Patent Grant
11901673
This application is a national phase of PCT application No. PCT/JP2020/020877, filed on 27 May 2020, which claims priority from Japanese patent application No. 2019-111718, filed on 17 Jun. 2019, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a connector.
A connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a connector housing having a plurality of terminal accommodation chambers and a shield shell for surrounding the outer periphery of the connector housing. The shield shell is electrically connected to a ground wire and constitute a ground circuit. The connector housing includes partition walls interposed between adjacent ones of the terminal accommodation chambers. The partition walls are provided with lightening portions for matching an impedance of the connector with that of a cable. Transmission characteristics of the connector can be adjusted by the shield shell and the lightening portions.
If a mating member to be connected to the connector is changed, the shape of the housing or the like have to be changed according to transmission characteristics of the changed mating member. As a result, there is a problem of increasing manufacturing cost.
Accordingly, it is aimed to provide a connector capable of adjusting transmission characteristics while suppressing a manufacturing cost increase.
The present disclosure is directed to a connector with a housing including an accommodating portion and mounting portions, a terminal fitting to be accommodated into the accommodating portion, and a shield member to be mounted into the mounting portions for shielding electromagnetic waves, wherein the mounting portions are provided at a plurality of positions at different distances from the accommodating portion.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector capable of adjusting transmission characteristics while suppressing a manufacturing cost increase.
First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
A specific example of a connector of the present disclosure is described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure 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.
A connector according to an embodiment includes a housing 10, terminal fittings 40 to be accommodated into the housing 10, and a shield member 50, 51 to be mounted into the housing 10.
<Housing 10>
The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin and includes, as shown in
The housing 10 has a rectangular outer shape in a plan view having an arrangement direction of the respective accommodating portions 11 as a longitudinal direction and a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the respective accommodating portion 11 as a transverse direction. In the present disclosure, the longitudinal direction of the housing 10 is referred to as a first direction and the transverse direction of the housing 10 is referred to as a second direction as shown in
The housing 10 includes mounting portions 12 to 15 at a plurality of positions at different distances from the respective accommodating portions 11 (central part of the housing 10) to an outer side (radially outer side, outer peripheral side). The respective mounting portions include first mounting portions 12, 13 arranged on both sides in the first direction across the respective accommodating portions 11 and second mounting portions 14, 15 arranged on both sides in the second direction across the respective accommodating portions 11.
The respective first mounting portions include inner first mounting portions 12 at a short distance from the respective accommodating portions 11 and outer first mounting portions 13 at a long distance from the respective accommodating portions 11. The inner first mounting portions 12 are arranged in proximity to the respective accommodating portions 11 on both sides in the first direction of the respective accommodating portions 11. The outer first mounting portions 13 are arranged away from the respective accommodating portions 11 on both sides in the first direction of the respective accommodating portions 11.
The inner and outer first mounting portions 12, 13 are in the form of grooves extending in a vertical direction, the upper ends thereof are open in the upper surface of the housing 10, and the lower ends thereof are closed by supporting portions 16 formed on a lower surface side of the housing 10. Further, the inner and outer first mounting portions 12, 13 have a slit shape elongated in the second direction in a plan view and are arranged in parallel to each other.
The respective second mounting portions include inner second mounting portions 14 at a short distance from the respective accommodating portions 11 and outer second mounting portions 15 at a long distance from the respective accommodating portions 11. The inner second mounting portions 14 are arranged in proximity to the respective accommodating portions 11 on both sides in the second direction of the respective accommodating portions 11. The outer second mounting portions 15 are arranged away from the respective accommodating portions 11 on both sides in the second direction of the respective accommodating portions 11.
The inner and outer second mounting portions 14, 15 are in the form of grooves extending in the vertical direction, the upper ends thereof are open in the upper surface of the housing 10, and the lower ends thereof are open in the lower surface of the housing 10. Further, the inner and outer second mounting portions 14, 15 have a slit shape elongated in the first direction in a plan view and are arranged in parallel to each other.
The housing 10 includes corner portions 17 in the form of rectangular columns in four corner parts. The respective mounting portions 12 to 15 intersect each other on upper surface sides of the corner portions 17 in the four corner parts of the housing 10. Specifically, both end parts in the second direction of the respective first mounting portions 12, 13 communicate with the respective second mounting portions 14, 15 while intersecting at a right angle to the respective second mounting portions 14, 15. Both end parts in the first direction of the respective second mounting portions 14, 15 communicate with the respective first mounting portions 12, 13 while intersecting at a right angle to the respective first mounting portions 12, 13. Groove surfaces in the end parts of the respective mounting portions 12 to 15 form a rectangular recess in a plan view on the outer periphery of the upper surface of the corner portion 17.
Out of four side surfaces of the housing 10, first side surfaces 18 mutually facing toward opposite sides in the first direction include first cut portions 19 cut to have a constant width over the entire length in the vertical direction in intermediate parts in the second direction. The outer first mounting portions 13 are open in the first side surfaces 18 of the housing 10 via the first cut portions 19.
Out of the four side surfaces of the housing 10, second side surfaces 20 mutually facing toward opposite sides in the second direction include second cut portions 21 cut to have a constant width over the entire length in the vertical direction in intermediate parts in the first direction. The outer second mounting portions 15 are open in the second side surfaces 20 of the housing 10 via the second cut portions 21. An opening width of the second cut portion 21 is larger than that of the first cut portion 19.
A separation wall 22 formed between the inner second mounting portion 14 and the outer second mounting portion 15 in the housing 10 has an inner cut portion 23 cut to have a constant width over the entire length in the vertical direction in an intermediate part in the first direction. The inner cut portion 23 is shaped to correspond to the second cut portion 21 in a region formed by projecting the second cut portion 21 on the separation wall 22.
<Shield Member 50, 51>
The shield member 50, 51 is a metal plate member and mounted in the appropriate mounting portions selected from the respective mounting portions 12 to 15. As shown in
As shown in
The first contact portion 53 includes an inner first fitting portion 54 at a position near the first shield body 52 and an outer first fitting portion 55 on an end side away from the first shield body 52. The inner and outer first fitting portions 54, 55 are open in the lower end of the first contact portion 53 to form rectangular openings. The outer first fitting portion is also open in the end part in the second direction of the first contact portion 53.
As shown in
The second shield body 56 and the board connecting portion 58 have plate surfaces orthogonal to each other and are L-shaped when viewed from the first direction (see
A plate thickness of the second shield plate 51 is equal to or larger than an opening width (opening dimension in the second direction) of the second mounting portions 14, 15. A plate width of the board connecting portion 58 is smaller than a groove width of the second cut portion 21 (same as the groove width of the inner cut portion 23). The second shield plate 51 is press-fit into the second mounting portion 14, 15 from above.
As shown in
<Terminal Fittings 40>
The terminal fitting 40 is integrally formed, such as by bending a conductive metal plate. As shown in
<Mounting Structure of Shield Member 50, 51>
The shield member of this embodiment is composed of two types of plate members including the first shield plates 50 and the second shield plates 51. In the housing 10, a pair of the first shield plates 50 are arranged on both sides in the first direction across the respective accommodating portions 11 and a pair of the second shield plates 51 are arranged on both sides in the second direction across the respective accommodating portions 11. The pair of first shield plates 50 have the same shape, and the pair of second shield plates 51 have the same shape.
For example, in the case of a mode shown in
The second contact portions 57 of the second shield plates 51 are disposed on the outer groove surfaces of the corner portions 17. In this way, a press-fitting operation of the second shield plates 51 is restricted and the second shield plates 51 are properly mounted into the outer second mounting portions 15. The board connecting portions 58 of the second shield plates 51 are arranged to project outward in the second direction through the second cut portions 21.
The lower ends of the first shield plates 50 can be supported on the outer supporting portions 16. The first contact portions 53 of the first shield plates 50 are disposed on the outer groove surfaces of the corner portions 17. In this way, a press-fitting operation of the first shield plates 50 is restricted and the first shield plates 50 are properly mounted into the outer first mounting portions 13.
As shown in
Thereafter, the connector is placed on the surface of the circuit board 90, and the board connecting portions 58 of the second shield plates 51 and the lead portions 43 of the terminal fittings 40 are connected to the circuit board 90 by soldering. When the second shield plates 51 are ground-connected to the circuit board 90, the first shield plates 51 are also grounded via the first and second contact portions 53, 57.
Further, for example, in the case of a mode shown in
The second contact portions 57 of the second shield plates 51 are disposed on the inner groove surfaces of the corner portions 17. In this way, a press-fitting operation of the second shield plates 51 is restricted and the second shield plates 51 are properly mounted into the inner second mounting portions 14. The board connecting portions 58 of the second shield plates 51 are arranged to project outward in the second direction through the inner cut portions 23 and the second cut portions 21.
The lower ends of the first shield plates 50 can be supported on the inner supporting portions 16. The first contact portions 53 of the first shield plates 50 are disposed on the inner groove surfaces of the corner portions 17. In this way, a press-fitting operation of the first shield plates 50 is restricted and the first shield plates 50 are properly mounted into the inner first mounting portions 12.
As shown in
The mode shown in
As just described, according to this embodiment, the transmission characteristics of the connector can be matched with those of the mating member by mounting the shield member 50, 51 into the appropriate mounting portions selected from the plurality of mounting portions 12 to 15. Thus, it is not necessary to newly provide a housing or the like for the adjustment of the transmission characteristics and a manufacturing cost increase can be suppressed.
Further, since any of the respective mounting portions 12 to 15 is in the form of a groove, a mold structure for molding the respective mounting portions 12 to 15 is not particularly complicated. Moreover, the shield member 50, 51 can be easily mounted by being press-fit into the respective mounting portions 12 to 15.
Further, since the shield member includes the first and second shield plates 50, 51 and is configured by combining a plurality of types of plate members, a variation range can be widened in selecting the mount position of the shield member 50, 51 with respect to the respective mounting portions 12 to 15.
Further, since the first shield plates 50 are plate members having the same shape and commonly used for the inner and outer first mounting portions 12, 13 and the second shield plates 51 are plate members having the same shape and commonly used for the inner and outer second mounting portions 14, 15, an increase in the number of components can be prevented.
Further, since the first and second shield plates 50, 51 include the first and second contact portions 53, 57 for contacting each other while intersecting each other, it is not necessary to provide an individual earth circuit (ground circuit) for each of the first and second shield plates 50, 51 and a structure can be simplified.
Furthermore, the inner first fitting portion 54 and the outer first fitting portion 55 serving as contact parts with the second shield plate 51 are arranged at positions corresponding to the inner and outer second mounting portions 14, 15 in the first contact portion 53 and the inner second fitting portion 60 and the outer second fitting portion 61 serving as contact parts with the first shield plate 50 are arranged at positions corresponding to the inner and outer first mounting portions 12, 13 in the second contact portion 57. Thus, the first and second shield plates 50, 51 can maintain the contact state even if relative positions thereof are changed. As a result, various transmission characteristics can be easily dealt with.
Furthermore, since the second shield plates 51 include the board connecting portions 58 and the housing 10 is fixed to the circuit board 90 via the board connecting portions 58, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated member for fixing the housing 10 to the circuit board and the structure of the connector can be simplified.
The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered illustrative in all aspects, rather than restrictive.
Although each mounting portion 12 to 15 is in the form of a groove in the case of the above embodiment, each mounting portion may not be in the form of a groove as another embodiment if the shield member is mountable. For example, at least one of the outer mounting portions may be a projection projecting on the side surface of the housing or a recess provided in the side surface of the housing. In this case, the shield member may be provided with a locking structure lockable to the projection or recess.
Although the shield member 50, 51 is in the form of flat plates to be individually mountable into the respective mounting portions 12 to 15 in the case of the above embodiment, a shield member may be formed into a tubular shape to be collectively mountable into the respective mounting portions as another embodiment.
Although the mounting portions 12 to 15 are provided on the inner and outer sides of the housing 10 in the case of the above embodiment, mounting portions may be provided at three or more positions in an in-out direction of a housing (direction from a central part of the housing toward an outer side) as another embodiment.
Although the second shield plate 51 is provided with the board connecting portion 58 in the case of the above embodiment, a first shield plate may be provided with a board connecting portion or both first and second shield plates may be provided with board connecting portions as another embodiment. A shield member may include no board connecting portion.
In the case of the above embodiment, the housing 10 has a rectangular outer shape in a plan view, the longitudinal direction of the housing 10 is the first direction and the transverse direction of the housing 10 is the second direction. However, if a housing has a square outer shape in a plan view as another embodiment, a direction parallel to one side surface may be set as a first direction and a direction parallel to another side surface orthogonal to the one side surface may be set as a second direction.
Although the housing 10 has a rectangular outer shape in a plan view in the case of the above embodiment, a housing may have a circular outer shape in a plan view as another embodiment. In this case, a shield member is formed into a hollow cylindrical shape as a whole.
Although the first mode in which the shield member 50, 51 is mounted in the outer mounting portions 13, 15 and the second mode in which the shield member 50, 51 is mounted in the inner mounting portions 12, 14 are described in the case of the above embodiment, a mode in which first shield plates are mounted in outer first mounting portions and second shield plates are mounted in inner second mounting portions or a mode in which first shield plates are mounted in inner first mounting portions and second shield plates are mounted in outer second mounting portions may be, for example, adopted as another embodiment.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-111718 | Jun 2019 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2020/020877 | 5/27/2020 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2020/255648 | 12/24/2020 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6129555 | Daikuhara et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 7347721 | Kameyama | Mar 2008 | B2 |
| 20040005815 | Mizumura et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| H10-510949 | Oct 1998 | JP |
| 2006-269107 | Oct 2006 | JP |
| 2006269107 | Oct 2006 | JP |
| 2010-146776 | Jul 2010 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report dated Aug. 4, 2020 for WO 2020/255648 A1 (4 pages). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220231463 A1 | Jul 2022 | US |
