Patent Grant
9960522
The present invention relates to a connector, particularly to a connector having a plurality of contacts and a shell.
In recent years, portable electronic devices have been widely used. Such electronic devices are made thinner and required to have an excellent waterproof function. Accordingly, connectors for use in electronic devices are also required to be thin and have waterproof properties.
In addition, to prevent transmitted electric signals from being affected by electromagnetic waves from outside, the development of connectors shielded against electromagnetic waves is in progress.
Such a connector having both waterproof properties and electromagnetic wave shielding properties is disclosed in, for instance, JP 5433776 B. This connector has the configuration in which a housing 1 made of an insulating material is molded integrally with a cylindrical shell 2 made of metal and contacts 3 for use in establishing conductive connection, as shown in
An opening 7 is formed in a casing 6 of the electronic device, and a gasket 8 is disposed along the periphery of the opening 7 to seal between an inner surface of the casing 6 and the front surface of the housing 1 of the connector.
Covering the contact sections 3A of the contacts 3 by the shell 2 brings about a shielding effect against electromagnetic waves, while molding the housing 1 integrally with the shell 2 and the contacts 3 and disposing the gasket 8 between the inner surface of the casing 6 and the front surface of the housing 1 result in preventing water from entering through the counter connector accommodating portion 4 to the inside of the electronic device where the board 5 lies.
However, there has been a problem that since the housing 1 made of an insulating material is molded so as to cover the periphery of the shell 2, the overall size of the connector, particularly, the thickness of the connector becomes large.
In addition, in an attempt to miniaturize the connector having a large number of contacts, reduction of each of the contacts in size and reduction in the arrangement pitch of the contacts are required, and it may cause deformation or misalignment of the contacts due to injection pressure of a molten resin in molding the housing.
The present invention has been made to eliminate the conventional drawback as above and is aimed at providing a thin and high-precision connector that can reduce the influence of electromagnetic waves and can improve waterproof properties.
A connector according to the present invention that is mounted on a board and that has a counter connector accommodating portion opening frontward in a fitting direction, the connector comprises:
a first insulator whose front part is located in the counter connector accommodating portion and whose rear part is located at a rear part of the counter connector accommodating portion;
a plurality of contacts that are joined to the first insulator such that front end portions of the plurality of contacts are exposed at a front part of the first insulator and rear end portions of the plurality of contacts project from the rear part of the first insulator;
a contact insulator that integrally holds the plurality of contacts in a vicinity of the rear end portions thereof;
a ground plate whose front end portion is disposed on a surface of the first insulator in the counter connector accommodating portion, and which extends along the plurality of contacts such that a rear end portion of the ground plate is disposed on a surface of the contact insulator and is connected to the board;
a peripheral shell that is made of metal, that is placed over the first insulator so as to surround a periphery of the front end portions of the plurality of contacts and the front end portion of the ground plate, and that is electrically connected to the ground plate; and a second insulator that is formed so as to cover the rear part of the first insulator, a rear part of the peripheral shell, central parts of the plurality of contacts and a central part of the ground plate, with the rear end portions of the plurality of contacts, the contact insulator and the rear end portion of the ground plate being exposed.
An embodiment of the present invention is described below based on the appended drawings.
A peripheral shell 14 in a flattened tubular shape which is made of metal and which extends along the fitting axis C is disposed so as to cover the periphery of front parts in the fitting axis C of the first contacts 12 and second contacts 13, and, inside the peripheral shell 14, a counter connector accommodating portion 14A to which a counter connector (not shown) is inserted is formed. The counter connector accommodating portion 14A accommodates a first insulator 15 made of an insulating resin, and central portions in the Y direction of the first contacts 12 and second contacts 13 are held by the first insulator 15, while a mid-plate 16 made of metal is embedded in the first insulator 15 and disposed between the first contacts 12 and the second contacts 13.
A second insulator 17 made of an insulating resin is formed so as to close a rear end portion in the fitting axis C direction of the peripheral shell 14, and a back shell 18 made of metal is disposed at the rear end portion of the second insulator 17 so as to cover back parts of the first contacts 12 and second contacts 13.
A waterproof member 19 is disposed at the periphery of the second insulator 17.
For convenience, a direction from front to back of the connector 11 along the fitting axis C is called “Y direction,” an arrangement direction of the first contacts 12 and second contacts 13 “X direction,” and a direction perpendicular to an XY plane and extending from the second contacts 13 to the first contacts 12 “Z direction.”
As shown in
A first-contact insulator 20 made of an insulating resin is formed between the fixing sections 12C and the contact-side board connecting sections 12D of the first contacts 12, and the first contacts 12 are integrally held by the first-contact insulator 20.
As shown in
A second-contact insulator 21 made of an insulating resin is formed between the fixing sections 13C and the contact-side board connecting sections 13D of the second contacts 13, and the second contacts 13 are integrally held by the second-contact insulator 21.
The contact-side waterproof shaped sections 12E and 13E are each composed of a plurality of grooves or a plurality of protrusions surrounding and enclosing the periphery of the fixing section 12C or 13 of the associated first contact 12 or second contact 13.
As illustrated in
The second insulator 17 is disposed so as to cover the rear part of the insulator body 15A. At the back part of the second insulator 17, the first-contact insulator 20 and the second-contact insulator 21 as well as the contact-side board connecting sections 12D of the first contacts 12 and the contact-side board connecting sections 13D of the second contacts 13 are exposed. The second insulator 17 is integrally formed with the fixing sections 12C of the first contacts 12 and the fixing sections 13C of the second contacts 13, whereby the first contacts 12 and the second contacts 13 are fixed to the second insulator 17.
In addition, a ground plate 22 made of metal is disposed on the surfaces facing the +Z direction of the first insulator 15 and second insulator 17. The ground plate 22 extends in the +Y direction from the surface of the insulator body 15A of the first insulator 15 so as to run over the wall-like section 15C, and a shell connecting section 22A located on the +Z directional end of the wall-like section 15C is connected to an inner surface on the +Z directional side of the peripheral shell 14.
Similarly, another ground plate 22 made of metal is disposed on the surfaces facing the −Z direction of the first insulator 15 and second insulator 17. The ground plate 22 on the −Z directional side has the same configuration as that of the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side but is reversed to the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side along the Z direction. That is, the ground plate 22 on the −Z directional side also extends in the +Y direction from the surface of the insulator body 15A of the first insulator 15 so as to run over the wall-like section 15C, and a shell connecting section 22A located on the −Z directional end of the wall-like section 15C is connected to an inner surface on the −Z directional side of the peripheral shell 14.
The ground plate 22 disposed on the surfaces facing the +Z direction of the first insulator 15 and second insulator 17 extends from the −Y direction to the +Y direction along the first contacts 12, and the +Y directional end 22B of the ground plate 22 projects rearward of the second insulator 17 to be disposed on the surface facing the +Z direction of the first-contact insulator 20 and is connected to the back shell 18.
Similarly, the other ground plate 22 disposed on the surfaces facing the −Z direction of the first insulator 15 and second insulator 17 extends from the −Y direction to the +Y direction along the second contacts 13, and the +Y directional end 22B of the other ground plate 22 projects rearward of the second insulator 17 to be disposed on the surface facing the −Z direction of the second-contact insulator 21.
In addition, the other ground plate 22 disposed on the −Z directional side projects rearward of the second insulator 17 and is provided with a recess 22C facing the −Z direction and located in front of the second-contact insulator 21 in the fitting direction, i.e., on the −Y directional side with respect to the second-contact insulator 21, and the recess 22C constitutes a second ground plate-side board connecting section that is connected to a board B on which the connector 11 is to be mounted.
Moreover, a waterproof member 19 is disposed so as to surround the periphery of a portion of the second insulator 17, which portion is located rearward in the fitting direction of, i.e., on the +Y directional side with respect to, the shell connecting sections 22A of the ground plates 22 on the +Z directional side and on the −Z directional side.
As shown in
As shown in
The +Y directional side of the raised section 22E bends toward the −Z direction, and three arm sections 22F extend therefrom in the +Y direction along the XY plane. A tip end in the +Y direction of each of the arm sections 22F constitutes a +Y directional end 22B of the ground plate 22, and a recess 22C opening toward the +Z direction is formed near the +Y directional end 22B and on the −Y directional side with respect to the +Y directional end 22B.
In addition, around a surface of a portion, on the −Y directional side with respect to the recess 22C, of each of the arm sections 22F, a ground plate-side waterproof shaped section 22G is formed to block the entry of water along the interface between the arm section 22F and the second insulator 17. The ground plate-side waterproof shaped sections 22G are each composed of a plurality of grooves or protrusions surrounding and enclosing the periphery of the associated arm section 22F.
Among the three arm sections 22F, the one located farthest in the +X direction has a mid-plate connecting section 22H coupled to a root portion of this arm section 22F, projecting from the root portion in the +X direction and in the −Z direction and extending along the XY plane. Similarly, among the three arm sections 22F, the one located farthest in the −X direction has a mid-plate connecting section 22H coupled to a root portion of this arm section 22F, projecting from the root portion in the −X direction and in the −Z direction and extending along the XY plane.
A surface facing the +Z direction of the ground plate body 22D is exposed in the counter-connector accommodating portion 14A of the peripheral shell 14 and, when the connector 11 is fitted with a counter connector, comes into contact with a grounding spring contact of the counter connector.
While the ground plate 22 disposed on the −Z directional side also has the same configuration as that of the ground plate 22 disposed on the +Z directional side shown in
As illustrated in
The tubular section 14B has a pair of flat shell outer surfaces 14H extending along the XY plane and facing opposite directions from each other, and two ground plate connecting sections 14J are provided in a central portion at the +Y directional end of each of the shell outer surface 14H facing the +Z direction and the shell outer surface 14H facing the −Z direction. The ground plate connecting sections 14J are formed through a process of thinning the thickness of a metal sheet that constitutes the tubular section 14B.
As illustrated in
In the upper surface section 18A, an opening 18F extending in the +X direction is formed.
As illustrated in
Next, a production method of the connector 11 according to the embodiment will be described.
As illustrated in
Similarly, as illustrated in
Next, the mid-plate 16 is disposed inside a mold (not shown), and a molten resin is poured into the mold, whereby the first insulator 15 in which the mid-plate 16 is embedded is formed as illustrated in
In this process, the flat plate section 16A of the mid-plate 16 is embedded in the tongue-like section 15B of the first insulator 15, while the counter connector connecting sections 16B of the mid-plate 16 are exposed from the tongue-like section 15B of the first insulator 15 toward the +X direction and the −X direction, and the pair of ground plate connecting sections 16C of the mid-plate 16 project from the rear face of the first insulator 15 in the +Y direction.
The insulator body 15A of the first insulator 15 is provided with a plurality of through-holes 15D into which the first contacts 12 and second contacts 13 are to be pressed, and on surfaces facing the +Z direction and the −Z direction of the tongue-like section 15B, formed are a plurality of contact grooves 15E that are to be connected to the associated through-holes 15D and that extend in the Y direction.
Further, in the insulator body 15A of the first insulator 15, flat surfaces 15F facing the +Z direction and the −Z direction are formed at positions corresponding to the through-holes 15D.
The wall-like section 15C of the first insulator 15 projects from the +Y directional end of the insulator body 15A in the +X and −X directions as well as in the +Z and −Z directions along the XZ plane, and projections 15G are individually formed behind the wall-like section 15C, i.e., on the +Y directional side with respect to the wall-like section 15C at the +X directional end and the −X directional end so as to project farther than the wall-like section 15C in the +Z direction and the −Z direction.
As illustrated in
The contact sections 12A of the first contacts 12 and the contact sections 13A of the second contacts 13 are inserted into the associated contact grooves 15E of the first insulator 15.
Moreover, the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side is disposed on the first insulator 15 such that the ground plate body 22D is located on the flat surface 15F on the +Z directional side of the first insulator 15, while the other ground plate 22 on the −Z directional side is disposed on the first insulator 15 such that the ground plate body 22D is located on the flat surface 15F on the −Z directional side of the first insulator 15.
In this state, the shell connecting sections 22A of the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side are located on the +Z directional end of the wall-like section 15C of the first insulator 15, and the +Y directional ends 22B of the three arm sections 22F extending in the +Y direction come into contact with the surface facing the +Z direction of the first-contact insulator 20.
Similarly, the shell connecting sections 22A of the ground plate 22 on the −Z directional side are located on the −Z directional end of the wall-like section 15C of the first insulator 15, and the +Y directional ends 22B of the three arm sections 22F extending in the +Y direction come into contact with the surface facing the −Z direction of the second-contact insulator 21.
In addition, the pair of mid-plate connecting sections 22H of the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side are individually located on surfaces facing the +Z direction of the corresponding ground plate connecting sections 16C of the mid-plate 16, while the pair of mid-plate connecting sections 22H of the ground plate 22 on the −Z directional side are individually located on surfaces facing the −Z direction of the corresponding ground plate connecting sections 16C of the mid-plate 16.
In this state, the mid-plate connecting sections 22H of the two ground plates 22 are welded to the ground plate connecting section 16C of the mid-plate 16 using, for example, laser welding, whereby the mid-plate 16 is connected to the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side and to the ground plate 22 on the −Z directional side.
Next, as illustrated in
Then, the ground plate connecting sections 14J of the peripheral shell 14 are each irradiated with, for example, a laser beam from the +Z directional side or the −Z directional side to be welded to the shell connecting sections 22A of the ground plates 22, whereby the peripheral shell 14 is connected to the ground plates 22.
Each of the +Z directional ends and the −Z directional ends of the pair of projections 15G of the first insulator 15 forms a substantially same plane with the corresponding shell outer surface 14H of the tubular section 14B of the peripheral shell 14.
Thereafter, the first insulator 15 to which the first contacts 12 and the second contacts 13 are joined, to which the pair of ground plates 22 are disposed, and over which the peripheral shell 14 is placed as above is disposed inside a mold (not shown), and a molten resin is poured into the mold, whereby the second insulator 17 that covers the rear part of the first insulator 15 and the rear part of the peripheral shell 14 is formed as illustrated in
Here, the second insulator 17 can be formed while the pair of projections 15G of the first insulator 15, the first-contact insulator 20, the second-contact insulator 21, the back shell connecting sections 14E and the projections 14F of the peripheral shell 14 hold the mold.
Since the first contacts 12 are integrally held by the first-contact insulator 20 and the second contacts 13 are integrally held by the second-contact insulator 21, the first contacts 12 and the second contacts 13 are prevented from being displaced or deformed when being applied with an injection pressure of the molten resin in the mold.
In addition, since the +Y directional ends 22B of the three arm sections 22F of the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side are disposed so as to contact with the surface facing the +Z direction of the first-contact insulator 20, while the +Y directional ends 22B of the three arm sections 22F of the ground plate 22 on the −Z directional side are disposed so as to contact with the surface facing the −Z direction of the second-contact insulator 21, the two ground plates 22 are prevented from being deformed even when being pushed by a surface of the mold and being applied with an injection pressure of the molten resin.
In the meantime, the first-contact insulator 20, the second-contact insulator 21, the +Y directional ends 22B of the arm sections 22F of the two ground plates 22 and a part of each of the back shell connecting sections 14E of the peripheral shell 14 are not covered by the second insulator 17 but are exposed.
Moreover, the second insulator 17 includes a pair of flat insulator outer surfaces 17A each of which forms a substantially same plane with the corresponding shell outer surface 14H of the peripheral shell 14, and an annular waterproof member groove 17B is provided at the periphery of the peripheral shell 14 including the insulator outer surfaces 17A.
As illustrated in
In this state, the back shell 18 is irradiated with a laser beam, whereby the upper surface section 18A of the back shell 18 is welded to the +Y directional ends 22B of the three arm sections 22F of the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side, and the pair of peripheral shell connecting sections 18C of the back shell 18 are individually welded to the back shell connecting sections 14E of the peripheral shell 14.
In this manner, the back shell 18 is connected to the ground plate 22 on the +Z directional side and the peripheral shell 14.
As illustrated in
The mid-plate 16, the pair of ground plates 22, the peripheral shell 14 and the back shell 18 are electrically connected to one another in this manner.
Furthermore, by fitting the annular waterproof member 19 into the waterproof member groove 17B provided at the periphery of the second insulator 17, the connector 11 as illustrated in
As described above, since the second insulator 17 formed so as to cover the rear part of the first insulator 15 and the rear part of the peripheral shell 14 has the pair of flat insulator outer surfaces 17A each of which forms a substantially same plane with the corresponding shell outer surface 14H of the peripheral shell 14, and the ground plates 22 are individually disposed between the peripheral shell 14 and the first contacts 12 and between the peripheral shell 14 and the second contacts 13, the thin connector 11 can be realized.
Since the first contacts 12 integrally held by the first-contact insulator 20 and the second contacts 13 integrally held by the second-contact insulator 21 are joined to the first insulator 15 in which the mid-plate 16 is embedded, and the second insulator 17 is formed with the pair of ground plates 22 and the peripheral shell 14 being disposed on the first insulator 15, the high-precision connector 11 can be formed even when a large number of small first contacts 12 and second contacts 13 are used.
In the connector 11, as illustrated in
Since the contact-side waterproof shaped sections 12E and 13E are individually formed around the surfaces of the fixing sections 12C and 13C of the first contacts 12 and second contacts 13, which fixing sections 12C and 13C are to be embedded in the second insulator 17; the ground plate-side waterproof shaped sections 22G are individually formed in the arm sections 22F of the pair of ground plates 22, which arm sections 22F are to be embedded in the second insulator 17; and the shell-side waterproof shaped sections 14G are individually formed in the pair of arm sections 14C of the peripheral shell 14, which arm sections 14C are to be embedded in the second insulator 17. Therefore, even when water enters along the surface of the first insulator 15 that is exposed in the counter connector accommodating portion 14A, water is blocked by the contact-side waterproof shaped sections 12E and 13E, the ground plate-side waterproof shaped sections 22, and the shell-side waterproof shaped sections 14Q and water is thus prevented from reaching the back part of the second insulator 17.
To improve waterproof efficiency, it is preferable for a groove or protrusion formed in the contact-side waterproof shaped sections 12E and 13E, the ground plate-side waterproof shaped sections 22G, and the shell-side waterproof shaped sections 14G to have a height difference of, for instance, not less than 0.01 mm.
As illustrated in
The ground plate connecting sections 14J of the peripheral shell 14 to be welded to the shell connecting sections 22A of the ground plate 22 are also located in front of the waterproof member 19 in the fitting direction, i.e., on the −Y directional side with respect to the waterproof member 19. Accordingly, even when water is leaked from the welded parts between the peripheral shell 14 and the ground plate 22, the entering water is blocked by the waterproof member 19 and is prevented from reaching the back part of the second insulator 17.
As illustrated in
While in the foregoing embodiment, the ground plate 22 disposed on the −Z directional side and the back shell 18 are formed as independent components and are welded and joined to each other, the present invention is not limited thereto and the ground plate 22 on the −Z directional side and the back shell 18 may be integrally formed as a single component.
While in the foregoing embodiment, the first contacts 12 and the second contacts 13 are arranged in two rows separately on both surfaces of the mid-plate 16 to face each other, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be applied to a connector in which a plurality of contacts are arranged in a single row.
The number of contacts is not limited, and it suffices if two or more contacts are joined to the first insulator.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-080758 | Apr 2015 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9608359 | Arai et al. | Mar 2017 | B2 |
| 9812809 | Arai | Nov 2017 | B2 |
| 9847595 | Tsai | Dec 2017 | B2 |
| 9853393 | Guo | Dec 2017 | B2 |
| 20150333435 | Arai et al. | Nov 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 203871583 | Oct 2014 | CN |
| 2011-124147 | Jun 2011 | JP |
| 5433776 | Mar 2014 | JP |
| 2014-186819 | Oct 2014 | JP |
| WO 2014091931 | Jun 2014 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20170346216 A1 | Nov 2017 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2016/053195 | Feb 2016 | US |
| Child | 15678832 | US |
