JPH0740497B2 - Contact fixing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a connector, and more particularly, to a contact fixing method for fixing a contact to a contact setting member in a good manner. For the purpose of providing a contact fixing method, a terminal portion thinner than the depth of the contact insertion groove is inserted into the contact insertion groove provided in the contact installation member made of a thermoplastic resin molded product from the surface side of the contact groove. Then
The heating punch punches the side wall of the upper part of the contact insertion groove under pressure to melt and narrow the upper part of the contact insertion groove.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a connector, and more particularly to a contact fixing method for satisfactorily fixing a contact to a contact setting member.

[Conventional technology]

Normally, in a connector, a plurality of contacts are planted in a contact installation member made of a molded product, and the contact is fixed in a contact hole formed through the contact installation member in a predetermined arrangement. The fixed portion of the contact having a bulge portion having a slightly larger outer diameter than the hole is press-fitted in the longitudinal direction of the fixed portion so as to be fitted and fixed.

However, depending on the structure of the connector, the press-fitting and fixing method may not be applicable. That is, FIG. 2 shows an example of a connector to which the manufacturing method of the present invention is applied. The connector 1 is for inserting a memory card 5 and the like, and is composed of a substantially U-shaped contact installation member 2 made of a molded product of an insulating material, and a plurality of contacts 13 and 14 planted in the contact installation member 2. .

The contact setting member 2 has a guide groove 22 for guiding the insertion / removal of the card 5 and a printed board mounting portion 23 in the ears 21 on both sides, and a base portion 24 for fixing and holding the contact in the rear portion.
A partition wall 25 for separating adjacent contacts and a ceiling portion 26 that faces the contact portions 13a and 14a of the contacts and backs up the inserted card 5 are formed.

The contact 13 is a substantially L-shaped member made of a spring material, and has a contact portion 13a at the tip thereof and a terminal 13b at the other end which is inserted into a through hole of a printed board and soldered, and the contact is provided above the terminal portion. Two rows are planted in the base portion 24 of the installation member 2. With this structure, the ceiling 26 gets in the way,
It is impossible to press-fit the L-shaped contact in the longitudinal direction of the terminal portion 13b from above. Therefore, as shown in an enlarged view of the contact fixing portion in FIG. 3, contact insertion grooves 24a and 24b are provided at the tip of the base portion 24 of the contact installation member so that the terminal portions 13a and 14a of the contact are horizontally aligned at right angles to the longitudinal direction. Is pressed into.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

Since the contacts are planted in two rows, the contact insertion groove 2 having a groove width slightly narrower than the width of the terminal portions 13a and 14a at the edge of the base portion.
4a and 24b are formed alternately at different contact depths with different contact depths. Since the contact groove 24b for the contact 14 which is planted on the back side has a deep depth and is separated by 2 pitches to the adjacent groove, the wall of the groove is sufficiently thick and the terminal portion 14a of the press-fitted contact is well fixed. However, the contact groove 24a formed at the end of the base portion 24 has a thin wall between them,
When the terminal portion 13a having a size slightly larger than the groove width is press-fitted as indicated by arrow A, the side wall opens outward as indicated by arrow C, and there is a problem that the contact fixing force is not sufficient.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of fixing a contact having a good fixing force with respect to a contact insertion groove having a thin sidewall.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The above-mentioned problem is that the terminal portion of the metal contact having the terminal portion thinner than the depth of the contact insertion groove is provided in the contact insertion groove provided in the contact installation member made of the thermoplastic resin molded product. And narrowing the upper part of the contact insertion groove by pressurizing and melting while contacting the side wall of the upper part of the contact insertion groove with the inclined surface of the pressing part with a heating punch having a serrated pressing part. The contact fixing method of the present invention is characterized by the following.

[Action]

Since the contact installation member is made of a thermoplastic resin, when the contact punch is pressed by the heating punch after insertion of the contact, the side wall of the contact insertion groove is melted and deformed, its width becomes narrower, and the contact is prevented from coming off, and the bonding strength is improved. .

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a bottom view showing the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a view of the contact fixing portion of the card connector shown in FIG. 3 viewed from the lower side (terminal side). Note that the same reference numeral represents the same object throughout the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), in the base portion 24 of the contact installation member 2 made of a molded product of thermoplastic resin, the terminal portions 13b and 14b of the contacts are planted in two rows, so that a predetermined space between the contact rows is formed. Two types of contact insertion grooves 24a and 24b having different depths by the pitch P are alternately formed at a predetermined pitch. First, press the terminal portion 14b of the contact into the deep contact groove 24b for the contact on the inner side in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface) to the groove bottom, and then insert the terminal of the upper contact into the shallow contact insertion groove 24a. The portion 13b is similarly inserted. Since the thickness of the terminal portion 13b is thinner than the depth of the contact insertion groove 24a, in this state, the protruding portions 24c that form the side walls of the contact insertion hole 24a on both sides of the inserted terminal portion 13b.
Is protruding.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the heating punch 6 presses the groove portion of the contact setting member 2 to perform heat staking. Heating punch 6
Is attached to a hand press or the like (not shown), and the pressing surface thereof is provided with sawtooth-shaped pressing portions at a pitch twice the arrangement pitch of the contacts. The material is heated above the melting temperature of the resin. When the heating punch 6 is lowered, the protruding portion 24c forming the upper portion of the shallow contact groove 24a of the contact installation member comes into contact with the inclined surface of the pressing portion of the heating punch 6 and is pressed while being heated. When this pressure is maintained for a predetermined time at a predetermined pressure, the resin of the protruding portion is softened and melted, and the wall of the groove is deformed inward so as to wrap the contact. Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, when the heating punch 6 is raised, the melted portion is cooled and solidified and the upper portion of the contact groove is closed, so that the contact does not come out above the groove and good contact fixation is obtained. .

In this way, one row of contacts can be satisfactorily fixed to the end of the contact setting member collectively at the same time, which is extremely effective as a contact fixing method for a card connector that cannot be press-fitted in the axial direction. is there.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, in a connector having a structure in which press-fitting fixation cannot be adopted when a contact is implanted at an end of a contact installation member, after the contact is inserted into the contact insertion hole. Since the contact can be fixed with a good fixing force by heat-caulking the side wall of the groove, its practical effect is remarkable.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a bottom view showing a contact fixing method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing a card connector to which the method of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a contact fixing portion. . In the figure, 13,14 ... contact, 13b, 14b ... terminal part, 2 ... contact installation member, 24 ... base part, 24a ... shallow contact insertion hole, 24b ... deep contact insertion hole, 24c ... Protrusion, 6 ... Heating punch, 61 ... Heater.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A contact insertion groove (24a) provided in a contact setting member (2) made of a thermoplastic resin molded product.
The terminal portion (1) of the metal contact (13) having a terminal portion (13b) thinner than the depth of the contact insertion groove (24a).
3b) is inserted from the surface side of the contact groove (24a), and a heating punch (6) having a serrated pressing portion abuts the upper side wall of the contact insertion groove (24a) against the inclined surface of the pressing portion. A method for fixing a contact, characterized in that the upper part of the contact insertion groove (24a) is narrowed by melting under pressure while melting.