KR102330375B1 - Connector having protective device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a connector having a protection element. According to the present invention, the connector includes a connector housing (11) having an inner space, and a terminal (20) installed in the inner space. In addition, an element housing (50) extends in a left and right longitudinal direction of the connector housing (11) from one side of the connector housing (11), and a storage space (52) is formed in the element housing (50) to open upward. A protection element (60) is disposed in the storage space (52), and the protection element (60) is electrically connected to the terminal (20). In this case, a part of the terminal (20) is exposed to the storage space (52), and when the protection element (60) is accommodated into the storage space (52) from the open upper part of the storage space (52), the protection element (60) is electrically connected to the exposed portion of the terminal (20).

Description

Connector having protective device

The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly, to a connector in which a protection element is integrally provided.

In general, a connector is a terminal installed inside a housing that is an insulator, and is mainly used extensively in power circuits of various electronic products. When a connector is used for these electrical and electronic devices, a plurality of electrical components can be individually assembled and inserted into a final product, and thus, there is an advantage that not only device manufacturing but also maintenance can be simplified.

A plurality of terminals are embedded in these connectors, and wires are coupled to the terminals. The wire extends long to the outside of the connector, so that it can be coupled to another connector, circuit board, or other electrical component.

Among connectors, there is a connector that is surface mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). For example, the male connector may be surface mounted (SMT, Surface Mounter Technology) on a printed circuit board, and the female connector may be electrically connected to the male connector by being fastened to the male connector.

In addition, a printed circuit board (PCB, Printed Circuit Board) is provided with various chips and components including the connector. Recently, as the functions of electronic products are diversified, the circuit configuration of the printed circuit board is complicated, and accordingly Electrical interference between elements on a printed circuit board is increasing. Such electrical interference includes electromagnetic interference (EMI), electrostatic discharge (ESD), and electrical overload (EOS).

The electrical interference degrades the performance of the printed circuit board and the electronic device including the same, and causes malfunction of the product. Therefore, recently, a technology for protecting a specific device by installing a protection device on a printed circuit board has been applied.

However, since the printed circuit board has a dense circuit configuration, the space for installing the protection element is often insufficient. In addition, as the plurality of protection elements and connectors are individually positioned, the possibility of generating noise between the elements increases and a grounding area for each element is required, making it difficult to implement a high-density printed circuit board.

And, in the prior art, since the protection elements should be connected to various chips and grounded at the same time, there is a problem in that a separate and complicated installation process is added in the process of manufacturing the printed circuit board.

In addition, the conventional protection device has to be installed adjacent to the connector and various chips on the printed circuit board, and it is difficult to additionally install the protection device when it is designed in consideration of the electrical connection with the printed circuit board.

Republic of Korea Patent Registration 10-0604076

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and an object of the present invention is to integrally provide a protection element inside a connector.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the addition of a protection element without significantly changing the structure of the conventional connector.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the protection device and the connector to be electrically connected to each other only by a process of seating the protection device on the connector.

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, the present invention may include a connector housing having an inner space formed therein, and a terminal installed in the inner space. In addition, the device housing may extend from one side of the connector housing in the left and right longitudinal direction of the connector housing, and a receiving space may be formed in the device housing to open upward. A protection device may be disposed in the storage space, and the protection device may be electrically connected to the terminal. In this case, a part of the terminal is exposed to the receiving space, and when the protection element is received into the receiving space from an open upper portion of the receiving space, it can be electrically connected by contacting the exposed portion of the terminal.

In addition, the device housing is provided with a partition wall to cross the storage space so that the storage space is divided into a plurality of storage spaces, and the protection elements can be accommodated in the plurality of storage spaces, respectively.

In addition, the storage space may be filled with an epoxy resin to shield the protection element.

In addition, an end of the terminal may be mounted on a printed circuit board by protruding from a lower portion of the device housing.

In addition, the terminal may include a relative coupling part installed in the inner space and coupled to a counterpart, and an element contact part extending from the coupling part and exposed inside the accommodation space to contact the protection element. In addition, the terminal may include a board mounting part that further extends from the device contact part, protrudes from the lower part of the device housing, and is mounted on a printed circuit board.

In addition, the upper surface of the device contact portion may be configured as a flat surface.

In addition, the mating portion may include a lower finger and an upper finger spaced apart from each other, and an object may be inserted between the lower finger and the upper finger to be elastically coupled.

In addition, an actuator may be provided at a position opposite to the element housing in the connector housing.

The connector provided with the protection element according to the present invention as salpinned above has the following effects.

The protection element is integrally provided inside the connector according to the present invention. As the protection element is provided as an integral part of the connector instead of being configured separately from the connector and installed on the board, the installation space of the printed circuit board is saved and the efficiency of the circuit structure is increased.

And, in the present invention, the element housing is further extended to one side of the conventional connector housing, and the protection element is built in the receiving space of the element housing. Through this structure, a protection element can be added without significantly changing the conventional connector structure. Therefore, the connector of the present invention has the effect of lowering the manufacturing cost of the connector because it can utilize the circuit design and production equipment of the existing connector.

In particular, since the storage space of the device housing is an empty space open upward, the assembly of the protection device is easy, and after the protection device is assembled, the protection device is naturally protected and thus durability is improved.

In addition, in the present invention, when the protection device is seated in the receiving space of the device housing, the protection device can be naturally connected to the terminal. That is, the protection element and the connector can be electrically connected to each other only by a process of seating the protection element on the connector. Accordingly, the process of embedding the protection element into the connector is simplified, and there is an advantage of good assembly.

In addition, in the present invention, since the protection element is built together in the manufacturing process of the connector, there is no need to mount the protection element on the printed circuit board by the surface mounting process (SMT) method. Accordingly, there is an effect of reducing the manufacturing cost for mounting the protective device.

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a pair of printed circuit boards to which a connector provided with a protection element of the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the structure of one of the pair of printed circuit boards shown in FIG. 1 ;
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the connector provided with the protection element of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the exposed state of the protection element constituting the embodiment shown in Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the connector provided with the protection element of the present invention.
6 is a perspective view showing the structure of a terminal constituting an embodiment of a connector provided with a protection element of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart sequentially showing a process of manufacturing a connector equipped with a protection element of the present invention.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. In adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are given the same reference numerals as much as possible even though they are indicated on different drawings. In addition, in describing the embodiment of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function interferes with the understanding of the embodiment of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in describing the components of the embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used. These terms are only for distinguishing the components from other components, and the essence, order, or order of the components are not limited by the terms. When it is described that a component is “connected”, “coupled” or “connected” to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but between each component another component It will be understood that may also be "connected", "coupled" or "connected".

The present invention relates to a connector (hereinafter referred to as 'connector (10)') provided with a protection element 60 integrally. The connector 10 of the present invention is a Wire to Board connector for connecting between a printed circuit board and a cable, or a Board to FPC (Board to FPC) connector for connecting between a printed circuit board and a flexible circuit board. may be Hereinafter, the connector 10 according to the present invention will be described as an example of a Board to FPC (Board to FPC) connector 10 for connecting between the printed circuit board and the FPC connector.

1 shows a structure in which the connector 10 according to the present invention is mounted on a printed circuit board, and the male connector 10 is coupled to the connector 10 described above. Referring to FIG. 1 , a pair of different printed circuit boards 1 and 2 are shown. The two printed circuit boards 1 and 2 may be electrically connected to each other by FPC connectors C1 and C2. The two printed circuit boards 1 and 2 may be used in a display device such as a TV. For example, the two printed circuit boards 1 and 2 may be a timing controller board and a source board, respectively.

FPC connectors C1 and C2 are coupled to the timing controller board (hereinafter referred to as 'first board (1)') and the source board (hereinafter referred to as 'second board (2)'), respectively, and the FPC connector (C1, C2) are connected by a wire (W). The FPC connectors C1 and C2 may be respectively coupled to and electrically connected to the connector 10 of the present embodiment mounted on the first board 1 and the second board 2 , respectively.

Looking at the first board 1 , the connector 10 according to the present embodiment to be described below is mounted on the upper surface of the first board 1 , and the FPC connector C1 is located at the center of the connector 10 . , C2) is fitted with a coupling groove 13 is provided. And, this structure is also the same for the second board (2). Hereinafter, it will be described based on the first board (1).

In FIG. 2 , the first board 1 and the second board 2 are more schematically represented than in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the wire W connecting the FPC connectors C1 and C2 may be composed of an FPC, and the FPC connectors C1 and C2 may be coupled to the connector 10 according to the present embodiment. can In FIG. 2 , reference numeral 7 denotes a timing controller unit, and reference numeral 8 denotes a circuit unit connecting the timing controller unit 7 and the connector 10 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , in the present embodiment, the protection element 60 is built inside the connector 10 . Since the protection element 60 is built into the connector 10 , there is no need to mount the protection element 60 on the first board 1 separately from the connector 10 . In addition, since it is not necessary to add the protection element 60 to the circuit part 8 among the upper surface of the first board 1 , the design and manufacture of the circuit part 8 may be facilitated.

The connector 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . The connector 10 is coupled to the FPC connectors C1 and C2 and is mounted on the first board 1 at the same time. Therefore, it can be seen that the FPC connectors C1 and C2 and the first board 1 are electrically connected by the connector 10 .

The skeleton of the connector 10 is formed by a connector housing 11 . The connector housing 11 is made of an insulating material, and in this embodiment, the connector housing 11 has a substantially hexahedral shape. The connector housing 11 may include a terminal 20 to be described below, a protection element 60 , and an actuator 30 .

Although the coupling groove 13 (refer to FIG. 1 ) is omitted in the connector housing 11 shown in FIG. 3 , the coupling groove 13 may be provided in a recessed form in the connector housing 11 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the coupling groove 13 may be made by partially recessing a top surface of the connector housing 11 , or by recessing a part of a side surface of the connector housing 11 .

The connector housing 11 is provided with a terminal 20 . The terminal 20 is made of a metal material with high electrical conductivity. One side of the terminal 20 comes into contact with the FPC connectors C1 and C2 and is electrically connected, and the other side is mounted on the first board 1 and electrically connected to the first board 1 . In FIG. 3 , the opposite end of the terminal 20 mounted on the first board 1 is exposed.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the terminal 20 has a thin plate-shaped structure having a longer left and right length than a vertical height. Since the terminal 20 has a structure capable of elastic deformation, it may be elastically deformed to some extent when it comes into contact with a counterpart terminal (not shown) of the FPC connectors C1 and C2 or is mounted on the first board 1 .

Looking at the structure of the terminal 20, relative coupling portions 22 and 23 extend to one side of the terminal 20 with respect to the body portion 21 located in the center, and the device contact portion 25 is formed on the opposite side. is extended The relative coupling portions 22 and 23 may have a pair of cantilever structures, and the pair of cantilever structures may be divided into a lower finger 22 and an upper finger 23, respectively.

The lower finger 22 and the upper finger 23 are spaced apart from each other and extend side by side. The lower finger 22 and the upper finger 23 form a kind of fork. An empty space is formed between the lower finger 22 and the upper finger 23 . When the relative coupling parts 22 and 23 are inserted between the lower finger 22 and the upper finger 23, the lower finger 22 and the upper finger 23 are elastically deformed in a direction apart from each other, so that the elasticity is elastic. are combined

Contact ends 22a and 23a are provided at the ends of the lower finger 22 and the upper finger 23, respectively. The contact ends 22a and 23a are portions in contact with the surfaces of the mating portions 22 and 23 . The pair of contact ends 22a and 23a are provided on the lower finger 22 and the upper finger 23 to face each other. Alternatively, the relative coupling portions 22 and 23 may have a single cantilever shape rather than a fork structure.

The element contact portion 25 extends from the body portion 21 to the opposite side of the mating portions 22 and 23 . The device contact part 25 is disposed inside the receiving space 52 of the device housing 50 to be described later and is in contact with the protection device 60 . That is, the element contact part 25 comes into contact with the protection element 60 inside the accommodation space 52 .

The element contact portion 25 has a cantilever shape. The device contact portion 25 may be further divided into a substrate mounting portion 25a and a contact lead 25b. Although the substrate mounting part 25a and the contact lead 25b are divided according to their functions and positions, they may be regarded as one since they are integrally formed.

A device lead (not shown) of the protection device 60 is connected to the surface of the device contact part 25 . When the device lead is overlapped on the surface of the device contact part 25 , the terminal 20 and the protection device 60 are electrically connected to each other. The device contact part 25 is located in the receiving space 52 of the device housing 50 , and at least a part thereof is exposed to an open upper portion of the receiving space 52 .

An upper surface or a side surface of the device contact portion 25 is configured as a flat surface. It is preferable that the upper surface or the side surface of the element contact part 25 be flat so that the element lead can be stably seated on the upper surface of the element contact part 25 . In addition, the upper surface or the side surface of the device contact part 25 is configured as a continuous plane, so that a large contact area with the device lead can be secured. In the present embodiment, the device lead is connected to the side surface of the device contact part 25, but alternatively, it may be connected to the upper surface of the device lead.

In this embodiment, the device contact portion 25 has a stepped structure downward than the relative coupling portions 22 and 23 . That is, the device contact portion 25 protrudes downward than the relative coupling portions 22 and 23 . Accordingly, the device contact portion 25 may be located closer to the upper surface of the first board 1 than the relative coupling portions 22 and 23 .

At the end of the device contact part 25 , there is a board mounting part 25a mounted on the first board 1 . The substrate mounting portion 25a is a portion further extended from the end of the device contact portion 25 . In this embodiment, the substrate mounting part 25a further extends in the longitudinal direction of the device contacting part 25, but in contrast, the substrate mounting part 25a may have a stepped structure at the end of the device contacting part 25. have. That is, the substrate mounting part 25a may have a structure that protrudes further downward than the device contact part 25 .

A plurality of these terminals 20 are arranged side by side in the connector housing 11 . That is, a plurality of the terminals 20 may be arranged side by side to transmit a signal or power. A plurality of the terminals 20 are arranged at regular intervals from each other. In addition, the terminals 20 may be press-fitted into the connector housing 11 and the element housing 50 or fixed by an elastic hook (lance (not shown)), or may be fixed through insert injection. have.

Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4 , an actuator 30 is provided in the connector housing 11 . The actuator 30 is rotatably or linearly provided in the connector housing 11 . The actuator 30 serves to elastically deform the relative coupling portions 22 and 23 of the terminal 20 while rotating or linearly moving. That is, the actuator 30 deforms any one of the lower finger 22 or the upper finger 23 constituting the relative coupling portions 22 and 23 to form the lower finger 22 and the upper finger 23 . The space between them is reduced, and the mating terminals disposed therebetween are strongly fixed to the mating parts 22 and 23 . Since this actuator 30 is generally used for the board-mounted connector 10, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A device housing 50 is coupled to one side of the connector housing 11 . The device housing 50 is provided integrally with one side of the connector housing 11 , and forms a skeleton of the connector 10 of this embodiment together with the connector housing 11 . The protection device 60 is accommodated in the device housing 50 , and the protection device 60 and the terminal 20 are connected in the device housing 50 .

As for the element housing 50 , a housing body 51 forms a skeleton, and the housing body 51 has a substantially hexahedral shape similar to the connector housing 11 . A receiving space 52 is formed in the center of the housing body 51 . In this embodiment, the device housing 50 has the same height as the connector housing 11 . Accordingly, the overall height of the connector 10 may be uniformly formed, and manufacturing and management of the connector 10 may be facilitated.

The device housing 50 extends along a direction in which the terminal 20 extends from a side surface of the connector housing 11 . Referring to FIG. 3 , it can be seen that the device housing 50 is provided in the connector housing 11 in a direction to further extend the front and rear directions of the connector housing 11 . As such, since the device housing 50 is extended from the existing connector housing 11 , the protection device 60 can be added without significantly changing the structure of the conventional connector 10 .

A receiving space 52 is formed in the device housing 50 to open upward. A protection device 60 may be disposed in the accommodation space 52 , and the protection device 60 may be electrically connected to the terminal 20 . Since the accommodating space 52 is opened to the upper portion of the element housing 50 , the accommodating space 52 is recessed from the element housing 50 .

In the present embodiment, the device housing 50 has left and right side walls 53 surrounding the storage space 52 . A partition wall 55 is provided between the left and right side walls 53 to cross the storage space 52 , and the storage space 52 is divided into a plurality of storage spaces 52 . In addition, the protection elements 60 may be accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodation spaces 52 . In this case, the thickness of the partition wall 55 is preferably thinner than the distance between the terminals 20 . In this case, there is no need to rearrange the spacing of the terminals 20 due to the existence of the partition wall 55 , and the partition wall 55 may also serve to align the terminals 20 .

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5 , the partition wall 55 may be omitted from the device housing 50 , and the accommodation space 52 may be a single continuous space. In this case, one protection element 60 may be accommodated in the single storage space 52 , or a plurality of protection elements 60 may be arranged side by side.

In addition, the storage space 52 may be filled with an epoxy resin to shield the protection element 60 . Referring to FIG. 3 , an epoxy resin is filled in the storage space 52 to form a shielding part 58 , and it can be seen that the shielding part 58 protects the protection element 60 . Alternatively, the shielding part 58 may be omitted and the protection element 60 may be used in an exposed state as shown in FIG. 4 .

The protection element 60 is accommodated in the storage space 52 . The protection device 60 is separate from the device housing 50 , and is inserted into the storage space 52 to be electrically connected to the terminal 20 . The protection element 60 may be for protecting a circuit from electromagnetic interference (EMI), electrostatic discharge (ESD), electrical overload (EOS), or the like. In this embodiment, the protection device 60 is an electrostatic protection diode (esd protection diode).

Although not shown, a device lead protrudes from the lower portion of the protection device 60 . The device lead is connected to the device contact portion 25 of the terminal 20 . Since at least one of the upper surface or the side surface of the device contact part 25 has a continuous planar structure, a contact area with the device lead is sufficiently wide. Accordingly, when the protection element 60 is seated in the accommodation space 52 , the protection element 60 can be naturally connected to the element contact part 25 .

Next, a process of manufacturing a connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7 .

As shown in FIG. 7( a ), the connector housing 11 and the element housing 50 are integrally formed. That is, the connector housing 11 and the element housing 50 are made together through an injection mold. Alternatively, the connector housing 11 and the device housing 50 may be separately made and then coupled to each other.

A plurality of terminals 20 are assembled to the connector housing 11 and the device housing 50 . As described above, the terminals 20 may be press-fitted into the connector housing 11 and the element housing 50 or fixed by an elastic hook (lance (not shown)), or through insert injection. may be fixed. At this time, the substrate mounting portion 25a of the terminal 20 protrudes below the device housing 50 . And the actuator 30 is assembled to the connector housing 11 .

In this state, as shown in FIG. 7B , the device housing 50 is assembled in the receiving space 52 of the device housing 50 through die bonding. Looking at the process, first, the device contact part 25 of the terminal 20 is heated, and a solder ball is potted on the heated device contact part 25 using a jig S.

And the device lead of the protection device 60, which is a finished product, is seated on the solder ball. In this state, the solder ball is melted by passing through a tunnel called reflow, and then the solder ball is cooled and fixed between the terminal 20 and the device lead. Alternatively, die bonding can be performed using epoxy. In this case, a very small amount of epoxy is precisely applied to the device contact part 25 of the terminal 20 in a dispensing method, and the protection device 60 is placed thereon. Then, the epoxy is cured at 150 to 250 degrees Celsius through reflow or curing to fix the terminal 20 and the device lead. Such a state is well illustrated in Fig. 7(c).

Finally, when the receiving space 52 of the device housing 50 is filled with epoxy, the shielding portion 58 is formed. When the accommodating space 52 is filled with epoxy, the accommodating space 52 is filled with an epoxy resin to form a shielding part 58 , and the protection element 60 is covered by the shielding part 58 . Such a state is shown in Fig. 7(d).

In the above, even though all components constituting the embodiment according to the present invention have been described as being combined or operated in combination as one, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this embodiment. That is, within the scope of the object of the present invention, all the components may operate by selectively combining one or more. In addition, terms such as "comprises", "comprises" or "have" described above mean that the corresponding component may be inherent, unless otherwise stated, excluding other components. Rather, it should be construed as being able to further include other components. All terms, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used terms such as terms defined in the dictionary should be interpreted as being consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art, and are not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

1: first board 2: second board
10: connector 11: connector housing
20: terminal 21: body part
22, 23: relative coupling portion 25: element contact portion
30: actuator 50: element housing
52: storage space 55: partition wall
60: protection element

Claims (12)

a connector housing having an inner space;
a terminal installed in the inner space;
an element housing provided on one side of the connector housing and having a receiving space open upward; and
and a protection element disposed in the storage space and electrically connected to the terminal.
A part of the terminal is exposed to the storage space, and when the protection element is received into the storage space from the open upper portion of the storage space, a protection element is provided that is electrically connected to the exposed portion of the terminal,
the terminal is
a relative coupling part installed in the inner space and coupled to a counterpart;
an element contact portion extending from the relative coupling portion and exposed inside the accommodation space to contact the protection element; and
A connector provided with a protection device including a; a board mounting portion extending further from the device contact portion, protruding from a lower portion of the device housing to be mounted on a printed circuit board.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the device housing is provided with a partition wall to cross the storage space so that the storage space is divided into a plurality of storage spaces, and the plurality of storage spaces has a protection element in which the protection elements are accommodated, respectively. .
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the device housing is provided with a protection device having the same height as the connector housing.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the device housing is provided with a protection device extending along a direction in which the terminal extends from a side surface of the connector housing.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the storage space is filled with an epoxy resin to shield the protection element.
The connector of claim 1, wherein an end of the terminal protrudes from a lower portion of the device housing and is mounted on a printed circuit board.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface or the side surface of the element contact portion is provided with a protection element configured as a continuous plane.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the mating part includes a lower finger and an upper finger spaced apart from each other, and a protection element is provided between the lower finger and the upper finger to elastically couple an object inserted therebetween.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the device contacting part and the board mounting part are provided with a protection element extending downwardly from the mating part in a stepped step.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein an actuator is provided at a position opposite to the element housing in the connector housing.
The connector according to claim 2, wherein a thickness of the partition wall is thinner than a distance between the plurality of terminals. delete

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