JP2000299167A - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an electrical connector capable of reducing the overall height and ensuring a sufficient contact pressure between contacts. A first contact (5) of a first connector (2) is provided.
Has a single fork-shaped elastic piece 30. By eliminating one of the conventional fork contacts, the height of the connector can be reduced. When the insertion protrusion 15 of the second connector 2 is inserted into the insertion space 14 of the first connector 2, the first contact 5
The elastic repulsive force exerted on the first housing 6 and the first metal shell 7 is received through the insertion projection 15. The deformation of the insertion projection 15 is prevented, and a sufficient contact pressure is secured between the contacts 5 and 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrical connector used for internal wiring of a small electronic device such as a notebook personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an electrical connector of this type, there is a connector in which, for example, a cable-side connector attached to an end of a flexible flat cable is connected to a base connector attached to a substrate. For example, there is a base connector provided with a female terminal having a box structure (so-called socket terminal) (for example, Utility Model Registration No. 3053115). In this connector, since the deformation strength of the female terminal having the box structure is high, there is an advantage that a sufficient contact pressure (hereinafter, simply referred to as a contact pressure) with respect to the introduced pin terminal can be secured,
There is a disadvantage that the height of the connector is increased.

On the other hand, as a base connector, there is a base connector provided with a fork contact in which a pair of branching portions are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
-321314 and JP-A-11-26103). In this connector, the fork contact elastically clamps the contact on the other side between a pair of one parts, so that there is an advantage that a sufficient contact pressure between the contacts can be secured, but a disadvantage that the height of the connector is increased. There is.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an electrical connector that can reduce the overall height and can secure a sufficient contact pressure between contacts.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems As means for solving the problems to achieve the above object, the aspect of the invention described in claim 1 is as follows.
An insulating first housing having an insertion space and a plate portion defining a part of the insertion space, a thin metal shell for covering an outer surface of the plate portion, and supported in the insertion space by the first housing. A first connector including a large number of side-by-side cantilevered fork-shaped first contacts; and a first connector having opposing first and second surfaces and a first surface extending along the inner surface of the plate portion. An insulating second housing having an insertion convex portion to be inserted into the insertion space, and a plurality of side-by-side second housings held so as to be exposed on the second surface of the insertion convex portion.
And when the two connectors are connected to each other, the two contacts make elastic contact with the insertion protrusion sandwiched between the plate portion and the second contact. At the same time, the elastic repulsive force exerted on the first contact by the second contact is received by the plate portion and the metal shell via the insertion protrusion.

[0006] The single fork-shaped contact means a contact in which one of the so-called fork contacts is abolished and only one is formed. In the conventional fork contact, the height of the housing is increased because the other contact is sandwiched between the pair of pieces. On the other hand, in this embodiment, by eliminating one piece of the fork, the housing Height can be reduced. For example, the overall height of the connector can be reduced to about 1.5 mm. In addition, since the plate portion of the housing and the metal shell receive a reaction force due to the contact of the two contacts instead of the one of the abolished one portions, a sufficient contact pressure can be secured between the two contacts.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the portion of the metal shell that receives the elastic repulsion is:
It is characterized by including a folded portion folded in close contact with the edge of the opening of the insertion space. In this aspect, the deformation of the plate portion and the shell can be prevented by improving the rigidity of the metal shell. As a result, the contact pressure between the two contacts can be reliably ensured.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the folded portion extends to a position intersecting the line of action of the elastic repulsion. In this aspect, the deformation of the metal shell can be more reliably prevented, and the contact pressure can be more reliably ensured. Claim 4
According to an aspect of the present invention, the first connector is held on a surface of the substrate, and the metal shell is a pair of extending portions extending along right and left side surfaces of the first housing. And the substrate contact edge of each extending portion is fixed to the substrate. In this aspect, since the metal shell is fixed to the substrate having a sufficient thickness and rigidity so as to surround the housing, the deformation of the plate portion and the metal shell due to the elastic repulsion is performed by using the tension of the metal shell. It can be prevented more reliably.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the metal shell includes a pair of locking portions for locking the left and right edges of the opening of the insertion space. It is assumed that. In this aspect, the connection strength between the housing and the metal shell is increased to improve the combination rigidity, and the deformation of the plate portion and the metal shell due to the elastic repulsion can be reliably prevented.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the first housing includes a rib connecting the plate portion and a plate portion facing the plate portion, and the first housing has an insertion protrusion. Is characterized by including a concave groove into which a rib is fitted. In the present aspect, the rib can reliably prevent deformation between the opposing plate portions so as to expand.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a first connector 2 composed of a base connector and a second connector 3 constituting an electric connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG.
Is mounted on the surface 4a. First connector 2
Comprises a number of side-by-side first contacts 5 and these first contacts 5
And a first metal shell 7 that covers a part of the outer surface of the first housing 6.

The second connector 2 has a large number of side-by-side second connectors.
Contact 8, an insulating second housing 9 for holding these second contacts 8, and a second housing 9
And a second metal shell 13 that covers the outer surface of the second metal shell. The second housing 9 includes a main housing 42 and a holder 12 that covers a part of the lower surface of the main housing 42 and holds a main part including the center conductor 11 of the cable assembly 10 between the main housing 42 and the main housing 42. Prepare. Main housing 42
Has an insertion projection 15 inserted into the insertion space 14 of the first housing 6 when the connectors 2 and 3 are connected.

The insertion space 14 of the first housing 6 is open forward through an opening 16. The insertion space 14 has a depth up to an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction, and a fixing hole 18 for fixing the first base contact 5 by penetrating it from behind is provided in a wall 17 at the back. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in first housing 6, front edge 20 of upper plate portion 19 that partitions the upper surface of insertion space 14 is a predetermined amount larger than front edge 22 of lower plate portion 21 that partitions the lower surface. It is located in a retracted position. An engagement hole 25 extending rearward at a predetermined depth is formed at a front edge 24 of a pair of side plate portions 23 that partition the left and right side surfaces of the insertion space 14 so as to form a part of the insertion space 14. The front edges 20, 22, and 24 of the upper plate portion 19, the lower plate portion 21, and the left and right side plate portions 23 correspond to the openings 16 of the insertion space 14.
Edge. On the left and right sides of the upper plate 19,
A groove 26 extending to the rear middle portion is formed. On the upper surface of the lower plate portion 21, a holding groove 27 for holding each first contact 5 is formed in a comb-like shape connected to each of the fixing holes 18. Reference numeral 28 denotes a locking groove for engaging the elastic locking piece for retaining the first metal shell 7.

The first contact 5 is a first housing 6
A fixing portion 29 fixed to the fixing hole 18 of the main body 2
One fork-shaped elastic piece portion 30 extending forward from 9 and being cantilevered by fixed portion 29 and having a bowed shape.
And a lead portion 31 extending substantially rearward from the fixing portion 29 and having a substantially U-shape. A wedge-shaped projection 32 is formed on the fixing portion 29 and is engaged with the wall surface of the fixing hole 18.
The elastic piece portion 30 has an upwardly projecting projection 33, and the top of the projection 33 elastically presses the second contact 8 of the other party to form a contact portion that comes into contact with the second contact 8. The lead portion 31 is a conductive member (not shown) on the surface 4a of the substrate 4.
And soldered to it.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 (a) and (b), the first metal shell 7 is made of a sheet metal formed, for example, a copper alloy or the like. The first metal shell 7 includes an upper plate portion 34,
Left and right side plate portions 35, a pair of front plate portions 36, and a pair of lower plate portions 37 (in FIG. 2, each pair of side plate portions 35, front plate portion 3
6 and only one of the lower plate portions 37 is shown). The front portion of the upper plate portion 34 is a superposed plate including a folded portion 38 which is folded inward in close contact. The folded leading edge of the folded portion 38 is substantially in contact with the front edge 20 of the upper plate 19 of the first housing 6. The folded portion 38 partitions a part of the insertion space 14.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), front plate portion 36 is provided on left and right side plate portions 2 of first housing 6.
3 along the front edge 24 of the upper plate portion 34.
Is bent from the front edge and extends downward. Front plate 3
An intermediate portion in the vertical direction of 6 forms an elastic locking piece 39 bent inward from the remaining portion. The elastic locking pieces 39 are locked in the locking holes 25 of the first housing 6.

Further, the side plate portion 35 forms a folded portion 40 in which an extended portion extending downward is folded outward from a lower edge of the side plate portion 35 upward. The lower plate portion 37 is formed of a bent piece bent inward from the lower edge of the side plate portion 35, and a part of the bent piece is bent so that the front end thereof is raised.
It has become. The elastic locking piece 41 is locked in the locking groove 28 of the first housing 6 to prevent the first metal shell 7 from coming out of the first housing 6 forward.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4 (a) and 4 (b), the cable assembly 10 has a number of coaxial cables 50 arranged side by side, and each coaxial cable 50
The center conductor 11 exposed from the tip, this center conductor 11
Covering portion 51, exposed outer conductor 52, and outer conductor 5
Two covering portions 53 are arranged in this order. The cable assembly 10 is connected to a ground plate 54 made of a conductive horizontal plate for connecting the external conductors 51 and holding them together.
The covering portion 51 and the center conductor 11 are arranged further forward than the ground plate 54.

The ground plate 54 is formed by combining a pair of split plates 55, 55 which sandwich the outer conductor 52 of the coaxial cable 50. The fitting projection formed on one of the divided plates 55 is press-fitted into a fitting hole formed on the other divided plate 55, thereby being connected to each other to form the ground plate 54. A groove having a semicircular cross section is provided on the mating surface of the two split plates 55, 55. The external conductor 52 is housed in a press-contact state in a housing hole having a circular cross section formed by combining these grooves. The continuity between the ground plate 54 and the external conductor 52 is ensured.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the main housing 42 of the second housing 9 embeds a plurality of channel-shaped fixing portions 56 of the second contacts 8 by insert molding of resin and holds them integrally. ing. The main housing 42 has a main body 57 and an insertion projection 15. As shown in FIG. 6, at the time of connector connection, the upper surface 58 as the first surface of the insertion projection 15 is the lower surface of the folded portion 18 and the upper plate portion 19 that partition the upper surface of the insertion space 14 of the first connector 2. , The insertion protrusion 15 is introduced into the insertion space 14.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, a comb-shaped holding groove 60 for holding the second contact 8 is formed on the lower surface 59 as the second surface of the insertion projection 15. Referring to FIG. 5, reference numeral 61 denotes reinforcing ribs formed on the left and right side edges of the upper surface 58 of the insertion convex portion 15. The reinforcing ribs 61 are used to connect the connector 26 to the grooves 26 of the first housing 6 shown in FIG. It fits in. Reference numeral 62 denotes a positioning engagement projection extending downward from the left and right edges of the main body 57, and reference numeral 63 denotes a retaining engagement projection formed on the left and right edges of the main body.

The rear end of each second contact 8 has a U-shaped portion 64 exposed from the lower surface of the main body 57 of the main housing 42.
And the corresponding central conductor 11 of the cable assembly 10 is pressed against each U-shaped portion 64 to ensure conduction.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, holder 12 has horizontally long main body 6.
5 and a pair of side walls 66 formed on the left and right sides of the main body 65. In the main body 65, each central conductor 11 is
It has a pair of pressing portions 67 and 68 for pressing toward the main housing 42 (pressing direction) before and after the character portion 64 is sandwiched. In addition, engaging recesses 69 for engaging the engaging protrusions 62 for positioning and the engaging protrusions 63 for retaining the main housing 42 with the left and right side wall portions 66 of the holder 12, respectively,
70 are formed. Reference numeral 71 denotes a guide groove. The guide groove 71 inserts the U-shaped portion 64 of the second contact 8 when the holder 12 is attached to the main housing 42 and the core wire 11 is pressed against the U-shaped portion 64. Let me guide you,
The U-shaped portion 64 is prevented from spreading.

Referring to FIG. 1, lower plate 69 of second metal shell 13 is connected to ground plate 54 of cable assembly 10.
And an elastic contact piece 72 for elastically contacting and ensuring conduction. In the present embodiment, when the two connectors 2 and 3 are connected to each other as shown in FIG. 6, the insertion protrusion 15 is introduced along the lower surface of the upper plate portion 19 of the insertion space 14 of the first connector 2. At the same time, the second contact 8 elastically deforms the elastic piece 30 of the first contact 5 downward.
Since the elastic repulsive force F of the elastic piece 30 is received by the upper plate 19 of the first housing 6 and the upper plate 34 of the first metal shell 7 via the insertion projection 15, the insertion projection is formed. 15 can be suppressed, and a sufficient contact pressure can be obtained between the contacts 5 and 8.

In particular, since a portion corresponding to the upper edge of the opening 16 of the insertion space 14 is formed by a superposed plate formed by the folded portion 38 of the metal shell 7, the escape of the insertion projection 15 is reliably prevented. The contact pressure between the contacts 5 and 8 can be reliably ensured. In addition, the folded portion 38 has the elastic repulsion force F
, The contact pressure can be ensured more reliably.

Further, in the first connector 2, the first connector
Since the elastic locking pieces 39 of the metal shell 7 are locked in the locking holes 25 at the left and right edges of the opening 16 of the insertion space 14, the connection strength between the first housing 6 and the first metal shell 7 is increased. Thus, the combination rigidity can be improved. Therefore, the contact pressure can be ensured more reliably. Next, FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a first connector according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, the present embodiment is different from the embodiment of FIG. 4 in that a substrate contact edge of a folded portion 40 as a folded extension of each side plate portion 35 of first metal shell 7 is provided. 77 (in this case, a folded edge) is soldered and fixed to the conductive member 73 on the surface 4 a of the substrate 4. 74
Is a build-up part of soldering. Other configurations are the same as those in the embodiment of FIG. 4, and therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the drawings, and description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the first metal shell 7 is fixed to the substrate 4 having a sufficient thickness and rigidity so as to surround the first housing 6. Therefore, the first housing 6 and the first housing 6 are designed to reduce the contact pressure.
Of the metal shell 7 can be more reliably prevented. Next, FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an electrical connector 1A according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8, the present embodiment is different from the embodiment of FIG. 6 in that a groove 4 b formed on an edge of substrate 4 and vertically penetrating is formed as a lower portion of first connector 2 </ b> A. Lower plate 2 of housing 6A
That is, the lower plate 75 of the first and first metal shells 7A is dropped into the groove 4b to further reduce the mounting height on the substrate 4. Also, the lead portion 7 of the first contact 5A
Numeral 6 is L-shaped and has a reduced height. The first metal shell 7 </ b> A has the lower plate portion 75 that covers the lower plate portion 21 of the first housing 6, and has a tubular shape surrounding the first housing 6. Thereby, the deformation of the first housing 6 and the first metal shell 7A that reduces the contact pressure can be reliably prevented. Other configurations are the same as those in the embodiment of FIG. 6, and therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the drawings and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an electric connector according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9, first housing 6 of first connector 2 connects upper plate portion 19 and lower plate portion 21 to extend rib 7 extending in the insertion / removal direction.
7, and the insertion projection 15 of the second connector 3 has a concave groove 78 into which the rib 77 is fitted. In the present embodiment, the rib 77 reliably prevents the space between the upper plate 19 and the lower plate 21 of the first housing 6 from increasing,
The contact pressure between the contacts 5 and 8 can be reliably ensured.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the lead portions 31, 76 of the first contacts 5, 5A may be dipped to penetrate the substrate 4. In this case, the lead portions 31 and 76 are soldered on the back surface of the substrate 4. Similarly, the extending portion of the first metal shell 7 is dipped and the substrate 4
May be penetrated. In this case, the extension of the first metal shell 7 has a board contact edge that is soldered on the back surface of the board 4. This substrate contact edge is not the folded edge as shown in FIG. 7 but the leading edge of the extending portion.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the substrate and the F
Although the present invention has been applied to the electrical connector for connecting a PC, the present invention may be applied to a connector for connecting a board and a board for connecting an FPC. In addition, various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[0030]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by eliminating one of the conventional fork contacts, the overall height of the connector can be reduced to, for example, about 1.5 mm. The surface portion and the metal shell receive a reaction force due to the contact between the two contacts, so that a sufficient contact pressure can be secured between the two contacts.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rigidity of the metal shell can be improved by the close folded portion, so that the contact pressure can be reliably ensured. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the contact pressure can be more reliably ensured by reliably receiving the reaction force of the contact pressure by the folded portion.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the metal shell is fixed to the substrate having a sufficient thickness and rigidity so as to surround the housing, the deformation of the housing and the metal shell that reduces the contact pressure is more reliably prevented. can do.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the combined rigidity of the housing and the metal shell can be improved by the locking piece, it is possible to reliably prevent the deformation of the housing and the metal shell such that the contact pressure is reduced. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the deformation such that the distance between the opposing plate portions is increased and the contact pressure is reduced by the rib.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded sectional view of an electric connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the first connector.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a plan view and a front view of a first connector, respectively.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a plan view and a side view of a cable assembly connected to a second connector, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded front view of the second connector.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the electrical connector in a connected state.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part of a first connector according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a connection state of an electric connector according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of an electric connector according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1A Electrical connector 2, 2A First connector 3 Second connector 4 Board 4a Surface 4b Groove 5,5A First contact 6 First housing 7,7A First metal shell 8 Second contact 9 2 housing 10 cable assembly 11 center conductor 14 insertion space 15 insertion projection 16 opening 19 upper plate portion 25 engagement hole 30 elastic piece 34 upper plate portion 35 side plate portion 38 folded portion 39 elastic locking piece 74 build-up portion 77 Board contact

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An insulating first housing having an insertion space and a plate sectioning a part of the insertion space, a thin metal shell covering an outer surface of the plate section, and the first housing. A first connector including a multiplicity of side-by-side cantilevered single fork-shaped first contacts supported in the insertion space; and a first and a second surface facing each other, and An insulating second housing having an insertion protrusion inserted into the insertion space along the inner surface of the plate portion, and a number of side-by-side held so as to be exposed on the second surface of the insertion protrusion. A second connector including the second contact of the first and second contacts, wherein when the two connectors are connected, the two contacts are elastically held in a state where the insertion projection is sandwiched between the plate portion and the second contact. And the second contact is connected to the first
An electric connector characterized in that the elastic repulsive force exerted on the contact is received by the plate portion and the metal shell via the insertion projection. 2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the metal shell that receives the elastic repulsion includes a folded portion that is folded in close contact with the edge of the opening of the insertion space. . 3. The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein said folded portion extends to a position intersecting the line of action of said elastic repulsion. 4. The first connector is held on a surface of a board, and the metal shell includes a pair of extending portions extending along both left and right side surfaces of the first housing, and the board contact edge of each extending portion is provided. Is fixed to a substrate.
Or the electrical connector according to 3. 5. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the metal shell includes a pair of locking portions that lock on left and right edges of the opening of the insertion space. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first housing includes a rib for connecting said plate portion and a plate portion opposed thereto, and said insertion projection includes a concave groove for fitting said rib. 6. The electrical connector according to any one of 5.