JPH11214116A - Manufacture of electric connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of an electric connector, in which deformation or damage or the like on a housing does not occur and a contact terminal can be fixed firmly, even if an arrangement interval of the contact terminal is small. SOLUTION: Base sides of a contact terminal 10 are held by clamps 210 and 220, and the tip of the contact terminal 10 is inserted into a terminal inserting groove 130 of a housing 100. A block 230 is inserted into an electric- parts inserting opening 110 of the housing 100, and the tip of the contact terminal 10 is fitted in a groove 232 on both sides 231 of the block 230 and is positioned. A laser beam or ultrasonic vibration is given to the peripheries of an opening 131 in that state, to thereby melt the housing 100 partially, and a molten resin flows into the terminal inserting groove 130 to thereby melt and fix the contact terminal 10 to the housing 100.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrical connector in which contact terminals are inserted and fixed in terminal insertion grooves formed at predetermined intervals in a synthetic resin housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electrical products such as computers have
It is becoming smaller and lighter according to customer needs.
As a result, not only the wiring terminals of each electric component have been increased in density, but also the form of incorporation into the product has been diversified. Priced ones are required. Under such circumstances, the arrangement interval of the contact terminals of the electrical connector is becoming narrower, for example, 0.6 m.
For example, one having two rows of 140 contact terminals arranged at an m pitch is employed.

Conventionally, as a method of mounting contact terminals on a housing of an electrical connector, a method of forming terminal insertion grooves at predetermined intervals in a housing and press-fitting the respective contact terminals into the terminal insertion grooves is generally adopted. .

[0004]

However, if the arrangement interval of the contact terminals becomes narrow as described above, the partition wall between the terminal insertion grooves becomes extremely thin, so that the holding force and the strength are sufficient even when the contact terminals are press-fitted. Could not be obtained. In addition, cracking is likely to occur due to excessive press-fitting, and this has been the largest cause of flux rise when the feet are soldered. Furthermore, since the contact terminals having a large number of poles are press-fitted at a very small pitch, the entire terminals are forced to be deformed, deformed, warped, or the like, and cannot be mounted on a substrate.

On the other hand, as one of the methods for solving the above problems, there is a method of molding the contact terminals integrally with the housing, that is, a method of insert-molding the contact terminals at the time of molding the housing.

[0006] However, the contact terminals need to elastically contact the corresponding contact terminals of the mating connector. However, if insert molding is performed, the resin flows into the escape portion that gives the contact terminals a spring property. There is a problem that the terminal does not spring back from the inner wall of the groove, and the spring property is impaired.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a structure in which a contact terminal is firmly attached to a housing without causing deformation, breakage, and the like of a partition wall between the contact terminals and a surrounding housing even when the arrangement interval of the contact terminals is narrow. And a method of manufacturing an electrical connector that can be fixed.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing an electrical connector according to the present invention comprises a terminal insertion groove formed at a predetermined interval in a synthetic resin housing.
In the method for manufacturing an electrical connector in which the contact terminals are inserted and fixed, respectively, after the contact terminals are inserted into the terminal insertion grooves, the periphery of the contact terminal insertion portion of the housing is partially melted to remove the contact terminals. It is characterized by being welded to the housing.

According to the present invention, after the contact terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion groove, the vicinity of the contact terminal insertion portion of the housing is partially melted so that the contact terminal is welded to the housing. As a result, sufficient fixing force is applied even if the inside diameter of the terminal insertion groove is large enough to allow the contact terminal to be inserted easily, so that no excessive stress is applied to the housing when the contact terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion groove. This can prevent the housing from cracking or warping.

In practicing the present invention, the housing is preferably melted by applying ultrasonic vibration or irradiating a laser beam. According to these methods, only the vicinity of the insertion portion of the contact terminal can be melted in a short time.

The contact terminal may be welded in a state where the inner diameter of the terminal insertion groove is large enough to allow the contact terminal to be easily inserted, and the contact terminal is held and positioned by a jig. preferable. According to this, the inside diameter of the terminal insertion groove is set to a size that allows the contact terminal to be easily inserted, so that excessive stress is not applied to the housing when the contact terminal is inserted, and the contact terminal can be used. By aligning and holding the jigs, the arrangement intervals of the contact terminals can be accurately determined.

The jig may include a first jig holding a portion of the contact terminal protruding from the housing, and a jig inserted into the housing to hold a portion of the contact terminal inserted into the housing. Preferably, the second jig is used. According to this, the contact terminals can be held at more accurate arrangement intervals by the two jigs, and the contact terminals can be attached at accurate intervals.

Further, a projection is formed on the opening edge of the terminal insertion groove of the housing, and after the contact terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion groove, the projection is melted and flows into the terminal insertion groove. Thereby, it is preferable that the contact terminal is welded to the housing. According to this, the molten synthetic resin flows into the terminal insertion groove and solidifies, so that the contact terminal is more securely and firmly fixed.

Further, a crushed portion is inserted into the terminal insertion groove of the contact terminal and is welded to the housing.
It is preferable to form at least one type of locking portion selected from a lance, a hole, a notch, and a bent portion. According to this, since the molten synthetic resin flows into the crushed portion, the lance, the punched hole, the notch, the bent portion, etc. and engages with the contact terminal, the contact terminal is more reliably prevented from coming out of the terminal insertion groove. Is done.

[0015]

1 to 3 show one embodiment of a method for manufacturing an electrical connector according to the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where contact terminals are inserted into terminal insertion grooves of a housing and held at predetermined arrangement intervals by a jig. 2A and 2B show a contact terminal applied to this embodiment, wherein FIG. 2A is a partial side view, and FIG. 2B is a front view. FIG.
FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a state before melting around a contact terminal insertion portion of a housing, FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a state before melting, and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the contact terminal 10 used in this embodiment is formed of an elongated metal plate bent in an L-shape as a whole, and its tip is bent in a U-shape to have a spring property. A contact portion 11 is formed, and a serrated locking portion 12 is formed on both sides of the contact portion 11 to prevent the contact portion 11 from coming off slightly. A base end extending in the horizontal direction from the bent portion forms a foot 13 for soldering to a printed circuit board (not shown) or the like.

Although the contact terminals 10 can be inserted into the housing 100 in a state of being separated from each other, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. The base end is inserted into the housing 100 as a connecting body 20 connected to each other by a carrier 21. After the carrier 21 is inserted and fixed in the housing 100, the carrier 21 is cut and removed, and the carrier 21 is separated into individual contact terminals 10.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the housing 100 made of synthetic resin has an elongated rectangular column shape as a whole, and terminal insertion grooves 130 penetrating a pair of opposing walls are formed in two rows at predetermined intervals. Have been. The contact terminal 10 is formed on one of the opposing walls of the housing 100.
It is designed to be inserted from the opening 131 of the terminal insertion groove 130. In addition, the terminal insertion groove 130 is
Has an inside diameter that allows easy insertion.

In the other wall portion of the housing 100, an electric component insertion opening 110 for inserting a terminal portion of an electric component (including a mating connector or the like) is formed. Is the electrical component insertion slot 1
An opening is formed in the inner wall of the connector 10, and the contact terminal 10 forms a groove on the inner wall. In the vicinity of the opening 130 of the housing 100, a projection 140 serving as a fusion portion for welding the contact terminal 10 is formed. Note that 101
Is a hook for positioning and engaging the housing 100 with a printed circuit board or the like when the electric connector is mounted on a printed circuit board or the like (not shown).

In this embodiment, a jig for positioning the contact terminals 10 at predetermined intervals when the contact terminals 10 are inserted into the terminal insertion grooves 130 is used. The first of these jigs is a pair of clamps 210 and 220 that grip the end of the contact terminal connector 20 connected by the carrier 21.
It is. Clamps 210 and 220 are upper and lower blocks 211 and 212 that are opened and closed by a driving mechanism (not shown).
221, 222, and each of the sandwiching surfaces 213, 214, 223, 22 of these blocks facing each other.
A plurality of grooves (not shown) into which the legs 13 of the contact terminal 10 are fitted are formed at predetermined intervals on at least one of the four pairs.

The second of the above-mentioned jigs has a shape adapted to the electric component insertion opening 110 of the housing 100 and has a contact terminal 1.
It is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped block 230 that is inserted into the electrical component insertion slot 110 when the 0 is inserted and fixed. This block 230 has contact terminals 1 on its both side surfaces 231 and 231.
0 has a plurality of grooves 232 and 232 in which the contact portions 11 are fitted. By fitting the contact portions 11 of the contact terminals 10 into these grooves, the contact terminals 10 can be accurately positioned. ing.

According to this embodiment, first, the contact terminal 1
0, the end of the connecting body 20 where the carrier 21 is provided is held by a pair of right and left clamps 210 and 220, respectively.
The contact portion 11 of the contact terminal 10 is inserted into the terminal insertion groove 130 from the opening 131 thereof. Contact portion 11 of contact terminal 10
Are exposed on the inner wall of the electrical component insertion opening 110 and are fitted and held in the terminal insertion grooves 130 formed continuously on the inner wall.

By the way, the contact terminal 10 is inserted into the terminal insertion groove 13.
In order to prevent excessive stress from being applied to the housing 100 at the time of insertion into the housing 100, if the inner diameter of the terminal insertion groove 130 is formed to be large, the contact terminal 10 will be loose in the terminal insertion groove 130 and cannot be accurately positioned. Can be considered. For this reason, in this embodiment, the bases of the contact terminals 10 are held by the clamps 210 and 220 forming the first jig, and the block 230 as the second jig is inserted into the electric component insertion opening 110. Then, the contact portions 11 of the contact terminals 10 are fitted into the grooves 232 on both side surfaces 231 of the block 230, and the contact terminals 10 are accurately held at predetermined intervals.

In this manner, in a state where the contact terminals 10 are inserted and held in the corresponding terminal insertion grooves 130, for example, a laser beam L is applied to the vicinity of the projection 140 of the housing 100 to melt the vicinity of the projection 140,
The molten resin flows into the terminal insertion groove 130. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, the protrusion 140 melts and flows into the terminal insertion groove 130, and the contact terminal 10 is welded to the housing 100. Therefore, the contact terminals 10 can be firmly fixed to the housing 100 in a state where they are accurately arranged.

It is to be noted that ultrasonic welding can be adopted instead of the welding method using a laser beam. The ultrasonic welding device has an oscillator and a horn for transmitting mechanical vibration to components. This horn is connected to the projection 1 of the housing 100.
The housing 100 around the contact terminal 10 can be melted and welded by applying ultrasonic waves to the contact terminal 4 and the contact terminal 10.

FIG. 4 shows another example of the shape of the locking portion for preventing the contact terminal 10 from coming off. That is, FIG. 2A shows the locking portion 1 formed by a recess formed by crushing.
This is an example in which 2a is formed. FIG. 5B shows an example in which the locking portion 12b is formed by a lance. FIG. 3C shows a state in which the locking portion 12c is formed by a hole. FIG. 5D shows a state in which the locking portions 12d are formed by protrusions formed on both sides. FIG. 7E shows a case where the locking portion 12e is formed by a notch. FIG. 6F shows the case where the locking portion 12f is formed by a bent portion. As described above, various shapes can be employed as the shape of the locking portion for preventing the welding portion from being welded to the housing 100.

FIG. 5 shows a method of welding the contact terminal 10 having the locking portion 12b formed by the lance to the housing 100. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, a protrusion 140 is formed near the opening 131 of the terminal insertion groove 130 of the housing 100. By inserting the contact terminal 10 having the locking portion 12b formed by a lance into the terminal insertion groove 130 and melting the projection 140 by laser beam or ultrasonic vibration, the molten resin is inserted into the terminal as shown in FIG. After flowing into the groove 130, the engaging portion 12b is engaged, and the contact terminal 10 is prevented from coming off.

FIG. 6 shows a method of welding the contact terminal 10 having the locking portion 12f formed by the bent portion to the housing 100. That is, as shown in FIG.
A protrusion 140 is formed on the side of the opening 131 of the terminal insertion groove 130 of the housing 100. Contact terminal 10
Is inserted into the terminal insertion groove 130, and the protrusion 140 is melted by a laser beam or ultrasonic vibration. As shown in FIG. Engagement with the stopper 12f prevents the contact terminal 10 from coming off.

The terminal insertion groove 13 of the housing 100
It is not always necessary to provide the protrusion 140 near the opening 131 of the zero, and the point is that the resin of the housing 100 is partially melted at the contact portion between the contact terminal 10 and the housing 100.
It is only necessary that the molten resin can be welded to the contact terminals 10.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
After inserting the contact terminal into the terminal insertion groove, the area around the contact terminal insertion part of the housing is partially melted, and the contact terminal is welded to the housing. Even if it is as large as possible, sufficient fixing force is applied, and when the contact terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion groove, it is possible to prevent the housing from being subjected to excessive stress, thereby preventing the housing from cracking or warping. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a method for manufacturing an electrical connector according to the present invention.

2A and 2B show an example of a contact terminal used in the manufacturing method, wherein FIG. 2A is a partial side view and FIG. 2B is a front view.

3A and 3B show states before and after melting around the contact terminal insertion portion of the housing in the same manufacturing method, wherein FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a state before melting, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a state after melting. It is.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another example of a shape of a locking portion for preventing a contact terminal from being used in a method of manufacturing an electrical connector according to the present invention.

5A and 5B are partial cross-sectional views showing a method of welding a contact terminal having a locking portion formed by a lance to a housing, wherein FIG. 5A shows a state before welding and FIG. 5B shows a state after welding.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are partial perspective views illustrating a method of welding a contact terminal having a locking portion formed by a bent portion to a housing, and FIG.
Indicates before welding and (b) indicates after welding.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Contact terminal 11 Contact part 12 Locking part 13 Foot 20 Contact terminal connector 100 Housing 110 Electric component insertion opening 130 Terminal insertion groove 131 Opening 140 Projection 210, 220 Clamp 211, 212, 221, 222 Block 213, 214, 223,224 Holding surface 230 Block 231 Both sides 232 Groove L Laser light

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing an electrical connector in which contact terminals are inserted into terminal insertion grooves formed at predetermined intervals in a synthetic resin housing and fixed, respectively, after the contact terminals are inserted into the terminal insertion grooves. Partially melt the periphery of the contact terminal insertion portion of the housing,
A method of manufacturing an electrical connector, comprising welding the contact terminal to the housing. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the melting of the housing is performed by applying ultrasonic vibration or irradiating a laser beam. 3. The welding of the contact terminals in a state in which the inside diameter of the terminal insertion groove is large enough to allow the contact terminals to be easily inserted, and the contact terminals are held and positioned by a jig. 3. The method for manufacturing an electrical connector according to 1 or 2. 4. A jig for holding a portion of the contact terminal protruding from the housing, and a jig inserted into the housing to hold a portion of the contact terminal inserted into the housing. 4. The method for manufacturing an electrical connector according to claim 3, comprising a second jig. 5. A projection is formed on an opening edge of the terminal insertion groove of the housing, and after inserting the contact terminal into the terminal insertion groove, the projection is melted and flows into the terminal insertion groove. The method for manufacturing an electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact terminal is welded to the housing. 6. A portion of the contact terminal, which is inserted into the terminal insertion groove and welded to the housing, includes at least one selected from a crushed portion, a lance, a hole, a notch, and a bent portion.
The method for manufacturing an electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a kind of locking portion is formed.