CN105305165A - Electric connector for circuit board - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an electric connector for a circuit board. The electric connector for a circuit board can make mutual locking of connectors become reliable. A shell (10) is arranged at one end of at least one party and maintains two locking pieces (40) at the adjacent positions in the width direction for the connectors which are right angle relative to the arranging direction; metal plate parts are bent into the locking pieces (40); each locking piece (40) is provided with a base part (41) which is parallel to the mounting surface of the circuit board, pins (42, 43) which extend toward the circuit board side from the two ends in the width direction of the connector for the base part (41), and an end locking part (47) which is arranged on the edge part of the base part (41); and the pins (42, 43) are fixed on at least one of the circuit board and the shell (10).

Description

Electrical connectors for circuit boards

technical field

The invention relates to an electrical connector for a circuit board, which is arranged on the mounting surface of a circuit board, takes the direction at right angles to the mounting surface as the connector insertion and extraction direction, and is used for plugging and unplugging of the target connector, especially relates to a An electrical connector for a circuit board having a locking member capable of locking relative to a mating connector in a direction in which the connector is pulled out.

Background technique

As such an electrical connector for a circuit board, for example, a receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1 is known. In Patent Document 1, the receptacle connector has a pair of side walls extending along the long side direction of the connector (terminal arrangement direction described later) and a side wall extending at right angles to the side walls along the short side direction (connector width). direction), a plurality of terminals arranged and held on the side wall of the housing with the above-mentioned long side direction as the terminal arrangement direction, and a shielding member attached to the peripheral wall. The shielding member has a pair of shielding members for long sides extending along the side walls and a pair of shielding members for short sides extending along the end walls, and the shielding members for long sides and the shielding members for short sides are at the ends of each other. The contacts are integrally formed in a frame shape and attached to the peripheral wall of the case. A lock portion (leaf spring portion to be described later) for locking with a plug connector (mate connector) is provided on the shield member for short sides.

The short-side shielding member is formed by bending a metal plate member, and has an upper surface portion extending over the entire width direction of the connector along the upper surface of the end wall of the housing, and an upper surface portion extending along the width direction of the connector. The hanging piece extending downward from the outer edge portion (the outer edge portion in the terminal arrangement direction) of the upper surface portion is downward from the inner edge portion (the inner edge portion in the terminal arrangement direction) of the upper surface portion. Two extended leaf spring portions (lock portions), and side portions extending downward from both end portions of the upper surface portion in the connector width direction. The leaf spring portion is bent so that a contact protrusion for engaging with a claw portion provided on the plug connector as a corresponding locking portion in the connector pulling-out direction protrudes inwardly in the terminal arrangement direction.

The short-side shield member is attached to the housing by press-fitting the hanging piece and the side surface into grooves formed in the end wall and the side wall of the housing, respectively. In addition, the short-side shielding member is fixed to the mounting surface of the circuit board by soldering at the connection end between the tail portion and the lower end formed on the side portion, wherein the tail portion is positioned from the lower edge of the hanging piece toward the central position in the width direction of the connector. The terminal arrangement direction extends outward.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-243703

In Patent Document 1, when the plug connector as the target connector is pulled out from the receptacle connector, the contact between the claw portion (corresponding lock portion) of the plug connector and the short-side shield member of the receptacle connector The convex portion (lock portion) is locked in the direction in which the connector is pulled out (upward), and as a result, an upward external force also acts on the upper surface portion of the short-side shield member. Since the upper surface portion of the short-side shield member is formed to be long over the entire width direction of the connector, the upper surface portion is easily deformed to be convexly curved upward when the external force is applied. Such flexural deformation of the upper surface portion may cause unintentional detachment of the locking portions and damage to the short-side shield member itself.

In addition, in the shield member for short sides of Patent Document 1, the deflection deformation of the above-mentioned upper surface portion is overcome by fixing the tail portion provided at the central position in the width direction of the connector to the circuit board. However, this means that a large stress corresponding to the force to overcome the above-mentioned deflection is generated in the tail.

Contents of the invention

In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides an electrical connector for a circuit board that can reliably lock the connectors.

The electrical connector for a circuit board according to the present invention is a circuit board that is arranged on the mounting surface of the circuit board, and uses a direction that is at right angles to the mounting surface as the connector insertion and extraction direction, and is used for plugging and unplugging of the target connector. An electrical connector, the circuit board electrical connector has terminals and locking pieces arranged in a direction parallel to the mounting surface as an arrangement direction; and a housing for arranging and holding the terminals and locking pieces, The locking piece is held at the end of the housing in the alignment direction, and can be locked with respect to the mating connector in the direction in which the connector is pulled out.

The first technical solution

In the first technical means, the electrical connector for a circuit board is characterized in that the two lock members are arranged at positions adjacent to each other at least one of the ends of the housing in the width direction of the connector at right angles to the arrangement direction. For holding, a metal plate member is bent to form a locking member having a base formed of a plate portion parallel to the above-mentioned mounting surface, and from both ends of the base in the width direction of the connector toward the circuit A leg portion extending from the side of the board, and an end lock portion provided on an edge portion of the base portion, the leg portion being fixed to at least one of the circuit board and the case.

Second technical solution

In addition, in the second technical means, the electrical connector for circuit boards is characterized in that the two locks are locked at positions adjacent to each other at least one of the ends of the housing in the width direction of the connector at right angles to the arrangement direction. The locking member is held by bending the metal plate member to form the locking member, the locking member has a base formed by a plate portion parallel to the above-mentioned mounting surface, at least one end in the connector width direction from the base and an edge portion of the base portion extending toward the circuit board side, and an end locking portion provided on the leg portion extending from the edge portion of the base portion, and the leg portion is fixed to at least one of the circuit board and the housing.

In the first technical means and the second technical means, the two locks are held at positions adjacent to each other in the direction of the arrangement of the housings and in the width direction of the connector. Therefore, the size of each lock piece in the connector width direction becomes small compared to the case where one lock piece is provided over the entire area of the housing in the connector width direction. In other words, the base of the locking piece becomes shorter in the connector width direction, which means that the arm length at the time of flexural deformation of the base becomes shorter. Therefore, even if the corresponding locking portion provided on the mating connector is engaged with the end locking portion of the locking piece, and an external force is applied to the base of the locking piece in the direction of pulling out the connector, the base is not easy to be removed. deflection in the thickness direction. In addition, as described above, when the arm length of the base is shortened during the flexural deformation of the base, the stress generated in the fixed leg becomes smaller. As a result, the locked state of the lock parts can be reliably maintained.

In the first technical solution and the second technical solution, each locking member may also have a fixing portion extending from an end of at least one leg portion on the circuit board side, and fix the fixing portion to the mounting surface of the circuit board. In this way, by providing the fixing portion on the lock, the mounting area of the fixing portion with respect to the mounting surface can be ensured to be large, and the lock can be reliably fixed to the circuit board.

In the first technical solution and the second technical solution, each locking member may have a leg extending from an end located outside the base in the width direction of the connector, and a side surface may be formed on the board surface of the leg. locking part. In this way, by providing the side lock portions in addition to the end lock portions, the load on the end lock portions can be reduced, and the flexural deformation of the base portion can be more reliably prevented. In addition, in the mated state of the connectors, the pull-out force that makes the object connector tilt in the above-mentioned arrangement direction can be overcome mainly by the end lock portion, and the force that makes the object connector tilt in the above-mentioned arrangement direction can be overcome mainly by the side lock portion. Slanted pull-out force across the width of the connector. As a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent unintentional detachment of the connector.

In the first technical solution and the second technical solution, each locking piece may have a leg extending from an end located outside the base in the connector width direction, and a leg located further in the alignment direction than the leg. The inner side plate part is arranged in line with the leg part, and a side locking part is formed on the plate surface of the side plate part. In addition, in the first technical means and the second technical means, each lock member may have a leg extending from an end portion located outside the base in the connector width direction, and may have a leg extending from the leg in the alignment direction. A side plate portion located inside and arranged in line with the leg portion, and a side lock portion extended from the side plate portion in the width direction of the connector.

In the first technical solution and the second technical solution, the locking member may be formed with a locking guide surface for guiding a corresponding locking portion provided on the target connector to a locked position locked with the locking member, The locking guide surface protrudes from the surface of the casing, or forms the same level as the surface.

The case is often made of resin or the like, and its strength is usually lower than that of the lock. As mentioned above, the above-mentioned locking guide surface is made to protrude from the surface of the housing, or to form the same level with the surface, so that during the connector fitting process, the corresponding locking portion of the target connector and the locking member with high strength The lock guide surface is in sliding contact and is guided to the above-mentioned lock position. Therefore, the above-mentioned corresponding locking portion does not come into sliding contact with the housing, so that damage to the housing can be avoided.

In the present invention, the shell can also arrange and hold a plurality of terminals in the arrangement direction, and the plurality of terminals have signal terminals and power terminals located outside the signal terminals in the above-mentioned arrangement direction, and the locking member is in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. Located on the outside of the above power terminals.

In the electrical connector for a circuit board of the present invention, since the two locking pieces are arranged in line in the width direction of the connector, compared with the case where one locking piece is provided over the entire area of the connector width direction of the housing, The size of each locking piece becomes smaller in the width direction of the connector. Therefore, the base portion of the lock member is less likely to bend in the plate thickness direction, and the stress generated in the fixed leg portion is reduced, so that the locked state of the connectors can be reliably maintained.

Description of drawings

1 is a perspective view of a receptacle connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a plug connector fitted into the receptacle connector from above, showing a state before the connectors are fitted.

Fig. 2 (A) is a cross-sectional perspective view of the plug connector on a surface at right angles to the arrangement direction of the socket connectors of Fig. 1, and Fig. 2 (B) is a right angle to the arrangement direction of the plug connectors of Fig. 1 The cross-sectional perspective view of the receptacle connector on the top surface, and shows the cross-section at the central position of the arrangement direction, the left half shows the state of omitting the shell, and the lower position of the right half shows the The locking piece that the right half holds.

3(A) is a perspective view showing the plug connector shown in FIG. 1 upside down, and FIG. 3(B) is a perspective view showing the plug connector housing of FIG. 3(A) omitted.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on a plane at right angles to the arrangement direction of the receptacle connector and the plug connector in Fig. 1, and shows a cross-section at the position of the signal terminal, and Fig. 4(A) shows a connector fitting Before the state, Fig. 4(B) shows the connector fitting state.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on a surface at right angles to the arrangement direction of the socket connector and the plug connector in Fig. 1, and shows the cross-section at the position of the locking member. Figure 5(B) shows the state before the connector is fitted.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view on a plane at right angles to the connector width direction of the socket connector and the plug connector of Fig. 1, and shows a cross-section at the central position in the width direction of the connector, and Fig. 6(A) shows The state before connector fitting, FIG. 6(B) shows the connector fitting state.

7 is a perspective view of a receptacle connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a plug connector fitted to the receptacle connector from above, showing a state before the connectors are fitted.

Fig. 8 (A) is a cross-sectional perspective view of the plug connector on a surface at right angles to the arrangement direction of the socket connectors in Fig. 7, and Fig. 8 (B) is a right angle to the arrangement direction of the plug connectors in Fig. 7 The cross-sectional perspective view of the receptacle connector on the top surface, and shows the cross-section at the central position of the arrangement direction, the state of the shell is omitted in the left half, and the lower position of the right half shows the The locking piece that the right half holds.

9(A) is a perspective view showing the plug connector shown in FIG. 7 upside down, and FIG. 9(B) is a perspective view showing the plug connector housing of FIG. 9(A) omitted.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view on a surface at right angles to the connector width direction of the socket connector and the plug connector of Fig. 7, and shows a cross-section at the center of the connector width direction, and Fig. 10(A) shows The state before connector fitting, FIG. 10(B) shows the connector fitting state.

Explanation of reference signs: 1, 101...socket connector; 2, 102...plug connector; 10, 110...shell; 20, 120...socket signal terminal; 30, 130...socket power terminal; 40, 140...socket lock piece; 41, 141…base; 42…inner foot; 70, 170…plug lock; 71, 171…base 72, 172…inner foot; 73, 173…outer foot; 73A, 173A…side Locked part; 73B, 173B... side locking guide surface; 74, 174... side plate part; 74A, 174A... side locked part; 43, 143... outer foot part; 46, 146... fixing part; 47, 147...End lock part; 47A...End lock guide surface; 48, 148...Side lock part; 48A, 148A...Side lock guide surface; 44, 144...Side plate part; 50, 150... Shell; 60, 160... plug signal terminal; 74B, 174B... side locking guide surface; 79, 179... end locked part; 79A... end locking guide surface; 140A... locking foot; 140A-1... End lock guide surface; 140B...fixed portion; 170A...lock leg; 170A-1...end lock guide surface.

detailed description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

first embodiment

1 is a perspective view of a receptacle connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a plug connector as a target connector fitted to the receptacle connector from above, showing a state before the connectors are fitted. The receptacle connector 1 and the plug connector 2 of the present embodiment are electrical connectors for circuit boards respectively disposed on the mounting surfaces of different circuit boards (not shown), and are configured to have The perpendicular direction (the up and down direction in FIG. 1 ) is the connector assembly in the plugging and unplugging direction. In this embodiment, the fitting direction of the plug connector 2 with respect to the receptacle connector 1, that is, the direction in which the plug connector 2 moves downward in FIG. , that is, the upward direction in FIG. 1 will be described as the "connector pull-out direction". In addition, the mating direction and the pulling-out direction of the receptacle connector 1 as the target connector with respect to the plug connector 2 are opposite to the "connector fitting direction" and "connector pulling-out direction" of the above-mentioned plug connector 2, respectively. direction.

Structure of socket connector 1

As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the receptacle connector 1 has a housing 10 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is aligned and held by integral mold molding with the longitudinal direction of the housing 10 parallel to the mounting surface as the alignment direction. A plurality of socket signal terminals 20 , socket power terminals 30 and socket locking members 40 are located on the housing 10 . Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish the receptacle signal terminal 20 and the receptacle power supply terminal 30, these terminals are collectively referred to as "receptacle terminals 20, 30". In addition, regarding the "arrangement" of the above-mentioned arrangement direction, when viewed from the short-side direction of the housing 10, the socket terminals 20, 30 and the socket lock 40 only need to be provided at positions different from each other in the above-mentioned long-side direction. The receptacle terminals 20 and 30 and the receptacle lock 40 are required to be provided at the same position when viewed from the longitudinal direction.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the receptacle signal terminals 20 are arranged in two rows symmetrically in the connector width direction within the vicinity of the center of the housing 10 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction, and two are arranged in each row. The receptacle power supply terminal 30 is provided on the outer side of both receptacle signal terminals 20 with respect to the arrangement range of the receptacle signal terminal 20 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. In addition, the receptacle lock 40 is provided at the end of the housing 10 at positions outside both of the receptacle terminals 20 and 30 with respect to the arrangement range of the receptacle terminals 20 and 30 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. Hereinafter, with respect to the housing 10 , the portion outside the range in which the receptacle terminals 20 and 30 are arranged in the above-mentioned arrangement direction is referred to as an “end portion”. The receptacle connector 1 is mounted on a circuit board in the posture arrangement shown in FIG. 1 .

As can be observed in FIG. 1, the housing 10 is made of an electrically insulating material such as resin, and has a bottom surface parallel to the mounting surface of a circuit board (not shown) as the surface to be mounted and arranged in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. The bottom wall 11 extending in the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 2(B)), the protruding wall 12 extending upward from the bottom wall 11 extending in the above-mentioned alignment direction, and the peripheral wall 13 standing from the bottom wall 11 and surrounding the protruding wall 12 . The peripheral wall 13 has two side walls 14 facing each other and extending along the above-mentioned arrangement direction, and the ends of the two side walls 14 are connected to each other along the connector width direction (housing 10 Two end walls 15 extending in the short side direction). A rectangular annular space opened upward between the peripheral wall 13 and the protruding wall 12 forms a receiving portion 16 for receiving the fitting portion of the plug connector 2 .

The bottom wall 11 is formed with a bottom recess 11A recessed from the bottom surface at a central position in the connector width direction and at an end position in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. The protruding wall 12 is recessed from the side surface of the protruding wall 12 (the surface at right angles to the width direction of the connector) and extends in the vertical direction to form a signal terminal groove through the position corresponding to the receptacle signal terminal 20 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. 12A, and a power terminal groove 12B is formed through at a position corresponding to the socket power terminal 30 (see FIG. 4(A) and FIG. 4(B)). Hereinafter, the signal terminal groove portion 12A and the power supply terminal groove portion 12B are collectively referred to as “terminal groove portions 12A, 12B” when there is no need to distinguish them in particular. The terminal groove portions 12A, 12B accommodate elastic arm portions 22 , 32 , which will be described later, formed on the receptacle terminals 20 , 30 , respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the power terminal groove portion 12B is formed to have a larger groove width dimension (dimension in the above-mentioned arrangement direction) than the signal terminal groove portion.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the housing 10 is formed so that the end portion in the above-mentioned array direction is higher than the portion of the array range of the receptacle terminals 20 , 30 . A side guide surface 14A inclined downward toward the inner side in the connector width direction is formed on an upper portion of the inner surface (surface on the receiving portion 16 side) of the side wall 14 . The side guide surface 14A guides the plug connector 2 toward the inside of the receiving portion 16 in the connector width direction during the connector fitting process. In addition, on the inner surface of the side wall 14, a side recess 14B recessed from the inner surface is formed at a position below the side locking portion 48 of the receptacle lock 40 described later. In the fitted state, the side to-be-locked portion 73A of the plug lock 70 is received (see FIG. 4(B) ).

An end guide surface 15A inclined downward toward the inside in the alignment direction is formed on an upper portion of the inner surface (surface on the receiving portion 16 side) of the end wall 15 . As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the upper edge and the lower edge of the end guide surface 15A are located at the same height as the upper edge and the lower edge of the side guide surface 14A. This end guide surface 15A guides the plug connector 2 toward the inside of the receiving portion 16 in the above-mentioned alignment direction during the connector fitting process. In addition, an end recess 15B recessed from the inner surface of the inner surface of the end wall 15 is formed at a position below an end to-be-locked portion 79 of the plug lock 70 described later, and the end recess 15B is fitted in the connector. In this state, the end locked portion 79 of the plug lock member 70 is received (refer to FIG. 6(B)).

Fig. 2 (A) is a cross-sectional perspective view of the plug connector 2 on a plane at right angles to the arrangement direction of the socket connector 1 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 2 (B) is a sectional perspective view with respect to the arrangement direction of the plug connector 2 of Fig. 1 A cross-sectional perspective view of the socket connector 1 on a plane at right angles. 2(A) and 2(B) show a cross-section at the central position in the above-mentioned arrangement direction, the left half shows the state where the housing is omitted, and the lower part of the right half shows The lock held by the right half. In addition, in the left half of FIG. 2(A) and FIG. 2(B), the distance between the terminals and the distance between the terminal and the lock are shown enlarged compared with FIG. 1 for convenience of explanation.

Hereinafter, the structure of the receptacle signal terminal 20, the receptacle power terminal 30, and the receptacle lock 40 is demonstrated based on FIG.1 and FIG.2(B). The receptacle signal terminal 20 is formed by bending a band-shaped metal plate sheet in the thickness direction. The elastic arm portion 22 extending upward from the protruding wall 12 side end of the base portion 21 and the inverted U-shaped held portion 23 extending upward and then turning downward from the end portion of the base portion 21 on the side wall 14 side , and the connecting portion 24 extending from the lower end of the held portion 23 outward in the width direction of the connector.

The base part 21 extends over the range including the receiving part 16 in the width direction of the connector, and is held by the bottom wall 11 by integral molding (see also FIG. 4(A) ). In addition, the upper surface of the base portion 21 is exposed toward the inside of the receiving portion 16 . The elastic arm portion 22 is accommodated in the signal terminal groove portion 12A of the protruding wall 12 and is elastically displaceable in the board thickness direction (connector width direction). The free end upper end portion of the elastic arm portion 22 is convexly bent toward the side wall 14 to form a contact protrusion 22A for contacting a plug signal terminal 60 of the plug connector 2 described later. The curved top portion of the contact protrusion 22A of the elastic arm portion 22 protrudes from the signal terminal groove portion 12A of the case 10 in a free state and is located in the receiving portion 16 (see FIG. 5(A) ).

The held portion 23 has an inner arm portion 23A extending upward from the end portion of the base portion 21 on the side wall 14 side along the inner surface of the side wall 14 , and an inner arm portion 23A that is continuous from the upper end of the inner arm portion 23A and on the inner side of the arm portion 23A. The transition portion 23B of the arm portion 23A that is more outward in the width direction of the connector is folded back downward, and the outer arm portion 23C extending downward through the transition portion 23B is held by the held portion 23 on the side wall 14 by integral molding.

The inner arm portion 23A is exposed toward the receiving portion 16 , and has a protruding locking protrusion 23A- 1 protruding toward the protruding wall 12 side so as to face the contact protrusion 22A at a position near its upper end. The locking protrusion 23A- 1 is formed by, for example, press working or the like, and its width dimension (dimension in the above-mentioned alignment direction) is smaller than the width dimension of the inner arm portion 23A. The locking protrusion 23A-1 is locked with the locked step portion 61A-1 of the plug signal terminal 60 of the plug connector 2 described later, thereby maintaining the connector fitting state and preventing the connector from being disengaged. When being locked with the locked stepped portion 61A- 1 , it contacts and electrically conducts with it, and also plays the role of assisting the above-mentioned contact protrusion 22A.

The transition portion 23B is convexly curved upward, and the upper surface of the transition portion 23B is exposed from the side wall 14 . The outer arm portion 23C is buried and held in the side wall 14 without protruding from the side wall 14 (see also FIG. 4(A) ). As can be seen well in FIG. 2(B), the width dimension of the lower portion of the outer arm portion 23C (the dimension in the above-mentioned arrangement direction) is smaller than the width dimension of the upper portion.

The connecting portion 24 extends linearly from the lower end of the outer arm portion 23C toward the outer side in the connector width direction at the same height position as the base portion 21 , and the free end portion extends outside the housing. The connection portion 24 is soldered to a corresponding circuit portion of the circuit board.

In the present embodiment, the receptacle power supply terminal 30 has reference numerals added with “10” to the receptacle signal terminal 20 at portions corresponding to the respective portions of the receptacle signal terminal 20 . The receptacle power terminal 30 is formed in a shape in which the overall width dimension (dimension in the above-mentioned arrangement direction) of the receptacle signal terminal 20 described above is enlarged. In addition, two locking projections 33A- 1 are formed in the inner arm portion 33A of the outlet power terminal 30 along the width direction of the inner arm portion 33A.

In addition, the inner arm portion 33A has a curved portion on the upper end side (a portion located above the two locking protrusions 33A- 1 ) that serves as a corresponding locking function for a plug locking member 70 that will be described later. The lateral side of the locking portion 74A is guided to the locking position locked with the locking protrusion 33A- 1 by the side lock guide surface 33A- 2 . The side lock guide surface 33A- 2 is combined with the upper surface of the side wall 14 of the housing 10 to form a curved surface. In other words, the side lock guide surface 33A- 2 is exposed so as to form the same horizontal plane as the upper surface of the side wall 14 .

As can be seen well in FIG. 2(B), two receptacle locks 40 are provided at each end portion of the housing 10 in the above-mentioned alignment direction. Specifically, the two receptacle locks 40 are adjacent to each other in postures symmetrical to each other in the width direction of the connector at each end portion of the housing 10 .

As can be seen in FIG. 2(B), a metal plate member is bent in the thickness direction to form a receptacle lock 40 having a base 41 extending in the width direction of the connector, The inner leg portion 42 extending downward from the inner end portion of the base portion 41 in the connector width direction, the outer leg portion 43 extending downward from the outer end portion of the base portion 41 in the connector width direction, and the outer leg portion 43 are located at a lower position than the outer leg portion 43. The side plate portion 44 that is closer to the inner side of the above-mentioned arrangement direction, the connecting portion 45 that extends along the above-mentioned arrangement direction and connects the lower parts of the outer leg portion 43 and the side plate portion 44 to each other, and the outer leg portion 43, the connecting portion 45, and the side plate portion The lower edge of 44 is a fixing portion 46 extending outward in the connector width direction, an end locking portion 47 is provided on the edge of the base portion 41 , and a side locking portion 48 is provided on the upper edge of the side plate portion 44 .

In this way, in this embodiment, in addition to the end lock portion 47, the side lock portion 48 is also provided, so that in the mated state of the connector, the plug connector can be overcome mainly by the end lock portion 47. 2 The pull-out force inclined in the above-mentioned alignment direction, and the pull-out force that makes the plug connector 2 inclined in the connector width direction can be overcome mainly by the side lock portion 48. As a result, unintentional detachment of the connectors 1 and 2 can be more reliably prevented. In addition, when the unintentional pull-out force between the connectors 1 and 2 can be sufficiently overcome only by the end lock portion 47 , it is not necessary to provide the side lock portion 48 .

The base portion 41 is formed of a plate portion parallel to the mounting surface of the circuit board, and extends from the position of the side wall 14 to the center position of the end wall 15 in the connector width direction. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2(B), the base portion 41 is embedded in the end wall 15 at a height position in the vertical direction of the end wall 15 of the housing 10 and near the lower edge of the end guide surface 15A.

The inner leg portion 42 extends to the same height position as the bottom surface of the bottom wall 11 , and is held by the end wall 15 by embedding a part except the lower end portion thereof. The lower end portion of the inner leg portion 42 protrudes from the bottom concave portion 11A, and is fixed to a corresponding portion of the circuit board by soldering. In addition, the inner leg portion 42 has a stepped portion 42A recessed in a stepped shape at an intermediate position in the vertical direction on the plate surface on the side away from the outer leg portion 43 . When molded integrally with the housing 10 , the resin flows into the stepped portion 42A and solidifies at the stepped portion 42A, thereby reliably preventing the inner leg portion 42 from coming off the housing 10 .

The outer leg portion 43 extends from the same position as the outer arm portions 23C, 33C of the receptacle terminals 20 , 30 in the connector width direction to the same height position as the bottom surface of the bottom wall 11 . The side plate portion 44 also extends to the same height position as the bottom surface of the bottom wall 11 at the same position as the outer arm portions 23C, 33C of the receptacle terminals 20 , 30 in the connector width direction, that is, the same position as the outer leg portion 43 . . The connecting portion 45 extends along the above-mentioned arrangement direction and connects the outer leg portion 43 and the lower facing edge portions of the side plate portion 44 to each other. The outer leg portion 43 , the side plate portion 44 , and the connection portion 45 form a plate portion forming a flat surface parallel to the side surface of the side wall 14 , and are embedded and held in the side wall 14 except for the lower end portion.

The fixed part 46 is bent in the above-mentioned alignment direction and the lower edges of the outer leg part 43, the side plate part 44 and the connecting part 45 to extend outward in the width direction of the connector, and is fixed to the circuit board by soldering on its lower surface. corresponding department. By providing the fixing portion 46 extending outward in the width direction of the connector, the mounting area of the fixing portion 46 relative to the mounting surface of the circuit board can be ensured to be large, and the locking member 40 can be reliably fixed to the circuit board.

In addition, in this embodiment, the fixing portion 46 extends over the entire area of the outer leg portion 43, the side plate portion 44, and the connecting portion 45 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction, but as long as sufficient fixing strength can be ensured, the fixing portion It does not necessarily need to be formed in the entire area of the above-mentioned range, and may be formed in a part of the range. At this time, in order to increase the locking strength of the end locking portion 47, it is preferable to form the outer leg portion 43 in the range including the outer leg portion 43 in the above-mentioned alignment direction, and to increase the locking strength of the side locking portion 48. The dots are preferably formed in a range including the side plate portion 44 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. In addition, in this embodiment, the fixing portion 46 is formed to extend outward in the connector width direction, but may be formed to extend inward in the connector width direction.

In this embodiment, the fixing portion 46 extending in the width direction of the connector is set to extend from the lower end of the outer leg portion 43 among the inner leg portion 42 and the outer leg portion 43, but it may also be substituted for the outer leg portion 43, or may be combined with the outer leg portion 43. The outer leg portion 43 is also formed with a fixing portion extending from the lower end of the inner leg portion 42 . At this time, the direction in which the fixing portion extends from the lower end of the inner leg portion 42 may be either the inner side or the outer side in the connector width direction.

The end lock portion 47 is provided at an intermediate position in the connector width direction of an inner edge portion on the receiving portion 16 side among both side edge portions extending in the connector width direction of the base portion 41 . The end lock portion 47 is formed to bend downward from the inner edge portion, and as can be seen in FIGS. The inner surface of the end wall 15 is exposed and located in the receiving portion 16 . With respect to the end lock portion 47 , in the state of being fitted with the plug connector, the lower surface (broken surface) of the end lock portion 47 is located so that it can be locked with respect to the end of the plug lock member 70 described later. The locking portion 79 is located at the upper locking position, so as to be locked with the locked portion 79 at the end as the corresponding locking portion in the direction of pulling out the connector (see FIG. 6(B) ).

In addition, the end lock portion 47 has an end lock guide surface 47A for guiding the end locked portion 79 of the plug lock 70 to a locked position with the end lock portion 47 at a bent portion on the upper end side. . As can be seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2(B), the end lock guide surface 47A protrudes from the end guide surface 15A of the end wall 15 (see also FIG. 6(A)).

The side locking portion 48 is formed to have the same width dimension (dimension in the above-mentioned arrangement direction) as that of the side plate portion 44 , and is folded downward from the upper edge of the side plate portion 44 at a position on the inner side in the width direction of the connector. way buckling. As can be seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2(B), the side lock portion 48 is exposed from the inner surface of the side wall 14 of the housing 10 at the same height position as the end lock portion 47 and is positioned on the receiving portion 16. Inside. With regard to the side locking portion 48 , in the state of being fitted with the plug connector 2 , the lower surface (broken surface) of the side locking portion 48 is positioned so that it can be moved relative to the side of the plug locking member 70 . The locking portion 73A is located at the upper locking position, thereby locking with the corresponding side locked portion 73A in the connector pulling-out direction (see FIG. 5(B) ).

In addition, the side lock portion 48 is formed with a side lock for guiding the side locked portion 73A of the plug lock 70 to a locked position with the side lock portion 48 at the bent portion on the upper end side. stop guide surface 48A. As can be seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2(B), the side lock guide surface 48A protrudes from the side guide surface 14A of the side wall 14 (see also FIG. 5(A)).

Structure of Plug Connector 2

Next, the configuration of the plug connector 2 will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 3(A) and 3(B). 3(A) is a perspective view showing the plug connector 2 of FIG. 1 upside down, and FIG. 3(B) is a perspective view showing the housing 50 of the plug connector 2 of FIG. 3(A) omitted. The plug connector 2 has a frame-shaped fitting portion (refer to FIG. 3(A)) that fits into the receiving portion 16 of the receptacle connector 1, and the fitting portion fits into the receiving portion 16 so that the connectors 1 and 2 are fitted into each other. connect. The plug connector 2 has a housing 50 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is aligned and held in the housing by integral mold molding with the longitudinal direction of the housing 50 parallel to the mounting surface of the circuit board (not shown) as the alignment direction. A plurality of plug signal terminals 60 of 50 and a plug locking member 70 .

The casing 50 is made of an electrically insulating material such as resin, and as can be observed in FIG. A bottom wall 51 extending in the longitudinal direction, and a peripheral wall 53 serving as a fitting portion rising downward (upward in FIG. 3(A) ) from the bottom wall 51 . The peripheral wall 53 has two side walls 54 facing each other and extending along the arrangement direction, and the ends of the two side walls 54 are connected to each other along the connector width direction (the side of the housing 50 ) which is at right angles to the above-mentioned arrangement direction. Two end walls 55 extending in the short side direction). A space surrounded by the peripheral wall 53 and opening downward in FIG. 1 (upward in FIG. 3(A) ) forms a receiving portion 56 for receiving the protruding wall 12 of the receptacle connector 1 (see FIG. 3(A) ).

As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the bottom wall 51 is formed with a bottom recess 51A recessed from the bottom surface at a central position in the connector width direction and at an end position in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. In addition, as can be seen in FIG. 1, on the outer surface of the end wall 55, the position above the locked portion 79 at the end of the plug lock member 70 described later (the position below in FIG. 3(A) ) is recessed from the above-mentioned outer surface to form a locked recessed portion 55A for receiving the end lock portion 47 of the receptacle lock 40 in the connector fitting state.

The strip-shaped metal strips are bent in the thickness direction to form the plug signal terminals 60, the plug signal terminals 60 are symmetrical in two rows in the width direction of the connector, and are arranged along the long side direction of the housing 50. The state is held by the housing 50 . As can be seen well in FIG. 2(A) and FIG. 3(B), the plug signal terminal 60 has: a U-shaped U-shaped portion 61 held on the side wall 54; The upper end in FIG. 2(A) (lower end in FIG. 3(B)) of the arm portion (the inner arm portion 61C described later) on the receiving portion 56 side among the two arm portions of the portion 61 faces the width of the connector. The connecting portion 62 extends outward in the direction and is connected to the corresponding circuit portion of the circuit board. As can be seen well in FIG. 2 , the plug signal terminal 60 is held at the U-shaped portion 61 by integral molding with the housing 50 .

The U-shaped portion 61 is a part (refer to FIG. The lower side (upper side in FIG. 3(A) ) is embedded in the side wall 54 so as to straddle the side wall 54 (also refer to FIG. 4(A) and FIG. 4(B)). As can be seen well in FIG. 4(A) and FIG. 4(B), the U-shaped portion 61 has an outer arm portion 61A extending downward along the outer surface of the side wall 54, and The lower end of 61A is a transition portion 61B folded upward at an inner position in the connector width direction, and an inner arm portion 61C extending upward through the transition portion 61B. The size of the U-shaped portion 61 in the connector width direction is slightly larger than the distance between the contact protrusion 22A of the receptacle terminal 20 and the locking protrusion 23A- 1 .

The plate surface of the outer arm portion 61A of the U-shaped portion 61 is exposed from the outer surface of the side wall 54, and the exposed plate surface is formed in a stepped shape and extends along the width direction of the outer arm portion 61A (the above-mentioned arrangement direction). The locked stepped portion 61A- 1 is locked with the locking protrusion 23A- 1 of the receptacle signal terminal 20 . The transition portion 61B is convexly curved downward, and the lower surface of the transition portion 61B is exposed from the side wall 54 . The plate surface of the inner arm portion 61C of the U-shaped portion 61 is exposed from the inner surface of the side wall 54 toward the receiving portion 56, and the exposed plate surface is formed to be connected to the receptacle signal terminal 20 of the receptacle connector 1 in the connector fitting state. The corresponding contact portion of the contact protrusion 22A is brought into contact by crimping.

As can be seen in FIG. 2(A), the connection portion 62 extends linearly from the upper end of the inner arm portion 61C toward the outside in the width direction of the connector along the bottom surface of the bottom wall 51, and extends outward from the housing 50, thereby enabling Solder and connect to the corresponding circuit part of the circuit board.

Two plug locks 70 are provided at each end of the housing 10 in the above-mentioned alignment direction so as to correspond to the receptacle locks 40 of the receptacle connector 1 . Specifically, the two plug locks 70 adjoin each other in postures symmetrical to each other in the connector width direction at respective ends of the housing 50 . The plug lock 70 not only has a locking function for locking with the lock 40 of the receptacle connector 1 , but also functions as a power terminal that contacts and electrically conducts with the receptacle power terminal 30 of the receptacle connector 1 .

The metal plate member is bent in the plate thickness direction to form a plug lock 70. As shown in FIG. 2(A), the plug lock 70 has a base 71 extending in the width direction of the connector, The inner leg portion 72 and the outer leg portion 73 extending upward at both ends in the width direction of the connector, the side plate portion 74 located on the inner side of the arrangement direction than the outer leg portion 73 , the outer leg portion 73 and the side plate portion The upper part of the plate part 74 (the lower part in FIG. The contact plate portion 77 extending upward, the connecting portion 78 bent at the upper edge of the contact plate portion 77 and extending in the connector width direction, and the end locked portion 79 provided on the edge of the base portion 71 . In addition, lateral locked portions 73A and 74A, which will be described later, are respectively formed on the outer plate surfaces of the outer leg portion 73 and the side plate portion 74 .

The base portion 71 is formed of a plate portion parallel to the mounting surface of the circuit board, and extends from the position of the side wall 54 to the center position of the end wall 55 in the connector width direction. As can be seen well in FIG. 3(A), the base portion 71 is exposed on the upper surface (the lower surface in FIGS. 1 and 2(A)) of the end wall 55 of the casing 50, and the upper surface of the base portion 71 is It is combined with the upper surface of the end wall 55 to form a plane. In other words, the base portion 71 is exposed such that the upper surface of the base portion 71 and the upper surface of the end wall 55 form the same horizontal plane.

The inner leg portion 72 extends upward (downward in FIG. The outer part is embedded and held in the end wall 55 . As can be seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2(A), the upper end portion of the inner leg portion 72 protrudes into the bottom concave portion 51A, and is fixed to a corresponding portion of the circuit board by soldering. In addition, the inner leg portion 72 is formed with a stepped portion 72A recessed in a stepped shape at an intermediate position in the up-down direction on the plate surface on the side away from the outer leg portion 73 (see FIG. 5(A) and FIG. 5(B)). . When molded integrally with the housing 50 , the resin flows into the stepped portion 72A and solidifies at the stepped portion 72A, thereby reliably preventing the inner leg portion 72 from coming off the housing 50 .

The outer leg portion 73 is at the same position as the outer arm portion 61A of the plug signal terminal 60 in the connector width direction, and faces upward (downward in FIG. )extend. The outer leg portion 73 also extends toward the inner side of the alignment direction, and on the outer surface (the board surface on the side away from the inner leg portion 72 ), a stepped side extending over the entire area of the alignment direction at an intermediate position in the vertical direction is formed. The locked portion 73A. The side locked portion 73A is located below the side lock portion 48 of the receptacle lock member 40 in the state of being fitted with the receptacle connector 1, so as to be compatible with the side lock portion as the corresponding lock portion. 48 are mutually locked (refer to FIG. 5(B)).

In addition, as can be observed in Fig. 3 (A), Fig. 3 (B), the curved portion of the outer leg portion 73 on the upper end side (in Fig. The upper portion of the side locked portion 73A) is formed with a side locking guide for guiding the side locking portion 48 of the socket lock 40 to a locked position with the side locked portion 73A. Surface 73B. As can be seen in FIG. 3(A) , the side lock guide surface 73B is exposed so as to form the same horizontal plane as the upper surface of the side wall 54 of the housing 50 .

The side plate portion 74 extends upward (downward in FIG. 3(B) ) at the same position as the outer arm portion 61A of the plug signal terminal 60 in the connector width direction, that is, the same position as the outer leg portion 73 . On the outer surface of the side plate portion 74 is formed a stepped side locked portion 74A extending over the entire area in the alignment direction at the same height position as the side locked portion 73A of the outer leg portion 73 . The side locked portion 74A is located below the two locking projections 33A-1 of the socket power terminal 30 in the state of being fitted with the socket connector 1, so as to be in contact with the locking projections as the corresponding locking portion. The parts 33A-1 are locked to each other.

In addition, as can be observed in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B), the curved portion of the side plate portion 74 on the upper end side (in FIG. The upper portion of the side locked portion 74A) is formed with a side lock for guiding the two locking protrusions 33A-1 of the socket power terminal 30 to a locked position locked with the side locked portion 74A. stop guide surface 74B. As can be seen in FIG. 3(A), the side lock guide surface 74B is exposed so as to form the same horizontal plane as the upper surface of the side wall 54 of the housing 50 .

The connecting portion 75 extends along the arrangement direction and connects the upper (lower portion in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B) ) opposing edges of the outer leg portion 73 and the side plate portion 74 to each other. The outer leg portion 73 , the side plate portion 74 , and the connection portion 75 are plate portions forming a flat surface parallel to the side surfaces of the side walls 54 , and the outer plate surface of the plate portion in the width direction of the connector is exposed from the side wall 54 . .

The transition portion 76 is bent so as to turn upward from the lower end of the side plate portion 74 (upper end in FIG. ) is convexly bent, so that the lower surface of the transition portion 76 is exposed from the side wall 54 (see FIG. 3(A)). The contact plate portion 77 extends upward along the inner surface of the side wall 54 , and the inner surface of the contact plate portion 77 (the plate surface on the side away from the side plate portion 74 ) is exposed from the inner surface of the side wall 54 . The above-mentioned inner surface of the contact plate portion 77 is formed as a corresponding contact portion that comes into contact with the contact protrusion 32A of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 of the receptacle connector 1 by crimping in the connector fitting state.

The connection portion 78 is linear from the upper end (the lower end in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B)) of the contact plate portion 77 toward the outside in the width direction of the connector at the same height position as the bottom surface of the bottom wall 51 of the housing 50. Extended, and the free end side part extends out of the shell. The connection portion 78 is soldered to a corresponding circuit portion of the circuit board.

The end locked portion 79 is provided on the outer edge portion on the side away from the receiving portion 56 among both side edge portions extending in the connector width direction of the base portion 71 . This end is formed by the locking portion 79 so as to bend upward (downward in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B)) from the above-mentioned outer edge, and as shown in FIG. As can be seen in B), it is exposed from the outer surface of the end wall 55 of the casing 50 . As for the end locked portion 79 , in the state of being fitted with the receptacle connector 1 , the upper surface (broken surface) of the end locked portion 79 is located at the end of the receptacle lock member 40 described later. The lower part 47, thereby interlocking with the end locking part 47 as the corresponding locking part (refer to FIG. 6(B)).

In addition, as can be observed in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B), the curved portion of the end locked portion 79 on the upper end side is formed with a portion for connecting the end locking portion 47 of the socket lock member 40 to the upper end side. The end lock guide surface 79A is guided by the lock position where the end is locked by the lock portion 79 . As can be seen in FIG. 3(A) , the end lock guide surface 79A protrudes from the upper surface of the end wall 55 (see also FIG. 6(A) ).

In this embodiment, the plug lock 70 not only functions as a lock, but also functions as a power terminal, but in addition, for example, the connection part 75 may be omitted, and a plug with a function as a power terminal may be provided. Functional other components (components having side plate portions 74, transition portions 76, contact plate portions 77, and connecting portions 78).

In addition, in the plug locker 70 of this embodiment, except for the connection portion 78, there is no fixing portion for soldering and fixing to the corresponding portion of the circuit board. The above-mentioned fixing portion is provided so that the end portion (the end portion on the circuit board side) of at least one leg portion of the connector extends in the width direction of the connector. In this case, the direction in which the fixing portion extends may be either inside or outside in the width direction of the connector.

Connector mating action

Next, the fitting operation of the connectors 1 and 2 will be described based on FIG. 1 and FIGS. 4 to 6 . 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views on a plane at right angles to the arrangement direction of the socket connector 1 and the plug connector 2. FIG. 4 shows the cross-section at the position of the socket signal terminal, and FIG. Section at the location of the stop. 6 is a cross-sectional view on a plane perpendicular to the connector width direction of the receptacle connector 1 and plug connector 2 of FIG. 1 , and shows a cross-section at a central position in the connector width direction. In addition, Fig. 4(A), Fig. 5(A), Fig. 6(A) show the state before connector fitting, and Fig. 4(B), Fig. 5(B), Fig. 6(B) show Connector mating status is displayed.

First, solder the connection parts 24, 34 of the socket terminals 20, 30 of the socket connector 1 to the corresponding circuit parts of the circuit board, and solder the lower end part of the inner leg part 42 of the socket locking member 40 and the fixing part 46. on the corresponding part of the circuit board, so as to install the socket connector 1 on the circuit board. In addition, the connecting portion 62 of the plug signal terminal 60 of the plug connector 2 and the connecting portion 78 of the plug locking member 70 are soldered and connected to corresponding circuit portions of other circuit boards, and the inner leg portion 72 of the plug locking member 70 is The upper end in FIG. 1 (the lower end in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B)) is welded and connected to the corresponding part of the above-mentioned other circuit board, so that the plug connector 2 is installed on the above-mentioned other circuit board .

Next, as can be observed in FIG. 1 , FIG. 4(A), FIG. 5(A), and FIG. The socket connector 2 moves toward the upper position of the receptacle connector 1 with the receiving portion 56 opening downward. Then, as indicated by arrows in FIG. 1 , FIG. 4(A), FIG. 5(A), and FIG. 6(A), the plug connector 2 is moved downward, so that the fitting of the plug connector 2 part fits into the receiving part 16 of the socket connector 1.

At this time, the end lock guide surface 47A and the side lock guide surface 48A of the socket lock member 40 respectively lock the end locked portion 79 and the side locked portion 73A of the plug lock member 70 to the end. 47 and the side locking portion 48 are locked to guide the locked position. In addition, the side lock guide surface 33A- 2 of the outlet power terminal 30 guides the side locked portion 74A of the plug lock 70 to a locked position where it is locked with the lock protrusion 33A- 1 .

On the other hand, the end lock guide surface 79A and the side lock guide surface 73B of the plug lock 70 respectively lock the end lock portion 47 and the side lock portion 48 of the receptacle lock 40 to the end. The locking portion 79 and the side are guided by the locking position where the locking portion 73A is locked. In addition, the side lock guide surface 74B of the plug lock 70 guides the lock protrusion 33A- 1 of the outlet power terminal 30 to a locked position where it is locked with the side locked portion 74A.

In the present embodiment, each lock guide surface 47A, 48A, 33A- 2 , 79A, 73B, and 74B protrudes from the surface of the casing 10 , 50 or is exposed so as to form the same horizontal plane as the surface. Therefore, the corresponding locking portion of the mating connector is in sliding contact with the above-mentioned locking guide surface formed on the locking member 40, 70 which is not formed in the housing 10, 50 but is stronger than the housing 10, 50, thereby locking to the above-mentioned locking guide surface. The location is guided. As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the corresponding locking portion does not come into sliding contact with the housing 10 , 50 , damage to the housing 10 , 50 can be avoided.

If the fitting portion of the plug connector 2 is inserted into the receiving portion 16 of the receptacle connector 1, the U-shaped portion 61 of the plug signal terminal 60 of the plug connector 2 will make the contact protrusion of the receptacle signal terminal 20 of the receptacle connector 1 Between the contact protrusion 22A of the receptacle signal terminal 20 and the locking protrusion 23A- 1 , the contact protrusion 22A and the locking protrusion 23A- 1 expand. Also, the elastic arm portion 22 is elastically displaced toward the inner side in the connector width direction. And, if the protrusion of the U-shaped portion 61 advances, as shown in FIG. Contact is made by crimping, and the locking protrusion 23A- 1 and the locked step portion 61A- 1 of the outer arm portion 61A are locked in the connector pull-out direction. As a result, the signal terminals 20, 60 of the connectors 1, 2 are electrically connected to each other and locked to each other.

Although not shown in the figure, the contact and locking between the socket power terminal 30 of the socket connector 1 and the plug lock member 70 of the plug connector 2 which has the function of the power terminal are also similar to the signal terminals 20, 60. The same points as above are carried out. As a result, in the connector mated state, the contact protrusion 32A of the outlet power terminal 30 contacts the contact plate portion 77 (corresponding contact portion) of the plug lock member 70 by crimping, and the locking of the outlet power terminal 30 The protrusion 33A- 1 is locked with the side to-be-locked portion 74A of the side plate portion 74 of the plug lock 70 in the direction in which the connector is pulled out.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5(B), in the mated state of the connector, the side lock portion 48 of the receptacle lock 40 is located above the side locked portion 73A of the plug lock 70 and can be positioned. It is a position locked with respect to the side to-be-locked portion 73A in the connector pulling-out direction. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6(B), in the mated state of the connector, the end locking portion 47 of the receptacle locking member 40 is located above the end locked portion 79 of the plug locking member 70 and can be positioned relative to This end is locked by the locking portion 79 in the direction in which the connector is pulled out. As a result, the receptacle lock 40 and the plug lock 70 are mutually locked. In this way, the fitting and connecting operation of the connectors 1 and 2 is completed.

In this embodiment, two locking pieces 40 adjacent to each other in the connector width direction are held at each end of the housing 10 of the receptacle connector 1 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. Each end portion of 50 in the above-mentioned alignment direction holds two locking pieces 70 adjacent to each other in the width direction of the connector. Therefore, the size of each lock piece 40 , 70 in the connector width direction becomes small compared to the case where one lock piece is provided over the entire area of the housing 10 , 50 in the connector width direction. In other words, the bases 41 , 71 of the locking pieces 40 , 70 become shorter in the connector width direction, which means that the arm length at the time of flexural deformation of the bases 41 , 71 becomes shorter. Therefore, even if the end lock portion 47 and the end locked portion 79 of the lock members 40, 70 are locked to each other, and an external force is applied to the base portion 41, 71 in a direction in which the connector is pulled out, the base portion 41, 71 is also It is not easy to be deflected and deformed in the direction of plate thickness. In addition, when the arm length of the base 41 , 71 becomes shorter when the base 41 , 71 flexes and deforms as described above, the stress generated in the fixed leg 42 , 43 , 72 , 73 becomes smaller. As a result, the locked state (locked state) of the end lock portion 47 and the end locked portion 79 and the side lock portion 48 and the side locked portion 73A can also be reliably maintained.

In addition, the respective leg portions 42, 43, 72, 73 of the locking pieces 40, 70 are provided so as to extend from both end portions in the connector width direction of the base portion 41, 71 toward the circuit board side, and as in the past, the fixing portion is not fixed. It is located on the outer side of the above-mentioned arrangement direction than the base. Therefore, the lock members 40, 70 and thus the connectors 1, 2 do not increase in size in the above-mentioned alignment direction.

In this embodiment, although the legs 42, 43, 72, 73 of the lock members 40, 70 are fixed to the casing 10, 50 through integral mold molding, and the inner legs 42, 72 are further fixed to the circuit board, but The fixing method of the leg parts 42, 43, 72, 73 is not limited to this, and it only needs to be fixed to at least one of the case and the circuit board.

In this embodiment, although the locking pieces 40, 70 are held by the casings 10, 50 by integral molding, for example, it is also possible to provide holding grooves in the casings and press the locking pieces into the holding grooves. Hold the lock in the groove. At this time, each leg portion of the locking member is fixed to at least one of the casing and the circuit board.

In the present embodiment, the lock members 40 and 70 respectively have the side lock portion 48 and the side lock portion 73A in addition to the end lock portion 47 and the end locked portion 79, but in addition , it is also possible to have only an end lock. In addition, when only the end lock portion is provided on the lock, the member having the side lock portion can also be provided as a member different from the above lock.

In the present embodiment, the lock guide surfaces 47A, 48A, and 73B protrude from the surface of the housing 10 or the housing 50 , but otherwise may be exposed so as to form the same horizontal plane as the surface. In addition, in the present embodiment, the lock guide surfaces 33A- 2 , 79A, and 74B are exposed so as to form the same horizontal plane as the surfaces of the casings 10 and 50 , but they may protrude from the surfaces in addition.

second embodiment

In the first embodiment, although the respective end locking portions 47 and end locked portions 79 of the locking members 40, 70 are provided on the edge portions of the base portions 41, 71, in the second embodiment, the legs It differs from the first embodiment in this point by extending from the edge of the base of the lock and providing an end lock on the leg. In the second embodiment, reference numerals with "100" added to the reference numerals in the first embodiment are attached to portions corresponding to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the description will focus on the shape of the lock which is a different point from the first embodiment.

7 is a perspective view of a receptacle connector 101 according to the second embodiment and a plug connector 102 fitted to the receptacle connector 101 from above, showing a state before the connectors are fitted. Fig. 8 (A) is a cross-sectional perspective view of the plug connector 102 on the plane at right angles to the above-mentioned arrangement direction of the receptacle connector 101 of Fig. A cross-sectional perspective view of the receptacle connector 101 on the plane where the arrangement direction is at right angles. In Fig. 8(A) and Fig. 8(B), the cross-sections at the central position in the arrangement direction are shown respectively, the state in which the casings 110 and 150 are omitted is shown in the left half, and the lower position in the right half is The locks 140, 170 held by the right half are shown. 9(A) is a perspective view showing the plug connector 102 of FIG. 7 upside down, and FIG. 9(B) is a perspective view showing the housing 150 of the plug connector 102 of FIG. 9(A) omitted.

As can be seen well in FIG. 8(B), the receptacle lock 140 provided on the receptacle connector 101 omits the inner leg portion 42 from the receptacle lock 40 of the first embodiment, and provides a later-described The shape of the locking leg portion 140A and the fixing portion 140B.

The base portion 141 is formed of a plate portion parallel to the mounting surface of the circuit board, and extends in the connector width direction. As can be seen well in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8(B), the base portion 141 is exposed on the upper surface of the end wall 115 of the casing 110, and the upper surface of the base portion 141 forms the same horizontal plane as the upper surface of the end wall 115. way exposed.

As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8(B), the lock leg 140A extends downward from the inner edge of the base 141 (the edge on the side of the receiving portion 116 in the alignment direction). The lock leg 140A is exposed on the inner end wall surface (the wall surface on the receiving portion 116 side) of the end wall 115 of the housing 110, and the plate surface of the lock leg 140A forms the same level as the inner end wall surface. A protruding end lock portion 147 protruding inward in the alignment direction, that is, toward the receiving portion 116 side is formed on the upper plate surface of the lock leg portion 140A. The end lock portion 147 is formed by, for example, press working or the like, and has a width dimension (dimension in the width direction of the connector) smaller than that of the lock leg portion 140A.

In addition, the upper end side of the locking leg 140A has a bent portion (a portion located above the end locking portion 147 in FIGS. 7 and 8(B) ) to lock the end of the plug connector 102 . The end lock guide surface 140A- 1 that guides the end lock portion 179 to the locked position where it is locked with the end lock portion 147 .

As can be observed in FIG. 8(B), the fixing portion 140B is bent at the lower edge of the locking leg portion 140A to extend outward in the above-mentioned alignment direction, and is fixed to the bottom surface of the circuit board by soldering on its lower surface. corresponding department. In this way, by providing the fixing portion 140B in such a manner as to extend from the lower edge of the locking leg portion 140A formed with the end locking portion 147 , it is possible to improve the position of the end locking portion 147 relative to the end locked portion 179 of the plug locking member 170 . locking strength.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the front end of the fixing portion 140B is located inside the outer edge portion of the base portion 141 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction. In other words, the fixing portion 140B does not extend to the outside of the base portion 141 in the alignment direction, thereby avoiding an increase in the size of the receptacle lock 140 and thus the receptacle connector 101 in the alignment direction.

As can be seen well in FIG. 8(A), FIG. 9(A), and FIG. 9(B), the plug lock 170 provided on the plug connector 102 is the plug lock in the first embodiment. 70 is provided with a shape like a lock leg portion 170A described later.

As can be observed in FIG. 9(A) and FIG. 9(B), the locking leg 170A extends from the outer edge portion of the base portion 171 (the side edge portion on the side away from the receiving portion 156 in the above-mentioned arrangement direction). ) extends downward (upward in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8(A), FIG. 8(B)). The locking leg portion 170A is exposed on the outer end wall surface (the wall surface opposite to the receiving portion 156 ) of the end wall 155 of the housing 150 , and the plate surface of the locking leg portion 170A is in contact with the outer end wall surface of the above-mentioned outer end wall surface and the lock. Surfaces of regions adjacent to the stopper portion 170A form the same horizontal plane.

As can be seen in FIG. 9(A) and FIG. 9(B), a protruding end locked portion 179 protruding outward in the above-mentioned arrangement direction is formed on the upper plate surface of the locking leg portion 170A. . The end locked portion 179 is formed by, for example, press processing or the like, and has a width dimension (dimension in the width direction of the connector) smaller than that of the locking leg portion 170A.

In addition, the upper end side of the locking leg 170A is formed with a bent portion (a portion located above the end locked portion 179 ) for locking the end locking portion 147 of the receptacle connector 101 to the end locked portion 179 . The locked end of the locking position guides the locking guide surface 170A-1.

In addition, as can be observed in FIG. 9(A) and FIG. 9(B), there are formed on the lower end of the lock leg 170A protruding from the side edges (edges extending in the vertical direction) on both sides. Protrusion 170B. As can be seen in FIG. 9A , the protrusion 170B is locked to the side edge of the locked recess 155A of the end wall 155 to prevent upward (downward in FIG. 7 ) movement. By providing the protrusion 170B, the locking strength of the end locked portion 179 with respect to the end locking portion 147 of the socket lock 140 can be improved.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view on a plane at right angles to the connector width direction of the receptacle connector 101 and the plug connector 102 of Fig. 7, and shows a cross-section at the central position in the width direction of the connector, and Fig. 10(A) shows Fig. 10(B) shows the state before connector fitting, while the state before connector fitting is shown. The connector fitting operation of this embodiment is also performed by fitting the fitting portion (surrounding wall 153 (see FIG. 7 )) of the plug connector 102 in the same manner as the connector fitting operation described in the first embodiment. to the receiving portion 116 of the receptacle connector 101 (arrow in FIG. 10(A)). As shown in FIG. 10(B), in the mated state of the connector, the end locking portion 147 of the receptacle locking member 140 is above the locked portion 179 of the end of the plug locking member 170 and is located relative to the end. The locked portion 179 is a position locked in the direction in which the connector is pulled out. As a result, the receptacle lock 140 and the plug lock 170 are mutually locked.

In this embodiment, the end locking portion 147 is formed protruding from the plate surface of the locking leg portion 140A, and the end locked portion 179 is formed protruding from the plate surface of the locking leg portion 170A, so the end locking portion 147 The locking surface that locks with the end locked portion 179 is a smooth surface. Therefore, compared with the case where the locking surfaces formed by the broken surface (thickness surface) are locked to each other like the end locking portion 47 and the end locked portion 79 of the first embodiment, smooth locking can be performed. Cancel action.

In addition, in the present embodiment, as described above, the lock guide surfaces 140A- 1 and 170A- 1 are exposed at the same level as the surface of the housing 110 or the housing 150 . Therefore, during the connector fitting process, the end lock portion 147 of the receptacle lock 140 is guided toward the locked position while slidingly contacting the end lock guide surface 170A-1 of the plug lock 170, and the plug The end of the lock 170 is guided toward the locked position while being in sliding contact with the end lock guide surface 140A- 1 of the socket lock 140 by the lock portion 179 . As a result, there is no case where the end lock portion 147 is in sliding contact with the housing 150 of the plug connector 102, or the end locked portion 149 is in sliding contact with the housing 110 of the receptacle connector 101, so that the housings 150, 110 can be avoided. damage. In addition, the lock guide surfaces 140A- 1 and 170A- 1 may protrude from the surface of the housing 110 or the housing 150 .

Claims (8)

1. An electric connector for a circuit board, which is arranged on the mounting surface of the circuit board, and is used as a connector plugging and unplugging direction in a direction at right angles to the mounting surface for plugging and unplugging of the object connector, The electrical connector for the circuit board has: the terminals and the locking piece are arranged with a direction parallel to the mounting surface as an arrangement direction; and The housing that holds the terminal and the locking piece in alignment, The locking member is held at the end of the housing in the alignment direction and can be locked in the connector extraction direction relative to the counterpart connector, The electrical connector for circuit board is characterized in that, The housing holds the two locking pieces at positions adjacent to each other in the width direction of the connector at right angles to the alignment direction at at least one of the ends, bending a metal plate member to form a lock member having a base formed of a plate portion parallel to the mounting surface, from both ends of the base in the connector width direction toward the circuit board side, respectively an extended foot, and an end lock disposed on the rim of the base, The feet are fixed to at least one of the circuit board and the casing. 2. An electrical connector for a circuit board, which is arranged on the mounting surface of the circuit board, and is used as a connector plugging and pulling direction in a direction at right angles to the mounting surface for plugging and unplugging of the object connector, The electrical connector for the circuit board has: the terminals and the locking piece are arranged with a direction parallel to the mounting surface as an arrangement direction; and The housing that holds the terminal and the locking piece in alignment, The locking member is held at the end of the housing in the alignment direction and can be locked in the connector extraction direction relative to the counterpart connector, The electrical connector for circuit board is characterized in that, The housing holds the two locking pieces at positions adjacent to each other in the width direction of the connector at right angles to the alignment direction at at least one of the ends, bending a metal plate member to form a locking member having a base formed of a plate parallel to the mounting surface, at least one end in the connector width direction from the base, and the base The edges of the base are respectively extended towards the legs of the circuit board side, and the end locks are provided on the feet extending from the edges of the base, The feet are fixed to at least one of the circuit board and the casing. 3. The circuit board electrical connector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Each locking piece has a fixing portion extending from the end of at least one leg portion on the side of the circuit board, and fixes the fixing portion to the mounting surface of the circuit board. 4. The circuit board electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Each locking piece has a leg extending from an end portion located outside the base in the width direction of the connector, and a side locking portion is formed on a plate surface of the leg. 5. The electrical connector for circuit board according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Each locking member has a leg extending from an outer end portion of the base in the connector width direction, and a side plate portion arranged in line with the leg on the inner side in the alignment direction than the leg, And a side locking part is formed on the board surface of the side board part. 6. The circuit board electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Each lock piece has a leg portion extending from an end portion located on the outer side of the base in the connector width direction, a side plate portion disposed in line with the leg portion on the inside of the leg portion in the alignment direction, and the leg portion. A side lock portion extending from the side plate portion in the width direction of the connector. 7. The circuit board electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The locking piece is formed with a locking guide surface for guiding a corresponding locking portion provided on the target connector to a locked position with the locking piece, The locking guide surface protrudes from the surface of the housing or forms the same level as the surface. 8. The circuit board electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The housing arranges and maintains multiple terminals in the direction of arrangement, the plurality of terminals have signal terminals and power terminals located outside the signal terminals in the arrangement direction, The locking piece is located outside the power terminals in the arrangement direction.