JP6264921B2 - Photoelectric conversion unit and method for manufacturing photoelectric conversion unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion unit and a manufacturing method thereof.

  The following Patent Document 1 describes a photoelectric conversion connector with a built-in substrate. In the connector described in Patent Document 1, the built-in board (23) and the terminal (24) are physically and electrically connected by soldering.

JP 2012-137537 A

  In such a method of connecting the substrate and the terminal by soldering, dedicated equipment is required. In addition, the manufacturing time (tact time) is long.

The present invention aims to facilitate the manufacture of the photoelectric conversion unit including a photoelectric conversion connector board is built.

In order to solve the above problems, a photoelectric conversion unit according to the present invention is accommodated in an external substrate, a housing, a lead terminal having a lead portion fixed to the housing and soldered to the external substrate, and the housing. And an internal substrate on which a conductive pattern electrically connected to the lead terminal is formed, a photoelectric conversion element housed in the housing and electrically connected to the conductive pattern formed on the internal substrate , A connector-side optical member having a portion formed of a light-transmitting material and engaged with a counterpart optical member that is housed in the housing and optically connected to the photoelectric conversion element, and the lead terminal includes The lead terminal and the conductive pattern are electrically connected by contacting the substrate side contact portion of the conductive pattern, and at the substrate side contact portion By the elasticity of the lead terminals to touch, is in the holding state of being held sandwiched between the internal substrate is a substrate supporting surface formed on the housing and the lead terminals, the lead terminals, said substrate-side contact A terminal-side contact portion that contacts the portion, and a guide portion that extends away from the substrate support surface from the terminal-side contact portion toward the tip, and the lead portion of the lead terminal fixed to the housing Even in a state of being soldered to the substrate, the internal substrate is inserted into a gap between the substrate support surface and the guide portion, and the lead terminal is elastically deformed, whereby the internal substrate is held in the holding state. It is possible to make it .

  It is preferable that terminal restricting portions protruding from the substrate side contact portion are formed on both sides in the width direction of the substrate side contact portion.

  The lead terminal may have a press-fit portion that is press-fitted into the housing.

  The lead portion of the lead terminal may be formed to extend in a direction along the lower end surface of the housing.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a method of manufacturing a photoelectric conversion unit according to the present invention includes a step of soldering a lead portion of the lead terminal fixed to the housing to the external substrate to obtain a housing / terminal / external substrate set. A step of obtaining an internal substrate / photoelectric conversion element / optical member set in which the internal substrate, the photoelectric conversion element, and the connector-side optical member are integrated; and the lead terminal in the housing / terminal / external substrate set; Inserting the internal substrate in the internal substrate / photoelectric conversion element / optical member set between the substrate support surfaces, and fixing the internal substrate.

In the photoelectric conversion unit according to the present invention, the lead board and the housing integrated with each other are soldered to the external board, and then the internal board is inserted between the lead terminal and the board support surface, thereby integrating the internal board and the board. The formed connector-side optical member can be assembled to the housing. That is, since the soldering heat for connecting the lead terminal and the external substrate does not reach the connector side optical member, there is no problem even if the connector side optical member is formed of a material having poor heat resistance. That is, the selection range of materials, such as selection of an inexpensive material, is widened, and manufacturing is facilitated .
The internal substrate is sandwiched and held between the lead terminal and the substrate support surface formed on the housing. In other words, by simply inserting the internal substrate between the lead terminal and the substrate support surface, electrical connection between the lead terminal and the internal substrate is realized, and physical connection using the housing (the internal substrate is in the housing). It is also possible to achieve a fixed state so as not to move.
In addition, if the lead terminal has a guide portion extending away from the substrate support surface from the terminal-side contact portion toward the tip, the portion serving as an inlet for inserting the internal substrate between the lead terminal and the substrate support surface is Since the structure becomes wide, it is easy to insert the internal substrate between them.
In addition, if a terminal restricting portion that protrudes beyond the board-side contact portion is formed on both sides in the width direction of the board-side contact portion, the board-side contact portion and the lead terminal are not in contact with each other (the lead terminal is Can be prevented. Such a function is particularly effective for an in-vehicle connector used in a vibration environment.
Further, if the lead terminal has a press-fit portion that is press-fitted into the housing, it is possible to prevent the positional displacement between the lead terminal and the housing.

  If the lead portion of the lead terminal is formed so as to extend in the direction along the lower end surface of the housing, the integrated housing and lead terminal can be mounted on the surface of the external substrate (the surface of the external substrate). Can be soldered to). That is, together with other elements and the like, an integrated housing and lead terminal can be mounted on the external substrate, and the process is simplified.

1 is an external view of a photoelectric conversion connector (a board built-in connector) according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1) of a board-mounted photoelectric conversion connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an external view of what integrated the housing and the lead terminal (housing and terminal set). It is sectional drawing (BB sectional drawing of FIG. 3) of what integrated the housing and the lead terminal. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a cross-section in the width direction of a contact portion between a lead terminal (terminal-side contact portion) and an internal substrate (substrate-side contact portion), and terminal restriction portions formed on both sides in the width direction of each substrate-side contact portion of the internal substrate FIG. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing process of the photoelectric conversion unit concerning one Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) is the state before soldering what integrated the housing and the lead terminal to the external substrate. (B) shows the housing / terminal / external board assembly in which the housing and lead terminal are integrated and soldered to the external board. (C) shows the internal board / photoelectric conversion for the housing / terminal / external board set. The photoelectric conversion unit which assembled | attached the element and the optical member group is shown. It is the figure which showed the structure where a housing and a lead terminal are integrated by press-fitting the press-fit part formed in the lead terminal in the recessed part formed in the housing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Unless otherwise specified, in the following description, the side on which the mating connector is fitted is the front, and the opposite side is the rear. A photoelectric conversion connector 1 (a board built-in connector) according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a board-mounted in-vehicle photoelectric conversion connector, which includes a housing 10, a lead terminal 20, an internal board 30, A photoelectric conversion element 40 and an optical member (referred to as a connector-side optical member 50 in order to be distinguished from an optical member mounted on a counterpart connector) are provided.

  The housing 10 is made of a nonconductive material. The housing 10 in this embodiment includes a fitting portion 11, an optical member housing portion 12, and a substrate housing portion 13. The fitting part 11 is a part into which a mating connector (not shown) is fitted. Since the fitting structure can be a known structure, the description thereof is omitted. The optical member housing portion 12 is a space formed behind the fitting portion 11 and housing the connector side optical member 50. The substrate housing portion 13 is a space formed behind the optical member housing portion 12 and housing the internal substrate 30. In the present embodiment, the upper portion of the portion of the housing 10 where the optical member accommodating portion 12 and the substrate accommodating portion 13 are formed is open. The opening is finally covered with a lid member (upper housing) (not shown).

  A substrate support surface 131 is formed in the housing 10. The substrate support surface 131 faces the substrate housing portion 13. Specifically, the substrate housing portion 13, which is the innermost space in the housing 10, has a smaller height (size in the vertical direction) than other spaces, and is formed so as to narrow the space. The upper surface of the convex portion 131 a is a substrate support surface 131. The size of the substrate support surface 131 is substantially the same as or larger than the size of the internal substrate 30.

  The lead terminal 20 is a linear member formed of a conductive material and has elasticity. A plurality of lead terminals 20 are fixed to the housing 10. In the present embodiment, the housing 10 and the plurality of lead terminals 20 are integrated by insert molding (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Each lead terminal 20 includes a portion 20a embedded in the housing 10 extending in the vertical direction, a portion 20b extending forward from the upper end of the portion 20a extending in the vertical direction, and a rear end from the lower end of the portion 20a extending in the vertical direction. And a portion 20c extending toward the top. The portion 20b extending forward is provided in a cantilevered manner with the upper end of the vertically extending portion 20a embedded in the housing 10 as a fulcrum.

  A terminal side contact portion 21 and a guide portion 22 are provided in the portion 20b extending forward. The terminal side contact portion 21 is located at the lowermost end of the portion 20b extending forward and is a portion that contacts a substrate side contact portion 31 described later. The guiding portion 22 is a portion that extends away from the substrate support surface 131 from the terminal-side contact portion 21 toward the tip. That is, the distance between the substrate support surface 131 and the lead terminal 20 is the smallest at the terminal-side contact portion 21 and increases from there toward the tip. The distance between the terminal side contact portion 21 and the substrate support surface 131 is set smaller than the thickness of the internal substrate 30. The distance between the leading end of the guide portion 22 (the portion 20 b extending forward) and the substrate support surface 131 is preferably set larger than the thickness of the internal substrate 30.

  A portion 20 c extending rearward is a lead portion 23 to be soldered to the external substrate 80. The lead portion 23 extends in a direction along the lower end surface of the housing 10. More specifically, the lower end surface of the lead part 23 and the lower end surface of the housing 10 are substantially flush.

  The internal substrate 30 is a substrate accommodated in the housing 10. A predetermined conductive pattern is formed on the internal substrate 30. A part of this conductive pattern is a substrate side contact portion 31 (so-called land) with which the lead terminal 20 contacts. As shown in FIG. 1, the same number of substrate side contact portions 31 as terminal pins are formed on the internal substrate 30 in the width direction (conductive patterns other than the terminal side contact portions 21 are not shown). Each substrate-side contact portion 31 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The width of each substrate side contact portion 31 is larger than the width of the terminal pin. On both sides in the width direction of each substrate side contact portion 31, terminal restriction portions 32 that protrude from the substrate side contact portion 31 (conductive surface) are provided (see FIG. 5).

  In the present embodiment, a support substrate 70 is provided in the housing 10. The support substrate 70 is installed in the housing 10 along the vertical direction, and the internal substrate 30 and the support substrate 70 positioned so as to be orthogonal to each other are connected via a flexible substrate 60 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). . In the present embodiment, two support substrates 70 that support each of the two connector-side optical members 50 are provided. The conductive pattern formed on the internal substrate 30 and the conductive pattern formed on the support substrate 70 are electrically connected via the conductive pattern formed on the flexible substrate 60.

  A photoelectric conversion element 40 is mounted on each support substrate 70 (see FIG. 2). In the present embodiment, a light receiving element (for example, a photodiode) that converts an optical signal into an electrical signal is provided on one support substrate 70, and a light emitting element (for example, a laser diode) that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal is provided on the other support substrate 70. Has been implemented. On at least one of the internal substrate 30 and the support substrate 70, a circuit (conductive pattern) for processing an electrical signal converted from an optical signal or an electrical signal to be converted into an optical signal is constructed. That is, the conductive pattern (substrate-side contact portion 31) formed on the internal substrate 30 is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion element 40.

  A connector-side optical member 50 is fixed to each support substrate 70 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The connector-side optical member 50 in this embodiment is also called a cylindrical member (sleeve or the like) having a fitting portion into which an optical member (for example, a ferrule to which an optical fiber is fixed) mounted on a mating connector is fitted. ). The connector side optical member 50 fixed to one support substrate 70 has a function of condensing the light transmitted from the optical member of the mating connector on the light receiving element. The connector side optical member 50 fixed to the other support substrate 70 has a function of condensing the light emitted from the light emitting element onto the optical member of the counterpart connector.

  The photoelectric conversion connector 1 having such a configuration can be assembled as follows. A unit in which the housing 10 and the terminal pins are integrated, and a unit in which the internal substrate 30, the flexible substrate 60, the support substrate 70, the photoelectric conversion element 40, and the connector side optical member 50 are integrated are obtained. Thereafter, the internal substrate 30 is inserted between the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131 through an opening formed above the housing 10. Since the distance between the terminal-side contact portion 21 and the substrate support surface 131 is set to be smaller than the thickness of the internal substrate 30, the portion 20 b extending toward the front of the lead terminal 20 is inserted into the housing 10 by inserting the internal substrate 30. Elastic deformation is performed with the upper end of the embedded portion 20a extending in the vertical direction as a fulcrum (see FIGS. 2 and 4). Due to this elasticity, the internal substrate 30 is sandwiched and held between the lead terminal 20 (terminal-side contact portion 21) and the substrate support surface 131. That is, the internal substrate 30 is physically fixed to the housing 10. By inserting the internal substrate 30 until the terminal-side contact portion 21 of the lead terminal 20 contacts the substrate-side contact portion 31 of the internal substrate 30, the conductive patterns of the lead terminal 20 and the internal substrate 30 are electrically connected. As described above, in the present embodiment, the internal substrate 30 is connected to the lead terminal 20 and the housing 10 (substrate support surface 131) using the elasticity of the lead terminal 20 that is an object to be electrically connected to the conductive pattern of the internal substrate 30. ) Physically fixed between.

  Further, the lead terminal 20 is provided with a guide portion 22 that extends from the terminal-side contact portion 21 toward the tip so as to be separated from the substrate support surface 131 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). Therefore, since the portion (between the tip of the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131) serving as an entrance for inserting the internal substrate 30 between the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131 is widened, the internal space between both The operation of inserting the substrate 30 is easy.

  Further, on both sides in the width direction of the substrate side contact portion 31 with which the terminal side contact portion 21 of the lead terminal 20 contacts, a terminal regulating portion 32 (see FIG. 5) protruding from the substrate side contact portion 31 (conductive surface) is provided. Therefore, even if the terminal-side contact portion 21 that contacts the substrate-side contact portion 31 is likely to shift in the width direction due to vibration or the like, the substrate-side contact portion 31 comes into contact with the terminal regulating portion 32. Deviation is prevented. That is, it is prevented that both contact parts will be in a non-contact state. Since the terminal restricting portions 32 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the substrate side contact portion 31 (not provided on the rear side of the substrate side contact portion 31), the terminal restricting portion 32 leads the internal substrate 30 to the lead terminal. There is no resistance when inserted between the substrate 20 and the substrate support surface 131. In addition, in order to facilitate the manufacture of the internal substrate 30, the terminal restricting portion 32 makes the substrate-side contact portion 31 lower than the surface of the internal substrate 30 (the substrate-side contact portion 31 is a groove (concave)). Is preferably constructed by: However, it may be constructed by separately forming protrusions on both sides in the width direction of the substrate side contact portion 31 in the internal substrate 30.

  The fixing method and the like of the support substrate 70 and the connector side optical member 50 fixed thereto are not limited to a specific method, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, in the photoelectric conversion connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the internal substrate 30 is sandwiched and held between the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131 formed in the housing 10. That is, only by inserting the internal substrate 30 between the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131, electrical connection between the lead terminal 20 and the internal substrate 30 is realized, and physical connection using the housing 10 is achieved. (The internal substrate 30 is fixed so as not to move in the housing 10).

  Such a technical idea can be applied to all the board built-in connectors in which the board is built in the housing 10. For example, the present invention can be applied to an electric connector with a built-in board in which no optical element is provided.

  Hereinafter, a photoelectric conversion unit 1u according to an embodiment of the present invention using the photoelectric conversion connector 1 will be described. A photoelectric conversion unit 1u (see FIG. 6C) according to this embodiment is obtained by mounting the photoelectric conversion connector 1 on an external substrate 80.

  As described above, the lead terminal 20 of the photoelectric conversion connector 1 has the lead portion 23. The lead part 23 is soldered to the external substrate 80, whereby the photoelectric conversion unit 1u is constructed. Other components (elements and the like) mounted on the external substrate 80 are not limited to specific ones. The lead portion 23 of the lead terminal 20 is formed to extend in a direction along the lower end surface of the housing 10. That is, the lead part 23 is soldered to the surface of the external substrate 80. In other words, the photoelectric conversion connector 1 is a board-mounted connector that can be surface-mounted on the external board 80.

It is preferable that the manufacturing process of the photoelectric conversion unit 1u concerning this embodiment shall include the following 1st processes-3rd processes.
First process: The lead portion 20 of the lead terminal 20 in the case where the housing 10 and the lead terminal 20 are integrated (see FIG. 6A) is soldered (surface mounted) to the external substrate 80, and the housing, the terminal, the outside A substrate set is obtained (see FIG. 6B). At this time, another component (element or the like) may be soldered to the external substrate 80. As described above, since the lead portion 23 has a shape along the lower end surface of the housing 10, the housing / terminal assembly can be soldered to the external substrate 80 together with other components by a so-called reflow method.
Second Step An internal substrate / photoelectric conversion element / optical member set obtained by integrating the internal substrate, the photoelectric conversion element 40, and the connector side optical member 50 is obtained. In this embodiment, since the photoelectric conversion element 40 and the connector side optical member 50 are fixed to the support substrate 70, the support substrate 70 and the internal substrate 30 to which these are fixed are integrated via the flexible substrate 60.
Third Step The internal substrate 30 in the internal substrate / photoelectric conversion element / optical member group is inserted between the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131 in the housing / terminal / external substrate group, and the internal substrate 30 is fixed.

  After these steps, the support substrate 70 and the connector-side optical member 50 are fixed to the housing 10 or the lid member (upper housing) is fixed to the housing 10 to obtain the photoelectric conversion unit 1u (FIG. 6 ( See c), except that the lid member is omitted in FIG. Note that either the first step or the second step may be performed first. That is, after the housing / terminal / external substrate set and the internal substrate / photoelectric conversion element / optical member set are separately formed, the third step of fixing the internal substrate 30 to the housing 10 using the elasticity of the lead terminal 20 is performed. Whatever you do.

  As described above, in the photoelectric conversion unit 1u according to the present embodiment, after the lead terminal 20 and the housing 10 are integrated to the external substrate 80, the internal substrate is interposed between the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131. By inserting 30, the internal substrate 30 and the connector-side optical member 50 integrated therewith can be assembled to the housing 10. That is, since the soldering heat for connecting the lead terminal 20 and the external substrate 80 does not reach the connector-side optical member 50, the connector-side optical member 50 may be formed of a material having poor heat resistance. there is no problem. That is, the selection range of materials, such as selection of an inexpensive material, is widened, and manufacturing is facilitated.

  In addition, since the lead portion 23 of the lead terminal 20 is formed so as to extend in the direction along the lower end surface of the housing 10, the integrated housing 10 and the lead terminal 20 are mounted on the surface of the external substrate 80. can do. That is, the so-called reflow method can be used to mount the housing 10 and the lead terminal 20 together with other elements on the external substrate 80, thereby simplifying the process.

  If it is preferable to solder the lead terminal 20 to the back surface of the external substrate 80 in terms of the layout of the external substrate 80 and the process design, the lead portion 23 of the lead terminal 20 may have a shape extending in the vertical direction. In other words, the lead portion 23 may penetrate the through hole formed in the external substrate 80 and be soldered to the back surface of the external substrate 80. Even in this case, after the lead terminal 20 and the housing 10 integrated with each other are soldered to the external substrate 80, the internal substrate 30 and the connector-side optical member 50 integrated therewith can be assembled to the housing 10. Therefore, the soldering heat does not reach the connector-side optical member 50. An example of a case in which the shape of the lead portion 23 is preferable is a design in which terminals such as various elements are soldered to the back surface of the external substrate 80 by a so-called flow method.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described in detail, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment at all, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

In the above embodiment, it has been described that the lead terminal 20 and the housing 10 are integrated by insert molding. However, the method of fixing the lead terminal 20 to the housing 10 is not limited to this. Any method may be used as long as the elasticity of the lead terminals 20 sufficient to physically fix the internal substrate 30 in the housing 10 is exhibited.
An example of the fixing structure is a structure as shown in FIG. The lead terminal 20 is formed with a press-fit portion 24 extending forward from a portion 20a extending in the vertical direction. The housing 10 is formed with a groove into which each lead terminal 20 is inserted. In each groove, a recess 14 that is recessed forward is formed. Each lead terminal 20 is inserted into each groove from the rear of the housing 10, and the press-fit portion 24 is press-fit into the recess 14. Since the press-fit portion 24 and the concave portion 14 are engaged, the lead terminal 20 cannot move in the vertical direction. That is, when the internal substrate 30 is inserted between the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131, the lead terminal 20 receives a force in a direction in which the lead terminal 20 is pulled upward. 24. Therefore, the lead terminal 20 is elastically deformed, and the internal substrate 30 is sandwiched and held between the lead terminal 20 and the substrate support surface 131 by the elasticity.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoelectric conversion connector 1u Photoelectric conversion unit 10 Housing 131 Board | substrate support surface 14 Recessed part 20 Lead terminal 21 Terminal side contact part 22 Guide part 23 Lead part 24 Press-fit part 30 Internal substrate 31 Board | substrate side contact part 32 Terminal control part 40 Photoelectric conversion element 50 Connector side optical member 80 External substrate

Claims (5)

An external board;
A housing;
A lead terminal having a lead portion fixed to the housing and soldered to the external substrate ;
An internal substrate formed in a conductive pattern housed in the housing and electrically connected to the lead terminals;
A photoelectric conversion element housed in the housing and electrically connected to a conductive pattern formed on the internal substrate;
A connector-side optical member having a portion formed of a light-transmitting material, which is accommodated in the housing and engages with a counterpart optical member optically connected to the photoelectric conversion element;
With
The lead terminal comes into contact with the substrate side contact portion of the conductive pattern so that the lead terminal and the conductive pattern are electrically connected, and the elasticity of the lead terminal in contact with the substrate side contact portion causes the internal The substrate is in a holding state held between the lead terminal and the substrate support surface formed in the housing ,
The lead terminal has a terminal side contact portion that contacts the substrate side contact portion, and a guide portion that extends away from the substrate support surface from the terminal side contact portion toward the tip, and is fixed to the housing Even when the lead part of the lead terminal is soldered to the external board, the lead board is elastically deformed by inserting the internal board into a gap between the board support surface and the guide part. In the photoelectric conversion unit , the internal substrate can be in the holding state . 2. The photoelectric conversion unit according to claim 1 , wherein terminal restricting portions protruding from the substrate-side contact portion are formed on both sides in the width direction of the substrate-side contact portion. The photoelectric conversion unit according to claim 1 , wherein the lead terminal has a press-fitting portion that is press-fitted into the housing. 4. The photoelectric conversion unit according to claim 1 , wherein a lead portion of the lead terminal is formed to extend in a direction along a lower end surface of the housing. 5. It is a manufacturing method of the photoelectric conversion unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
Soldering the lead portion of the lead terminal fixed to the housing to the external substrate to obtain a housing / terminal / external substrate set;
Obtaining an internal substrate / photoelectric conversion element / optical member set in which the internal substrate, the photoelectric conversion element, and the connector-side optical member are integrated;
Inserting the internal substrate in the internal substrate / photoelectric conversion element / optical member set between the lead terminal and the substrate support surface in the housing / terminal / external substrate set, and fixing the internal substrate;
The manufacturing method of the photoelectric conversion unit characterized by including.

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