JP6979380B2 - Connectors and electronics - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to connectors and electronic devices.

Conventionally, as a technique for improving connection reliability with an object to be connected, for example, there is a floating structure that absorbs misalignment between circuit boards by moving a part of the connector during and after fitting. The connector is known.

In the receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1, the shape of the contact of the connector is devised. As a result, in the receptacle connector, the floating function is maintained, the connector can be miniaturized, and the specifications of electrical characteristics including characteristic impedance and crosstalk are satisfied.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-165084

In recent years, electronic devices have been remarkably miniaturized. Along with this, further miniaturization is required for connectors using a floating structure mounted on a circuit board inside an electronic device. More specifically, in order to reduce the size of the electronic device, it is necessary to shorten the distance between the boards when the boards inside the electronic device are connected to each other. Therefore, it is required to reduce the height of the connector using the floating structure used when connecting the boards to each other.

In addition, in electronic devices, the amount of information is increasing and the communication speed is increasing. Even in a connector using a floating structure, a design corresponding to such a large capacity and high speed transmission is required.

If the height of the connector is further reduced, it becomes difficult to devise the shape of the contact in order to improve the transmission characteristics. With the receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1 in which the shape of the contact is devised in order to satisfy the transmission standard, it is difficult to realize both further reduction in height and support for large-capacity high-speed transmission. Therefore, a different design is required in order to support high-capacity high-speed transmission even when the connector is further reduced in height.

An object of the present invention made in view of such a problem is to provide a connector having a floating structure and having improved transmission characteristics in signal transmission even when the height is lowered.

In order to solve the above problems, the connector according to the first aspect is
A connector that fits with the object to be connected
With the first insulator,
The second insulator, which is relatively movable with respect to the first insulator,
A contact attached to the first insulator and the second insulator and having a connecting portion for connecting the first insulator and the second insulator.
Equipped with
The connecting portion faces the outer surface of the second insulator and is opposed to the outer surface of the second insulator.
The second insulator has an adjusting portion including a portion of the outer surface located closest to the connecting portion.
The distance between the adjusting portion and the connecting portion is smaller than the distance between the other portion on the outer surface and the connecting portion.

In the connector according to the second viewpoint,
The adjusting portion projects toward the connecting portion on the outer surface, and the adjusting portion protrudes toward the connecting portion.
The distance between the adjusting portion and the connecting portion is smaller than the distance between the outer surface and the connecting portion on the fitting side between the connector and the connecting object.

In the connector according to the third viewpoint,
The second insulator is wider in the protruding direction of the adjusting portion than on the fitting side at the position where the adjusting portion is formed.

In the connector according to the fourth viewpoint,
The adjusting portion includes an inclined surface that is inclined in a protruding direction of the adjusting portion toward a side opposite to the fitting side.

In the connector according to the fifth viewpoint,
The adjusting portion is located within the arrangement region of the connecting portion in the fitting direction between the connector and the connecting object.

In the connector according to the sixth aspect,
A plurality of the contacts are arranged, and the contacts are arranged in a plurality.
The adjusting portion extends in the arrangement direction of the contacts and includes a region in which a plurality of the contacts are arranged.

In the connector according to the seventh aspect,
The contact is
An elastic portion extending while bending from an end portion opposite to the fitting side in the connecting portion,
A base extending from the elastic portion toward the inside of the connector, and
Further have.

In the connector according to the eighth viewpoint,
The bottom surface of the second insulator including the adjusting portion on the side opposite to the fitting side is substantially parallel to the base portion of the contact.

In the connector according to the ninth viewpoint,
The connecting portion has a wide portion having higher electrical conductivity than the elastic portion.

In the connector according to the tenth viewpoint,
The connecting portion has a bent portion that bends toward the outer surface.

The electronic device according to the eleventh viewpoint is
It is equipped with any of the above connectors.

According to the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, even when the connector has a floating structure and the height is lowered, the transmission characteristics in signal transmission are improved.

It is an external perspective view which showed the state which the connector which concerns on one Embodiment and the connection object are connected by the top view. It is an external perspective view which showed the state which the connector and the connection object which concerns on one Embodiment are separated by the top view. It is external perspective view which showed the connector which concerns on one Embodiment by the top view. It is an exploded perspective view of the connector of FIG. 3 from the top view. It is a bottom view of the connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the VI-VI arrow line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the VI-VI arrow line of FIG. It is a front view which showed the pair of contacts. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a connection object connected to the connector of FIG. 3 from a top view. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the object to be connected in FIG. 9 from a top view. It is sectional drawing which follows the XI-XI arrow line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the 1st modification of the adjustment part of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd modification of the adjustment part of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The front-back, left-right, and up-down directions in the following explanation are based on the directions of the arrows in the figure. The directions of the arrows are aligned with each other in different drawings in FIGS. 1 to 8 and 11 to 13. The directions of the arrows are aligned with each other in FIGS. 9 and 10. Depending on the drawing, the circuit boards CB1 and CB2 are not shown for the purpose of simple illustration.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the connector 10 and the connection object 70 according to the embodiment are connected from a top view. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the connector 10 and the connection object 70 according to the embodiment are separated from each other in a top view.

In the following description, the connector 10 according to the embodiment will be described as a plug connector, and the connection object 70 will be described as a receptacle connector. More specifically, the connector 10 in which the contact 60 does not elastically deform when the connector 10 and the connection object 70 are connected is referred to as a plug connector, and the connection object 70 in which the contact 100 elastically deforms is described as a receptacle connector. .. The types of the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 are not limited to this. The connector 10 may serve as a receptacle connector, and the object to be connected 70 may serve as a plug connector.

In the following description, it is assumed that the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 are mounted on the circuit boards CB1 and CB2, respectively, and are connected to each other in the direction perpendicular to the circuit boards CB1 and CB2, respectively. More specifically, the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 are connected in the vertical direction as an example. The connection method of the connector 10 and the connection object 70 is not limited to this. The connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 may be connected to the circuit boards CB1 and CB2 in parallel directions, respectively, or may be connected in a combination of one in the vertical direction and the other in the parallel direction.

The circuit boards CB1 and CB2 may be rigid boards or any other circuit boards. For example, the circuit board CB1 or CB2 may be a flexible printed circuit board (FPC).

The "fitting direction" used in the following description includes the vertical direction as an example. The "fitting side" includes the upper side as an example. The "opposite side to the mating side" includes the lower side as an example. The "arrangement direction of the contacts 60" includes the left-right direction as an example. The "direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the contacts 60" includes, for example, a front-back direction and a direction approximate to the front-back direction. The "protruding direction of the adjusting portion 38" includes the front-rear direction as an example.

The connector 10 according to one embodiment has a floating structure. The connector 10 allows the connected object 70 to move relative to the circuit board CB1. That is, the connection object 70 can move within a predetermined range with respect to the circuit board CB1 even in a state of being connected to the connector 10.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing the connector 10 according to the embodiment in a top view. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the connector 10 of FIG. 3 when viewed from above. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the connector 10 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. FIG. 8 is a front view showing a pair of contacts 60.

With reference to FIGS. 3 to 8, the configuration of the connector 10 according to the embodiment in a state where the contact 60 is not elastically deformed will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connector 10 has a first insulator 20, a second insulator 30, a metal fitting 40, a shielding member 50, and a contact 60 as major components. As an example, the connector 10 is assembled by the following method. The metal fitting 40 is press-fitted into the first insulator 20 from below. The second insulator 30 is arranged from below to the inside of the first insulator 20. The shielding member 50 is press-fitted into the first insulator 20 from above. The contact 60 is press-fitted into the first insulator 20 and the second insulator 30 from below.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the first insulator 20 is a square cylinder-shaped member obtained by injection molding an insulating and heat-resistant synthetic resin material. The first insulator 20 is hollow and has openings 21a and 21b on the upper surface and the lower surface, respectively. The first insulator 20 includes four side surfaces and has an outer peripheral wall 22 surrounding the internal space. The first insulator 20 has a first mounting groove 23a recessed inside the first insulator 20 from the lower surface of each of the left and right ends of the outer peripheral wall 22 upward. The metal fitting 40 is attached to the first mounting groove 23a. The first insulator 20 has a second mounting groove 23b recessed inside the first insulator 20 from the upper surface of each of the four corners of the outer peripheral wall 22 downward. A shielding member 50 is attached to the second attachment groove 23b.

The first insulator 20 has a plurality of contact mounting grooves 24 formed from the lower edges of the front surface and the rear surface of the outer peripheral wall 22 to the lower surface and the inner surface, respectively. The plurality of contact mounting grooves 24 are recessed side by side in the left-right direction. The contact mounting groove 24 extends in the fitting direction on the inner surface of the first insulator 20. A plurality of contacts 60 are attached to the plurality of contact mounting grooves 24, respectively.

The first insulator 20 has four retaining portions 25 that protrude from the four corners of the outer peripheral wall 22 in the front-rear, left-right, and inward directions. The retaining portion 25 suppresses the second insulator 30 from coming out upward with respect to the first insulator 20.

The second insulator 30 is a member extending in the left-right direction, which is formed by injection molding an insulating and heat-resistant synthetic resin material. The second insulator 30 is formed in a substantially convex shape in a side view from the left-right direction. The second insulator 30 has a bottom portion 31 that constitutes a lower portion including a bottom surface. The second insulator 30 includes four side surfaces and has an outer peripheral wall 32 surrounding the internal space.

The second insulator 30 has a fitting convex portion 33 that protrudes upward from the bottom portion 31 and fits with the connection object 70. The second insulator 30 has a fitting recess 34 recessed from the upper surface. The outer peripheral wall 32 surrounds the fitting convex portion 33 and the fitting concave portion 34 from the front-back and left-right directions. The fitting convex portion 33 is arranged inside the fitting concave portion 34. The second insulator 30 has a protruding portion 35 projecting on the front side at each of the left and right ends inside the fitting recess 34. More specifically, the protruding portion 35 projects from the inner circumference of the outer peripheral wall 32 toward the fitting convex portion 33. The second insulator 30 has a guide portion 36 formed so as to surround the fitting recess 34 at the upper edge portion of the fitting recess 34. The guide portion 36 includes an inclined surface that inclines diagonally inward toward the lower side at the upper edge portion of the fitting recess 34.

The second insulator 30 has a plurality of contact mounting grooves 37 formed from the bottom surface of the bottom portion 31 to the inside thereof and both front and rear surfaces of the fitting convex portion 33. The plurality of contact mounting grooves 37 are recessed side by side in the left-right direction. The contact mounting groove 37 extends in the vertical direction from the bottom surface of the bottom portion 31 to the upper end of the fitting convex portion 33. A plurality of contacts 60 are attached to the plurality of contact mounting grooves 37, respectively.

The second insulator 30 has an adjusting portion 38 including an outermost portion on the outer surface 32a before and after the outer peripheral wall 32. For example, the adjusting portion 38 projects outward on each of the front and rear outer surfaces 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32. The adjusting unit 38 extends in the arrangement direction of the contacts 60 so as to include a region in which the plurality of contacts 60 are arranged. The second insulator 30 is wider in the protruding direction of the adjusting portion 38 than on the fitting side at the position where the adjusting portion 38 is formed. The adjusting portion 38 includes an inclined surface that is inclined in the protruding direction of the adjusting portion 38 toward the side opposite to the fitting side. More specifically, the adjusting portion 38 includes an inclined surface that inclines outward from the substantially central portion of the outer surface 32a in the vertical direction to the lower edge portion.

The second insulator 30 has two retaining portions 39 protruding outward from the left and right ends of each of the front and rear outer surfaces 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32. The retaining portion 39 comes into contact with the retaining portion 25 of the first insulator 20 when the second insulator 30 moves excessively upward.

As shown in FIG. 4, the metal fitting 40 is formed by molding a thin plate of an arbitrary metal material into the shape shown in the figure by using a progressive remittance mold (stamping). The entire metal fitting 40 is formed in a substantially J shape when viewed from the front and rear. The metal fitting 40 is press-fitted into the first mounting groove 23a and is arranged at each of the left and right ends of the first insulator 20.

The metal fitting 40 has a base 41 constituting the main body thereof, and locking portions 42 formed on both front and rear edges of the base 41. The metal fitting 40 is fixed to the first insulator 20 by locking the locking portion 42 to the first mounting groove 23a of the first insulator 20. The metal fitting 40 has a mounting portion 43 extending outward in a substantially U-shape from the base portion 41.

The shielding member 50 is formed by molding a thin plate of an arbitrary metal material into the shape shown in the figure by using a progressive remittance mold (stamping). The shielding member 50 is press-fitted into the second mounting groove 23b and is arranged on both the front and rear sides of the first insulator 20. The shielding member 50 extends linearly in the left-right direction from both front and rear sides so as to cover substantially the entire first insulator 20.

The shielding member 50 has a first shielding portion 51 having a width in the vertical direction and extending linearly in the left-right direction. The first shielding portion 51 covers substantially the entire front and rear surfaces of the first insulator 20 from the outside. The shielding member 50 has a second shielding portion 52 extending inward in the front-rear direction while bending from the upper edge portion of the first shielding portion 51. The second shielding portion 52 has a width in the front-rear direction and extends linearly in the left-right direction. The second shielding portion 52 covers both the front and rear edges of the upper surface of the first insulator 20 from above.

The shielding member 50 has a locking portion 53 extending inward in a substantially inverted U shape from each of the left and right ends of the upper edge portion of the first shielding portion 51. The shielding member 50 is fixed to the first insulator 20 by locking the locking portion 53 to the second mounting groove 23b of the first insulator 20. The shielding member 50 has a mounting portion 54 extending outward in a substantially L-shape from each of the left and right ends of the lower edge portion of the first shielding portion 51. The shielding member 50 has a raised portion 55 formed by raising substantially the entire central portion of the first shielding portion 51 outward in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, for the contact 60, for example, a copper alloy having spring elasticity containing phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, or titanium copper, or a thin plate of a Corson-based copper alloy is progressively molded (stamping). It is molded into the shape shown in the figure. The contact 60 is formed of a metal material having a small elastic modulus so that the shape change due to elastic deformation becomes large. The surface of the contact 60 is plated with gold, tin, or the like after the base is formed by nickel plating.

As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of contacts 60 are arranged in the left-right direction. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the contact 60 is attached to the first insulator 20 and the second insulator 30. The pair of contacts 60 arranged at the same left and right positions are formed and arranged symmetrically along a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the contacts 60. More specifically, the pair of contacts 60 are formed and arranged so as to be substantially axisymmetric with each other with respect to the vertical axis passing through the center between them.

The contact 60 has a first locking portion 61 extending in the vertical direction. The first locking portion 61 is locked to the first insulator 20. At this time, the first locking portion 61 is housed in the contact mounting groove 24 of the first insulator 20. The contact 60 has a mounting portion 62 extending outward in a substantially L shape from the lower end portion of the first locking portion 61.

The contact 60 has an elastically deformable first elastic portion 63a that bends inward from the upper end portion of the first locking portion 61 and extends diagonally upward, and then bends again and extends upward. The contact 60 has a first connecting portion 64 that is continuously formed with the first elastic portion 63a and extends linearly upward. The contact 60 has a second elastic portion 63b extending inward while bending in a substantially inverted U shape from the upper end portion of the first connecting portion 64. The second elastic portion 63b is elastically deformable.

The contact 60 is formed continuously with the second elastic portion 63b and has a second connecting portion 65 extending downward. The second connecting portion 65 faces the outer surface 32a in the front-rear direction of the outer peripheral wall 32 of the second insulator 30. The second connecting portion 65 connects the first insulator 20 and the second insulator 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the second connecting portion 65 has a first elastic portion 63a, a second elastic portion 63b, and a wide portion 65a wider in the left-right direction than the third elastic portion 63c described later. The wide portion 65a is formed in the second connecting portion 65 over substantially the entire upper half portion and each lower half portion. The second connecting portion 65 has a bent portion 65b that bends toward the outer surface 32a in the front-rear direction of the outer peripheral wall 32 of the second insulator 30. The bent portion 65b is sandwiched from both upper and lower sides by a pair of wide portions 65a in the central portion of the second connecting portion 65. The cross-sectional area of the bent portion 65b is smaller than the cross-sectional area of each of the pair of wide portions 65a in the left-right direction. The cross-sectional area of the bent portion 65b is equal to or less than the cross-sectional area of each of the first elastic portion 63a, the second elastic portion 63b, and the third elastic portion 63c described later. The second connecting portion 65, which is formed in the order of one of the pair of wide portions 65a from the upper side to the lower side, the bent portion 65b and the other wide portion 65a, has a substantially character shape in the front view in the left-right direction. It is formed.

The contact 60 has a third elastic portion 63c that extends inward while bending from the lower end portion of the second connecting portion 65. The third elastic portion 63c is elastically deformable. The contact 60 has a base 66 extending inward from the third elastic portion 63c to the connector 10.

The contact 60 has a second locking portion 67 that extends substantially L-shaped from the inner end of the base 66. The second locking portion 67 extends linearly inward in the front-rear direction from the base 66, then bends at a substantially right angle, and extends linearly toward the fitting side along the vertical direction. The second locking portion 67 is locked to the second insulator 30. At this time, substantially the entire second locking portion 67 is housed in the contact mounting groove 37 of the second insulator 30. The contact 60 is formed by the outer surface of the second locking portion 67 in the front-rear direction, and has a contact portion 68 that comes into contact with the contact 100 of the connection object 70 at the time of fitting. The contact portion 68 is exposed from the contact mounting groove 37 of the second insulator 30 toward the outside in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mounting portion 62, the first elastic portion 63a, the second elastic portion 63b, the bending portion 65b, the third elastic portion 63c, and the contact portion 68 are left and right of the other portions of the contact 60. It is formed narrow in the direction. As a result, the elastic modulus of the first elastic portion 63a, the second elastic portion 63b, and the third elastic portion 63c becomes small, and a larger amount of elastic deformation can be obtained when a constant force is applied. Bending at the bent portion 65b becomes easy. On the contrary, a part of the first locking portion 61, a first connecting portion 64, a wide portion 65a, a base portion 66, and a part of the second locking portion 67 are wider in the left-right direction than the other parts of the contact 60. Is formed in. As a result, the first locking portion 61 and the second locking portion 67 are easily locked to the first insulator 20 and the second insulator 30, respectively. The characteristic impedance in the first connecting portion 64, the wide portion 65a, and the base portion 66 is lowered, and the transmission characteristic in the contact 60 is improved.

As shown in FIG. 7, the adjusting portion 38 is located in the arrangement region R of the second connecting portion 65 in the fitting direction. The adjusting portion 38 of the second insulator 30 projects toward the second connecting portion 65 of the contact 60 on the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32. The distance between the adjusting portion 38 and the second connecting portion 65 is smaller than the distance between the other portion of the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32 and the second connecting portion 65. For example, the distance between the adjusting portion 38 and the second connecting portion 65 is smaller than the distance between the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32 and the second connecting portion 65 on the fitting side of the position of the adjusting portion 38. More specifically, the distance between the adjusting portion 38 formed so as to include the inclined surface in the lower half portion of the outer peripheral wall 32 and the wide portion 65a in the lower half portion of the second connecting portion 65 is parallel in the vertical direction. It is smaller than the distance between the upper half of the outer peripheral wall 32 extending to the above and the wide portion 65a of the upper half of the second connecting portion 65. The distance between the upper half of the outer peripheral wall 32 and the wide portion 65a of the upper half of the second connecting portion 65 gradually increases from the upper side to the lower side because the wide portion 65a is inclined inward toward the lower side. It becomes smaller. On the other hand, the distance between the adjusting portion 38 and the wide portion 65a in the lower half of the second connecting portion 65 is in the vertical direction because the inclination of the adjusting portion 38 on the inclined surface and the inclination of the wide portion 65a are substantially the same. It is almost the same over. That is, the inclined surface of the adjusting portion 38 and the wide portion 65a are substantially parallel to each other. In addition, the distance between the adjusting portion 38 and the base 66 of the contact 60 is substantially the same in the front-rear direction. That is, the surface of the adjusting portion 38 opposite to the fitting side is substantially parallel to the base portion 66. More specifically, the lower surface of the adjusting portion 38, that is, the lower surface of the bottom portion 31 of the second insulator 30, is substantially parallel to the base portion 66.

In the connector 10 having the above structure, the mounting portion 62 of the contact 60 is soldered to the circuit pattern formed on the mounting surface of the circuit board CB1. The mounting portion 43 of the metal fitting 40 and the mounting portion 54 of the shielding member 50 are soldered to the grounding pattern or the like formed on the mounting surface. As described above, the connector 10 is mounted on the circuit board CB1. On the mounting surface of the circuit board CB1, for example, an electronic component different from the connector 10 including a CPU, a controller, a memory, and the like is mounted.

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view showing a connection object 70 connected to the connector 10 of FIG. 3 from a top view. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the connection object 70 of FIG. 9 from a top view.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the configuration of the connection object 70 connected to the connector 10 according to the embodiment will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 10, the connection object 70 has an insulator 80, a metal fitting 90, and a contact 100 as major components. As an example, the connection object 70 is assembled by press-fitting the metal fitting 90 and the contact 100 into the insulator 80 from below.

The insulator 80 is a substantially square columnar member obtained by injection molding an insulating and heat resistant synthetic resin material. The insulator 80 has a fitting recess 81 formed on the upper surface thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the insulator 80 has a metal fitting mounting groove 82 recessed inside the insulator 80 along the vertical direction at both left and right ends of the bottom surface. The metal fitting 90 is attached to the metal fitting mounting groove 82. The insulator 80 has a notch 83 formed by notching the front side of each of the left and right ends.

The insulator 80 has a plurality of contact mounting grooves 84 that are continuously recessed over the front side of the bottom, the inside thereof, and the front surface of the fitting recess 81. The insulator 80 has a plurality of contact mounting grooves 84 that are continuously recessed over the rear side of the bottom, the inside thereof, and the rear surface of the fitting recess 81. The plurality of contact mounting grooves 84 are recessed side by side in the left-right direction. The contact mounting groove 84 extends along the vertical direction on both the front and rear inner surfaces of the fitting recess 81. A plurality of contacts 100 are attached to the plurality of contact mounting grooves 84, respectively.

The metal fitting 90 is formed by molding a thin plate of an arbitrary metal material into the shape shown in the figure by using a progressive remittance mold (stamping). The metal fitting 90 is formed in a substantially L shape when viewed from the front and back in the front-rear direction. The metal fitting 90 is press-fitted into the metal fitting mounting groove 82 and is arranged at each of the left and right ends of the insulator 80.

The metal fitting 90 has a base portion 91 constituting the main body thereof, and locking portions 92 formed on both front and rear edge portions of the base portion 91. The metal fitting 90 is fixed to the insulator 80 by engaging the locking portion 92 with the metal fitting mounting groove 82 of the insulator 80. The metal fitting 90 has a mounting portion 93 extending outward in a substantially L-shape from the base portion 91.

For the contact 100, for example, a thin plate of a copper alloy having spring elasticity containing phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, or titanium copper, or a thin plate of a Corson-based copper alloy was molded into the shape shown in the figure by using a progressive mold (stamping). It is a thing. The surface of the contact 100 is plated with gold, tin, or the like after the base is formed by nickel plating.

A plurality of contacts 100 are arranged along the left-right direction. The contact 100 has a locking portion 101 formed to be wider in the left-right direction than other portions. The locking portion 101 is locked to the contact mounting groove 84 of the insulator 80. The contact 100 has a mounting portion 102 extending outward from the lower end portion of the locking portion 101 in a substantially L-shape. The contact 100 has an elastic contact portion 103 extending upward in a substantially shape from the upper end portion of the locking portion 101. The bent portion of the elastic contact portion 103 comes into contact with the contact portion 68 of the contact 60 of the connector 10 at the time of fitting. The elastic contact portion 103 is elastically deformable along the front-rear direction.

In the connection object 70 having the above structure, the mounting portion 102 of the contact 100 is soldered to the circuit pattern formed on the mounting surface of the circuit board CB2. The mounting portion 93 of the metal fitting 90 is soldered to the grounding pattern or the like formed on the mounting surface. As described above, the connection object 70 is mounted on the circuit board CB2. On the mounting surface of the circuit board CB2, for example, an electronic component different from the connection object 70 including a camera module, a sensor, and the like is mounted.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the XI-XI arrow line of FIG.

The operation of the connector 10 having a floating structure when the connection object 70 is connected to the connector 10 will be mainly described with reference to FIG. 11.

The contact 60 of the connector 10 supports the second insulator 30 in a state where the second insulator 30 is separated from the first insulator 20 and is floating inside the first insulator 20. At this time, the second insulator 30 is surrounded by the outer peripheral wall 22 of the first insulator 20.

The first insulator 20 is fixed to the circuit board CB1 by soldering the mounting portion 62 of the contact 60 to the circuit board CB1. The second insulator 30 is relative to the first insulator 20 fixed to the circuit board CB1 by elastically deforming the first elastic portion 63a, the second elastic portion 63b, and the third elastic portion 63c of the contact 60. It becomes possible to move to.

At this time, the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 22 of the first insulator 20 in the left-right direction restricts the excessive movement of the second insulator 30 in the left-right direction with respect to the first insulator 20. When the second insulator 30 moves largely in the left-right direction beyond the design value due to the elastic deformation of the contact 60, the outer surface of the outer peripheral wall 32 of the second insulator 30 in the left-right direction faces the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 22 of the first insulator 20. Contact with. As a result, the second insulator 30 does not move further outward in the left-right direction.

Similarly, at least one of the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 22 of the first insulator 20 facing the retaining portion 39 of the second insulator 30 and the peripheral edge of the opening 21a of the first insulator 20 is the second insulator with respect to the first insulator 20. Regulate excessive movement of 30 in the anteroposterior direction. When the second insulator 30 moves significantly in the front-rear direction beyond the design value due to the elastic deformation of the contact 60, at least one of the retaining portion 39 and the outer peripheral wall 32 of the second insulator 30 becomes the outer periphery of the first insulator 20 described above. It contacts at least one of the inner surface of the wall 22 and the peripheral edge of the opening 21a, respectively. As a result, the second insulator 30 does not move further outward in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front-back position and the left-right position of the connector 10 and the connection object 70 are abbreviated in a state where the vertical direction of the connection object 70 is reversed with respect to the connector 10 having such a floating structure. Make them face each other in the vertical direction while matching them. After that, the object to be connected 70 is moved downward. At this time, even if the positions of the connectors 10 are slightly displaced from each other in the front-back and left-right directions, the attracting portion 36 of the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 come into contact with each other. As a result, the floating structure of the connector 10 causes the second insulator 30 to move relative to the first insulator 20. As a result, the object to be connected 70 is attracted to the fitting recess 34 of the second insulator 30.

When the connection object 70 is further moved downward, the fitting convex portion 33 of the connector 10 and the fitting concave portion 81 of the connection object 70 are fitted. The fitting recess 34 of the connector 10 and the insulator 80 of the object to be connected 70 are fitted. In this state, the contact portion 68 of the contact 60 and the elastic contact portion 103 of the contact 100 come into contact with each other. At this time, the elastic contact portion 103 of the contact 100 is slightly elastically deformed outward inside the contact mounting groove 84.

As described above, the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 are completely connected. At this time, the circuit board CB1 and the circuit board CB2 are electrically connected via the contact 60 and the contact 100.

In this state, the pair of elastic contact portions 103 of the contacts 100 sandwich the pair of contacts 60 of the connector 10 from both front and rear sides by an inward elastic force along the front-rear direction. When the object to be connected 70 is removed from the connector 10 due to the reaction of the pressing force on the contact 60 caused by this, the second insulator 30 receives an upward force via the contact 60. As a result, even if the second insulator 30 moves upward, the retaining portion 25 of the first insulator 20 suppresses the second insulator 30 from coming out upward with respect to the first insulator 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the retaining portion 25 of the first insulator 20 overlaps with the retaining portion 39 of the second insulator 30 in the bottom view. Therefore, when the second insulator 30 tries to move upward, the retaining portion 39 projecting outward from the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32 comes into contact with the retaining portion 25. As a result, the second insulator 30 does not move further upward.

According to the connector 10 according to the above-described embodiment, the transmission characteristics in signal transmission are improved even when the connector 10 has a floating structure and has a low profile. Since the distance between the adjusting portion 38 and the second connecting portion 65 is smaller than the distance between the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32 and the second connecting portion 65 on the fitting side, the adjusting portion 38 is close to the second connecting portion 65. , The characteristic impedance of the contact 60 decreases in the vicinity of the adjusting unit 38. More specifically, by moving the adjusting portion 38 of the second insulator 30, which has a higher dielectric constant than the air, close to the contact 60 with the air in between, the same effect as that of a capacitor can be obtained. Assuming that the capacitance is C, the characteristic impedance Z at this time depends on the capacitance C. For example, the characteristic impedance Z is inversely proportional to the square root of the capacitance C or inversely proportional to the capacitance C. Therefore, by narrowing the distance between the capacitors and increasing the capacitance C, the characteristic impedance is reduced. By adjusting the characteristic impedance value so as to approach the ideal value in this way, the transmission characteristics in signal transmission are improved.

Since the second insulator 30 is wide at the position where the adjusting portion 38 is formed, the strength of the second insulator 30 is improved. In addition, since the center of gravity of the second insulator 30 is lowered downward, the second insulator 30 moves in a stable posture during the floating operation of the connector 10. On the other hand, since the width of the second insulator 30 is narrow on the fitting side, the distance between the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32 on the fitting side and the first insulator 20 and the second connecting portion 65 is increased. As a result, when the second insulator 30 moves, it is suppressed from coming into contact with the first insulator 20 and the contact 60 on the mating side, and the movable amount of the second insulator 30 required for the floating operation of the connector 10 is maintained. Will be done.

Since the adjusting portion 38 includes the inclined surface, the adjusting portion 38 is arranged along the inclined surface of the second connecting portion 65 which is bent in a substantially shape. As a result, the adjusting unit 38 is in close proximity over a wider area of the second connecting unit 65. As a result, it becomes possible to reduce the value of the characteristic impedance so as to approach the ideal value over a wider range, and the above-mentioned effect on the transmission characteristic in signal transmission becomes more remarkable.

Since the adjusting unit 38 extends in the arrangement direction of the contacts 60, the adjusting unit 38 is close to the entire plurality of contacts 60 arranged in the left-right direction. Therefore, the characteristic impedance of each contact 60 is lowered. As a result, the transmission characteristics of each contact 60 in signal transmission are further improved. In addition, it is not necessary to individually form the adjusting portion 38 for each contact 60, and the productivity of the second insulator 30 is improved. As a result, the productivity of the connector 10 is improved.

Since the lower surface of the adjusting portion 38 is substantially parallel to the base 66 of the contact 60, the same effect as that of a capacitor can be obtained between the adjusting portion 38 and the base 66. Therefore, by adjusting the distance between the lower surface of the adjusting portion 38 and the base portion 66, the characteristic impedance in the base portion 66 can be easily adjusted. For example, by bringing the lower surface of the adjusting portion 38 close to the base portion 66, it is possible to increase the capacitance C and reduce the characteristic impedance.

Since the second connecting portion 65 has a wide portion 65a wider than the adjacent second elastic portion 63b, the bent portion 65b, and the third elastic portion 63c, the characteristic impedance in the wide portion 65a is reduced. As a result, the increase in the characteristic impedance in these elastic portions and the bent portions 65b is suppressed, and the average value of the overall characteristic impedance approaches the ideal value. In this way, the connector 10 can contribute to the characteristic impedance matching. Therefore, the connector 10 can obtain desired transmission characteristics even in high-capacity and high-speed transmission.

Since the second connecting portion 65 has the bent portion 65b, the movable amount of the second insulator 30 is increased and the posture of the second insulator 30 when moving is increased even when the connector 10 is lowered in height. Is stable. In addition, when the bent portion 65b bends toward the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32, the adjusting portion 38 and the second connecting portion 65 come close to each other, and the above-mentioned effect on the transmission characteristics in signal transmission becomes more remarkable. The connector 10 can be made low in height by bending the second connecting portion 65 at the bent portion 65b and locating the adjusting portion 38 in the arrangement region R of the second connecting portion 65 in the vertical direction.

When the cross-sectional area of the bent portion 65b is equal to or less than the cross-sectional area of each elastic portion, the bending process in the bent portion 65b becomes easy. For example, by appropriately changing the bending angle of the bent portion 65b, the movable amount of the second insulator 30 in the floating operation can be adjusted.

A protrusion 35 is formed on the second insulator 30 of the connector 10, and a notch 83 is formed on the insulator 80 of the connection target 70, so that the connector 10 and the connection target 70 are connected in the front-rear direction. Is limited to one direction. Therefore, misfitting between the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 is suppressed. That is, when the operator connects the connector 10 and the connection target object 70, the possibility that the connection direction between the connector 10 and the connection target object 70 is mistaken is reduced.

The metal fitting 40 is press-fitted into the first insulator 20, and the mounting portion 43 is soldered to the circuit board CB1 so that the metal fitting 40 can stably fix the first insulator 20 to the circuit board CB1. The metal fitting 40 improves the mounting strength of the first insulator 20 with respect to the circuit board CB1.

By attaching the shielding member 50 to the first insulator 20, the strength in the front-rear direction and above the connector 10 is increased. Since the shielding member 50 has the raised portion 55, the rigidity of the shielding member 50 itself is increased, and as a result, the strength of the connector 10 in the front-rear direction is also increased.
By attaching the shielding member 50 to the first insulator 20, the electric adverse effect due to external noise in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction of the connector 10 is suppressed. More specifically, by suppressing the noise from the outside by the shielding member 50, the electric adverse effect on the large-capacity high-speed transmission signal flowing through the contact 60 is suppressed.
Further, the shielding member 50 suppresses noise emitted from the connector 10 to the outside. Therefore, malfunctions caused by giving an adverse electrical effect to peripheral electronic components are suppressed.

Since the contact 60 is made of a metal material having a small elastic modulus, the connector 10 can secure the required movement amount of the second insulator 30 even when the force applied to the second insulator 30 is small. .. That is, the second insulator 30 can move smoothly with respect to the first insulator 20. As a result, the connector 10 can easily absorb the misalignment when mating with the object to be connected 70. In the connector 10, each elastic portion of the contact 60 absorbs vibration generated by some external factor. As a result, the possibility that a large force is applied to the mounting portion 62 is suppressed. Therefore, damage to the connection portion with the circuit board CB1 is suppressed. That is, it is possible to prevent cracks from entering the solder at the connection portion between the circuit board CB 1 and the mounting portion 62. Therefore, even when the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 are connected, the connection reliability is improved.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be realized in certain embodiments other than those described above, without departing from its spirit or its essential features. Therefore, the above description is exemplary and is not limited thereto. The scope of the invention is defined by the added claims, not by the earlier description. It is assumed that some of all changes that are within the same range are included in it.

For example, the shape, arrangement, orientation, number, and the like of each of the above-mentioned components are not limited to the contents shown in the above description and drawings. The shape, arrangement, orientation, number, and the like of each component may be arbitrarily configured as long as the function can be realized.

The method of assembling the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 described above is not limited to the contents of the above description. The method of assembling the connector 10 and the object to be connected 70 may be any method as long as they can be assembled so as to exhibit their respective functions. For example, at least one of the metal fitting 40, the shielding member 50, and the contact 60 may be integrally molded with at least one of the first insulator 20 and the second insulator 30 by insert molding instead of press fitting.

The adjusting portion 38 has been described as including, but is not limited to, an inclined surface that is inclined from a substantially central portion to a lower edge portion of the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32. The adjusting unit 38 may have any configuration as long as the transmission characteristics in the signal transmission of the connector 10 are improved. For example, the adjusting portion 38 may include an inclined surface in which the entire outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32 is inclined from the upper edge portion to the lower edge portion.

The adjusting portion 38 does not have to include an inclined surface. The adjusting portion 38 has an arbitrary configuration such that it protrudes from the outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32 and the distance from the second connecting portion 65 is smaller than the distance between the outer surface 32a and the second connecting portion 65 on the fitting side. You may. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a first modification of the adjusting portion 38 of FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the adjusting portion 38 may be formed so as to project outward from the outer peripheral wall 32 in a stepped manner and include an outer surface parallel to the vertical direction. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a second modification of the adjusting portion 38 of FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the adjusting portion 38 may project outward from the outer peripheral wall 32 so as to include a curved surface.

Referring to FIG. 4, the adjusting portion 38 is formed as one constituent portion on one outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32 of the second insulator 30, but is not limited thereto. The adjusting portion 38 may be formed as a plurality of constituent portions on one outer surface 32a of the outer peripheral wall 32.

It has been described that the transmission characteristics of the contact 60 are improved by increasing the width of the transmission line, that is, the cross-sectional area of the transmission line and lowering the characteristic impedance in each of the first connecting portion 64, the wide portion 65a, and the base portion 66. However, the configuration of each component is not limited to this. Each of the first connecting portion 64, the wide portion 65a, and the base portion 66 may have an arbitrary configuration for improving electrical conductivity. For example, each component may be thickly formed with the same width as the other parts of the contact 60. For example, each component may be formed of a material having a higher electrical conductivity than the other parts of the contact 60 while maintaining the same cross-sectional area. For example, each component may have a plating on the surface that improves electrical conductivity while maintaining the same cross-sectional area as the other parts of the contact 60.

The second connecting portion 65 may not have the bent portion 65b as long as it can maintain the movable amount of the second insulator 30 required for the floating operation of the connector 10 and can contribute to the reduction in height.

The first elastic portion 63a, the second elastic portion 63b, and the third elastic portion 63c have been described as being formed to be narrower than the other portions of the contact 60, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Each elastic portion may have an arbitrary configuration that can secure the required elastic deformation amount. For example, each elastic portion may be formed of a metal material having a smaller elastic modulus than the other portions of the contact 60 while maintaining the same width.

The contact 60 has been described as being made of a metallic material having a low elastic modulus, but is not limited thereto. The contact 60 may be formed of a metal material having an arbitrary elastic modulus as long as the required elastic deformation amount can be secured.

The connection object 70 has been described as being a receptacle connector connected to the circuit board CB2, but the connection object 70 is not limited thereto. The connection object 70 may be any object other than the connector. For example, the object to be connected 70 may be an FPC, a flexible flat cable, a rigid board, a card edge of an arbitrary circuit board, or the like.

The connector 10 as described above is mounted on an electronic device. Electronic devices include any in-vehicle device such as, for example, a camera, radar, drive recorder, or engine control unit. Electronic devices include any in-vehicle device used in in-vehicle systems such as, for example, car navigation systems, advanced driver assistance systems, or security systems. Electronic devices include any information device such as, for example, personal computers, copiers, printers, facsimiles, or multifunction devices. In addition, electronic equipment includes any industrial equipment.

Such electronic devices have good transmission characteristics in signal transmission, even when miniaturized. Since the good floating structure of the connector 10 absorbs the positional deviation between the substrates, the workability at the time of assembling the electronic device is improved. That is, the manufacture of electronic devices becomes easy. Since the connector 10 suppresses damage to the connection portion with the circuit board CB1, the reliability of the electronic device as a product is improved.

10 Connector 20 First insulator 21a, 21b Opening 22 Outer wall 23a First mounting groove 23b Second mounting groove 24 Contact mounting groove 25 retaining part 30 Second insulator 31 Bottom 32 Outer wall 32a Outer surface 33 Fitting convex part 34 Fitting concave 35 Protruding part 36 Inviting part 37 Contact mounting groove 38 Adjusting part 39 Unplugged part 40 Metal fitting 41 Base part 42 Locking part 43 Mounting part 50 Shielding member 51 First shielding part 52 Second shielding part 53 Locking part 54 Mounting part 55 Raised Part 60 Contact 61 First locking part 62 Mounting part 63a First elastic part 63b Second elastic part 63c Third elastic part 64 First connecting part 65 Second connecting part (connecting part)
65a Wide part 65b Bending part 66 Base part 67 Second locking part 68 Contact part 70 Connection object 80 Insulator 81 Fitting recess 82 Bracket mounting groove 83 Notch 84 Contact mounting groove 90 Bracket 91 Base 92 Locking part 93 Mounting part 100 Contact 101 Locking part 102 Mounting part 103 Elastic contact part CB1, CB2 Circuit board R Placement area

Claims (11)

A connector that fits with the object to be connected
With the first insulator,
The second insulator, which is relatively movable with respect to the first insulator,
A contact attached to the first insulator and the second insulator and having a connecting portion for connecting the first insulator and the second insulator.
Equipped with
The connecting portion faces the outer surface of the second insulator and is opposed to the outer surface of the second insulator.
The second insulator has an adjusting portion including a portion of the outer surface located closest to the connecting portion.
The distance between the adjustment portion and the connecting portion, rather smaller than the distance between the connecting portion and the other portion of the outer surface
The adjusting portion is wide on the outer surface on the side opposite to the fitting side between the connector and the connecting object.
The connecting portion has a higher electrical conductivity than the other portions of the contact and has a wide portion facing the adjusting portion .
connector. The adjusting portion projects toward the connecting portion on the outer surface, and the adjusting portion protrudes toward the connecting portion.
Distance between the adjusting portion and the connecting portion, before Kihama apply side is smaller than the distance between the outer surface and the connecting portion,
The connector according to claim 1. The second insulator is wider in the protruding direction of the adjusting portion than the fitting side at the position where the adjusting portion is formed.
The connector according to claim 2. The adjusting portion includes an inclined surface that is inclined in a protruding direction of the adjusting portion toward a side opposite to the fitting side.
The connector according to claim 2 or 3. The adjusting portion is located within the arrangement region of the connecting portion in the fitting direction between the connector and the connecting object.
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A plurality of the contacts are arranged, and the contacts are arranged in a plurality.
The adjusting portion extends in the arrangement direction of the contacts and includes a region in which a plurality of the contacts are arranged.
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The contact is
An elastic portion extending while bending from an end portion opposite to the fitting side in the connecting portion,
A base extending from the elastic portion toward the inside of the connector, and
Have more,
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The bottom surface of the second insulator including the adjusting portion, which is opposite to the fitting side, is substantially parallel to the base portion of the contact.
The connector according to claim 7. The connection portion has the wide portion having a high electrical conductivity than the elastic portion,
The connector according to claim 7 or 8. The connecting portion has a bent portion that bends toward the outer surface.
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 9. An electronic device comprising the connector according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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