JPH11135202A - Connector assembly and metal fitting used thereto - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector assembly and a metal fitting used thereto capable of attaching and connecting to a mother board with less working and minimizing a mounting area while remarkably simplifying an assembling manufacture. SOLUTION: This connector assembly includes a connector unit 50 to be superposed and fixed with a pair of housings 52 for enclosing an electric terminal 51. A pair of housings 52 are fixed to each other by a metal fitting 70. The metal fitting 70 has an engaging portion extended backward. The engaging portion is engaged with a circuit board 90 connected to the electric terminal 51 to strongly hold the circuit board 90. Fixing and holding means of the circuit board 90 is integratedly formed to the metal fitting 70, so that the mounting area can be minimized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector assembly, and more particularly to a connector assembly for receiving a card such as a PC card in a computer application and a metal fitting used for the connector assembly.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of the prior art is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-2642.
No. 40 discloses this. One of the disclosed connector assemblies is shown in FIG. 6, which receives a PC card and is configured to receive two upper and lower type I or type II cards. The electric terminals 151 supported by the pair of housings 121 constituting the connector 120 project rearward of the housings and are connected to a flexible circuit board F. The flexible circuit board F is connected to a connector 140 mounted on a circuit board having another rigidity by being received in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board. The pair of housings 121 can be combined vertically and fixed by fixing means. For connection of the flexible circuit board F, a slide member 130 that is both received by the connector 140 is used.

[0003]

According to the connector assembly described above, the housing and the slider are not fixed to each other, so that the connector assembly is arranged on the circuit board. Must be connected individually. However, there is a demand for a configuration that allows the assembly to be mounted and connected with simpler and less work.

An object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly which can be mounted on a circuit board and can be mounted and connected to another circuit board, that is, a parent board with less work. I do. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly which can minimize the mounting area required for the mother board while making such assembly extremely easy. It is another object of the present invention to provide metal fittings required for realizing the above.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly which is particularly suitable when a rigid circuit board is used as an interconnecting board, and a metal fitting used therefor.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a pair of housings for supporting electric terminals are stacked and fixed to each other by metal fittings, and the electric terminals extending from the pair of housings are connected to a circuit board to be connected to the circuit board. In a board-mounted connector assembly configured to be interconnected with another connector mounted on a parent board via a board, the metal fitting further engages with the circuit board to support the circuit board. An engagement portion is provided.

[0007] Preferably, the circuit board is a rigid circuit board.

Preferably, the electric terminals are received in and electrically connected to through holes formed in the circuit board, and the electric terminals extend in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board.

Preferably, the circuit board has substantially rectangular projecting portions at both side end positions.

[0010] The present invention further provides a pair of oppositely disposed protrusions including a screw receiving portion and engaging with each of a pair of housings, a base connecting the pair of protrusions, and one side of the base. And a fitting including an engaging portion that engages with a circuit board that is extended and has rigidity.

[0011] Preferably, the metal fitting is formed by punching and bending a single metal plate.

Preferably, the metal fitting further includes a fixing portion at a bottom end of the engaging portion for fixing to a circuit board serving as a parent board.

Preferably, the engaging portion has an opening including a pair of opposed projections, and positioning portions located on both upper and lower sides thereof.

Preferably, each of the positioning portions is constituted by a pair of opposed projections. The projection is preferably formed by stamping a metal plate.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the connector assembly, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a front view thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a connector assembly 10 for receiving a card is disclosed. The connector assembly 10 is specifically designed to accept PCMCIA standard cards. The connector assembly 10 includes a frame 20, an ejector unit 30, and a connector unit 50. The connector section 50 is for electrical connection with the received card and is located on the rear side. Frame 20
Is made of metal and is dimensioned to extend forward from the connector section 50 and to receive most of a card (not shown). The ejector section 30 has a sliding mechanism section 31 including an eject bar 39 arranged on the side surface of the frame 20 and an eject arm 38 rotatably arranged by engaging with the eject bar 39. The worker uses the eject bar 39
Is moved backward to rotate the eject arm 38 so that the received card can be pushed out. The sliding mechanism 31 includes, for example, a push-push type mechanism as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-13072, but details thereof are omitted. As shown in the figure, the screw receiving hole 18 is provided at a position relatively forward of one side edge of the frame 20 and at a position of the ejector portion 30 located at the opposite side edge.
Fixing portion 19 for use in fixing to a parent substrate, including
It should be noted that a and 19b are provided.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG.
The connector portion 50 includes two upper and lower housings 52, 52, each of which supports a plurality of electric terminals 51 in a row, similar to the configuration disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-264240. I do. In particular, it is understood from FIG. 2 that the ejector portions 30 are provided corresponding to the upper and lower housings 52, 52, respectively. Each of these two-stage housings 52, 52 is a type I or type II, respectively.
PC cards can be received one by one.

Each of these two-stage housings 52, 52 has a pair of recesses 53 including screw holes near the rear end, similar to the configuration disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-264240. The recess 53 is for engaging the metal fittings 70, 70 '. Although the detailed configuration of the metal fittings 70 and 70 'will be described later, the metal fittings 70 and 70' include a screw receiving hole, and a pair of housings 52, 5 and 5 are screwed into the screw receiving hole.
2 can be fixed to each other. As shown, the fittings 70, 70 'are arranged substantially symmetrically on both sides of the housings 52, 52.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rigid circuit board 90 is disposed at the rear end of the connector assembly 10. Although details of the circuit board 90 will be described later, the circuit board 90 is connected to the plurality of electric terminals 51 and a ground plate (not shown), and extends in a direction orthogonal to the electric terminals 51, that is, in a height direction of the connector assembly. As described later, the circuit board 9
0 is used to connect the connector assembly 10 to another connector mounted on a parent board (not shown).

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views showing a circuit board used as a part of the connector assembly, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view and FIG. 4B is a side view.

Referring to FIG. 4, the circuit board 90 includes a plurality of rows of through holes 91a, 91b, 92, 93a, 93b,
94, a pad row 95, and a ground pattern 96 formed near both edges, and includes a substantially rectangular projecting portion 97 projecting from both side ends. Except for the through holes at both ends, the through holes in the rows of 91a, 91b and 93a, 93b are connected by soldering to the power supply or signal electric terminals 51. Also,
The through holes in the rows 92 and 94 are connected by soldering to a ground plate (not shown). The pad row 95 is electrically connected to the corresponding through holes 91a, 91b, 92, 93a, 93b, 94 via a circuit pattern on the circuit board 90. When the connector assembly 10 is mounted on the parent board as shown in FIG. 6 as a conventional example, the pad row 95 is provided so that the circuit board 9 is connected to the connector on the parent board.
It is placed in rows along the bottom edge of zero.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing the metal fittings, wherein FIG. 5A is a plan view, FIG. 5B is a front view, and FIG. 5C is a side view.

Next, the structure of the metal fittings will be described. Since the metal fittings 70 and 70 'used in the connector assembly 10 are symmetrical, only the metal fittings 70 will be described below. The metal fitting 70 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate. A fixing portion 75 is used at the bottom of the joint portion 74, which is used for fixing to the parent board bent in a direction orthogonal to the plate surface of the engaging portion 74. A pair of opposing projections 73a, 73b are aligned with the screw receiving holes 71a,
71b. In particular, as can be understood from FIG. 5C, the screw receiving hole 71a is a simple hole, whereas the screw receiving hole 71b is drawn so that a bolt screw (not shown) is screwed and engaged. It is configured. Projection 73a,
73b is the recess 5 of the housing 52, 52 as described above.
3 and 53 (corresponding to the portion denoted by reference numeral 153 in FIG. 6), and the housings 52 and 52 are sandwiched and fixed between them.

The engaging portion 74 has an opening 76 and positioning portions 77 located on both upper and lower sides thereof. The opening 76 includes a protrusion 78 protruding from both side edges extending in the height direction. The space between the opposing protrusions 78 is slightly smaller than the thickness of the circuit board 90. The dimension of the opening 76 in the height direction is substantially equal to the height of the rectangular projecting portion 97 of the circuit board 90. Each of the pair of positioning portions 77 is constituted by a pair of projections 79 facing each other. As shown, the projection 79 is formed by stamping a metal plate. The opposing projection 79 has a substantially circuit board 90 therebetween.
A space 81 having a thickness dimension of is formed.

The assembly of the connector assembly 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the housing 52 constituting the connector section 50 of the connector assembly 10 is vertically fixed by metal fittings 70, and is assembled with other members, that is, the frame 20 and the ejector section 30.
Next, each of the electric terminals 51 is received in the through holes 91a, 91b, 92, 93a, 93b, 94 of each row of the circuit board 90. At this time, the substantially rectangular projecting portions 97 located on both side edges of the circuit board 90 are connected to the opening 7 of the engaging portion 74 of the metal fitting 70.
The projecting portion 78 received and opposed to the base 6 sandwiches the projecting portion 97 in the thickness direction and positions and fixes the projecting portion 97 in the height direction. In addition, two pairs of opposing projections 79 also engage to position the circuit board 90 in the thickness direction, and in particular, the openings 7.
The circuit board 90 is held against the rotational moment applied to the circuit board engaged with the circuit board 6. FIG. 5 (a) and (c)
The broken line shows the state of engagement between each structure of the engaging portion 74 and the circuit board 90 in FIG.

The circuit board 90 fixed and held in this way by the metal fitting 70 is then moved through the through holes 91a, 91a.
b, 92, 93a, 93b, and 94 are connected by soldering to the electrical terminals 51 and a ground plate (not shown), whereby the connector assembly 10 is completed.

The completed connector assembly 10 is connected to the parent board in a configuration similar to that of FIG. 6 shown as a conventional example. That is, another connector is mounted in advance on a parent board (not shown), and a plurality of fixing screw holes are provided in a mounting portion near the connector. Since the circuit board 90 which is a part of the connector assembly 10 is firmly fixed at a predetermined position by the metal fitting 70,
When the circuit board 90 is connected to another connector, the connector assembly 10 is automatically placed at a predetermined position on the parent board.

Connector assembly 10 located in place
Is fixed to the circuit board by four screws (not shown).
The screws are received in the fixing portions 19a, 19b and the screw receiving holes 75a, 75a of the fixing portions 75, 75 of the metal fittings 70, 70, and are fixed at these positions. Since the metal fittings 70 located on both side edges of the circuit board 90 are directly fixed to the parent board, the circuit board 90 is firmly fixed to the parent board.

As described above, the preferred embodiments of the connector assembly of the present invention and the metal fittings used therein have been described, but this is merely an example and does not limit the present invention.

[0031]

According to the connector assembly of the present invention, the engaging portion that engages with the circuit board used for interconnecting the electric terminal and the parent board and supports the circuit board supports the electric terminal. The size of the fixing means for holding the circuit board can be minimized, so that a relatively small connector assembly having a relatively small mounting area can be realized. Further, the assembling work is facilitated, and the connecting work between the electric terminals and the circuit board is easily and reliably performed.

Further, the metal fitting used in the connector assembly according to the present invention includes a pair of oppositely disposed projecting pieces including a screw receiving portion and engaging with each of the pair of housings, a base connecting them, Since it includes an engaging portion that is extended to one side of the base and engages a rigid circuit board, the position of the circuit board with respect to the pair of housings can be accurately maintained, and the engagement between the metal fitting and the circuit board can be maintained. Business can be performed easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a connector assembly.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the connector assembly of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the connector assembly of FIG. 1;

4A and 4B are diagrams showing a circuit board used as a part of the connector assembly, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view and FIG. 4B is a side view.

5A and 5B are views showing a metal fitting, wherein FIG. 5A is a plan view and FIG.
Is a front view, and (c) is a side view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional connector assembly.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector assembly 51 Electric terminal 52 Housing 70 Metal fitting 74 Engagement part 90 Circuit board

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pair of housings for supporting electric terminals are stacked and fixed to each other by metal fittings, and the electric terminals extending from the pair of housings are connected to a circuit board and mounted on a parent board via the circuit board. In the board-mounted connector assembly configured to be interconnected with another connector, the fitting is further provided with an engagement portion that engages with the circuit board and supports the circuit board. Characteristic connector assembly. 2. A pair of oppositely disposed protrusions including a screw receiving portion and engaging with each of a pair of housings, a base connecting the pair of protrusions, and extending to one side of the base. A metal fitting comprising: a circuit board having rigidity;