JP6344576B2 - USB connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a USB connector configured such that a paddle card to which a signal transmission medium is coupled is connected to a contact member that is electrically connected to another connector of a mating partner.

  Various USB connector standards exist, but in recent years, a so-called type C USB connector having a structure that can be inserted in either direction by a vertically and horizontally symmetrical structure is being used. In such a type C standard USB connector, a paddle card (relay board) connected to a signal transmission medium such as a coaxial cable is disposed inside the conductive shell. The contact portion of the contact member attached to the insulating housing is electrically connected to the electrode portion formed on the paddle card by soldering or the like, and is fitted to another mating connector. In this case, the other contact portion of the contact member described above is configured to be in electrical contact with another mating connector.

  Here, the general type C standard USB connector has a structure in which the edge of the paddle card is held in a cantilever manner by a concave sandwiching portion provided in the insulating housing. Therefore, the holding force with respect to the paddle card tends to be insufficient, and when the insulating housing is scraped, the holding force of the paddle card rapidly decreases and the posture of the paddle card becomes unstable. May cause problems in electrical connection reliability.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-230770 Utility Model Registration No. 3195845

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a USB connector that can stably maintain the posture of a paddle card with a simple configuration.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is directed to an insulating housing, a conductive shell covering at least a part of the insulating housing, and an electrical connection to another connector mated with the insulating housing. And a side latch that engages with a locking portion of the other connector and maintains a fitted state, and is provided on both sides of a paddle card to which a signal transmission medium is coupled. In the USB connector configured to connect the contact member to a signal transmission electrode provided on at least one of the two, the conductive shell is in contact with both sides of the paddle card and sandwiches the paddle card The side latch engages with and engages with a ground contact portion provided at a locking portion of the other connector. The side latch is configured to perform ground connection while maintaining a combined state, and the side latch is electrically connected to a ground conductive path provided in the paddle card; and And a second latch contact portion connected to the conductive shell .

According to the first aspect of the invention having such a configuration, the pair of shell protrusions provided on the conductive shell firmly hold the paddle card from both sides, so that the USB connector Even when it is fitted to another connector, the attitude of the paddle card is stably maintained, and a good signal transmission function can be obtained.
According to the invention according to claim 1 having such a configuration, since the ground connection is performed through the first and second latch contact portions of the side latch, the ground function is enhanced, The paddle card is held more stably through the first latch contact portion of the side latch.

  At this time, as in the invention according to claim 2, the portion where the shell protrusion contacts the paddle card is shifted in the signal transmission direction with respect to the portion where the contact member contacts the paddle card. It is desirable to be arranged in.

According to the invention of claim 2 having such a configuration, flexures since the paddle card is held at two positions of the contact member and the shell protrusion in the direction of signal transmission, the paddle card in the thickness direction as Masa, even when an external force of a so-called tilt direction is applied, the posture of the paddle card is satisfactorily stable.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the shell projection includes a shell contact portion that is electrically connected to a ground conductive path provided in the paddle card.

  According to the third aspect of the invention having such a configuration, since the conductive shell is grounded via the shell projection, the ground function is enhanced.

  Still further, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the insulating housing includes a housing protrusion facing the first latch contact portion with the paddle card interposed therebetween, and the first latch contact portion and the first latch contact portion. It is desirable that the paddle card is sandwiched between the housing protrusions.

  According to the invention according to claim 5 having such a configuration, the holding force by the first latch contact portion of the side latch is further strengthened by the housing projection, and thus the posture of the baddle card is further improved. Is done.

As described above, the present invention provides a conductive shell covering at least a part of the insulating housing with a pair of shell projections that are in contact with both sides of the paddle card so as to sandwich the paddle card, and the paddle card is paired with the shell. firmly held so as to sandwich the protruding portion, together with the USB connector good signal transmission function of the attitude of the paddle card even when fitted into the other of the mating connector is maintained stably obtain The ground function is strengthened by performing ground connection through the first and second latch contact portions of the side latch, and the paddle card is more stably held through the first latch contact portion of the side latch. Since the configuration is adopted, the posture of the paddle card can be stabilized with a simple configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external appearance perspective explanatory view which represented the USB connector concerning one Embodiment of this invention from the upper direction of the connector back side. FIG. 2 is an external perspective explanatory view showing the USB connector shown in FIG. 1 from above the front side of the connector. FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of the USB connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is front explanatory drawing of the USB connector shown by FIGS. It is a back surface explanatory view of the USB connector shown by FIGS. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the USB connector shown by FIGS. FIG. 7 is an external perspective view illustrating the internal structure of the USB connector shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 with a conductive shell and an insulating housing removed. FIG. 7 is an external perspective explanatory view showing, on an enlarged scale, one side of the rear end portion of the USB connector shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 in the connector width direction. FIG. 9 is an external perspective view illustrating a state in which a paddle card is attached to the USB connector illustrated in FIGS. FIG. 10 is an external perspective view illustrating the portion indicated by IX in FIG. 9 in an enlarged manner. FIG. 10 is a rear view illustrating the USB connector with the paddle card in FIG. 9 attached. FIG. 12 is an external perspective explanatory view showing, on an enlarged scale, one side in the connector width direction at the rear end portion of the USB connector to which the paddle card shown in FIG. 11 is attached. FIG. 9 is an external perspective explanatory view showing a state in which the USB connector shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 is fitted to a receptacle connector (another connector) which is a mating partner. FIG. 14 is an explanatory plan view showing a fitting state between the receptacle connector (another connector) and the USB connector shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is an explanatory rear view illustrating a fitting state between the receptacle connector (another connector) and the USB connector illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 16 is a side explanatory view showing a fitting state of the receptacle connector (other connector) and the USB connector shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, wherein the USB connector is partially broken to show the internal structure. is there.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Overall structure of USB connector]
A plug connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 includes an insulating housing 11 made of an insulating resin material having a thin hollow box shape, and the insulating housing 11. In the hollow inner space, sub-housings (not shown) that hold a plurality of contact members 12 in a multipolar manner are arranged in two upper and lower stages. A conductive shell 13 made of a hollow box-like bent body of a thin metal member that covers the insulating housing 11 and the sub-housing holding the contact member 12 from the outside is mounted so as to surround the insulating housing 11. Has been.

  Further, in the hollow interior of the insulating housing 11 described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a connecting plate (see reference numeral 14a in FIG. 7) having a pair of side latches 14 and 14 made of a punched body of a thin metal member. ) Are attached so as to be sandwiched between the above-described two-stage sub-housings. As will be described later, the pair of side latches 14 and 14 are formed on a part of the receptacle connector 20 when mated with a receptacle connector (another connector) 20 as a mating partner (see FIGS. 13 and 14). It is made the structure engaged.

  That is, the plug connector 10 according to the present invention includes a receptacle connector (another connector) 20 as a mating counterpart mounted on a printed wiring board (not shown), as particularly shown in FIGS. (See FIGS. 13 to 16). The fitting at that time is performed along the extending direction of the surface of the printed wiring board. Here, the direction in which the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector 20 as another connector, that is, the extending direction of the surface of the printed wiring board is referred to as a “horizontal plane direction” below.

  Further, when the plug connector 10 is fitted, the plug connector 10 is inserted into the receptacle connector (other connector) 20 or removed from the receptacle connector 20. Thus, the direction in which the plug connector 10 is fitted and removed is referred to as “connector front-rear direction”, the direction in which the plug connector 10 is fitted is referred to as “connector front”, and the direction in which it is removed is referred to as “connector rearward”. Furthermore, the front end portion of the plug connector 10 to be inserted into the receptacle connector 20 is referred to as “connector front end portion”, and the opposite side portion is referred to as “connector rear end portion”. Note that the “signal transmission” executed by the plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 20 in the present embodiment is performed in the “connector longitudinal direction”.

  On the other hand, the “multipolar arrangement direction” in which the contact members 12 described above are arranged in a multipolar manner is the “horizontal plane direction” and the “connector longitudinal direction” in which the plug connector 10 is fitted and removed. The “connector width direction” is substantially orthogonal. The direction orthogonal to both the “connector width direction” as the “multipolar arrangement direction” and the “connector longitudinal direction” is the “connector height direction”, and the direction away from the surface of the printed wiring board is “ The “upward direction” is the direction toward the surface of the printed wiring board.

  A paddle card (relay board board) P to which a signal transmission medium (not shown) such as a coaxial cable is connected is connected to the “connector rear end portion” of the plug connector 10 as shown in FIG. Yes. The rear end portion of the contact member 12 described above is connected to the electrode portions P1 for signal transmission formed on the front and back surfaces of the paddle card P. In addition, the grounding electrode portions P2 formed on the front and back surfaces of the paddle card P have a rear end portion of the side latch 14 and a pair of shell protrusions 13b provided on the conductive shell 13 described later. , 13b are configured to be electrically connected by solder bonding.

[Contact members]
As described above, the contact members 12 arranged in two upper and lower stages are respectively held in sub-housings (not shown), but projecting from each of the sub-housings in a cantilever beam shape in the “connector longitudinal direction”. Are mounted in the insulating housing 11 in a state of being accommodated in a plurality of contact mounting grooves (not shown) formed so as to extend in the “connector longitudinal direction”. That is, the contact mounting grooves are arranged in two upper and lower stages on the upper and lower inner wall portions forming the hollow portion of the insulating housing 11 so as to face the “connector height direction” through the hollow portion. Yes. Further, the cantilever beam-like protruding portions of the contact members 12 mounted in the upper and lower two-stage contact mounting grooves also pass through the hollow portion of the insulating housing 11 in the “connector height direction” in two upper and lower stages. The upper and lower contact members 12, 12 are arranged so as to be symmetrically opposed in the “connector height direction”.

  As described above, the front end portion and the rear end portion in the “connector longitudinal direction” of each contact member 12 extend from the above-described contact mounting groove of the insulating housing 11 in a cantilevered manner toward the front side and the rear side, respectively. In addition, the front end side contact portion 12a and the rear end side contact portion 12b having a protruding shape, for example, as shown in FIG. It is made in the arrangement relation. The front end side contact portion 12 a and the rear end side contact portion 12 b are configured to be elastically displaced so as to be close to or separated from each other in the “connector height direction” based on the elasticity of the contact member 12.

  The front end side contact portion 12a of the contact member 12 described above is connected to an electrode portion (see FIG. 16) provided on the receptacle connector 20 when the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector (other connector) 20. On the other hand, it is in an arrangement relationship in which it is elastically contacted and electrically connected. Further, the rear end side contact portion 12b of the contact member 12 is electrically connected by solder bonding in a state where it abuts on the signal transmission electrode portion P1 of the paddle card (relay substrate board) P described above. Has been made.

[Conductive shell]
On the other hand, the front end portion of the conductive shell 13 described above is provided with a horizontally long front end opening that is fitted to a receptacle connector (another connector) 20 as a mating counterpart, for example, as shown in FIG. The front end opening is provided with a plurality of ground connection pieces 13a in a tongue-like shape. Each of the ground connection pieces 13a is electrically fitted to a ground terminal (not shown) provided on the receptacle connector 20 side when the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector (other connector) 20. It is made the composition to be matched.

  Further, through the front end opening provided at the front end portion of the conductive shell 13, the front end side contact portion 12a of the above-described upper and lower two-stage contact members 12 is exposed toward the front side of the connector as shown in FIG. 4, for example. Has been made. Further, the rear end portion of the conductive shell 13 described above is also provided with a horizontally long rear end opening, and the rear end side contact portion of the upper and lower contact members 12 described above through the rear end opening. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, 12b protrudes outward toward the rear side of the connector.

  Then, in such a portion between the rear end side contact portions 12b, 12b of the upper and lower two-stage contact members 12 protruding outward through the rear end opening of the conductive shell 13, as shown in FIG. A paddle card (relay board board) P, to which a signal transmission medium (not shown) such as a coaxial cable is connected, is inserted from the rear side of the connector toward the front side. The signal transmission electrode portion P1 formed on both front and back surfaces of the paddle card P is joined by a solder material with the rear end side contact portions 12b and 12b of the contact member 12 being in contact with each other from above and below. Thereby, a signal transmission circuit is configured. At this time, it is possible to collectively solder the plurality of rear end side contact portions 12b in the direction of the multipolar arrangement.

  Further, as described above, on both side portions of the rear end edge portion of the conductive shell 13 in the “connector width direction”, the plate-like shell protrusions 13 b are provided so as to protrude toward the “connector rear side”. It has been. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, each of the shell protrusions 13b is formed so as to form a part of a shell wall portion that forms the rear end opening of the conductive shell 13, and the “connector width direction”. A pair of each of the one side portions has a symmetrical shape in the “connector height direction”. Each of the pair of shell protrusions 13b, 13b on one side has a shape having a top portion facing each other, and a shell contact portion as a ground contact portion is formed on each top portion protruding in a direction close to each other. Yes.

  That is, the edge portion of the paddle card (relay board board) P described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 9 is directed forward from the rear side of the connector between the pair of shell projections 13b, 13b. A pair of shell projections on one side described above with respect to the grounded electrode portions P2 formed on both side portions in the “connector width direction” on both the front and back surfaces of the paddle card P The shell contact portions of the portions 13b and 13b are joined by a solder material in a state of being in contact with the upper and lower sides in the “connector height direction”. As a result, the edge portion of the paddle card P is sandwiched between a pair of shell projections 13b, 13b on one side to be in a fixed state, and a ground (ground) circuit is configured.

  In this way, the shell protrusion 13b that contacts the grounding electrode portion P2 of the paddle card (relay substrate board) P is the rear end of the contact member 12 that contacts the signal transmission electrode portion P1 of the paddle card P described above. The contact point 12b and the shell protrusion 13b are arranged at a position slightly shifted to the “connector rear” side with respect to the side contact portion 12b, and in the “connector longitudinal direction” which is the direction of signal transmission. The paddle card P is held in this way, and thereby the posture of the paddle card P is satisfactorily stabilized even when external force in the so-called turning direction is applied so that the paddle card P bends in the thickness direction. Has been made.

[About side latch]
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, for example, the above-described side latch 14 includes a pair of side latches so as to protrude outward in the same direction from the contact members 12 on both sides in the multipolar arrangement direction (contact width direction). The flat connecting plate 14a that is disposed and integrally connects the pair of side latches 14 and 14 is disposed in the hollow portion of the insulating housing 11 described above. It is fixed so as to be sandwiched between the upper and lower sub-housings. A pair of side latches 14 and 14 are provided at both end edges in the “connector width direction” of the connecting plate 14 a disposed inward of the hollow portion of the insulating housing 11. These side latches 14 extend in a cantilevered manner toward the “connector front” side in the “horizontal direction” so as to be elastically displaceable.

  A hook-like engagement portion 14b protrudes toward the inner side (connector center side) in the “connector width direction” at the distal end portion on the extending side (front side) of each side latch 14 described above. Are provided respectively. Each of the engaging portions 14b is a locking portion (not shown) provided so as to form a concave shape inside the receptacle connector 20 when the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector 20 as another connector. The connector 10 is engaged from the outer side in the “connector width direction”, thereby maintaining the fitted state between the connectors 10 and 20.

  At this time, a ground contact portion is formed in the locking portion (not shown) provided in the receptacle connector (other connector) 20 described above, and the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector 20 as another connector. As a result, when the engaging portion 14b of each side latch 14 is engaged with the engaging portion on the receptacle connector 20 side, the following ground (grounding) circuit is provided via the side latch 14. It is configured.

  That is, first, at both end edges in the “connector width direction” of the flat connecting plate 14a described above, the ground connection portions 14c from the portions closer to the “connector rear” with respect to each side latch 14 are connected to the “connector rear” side. It is provided so that it may extend toward A first latch contact portion 14d forming a ground contact portion is provided at an extended end portion of each ground connection portion 14c, and the first latch contact portion 14d provided in the ground connection portion 14c is provided with the first latch contact portion 14d. The paddle card P is joined by a solder material in contact with the grounding electrode portion P2 (see FIG. 9) formed on both sides in the “connector width direction” on one side (upper surface) of the paddle card P. Yes.

  The electrode portion P2 for grounding the paddle card (relay substrate board) P to which the first latch contact portion 14d is joined is for signal transmission to which the rear end side contact portion 12b of the contact member 12 is joined. A pair of electrodes are arranged outward on both sides in the “connector width direction” with respect to the electrode part P1.

  Corresponding to the first latch contact portion 14d of the ground connection portion 14c, a housing protrusion 11a is provided on the insulating housing 11 as shown in FIG. 8, for example. The housing protrusion 11a is disposed so as to face the “connector height direction” via the paddle card (relay board board) P at a position below the first latch contact portion 14d described above. The paddle card P is sandwiched between the first latch contact portion 14d and the housing protrusion 11a.

Further, at the rear end portion of each side latch 14 described above, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, a second latch contact portion 14e that contacts and is electrically connected to the inner wall surface of the conductive shell 13 is a protruding piece. It is provided to make. The second latch contact portion 14e is configured to be grounded via the shell protrusion 13b of the conductive shell 13 described above.

  According to the present embodiment having such a configuration, the pair of shell protrusions 13b and 13b provided on the conductive shell 13 are firmly fixed so as to sandwich the paddle card (relay board board) P from both the front and back surfaces. Therefore, even when the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector (other connector) 20 (see FIGS. 13 to 16), the posture of the paddle card P is stably maintained and is good. A reliable signal transmission function.

  In particular, the shell protrusion 13b in the present embodiment is disposed in a state where the contact member 12 is displaced in the signal transmission direction (front-rear direction of the connector) with respect to the portion where the contact member 12 contacts the paddle card (relay board board) P. Therefore, the paddle card (relay board board) P is held at two locations of the contact member 12 and the shell protrusion 13b in the direction of signal transmission (connector longitudinal direction), and the paddle card P extends in the thickness direction. Even when a so-called turning external force that is bent is applied, the posture of the paddle card P is satisfactorily stabilized.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the shell contact portion 13b provided on the conductive shell 13 is electrically connected to the grounded electrode portion P2 provided on the paddle card (relay substrate board) P. Since the portion is provided, the ground connection of the conductive shell 13 is performed via the shell projection 13b, and the ground function is enhanced.

  Furthermore, the engaging portion 14b of the side latch 14 in this embodiment is engaged with a ground contact portion provided in a locking portion (not shown) of a receptacle connector (other connector) 20 as a mating counterpart. In addition to the structure for holding the fitting state, the side latch 14 in the present embodiment is a first latch contact portion that contacts the grounding electrode portion P2 of the paddle card (relay substrate board) P and performs ground connection. 14 d and a second latch contact portion 14 e connected to the conductive shell 13. Accordingly, the paddle card P is more stably held via the first latch contact portion 14d of the side latch 14, and is connected to the ground via the first and second latch contact portions 14c and 14d of the side latch 14. To enhance the ground function.

  In addition, since the insulating housing 11 in the present embodiment includes the housing protrusion portion 11a that faces the first latch contact portion 14d with the paddle card (relay substrate) P interposed therebetween, the first latch of the side latch 14 is provided. The holding force by the latch contact portion 14d is stably obtained by the housing projection 11a, and the posture of the paddle card P is further improved.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the contact member is in contact with both the front and back surfaces of the paddle card. However, the contact member may be in contact with only one surface of the paddle card.

  The present invention can be widely applied to a wide variety of USB connectors used in various electrical devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Plug connector 11 Insulation housing 11a Housing protrusion part 12 Contact member 12a Front end side contact part 12b Rear end side contact part 13 Conductive shell 13a Ground connection piece 13b Shell protrusion part 14 Side latch 14a Connecting plate 14b Engagement part 14c Ground connection part 14d 1st latch contact part 14e 2nd latch contact part 20 Receptacle connector (other connectors)
P paddle card (relay board board)
P1 Electrode for signal transmission P2 Electrode for grounding

Claims (4)

An insulating housing, a conductive shell covering at least a portion of the insulating housing, a contact member attached to the insulating housing and electrically connected to another connector to be mated, and locking of the other connector A side latch that engages with a portion and maintains a fitted state ,
In a USB connector configured such that the contact member is connected to an electrode portion for signal transmission provided on at least one of both surfaces of a paddle card connected to a signal transmission medium,
While the conductive shell includes a pair of shell projections that are in contact with both sides of the paddle card and sandwich the paddle card ,
The side latch has a configuration for performing a ground connection while maintaining a fitting state by engaging a ground contact portion provided in a locking portion of the other connector,
The side latch includes a first latch contact portion electrically connected to a ground conductive path provided in the paddle card, and a second latch contact portion connected to the conductive shell. USB connector characterized by having   2. The portion where the shell projection is in contact with the paddle card is disposed in a state of being displaced in the signal transmission direction with respect to the portion where the contact member is in contact with the paddle card. Description USB connector.   The USB connector according to claim 1, wherein the shell protrusion includes a shell contact portion that is electrically connected to a ground conductive path provided in the paddle card. The insulating housing includes a housing protrusion facing the first latch contact portion across the paddle card,
USB connector according to claim 1, characterized in that have been made to the configuration sandwiching the paddle card by said first latch contact portion and the housing protrusion.

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