JPS6032313B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a connector in which a large number of contacts are arranged and assembled in a housing, and more particularly to a connector that reduces the force required for inserting and removing objects to be connected.

In this type of connector, when inserting or removing an object to be connected, the contacts are kept in a position that does not make sliding contact with the subsequent object, so the force required for insertion or removal is extremely small. However, on the other hand, since the contacts must be driven, especially when there are a large number of contacts, a large force and a complicated structure are required to drive the contacts. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable the contacts in this type of connector to be driven using a simple and inexpensive structure with a small number of parts and with a small operating force. Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a connector 22 mounted on a printed circuit board 21 is installed in a large number of contact accommodation spaces 24 arranged in a row in an insulating housing 23. A conductive contact 25 is incorporated in each case.

The contact 25 has flexible elastic contact pieces 25a and 25b that are branched into two in the contact housing space 24, and a terminal portion 25c that is inserted into a terminal hole 21a formed in the printed circuit board 21. On the other hand, the housing 23 has a large number of connection terminal insertion holes 23a on a surface opposite to the surface facing the printed circuit board 21 for receiving connection terminals 26a of a mating connector 26 to be connected. These connection terminal insertion holes 23a are of course the contact accommodation space 2.
4, and the connecting terminal 26a inserted here is connected to the pair of contact pieces 25a, 2 of the contact 25.
I will guide you between 5b. In such a connector 22,
The mutual spacing between the pair of contact pieces 25a and 25b of the contact 25 is set to be narrow so that the contact pieces 25a and 25b of the contact 25 can come into contact with the connecting terminal 26a inserted therein with sufficient pressing force when no external force is applied.

Furthermore, a large number of contact operation holes 23b are formed on one side of the housing 23 in one-to-one correspondence with the mutual spacing between the pair of contact pieces 25a, 25b of the contact 25. In this way, a connector 22 is obtained which allows the mutual spacing between the contact pieces 25a and 25b of the contacts 25 to be increased through the contact operation holes 23b of the housing 23. Furthermore, a contact drive member 2 separate from this connector 25
Prepare 7.

The contact drive section 27 is formed by providing a flexible band section 27a with a large number of projections 27Zb at a pitch equal to that of the contact operation holes 23b. Such a contact drive member 27 could be made in one piece from flexible plastic. The contact drive member 27 is used in combination with the connector 22 with the protrusion 27b inserted into the contact operation hole 23b.
At this time, the large part at the tip of the protrusion 27b is the contact 25.
is inserted between the pair of contact pieces 25a, 25b, thereby sufficiently expanding the mutual distance between the pair of contact pieces 25a, 25b. The contact pieces 25a and 25b are provided with curved tongue pieces 25d and 25c that open toward the contact operation hole 23b so as to guide insertion of the protrusion 27b. It should be noted that the contact piece 25a in the state of being pushed and expanded by the protrusion 27b in this way
, 25b is the distance between the connection terminals 26 inserted therein.
The dimensions are designed so that the contact pieces 25a and 25b are not pressed against the contact pieces 25a and 25b. Now, when connecting the mating connector 26 to such a connector 22, first, the protrusion 27 is connected by utilizing the flexibility of the band portion 27a of the contact drive member 27.
Insert one or more contacts 2 into the contact operation hole 23b of the housing 23 in order from the end.
The contact pieces 25a and 25b of No. 5 are manipulated so that the distance between them is widened, and then the connection terminal 26a of the mating connector 26 is operated.
is inserted between the contact pieces 25a and 25b through the connection terminal insertion hole 23a of the housing 23, and then the contact drive member 27 is removed from the connector 22 in order from the end.
In this way, when the connecting terminal 26a of the mating connector 6 is inserted, the contact pieces 25a, 25b are pushed open by the protrusion 27b of the contact drive member 27, so the force required for the insertion work is extremely small, and the contact After removing the drive part village 27, the contact piece 25a,
25b strongly presses into contact with the connecting terminal 26a due to its restoring force, thereby achieving a reliable electrical connection. Also, when removing the mating connector 26, insert the protrusion 27b of the contact drive member 27 into the contact operation hole 23b and manipulate the contact pieces 25a, 25b so that the mutual distance between them increases.
If the mating connector 26 is then pulled out, the force required to pull it out is extremely small. In this embodiment, since the contact drive member 27 is removed from the connector 22 when the mating connector 26 is connected to the connector 22, one contact drive unit village 27 is prepared for a plurality of connectors 22. It is also possible to explore ways to drive those connectors 22 one after the other.

7 to 11 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a pair of contact pieces 25a of a contact 25 is shown.
, 25b are designed such that the contact pieces 25a, 25b are not pressed against the connection terminal 26a of the mating connector 26 inserted therein when no external force is applied.

Further, a large number of contact operation holes 23b are formed on one side of the housing 23 in one-to-one correspondence with the partition walls 23c of the contact accommodation space 24, and cutouts 23d are formed at the intervals 23c between these holes. In this way, a connector 22 is obtained which allows the mutual distance between the contact pieces 25a and 25b of the contacts 25 to be narrowed through the contact operation holes 23b of the housing 23. For each of these connectors 22, one contact driving member 27 having the same structure as that used in the first embodiment described above is installed.
They are used in combination with the protrusion 27b inserted into the contact operation hole 23M. At this time, the large tip of the protrusion 27b reaches the notch 23d and is inserted between the adjacent contacts 25, thereby sufficiently narrowing the distance between the pair of contact pieces 25a and 25b. Insertion of the protrusion 27b between the contacts 25 in this embodiment is also guided by curved portions 25d provided on the contact pieces 25a, 25b. The mutual spacing between the contact pieces 25a and 25b, which are thus compressed by the protrusion 27b, is designed to be such that the contact pieces 25a and 25b can be pressed against the connecting terminal 6a inserted therein. The contact pieces 25a or 25b at both left and right ends of the connector 22 are configured to be exposed by inserting a protrusion 27b between the wall surface of the housing 3 and the contact pieces 25a or 25b. Now, when connecting the mating connector 26 to such a connector 22, the connecting terminal 26a of the mating connector 26 is connected to the housing 2.
3 through the connection terminal insertion hole 23a and the contact pieces 25a, 25
b, and then the protrusion 27 of the contact drive member 7
One or more contact pieces 25a and 25b are inserted into the contact operation hole 23b sequentially from the end so that the distance between the contact pieces 25a and 25b becomes narrower.

This also allows the connection terminal 26a of the mating connector 26 to
Since the contact pieces 25a and 25b are in an open state when inserting the contact drive member 27, the force required for the insertion work is extremely small. Connection terminal 2
A reliable electrical connection can be obtained by strongly pressing contact with 6a. In addition, in order to remove the mating connector 26, it is best to remove the contact drive member 27 from the connector 22 and then pull out the mating connector 26. In that case, the contact piece 25a
, 25b is widened by their restoring force, the force required to pull out the mating connector 26 is also extremely small. FIG. 12 shows a modification of the contact drive member 27, in which a number of pieces 27-1, 27-2, . . ., each having a protrusion 27b are connected in a chain. .

According to this structure, it is possible to obtain the contact drive member 27 which is flexible even when the material itself has no flexibility. Note that there are relatively few protrusions 27 for one piece.
It would also be possible to provide b. As explained above using the embodiments, according to the present invention, a contact operation hole is provided on the side surface of the housing, and a contact drive member that can be realized with a simple structure is used to easily insert and remove an object to be connected to a connector. It is possible to obtain a connector that can reduce the required force, requires less force to drive the contacts to reduce insertion and removal, and can be provided at low cost with a small number of parts.

Although the above-mentioned embodiment describes a connector equipped with a contact having a pair of contact pieces, it goes without saying that the present invention can be practiced even when the contact has only one contact piece, and can also be applied to other types of contacts. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be implemented in connectors and is also included within the scope of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 6 show one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective sectional view showing a state in which a contact drive member is being assembled to a connector mounted on a printed circuit board, and FIG.
The figure is also a horizontal sectional view, Figure 3 is a side view including the mating connector, partially in section, showing the state in which the contact drive member is fitted to the connector, and Figure 4 is a view taken along line 4-4 in Figure 3. 5 is a partially sectional side view showing a state in which connection with a mating connector has been established, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6--6 in FIG. 5. 7 to 11 show other embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing a state in which the contact drive member is assembled to the connector, and FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view showing the contact drive member to the connector. Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 in Fig. 8, and Fig. 10 shows the connection with the mating connector. A side view partially showing the obtained state in cross section, Fig. 11 is a side view of the obtained state.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 in the figure. FIG. 12 is a side view showing a part of a modified example of the contact drive member in cross section. 22...Connector, 23...Housing, 23
a...Connection terminal insertion hole, 23b...Contact operation hole, 25...Contact, 25a
, 25b...Contact piece, 26...Mate connector, 26a...Connection terminal, 27...
Contact drive member, 27b...protrusion. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A connector in which a large number of contacts are installed in a housing side by side in a posture that makes contact with an object to be connected, in which a large number of contact operation holes are provided in the side surface of the housing, and the contacts are made of flexible and elongated objects. A connector characterized in that a large number of protrusions provided on the drive member are inserted into the contact operation hole, and the protrusions bias the contact in a position away from the object to be connected. 2. In a connector in which a large number of contacts are installed side by side in a housing in a position away from a subsequent object, a large number of contact operation holes are provided on the side surface of the housing, and a large number of contact operation holes are provided on a contact drive member made of a bendable and elongated object. A connector characterized in that a protrusion is inserted into the contact operation hole, and the protrusion biases the contact into a position in which it contacts an object to be connected.