JP7369837B2 - electrical connector for circuit board - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to electrical connectors for circuit boards.

Electrical connectors for circuit boards consist of a fixed housing that is attached to the circuit board and a contact portion of a terminal that connects to the mating connector, so as to allow the mating connection with the mating connector to deviate from its normal position. It is often used that has a movable housing that is movable relative to the fixed housing. An example thereof is a connector disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The connector of Patent Document 1 is formed of side walls and end walls so that the shape in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the circuit board (the connection direction with the mating connector, the height direction of the connector) forms a rectangular frame shape. It has a fixed housing (outer housing) whose longitudinal direction is the direction in which the side wall extends, and a movable housing (inner housing) disposed in the internal space of the fixed housing. A plurality of terminals span both housings and are arranged in the longitudinal direction. The movable housing is located in almost the same range as the fixed housing in the height direction, and is opposed to the fixed housing in the connector width direction (perpendicular to the longitudinal direction), with a space between them in the connector width direction. have. That is, the movable housing is spaced apart from both side walls of the fixed housing in the connector width direction. The movable housing has two receiving grooves that open upward and extend in the longitudinal direction so as to receive the mating connection body, and a center wall is formed between the two receiving grooves, and the receiving groove The outer surfaces of both side walls located on the outside of the housing face the corresponding side walls of the fixed housing and have the above-mentioned spacing.

Terminals are spanned between each side of the central wall of the movable housing and corresponding side walls of the fixed housing.

The above-mentioned terminal is a bent long band-shaped metal member, and an inverted U-shaped part located on the outside in the connector width direction and a U-shaped part located on the inside are strung together to form each horizontal S-shape as a whole. It has an outer leg, a middle leg, and an inner leg, and the outer leg and the middle leg are connected at the upper end by a bent part to form an inverted U shape, and the middle leg and the inner leg are connected by a horizontal arm at the lower end. It has a U-shape. A bent connection portion is provided from the lower end of the outer leg, and a contact portion is provided at the upper end side of the inner leg.

The outer leg is inserted from above into a fixing groove formed in the fixed housing, and the protrusion provided on the side edge of the outer leg bites into the wall of the fixing groove, so that the outer leg is fixedly held. . A fixed side terminal groove in which the intermediate leg is housed is formed in the inner surface of the fixed housing, and the intermediate leg is movable when elastically deformed within the fixed side terminal groove.

The horizontal arm connecting the intermediate leg and the inner leg with their lower ends passes through the above interval, passes through the bottom surface of the movable housing, and reaches the lower part of the movable side terminal groove formed in the center wall of the movable housing. ing. The terminal has a longitudinal elastic portion bent from the horizontal arm portion and extending upward, and the longitudinal elastic portion is housed in the movable terminal groove and can be elastically deformed within the movable terminal groove. ing. The movable terminal groove communicates with the receiving groove, and a contact portion provided at the upper end of the longitudinal elastic portion of the terminal and protruding toward the receiving groove is positioned so as to protrude into the receiving groove. This contact portion makes elastic contact with a corresponding portion of a mating connection body inserted into the receiving portion.

Thus, in the connector of Patent Document 1, when the mating connector is inserted into the receiving groove of the movable housing or in the connected state after insertion, if there is a deviation from the normal position of the mating connector,
Due to the elastic deformation of the terminal, the movable housing moves relative to the fixed housing by the amount of displacement, thereby avoiding the influence of this displacement.

When the misalignment is in the vertical direction, that is, in the insertion/removal direction of the mating connector, the horizontal arm of the terminal is elastically deflected, and when the misalignment is in the horizontal direction, that is, in the width direction of the connector, the intermediate leg extending in the overall direction of the terminal is elastically deflected. , each absorbs the deviation.

Patent No. 4969838

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the horizontal arm portion of the terminal is located in a region close to the movable housing in the connector width direction with respect to the movable housing that receives the mating connection body, and the intermediate leg is located at a position away from the movable housing in the connector width direction. is provided. When the displacement is in the lateral direction, the amount of movement of the movable housing due to the displacement does not differ much regardless of where the intermediate leg is provided in the width direction of the connector. However, when the displacement is in the vertical direction, the amount of elastic deflection of the horizontal arm increases when it is located farther from the movable housing. Therefore, it is possible to cope with a large shift in the vertical direction. However, in Patent Document 1, as described above, the horizontal arm portion is located close to the movable housing, and a large amount of elastic deflection cannot be ensured. This means that the amount of shift that can be absorbed in the vertical direction becomes smaller.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an electrical connector for a circuit board that can secure a large amount of movement of the movable housing against displacement in the vertical direction while ensuring a large amount of movement of the movable housing against displacement in the vertical direction. That is the issue.

The electrical connector for a circuit board according to the present invention has a connecting part for connecting to the circuit board at one end of the terminal in the longitudinal direction, and a contact part for contacting with a mating connector at the other end. It has a terminal and a housing that holds a plurality of arrays of the terminals, the housing includes a fixed housing that is attached to the circuit board via the terminal, and a fixed housing that is formed as a separate member from the fixed housing and that is attached to the fixed housing. and a movable housing in which a contact portion of the terminal is arranged.

In this electrical connector for a circuit board, in the present invention, the terminal includes a fixed side held part held by a fixed housing, a movable side held part held by a movable housing, and a movable side held part and the fixed side held part. an elastic part provided between the side held parts, the elastic part extending from the fixed side held part at an upper position of the fixed housing in a direction having a component parallel to the surface of the circuit board. a transverse elastic part, which extends downward from the transverse elastic part to the circuit board, extends upward through the curved part, and extends to the transverse elastic part in the connector width direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board and perpendicular to the terminal arrangement direction; It is characterized by having a curved elastic part located on the movable housing side.

In the present invention, the transverse elastic portion of the terminal extends from the fixed side held portion (the upper position of the fixed housing) toward the movable housing in a direction having a component parallel to the surface of the circuit board. That is, the transverse elastic portion is located away from the movable housing in the connector width direction. Therefore, the transverse elastic portion generates large elastic deflection with respect to the vertical movement of the movable housing. As a result, the amount of shift that can be absorbed in the vertical direction increases. Furthermore, although the curved elastic portion is located on the movable housing side with respect to the transverse elastic portion in the connector width direction, the amount of elastic deflection of the curved elastic portion in the direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board is It is determined by the vertical dimension of the curved elastic portion, and does not change depending on the position in the width direction of the connector. Therefore, the amount of shift that can be absorbed by the curved elastic portion in the direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board is ensured without being affected by the position of the curved elastic portion.

In the present invention, the transverse elastic portion of the terminal may be located at the same position as the upper end of the fixed housing in the vertical direction. By locating the transverse elastic portion in this manner, the transverse elastic portion does not protrude upward from the fixed housing, so that the risk of fingers or the like touching the transverse elastic portion from the outside is extremely reduced.

In the present invention, the fixed side held portion of the terminal may be embedded in the fixed housing. By embedding the fixed-side held part in the fixed housing in this way, it is possible to prevent fingers or the like from touching the fixed-side held part from the outside, and also to prevent the fixed-side held part from being touched by the fixed housing. Holding power can be increased.

In the present invention, the movable side held portion may be embedded in the movable housing. By embedding the movable side held part in the movable housing in this way, it is possible to prevent fingers or the like from touching the movable side held part from the outside, and also prevent the movable side held part from being touched by the movable housing. Holding power can be increased.

In the present invention, the contact portion of the terminal may be formed by an extension from the movable side held portion, and may be located in contact with a wall surface of the movable housing. Since the contact portion is located in contact with the wall surface of the movable housing in this manner, the contact portion can sufficiently withstand the contact pressure between the connector and the mating connector when the connector is fitted.

In the present invention, in the terminal, the movable side held portion may be located above the fixed side held portion. With this configuration, the length of the bending arm of the curved elastic portion extending in the vertical direction can be set to be long, so that the amount of elastic deformation of the curved elastic portion in the direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board can be increased. can.

In the present invention, in the terminal, the fixed side held portion may be held by the fixed housing, and the movable side held portion may be held by integral molding with the movable housing. By integrally molding the terminal with the fixed housing and the movable housing in this manner, the holding force of the terminal by the fixed housing and the movable housing can be increased. Furthermore, if the fixed-side held part and the fixed housing are integrally molded, and the movable-side held part and the movable housing are integrally molded in one process, manufacturing of the connector becomes easier. At the same time, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

As described above, the present invention extends the transverse elastic part of the terminal from the fixed side held part of the terminal held by the fixed housing toward the movable housing in a direction having a component parallel to the surface of the circuit board. As a result, the transverse elastic part is located away from the movable housing, which is located on the inside with respect to the fixed housing, and the distance from the transverse elastic part to the movable housing becomes large. When the transverse elastic portion moves in the vertical direction due to deviation from the normal position, the transverse elastic portion can undergo large elastic deflection deformation, and a large tolerance for the deviation can be secured. Moreover, the amount of elastic deformation of the curved elastic section against displacement in the direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board remains the same no matter where it is located in the width direction of the connector, so the vertical dimensions of the curved elastic section should be set appropriately. By doing so, a predetermined amount of elastic deformation can be ensured regardless of the position of the transverse elastic portion.

1A is an external perspective view of a connector assembly having a plug connector according to an embodiment of the present invention and a receptacle connector that is fitted and connected to the plug connector, FIG. 1(A) is before fitting and connection, and FIG. 1(B) is The state after fitting and connection is shown. 2(A) is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the inside of both connectors in FIG. 1, FIG. 2(A) is before fitting and connection corresponding to FIG. 1(A), and FIG. This is the state after the corresponding fitting connection. It is an external perspective view of the connector assembly which turned FIG. 1(A) upside down. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing both connectors in FIG. 1 with respective housings omitted. 5(A) is a cross-sectional view at the position of the signal terminal of both connectors in FIG. 1, FIG. 5(A) is before fitting connection corresponding to FIG. 1(A), and FIG. This is the state after connection. FIG. 6(A) is a sectional view of the holding fitting and held fitting of both connectors in FIG. 1 before fitting and connection, and FIG. 6(B) is the same as in FIG. 1(B). This is the state after fitting and connection corresponding to. FIG. 7(A) is an external perspective view showing the plug connector in the manufacturing process, FIG. 7(B) is an external perspective view showing the reinforcing metal fitting material alone with a carrier, and FIG. 7(C) is an external perspective view showing the plug connector in the manufacturing process. 7(D) is an enlarged view showing a state in which the connecting portion of FIG. 7(C) is cut away. FIG. FIG. 8(A) is a perspective view showing a state in which the receiving side housing and the fixing fitting with a carrier are integrally molded in the manufacturing process of the receptacle connector, and FIG. , FIG. 8(B) is shown in a vertically inverted orientation with respect to FIG. 8(A). 9(A) is a perspective view showing a state in which the receptacle terminal material is accommodated in the receiving side housing of FIG. 8 during the manufacturing process of the receptacle connector, and FIG. 9(A) is shown in a posture corresponding to FIG. 8(A). , FIG. 9(B) is shown in a posture corresponding to FIG. 8(B). 10(A) is a perspective view showing a state in which the terminal material of FIG. 9 and the board-side housing are integrally molded in the manufacturing process of the receptacle connector, and FIG. 10(A) is shown in a posture corresponding to FIG. 9(A). 10(B) is shown in a posture corresponding to FIG. 9(B).

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a connector assembly having a plug connector according to the present embodiment and a receptacle connector that is fitted and connected to the plug connector, and FIG. 1 (A) shows a state before fitting and connection, and FIG. ) shows the state after fitting and connection. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the inside of both connectors in FIG. 1, in which FIG. 2(A) is before fitting and connection corresponding to FIG. This is the state after fitting and connection corresponding to (B). FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the connector assembly obtained by turning FIG. 1(A) upside down. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of both connectors shown in FIG. 1 with their respective housings omitted. In Fig. 4, the signal terminal group, power supply terminal, and various other metal fittings in both connectors are located at positions with greater spacing in the terminal arrangement direction than they are in the actual connector. It is shown in

In this embodiment, a plug connector 1 as an electrical connector for a circuit board is arranged on a mounting surface of a connector assembly circuit board (not shown), and a plug connector 1 is arranged on a mounting surface of another circuit board (not shown). A receptacle connector 2 as an electrical connector for a circuit board constitutes a connector assembly. Both connectors are inserted and removed in an attitude in which the mounting surfaces of the circuit board and the other circuit board are parallel to each other, with the direction perpendicular to the mounting surface (vertical direction) being the connector insertion/extraction direction. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B), a receptacle connector 2 serving as a mating connector (a mating connector) is fitted and connected from above the plug connector 1. There is. In this embodiment, the receptacle connector 2 is the mating connector of the plug connector 1, but it goes without saying that the plug connector 1 is the mating connector from the receptacle connector 2.

The plug connector 1 includes a plug housing 10 whose longitudinal direction extends in one direction parallel to the mounting surface of a circuit board, and plug signal terminals 40 and a plug power source arranged and held in the plug housing 10 with the longitudinal direction being the terminal arrangement direction. Terminals 50 (hereinafter simply referred to as "plug terminals 40, 50" when there is no need to distinguish between the two), holding fittings 60 held by the plug housing 10 on both sides of the terminal arrangement range in the terminal arrangement direction, and It has a fitting 70 and a fixing fitting 80. The plug housing 10 also includes a fixed housing 20 that is attached to a circuit board via plug terminals 40 and 50, and a movable housing 30 that is formed as a separate member from the fixed housing 20 and that is movable relative to the fixed housing 20. have.

In this embodiment, the plug connector 1 is made symmetrically in the connector width direction which is parallel to the surface of the circuit board and is the transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The fixed housing 20 made of an electrically insulating material is provided as a separate member from the movable housing 30 at a position spaced apart from the movable housing 30 on both sides of the lower half of the movable housing 30 in the width direction of the connector. It has a plate shape extending in the longitudinal direction, and is formed so that the plate surface is perpendicular to the width direction of the connector. The fixed housings 20 on both sides of the movable housing 30 are also formed as separate members.

As seen in FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B), the fixed housing 20 includes a plate-shaped intermediate portion 21 that extends over a range including the movable housing 30 in the terminal arrangement direction and faces the side surface of the movable housing 30; The intermediate portion 21 has connected portions 22 that protrude outward from both ends of the lower portion in the terminal arrangement direction. As seen in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B), the intermediate portion 21 integrally holds fixed-side held portions 44 and 52, which will be described later, formed on one end side of plug terminals 40 and 50, which will be described later. It forms the fixed side holding part. Further, the two fixed housings 20 have connected portions 22 connected to each other at both end positions in the terminal arrangement direction by means of fixing fittings 80, which will be described later.

As seen in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B), the movable housing 30 is made of an electrically insulating material like the fixed housing 20, and has a fitting part 31 forming an upper half and a lower half. It has a support portion 32 (see also FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B)).

The fitting part 31 has a rectangular cylindrical shape with an upward opening and a bottom as shown in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B), and receives the receptacle connector 2 through a peripheral wall consisting of a side wall 31A and an end wall 31B, and a bottom wall 31C. A receiving portion 33 having a concave space is formed. Further, the fitting portion 31 holds the plug terminals 40 and 50 on the inner surface, upper surface, outer surface and bottom wall 31C of the side wall 31A extending in the terminal arrangement direction, and also holds the receptacle connector 2 in the receiving portion 33. When received, the receptacle terminals 120, 130 provided on the receptacle connector 2 and the plug terminals 40, 50 are brought into contact and electrically connected.

As seen in FIG. 1A, the end wall 31B is formed with an end hole that opens upward and extends over almost the entire area of the end wall 31B in the vertical direction. The end hole portion 31B-1 accommodates a holding portion 62 of the holding fitting 60, which will be described later (see also FIGS. 6(A) and (B)). Further, the end wall 31B has an end groove portion 31B-2 formed at a position outside the end hole portion 31B-1 in the terminal arrangement direction and at a central position in the connector width direction, which extends over almost the entire area of the end wall 31B in the vertical direction. has been done. The end groove portion 31B-2 opens upward and penetrates in the terminal arrangement direction (the wall thickness direction of the end wall 31B). As a result, the end hole portion 31B-1 and the outside are connected to the end groove portion 31B-2. The terminals are connected in the terminal arrangement direction.

As seen in FIG. 2(A), the support column 32 of the movable housing 30 extends downward from the bottom wall 31C of the fitting section 31 at the center position in the connector width direction, and connects the terminals of the receiving section 33 in the terminal arrangement direction. A vertical central wall portion 32A extending over the entire length in the arrangement direction, and vertical end wall portions 32B provided integrally with the vertical central wall portion 32A at both ends of the vertical central wall portion 32A in the terminal arrangement direction and extending in the connector width direction. have. Such a movable housing 30 is a fixed housing located below the bottom wall 31C and outside the receiving part 33 in the connector width direction by the vertical center wall part 32A and the vertical end wall part 32B of the pillar part 32. A side open space 34 extending laterally from the vertical center wall portion 32A is formed in the range up to 20. As seen in FIG. 1(A), at positions near both ends in the connector width direction at the bottom of the vertical end wall 32B, there is a A protruding portion 32B-1 is formed that protrudes from the surface perpendicular to the surface. The protruding parts 32B-1 are located on both sides of an end protruding part 63 of a holding fitting 60, which will be described later, and the protruding top surface thereof is located slightly outward from the end protruding part 63 in the terminal arrangement direction. (See also Figure 7(D)).

As shown in FIG. 1A, at the lower end of the vertical end wall portion 32B, regulated portions 32C are provided that extend outward in the terminal arrangement direction at positions near both ends in the connector width direction. The two regulated parts 32C are located below a connecting part 82, which will be described later, of a fixture 80 that connects the two fixed housings 20, and the upper surface of the regulated part 32C is close to the lower surface of the connecting part 82. When the movable housing 30 attempts to move upward by an amount greater than the allowable amount, the regulated portion 32C comes into contact with the connecting portion 82 and its movement is regulated.

The support portion 32 extends downward from the bottom wall 31C of the fitting portion 31 forming the receiving portion 33 to near the surface of the circuit board, but is not fixed to the circuit board and does not receive external force. When received, the entire movable housing 30 is movable in the connector width direction, longitudinal direction, and also in the vertical direction.

As seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in the plug connector 1, the plug terminals 40 and 50 are arranged in two rows, and each row has a plurality of (four in this embodiment) plugs. The signal terminal 40 and one plug power supply terminal 50 adjacent to the plug signal terminal 40 are arranged at equal intervals.

As seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B, the plug signal terminal 40 is strip-shaped over its entire length, except for a protruding inverted U-shaped portion 42, which will be described later. It is made by bending a thin flat metal strip of equal width in the thickness direction. The inverted U-shaped portion 42 is slightly wider than the other portions. Therefore, the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction (terminal arrangement direction) is the terminal width. When the plug connector 1 is viewed in the terminal arrangement direction, the plug signal terminal 40 has a signal connecting portion 41 formed at one end located below, and a protruding inverted U formed at the other end located above. A substantially horizontal S-shaped signal elastic portion 43 is provided between the signal portion 42 and the signal elastic portion 43 . The plug signal terminals 40 are provided in pairs symmetrically in the connector width direction, and a plurality of these pairs are arranged in the terminal arrangement direction.

The signal connecting portion 41 extends outward in the connector width direction so as to be located on the upper surface of the circuit board. Further, the plug signal terminal 40 has a fixed side held portion 44 that is bent at a portion adjacent to the signal connection portion 41 and extends upward. The fixed side held portion 44 is embedded in the fixed housing 20 and is held by integral molding with the fixed housing 20. That is, the fixed housing 20 forms a fixed-side holding portion for the fixed-side held portion 44 . The signal connecting portion 41 is located below the bottom surface of the fixed housing 20 and extends outward in the connector width direction along the bottom surface.

On the other hand, the inverted U-shaped part 42 is located above the fixed-side held part 44 and extends in an inverted U-shape along the inner surface, upper surface, and outer surface of the side wall 31A of the movable housing 30. It is in contact with the side, top, and outer surfaces. As seen in FIG. 5(A), the plunger inverted U-shaped portion 42 has two arms extending in the vertical direction, namely, an inner arm extending along the inner surface and an outer arm extending along the outer surface. The arm portion is formed as an inner signal contact portion 42A and an outer signal contact portion 42B that contact the receptacle signal terminal 120 of the receptacle connector 2 on a plate surface exposed from the side wall 31A. Furthermore, as seen in FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B), the lower end 42A-1 of the inner signal contact portion 42A and the lower end (free end) 42B-1 of the outer signal contact portion 42B are movable. It is buried in the bottom wall 31C of the housing 30. In this way, the inverted U-shaped part 42 is integrally molded and held by the side wall 31A and the bottom wall 31C, and the entire inverted U-shaped part 42 forms a movable side held part.

Further, an upper end curved portion 42C that connects the upper ends of the inner signal contact portion 42A and the outer signal contact portion 42B is convexly curved upward, and the upper surface of the upper end curved portion 42C, particularly in the connector width direction. The inner upper surface, which is the inner side, forms a surface substantially on the same level as the upper surface of the side wall 31A, and serves as a guiding introduction surface for the receptacle connector 2.

In this embodiment, the inverted U-shaped portion 42 extends along the inner surface, upper surface, and outer surface of the side wall 31A and is located in contact with the inner surface, upper surface, and outer surface, so that the connector is in a mated state. In this case, the inner signal contact portion 42A and the outer signal contact portion 42B can sufficiently withstand the contact pressure when making contact with the receptacle signal terminal 120 of the receptacle connector 2.

As seen in FIG. 5(A), the signal elastic portion 43 includes a transverse elastic portion 43A that extends linearly from the fixed side held portion 44 inward in the connector width direction at the upper end position of the fixed housing 20. and a substantially U-shaped curved elastic part 43B that is located inward in the connector width direction, that is, closer to the movable housing 30 than the transverse elastic part 43A, and connects the transverse elastic part 43A and the signal inner contact part 42A. The whole structure has an approximately horizontal S-shape. The curved elastic portion 43B is bent at an inner straight portion 43B-1 extending straight downward from the lower end 42A-1 of the inner signal contact portion 42A and an inner end of the transverse elastic portion 43A in the connector width direction. It has an outer straight part 43B-2 that extends obliquely downward, and a lower end curved part 43B-3 that is convexly curved downward and connects the lower ends of the inner straight part 43B-1 and the outer straight part 43B-2. are doing.

The lateral elastic portion 43A is elastically displaceable in the vertical direction, and elastically deflects when the movable housing 30 moves in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the movable housing 30 is fitted with the receptacle connector 2 at its receiving portion 33 and the movable housing 30 is positioned vertically with respect to the fixed housing 20 with a deviation from the normal position, the transverse elastic portion The above deviation is absorbed by the vertical elastic displacement of 43A, resulting in so-called floating. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the horizontal elastic portion 43A is vertically located at the same position as the upper end of the fixed housing 20 and does not protrude upward from the fixed housing 20, so there is no possibility that fingers or the like may come into contact with the horizontal elastic portion 43A from the outside. can be made extremely low.

In this embodiment, the transverse elastic portion 43A extends parallel to the mounting surface of the circuit board, but it is not essential that the transverse elastic portion 43A extends parallel to the mounting surface. You can leave it there. That is, the transverse elastic portion 43A only needs to extend with a component parallel to the mounting surface of the circuit board. Further, in the present embodiment, the transverse elastic part 43A is parallel to the mounting surface over its entire length, but instead of this, for example, the longitudinal middle part of the transverse elastic part is bent, Only a portion in the longitudinal direction may be parallel to the mounting surface, and the other portion may be inclined with respect to the mounting surface. Further, in the present embodiment, the transverse elastic portion 43A is located at the same position as the upper end of the fixed housing 20, but instead of this, it may be located at a position slightly lower than the upper end of the fixed housing 20, that is, at a position closer to the upper end. (upper position).

As can be seen from FIGS. 5A and 5B, the curved elastic portion 43B is substantially accommodated within the side open space 34 of the movable housing 30. The inner straight portion 43B-1 of the curved elastic portion 43B extends along the vertical center wall portion 32A that forms a part of the support portion 32 of the movable housing 30, and the connector is connected to the vertical center wall portion 32A. They are spaced apart in the width direction. Thus, the curved elastic portion 43B is capable of elastic displacement (elastic deformation) in the connector width direction within the side open space 34 when the plug signal terminal 40 receives an external force. Therefore, when the movable housing 30 is fitted with the receptacle connector 2 at its receiving portion 33, if the movable housing 30 is positioned with a deviation from the normal position with respect to the fixed housing 20, for example in the connector width direction, the bending elasticity The above deviation is absorbed by the elastic displacement of the portion 43B, resulting in so-called floating. If the displacement of the movable housing 30 is, for example, in the right direction in FIGS. The curved elastic portions 43B of the plug signal terminal 40 are elastically displaced so as to be expanded in the same direction.

In this embodiment, the transverse elastic portion 43A of the plug signal terminal 40 extends inward in the connector width direction from the fixed side held portion 44 (the upper end position of the fixed housing 20) parallel to the surface of the circuit board. . In other words, the transverse elastic portion 43A is located away from the movable housing 30 in the connector width direction. Therefore, the lateral elastic portion 43A generates large elastic deflection with respect to the vertical movement of the movable housing 30. As a result, the amount of shift that can be absorbed in the vertical direction increases.

Further, the curved elastic portion 43B is located on the movable housing 30 side with respect to the transverse elastic portion 43A in the connector width direction, but in the direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board (the connector width direction and the terminal arrangement direction). The amount of elastic deflection of the curved elastic portion 43B is determined by the vertical dimension of the curved elastic portion 43B, and does not change depending on the position in the width direction of the connector. Therefore, the amount of deviation that can be absorbed by the curved elastic portion 43B in the direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board is ensured without being affected by the position of the curved elastic portion 43B.

Further, in this embodiment, since the curved elastic portion 43B is located below the plunger inverted U-shaped portion 42, the length of the bending arm (dimension in the vertical direction) of the curved elastic portion can be set to be long. The amount of elastic deformation of the curved elastic portion 43B in the direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board can be increased.

The plug power supply terminal 50, as best seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B, is made by bending a metal flat strip-shaped piece having a strip-like shape along its entire length and having approximately the same width in the thickness direction. The plug power supply terminal 50 has the same shape as the plug signal terminal 40 and is arranged at the same position when viewed from the terminal arrangement direction. As seen in FIG. 4, the plug power terminal 50 has a larger dimension (width dimension) in the terminal arrangement direction than the plug signal terminal 40, and has a plurality of power supply elastic parts 53, which will be described later. The structure is different from the plug signal terminal 40 in that it is divided into thin elastic parts, and the structure is the same as the plug signal terminal 40 in other respects. In this embodiment, the plug power supply terminal 50 will be mainly explained with respect to the differences from the plug signal terminal 40, and "10" will be added to the code of each part of the plug signal terminal 40 for parts common to the plug signal terminal 40. The explanation will be omitted.

The plug power supply terminal 50 has a power supply elastic part 53 between a power supply connection part 51 and a protruding inverted U-shaped part 52 for connecting the two. The power supply elastic section 53, in other words, the transverse elastic section 53A and the curved elastic section 53B are divided into a plurality of (four in the present invention) thin elastic sections 54 by slits formed at a plurality of positions in the terminal arrangement direction. has been done. The arrangement pitch dimensions of the plurality of thin elastic parts 54 are all equal and smaller than the arrangement pitch dimension of the plurality of plug signal terminals 40. Further, the arrangement pitch dimension of the plurality of thin elastic parts 54 is smaller than the arrangement pitch dimension of the later-described receptacle power supply terminals 130 provided in the receptacle connector 2. What is separately formed in the plug power terminal 50 is the power supply elastic part 53. In other words, in the plug power supply terminal 50, the parts of the power supply elastic part 53 other than the thin elastic part 54 are connected in the terminal arrangement direction and are unified. It forms a member.

In this embodiment, the arrangement pitch dimensions of the plurality of thin elastic sections 54 are all the same, but instead, the arrangement pitch dimensions may be different for some or all of the plurality of thin elastic sections 54. Further, in the present embodiment, the adjacent thin elastic parts 54 are separated from each other over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, but instead of this, they may be connected at a portion in the longitudinal direction.

In this embodiment, the gaps between the plurality of thin elastic sections 54 in the power supply elastic section 53 are narrower than the gaps between the signal elastic sections 43 of the plurality of plug signal terminals, and the gaps between the plurality of thin elastic sections 54 in the power source elastic section 53 are narrower than the gaps between the signal elastic sections 43 of the plurality of plug signal terminals. The number of thin elastic parts 54 can be increased, or the cross-sectional area of each thin elastic part 54 can be increased. As a result, the cross-sectional area of the power supply elastic part 53, that is, the total cross-sectional area of the plurality of thin elastic parts 54 increases, and a larger current can be passed by the increased amount. Moreover, as a result of reducing the arrangement pitch dimension of the fine elastic parts 54, the width of each fine elastic part 54 itself can be reduced, and elasticity equal to or higher than that of the signal elastic part 43 can be ensured in the power supply elastic part 53. .

In addition, in this embodiment, the inverted U-shaped part 52 is not divided in the terminal arrangement direction, and the inner contact part 52A for power supply and the outer contact part 52B for power supply of the inverted inverted U-shaped part 52 are arranged in the terminal arrangement direction. Since it has one contact surface that is continuous in the direction, it is possible to increase the number of thin elastic parts 54 or increase the cross-sectional area of each thin elastic part 54, regardless of the arrangement pitch dimension of the plug signal terminals 40. It is possible to flow a large current. Further, the number of receptacle power terminals 130 (described later) as mating terminals can be selected regardless of the number of thin elastic parts 54, and furthermore, a large amount of elasticity can be ensured regardless of the number of receptacle power terminals 130.

In addition, since the plug power terminal 50 has approximately the same width over its entire length, the width dimension (dimension in the terminal arrangement direction) of the plug power terminal 50 does not need to be locally increased, and the overall width can be suppressed. The width can be effectively utilized, and furthermore, the elasticity of the power source elastic portion 53 can be ensured.

Furthermore, since the plug power terminal 50 has the same shape as the signal terminal described above when viewed from the terminal arrangement direction, when manufacturing the plug connector 1, it is necessary to bend the plug signal terminal 40 and the plug power terminal 50. Metal fittings can be shared. Furthermore, since the plug power terminal 50 is arranged at the same position as the signal terminal when viewed from the terminal arrangement direction, the signal elastic section 43 and the power supply elastic section 53 are at the same position when viewed from the terminal arrangement direction. As a result, the plug connector 1 as a whole tends to be elastically deformed due to floating in the plug signal terminal 40 and the plug power supply terminal 50.

The holding fitting 60 is formed by bending a metal plate member in the thickness direction, as shown in FIGS. A mounting portion 61 that is fixedly attached, a substantially U-shaped holding portion 62 that is connected to the upper end of the mounting portion 61 and holds a held plate portion 142A of a held metal fitting 140 (described later) of the receptacle connector 2 under pressure; The mounting portion 61 has an end projecting portion 63 that is bent outward in the terminal arrangement direction at the lower end and projects from the movable housing 30 . The holding fitting 60 is held by being integrally molded with the movable housing 30, and also functions as a reinforcing fitting that reinforces the movable housing 30.

As seen in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B), the mounting portion 61 extends vertically within the vertical end wall portion 32B of the movable housing 30 and is buried therein, and is integral with the vertical end wall portion 32B. It is fixedly attached to the vertical end wall portion 32B by molding. As seen in FIG. 4, the upper end of the attachment part 61 is bent inward in the terminal arrangement direction and is connected to the lower part of the holding part 62. That is, the holding portion 62 is located inside the mounting portion 61 in the terminal arrangement direction.

The holding portion 62 has a pair of elastic clamping pieces 62A whose plate surfaces face each other in the connector width direction, extend upward, and are elastically displaceable in the connector width direction. As seen in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B), the pair of elastic clamping pieces 62A hold the held plate portion 142A of the receptacle connector 2 at a position near the upper end of the elastic clamping pieces 62 in the connector width direction. It has a clamping part 62A-1 for clamping and holding the holding plate part 142A (in the thickness direction of the held plate part 142A). Specifically, the pair of elastic clamping pieces 62A are inclined inward in the connector width direction so as to approach each other as they move upward, and are inclined inward in the connector width direction at a position near the upper end of the elastic clamping pieces 62. The pinching portions 62A-1 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) are formed to protrude, and are inclined outward in the connector width direction so as to separate from each other as they move upward. As shown in FIG. 6(B), the pair of elastic clamping pieces 62A clamp and hold the held plate portion 142A of the receptacle connector 2 in the connector fitted state, thereby securing the plug terminals 40, 50. The contact position between the receptacle terminals 120 and 130 provided on the receptacle connector 2 is maintained.

As seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the end projecting portion 63 projects from the lower end surface (a surface perpendicular to the terminal arrangement direction) of the vertical end wall portion 32B of the movable housing 30. , is located in the space formed between the two restricted portions 32C of the movable housing 30 in the connector width direction (see also FIG. 7(D)).

As seen in FIG. 4, the contact fittings 70 are located below the holding fitting 60 and outward in the terminal arrangement direction, and are provided one on each side of the holding fitting 60 in the connector width direction. The corresponding fitting 70 is formed by bending a band-shaped metal plate member into a crank shape in the plate thickness direction, and has an inverted L shape when viewed in the terminal arrangement direction, and is embedded in the regulated portion 32C of the movable housing 30. The buried part 71 is held, the contact part 72 is bent at the lower end of the buried part 71 and extends outward in the connector width direction, and the upper end of the buried part 71 (the end facing inward in the connector width direction) ) and a side projecting portion 73 extending inward in the connector width direction. By being held by the restricted portion 32C of the movable housing 30 in this manner, the abutting metal fitting 70 also functions as a reinforcing metal fitting that reinforces the movable housing 30.

As seen in FIG. 3, the contact portion 72 has a lower portion (upper portion in FIG. 3) slightly protruding from the bottom surface (upper surface in FIG. 3) of the restricted portion 32C and is exposed. The lower surface (upper surface in FIG. 3) of the contact portion 72 exposed from the bottom surface of the regulated portion 32C contacts the circuit board when the movable housing 30 moves downward (upward in FIG. 3) toward the circuit board. It forms a contact surface 72A that can come into contact with the surface. The side projecting portion 73 projects from the inner surface of the upper portion of the restricted portion 32C in the connector width direction at a position below the end projecting portion 63 of the holding fitting 60, and extends from the inner surface of the movable housing 30 in the connector width direction. It is located in the space formed between the two regulated portions 32C (see also FIG. 7(D)).

In this embodiment, since the contact surface 72A of the contact part 72 of the contact fitting 70 is exposed and located on the bottom surface of the movable housing 30, when the receptacle connector 2 is pushed into the movable housing 30 with a strong force, , the contact surface 72A of the contact fitting 70 comes into contact with the circuit board instead of the movable housing 30. Therefore, the movable housing 30 itself does not come into contact with the circuit board, and as a result, damage to the movable housing 30 is prevented. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the contact surface 72A of the contact portion 72 is a plate surface (rolled surface) of the metal plate member, so that the movable housing 30 moves in a direction parallel to the circuit board. When absorbing the deviation in the direction, the contact portion 72 can smoothly slide on the surface of the circuit board at the contact surface 72A.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 4, the fixing metal fitting 80 is positioned to overlap with the holding metal fitting 60 and the abutting metal fitting 70 in the terminal arrangement direction. The fixing fitting 80 is formed by bending a metal plate member in the plate thickness direction, and is bent to form an inverted L shape when viewed in the terminal arrangement direction, and has an embedded portion 81 embedded and held in the fixed housing 20. , a connecting part 82 extending in the connector width direction and connecting the buried parts 81 to each other, and a fixing part 83 bent at the lower end of each buried part 81 and extending outward in the connector width direction. By being held by the connected portion 22 of the fixed housing 20 in this way, the fixing metal fitting 80 also functions as a reinforcing metal fitting that reinforces the fixed housing 20.

As seen in FIG. 4, the buried portion 81 includes a vertical plate portion 81A having a plate surface perpendicular to the connector width direction, and a horizontal plate portion 81A that is bent at the upper edge of the vertical plate portion 81A and extends inward in the connector width direction. It has a plate portion 81B. The vertical plate portion 81A is entirely buried within the connected portion 22 of the fixed housing 20. As seen in FIG. 1(A), the horizontal plate portion 81B has an upper surface located at approximately the same height as the upper surface of the connected portion 22, and an inner portion (inner half) in the terminal arrangement direction. is embedded in the intermediate part 21 of the fixed housing 20, while the outer part (outer half part) in the terminal arrangement direction has its upper surface exposed from the upper surface of the connected part 22. It is buried in section 22.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, the connecting portion 82 has a plate surface perpendicular to the vertical direction, and connects the outer halves of the horizontal plate portion 81B of the buried portion 81. ing. The upper surface of the connecting portion 82 is located at approximately the same height as the upper surface of the connected portion 22. Further, the connecting portion 82 is located at the same height as the end projecting portion 63 of the holding fitting 60. The fixed part 83 is located below the bottom surface of the fixed housing 20 and at the same height as the connecting parts 41 and 51 of the plug terminals 40 and 50, and is fixed to the corresponding part of the circuit board by soldering. ing.

The fixing metal fitting 80 having such a configuration connects the two fixed housings 20 to each other, and is fixed to the circuit board by being soldered to the circuit board at the fixing part 83. It has become.

Next, the manufacturing process of the plug connector 1 will be explained based on FIGS. 7(A) to 7(D). First, in a mold (not shown), a plug signal terminal material P1 with a carrier (see FIG. 7(A)) and a plug power terminal material P2 with a carrier (see FIG. 7(A)) are aligned in the terminal arrangement direction. The reinforcing metal fitting material P3 with a carrier (see FIGS. 7(A) and (B)), in which the holding fitting 60, the abutment fitting 70, and the fixing fitting 80 are integrated, is arranged in the terminal arrangement direction as a plug terminal material. Arranged outside P1 and P2. Here, the plug signal terminal material P1 and the plug power terminal material P2 are collectively referred to as "plug terminal materials P1, P2" as needed.

As seen in FIG. 7(A), in the plug terminal materials P1 and P2, the carriers are connected to the connecting portions 41 and 51. As seen in FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B), in the reinforcing metal fitting material P3, the carrier is located at the outer edge of the connecting portion 82 of the fixing metal fitting 80 (the outer edge in the terminal arrangement direction of the two side edges extending in the connector width direction). (side edge located on the outside). Further, as shown in FIG. 7(C), in the reinforcing metal fitting material P3, the end protruding portion 63 of the holding fitting 60, the side projecting portion 73 of the abutment fitting 70, and the connecting portion 82 of the fixing fitting 80 are connected to the inner edge by a connecting portion P3A, and the holding fitting 60, the abutting fitting 70, and the fixing fitting 80 are integrated. Further, the connecting portion P3A is located at the same position as the end projecting portion 63 and the connecting portion 82 in the vertical direction, and is located above the side projecting portion 73. As seen in FIG. 7(C), the connecting portion P3A has side arm portions P3B extending on both sides in the connector width direction, and is connected to the side projecting portion 73 by the side arm portions P3B. ing. The side arm portion P3B is formed with a stepped portion having a step in the vertical direction, thereby making it possible to connect the end projecting portion 63 and the connecting portion 82, which have different heights, to the side projecting portion 73. It has become.

Next, with the plug terminal materials P1 and P2 and the reinforcing metal fitting material P3 placed in the mold, molten electrical insulating material (resin, etc.) is injected into the mold and solidified to form the fixed housing 20 and the movable housing. Mold 30. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7(A), the plug terminal materials P1 and P2 and the reinforcing metal fitting material P3 are integrally molded with the movable housing 30, and the reinforcing metal fitting material P3 is also integrally molded with the fixed housing 20. . In this embodiment, the fixed housing 20 and the movable housing 30 are molded at the same time, but instead, they may be molded at different timings.

Next, the carrier is cut and removed from each of the plug terminal materials P1 and P2 to form plug terminals 40 and 50. Furthermore, the carrier and the connecting portion P3A are cut and removed from the reinforcing metal fitting material P3 to form the holding metal fitting 60, the abutting metal fitting 70, and the fixing metal fitting 80. When the connecting portion P3A is cut and removed, the connecting portion P3A is cut from the holding fitting 60 with a cutting allowance, and the cutting allowance is left overhanging as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 7(C). 63. Further, in the connecting portion P3A, the side arm portion P3B is cut from the abutting metal fitting 70 with a cutting margin, and the portion of the cutting margin is formed as the side projecting portion 73. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7(D), the end projecting portion 63 and the side projecting portion 73 are located close to each other without contacting each other.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the two lateral protruding parts 73 of the abutment fitting 70 are located below the connecting part 82 of the fixing fitting 80, so that the movable housing 30 is parallel to the circuit board. Since the two lateral projecting portions 73 do not come into contact with the connecting portion 82 even if they move in the direction, damage to the lateral projecting portions 73 and the connecting portion 82 can be reliably prevented.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the end protruding portion 63 of the holding fitting 60 and the connecting portion 82 of the fixing fitting 80 are located at the same height. However, as shown in FIG. 1A, on both sides of the end protrusion 63 in the connector width direction, there are end surfaces (surfaces perpendicular to the terminal arrangement direction) of the vertical end wall 32B of the movable housing 30. A protrusion 32B-1 is provided that protrudes slightly outward from the end protrusion 63 in the terminal arrangement direction. Therefore, even if the movable housing 30 moves significantly toward the connecting portion 82, the protruding portion 32B-1 will come into contact with the connecting portion 82, and the end projecting portion 63 will not come into contact with the connecting portion 82. There isn't. As a result, damage to the end projecting portion 63 and the connecting portion 82 can be reliably prevented.

In this way, the carriers are cut and removed from the plug terminal materials P1 and P2, and the carrier and the connecting portion P3A are cut and removed from the reinforcing metal fitting material P3, thereby completing the plug connector 1.

In this embodiment, by cutting and removing the connecting portion P3A in a state where one metal reinforcing fitting material P3 is held by the fixed housing 20 and the movable housing 30, the holding fitting 60, the abutting fitting 70 and the fixing fitting are removed. 80 are formed at the same time, the accuracy of the relative positions of the holding fitting 60, the abutting fitting 70, and the fixing fitting 80 is improved. In addition, since the reinforcing metal fitting material P3 is made of metal, the cut surface has a good smooth surface and almost no cutting powder is generated, compared to when cutting a resin material containing glass fiber, for example. Processing becomes easier.

Next, the configuration of the receptacle connector 2 will be explained. As seen in FIGS. 1 to 3, the receptacle connector 2 has its longitudinal direction parallel to the mounting surface of another circuit board (not shown) (the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the plug connector 1). A receptacle housing 90 that extends, a receptacle signal terminal 120 and a receptacle power supply terminal 130 that are arranged and held in the receptacle housing 90 with the longitudinal direction as the terminal arrangement direction (hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the two, they will simply be referred to as "receptacle terminals 120, 130"). ”), and a held metal fitting 140 and a fixing metal fitting 150 that are held by the receptacle housing 90 on both sides of the terminal arrangement range in the terminal arrangement direction.

The receptacle housing 90 includes a receiving housing 100 that accommodates receiving inverted U-shaped portions 121 and 131 (described later) of receptacle terminals 120 and 130 and receives the plug connector 1, and a receiving inverted U-shaped portion 121 and 131 that will be described later. The board-side housing 110 holds the receptacle terminals 120, 130 at a portion near the connecting portions 124, 134 and is attached to the other circuit board, and the receiving-side housing 100 and the board-side housing 110 are integrated. It is molded into.

The receiving housing 100 is made symmetrically in the connector width direction, which is a short direction parallel to the surface of the other circuit board and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. As seen in FIG. 3, the receiving housing 100 has a rectangular parallelepiped exterior shape as a whole, and includes a peripheral wall consisting of a side wall 101 and an end wall 102, a bottom wall 103 (see FIG. 1(A)), and a center wall 104. have.

As seen in FIG. 3, the center wall 104 extends in the terminal arrangement direction from the center position in the connector width direction in the space within the peripheral wall. The square annular space between the center wall 104 and the peripheral wall forms a fitting recess 105 into which the fitting part 31 of the movable housing 30 of the plug connector 1 can enter. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the receptacle connector 2 is placed above the plug connector 1 and is shown in a state immediately before being mated to the plug connector 1, so the bottom wall 103 is located at the top and is shown in the state immediately before being mated to the plug connector 1. The recess 105 opens downward.

As seen in FIG. 6(A), the receiving housing 100 is formed with a terminal accommodating portion 106 that accommodates the receptacle terminals 120 and 130. The terminal accommodating portion 106 has a substantially inverted U-shape, an outer groove portion 106A formed in the side wall 101, an inner groove portion 106B formed in the center wall 104, and a bottom so as to communicate with the outer groove portion 106A and the inner groove portion 106B. It has a bottom groove portion 106C formed in the wall 103.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8(B), the bottom wall 103 of the receiving housing 100 is formed with a bottom recessed portion 103A recessed in the shape of a rectangular frame from the bottom surface of the bottom wall 103. The bottom recess 103A includes a side recess 103A-1 extending over the terminal arrangement range in the terminal arrangement direction at a position near both edges in the connector width direction (a position near the outer surface of the side wall 101), and a side recess 103A-1 extending over the terminal arrangement range in the terminal arrangement direction. It has an end recess 103A-2 extending between both ends of the side recess 103A-1. The side recess 103A-1 communicates with an outer groove 106A formed in the side wall 101.

As seen in FIG. 1(A), the board-side housing 110 has a square frame shape that conforms to the shape of the bottom recess 103A (see FIG. 8(B)) of the receiving-side housing 100, and extends in the terminal arrangement direction. It has two extending side walls 111 and an end wall 112 extending in the width direction of the connector and connecting the ends of the two side walls 111. The board-side housing 110 is fitted into the bottom recess 103A by housing the side wall 111 in the side recess 103A-1 of the bottom recess 103A and the end wall 112 in the end recess 103A-2 of the bottom recess 103A. The entire board-side housing 110 is housed therein. As will be described later, the board-side housing 110 is integrally molded with the receiving-side housing 100, so that it is also integrally molded with the receptacle terminals 120, 130, and the side wall 111 forms a held arm portion 123 of the receptacle terminals 120, 130, which will be described later. , 133 are held.

In this embodiment, since the receptacle housing 90 is formed separately into the receiving side housing 100 and the board side housing 110, when the setting of the overall height dimension of the receptacle housing 90 is changed, the height of the board side housing 110 is changed. This can be addressed by changing the dimensions. For example, in this embodiment, the height of the board-side housing 110 is such that the entire board-side housing 110 is accommodated in the bottom recess 103A of the receiving-side housing 100, but the height of the receptacle housing 90 is If you want to increase the height dimension, you can prepare another type of board-side housing with a larger height dimension for the board-side housing 110 without changing the receiving-side housing 100, and make it integrated with the receiving-side housing 100. This can be easily dealt with by molding.

Furthermore, of the receiving housing 100 and the board housing 110, the receiving housing 100 accommodates the contact portions of the receptacle terminals 120 and 130, and therefore has a complex structure and high required dimensional accuracy. On the other hand, the board-side housing 110, which only needs to hold the receptacle terminals 120 and 130 by a portion thereof, has a simple structure and does not require high dimensional accuracy. Therefore, as described above, by changing only the substrate-side housing 110 to another substrate-side housing having a different height dimension without changing the receiving-side housing 100, an increase in manufacturing costs can also be suppressed.

The receptacle signal terminals 120 and the receptacle power supply terminals 130 are made to have the same shape and are arranged at equal intervals in accordance with the arrangement pitch dimension of the plug signal terminals 40 in the terminal arrangement direction. In this embodiment, four receptacle signal terminals 120 and three receptacle power supply terminals 130 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the receptacle signal terminal 120 is formed by bending a thin flat metal strip in the direction of its plate thickness and having a strip shape over its entire length. As seen in FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B), the receptacle signal terminal 120 includes an inverted U-shaped receiving portion 121 housed in the terminal accommodating portion 106 of the receiving housing 100, and Of the two arms extending in the vertical direction of the receiving inverted U-shaped part 121, a transition part 122 that is continuous with the lower end of a later-described outer arm part 121C for a signal and is bent so as to be folded back upward, and an outer arm part for a signal 121C, which is located on the outside in the connector width direction, extends straight upward through the transition portion 122, and then extends in a crank shape; The signal connecting portion 124 extends outward in the connector width direction.

The receiving inverted U-shaped portion 121 includes a base portion 121A that extends in the connector width direction within the bottom groove portion 106C, and a signal inner side that extends downward within the inner groove portion 106B from the inner end of the base portion 121A in the connector width direction. It has an arm portion 121B and a signal outer arm portion 121C that extends downward in the outer groove portion 106A from the outer end in the connector width direction of the base portion 121A and is connected to the transition portion 122. The signal inner arm portion 121B and the signal outer arm portion 121C are elastically displaceable in the thickness direction (connector width direction).

The signal inner arm portion 121B has a signal inner contact portion 121B-1 that is curved convexly outward in the connector width direction at a position near its lower end. The signal outer arm portion 121C has a signal outer contact portion 121C-1 that is convexly curved inward in the connector width direction at a position near its lower end (approximately the same position as the signal inner contact portion 121B-1 in the vertical direction). have. The curved top portions of the inner signal contact portion 121B-1 and the outer signal contact portion 121C-1 protrude from the inner groove portion 106B and the outer groove portion 106A, respectively, and are located within the fitting recess 105. As shown in FIG. 5(B), when the receiving inverted U-shaped part 121 receives the protruding inverted U-shaped part 42 of the plug connector 1 from below in the connector mated state, the signal inner contact part 121B- 1 is the signal inner contact part 42A of the plunger inverted U-shaped part 42, and the signal outer contact part 121C-1 is elastically connected to the signal outer contact part 42B of the plunger inverted U-shaped part 42 with contact pressure. They are in contact and electrically conductive.

As seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the held arm 123 is positioned with a gap in the connector width direction between the signal outer arm 121C and the outer signal arm 121C. It is housed in the groove 106A. The upper half of the held arm portion 123 is formed as a crank portion 123A having a crank shape, and is held by the receptacle housing 90 by integral molding with the crank portion 123A. Furthermore, the lower half of the held arm portion 123 (excluding the crank portion 123A) extending in the vertical direction can be elastically displaced in the thickness direction (connector width direction) (FIG. 5(B)). reference).

As seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, the signal connection portion 124 extends along the bottom surface (the top surface in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5) of the receiving housing 100, and is connected to other circuit boards. It is designed to be connected by solder to a signal circuit section (not shown).

As described above, the receptacle power supply terminal 130 is made in the same shape as the receptacle signal terminal 120, so a description of its configuration will be omitted by adding "10" to the reference numerals of each part of the receptacle signal terminal 120. . At this time, regarding the names of each part, "signal use" shall be read as "power supply use".

In this embodiment, the three receptacle power terminals 130 provided in the receptacle connector 2 are located corresponding to one plug power terminal 50 of the plug connector 1 (see FIG. 4), and these three receptacle power terminals The power supply contact portions 131B-1 and 131C-1 of the power supply terminal 130 are configured to contact the power supply contact portions 52A and 52B of the one plug power supply terminal 50.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the held metal fittings 140 are integrally molded and held one by one at both ends of the receptacle connector 2 in the terminal arrangement direction, and the held metal fittings 140 located at one end and As shown in FIG. 4, the held metal fittings 140 located at the other end are provided offset from the center position of the receptacle connector 2 in the connector width direction to opposite sides. Furthermore, these two held metal fittings 140 are made by bending a metal plate member in its thickness direction so that they have a shape that is point symmetrical with respect to the center of the receptacle connector 2 when viewed in the vertical direction. It is being

As seen in FIG. 4, the held metal fitting 140 is a plate-shaped member having a plate surface perpendicular to the terminal arrangement direction within the end wall 102 of the receiving housing 100 and embedded in the end wall 102 and the bottom wall 103. , a plate-shaped held part 142 located at the center of the receiving housing 100 in the connector width direction with its plate surface perpendicular to the connector width direction, and an upper edge of the attachment part 141. It has a fixing portion 143 extending outward in the terminal arrangement direction from the lower edge in FIG. 3 in a crank shape. By being held by the receiving housing 100, the held metal fitting 140 also functions as a reinforcing metal fitting that reinforces the receiving housing 100.

As shown in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B), the held portion 142 has an upper end buried in the bottom wall 103, and the outer end in the terminal arrangement direction of the two side edges extending in the vertical direction. The located outer edge is embedded in the side wall 101 (see FIG. 3). Further, as shown in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B), the portion excluding the upper end portion and the outer edge portion stands up from the bottom wall 103 and extends from both ends of the fitting recess 105 in the terminal arrangement direction. located within space. The portion located in this fitting recess 105 is a held plate portion 142A that is held by being pinched by a pair of elastic pinching pieces 62A of the holding fitting 60 provided on the plug connector 1 when the connector is in the fitted state. (See FIG. 6(B)).

As seen in FIG. 3, the fixing part 143 extends outward in the terminal arrangement direction from the lower part of the end wall 102 at a position closer to the outside in the connector width direction, and is bent downward and outward in the terminal arrangement direction, and is bent downward and outward in the terminal arrangement direction. It extends in a shape. The tip of the fixing part 143 extending outward in the terminal arrangement direction is located at the same height as the connecting parts 124, 134 of the receptacle terminals 120, 130, and is fixed by being soldered to the corresponding part of another circuit board. It has become so.

As seen in FIG. 4, the fixing metal fitting 150 has a shape similar to the previously described held metal fitting 140 by omitting the inner part in the connector width direction of the mounting part 141 and the held part 142, and has a band-like shape. It is made by bending a metal plate member in the thickness direction. As seen in FIG. 3, the fixing fitting 150 is integrally formed with the end wall 102 at a position on the outside of the held fitting 140 opposite to the fixing portion 143 in the connector width direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing fitting 150 includes a mounting portion 151 that extends in the vertical direction and is embedded in the end wall 102, and a mounting portion 151 that extends in the vertical direction and is embedded in the end wall 102. It has a fixed part 152 extending in a crank shape. The fixing part 152 has the same shape as the fixing part 143 of the held metal fitting 140 and is located at the same height as the fixing part 143, so that it can be fixed by being soldered to a corresponding part of another circuit board. It has become. The fixing metal fitting 150 also functions as a reinforcing metal fitting that reinforces the receiving side housing 100 by being held on the end wall 102 of the receiving side housing 100.

Next, the manufacturing process of the receptacle connector 2 will be explained based on FIGS. 8 to 10. First, a reinforcing metal fitting material P4 with a carrier is placed in a mold (not shown). In the reinforcing metal fitting material P4, one carrier is connected to the held metal fitting 140 via the band-like piece P4A, and to the fixing metal fitting 150 via the band-like piece P4B. At the time when the reinforcing metal fitting material P4 is arranged in the mold, the strips P4A and P4B have a straight shape extending in the terminal arrangement direction, and the fixing part 143 of the held metal fitting 140 and the fixing part 152 of the fixing metal fitting are as follows. Not yet formed.

Next, a molten electrical insulating material (resin, etc.) is injected into the mold and solidified to form the receiving housing 100. As a result, the reinforcing metal fitting material P4 is integrally molded with the receiving housing 100.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B), the portions of the strips P4A and P4B extending from the receiving housing 100 in the terminal arrangement direction are bent in the thickness direction into a crank shape. A fixing part 143 of the held metal fitting 140 and a fixing part 152 of the fixing metal fitting are formed. At this time, the position at which the extending portions of the strips P4A and P4B are bent (the position in the extending direction (terminal arrangement direction) of the extending portions) is determined according to the height dimension of the board housing 110. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B), by bending the strips P4A and P4B in the extending direction at a position near the receiving housing 100, 152 is formed.

As described above, in this embodiment, by providing the long strips P4A and P4B on the reinforcing metal fitting material P4, the height of the board-side housing 110 can be adjusted according to changes in the height dimension setting of the entire receptacle housing 90. When it is decided to change the dimensions, the strips P4A and P4B are bent at positions (longitudinal positions of the strips P4A and P4B) according to the height dimensions of the board-side housing 110 after the change, and the fixing portions are fixed. 143, 152 can be formed. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the held metal fittings 140 and the fixing metal fittings 150 provided in a plurality of types of connectors having different heights can be made from one type of material, so that an increase in manufacturing costs can be suppressed accordingly.

Next, the receiving inverted U-shaped portions 121 and 131 of the receptacle terminal material P5 with a carrier are placed in the terminal accommodating portion 106 of the receiving housing 100 on the bottom wall 103 side of the receiving housing 100 (FIG. 9(A)). It is accommodated from the bottom (the top in FIG. 9(B)). The receptacle terminal material P5
Here, one carrier is connected to each of all the receptacle terminals 120 and 130 via the strip P5A. At the time when the receiving inverted U-shaped portions 121, 131 of the receptacle terminal material P5 are accommodated in the receiving housing 100, the strip P5A has a straight shape extending in the connector width direction, and connects the receptacle terminals 120, 130. Sections 124, 134 have not yet been formed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B), the portion of the strip P5A extending from the receiving housing 100 in the terminal arrangement direction is bent into a crank shape in the plate thickness direction to form a receptacle terminal. Connecting portions 124 and 134 of 120 and 130 are formed. At this time, the position at which the extending portion of the strip P5A is bent (the position in the extending direction (connector width direction) of the extending portion) is determined according to the height dimension of the board housing 110. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the connecting portions 124 and 134 are bent by bending the strip P5A in the extending direction at a position near the receiving housing 100. It is formed.

As described above, in this embodiment, by providing the long strip P5A on the receptacle terminal material P5, the height dimension of the board-side housing 110 can be adjusted according to changes in the height dimension of the entire receptacle housing 90. When it is decided to change the connecting portions 124, 134, the strip P5A is bent at a position (longitudinal position of the strip P5A) according to the height dimension of the board side housing 110 after the change. can be formed. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the receptacle terminals 120 and 130 provided in a plurality of types of connectors having different heights can be made from one type of material, so that an increase in manufacturing costs can be suppressed accordingly.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 10(A) and 10(B), the board-side housing 110 (shown only in FIG. 10(B)) is integrally molded with both the receiving-side housing 100 and the receptacle terminal material P5. As a result, the board-side housing 110 holds the held arms 123, 133 of the receptacle terminals 120, 130 with the side wall 111 accommodated in the side recess 103A-1 (see FIG. 8(B)) of the receiving-side housing 100. (See also FIG. 5(A)). Then, the receptacle connector 2 is completed by cutting the strips P4A, P4B of the reinforcing metal fitting material P4 and the strip P5A of the receptacle terminal material P5 at predetermined longitudinal positions to separate the respective carriers. In this embodiment, since the substrate side housing 110 is molded to be integral with not only the receptacle terminal material P5 but also the receiving side housing 100, the strength of the receptacle housing 90 itself is improved, and the strength of the receptacle terminals 120, 130 is improved. The holding force between the receptacle housing 90 and the receptacle housing 90 can be improved.

Next, the fitting operation between the plug connector 1 and the receptacle connector 2 will be explained based on FIGS. 5 and 6.

First, the plug connector 1 and the receptacle connector 2 are attached to respective corresponding circuit boards (not shown). Specifically, in the plug connector 1, the connection parts 41 and 51 of the plug terminals 40 and 50 are connected by solder to the corresponding circuit part of the circuit board, and the fixing part 83 of the fixture 80 is connected by solder to the corresponding part of the circuit board. Ru. In addition, in the receptacle connector 2, the connection parts 124 and 134 of the receptacle terminals 120 and 130 are soldered connected to the corresponding circuit parts of other circuit boards, and the fixed part 143 of the held metal fitting 140 and the fixed part 152 of the fixed metal fitting 150 are connected to other circuit boards by soldering. It is soldered to the corresponding part of the circuit board.

In this state, as shown in FIGS. 5(A) and 6(A), the receptacle connector 2 is moved to a position above the plug connector 1 so that its fitting recess 105 opens downward. The posture is as follows. Thereafter, the receptacle connector 2 is lowered together with the other circuit board to which the receptacle connector 2 is attached (see arrows in FIGS. 5(A) and 6(A)). This lowering of the receptacle connector 2 causes the fitting recess 1 of the receptacle connector 2 to
05, the fitting part 31 of the movable housing 30 of the plug connector 1 enters from below, and the center wall 104 of the receptacle connector 2 enters the receiving part 33 of the movable housing 30 of the plug connector 1 from above (Fig. See B). As a result, the plug connector 1 and the receptacle connector 2 are connected to each other in the normal position shown in FIGS. 5(B) and 6(B).

When the receptacle connector 2 is pushed into the movable housing 30 of the plug connector 1 from above during the connector fitting process, the movable housing 30 is moved under the elastic displacement of the transverse elastic parts 43A and 53A of the plug terminals 40 and 50. to move downward. In this embodiment, since the abutting part 72 of the abutting metal fitting 70 is exposed on the bottom surface of the movable housing 30, the abutting part 72 of the abutting metal fitting 70 contacts the circuit board instead of the bottom surface of the movable housing 30. The contact surface 72A contacts the mounting surface of the circuit board. As a result, the movable housing 30 does not come into contact with the circuit board, and damage to the movable housing 30 is prevented.

In the connector mated state, the protruding inverted U-shaped parts 42, 52 of the plug terminals 40, 50 enter the receiving inverted U-shaped parts 121, 131 of the receptacle terminals 120, 130 from below, The contact portions 121B-1, 121C-1, 131B-1, and 131C-1 of the portions 121 and 131 pinch the connector in the width direction. Under such a pinched state, the receptacle signal terminal 120 contacts the signal contact portions 42A, 42B of the plug signal terminal 40 with contact pressure at its signal contact portions 121B-1, 121C-1, and The receptacle power supply terminal 130 contacts the power supply contact parts 52A, 52B of the plug power supply terminal 50 with contact pressure through its power supply contact parts 131B-1, 131C-1 (see FIG. 5(B)). As a result, the receptacle terminals 120, 130 and the plug terminals 40, 50 are electrically connected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6(B), in the connector fitted state, the held plate portion 142A of the held fitting 140 of the receptacle connector 2 is pressed between the pair of elastic clamping pieces of the holding fitting 60 of the plug connector 1. 62A from above, and is clamped and held in the connector width direction (thickness direction of the held plate portion 142A) by the clamping portion 62A-1 of the pair of elastic clamping pieces 62A. As a result, the contact positions between the plug terminals 40, 50 and the receptacle terminals 120, 130 are maintained well.

In this embodiment, the holding metal fitting 60 and the held metal fitting 140 are located outside the terminal arrangement range, and the pair of elastic pinching pieces 62A of the holding metal fitting 60 pinch the held plate portion 142A of the held metal fitting 140. It is designed to be retained. In this way, the holding metal fitting 60 and the held metal fitting 140 are provided near the ends of the connectors 1 and 2 in the terminal arrangement direction. In other words, there is a vertical axis (an axis extending in the vertical direction) that passes through the center position of each of connectors 1 and 2 when viewed in the vertical direction, and a horizontal axis (in the connector width direction) that passes through the center position of connectors 1 and 2 in the terminal arrangement direction. axes extending from each other). As a result, it is possible to sufficiently withstand unexpected torque generated around the vertical axis and the horizontal axis, and maintain the contact state between the terminals.

The fitting position of the receptacle connector 2 to the plug connector 1 is not necessarily the normal position in the terminal arrangement direction, the connector width direction, and the vertical direction. Since the receptacle connector 2 is attached to a circuit board and the view of the plug connector 1 is blocked by the circuit board, the receptacle connector 2 is likely to be mated at a position deviated from the normal position. In this embodiment, the misalignment between the connectors 1 and 2 is absorbed by the movable housing 30 moving in the direction of the misalignment under the elastic displacement of the elastic parts 43 and 53 of the plug terminals 40 and 50. . Specifically, the displacement in the vertical direction is mainly absorbed by the elastic displacement of the transverse elastic parts 43A, 53A of the elastic parts 43, 53. Moreover, deviations in the terminal arrangement direction and connector width direction are absorbed by elastic displacement of the curved elastic parts 43B, 53B of the elastic parts 43, 53.

1 Plug connector 60 Holding metal fitting 2 Receptacle connector 61 Mounting part 10 Plug housing 62 Holding part 20 Fixed housing 62A Elastic clamping piece 30 Movable housing 63 End projecting part 31 Fitting part 70 Abutting metal fitting 33 Receiving part 72 Abutting part 40 Plug signal terminal 72A Contact surface 41 Signal connection part 73 Side projecting part 42 Recessed inverted U-shaped part (movable side held part) 80 Fixing bracket 42A Signal inner contact part 90 Receptacle housing 42B Signal outer contact part 100 Receiving side housing 43 Signal elastic part 110 Board side housing 43A Lateral elastic part 120 Receptacle signal terminal 43B Curved elastic part 121B-1 Signal inner contact part 44 Fixed side held part 121C-1 Signal outer contact part 50 Plug power supply Terminal 124 Signal connection part 51 Power supply connection part 130 Receptacle power supply terminal 53 Power supply elastic part 131B Power supply contact part 53A Lateral elastic part 140 Holding metal fitting 53B Curved elastic part 142A Holding plate part 54 Thin elastic part 150 Fixing metal fitting

Claims (7)

A terminal having a connecting part for connecting to a circuit board on one end in the longitudinal direction of the terminal and a contact part for contacting a mating connection body on the other end, and a housing that holds a plurality of the terminals in an array. a fixed housing that is attached to the circuit board via the terminal; and a fixed housing that is formed as a separate member from the fixed housing and is movable with respect to the fixed housing to arrange the contact portion of the terminal. In an electrical connector for a circuit board having a movable housing,
The terminal includes a fixed side held part held by a fixed housing, a movable side held part held by a movable housing, and an elastic part provided between the fixed side held part and the movable side held part. and has a
The fixed housing has an upper end located below the movable side held part,
The elastic part includes a transverse elastic part that extends from the upper end of the fixed side held part in a direction having a component parallel to the surface of the circuit board at a position that does not protrude from the upper end of the fixed housing, and a transverse elastic part that extends from the transverse elastic part to the circuit board. a curved elastic part that extends downward through the curved part and is located on the movable housing side with respect to the transverse elastic part in the connector width direction that is parallel to the surface of the circuit board and perpendicular to the terminal arrangement direction. An electrical connector for circuit boards characterized by: 2. The electrical connector for a circuit board according to claim 1, wherein the transverse elastic portion is located at the same position as the upper end of the fixed housing in the vertical direction. 3. The electrical connector for a circuit board according to claim 1, wherein the fixed side held portion of the terminal is embedded in the fixed housing. 4. The electrical connector for a circuit board according to claim 1, wherein the movable held portion of the terminal is embedded in the movable housing. One of claims 1 to 4, wherein the contact portion of the terminal is formed by an extension from the movable side held portion and is located in contact with a wall surface of the movable housing. Electrical connectors for circuit boards as described in . 6. The electrical connector for a circuit board according to claim 1, wherein in the terminal, the movable side held part is located above the fixed side held part. In the terminal, the fixed side held part is held by the fixed housing, and the movable side held part is held by the movable housing by integral molding, respectively. Electrical connectors for circuit boards as described in .