JP2003068395A - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an electric connector having a lid member that is small and simple in structure. SOLUTION: In an electric connector which is pushed by the fitting portion 42 when the fitting portion 42 of the mating connector 40 is fitted and the lid member 20 opens to allow fitting, the lid member 20 has an upper arm portion 2.
3 and a lower arm 24, and each of the upper arm 23 and the lower arm 24 is held at one end by a housing in a cross section perpendicular to the direction in which the terminals are arranged. And an upper arm portion and a lower arm portion, which have a displacement portion 23C; 24C that is displaced at the position of the front opening and an elastic portion 23B; Are displaced from each other in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction due to the elastic deformation of the elastic portions due to the elastic deformation of the elastic portions due to the fitting of the mating connector. To an open state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the technical field of electrical connectors, and more particularly, an electrical connector having a lid member that closes a fitting recess for mating with a mating connector when not in use and opens a necessary amount when in use. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of connector is, for example, an actual flat type 6
The one disclosed in −54260 is known. In this known connector, as shown in FIG. 9 of the accompanying drawings, a lid member 53 is provided in an opening of a fitting recess 52 formed in a housing 51 for receiving a mating connector C. An array plate portion 54 is provided in a recessed position in the fitting recess 52, and a contact portion 55A of the terminal 55 is located on the upper and lower surfaces of the array plate portion 54.

The lid member 53 is composed of a plate-shaped upper member 53A and a lower member 53B, and closes the opening in a state where one ends thereof are in contact with each other at a central position in the vertical direction of the opening. The upper member 53A and the lower member 53B are held at the other ends of the upper member 53A and the lower member 53B by butterfly springs 57A and 57B supported by the open ends of the shield case 56, respectively, and the mating connector C is fitted thereto. Joint part is arrow P
When it is inserted in the direction and pushed by the upper member 53A and the lower member 53B, it is rotated inward in the arrow Q direction around the winding core of the butterfly springs 57A and 58B, and the lid member 53 is opened. . Thus, the mating portion of the mating connector C is in contact with the upper member 53A and the lower member 53B even when mating, and both are opened by a necessary amount, so that no extra gap is formed.

In such a connector, the lid is completely closed when not in use, and a large gap is not formed between the lid member and the mating connector even when in use. Inadvertent contact of the finger with the terminal can be achieved.

[0005]

However, the known connector shown in FIG. 9 has a problem that the connector is complicated and large in size.

The connector of FIG. 9 has an upper member 53A and a lower member 5.
In addition to 3B, two spring members 57A and 57B are required,
The increased number of parts complicates the structure and assembly of the connector. Normally, this type of connector extends long in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 9, and therefore the upper member 53A and the lower member 53B also have a plate shape elongated in the same direction. Therefore, although only two spring members are shown in FIG. 9, there are cases where spring members are provided at a plurality of positions in the above direction, and this also increases the number of parts.

Since the upper member 53A and the lower member 53B rotate about the winding cores of the butterfly springs 57A and 57B in the direction of arrow Q, the operating range of the upper member 53A and the lower member 53B, that is, the tips of both members. Rotation line (arrow Q in FIG. 9)
Nothing can be provided in the area inside. Therefore, the array plate portion 54 for arranging the contact portions 55A of the terminals 55 is also located behind the opening of the fitting recess 52. As a result, the connector is enlarged in the fitting direction by the amount of the recess.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems, to provide an electric connector having a lid member that can minimize the number of parts and miniaturize the connector.

[0009]

In the electrical connector according to the present invention, a plurality of terminals are linearly arranged in the housing at a predetermined interval, and the mating connector of the mating connector is inserted into the fitting recess of the housing in which the contact portions of the terminals are housed. A connector to which a fitting portion is fitted and connected, wherein a lid member that opens and closes at the position of the front opening of the fitting recess is provided, and the fitting portion of the mating connector is fitted. The lid member is opened by being pushed by and the fitting is allowed.

In such an electrical connector, according to the present invention, the lid member has an upper arm portion and a lower arm portion, and each of the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion is formed of a housing at one end side in a cross section perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the terminals. An upper arm portion having a holding portion to be held, a displacement portion formed at the other end side and displaced at the position of the front opening portion, and an elastic portion for elastically deforming the intermediate portion to displace the displacement portion. And the displacement parts of the lower arm are closed before the mating connector is mated, and the mating connectors are mated so that the displacement parts of both arms are in a direction substantially perpendicular to the mating direction due to elastic deformation of the elastic part. It is characterized in that they are displaced in a direction away from each other to be in an open state.

When the fitting portion of the mating connector is fitted to the electric connector of the present invention having such a structure, the fitting portion pushes the displacement portion of the connector of the present invention at the start of fitting, so that the elastic portion is elastically deformed. Therefore, the displacement portions are displaced away from each other in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction, and the closed state is changed to the open state. Thus, the fitting portion can be fitted. When the mating connector is pulled out from the connector of the present invention, the elastic portion returns to its original shape by its elastic restoring force, and the displacement portions come into contact with each other or come close to each other to be in a closed state.

According to the present invention, since the displacement portion, the elastic portion and the holding portion are formed as one member, the number of parts is reduced. Further, since the displacement portions of the lid member are separated from each other in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction and are in an open state, the displacement portion has an extremely small operation range in the fitting direction, and the contact portion of the terminal is brought close to the displacement portion. That is, it is possible to arrange the connector close to the opening of the fitting recess, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the size of the connector in the fitting direction.

In the present invention, the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion may be formed by processing a metal sheet as separate members, or may be formed as a separate member by processing a metal sheet and by the holding portion. It is also possible for them to be joined together or for one metal sheet to be made continuous.

It is preferable that the respective displacement portions of the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion extend in the arrangement direction over the arrangement range of the plurality of terminals, and the elastic portion is provided outside the arrangement range. Since the elastic portion does not exist within the arrangement range of the terminals, the degree of freedom in the shape and arrangement of each part of the terminal increases.
Further, since the elastic portion is thin, elastic bending is likely to occur, and a small pressing force to the lid member of the mating connector is required to open the lid member.

More specifically, each of the displacement parts of the upper arm part and the lower arm part has an opposed part and an inclined part located in front of the opposed part in a cross section perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the terminals. Then, a closed state is formed by the contact between the facing parts of the upper arm part and the lower arm part, and the inclined part is pressed by the mating part of the mating connector and elastically deformed by the elastic part to displace the facing parts away from each other and open. A state can be formed.

The contact portion of the terminal has, for example, a contact surface perpendicular to the mating direction of the mating connector, and the contact portion of the terminal of the mating connector can elastically contact the contact surface.

[0017]

1 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.
Based on this, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a connector and a mating connector according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with a shield plate removed. 2 is a perspective view when the lid member is removed from that of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lid member, FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1, and FIG. VA-VA sectional view, FIG. 5 (B) is a VB-VB sectional view.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is a connector of this embodiment, and reference numeral 40 is a mating connector. Mating connector 40
Is a fitting base portion 41A protruding forward from the front end surface of the housing 41 facing the connector 10 and fitting portions 42, 43,
42 are provided. These fitting parts 42, 43, 4
The upper and lower surfaces 2 have a taper shape, and are provided at both end portions and the central portion in the width direction of the housing (longitudinal direction extending laterally in FIG. 1). Between the fitting portions 42 and 43 is a terminal array area, and a contact portion 44 of the terminal, which has elasticity in the front-rear direction (fitting direction), projects from the front surface of the housing. This elasticity is obtained by the fact that the intermediate portion of the terminal is inside the housing and, for example, this intermediate portion is corrugated (see FIG. 6).

On the other hand, in the connector 10 of this embodiment, a lid member 20 made of a metal plate and a shield plate 30 are attached to a housing 11 made of an insulating material. The housing 11 has a leg portion 12 having mounting holes 12A formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and the leg portion 12 protrudes from the shield plate 30. In addition, the shield plate 30 is the housing 11
Although it covers the front surface and the upper and lower surfaces, a long opening 31 is formed in the front surface for fitting the mating connector 40, and the fitting portions 42 and 43 can enter.

The lid member 20 is mounted on the housing 11 by mounting recesses 13 formed at positions near both ends of the housing 11 (see FIGS. 2 and 5B). The mounting recess 13 is formed on the upper and lower sides of the housing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 11 has terminal arrangement portions 14 between the mounting recesses 13 in the longitudinal direction, and the mounting recesses 13 and the leg portions 12 near the ends.
Is a guide unit 15 between the and.

As shown in FIG. 5A, which is a sectional view taken along the line VA-VA in FIG. 2, the terminal array portion 14 of the housing 11 has grooves 16 which are parallel to the cross section and penetrate at a predetermined interval. The number of terminals is equal to the number of terminals, and the terminals 17 are housed therein. The plurality of grooves 16 formed parallel to the paper surface in FIG. 5A are communicated with each other by mounting grooves 18 extending at right angles to the paper surface. A circuit board or the like (not shown) is inserted and mounted from the rear (right side) into the mounting groove 18. The terminal 17 is formed by bending a metal strip, and the contact portion 17A extending in the vertical direction in FIG.
The intermediate portion 17B, which is located in contact with the opening front surface 16A of No. 6 and is bent at a right angle downward and extends in the lateral direction, is the groove 1 described above.
It is in contact with the bottom surface of the groove 6. At the rear portion of the intermediate portion 17B, an elastic arm portion 17C is formed by bending at an acute angle and extending to the end portion. The vicinity of the end of the elastic arm portion 17 is further rounded to form an elastic contact portion 17D. The elastic contact portion 17D is inserted into the mounting groove 18 in the free state of the elastic arm portion 17.

Thus, the groove 16 for accommodating the terminal 17
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of terminals are provided in two regions in the longitudinal direction except for the central position and both ends of the terminal array portion 14. Further, at the center position where the groove 16 does not exist, the mating portion 43 at the center of the mating connector 40 is provided.
Is formed with a guide hole 19 for entering.

As shown in FIG. 5 (B), the upper and lower mounting recesses 13 have a mountain portion 13A and a fitting slit 1 on the bottom surface of the recess.
3B and 3B are formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide portions 15 on both end sides are formed with guide grooves 22 open to the front on the side surfaces facing the side ends of the terminal array portion 14. The guide groove 22 is formed by fitting portions 42 at both ends of the mating connector 40 described above.
Is being guided from the front. A step-like reverse insertion preventing groove 22A facing the guide groove 22 is formed on the side end surface of the terminal array portion 14, and step-like convex portions 42A formed on the fitting portions 42 at both ends of the mating connector 40 are formed. It is inserted into the reverse insertion prevention groove 22A.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the cover member 20 has a notch 20A having a substantially U shape when viewed from above.
When viewed from the side, the C-shape is symmetrically coupled to form a closed loop. The lid member 20 includes a symmetrical upper arm portion 23 and a lower arm portion 24, both of which have a holding portion 23A; 24A, an elastic portion 23B; 24B, and a displacement portion 23C; 24C.

The holding portions 23A; 24A and the elastic portion 23
B; 24B are formed only at both ends of the lid member 20 in the longitudinal direction, and the displacement portions 23C, 24C extend over the entire region. The holding portions 23A and 24A are, as shown in FIG.
The fitting slit 13B formed in the mounting recess 13 of the housing 11 is press-fitted and held from above and below. Displacement part 23
C; 24C are curved inward in a direction facing each other to form a facing portion 23D; 24D, and the holding portion 23
By press-fitting A; 24A into the fitting slit 13B, both opposing portions 23D; 24D come into contact with each other over the entire length. Further, the slanted portions formed subsequent to the curved facing portions 23D and 24D form a tapered introduction surface for the fitting portion 42 of the mating connector 40. The holding portion 23A; 2
Since 4A is firmly held by the fitting slit 13B, the narrow elastic portions 23B and 24B adjacent to the fitting slit 13B have elasticity so as to bend in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the facing portions 23D and 24D are located in front of the contact portion 17A of the terminal 17 in the front-rear direction, and as shown in FIG. 1, in the terminal arrangement direction,
It is located so as to extend over the entire length of the opening 31 of the shield plate 30. That is, with respect to the mating connector 40, the facing portions 23D and 24D extend over the range between the ends of the fitting portions 42 at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and the elastic portions 23B and 24B extend to the fitting portion 42. Correspondingly located.

The connector of this embodiment is attached to the case 31 of the portable electronic device (see FIG. 5).

Next, how to use the connector of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (A) and 6 (B).

First, as shown in FIG. 6A, the circuit board P is attached to the connector 10 and the mating connector 40 of this embodiment.
1 and P2 are connected respectively. For the connector 10, the circuit board P1 is mounted from the rear into the mounting groove 18, and the elastic contact portion 17D of the terminal 17 is elastically contacted with the circuit surface of the circuit board P1. Similarly, the circuit board P2 is similarly attached to the connector 40 from the rear side, and the contact portion 45 formed at the rear end of the terminal is elastically contacted with the circuit surface of the circuit board P2.

In the above state, both connectors 10,
In the connector 10, the upper and lower displacement portions 23C and 24C of the lid member 20 are in contact with each other, and the opening 31 of the shield plate 30 is in a closed state. Further, in the connector 40, the contact portion 44 of the terminal is in a protruding free state.

Next, the fitting portion 4 of the mating connector 40
2, 43 through the opening 31 of the shield plate 30 to the connector 1
Enter into 0. The fitting portions 42 at both ends are guided by the guide groove 22 (and the reverse insertion preventing groove 22A) of the housing, and the fitting portions 42 at both ends contact the inclined portions of the displacement portions 23C and 24C of the lid member 20. The inclined portion guides the fitting portions 42 and 43 so that the fitting portions 42 and 43 are centered in the vertical direction. At this time, the fitting portions 42 and 43 move in the direction in which the displacement portions 23C; By pressing the elastic portions 23B and 24B in the same direction, the displacement portions 23C and 24C are displaced in the vertical direction, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the connector, and the lid member 20 is opened.

Further, when the mating connector 40 enters the mating base portion 42A while maintaining the open state, the central mating portion 43 is guided by the guide hole 19 of the housing, and the mating portion 42 with respect to the lid member 20. Then, the fitting base portion 42A advances while sliding, and as shown in FIG.
The contact portion 44 of the 0 terminal is the contact portion 1 of the terminal of the connector 10.
Contact 7A. The fitting protrusion 43 and the guide hole 19 are used as the lid member 2.
It is effective to open 0 evenly, but in the present invention, it is sufficient if the fitting portion 42 and the guide groove 22 of the housing are formed at both ends, and the fitting portion 43, the guide hole 1
9 is not mandatory. At this time, the step-like convex portions 42A formed on the fitting portions 42 at both ends are connected to the terminal arrangement portion 14 of the housing.
The connector is inserted into a reverse insertion preventing groove 22A formed at the side end of the connector to prevent the connector from being inserted backward. The terminals of the connector 40 are
As can be understood from FIG. 6, the middle portion has a large number of bent and bent back waveforms, has elasticity in the fitting direction of the connector, and the contact portion 44 is displaced into and out of the connector. Thus, the contact portion 44 makes elastic contact with the contact portion 17A with a predetermined pressure. At this time, since the intermediate portion can be displaced in the direction perpendicular to the fitting direction, the contact portion 44 not only makes elastic contact with the contact portion 17A but also slides the contact portion 17A in the vertical direction, so-called The contact surface is cleaned by the wiping effect.

Thus, the two connectors 10, 40
The circuit boards P1 and P2 are connected.

Next, when the connector 40 is pulled out from the connector 10, the displacement portions 23C and 24C come into contact with each other due to the restoring force of the elastic portions 23B and 24B of the lid body 20, and the lid member 2
0 is a closed state, which prevents dust and the like from entering.

The invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment,
Various modifications are possible. For example, the displacement portion 2 of the lid member 20
As shown in FIG. 7, 3C; 24C may be formed with an inclined portion forming an introduction portion for the mating connector on the end side of the upper and lower arm portions 23; 24 so as to extend outward.
Further, the holding portions 23A and 24A may be separated from each other as in the above-mentioned example and press-fitted and held in the fitting slit of the housing, or the holding portions may be joined to each other before holding. Further, the upper and lower arm portions may be integrally made of one metal sheet.

Further, the front surface may be flat as shown in FIG. 8 without providing the sloping portions on the displacement portions 23C and 24C of the lid member at the portions corresponding to the arrangement range of the terminals. By doing so, the contact portion 17A of the terminal 17, that is, the terminal 17
Can be installed close to the flat displacement portions 23C and 24C, and the connector can be further miniaturized in that direction. At that time, it is desirable that inclined portions are formed at both ends of the lid member into which the fitting portions of the mating connector enter, so that the fitting portions can easily enter.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the connector lid member is constituted by only one member or two members which are opened and closed, the number of parts can be extremely small,
Not only the structure of the connector but also the assembly operation is simplified. Furthermore, since the displacement portions of the lid member are displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the mating direction of the mating connector, the displacement does not limit the arrangement of each portion in the connector, and the contact portion of the terminal has a fitting recess. Can be arranged near the opening of the connector, and the size of the connector in the fitting direction can be reduced. Further, the fact that the contact portion is located close to the opening also means that the mating connection of the mating connector can be easily performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing appearances of a connector and a mating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector of the present embodiment of FIG. 1 with a shield plate removed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view when a lid member is removed from the one shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a lid member.

5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1, (A) is a VA-VA cross-sectional view in FIG. 1, and (B) is a VB-VB cross-sectional view.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing how the connector of FIG. 1 is connected,
(A) shows before connection and (B) shows when connection is completed.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a lid member as another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a connector showing still another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 connectors 11 housing 17 terminals 17A contact part 20 Lid member 23 Upper arm 23A holding part 23B Elastic part 23C Displacement part 23D facing part 24 Lower arm 24A holding part 24B elastic part 24C displacement part 40 Mating connector 42 Fitting part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A connector in which a plurality of terminals are linearly arranged at predetermined intervals in a housing, and a fitting portion of a mating connector is fitted and connected to a fitting concave portion of a housing in which a contact portion of the terminal is housed. Is provided with a lid member that opens and closes at the position of the front opening of the fitting recess, and when the mating portion of the mating connector is mated, the lid member is pushed by the mating portion to open the mating member for mating. In the permissible electric connector, the lid member has an upper arm portion and a lower arm portion, and each of the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion has a holding portion held by the housing at one end side in a cross section perpendicular to the terminal arrangement direction. Displacement of the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion, which has a displacement portion formed on the other end side and displaced at the position of the front opening portion, and an elastic portion that elastically deforms at the intermediate portion to displace the displacement portion. The parts are closed before mating with the mating connector, An electrical connector characterized in that the displaceable portions of the both arm portions are displaced by the elastic deformation of the elastic portions in a direction substantially orthogonal to the fitting direction and away from each other by the fitting, thereby forming an open state. 2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion are formed by processing a metal sheet as separate members. 3. The upper arm portion and the lower arm portion are formed by processing a metal sheet as separate members and integrally joined by a holding portion, or one metal sheet is formed and is continuous. The electrical connector according to 1. 4. The displacement parts of the upper arm part and the lower arm part are
It extends in the arrangement direction over the arrangement range of multiple terminals,
4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic portion is provided outside the array range. 5. Displacement portions of the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion,
In a cross section perpendicular to the direction of arranging the terminals, it has an opposing portion and an inclined portion located in front of the opposing portion, and a closed state is formed by contact between the opposing portions of the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion, 5. The part is pressed by the mating part of the mating connector to displace the facing parts away from each other by elastic deformation of the elastic part to form an open state. Electrical connector. 6. The contact portion of the terminal has a contact surface perpendicular to the mating direction of the mating connector, and the contact portion of the terminal of the mating connector can elastically contact the contact surface. The electrical connector according to Item 1.