminal accommodating portion 50 in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the terminal fitting 20 moves relative to the terminal accommodating portion 50 more reliably. Can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of excessive repeated stress in the stress relaxation portion 31.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in the present specification is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings, and includes, for example, the following various aspects.
(1) In the said embodiment, although the terminal metal fitting was a female terminal metal fitting, a male terminal metal fitting may be sufficient.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the stress relieving portion 31 is formed by bending a flat plate with a slit and bending it into a chevron shape. Or you can do it.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the press-contact rib 49 is provided, but the press-contact rib 49 may be omitted.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the pressure contact rib 49 is configured to be in pressure contact with the four corners 21B of the terminal connection portion 21; however, the contact points may be two diagonal positions, There may be one place on the surface of the terminal connecting portion.

  (5) In the above embodiment, the terminal fitting 20 is inserted from the front and the terminal fitting 20 is fixed by the front retainer 60. However, even if the terminal fitting is inserted from the rear and fixed by the back retainer or the side retainer. good. Moreover, you may make it fix a terminal metal fitting with a lance.

  (6) In the above embodiment, the spring 37 is provided behind the stress relieving part 31, but a spring may be provided ahead of the terminal connection part 21.

  (7) In the above embodiment, the spring 37 is a separate body, but a spring member is provided integrally with the terminal fitting so as to contact the connector housing, or a spring member is provided on a part of the connector housing to provide a terminal. You may make it contact | abut to a metal fitting.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Board connector 11 ... Board 20 ... Terminal metal fitting 21 ... Terminal connection part 21B ... Corner part 29 ... Board connection part 31 ... Stress relaxation part 37 ... Spring (spring member)
40 ... Connector housing 41 ... Cavity 43 ... Abutting surface 49 ... Pressure welding rib (rib)
50 ... Terminal accommodating part 60 ... Front retainer 61 ... Flat plate part 61A ... Rear face 80 ... Relay connector 81 ... Relay terminal (mating terminal)

Claims (3)

A terminal connecting portion connected to the mating terminal, a board connecting portion connected to the board, and a stress that can be elastically bent in the fitting / detaching direction of the mating terminal between the terminal connecting portion and the board connecting portion. A terminal fitting provided with a relaxation part;
A connector housing provided with a terminal accommodating portion for accommodating the terminal fitting with a clearance in a fitting / removing direction with the mating terminal;
A board connector comprising: a spring member provided on the connector housing and biasing the terminal fitting in a fitting or detaching direction with the mating terminal.   The board connector according to claim 1, wherein a rib that contacts a part of the terminal fitting protrudes from the terminal accommodating portion.   The board connector according to claim 2, wherein the terminal connecting portion has a rectangular tube shape into which the mating terminal can be inserted, and the rib is provided so as to contact a corner portion of the terminal connecting portion. .

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