JPH0745323A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To connect an upper cover and a lower cover to each other with sufficient strength, and prevent positional deviation of a continuity pattern forming member in assembling work. CONSTITUTION:A connector comprises an upper cover 2, a continuity pattern forming member 3, and a lower cover 4. The upper cover 2 is provided with an engaging portion 2d to be engaged with the lower cover 4, and a projection 2e for positioning the continuity pattern forming member 3. When the projection 2e is inserted into a hole 3a formed on the continuity pattern forming member 3, the continuity pattern forming member 3 is immovably positioned in the upper cover 2. Furthermore, an engaging portion 4a formed in the lower cover 4 is engaged with the engaging portion 2d, thus connecting the upper cover 2 and the lower cover 4 to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided in a camera body, an interchangeable lens, and other accessories (hereinafter referred to as "components") which constitute a camera system, and electrically connects the respective components. It is related to the connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a camera system, a rotating and detachable bayonet mount has been widely used in a portion where components are attached and detached. This rotary attachable / detachable bayonet mount is a mount for attaching / detaching components by rotating the components relatively clockwise or counterclockwise.

In such a camera system, each component has an electric circuit, and information (for example, information for performing automatic exposure control) is exchanged between the components. To exchange this information, a connector having a plurality of contact pins is provided near the mount of each component.

Next, the conventional connector will be described. The connector is composed of an upper cover and a lower cover, a contact spring having the contact pins arranged therebetween, and a conduction pattern forming member having the electric circuit connected to the contact spring.

To assemble this connector, first, the contact spring and the conductive pattern forming member are sequentially arranged on the upper cover. As a result, the conductive pattern forming member and the contact spring come into contact with each other and are electrically connected. Next, the lower cover is placed on the upper cover so as to sandwich the contact spring and the conduction pattern forming member, and ultrasonic vibration is further applied to heat and weld the contact surfaces of the upper cover and the lower cover to fix them. As described above, the upper cover and the lower cover are connected to each other to form a connector.

[0006]

However, in the above-described conventional connector, the urging force of the contact spring acts in the direction of separating the upper cover and the lower cover (hereinafter, this force is referred to as "separation"). If a large number of contact springs are provided in the circumferential direction of the connector, the separating force becomes large and there is a problem that it becomes difficult to weld the upper cover and the lower cover. Furthermore, the welded part deteriorates over time,
There is a problem that the upper cover and the lower cover may be separated from each other.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the inventor of the present invention forms engaging portions on the upper cover and the lower cover, respectively, and slides the lower cover with respect to the upper cover. It has been proposed that the lower cover and the upper cover be connected by engaging the engaging portion of the above (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-162578).

However, when the lower cover is slid with respect to the upper cover, the conductive pattern forming member is easily pulled by the lower cover and is displaced during the sliding movement, and the conductive pattern forming member is held at a predetermined position. It was difficult to attach the lower cover. Further, when the conductive pattern forming members are assembled in a displaced state, the contact pins of the adjacent contact springs may be short-circuited.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and connects the upper cover and the lower cover with sufficient strength, and shifts the position of the conduction pattern forming member during assembly. The purpose is to prevent.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a solution means for a connector according to the present invention comprises a first connector cover (2) having a first engaging portion (2d) and the first connector cover (2). A second connector cover (4) having a second engaging portion (4a) that engages with the first engaging portion, and is attached so as to overlap the first connector cover; and the first connector cover. And a plurality of contact members (5) arranged between the second connector cover and the second connector cover and having a movable contact pin (5a) biased in a direction protruding from the outer surface of the first connector cover, A conductive pattern forming member (3), a part of which is disposed between the first connector cover and the second connector cover, the conductive pattern forming member (3) having a conductive pattern (3b) on a contact surface with the movable contact pin; The first connector cover is A third engaging portion (2e), wherein the conduction pattern forming member is positioned with respect to the first connector cover by engaging with the third engaging portion. It is characterized by having a junction (3a).

[0011]

In the connector solving means, the first connector cover and the second connector cover are connected by the engagement of the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, respectively. Further, the fourth engagement portion formed on the conduction pattern forming member engages with the third engagement portion formed on the first connector cover, and the conduction pattern formation member is formed on the first connector cover. Positioned. Thereby, the first connector cover and the second connector cover are connected with sufficient strength,
Further, the conductive pattern forming member is prevented from being displaced when the second connector cover is attached.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embodiment of a connector 1 according to the present invention. 2 shows the upper cover 2, the conductive pattern forming member 3,
It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the lower cover 4. Further, FIGS. 3 to 7 show AA to E- shown in FIG. 1, respectively.
It is sectional drawing which shows E cross section. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the conductive pattern forming member 3 viewed from the F direction in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the connector 1 is disposed below the bayonet mount 7 (two-dot chain line in the figure) of the interchangeable lens in the figure. The connector 1 has an upper cover 2
A lower cover 4, a contact member 5 and a conduction pattern forming member 3 arranged between the upper cover 2 and the lower cover 4. The upper cover 2 is a molded product made of a plastic member, for example. The lower cover 4 is formed by pressing a metal material. A plurality of contact members 5 are arranged on the circumference of the connector 1 (FIG. 4), and are for electrically connecting the two by joining to the contact members of another connector. The conduction pattern forming member 3 is a flexible printed wiring board, and has a conduction pattern 3b (FIG. 8) on the surface that contacts the contact member 5. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the connector 1 and the bayonet mount 7 are fixed by a male screw 6.

Next, each structure of the connector 1 will be described in detail. First, the upper cover 2 and the lower cover 4 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 2 shows a diagram viewed from the lower side for convenience of description. On the inner peripheral surface of the upper cover 2, a plurality of grooves 2a and holes 2b are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction. The groove 2a is for disposing the contact member 5, is extended in the optical axis direction, and has a substantially concave cross section (FIG. 3). The hole 2b is for the contact pin 5a of the contact member 5 to enter (FIG. 4).
It is formed in a.

Further, on the camera body side (right side in the figure) of the inner peripheral surface of the upper cover 2, two engaging portions 2d are formed along the circumferential direction thereof. The engaging portion 2d is for engaging with the lower cover 4 and has a substantially U-shaped cross section (FIG. 5).

Furthermore, the upper cover 2 is formed with a hole 2c. The holes 2c are for allowing the male screw 6 to pass therethrough, and two holes 2c are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction (FIG. 3, FIG.
Figure 5). Further, in the vicinity of the center of the upper cover 2, a convex portion 2e protruding toward the lower cover 4 side (upper side in the drawing) is formed. The convex portion 2e is for positioning the conductive pattern forming member 3 and the lower cover 4 when they are attached to the upper cover 2.

On the camera body side of the lower cover 4, two engaging portions 4a extending in the optical axis direction are arranged side by side along the circumferential direction. The engaging portion 4a is for engaging with the engaging portion 2d of the upper cover 2 as described above. Further, on the lower cover 4, two female screws 4b are arranged side by side along the circumferential direction. The female screw 4b is for screwing the bayonet mount 7 arranged on the upper portion of the upper cover 2 and the male screw 6 penetrating the hole 2c of the upper cover 2 (FIGS. 3 and 5). Further, in the vicinity of the central portion of the lower cover 4, a cutout portion 4c is formed by cutting out one end portion thereof.
Are formed. The notch portion 4c is for engaging with the convex portion 2e of the upper cover 2 (FIGS. 4 and 7).

Next, the contact member 5 will be described with reference to FIG. The contact member 5 is composed of a contact pin 5a provided at an end thereof and an elastic member 5b such as a leaf spring having a substantially U-shaped cross section. The contact pin 5a is arranged so as to project outward from the hole 2b of the upper cover 2. The elastic member 5b urges the contact pin 5a upward in the drawing and supports the contact pin 5a so that the contact pin 5a can move in the vertical direction in the drawing. In addition, the urging force of the elastic material 5b acts to separate the upper cover 2 and the lower cover 4 from each other.

Next, the conductive pattern forming member 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The surface shown in FIG. 8 is the contact member 5
This is a surface (upper surface in FIG. 7) facing with, and the conductive pattern 3b is formed on this surface. Further, these conductive patterns 3b are the end portions 3z of the conductive pattern forming member 3.
A plating lead portion 3c for gold plating is provided between the end portion 3z and the end portion 3z. A hole 3a is formed near the center of the conductive pattern forming member 3. The hole 3a is for engaging with the convex portion 2e of the upper cover 2.

Next, a method of assembling the connector 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, first, the upper cover 2 is placed upside down. The contact member 5 is placed in each groove 2a of the upper cover 2 (FIGS. 4 and 7). Further, the conduction pattern forming member 3 is placed from the upper side. Here, the surface on which the conductive pattern 3b is formed is set to the lower side in FIG. Hole 3a
(Fig. 7). As a result, the conductive pattern forming member 3 does not shift so that the upper cover 2
Be positioned at. At this time, the one end 3z of the conduction pattern forming member 3 is arranged on the inner wall surface of the upper cover 2 or in the vicinity thereof (FIG. 7).

While maintaining this state, next, the lower cover 4
Attach. For this attachment, the lower cover 4 is slid with respect to the upper cover 2 in the optical axis direction, and the lower cover 4 is moved.
The engaging portions 4a of are engaged with the engaging portions 2d of the upper cover 2 (FIGS. 5 and 6). As a result, the cutout portion 4c of the lower cover 4 engages with the convex portion 2e of the upper cover 2 (FIGS. 4 and 7). With the above, the connector 1 is completed.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower cover 4
One end portion (the right end portion in FIG. 7) other than the engaging portion 4a is disposed so as to be separated from the one end portion 3z of the conductive pattern forming member 3 by the clearance L. Therefore, the one end portion 3z of the conduction pattern forming member 3 and the right end portion of the lower cover 4 in the drawing are in a non-contact state, that is, an insulating state. Therefore, even if the one end portion 3z of the conduction pattern forming member 3 has a burr of the plating lead portion 3c (FIG. 8), it does not come into contact with the lower cover 4 to cause conduction failure. In addition, even by the above slide movement,
Since the conductive pattern forming member 3 is already positioned on the upper cover 2, there is no deviation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the male screw 6 penetrating the bayonet mount 7 and the hole 2c of the upper cover 2 is screwed into the female screw 4b of the lower cover 4,
The upper cover 2 and the lower cover 4, and the bayonet mount 7 and the connector 1 are fixed.

Although one embodiment of the connector according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. . For example, the connector 1 according to the present invention
In the above description, the example is provided on the interchangeable lens side, but it may be provided on the camera body side. Further, for example, it may be used for a tele-converter or a DX contact of a film.

[0025]

According to the connector of the present invention, even if the separating force acts on the first connector cover and the second connector cover due to the urging force of the contact member, the first engagement formed on both the first connector cover and the second connector cover. Since the portion and the second engaging portion are engaged with each other, the mechanical strength is high and it is possible to prevent the both from separating. Further, since the conductive pattern forming member is engaged with the first connector cover during assembly, the conductive pattern forming member is displaced even when the second connector cover is slid and connected to the first connector cover. Can be prevented. Accordingly, the contact member and the predetermined conductive pattern can be surely brought into contact with each other, and it is possible to prevent a short circuit or the like due to defective assembly. Furthermore, the assembling becomes easy, and the efficiency of the assembling work can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an embodiment of a connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a lower cover 2, a conduction pattern forming member 3, and a lower cover 4 of the connector 1 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along the line AA of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a BB cross section of FIG. 1. FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a DD cross section of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an EE section in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the conductive pattern forming member 3 shown in FIG. 2 viewed from the F direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Connector 2 Upper Cover 3 Conduction Pattern Forming Member 3b Conduction Pattern 3c Plating Lead Part 4 Lower Cover 5 Contact Member 5a Contact Pin 5b Elastic Material

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first connector cover having a first engaging portion, and a second engaging portion that engages with the first engaging portion so as to overlap with the first connector cover. A second connector cover attached to the first connector cover, and a movable member disposed between the first connector cover and the second connector cover and biased in a direction projecting from an outer surface of the first connector cover. A plurality of contact members having contact pins, a part of which is arranged between the first connector cover and the second connector cover, and a conduction pattern forming member having a conduction pattern on a contact surface with the movable contact pins. And the first connector cover has a third engaging portion, and the conductive pattern forming member engages with the third engaging portion to thereby provide the first connector cover. Positioned against Connector characterized in that it comprises a fourth engagement portion being.