JP7369576B2 - electrical connectors - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to electrical connectors with floating functionality.

Some electrical connectors have a floating feature. Floating function means that when a connector and a mating connector are mated to each other, even if the mating part of the connector and the mating part of the mating connector are misaligned, the connector absorbs the misalignment. A function that enables the mating of a connector and a mating connector. Hereinafter, an electrical connector having a floating function will be referred to as a floating connector.

Each of the plurality of terminals provided on the floating connector has a circuit connection part that is connected to a circuit on the board, a contact part that comes into contact with a mating connector, and a spring part that connects between the circuit connection part and the contact part. We are prepared. Further, the floating connector includes a fixed housing fixed to the board and a movable housing movable with respect to the board, and the movable housing is provided with a fitting part that fits into a mating connector. Furthermore, the circuit connection portion of each terminal is fixed to the substrate, and the contact portion of each terminal is fixed to the movable housing. With this structure, the movable housing can be moved relative to the board by elastic deformation of the spring portion of each terminal. When a mating connector is mated to a floating connector, if the mating part of the mating connector is misaligned with the mating part provided on the movable housing of the floating connector, the movable housing may be attached to the board. By moving with respect to that position, the positional shift can be absorbed.

An example of a floating connector is described in Patent Document 1 below.

JP 2019-33035 Publication

For example, in realizing a floating connector that includes a power terminal, it is necessary to increase the current capacity of the power terminal.

Generally, the current capacity of a terminal can be increased by making the terminal thicker. However, as the terminal becomes thicker, the spring portion of the terminal becomes less likely to be elastically deformed, resulting in a smaller amount of movement of the movable housing relative to the board.

Furthermore, even when the terminal is made thicker, by making the terminal longer, the spring portion of the terminal can be easily elastically deformed, and the amount of movement of the movable housing relative to the board can be increased. However, as the terminals become longer, the outer dimensions of the floating connector become larger.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, for example, and an object of the present invention is to be able to increase the current capacity of the terminal, ensure a sufficient amount of movement of the movable housing relative to the board, Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector whose external dimensions can be reduced.

In order to solve the above problems, the electrical connector of the present invention includes a circuit connection part that is connected to a circuit on a board, a contact part that contacts a terminal of a mating connector, and a contact part that is at least connected to the circuit connection part. a terminal having a spring portion connecting the circuit connection portion and the contact portion so as to be movable in one direction ; a fixed housing fixed to the substrate; the contact portion being fixed; a movable housing supported on the board via the terminals so as to be movable in at least the one direction with respect to the housing, the terminals each having a plurality of independent terminal boards; are formed by overlapping each other in the thickness direction, and the terminals are arranged such that the thickness direction of each of the plurality of terminal plates is equal to the one direction.

In the electrical connector of the present invention, the contact portions of the terminals are fixed to the movable housing. Furthermore, when the electrical connector of the present invention is mounted on a board, the circuit connection portion of the terminal is connected to the circuit on the board, thereby fixing the circuit connection portion to the board. As a result, the movable housing is supported on the board via the terminals. The contact portion of the terminal can be moved in at least the one direction above with respect to the circuit connection portion by elastic deformation of the spring portion. Therefore, the movable housing can be moved in at least the one direction with respect to the substrate and the fixed housing fixed to the substrate by elastic deformation of the spring portion of the terminal. When an external force that pushes the movable housing in the first direction acts on the movable housing and the movable housing moves in the first direction , the contact portion of the terminal moves in the first direction together with the movable housing. When the contact portion of the terminal moves in the first direction , the spring portion of the terminal is elastically deformed. The terminal is formed by a plurality of independent terminal boards overlapping each other in the thickness direction of the plurality of terminal boards, and the thickness direction of each of the plurality of terminal boards is equal to the above one direction. Because of the arrangement , when the spring portion is elastically deformed, the portions forming the spring portion in each of two adjacent terminal plates among the plurality of terminal plates constituting the terminal slide relative to each other. By adopting a structure in which the terminal plate slides in this manner when the spring portion is elastically deformed, the spring portion can be easily elastically deformed. Therefore, a sufficient amount of movement of the movable housing relative to the substrate in at least one direction can be ensured without increasing the length of the spring portion of the terminal. On the other hand, since the terminal in the present invention is formed by overlapping a plurality of terminal boards in their thickness direction, the terminal in the present invention is formed by adding up the thickness dimension of the plurality of terminal boards constituting the terminal. It has the same current capacity as a terminal formed by processing a single metal plate having the same thickness into the same external shape as the terminal according to the present invention. As described above, according to the electrical connector of the present invention, it is possible to secure a sufficient amount of movement of the movable housing in at least the one direction above with respect to the substrate without increasing the length of the spring portion of the terminal, and Current capacity can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to realize an electrical connector that has a large current capacity and a small external dimension.

Furthermore, in the electrical connector of the present invention, it is preferable that two adjacent terminal boards of the plurality of terminal boards are in contact with each other. Moreover, in the electrical connector of the present invention, it is preferable that each of the plurality of terminal plates has the same shape. Further, in the electrical connector of the present invention, each of the terminal plates has a connection plate part forming the circuit connection part, a contact plate part forming the contact part, and a spring plate part forming the spring part , and The circuit connection portion is formed by the connection plate portions of the plurality of terminal boards overlapping each other in the thickness direction of the connection plate portions of the plurality of terminal boards, and the contact portion is formed by the contact plate portions of the plurality of terminal boards overlapping each other in the thickness direction of the connection plate portions of the plurality of terminal boards. The spring portion is formed by overlapping the contact plate portions of the plurality of terminal plates in the thickness direction, and the spring portion is formed by overlapping the spring plate portions of the plurality of terminal plates in the thickness direction of the spring plate portions of the plurality of terminal plates. It is also possible to have a configuration formed by.

Further, in the electrical connector of the present invention, the movable housing is provided with a support hole or a support groove for supporting the contact portion, and the contact plate of the plurality of terminal plates is provided in the support hole or the support groove. It is also possible to have a structure in which the parts are inserted all together in a state where they overlap each other.

Further, in the electrical connector of the present invention, the contact plate portion of each of the terminal plates is curved in the thickness direction of the contact plate portion, the support hole or the support groove extends linearly, and the contact plate portion of each of the terminal plates is curved in the thickness direction of the contact plate portion. The plate portion may be inserted into the support hole or support groove in a linearly elastically deformed state.

Further, in the electrical connector of the present invention, one of the opposing surfaces of the contact plate portions of two adjacent terminal plates in the plurality of terminal plates is formed with a convex portion, and the other surface is provided with a convex portion. A concave portion may be formed in the surface, and the convex portion may be inserted into the concave portion.

According to the present invention, the current capacity of the terminal can be increased, a sufficient amount of movement of the movable housing relative to the board can be ensured, and the external dimensions of the floating connector can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, a board on which the connector is mounted, a mating connector, and a board on which the mating connector is mounted; FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a mating connector. It is a figure showing the connector of an embodiment of the present invention seen from the left front upper direction. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connector according to an embodiment of the invention seen from above; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen from below. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the direction of arrow VI-VI in FIG. 4. FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the direction of arrow VII-VII in FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the direction of arrows VIII-VIII in FIG. 4; FIG. 3 shows a fixed housing of a connector according to an embodiment of the invention as seen from below. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the movable housing of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, seen from above; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the movable housing of the connector according to the embodiment of the invention, seen from below; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a terminal of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a plurality of terminal boards forming terminals of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view from below of the connector of the embodiment of the present invention with the movable housing moved; FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing elastic deformation of a spring portion of a terminal in a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a current flowing through a terminal in a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an explanatory view showing a modification of a terminal of a connector of an embodiment of the present invention. It is an explanatory view showing a modification of a terminal of a connector of an embodiment of the present invention. It is an explanatory view showing a modification of a terminal of a connector of an embodiment of the present invention. It is an explanatory view showing a modification of a terminal of a connector of an embodiment of the present invention.

An electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Regarding the embodiments of the present invention, when describing the directions of up (U), down (D), front (F), back (B), left (L), or right (R), for convenience of explanation, Follow the arrows drawn at the lower right or lower left in Figures 1, 3-14, 17, and 19-20.

FIG. 1 shows a connector 1 that is an embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention, and a mating connector 91 that can be connected to the connector 1. In FIG. 1, connector 1 is a floating connector. Further, the connector 1 is mounted on the board 85, and the mating connector 91 is mounted on the mating board 95. By connecting the connector 1 and the mating connector 91 to each other as shown in FIG. 1, the circuits on the board 85 and the circuits on the mating board 95 can be connected to each other. Further, in this embodiment, the connector 1 and the mating connector 91 are used as power connectors for supplying power supply current from the board 85 to the mating board 95 or from the mating board 95 to the board 85, respectively.

FIG. 2 shows a mating connector 91. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the mating connector 91 includes a plurality of terminals 92 having sufficient current capacity to flow a power supply current, and a housing 93 that holds these terminals 92. Further, the housing 93 is provided with a fitting hole 94 for fitting into the fitting portion 19 of the connector 1 , and each terminal 92 is arranged within the fitting hole 94 .

FIG. 3 shows the connector 1 viewed from the upper left front direction. FIG. 4 shows the connector 1 seen from above. FIG. 5 shows the connector 1 seen from below. FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the connector 1 viewed from the direction of arrow VI-VI in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the connector 1 viewed from the direction of arrow VII-VII in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a cross section of the connector 1 viewed from the direction of arrow VIII-VIII in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the connector 1 includes a fixed housing 11, a movable housing 18, and a plurality of terminals 31.

The fixed housing 11 is made of an insulating material such as resin, and is formed into a cylindrical shape having a rectangular outer shape when viewed from above. The fixed housing 11 has the function of holding each terminal 31 and holding the movable housing 18 movably with respect to the board 85.

The fixed housing 11 is placed on and fixed to the substrate 85 as shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, fixing metal fittings are provided at the lower left and lower right of the outer surface of the front peripheral wall 11A of the fixed housing 11, and at the lower left and lower right of the outer surface of the rear peripheral wall 11B. 16 are respectively provided. The fixed housing 11 is immovably fixed to the substrate 85 using a fixing fitting 16.

Furthermore, projecting portions 13 are provided on the front peripheral wall portion 11A and the rear peripheral wall portion 11B of the fixed housing 11, respectively. These projecting portions 13 are arranged at the center of the peripheral walls 11A and 11B in the left-right direction, and extend inward in the front-rear direction from the upper ends of the peripheral walls 11A and 11B, respectively. These projecting portions 13 have a function of limiting the range of movement of the movable housing 18 in the front and back direction.

Furthermore, notches 14 are formed in the left peripheral wall portion 11C and the right peripheral wall portion 11D of the fixed housing 11, respectively. These notches 14 are arranged at the center of the lower portions of the peripheral walls 11C and 11D in the front-rear direction, and are formed in a concave shape that opens downward. Projections 20 of the movable housing 18 are inserted into these notches 14 . The movable housing 18 is movably held by the fixed housing 11 by inserting the left and right protrusions 20 of the movable housing 18 into the left and right notches 14 of the fixed housing 11, respectively.

FIG. 9 is a view from below of the fixed housing 11 with the movable housing 18 and each terminal 31 removed. As shown in FIG. 9, the fixed housing 11 is formed with a plurality of holding holes 15 for holding the plurality of terminals 31, respectively. Among the plurality of holding holes 15, half of the holding holes 15 are arranged in a row in the left-right direction at the center of the front peripheral wall 11A, and the remaining half of the holding holes 15 are arranged in a row in the left-right direction of the front peripheral wall 11A. They are arranged in a row in the left and right direction at the center of the direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, these holding holes 15 each extend upward from the lower surface of the peripheral wall portions 11A and 11B.

As shown in FIG. 3, the movable housing 18 is made of an insulating material such as resin and is formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The movable housing 18 is arranged in a space inside the fixed housing 11.

As shown in FIG. 4, gaps are formed between the front, rear, left, and right outer surfaces of the movable housing 18 and the inner surfaces of the peripheral walls 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D of the fixed housing 11. There is. Further, a gap is formed between the front outer surface of the movable housing 18 and the rear end of the projecting portion 13 projecting rearward from the peripheral wall portion 11A of the fixed housing 11. Further, a gap is also formed between the rear outer surface of the movable housing 18 and the front end of the overhang 13 that extends forward from the peripheral wall 11B of the fixed housing 11. Thereby, the movable housing 18 can move in the front-back direction and the left-right direction with respect to the fixed housing 11 and the board 85. Further, as can be seen from FIG. 6, when the connector 1 is mounted on the substrate 85, a gap is formed between the lower surface of the movable housing 85 and the upper surface 85A of the substrate 85. Therefore, the movable housing 18 can also move in the vertical direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the lower part of the movable housing 18 has a smaller width in the front-rear direction than the upper part of the movable housing 18. Thereby, between the front outer surface of the lower part of the movable housing 18 and the inner surface of the peripheral wall part 11A of the fixed housing 11, and between the rear outer surface of the lower part of the movable housing 18 and the inner surface of the peripheral wall part 11B of the fixed housing 11. Each has a large space. The spring portion 37 of each terminal 31 is arranged within these spaces.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper part of the movable housing 18 is a fitting portion 19 that is fitted into a fitting hole 94 of a mating connector 91. As shown in FIG. 1, when the connector 1 and the mating connector 91 are connected, the fitting portion 19 of the movable housing 18 enters the fitting hole 94 of the mating connector 91.

Furthermore, protrusions 20 are provided on the left and right parts of the movable housing 18, respectively. The protrusion 20 provided on the left side of the movable housing 18 protrudes leftward from the center of the lower part of the left outer surface of the movable housing 18 in the front-rear direction. The protrusion 20 provided on the right side of the movable housing 18 protrudes rightward from the center of the lower part of the right outer surface of the movable housing 18 in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, each protrusion 20 is disposed within a cutout 14 formed in the fixed housing 11. As shown in FIGS. Additionally, each protrusion 20 is spaced apart from the cutout 14 and is movable within the cutout 14 .

FIG. 10 is a top view of the movable housing 18 with the fixed housing 11 and each terminal 31 removed. FIG. 11 is a view of the movable housing 18 in FIG. 10 viewed from below. As shown in FIG. 10, for example, three terminal insertion recesses 21 are formed in the movable housing 18. The terminal insertion recesses 21 are arranged in a line in the left-right direction at the center of the movable housing 18 in the front-rear direction. Further, as can be seen from FIGS. 6 and 8, each terminal insertion recess 21 opens upward. When the fitting portion 19 of the movable housing 18 is inserted into the fitting hole 94 of the mating connector 91, the terminal 92 of the mating connector 91 enters the terminal insertion recess 21.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, in the movable housing 18, a plurality of support grooves 22 are formed on the left inner surface and the right inner surface of each terminal insertion recess 21. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of support holes 23 are formed at the bottom of the movable housing 18. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the terminal 31 is supported by the support groove 22 and the support hole 23. Each support groove 22 and each support hole 23 extend in the vertical direction. The position of each support groove 22 and the position of each support hole 23 correspond to each other, and the support grooves 22 and support holes 23 that correspond to each other are continuous. In this embodiment, twelve support grooves 22 are formed in the movable housing 18, as shown in FIG. It is arranged so that Further, as shown in FIG. 11, twelve support holes 23 are formed in the movable housing 18, and these support holes 23 are arranged to correspond to the twelve support grooves 22.

As can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5, the connector 1 in this embodiment is provided with 12 terminals 31. Of the 12 terminals 31, six terminals 31 are arranged in a row in the left-right direction at the front of the connector 1, and the remaining six terminals 31 are arranged in a row in the left-right direction at the rear of the connector 1. . Each of the twelve terminals 31 has the same shape and structure. FIG. 12 shows one of these terminals 31. As shown in FIG. 12, the terminal 31 has a circuit connection part 32, a holding part 33, a contact part 35, and a spring part 37.

The circuit connection portion 32 is a portion that is connected to the circuit on the board 85 by, for example, soldering. The circuit connection portion 32 extends in the front-rear direction. The circuit connection portion 32 in this embodiment is a surface-mounted circuit connection portion that is soldered to a circuit formed on the upper surface 85A of the substrate 85. Note that in FIG. 1, illustration of the circuit formed on the substrate 85 is omitted.

The holding portion 33 is a portion for holding the terminal 31 on the fixed housing 11. The holding portion 33 extends upward from the circuit connection portion 32. The terminal 31 is held in the fixed housing 11 by inserting the holding part 33 into a holding hole 15 formed in the fixed housing 11, as shown in FIG. Further, the holding portion 33 is provided with a protrusion 34 for retaining the holding portion 33 in the holding hole 15. By fitting the protrusion 34 into the inner surface of the holding hole 15, the holding portion 33 is prevented from falling out of the holding hole 15.

The contact portion 35 is a portion that comes into contact with the terminal 92 of the mating connector 91. As shown in FIG. 12, the contact portion 35 extends in the vertical direction. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the contact portion 35 is inserted into the support hole 23 and the support groove 22 of the movable housing 18 and is supported. Further, the contact portion 35 is provided with a protrusion 36 for fixing the contact portion 35 within the support hole 23, as shown in FIG. By fitting the protrusion 36 into the inner surface of the support hole 23, the contact portion 35 is prevented from slipping out from the support hole 23.

The spring portion 37 is a portion that connects the circuit connection portion 32 and the contact portion 35 so that the contact portion 35 is movable relative to the circuit connection portion 32. The spring portion 37 connects the rear end of the circuit connection portion 32 and the lower end of the contact portion 35 . The spring portion 37 is formed of an elongated rod-shaped member (as described later, this is formed by overlapping the spring plate portions 47 of a plurality of terminal plates 41) in order to reduce its elastic modulus and make it easy to elastically deform. ) has a shape that is bent at multiple points. By elastically deforming the spring portion 37, the contact portion 35 can move in the front-rear direction, up-down direction, and left-right direction with respect to the circuit connection portion 32.

The circuit connection portion 32 of each terminal 31 is fixed to the substrate 85 by soldering or the like. Further, the circuit connection portion 32 of each terminal 31 is fixed to the fixed housing 11 via the holding portion 33, and the fixed housing 11 is fixed to the substrate 85 via the fixing metal fitting 16. On the other hand, the contact portion 35 of each terminal 31 is inserted into the support hole 23 and support groove 22 of the movable housing 18 and fixed to the movable housing 18. As a result, the movable housing 18 can move in the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction with respect to the fixed housing 11 and the board 85 due to the elastic deformation of the spring portion 37 of each terminal 31. This structure realizes the floating function of the connector 1.

FIG. 13 shows a plurality of terminal boards 41 constituting one terminal 31. As shown in FIG. 13, each terminal 31 is formed by stacking a plurality of terminal boards 41, for example, five terminal boards 41, in the thickness direction of these terminal boards 41. Each terminal plate 41 is made of a conductive material, for example, a metal such as brass. Further, each terminal board 41 is independent. For example, each terminal plate 41 is formed by punching out a metal plate.

The plurality of terminal boards 41 each have the same shape. The outer shape of the terminal board 41 when viewed from the left or right is the same as the outer shape of the terminal 31 when viewed from the left or right. Each terminal plate 41 is a flat plate, and the left and right surfaces of each terminal plate 41 are flat.

Each terminal board 41 includes a connection plate part 42 forming the circuit connection part 32 of the terminal 31, a holding plate part 43 forming the holding part 33 of the terminal 31, a contact plate part 45 forming the contact part 35 of the terminal 31, and It has a spring plate portion 47 that forms the spring portion 37 of the terminal 31. The circuit connection portion 32 of one terminal 31 is formed by overlapping the connection plate portions 42 of the plurality of terminal boards 41 in the thickness direction. Further, the holding portion 33 of one terminal 31 is formed by overlapping the holding plate portions 43 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 in the thickness direction. Further, the contact portion 35 of one terminal 31 is formed by overlapping the contact plate portions 45 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 in the thickness direction. Further, the spring portion 37 of one terminal 31 is formed by overlapping the spring plate portions 47 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 in the thickness direction.

As can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 9, the holding plate portions 43 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting one terminal 31 are inserted into one holding hole 15 in an overlapping state, and one terminal 31 The contact plate portions 45 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting the terminal plate 41 are inserted into one support hole 23 in an overlapping state, respectively. Thereby, the plurality of terminal boards 41 constituting one terminal 31 are integrated. As shown in FIG. 12, in a plurality of terminal boards 41 constituting one terminal 31, two adjacent terminal boards 41 are in surface contact with each other. However, the two adjacent terminal boards 41 are not fixed to each other.

The terminal 31 of the connector 1 of this embodiment has the following mechanical properties. FIG. 14 shows the connector 1 viewed from below, with the movable housing 18 moved to the left with respect to the fixed housing 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, when an external force acts on the movable housing 18 and the movable housing 18 is pushed to the left, the spring portion 37 of each terminal 31 is elastically deformed, and the movable housing 18 is moved toward the fixed housing 11. Move to the left. At this time, since the two adjacent terminal plates of the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting one terminal 31 are not fixed to each other, the spring plate portion 47 of one of these terminal plates 41 is connected to the spring plate portion of the other terminal plate. 47.

The sliding movement of the spring plate portion 47 will be further explained using FIG. 15. 15(A) schematically shows a state in which the spring plate portions 47 of a plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting one terminal 31 are not elastically deformed, and FIG. 2 schematically shows a state in which the spring plate portion 47 of the terminal plate 41 is elastically deformed. As can be seen from FIGS. 15A and 15B, an external force acts on the movable housing 18, which applies force to the contact portion 35 of the terminal 31 fixed in the support hole 23 of the movable housing 18, causing the terminal 31 to When the spring plate portions 47 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 are elastically deformed, one spring plate portion 47 of the two adjacent terminal plates of the plurality of terminal plates 41 deforms with respect to the other spring plate portion 47. to move the slide.

When force is applied to the contact portion 35 of the terminal 31 in this way, the spring plate portions 47 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting the terminal 31 slide relative to each other, so that the thickness is reduced as shown in FIG. 13, for example. A terminal 31 formed by stacking five terminal plates 41 of a millimeter (hereinafter referred to as a "five thin plate stacked terminal") and one metal plate with a thickness of (a x 5) millimeters are used. When comparing a terminal processed to the same external shape as the terminal 31 (hereinafter referred to as a "thick single-plate terminal"), the spring part of the 5-thin plate terminal is better than the spring part of the thick-plate single-plate terminal. The elastic modulus is smaller than that of the other parts, making it easier to elastically deform. Therefore, if the same amount of force is applied to the left to the contact area of a five-layer thin plate terminal and the contact area of a single thick plate terminal, the contact area of the five-layer thin plate terminal will be thicker. It moves significantly to the left than the contact part of the single plate terminal. Therefore, by employing a stack of five thin plates as each terminal 31 of the connector 1, the amount of movement of the movable housing 18 relative to the fixed housing 11 and the board 85 is increased compared to the case where a single thick plate terminal is employed. be able to.

Further, the terminal 31 of the connector 1 of this embodiment has the following electrical properties. FIG. 16 shows how the terminal 92 of the mating connector 91 contacts the contact portion 35 of the terminal 31, and the power supply current flows from the terminal 92 of the mating connector 91, through the terminal 31 of the connector 1, to the circuit 86 of the board 85. Shown schematically. In FIG. 16, a plurality of connection plate parts 42 constituting the circuit connection part 32 of the terminal 31 are connected to a circuit 86 formed on the upper surface 85A of the substrate 85 by solder 87. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the terminals 92 of the mating connector 91 are connected to the contact plate portion 45 of the rightmost or leftmost terminal board 41 among the plurality of terminal boards 41 constituting one terminal 31. Touch the outward facing surface. Therefore, the power supply current flows from the terminal 92 of the mating connector 91 to the contact plate portion 45 of the terminal plate 41 disposed on the rightmost or leftmost side of the terminal 31 of the connector 1 . In the plurality of terminal boards 41 constituting the terminal 31, the two adjacent terminal boards are in contact with each other, so that the liquid flows into the contact plate portion 45 of the terminal board 41 located on the rightmost or leftmost side of the terminal 31. The power supply current flows through each of the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting the terminal 31 and is supplied to the circuit 86 of the board 85. From this, it can be seen that the five thin plate stacked terminal has the same electrical resistance and the same current capacity as the one thick plate terminal. Therefore, even when a five-thin-plate stacked terminal is adopted as each terminal 31 of the connector 1, it is possible to ensure the same current capacity as when a single thick-plate terminal is adopted.

As explained above, each terminal 31 of the connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is formed by a plurality of independent terminal boards 41 overlapping each other in the thickness direction of the plurality of terminal boards 41. With this configuration, the current capacity of each terminal 31 can be increased, and the spring portion 37 of each terminal 31 can be easily elastically deformed. By making the spring portion 37 of each terminal 31 easy to elastically deform, the amount of movement of the movable housing 18 relative to the fixed housing 11 and the board 85 at least in the left-right direction can be increased. Further, by making the spring portion 37 of each terminal 31 easy to elastically deform, the length of the spring portion 37 of each terminal 31 can be shortened while ensuring a sufficient amount of movement of the movable housing 18. Therefore, the external dimensions of the connector 1 can be reduced while achieving good floating performance of the connector 1. Therefore, according to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to realize a small-sized floating connector that can flow a power supply current of, for example, several amperes to tens of amperes, or more, and has high floating performance.

Further, in the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting each terminal 31 of the connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, two adjacent terminal plates are in contact with each other. Therefore, a terminal 31 formed by overlapping n terminal plates 41 each having a thickness of a mm is different from a terminal 31 formed by one metal plate having a thickness of (a×n) mm. It can be seen electrically as a terminal having the same external shape. Therefore, the current capacity of each terminal 31 can be increased while reducing the elastic modulus of the spring portion 37 of each terminal 31.

Furthermore, in the connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting one terminal 31 each have the same shape. With this configuration, when forming each terminal board 41 by punching, for example, each terminal board 41 can be easily formed using a common die (punch). Therefore, according to this embodiment, the terminal 31 which has a large current capacity and is easily elastically deformable can be easily formed at low cost.

Each terminal plate 41 constituting each terminal 31 of the connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a portion forming the circuit connection portion 32 of the terminal 31, a portion forming the holding portion 33 of the terminal 31, and a portion forming the terminal 31. and a portion forming the spring portion 37 of the terminal 31, respectively. With this configuration, the circuit connection portion 32, the holding portion 33, the contact portion 35, and the spring portion 37 of the terminal 31 can be easily formed by simply overlapping the plurality of terminal plates 41.

Furthermore, in the connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the contact plate portions 45 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting the terminals 31 are overlapped in the support hole 23 or the support groove 22 formed in the movable housing 18. are inserted together. Further, the holding plate portions 43 of the plurality of terminal plates 41 forming the terminal 31 are inserted into the holding hole 15 formed in the fixed housing 11 in a state that they are overlapped with each other. With these configurations, the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting each terminal 31 can be easily held in the movable housing 18 and the fixed housing 11 in an overlapping state.

In the above embodiment, each terminal plate 41 constituting each terminal 31 is formed into a flat plate shape, but as shown in FIG. 17(A), the contact plate portion 45 of each terminal plate 41 is As shown in FIG. 17(B), the contact plate portion 45 of each terminal plate 41 is elastically deformed linearly into the linearly elongated support hole 23 and support groove 22. It may also be configured to be inserted by.

Specifically, the contact plate portion 45 of each terminal plate 41 to be inserted into the support groove 22 formed on the left side of each terminal insertion recess 21 of the movable housing 18 and the corresponding support hole 23 is inserted into the lower end portion thereof. The upper end is curved so that it is tilted to the left. Further, the contact plate portion 45 of each terminal plate 41 inserted into the support groove 22 formed on the right side of each terminal insertion recess 21 of the movable housing 18 and the corresponding support hole 23 is attached to the lower end portion thereof. Curve the top end side to the right. On the other hand, each support groove 22 and each support hole 23 are formed to extend linearly in the vertical direction.

The contact plate portion 45 is formed in the support groove 22 and the corresponding support hole 23 formed on the left side of each terminal insertion recess 21 of the movable housing 18 so that the upper end portion of the contact plate portion 45 is inclined to the left with respect to the lower end portion thereof. When each curved terminal plate 41 is inserted, the upper end portion of the contact plate portion 45 of the leftmost terminal plate 41 hits the bottom surface of the support groove 22 and is elastically deformed to the right to become a straight line. At the same time, the upper end portion of the contact plate portion 45 of the second terminal plate 41 from the left is pushed by the leftmost terminal plate 41 and is elastically deformed to the right to form a straight line. Similarly, the upper end portions of the contact plate portions 45 of the remaining terminal plates 41 constituting the terminal 31 are also elastically deformed to become linear. Further, the upper end portion of the contact plate portion 45 is tilted to the right with respect to the lower end portion of the contact plate portion 45 in the support groove 22 formed on the right side of each terminal insertion recess 21 of the movable housing 18 and the corresponding support hole 23. When each of the terminal plates 41 curved as shown in FIG. At the same time, the upper end portion of the contact plate portion 45 of the second terminal plate 41 from the right is pushed by the rightmost terminal plate 41 and elastically deforms leftward into a straight line. Similarly, the upper end portions of the contact plate portions 45 of the remaining terminal plates 41 constituting the terminal 31 are also elastically deformed to become linear. As a result, the upper end portions of the contact plate portions 45 of two adjacent terminal plates in the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting one terminal 31 are pressed against each other and come into strong contact. Thereby, the contact plate portions 45 can be reliably electrically connected to each other, and the current capacity of the terminal 31 can be reliably increased.

Further, as shown in FIG. 18, one of the opposing surfaces of the contact plate portions 45 of two adjacent terminal plates 41 in the plurality of terminal plates 41 constituting each terminal 31 has a convex surface. 51 and a recess 52 on the other surface, so that when these terminal boards 41 are stacked, the projection 51 is inserted into the recess 52. Also with such a configuration, it is possible to reliably electrically connect two adjacent terminal boards 41 to each other in the terminal 31, and the current capacity of the terminal 31 can be reliably increased.

Moreover, the shape of the terminal of the connector of the present invention is not limited to that taken up as the embodiment described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, a contact part 62 is arranged at the center of the terminal 61, circuit connection parts 63 and 64 are arranged at both ends of the terminal 61 in the front and back direction, and the contact part 62 and the circuit connection part 63 on the front side , and between the contact portion 62 and the circuit connection portion 64 on the rear side may be connected by spring portions 65 and 66, respectively. This terminal 55 is formed by overlapping a plurality of terminal plates 67. According to the terminal 55, the current capacity can be further increased.

Further, as shown in FIG. 20(A), a configuration may be adopted in which a contact portion 73 that is elastically displaced is formed in the contact portion 72 of the terminal 71. In this case, as shown in FIG. 20(B), the terminal 97 of the mating connector contacts the surface of the contact portion 73 facing outward in the front-rear direction. The contact portion 73 is pushed by the terminal 97 and elastically deforms, and is displaced in the direction of arrow d in FIG. 20(B). Then, the contact portion 73 pushes the terminal 97 in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow d by its elastic force. Therefore, the contact portion 73 reliably contacts the terminal 97. Note that the terminal 71 has a circuit connection part 74, a spring part 75, etc., like the terminal 31 of the above embodiment. The terminal 71 having such a contact portion 73 is also formed by overlapping a plurality of terminal plates 76.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example is given in which each terminal 31 of the connector 1 is formed by a plurality of terminal plates 41 having the same shape, but the present invention is not limited to this. The shapes of the plurality of terminal plates 41 forming one terminal 31 may not be completely the same, and may be partially different from each other.

Furthermore, in the connector 1 of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. It may protrude significantly. For example, the vertical dimension of the movable housing 18 may be significantly larger than the vertical dimension of the fixed housing 11, and the movable housing 18 may protrude significantly upward from the space inside the fixed housing 11.

Further, in the connector 1 of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, in the terminal board 41 constituting each terminal 31, an example is given in which two adjacent terminal boards 41 are in surface contact with each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the entire surfaces of two adjacent terminal boards 41 facing each other may be in contact with each other, or there may be a portion spaced apart from each other between these surfaces. Further, a conductive resin material or the like may be interposed between two adjacent terminal boards 41.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example is given in which the connector is for a power supply, but the connector of the present invention is not limited to a connector for a power supply.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example is given in which a surface-mounted circuit connection portion 32 is provided on each terminal 31 of the connector 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. Each terminal may be provided with an insert-mount type circuit connection.

Further, in the connector of the present invention, the number of terminals is not limited. Moreover, the number of terminal boards constituting the terminals of the connector of the present invention may be two or more. Further, the connector of the present invention may be provided with a plurality of terminals for different purposes, and the number of terminal plates constituting each terminal may be varied depending on the purpose. For example, the connector of the present invention may be provided with a power terminal made up of five terminal boards and a signal terminal made up of three terminal boards.

Furthermore, the present invention can be modified as appropriate within the scope or spirit of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and electrical connectors that involve such modifications also do not fall within the technical spirit of the present invention. included.

1 Connector (electrical connector)
11 Fixed housing 18 Movable housing 22 Support groove 23 Support hole 31, 61, 71 Terminal 32, 63, 64, 74 Circuit connection part 35, 62, 72 Contact part 37, 65, 66, 75 Spring part 41, 67, 76 Terminal Plate 42 Connection plate portion 45 Contact plate portion 47 Spring plate portion 51 Convex portion 52 Concave portion 85 Board 86 Circuit 91 Mating connector 92 Terminal

Claims (8)

A circuit connection portion connected to a circuit on a board, a contact portion contacting a terminal of a mating connector, and a circuit connection portion such that the contact portion is movable in at least one direction with respect to the circuit connection portion. a terminal having a spring portion connecting with the contact portion;
a fixed housing fixed to the substrate;
a movable housing supported on the substrate via the terminal so that the contact portion is fixed and movable in at least the one direction with respect to the fixed housing;
The terminal is formed by a plurality of independent terminal boards overlapping each other in the thickness direction of the plurality of terminal boards ,
The electrical connector is characterized in that the terminals are arranged such that the thickness direction of each of the plurality of terminal plates is equal to the one direction. When the contact portion moves in the one direction with respect to the circuit connection portion due to elastic deformation of the spring portion, one of the two terminal boards adjacent to each other in the plurality of terminal boards 2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the portion forming the spring portion in the terminal plate slides relative to the portion forming the spring portion in the other terminal plate. 3. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein two adjacent terminal boards in the plurality of terminal boards are in contact with each other. 4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of terminal plates has the same shape. Each of the terminal boards has a connection plate part forming the circuit connection part, a contact plate part forming the contact part, and a spring plate part forming the spring part, and the circuit connection part is connected to one of the plurality of terminal boards. The connection plate portions are formed by overlapping each other in the thickness direction of the connection plate portions of the plurality of terminal boards, and the contact portion is formed by overlapping each other in the thickness direction of the connection plate portions of the plurality of terminal boards. The spring portion is formed by overlapping the spring plate portions of the plurality of terminal plates in the thickness direction of the spring plate portions of the plurality of terminal plates. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The movable housing is provided with a support hole or a support groove for supporting the contact portion, and the contact plate portions of the plurality of terminal plates are inserted together into the support hole or the support groove in an overlapping state. The electrical connector according to claim 5 , characterized in that: The contact plate portion of each terminal plate is curved in the thickness direction of the contact plate portion, the support hole or support groove extends linearly, and the contact plate portion of each terminal plate is elastically deformed in a linear shape. 7. The electrical connector according to claim 6 , wherein the electrical connector is inserted into the support hole or groove. Among the mutually opposing surfaces of the contact plate portions of two adjacent terminal boards in the plurality of terminal boards, a convex portion is formed on one surface and a recessed portion is formed on the other surface, and the 7. The electrical connector according to claim 5 , wherein a protrusion is inserted into the recess.

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