BOARD CONNECTOR

Abstract

A board connector according to an embodiment of the invention includes a connector main body 1 that includes a connector housing 10 and terminals and a metal fitting 20 that is press-fitted into the connector housing. The metal fitting is provided with a bottom plate 20A that extends over an entire width of the connector housing in a left-to-right direction. The bottom plate is provided with a pair of first left and right vertical wall-like press-fitting portions 21 that correspond to left and right sides of the connector housing, a pair of second left and right transverse wall-like press-fitting portions 22 that correspond to bottom surfaces of left and right ends of the connector housing, first soldering portions 23 that are located at outer sides of the first and second left and right press-fitting portions in a left-to-right direction, and second soldering portions 24 that are located at inner sides of the first and second left and right press-fitting portions in a left-to-right direction. Further, first press-fitted portions 11 are provided in the left and right sides of the connector housing so as to press-fit the first press-fitting portions of the metal fitting, and second press-fitted portions 22 are provided in the bottom surfaces of the left and right ends of the connector housing so as to press-fit the second press-fitting portions of the metal fitting.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a state before assembling a board connector according to an embodiment of the invention, when viewed from an upper side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state after assembling the same board connector, when viewed from a lower side.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a state where the same board connector is mounted on a printed circuit board, when viewed from the front.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a board connector according to the related art, when viewed from a lower side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a state before assembling a board connector according to an embodiment of the invention, when viewed from an upper side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state after assembling the same board connector, when viewed from a lower side. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a state where the same board connector is mounted on a printed circuit board, when viewed from the front.

The board connector includes a connector main body 1 and a metal fitting 20. The connector main body 1 includes a connector housing 10 that is fitted into a housing of a counterpart connector (not shown), and a plurality of terminals (not shown) that are held in the connector housing 10 and are electrically connected to terminals of the counterpart connector.

The connector housing 10 is formed in a laterally long rectangular shape using a synthetic resin. The front surface of the connector housing 10 is provided with a fitting recess 10A into which the counterpart connector is fitted. Each of the terminals (not shown) has one end that is located in the fitting recess 10A of the connector housing 1 and the other end that protrudes from the back of a rear wall surface of the connector housing 10 and is bent in an L shape so as to be soldered on the printed circuit board.

The metal fitting 20 is press-fitted into the connector housing 10 of the connector main body 1. The metal fitting 20 is soldered on the printed circuit board that is a mounting subject, and fixes the connector main body 1 to the printed circuit board. The metal fitting 20 is constructed by bending one metal plate member.

In this case, the metal fitting 20 has a bottom plate 20A that extends over an entire width of the connector housing 10 in a left-to-right direction. The bottom plate 20A is provided with a pair of first left and right vertical wall-like press-fitting portions 21 that correspond to left and right sides of the connector housing 10, a pair of second left and right transverse wall-like press-fitting portions 22 that correspond to bottom surfaces of left and right ends of the connector housing 10, first soldering portions 23 that are located at outer sides of the first left and right press-fitting portions 21 and the second left and right press-fitting portions 22 in a left-to-right direction, and second soldering portions 24 that are located at inner sides of the first left and right press-fitting portions 21 and the second left and right press-fitting portions 22 in a left-to-right direction.

Meanwhile, the connector housing 10 includes first press-fitted portions 11 that are provided at the left and right sides of the connector housing 10 so as to backward press-fit the first press-fitting portions 21 of the metal fitting 20, and second press-fitted portions 12 that are provided on the bottom surfaces of the left and right ends of the connector housing 10 so as to backward press-fit the second press-fitting portions 22 of the metal fitting 20. In this case, the press-fitting direction of the metal fitting 20 with respect to the connector housing 10 is set to be opposite to a fitting direction of the counterpart connector with respect to the connector main body 1. Further, at front end edges of the first press-fitting portions 21, locking protrusions 21 a are provided, such that the locking protrusions 21a are locked into locking grooves 11a of the first press-fitted portions 11 at the side of the connector housing 10 so as to regulate movement of the first press-fitting portions 21 with respect to the connector housing 10 in an up-to-down direction.

Further, the first and second soldering portions 23 and 24 of the metal fitting 20 are provided at positions that are one stage lower than a position at which the metal fitting 20 supports a bottom surface of the connector housing 10, and that are lower than portions where the second press-fitting portions 22 of the metal fitting 20 are press-fitted into the second press-fitted portions 12 of the connector housing 10.

When the board connector is mounted in the printed circuit board, first, the first press-fitting portions 21 of the metal fitting 20 are press-fitted into the first press-fitted portions 11 provided on both sides of the connector housing 10 from the rear side of the connector housing 10. At the same time, the second press-fitting portions 22 of the metal fitting 20 are press-fitted into the second press-fitted portions 12 provided on the bottom surface of the connector housing 10 from the rear side of the connector housing 10. In this way, it is possible to firmly fix the metal fitting 20 to the connector main body 1.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the first and second soldering portions 23 and 24 of the metal fitting 20 are soldered on a printed circuit board K, and thus it is possible to firmly fix the connector main body 1 to the printed circuit board K by the metal fitting 20.

In this state, since the left and right sides and the bottom surface of the connector housing 10 can be regulated by the first press-fitting portions 21 and the second press-fitting portions 22 of the metal fitting 20, the metal fitting 20 can assuredly suppress a deformation of the connector housing 10 in a left-to-right direction due to the thermal expansion of the connector housing 10.

For example, if the thermal expansion of the connector housing 10 in the widthwise direction (a horizontal direction X that is orthogonal to a fitting direction of the counterpart connector) is suppressed by means of the first press-fitting portions 21 of the metal fitting 20 that are press-fitted into both sides of the connector housing 10, warpage may occur in the connector housing 10 due to thermal expansion. However, the second press-fitting portions 22 of the metal fitting 20 that are press-fitted into the bottom surface of the connector housing 10 suppresses the warpage, and thus it is possible to prevent the connector housing 10 from thermally deforming. As a result, it is possible to suppress the deformation from affecting positions where the terminals extending from the connector main body 1 are soldered on the printed circuit board K.

Further, the metal fitting 20 is provided with the first soldering portions 23 that are located at the outer sides of the first and second press-fitting portions 21 and 22 and the second soldering portions 24 that are located at the inner sides of the first and second press-fitting portions 21 and 22. As a result, even when deformation occurs between the printed circuit board K and the metal fitting 20 due to thermal expansion, the stress can be dispersed. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the solder cracks from occurring in the soldering portion of the metal fitting 20, which improves the mounting strength of the board connector to the printed circuit board.

Further, in the board connector according to this embodiment, since the metal fitting 20 is constructed by bending one metal plate member, the metal fitting 20 can be easily manufactured, and can be easily assembled into the connector main body 1. Furthermore, since the assembling direction (press-fitting direction) of the metal fitting 20 to the connector main body 1 is set to a direction opposite to the fitting direction of the counterpart connector, there is no concern in that the press-fitting portions will fall due to the force generated at the time of fitting the board connector. Further, the height of the soldering portion of the metal fitting 20 is set to a position that is one stage lower than a position at which the metal fitting 20 supports a bottom surface of the connector housing 10 such that the connector main body 1 is supported to float from the printed circuit board K. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the stress due to heat.

Further, when the main soldering is not performed by the first soldering portions 23 and the sub-soldering is performed by the second soldering portions 24, the amount of solder in the second soldering portion 24 is set to be smaller than the amount of solder in the first soldering portion 23. In this way, the first soldering portion 23 is responsible for the main mounting strength and the second soldering portion 24 is responsible for the auxiliary mounting strength. This can be achieved by setting the height of the second soldering portion 24 to be slightly larger than the height of the first soldering portion 23.

The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but various changes and modifications and improvements can be made. Further, materials, forms, the number, arrangement positions, and the like of the components in the above-described embodiments are not limited but may be arbitrarily set, so long as the invention can be achieved.

Claims

1. A board connector, comprising: a connector main body that includes a connector housing and terminals, the connector housing being fitted into a housing of a counterpart connector, the terminals being held in the connector housing and electrically connected to terminals of the counterpart connector; anda metal fitting that is press-fitted into the connector housing of the connector main body, and is soldered on a printed circuit board that is a mounting subject so as to fix the connector main body to the printed circuit board;wherein the metal fitting is provided with a bottom plate that extends over an entire width of the connector housing in a left-to-right direction;the bottom plate is provided with a pair of first left and right vertical wall-like press-fitting portions that correspond to left and right sides of the connector housing, a pair of second left and right transverse wall-like press-fitting portions that correspond to bottom surfaces of left and right ends of the connector housing, first soldering portions that are located at outer sides of the first and second left and right press-fitting portions in a left-to-right direction, and second soldering portions that are located at inner sides of the first and second left and right press-fitting portions in a left-to-right direction, andfirst press-fitted portions are provided in the left and right sides of the connector housing so as to press-fit the first press-fitting portions of the metal fitting, and second press-fitted portions are provided in the bottom surfaces of the left and right ends of the connector housing so as to press-fit the second press-fitting portions of the metal fitting.

2. The board connector according to claim 1, wherein the metal fitting is formed by bending one metal plate member such that the first and second press-fitting portions are integrated with the first and second soldering portions, anda press-fitting direction of the metal fitting with respect to the connector housing is set to be opposite to a fitting direction of the counterpart connector with respect to the connector main body.

3. The board connector according to claim 1, wherein the first and second soldering portions are provided at positions that are one stage lower than a position at which the metal fitting supports the bottom surface of the connector housing, and that are lower than portions where the second press-fitting portions of the metal fitting are press-fitted into the second press-fitted portions of the connector housing.