TWI648923B - Floating connector and electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

Reduce obstacles.

The floating connector 101 includes a fixed insulating member 103 fixed to an object, a movable insulating member 104 disposed in the fixed insulating member, and a contact 105 that connects the two insulating members 103 and 104 and is a conductive member. The contact 105 includes a first fixed portion 121 fixed to the fixed insulating material 103, a second fixed portion 122 fixed to the movable insulating material 104, and an elastic portion 123 fixing the first fixed portion 121 and the second fixed portion. The parts 122 are connected. The fixed insulation member 103 has a protection portion 114 that protrudes from the inner wall 110 to cover at least a portion above the elastic portion 123.

Description

   Floating connector and electrical connector   

The invention relates to a floating connector and an electrical connector.

An electrical connector composed of a floating connector mounted on a substrate and an object connector to be fitted has been proposed. The floating connector typically includes a fixed insulator fixed to a substrate or the like, a movable insulator arranged in the fixed insulator, and a contact member connecting the movable insulator and the fixed insulator. The contact is usually a conductive member, and the movable insulator connects the two insulators in a manner movable relative to the fixed insulator.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electrical connector in which a plug connector and a socket connector are detachably fitted. The socket connector includes a plurality of socket contacts including a first contact portion in contact with the target contact, a first fixing portion fixed to a block, and a first connection portion connected to a substrate; and a block. For holding and arranging these socket contacts.

Further, the plug connector includes a plurality of plug contacts having a second contact portion in contact with the socket contact, second and third fixing portions fixed to the housing and the insulator, and a second connection connected to the substrate. Part; housing and insulator for holding and arranging these plug contacts. The plug connector is equivalent to a floating connector, the housing is equivalent to a fixed insulator, and the insulator is equivalent to a movable insulator.

In addition, an elastic portion that snakes at least once is provided between the second fixing portion and the third fixing portion of the plug contact, and the insulator is held only by the plug contact, and the floating state can be formed in the housing. float. The shape of the second contact portion of the plug contact is approximately plate-shaped, and the contact between the second contact portion of the plug contact and the first contact portion of the socket contact is set to make a line contact at one place, The position of the elastic portion is disposed lower than the second contact portion (second connection portion direction side), and lower than the insulator (second connection portion direction side).

Prior art literature Patent literature

Patent Document 1 JP 2009-230944

However, in the plug connector described in Patent Document 1, foreign matter such as garbage may enter the housing. Then, due to the foreign matter in the case, the floating movement of the insulator and the third fixing portion may be blocked, and a plurality of plug contacts may be short-circuited.

The present invention has been developed in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a floating connector which can reduce the occurrence of obstacles.

In order to achieve the above object, the floating connector according to the first aspect of the present invention is a floating connector that is fitted with the target connector, and includes a fixed insulating member formed at one end portion with an opening through which the target connector is fitted. A hollow column shape that is fixed to the object; a movable insulator arranged in the fixed insulator; and a contact member that connects the fixed insulator and the movable in such a manner that the movable insulator moves relative to the fixed insulator The insulating member is a conductive member, the fixed insulating member has a first fixing portion to which the contact is fixed, the movable insulating member has a second fixing portion to which the contact is fixed, and the contact includes: the first is fixed The second fixed portion is fixed to the second fixed portion; and the elastic portion connects the first fixed portion and the second fixed portion, and the fixed insulator It further includes a protection portion that protrudes from the inner wall and covers at least a portion above the elastic portion in a height direction from the other end portion toward the one end portion.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the electrical connector according to the second aspect of the present invention includes the floating connector and the target connector, and the target connector includes a target contact that abuts the contact of the floating connector. Pieces; protective walls that extend further downward than the aforementioned object contact pieces.

According to the present invention, the occurrence of obstacles can be reduced.

100‧‧‧electrical connector

101‧‧‧ floating connector

102‧‧‧ Object Connector

103‧‧‧Fixed insulation

104‧‧‧ movable insulation

105‧‧‧Contact

106‧‧‧ Fixture

107‧‧‧ lower end

108‧‧‧ upper end

109‧‧‧outer wall

110‧‧‧Inner wall

111‧‧‧ opening

112‧‧‧ lower opening

113‧‧‧The first fixed part

114‧‧‧Protection Department

115‧‧‧ recess

116‧‧‧The second fixed part

117‧‧‧ Tongue

118‧‧‧Shoulder

119‧‧‧Column

120‧‧‧ protrusion

121‧‧‧ the first fixed part

122‧‧‧ The second fixed part

123‧‧‧Elastic section

124‧‧‧Connection Department

125‧‧‧Contact

126‧‧‧Object contact

127‧‧‧Object insulation

128‧‧‧ protective wall

129‧‧‧shield

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fitting state of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a fitting state of the electrical connector according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a floating connector according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a floating connector according to an embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a floating connector according to an embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an object connector according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an object connector according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state where the movable insulating member is assembled to the fixed insulating member in the assembling step 2. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a state diagram in which the upper end of the pillar portion is guided by the target connector in the fitting step 2 and the movable insulator moves to the limit of the moving range.

FIG. 10 is a state diagram of the floating connector and the target connector being fitted when the movable insulator moves to the limit of the moving range in the fitting step 2. FIG.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of a floating connector according to a modification 3. FIG.

Embodiment of the invention

Hereinafter, an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all drawings, the same elements are assigned the same symbols. In addition, in the description and drawings of the embodiment of the present invention, although terms such as up, down, front, back, right, and left are used, these terms are used to describe the direction, and do not limit the spirit of the present invention.

    << Composition >>    

The electrical connector 100 according to one embodiment is composed of a floating connector 101 and an object connector 102 which are fitted to each other, as shown in FIG. 1 which is a perspective view and FIG. 2 which is a sectional view.

Typically, each of the floating connector 101 and the target connector 102 is an object (not shown) mounted on a substrate provided with a circuit and a wiring connected to the circuit. The floating connector 101 and the target connector 102 are fitted to each other, and are electrically connected to another circuit.

In addition, each of the floating connector 101 and the target connector 102 can be mounted on an appropriate target, and the substrate or wiring listed here is an example of the target.

The floating connector 101 is a connector that is fitted into the target connector 102. As shown in FIG. 3 which is a perspective view, FIG. 4 which is an exploded view, and FIG. 5 which is a sectional view, the floating connector 101 has a fixed insulator 103, a movable insulator 104, a plurality of contacts 105, and a plurality of fixtures 106.

The fixed insulator 103 and the movable insulator 104 are made of, for example, a resin. Each of the contacts 105 and each of the fixtures 106 are made of, for example, a metal. In addition, these materials can be changed as appropriate.

The fixed insulator 103 is a hollow columnar member fixed to an object. The fixed insulator 103 of this embodiment is formed in a hollow column shape extending in the height direction from the lower end portion 107 to the upper end portion 108. The fixed insulator 103 according to this embodiment has an approximately rectangular outer wall 109 and an inner wall 110 that are long in the left-right direction when viewed from above.

In addition, the fixed insulating material 103 of this embodiment is open vertically, and the upper end portion 108 and the lower end portion 107 have an upper opening 111 and a lower opening 112, respectively. The upper opening 111 is an opening through which the target connector passes when it is fitted to the floating connector 101. The lower opening 112 is an opening through which the movable insulating member 104 passes when the movable insulating member 104 is assembled to the fixed insulating member 103.

Here, the upper end portion 108 and the lower end portion 107 of the fixed insulator 103 of this embodiment correspond to one end portion and the other end portion, respectively.

Specifically, the fixed insulator 103 includes a pair of a first fixing portion 113 provided on the lower inner wall 110, a protection portion 114 protruding from the inner wall 110, and a concave portion 115 provided on the lower end portion 107.

The first fixing portion 113 is a portion to which the contact 105 is fixed. The first fixing portion 113 in the present embodiment has a plurality of grooves on the front and rear inner walls 110 for fixing the contact 105. Each of the plurality of grooves included in the first fixing portion 113 extends in the height direction, and the lower end is in an open state. The grooves included in the first fixing portion 113 are arranged side by side on each of the inner walls 110 on the front and back.

In addition, the front-back direction means a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the left-right direction. In this embodiment, the short side direction of the cylindrical portion (the portion having the outer wall 109 and the inner wall 110) of the fixed insulator 103 viewed from above is the front-rear direction. The forward direction can be specified as either direction, and the rear direction can be opposite. In addition, the left and right sides are defined in a direction viewed from the front.

The protection portion 114 is a portion that covers at least a part of the upper portion of the elastic portion 123 described later.

The protective portion 114 of the present embodiment is located between the first fixing portion 113 and the upper end portion 108 in the height direction among the inner walls 110 of the fixed insulator 103, and protrudes from the inner wall 110 below the contact portion 125. That is, the protection portion 114 of this embodiment protrudes from the inner wall 110 between the first fixing portion 113 and the contact portion 125. The detailed configuration of the contact portion 125 will be described later.

The protective portion 114 of this embodiment is formed in a plate shape that continuously protrudes toward all of the plurality of contacts 105. In addition, the shape of the protection portion 114 is not limited to a plate shape, and may be appropriately changed. For example, a comb-like shape protruding intermittently toward each of the plurality of contacts 105.

The pair of the recessed portions 115 is provided at a portion facing the left-right axis direction. Each of the recesses 115 forms a notch that is recessed upward. Each of the concave portions 115 of this embodiment is formed into a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the right.

The movable insulator 104 is a member movably arranged in the fixed insulator. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the movable insulator 104 includes a pair of the second fixing portion 116, the tongue portion 117, the shoulder portion 118, the left and right column portions 119, and the protruding portion 120.

The second fixing portion 116 is formed in a flat plate shape that extends approximately up, down, left, and right, and belongs to a portion where the contact is fixed. The second fixing portion 116 of this embodiment is left and right elongated when viewed from the front, and each of the front and rear surfaces has a plurality of grooves on which the contact 105 can be fixed. Each of the plurality of grooves provided in the second fixing portion 116 extends in the same height direction as the grooves of the first fixing portion 113, and is juxtaposed on the front and rear sides of the second fixing portion 116 side by side. .

The height of the above-mentioned fixed insulator 103 is higher than that of the second fixed portion 116. Therefore, the sides of the plurality of contacts 105 fixed to the second fixing portion 116 are surrounded by the fixed insulator 103.

The tongue portion 117 is a portion extending downward from the second fixing portion 116 and is formed in a flat plate shape that extends substantially upward, downward, leftward, and rightward.

The tongue portion 117 in this embodiment extends in the height direction to the same height as the lower end portion of the first fixing portion 113.

In addition, the tongue portion 117 of this embodiment is elongated from left to right when viewed from the front, and has a plurality of grooves communicating with the plurality of grooves of the second fixing portion 116 on each of the front and rear surfaces. Each of the plurality of grooves provided in the tongue portion 117 extends in the height direction similarly to each groove of the first fixing portion 113 and the second fixing portion 116.

A plurality of grooves provided in the tongue portion 117 are arranged on the front and rear sides of the tongue portion 117 side by side. A series of grooves provided in the tongue portion 117 and the second fixing portion 116 correspond to the grooves provided in the first fixing portion 113 so as to face each other.

The shoulder portion 118 is a portion protruding from the tongue portion 117 toward the inner wall 110 of the fixed insulator 103, and covers at least a portion above the elastic portion 123 described later. Specifically, the shoulder portion 118 is protruded toward the inner wall of the fixed insulator 103 at the upper end of the tongue portion 117.

The left and right column portions 119 are columnar members connected to the respective ends of the left end portion and the right end portion of the second fixing portion 116 and the tongue portion 117, and extend in the vertical direction.

Each of the pillar portions 119 is a portion connected to the second fixing portion 116 and a portion connected to the tongue portion 117. When viewed from above, the front and rear lengths are not the same, and they are equal to the second fixing portion 116 and tongue in the height direction. A step is formed at a position corresponding to the boundary of the portion 117. Specifically, the length of the portion connected to the second fixing portion 116 in the front-rear direction is shorter than the portion connected to the tongue portion 117. With this configuration, the length of the fixed insulating member 103 in the front-rear direction is not set to be long, that is, the floating connector can be prevented from increasing in size, and the movable insulating member 104 can be moved without contacting the protection portion 114.

The pair of protrusions 120 is a portion protruding from each of the left and right pillar portions 119 in the left-right axis direction. The left and right protrusions 120 protrude from the end surfaces in the left and right axis directions in the left and right axis directions, respectively, and are housed inside the left and right recesses 115. Specifically, the left protruding portion 120 protrudes leftward from the left end of the left pillar portion 119 and is housed inside the left recessed portion 115. The right protruding portion 120 protrudes from the right end of the right pillar portion 119 to the right, and is housed inside the concave portion 115 provided on the right.

The upper surface of each of the protruding portions 120 is a surface that abuts the recessed portion 115, and the shape viewed from the left-right axis direction (for example, the right side) is an arc shape.

Each of the contact members 105 connects the fixed insulating member 103 and the movable insulating member 104 to move the movable insulating member 104 relative to the fixed insulating member 103. Each of the contacts 105 is made of a conductive member, and can be formed by bending one elongated conductor having a rectangular cross section, for example.

Each of the contacts 105 includes a first fixed portion 121, a second fixed portion 122, an elastic portion 123, and a connection portion 124.

The first fixed portion 121 is fixed to the first fixing portion 113. The first to-be-fixed portion 121 of this embodiment has a substantially semicircular small protrusion protruding from each of the left and right sides. When the first fixed portion 121 is pressed into the groove of the first fixed portion 113 and arranged at a predetermined position, the left and right wall portions and small protrusions forming the groove are pushed against each other, thereby making the first fixed portion 121 It is fixed to the 1st fixed part 113. In addition, the first fixed portion 121 may be fixed to the first fixed portion 113 with an appropriate adhesive or the like. In this case, a small protrusion may not be provided.

The second fixed portion 122 is fixed to the second fixed portion 116. The second fixed portion 122 of this embodiment has substantially semicircular small protrusions protruding from the left and right sides similar to the first fixed portion 121 described above. When the second fixed portion 122 is pressed into the groove of the second fixed portion 116 and arranged at a predetermined position, the left and right wall portions and small protrusions forming the groove are pushed against each other, thereby causing the second fixed portion 122 to be pressed. It is fixed to the 2nd fixed part 116. The second fixed portion 122 may be fixed to the second fixed portion 116 with an appropriate adhesive or the like. In this case, a small protrusion may not be provided.

The second fixed portion 122 includes a contact portion 125 for contacting the target contact 126 provided in the target connector 102. Specifically, the contact portion 125 is a portion of the second fixed portion 122 that is exposed to the outside, and is a portion that the target contact 126 abuts when the target connector 102 is fitted to the floating connector 101. In the present embodiment, the contact portion 125 is a part of a portion that is formed to be exposed to the front or rear surface to the outside.

The elastic portion 123 connects the first fixed portion 121 and the second fixed portion 122. The elastic portion 123 of the present embodiment is not in contact with other members constituting the floating connector 101 but is in a floating state. With such an elastic portion 123, the movable insulating member 104 can be held at a reference position in the fixed insulating member 103, and can be moved as soon as a force is applied when fitting the contact member 126. When the movable insulating member 104 moves from the reference position, the movable insulating member 104 is given a potential energy imparting force to return to the reference position due to the elastic portion 123.

The connection portion 124 is a portion extending from the first fixed portion 121 in a direction different from the elastic portion 123. The connection portion 124 extends from the lower end portion of the fixed insulator 103 and is connected to an object. In this embodiment, the connecting portion 124 protrudes from a notch provided on each of the front and rear surfaces of the lower end portion of the fixed insulating member 103. The connection portion 124 of the contact 105 provided in front of the movable insulating member 104 protrudes forward from a notch provided at the lower end portion in front of the fixed insulating member 103. The connecting portion 124 of the contact 105 provided behind the movable insulating member 104 protrudes rearward from a notch provided at the lower end portion of the rear of the fixed insulating member 103.

The connection portion 124 is connected to a circuit provided on, for example, a target substrate by soldering or the like.

The fixture 106 is a member for fixing the fixed insulator 103 to an object. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the fixture 106 is a substantially L-shaped member. In the fixture 106, portions parallel to the up-down direction are fixed to each lower end of approximately four corners of the front, rear, left, and right sides of the fixed insulator 103, and portions parallel to the front-back direction are fixed to the object. The method of fixing the fixture 106 to the fixed insulating member 103 and the object may be fitting, screwing, adhesive bonding, welding, or the like.

In addition, the fixed insulator 103 may be fixed to the object, or it may be directly fixed to the object without using the fixture 106 or the like. The fixed insulator 103 may be fixed to an object via, for example, the contact 105.

As shown in FIG. 6 which is a perspective view and FIG. 7 which is a sectional view, the target connector 102 includes a plurality of target contacts 126, a target insulator 127, and a protective wall 128.

Each of the target contacts 126 is a contact that abuts on each of the contacts 105 of the floating connector 101 in a state where the target connector 102 is fitted in the floating connector 101.

The target insulator 127 is a substantially hollow columnar member that is opened up and down. The object insulator 127 fixes the object contact 126 inside, and each end portion of the object contact 126 protrudes to the outside through the upper and lower openings. A part of the object contact 126 protruding upward is connected to, for example, a circuit board or wiring provided with a circuit. Among the object contacts 126, the portion protruding downward is in contact with the contact portion 125 of the contact 105 with the object connector 102 fitted in the floating connector 101, thereby bringing the contact 105 and the object contact 126 into contact Electrical connection.

The protective wall 128 is a portion connected to the lower end of the target insulator 127. The protective wall 128 extends downward from the object contact 126 to protect the object contact 126 protruding from the lower opening.

    << Assembly method of floating connector 101 >>    

A method of assembling the floating connector 101 will be described.

    (Assembly step 1)    

A fixed insulator 103 and a movable insulator 104 are prepared.

    (Assembly step 2)    

As shown in FIG. 8, the movable insulating member 104 is disposed inside the fixed insulating member 103, and the pair of left and right protruding portions 120 are fitted into the pair of left and right concave portions 115, respectively. Thereby, the movable insulating member 104 can be assembled to the fixed insulating member 103.

    (Assembly step 3)    

After the contact piece 105 is inserted into the groove of the tongue portion 117 of the movable insulating member 104, the contact piece 105 is slid and displaced upward along the embedded groove.

In this embodiment, as described above, the second fixing portion 116 has a groove for fixing the contact 105, and the tongue portion 117 has a groove communicating with the groove of the second fixing portion 116. Therefore, the contact 105 can be guided to the second fixing portion 116 by sliding the contact 105 along a series of grooves extending from the tongue portion 117 to the second fixing portion 116. In this way, the contact 105 can be easily disposed on the second fixing portion 116. Therefore, the contact 105 can be easily mounted on the movable insulator 104.

Next, the contact 105 is inserted into the groove of the first fixing portion 113 of the fixed insulating member 103 opposite to the groove in which the tongue 117 of the contact 105 is embedded, so that the contact 105 is again Slide upwards. With this operation, the first fixed portion 121 and the second fixed portion 122 can be arranged at predetermined positions of the first fixed portion 113 and the second fixed portion 116, respectively.

Here, in the sliding displacement of the contact 105, a small protrusion provided in each of the first fixed portion 121 and the second fixed portion 122 abuts against the side wall of the groove, so that a press-in operation can be performed.

This step 3 is repeatedly performed on the plurality of contacts 105 one by one. In addition, the plurality of contacts 105 may be performed simultaneously without being installed one by one.

    (Assembly step 4)    

The fixture 106 is attached to the fixed insulator 103. With this action, the floating connector 101 is completed.

The method of assembling the floating connector 101 is not limited to this, and may be changed as appropriate. For example, the contactor 105 may be mounted on the movable insulating member 104, and then the fixed insulating member 103 may be mounted on the movable insulating member 104 and the contactor 105. However, in this assembly method, when the contact 105 is mounted on the movable insulator 104 and when the fixed insulator 103 is mounted on the contact 105, the contact 105 is pressed in. In other words, in the case where the contact pieces 105 are installed one by one, in order to install one contact piece 105, the press-in step of the contact piece 105 occurs twice. Since the step of pressing the contact 105 is time-consuming and time-consuming, in order to improve the assembly efficiency of the floating connector 101, the number of presses of the contact 105 is ideal.

In the present embodiment, the grooves of each of the first fixing portion 113, the second fixing portion 116, and the tongue portion 117 are parallel in the vertical direction. The grooves of the first fixing portion 113 correspond to a series of grooves of the second fixing portion 116 and the tongue portion 117. Therefore, in the manner described here, after assembling the fixed insulator 103 and the movable insulator 104, the contact 105 can be slid and displaced relative to the groove along the front and back of the first fixed portion 113 and the tongue portion 117. In addition, the contact 105 can be easily arranged at predetermined positions of the fixed insulator 103 and the movable insulator 104 in one step. In this way, in this embodiment, since it is easy to assemble the contact member to the two insulating members in one step, the ease of assembling the floating insulating member can be improved.

    << Operation of Floating Connector 101 >>    

The operation of the floating connector 101 when the target connector 102 is fitted in the floating connector 101 will be described. The floating connector 101 and the target connector 102 may be mechanically fitted, or they may be fitted manually by an operator. In addition, each of the floating connector 101 and the target connector 102 is usually fitted in a state of being mounted on a substrate or the like as a target.

    (Fitting step 1)    

The object connector 102 and the floating connector 101 are arranged to face each other, for example. In detail, for example, by moving the movable insulating member 104 downward, a predetermined positional relationship between the object connector 102 and the object contact 126 can be embedded so that the object connector 102 and the floating connector 101 form a confrontation.

    (Fitting step 2)    

Next, the target connector 102 is moved downward.

Here, when the object connector 102 and the floating connector 101 face each other, the positional relationship between the floating connector 101 and the object connector 102 is shifted from the predetermined positional relationship described above.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper end of the pillar portion 119 of the movable insulator 104 is formed into a tapered shape that gradually decreases upward. Therefore, even if the positional relationship between the floating connector 101 and the object connector 102 is shifted, as long as the shift is within a predetermined range, as shown in an example shown in FIG. 9, the upper end of the pillar portion 119 is connected by the object. When the device 102 is guided, the movable insulator 104 moves. At this time, the movable insulator 104 is moved to a position where the contact 105 enters between the target contacts 126. When the target connector 102 is moved further downward from this state, the contact 105 and the target contact 126 are brought into contact with the movable insulator 104 moved from the reference position.

When the target connector 102 is further moved downward, the target connector 102 is fitted into the floating connector 101.

When the object connector 102 is fitted into the floating connector 101, the movable insulator 104 can be moved to the limit of the moving range as shown in FIG. The limit of the movable range of the movable insulating member 104 is preferably defined by the shoulder 118 abutting against the inner wall of the fixed insulating member.

If the movable range of the movable insulating member 104 is specified by the contact between the protective portion 114 of the fixed insulating member 103 and the second fixed portion 122 of the contact member 105 fixed to the second fixed portion 116, the contact member 105 may collide. The protection portion 114 may be damaged. If the contact 105 is damaged, obstacles such as poor conduction may occur.

In addition, the movable insulating member 104 may be fixed so that the plurality of contact members 105 are not in contact with each other and short-circuited, so it does not belong to a member requiring great strength. Therefore, in order to reduce the size of the floating connector 101, the movable insulator 104 may be thinned (the front-rear length is short). When such a movable insulator 104 collides with the protective portion 114, the movable insulator 104 such as the second fixed portion 116 may be damaged. When the side wall of the groove of the second fixing portion 116 is damaged or damaged fragments of the movable insulator 104 are adhered between the contacts 105, there is a risk that the contacts 105 may be short-circuited.

In this regard, since the fixed insulating member 103 constitutes the outer frame of the floating connector 101, a certain degree of strength is required. Therefore, even if the shoulder 118 abuts against the fixed insulator 103, the possibility of damage to the fixed insulator 103 is very low. Moreover, since the shoulder portion 118 is a relatively small portion, even if the strength of the shoulder portion 118 is increased by increasing the thickness in the up-down direction and the like, the overall size of the floating connector 101 is hardly affected. Therefore, by defining the moving range of the movable insulator 104 by the abutment of the shoulder portion 118 with the inner wall 110 of the fixed insulator 103, it is possible to suppress the enlargement of the floating connector 101 and the occurrence of obstacles.

In addition, in this step, even when the floating connector 101 is moved to the limit of the moving range, it is desirable that the protective portion 114 and the shoulder portion 118 can cover the elastic portion 123 when viewed from the opening 111. That is, even in a case where the movable insulating member 104 is moved to an arbitrary position inside the fixed insulating member 103, it is preferable that the protective portion 114 and the shoulder portion 118 are disposed so as to cover the elastic portion 123 when viewed from the upper opening 111.

With this configuration, the protection portion 114 and the shoulder portion 118 are formed so as to cover the elastic portion 123 when viewed from the upper opening 111, and more reliably prevent foreign matter from entering the fixed insulating member 103 from the upper opening 111. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably reduce the occurrence of obstacles such as the obstruction of the floating operation due to the foreign matter penetrating into the fixed insulating material 103 or the short circuit of the plurality of plug contacts 105.

In addition, in a state where the movable insulator 104 is moved from the reference position, the target connector 102 receives a potential energy imparting force from the elastic portion 123 via the movable insulator 104 or a force generated by contacting the fixed insulator 103 from the floating connection. The force applied to the device 101 in the front-rear and left-right directions. Therefore, by sensing the force in the front-back, left-right, and left-hand directions received by the floating connector 101 from the target connector 102, the front-back, left-right, and left-right positions of the target connector 102 can be adjusted so that the movable insulator 104 approaches the reference position, and the target connector is simultaneously made. 102 moves downward.

    (Fitting step 3)    

The object connector 102 is pushed toward the floating connector 101 until the downward force reaches a predetermined magnitude. With this action, the contact portion 125 of the contact 105 will be in contact with the target contact 126, and the floating connector 101 and the target connector 102 will be reliably fitted.

Here, as described above, the tongue portion 117 extends in the height direction to the same height as the lower end portion of the first fixing portion 113. For example, when the tongue portion 117 is at the reference position, the lower end of the tongue portion 117 is disposed at a position about 0.1 mm away from the object.

If the lower end of the tongue portion 117 is largely separated from the object, when the object connector 102 is pushed against the floating connector 101, the elastic portion 123 of the contact 105 will fully bear the force from the object connector 102, and May cause damage such as plastic deformation.

As described above, by extending the tongue portion 117 in the height direction to the same height as the lower end portion of the first fixing portion 113, the tongue portion can be easily made when the target connector 102 is pushed against the floating connector 101. 117 is in contact with the object through the lower opening 112. With this effect, the force from the target connector 102 can be received by the tongue portion 117 and the object, and damage to the elastic portion 123 of the contact 105 can be prevented.

The foregoing is a description of an embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the fixed insulator 103 includes a protective portion 114 that protrudes from the inner wall 110 above the first fixed portion 113 and covers at least a portion of the upper portion of the elastic portion 123. With such a protective portion 114, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a foreign object penetrates into the fixed insulating member 103 from the upper opening 111. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of obstacles such as obstruction of the floating operation or short contact of the plurality of contacts 105 due to foreign matter intruding into the fixed insulating member 103.

In this embodiment, the protective portion 114 protrudes from the inner wall 110 between the first fixing portion 113 and the upper end portion 108 in the height direction among the inner walls 110 of the fixed insulator 103. With this configuration, the protective portion 114 can cover at least a part of the upper portion of the elastic portion 123 even if it is a flat plate shape that expands forward, backward, left, and right. In this way, since the protective portion 114 can also have a flat plate shape, it is easier to provide the protective portion 114 than the method of bending the protective portion 114.

In the present embodiment, the protective portion 114 projects from the inner wall 110 below the contact portion 125 in the height direction among the inner walls 110 of the fixed insulator 103.

If the protective portion 114 is provided at the same height as or higher than the contact portion 125, and if the contact 105 and the target contact 126 are to be brought into contact, the protection portion must be provided with a through hole through which the target connector 102 can pass. hole. The manner in which the protection portion protrudes from the inner wall 110 of the fixed insulation member 103 is usually related to the increase in size of the fixed insulation member 103, and further involves the increase in the size of the floating connector.

In this regard, when the protective portion 114 is provided below the contact portion 125 according to the embodiment, the contact 105 and the target contact 126 can be brought into contact without passing the target connector 102 through the protection portion. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a large through-hole in the protective portion 114 to allow the target connector 102 described above to pass through. As a result, by providing the protective portion 114 lower than the contact portion 125 in the height direction, the fixed insulating member 103 can be made smaller than the case where the protective portion 114 is provided at the same height as or higher than the contact portion 125. Into.

In this embodiment, the protection part 114 is plate-shaped. Therefore, as compared with the case where the protection portion is comb-shaped, the protection portion 114 can be easily provided by means such as injection molding. Thereby, the fixed insulating member 103 can be easily produced.

In this embodiment, the movable insulator 104 includes a tongue portion 117. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the contacts 105 facing forward and backward from contacting and short-circuiting. Further, the pillar portions 119 on the left and right sides can be prevented from being warped toward the center by forces from the right or left, respectively, and the obstruction of the floating action can be prevented. Thereby, the occurrence of obstacles can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the movable insulator 104 includes a shoulder portion 118 that protrudes from the tongue portion 117 toward the inner wall 110 of the fixed insulator 103 and covers at least a portion above the elastic portion 123. Therefore, the protection portion 114 and the shoulder portion 118 can prevent foreign matter from entering the fixed insulating member 103 through the upper opening 111. Therefore, as compared with the case where only the protection portion 114 is provided, obstacles such as blocking of a floating operation due to foreign matter intruding into the fixed insulator 103 or short circuits of the plurality of contacts 105 can be reduced.

In addition, as described in the embodiment, the elastic portion 123 is always covered by the protective portion 114 and the shoulder portion 118 as viewed from the upper opening 111, and the occurrence of obstacles can be reduced more reliably.

In this embodiment, when viewed from the left and right axial directions, the surface of each of the protrusions 120 and the recesses 115 is in an arc shape.

When the floating connector 101 is fitted to the target connector 102, for example, in the fitting step 2 described above, the movable insulator 104 may be subjected to a twist load such as rotation around the left and right axes. When the movable insulator 104 is subjected to a torsional load, the protrusion 120 may rotate around the left and right axes in the recess 115. At this time, if the protruding portion 120 has a corner portion, stress concentration occurs in one or both of the protruding portion 120 and the recessed portion 115, and damage to one or both of the protruding portion 120 and the recessed portion 115 causes floating movement to be prevented. And other obstacles.

As described above, in this embodiment, the surface of each of the protruding portions 120 that is in contact with the recessed portion is arc-shaped when viewed from the axial direction. Therefore, when the movable insulator 104 is subjected to a torsional load, the stress concentration generated in one or both of the protruding portion 120 and the recessed portion 115 is reduced. Thereby, the occurrence of obstacles can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the height of the fixed insulator 103 is higher than the second fixing portion 116 and surrounds the sides of the plurality of contacts 105 fixed to the second fixing portion 116. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of dirt such as dust or liquid droplets from the outside to the contact. Accordingly, occurrence of obstacles such as poor conduction due to dirt adhering to the plurality of contacts 105, obstruction of floating operations due to foreign matter intruding into the fixed insulating member 103, or short circuit of the plurality of contacts 105 can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the target connector 102 includes a protective wall 128. The protective wall 128 is provided to prevent dirt and the like of the target contact 126. Therefore, the protective wall 128 does not need to have the same strength as the structure supporting the target contact 126, and may be a thin product, for example. Thereby, a small object connector 102 can be provided.

In addition, when the floating connector 101 is mated with the target connector 102, the target connector 102 is inserted into the floating connector 101, and the floating connector 101 must have a size that can be inserted into the target connector 102. Therefore, the effect of miniaturizing the object connector 102 will also lead to miniaturization of the floating connector 101.

Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these contents. For example, the present invention also includes the embodiments described above and a mode in which a part or all of the modification examples described below are appropriately combined, and a mode in which appropriate changes are added to the modes.

For example, in the present embodiment, the contact 105 is described based on an example in which a plurality of contacts 105 are provided symmetrically in the front-rear direction. However, the contact 105 only needs to be provided in one or more. In addition, for example, the contacts 105 may be symmetrically arranged without front and back. In this case, the portion facing the contact 105 (for example, the first fixing portion 113 and the second fixing portion having grooves facing the contact 105) may or may not be provided to support the movement movably. The insulating potential of the insulator 104 is imparted to the member. In addition, the target contact 126 only needs to be provided in the same way as the contact 105.

    (Modification 1)    

In the embodiment, a description will be given based on an example in which a plurality of contacts 105 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and the protection portion 114 protrudes to all the contacts 105. However, the contact 105 only needs to be provided in one or more. In this case, the protection portion may protrude from the inner wall of the fixed insulating member 103 only to the contact member 105 toward the contact member 105.

With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the size of the protection portion as compared with the case where the protection portion is provided in a portion where the connection contacts 105 do not face each other. Therefore, it is possible to save materials for manufacturing the floating connector or to reduce the weight of the floating connector.

    (Modification 2)    

The protection portion only needs to protrude from the inner wall 110 above the first fixing portion 113 and cover at least a part above the elastic portion 123. Therefore, the protection portion may protrude only from the inner wall 110 facing forward or backward as in the embodiment, or may only protrude from the inner wall 110 facing left or right, or may be retained with the inner wall 110 facing forward or rear. The gap connects the inner wall 110 facing the left and the inner wall 110 facing the right.

With such a protection portion, foreign matter can be prevented from entering the fixed insulating material 103 through the upper opening 111 similarly to the embodiment. Therefore, the occurrence of obstacles such as the obstruction of the floating action due to the foreign matter intruding into the fixed insulating member 103 or the short circuit of the plurality of contacts 105 can be reduced.

    (Modification 3)    

In the embodiment, an explanation will be given based on an example in which the upper surface of each of the protrusions 120 is circularly viewed from the left and right axial directions. However, the shape of the upper surface of each of the protrusions is not limited to this. The upper surface of each of the protrusions may be curved as viewed from the left and right axial directions. It is preferable that the upper surface of each of the protrusions is a smooth curve that does not include a corner when viewed from the left and right axis directions, and a convex curve is more preferable. A typical example of the convex curve is the arc shape illustrated in this embodiment.

According to this modification, as in the protruding portion 120 of the embodiment, when the movable insulator 104 is subjected to a torsional load, stress concentration generated in one or both of the protruding portion and the recessed portion 115 can be reduced. Thereby, the occurrence of obstacles can be reduced.

    (Modification 4)    

To protect the floating connector 101, as shown in FIG. 11, a shielding plate 129 is installed around the side of the floating connector 101. The outer shape of the floating connector 101 is formed based on the fixed insulating member 103, and is roughly formed into a rectangular parallelepiped. In this way, since the outer wall 109 of the floating connector 101 has little unevenness, the shielding plate 129 can be easily mounted on the floating connector 101.

Claims (15)

    A floating connector is a floating connector that is fitted with a target connector, and is characterized by comprising: a fixed insulating member formed in a hollow column shape with one end having an opening through which the target connector passes when mating; And is fixed to the object; a movable insulator is arranged in the fixed insulator; and a contact member connects the fixed insulator and the movable insulator in such a manner that the movable insulator moves relative to the fixed insulator, and is In the conductive member, the fixed insulator has a first fixing portion to which the contact is fixed, the movable insulator has a second fixing portion to which the contact is fixed, and the contact has a first fixed portion fixed to the foregoing A first fixed portion; a second fixed portion fixed to the second fixed portion; and an elastic portion connecting the first fixed portion and the second fixed portion, and the fixed insulating member further includes a protection portion, It protrudes from the inner wall and covers at least a portion above the elastic portion in a height direction from the other end portion toward the one end portion, and the protection portion is attached to the foregoing portion. The inner wall of the fixed insulator protrudes from the inner wall between the first fixing portion and the one end portion in the height direction, and the second fixed portion includes a contact portion for connecting with the object connector. The contact of the object contacts, and the protection portion is protruded from the inner wall of the fixed insulation member from the inner wall below the contact portion in the height direction. For example, the floating connector of claim 1, wherein the aforementioned contacts are plural, and the aforementioned protection portion continuously protrudes toward all of the aforementioned plural contacts. According to the floating connector of claim 1 or 2, wherein the protection portion is in the inner wall of the fixed insulation member, and only protrudes from the portion facing the contact member toward the contact member. The floating connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the movable insulator further has a tongue portion extending from the second fixed portion in a direction from one end portion to the other end portion of the fixed insulator. The floating connector according to claim 4, wherein the second fixing portion has a groove for fixing the contact, and the tongue portion has a groove communicating with the groove of the second fixing portion. The floating connector according to claim 5, wherein the first fixing portion has a groove for fixing the contact, and each of the first fixing portion, the second fixing portion, and the tongue has a groove. It is extended from the other end part of the said fixed insulator toward the said one end part. The floating connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixed insulation member has a pair of recessed portions which are provided in the other end portion opposite to the predetermined axial direction and recessed toward the one end portion. The movable insulator has a pair of protruding portions that protrude from the end surface in the axial direction in the axial direction and are respectively housed inside the pair of recessed portions. When viewed from the axial direction, each of the protruding portions and the recessed portions are in contact The connected surfaces are curved. The floating connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixed insulator is higher than the second fixed portion in the height direction. A floating connector is a floating connector that is fitted with a target connector, and is characterized by comprising: a fixed insulating member formed in a hollow column shape with one end having an opening through which the target connector passes when mating; And is fixed to the object; a movable insulator is arranged in the fixed insulator; and a contact member connects the fixed insulator and the movable insulator in such a manner that the movable insulator moves relative to the fixed insulator, and is In the conductive member, the fixed insulator has a first fixing portion to which the contact is fixed, the movable insulator has a second fixing portion to which the contact is fixed, and the contact has a first fixed portion fixed to the foregoing A first fixed portion; a second fixed portion fixed to the second fixed portion; and an elastic portion connecting the first fixed portion and the second fixed portion, and the fixed insulating member further includes a protection portion, It protrudes from the inner wall and covers at least a portion above the elastic portion in a height direction from the other end portion toward the one end portion, and the movable insulator is more A tongue portion, from which based on the second fixing portion fixed to one end from the insulator member extending in the direction of the other end portion, the tongue portion extends in the line direction of the height up to the lower end portion of the first fixing portion. A floating connector is a floating connector that is fitted with a target connector, and is characterized by comprising: a fixed insulating member formed in a hollow column shape with one end having an opening through which the target connector passes when mating; And is fixed to the object; a movable insulator is arranged in the fixed insulator; and a contact member connects the fixed insulator and the movable insulator in such a manner that the movable insulator moves relative to the fixed insulator, and is In the conductive member, the fixed insulator has a first fixing portion to which the contact is fixed, the movable insulator has a second fixing portion to which the contact is fixed, and the contact has a first fixed portion fixed to the foregoing A first fixed portion; a second fixed portion fixed to the second fixed portion; and an elastic portion connecting the first fixed portion and the second fixed portion, and the fixed insulating member further includes a protection portion, It protrudes from the inner wall and covers at least a portion above the elastic portion in a height direction from the other end portion toward the one end portion, and the movable insulator is more The tongue portion extends from the second fixed portion in a direction from one end portion to the other end portion of the fixed insulator, and the movable insulator has a shoulder portion extending from the tongue portion toward an inner wall of the fixed insulator. Protrudes and covers at least a portion above the elastic portion. As in the floating connector of claim 10, wherein the protection portion and the shoulder portion are provided to cover the elastic portion when viewed from the opening even when the movable insulating member is moved to an arbitrary position inside the fixed insulating member . The floating connector of claim 10 or 11, wherein the limit of the movable range of the movable insulating member is defined by the abutment of the shoulder against the inner wall of the fixed insulating member. The floating connector according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the fixed insulating member has a pair of recessed portions which are provided in the other end portion opposite to the predetermined axial direction and toward the one end portion Recessed, the movable insulator has a pair of protrusions that protrudes from the end surface in the axial direction in the axial direction and is respectively housed inside the pair of recessed portions, and each of the protrusions is viewed from the axial direction The surface in contact with the recessed portion is curved. The floating connector according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the fixed insulator is higher than the second fixed portion in the height direction. An electrical connector, comprising: a floating connector according to any one of claims 1 to 14; and the aforementioned object connector, wherein the aforementioned object connector has: an object contact member which abuts against the contact of the aforementioned floating connector Pieces; and protective walls, which extend further downward than the aforementioned contact pieces.