JP7257854B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to connectors.

Inventions relating to connectors are disclosed in the following patent documents. This connector has terminals that are in electrical contact with objects to be connected, and a housing that accommodates the terminals. The terminal is provided with a terminal contact portion which is in contact with an object to be connected and whose impedance tends to be low, and a concave portion provided on the opposite side of the terminal contact surface. An air layer with a low dielectric constant is formed in the Therefore, it is possible to increase the impedance at the terminal contact portion that contacts the connection object of the terminal.

JP 2010-33714 A

However, in the configuration disclosed in the above patent document, since the recess is formed in the terminal itself, there is a possibility that high processing accuracy is required in order to suppress adverse effects on contact with the connection object. Also, when miniaturizing the connector to install it in a limited space, the width of the terminal may be narrowed, and in this case, it may not be possible to form the recess. Therefore, the prior art described above has room for improvement in this respect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector capable of easily increasing the impedance of terminals.

A connector according to a first aspect is mounted on a terminal having a contact surface electrically contacting an object to be connected, and a substrate, and is fitted to the object to be connected along a fitting direction. a housing having a fitting portion and an accommodating portion that accommodates the terminal in a state in which displacement of the terminal can be regulated by a restricting surface at least partially opposed to a portion different from the contact surface of the terminal; and a recess provided on the regulating surface of the accommodating portion and forming a space with the terminal.

In the first aspect, the connector has terminals and a housing. The terminal is housed in the housing and has a contact surface that makes electrical contact with an object to be connected. The housing is mounted on the substrate and has a fitting portion and a housing portion, of which the fitting portion fits with the connection object along the fitting direction. The accommodating portion accommodates the terminal in a state in which displacement of the terminal can be restricted by a restricting surface that at least partially faces a portion different from the contact surface of the terminal. Since the regulating surface is provided with a recess that forms a space between itself and the terminal, the recess on the housing side, not the terminal side, can have an air layer with a lower dielectric constant than the other portions. . That is, since the concave portion is provided on the housing side where it is easy to secure a wider surface than the terminal, an air layer can be easily provided, and the impedance of the terminal accommodated in the accommodating portion can be increased by the air layer. .

Here, "facing" includes a state in which at least a portion of the terminal and the regulating surface are in contact with each other and a state in which the terminal and the regulating surface are not in contact with each other.

In a connector according to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the recess is formed in a part of the regulating surface that contacts a surface of the terminal opposite to the contact surface in the plate thickness direction.

In the second aspect, since the recess is provided in a part of the regulation surface that contacts the surface of the terminal opposite to the contact surface in the plate thickness direction, the recess is difficult to be visually recognized from the outside. In addition, since the restricting surface corresponding to the surface opposite to the contact surface of the terminal becomes a so-called dead space, the space can be effectively utilized.

In a connector according to a third aspect, in the second aspect, the restricting surface that contacts a surface of the terminal opposite to the contact surface in the plate thickness direction is a contact surface that the object to be connected contacts the contact surface. A pair is provided across the recess in a contact direction and a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction.

In the third aspect, the restricting surface sandwiches the recess in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the terminal and the contact direction in which the connection object contacts the contact surface (hereinafter simply referred to as the "width direction"). Therefore, both ends of the terminal in the width direction are supported by the restricting surfaces. Therefore, even if a force acts on the terminal along the contact direction when the object to be connected comes into contact with the contact surface of the terminal, tilting and deformation of the terminal can be suppressed. Thereby, connection reliability can be ensured.

In a connector according to a fourth aspect, in the second aspect, the restricting surface that contacts a surface of the terminal opposite to the contact surface in the plate thickness direction is a contact surface that the object to be connected contacts the contact surface. It is provided between the pair of recesses formed in the contact direction and the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction.

In the fourth aspect, the restricting surface is provided between the pair of concave portions formed in the width direction of the terminal. A pair is provided at different locations on the surface on the opposite side in the thickness direction. Therefore, air layers with a low dielectric constant can be provided at a plurality of positions on the surface of the terminal, so that the impedance can be increased more appropriately when electricity flows on the surface of the terminal due to the skin effect.

A connector according to a fifth aspect is the connector according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein an end portion of the recess in the fitting direction is covered from the outside with the terminal.

In the fifth aspect, since the end portion of the recess in the fitting direction is covered with the terminal from the outside, when the connection object and the connector are fitted together, the connection object contacts the terminal. It is possible to suppress damage caused by fitting into the concave portion. In other words, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of electrical contact problems when fitting with the connection object.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the present invention has the excellent effect of easily increasing the impedance of a terminal.

1 is a perspective view of a connector according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a fitting portion of the connector according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a perspective view when the fitting portion is viewed in the W direction in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3; 5 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a fitting portion of a connector according to a second embodiment; FIG.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

In the following description, the arrow X shown in each figure is the connector forward direction, the arrow Y is the connector width direction one side (right side), and the arrow Z is the connector upward direction. When the terms front-rear, top-bottom and width (left-right) are used without special mention, they refer to the front-rear direction of the connector, top-bottom in the vertical direction of the connector, and width (left-right) in the width direction (horizontal direction) of the connector. These orientations are independent of the in-use orientation of the connector. Also, in each drawing, some reference numerals may be omitted for the purpose of making the drawings easier to see.

(overall structure)
As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 10 according to this embodiment is a so-called plug, which includes a housing 12 and a plurality of terminals 14, and is fixed to a circuit board (not shown) at its lower side. The connector 10 can be fitted in the X direction to a socket (not shown) as a connection object. In the present embodiment, the fitting direction X coincides with the front-rear direction of the connector 10, and in the following description, the fitting direction X may be referred to as the "front-rear direction".

(housing)
The housing 12 is formed in a substantially rectangular tubular shape (substantially cuboid shape). The housing 12 is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. In addition, the dimension of the housing 12 in the left-right direction is configured to be appropriately changed according to the number of terminals 14 .

A fitting portion 16 is provided inside the housing 12 . The fitting portion 16 is provided substantially in the center of the bottom surface 18 of the housing 12 in the left-right direction and the vertical direction, and protrudes forward from the bottom surface 18 . The fitting portion 16 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape whose longitudinal direction is the left-right direction. are formed side by side. The accommodation portion 22 extends in the front-rear direction, and has a pair of left and right side regulation surfaces 24 as regulation surfaces having a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and vertical inner end portions of the pair of left and right side regulation surfaces 24 . 4, and the rear end is connected to the bottom surface 18 in the front-to-rear direction. It is connected to hole 28 (see FIG. 2).

Extension wall portions 30 are integrally provided on the outer sides of the fitting portion 16 in the left-right direction and the up-down direction. The extended wall portions 30 protrude forward from the lateral and vertical outer ends of the bottom surface 18 of the housing 12 . The extension wall portion 30 protrudes from the bottom surface 18 by a larger amount than the fitting portion 16 protrudes from the bottom surface 18 . As a result, the housing 12 is formed in a substantially square tubular shape with the fitting portion 16 housed therein.

(Terminal)
The plurality of terminals 14 are manufactured by punching a conductive metal plate into a predetermined shape, and constitute a pair of upper and lower terminal rows 32 and 34 . Each of the upper and lower terminal rows 32 and 34 has a structure in which a plurality of terminals 14 are arranged at regular intervals in the horizontal direction such that the thickness direction of the terminals 14 extends along the vertical direction. The plurality of terminals 14 of the upper terminal row 32 and the plurality of terminals 14 of the lower terminal row 34 are arranged in orientations facing each other in the vertical direction. The plurality of terminals 14 of the upper terminal row 32 are provided on the side wall portion 20 above the fitting portion 16 , and the plurality of terminals 14 of the lower terminal row 34 are provided on the lower side of the fitting portion 16 . is provided on the side wall portion 20 of the

Each terminal 14 is accommodated (arranged) in the accommodating portion 22 of the fitting portion 16, and as shown in FIG. A second accommodating portion 22 extending rearward from the exposed portion 38 and partially inserted into the terminal insertion hole 28, and an end of the second accommodating portion 22 opposite to the exposed portion 38 extending downward. and a connecting portion 40 (see FIG. 1) that is fixed to the circuit board. 2 and 3, one terminal 14 out of the plurality of terminals 14 is omitted for easy understanding of the inside of the accommodating portion 22. As shown in FIG.

A part of the front side of the terminal 14 is exposed to the outside of the exposed portion 38 , and a contact surface 42 that electrically contacts a mating terminal (not shown) provided on the socket is arranged. It should be noted that the mating terminal is brought into contact with the up-down direction as the contact direction.

As shown in FIG. 4 , a part of a rear surface 44 of the terminal 14 , which is a surface opposite to the contact surface 42 in the plate thickness direction, abuts (contacts) the bottom regulation surface 26 of the accommodating portion 22 . A pair of left and right side surfaces 48 of the terminal 14 are arranged so as to face the side restriction surfaces 24 of the housing portion 22 so as to be in contact with each other. As a result, the terminal 14 is accommodated at a predetermined position while being restricted from being displaced inward in the vertical direction and in the width direction. The vertical depth of the accommodating portion 22 is set slightly smaller than the vertical dimension of the terminal 14 , so that when the terminal 14 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 22 , the contact surface 42 of the terminal 14 is protrudes outward in the vertical direction from the side wall portion 20 of the fitting portion 16 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the front end 52 of terminal 14 has a guide feature 54 . The guide shape portion 54 has an inclined wall surface 56 inclined toward the bottom regulation surface 26 side of the housing portion 22 as it goes forward from the front edge of the contact surface 42 , thereby allowing the socket to fit into the connector 10 . The mating terminal can be smoothly moved to the contact surface 42 when mated.

(recess)
As shown in FIG. 2 , concave portions 58 are formed in the bottom regulation surfaces 26 of the plurality of housing portions 22 . As shown in FIG. 4, the recess 58 is opened to the outside in the vertical direction by a pair of left and right recess side surfaces 60 and a recess bottom surface 64 connecting the inner ends of the pair of recess side surfaces 60 in the horizontal direction. It has a concave shape and is formed substantially in the center of the bottom regulation surface 26 in the left-right direction. In other words, the bottom regulating surfaces 26 are formed in a pair on the left and right with the recess 58 interposed therebetween, and support the ends of the terminals 14 in the left-right direction (width direction).

The recess 58 is arranged at an arbitrary position corresponding to the terminal insertion hole 28 on the bottom regulating surface 26 at its rear end in the front-rear direction in the fitting direction (not shown). On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3 , a front end portion 62 , which is an end portion of the recess 58 in the fitting direction (front-rear direction), is arranged rearward from the front end portion 52 of the terminal 14 . In other words, the concave portion 58 is configured to be invisible from the outside when the terminal 14 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 22 .

(Action and effect of the first embodiment)
Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, connector 10 has terminals 14 and housing 12 . The terminal 14 is housed in the housing 12 and has a contact surface 42 that makes electrical contact with an object to be connected. The housing 12 is placed on the board and has a fitting portion 16 and a housing portion 22. Among these, the fitting portion 16 fits with the object to be connected along the fitting direction. The accommodating portion 22 is configured such that displacement of the terminal 14 can be regulated by a pair of left and right side regulating surfaces 24 and a bottom regulating surface 26 that face at least a portion of the terminal 14 at a position different from the contact surface 42 . Accommodates 14. Since the recess 58 forming a space between the bottom regulation surface 26 and the terminal 14 is provided, the recess on the housing 12 side, not on the terminal 14 side, has a lower dielectric constant than the other portions. can have layers. That is, since the concave portion 58 is provided on the side of the housing 12 where it is easy to secure a wider surface than the terminal 14, an air layer can be easily provided, and the air layer reduces the impedance of the terminal 14 accommodated in the accommodating portion 22. can be raised. Thereby, the impedance of the terminal 14 can be easily increased.

In addition, since the recess 58 is provided in a portion of the bottom regulation surface 26 that contacts the back surface 44 of the terminal 14 opposite to the contact surface 42 in the plate thickness direction, the recess 58 is difficult to be visually recognized from the outside. In addition, since the bottom regulation surface 26 corresponding to the back surface 44 of the terminal 14 on the opposite side of the contact surface 42 becomes a so-called dead space, the space can be effectively utilized.

Furthermore, since a pair of bottom regulating surfaces 26 are provided across the recess 58 in the width direction of the terminal 14 , both ends 68 in the width direction of the terminal 14 are supported by the bottom regulating surfaces 26 . Therefore, even if a force acts on the terminal 14 along the contact direction when the object to be connected comes into contact with the contact surface 42 of the terminal 14, tilting and deformation of the terminal 14 can be suppressed. Thereby, connection reliability can be ensured.

Further, since the front end portion 62 of the concave portion 58 in the fitting direction is covered with the terminal 14 from the outside, when the object to be connected and the connector 10 are fitted together, the object to be connected contacts the terminal 14 . It is possible to suppress damage caused by fitting into the recessed portion 58 . In other words, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of electrical contact problems when fitting with the connection object.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. In addition, about the same component part as 1st Embodiment etc. which were mentioned above, the same number is attached and the description is abbreviate|omitted.

A connector 80 according to the second embodiment has a basic configuration similar to that of the first embodiment, and is characterized in that a pair of left and right concave portions 84 are provided.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5 , a pair of left and right recesses 84 are formed in the bottom regulation surface 82 as the regulation surface of the plurality of accommodating portions 22 . The recessed portion 84 has a recessed shape that is open to the outside in the vertical direction by a pair of left and right recessed side surfaces 86 and a recessed bottom surface 88 that connects the vertical inner ends of the pair of recessed side surfaces 86 in the horizontal direction. They are formed at both ends of the regulation surface 82 in the left-right direction. In other words, the bottom regulating surface 82 is formed with a pair of left and right recesses 84 interposed therebetween, and supports the central portion of the terminal 14 in the left-right direction (width direction). One side of the pair of left and right recessed side surfaces 86 of the recessed part 84 extends vertically continuously with the side regulation surface 24 of the housing part 22 .

The pair of left and right recesses 84 are arranged at arbitrary positions corresponding to the terminal insertion holes 28 on the bottom regulation surface 26 at their rear ends in the front-rear direction (not shown). On the other hand, the front end portion (not shown) of the recess 84 in the front-rear direction is arranged rearward from the front end portion 52 (see FIG. 3) of the terminal 14, as in the first embodiment. In other words, the concave portion 84 is configured to be invisible from the outside when the terminal 14 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 22 .

(Action and effect of the second embodiment)
Next, the operation and effects of the second embodiment will be described.

Even with the above configuration, the connector 10 is configured in the same manner as the connector 10 of the first embodiment except that a pair of left and right recesses 84 are provided, so that the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, since the bottom regulating surface 26 is provided between a pair of concave portions 58 formed in the width direction of the terminal 14 , the concave portion 58 forming a space between the terminal 14 and the contact surface 26 of the terminal 14 42 and a pair are provided in different places on the back surface 44 on the opposite side in the plate thickness direction. Therefore, air layers with a low dielectric constant can be provided at a plurality of positions on the surface of the terminal 14, so that the impedance can be increased more appropriately when electricity flows on the surface of the terminal 14 due to the skin effect.

In the above-described second embodiment, the concave portions 84 are provided in a pair on the left and right, but the configuration is not limited to this, and may be a configuration in which three or more are provided in the horizontal direction.

In addition, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the terminal 14 is formed in a plate shape. The cross-sectional shape of 22 may be other shapes such as a semi-circular shape in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the terminal.

Furthermore, the recesses 58 and 84 are configured to be provided in the bottom regulation surfaces 26 and 82 of the housing portion 22, but the configuration is not limited to this, and the pair of left and right side regulation surfaces 24 of the housing portion 22 are provided in the left-right direction. It is good also as a structure provided so that it might be opened.

Furthermore, according to the impedance that changes for each part in the longitudinal direction of the terminal 14, the recess 58 is provided at the center of the bottom regulation surface 26 in the left-right direction, and the recesses 84 are provided at both ends of the bottom regulation surface 26 in the left-right direction. It is good also as a structure which combined the site|part.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it is possible to implement various modifications other than the above without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course.

10 Connector 12 Housing 14 Terminal 16 Fitting portion 22 Accommodating portion 24 Side restriction surface (restriction surface)
26 bottom regulation surface (regulation surface)
44 back surface (surface opposite to contact surface)
50 contact surface 52 front end (end in mating direction of terminal)
58 recessed portion 80 connector 82 bottom regulation surface (regulation surface)
84 recess

Claims (5)

a terminal having a contact surface that makes electrical contact with an object to be connected;
At least one of a bottom surface portion placed on a substrate, a fitting portion projecting from the bottom surface portion and fitted to the connection object along a fitting direction, and a portion different from the contact surface of the terminal. a housing having an accommodating portion that accommodates the terminal in a state in which displacement of the terminal can be regulated by restricting surfaces facing each other;
a concave portion provided on the regulating surface of the accommodating portion and forming a space with the terminal;
has
The bottom surface portion is provided with a terminal insertion hole which is continuous with the accommodating portion and into which a part of the terminal is inserted. part of which communicates with the terminal insertion hole within the terminal insertion hole,
connector. The concave portion constitutes a first concave portion formed in a portion of the first restricting surface as the restricting surface that contacts the surface of the terminal opposite to the contact surface in the plate thickness direction , and a portion of the inner surface. and a second recess formed in a part of the second regulation surface that contacts the contact surface,
The connector of Claim 1. The restricting surface, which contacts the surface of the terminal opposite to the contact surface in the plate thickness direction, is formed in the concave portion in the contact direction in which the connection object contacts the contact surface and in the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction. A pair of
3. The connector of claim 2. A pair of the regulating surfaces contacting the surface of the terminal opposite to the contact surface in the plate thickness direction is formed in a contact direction in which the connection object contacts the contact surface and in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction. provided between the recesses that are formed,
3. The connector of claim 2. an end portion of the recess in the fitting direction is covered from the outside by the terminal;
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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