JPH10294147A - Card module connector device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability and a strength balance by pushing a guide part of a latch mechanism by a card module, elastically deforming metallic elastic legs, and constituting so as to guide the module to a holding part made of a synthetic resin. SOLUTION: A pair of bilaterally symmetrical prescribed-shaped metallic elastic legs 20 whose one ends are fixed to fixing parts on both ends of a connector main body 10, are provided, and a module holding body 30 made of a synthetic resin is fixed to a free end part. A semicylindrical holding part 31 having a taper guide part 32 to come into contact with a holding groove MR formed in both end parts of a module M, is provided in the holding body 30. When the module M is inserted, a terminal group is inserted so as to contact with a contact group of the connector main body 10 while inclining the module M, and when its free end part is pushed down, the holding groove MR of the module M comes into contact with the taper guide part 32 of the holding body 30, the holding body 30 is pushed outside, the metallic elastic legs 20 are elastically deformed, the holding groove MR is brought into contact with the holding part 31, the module M is stably held, and the contact group and the terminal group are contacted with each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a connector device for detachably holding a card module (hereinafter, referred to as a module).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a card module connector device of this kind, a connector body having a large number of contact groups is fixed on a substrate by, for example, a surface mount. Contact. At both ends of the connector main body, a latch mechanism having elastic legs for holding or opening both ends of the module is provided, and a pair of elastic legs are provided in a state where the contact group of the module is brought into contact with the contact group of the connector main body. And then hold the module between the free ends of the pair of elastic legs. A free end of the elastic leg is usually provided with a tapered guide which is opened by pushing (rotating) the module in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the plate thickness, and a holding portion following the tapered guide.

The elastic legs of the latch mechanism of this card module connector device have conventionally been made of metal or synthetic resin material. A metal elastic leg can obtain a strong elastic force, but on the other hand, it is difficult to obtain a degree of freedom in the shape of the distal end portion engaging with the module. For this reason, it is difficult to perform the attaching / detaching operation smoothly. On the other hand, the synthetic resin is advantageous in that it is easy to obtain a degree of freedom in shape and can be molded integrally with the connector body made of synthetic resin, but has a problem in that it is difficult to obtain a sufficient elastic force and is easily broken.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a connector device having a good balance between operability and strength based on the above-mentioned problem awareness of the conventional card module connector device.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a housing body fixed on a substrate; a group of contacts provided in a row on the housing body; a card module having a group of terminals connected to the group of contacts; And a latch mechanism for detachably holding the module to the housing main body. In the card module connector device, the latch mechanism is located on the housing main body at both ends in the direction in which the row-shaped contacts are arranged, and one end is formed. A pair of fixed metal elastic legs; a pair of synthetic resin module holders respectively fixed to the free ends of the other ends of the pair of elastic legs; and a pair of module holders. And a holding portion that engages with an end of the card module in the width direction. A taper guide for guiding the card module to the holding portion after elastically deforming the elastic leg when pressed by the tool; a card module formed between the holding portion and the taper guide for preventing the card module from coming off; And a step portion.

[0006] The metal substrate constituting the metal elastic legs includes:
It is preferable to bend this to provide a fixed portion fixed on the substrate, and to provide a limiter projection for restricting the maximum displacement of the elastic leg on the fixed portion side. More specifically, the elastic leg and the fixing portion are connected at a connecting portion parallel to the extension direction of the elastic leg, and have a U-shaped cross section at the connecting portion.
It is preferable to form a soldered portion to the substrate. Further, it is preferable that a card holding surface for holding the card module is formed between the fixing portion and the retaining step of the module holding body. The synthetic resin module holder preferably has a limit groove wider than the limiter projection, into which the limiter projection fits.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an elastic structure in which a latch mechanism is located at both ends in a direction in which a row of contacts are arranged in a fixed portion fixed to a substrate and has one end fixed to a housing body. And a pair of synthetic resin module holders respectively fixed to the other free ends of the elastic legs of the pair of metal materials. And a holding portion that engages with an end portion of the card module in the width direction. The holding portion protrudes toward the center of the card module from the holding portion, and after the elastic leg is elastically deformed when pressed by the card module. A tapered guide for guiding the card module to the holding portion; and a card module retaining step formed between the holding portion and the tapered guide. There.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A connector body 10 made of synthetic resin
Has an insertion groove 11 for the module M, and this insertion groove 11
5 to 7 are provided with a large number of row-shaped contact groups 12 and 13, respectively. Each of the contact groups 12 and 13 is surface-mounted on a terminal group (not shown) on the substrate S. The connector main body 10 has positioning projections 14 formed on the lower surfaces of both ends thereof, and the substrate S has a positioning hole 15 into which the projections 14 are fitted.

The connector body 10 has a contact group 1
Fixing portions 16 of the metal elastic legs 20 are provided at both ends in the direction in which the two and 13 are arranged. This fixing part 16
Has a U-shape when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the contact groups 12 and 23 are arranged, and has a holding groove 17 on the front and back thereof. A retaining projection 18 is formed at each outer end. This retaining projection 1
8 has a tapered surface 18a that gradually increases in the insertion direction of the metal elastic leg 20.

Fixing portions 1 at both ends of this connector main body 10
The pair of left and right metal elastic legs 20 to which one end is fixed is formed in a symmetrical shape. At the end fixed to the fixing portion 16, a U-shaped portion 21 covering the outer periphery of the fixing portion 16 is provided.
And the holding groove 17 formed at the inner end of the U-shaped portion 21.
And a fixing hole 23 into which the retaining projection 18 fits. On the other hand, a synthetic resin module holder 30 is fixed to the free end 25 of the metal elastic leg 20.

A fixed portion 27 is connected to the metal elastic leg 20 by a connecting portion 26. The fixing portion 27 is provided with a soldering leg 27a to be soldered to a soldering portion 28 on the substrate S.
And a card holding surface 27b for receiving the back surface (the surface on the substrate S side) of the module M. That is, the metal elastic legs 2
0 and the fixing portion 27 are formed by bending a single metal substrate, and the connecting portion 26 faces in the extending direction of the metal elastic leg 20, and the metal elastic leg 20 and the fixing portion 27 The connecting portion 26 has a U-shaped cross section and is separated from each other. The metal elastic legs 20 can expand and contract while deforming the connection portions 26 even when the fixing portions 27 are fixed on the soldering portions 28 of the substrate S via the soldering leg portions 27a.
At this time, the upper part of the fixing part 27 slightly moves (deforms) together with the connecting part 26, but the free end 2
5 can move with a higher degree of freedom than the upper part of the fixed part 27 (the connection part 26). A limiter projection 27c is formed at the free end 25 side end of the fixing portion 27.

A pair of left and right module holders 30 mounted and fixed to the free ends 25 of the left and right metal elastic legs 20 have the same left-right symmetric shape. This module holder 3
0 is a fixing hole 36 for inserting and fixing the free end portion 25 (FIG. 1).
0), and a semi-cylindrical holding portion 31 which is in contact with a semi-circular holding groove MR formed at both ends in the width direction of the module M on the center side thereof, and is substantially concentric with the holding portion 31. And a large-diameter truncated semi-conical tapered guide portion 32 is formed between the holding portion 31 and the tapered guide portion 32.
And a step portion 33 for holding the module M is formed between the two.

The module holder 30 has a limit groove 34 into which the limiter projection 27c of the fixing portion 27 is inserted.
And a finger hook 35 are formed. Limiter protrusion 2
7 c is always at a position close to the outer wall 34 a of the limit groove 34, and when the module holder 30 is opened by the elasticity of the metal elastic legs 20, the inner wall 3
4b, the module holder 30 (elastic leg 20)
Regulate the maximum displacement of The finger hook 35 is a portion that applies an operating force to the module holder 30 in the opening direction.

The plate-shaped module M has a group of terminals (not shown) that are electrically connected to the groups of contacts 12 and 13 of the connector body 10 on the front and back. One of the contact groups 12 of the contact groups 12 and 13 (the lower part of FIGS. 5 to 7) is such that when the module M is inserted into the insertion groove 11, the free end of the module M is located above the figure. It has elasticity (shape) for holding in an inclined state. When the module M is pressed down against the elasticity of the contact group 12 (the module M is rotated around the insertion groove 11 in a direction perpendicular to the plate thickness plane), the contact group 12 is elastically deformed. Due to the elasticity, the terminal groups on the front and back of the module M and the contact groups 12 and 13 make electrical contact.

The width W between the inner ends of the holding grooves MR of the module M is equal to the width of the pair of metal elastic legs 20 (the module holder 3).
The distance between the inner ends of the holding portion 31 in the free state of 0) is slightly wider. The interval between the inner ends of the tapered guide portion 32 is smaller than the interval between the inner ends of the holding portion 31.

The fixed-side ends of the elastic legs 20 are slid and inserted into the fixing portions 16 at both ends of the housing body 10, and are positioned at positions where the fixing holes 23 are fitted to the retaining projections 18. The housing body 10 is surface-mounted on the substrate S with the positioning projections 14 fitted in the positioning holes 15, and the soldering legs 27 a of the fixing portion 27 are soldered to the soldering portions 28 on the substrate S. Fixed.

The present connector device having the above configuration is used as follows. As shown in FIG. 5, the module M is tilted and inserted into the insertion groove 11 of the connector body 10, and the terminal group on the back surface of the module M is brought into contact with the contact group 12 (FIG. 6). In this state, when the free end of the module M is pushed down,
The inner end of the holding groove MR of the module M comes into contact with the tapered guide portion 32 of the module holding body 30. Since the interval between the inner ends of the pair of tapered guides 32 is smaller than the width between the inner ends of the pair of holding grooves MR of the module M, the module holder 30 is pushed out soon, and the metal elastic legs are formed. 20 is deformed by its own elasticity. Module M is tapered guide 32
Is exceeded, the holding groove MR of the module M
At this time, due to the elasticity of the metal elastic legs 20,
Click sounds. In this state, the module M is stably held between the step portion 33 between the holding portion 31 and the tapered guide portion 32 and the card holding surface 27b, and the terminal groups on the front and back sides of the module M are contact groups 12, 13 (FIG. 7).

When the module M is removed, the left and right module holders 30 (metallic elastic legs 20) are pushed open by placing fingers on the finger hooks 35 of the left and right module holders 30, and the tapered guides 32 are held in the holding grooves MR. Evacuate outside of. That is, the distance A (the length of the retaining step 33) in FIG.
The left and right module holders 30 are pushed open. Then, the module M is pushed up by the elasticity of the contact group 12, and the state shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. Therefore, the module M can be freely pulled out of the connector main body 10.

The maximum opening angle of the module holder 30 is:
Inner side wall 34b of limit groove 34 of module holder 30
Is restricted at a position where it contacts the limiter projection 27c of the fixing portion 27, so that there is no possibility that the metal elastic leg 20 is excessively opened and plastically deformed. When a large force is applied to the module holder 30, both the metal elastic legs 20 and the fixing portion 27 connected by the connecting portion 26 are deformed (attempt), but the lower portion of the fixing portion 27 is attached to the substrate S. Since it is fixed, the metal elastic legs 20 can be prevented from being excessively deformed. Not only the properties of the metal material forming the elastic leg 20 and the fixing portion 27 but also the length and thickness of the connecting portion 26, the ease of deformation of the elastic leg 20 and the limitation of the displacement by the limiter projection 27c of the fixing portion 27. And can be adjusted.

The above embodiment is an embodiment in which a terminal group is provided on both sides of the module M (DIMM connector). However, when a terminal group is provided on only one side of the module M (SIMM connector), a contact is provided. The type in which the group 13 is omitted may be used. Of course, the illustrated example is also applicable to a module M having a terminal group on only one side. In the illustrated example, the holding groove MR is formed in the module M.
If the corners are held, it is possible to omit the holding groove.

[0021]

According to the card module connector device of the present invention, since the latch mechanism is constituted by the elastic legs made of metal and the module holder made of synthetic resin, strength (elasticity) and operability are balanced. A well-equipped connector device is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a card module connector device of the present invention in an exploded state before being fixed to a substrate.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state of being fixed to a substrate after the assembly.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state where a card module is inserted into the connector device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a state different from FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view different from FIGS. 5 and 6, showing a mounting completed state.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a latch mechanism.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a module holder of the latch mechanism of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a state before mounting a module.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view after the attachment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S board MR holding groove M card module 10 connector main body 11 insertion groove 12 13 contact group 20 metal elastic leg 25 free end 26 connecting portion 27 fixing portion 27a soldering leg 27b card holding surface 27c limiter protrusion 28 soldering portion 30 Module holder 31 Holding section 32 Taper guide section 33 Step section 34 Limit groove 35 Finger hook section

Claims (9)

[Claims] A housing body fixed on a substrate;
A card module having a group of contacts provided in a row on the housing body; a card module having terminals connected to the group of contacts; and a latch mechanism for detachably holding the card module on the housing body. In the connector device, the latch mechanism includes: a pair of metal elastic legs having one end fixed to the housing body at both ends in the direction in which the row-shaped contact groups are arranged; A pair of module holders made of synthetic resin fixed to the free ends, respectively; the pair of module holders engaging with the widthwise ends of the card module;
A taper guide for projecting from the holding portion toward the center of the card module to guide the card module to the holding portion after elastically deforming the elastic leg when pressed by the card module; A card module connector device, comprising: a step portion for preventing a card module from being formed between the guide portion and the guide portion. 2. The connector device according to claim 1, wherein
Furthermore, it is provided with a fixing portion fixed on the substrate, which is formed by bending the same metal substrate as the metal elastic leg,
A card module connector device provided with a limiter projection for restricting the maximum displacement of the elastic leg on the fixed portion side. 3. The connector device according to claim 2, wherein
A card module connector device, wherein a card holding surface for holding a card module is formed between the metal fixing portion and a retaining step of the module holding body. 4. The connector device according to claim 2, wherein
A card module connector device in which a module holder made of synthetic resin has a limit groove wider than the limiter projection, into which the limiter projection fits. 5. The connector device according to claim 2, wherein
A card module in which the elastic leg and the fixing portion are connected by a connecting portion parallel to the extension direction of the elastic leg, have a U-shaped cross section at the connecting portion, and the fixing portion has a soldering leg to the substrate. Connector device. 6. A housing body fixed on a substrate;
A card module having a group of contacts provided in a row on the housing body; a card module having terminals connected to the group of contacts; and a latch mechanism for detachably holding the card module on the housing body. In the connector device, the latch mechanism includes a pair of metal members each having a fixing portion fixed to a substrate, and elastic legs having one end portion fixed to a housing main body and positioned at both ends in the direction in which the row-shaped contact groups are arranged. And a pair of synthetic resin module holders respectively fixed to the other free ends of the elastic legs of the pair of metal materials. The pair of module holders made of synthetic resin is a card module. A retaining portion that engages the widthwise end of the;
A taper guide for projecting from the holding portion toward the center of the card module to guide the card module to the holding portion after elastically deforming the elastic leg when pressed by the card module; A card module connector device, comprising: a step portion for preventing a card module from being formed between the guide portion and the guide portion. 7. The connector device according to claim 6, wherein
The elastic leg and the fixed portion of the metal material are connected by a connecting portion parallel to the extension direction of the elastic leg, and have a U-shaped cross section at the connecting portion, and the fixing portion has a soldering leg to the substrate. Card module connector device. 8. The connector device according to claim 6, wherein
The fixed portion is provided with a limiter protrusion for restricting the maximum displacement of the elastic leg, and the synthetic resin module holder is provided with a limit groove wider than the limiter protrusion, into which the limiter protrusion fits. Card module connector device. 9. The connector device according to claim 6, wherein
A card module connector device, wherein a card holding surface for holding a card module is formed between the fixing portion and a retaining step of the module holding body.