JP4012525B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention belongs to the technical field of an electrical connector that is electrically connected between an electronic component and a board or between a board and a board and between respective pads (electrodes).

In recent personal computers, cellular phones, and many household electronic devices, electronic parts such as large-scale integrated circuits (LSIs) having a large number of pads have been used to reduce size, weight, digitization, and functionality. Many of these electronic components are used, and it is necessary to electrically connect substrates having a large number of circuits on which these electronic components are mounted with high density.
As described above, the following two types are mainly used as an electrical connector for electrically connecting between the electronic component and the substrate and between the substrate and the substrate and electrically connecting the respective pads.

  The first mold forms a large number of contacts that are electrically connected from one surface of the elastic insulating plate to the other surface, and is sandwiched between the electronic component and the substrate to use the electronic component or the pad of the substrate as a contact. It is a sandwiched type that is brought into contact to achieve electrical conduction. The structure of the sandwiched connector is such that conductive fibers or fine wire conductors are embedded in an elastic insulating plate, and the tips of these are projected from the surface of the insulating plate to form contacts, or a metal thin film is formed on the protruding portion. Is used as a contact (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The second mold is a male and female mold that performs electrical connection by attaching a member having a concave portion and a convex portion to an electronic component and a substrate, respectively, and fitting them together. In this male and female connector structure, the recesses and projections into which they are fitted are formed of an insulator, and the surfaces thereof are plated with metal to form contacts. The bottom surfaces of the recesses and projections are soldered. It is fixed to an electronic component or a pad of a substrate by attaching or the like (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-56907 A (FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-42927 (FIG. 1)

  In the case of the conventional sandwiched connector described above, a sandwiching and holding mechanism is required for sandwiching the connector with an electronic component or a substrate and applying a sandwiching pressure. In a connector having many contacts, this pinching and holding mechanism needs to be devised so that pressure is evenly applied to each contact. This is because there is a difference in the contact between the contact and the pad, resulting in a variation in the contact electrical resistance, or the contact and the pad are not in contact.

  In addition, even in a pinching and holding mechanism that is in a state of being stably in contact with pressure evenly during manufacture, the contact pressure may be reduced due to changes in temperature or slight changes in the dimensions of the member during long-term use. There is a risk that the contact electric resistance may vary and a non-contact defect may occur. For this reason, the holding mechanism is such that the pressure is evenly applied to each contact, the pressure must not change even when used for a long time or for a long time, and the structure is complicated and expensive. End up.

  In the case of the conventional male and female connectors described above, the opening of the recessed portion of the recess is narrowed to have a circular cross section, and the tip of the convex portion is formed to have a circular cross section. By using an elastic member as one of the members, the concave portion and the convex portion are fitted together so that the state can be maintained. Unlike the above-described holding type, a complicated holding mechanism is not required. .

  However, the concave and convex portions using an elastic insulating member must be formed with a metal plating or the like on the surface to form a contact, and when the concave and convex portions are fitted, the contact with the metal plating or the like is applied. When the fitting operation is repeatedly performed, the contact is worn or peeled off, resulting in an increase in contact electrical resistance and a problem of non-contact.

  In addition, the respective members of the concave portion and the convex portion need to be electrically fixed while being electrically connected to the electronic component or the pad of the substrate by soldering or the like. The work of soldering concave and convex parts to electronic parts and boards that have a large number of pads in a small area is required to be highly reliable and have no misconnection between adjacent pads. It is necessary to perform an accurate automatic operation by an advanced and skilled worker, or an expensive automatic soldering machine, and further, an operation (inspection) for confirming whether the connection is properly performed is required. For this reason, there exists a problem that manufacturing cost will increase for the work expense of soldering, the preparation of an advanced equipment, and an inspection.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the above-described conventional sandwiched connector requires a complicated and precise sandwiching and holding mechanism that applies stable pressing, and thus the cost of the connector is high. In the male and female connectors, the problem that the contact electrical resistance is likely to increase and non-contact is likely to occur due to repeated fitting work, and further, the mounting work by soldering the concave and convex portions and the inspection thereof are tremendous. Solves the problem of high assembly and inspection costs due to the need for man-hours, eliminates the need for an expensive pinching and holding mechanism, and ensures stable and reliable connection over a long period of time without causing problems in connection even when repeated mating operations are performed. It is an object to provide an economical electrical connector that can be easily assembled and reduced in manufacturing cost.

The first configuration of the present invention is an electrical connector characterized by the following means.
(A) Columnar bodies made of compression elastic insulating material are aligned and held in parallel according to the pad arrangement interval of the connection target board, and each columnar body is electrically connected in the axial direction from one surface of the alignment surface to the other surface. The intermediate connector (b) provided with contacts having contact portions is erected corresponding to the positions between the pads of the connection target pad array of the substrate connected to the one side surface of the intermediate connector, Protrusion made of an inelastic insulator whose tip end swells when the columnar body is pushed in between adjacent tip portions (c) on the other side of the intermediate connection body The axial direction of the columnar body corresponding to the position between each pad of the connection target pad array of the substrate connected to the surface and not coming into contact with the projection of the substrate connected to the one surface of the intermediate connector It is installed at the position displaced to Parts are made of non-elastic insulating body, which bulges form so embrace this when the columnar body is pressed from between the distal end portion adjacent projections

  According to a second configuration of the present invention, the material of the columnar body of the intermediate connection body of the first configuration is an inelastic insulator, and the material of the protrusion of the connection target board is a compression elastic insulation material. It is a connector.

As described above, in the electrical connector of the first configuration of the present invention, the columnar body of the intermediate connection body is made of a volume compression elastic material, and the contact provided on the columnar body is one side of the alignment surface of the columnar body. A protrusion of an inelastic insulator that is provided in the axial direction of the columnar body from the surface to the other surface, and is erected at a position corresponding to the connection target electrode (pad) arrangement on the connection target side substrate Since the tip end of the columnar body is swelled and the interval between the tip end portions is smaller than the diameter of the columnar body, after pushing in using the compression elasticity of the columnar body, hold the columnar body to be restored and expand inside. Therefore, the force for restoring and expanding becomes a force for pressing the contact provided on the columnar body against the pad, and a good contact can be obtained.
Therefore, when the intermediate connection body is sandwiched between the connection target substrates from both sides, there is an advantage that a holding mechanism as in the conventional holding type connector becomes unnecessary.

  In addition, since the contact of the columnar body is provided on the surface facing the pad of the connection target substrate, when the columnar body is pushed or pulled out between the projections, it does not rub against the tip of the projection, Even if the fitting operation is repeated, there is an advantage that the surface of the contact is not worn or peeled off and is highly reliable and has a long life.

  Furthermore, since the protrusion provided on the connection target substrate is an insulator that only sandwiches the columnar body, in order to stand and fix the protrusion on the substrate, it is only necessary to use an adhesive or a double-sided adhesive tape for the bottom surface of the protrusion. There is an advantage that a fine soldering operation for electrically connecting the connecting member to the pad of the substrate and mechanically fixing it is not required at all as in the conventional male and female type.

  Next, in the second configuration of the present invention, the material of the columnar body of the intermediate connection body is an elastic insulator, and the material of the protrusion is a compression elastic insulating material. When trying to insert, the bulge of the tip of the protrusion is elastically compressed and pushed in. After being pushed in, the expansion is restored and expanded, so that the columnar body is prevented from coming out and the contact is pressed against the pad by the expansion pressure. Therefore, the same effect as in the first configuration can be obtained.

  In the electrical connector of the present invention, the columnar body of the intermediate connection body is pushed and fitted into the narrow opening of the protrusion arranged at the tip end in both the first configuration and the second configuration. It is best that the cross section be circular or polygonal, and that the bulge cross section at the tip of the protrusion be rounded.

  Further, in the second configuration, even when there is distortion or unevenness on the arrangement surface of the pads arranged and arranged on the substrate, the contact between the contacts and the pads can be maintained and the electric conduction can be maintained. In order to maintain the contact, it is best that the contact is directly deposited on the surface of a columnar body made of a volume compression elastic insulating material to form a metal film such as gold plating.

FIG. 1 is an external view showing an embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention.
FIG. 1 shows a state before the intermediate connector 1, the lower board 2 and the upper board 3 fitted thereto are fitted, and the electrical connector of the present invention is shown in FIG. And the intermediate connector 1 and the lower substrate 2 are fitted together, and the pads 6a of the lower substrate 2 and the pads 6b corresponding to the upper substrate 3 are electrically connected via the contacts 5 of the columnar body 4 of the intermediate connector 1. To connect to.

  The intermediate connector 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a columnar body 4 formed of a volume compression elastic insulating material that is elastically compressed and decompressed like a rubber block, and has a lower substrate 2 and a pad 6 a of the upper substrate 3. , 6b are arranged so as to be parallel to the arrangement interval.

  The lower substrate 2 is composed of a substrate 8a on which pads 6a are arranged, a protrusion 7a standing between the pads 6a on the surface of the substrate 8a, and a connecting plate 9a for connecting the protrusions 7a. Similarly, the upper substrate 3 also includes a substrate 8b on which pads 6b are arranged, a protrusion 7b, and a connecting plate 9b.

  2A and 2B are diagrams showing details of the columnar body 4 of the intermediate connection body 1, wherein FIG. 2A is an enlarged perspective view and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view. As shown in the figure, each columnar body 4 is provided with a conductive contact connected in a U-shape from the upper surface to the lower surface of the array.

  3A and 3B are diagrams showing details of the periphery of the protruding portion of the lower substrate 2. FIG. 3A is an enlarged perspective view, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. Sectional view seen from the direction, (d) is a plan view seen from the arrow C direction. The periphery of the protrusions of the upper substrate 3 is the same as the periphery of the protrusions of the lower substrate 2, but only the view seen from the direction of the arrow C is different in that the connection plate is only between adjacent protrusions. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upper substrate 3 as viewed from the direction of arrow C.

  The protrusion 7a is made of an inelastic insulating material such as plastic, and as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, its tip has a swollen shape, and the bottom of the protrusion 7a. 10 is erected on the substrate 8a together with the connecting plate 9a by an adhesive or a double-sided adhesive tape. The protrusion 7b of the upper substrate 3 is also erected and bonded to the substrate 8b.

  As shown in FIGS. 3B and 3D, the protrusions 7a are connected by a connecting plate 9a, and the connecting plate 9a is thinner than the pad 6a as shown in FIG. 3B. . The protrusions 7b of the upper substrate 3 are connected by a connecting plate 9b as shown in (e), and the thickness thereof is thinner than the pads 6b like the connecting plate 9a.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation of fitting the columnar body 4 of the intermediate connector 1 to the protrusion 7a of the lower substrate 2 as the first fitting operation in the embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention. (A) is sectional drawing of the columnar body 4, (b) is sectional drawing of the protrusion 7a periphery of the lower board | substrate 2, (c) is sectional drawing of the state which fitted the columnar body 4 to the protrusion 7a. (D), (e), (f) is sectional drawing seen from the side of (a), (b), (c), respectively.

  The columnar body 4 is inserted while being compressed and elastically deformed through a narrow opening at the tip of the projection 7a by being pushed in between the tips of the adjacent projections 7a of the lower substrate 2 as indicated by arrows in the figure. ) And is housed between the protrusions as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows the protrusion of the upper substrate 3 in a state where the columnar body 4 of the intermediate connector 1 and the protrusion 7a of the lower substrate 2 shown in FIGS. It is sectional drawing which showed operation which fits 7b. (A) is a cross-sectional view of the protrusion 7b of the upper substrate 3, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the state in which the columnar body 4 of the intermediate connector 1 and the protrusion 7a of the lower substrate 2 are fitted (same as (c) of FIG. 4). ), (C) are cross-sectional views in a state where the intermediate connector 1, the lower substrate 2, and the upper substrate 3 are fitted. (D), (e), (f) is sectional drawing seen from the side of (a), (b), (c), respectively ((e) is the same as (f) of FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 5D, the protrusion 7b is displaced from the position of the protrusion 7a shown in FIG. 5E, and the protrusion 7b of the upper substrate 3 is replaced with the columnar body 4 and the lower substrate 2 as shown by the arrows in FIG. The projection 7a can be pushed into the fitted columnar body 4, and by this pushing operation, the columnar body 4 is elastically deformed at the narrow opening of the projection 7b and the projection 7b is inserted, as shown in FIG. The protrusion 7b (not shown because it is located on the back surface of the protrusion 7a) enters the columnar body 4 so as to embrace it.

  As a result of the first and second operations described above, the intermediate connector 1, the lower substrate 2, and the upper substrate 3 are in a fitted state, and as shown in FIGS. The pad 6b comes into contact, and electrical conduction between the pad 6a and the pad 6b is achieved. In the above description, the intermediate connector 1 is fitted to the lower substrate 2 and then the upper substrate 3 is fitted. However, the intermediate connector 1 is fitted to the upper substrate 3 and thereafter There is no problem even in the order of fitting the lower substrate 2.

  4 and 5, the contact 5 provided on the columnar body 4 remains on the protrusion 7a even if the operation of fitting the protrusions 7a and 7b on the intermediate connector 1, the lower substrate 2 and the upper substrate 3 is repeated. , 7b, the contact 5 does not rub against the protrusions 7a, 7b to cause damage such as wear and peeling of the contact 5.

  FIG. 6 shows an electric connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the intermediate connector 1, the lower substrate 2, and the upper substrate 3 are held in contact, and the pad 6a of the lower substrate 2 and the pad 6b of the upper substrate 3 are in contact with each other. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which electrical continuity is maintained in contact with 5. (A) is sectional drawing in the location in which the protrusion 7a of the lower board | substrate 2 can be seen, (b) is sectional drawing in the location in which the projection 7b of the upper board | substrate 3 can be seen.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the portion of the columnar body 4 inserted between the arranged projections 7a is compressed and a force as indicated by an arrow A is applied from the projection 7a. Inside, the reaction force exerts a force to spread in the direction opposite to arrow A. In this way, a force to spread is acting inside the columnar body 4, and further, since the interval between the tips of the projections 7a is narrowed, the columnar body 4 is viewed from the tip side of the projections 7 unless an external force is applied. The state of entering between the protrusions 7a without being pulled out is held, and the fitting state of the intermediate connector 1 and the lower substrate 2 is mechanically held. Further, the force indicated by the arrow A becomes the force indicated by the arrow B inside the columnar body 4 and acts to press the contact 5 against the pad 6a. Therefore, the contact between the contact 5 of the columnar body 4 and the pad 6a is maintained. Electrical continuity is maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 6 (b), the force indicated by the arrow C also acts on the portion of the columnar body 4 inserted between the projections 7b, and is the same as the portion of the columnar body 4 inserted between the projections 7a. Then, the state of entering between the protrusions 7b is held, the fitting state of the intermediate connector 1 and the upper substrate 3 is mechanically held, and the contact 5 and the pad 6b are driven by the force indicated by the arrow C. Is maintained.

  As described above, the fitting state of the intermediate connector 1, the lower substrate 2, and the upper substrate 3 is mechanically maintained, and further, electrical conduction between the pads 6a and 6b is maintained through the contacts 5.

  FIG. 6 shows the case of the first configuration of the present invention, but in the case of the second configuration of the present invention, when the columnar body is inserted into the projection, the projection undergoes elastic deformation, The force acts on the columnar body in the same manner as the arrows A and B and arrows C and D shown in FIG. 6, and the fitting state of the intermediate connecting body, the lower board and the upper board is mechanically held, and the contact is made. Thus, electrical conduction between the pads is maintained.

It is an external appearance perspective view before the fitting of the Example of the electrical connector of this invention. It is the perspective view and sectional drawing which show the detail of the columnar body of the intermediate connection body in the Example of the electrical connector of this invention. It is the perspective view, sectional drawing, and top view which show the detail of the protrusion of the lower board | substrate in the Example of the electrical connector of this invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the 1st fitting operation in the Example of the electrical connector of this invention. It is sectional drawing which showed 2nd fitting operation in the Example of the electrical connector of this invention. In the Example of the electrical connector of this invention, it is sectional drawing which showed the mechanical and electrical holding function.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Intermediate connection body 2 Lower board | substrate 3 Upper board | substrate 4 Columnar body 5 Contact 6a, 6b Pad 7a, 7b Protrusion 8a, 8b Board | substrate 9a, 9b Connection board 10 Bottom part

Claims (2)

An electrical connector comprising the following means.
(A) Columnar bodies made of compression elastic insulating material are aligned and held in parallel according to the pad arrangement interval of the connection target board, and each columnar body is electrically connected in the axial direction from one surface of the alignment surface to the other surface. The intermediate connector (b) provided with contacts having contact portions is erected corresponding to the positions between the pads of the connection target pad array of the substrate connected to the one side surface of the intermediate connector, Protrusion made of an inelastic insulator whose tip end swells when the columnar body is pushed in between adjacent tip portions (c) on the other side of the intermediate connection body The axial direction of the columnar body corresponding to the position between each pad of the connection target pad array of the substrate connected to the surface and not coming into contact with the projection of the substrate connected to the one surface of the intermediate connector It is installed at the position displaced to Parts are made of non-elastic insulating body, which bulges form so embrace this when the columnar body is pressed from between the distal end portion adjacent projections 2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein a material of the columnar body of the intermediate connection body is an inelastic insulator, and a material of a protrusion of the connection target board is a compression elastic insulation material.

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