JP2002367695A - Card edge connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To position a circuit board in the specified position. SOLUTION: The housing 10 comprises an elastic pressing part 31 (elastic pressing means) that contacts elastically the circuit board P separately from a terminal fitting 20, and has a positioning means 30 capable of positioning the circuit board P in the direction of approaching and separating from the terminal fitting 20. The positioning means 30 absorbs the fluctuations of the thickness of the circuit boards P even if there are fluctuations in the thickness, and positions all the circuit boards P in the prescribed position in the direction of approaching and separating from the terminal fitting 20. Since the position relationship between the terminal fitting 20 and the circuit board P is kept generally constant even if there are fluctuations in the thickness of the circuit board P, the reliability of contact between the terminal fitting 20 and the circuit board P is secured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card edge connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a card edge connector,
There is one disclosed in JP-A-56-136480. This is so that the terminal fitting is inserted into the housing, the circuit board of the mating connector is inserted into the housing, and the elastic contact pieces of the terminal fitting are brought into elastic contact with both the front and back surfaces or the front and back surfaces of the circuit board. It was done.

[0003] In the housing, as means for regulating and positioning the circuit board in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface, that is, the direction in which the circuit board approaches and separates from the terminal fittings, a partition partitioning between cavities and the like is used. Are used to form a pair of front and back positioning portions, and the circuit board is held at an appropriate position by contacting the front and back surfaces of the circuit board with the pair of positioning portions.

[0004]

However, due to the variation in the thickness of the circuit board, that is, the dimensional tolerance is relatively large, the distance between the pair of positioning portions is limited to the maximum tolerance of the circuit board. The dimensions are set to be compatible. Therefore, when the board thickness of the circuit board is thin,
There is a gap between the pair of positioning portions and the front and back surfaces of the circuit board, and the circuit board may be displaced from a proper position due to the gap. If the circuit board deviates from the proper position, the amount of elastic deformation of the elastic contact piece of the terminal fitting becomes inappropriate, resulting in a decrease in contact reliability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to position a circuit board at a proper position.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing into which a circuit board of a mating connector is inserted, and a terminal which can be elastically contacted with the circuit board when inserted into the housing. A housing provided with elastic pressing means for elastically abutting on the circuit board separately from the terminal fitting, wherein the circuit is provided in a direction of approaching / separating from the terminal fitting. A configuration is provided in which positioning means for positioning the substrate is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the positioning means elastically contacts the elastic pressing means arranged in pairs so as to sandwich the circuit board on both front and back surfaces of the circuit board. By doing so, the circuit board is positioned. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal fitting is configured to make elastic contact with only one of the front and back surfaces of the circuit board, and the positioning means includes the circuit board. And the elastic pressing means which resiliently contacts from the side opposite to the terminal fitting, and a support means for receiving the elastic pressing force of the elastic pressing means against the circuit board on the same side as the terminal fitting.

[0008] The invention of claim 4 is the first to third aspects of the present invention.
In any one of the inventions, the elastic pressing means is made of a metal material and is assembled to the housing. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the elastic pressing means is formed integrally with the synthetic resin housing so as to be elastically deformable.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the positioning means absorbs the variation in the thickness of the circuit board even if the thickness of the circuit board varies, and moves all the circuit boards in the direction toward and away from the terminal fitting. It can be positioned at a predetermined position. Thereby, even if the thickness of the circuit board varies, the positional relationship between the terminal fitting and the circuit board is kept substantially constant, and the contact reliability between the terminal fitting and the circuit board is ensured.

[Invention of Claim 2] The circuit board is positioned by being elastically sandwiched from both front and back sides by a pair of elastic pressing means. [Claim 3] The circuit board is pressed against the bearing means by the elastic pressing force of the elastic pressing means, and is positioned at a position where it contacts the supporting means. Since the position of contact with the support means is always in a fixed positional relationship with the terminal fitting, the contact pressure between the terminal fitting and the circuit board is always constant even if the thickness of the circuit board varies.

Since the elastic pressing means is made of metal separate from the housing, the elastic pressing force for positioning can be arbitrarily set by changing the material and dimensions of the metal. Can be. [Invention of claim 5] Since the elastic pressing means is formed integrally with the housing, the number of components is reduced as compared with the case where the elastic pressing means is a separate part from the housing.

[0012]

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.

The card edge connector Aa of the present embodiment
Is a housing 10 made of synthetic resin and a plurality of terminal fittings 2.
0, and is fitted to the mating connector B. The mating connector B is obtained by assembling a circuit board P on a housing H made of synthetic resin, and an edge (card edge) of the circuit board P projects forward in a hood F of the housing H. In the housing 10 of the card edge connector Aa, a plurality of cavities 11 opened at the front end surface thereof are formed in two stages, upper and lower, and are formed in each stage so as to be parallel in the left-right direction. Each cavity 1
Each of the lances 1 is formed with a lance 12 extending forward in a cantilever manner, and the terminal fitting 20 inserted into the air from behind is prevented from being pulled out by the locking of the lance 12. It has become. The cavity 11 and the lance 12
Are vertically symmetrical, respectively.

Similarly, in the housing 10, an insertion space 13 is formed in the front end surface thereof in a horizontally elongated slit shape and communicates with both cavities 11 at a height between the upper and lower cavities 11. Is formed. The insertion space 13 is a space into which the circuit board P is inserted, and is formed in a form in which a partition 14 between the adjacent cavities 11 is partially cut out. The vertical spacing (the thickness direction of the circuit board P) of the insertion space 13 is determined in consideration of the maximum tolerance of the thickness of the circuit board P, and is a dimension into which the thickest circuit board P can enter, that is, the gap. The thickness is the same as or slightly larger than the largest plate thickness within the tolerance.

The terminal fitting 20 is elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole, and has a pair of side walls 22 extending downward from the left and right side edges of the substrate 21 in a substantially front half thereof, and has a substantially U-shape from the front end edge of the substrate 21. The elastic contact piece 23 extends obliquely downward and rearward, and an electric wire 25 is connected to the electric wire connection portion 24 at the rear end by crimping. The lower end of the elastic contact piece 23 of the terminal fitting 20 inserted into the upper cavity 11 extends into the insertion space 13. The terminal fitting 20 inserted into the lower cavity 11 is the same part as the terminal fitting 20 on the upper side, and is inserted into the cavity 11 in an upside-down posture.

The housing 10 is provided with positioning means 30 for positioning the circuit board P inserted into the insertion space 13 in the vertical direction (in the direction of approaching / separating from the terminal fitting 20). This positioning means 30
Elastic pressing parts 3 arranged in pairs so as to sandwich the circuit board P
The circuit board P is positioned by elastically contacting 1 (elastic pressing means which is a constituent element of the present invention) with the upper and lower surfaces (both front and back surfaces) of the circuit board P. The two elastic pressing portions 31 are provided at positions deviated to the left and right outside of the region where the cavity 11 is formed in the left-right direction. The elastic pressing portion 31 is formed integrally with the housing 10 and is configured to extend forward in a cantilever manner, so that the extending end can be elastically bent in the vertical direction. When the elastic pressing portion 31 is in a free state in which the elastic pressing portion 31 is not elastically bent, the projection 31a on the lower surface of the upper elastic pressing portion 31 and the projection 31a on the upper surface of the lower elastic pressing portion 31 are both in the insertion space 13. Has advanced to. At this time, the minimum distance between the upper and lower protruding portions 31a is set to be smaller than the thinnest plate thickness within the tolerance range of the circuit board P. The upper elastic pressing portion 31 and the lower elastic pressing portion 31 have a vertically symmetrical shape, but are displaced from each other in the left-right direction when viewed from the front (FIG. 3).
See).

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When the terminal fittings 20 are assembled to the housing 10, the elastic contact pieces 23 of the terminal fittings 20 and the protrusions 31 a of the elastic pressing portions 31 advance into the insertion space 13. In this state, the two elastic contact pieces 23 are located between the upper and lower elastic contact pieces 23.
The movable insulating plate 26 is used as a means for preventing a short circuit between them.
Is interposed. From this state, when the card edge connector Aa of this embodiment is fitted into the hood portion F of the mating connector B, the circuit board P is inserted into the insertion space 13, and the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board P Elastic contact piece 23
Are in contact with each other while being elastically bent, and are connected at a predetermined contact pressure by the elastic restoring force.

The circuit board P inserted in the insertion space 13
The elastic contact pieces 23 of the terminal fitting 20
Separately, the elastic pressing portion 31 elastically bends and causes the elastically restoring force of the elastic pressing portion 31 to elastically contact the protruding portion 31a. At this time, the upper elastic pressing portion 31 and the lower elastic pressing portion 31
The circuit board P is positioned at a predetermined height in the vertical direction by the elastic force of the two elastic pressing portions 31. The circuit board P is inserted into the insertion space 13.
, The movable insulating plate 2 pushed by the circuit board P
6 moves to a position displaced rearward from between the two elastic contact pieces 23.

Since the thickness of the circuit board P varies, the amount of elastic bending of the elastic pressing portion 31 varies depending on the thickness. The upper elastic pressing portion 31 and the lower elastic pressing portion are different from each other. 31 are vertically symmetrical with each other and can exert the same elasticity, so that the elastic bending amounts of the upper elastic pressing portion 31 and the lower elastic pressing portion 31 are the same. Therefore, even if the board thickness differs, the position of the center of the board thickness of the circuit board P is always a constant height.
Contact piece 23 of upper terminal fitting 20 elastically contacting the upper surface of
And the elastic contact pieces 23 of the lower terminal fittings 20 elastically contacting the lower surface of the circuit board P have the same amount of elastic bending (contact pressure).

The elasticity of the elastic pressing portion 31 is considerably larger than the sum of the elastic restoring forces of the elastic contact pieces 23 of all the terminal fittings 20 when the terminal fittings 20 are inserted into all the cavities 11. Is set to be a large value. Therefore, even when the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into only the cavity 11 in one of the upper and lower stages, the circuit board P can be reliably positioned at a predetermined height.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the positioning means 30 having the elastic pressing portion 31 which elastically contacts the circuit board P separately from the terminal fitting 20 is provided, the circuit board P Even if there is variation in the thickness of the circuit board P, all the circuit boards P are connected to the terminal fittings 2 while absorbing the variation.
It can be positioned at a predetermined position in the approach / separation direction with respect to zero. Thus, even if the thickness of the circuit board P varies, the positional relationship between the terminal fitting 20 and the circuit board P is maintained substantially constant, and the terminal fitting 20 and the circuit board P
The contact reliability with is ensured.

Also, an elastic pressing portion 3 as elastic pressing means
1 is formed integrally with the housing 10, so that the elastic pressing means is compared with a case where the elastic pressing means is a separate component from the housing.
The number of parts is small. Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment,
The positioning means 55 has a different configuration from the first embodiment. Other configurations are described in the first embodiment.
Therefore, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the structure, operation, and effect is omitted.

In the card edge connector Ab of the present embodiment, the cavities 51 are provided in the housing 50 in a single-stage configuration, and the insertion space 52 is formed so as to be located above these cavities 51. These cavities 51 have terminal fittings 20 with elastic contact pieces 23 facing upward.
(The same terminal fitting as in the first embodiment) is inserted, and the elastic contact piece 23 is advanced into the insertion space 52. The elastic contact pieces 23 of these terminal fittings 20 are configured to elastically contact only the lower surface of the circuit board P.

The positioning means 55 is provided as a pair of left and right,
Each positioning means 55 includes an elastic pressing part 56 as elastic pressing means and a support part 57 as supporting means. The elastic pressing portions 56 are integrally formed with the synthetic resin housing 50 in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and are disposed at both left and right ends of the housing 50. Since the specific shape is the same as that of the first embodiment, detailed description is omitted. The elastic pressing portion 56 is provided so as to elastically contact only the upper surface (the surface opposite to the terminal fitting 20) of the circuit board P. The upper end surface of the partition wall 53 that partitions between the cavities 51 is a support portion 57.
The support portion 57 constitutes the lower surface of the insertion space 52 and is disposed on the same side as the terminal fitting 20 with respect to the circuit board P.

With respect to the circuit board P inserted into the insertion space 52, the elastic contact pieces 2 of the terminal fitting 20 are provided only on the lower surface thereof.
3 resiliently contacts, and the protrusion 56a of the elastic pressing portion 56 is
Pressing with an elasticity greater than the combined elasticity. With this elastic pressing force, the circuit board P is pressed downward and pressed against the supporting portion 57, and the supporting portion 57 is
Is received on the same side as the terminal fitting 20. As a result, the circuit board P is positioned in the vertical direction with its lower surface (the surface on which the terminal fitting 20 resiliently contacts) abutting on the support portion 57. In the vertical direction, the bearing 57
Is always in a fixed positional relationship with respect to the terminal fitting 20, even if the thickness of the circuit board P varies, only the amount of elastic bending of the elastic pressing portion 56 changes.
The contact pressure between 0 and the circuit board P is always constant.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The card edge connector Ac of the third embodiment has a metal elastic pressing member 61 which is a separate component from the synthetic resin housing 10 as an elastic pressing means of the positioning means 60.
Embodiment 2 differs from Embodiment 1 in that (elastic pressing means, which is a component of the present invention) is used. Other configurations (configurations of the mating connector B, the housing 10, and the terminal fitting 20)
Are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description of the structure, operation, and effect is omitted.

The positioning means 60 of the present embodiment is configured by elastically contacting the metal elastic pressing members 61 arranged in pairs so as to sandwich the circuit board P on the upper and lower surfaces (both front and back surfaces) of the circuit board P. The circuit board P is positioned. The elastic pressing member 61 includes a main body 6 that is elongated in the front-rear direction.
The elastic pressing piece 63 is extended from the front end of No. 2;
Two pairs are provided at positions deviated to the left and right outside from the formation region of the cavity 11 in the left and right direction. Housing 1
A pair of upper and lower housing spaces 64, which are open at the front end surfaces and communicate with the insertion space 13, respectively, are formed at the left and right end portions of the housing space 64.
5 are formed.

The elastic pressing member 61 inserted into the upper accommodation space 64 presses the rear end of the main body 62 into the press-fitting hole 65 and moves the main body 62 to the upper wall of the accommodation space 64 over its entire length. It is fixed to the housing 10 in a state where the contact is made. The elastic pressing member 61 inserted into the lower accommodation space 64 presses the rear end of the main body 62 into the press-fitting hole 65 and causes the main body 62 to abut on the lower surface wall of the accommodation space 64 over its entire length. It is fixed to the housing 10 in the state where it is set.

When the elastic pressing piece 63 is in a free state in which it does not elastically bend, both the upper elastic pressing piece 63 and the lower elastic pressing piece 63 have advanced into the insertion space 13.
At this time, the minimum distance between the upper and lower elastic pressing pieces 63 is set to be smaller than the thinnest plate thickness within the tolerance range of the circuit board P. The upper elastic pressing member 61 and the lower elastic pressing member 61 have a vertically symmetrical shape, but are displaced from each other in the left-right direction when viewed from the front.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The card edge connector Ac of the present embodiment is replaced with the mating connector B.
When the circuit board P is fitted into the hood portion F of the
3, the elastic pressing piece 63 elastically bends against the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board P separately from the elastic contact piece 23 of the terminal fitting 20 by its elastic restoring force. . At this time, since the upper elastic pressing piece 63 and the lower elastic pressing piece 63 elastically bend symmetrically with each other,
The circuit board P is positioned at a predetermined height in the vertical direction by the elasticity of the two elastic pressing pieces 63.

Since the thickness of the circuit board P varies, the amount of elastic deformation of the elastic pressing piece 63 varies depending on the thickness of the circuit board P. The upper elastic pressing piece 63 and the lower elastic pressing piece 63 are different from each other. 63 are vertically symmetrical with each other and can exert the same elasticity, so that the upper elastic pressing pieces 63 and the lower elastic pressing pieces 63 have the same amount of elastic bending. Therefore, even if the board thickness differs, the position of the center of the board thickness of the circuit board P is always a constant height.
Contact piece 23 of upper terminal fitting 20 elastically contacting the upper surface of
And the elastic contact pieces 23 of the lower terminal fittings 20 elastically contacting the lower surface of the circuit board P have the same amount of elastic bending (contact pressure).

The elasticity of the elastic pressing piece 63 is considerably larger than the sum of the elastic restoring forces of the elastic contact pieces 23 of all the terminal fittings 20 when the terminal fittings 20 are inserted into all the cavities 11. Is set to be a large value. Therefore, even when the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into only the cavity 11 in one of the upper and lower stages, the circuit board P can be reliably positioned at a predetermined height.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the positioning means 60 provided with the elastic pressing member 61 which elastically abuts on the circuit board P separately from the terminal fitting 20, is provided. All the circuit boards P can be positioned at predetermined positions in the approaching / separating direction with respect to the terminal fittings 20 while absorbing the variation even if the thickness of the circuit board P varies. As a result, even if the thickness of the circuit board P varies, the positional relationship between the terminal fitting 20 and the circuit board P is kept substantially constant, and the contact reliability between the terminal fitting 20 and the circuit board P is ensured. I have.

Further, since the elastic pressing member 61 as the elastic pressing means is made of a metal separate from the housing 10, the elastic pressing force for positioning can be arbitrarily set by changing the material and dimensions of the metal. can do. [Fourth Embodiment] Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Embodiment 4
In this embodiment, the positioning means 75 has a configuration different from that of the third embodiment. Other configurations are the same as those of the third embodiment, and thus the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of the structures, operations, and effects will be omitted.

In the card edge connector Ad of the present embodiment, the cavity 71 is provided in the housing 70 in a one-stage configuration, and the insertion space 72 is formed so as to be located above these cavities 71. These cavities 71 have terminal fittings 20 with elastic contact pieces 23 facing upward.
(The same terminal fitting as in the first to third embodiments) is inserted, and the elastic contact piece 23 is advanced into the insertion space 72. The elastic contact pieces 23 of these terminal fittings 20 are configured to elastically contact only the lower surface of the circuit board P.

The positioning means 75 is provided as a pair of left and right,
Each positioning means 75 is composed of an elastic pressing member 76 as elastic pressing means and a support portion 77 as supporting means. The elastic pressing member 76 is made of metal, which is a separate component from the housing 70 as in the third embodiment, and is formed by the same means as in the third embodiment.
It is fixed to. The specific shape and the like are the same as those in the third embodiment, and thus detailed description is omitted. The elastic pressing member 76 is provided on the upper surface of the circuit board P (the terminal fitting 2).
(The surface opposite to 0). An upper end surface of a partition wall 78 that partitions between the cavities 71 is a support portion 77. The support portion 77 constitutes the lower surface of the insertion space 72 and is arranged on the same side as the terminal fitting 20 with respect to the circuit board P.

With respect to the circuit board P inserted into the insertion space 72, the elastic contact piece 2 of the terminal fitting 20 is provided only on the lower surface thereof.
3 resiliently contacts the upper surface of the circuit board P, and the elastic pressing members 76
Pressing is performed with an elasticity greater than the combined force of the elasticity of the three. With this elastic pressing force, the circuit board P is pressed downward and pressed against the supporting portion 77, and the supporting portion 77 receives the elastic pressing force of the elastic pressing member 76 on the same side as the terminal fitting 20. As a result, the circuit board P is mounted on its lower surface (terminal fitting 2).
Positioning is performed in the up-down direction in a state where the surface (the surface where 0 resiliently contacts) is in contact with the support portion 77. In the vertical direction, the support portion 77 is always in a fixed positional relationship with the terminal fitting 20, so that even if the thickness of the circuit board P varies, only the amount of elastic bending of the elastic pressing member 76 changes. The contact pressure between the terminal fitting 20 and the circuit board P is always constant.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) As described in the second and fourth embodiments, the elastic pressing means of the first or third embodiment resiliently contacts the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board, whereas the terminal fitting resiliently contacts only one side of the circuit board. It is also possible to apply a structure for positioning with.

(2) In the first and third embodiments, the same type of elastic pressing means for elastically contacting the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board is provided upside down, but according to the present invention,
The elastic pressing means of both the metallic elastic pressing member of the third embodiment and the resin elastic pressing portion integrated with the housing of the first embodiment may be provided in one housing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state in which a card edge connector and a mating connector are fitted in a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which a card edge connector and a mating connector are separated.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the card edge connector.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state in which a circuit board is removed from a positioning unit.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state where the circuit board is positioned by the positioning means.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a mating connector.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a mating connector.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a state in which the circuit board is positioned by the positioning means in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a state in which a positioning means skein and a circuit board are removed.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a card edge connector.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a state in which the circuit board is positioned by the positioning means in the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a state in which a circuit board is removed from a positioning unit.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the card edge connector.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a state in which the circuit board is positioned by the positioning means in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a front view of a card edge connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Aa: card edge connector B: mating connector P: circuit board 10: housing 20: terminal fitting 30: positioning means 31: elastic pressing portion (elastic pressing means) Ab, Ac, Ad: card edge connectors 50, 70: housing 55 , 60, 75 positioning means 56 ... elastic pressing part (elastic pressing means) 57, 77 ... bearing part (supporting means) 61, 76 ... elastic pressing member (elastic pressing means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A card edge connector comprising: a housing into which a circuit board of a mating connector is inserted; and a terminal fitting capable of elastically contacting the circuit board when inserted into the housing. The housing is provided with elastic pressing means for elastically contacting the circuit board separately from the terminal fittings, and positioning means capable of positioning the circuit board in a direction of approaching / separating from the terminal fittings is provided. A card edge connector. 2. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein the positioning means is configured to position the circuit board by elastically pressing the elastic pressing means arranged in pairs so as to sandwich the circuit board on the front and back surfaces of the circuit board. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Card edge connector as described. 3. The terminal fitting is adapted to make elastic contact with only one of the front and back surfaces of the circuit board, and the positioning means is provided on a side of the circuit board opposite to the terminal fitting. 2. The card edge according to claim 1, further comprising: the elastic pressing means elastically contacting from the front side; and supporting means for receiving the elastic pressing force of the elastic pressing means against the circuit board on the same side as the terminal fitting. connector. 4. The card edge connector according to claim 1, wherein said elastic pressing means is made of a metal material and is assembled to said housing. 5. The card edge connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic pressing means is formed integrally with the synthetic resin housing and elastically bendable. .