JP6567852B2 - Floating connector device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a floating connector device mainly used as a board-to-board type connector.

  The floating connector device is used for the purpose of absorbing a positional error between a plug connector and a receptacle connector fixed to a pair of substrates, respectively, and facilitating the fitting between them. Either the plug connector or the receptacle connector is used. A fixed housing (fixed insulator) fixed to the substrate and a movable housing (movable insulator) movable relative to the fixed housing, and the other end of the contact group having one end fixed to the substrate is movable housing It is fixed to. That is, the movable housing is connected to the fixed housing via the contact group, and can move relative to the fixed housing due to the elasticity of the contact group (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In such a floating connector device, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for limiting the movement range (movable range) of the movable housing with a movement restricting bracket in order to prevent the movable housing from excessively moving and plastically deforming the contact group. Has proposed.

JP 2007-265742 A JP 2013-16363 A

  However, conventional floating connector devices have been mainly developed so-called floating connectors that can move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction in a state where a pair of connectors fixed to a pair of substrates are fitted and connected. In order to cope with a change in the relative angle between a pair of substrates in a recent connector, there has been a market demand for allowing a movement accompanied by an angle change with respect to the fitting direction even after the fitting.

  An object of this invention is to obtain the floating connector apparatus which can respond to the angle change (adjustment, error) between a pair of board | substrates, even after fitting with the other party connector.

The present invention provides a fixed housing fixed on a substrate, a movable housing movable with respect to the fixed housing, and a movable housing having one end fixed to the substrate in a row and inclined with respect to the substrate. Having a contact group for connecting the fixed housing and the movable housing by being fixed in a row in the longitudinal direction of
The movable housing has a connection plate-like portion having the other end portion of the contact group connected to the mating connector, and a pair of movement restriction portions formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the connection plate-like portion. ,
The fixed housing is opposed to the pair of movement restricting portions of the movable housing in a state of being non-parallel to the substrate and a through-hole that allows the connection plate-like portion of the movable housing to pass therethrough. A pair of movement restricting walls that prevent the through-hole from coming out of the through-hole, and a pair of the movement restricting portions and the movement restricting walls include a parallel movement along the substrate surface of the movable housing, and the connection The state in which the center plane passing through the center of the plate thickness of the connection plate-shaped portion is inclined with respect to the substrate along the other end portion of the contact group is maintained. The engaging convex portion and the receiving concave portion that are allowed to remain are respectively formed,
It is characterized by.

  It is desirable that the engaging convex portion of the movable housing and the receiving concave portion of the fixed housing further allow the movable housing to move in the contact / separation direction with the substrate.

  In one embodiment, the engaging convex part of the movable housing is a symmetrical convex part with respect to the central plane in a cross section perpendicular to the central plane of the connecting plate-shaped part, and the receiving concave part of the fixed housing is the central plane. The convex portion and the concave portion have a shape that increases the distance as the distance from the central plane increases.

  In one embodiment, the movable housing is formed with a reaction force receiving surface facing the substrate, and the reaction force receiving surface and the substrate can be non-parallel.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the connector device including the fixed housing and the movable housing is one of a plug connector and a receptacle connector fitted and connected to the plug connector, and the other of the plug connector and the receptacle connector is the above The substrate (first substrate) is fixed to a second substrate that is not parallel to the substrate.

In one embodiment of the present invention, either the first substrate or the second substrate fixes an in-vehicle camera that images the front from the front windshield of the vehicle, and the other is inside the windshield of the vehicle. It is fixed in advance.
The present invention includes a fixed housing fixed on a substrate, a movable housing movable with respect to the fixed housing, one end fixed to the substrate in a row, and the other end aligned in the longitudinal direction of the movable housing. Having a fixed contact group;
The movable housing has a connection plate-like portion having the contact group connected to the mating connector, and a pair of movement restriction portions formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the connection plate-like portion;
The fixed housing is opposed to the through long hole through which the connecting plate-like portion of the movable housing passes and the pair of movement restricting portions of the movable housing, and prevents the movable housing from coming out of the through long hole. Having a movement restriction wall,
A pair of the movement restricting portion and the movement restricting wall include an engaging convex portion and a receiving concave portion that allow parallel movement of the movable housing along the substrate surface and swing movement of the connecting plate-like portion with respect to the substrate. Are formed respectively, and
The movable housing has a reaction force receiving surface facing the substrate, and the reaction force receiving surface and the substrate are non-parallel.
It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a floating connector device that can cope with an angle change (adjustment, error) between a pair of substrates even after fitting with a mating connector.

1 is a conceptual side view of a state before a plug connector and a receptacle connector are fitted together, showing an embodiment in which a floating connector device according to the present invention is applied to a connection structure between a vehicle camera board and a control board. It is a conceptual side view after the connector fitting. It is a perspective view which shows the state before the connector fitting and after the fitting. It is the perspective view seen from another angle which shows the state before the connector fitting and after the fitting. It is sectional drawing which follows the VV line of FIG.3 and FIG.4. It is a fragmentary sectional view which follows the VI-VI line of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows one Embodiment which applied this invention to the floating plug connector. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII (contact non-existing portion) in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX (contact existing portion) in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the XX line (contact non-existing part) of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XI-XI (contact existence portion) in FIG. 3. (A), (B), (C) is sectional drawing which shows typically the typical movement aspect of a plug connector which shows one Embodiment which applied this invention to the floating plug connector.

  This embodiment is an embodiment in which the floating connector device of the present invention is applied to connect a vehicle-mounted camera (drive recorder, collision prevention camera) and its control board (mechanism), for example. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle C to which the camera K can be attached has a first board (circuit board, control board) B1 in advance in a position (near the ceiling) that does not obstruct the view above the windshield G in the car. It is fixed. The camera K is fixed to the second substrate B2 in advance. When the camera K is mounted in the vehicle, a connector (a plug connector in this embodiment) 10 mounted on the first board (circuit board, control board) B1 and a connector (the same receptacle connector) 20 mounted on the second board B2. And connect. In this embodiment, the first substrate B1 and the second substrate B2 are non-parallel, and the first substrate B1 and the second substrate B2 form an angle α in a side view in a normal state (design state). The wiring circuit on the first board B1 is mounted and coupled in advance to the contact group of the camera control circuit and the plug connector 10, and the wiring circuit of the camera K and the contact group of the receptacle connector 20 on the second board B2 are mounted and coupled in advance. ing.

  In this embodiment, in a state where the plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 20 are fitted, the camera K is finely adjusted (parallel movement) in the X direction parallel to the first substrate B1, and the inclination angle of the camera K with respect to the first substrate B1 Adjustment that enables these adjustments to the plug connector 10 to enable the θ (direction of the optical axis O, tilt) direction, pan, and fine adjustment (angle adjustment, rotational movement) of the rotation angle around the optical axis O. A mechanism is provided. Adjustment of the X direction and the θ direction can be performed individually or in combination. In this embodiment, the plug connector 10 is a floating connector device.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the plug connector 10 includes a fixed (guide) housing (fixed insulator) 11 mounted on the first substrate B <b> 1 and a movable housing (movable) movably supported by the fixed housing 11. Insulator) 12, and a group of plug contacts 13 mounted between the movable housing 12 and the first substrate B1. The alignment direction of the plug contacts 13 group is the longitudinal direction of the plug connector 10 (the fixed housing 11 and the movable housing 12).

  The fixed housing 11 is a pair of upright walls 11a and 11b that stand up from the first board B1, and a pair of connection walls that connect both ends of the upright walls 11a and 11b in the longitudinal direction and away from the first board B1. It has a planar rectangular frame shape having a (movement restriction wall) 11c, and a through-hole 11e (FIGS. 7 to 11) is formed between the standing walls 11a and 11b and the connection wall 11c. In this embodiment, the lengths of the standing walls 11a and 11b in the first substrate B1 direction are different, and the connection wall 11c is non-parallel to the first substrate B1 in a state where the fixed housing 11 is mounted on the first substrate B1. (Angle β (acute angle), FIG. 5). In addition, the standing walls 11a and 11b are cut out along the first substrate B1 at the central portion in the longitudinal direction, and the gaps S1 and S2 between the first substrate B1 (FIGS. 3, 4, and 8 to 8). Openings 11a 'and 11b' forming 11) are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the standing walls 11 a and 11 b and the connection wall 11 c at both ends of the fixed housing 11 have a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section, and both ends in the longitudinal direction of the fixed housing 11 are defined by the end walls 11 f. A pair of storage chambers 14 having the same shape are closed. The storage chamber 14 and the through long hole 11e are connected to each other.

  The fixed housing 11 is mounted (fixed) on the first substrate B1 via the fixing metal 11j. That is, as best shown in FIG. 7, the fixing housing 11 is formed with metal fitting press-fitting holes 11k positioned on both sides of the upright wall 11a in the longitudinal direction. A press-fitting portion 11j1 to be press-fitted into the press-fitting hole 11k, and a mounting leg 11j2 to be mounted (soldered) on the first substrate B1 substantially perpendicular to the press-fitting portion 11j1 are formed.

  The movable housing 12 includes a connection plate-like portion 12c that protrudes outward from the through long hole 11e of the fixed housing 11, and outside of both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the connection plate-like portion 12c. A pair of movement restriction parts 12a having the same shape and formed on the side opposite to the tip part are provided. The pair of movement restriction portions 12 a are accommodated in the pair of storage chambers 14 of the fixed housing 11. The connecting plate-like portion 12c has a base thick portion 12c1 having the same thickness as the movement restricting portion 12a, and a distal end thin portion (insertion / removal tip portion) 12c2 thinner than the base thick portion 12c1.

  The end surface on the first substrate B1 side of the movement restricting portion 12a of the movable housing 12 constitutes a reaction force receiving surface 12b that is substantially parallel to the first substrate B1 in a free state, and this reaction force receiving surface 12b includes Sliding pads (protrusions) 12s (FIGS. 5 and 8 to 11) that reduce the sliding resistance with the first substrate B1 are provided. The sliding pad 12s can be formed in, for example, a dome shape or a cylindrical shape.

  Each plug contact 13 is mounted on the first substrate B1 (soldered to the land) (see FIG. 3) and a storage fixing groove 11h formed in a row on the inner surface of the standing wall 11b of the fixing housing 11. (FIGS. 9 and 11) A fixed portion 13b that fits, an elastically deformable portion 13c that is positioned in a free space 12d (FIGS. 7 to 11) formed in the movable housing 12, and a connecting plate shape of the movable housing 12 It has a fixed contact portion 13d that fits in the storage fixing groove 12e (FIGS. 7 and 9) formed in a row in the portion 12c (the tip thin portion 12c2). In a state where the row of plug contact 13 groups are assembled and mounted on the first substrate B1, the fixed housing 11 and the movable housing 12, one end portion (tail portion 13a) of the plug contact 13 group is fixed to the first substrate B1, The other end portion (fixed contact portion 13d) is fixed to the movable housing 12 (the storage fixing groove 12e of the connecting plate-like portion 12c), and the movable housing 12 is moved by the elastic deformation portion 13c located in the middle portion between the two. The stationary housing 11 and the first substrate B1 are supported in a relatively movable state. The tail part 13a of the plug contact 13 group is exposed from the opening 11b 'of the upright wall 11b (FIGS. 3 and 8 to 11).

  As shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, the receptacle connector 20 has a recess recess 21 that receives the connecting plate-like portion 12 c (tip thin portion 12 c 2) of the plug connector 10, and each receptacle contact is provided in the recess recess 21. Storage grooves 23 (FIGS. 9 and 11) for receiving 22 are formed in a row. The receptacle contact 22 includes a tail portion 22a mounted on the second substrate B2 and an elastic deformation portion 22b (FIGS. 9 and 11) that can be elastically deformed in the storage groove 23. Each tail portion 22a is conductively connected to a corresponding land of the second substrate B2 by soldering. When the insertion / removal tip portion of the connecting plate-like portion 12c is inserted into the recess recess 21, the elastic deformation portion 22b is elastically deformed by the fixed contact portion 13d supported by the tip thin portion 12c2 of the movable housing 12, and the plug contact 13 is inserted. Conduct with group.

  The pair of storage chambers 14 formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the fixed housing 11 and the pair of movement restricting portions 12a formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the movable housing 12 are the first substrate B1 of the movable housing 12 and The movement in the parallel direction X and the tilt θ with respect to the first substrate B1 are made possible. Of course, a clearance allowing the movement of the movable housing 12 exists between the through-hole 11e of the fixed housing 11 and the connecting plate-like portion 12c (base end thick portion 12c1) of the movable housing 12. The standing walls 11a and 11b and the connecting wall 11c constituting the storage chamber 14 limit the movement range of the movable housing 12 (the movement restricting portion 12a thereof). The connecting wall 11c faces the movement restricting portion 12a and the movable housing 12 Constitutes a movement limiting wall that prevents the through hole 11e from slipping out. Further, the standing walls 11a and 11b limit the movement range of the movable housing 12 in the direction parallel to the first substrate B1.

  In FIG. 5, the reaction force receiving surface 12b of the movable housing 12 is parallel to the first substrate B1, and the connection plate-like portion 12c is in the center of the through long hole 11e and parallel to the standing walls 11a and 11b. State. Now, a plane passing through the center of the plate thickness of the connection plate-like portion 12c of the movable housing 12 is defined as a central plane P, and a cross section orthogonal to the central plane P is considered. The connection wall 11c of the fixed housing 11 is formed with a receiving concave portion (concave portion) 14a that is symmetrical with respect to the concave central plane P when viewed from the movement restricting portion 12a side. On the other hand, the movement restricting portion 12a of the movable housing 12 is formed with an engaging convex portion (convex portion) 14b corresponding to the receiving concave portion 14a and projecting toward the receiving concave portion 14a. The distance between the receiving concave portion 14a and the engaging convex portion 14b is minimum on the central plane P and increases as the distance from the central plane P increases. The receiving concave portion 14a and the engaging convex portion 14b can be composed of curved surfaces, for example, but do not have to be strictly curved surfaces. Further, a clearance Z exists between the receiving concave portion 14a and the engaging convex portion 14b in a state where the reaction force receiving surface 12b (sliding pad 12s) and the first substrate B1 are in contact with each other. Allow movement in X, Y and θ directions. That is, by forming the receiving concave portion 14a and the engaging convex portion 14b, it is possible to reduce the backlash of the movable housing 12 in the Y direction (disconnection direction) while maintaining the clearance for the movable housing 12 to rotate and move. .

  FIG. 12 exaggerates the movement of the movable housing 12 of the plug connector 10 described above. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the movable housing 12 moves in the X direction while maintaining a parallel state between the reaction force receiving surface 12b and the first substrate B1. The clearance Z between the receiving concave portion 14a and the engaging convex portion 14b is set to a size that allows this parallel movement. In FIG. 5B, the movable housing 12 is rotated about a virtual swing axis Q (FIG. 5) that is on the central plane P of the connection plate-like portion 12c and extends in the longitudinal direction of the connection plate-like portion 12c. A state of (θ swing) is shown. In this state, the engaging convex portion 14b and the receiving concave portion 14a are substantially parallel, and the backlash can be reduced while maintaining the clearance. FIG. 5C shows a state in which a combined movement of the X-direction parallel movement in FIG. 5A and the rotational movement of θ in FIG.

  The distance between the receiving concave portion 14a on the fixed housing 11 side and the engaging convex portion 14b on the movable housing 12 side is minimum on the central plane P, and increases with distance from the central plane P. Can be combined. In other words, the shape (difference) between the receiving concave portion 14a and the engaging convex portion 14b is determined so as to allow the combined movement of the parallel movement and the rotational movement. The movement of the movable housing 12 to and from the first substrate B1 (movement in the Y direction) is not necessarily essential (smaller is preferable), but in the present embodiment, it is possible due to the presence of the clearance Z. The reaction force receiving surface 12b contacts the first board B1 and inserts the movable housing 12 into the receptacle connector 20 when the movable housing 12 (plug connector 10) is fitted and connected to the receptacle connector 20 (mating connector). To give you the power to

  The action (effect) of the engaging convex portion 14b and the receiving concave portion 14a is apparent when compared with the case where each of them is a flat surface. If these are flat surfaces, there is no clearance between them, and the movable housing 12 is fixed to the fixed housing 11 when the clearance is lost. Further, if the clearance between the movement restricting portion 12a and the movement restricting wall 11c is increased in order to avoid such a fixed state, the play at the reference position becomes abnormally large. In this embodiment, since a part of the engaging convex portion 14b can enter (not necessarily enter) into the receiving concave portion 14a, rotation, movement, and minute clearance are ensured, and X-direction movement and θ Directional movement is possible.

  The position adjustment (movement) of the movable housing 12 described above is possible even when the plug connector 10 on the first board B1 side and the receptacle connector 20 on the second board B2 side are coupled. Therefore, in a state where the camera K is mounted on the vehicle, the position adjustment and the optical axis adjustment of the camera K can be performed.

  In the above embodiment, the plug connector 10 is composed of the fixed housing 11 and the movable housing 12, but the receptacle connector 20 side can also be composed of the fixed housing and the movable housing. That is, in the above embodiment, the fixed contact portion 13d of the plug contact 13 is fixedly provided in the storage fixing groove 12e of the connection plate-like portion 12c of the movable housing 12, but the connection plate-like portion 12c of the movable housing 12 is provided. Even if the concave portion for receiving the plug connector is formed and the relationship between the plug and the receptacle is reversed, the present invention is established.

  In the above embodiment, the connecting wall 11c is not parallel to the first substrate B1 and forms the angle α in a state where the fixed housing 11 is mounted on the first substrate B1, but the angle α may be a right angle. It can be set according to. The second board B2 and the receptacle connector 20 are set parallel to the direction in which the receptacle connector 20 is inserted into and removed from the plug connector 10, but they need not be parallel.

  In the above embodiment, although it applied to the connection of a vehicle-mounted camera and a control board, it is applicable also to the connection of another electronic component, a control circuit, and electronic components.

C Vehicle B1 First board (board)
B2 Second substrate K Camera G Windshield 10 Plug connector (floating connector device)
11 Fixed housing 11a 11b Standing wall 11c Connection wall (movement restriction wall)
11e Through long hole 11f Side wall 11h Storage fixing groove 11j Fixing metal fitting 11k Metal fitting press-fitting hole 12 Movable housing 12a Movement restricting part 12b Reaction force receiving surface 12c Connection plate-like part 12c1 Base thick part 12c2 Tip thin part (insertion / removal tip part)
12d Lower space 12e Storage fixing groove 13 Plug contact 13a Tail portion 13b Fixing portion 13c Elastic deformation portion 13d Fixed contact portion 14 Storage chamber 14a Receiving recess (concave portion)
14b Engaging convex part (convex part)
20 Receptacle connector 21 Recess recess 22 Receptacle contact 22a Tail 22b Elastic deformation

Claims (7)

A fixed housing fixed on the substrate, a movable housing movable relative to the fixed housing, and one end portion fixed to the substrate in a row and the other end inclined with respect to the substrate in the longitudinal direction of the movable housing Having a contact group for connecting the fixed housing and the movable housing by being fixed in a row;
The movable housing has a connection plate-like portion having the other end portion of the contact group connected to the mating connector, and a pair of movement restriction portions formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the connection plate-like portion. ,
The fixed housing is opposed to the pair of movement restricting portions of the movable housing in a state of being non-parallel to the substrate and a through-hole that allows the connection plate-like portion of the movable housing to pass therethrough. A pair of movement restricting walls that prevent the through-hole from coming out of the through-hole, and a pair of the movement restricting portions and the movement restricting walls include a parallel movement along the substrate surface of the movable housing, and the connection The state in which the center plane passing through the center of the plate thickness of the connection plate-shaped portion is inclined with respect to the substrate along the other end portion of the contact group is maintained. The engaging convex portion and the receiving concave portion that are allowed to remain are respectively formed,
A floating connector device. The floating connector device according to claim 1, wherein
The floating connector device, wherein the engaging convex portion of the movable housing and the receiving concave portion of the fixed housing further allow the movable housing to move toward and away from the substrate. The floating connector device according to claim 1 or 2,
The engaging convex part of the movable housing is a symmetrical convex part with respect to the central plane in a cross section orthogonal to the central plane of the connecting plate-shaped part, and the receiving concave part of the fixed housing is centered on the central plane. The floating connector device is formed of a symmetrical concave part, and the convex part and the concave part have a shape in which the distance increases as the distance from the center plane increases. The floating connector device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A floating connector device, wherein the movable housing is formed with a reaction force receiving surface facing the substrate, and the reaction force receiving surface and the substrate are non-parallel. 5. The floating connector device according to claim 1, wherein the connector device including the fixed housing and the movable housing is one of a plug connector and a receptacle connector fitted and connected to the plug connector. A floating connector device in which the other of the connector and the receptacle connector is fixed to a second substrate that is non-parallel to the substrate. The floating connector device according to claim 5, wherein
One of the board and the second board fixes a vehicle-mounted camera that images the front from the front windshield of the vehicle, and the other is a floating connector device that is fixed in advance inside the windshield of the vehicle. A fixed housing fixed on the substrate, a movable housing movable relative to the fixed housing, and a contact having one end fixed in a row to the substrate and the other end fixed in a row in the longitudinal direction of the movable housing Having a group,
The movable housing has a connection plate-like portion having the contact group connected to the mating connector, and a pair of movement restriction portions formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the connection plate-like portion;
The fixed housing is opposed to the through long hole through which the connecting plate-like portion of the movable housing passes and the pair of movement restricting portions of the movable housing, and prevents the movable housing from coming out of the through long hole. Having a movement restriction wall,
A pair of the movement restricting portion and the movement restricting wall include an engaging convex portion and a receiving concave portion that allow parallel movement of the movable housing along the substrate surface and swinging movement of the connecting plate-like portion with respect to the substrate. And a reaction force receiving surface facing the substrate is formed in the movable housing, and the reaction force receiving surface and the substrate are non-parallel.
A floating connector device.

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