Disclosure of Invention
However, in the power terminal having a substantially horizontal S-shape in the receptacle connector of patent document 1, a path that is bent twice over the U-shaped portion and the inverted U-shaped portion is formed between the contact portion and the connection portion, and the distance becomes long, and accordingly, the resistance becomes large, and when a large current flows as a power source, the resistance becomes large, and the amount of heat generation becomes high. In the electrical connector for a circuit board, a high heat generation amount is not preferable for the circuit portion and the circuit component.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector for a circuit board, which can suppress an amount of heat generation as much as possible in a power supply terminal through which a current larger than that of a signal terminal flows.
The electrical connector for a circuit board of the present invention includes a housing made of an electrically insulating material and arranged on a mounting surface of the circuit board, and a power terminal and a locking member made of a metal material held by the housing, the power terminal being in contact with a corresponding terminal of a target connector, and the locking member being engaged with a corresponding locking portion of the target connector.
In the electrical connector for a circuit board according to the present invention, the housing includes: a receiving unit for receiving the connector to be connected; and a side wall extending in a longitudinal direction along one direction of the mounting surface and holding the power terminal and the locking member, the power terminal and the locking member being provided at positions having portions overlapping each other in the longitudinal direction, the power terminal including: an elastic arm portion located in the receiving portion and formed with a contact portion that contacts the corresponding terminal; and a connecting portion located on a bottom surface of the bottom wall of the housing and connected to a corresponding circuit portion of the circuit board, wherein the elastic arm portion forms the contact portion on a free end side constituting one end side of the elastic arm portion, the other end side of the elastic arm portion is connected to the connecting portion via a transfer portion located on the bottom wall of the housing, and the locking member is held by the side wall at a position above the connecting portion.
According to the present invention having such a configuration, in the power supply terminal, a current flows from the contact portion to the connection portion via the elastic arm portion and the transition portion. Since the elastic arm portion and the connecting portion on the bottom surface of the housing are connected by the transfer portion on the bottom wall of the housing, the elastic arm portion and the connecting portion form a current path having the shortest distance without passing through a bent portion, and thus the amount of heat generation is suppressed to the minimum.
In the present invention, it is preferable that the power supply terminal is connected to the locking member to form a single member.
Thus, the power supply terminal and the locking member can be easily processed into one component, and the power supply terminal and the locking member are mutually reinforced, so that the strength against external force is improved. At this time, the power supply current also flows through the path that has the shortest distance to the connection portion via the elastic arm portion and the transition portion, and hardly flows toward the locking member, so that the amount of heat generation does not increase.
In the present invention, the power supply terminal and the locking member may be formed as separate members.
In the present invention, the power supply terminal may be accommodated within a width range of the locking member in the longitudinal direction.
In this way, since the power supply terminal and the locking member do not have different ranges in the longitudinal direction, the connector becomes compact in the longitudinal direction.
In the present invention, the electrical connector for a circuit board further includes a reinforcing metal fitting held by an end wall located at the longitudinal end of the housing, and the reinforcing metal fitting and the locking member may be formed as one member.
Thus, the locking member and the reinforcing metal fitting mutually increase the strength, and also increase the holding strength of the housing.
In the present invention, the locking member has a fixing portion to be soldered and fixed to the circuit board, and the fixing portion of the locking member and the connection portion of the power supply terminal are connected to the common pad of the circuit board by soldering.
In the present invention, as described above, the power supply terminal in the electrical connector for a circuit board connects the elastic arm portion having the contact portion and the connection portion via the transfer portion located on the bottom wall of the housing, and therefore, the current of the power supply terminal flows at the shortest distance from the contact portion to the connection portion via the transfer portion, and a long path is not routed from the contact portion to the connection portion via the lock portion bent along the side wall of the housing as in the conventional case, and therefore, the amount of heat generation can be suppressed accordingly.
Detailed Description
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Fig. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a receptacle connector and a plug connector as a mating connector according to the present embodiment, and show a state before the connectors are fitted. In fig. 1, the receptacle connector I is located downward, and fig. 2 is shown with the positional relationship of fig. 1 inverted and the posture inverted in order to better present the fitting side of the plug connector of fig. 1. The receptacle connector I and the plug connector II in the present embodiment are electrical connectors for circuit boards, which are respectively arranged on mounting surfaces of different circuit boards. Fig. 1 shows a circuit board P on which the receptacle connector I is mounted, and fig. 2 shows a circuit board Q on which the plug connector II is mounted. The receptacle connector I and the plug connector II constitute a connector assembly in which a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface of the circuit board P, Q (vertical direction in fig. 1) is a connector fitting direction and a removal direction (hereinafter referred to as "connector fitting direction"). In the present embodiment, the connector fitting direction is referred to as a "connector fitting/removing direction Z", a direction extending in the longitudinal direction of the connector along the mounting surface of the circuit board P is referred to as a "connector longitudinal direction X", and a connector width direction perpendicular to the "connector longitudinal direction X" is referred to as a "connector width direction Y".
[ Structure of socket connector I ]
As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the receptacle connector I includes: a housing 10 formed in a thin substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape; a plurality of receptacle signal terminals 20 and receptacle power supply terminals 30, which are held in an array in the connector longitudinal direction by being integrally molded with the housing 10 in a direction parallel to the mounting surface, i.e., in the connector longitudinal direction X (also in the longitudinal direction of the housing 10), as shown in fig. 1; a receptacle lock member 40 provided at a position overlapping at least a part of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 in the connector longitudinal direction X; and a socket reinforcing metal fitting 50 held by the housing 10 at an end in the connector longitudinal direction X. In the illustrated example, the receptacle power supply terminals 30 and the receptacle locking members 40 are provided so as to be aligned and positioned over the entire range in the connector longitudinal direction X. That is, the length of the receptacle lock member 40 is longer than the length of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 in the connector longitudinal direction X, and the receptacle power supply terminal 30 and the receptacle lock member 40 face each other through the receiving portion 16.
The case 10 is made of an electrically insulating material such as resin, and as shown in fig. 1, the case 10 has: a bottom wall 11 parallel to a mounting surface of the circuit board P, which is a mounting surface of the receptacle connector I; a protruding wall 12 rising upward from the bottom wall 11 in a central region of the bottom wall 11 in the connector width direction Y and extending in the connector length direction X; and a rectangular frame-shaped peripheral wall 13 rising from an outer peripheral edge of the bottom wall 11 and surrounding the protruding wall 12, the protruding wall 12 being positioned in an island shape in a space surrounded by the peripheral wall 13. The peripheral wall 13 has: a pair of side walls 14 opposed in the connector width direction Y and extending in the connector length direction X; and a pair of end walls 15 that face each other in the connector longitudinal direction X, connect end portions of the pair of side walls 14 in the connector longitudinal direction X to each other, and extend in the connector width direction Y. A receiving portion 16 for receiving the fitting portion of the plug connector II is formed in a square annular space that opens upward between the peripheral wall 13 and the projecting wall 12.
In the protruding wall 12, a signal terminal groove portion 12A is formed at a position corresponding to the receptacle signal terminal 20 in the connector longitudinal direction X, and a power supply terminal groove portion 12B is formed at a position corresponding to the receptacle power supply terminal 30 in the connector longitudinal direction X. The signal terminal groove portion 12A and the power terminal groove portion 12B are recessed from a side surface 12C (a surface facing the side wall 14 in the connector width direction Y) of the protruding wall 12, extend in the connector fitting direction Z, that is, in the vertical direction, are formed over the entire range of the protruding wall 12 in the connector fitting direction Z, are open at the upper end position, and are closed by the bottom wall 11 at the lower end position (see also fig. 4). The signal terminal groove portion 12A accommodates an elastic arm portion 21 of a receptacle signal terminal 20 described later, and the power supply terminal groove portion 12B accommodates an elastic arm portion 31 of a receptacle power supply terminal 30. As shown in fig. 1, the power terminal groove portion 12B is formed to have a larger groove width dimension (dimension in the connector longitudinal direction X) than the signal terminal groove portion 12A.
As shown in fig. 1, the receptacle signal terminals 20 are formed in a row in the connector longitudinal direction X at two positions in the central region range of the protruding wall 12 of the housing 10 in the connector longitudinal direction X and symmetrical with respect to the center line extending in the connector longitudinal direction X at the central position in the connector width direction Y, and are held by the housing 10. In fig. 1, 2 receptacle signal terminals 20 are arranged in the connector longitudinal direction X in each of the two positions. The receptacle power supply terminals 30 are provided in the housing 10 at positions outside the arrangement range of the receptacle signal terminals 20 in the connector longitudinal direction X. That is, the receptacle power supply terminals 30 are located closer to the end wall 15 than the receptacle signal terminals 20. The socket reinforcing metal fitting 50 is attached to the end wall 15 of the housing 10 so as to cover the upper wall surface 15A, the inner wall surface 15B, and the outer wall surface 15C of the end wall 15. The terminals and the like will be described one by one.
Next, the receptacle signal terminals 20, the receptacle power supply terminals 30, the receptacle locking members 40, and the receptacle reinforcing metal fittings 50 will be described based on (a) to (D) of fig. 3. These components are held to the housing 10 by integral molding with the housing 10.
The receptacle signal terminal 20 is formed by bending a metal plate in a plate thickness direction thereof, and is formed by connecting a U-shaped portion and an inverted U-shaped portion together by a common arm portion thereof so that the entire portion has a substantially horizontal S-shape when viewed in the connector longitudinal direction X. The receptacle signal terminal 20 includes: an elastic arm portion 21 located on the inner side (projecting wall 12 side) in the connector width direction Y; an embedded arm portion 22 (not shown in fig. 1, see (a) in fig. 3) embedded and held in the side wall 14 at a position outside the elastic arm portion 21; an intermediate arm portion 23 located between the elastic arm portion 21 and the embedded arm portion 22; and a connecting portion 24 connecting lower ends of the elastic arm portion 21 and the intermediate arm portion 23 to each other. The intermediate arm portion 23 and the embedded arm portion 22 are connected at their upper ends via a convex bent portion 25 that protrudes upward. The U-shaped portion is formed by the elastic arm portion 21, the intermediate arm portion 23, and the coupling portion 24, and the inverted U-shaped portion is formed by the intermediate arm portion 23, the embedded arm portion 22, and the convex bent portion 25. The space enclosed by the elastic arm portion 21, the intermediate arm portion 23, and the coupling portion 24 forms a part of the receiving portion 16.
A contact portion 21A that is curved convexly toward the intermediate arm portion 23 side in the connector width direction Y is provided on the free end side, which is the upper end side of the elastic arm portion 21, and when the plug signal terminal 70 of the plug connector II enters toward the U-shaped portion, the contact portion 21A presses the plug signal terminal 70 to be sandwiched between the contact portion 21A and the intermediate arm portion 23 by a force due to elastic displacement of the elastic arm portion 21. As described above, the elastic arm portion 21 is positioned in the signal terminal groove portion 12A formed in the protruding wall 12 of the housing 10 and elastically displaced in the connector width direction Y, and a part of the contact portion 21A protrudes from the signal terminal groove portion 12A.
As described above, the intermediate arm portion 23, the embedded arm portion 22, and the convex bent portion 25 are formed into the inverted U-shaped portions, the intermediate arm portion 23 and the convex bent portion 25 are in contact with the inner surface and the upper surface of the side wall 14 of the case 10, and the embedded arm portion 22 is embedded in the side wall 14, whereby they are held by the side wall 14. The convex bent portion 25 connecting the intermediate arm portion 23 and the embedded arm portion 22 is exposed on the upper surface of the side wall 14. A connecting portion 22A is provided from the lower end of the embedding arm 22, and the connecting portion 22A is bent into an L shape so as to face the circuit board P and extends outward in the connector width direction Y. The connection portion 22A is soldered to a pad P1 (see fig. 1) serving as a corresponding circuit portion of the circuit board P.
The receptacle power terminals 30 are formed by bending a metal plate in the plate thickness direction thereof, and are wider in the terminal width (width dimension in the connector longitudinal direction X) than the receptacle signal terminals 20, as in the receptacle signal terminals 20. The receptacle power supply terminal 30 has an elastic arm portion 31 having substantially the same form as the elastic arm portion 21 of the receptacle signal terminal 20 when viewed in the connector longitudinal direction X, and a contact portion 31A is provided on the upper end side, i.e., the free end side, of the elastic arm portion 31.
The receptacle power supply terminal 30 has a connection portion 33, and the connection portion 33 extends from the lower end of the elastic arm portion 31 toward the outside in the connector width direction Y via the transition portion 32. The transition portion 32 is located on the bottom wall 11 of the housing 10, the connection portion 33 is located on the bottom surface of the bottom wall 11 where the side wall 14 slightly below the transition portion 32 is located (see fig. 4), and the connection portion 33 is directly connected from the transition portion 32 to the connection portion 33 at the shortest distance. In the present embodiment, the receptacle power supply terminal 30 is held by the housing 10 by integral molding with the housing 10 as shown in fig. 4, and specifically, the lower end portion of the elastic arm portion 31 and a part of the transfer portion 32 are held by the bottom wall 11 of the housing 10 as shown in fig. 4. In the present embodiment, the transfer portion 32 is located on the upper surface of the bottom wall 11, but may be located on the lower surface of the bottom wall 11 or within the thickness of the bottom wall.
As shown in fig. 3 (B) and (D), the connection portion 33 of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 has 2 protruding portions 33A extending outward in the connector width direction Y at both end positions in the terminal width direction (connector longitudinal direction X), and a notch portion 33B is formed between the 2 protruding portions 33A. The notch 33B accommodates a fixing portion 42A of a socket locking member described later, and also has a function of securing a long solder margin at the connecting portion 33 when solder-connected to the circuit board P.
The receptacle lock member 40 is formed by bending a metal plate in the plate thickness direction, and as shown in fig. 3 (B) and (C), the receptacle lock member 40 has a substantially inverted U-shape when viewed in the connector longitudinal direction X. The receptacle lock member 40 is sized and positioned to overlap the receptacle power supply terminals 30 in the connector longitudinal direction X. In the example of fig. 3, the width of the receptacle lock member 40 is wider than the receptacle power supply terminals 30, and is positioned such that the receptacle power supply terminals 30 are received within the width range of the receptacle lock member 40 in the connector longitudinal direction X.
The socket locking member 40 has a substantially inverted U-shape, and includes an inner arm 41 and an embedded arm 42 located outside the inner arm 41, and the inner arm 41 and the embedded arm 42 are connected to each other at their upper ends by a bent portion 43 projecting upward. As shown in fig. 4, the inner arm 41 is held by the inner wall surface 14A of the side wall 14 of the case 10, and the embedded arm 42 is embedded and held in the thickness of the side wall 14. The convex bent portion 43 is exposed on the upper surface 14B of the side wall 14. A lock portion 41A is formed at an upper portion of the inner arm portion 41, and the lock portion 41A is curved in a convex shape so as to protrude inward in the connector width direction. The lower end of the inner arm 41 has a stopper 41B, and the stopper 41B is bent in an L shape so as to extend inward in the connector width direction Y. When the plug connector II is excessively lowered and enters when fitted to the plug connector II, the stopper portion 41B functions as a stopper for the plug connector II. As shown in fig. 3C, a part of the lower end of the embedded arm 42 in the width direction of the receptacle lock member 40 (the direction in the connector longitudinal direction X and the width direction of the receptacle lock member 40) is bent in an L-shape at the center in the illustrated example to form a fixing portion 42A located on the bottom surface of the bottom wall 11 where the side wall 14 is located. The fixing portion 42A is positioned in a notch portion 33B (see fig. 1) formed between the 2 protruding portions 33A of the receptacle power supply terminal 30, and is fixed to a corresponding portion of the circuit board P by a brazing material, thereby strengthening the holding of the receptacle lock member 40. The space surrounded by the inner arm 41, the embedded arm 42, and the convex bent portion 43 is filled with the case 10, and a part of the case 10 is also provided above the fixing portion 42A.
The socket locking member 40 is engaged with the elastic arm portion 31 of the socket power supply terminal 30, and forms a U-shaped portion similar to the U-shaped portion of the socket signal terminal 20, although not continuous with the socket power supply terminal 30 at the lower end (see fig. 3B and 4). That is, the elastic arm portion 31 of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 and the inner arm portion 41 of the receptacle lock member 40 form a part of the receiving portion 16 as a U-shaped space. The U-shaped portion receives the plug power supply terminal 80 of the target plug connector I and makes a press contact therewith. Thereby, the receptacle power supply terminal 30 is electrically connected to the plug power supply terminal 80 by the contact portion 31A thereof, and the receptacle lock member 40 is locked to the corresponding portion of the plug power supply terminal by the lock portion 41A thereof so as to be locked so as to be prevented from coming off.
The socket reinforcing metal fitting 50 attached to the end wall 15 of the housing 10 is formed by bending a metal plate in the plate thickness direction thereof, similarly to the socket signal terminal 20, the socket power supply terminal 30, and the socket locking member 40, and as shown in fig. 1 and 3 (a), the socket reinforcing metal fitting 50 includes: an outer arm portion 51 buried and held in the end wall 15; an intermediate arm portion 52 that extends from the upper end portion of the outer arm portion 51 back toward the inner wall surface 15B of the end wall 15 and is positioned on the inner wall surface 15B; a coupling portion 53 bent at a part of the lower end of the intermediate arm portion 52 (a central portion in the connector width direction); an inner arm portion 54 rising from the connection portion 53 and bent in an inverted U-shape at an upper end; end wall side fixing portions 55 which extend toward the outside of the housing 10 in the connector longitudinal direction X with respect to the connecting portion 53 at the lower end of the intermediate arm portion 52 and at both sides of the connecting portion 53 and are located on the bottom surface where the end wall 15 of the bottom wall 11 is located; a bent embedded arm 56 extending from a side edge of the intermediate arm 52, bent in an L-shape, and embedded in the wall thickness of the end wall 15 and the side wall 14; and a side wall side fixing portion 57 which is located on the bottom surface of the bottom wall 11 by being bent in an L shape so as to protrude from the bottom surface of the bottom wall 11 at the lower end of the bent embedded arm portion 56 and the side wall 14. Is transferred from the intermediate arm portion 52 to the outer arm portion 51 via the upper surface bent portion 50A. The coupling portion 53 is almost entirely embedded in the bottom wall 11 of the housing 10 and is held, and a part thereof is exposed at a position of a groove formed in the bottom wall 11.
[ Structure of plug connector ]
Next, a plug connector II that is the target of the receptacle connector I will be briefly described.
As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the plug connector II includes a housing 60 made of an electrically insulating material, plug signal terminals 70 held by the housing 60 by integral molding with the housing 60, plug power supply terminals 80, and a plug reinforcing metal fitting 90.
The housing 60 has: a bottom wall 61 (the bottom wall 61 is shown facing upward in fig. 1) that faces a circuit substrate Q on which the plug connector I is mounted (see fig. 2); and a peripheral wall 62 rising from the bottom wall 61 and having a rectangular frame shape as shown in fig. 2. The peripheral wall 62 forms a fitting portion for the receptacle connector I, and is received in the receiving portion 16 of the housing 10 of the receptacle connector I to be fitted to the receptacle connector I. The peripheral wall 62 has: 2 side walls 63 extending in the connector length direction X; and 2 end walls 64 joining the 2 side walls 63 to each other at their ends.
The plug signal terminal 70 and the plug power supply terminal 80 are formed in an inverted U shape covering an upper portion of the side wall 63, and are provided with respect to the side wall 63: a position where the plug connector II is in contact with the receptacle signal terminal 20 and the receptacle power supply terminal 30 of the receptacle connector I when the plug connector II is fitted into the receiving portion 16 of the receptacle connector I; and the plug reinforcing metal member 90 is provided with respect to the end wall 64: and a position to engage with the socket reinforcing metal fitting 50 of the socket connector I.
The plug signal terminals 70 and the plug power supply terminals 80 are formed in substantially the same shape by bending a metal plate, and the terminal width (terminal width dimension in the connector longitudinal direction X) of the plug power supply terminals 80 is set to be wider than the plug signal terminals 70 as in the case of the receptacle connector I. The plug signal terminal 70 and the plug power supply terminal 80 reach the inner wall surface 63A of the side wall 63 of the housing 60 so as to wrap around the upper portion of the side wall 63, are bent outward in the connector width direction Y at the lower end position of the inner wall surface 63A, penetrate the bottom wall 61, and are then positioned on the lower surface of the bottom wall 61. The plug signal terminal 70 and the plug power supply terminal 80 are formed with contact portions 71 and 81 at portions located on the inner wall surface 63A of the side wall 63, with connection portions 72 and 82 at portions located on the lower surface of the bottom wall 61, and with locking portions 73 and 83 bent in a convex shape at portions located on the outer wall surface of the side wall 63 at portions covering the upper portion of the side wall 63.
The upper end of the portion of the plug reinforcing metal fitting 90 located on the inner wall surface side of the end wall 64 is bent downward, and this bent portion is embedded in the end wall 64.
[ fitting operation of connector ]
Next, the fitting operation of the receptacle connector I and the plug connector II will be described with reference to fig. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the socket connector I and the plug connector II just before fitting, and fig. 5 is a sectional view after fitting, each showing a section where the socket power supply terminals 30 and the plug power supply terminals 80 are located in the connector longitudinal direction X.
First, the connection portion 22A of the receptacle signal terminal 20 of the receptacle connector I, the connection portion 33 of the receptacle power supply terminal 30, and the fixing portion 42A of the receptacle locking member 40 are soldered and fixed to the corresponding portion of the circuit board P, and the end wall side fixing portion 55 and the side wall side fixing portion 57 of the receptacle reinforcing metal fitting 50 are soldered and fixed to the corresponding portion of the circuit board P, so that the receptacle connector I is mounted on the circuit board P. The connection portion 22A of the receptacle signal terminal 20 is soldered to a pad P1 provided on the circuit board P as a corresponding circuit portion, and the connection portion 33 of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 and the fixing portion 42A of the receptacle locking member 40 are soldered to a common pad P2 provided on the circuit board P. The end wall side fixing portion 55 and the side wall side fixing portion 57 of the socket reinforcing metal fitting 50 are fixed by soldering to the corresponding lands P3 and P4, respectively. The connection portion 72 of the plug signal terminal 70 and the connection portion 82 of the plug power terminal 80 of the plug connector II are soldered to the pads Q1 and Q2 constituting the corresponding circuit portion of the other circuit board Q. If necessary, a coating agent for preventing corrosion may be applied to the solder connection portion and the solder fixing portion of the receptacle connector I and the plug connector II.
Next, as shown in fig. 4, the receptacle connector I is positioned below the plug connector II in a posture in which the receiving portion 16 of the receptacle connector I is opened upward, and the plug connector II is positioned above the receptacle connector I in a posture in which the peripheral wall 62 thereof faces downward. Then, in the connector fitting direction Z shown in fig. 4, the plug connector II is moved downward, and the peripheral wall 62 forming the fitting portion of the plug connector II is fitted into the receiving portion 16 of the receptacle connector I.
As a result, although not shown in fig. 4, the inverted U-shaped plug signal terminal 70 of the plug connector II is pushed into the U-shaped elastic arm portion 21 and the intermediate arm portion 23 of the receptacle signal terminal 20 of the receptacle connector I, which have the contact portion 21A shown in fig. 1, by being spread apart from each other. Then, the elastic arm portion 21 is elastically displaced toward the projecting wall 12 side in the connector width direction Y. If the pushing into the U-shaped portion continues, the connector fitting state is achieved as shown in fig. 5, and the contact portion 21A of the receptacle signal terminal 20 and the plug signal terminal 70 of the plug connector II are brought into contact with each other with contact pressure.
On the other hand, as shown in fig. 5, the plug power supply terminal 80 of the plug connector II having an inverted U shape is fitted to a portion having a substantially U shape although being discontinuous between the elastic arm portion 31 of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 and the inner arm portion 41 of the receptacle lock member 40. The plug power supply terminal 80 transmits and receives electric power to and from the receptacle power supply terminal 30 through a circuit that reaches the connection portion 33 from the contact portion 31A of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 via the elastic arm portion 31 and the transition portion 32. At this time, the transition portion 32 is positioned on the bottom wall 11 of the housing 10, and the connection portion 33 connected to the transition portion 32 is positioned on the bottom surface of the bottom wall 11 below the side wall 14 of the housing 10, so that the above-described circuit does not connect the transition portion 32 and the connection portion 33 at the shortest distance in a substantially straight line shape via the bent portion. Therefore, even when a relatively large current of the order of several amperes to several tens of amperes (more specifically, 5 to 20 amperes) flows, the amount of heat generation can be suppressed. In addition, although the contact portion 31A, which is the contact portion between the plug power supply terminal 80 and the receptacle power supply terminal 30, may be a heat source because of a high current density, the heat generated is conducted to the circuit board P via the transfer portion 32 and the connection portion 33, and thus the heat dissipation performance can be improved.
Further, a locking portion 83 is formed on the side of the plug power supply terminal 80 of the plug connector II that contacts the receptacle locking member 40, and engages with the locking portion 83 to be lockable with the receptacle locking member 40 in the connector removing direction.
Next, the header reinforcing metal fitting 90 of the header connector II is guided by the upper surface bent portion 50A of the receptacle reinforcing metal fitting 50, although not shown in fig. 4 and 5. The receptacle reinforcing metal fitting 50 and the plug reinforcing metal fitting 90 reinforce the mounted housing 10, respectively, and also have a function of protecting the housing 10 from an impact force received at the time of collision of both connectors due to a positional shift that is somewhat present at the time of starting of connector fitting.
In addition to the embodiments shown in fig. 1 to 5, the present invention may be modified.
In the embodiment of fig. 1 to 5, the receptacle lock member 40 and the receptacle reinforcing metal fitting 50 are formed as separate parts, but since the power supply current hardly flows through both the members, it is not necessary to consider suppressing the amount of heat generation due to the current, and the shape and the like thereof are not limited, and the embodiment thereof can be determined according to the strength of the members themselves, the difference in the reinforcing case, and the ease of manufacturing, and the members may be formed integrally. In this case, the number of parts is reduced, and the number of parts processing steps is reduced, which is preferable.
In another embodiment shown in fig. 6, a lock reinforcing metal fitting 100 is shown, and the lock reinforcing metal fitting 100 is a member equivalent to a member in which the socket lock member 40 shown in fig. 3 (a) and (C) is formed integrally with the socket reinforcing metal fitting 50 shown in fig. 3 (a). In fig. 6, the same parts as those in (a) and (C) of fig. 3 are denoted by reference numerals obtained by adding "100" to the reference numerals of fig. 3, and the description thereof will be omitted. The lock reinforcing metal member 100 has a lock member portion 140 and a reinforcing metal member portion 150. The locking member portion 140 and the reinforcing metal fitting portion 150 are coupled to each other, and except for this point, they are almost the same as the socket locking member 40 and the socket reinforcing metal fitting 50 shown in fig. 3, respectively. Here, a point different from the mode of fig. 3 will be described.
The locking member portion 140 and the reinforcing metal part 150 constitute one member by joining the buried arm portion 142 of the locking member portion 140 and the curved buried arm portion 156 of the reinforcing metal part 150. In this way, the locking member portion 140 and the reinforcing metal fitting portion 150 are formed as one member, and thus the two portions are engaged with each other, so that both the strength of the member itself and the housing reinforcing function can be improved, and the number of parts can be reduced.
As another embodiment, an embodiment like that shown in fig. 7 is also possible. In fig. 7, there is provided a power supply terminal locking member 200 obtained by integrating the receptacle locking member 40 in fig. 3 with the receptacle power supply terminal 30. In fig. 7, the same parts as those in (a) and (C) of fig. 3 are denoted by reference numerals obtained by adding "200" to the reference numerals of fig. 3, and the description thereof will be omitted. The power supply terminal locking member 200 has a power supply terminal part 230 and a locking member part 240. The power supply terminal portion 230 itself and the locking member portion 240 itself are almost the same in form as the socket power supply terminal 30 and the socket locking member 40 shown in fig. 3, respectively. Here, a point different from the mode of fig. 3 will be described.
In fig. 7, when comparing the power supply terminal portion 230 with the socket power supply terminal 30 of fig. 3, as shown in fig. 7 (a) and (C), the power supply terminal portion has substantially the same form as the socket power supply terminal 30 of fig. 3 (a) and (D), but the connection portion 233 is formed as a substantially flat plate surface, and the cutout portion 33B formed in the socket power supply terminal 30 of fig. 3 (a) and (D), the protruding portion 33A provided on both sides of the cutout portion 33B, and the like do not exist, and the connection portion 233 formed as the flat plate surface is provided so as to have a large area. Therefore, the solder area of the corresponding portion of the connection portion 233 with the circuit board is increased, and the holding strength by the solder is increased.
The locking member portion 240 integrated with the power supply terminal portion 230 is formed in an inverted U shape, and has a buried arm portion 242 that is bent and raised via an edge portion (an edge portion 233B located on the opposite side of the elastic arm portion 231 in the connector width direction Y) of the connection portion 233 of the power supply terminal portion 230, and an inner wall portion 241 that is bent downward toward the connector width direction Y at an upper end of the buried arm portion 242. The buried arm 242 and the inner arm 241 correspond to the buried arm 42 and the inner arm 41 of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 of fig. 3. In the example of fig. 7 (a), a fixing portion 242A extending outward from the lower end of the buried arm portion 242 in the connector width direction Y is provided at a position close to the socket reinforcing metal fitting 250 in the connector longitudinal direction X. The power supply terminal locking member 200 shown in fig. 7 (C) is the power supply terminal locking member 200 positioned on the left side in the connector longitudinal direction X in fig. 7 (a) and on the other side not shown. Therefore, in fig. 7 (a) and (C), the fixing portion 242A is located on the opposite side in the connector longitudinal direction X.
In fig. 7 (B), the lower edge of the inner arm 241 of the locking member portion 240 is shown in contact with the connecting portion 233, but in the present invention, it may or may not be in contact.
In the power supply terminal locking member 200, when the power supply terminal portion 230 comes into contact with the plug power supply terminal 80 of the target side through the contact portion 231A, a substantially linear circuit is formed from the contact portion 231A to the connection portion 233 via the elastic arm portion 231 and the transition portion 232, and electric power is supplied and received to and from the plug power supply terminal 80. At this time, the locking member portion 240 rises integrally from the connection portion 233 of the power supply terminal portion 230, but since the power supply current flows in a substantially linear circuit which is the shortest distance, the current hardly flows toward the locking member portion 240 side. As a result, the amount of heat generated by the current can be greatly reduced, as in the case of the receptacle power supply terminal 30 shown in fig. 3. Therefore, almost the same current as the locking member portion 240 flows regardless of whether the lower end of the inner arm portion 241 of the locking member portion 240 is in contact with or out of contact with the connecting portion 233.
Description of reference numerals:
10 … a housing; 14 … side walls; 16 … a receiving part; 30. 130, 230 … (receptacle) power terminals; 31. 131, 231 … resilient arm portions; 31A, 131A, 231A … contact portion; 32. 132, 232 … transfer section; 33. 133, 233 …; 40. 140, 240 … (socket) lock member.