JP3242605B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electrical connector having contacts obtained by forming a metal plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connector of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-9 / 1993.
What is disclosed in 4847 is known. The contact portion of this connector has a contact surface and forms a bifurcated female type with a single plane, and the contact portion of the contact member of the mating connector is arranged on a simple flat plate-shaped extension portion forming a part of the housing. It is male. The two connectors are fitted so that the bifurcated female contact portion intersects the male contact portion on the extension in a cross shape in cross section. The female-type contact portion presses the male-type contact portion and the extended portion so that the fork branches slightly open due to its elasticity, and the contact portions of both contacts are electrically connected.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-94 is disclosed.
In the connector of No. 847, the contact portion of the female contact is elastically deformed so that the forked portion is opened to secure the contact pressure, but the deformation is not in the thickness direction but in the plane of the contact portion. In this case, the contact pressure is relatively high and a slight deformation results in a high contact pressure. That is, if any deformation larger than the normal deformation occurs as a manufacturing error, the contact pressure becomes extremely large. On the other hand, if it is manufactured to have an error that tends to reduce the amount of deformation, this means that the contact pressure cannot be secured. Therefore,
The error results in a contact pressure higher than the normal pressure.

[0004] Such a known connector requires a large removal force in proportion to the high contact pressure at the time of removal from the mating connector. If the connector is pulled out by grasping the cable, the large pulling force may cause a problem that the cable is disconnected or the connection between the connector and the cable is disconnected.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector which can be easily removed without requiring a large force when removing the connector.

[0006]

In the electrical connector according to the present invention, a contact portion of a contact obtained by molding a metal plate is formed in one plane.

According to the present invention, in such an electrical connector, the contact has an elongated arm extending substantially along an axis parallel to the mating direction of the mating connector. It is formed on at least the tip portion, the arm-like portion Howe
Housed in the slit-shaped receiving groove formed in the fitting part of the jing.
Merare, the arm-like portion is formed into asymmetric with respect to the axis, the yield at the time of mating with the mating connector of the fitting portion
When the plate- shaped surface of the distal end portion that can protrude forward from the housing groove is pressed in the axial direction against the contact portion of the contact of the mating connector, the arm-shaped portion is positioned at the intermediate portion in the accommodation groove. To allow elastic bending deformation that is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the direction . Furthermore, when the connector is pressed to the specified position,
Locking means for engaging with the connector and holding the position.
You.

[0008] In the present invention made to the above-described configuration, the other contact portion and the plate of the arm portion is contacts of the mating connector during elastic deformation
It is possible to have a sub-contact portion at the intermediate portion that makes elastic contact with a thick surface .

When the electrical connector according to the present invention is fitted to a mating connector, the contact portion of the contact is resiliently pressed simply by being pushed to the contact portion of the contact of the mating connector in the fitting direction. The arm-shaped portion of the contact is elastically deformed so as to be displaced with respect to the axis when receiving a reaction force from the mating connector side at the tip contact portion. This elastic deformation generates an elastic pressure at the contact portion.
The locking means maintains such a state. When removing the connector
Then, the locking force of the locking means is released. Connector is up
Due to the above reaction force from the mating connector against the bullet pressure
It is pushed in the direction opposite to the fitting direction and is pulled out. that time,
There is little resistance to that.

[0010]

When the connector has a sub contact portion,
When the arm-shaped portion is elastically deformed at the time of mating of the connector, the intermediate portion warps so as to deviate from the axis, and the sub-contact portion formed at the intermediate portion is pressed against the other contact portion of the contact of the mating connector with the other contact portion. Come into contact. Lock hand when disconnecting connector
When the locking force of the step is released, the arm recovers to its original shape,
The contact portion does not contact and does not hinder removal.

[0012]

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 to FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the above.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is connected to a mating connector 20 by a connector 30.

In the connector 10, a housing 11 made of an insulating material includes a housing main body 12 and a cable holding body 13. A contact 14 is implanted in the housing main body 12, and a cable C is held by the cable holding body 13. When the cable holder 13 is assembled to the housing body 12, the contact 14 is press-connected to the cable C.

The housing body 12 is provided with a plurality of slit-shaped accommodation grooves 12A which are opened downward and to the left and which are parallel to the plane of the paper at regular intervals in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. The housing body 12 has an extension 12B extending leftward,
The accommodation groove 12A extends to the extension 12B as a fitting portion . A ground plate 15 is attached to the upper surface of the housing body 12, and a part (not shown) of the ground plate 15 can be connected to a shield wire of a cable C described later. However, since this is not related to the present invention, further description is omitted. The contact 14 is provided in the accommodation groove 12A.
Is inserted from below.

The contact 14 is made by punching a metal plate, and has mainly a fixing portion 16, a press contact portion 17 and an arm portion 18. The fixing portion 16 has a locking projection 16A that locks to the side wall when housed in a recess formed in the housing groove 12A of the housing body 12, and the locking projection 16A is provided on the side wall. The contact 14 is prevented from coming off by biting.

The contact 14 has a pressure contact portion 17 extending laterally below the fixing portion 16. At the lower edge of the press-contact portion 17, a press-contact blade 17A is provided to protrude downward. The pressure contact blade 17A is formed to have a thin front end edge so as to be convenient for biting into the coating of the cable C.

Further, the contact 14 has an arm 18 extending toward the mating connector 20, and is housed in the housing groove 12 A at the extension 12 B of the housing body 12. The arm portion 18 extends elongated along substantially an axis 19 parallel to the fitting direction A for connecting the connector 10 to the mating connector 20. And this arm-shaped part 18 is formed in the shape which is non-paired with respect to the said axis, and the front-end | tip part becomes the contact part 18A which protrudes leftward from the accommodation groove 12A, and this contact part 18A When a reaction force is received from the mating connector in the direction of the axis 19, the arm 18 is elastically deformed so as to be displaced from the axis 19. In the present embodiment, the contact portion 18
A is located on the axis 19, but is not limited to this in the present invention, and may be at a position shifted from the axis 19.
Further, the shape of the arm portion 18 is also arbitrary.

The cable holder 13 has a substantially plate-like shape attached to the bottom of the housing main body 12. On the upper surface facing the housing main body 12, the cable C is located at a position corresponding to the press-contact blade 17A of the contactor 14. And a semi-cylindrical groove 13A for holding the position is formed. In this embodiment, the sheath of the cable C is peeled off to expose the shield wire C1, and the shield wire C1 is also removed at the distal end and the dielectric C2 is exposed. I have.

Next, the mating connector 20 is connected to the housing 2
The contact 22 is accommodated in the accommodation groove 21A formed in the first contact 1. The receiving groove 21A has a slit shape opened to the left at the lower part and the lower part.
It is formed corresponding to the same surface as 2A. Contact 2
Similarly to the contact 14 of the connector 10 described above, the contact 2 is made by punching a metal plate, and has a contact portion 23 and a connection portion 24. The contact portion 23 is formed over a relatively wide range and has high rigidity. The connection portion 24 protrudes from the housing 21 and is connected to a corresponding circuit portion on the surface of the circuit board by soldering or the like when the mating connector 20 is arranged on a circuit board (not shown). ing. The connector 21 is provided in the housing 21.
A receiving hole 21B for receiving the extending portion 12B of the second member is formed.

In the present embodiment, the connecting member 30 is formed in a lid shape and has high strength, and is rotatably attached to the mating connector 20 at one end (the left end in the figure). I have. A hook-shaped lock portion 31 is provided at the other end (right end) of the connecting tool 30. When the connector 10 is pushed into the mating connector 20 in the direction of arrow A, the two connectors 10, 20 are held at that position. It is designed to hold.

Next, the operation of the connector of this embodiment will be described. First, the cables C are arranged on the cable holder 13 and are held. The cable holder 13 is assembled into the housing body 12. Then, the press-contact blade 17A of the contact 14 bites into the cable C (dielectric C2) and comes into contact with the core wire (center conductor) to perform press-connecting. Thus, the connector 11 with a cable is obtained. Thereafter, the extension 12B of the connector 10 is inserted into the receiving hole 21B of the mating connector 20, and the connector 10 is pressed in the direction of arrow A. The contact 14 contacts the contact portion 23 of the contact 22 of the mating connector 20 at the contact portion 18A, and
It receives a reaction force in the opposite direction. When the connector 10 is further pushed in and pushed in the direction of arrow A, the reaction force increases, and the arm 18 is elastically deformed so as to be displaced with respect to the axis 19 (see FIG. 2). That is, the contact portions 18A,
The contact pressure between the members 23 increases, and the elastic energy is stored in the arm 18. In the state where a sufficient contact pressure has been obtained at the contact portions 18A and 23, the connecting tool 30 is rotated as shown in FIG. I do. When disconnecting the connector 10 from the mating connector 20, the connecting tool 3
Rotate 0 to release the lock. Elastic energy is stored in the arm 18 of the contact 14, and the arm 18
Is the contact portion 23 of the mating connector at the contact portion 18A.
Therefore, the connector 10 receives a reaction force from the contact portion 23, and the connector 10 is pushed out in the direction opposite to the arrow A and removed simultaneously with the release of the lock.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but can be modified. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, an intermediate portion where the arm-shaped portion 18 of the contact 14 of the connector 10 is most convexly curved is defined as a sub-contact portion 18B, and the contact 22 of the mating connector 20 is connected to the sub-contact portion 18B. An extension located in close proximity can be provided as another contact portion 22A. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, when the connectors are connected, as shown in FIG.
Is in contact with the contact portion 23 of the mating connector 20 at the contact portion 18A, and the sub-contact portion 18B comes into contact with the other contact portion 22A of the mating connector 20 when the arm portion 18 is elastically deformed. Secure and stable connection. Further, when the lock is released, the arm 18 returns to its original shape and the sub-contact 18B is quickly separated from the other contact 22A, so that there is no resistance to the removal of the connector.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the plate thickness surfaces of the contacts come into resilient contact with each other in the fitting direction of the connector, when the connector is removed, the reaction force due to the resilient contact is released. And can be removed very easily without any resistance. Moreover, the entire connector can be reduced in size.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention and a mating connector, showing a state before connection.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1 after coupling.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a connector and a mating connector according to another embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state before coupling.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 3 after coupling.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector 14 Contact 18 Arm-shaped part 18A Contact part 19 Axis 20 Mating connector 22 Contact 22A Other contact part 23 Contact part 31 Lock part (lock means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/05 H01R 13/639

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] In an electric connector in which a contact portion of a contact obtained by punching a metal plate is formed in one plane, the contact is substantially aligned with an axis parallel to a mating direction with a mating connector. A contact portion is formed at least at a distal end of the arm portion, and the arm portion is a slit-like receiving groove formed at a fitting portion of the housing.
Contained within, the arm-like portion is formed into asymmetric with respect to the axis, the time of mating with the mating connector of the fitting portion
When the plate thickness surface of the distal end portion that can protrude forward from the housing groove is pressed in the axial direction against the contact portion of the contact of the mating connector, the arm-shaped portion is positioned at the intermediate portion. A lock means for enabling elastic bending deformation to be displaced in a direction perpendicular to the axis line in the accommodation groove, locking with a mating connector when pressing to a predetermined position in the axial direction, and holding the position. electrical connector, characterized in that it has. 2. The arm-shaped part according to claim 1, wherein the arm-shaped part has a sub-contact part in the middle part which makes elastic contact with another contact part of the contact of the mating connector on the plate thickness surface during elastic deformation. Electrical connector.