TW201929334A - Electric connector capable of shortening dimensions and having plate fastener with better strength and holding force - Google Patents

Abstract

An electric connector comprises an insulating housing, a plurality of conductive terminals, and a plate fastener. The insulating housing has a mounting surface and an abutting surface located on two opposite sides in an abutting direction, and a mounting chamber. The mounting chamber has a top receiving portion and a bottom receiving portion extending from the top receiving portion in the abutting direction and penetrating through the mounting surface. Two side walls for defining the mounting chamber are respectively provided with a top position-limiting surface and a bottom position-limiting surface for defining the top receiving portion. The plate fastener comprises a mounting section received in the top receiving portion, a middle section extending from the mounting section and received in the bottom receiving portion, and a tail section extending from the middle section out of the mounting surface. The mounting section comprises two abutting shoulders respectively abutting against the two bottom position-limiting surfaces, and two holding elastic arms respectively abutting against the two top position-limiting surfaces, so that the mounting section is position-limited by the two top position-limiting surfaces and the two bottom position-limiting surfaces in the abutting direction.

Description

Electrical connector

This invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a panel fastener for attachment to a circuit board.

Some existing electrical connectors need to be fixed in combination with a circuit board by a fastener fixed to the insulating housing. For example, U.S. Patent No. 5,269,694 discloses an electrical connector that is secured to a circuit board using a locking clip. The locking member is formed by stamping a metal plate, and has two locking tabs which are formed by tearing and are bent toward the one surface of the board body to protrude from the board surface, and are fixed by the locking tabs. In the insulation housing. However, such a structure of the locking tab is easily cracked at the tearing portion to lower the strength of the entire fastener, and the locking tab has a short and hard length, and is easy to scrape the hole wall surface of the insulating casing to cause damage during assembly. Sexual interference is not easy to assemble.

Further, for example, Chinese Patent No. 95121124.2 (U.S. Patent No. 5,632,649) discloses a fastening device for fixing an electrical connector assembly to a circuit board, the fastening device being housed in a cavity of the insulative housing, defining the capacity. The wall of the cavity forms two oppositely projecting shoulders, the shoulder having an upper surface and a lower surface on opposite sides. The fastening device has two stops extending outwardly on both sides and forming an end at the end of the stop that reliably abuts the upper surface of the shoulder, and two upwardly and outwardly obliquely extending and the top edge can be respectively respectively A stop wing that abuts the lower surface of the shoulder. When the fastening device is installed, the two stop wings are squeezed during the passage of the shoulder to be elastically offset in a relatively close direction, and then elastically reset after passing through the shoulder to make the top edge abut against the lower surface of the shoulder. . The fastening device needs to be set such that the distance between the end of the stop and the top edge of the stop wing is slightly smaller than the distance between the upper surface and the lower surface of the shoulder, so that the stop and the stop wing can be surely The shoulders are clamped and fixed. However, such a setting must more accurately control the distance between the end of the stop and the top edge of the stop wing, and the insertion force must be accurately controlled. Otherwise, the stop wing of the fastening device cannot face the lower surface of the shoulder. Elastically deflected, a clip is created and cannot be assembled. Moreover, the stopper and the stop wing are arranged in the upper and lower positions and have a certain distance, so that the length of the entire fastening device is too long, and some electrical connectors having space restrictions or compactness are not necessarily applicable.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector having a panel fastener that can be reduced in size and that provides better strength and retention.

Thus, in some embodiments, the electrical connector of the present invention includes an insulative housing, a plurality of electrically conductive terminals disposed on the insulative housing, and at least one panel fastener. The insulating housing has a mounting surface and a pair of connecting surfaces on opposite sides in a pair of connecting directions, and at least one mounting chamber extending in the mating direction and extending through the mounting surface, and having a top The accommodating portion and the bottom accommodating portion extend through the bottom receiving portion of the mounting surface in the mating direction, and the insulating housing further has two side walls opposite to each other in a width direction perpendicular to the mating direction, and Corresponding to each of the side walls, a top limiting surface and a bottom limiting surface defining the top receiving portion are formed, the top limiting surface faces the mounting surface, and the bottom limiting surface is in the docking direction and the top limiting position The surface is opposite and closer to the bottom receiving portion than the top limiting surface. The at least one panel fastener is disposed on the insulative housing and corresponds to at least one mounting chamber. The plate fastener has a plate shape and has a mounting portion received in the top receiving portion, extends from the mounting portion and is received in an intermediate portion of the bottom receiving portion, and extends from the intermediate portion a tail section of the mounting surface of the insulating housing. The mounting section has a body portion connected to the intermediate portion, two abutting shoulders respectively abutting the two bottom limiting surfaces, and extending from both sides of the body portion and the ends respectively abutting the two top limits The two clamping arms of the face are arranged such that the mounting segments are jointly limited by the two top limiting faces and the two bottom limiting faces in the mating direction.

In some embodiments, each of the latch arms has a lateral portion that connects the body portion, and the lateral portions of the two latch arms respectively form the abutting shoulders toward a side of the mounting surface.

In some implementations, the width of the top receiving portion in the width direction is greater than the width of the bottom receiving portion, and the bottom limiting surface is formed at a boundary between the top receiving portion and the bottom receiving portion. And the two side walls are respectively provided with a limiting block forming the top limiting surface, and the minimum distance between the two limiting blocks of the two side walls is smaller than the maximum distance between the two holding elastic arms.

In some embodiments, each of the limiting blocks further forms a guiding surface on the opposite side of the top limiting surface in the mating direction, and the guiding surfaces of the two limiting blocks face each other in opposite directions and are biased toward the mounting. The side walls extend obliquely, and the two side walls respectively form a guiding slot extending in the mating direction and adjacent to the corresponding guiding surface, so as to guide the guiding slot and the guiding surface when the board fastener is mounted The two card holding arms are introduced into the top receiving portion.

In some embodiments, each of the latch arms further has a straight extending portion bent by the lateral portion and extending away from the mounting surface in the mating direction, and the straight extending portion is away from the straight extending portion The mounting surface extends and gradually moves away from an oblique extension of the body portion.

In some embodiments, the panel fastener further has a plurality of interference bumps projecting on both sides of the intermediate section in the width direction to interfere with the bottom receptacle.

In some embodiments, the tail section extends integrally from the intermediate section into a sheet for application to welding.

In some embodiments, the tail section extends from the intermediate section in a bifurcated manner to form two prongs.

In some embodiments, the insulative housing further has two recesses extending from the two top limiting faces toward the mounting surface in the mating direction and extending through the sidewalls in the width direction.

The present invention has at least the following effects: the non-destructive limit abutment structure between the latching elastic arms integrally formed on both sides of the mounting section of the panel fastener and the insulating housing can make the board stronger and more stable. The fasteners are assembled on an insulative housing, in particular more capable of withstanding mechanical shock and vibration. Moreover, the structure in which the insulating housing can be restrained in the mating direction is directly constituted by the holding arm, and the size of the board fastener can be effectively reduced.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to Figures 1 through 3, a first embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention is suitable for mounting on a circuit board 4 for electrically connecting an electronic card 5. The electrical connector 100 includes an insulative housing 1 , a plurality of conductive terminals 2 disposed on the insulative housing 1 , and a plurality of panel fasteners 3 disposed on the insulative housing 1 . In the first embodiment, the electrical connector 100 is a card edge connector, and further includes two locking members 6 respectively disposed at opposite ends of the insulating housing 1 for the electronic card 5 and the electrical connector. When the 100 is docked, the electronic card 5 is locked and fixed. The board fasteners 3 are used to pass through the corresponding through holes 41 on the circuit board 4 to fix the electrical connector 100 to the circuit board 4. The number of the plate fasteners 3 can be adjusted according to the size of the insulating case 1. In the first embodiment, a plurality of plate fasteners 3 are provided in response to the insulating case 1 being elongated, in a modified embodiment, The insulating housing 1 may be small in size or may be provided with only one panel fastener 3.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the insulating housing 1 has a mounting surface 11 and a pair of connecting surfaces 12 on opposite sides in a pair of connecting directions D1, and at least one mounting chamber 13. In the first embodiment, the docking direction D1 is the direction in which the electronic card 5 (see FIG. 1) is docked with the electrical connector 100, and the docking surface 12 is provided with a slot 121 for the electronic card 5 to be inserted. The insulative housing 1 has a plurality of mounting compartments 13 for receiving the panel fasteners 3, respectively. For convenience of explanation, the following description is only for a corresponding set of mounting compartments 13 and panel fasteners 3.

Referring to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 , the mounting chamber 13 extends in the mating direction D1 and extends through the mounting surface 11 , and has a top receiving portion 131 extending from the top receiving portion 131 in the mating direction D1 . The bottom receiving portion 132 of the mounting surface 11. The insulative housing 1 further has two side walls 14 opposite to each other in a width direction D2 perpendicular to the mating direction D1, and a top limiting surface 141 defining the top receiving portion 131 and a corresponding one of the side walls 14 are formed. a bottom limiting surface 142 facing the mounting surface 11 , the bottom limiting surface 142 is opposite to the top limiting surface 141 in the butting direction D1 and closer to the bottom surface than the top limiting surface 141 The portion 132. In the first embodiment, the width W1 of the top receiving portion 131 in the width direction D2 is greater than the width W2 of the bottom receiving portion 132, thereby the top receiving portion 131 and the bottom receiving portion 132 The bottom limit surface 142 is formed at the junction. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the insulative housing 1 has a surrounding wall 15 that connects the two side walls 14 in the width direction D2, and the bottom receiving portion 132 is penetrated by the mounting surface 11 and surrounded by the surrounding wall 15. A perforated surrounding space is formed, and the top limiting surface 142 is formed around the top surface of the wall 15. Moreover, the two side walls 14 are respectively provided with a limiting block 143 forming the top limiting surface 141. Each of the limiting blocks 143 further defines a guiding surface 144 on the opposite side of the top limiting surface 141 in the mating direction D1. The guiding surfaces 144 of the two limiting blocks 143 are opposite to each other and are opposite to the mounting surface. 11 extends obliquely. The two side walls 14 each form a guiding groove 145 extending in the mating direction D1 and adjacent to the corresponding guiding surface 144. The insulative housing 1 further has two recesses 16 extending from the two top limiting surfaces 141 in the mating direction D1 toward the mounting surface 11 and extending through the side walls 14 in the width direction D2. It is in communication with the top housing portion 131.

Referring to FIG. 7 to FIG. 11 , the board fastener 3 is in the form of a plate and has a mounting portion 31 received in the top receiving portion 131 , extending from the mounting portion 31 and being received in the bottom receiving portion 132 . An intermediate section 32 and a tail section 33 extending from the intermediate section 32 to the mounting surface 11 of the insulative housing 1. The mounting portion 31 has a body portion 311 connected to the intermediate portion 32, two abutting shoulder portions 312 respectively abutting the two bottom limiting surfaces 142, and extending from both sides of the body portion 311 and the ends respectively abutting The two latching arms 313 of the two limiting surfaces 141 are arranged such that the mounting sections 31 are jointly restrained by the two limiting surfaces 141 and the two bottom limiting surfaces 142 in the mating direction D1. In the first embodiment, each of the latching arms 313 has a lateral portion 313a connected to the body portion 311, is bent by the lateral portion 313a, and extends in the abutting direction D1 away from the mounting surface 11 To the extending portion 313b, and an oblique extending portion 313c extending away from the mounting surface 11 and gradually away from the mounting portion 11 by the straight extending portion 313b, the end of the oblique extending portion 313c is used to abut the top limit Face 141. Moreover, the two lateral portions 313 of the two holding arms 313 are formed on one side of the mounting surface 11 to form the abutting shoulders 312 to abut the corresponding bottom limiting surface 142. The plate fastener 3 further has a plurality of interference projections 34 projecting on both sides of the intermediate portion 32 in the width direction D2 to cause interference holding action with the inner wall at the groove-shaped bottom receiving portion 132. When the board fasteners 3 are mounted on the insulative housing 1, the mounting chambers 13 are placed from top to bottom in the direction shown in FIG. 8, and the two slots are guided by the guiding slots 145 and the guiding surfaces 144. The holding arm 313 enters the top receiving portion 131. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the minimum distance L1 between the two limiting blocks 143 of the two side walls 14 is smaller than the maximum distance L2 between the ends of the two holding arms 313. When the two holding arms 313 pass the guiding surface 144 of the limiting block 143 along the corresponding guiding groove 145, the ends of the two holding arms 313 are pressed and elastically moved in a relatively close direction to shorten the The distance in the width direction D2, after the guide surface 144 is to be passed, the ends of the two holding arms 313 enter the space of the top receiving portion 131, and are located at the corresponding top limiting surface 141 due to the release of the pressing return position. Below, at the same time, the bottom side of the lateral portion 313a of the two holding arms 313 (ie, the abutting shoulder 312) abuts against the corresponding bottom limiting surface 142, whereby the plate fastener 3 is at the upper limit of the docking direction D1. The non-destructive limiting abutment structure between the latching arm 313 integrally formed on both sides of the mounting section 31 of the panel fastener 3 and the insulative housing 1 enables the panel fastener 3 to be stronger and more securely It is assembled on the insulating housing 1, and is particularly capable of withstanding mechanical shock and vibration. Further, the latching arm 313 directly constitutes a structure that can be restrained by the insulating housing 1 in the mating direction D1, and the size of the panel fastener 3 can be effectively reduced. In addition, by the interference of the interference bumps 34 with the insulating housing 1, the holding force of the panel fastener 3 to the insulating housing 1 can be increased. Moreover, in the first embodiment, the tail section 33 is integrally extended in a sheet shape from the intermediate section 32 to be suitable for soldering to the circuit board 4. As shown in FIG. 11, the tail section 33 of the board fastener 3 penetrates into the through hole 41 of the circuit board 4, and the tail section 33 is fixed to the circuit board 4 by soldering, and the soldered tail is cured by the solder tail. 33 generates a downward pulling force, and the abutting shoulder 312 of the plate fastener 3 abuts against the bottom limiting surface 142 of the insulating housing 1 , and the pulling force increases the holding force of the plate fastener 3 applied to the insulating housing 1 . The insulating case 1 can be fixed to the circuit board 4 more stably.

Referring to Figures 12 and 13, a second embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in that the plate fastener 3 can be implemented without interference bumps 34.

Referring to Figures 14 and 15, a third embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in that the tail section 33 of the panel fastener 3 is bifurcated by the intermediate section 32 to become two The pins 331 are inserted into the corresponding jacks 42 of the circuit board 4.

Referring to Figures 16 and 17, a fourth embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention differs from the third embodiment in that the plate fastener 3 can be implemented without interference bumps 34.

In summary, the non-destructive limit abutment structure between the latching arm 313 integrally formed on both sides of the mounting section 31 of the panel fastener 3 and the insulative housing 1 can be stronger and more stable. The plate fastener 3 is assembled on the insulative housing 1, and is particularly capable of withstanding mechanical shock and vibration. Further, the latching arm 313 directly constitutes a structure that can be restrained by the insulating housing 1 in the mating direction D1, and the size of the panel fastener 3 can be effectively reduced.

However, the above is only the embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the invention is not limited thereto, and all the equivalent equivalent changes and modifications according to the scope of the patent application and the patent specification of the present invention are still The scope of the invention is covered.

100‧‧‧Electrical connector

1‧‧‧Insulated housing

11‧‧‧Installation surface

12‧‧‧ docking

121‧‧‧ slots

13‧‧‧Installation room

131‧‧‧Top accommodation

132‧‧‧Bottom Department

14‧‧‧ side wall

141‧‧‧top limit surface

142‧‧‧Bottom limit surface

143‧‧‧Limited blocks

144‧‧‧ Guide surface

145‧‧‧ guiding slot

15‧‧‧ Around the wall

16‧‧‧ recess

2‧‧‧Electrical terminals

3‧‧‧ board fasteners

31‧‧‧Installation section

311‧‧‧ Body Department

312‧‧‧After the shoulder

313‧‧‧ card holding arm

313a‧‧‧Transverse Department

313b‧‧‧Direct extension

313c‧‧‧ oblique extension

32‧‧‧ Middle section

33‧‧‧End

331‧‧‧ pins

34‧‧‧Interference bumps

4‧‧‧ boards

41‧‧‧Perforation

42‧‧‧ jack

5‧‧‧Electronic card

6‧‧‧Locks

D1‧‧‧ docking direction

D2‧‧‧width direction

Other features and effects of the present invention will be apparent from the embodiments of the present invention, wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention and a circuit board and an electronic card. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment and the circuit board; Figure 3 is another perspective view of Figure 2; Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment; Figure 5 is Figure 4 Figure 6 is a partial perspective exploded cross-sectional view of the first embodiment, wherein a locking member is not shown; Figure 7 is an exploded cross-sectional view corresponding to Figure 6; Figure 8 is a portion corresponding to the opposite direction of Figure 6 Figure 9 is a partial perspective view similar to Figure 8; Figure 10 is a partial perspective cross-sectional view of the first embodiment; Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled state of the first embodiment and the circuit board, wherein the locking member Figure 12 is a perspective view of a plate fastener of a second embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention; Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the assembled state of the second embodiment and a circuit board, wherein a locking member Not shown; Figure 14 is an electrical connector of the present invention FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the assembled state of the third embodiment and a circuit board, wherein a locking member is not shown; FIG. 16 is an electrical connector of the present invention. A perspective view of a board fastener of a fourth embodiment; and Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the assembled state of the fourth embodiment and a circuit board, wherein a latch member is not shown.

Claims (9)

An electrical connector comprising: an insulative housing having a mounting surface and a pair of connecting surfaces on opposite sides in a pair of connecting directions, and at least one mounting chamber extending in the mating direction The mounting surface has a top receiving portion and a bottom receiving portion extending from the top receiving portion through the mounting surface in the mating direction, the insulating housing further having a width direction perpendicular to the mating direction Two side walls opposite to each other, and corresponding to each of the side walls, a top limiting surface and a bottom limiting surface defining the top receiving portion are formed, the top limiting surface faces the mounting surface, and the bottom limiting surface is a mating direction is opposite to the top limiting surface and closer to the bottom receiving portion than the top limiting surface; a plurality of conductive terminals are disposed on the insulating housing; and at least one board fastener is disposed on the insulating housing Corresponding to at least one mounting chamber, the panel fastener is in the form of a plate and has a mounting portion received in the top receiving portion, extending from the mounting portion and receiving a middle portion of the bottom receiving portion And extending from the intermediate section to the mounting surface of the insulating housing a tail section, the mounting section has a body portion connecting the intermediate section, two abutting shoulders respectively abutting the two bottom limiting faces, and extending from both sides of the body portion and the ends respectively abut against the two The two latching arms of the top limiting surface are such that the mounting section is jointly limited by the two top limiting surfaces and the two bottom limiting surfaces in the docking direction. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein each of the latch arms has a lateral portion connected to the body portion, and the lateral portions of the two latch arms respectively form the two sides toward a side of the mounting surface Rest on the shoulder. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the width of the top receiving portion in the width direction is greater than the width of the bottom receiving portion, and is formed at a boundary between the top receiving portion and the bottom receiving portion. a bottom limiting surface, and each of the two side walls is provided with a limiting block forming the top limiting surface, and the minimum distance between the two limiting blocks of the two side walls is less than the maximum between the two holding elastic arms distance. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein each of the limiting blocks further forms a guiding surface on the opposite side of the top limiting surface in the mating direction, and the guiding surfaces of the two limiting blocks face each other Orienting and obliquely extending toward the mounting surface, the two sidewalls respectively forming a guiding slot extending in the mating direction and abutting the corresponding guiding surface, so as to guide the slot when the panel fastener is mounted And guiding surface guiding the two holding arms to enter the top receiving portion. The electrical connector of claim 4, wherein each of the latch arms further has an upward extending portion bent by the lateral portion and extending in a direction away from the mounting surface in the mating direction, and the straight direction The extension extends away from the mounting surface and gradually away from an oblique extension of the body portion. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plate fastener further has a plurality of interference bumps projecting on both sides of the intermediate section in the width direction to be opposite to the bottom receiving portion Interference. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the tail section is integrally extended in a sheet shape from the intermediate section to be suitable for welding. The electrical connector of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the tail section extends from the intermediate section in a bifurcated manner to form two prongs. The electrical connector of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the insulative housing further has a depth extending from the two top limiting faces toward the mounting surface in the mating direction and extending in the width direction Two recesses of the two side walls.