JP3929948B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector manufactured by insert molding.

As an example of a connector (that is, a board connector) mounted on a board on which an electric circuit is wired (that is, an electric circuit board), a synthetic resin is placed in a mold in which a plurality of male terminals are arranged at a predetermined pitch. It is known that the male terminal is insert-molded in a connector housing by injection (see, for example, Patent Document 1). FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the male terminal is insert-molded in the connector housing while being held in the mold.
JP 2001-76799 A (pages 3 to 4, FIG. 6)

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the connector 1 has a plurality of male terminals 2 formed in a substantially L shape and arranged in two rows at a predetermined pitch, and is inserted into an insulating synthetic resin connector housing 3. Molded and manufactured. In this insert molding, a plurality of male terminals 2 are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and synthetic resin is injected into the cavities in the molds K, L, and M while being held by the three divided molds K, L, and M. Thus, the connector housing 3 is molded. A contact portion (fitting portion) 2 a which is a tip portion of the male terminal 2 protrudes horizontally from the front surface 3 a of the connector housing 3, and a leg portion 2 b of the male terminal 2 protrudes rearward of the connector housing 3. Molded.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in the connector 1, the contact portion 2 a of the male terminal 2 protrudes in a horizontal direction from the front surface 3 a of the connector housing 3 in a state where the contact portion 2 a is held in the connector housing 3 at the root portion. Molded. For this reason, the mechanical strength of the contact portion 2a, particularly in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, is weak, and if the force is applied to the contact portion 2a by mistake during handling of the connector 1, the contact portion 2a There is a possibility of bending from the root. If even one of the plurality of male terminals 2 is bent, it causes inconvenience in fitting between the connectors (that is, the male and female connectors). Is necessary and is not preferable. In particular, due to the recent demand for connector miniaturization, the male terminal 2 itself is also small and thin, and the male terminal 2 is highly likely to bend. Further, in the connector 1 in which the male terminals 2 are arranged at a narrow interval (that is, with a narrow pitch), if the male terminals 2 are bent even a little, there is a high possibility that a short circuit between the male terminals 2 will occur.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the situation mentioned above, The objective is to provide the connector which improved the mechanical strength of the front-end | tip part of a male terminal.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the connector according to the present invention includes:
(1) A connector housing, and a plurality of male terminals each having a contact portion at a distal end portion that is in contact with a female terminal of a mating connector and is electrically connected to the female terminal;
The plurality of male terminals penetrate through the connector housing while exposing the contact portions, respectively , and the connector housing is insert-molded so that the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals are arranged at least in a line at a predetermined pitch. A connector,
Said plurality of male terminals adjacent, respectively disposed between the side surface of the tip portion which faces, further comprising a plurality of terminal holding portions of lower height than the tip of the tip portion of the male terminal, the terminal holder Is formed integrally with the connector housing so as to be in close contact with only the side surface of the tip portion, the surface of the plurality of male terminals not held by the terminal holding portion, and the tip portion protruding from the terminal holding portion It is characterized in that the tip of is exposed .

In the connector described in (1) above,
(2) The thicknesses of the plurality of terminal holding portions in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction and the longitudinal direction of the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals may be smaller than the thicknesses of the tip portions.

In the connector described in (1) above,
(3) The thickness of each of the plurality of terminal holding portions in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction and the longitudinal direction of the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals may be larger than the thickness of each tip portion.

According to the present invention, the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals are arranged at least in a line at a predetermined pitch, and are provided between the adjacent and opposite side surfaces of the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals, and are in close contact with the side surfaces. In this way, a plurality of terminal holding portions integrally formed with the connector housing are provided, and the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals and the terminal holding portions are substantially integrated, so that The strength can be greatly improved. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the bending of the tip of the male terminal as in the prior art. Therefore, for example, it is possible to reliably prevent a short circuit between the tip portions of the male terminals arranged at a narrow pitch.
In addition, since the terminal holding portion is molded so that the protruding ends in the longitudinal direction of the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals protrude from the plurality of terminal holding portions, when the connector of the present invention and the mating connector are fitted, The tip of the male terminal can be brought into contact with the female terminal of the mating connector first, so that a reliable electrical connection between the male terminal and the female terminal can be realized.

Further, if the terminal holding portion is formed such that the thickness of each of the plurality of terminal holding portions in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the arrangement direction of the front end portions of the plurality of male terminals is smaller than the thickness of each of the front end portions. Even when the relative positional accuracy of the male terminal of the connector of the invention and the female terminal of the mating connector is low, it is ensured that the terminal holding portion is scraped by the female terminal when the connector of the present invention is mated with the mating connector. Therefore, contact failure with the female terminal due to adhesion of the shavings to the contact portion of the male terminal can be reliably prevented.

Further, if the terminal holding part is formed such that the thickness of each of the plurality of terminal holding parts in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the arrangement direction of the front end parts of the plurality of male terminals is larger than the thickness of each of the front end parts. Even when the relative positional accuracy of the male terminal of the connector of the invention and the female terminal of the mating connector is low, when the connector of the present invention is mated with the mating connector, each adjacent pair of terminal holding portions is the female of the mating connector. Since each terminal works so as to be surely guided and slidably contacted on the contact portion of the male terminal, a reliable electrical connection between the male terminal and the female terminal can be realized.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion surrounded by a dotted circle II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 1 and a longitudinal sectional view of an example of a mating connector having a female terminal, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a front view as viewed in the direction of arrow VII in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the relevant part in a second modification of the connector of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a front view as viewed in the direction of arrow IX in FIG. It is.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a board connector and includes a plurality of male terminals 11 and a connector housing 12. The male terminal 11 is for contacting and electrically connecting to the female terminal 21 disposed on the counterpart connector 20 when the connector 10 and the counterpart connector 20 are fitted together. It consists of a conductive metal material formed into a rod shape. The male terminal 11 is electrically connected to the female terminal 21 of the mating connector 20 at its distal end portion 11a (more specifically, a contact portion (ie, a contact surface) 11d provided on the distal end portion 11a), and a proximal end portion In 11b, it is electrically connected to an electric circuit (that is, a land of a conductive pattern) (not shown) arranged on the board (electric circuit board) 13. The plurality of male terminals 11 are arranged in two rows of 30 at a predetermined pitch, for example, at an interval of 0.8 mm, and are insert-molded and fixed to the connector housing 12. The end face of the front end portion 11a in the longitudinal direction of the front end in the longitudinal direction is the topmost portion, and a portion that tapers toward the topmost portion (that is, toward the connector fitting direction) is formed at the top end.

  The connector housing 12 is manufactured by injection molding a synthetic resin having electrical insulation. The connector housing 12 is disposed between a substantially rectangular parallelepiped body portion 12a, a substantially rectangular tubular hood portion 12b projecting from an outer edge portion of one end surface of the body portion 12a, and a distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11. Thus, the terminal holding portion 12c protruding from one end surface of the main body portion 12a and the other end surface of the main body portion 12a (that is, the opposite surface opposite to the one end surface of the main body portion 12a and in contact with the substrate 13) And a locking pin 12d that is an engaging member with the substrate 13 protruding from the surface), and these are integrally formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the main body portion 12 a includes intermediate portions between the distal end portions 11 a and the base end portions 11 b of the plurality of male terminals 11 arranged in two rows, and the plurality of male terminals 11. The front end portion 11a of the plurality of male terminals 11 protrudes in the hood portion 12b formed on one end surface of the connector housing 12 in a direction perpendicular to the one end surface, and the base end portions 11b of the plurality of male terminals 11 are formed on the board 13 of the connector housing 12. From the outer edge portion of the contact surface with the connector housing 12, the connector housing 12 is held so as to protrude outward.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the hood portion 12b protrudes from the outer edge portion of one end surface of the main body portion 12a with a depth sufficient to completely surround the distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11. It is installed. Further, the inner shape of the hood portion 12b is substantially the same as the outer shape of the counterpart connector 20, that is, the outer shape of the counterpart connector 20 is formed to be the same as or slightly larger than that of the counterpart connector 20, and the counterpart connector 20 is formed inside the hood portion 12b. A receiving recess 12e for receiving is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the terminal holding portion 12c is adjacent to the tip portions 11a of the plurality of male terminals 11 protruding from the main body portion 12a into the hood portion 12b and arranged at a predetermined pitch. And it arrange | positions between the side surfaces 11c which oppose, and is extended so that each protrusion of the front-end | tip part 11a may protrude from an end surface (namely, front-end | tip surface of the some terminal holding part 12c). Moreover, the thickness of each of the plurality of terminal holding portions 12c in the direction in which the front end portions 11a of the plurality of male terminals 11 are arranged and in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is substantially equal to the thickness of each of the front end portions 11a. The adjacent and opposing side surfaces 11c of the plurality of male terminals 11 are in close contact with the terminal holding portion 12c, and the plurality of terminal holding portions 12c and the front end portions 11a of the male terminals 11 are substantially integrated. It is insert-molded so that Therefore, the front end part 11a and the terminal holding part 12c of the male terminal 11 are arranged alternately such as one front end part 11a, one terminal holding part 12c, one front end part 11a, one terminal holding part 12c,. It is molded integrally. As described above, the contact portion 11d of the male terminal 11 has an exposed side surface other than the side surface 11c in close contact with the terminal holding portion 12c at the front end portion 11a of the male terminal 11 (that is, the arrangement of the front end portions 11a of the plurality of male terminals 11). And provided on both side surfaces of the distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11 substantially parallel to the direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, two locking pins 12 d are provided so as to protrude from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the contact surface of the main body 12 a with the substrate 13. The locking pins 12d are fitted into pin holes 13a provided in the substrate 13 to position the connector 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, after positioning the connector 10 by fitting the two locking pins 12d into the pin holes 13a of the board 13, the base end portions 11b of the plurality of male terminals 11 are placed on the board. It is mounted on the substrate 13 by soldering to the conductive pattern on the substrate 13. The base end portion 11 b is formed so as to be substantially parallel to the substrate 13 when the connector 10 is mounted on the substrate 13.

  The operation of this embodiment will be described. The plurality of male terminals 11 are arranged such that the front end portions 11a protrude from the one end surface of the main body portion 12a of the connector housing 12 into the hood portion 12b, and the hood portions 12b completely surround the front end portions 11a of the male terminals 11. Since the receiving recess 12e has substantially the same shape as the mating connector 20, the force can be prevented from acting on the tip 11a of the male terminal 11 from the outside, When the mating connector 20 is inserted / removed, the receiving recess 12e guides the mating connector 20 to a proper posture and a proper position, so that unnecessary force does not act on the distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11, so that the mating connector The connector 20 can be smoothly inserted and removed. Furthermore, a terminal holding portion 12c protruding from the main body portion 12a is disposed between the adjacent side faces 11c of the plurality of male terminals 11 adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction of the male terminals 11, and the plurality of male terminals 11 end portions 11a and the plurality of terminal holding portions 12c are substantially integrated plates, so that the male terminals 11 are compared to the case where the end portions 11a of the male terminals 11 are independently arranged. The mechanical strength of the distal end portion 11a is high, and in particular, the mechanical strength in the arrangement direction of the distal end portions 11a of the plurality of male terminals 11 is extremely high. Therefore, even if some force acts on the distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11, it is possible to prevent the distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11 from being bent. For example, due to the bending of the distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11, Problems such as poor contact between male and female terminals and inability to connect the connector can be solved.

  Further, the contact portion 11d of the male terminal 11 is provided on both side surfaces substantially parallel to the arrangement direction (that is, the arrangement direction) of the tip end portion 11a of the male terminal 11, and the female terminal 21 of the mating connector 20 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, a so-called tuning fork terminal is sandwiched between the female terminals 21 and electrically connected to the female terminals 21 on two surfaces, thereby enabling reliable electrical connection. Furthermore, since the terminal holding part 12c which has electrical insulation is arrange | positioned between the front-end | tip parts 11a of the adjacent male terminal 11, the front-end | tip part 11a of the male terminal 11 is arrange | positioned with a narrow space | interval (namely, narrow pitch). Even if it does, the said front-end | tip part 11a is electrically insulated, and generation | occurrence | production of a short circuit is prevented. Therefore, the connector 10 can be miniaturized by disposing the distal end portions 11a of the male terminals 11 at a narrow interval.

  Furthermore, since the front end portion 11a of the male terminal 11 is arranged with its protruding ends protruding from the plurality of terminal holding portions 12c, when the connector 10 and the mating connector 20 are fitted, the male terminal 11 is the first. The distal end portion 11a can be brought into contact with the female terminal 21 of the mating connector 20, so that a reliable electrical connection between the male terminal 11 and the female terminal 21 can be realized. Further, the protruding end of the distal end portion 11 a of the male terminal 11 facilitates the holding of the male terminal 11 in the insert molding die when the male terminal 11 is insert-molded into the connector housing 12.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, etc. can be made as appropriate. In addition, the material, shape, dimension, numerical value, form, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as a first modification of the above-described embodiment, the direction in which the tips 11a of the plurality of male terminals 11 are arranged and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 7). The terminal holding portion 112c may be formed such that the thickness of each of the plurality of terminal holding portions 112c is smaller than the thickness of each of the tip end portions 11a. According to the first modification, even when the relative positional accuracy of the male terminal 11 of the connector 10 and the female terminal 21 of the counterpart connector 20 is low, the terminal is held when the connector 10 and the counterpart connector 20 are fitted. The portion 112c is reliably prevented from being scraped by the female terminal 21, and therefore, the contact failure between the male terminal 11 and the female terminal 21 due to adhesion of the shavings to the contact portion 11 of the male terminal 11 is reliably prevented. Can do.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 as a second modification of the above-described embodiment, the direction in which the tips 11a of the plurality of male terminals 11 are arranged and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 9). The terminal holding portions 212c may be formed such that the thicknesses of the plurality of terminal holding portions 212c are larger than the thicknesses of the tip portions 11a. According to the second modification, even when the relative positional accuracy of the male terminal 11 of the connector 10 and the female terminal 21 of the counterpart connector 20 is low, the connector 10 and the counterpart connector 20 are adjacent to each other. Since the opposing surfaces of the terminal holding portions 212c and 212c of each set work to reliably guide and slide the female terminals 21 of the mating connector 20 on the contact portions 11d of the male terminals 11, the male terminals 11 and the female terminals 21. A reliable electrical connection can be realized. Further, by forming each end face in the longitudinal direction of the terminal holding portion 212c so as to taper in the connector fitting direction, the female terminal 21 of the mating connector 20 can be smoothly guided, and the plurality of terminal holding portions 212c. Unnecessary force is not applied to the distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11 integral with. Moreover, in addition to the arrangement direction of the front-end | tip parts 11a of the several male terminal 11, the mechanical strength of the said thickness direction of the front-end | tip part 11a can further be raised.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, since the terminal holding portions 212c are formed such that the protruding ends in the longitudinal direction of the tip portions 11a of the plurality of male terminals 11 protrude from the plurality of terminal holding portions 212c, in particular, the connector When the relative positional accuracy of the male terminal 11 and the female terminal 21 of the mating connector 20 is low, when the connector 10 and the mating connector 20 are fitted together, the distal end portion 11a of the male terminal 11 is first attached to the mating connector 20. Further, the opposing surfaces of the adjacent terminal holding portions 212c and 212c can reliably guide the female terminal 21 of the mating connector 20 onto the contact portion 11d of the male terminal 11, respectively. Thus, the electrical connection between the male terminal 11 and the female terminal 21 can be realized.

  Although the board connector has been described as an example in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a connector that is disposed at the end of the cable and electrically connects the cables to each other is used. The present invention can also be effectively applied to a connector of the form.

It is a perspective view of the connector which is one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion surrounded by a dotted line circle II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1 and a vertical cross-sectional view of an example of a mating connector having a female terminal. It is a VV arrow sectional view in FIG. It is a principal part perspective view of the 1st modification of the connector of this invention. It is a VII arrow front view in FIG. It is a principal part perspective view of the 2nd modification of the connector of this invention. FIG. 9 is a front view taken along arrow IX in FIG. 8. It is a perspective view of the conventional connector. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the metal mold | die which insert-molds the conventional connector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector 11 Male terminal 11a Tip part 11b Base end part 11c Side surface 11d Contact part 12 Connector housing 12c Terminal holding part 13 Board | substrate

Claims (3)

A plurality of male terminals each having a contact portion that contacts a female terminal of a mating connector and is electrically connected to the female terminal at the tip,
The plurality of male terminals penetrate through the connector housing while exposing the contact portions, respectively , and the connector housing is insert-molded so that the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals are arranged at least in a line at a predetermined pitch. A connector,
Said plurality of male terminals adjacent, respectively disposed between the side surface of the tip portion which faces, further comprising a plurality of terminal holding portions of lower height than the tip of the tip portion of the male terminal, the terminal holder Is formed integrally with the connector housing so as to be in close contact with only the side surface of the tip portion, the surface of the plurality of male terminals not held by the terminal holding portion, and the tip portion protruding from the terminal holding portion A connector characterized in that its tip is exposed . 2. The thickness of each of the plurality of terminal holding portions in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction and the longitudinal direction of the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals is smaller than the thickness of each of the tip portions. connector. 2. The thickness of each of the plurality of terminal holding portions in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction and the longitudinal direction of the tip portions of the plurality of male terminals is larger than the thickness of each of the tip portions. connector.

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