JPH08185936A - Socket for printed-circuit board - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To mount and dismount a printed board easily and securely without damaging it by moving a latch arm for the turn of the printed board to lock and unlock the printed board. CONSTITUTION: In a socket 10 for a printed board, when a printed board 8 inserted into an insertion hole 28 of a housing 14 is turned and comes into contact with an engaging projection 62 of a latch arm 16, the latch arm 16 is energized in the arrow O direction. The latch arm 16 starts to move from a locking position, and a projection part 64 slides along a guide part. When the printed board 8 is further turned, the latch arm 16 moves in the direction of a support arm 18. Even if the printed board 8 turns further; it comes into contact with a top face of the latch arm 16 to prevent excessive travel. When the latch arm 16 returns to the locking position, a locking part locks a side fringe part of the printed board 8 and holds it at a turn position. The housing 14 and the latch arm 16 are formed by an integral member made of an insulation material.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printed circuit board socket in which an edge portion of a printed circuit board is directly inserted as a plug portion to directly form a connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent demand for high-density mounting, various low insertion force type direct connectors have been developed. In general, such a low insertion force type connector has a plurality of spring contacts arranged in a housing made of an insulating material forming a socket, and the contact portions of these spring contacts are placed in an insertion opening for a printed circuit board called a daughter board. It is protruding. These contact portions form two contact rows along the longitudinal direction of the insertion port, and a gap for accommodating the edge portion of the printed board is formed between these contact rows. Each contact row is arranged in an offset state along the depth direction of the insertion port, that is, the insertion direction of the printed circuit board. For this reason, when the printed circuit board is inserted, one surface of the edge portion comes into contact with the contact row at a position close to the tip of the edge portion, and the other surface comes into contact at a position farther than this.

When the edge portion of the printed board is inserted between these contact rows and the printed board is rotated in the direction in which these contact rows are separated from each other, the contact portions of the spring contacts are displaced. The spring force that tries to return the contact portions to their original positions ensures that each contact portion comes into contact with each of the conductive wires arranged at the edge portion of the printed circuit board.

In order to securely fix the printed circuit board to the housing while maintaining such a good contact state between each spring contact and the printed circuit board, the printed circuit board is held at its rotating position and fixed to the housing. A latch mechanism is provided. Various types of such latch mechanisms have been developed.

For example, the latch mechanism described in US Pat. No. 4,986,765 includes a leaf spring-shaped latch member formed of a metal plate, and the metal latch member locks the printed circuit board. The metal latch member is arranged above the spring portion, the spring portion accommodated in the recess of the housing base portion, the mounting portion protruding downward from the spring portion and inserted into the through hole of the housing base portion. And a latch portion. The latch portion is fitted with a guide portion that engages with an edge portion of the printed circuit board when the printed circuit board is rotated and biases the spring portion outward, and is fitted to a side edge portion of the printed circuit board. A notch is formed to hold the substrate in a predetermined rotation position.

US Pat. No. 5,161,995 also discloses a latch mechanism which also includes a leaf spring-like latch member formed from a metal plate. This metal latch member also includes a mounting portion arranged below the spring portion and a latch portion arranged above. The mounting portion has a pair of U-shaped mounting arms that are wound around and fixed to a column located near the printed circuit board insertion port, and these mounting arms function to support the reaction force of the spring. In addition to the guide surface that engages with the edge of the printed circuit board when the printed circuit board is rotated and biases the spring section outward, the latch part engages with one surface of the printed circuit board to print. An engagement wall is formed to prevent the substrate from returning. Any of the latch mechanisms can easily lock and release the printed circuit board by utilizing the characteristics of the metal leaf spring.

[0007]

However, in any of the above latch mechanisms, there is room for further improvement in that the latch member is formed of a metal plate. That is, when the printed circuit board is mounted, the printed circuit board is rotated and slid along the guide portion or guide surface of the latch member to bend the latch member against its spring force. The layer or insulating substrate may be damaged by contact or sliding with the latch member. In particular, if the printed circuit board itself becomes large or the number of spring contacts increases due to the high density of the printed circuit board, the total restoring force of these spring contacts increases. Therefore, if the latch member has a size corresponding to this, a larger force is required to bend the latch member, and the possibility of damaging the printed circuit board increases.

Further, it is desirable to surely prevent the printed circuit board from jumping up and falling out of the socket due to the biasing force of these spring contacts when the latch member releases the lock of the printed circuit board.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and the metal member is barely exposed, and even if the number of spring contacts increases, the printed circuit board can be easily and surely attached / detached without being damaged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a socket for a printed circuit board which can be manufactured.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A printed circuit board socket according to the present invention has a housing in which an insertion port for receiving a printed circuit board to be connected is formed between a pair of opposing wall parts, and each contact is formed from at least one wall part. A plurality of spring contacts that project into the insertion opening to form a contact row along the longitudinal direction of the insertion opening; When the printed circuit board is rotated in the direction of pressing, the printed circuit board is pressed by the side edge of the printed circuit board and moved outward, and when this printed circuit board passes, the printed circuit board is elastically returned to its original position to move the printed circuit board above the spring. A pair of latch arms that lock against the urging force of the contacts and when the latch arms release the lock of the printed circuit board by projecting from the other of the above wall parts. A printed circuit board that is biased by a spring contact and a pressing portion for preventing the pivoting beyond a predetermined angle, and the housing and the latch arms are integrally formed member made of an insulating material. The holding portion is preferably arranged in a position close to the latch arm, and one of the wall portions preferably projects beyond the holding portion.

[0011]

In the printed circuit board socket of the present invention, when the printed circuit board is inserted into the insertion opening of the housing, the contacts of the respective contacts come into contact with the respective conductive portions arranged at the edge portion which is the base end side of the printed circuit board. . When the printed circuit board is rotated in a direction to press these contacts while resisting the biasing force of the spring contacts, the side edges of the printed circuit board move the latch arm outward, and the printed circuit board is moved beyond the latch arm. When rotated, the latch arm returns by its elasticity and locks this printed circuit board. Then, when removing the printed circuit board, the latch arm is moved outward. The printed circuit board unlocked by the latch arm is rotated about the base end side by the urging force of the spring contact, and is held by the holding portion protruding from the wall portion of the housing when rotated by a predetermined angle.

When the holding portion is arranged near the latch arm, the side edge portion of the printed circuit board is held, and when one of the wall portions projects beyond the holding portion, the longitudinal direction of the insertion opening. The entire width of one of the walls along the is exposed.

[0013]

1 to 6 show a socket 10 for a printed circuit board according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the printed circuit board socket 10 includes a housing 14 in which a large number of spring contacts 12 are arranged at predetermined intervals. A pair of latch arms 16 and 16 and support arms 18 and 18 extend from both ends of the housing 14, respectively. The support arms 18, 18 support the latch guides 20, 20 as described later, and the latch guides 20, 2
0 guides the latch arms 16 and 16. The housing 14, the latch arms 16 and 16, and the support arms 18 and 18 are formed as an integral member of an insulating material such as LCP (liquid crystal polymer). Code 2
Reference numeral 2 denotes a polar key, which prevents erroneous insertion of the printed circuit board 8 (see FIGS. 3 and 5).

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 14 has a pair of opposing wall portions 24 and 26 arranged on the upper side and the lower side, respectively, and the printed circuit board 8 for connection is placed between these wall portions 24 and 26. An insertion port 28 for receiving is formed. The latch arm 16 is connected to the lower wall portion 26 at a portion close to each longitudinal end portion of the insertion opening 28, and the insertion opening 28 is inserted.
The upper surface disposed on the side is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the lower wall portion 26. Therefore, the latch arm 1
6 has a structure with a smaller cross-sectional area than the support arm 18 and is easy to bend, while the support arm 18 has a relatively rigid structure.

The printed circuit board socket 10 of this embodiment.
Is formed so as to be mounted horizontally on the surface of a mother board (not shown), that is, in a state where the insertion opening 28 is opened laterally, and the positioning projection 13 is provided on the housing 1.
4 is formed. In addition, from the arrangement of contacts, a so-called DIMM (Dual in-line M) is used.
It is formed in the socket for the memory module.

Each of the upper wall portions 24 has an insertion port 28.
The contact grooves 30a opening to the side are formed at a predetermined interval, and the pressing portion 15 is provided from a position close to each latch arm 16.
Is projected. As will be described later, the holding portion 15 prevents the printed board 8 from rotating over a predetermined angle when the printed board 8 is removed, and is formed over the entire length of the wall portion 24 along the contact row. However, in order to expose the lower wall portion 26 as much as possible and facilitate the insertion of the printed circuit board 8, it is preferable to provide only on both side portions thereof. Also, the lower wall 2
6 also has contact grooves 3 that open to the insertion port 28 side, respectively.
0b are formed at a predetermined interval, and the lower wall portion 26
Is formed so as to protrude from the pressing portion 15 of the upper wall portion 24.

The contact groove 30a of the wall portion 24 and the wall portion 26
And the contact grooves 30b of the contact grooves 30b of the contact grooves 30b of FIG.
Spring contacts 12 are mounted in the holes 0a and 30b. The spring contact 12 shown in FIG. 3 (A) is mounted in the contact groove 30a, and the contact groove 30b.
The spring contact 12 shown in FIG. The spring contacts 12 may be stamped and formed from a plate material of copper alloy, for example.

As shown in FIG. 3, these spring contacts 12 are attached to the housing 14 by a mounting portion 33.
And each contact 32a, 32b has a spring portion 36a, 36b.
It is supported by the mounting portion 33 via. Each spring contact 12 is inserted from the back of the insertion port 28, that is, from the left side of the housing 14 shown in FIG. 3, and the mounting portion 33 is mounted in the mounting hole 34 formed in the lower wall portion 26. The small protrusions 35 formed on the mounting portion 33 prevent the small protrusions 35 from falling out of the mounting hole 34. As shown in FIG. 3A, the contact 32a has a spring portion 36 in the contact groove 30a of the upper wall portion 24.
It is arranged together with a and projects into the insertion opening 28 from the contact groove 30a. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the contact 32b is arranged in the contact groove 30b of the lower wall 26 together with the spring portion 36b, and protrudes into the insertion opening 28 from the contact groove 30b. These contacts 32a, 32
A gap is provided between b and the bottom walls of the contact grooves 30a and 30b. Further, a terminal portion for connecting to the motherboard projects from the back portion of the housing 14.

Contact 32 of each spring contact 12
a and 32b are inserted in the insertion port 28, respectively.
The contact rows are formed along the longitudinal direction of, and these contact rows are arranged in an offset state with respect to the insertion direction E of the printed circuit board 8. Then, when the edge portion of the printed circuit board 8 is inserted into the insertion port 28 and the printed circuit board 28 is rotated in the direction of the arrow R, the contacts 32a and 32b are pressed by the edge portion, and the spring portions 36a and 36b respectively. Contacts 32a, 3
Trying to return 2b to its original position. Each contact 32a, 32b
This spring force pushes against each conductor portion arranged at the edge portion, and makes sure contact. Further, due to the contact row having such an offset arrangement, a moment in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow R acts on the printed circuit board 8.

FIG. 4 shows a latch mechanism for holding the printed circuit board 8 which receives such a moment at each side edge portion in the width direction thereof. Since the latch mechanism for holding each side edge portion has the same structure, only one will be described.

The latch mechanism of this embodiment is provided with the housing 14
From the latch arm 16 and the support arm 18
And the latch arm 16 attached to the support arm 18.
And a latch guide 20 for guiding.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the latch guide 20 is formed of a single plate material made of, for example, a copper alloy. The latch guide 20 of this embodiment includes a mounting portion 40 mounted on the tip of the support arm 18, a guide portion 42 bent substantially vertically from one end of the mounting portion 40, and the other end of the mounting portion 40. And a spring portion 44 bent substantially in the opposite direction. From the upper edge of the mounting portion 40, the L-shaped locking piece 4
6 protrudes, and from the lower edge to the motherboard (not shown),
For example, the fixing leg 48 for fixing by soldering projects. Further, the guide portion 42 has a rectangular plate-like shape in which each edge portion arranged above and below forms a guide edge portion,
The projecting pieces 43, 43 project vertically from the tip portion thereof.
The spring portion 44 arranged in the gap between the latch arm 16 and the support arm 18 has a curved portion 50, and the spring portion 44 can abut through the curved portion 50 when the latch arm 16 is curved.

As shown in FIG. 5, an accommodating recess 52 for accommodating the mounting portion 40 is formed at the tip of the support arm 18 on the side of the latch arm 16, and further, as shown in FIG. A slot 54 for inserting and fixing the stopper 46 is formed. The notch portion 58 accommodates the fixed leg 48, and the notch portion 60 accommodates the engaging protrusion 62 protruding from the latch arm 16.

As shown in FIG. 4, the latch arm 16 has two protrusions 64, 64 at its tip, and is provided on the spring portion 44 of the latch guide 30 on the side facing the support arm 18. A concave portion 66 for accommodating the curved portion 50 is formed. The engaging projection 62 projects upward from the upper surface of the latch arm 16 and also projects laterally of the latch arm 16 toward the support arm 18. An inwardly inclined cam portion 68 is provided on the upper side of the engagement protrusion 62, and a locking portion 70 for locking the side edge portion of the printed circuit board is provided on the lower side. An ear portion 72 (FIG. 2) is provided on the side of the support arm 18 of the engaging protrusion 62, and by operating the ear portion 72, the engaging portion 62 engages with the side edge portion of the printed circuit board. The latch arm 16 can be bent and displaced between the stop position (the position shown in FIG. 1) and the release position (the position shown in FIG. 6) for releasing the locking.

When the latch guide 20 is attached to the support arm 18, as shown in FIG.
The locking piece 46 is aligned with and is inserted into the gap between the support arm 18 and the latch arm 16. The spring portion 44 and the bending portion 50 are guided in the recess 66 of the latch arm 16,
The mounting portion 40 is disposed in the accommodation recess 52 (FIG. 5) of the support arm. In this state, the locking piece 46 is inserted into the slot 46.
The inside of the support arm 18 is bitten in the support arm 18 to firmly hold the latch guide 20, and the mounting portion 40 contacts the side surface of the accommodation recess 52. The protrusions 64, 64 of the latch arm 16 contact the upper and lower guide edges of the locking portion 42,
The protrusions 43, 43 prevent the support arm 18 from moving away from the support arm 18. In the state where the latch guide 20 is mounted, a gap is provided between the curved portion 50 of the spring portion 44 and the bottom surface of the concave portion 66 that accommodates the curved portion 50.

FIG. 6 shows the operation of the latch mechanism thus formed. When the printed circuit board 8 inserted into the insertion opening 28 of the housing 14 is rotated and comes into contact with the engaging protrusion 62 of the latch arm 16, the cam portion 68 formed on the engaging protrusion 62 causes the latch arm 16 to move. Energize in the direction indicated by arrow O. Since the latch arm 16 is not in contact with the spring portion 44 of the latch guide 20, the latch arm 16 immediately starts moving from the locking position shown in FIG. 1, and the protrusion 64 slides along the guide edge portion of the guide portion 42.

When the printed circuit board 8 is further rotated, the latch arm 16 presses the spring portion 44 and the support arm 18 is pressed.
Move in the direction of. Thereby, the latch arms 16 and 1
6 is opened and the printed circuit board 8 is further rotated and moved beyond the cam portion 68, the printed circuit board 8 comes into contact with the upper surfaces of the latch arms 16 and 16 to prevent the excessive movement, and the latch arm 16 is The elastic force of the latch guide 20 and the spring force of the latch guide 20 restore the latched position. As a result, the locking portion 70 locks the side edge portion of the printed circuit board 8 and holds it in the rotating position.

In this embodiment, since the spring portion 44 is provided in the latch guide 20, the latch arm 16 can be immediately returned even when the printed board 8 is in contact with the upper surface of the latch arm 16.

When the printed circuit board 8 is removed, the ear 72
The latch arm 16 in the direction of the arrow O through
Move to the release position shown in. Thereby, the engagement protrusion 62
The engaging portion 70 (FIG. 4) of the is released from the engagement with the printed circuit board 8. The printed circuit board 8 is rotated by the biasing force of the spring contact 12 in a direction away from the latch arm 16, and the pressing portion 15 formed on the wall portion 24 of the housing 14 is pressed.
And is held by the pressing portion 15 without coming off from the insertion port 28. At this time, the pressing portion 15
The printed circuit board 8 is damaged even when the printed circuit board 8 is brought into contact with a portion near the base end of the printed circuit board 8 and a side edge portion thereof, that is, a portion where a circuit or the like is not arranged, and a large moment acts by the biasing force of the spring contact 12. Press and hold without holding.

Further, when the latch arm 16 moves between the locking position and the releasing position, each projection 43 is slidably guided on the guide edge portion formed by the edge portion of the guide portion 42.
The engagement protrusion 62 is moved along the plane of the printed circuit board 8. As a result, the locking portion 70 made of an insulating material is smoothly engaged with the side edge portion of the printed circuit board 8. Further, the bending and twisting forces acting on the latch arm 16 from the printed circuit board 8 via the locking portion 70 are transmitted to the support arm 18 via the guide portion 42 and the mounting portion 40, and further fixed. It can also be transmitted to the motherboard via 48. Therefore, the printed circuit board 8 is held very firmly while maintaining the ease of bending of the latch arm 16. Further, since the latch guide 20 which is a metal member is housed between the latch arm 16 and the support arm 18, the metal portion is hardly exposed to the outside, and the safety of the daughter board or the like is ensured.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above, according to the printed circuit board socket of the present invention, the member made of the insulating material can be easily attached and detached without damaging the printed circuit board even if the number of spring contacts increases. It can be done reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a printed circuit board socket according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of a part of the housing.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an arrangement state of spring contacts in a housing.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway schematic perspective view showing a structure of a latch mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a state where the latch guide is attached to the support arm.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing the operation of the latch arm.

[Explanation of symbols]

8 ... Printed circuit board, 10 ... Printed circuit board socket, 1
2 ... Spring contact, 14 ... Housing, 16 ...
Latch arm, 18 ... Support arm, 20 ... Latch guide, 28 ... Insertion port, 40 ... Mounting part, 42 ... Guide part, 4
4 ... Spring part, 62 ... Engagement projection, 64 ... Projection part, 68 ... Cam part, 70 ... Locking part.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A housing having an insertion opening formed between a pair of opposing wall portions for receiving a printed circuit board to be connected, and respective contact points protruding from at least one wall portion into the insertion opening along the longitudinal direction of the insertion opening. A plurality of spring contacts forming a contact row and extending from a portion in the vicinity of each longitudinal end of the insertion opening of the housing, the printed board being rotated when the printed circuit board is rotated in a direction to press each of the contacts. A pair of a pair of substrates that are pressed outward by the side edge of the board and are returned to the original position by its elastic force when the printed board passes and lock the printed board against the biasing force of the spring contact. The latch arm and the printed circuit board projecting from the other of the wall parts and urged by the spring contact when the latch arm releases the lock of the printed circuit board. A socket for a printed circuit board, comprising: a holding portion for preventing rotation beyond a predetermined angle, wherein the housing and the latch arm are formed of an integral member made of an insulating material. 2. The printed circuit board socket according to claim 1, wherein the pressing portion is arranged at a position close to the latch arm. 3. The printed circuit board socket according to claim 1, wherein one of the wall portions projects beyond the pressing portion.