The present disclosure relates to a connector and a connector manufacturing method.
A connector described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a plurality of terminal fittings to be connected to a flexible printed board (hereinafter, referred to as a circuit board) and a housing for accommodating the respective terminal fittings. The terminal fitting includes a tip-side connecting portion and a board-side connecting portion. The tip-side connecting portion is connected to a mating terminal. The board-side connecting portion is connected to a wiring pattern of the circuit board.
Patent Document 1: JP 2020-021595 A
If connected positions of the board-side connecting portions to the wiring pattern of the circuit board are not aligned in the respective terminal fittings, the tip positions of the tip-side connecting portions are also not aligned at a fixed position and the respective terminal fittings may not be properly accommodated into the housing. On the other hand, if the connected positions of the board-side connecting portions of the respective terminal fittings to the wiring pattern of the circuit board are strictly managed, a problem of deteriorating workability occurs.
Accordingly, the present disclosure aims to provide a connector enabling easy position management of each terminal fitting and capable of improving workability.
The present disclosure is directed to a connector with a plurality of terminal fittings, a holding member configured such that the plurality of terminal fittings are arranged in parallel therein, a circuit board, the plurality of terminal fittings being connected to the circuit board, and a housing for holding the holding member.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector enabling easy position management of each terminal fitting and capable of improving workability.
First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
(1) The connector of the present disclosure is provided with a plurality of terminal fittings, a holding member configured such that the plurality of terminal fittings are arranged in parallel therein, a circuit board, the plurality of terminal fittings being connected to the circuit board, and a housing for holding the holding member. According to this configuration, the plurality of terminal fittings are arranged in parallel in the holding member, whereby the tip positions of the respective terminal fittings can be properly aligned. By connecting the respective terminal fittings to the circuit board in that state, relative position shifts of the respective terminal fittings can be prevented. Thus, the tip positions of the respective terminal fittings can be properly maintained with the holding member held in the housing. As described above, since the positions of the respective terminal fittings can be collectively managed by the holding member in this configuration, cumbersome position management is not necessary and workability can be improved.
(2) Preferably, the terminal fitting includes a board connecting portion to be connected to the circuit board and a body portion arranged forward of the board connecting portion, and the holding member holds the body portion in front of the board connecting portion. According to this configuration, the presence of the holding member does not hinder the connection of the board connecting portions to the circuit board. Further, the enlargement of the holding member can be avoided.
(3) The housing may include a first housing member and a second housing member, and the holding member may be sandwiched and held between the first housing member and the second housing member. According to this configuration, the holding member can be stably held and the circuit board can be sandwiched between the first and second housing members. Further, a special member for holding the holding member in the housing is not necessary and the complication of an overall structure can be avoided.
(4) The holding member may be made of a material higher in heat resistance than the housing. According to this configuration, the holding member can withstand heating in a reflow step, for example, when the respective terminal fittings are reflow-connected to the circuit board while being arranged in parallel in the holding member.
(5) A connector manufacturing method for the connector described above is provided with an arranging step of arranging the plurality of terminal fittings in parallel in the holding member, a reflow step of reflow-connecting the plurality of terminal fittings to the circuit board, and a holding step of holding the holding member in the housing, the steps being successively performed. According to this manufacturing method, when the plurality of terminal fittings are reflow-connected to the circuit board, the holding member can prevent relative position shifts of the respective terminal fittings. As a result, the tip positions of the respective terminal fittings can be aligned at a fixed position when the holding member is held in the housing.
A specific example of a connector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this illustration and is intended to be represented by claims and include all changes in the scope of claims and in the meaning and scope of equivalents.
The connector is provided with a plurality of terminal fittings 10, a circuit board 90, a holding member 20 and a housing 50. The housing 50 is composed of dividable first housing member 51 and second housing member 52.
The terminal fitting 10 is formed, such as by bending an electrically conductive metal plate. As shown in
The circuit board 90 is a flexible printed board and in the form of a sheet rectangular in a plan view as shown in
Solder paste is applied to the upper surfaces of the respective electrically conductive portions 91 to extend in a strip-like manner in the front-rear direction. A plurality of locking holes 92 are provided behind the respective electrically conductive portions 91 while being laterally spaced apart. Later-described locking pins 59 of the first housing member 51 are inserted into the respective locking holes 92 (see
The holding member 20 is made of heat resistant synthetic resin such as liquid crystal polymer, PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) resin or PEEK (polyether ether ketone) resin. The holding member 20 is formed to be long in a lateral direction and flat in a vertical direction.
The holding member 20 is provided with a plurality of cavities 21. The respective cavities 21 are arranged laterally side by side inside the holding member 20. As shown in
The holding member 20 includes a plurality of locking projections 24 on the lower surfaces of inner walls of the respective cavities 21. As shown in
The body portion 11 of the terminal fitting 10 is inserted into each cavity 21 from behind. The locking projection 24 faces a locking claw 29 provided on the lower surface of the body portion 11 and locks the body portion 11. The terminal fitting 10 is retained and held in the holding member 20 via the locking projection 24. The locking claw 29 enters the opening 25 to be arranged.
A tab of an unillustrated mating terminal fitting is inserted into each tab insertion hole 23. The tab of the mating terminal fitting is inserted into the body portion 11 through the tab insertion hole 23, contacts an electrically conductive part in the body portion 11 and is electrically connected to the terminal fitting 10.
The upper and lower surfaces of the holding member 20 are arranged flat in the lateral direction. The upper and lower surfaces of the holding member 20 include steps 26 at positions including the front surfaces of the locking projections 24. The front wall portion 22 of the holding member 20 is a part forward of the steps 26 and is formed thinner (has a smaller vertical dimension) than a rear part.
A plurality of protrusions 27 are provided on the lower surface of the holding member 20. The respective protrusions 27 have a cylindrical shape and are spaced apart in a width direction. A pair of projecting walls 28 projecting rearward are provided on both left and right ends of the holding member 20. Coupling parts between the body portions 11 and the board connecting portions 12 in the respective terminal fittings 10 are arranged between the both projecting walls 28 and protected by the both projecting walls 28 (see
The first housing member 51 is made of synthetic resin such as PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) lower in heat resistance than the holding member 20. The first housing member 51 is arranged below the second housing member 52. The first housing member 51 constitutes a lower part of the housing 50.
As shown in
The bottom wall 53 is provided with a plurality of retaining holes 57 vertically penetrating at positions corresponding to the respective protrusions 27. The upper ends of the respective retaining holes 57 are open to the recess 56. A lower end part of the holding member 20 is fit into the recess 56. The protrusions 27 are loosely inserted into the retaining holes 57 as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The second housing member 52 is made of the same synthetic resin as the first housing member 51. The second housing member 52 constitutes an upper part of the housing 50. As shown in
The lock arm 71 has a shape cantilevered rearward from a base end part connected to a laterally central part of the upper surface of the body wall 69. The lock arm 71 is deflectable and deformable in the vertical direction with the base end part as a fulcrum. The lock arm 71 locks an unillustrated mating housing as a connection partner of the housing 50 and holds the housing 50 and the mating housing in a connected state.
Each lock piece 67 is in the form of a rectangular frame and includes the lock hole 75 inside. Each lock piece 67 is deflectable and deformable in the lateral direction (in-out direction) with an upper end part connected to the covering wall 66 as a fulcrum. The holding piece 68 is in the form of a rectangular plate piece and includes a groove portion 76 extending in the front-rear direction on the lower end of an inner surface.
Next, a manufacturing method (assembly method) of the connector of this embodiment is specifically described.
As a terminal insertion step, the plurality of terminal fittings 10 are inserted into the respective cavities 21 of the holding member 20 as shown in
Subsequently, as a reflow step, the board connecting portions 12 of the respective terminal fittings 10 are placed on the solder paste on the respective electrically conductive portions 91 of the circuit board 90 and the solder paste is heated and melted in the unillustrated reflow device (reflow furnace) as shown in
Subsequently, as a housing setting step, a lower end part of the holding member 20 of the intermediate unit 80 is fit into the recess 56 of the first housing member 51 as shown in
On the other hand, the holding member 20 is movable in the front-rear direction in gap ranges between the lower end part and the front and rear surfaces of the recess 56 and in gap ranges between the protrusions 27 and the hole surfaces of the retaining holes 57 (see
With the intermediate unit 80 held on the first housing member 51, a front part of the circuit board 90 is arranged on the bottom wall 53 of the first housing member 51. The respective partition walls 58 are arranged between the respective electrically conductive portions 91 of the circuit board 90.
Subsequently, the second housing member 52 is mounted to be put on the first housing member 51 from above as shown in
In the above way, the connector in which the circuit board 90, the respective terminal fittings 10, the holding member 20 and the housing 50 (first housing member 51 and second housing member 52) are integrally assembled is formed as shown in
As described above, since the plurality of terminal fittings 10 are reflow-connected to the circuit board 90 while being held in the holding member 20 according to this embodiment, the respective terminal fittings 10 can be prevented from being relatively shifted in position in the front-rear direction in the reflow step. Thus, the tip positions of the respective terminal fittings 10 are properly maintained in the housing setting step. Since the relative positions of the respective terminal fittings 10 are collectively aligned by the holding member 20 in the case of this embodiment, it is not necessary to strictly manage a relative positional relationship of the respective terminal fittings 10 and workability can be improved.
Since the holding member 20 is made of the material higher in heat resistance than the housing 50 (first housing member 51 and second housing member 52), the holding member 20 can withstand heating in the reflow step.
Further, since the body portions 11 of the respective terminal fittings 10 are held in front of the board connecting portions 12 in the holding member 20, the presence of the holding member 20 does not hinder the reflow connection of the board connecting portions 12 to the circuit board 90. Moreover, the enlargement of the holding member 20 can be avoided. Furthermore, since the holding member 20 is held between the first and second housing members 51, 52, a special member for holding the holding member 20 in the housing 50 is not necessary and an overall structure is not complicated.
The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered illustrative in all aspects, rather than restrictive.
Although the circuit board is a flexible printed board in the case of the above embodiment, the circuit board may be a rigid circuit board as another embodiment.
Although the housing is dividable into the first housing member and the second housing member in the case of the above embodiment, the housing may be an integral single member as another embodiment. If the housing is a single member, the holding member may be configured to be inserted into an insertion region of the housing.
Although the first and second housing members are made of the same material in the case of the above embodiment, the first and second housing members may be made of different materials as another embodiment. In this case, the holding member may be made of a material higher in heat resistance than the materials constituting the first housing member and the second housing member.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020-080897 | May 2020 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2021/015122 | 4/12/2021 | WO |