KR20110103901A - Electrical connector assembly, plug connector and receptacle connector - Google Patents

Abstract

The plug connector and receptacle connector employed here, as well as the electrical connector assembly, are reduced in height and narrow. The plug connector has two first contacts arranged in a straight line, facing in opposite directions from each other and with exposed sides. The receptacle connector has a recess for accommodating the plug connector and two second contacts, and is exposed at positions corresponding to the first contact inside the recess. When the plug connector and the receptacle connector are coupled to each other, the elastic contact piece of the second contact is in contact with one side of the first contact to electrically connect to one side of the plug connector.

Description

Electrical Connector Assembly, Plug Connectors & Receptacle Connectors {ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY, PLUG CONNECTOR AND RECEPTACLE CONNECTOR}

The present invention relates to plug connectors and receptacle connectors used in such electrical connector assemblies as well as electrical connector assemblies suitable for use in small electrical / electronic devices such as cellular telephones.

It is known to electrically connect wiring and printed circuit boards (printed boards) via electrical connector assemblies. An example of this type of electrical connector assembly is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Publication No. 8 (1996) -6368. Such a connector assembly is made of a first connector (plug connector) connected to a wire and a second connector (receptacle connector) fixed to a printed board.

An insulation displacement contact that connects to the core of the wire is connected to the tip of the wire. In addition, crimp contacts are crimped to the shielded outer sheath of the wire. The tip of the wire is housed in the first housing to constitute a plug connector. On the other hand, the receptacle connector has a second housing for housing the plug connector, and two second contacts respectively connecting the insulating displacement contact and the crimp contact of the plug connector are provided in the second housing.

This connector assembly is shaped to connect a single wire. Each second contact has a pair of arms for contacting the insulative displacement contact or crimp contact from both outer sides.

According to the known connector assembly described above, when the contacts of the plug connector and the receptacle connector engage with each other, the connectors are arranged along a plane parallel to the circuit board. Therefore, the connectors do not protrude from the circuit board, and the assembly is lowered in height. However, the contacts of the receptacle connector have flexible arms on both sides of each contact of the plug connector, causing the following problems. That is, the arms require a predetermined range of movement in the width direction of the connector parallel to the circuit board to secure the necessary contact pressure. As a result, the width of the connector is increased. If the number of terminals of the connector is increased to two, the contacts will require more space in the horizontal direction. Therefore, there is a possibility that it is difficult to use such a connector in a small electric / electronic device with a limited mounting area.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a small, narrow and narrow electrical connector assembly and a plug connector and a receptacle connector to be used in the connector assembly.

An electrical connector assembly according to the present invention includes a plug connector having a first contact connected to a wiring; A receptacle connector having a second contact in contact with said first contact and mounted to a circuit board; The plug connectors have sides that face in opposite directions from each other; The first contact is provided with a contact surface for contacting and supporting the wiring to be attached to the plug connector such that the wiring is substantially parallel to the circuit board, the contact surface being exposed on one side of the plug connector; The receptacle connector has a recess for accommodating the plug connector, the recess being open at a side of which the top is open and facing the wiring; The second contact has a contact exposed to the recess and a circuit board connection electrically connected to the circuit board to contact the contact surface of the first contact when the plug connector is received in the recess; The first contacts are provided as a pair arranged along straight lines and facing in opposite directions from each other; And the second contact is arranged along a straight line and faces in opposite directions from each other and is provided as a pair corresponding to the first contact.

The plug connector of the present invention includes an insulated plug housing having sides facing in opposite directions from each other; And contacts having a wire connection portion for contacting and supporting wires in the plug housing and a contact surface exposed on the side surface; The contacts are arranged along a straight line in the housing and face in opposite directions from each other.

The receptacle connector of the present invention has a receptacle housing having a recess formed therein to receive a plug connector, the recess being open to a side facing the wiring that is open at its top and connected to the plug connector; And contacts having a contact portion exposed to a recess for contacting the contacts of the plug connector when the plug connector is received in the recess, and a circuit board connection portion connected to the circuit board; The contacts are arranged along a straight line and face in opposite directions from each other and are provided in pairs corresponding to the contacts of the plug connector.

In the structure employed the receptacle connector is provided with a cutout on the side wall opposite the side on which the recess is open; The plug connector is provided with a protrusion complementary to the cutout so that the plug connector fits into the cutout while fully engaging the receptacle connector.

Further, in the structure to be adopted, the plug connector and the receptacle connector are provided with fastening portions which engage with each other while the plug connector and receptacle connector are engaged, and the fastening portion is directed toward a side from which the wiring is drawn out than the contact surface and the contact portion. Continually formed.

In the structure to be adopted, two parallel contact receiving grooves are provided in the plug housing of the plug connector opening upwardly; The first contacts (contacts of the plug connector) are insulating displacement type contacts; The first contacts are provided in the contact receiving groove; Wiring is an insulating displacement in contact with the first contacts.

Preferably, the plug connector engages with the receptacle connector in a state in which the contact receiving groove faces the receptacle connector. Further, a curved portion (arrowhead) for preventing the drawing of the wiring is preferably formed at the end of the contact receiving groove facing the side from which the wiring is led.

The contact portion of the second contact may be manufactured as a plurality of elastic contact pieces separated in the axial direction (length direction) of the wiring.

According to the electrical connector assembly of the present invention, the plug connector includes sides facing in opposite directions from each other; The first contact of the plug connector has a wire connecting portion for connecting and supporting wires and a contact surface exposed on one side of the plug connector. On the other hand, the receptacle connector includes a recess for receiving the plug connector, the recess being open at the top and open at the side facing the wiring. The second contact of the receptacle connector has a contact for exposing the recess and contacting the contact surface of the first contact when the plug connector is received in the recess, and a circuit board connection for electrically connecting to the circuit board. The first contacts are provided in a pair arranged along a straight line and facing in opposite directions from each other, and the second contacts are arranged along a straight line and facing in opposite directions from each other and corresponding to the first contacts. Is provided. Therefore, the following effect is obtained.

The contacts of the receptacle connector contact one side of the contacts of the plug connector; Therefore, the space required for the contacts in the width direction is reduced. Therefore, the connector assembly not only has a low height but also a width, so that the connector assembly can be miniaturized.

Additionally, the plug connector of the present invention includes an insulated plug housing having sides facing in opposite directions from each other; A wire connection for contacting and holding wires in the plug housing and contacts having contact surfaces exposed on the side surfaces; The contacts here are aligned along a straight line in the housing and face in opposite directions from each other. Thus, it is possible for the contacts of the contacts to be provided on the side of the plug connector to be lowered in height.

The receptacle connector of the present invention has a receptacle housing having a recess for accommodating a plug connector formed therein, the recess being open at the top and opening at the side facing the wiring connected to the plug connector; A contact portion having a contact portion exposed to the recess for contacting the contact of the plug connector when the plug connector is received in the recess and a circuit board connection portion for connecting to a circuit board, wherein the contacts It is arranged along a straight line and faces in opposite directions from each other and is provided in pairs corresponding to the contacts of the plug connector. Therefore, the connector assembly can be lowered in height when the plug connector and the receptacle connector are assembled with each other.

In addition, the receptacle connector is provided with a cutout on the side wall opposite the side where the recess is open; The plug connector is provided with a protrusion complementary to the cutout, the protrusion being fitted into the cutout during full engagement with the receptacle connector, and a complete engagement between the receptacle connector and the plug connector can be secured visually. In other words, when the plug connector is mounted upside down, the protrusion and the cutout engage during initial engagement. The plug connector will protrude from the recess and be in a state where it can no longer be pressed. Therefore, improper coupling can be secured visually, thereby preventing false coupling.

In addition, the plug connector and the receptacle connector are provided with fastening portions which engage with each other during engagement of the plug connector and the receptacle connector, the fastening portion being continuously formed toward the contact surface and the side from which the contact is drawn, and the plug The connector is more resistant to disengagement when a prying force is applied to the wiring.

Subsequently, preferred embodiments of the electrical connector assembly (hereinafter simply referred to as "assembly"), plug connector and receptacle connector of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Preferred configurations have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited by the configurations described above. Various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed hereafter. For example, the contacts of the plug connector 10 may be crimp type contacts.

1 is a perspective view of a plug connector of the present invention;
FIG. 2A is a plan view of the plug connector shown in FIG. 1; FIG.
FIG. 2B is a side view of the plug connector shown in FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a perspective view of a receptacle connector of the present invention;
4 is a perspective view showing a state immediately before coupling of the plug connector of FIG. 1 and the receptacle connector of FIG. 3;
5 is a perspective view showing the electrical connector assembly of the present invention to which a plug connector and a receptacle connector are engaged;
6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5;

1 is a perspective view of a plug connector of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a plan view of the plug connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2B is a side view of the plug connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

First, the plug connector 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B. The plug connector 10 is made of an insulating plug housing 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as a "housing") and formed of a substantially thin rectangular parallelepiped. The housing 2 is manufactured to be symmetric in the horizontal direction. The recess 6 is formed in the side wall 4 which constitutes the outer side of the housing 2 at its center in the longitudinal direction 3 of the housing 2. A pair of contact receiving grooves 8 (hereinafter simply referred to as "accommodating grooves") are formed in the inner surface of the recess 6. The receiving groove 8 extends along the longitudinal direction 3 of the housing, that is, along the longitudinal direction of the wiring W, and opens toward the upper surface 12 of the housing 2. An insulating displacement contact 11 (first contact) is provided in each of the two receiving grooves 8.

The shape of the housing 2 will be described in more detail. It is to be appreciated that since the structure of the housing 2 is horizontally symmetrical, its single side will be described. For convenience, the surface of the plug connector 10 facing upward in FIG. 1 will be referred to as the upper surface 12, and the side wall on the side of the housing 2 from which the wiring W is drawn is Reference will be made to barrier 22. The recess 6 extends from the upper surface 12 of the housing 2 to the lower surface 14 (see FIG. 2B), is formed toward the inside of the housing 2 and is open to the side of the housing 2. . A narrow groove 16 opening in the upper surface 12 and extending in the longitudinal direction 3 is formed toward the interior of the recess 6. The groove 16 and the receiving groove 8 communicate with each other through the channel 18 opening to the upper surface 12. The channel 18 is formed almost in the center of the recess 6 in the longitudinal direction 3.

The receiving groove 8 is formed to be longer and wider than the groove 16. The rear part thereof is closed by the wall 20 which is a part of the rear wall 44, and the receiving groove 8 is open toward the front wall 22. A wide portion 24 wide in the width direction of the wiring W and extending from the upper surface 12 of the housing 2 to the bottom wall 26 is almost the center of the receiving groove 8 in the longitudinal direction 3. Is formed. In addition, the wire placing groove 28 is formed in the front wall 22 and corresponds to the receiving groove 8. The wire placement groove 28 has an elastically deformable bend 30 (arrow head) extending from both sides of the top surface 12 to the wire placement groove 28. A gap 31 for passing the wiring W is formed between the pair of curved portions 30. An arcuate taper (30a) for guiding the wiring (W) is formed on the side of the curved portion 30 toward the upper surface 12, to facilitate the insertion of the wiring (W).

Next, the contacts 11 accommodated in the receiving groove 8 will be described. The contacts 11, one of which is shown separated from the housing 2 in FIG. 1, are each formed by punching and bending a single metal plate. Each contact 11 includes a base portion 32 that is substantially rectangular; An insulating displacement plate 34 (wire connection portion) formed by bending both ends of the base portion 32 in the longitudinal direction 3; It consists of a contact plate 36 curved upward from the base part 32 via the connection part 35. The outer surface of the contact plate 36 is the contact surface 36a in electrical contact with the contacts 132 (second contact) of the receptacle connector 100 described below.

The pair of insulating displacement plates 34 separated in the longitudinal direction 3 of the wiring W each have a slot 38 that opens upward. The two slots 38 are arranged in the longitudinal direction 3 of the wiring W and are formed to electrically connect with the wiring W in a state where it is pressed therein. A barb, i.e., the projection 40, is formed on both sides at the lower end of the insulating displacement plate 34.

The contact plate 36 is a vertical plate extending along the longitudinal direction 3. Beads 42 projecting outward are formed along the longitudinal direction 3 at the center of the contact plate 36. Operation of the beads 42 will be described below. In addition, the projections 43 having the same thickness as the plate thickness of the contact plate 36 are formed at both edges in the longitudinal direction 3 of the contact plate 36.

In order to mount the contact 11 in the housing 2, the contact 11 is pressed into the receiving groove 8 from the side of the upper surface 12. During insertion, the base portion 32 and the contact plate 36 are pressed into the wide portion 24 and the groove 16, respectively. At the same time, the connection part 35 is arranged in the channel 18. The projections 40 and 43 are frictionally coupled to the inner surfaces of the wide portion 24 and the groove 16, respectively, to prevent the withdrawal of the contact from the housing 2.

The contacts 11 are arranged inside the receiving groove 8 of the housing 2. After this, the wiring W is placed on top of each of the contacts 11 and pressed into the slots 38 of the insulating displacement plate 34 in a manner known to those skilled in the art. The walls 20 serve to position the tip 21 of the wiring W during the placement of the wiring W. When the wire W is pressed into the slot 38, the outer cover of the wire W is torn by the edge of the slot 38, and the core of the wire (not shown) and the contact plate 36 are electrically connected. . The end of the wire W facing the side of the plug connector 10 from which the end of the wire W is being drawn is pressed into the wire placement groove 28 through the gap 31 while deforming the curved portion 30. The wire W pressed by the wire placement groove 28 is prevented from being drawn out from the top by the free end of the curved portion 30.

The plug connector 10 is provided with a tab 46 (protrusion) at the lower center of the rear wall 44 opposite from the end from which the wiring is drawn. The bottom face 46 of the tab 46 and the bottom face 14 of the housing 2 are coplanar. The operation of the tab 46 will be described later. In addition, a latching projection 5 (fastening portion) having an upwardly facing taper 5a is provided on the side wall 4 facing the side from which the wire is drawn. Moreover, tapers 4a and 44a acting as guides during engagement with the receptacle connector 100 are formed at the upper edges of the side wall 4 and the rear wall 44, respectively.

Next, the receptacle connector 100 that engages the plug connector 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. 3 is a perspective view showing the receptacle connector 100 of the present invention. Receptacle connector 100 includes a thin parallelepiped insulating receptacle housing 102 (hereinafter simply referred to as a "housing"). The housing 102 has a recess 104 for receiving a plug connector almost in the center. The recess 104 is open to the upper surface of the housing 102 and open forward. The recess 104 is defined by the rear wall 108, the interior wall 110 and the bottom wall 112. In addition, a cutout 114 complementary to the tab 46 of the plug connector 10 is provided at the upper edge of the rear wall 108.

Since the housing 102 is horizontally symmetrical, one side of the housing 102 will be described. A recess 120 extending from the top surface 106 to the bottom surface 118 is formed in the side wall 116 of the housing 102. Grooves 124 extending along the longitudinal direction 3 are formed towards the interior of the recess 120. Two ribs 126, 126 are provided to extend from each of the inner walls 110 toward the interior of the recess 104. Ribs 126 and 126 are provided in the longitudinal direction 3 at intervals within the length of the plug connector 10. Ribs 128 parallel to the ribs 126, 126 are molded integrally with the housing 102 at the midpoint between the ribs 126. The ribs 126, 128 are connected by a contact support wall 130 adjacent the recess 120. The contact 132 is installed on the contact support wall 130. A rectangular opening 134 penetrating to the bottom surface 118 is provided in the bottom wall 112 between the rib 126 and the rib 128.

Next, the contacts 132 mounted to the housing 102 will be described. The contacts 132 shown in FIG. 3 separated from the housing 102 are each formed by punching or bending a single metal plate. Each contact 132 includes a plate-shaped base portion 138 having a cutout 136 at its upper edge; A contact portion, ie an elastic contact piece 140, which extends upwardly from two positions inside the cutout 136, is bent downwardly arched, and is bent upwardly near the bottom edge of the base portion 138 and arched again. ), Hereinafter simply referred to as "contact piece".

The two contact pieces 140 are formed at intervals so as to be disposed between the ribs 126 and the ribs 128. An extension 140a that is best disposed towards the interior of the recess 104 when the contact 132 is disposed in the recess 104 is formed at the tip of the contact piece 140. The extension part 140 serves as a fastening part when the contact 11 and the contact 132 are coupled to each other, but will be described in detail later. The tip of the contact piece 140 is bent obliquely toward the base portion 138 at the top of the extension portion 140a to form a guide surface. The contact piece 140 installed in this manner is generally elastic and can be deformed in the plate thickness direction of the contact piece 140.

In addition, two projections 139 vertically separated are provided at both edges of the base portion 138. The circuit board connection portion 141, which is a surface on which a circuit board (not shown) is installed, is formed by bending an end portion of the base portion 138 from the cutout 136 and bending it in a direction opposite from the contact piece 140. do.

Next, a method of installing the contact 132 in the housing 102 will be described later. When the base portion 138 of the contact 132 is forced into the groove 124 of the recess 120 from the top, the contact piece is arranged to cover the contact support wall 130. At this time, the lower portion of the contact piece 140 is disposed inside the opening 134. Since the lower wall 112 does not interfere with the contact piece 140, sufficient curvature is possible by the contact piece 140. The contact piece 140 is disposed between the ribs 126 and 128 with the contact piece 140 protected. The shape of the two contact pieces 140 is retained due to the presence of the intermediate ribs 128 and prevents excessive deformation due to frying forces or misconnections applied by external causes. Additionally, the contact support wall 130 prevents solder from entering the recess 104 toward the contact piece 140 when the circuit board connection 141 is soldered to the circuit board (not shown).

When the contact 132 is forced into the groove 124, the protrusion 139 is frictionally engaged with the groove 124, where it is fixed to the base portion 138. A pair of latching protrusions 146 having shoulders 144 facing downwards are formed in the recess 104 of the housing 102, in the inner wall 110 adjacent to the front wall 142. The operation of the latch protrusion 146 will be described later. A taper 148 acting as a guide during engagement with the plug connector 10 is formed inside the upper edge of the rear wall 108 and the inner wall 110 that define the recess 104.

Next, the coupling of the plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. 4 is a perspective view showing a state immediately before the coupling of the plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 100. 5 is a perspective view showing an electrical connector assembly according to the invention with respective interconnected connectors 10, 110. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

First, referring to FIG. 4, the plug connector 10 is in a position that corresponds to the recess 104 of the receptacle connector 110 with the bend 30 facing the receptacle connector 100. When the plug connector 10 is pressed downward into the recess 104 from this state, the side walls 4 of the plug connector 10 are recessed so that the plug connector 10 is received inside the recess 104. Move along inner wall 110 of 104. The latch protrusion 5 of the plug connector 10 engages with the latch protrusion 146 (fastening portion) of the recess 104, where the connectors are fixed to each other. Although the frying force is applied to the wiring W at the leading end, the plug connector 10 is prevented from being separated from the receptacle connector 100 by the engagement of the latch protrusions 5 and 146.

Next, when the plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 100 are fully engaged, as shown in FIG. 5, the tabs 46 of the plug connector 10 are connected to the cutout 114 of the receptacle connector 100. The lower surface 14 of the plug connector 10 and the upper surface 106 of the receptacle connector 100 are coplanar. Here, complete coupling of the connectors can be visually confirmed.

In the case where the plug connector is pressed back against the receptacle connector 100, the tab 46 is adjacent to the cutout 114 at the initial stage of the mating operation, and the plug connector 10 does not apply any pressure to the receptacle connector 100. Can't be. At this time, the plug connector 10 is in a state protruding from the receptacle connector 100 in order to facilitate visual confirmation of the misalignment. Additionally, tab 46 is gripped by a finger or the like to pull plug connector 10 while wire W is pulled upward when plug connector 10 is removed from receptacle connector 100. The losing lever acts.

Next, the engagement state between the contacts 11, 132 during the perfect engagement of the connectors 10, 100 is described with reference to FIG. When the plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 100 are coupled to each other, the beads 42 of the contacts 11 pass through and extend with the extension 140a of the contacts 132. Thereby, the contacts 11 and 32 are electrically coupled to each other, and at the same time, extraction in the direction of mutual separation is prevented. That is, extension 140a and bead 42 also act as fasteners for connectors 10 and 100.

The electrical contact of the contacts 11, 132 is inside the assembly 1, where contact from the outside is prevented. Not only is the fact that two contact pieces 140 are provided at each contact 11, but also increases the reliability of the electrical coupling. In addition, because the beads 42 and the extensions 140a protrude toward each other, it is felt when a "click" passes through each other. Perfect engagement between the connectors 10, 100 can also be perceptually sensed by this “click”.

If the wiring W derived from the plug connector 10 is bent upwards from the position shown in FIG. 5, the detachment of the plug connector 10 from the receptacle connector 100 is not only coupled between the latch protrusions 5, 146. This is prevented by the contacts 11 and 132 fastened to each other. Since the latch projections 5 and 146 are arranged closer to the end of the wiring W derived from the plug connector 10 than the contacts of the contacts 11 and 132, the fastening function is particularly effective.

In addition, when the wiring W is bent upward, the upward movement of the wiring W is prevented by the lower wall 26 of the housing 2 of the plug connector 10, and damage to the housing 2 is caused. There is no possibility. When the wire is bent downward, even if a force is applied to the band 30, the force is received by the bottom wall 112 of the housing 102 of the receptacle connector 100, and the possibility of the band 30 being damaged is none.

2, 102: housing
6: recess
8: contact receiving groove
10: plug connector
100: Receptacle Connector

Claims (3)

Electrical connector assembly,
A plug connector having a first contact connected to the wiring;
A receptacle connector having a second contact in contact with said first contact and installed on a circuit board,
The plug connectors have sides that face in opposite directions from each other;
The first contact is,
A rectangular base portion,
A pair of insulating displacement plates which are formed at both ends of the base and are connected to and hold the wires so that the wires connected to the plug connectors are parallel to the circuit board when the plug connector and the receptacle connector are coupled; ,
It is formed by bending from the base portion through the connecting portion, having a contact surface exposed to the side surface of the plug connector, having a contact plate formed with projections coupled to the plug connector at both ends,
The receptacle connector has a recess for accommodating the plug connector, the recess having a top open, a side facing the wiring open and a latching protrusion formed on an inner wall of the side facing the wiring;
A latching protrusion is formed on a sidewall of a side of the plug connector facing the wiring;
The second contact has a contact exposed to the recess and a circuit board connection electrically connected to the circuit board to contact the contact surface of the first contact when the plug connector is received in the recess;
The first contacts are provided as a pair arranged along straight lines and facing in opposite directions from each other; And
And the second contact is arranged along a straight line and faces in opposite directions from each other and is provided as a pair corresponding to the first contact. As a plug connector,
An insulating plug housing having sides facing in opposite directions from each other; And
Including contacts,
The contact point,
A rectangular base portion,
A pair of insulating displacement plates which are bent at both ends of the base part and connect and hold wires in the plug housing;
It is formed by bending from the base portion through the connecting portion, having a contact surface exposed to the side surface of the plug connector, having a contact plate formed with projections coupled to the plug connector at both ends,
The contacts are arranged along a straight line in the housing and face in opposite directions from each other,
The plug connector which is formed in the side wall of the side surface which faces the said wiring of the said plug connector protrudingly. The method of claim 1,
The receptacle connector is provided with a cutout on an opposite sidewall of the side on which the recess is open;
The plug connector is provided with a protrusion complementary to the cutout, wherein the plug connector fits into the cutout while fully engaged with the receptacle connector.

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