JPH09147937A - Connector and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance productivity as a connector by insuring the fixation of a connector terminal which is pressed in an insulator so as to be fixed thereto, with respect to the insulator in the manufacture of the connector. SOLUTION: This invention is concerned with the manufacture of a connector equipped with a terminal which is provided with an outward connecting contact at one end, and with at the other end, a signal line connecting part whose tip end is processed by off-set bending by way of bulge formation wherein the terminal 111 is inserted into the through hole of an insulator from the contact side, so that the terminal 111 is thereby fixed onto the insulator 112 in an bulge formation area. After that, a spacer 31 is disposed in a place close to a surface at the signal line connecting part side in the off-set bending area for the terminal 111, and the exposed surface side of the spacer 31 is pressed by a contact bonding mold 113 for signal line connection corresponding to the signal line connecting part of the terminal 111, so that the spacer 31 is thereby fixed thereto.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal fixing means for a connector, and more particularly to a connector in which the connector terminal press-fitted and fixed to an insulator is securely fixed to the insulator and the productivity of the connector is improved, and its manufacture. Regarding the method.

In the field of connectors in recent years, miniaturization of the connector terminals themselves and narrowing of the terminal arrangement pitch are progressing in order to meet the demands for downsizing and cost reduction of electronic devices.

In this case, in a connector in which a terminal having a bulge is press-fitted and fixed in an insulator, the terminal is rattled against the insulator or buckled due to mechanical stress applied to each terminal when the male and female connectors are fitted together. It may be deformed, and it is strongly desired to deal with it.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a conventional plug connector together with an assembling process, and (6-1) shows the configuration.
(6-2) shows the completed state of the plug connector body, and (6-3)
Shows the crimping mold for signal line connection, and (6-4) shows the completed plug connector after signal line connection.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the configuration of the plug connector together with the assembling process. In (6-1) of the figure, the plug connector main body 11 is composed of a plurality of plug terminals 111 and an insulator 112 for fixing the respective plug terminals 111 at predetermined positions.

The plug terminal 111a has a plug contact 111a, one end of which is fitted with a jack terminal (not shown).
Then, the other end after being offset-bent through the formation region of the bulge 111b which is a fixed portion to the insulator is formed in the signal line connecting portion 111d having the V-shaped notch 111c for signal line pressure welding. .

On the other hand, the outer shape of the insulator 112 is U-shaped when viewed from the side with leg portions 112a at both ends, and a main body portion 112b connecting the leg portions is provided with a peripheral wall 112c having an opening on the leg portion side. Through-hole 112d, which is large enough to be fixed by the above-mentioned bulge 111b when the plug terminal 111 is inserted from the plug contact side, into the bottom surface region of the main body portion thereof at a predetermined pitch p ₁ , p ₂ are aligned in two rows.

The distance a ₁ between the inner surface of the peripheral wall 112c of the main body in the width direction and the through holes 112d on the row side close to the inner surface is substantially equal to the offset bending amount a ₂ of the plug terminal 111. And the peripheral wall 112c is connected to the plug terminal 111.
Is formed to have a height that can accommodate only the offset bending region of.

Further, a square window 112e is formed in each central portion of the above-mentioned both leg portions 112a. Therefore, by inserting the plug terminal 111 having the plug contact 111a at the head into the through hole 112d of the insulator 112 from the peripheral wall opening side as shown by an arrow A, the plug terminal 111 is fixed to the insulator 112. The connector body 11 can be configured as shown in (6-2).

In this case, most of the above-mentioned signal line connecting portion 111d of each plug terminal 111 is the insulator main body portion 112b.
Are in a state of being projected and aligned from the peripheral wall 112c. The other
The crimping mold 113 for signal line connection shown in (6-3) is attached to the plug connector main body 11 by inserting the plug connector main body 11 between both legs of the insulator.

That is, the crimping mold 113 has an external shape that is the same width as the insulator 112 and has a U-shape in a side view with leg portions 113a at both ends, and the upper surface of the main body portion 113b that connects the leg portions is Each plug terminal in the plug connector body 11
Four corrugated plates 113c, in which peaks and valleys are alternately formed at a pitch p ₂ so as to correspond to the signal line connection portion 111d of 111, that is,
113c _-1 , 113c _-2 , 113c _-3 , 113c _-4 are formed in a projecting state so that they can be located near both sides of each of the two projecting signal line connecting portion rows of the plug connector body 11. There is.

Of the four corrugated plates 113c, 113c _-1
And 113c _-2 and between 113c _-3 and 113c _-4 ,
A groove 113d having a depth is provided so as not to come into contact with the tip of the signal line connecting portion of the plug terminal 111 in a state where the tip of the ridge portion of the corrugated plate is in contact with the tip surface of the insulating peripheral wall.
Between 113c _-2 and 113c _-3 is formed a hole 113f penetrating the main body 113b in the thickness direction.

Further, the troughs of the corrugated plates 113c are arranged such that the peaks of the respective crests are brought into contact with the above-mentioned end faces of the peripheral wall of the insulator of the plug connector main body 11 and the V of the plug terminal 111 is reduced.
The depth is formed so that it is located near the innermost part of the shape cut 111c.

Further, on each outer surface of the leg portion 113a, a hook 1 protruding to a position corresponding to the square hole 112e when the tip of the mountain portion is brought into contact with the tip surface of the peripheral wall similarly to the above.
13d is formed.

Therefore, the above-mentioned hole of the pressure-bonding mold 113 is formed.
The exposed terminal core wire 15a of each signal wire 15 of the cable that penetrates 113f is arranged in the vicinity of the opening of the V-shaped notch 111c of each terminal of the plug connector body 11 as shown in (6-2), for example. In this state, the crimping mold 113 is inserted between the legs of the plug connector main body 11 as indicated by arrow B, and the tip of the crest of the corrugated plate 113c is brought into contact with the tip of the peripheral wall of the insulator.

In this case, the terminal core wire 15a located in the vicinity of the opening of the V-shaped notch 111c of each terminal is connected to the corrugated plate 113c.
It is possible to push the V-shaped notch 111c into the deepest part of the V-shaped notch 111c while being inserted into the valley part of the groove, and engage the above-mentioned hook 113e with the square hole 112e provided in each leg 112a of the insulator 112.

Therefore, the terminal core wire 15a and the signal line connecting portion
111d, and thus the plug connector 1 mounted and fixed to the plug connector main body 11 in a state where the connection with the plug terminal 111 is secured, can be configured as shown in (6-4), which is a partial cross-sectional view.

In such a plug connector 1, there is an advantage that the signal line can be surely connected only by inserting the crimping mold 113 into the plug connector body 11. On the other hand, recently, it is necessary to further reduce the pitch of adjacent pipes of terminals (pitch p ₂ in FIG. 6) in response to the customer's request for improvement in the density of mounting the connector terminals. After making it thinner than the department side,
A connector has been put into practical use in which the terminals are fixed to an insulator so that the signal line connecting portions are arranged in two rows when the plug contacts are arranged in one row.

An example of such a connector will be described with reference to FIG.
-1) to (7-3) show the configuration of the plug connector, and (7-
Similarly to (6-4) in FIG. 6, 4) is a diagram showing a completed state of the connector at the time of signal line connection.

In (7-1) of the figure, the plug connector body 21 is
It is composed of plug terminals 211 (211 _-1 , 211 _-2 ) of a kind and an insulator 212 that fixes each plug terminal in a predetermined position.
In each plug terminal 211 in this case having the same shape as the plug terminal 111 described in FIG. 6, for example, the width of the plug contact 211a including the bulge forming area is the signal line connecting portion 211b.
By forming the offset bending area 211c at a position displaced from the center line of the plug contact 211a at the same time as forming it at a position displaced from each other, even if the arrangement pitch of the plug contacts 211a is smaller than that of the plug terminals 111, adjacent terminals do not come into contact with each other. It was done like this.

On the other hand, in the insulator 212 having the same shape as the insulator 112 described in FIG. 6, only the size and arrangement pitch of the through holes 212a correspond to the plug terminals 211 (211 _-1 , 211 _-2 ). 6 is smaller than the through hole 112d of the insulator 112 of FIG.

Therefore, the plug terminals 211 are made of an insulating material as described in FIG. 6 in a state where the adjacent terminals are different from each other.
Plug connector body by inserting into 212 and fixing
21 can be configured as shown in (7-2).

At this point, the signal line connecting portion 211b of the plug terminals 211 _-1 , 211 _-2 as the plug connector body 21 is
As shown in the figure, there are a total of four rows of two rows each. On the other hand, the crimping mold 213 for signal line connection shown in (7-3) having the same shape as the crimping mold 113 described in FIG. 6 has only the corrugated plate 113c described in FIG. The corrugated plate 213a is formed so as to correspond to the above-mentioned four rows of signal line connection portions 211b.

Therefore, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the crimping mold 213 is mounted on the insulator 212 in a state where the terminal core wire 15a of the signal wire 15 is arranged in the signal wire connecting portion 211b, so that the terminal core wire 15a and the signal are connected. Wire connection part 211b and plug terminal
Connect the plug connector 2 that is secured to the 211 to (7-4)
Can be configured as shown in FIG.

The plug connector 2 has an advantage that many signal line connections can be realized only by inserting the crimping mold 213 into the plug connector body 21.

[0026]

However, in the plug connectors 1 and 2 described in FIG. 6, since the fixing of the plug terminals 111, 211 to the insulators 112, 212 is due to the bulge of the plug terminals 111, 211, the fixing force of the terminals themselves to the insulator. Has a drawback that it tends to decrease.

In FIG. 8 for explaining the problem using the plug connector 1 of FIG. 6 as an example, only the fixing region is enlarged (8-1) shows the state before press-fitting the plug terminal, and (8-2) shows the plug terminal. The state after press fitting, and (8-3) shows the state during use.

In (8-1) of the figure, the bulge 111b explained in FIG. 6 is formed in the plug terminal 111 at its forming portion.
Further, the through hole 112d described in FIG. 4 is formed in the insulator 112.

Then, for example, when the plug terminal 111 is raised as shown by the arrow C ₁ and the bulge 111b is pressed into the insulator, the bulge 111b bites into the inner wall of the through hole, resulting in the state shown in (7-2). It is fixed.

The inner wall of the through hole in this case has a bulge.
Although the stress is applied by 111b, this stress is concentrated in the pass area of the bulge 111b as shown by the dot area D in the figure, so that the plug terminal 111 after fixation is in the removal direction, that is, C ₂
The adhesion force in the direction decreases.

On the other hand, when the plug connector 1 is connected to a jack connector (not shown), the stress applied to the plug terminal 111 by the jack terminal is (7-3) arrow E.
Direction, which corresponds to the escape direction shown in (8-2), that is, the C ₂ direction.

Therefore, the plug terminal itself may buckle or be deformed as shown by the broken line F in the figure, for example, by connecting the jack connector a plurality of times, resulting in connection failure due to rattling of the terminal. There is a problem that it may induce deterioration of characteristics.

Note that the plug connector 2 described with reference to FIG. 7 also has a problem that it may induce connection failure or deterioration of characteristics due to rattling as a terminal.

[0034]

The above object is to fix a terminal of a connector provided with a terminal having an external connection contact at one end and a signal line connecting portion at the other end that is offset and bent through a bulge forming region. In the method, after the step of inserting the terminal from the contact side into the insulator through hole and fixing the terminal to the insulator in the bulge formation region, the offset bending region of the terminal on the signal line connecting portion side A step of disposing the spacer close to the surface, and a step of fixing the spacer by pressing the exposed surface side of the spacer with a crimping mold for signal line connection corresponding to the signal line connecting portion of the terminal. It is solved by the method of fixing the terminal of the connector including.

Further, a terminal for external connection is provided as a contact for external connection, and the other end of which the other end is offset and bent through a bulge forming region is a signal line connecting portion. The terminal is inserted into the through hole of the insulator from the contact side. The connector is provided with a spacer that can fix the terminal fixed to the insulator to the insulator at a position close to the surface of the terminal in the offset bending region on the signal line connecting portion side.

By eliminating the above-mentioned movement in the C ₂ direction as the plug terminal, the buckling and deformation of the plug terminal itself can be eliminated, so that connection failure as a connector and deterioration of characteristics can be suppressed.

Therefore, in the present invention, the spacer is attached and fixed in the space area near the plug terminal offset bending area as the connector so that buckling or deformation of the plug terminal itself is eliminated.

Therefore, connection failure as a connector and deterioration of characteristics can be suppressed, and improvement of production can be expected.

[0039]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a connector of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the connector of FIG. 1 together with a terminal fixing method, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of another connector. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the connector of FIG. 3 together with a terminal fixing method, and FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a terminal fixing method of a third connector together with the connector.

Note that FIGS. 1 to 4 exemplify the case of application to the plug connector described in FIG. 6, and FIG. 5 exemplifies the case of application to the plug connector described in FIG. The same target members and parts as those in FIG. 7 are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

The plug connector 3 according to the present invention shown in FIG.
The plug connector body 11 and the crimp mold 11 described in FIG.
3 and the spacer 31 according to the present invention.
And the spacer 31 made of a resin material having a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape,
The width b and the thickness c in the cross section C orthogonal to the longitudinal direction are shown in FIG.
(6-4), the rectangular shape is formed to have a size corresponding to the area sandwiched between the two rows of plug terminals 111 inside the peripheral wall of the insulator 112, that is, the dot area G, and the length d is The insulator 112 is formed so as to substantially correspond to the distance between the inner surfaces of the peripheral wall in the length direction of the main body.

In FIG. 2 which is a sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, (2-1) shows the plug connector body 11. Therefore, the spacer 31 according to the present invention,
As shown by an arrow H, the plug terminals 11 are arranged in two rows between both legs of the insulator 112 that constitutes the plug connector body 11.
The spacer 31 can be brought into the state shown in (2-2) by inserting it between the signal line connecting portions of No. 1, but at this time, the spacer 31 is in a free state.

Therefore, when the crimping mold 113 described with reference to FIG. 6 is mounted as shown by the arrow I as described with reference to FIG. 6, the peaks of the corrugated plates 113c of the crimping mold 113 are the spacers.
Since the surface of 31 is pressed and sandwiched, the pressure-bonding mold 113
Insulator 112 and plug body
By fixing it to 11, the plug connector 3 in which the spacer 31 is also fixed at the same time can be constructed as shown in (2-3).

In such a plug connector 3, the plug terminal
The offset bending area of 111 is the insulator 112 and the spacer
Since it is sandwiched between 31 and 31, it is possible to prevent the terminals from buckling, deforming, rattling, etc. described in FIG.

The plug connector 4 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 3 for explaining the structure of another connector includes a plug terminal 111, a crimp mold 113, and an insulator 41 according to the present invention shown in FIG.
1 and spacer 42.

The insulator 411 in this case is provided at the center of the side wall on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the body of the insulator 112 described with reference to FIG.
As shown in the sectional view (a) when the side wall portion is cut along arrows J to I ', only a through hole 411a penetrating the side wall is additionally formed.

The spacer 42 is the spacer described in FIG.
Through-holes of the insulator 411 are formed on the end faces 31a on both sides in the longitudinal direction of 31.
For example, a hook 42a protruding in a size to engage with 411a is formed as shown in an enlarged sectional view (b).

In this case, the distance e ₁ of each hook 42a from the one end surface 31b in the thickness direction is set so as not to exceed the distance e ₂ from the peripheral wall tip surface of the through hole 41a in the insulator 41. There is.

Therefore, the spacer 42 is attached to the insulator 411 from the other surface side in the thickness direction, and the hook 42a of the spacer 42 is attached.
When the two are locked by engagement with the through hole 411a of the insulator 411, the one end face 31b in the thickness direction of the spacer 42 coincides with the peripheral wall tip face of the insulator 411 or recedes from the tip face. It will be in the state of doing.

Similar to FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. In FIG. 4, (4-1) shows a plug connector body 41 in which the above-mentioned plug terminal 111 is fixed to the insulator 411 as in FIG. Is shown.

Therefore, the spacer 42 according to the present invention is arranged from the other surface side in the thickness direction thereof between the leg portions of the insulator 411 and between the signal line connecting portions of the plug terminals 111 arranged in two rows as shown by an arrow K. By inserting and engaging the hook 42a of the spacer 42 with the through hole 411a of the insulator 411, both can be locked and fixed in the state shown in (4-2).

Further, the crimping mold 113 described with reference to FIG. 6 is mounted as shown by the arrow L as described with reference to FIG. 6, and the hook 113e of the crimping mold 113 is attached to the square holes 112e of both legs of the insulator 411.
As in the case of FIG. 6, the two can be fixed at the position where the tip of the corrugated plate ridge of the crimping mold 113 and the tip of the peripheral wall of the insulator 411 are in contact with each other by engaging with.

Therefore, the plug connector 4 with the spacer 42 fixed to the plug connector body 41 can be constructed as shown in (4-3). In such a plug connector 4, since the spacer 42 itself is fixed to the insulator 411, there is an advantage that the signal line connecting work as described with reference to FIG. 6 can be easily performed.

Similar to FIG. 4, in FIG. 5 shown in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, (5-1) shows the main structure of the connector of the present invention, and (5-2) has the spacer according to the present invention attached. The state, (5-3) shows the state when the crimping mold is attached.

In FIG. 5 (5-1), 21 is the plug connector main body described in FIG. 7, and 51 is the spacer according to the present invention. The cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the longitudinal direction corresponds to the area sandwiched between the signal line connecting portions of the two rows of plug terminals 211 inside the peripheral wall of the insulator 212 constituting the plug connector body 21, that is, the dot area M shown in the figure. It has a convex shape, and its length is formed so as to substantially correspond to the distance between the inner surfaces of the peripheral walls in the length direction of the main body of the insulator 212.

The shoulder heights on both sides in the longitudinal direction are
The above-mentioned two types of plug terminals 211 (211 _-1 , 211 _-2 ) are formed in a concavo-convex shape having a terminal arrangement pitch so as to correspond to the respective offset bending positions.

Therefore, the spacer 51 according to the present invention is inserted between the leg portions of the insulator 411 and the row of the signal line connecting portions of the plug terminals 211 arranged in two rows as shown by an arrow N from the side of the concavo-convex forming surface. By doing so, the state shown in (5-2) can be obtained.

At this point, the spacer 51 is in the free state, as in the case of FIG. Then, the crimping mold 213 described with reference to FIG. 7 is mounted as shown by the arrow P as described with reference to FIG. 6, and the hook 113 of the crimping mold 213 is mounted.
By engaging e with the square holes 112e of both legs of the insulator 212, the tip of the corrugated plate of the crimping mold 213 and the insulator 21
The two can be fixed at the contact position with the front end surface of the peripheral wall 2 and the required plug connector 5 can be constructed as shown in FIG. 5-3.

In such a plug connector 5, the offset bending regions of the two types of plug terminals 211, that is, 211 _-1 , 211 _-2 are sandwiched between the insulator 212 and the shoulder portion of the spacer 51. It is possible to prevent buckling, deformation, rattling, etc. of the connector, and to prevent connection failure and deterioration of characteristics of the connector.

In addition, the through hole 411a described in FIG. 3 is provided in the central portion of the peripheral wall of the insulator 212 in the longitudinal direction, and
In the position corresponding to the through hole of the pressure-bonding mold 213, as shown in FIG.
By providing the hook described in 1 above, it is possible to obtain a plug connector in which the work of connecting the signal line is facilitated similarly to the plug connector 4 shown in FIG.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector and a method of manufacturing the same in which the connector terminal press-fitted and fixed in an insulator is securely fixed to the insulator to improve the productivity as a connector. it can.

In the description of the present invention, the case where the connector is a plug connector is taken as an example, but one end is a jack contact and the other end is offset-bent through the bulge forming region and the other end is formed in the signal line connecting portion. It is obvious that the same effect can be applied to a jack connector having terminals.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the connector of FIG. 1 together with a terminal fixing method.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of another connector.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the connector of FIG. 3 together with a terminal fixing method.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a terminal fixing method of a third connector together with the connector.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional plug connector together with an assembling process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of another plug connector together with an assembling process.

FIG. 8 is a process diagram illustrating a problem.

[Explanation of symbols]

3,4,5 Plug connector 11,21,41 Plug connector body 31,42,51 Spacer 31a End face 31b One side 42a, 113e Hook 111,211, 211 _-1 ,, 211 _-2 Plug terminal 112,212,411 Insulator 112e Square hole 113,213 Crimp mold 113c Corrugated plate 411a Through hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a connector having a terminal, one end of which is a contact for external connection, and the other end of which is offset-bent through a bulge forming region and whose other end is a signal line connecting portion, wherein the terminal is a contact. After inserting into the insulator through hole from the side and fixing the terminal to the insulator in the bulge forming area, a spacer is arranged in proximity to the signal line connecting portion side surface of the offset bending region of the terminal. And a step of pressing the exposed surface side of the spacer with a pressure-bonding mold for signal line connection corresponding to the signal line connection portion of the terminal to fix the spacer. Method. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the spacer has engaging means capable of being fixed to the insulator at an arrangement position close to a surface on the signal line connecting portion side of the offset bending region of the terminal. Production method. 3. A terminal for external connection, which is a contact for external connection, is offset-bent through a bulge forming region, and has a terminal whose other end is a signal line connecting portion, and is inserted from the contact side into an insulator through-hole. A connector comprising a spacer capable of fixing the terminal fixed to the insulator to the insulator at a position close to the surface of the terminal in the offset bending region on the signal line connecting portion side.