JPH09306614A - Connector intermediate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable connection using a simple structure, by reducing parts for connection in the event that en electronic unit and the electronic apparatus main body are connected with each other. SOLUTION: A connector (1) is equipped with a printed wiring board inserting hole (7), and a flexible board (33) connected with electronic parts in an electronic unit (30) is connected with contacts 3 of a unit 1 for intermediate connection. This connector (1) is attached to a chassis (34) of the electronic unit (30), and when the electronic unit (304 is mounted on an electronic apparatus main body (40), the contacts (3) of the connector (1) make contact with a circuit board (41) of the electronic apparatus main body (40). Accordingly, parts for connection are reduced because of the connection having, as an intermediate, only the connector 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a relay connector which, when assembled in an electronic unit, electrically connects an electronic device body in which the electronic unit is mounted and the electronic unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an electronic device such as a television camera, in addition to the original function of the television camera for displaying a photographed image, a zoom mechanism is provided to add a function of expanding / contracting the image. The electronic unit is incorporated in the main body of the electric device in order to perform an additional function to the original function of the main body of the electronic device such as the television camera.

In order to perform a function independent of such an electronic device main body, the electronic unit has electronic parts such as a transformer and a motor. Must be electrically connected. The relay connector is used for such connection.

FIG. 9 shows a conventional structure for connecting an electronic unit and an electronic device body as described above, wherein 100 is an electronic unit and 200 is an electronic device body. The electronic unit 100 includes an auxiliary circuit board 120 on which a transformer, a motor, and other electronic components 110 are mounted, and the auxiliary circuit board 1
A chassis 130 that supports 20 and surrounds each electronic component 110 is provided.

The chassis 130 uses an insulating plate made of synthetic resin or a metal plate having an electromagnetic shield function. Since the electronic components 110 such as the transformer and the motor are connected to other circuits by the flexible substrate 150, the electronic components 110 are connected to the electronic device main body 200.
To connect to, the printed wiring board connector 140 and the auxiliary circuit board 120 are used as shown in the figure. That is, the flexible substrate 15 connected to each electronic component 110
The other end of 0 is connected to the corresponding contact of the printed wiring board connector 140 disposed on the auxiliary circuit board 120, and each contact is connected to the connection circuit pattern formed on the lower surface of the auxiliary circuit board 120. Soldered.

[0006] The electronic unit 100 configured in this way
Is attached by inserting the chassis 130 into the case 220 of the electronic device main body 200 and tightening the screw 230, and at the same time, by this attachment, the chassis 130 is electrically connected to the electronic device main body 200 via the relay connector 300. That is, the relay connector 300 is attached to the motherboard 210 which is a circuit board arranged in the case body 220 of the electronic device body 200, and the electronic unit 1
When 00 is mounted on the electronic device main body 200, the contact of the relay connector 300 comes into contact with the connecting circuit pattern of the auxiliary circuit board 120.

10 to 12 show the relay connector 30.
Indicates 0. The relay connector 300 includes a housing 310 made of an insulating resin and a plurality of contacts 320 arranged in the housing 310. The contact 320 is arranged with respect to the housing 310 as shown in FIG.
It is performed by alternately forming 50 and press-fitting the contacts 320 into the respective slits 350. By this press fitting, the engaging claws 360 of the contacts 320 bite into the housing 310 and are fixed.

Each contact 320 is formed in a horizontal U shape, and an upper end portion 330 thereof projects from the upper surface of the housing 310 and a lower end portion 340 of the contact 320.
It is extracted from the slit 350 so as to be flush with the lower surface of 10. The upper end 330 of the contact 320 comes into contact with the connection circuit pattern formed on the lower surface of the auxiliary circuit board 120 of the electronic unit 100, and the lower end 340 is soldered to the pattern circuit formed on the motherboard 210 of the electronic device body 200. As a result, the relay connector 300
Electrically connects the electronic device main body 200 and the electronic unit 100.

In FIGS. 11 and 12, reference numeral 370 is a positioning protrusion protruding from the lower surface of the housing 310 of the relay connector 300, which is inserted into a fixing hole 240 formed in the mother board 210. As a result, the relay connector 300 is positioned on the motherboard 210, and the lower end portions 340 of the contacts 320 are positioned on the corresponding pattern circuit of the motherboard 210.

[0010]

However, in the conventional relay connector 300, the auxiliary circuit board 120 and the printed wiring board connector 140 are required for connection with the electronic unit 100, and many connections are required for connection. Must be placed. Therefore, the number of parts of the electronic unit 100 is large, and the structure is complicated.

Further, in order to connect the electronic component 110 connected by the flexible board 150 to the relay connector 300, it is necessary to attach the printed wiring board connector 140 to the auxiliary circuit board 120, which requires many assembly steps and is troublesome to assemble. Has become. Further, the auxiliary circuit board 120 is
It is necessary to form a connection circuit pattern for connecting to the relay connector 300 on the lower surface.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such a situation, and it is possible to simplify the structure of the electronic unit 100 without requiring many components for connection, and An object of the present invention is to provide a relay unit that can be easily assembled for connection.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a flexible board insertion hole into which a flexible board from an electronic unit side and an engaging portion which engages with a chassis of an electronic unit are inserted. And a plurality of contacts which are arranged in the housing and electrically connect the electronic device body to which the electronic unit is attached and the flexible substrate.

In this structure, the contact directly connects the flexible substrate on the electronic unit side to the electronic device body. Therefore, the number of parts for connection is reduced, and the assembly is simplified. The engaging portion engages with the chassis of the electronic unit, and the engagement fixes the relay connector to the electronic unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the relay connector according to the first aspect, which is formed on a circuit board of the electronic device body when protruding from the bottom surface of the housing and mounting the electronic unit on the electronic device body. A contact protrusion that comes into contact with the land pattern and an elastic contact piece that is electrically connected to the contact protrusion and that elastically contacts the terminal portion of the flexible substrate while facing the flexible substrate insertion hole. It is what constitutes.

When the electronic unit is mounted on the main body of the electronic device, the contact connects the contact protrusion to the land pattern formed on the circuit board of the main body of the electronic device, and connects the elastic contact piece to the flexible substrate. Therefore, by mounting the electronic unit on the electronic device main body, it is possible to simultaneously connect the internal circuit of the electronic unit and the circuit board of the electronic device main body.

A third aspect of the present invention is the relay connector according to the first aspect, wherein the engaging portion is a groove into which a mounting protrusion formed on the chassis of the electronic unit is inserted.

Therefore, the connector can be mounted on the electronic unit by simply engaging the groove with the mounting protrusion of the chassis, and the relay connector can be easily fixed to the electronic unit.

[0019]

1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the relationship for attaching the relay connector 1 to the electronic unit 30, and FIGS. 2 to 5 show the structure of the relay unit 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the relay connector 1 includes a housing 2 and a plurality of contacts 3 arranged in the housing 2.

The housing 1 is made of an insulating resin, and projecting pieces 4 are vertically spaced apart from each other on the left and right side surfaces. A groove 5 as an engaging portion is provided between the upper and lower projecting pieces 4, and this groove 5 is used as the electronic unit 3.
0 chassis 34. In order to perform this engagement, the chassis 34 of the electronic unit 30 is provided with a mounting projection 31 as shown in FIG. Groove 5 of housing 2
Engages with the mounting projection 31, and the relay connector 1 is fixed to the electronic unit 30 by this engagement. That is, the relay connector 1 is not attached to the electronic device body 40, but is attached to the electronic unit 30 (see FIG. 8).

The left and right projecting pieces 4 also project to the rear surface side of the housing 2, and this projection forms a concave portion 6 on the rear surface of the housing 2 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the recess 6 is formed in the electronic unit 3
0 is opposed to the mounting recesses 32 formed between the mounting protrusions 31 of 0, so that when the relay connector 1 is mounted on the electronic unit 30, the protruding amount of the relay connector 1 is small and the relay connector 1 is small. It can be installed on.

On the front surface side of the housing 2, an elongated flexible board insertion hole 7 is formed in the lateral direction. The flexible board 33 wired inside the electronic unit 30 is inserted into the flexible board insertion hole 7 (see FIG. 8). Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, longitudinal slits 8 and 9 orthogonal to the flexible substrate insertion hole 7 are formed on the front surface and the rear surface of the housing 2. In this case, 8 is a slit formed on the front side of the housing 2, and 9 is a slit formed on the back side. These front slit 8 and rear slit 9
Are provided so as to be alternately positioned, and the contacts 3 are press-fitted and attached in the slits 8 and 9, respectively.

In order to mount this contact 3,
A mounting plate portion 10 is formed in the housing 2.
The contact 3 is fixed by engaging the engaging claw 11 with the mounting plate portion 10.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the contact 3 is composed of an upper portion 12 and a lower portion 13 with the mounting plate portion 10 of the housing 2 as a boundary.
3 are connected in series so as to be electrically connected.

In the upper part 12 of the contact 3,
The elastic contact piece 14 is integrally formed with elasticity by being bent and folded upward. The tip portion of the elastic contact piece 14 faces the flexible board insertion hole 7 described above, and comes into contact with the terminal portion 35 of the flexible board 33 inserted in the flexible board insertion hole 7.

FIG. 7 shows this flexible substrate 33,
The terminal portion 35 is exposed from the tip of the insulating sheet 39. The elastic contact piece 14 elastically contacts the terminal portion 35, so that the flexible substrate 33 is electrically connected.

On the other hand, the lower portion 13 of the contact 3
Is curved in a horizontal U shape, and the curved tip portion is bent downward to form the contact protrusion 15. The contact protrusion 15 projects from the lower surface of the housing 2 and contacts the motherboard 41 (see FIG. 8) of the electronic device body 40.

FIG. 6 shows a land pattern 42 formed on the mother board 41, which is formed in a staggered pattern. The contact protrusion 15 has the land pattern 42.
, And thereby an electrical connection with the motherboard 41 is made.

FIG. 8 shows an example of use of the relay connector 1 of this embodiment. The electronic unit 30 has a chassis 34 having a rectangular frame shape having an electromagnetic shield function, and an electronic component 36 such as a transformer is attached to the chassis 34. The flexible board 33 is pulled out from the electronic component 36, and the tip portion thereof is inserted into the flexible board insertion hole 7 of the relay connector 1.

On the other hand, the electronic device body 40 has a case 42 and a mother board 41 provided in the case 42. The case 42 has a shape that fits with the chassis 34, and the chassis 34 is used for the electronic device main body 4
The electronic unit 30 is fixed to the electronic device body 40 by screwing into the case 42 of 0.

In such a structure, the relay connector 1 is attached to the electronic unit 30 by engaging the groove 5 of the housing 2 with the mounting projection 31 formed on the chassis 34 of the electronic unit 30. After that, the flexible board 33 of the electronic unit 30 is connected to the relay connector 1
It is inserted into the flexible board insertion hole 7 of. Due to this insertion, the elastic contact piece 14 causes the terminal portion 3 of the flexible substrate 33 to move.
Contact 5

The electronic unit 30 to which the relay connector 1 is thus attached is attached to the electronic device body 4 as described above.
When attached to 0, the contact protrusion 15 of the relay connector 1
It contacts the land pattern 42 of the motherboard 41. As a result, the electronic device body 40 and the electronic unit 30 are electrically connected via the relay connector 1.

In such a configuration, since the contact 3 directly connects the flexible substrate 33 inside the electronic unit 30 and the electronic device body 40, the number of parts for connection is reduced. Therefore, the structure is simple and the assembly is easy. Moreover, since an auxiliary circuit board for connection is unnecessary, there is no need to manufacture a complicated auxiliary circuit board,
Therefore, it can be provided at low cost.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, a plurality of relay connectors 1 are attached to a chassis of an electronic unit in accordance with the number of flexible boards to be connected to electronic components. May be.

[0036]

According to the invention of claim 1, since the contact directly connects the flexible board on the electronic unit side to the electronic equipment body, the number of parts for connection is reduced and the assembly is simplified. Further, since the engaging portion is attached to the electronic unit by engaging with the chassis of the electronic unit, the attachment can be easily performed.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the electronic unit is mounted on the electronic device body, the contact protrusions of the contacts are connected to the electronic device body. Therefore, the flexible substrate on the electronic unit side can be connected to the motherboard of the electronic device body only by mounting the electronic unit on the electronic device body.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to mount the electronic unit on the electronic unit by simply engaging the engaging portion formed of the groove with the mounting projection of the electronic unit, whereby the relay connector can be easily fixed to the electronic unit. . When a failure occurs in an electronic component, the relay connector can be removed from the chassis, and the electronic component can be easily replaced or repaired.

[0039]

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a front view of a relay connector.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a relay connector.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a land pattern on a motherboard.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a tip portion of a flexible substrate.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing mounting on an electronic device body and an electronic unit.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a usage example of a conventional relay connector.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a conventional relay connector.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional relay connector.

12 is a cross-sectional view of a portion different from FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Relay Connector 2 Housing 3 Contact 5 Groove 7 Flexible Board Insertion Hole 14 Elastic Contact Piece 15 Contact Protrusion 30 Electronic Unit 31 Mounting Protrusion 33 Flexible Board 34 Chassis 35 Terminal 40 Electronic Equipment Body 41 Motherboard (Circuit Board) 42 Land Pattern

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A chassis (3) of an electronic unit (30).
4) Engagement portion (5) and electronic unit (30) that engage with
Housing (2) having a flexible board insertion hole (7) into which a flexible board (33) is inserted from the side
And a plurality of contacts (3) arranged in the housing (2) and electrically connecting the electronic device body (40) to which the electronic unit (30) is attached and the flexible substrate (33). The relay unit is characterized by 2. The circuit board of the electronic device main body (40) when the electronic unit (30) is mounted on the electronic device main body (40), the contact (3) protruding from the bottom surface of the housing (2). The contact protrusion (15) that contacts the land pattern (42) formed in (41) and the flexible substrate (33) that is electrically connected to the contact protrusion (15) and faces the flexible substrate insertion hole (7). 2. The relay connector according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic contact piece (14) that elastically contacts the terminal portion (35) of FIG. 3. The engagement part (5) is a groove into which a mounting projection (31) formed on a chassis (34) of the electronic unit (30) is inserted. Relay connector.