Connector suitable for connecting a pair of circuit boards arranged in parallel

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6638078
  • Patent Number
    6,638,078
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, February 26, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, October 28, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A connector having a plate-like insulator (11) formed with spaces each extending between a first surface (11a) and a second surface (11b) confronting each other in a first direction (A1), and contacts (12) each unitarily formed and mounted in the corresponding space. The insulator has a wall portion (13) that divides each of the spaces into a first space (14) and a second space (15) in a second direction (A2). Each contact has a retained portion (16) that is retained in the first space utilizing the wall portion, and a spring portion (17) extending from the retained portion, passing on the side of the first surface to bypass the wall portion and entering the second space. The spring portion has a protruding portion (27) approaching to confront the wall portion, and a contact portion (28) protruding from the second surface to the exterior of the insulator.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This application claims priority to prior application JP 2002-51894, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.




The present invention relates to a connector having an insulator and conductive contacts mounted therein and, in particular, relates to a connector that is usable upon, for example, mutually connecting two circuit boards disposed in parallel.




The insulator in this type of the connector is in the form of a plate-like member having first and second surfaces confronting each other in a first direction. The first and second surfaces are normally designed to be parallel to each other. The insulator is formed with spaces each extending between the first and second surfaces. The conductive contacts are mounted in these spaces, respectively.




In general, each contact is unitarily formed from an elastic conductive plate member by applying thereto cutting and bending processes and so forth. In the state of being mounted in the insulator, each contact has one end projected from the first surface of the insulator as a terminal portion, and the other end projected from the second surface of the insulator as a contact portion.




The connector is placed on a mount side board in the form of a circuit board with the first surface thereof confronting the mount side board, then the terminal portions of the contacts are connected to the mount side board by, for example, soldering. A connection object board in the form of another circuit board is arranged so as to confront the second surface of the connector, then is pushed toward the second surface In this manner, the contact portions of the contacts are brought into contact with the connection object board. Consequently, an electric circuit of he connection object board is connected to an electric circuit of the mount side board via the contacts.




When the connection object board is pushed toward the second surface of the insulator, the contact portion are pressed by the connection object board so that the contacts are urged. A restoring force of each contact generated in this event is transmitted not only to the contact portion but also to the terminal portion. Thus, it is possible that stress is exerted on a connecting structure, obtained by soldering or the like, between the terminal portion of the contact and the mount side board. Further, when the contact portion is pushed in a direction inclined relative to the first direction, it is possible that the contact deforms excessively in a second direction crossing the first direction, thereby to induce plastic deformation in the worst case.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore an object of he present invention to provide a connector that can prevent as much as possible a force applied to a contact portion of a contact from being transmitted to terminal portion thereof.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a connector that can prevent excessive deformation of a contact due to a force applied to a contact portion of the contact.




Other objects of the preset invention will become clear as the description proceeds.




According to one aspect o the present invention, there is provided a connector which comprises a plate-like insulator having a first and a second surface which confront each other in a first direction, and defining a space extending between the first and the second surfaces, the insulator including a wall portion dividing the space into a first space and a second space in a second direction crossing the first direction, and a conductive contact placed in the space and held by the insulator The contact includes a retained portion retained in the first space utilizing the wall portion and a spring portion extending from the retained portion, passing on the side of the first surface to bypass the wall portion and entering the second space. The spring portion includes a stopper portion approaching to confront the wall portion and a contact portion protruding from the second surface to the exterior of the insulator.




According to another aspect of the present invention, there is obtained a connector which comprises a plate-like insulator having a first and a second surface which confront each other n a first direction, and defining a plurality of spaces each extending between the first and the second surfaces, the insulator including a plurality of wall portions each dividing each of the spaces into a first space and a second space in a second direction crossing the first direction, the spaces being arranged in a third direction perpendicular to the first and the second directions, and a plurality o conductive contacts placed in the spaces, respectively, and held by the insulator. Each of the contacts includes a retained portion that is retained in the first space utilizing the wall portion and a spring portion extending from the retained portion, passing on the side of the first surface to bypass the wall portion and entering the second space. The spring portion includes a stopper portion approaching to confront the wall portion and a contact portion protruding from the second surface to the exterior of the insulator.




According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is obtained a connector comprising a contact and an insulator firmly retaining the contact, wherein the contact comprises a first U-shaped portion, a second U-shaped portion, and a third U-shaped portion, the insulator has an insert portion into which the first U-shaped portion is inserted, the first U-shaped portion and the second U-shaped portion being provided inversely from each other so as to form substantially an S shape, the third U-shaped portion extending from the second U-shaped portion to have a contact portion near an apex portion thereof for connection to a connection object, the first U-shaped portion having one end side firmly retained in the insert portion and the other end side contacting a first side of a wall portion of the insert portion, upon connection to the connection object, one end side of the second U-shaped portion, remote from the first U-shaped portion, being prevented from contacting a second side of the wall portion opposite to the first side, while upon connection to the connection object slantly relative to a connecting direction, the one end side of the second U-shaped portion contacts the second side of the wall portion, thereby to prevent an excessive displacement of the contact.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING





FIG. 1

is a plan view of a connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is an enlarged plan view showing only the main part of the connector of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a front view showing the connector of

FIG. 1

in the state wherein it is mounted on a mount side board;





FIG. 4

is a side view showing the connector of

FIG. 1

in the state wherein it is mounted on the mount side board;





FIG. 5

is a sectional view taken along line V—V of

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 6

is a sectional view similar to

FIG. 5

in the state wherein a connection object board is connected; and





FIG. 7

is a sectional view similar to

FIG. 5

in the state wherein the connection object board is under operation for connecting it in a special posture.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to

FIGS. 1

to


5


, a connector according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.




The shown connector comprises a plate-like insulator


11


and a lot of conductive contacts


12


attached to the insulator


11


. The insulator


11


has a first surface


11




a


and a second surface


11




b


mutually confronting in parallel in a first direction A


1


. The insulator


11


is formed with a lot of spaces in two lines corresponding to the contacts


12


. Each of these spaces is divided into a relatively small first space


14


and a relatively large second space


15


in a second direction A


2


perpendicular to the first direction A


1


by a wall portion


13


unitarily formed in the insulator


11


. In each line of the spaces, the first and second spaces


14


and


15


are provided alternately. Specifically, the first and second spaces


14


and


15


are arranged alternately in a third direction A


3


perpendicular to the first and second directions A


1


and A


2


.




Each contact


12


is unitarily formed from an elastic conductive plate member by applying thereto cutting and bending processes and so forth. Each contact


12


comprises a retained portion


16


that is retained in the first space


14


utilizing the wall portion


13


, and a spring portion


17


extending from the retained portion


16


. The retained portion


16


has a first U-shaped portion


18


arranged in the first space


14


serving as an insert portion.




The first U-shaped portion


18


has a press-fitted portion


19


that is press-fitted into the first space


14


, a curved portion


21


extending from the press-fitted portion


19


, and an interference portion


22


extending from the curved portion


21


. The press-fitted portion


19


is press-fitted into the first space


14


from the side of the first surface


11




a


. The wall portion


13


is formed with a convex portion or a rib


23


on the side of the first space


14


, and the rib


23


is caused to interfere with the interference portion


22


. In this manner, the retained portion


16


is firmly retained to the insulator


11


. Since the rib


23


tends to be crushed upon press-fitting of the contact


12


, contraction of the curved portion


21


upon assembling can be prevented. The contact


12


is unitarily formed with a terminal portion


24


extending from the press-fitted portion


19


to protrude from the first surface


11




a


to the exterior of the insulator


11


.




On the other hand, the spring portion


17


has a second U-shaped portion


25


extending from the first U-shaped portion


18


so as to form substantially an S shape cooperatively with the first U-shaped portion


18


. Passing on the side of the first surface


11




a


of the insulator


11


to bypass the wall portion


13


, the second U-shaped portion


25


enters the second space


15


.




A third U-shaped portion


26


extends from an end of the second U-shaped portion


25


located in the second space


15


so as to form substantially an S shape on the whole cooperatively with the second U-shaped portion


25


. The third U-shaped portion


26


has a protruding portion


27


serving as a stopper portion, which approaches to confront the wall portion


13


, a contact portion


28


protruding from the second surface


11




b


to the exterior of the insulator


11


, and a width-increased or broadened tip


29


extending from the contact portion


28


to enter the second space


15


. The insulator


11


is formed with an escape groove


31


for allowing the broadened tip


29


. The contact portion


28


of one of adjacent ones of the contacts


12


is displaced from the contact portion


28


of another of the adjacent ones of the contacts


12


in the second direction A


2


.




The connector is placed on a mount side board


32


in the form of a circuit board with the first surface


11




a


of the insulator


11


confronting the mount side board


32


. Then, the terminal portions


24


of the contacts


12


are connected to a circuit pattern (not shown) of the mount side board


32


by, for example, soldering.




As shown in

FIG. 6

, a connection object board


33


in the form of another circuit board is arranged so as to confront the second surface


11




b


of the insulator


11


, then is pushed toward the second surface


11




b


. In this manner, the contact portions


28


of the contacts


12


are brought into contact with a circuit pattern (not shown) of the connection object board


33


. Consequently, an electric circuit of the connection object board


33


is connected to an electric circuit of the mount side board


32


via the contacts


12


.




When the connection object board


33


is pushed toward the second surface


11




b


of the insulator


11


, the contact portions


28


are pressed by the connection object board


33


so that the contacts


12


are urged. A restoring force of each contact


12


generated in this event is transmitted to the contact portion


28


, but not to the terminal portion


24


because the retained portion


16


is firmly retained to the insulator


11


. Therefore, stress can be prevented as much as possible from being applied to a connecting structure, obtained by soldering or the like, between the terminal portion


24


of the contact


12


and the mount side board


32


.




Further, the displacement of the tip


29


of the contact


12


is small when the connection object board


33


is connected. Therefore, the size of the connector in the first direction A


1


can be reduced. Namely, reduction in height of the connector can be easily achieved.




On the other hand, as shown in

FIG. 7

, it may be assumed as a special case that the connection object board


33


is mounted in a direction inclined relative to the first direction A


1


. In this event, although the contact portion


28


of the contact


12


is subjected to a large force in the second direction A


2


, excessive deformation of the contact


12


, particularly the spring portion


17


, and plastic deformation caused thereby can be prevented through abutment of the protruding portion


27


of the contact


12


against the wall portion


13


. Naturally, no stress is exerted on the foregoing connecting structure.




While the present invention has thus far been described in connection with a few embodiments thereof, it will readily be possible for those skilled in the art to put this invention into practice in various other manners. For example, the stopper portion confronting the wall portion


13


may be formed as part of the second U-shaped portion


25


.



Claims
  • 1. A connector comprising:a plate-like insulator having a first and a second surface which confront each other in a first direction, and defining a space extending between said first and said second surfaces, said insulator including a wall portion dividing said space into a first space and a second space in a second direction crossing said first direction; and a conductive contact placed in said space and held by said insulator, said contact including: a retained portion retained in said first space utilizing said wall portion; and a spring portion extending from said retained portion, passing on the side of said first surface to bypass said wall portion and entering said second space, said spring portion including: a stopper portion approaching to confront said wall portion; and a contact portion protruding from said second surface to the exterior of said insulator.
  • 2. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contact includes a broadened tip extending from said contact portion to be located in said second space, said insulator having an escape groove for allowing said broadened tip.
  • 3. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retained portion includes a first U-shaped portion located in said first space, said spring portion including:a second U-shaped portion extending from said first U-shaped portion so as to form substantially an S shape cooperatively with said first U-shaped portion; and a third U-shaped portion extending from said second U-shaped portion so as to form substantially an S shape cooperatively with said second U-shaped portion, said third U-shaped portion including said stopper portion and said contact portion.
  • 4. A connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein said contact includes a terminal portion extending from said U-shaped portion to protrude from said first surface to the exterior of said insulator.
  • 5. A connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein said first U-shaped portion comprises:a press-fitted portion press-fitted into said first space; a curved portion extending from said press-fitted portion; and an interference portion extending from the curved portion, said wall portion is formed with a convex portion which is protruded towards said first space to interfere with said interference portion.
  • 6. A connector comprising:a plate-like insulator having a first and a second surface which confront each other in a first direction, and defining a plurality of spaces each extending between said first and said second surfaces, said insulator including a plurality of wall portions each dividing each of said spaces into a first space and a second space in a second direction crossing said first direction, said spaces being arranged in a third direction perpendicular to said first and said second directions; and a plurality of conductive contacts placed in said spaces, respectively, and held by said insulator, each of said contacts including: a retained portion retained in said first space utilizing said wall portion; and a spring portion extending from said retained portion, passing on the side of said first surface to bypass said wall portion and entering said second space, said spring portion including: a stopper portion approaching to confront said wall portion; and a contact portion protruding from said second surface to the exterior of said insulator.
  • 7. A connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of said contact includes a broadened tip extending from said contact portion to be located in said second space, said insulator having an escape groove for allowing said broadened tip.
  • 8. A connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein the contact portion of one of adjacent ones of said contacts is displaced from the contact portion of another of said adjacent ones in said second direction.
  • 9. A connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein said retained portion includes a first U-shaped portion located in said first space, said spring portion including:a second U-shaped portion extending from said first U-shaped portion so as to form substantially an S shape cooperatively with said first U-shaped portion; and a third U-shaped portion extending from said second U-shaped portion so as to form substantially an S shape cooperatively with said second U-shaped portion, said third U-shaped portion including said stopper portion and said contact portion.
  • 10. A connector as claim 9, wherein each of said contacts includes a terminal portion extending from said U-shaped portion to protrude from said first surface to the exterior of said insulator.
  • 11. A connector as claimed 9, in claim wherein said first U-shaped portion comprises:a press-fitted portion press-fitted into said first space; a curved portion extending from said press-fitted portion; and an interference portion extending from the curved portion, each of said wall portion being formed with a convex portion which is protruded towards said first space to interfere with said interference portion.
  • 12. A connector comprising a contact and an insulator firmly retaining said contact, wherein said contact comprises:a first U-shaped portion; a second U-shaped portion; and a third U-shaped portion, said insulator has an insert portion into which said first U-shaped portion is inserted, said first U-shaped portion and said second U-shaped portion being provided inversely from each other so as to form substantially an S shape, said, third U-shaped portion extending from said second U-shaped portion to have a contact portion near an apex portion thereof for connection to a connection object, said first U-shaped portion having one end side firmly retained in said insert portion and the other end side contacting a first side of a wall portion of said insert portion, upon connection to said connection object, one end side of said second U-shaped portion, remote from said first U-shaped portion, being prevented from contacting a second side of said wall portion opposite to said first side, while upon connection to said connection object slantly relative to a connecting direction, said one end side of said second U-shaped portion contacts said second side of said wall portion, thereby to prevent an excessive displacement of said contact.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
2002-051894 Feb 2002 JP
US Referenced Citations (4)
Number Name Date Kind
5498167 Seto et al. Mar 1996 A
5885092 Ito et al. Mar 1999 A
5975916 Okura Nov 1999 A
6039601 Kraiczyk et al. Mar 2000 A