JP2019102220A - Connector and manufacturing method of connector - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to suppress a decrease in solder wettability when mounting on a substrate. A connector includes a connector housing (31) in which terminal press-fitting holes are formed, a first portion (41) disposed in the terminal press-fitting hole, and a tip part (42a) protruding from the first part (41), and a substrate (50) to be connected. A terminal 40 having a second portion 42 having a tip portion 42a connected to the conductive portion. The second portion 42 includes a first bent portion 47, a tie bar cutting portion 48 provided on the tip portion 42 a side of the first bent portion 47, and a tip portion 42 a side of the tie bar cutting portion 48. The second bent portion 49 is formed. [Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector and a method of manufacturing the connector.

  The terminals of the connector, which are press-fit into the terminal press-in holes of the housing, are manufactured, for example, by cutting the vicinity of the carrier (tie bar) of the terminal group to which the plurality of terminals are connected and dividing it into individual terminals. Patent Document 1 discloses a terminal in which the front ends of the electrical connection parts are connected via the connection parts, and the rear ends of the substrate connection parts are connected to the carrier (tie bar) via the connection parts.

Patent No. 5503991

  In the terminal described in Patent Document 1, in order to cut the substrate connection portion connected to the carrier (tie bar), a cut surface not plated is formed at the tip of the substrate connection portion. For this reason, when mounting a terminal on the board | substrate which is a connection object, it is necessary to make a solder adhere including the cut surface which is not plated, As a result, there exists a possibility that solder wettability may fall.

  The present invention has been made under the circumstances described above, and it is an object of the present invention to suppress a decrease in solder wettability when mounting on a substrate.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a connector according to a first aspect of the present invention is
A connector housing in which a terminal press-in hole is formed;
A terminal having a first portion disposed in the terminal press-fit hole, and a second portion having a tip end projecting from the first portion and the tip portion being connected to a conductive portion of a substrate to be connected;
Equipped with
In the second portion, a first bent portion, a first tie bar cut portion provided closer to the tip end portion than the first bent portion, and a tip end than the first tie bar cut portion A second bent portion provided on the part side is formed.

  The thickness of the first bent portion of the second portion may be equal to the thickness of the first portion.

  The thickness of at least a portion of the first bent portion of the second portion may be thinner than the thickness of the first portion.

  The second portion protrudes from the first portion, bends in a direction toward the substrate from the first bent portion, and bends from the second bent portion to a shape along the surface of the substrate. It may be formed.

  A second tie bar cutting portion, and a locking portion provided on the second portion side with respect to the second tie bar cutting portion and being engaged with the inner surface of the terminal press-fit hole in the first portion; May be formed.

  The connector housing may be formed with a curved surface adapted to the shape of the first bent portion.

  The connector may be a surface mount technology (SMT) connector in which the second portion of the terminal is mounted on the surface of the substrate.

A method of manufacturing a connector according to a second aspect of the present invention is
A method of manufacturing a connector, comprising: a connector housing having a terminal press-in hole formed therein; and a terminal,
The terminal includes a first portion disposed in the terminal press-in hole, and a second portion in which a tip portion protrudes from the first portion and the tip portion is connected to a conductive portion of a substrate to be connected. ,
Preparing the connector housing and a plurality of terminals in which the plurality of terminals are connected by tie bars;
A dividing step of dividing into the individual terminals by cutting the tie bars of the terminal group, and forming a first tie bar cutting portion in the second portion;
A press-in step of press-fitting the first portion of the terminal into the terminal press-in hole;
Forming a second bent portion by bending a portion closer to the tip end portion than the formation position of the first tie bar cut portion in the second portion;
A bending step of forming a first bent portion by bending a portion on the first portion side with respect to a formation position of the first tie bar cut portion in the second portion;
including.

The connector housing is formed with a curved surface adapted to the shape of the first bent portion,
In the bending step, the second portion may be bent along the curved surface.

  In the present invention, the second bent portion is provided closer to the tip end portion of the second portion than the first tie bar cut portion. To this end, the first tie bar cutting portion is provided away from the tip mounted on the conductive portion of the substrate. As a result, a cut surface not plated is not formed at the tip, and as a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in solder wettability when mounting on a substrate.

It is a perspective view of a connector concerning the embodiment of the present invention, and a partner side connector. It is a rear view of a connector. It is the III-III sectional view of FIG. It is IV-IV sectional drawing of FIG. It is a disassembled sectional view of a connector. It is a perspective view of a terminal. It is a sectional view of a terminal. It is a figure (the 1) for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a terminal. It is a figure (the 2) for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a terminal. It is a figure (the 3) for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a terminal. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the terminal which concerns on the comparative example 1. FIG. FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a method of manufacturing a terminal according to Comparative Example 2; FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a method of manufacturing a terminal according to Comparative Example 3; It is sectional drawing which expanded a part of FIG. 4 for demonstrating the effect of the terminal which concerns on this embodiment. 7 is a perspective view of a terminal according to Embodiment 2. FIG.

Embodiment 1
Hereinafter, the connector unit 10 provided with the connector 30 which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and the other party connector 20 is demonstrated using figures. In order to facilitate understanding, XYZ coordinates are set and referred to as appropriate. The Y-axis direction of the XYZ coordinates is the same as the insertion direction A1 of the mating connector 20 with respect to the connector 30, as shown in FIG. Further, the Z-axis direction is the same as the direction orthogonal to the surface of the substrate 50 to be mounted. The X-axis direction is a direction orthogonal to the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

  The connector unit 10 is used to electrically connect, for example, the cable C drawn out from an electronic component mounted on an automobile and the substrate 50, and has a terminal 40 mounted on the surface of the substrate 50. SMT (Surface Mount Technology) connector. The connector unit 10 includes a mating connector 20 and a connector 30, as shown in FIG.

  The mating connector 20 is composed of a female connector. The cable C is drawn out from the rear end surface on the -Y side of the mating connector 20. The mating connector 20 has a mating connector housing 21 and three female terminals housed in the mating connector housing 21.

  The mating connector housing 21 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape whose longitudinal direction is the Y-axis direction. The mating connector housing 21 is made of resin. The mating connector housing 21 has a pair of lock arms 22, a pair of auxiliary arms 23, a pair of locking portions 24, and a locking release portion 25.

  The pair of lock arms 22 extends from the tip end side (+ Y side) of the top surface 21 a of the mating connector housing 21 in the rear end direction (−Y direction). An unlocking portion 25 is formed at the extended end of the lock arm 22.

  The pair of auxiliary arms 23 extend from the locking release portion 25 and are bent in a U-shape, and then connected to the rear end side (−Y side) of the top surface 21 a of the mating connector housing 21. The auxiliary arm 23 and the lock arm 22 are provided so as to bend as the mating connector 20 and the connector 30 are fitted.

  When the mating connector 20 and the connector 30 are fitted, the pair of locking portions 24 lock in the lock holes 33 of the connector 30. The locking portion 24 is formed to project upward (in the + Z direction) from the upper surface of the lock arm 22.

  The lock release portion 25 is used to release the lock between the lock portion 24 and the locked hole 33 when the user of the connector unit 10 presses in the downward direction (−Z direction).

  The female terminal of the mating connector 20 is formed, for example, by bending a conductive plate material such as copper or copper alloy. The end of the cable C is fixed to the female terminal.

  The connector 30 is composed of a male connector in which the mating connector 20 is fitted. The connector 30 has a connector housing 31 and a terminal 40 having two bends. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the connector 30 has three terminals 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the connector housing 31 is a substantially box-shaped member in which a fitting hole 32 opening in the −Y direction is formed, and made of an insulating material such as resin. The connector housing 31 is fixed to the substrate 50 by being sandwiched between two support portions 51 that vertically rise from the surface of the substrate 50. The mating connector 20 is inserted into the fitting hole 32 of the connector housing 31. In the ceiling (the wall on the + Z side) of the fitting hole 32, a locking hole 33 for locking the locking portion 24 of the mating connector 20 is formed penetrating in the Z-axis direction. In addition, although the to-be-locked hole 33 is penetrated and formed in Z-axis direction, it is not restricted to this. The locked hole 33 may be configured of a non-through hole which is not penetrated. Further, on the rear end surface (the surface on the + Y side) of the connector housing 31, there is formed a curved surface 31a adapted to the shape of one of the two bent portions of the terminal 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, three terminal press-fit holes 34 are formed in the connector housing 31. The terminal press-fit hole 34 is a hole into which the terminal 40 is press-fit, and supports the terminal 40. The terminal press-fit hole 34 is formed through the connector housing 31 in the Y-axis direction. The opening on the -Y side of the terminal press-in hole 34 is an inlet into which the terminal 40 is inserted, and the edge of the opening is formed with a taper for facilitating the insertion of the terminal 40.

  The terminal 40 is composed of a male terminal made of a conductive material. The terminal 40 has a first portion 41 disposed in the terminal press-in hole 34, a second portion 42 projecting from the first portion 41 to the + Y side, and an opposite side of the first portion 41 to the second portion 42 (-Y And three parts with a third part 43 disposed inside the fitting hole 32.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the tie bar cutting portion 44 and the locking portions 45 and 46 are formed in the first portion 41.

  The tie bar cutting portion 44 is a portion formed by cutting a tie bar which is a connecting portion of a terminal group to which a plurality of terminals 40 are connected. The tie bar cutting portion 44 is formed to project in both the + X direction and the −X direction. The tip surface of the tie bar cutting portion 44 is generated when cutting the tie bar of the terminal group, and is composed of a non-plated cutting surface.

  The locking portions 45 and 46 are provided on the + Y side (the second portion 42 side of the tie bar cutting portion 44) of the tie bar cutting portion 44. The engagement portions 45 and 46 engage with the inner surface of the terminal press-in hole 34 to engage with the inner surface. The locking portion 45 is formed on the end face of the terminal 40, and includes a plurality of protrusions. The locking portion 46 is formed on the upper surface of the terminal 40. The locking portion 46 is formed, for example, by causing a part of the upper surface to protrude by pressing with a punch from the rear surface.

  The second portion 42 is formed with a first bent portion 47, a tie bar cut portion 48, and a second bent portion 49. The vicinity of the tip portion 42 a on the + Y side of the second portion 42 is mounted on the conductive portion of the substrate 50. The second portion 42 protrudes from the first portion 41 and bends in a direction toward the substrate 50 starting from the first bending portion 47, and bending again from the second bending portion 49 to follow the surface of the substrate 50 Is formed. The radius of curvature of the first bent portion 47 is equal to the radius of curvature of the curved surface 31 a formed on the rear end face of the connector housing 31, and the first bent portion 47 is bent along the curved surface 31 a It is formed. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the second portion 42 is set such that the inclination angle θ of the portion between the first bent portion 47 and the second bent portion 49 is approximately 6 °. Is bent from the first bent portion 47 as a starting point.

  The first bent portion 47 is formed on the + Y side of the locking portion 45. In the first embodiment, the thickness d1 of the first bent portion 47 is equal to the thickness d0 of the first portion 41.

  Similar to the tie bar cutting portion 44, the tie bar cutting portion 48 is a portion formed by cutting the tie bar of the terminal group to which the plurality of terminals 40 are connected. The tie bar cutting portion 48 is formed to project in both the + X direction and the −X direction. The tip surface of the tie bar cutting portion 48 is generated when cutting the connecting portion of the terminal group, and is formed of a non-plated cutting surface. The tie bar cutting portion 48 is provided on the tip 42 a side (the opposite side of the first portion 41 in the first bent portion 47) of the second portion 42 protruding from the first portion 41 than the first bent portion 47. ing.

  The second bent portion 49 is provided closer to the tip end 42 a than the tie bar cutting portion 48 (the side opposite to the first portion 41 in the tie bar cutting portion 48). The thickness d2 of the second bent portion 49 to the tip portion 42a is smaller than the thickness d0 of the first portion 41.

  The third portion 43 is a portion in contact with the female terminal of the mating connector 20 and is formed to project from the first portion 41.

  The connector 30 configured as described above is manufactured as follows.

(Preparation process)
First, as shown in FIG. 8, a metal plate 60 is prepared. Moreover, the connector housing 31 in which the terminal press-in hole 34 is formed is prepared. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9, the metal plate 60 is subjected to press processing to form a terminal group 61 in which a plurality of terminals 40 are connected. The terminal group 61 is configured by connecting a plurality of terminals 40 in which the first bent portion 47 and the second bent portion 49 are not formed by two tie bars 61 a and 61 b. The first tie bar 61 a connects the second portions 42 of the terminal 40, and the second tie bar 61 b connects the first portions 41. Further, as can be seen with reference to FIG. 7, this thin plate portion 62 has a thickness d2 thinner than the thickness d0 of the first portion 41 by reducing the thickness of a portion of a predetermined length from the tip portion 42a. Also form at the same time. In this state, the terminal group 61 is plated.

(Division process)
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9, the terminal group 61 is punched out and the two tie bars 61a and 61b are cut. As a result, the tie bar cut portion 44 including the cut surface which is divided into the individual terminals 40 and includes the cut surface which is not plated is formed in the first portion 41 and the tie bar cut portion 48 which includes the cut surface which is not plated The second portion 42 is formed. The tie bar cutting portions 44 and 48 need not be formed at the same time, but may be formed separately. Alternatively, the locking portion 46 may be formed after the dividing step.

(Press-in process)
Subsequently, as can be seen with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the first portion 41 of the terminal 40 is press-fit into the terminal press-in hole 34 of the connector housing 31 prepared in advance. When the first portion 41 is press-fit into the terminal press-in hole 34, the second portion 42 and the third portion 43 respectively project from the terminal press-in hole 34.

(Formation process, bending process)
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10, the second bent portion 49 is formed by bending a portion closer to the distal end portion 42a than the formation position 63 of the tie bar cut portion 48. Subsequently, a portion closer to the first portion 41 than the formation position 63 of the tie bar cut portion 48 is bent to form a first bent portion 47. At this time, the second portion 42 is bent along the curved surface 31 a formed on the rear end surface of the connector housing 31. Thus, the connector 30 shown in FIG. 1 is completed. Note that the order of steps is not limited to this, and may be changed as appropriate.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the second bent portion 49 is provided closer to the tip 42 a than the tie bar cutting portion 48. Thus, the tie bar cutting portion 48 is provided away from the tip 42 a mounted on the conductive portion of the substrate 50. As a result, a cut surface on which the plating is not applied is not formed on the tip end portion 42a, and as a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in solder wettability when mounting on the substrate 50.

  For example, in the terminal group 61 to which the terminal 40B according to the comparative example illustrated in FIG. 11 is connected, the plurality of terminals 40B connect the first tie bar 61a that connects the tips of the second portions 42; And a second tie bar 61b connecting the two. When the terminal group 61 is pressed and divided into the individual terminals 40 B, the tie bar cut portion 48 is formed at the tip of the second portion 42. In this case, when the terminal 40B is mounted on the substrate, the solder must be adhered to the substrate, including the non-plated cut surface. As a result, the solder wettability may be reduced. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the tie bar cutting portion 48 is provided apart from the tip portion 42 a mounted on the conductive portion of the substrate 50. As a result, a cut surface on which the plating is not applied is not formed on the tip end portion 42a, and as a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in solder wettability when mounting on the substrate 50.

  Further, in the terminal group 61 to which the terminal 40C according to the comparative example shown in FIG. 12 is connected, the plurality of terminals 40C are a first tie bar 61a connecting the tips of the third portions 43, and the first portions 41 And a second tie bar 61b connecting the two. When the terminal group 61 is pressed and divided into the individual terminals 40C, the tie bar cut portion 48 is formed at the tip of the third portion 43. When the terminal 40C is connected to the mating terminal, the mating surface may be damaged by the cut surface. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, since the third portion 43 does not have the cut surface of the tie bar cut portion, damage due to the cut surface can be prevented. .

  Further, in the bending step according to the first embodiment, in the second portion 42, the portion on the first portion 41 side of the forming position of the tie bar cut portion 48 is bent to form the first bent portion 47. . Therefore, the ease of bending is not impaired as compared with the case where the portion where the tie bar cut portion 48 having a wide terminal width is formed is bent to form the first bent portion 47.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the terminal 40 has two tie bar cut portions 44 and 48. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, in the terminal group 61, the terminals 40 are connected to each other by the two tie bars 61a and 61b. As a result, for example, there is no deformation into a circular sector as in a terminal group 61 in which the terminals 40 are connected by one second tie bar 61b shown in FIG. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the positions of the adjacent terminals 40 can be stabilized in the dividing step. As a result, it is possible to prevent the work efficiency in the dividing step from being reduced. Further, in the press-fitting step, the second portion 42 can be protruded from the terminal press-fit hole 34 along the Y-axis direction. Therefore, when the tip portion 42a is mounted on the conductive portion of the substrate 50 after the forming step and the bending step, the position of the tip portion 42a can be easily aligned with the position of the conductive portion. That is, the positional accuracy of the tip 42a with respect to the conductive portion can be improved.

  Further, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the tie bar cutting portion 44 is disposed inside the terminal press-in hole 34 of the connector housing 31, and the tie bar cutting portion 48 is the terminal press-in hole of the connector housing 31. It is located outside of 34. Therefore, the thickness d3 of the wall portion in which the terminal press-in hole 34 is formed can be made thinner than that in which the two tie bar cut portions are disposed inside the terminal press-in hole 34. As a result, the connector housing 31 can be miniaturized, and in turn, the entire connector can be miniaturized.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, the thickness d1 of the first bent portion 47 is equal to the thickness d0 of the first portion 41. However, it is not limited to this. For example, as in a terminal 40A according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the thickness of the first bent portion 47 may be thinner than the thickness of the first portion 41.

  The terminal 40A according to the second embodiment can be formed by reducing the thickness of the portion between the tie bar cut portion 48 and the locking portion 45 at the time of pressing in the preparation process of the terminal 40 described above.

  In the second embodiment, in addition to the effects exhibited by the terminal 40 according to the first embodiment, since the thickness of the first bent portion 47 is thinner than the thickness of the first portion 41, in the manufacturing process of the terminal 40A, The effect of easily forming the bent portion 47 of 1 is obtained.

  The first and second embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments.

  The present invention is capable of various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. The embodiments described above are for explaining the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

  10: connector unit, 20: mating connector, 21: mating connector housing, 21a: top surface, 22: lock arm, 23: auxiliary arm, 24: locking portion, 25: locking release portion, 30: connector, 31: connector housing, 31a: curved surface, 32: fitting hole, 33: locked hole, 34: terminal press-in hole, 40, 40A, 40B, 40C: terminal, 41: first portion, 42: second portion, 42a: tip portion 43: third portion 44: tie bar cut portion (second tie bar cut portion) 45, 46: locking portion 47: first bent portion 48: tie bar cut portion (first Tie bar cut portion) 49: second bent portion 50: substrate 51: support portion 60: metal plate 61: terminal group 61 a: first tie bar 61 b: second tie bar 62: thin plate portion , 63: (tie bar cutting Min 48) formation position, A1: insertion direction, C: Cable, d0 to d3: Thickness, theta: angle of inclination.

Claims (9)

A connector housing in which a terminal press-in hole is formed;
A terminal having a first portion disposed in the terminal press-fit hole, and a second portion having a tip end projecting from the first portion and the tip portion being connected to a conductive portion of a substrate to be connected;
Equipped with
In the second portion, a first bent portion, a first tie bar cut portion provided closer to the tip end portion than the first bent portion, and a tip end than the first tie bar cut portion The connector in which the 2nd bending part provided in the part side is formed.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the first bent portion of the second portion is equal to a thickness of the first portion.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of at least a portion of the first bent portion of the second portion is thinner than a thickness of the first portion.   The second portion protrudes from the first portion, bends in a direction toward the substrate from the first bent portion, and bends from the second bent portion to a shape along the surface of the substrate. A connector according to any one of the preceding claims, which is formed.   A second tie bar cutting portion, and a locking portion provided on the second portion side with respect to the second tie bar cutting portion and being engaged with the inner surface of the terminal press-fit hole in the first portion; 5. A connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein is formed.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the connector housing is formed with a curved surface adapted to the shape of the first bent portion.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the connector is a surface mount technology (SMT) connector in which the second portion of the terminal is mounted on the surface of the substrate. A method of manufacturing a connector, comprising: a connector housing having a terminal press-in hole formed therein; and a terminal,
The terminal includes a first portion disposed in the terminal press-in hole, and a second portion in which a tip portion protrudes from the first portion and the tip portion is connected to a conductive portion of a substrate to be connected. ,
Preparing the connector housing and a plurality of terminals in which the plurality of terminals are connected by tie bars;
A dividing step of dividing into the individual terminals by cutting the tie bars of the terminal group, and forming a first tie bar cutting portion in the second portion;
A press-in step of press-fitting the first portion of the terminal into the terminal press-in hole;
Forming a second bent portion by bending a portion closer to the tip end portion than the formation position of the first tie bar cut portion in the second portion;
A bending step of forming a first bent portion by bending a portion on the first portion side with respect to a formation position of the first tie bar cut portion in the second portion;
A method of manufacturing a connector, including: The connector housing is formed with a curved surface adapted to the shape of the first bent portion,
The method according to claim 8, wherein in the bending step, the second portion is bent along the curved surface.

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