This application is based on Japanese Patent Application (No. 2015-175851) filed on Sep. 7, 2015 and Japanese Patent Application (No. 2016-079773) filed on Apr. 12, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a connector equipped with a plurality of terminals.
A board-mounting connector to be mounted onto a circuit board is equipped with a plurality of terminals to be inserted into a plurality of through holes in the circuit board and to be soldered to conductor patterns on the circuit board. For example, a conventional board-mounting connector (hereafter referred to as a “conventional connector”) is equipped with an aligning plate for aligning (arranging) the terminals at positions appropriate for insertion into the through holes. By virtue of this aligning plate, the respective terminals are smoothly guided to the corresponding through holes in the circuit board during mounting onto the circuit board (for example, refer to JP-A-2014-211979 and JP-B-5030159).
The above-mentioned aligning plate for positioning the terminals, however, has a plurality of positioning holes into which the terminals are inserted so as to be supported. However, if the number of the positioning holes (the density of the positioning holes) for the aligning plate becomes excessively large due to a request or the like for mounting numerous parts on a circuit board at high density (hereafter referred to as “high-density mounting”), degradation in strength and warping during molding, for example, may occur in the aligning plate, and the positioning accuracy of the terminals may be degraded in some cases.
Furthermore, for the purpose of avoiding the aligning plate from making contact (interfering) with another part (mounting component) mounted on the circuit board, the other part is disposed away from the periphery of the aligning plate (or the connector to which the aligning plate is attached). However, from the viewpoint of high-density mounting, it is desirable that the mountable region of the circuit board including the periphery of the aligning plate (or the connector) should be as wide as possible.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector characterized in that high-density mounting onto a circuit board can be made while excellent positioning accuracy is secured.
To attain the above-mentioned object, the connector according to the present invention is characterized as described in the following items (1) to (8).
(1) A connector including a housing, a plurality of terminals installed in the housing, and an aligning plate configured to be installed in the housing and having a plurality of positioning holes into which the terminals are inserted, wherein the connector is configured to be mounted on a circuit board so that the terminals inserted into the positioning holes are inserted into the through holes of the circuit board, wherein the aligning plate has a first face and a second face on the opposite side of the first face, the second face being opposed to the circuit board during mounting onto the circuit board; wherein the aligning plate has a stepped shape including a plurality of faces being different in position in the mounting direction toward the circuit board on the first face; and wherein the aligning plate has a relief section provided on the second face to avoid interference with a mounting component on the circuit board.
(2) The connector described in the above-mentioned item (1), wherein the aligning plate has a concave section serving as the relief section and is provided on the second face at the position opposed to the mounting component; and wherein the aligning plate has a convex-shaped section having the stepped shape and is provided on the first face at a position corresponding to the concave section.
(3) The connector described in the above-mentioned item (2), wherein during mounting onto the circuit board, the second face other than the concave section in the aligning plate is positioned closer to the surface of the circuit board than the upper face of the mounting component and also positioned more away from the surface of the circuit board than solder fillet sections formed around the through holes of the circuit board; and wherein during mounting onto the circuit board, the concave section of the second surface in the aligning plate is positioned more away from the circuit board than the upper face of the mounting component.
(4) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (3), wherein the aligning plate has a plate shape; wherein the stepped shape is a shape in which plural faces being different in position in the mounting direction are arranged in the width direction of the aligning plate; and wherein the positioning holes are provided in the respective faces constituting the stepped shape.
(5) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (3), wherein the aligning plate has a plate shape; wherein the stepped shape is a shape in which plural faces being different in position in the mounting direction are arranged in the depth direction orthogonal to the width direction of the aligning plate; and wherein the positioning holes are provided in the respective faces constituting the stepped shape.
(6) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (5), wherein the aligning plate has a plate shape and also has wall sections protruding from the first face along the mounting direction and extending in the width direction of the aligning plate; and wherein the positioning holes are arranged along the wall sections in the width direction of the aligning plate.
(7) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (6), wherein the aligning plate has a plate shape and also has one or more through holes; wherein the housing has one or more protruding sections protruding along the mounting direction at the positions corresponding to the through holes on the second face; and wherein each of the one or more protruding sections has a first step section having a diameter corresponding to a diameter of the through hole and a second step section having a diameter corresponding to a diameter of the mounting hole provided in the circuit board.
(8) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (7), wherein each of the positioning holes has a shape in which an opening area on the second face is smaller than an opening area on the first face and has a wall face which connects an opening edge on the first face to an opening edge on the second face or to a wall face portion in the vicinity of the opening edge on the second face and which is inclined with respect to the mounting direction.
With the connector configured as described in the above-mentioned item (1), by virtue of the stepped shape provided on the first face of the aligning plate, the strength, rigidity, etc. of the aligning plate are enhanced in comparison with the case in which the stepped shape does not exist (for example, the first face is flat). Hence, even if numerous positioning holes are provided in the aligning plate, degradation in strength and warping during molding hardly occur in comparison with the case in which the stepped shape does not exist. Furthermore, by virtue of the relief section (for example, a hollow section or the like into which the mounting component enters) provided on the second face of the aligning plate, the mounting component can be disposed closer to the mounting position of the connector (the aligning plate) on the circuit board than in the case in which the relief section does not exist. Hence, the circuit board can securely obtain a wider mountable region than in the case in which the relief section does not exist.
Therefore, with the connector having this configuration, high-density mounting onto a circuit board can be made while excellent positioning accuracy is secured.
With the connector configured as described in the above-mentioned item (2), since the concave section on the second face corresponds to the convex section on the first face, both the improvement in the strength and the like of the aligning plate and the acquisition of the relief section for the mounting component can be attained while preventing the shape of the aligning plate from becoming excessively complicated. Hence, with the connector having this configuration, high-density mounting onto the circuit board can be made while excellent positioning accuracy is secured without making the shape of the aligning plate excessively complicated.
With the connector configured as described in the above-mentioned item (3), when the connector is mounted onto the circuit board, the aligning plate can be brought close to the circuit board as much as possible while avoiding not only the interference between the aligning plate and the mounting component but also the interference between the aligning plate and the solder fillet sections. Hence, with the connector having this configuration, high-density mounting on the circuit board can be made while excellent positioning accuracy is secured and the thickness of the aligning plate (and eventually the connector) in the mounting direction is made small.
With the connector configured as described in the above-mentioned item (4), the faces being plural in number and constituting the stepped shape are arranged in the width direction of the aligning plate, and the positioning holes being plural in number are formed in the respective faces being different in position (in other words, in height) in the mounting direction. Hence, when the terminals are inserted into the positioning holes in a state in which the first face of the aligning plate is directed toward the terminals, the insertion of the terminals for the respective faces (steps) is performed sequentially starting from the positioning holes formed in the face (step) nearest to the terminals. Hence, the number of the terminals to be inserted into the positioning holes simultaneously is reduced in comparison with the case that the stepped shape does not exist on the first face (in other words, in the case that all the terminals are inserted into the positioning holes at a time). Furthermore, when some of the terminals have been inserted into the positioning holes, the remaining terminals are apt to be disposed in the vicinity of the corresponding positioning holes. Hence, the insertion operation of the terminals into the aligning plate is made easy and the time required to assemble the aligning plate on the housing can be shortened.
With the connector configured as described in the above-mentioned item (5), the faces being plural in number and constituting the stepped shape are arranged in the depth direction of the aligning plate, and the positioning holes being plural in number are formed in the respective faces being different in position (in other words, in height) in the mounting direction. Hence, in a similar way as described above, when the terminals are inserted into the positioning holes in a state in which the first face of the aligning plate is directed toward the terminals, the insertion of the terminals for the respective faces (steps) is performed sequentially starting from the positioning holes formed in the face (step) nearest to the terminals. Hence, the number of the terminals to be inserted into the positioning holes simultaneously can be reduced in comparison with the case that the stepped shape does not exist on the first face (in other words, in the case that all the terminals are inserted into the positioning holes at a time). Furthermore, when some of the terminals have been inserted into the positioning holes, the remaining terminals are apt to be disposed in the vicinity of the corresponding positioning holes. Hence, the insertion operation of the terminals into the aligning plate is made easy and the time required to assemble the aligning plate on the housing can be shortened.
With the connector configured as described in the above-mentioned item (6), the positioning holes are arranged along the wall sections extending in the width direction of the first face. Hence, when the terminals are inserted into the positioning holes in a state in which the first face is directed toward the terminals, the terminals can be guided to the positioning holes by sliding the terminals toward the positioning holes along the side faces of the wall sections while maintaining the aligning plate in a tilted state. Hence, the insertion operation of the terminals into the aligning plate is made easy and the time required to assemble the aligning plate on the housing can be shortened in comparison with the case in which these wall sections do not exist.
With the connector configured as described in the above-mentioned item (7), when the connector is mounted on the circuit board, the protruding section formed on the housing can be passed through the through hole formed in the aligning plate and then inserted into the mounting hole formed in the circuit board. Hence, the housing, the aligning plate and the circuit board are fixed to one another by using the engaging structure (the protruding section) common to them. Hence, the connector can be made compact and the cost of the connector can be reduced in comparison with the case in which the housing, the aligning plate and the circuit board are fixed using separated engaging structures. Furthermore, since assembling errors can be made small, the positional displacement between the through hole of the circuit board and the terminal can be reduced, and the work for mounting the connector is made easy.
With the connector configured as described in the above-mentioned item (8), the wall face (the inner wall face) of the positioning hole is an inclined face extending from the opening edge of the first face to the opening edge (or the vicinity thereof) of the second face. Hence, in comparison with the conventional connectors and the like, the inclination angle of the wall face of the positioning hole with respect to the mounting direction of the connector can be minimized (or substantially minimized) without changing the opening areas of the positioning hole on the first face and the second face (in other words, without significantly changing the entire structure of the aligning plate). When the terminal is inserted into the positioning hole, as the inclination angle of the wall face of the positioning hole is smaller, the friction force between the tip end of the terminal and the wall face of the positioning hole can be made smaller. Hence, with the connector having this configuration, the aligning plate can be easily assembled with the terminals (and eventually with the housing), and assembling workability can be improved. In particular, this easiness of the assembling work contributes to the improvement in the workability more greatly as the number of the terminal is larger (because the problem in which the total of the friction forces becomes excessive and the assembling work itself of the aligning plate becomes impossible can be prevented).
In view of minimizing the inclination angle of the wall face of the positioning hole, it is preferable that the wall face (the inner wall face) of the positioning hole should be an inclined face extending from the opening edge of the first face to the opening edge of the second face (in other words, the wall face of the positioning hole should be wholly inclined with respect to the mounting direction). On the other hand, in view of enhancing the positioning accuracy by preventing the deformation (in particular, the scraping of the opening edge of the second face and the like) of the wall face of the positioning hole due to the contact between the wall face and the terminal, it is preferable that the wall face (the inner wall face) of the positioning hole should be an inclined face extending from the opening edge of the first face to the vicinity of the opening edge of the second face (in other words, an uninclined wall face slightly exists in the vicinity of the opening edge of the second face).
The present invention can provide a connector characterized in that high-density mounting onto a circuit board can be made while excellent positioning accuracy is secured.
The present invention has been described above briefly. Moreover, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the descriptions of the modes (hereafter referred to as “embodiments”) for embodying the invention to be described below by referring to the accompanying drawings.
Connectors according to embodiments (first to fifth embodiments) of the present invention will be described below referring to the accompanying drawings.
First, a connector according to a first embodiment will be described below.
As shown in
The housing 21 is formed of resin (for example, molded by injection molding). The housing 21 has a terminal holding section 22 and two hood sections 23. The terminal holding section 22 has a plurality of press-fitting holes 24. The connection terminal section 31a (described later) of a terminal 31 is press-fitted into the press-fitting hole 24 from behind. The hood section 23 is formed into a squarely cylindrical shape, and the housing of the mating connector is fitted into the hood section 23.
An upper face plate 25 for covering the upper portions of the plurality of terminals 31 and side face plates 26 for covering both sides of the plurality of terminals 31 are provided on the rear side of the terminal holding section 22. Each of the side face plates 26 has a plate fixing face 27 in the vicinity of the bottom face 21a of the housing 21 on each side of the inner faces thereof opposed to each other. Both sides of the aligning plate 41 are fixed to the plate fixing faces 27. A fitting concave section (not shown) is formed on the lower face side of the plate fixing face 27.
The terminal 31 is made of a conductive metal material, such as copper or copper alloy, and is formed into a rod shape. The terminal 31 is formed into a quadrilateral shape in cross section. In this embodiment, the terminal 31 is formed into a square shape in cross section. One end side of the terminal 31 is the connection terminal section 31a, and the other end side thereof is a mounting terminal section 31b. The terminal 31 is bent into an L-shape in side view, and the mounting terminal section 31b is extended in the direction orthogonal to the connection terminal sections 31a.
The connection terminal section 31a of the terminal 31 is press-fitted into the press-fitting hole 24 formed in the terminal holding section 22 of the housing 21 from the rear side of the housing 21 in a state in which the mounting terminal section 31b is directed toward the bottom face 21a of the housing 21. Hence, the connection terminal section 31a of the terminal 31 is disposed inside the hood section 23, and the mounting terminal section 31b is protruded below the bottom face 21a of the housing 21. The connection terminal sections 31a of the terminals 31 are arranged in the front-rear and left-right directions (the up-down direction and the width direction) inside the hood section 23 of the housing 21. The mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are arranged in the front-rear and left-right directions (the depth direction and the width direction) of the housing 21. The end sections of the connection terminal sections 31a of the terminals 31 are disposed in the same plane, and the end sections of the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are also disposed in the same plane. These terminals 31 may be integrated with the terminal holding section 22 of the housing 21 by insert molding when the housing 21 is molded.
The terminals 31 are divided into two terminal groups 32 constituting the two joint sections 12. The two joint sections 12 are provided with a space therebetween. Hence, a gap G is also formed between the terminal groups 32 respectively constituting the joint sections 12.
The aligning plate 41 is formed of resin and is also formed into a narrow flat plate shape. The aligning plate 41 is fixed to the plate fixing faces 27 on the side of the bottom face 21a of the housing 21. Furthermore, the aligning plate 41 is disposed along the bottom face 21a of the housing 21 in a state of being installed on the housing 21.
As shown in
The aligning plate 41 has a convex-shaped section 51 protruding to the mounting side of the housing 21 at the central portion thereof in the longitudinal direction. In other words, the aligning plate 41 has a stepped shape including a plurality of faces (the upper face of the convex-shaped portion and the upper faces of the portions other than the convex-shaped portion) being different in position in the mounting direction (the up-down direction in
Both sides of the convex-shaped section 51 are used as positioning sections 52. The convex-shaped section 51 is formed into a concave-convex shape having side wall sections 53 protruding toward the housing 21 and an upper wall section 54 for connecting the end sections of the side wall sections 53 on the side of the housing 21. By the formation of the convex-shaped section 51 on the aligning plate 41, a concave section 55 (a relief section) serving as a relief section for avoiding interference with a mounting component P on the circuit board 1 is formed on the mounting side (the second face) of the aligning plate 41 toward the circuit board 1. When the housing 21 is attached to the aligning plate 41, the convex-shaped section 51 is disposed in the gap G formed between the terminal groups 32.
As shown in
Guide sections 62 gradually narrowing forward in the insertion direction of the mounting terminal section 31b of the terminal 31 are formed on one edge section of the positioning hole 61 into which the mounting terminal section 31b of the terminal 31 is inserted. When the mounting terminal section 31b of the terminal 31 to be inserted into the positioning hole 61 makes contact with the guide sections 62, the guide sections 62 guide the mounting terminal section 31b of the terminal 31 to the center of the positioning hole 61. As a result, the mounting terminal section 31b of the terminal 31 is guided to the positioning hole 61.
The positioning holes 61 are formed in almost the entire region of the positioning section 52 except for both ends thereof. Furthermore, as shown in
In order that the aligning plate 41 is assembled with the housing 21, the press-fitting convex sections 40 of the aligning plate 41 are brought close to the housing 21, and the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are inserted into the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41. The press-fitting convex sections 40 of the aligning plate 41 are then press-fitted into the fitting concave sections of the plate fixing faces 27 of the housing 21. Hence, the aligning plate 41 is positioned with respect to the housing 21 and fixed to the plate fixing faces 27. In addition, when the aligning plate 41 is assembled with the housing 21, the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 inserted into the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41 are positioned, and the tip end sections thereof are protruded from the aligning plate 41.
When the aligning plate 41 is assembled with the housing 21 as described above, the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are positioned by the positioning holes 61. Hence, when the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are inserted into the positioning holes 61, the tilt thereof is corrected, whereby the mounting terminal sections 31b are arranged accurately so as to have the same arrangement as that of the through holes 2 of the circuit board 1.
Still further, with the connector 11A in which the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are arranged accurately by the aligning plate 41, the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 can be inserted smoothly into the through holes 2 of the circuit board 1.
As shown in
The housings of mating connectors are fitted into the respective hood sections 23 of the housing 21 of the connector 11A in which the mounting terminal sections 31b are inserted into the through holes 2 of the circuit board 1 and soldered to the conductor patterns of the circuit board 1, whereby the mating connectors are joined to the respective joint sections 12. As a result, the connection terminal sections 31a of the terminals 31 of the connector 11A are connected to the female terminals of the mating connectors, whereby the female terminals of the mating connectors are conducted to the conductor patterns of the circuit board 1.
As described above, with the connector 11A according to the first embodiment, the aligning plate 41 having the plurality of positioning holes 61 and thereby being apt to be low in strength and to be warped during molding can be enhanced in strength by forming the convex-shaped section 51 and can be suppressed from being warped during molding. Hence, when the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are inserted into the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41, the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are positioned and arranged accurately.
Also in the case of a connector equipped with a planar aligning plate 41 not having the convex-shaped section 51, the interference between the mounting component P and the aligning plate 41 can be avoided by placing the aligning plate 41 at a high position and by increasing the distance between the aligning plate 41 and the circuit board 1.
However, in the case that the aligning plate 41 is placed at such a high position, the lengths of the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 protruding from the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41 become long, and the positioning accuracy of the terminals 31 is degraded. In particular, in a structure equipped with multistage terminals 31 having connection terminal sections 31a being bent and extending sideward, when the aligning plate 41 is placed at the high position, it is difficult to insert the terminals 31 having the connection terminal sections 31a disposed at the lowest stage into the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41. Furthermore, even if the aligning plate 41 is placed at the high position, in order that the terminals 31 having the connection terminal sections 31a disposed at the lowest stage can be inserted into the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41, the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are required to be made long, whereby the connector cannot be made low in profile.
On the other hand, in the case of the connector 11A according to the first embodiment, since the aligning plate 41 is provided with the convex-shaped section 51 protruding to the opposite side of the mounting side toward the circuit board 1 and having the concave section 55 on the mounting side toward the circuit board 1, when the aligning plate 41 is mounted on the circuit board 1, the mounting space S is formed between the concave section 55 of the convex-shaped section 51 of the aligning plate 41 and the circuit board 1. Hence, the mounting component P can be mounted onto the circuit board 1 so as to be disposed in the mounting space S. In other words, the mounting density on the circuit board 1 can be enhanced, and the terminals 31 can be positioned properly while the interference between the mounting component P and the aligning plate 41 is avoided and the connector is made low in profile.
In addition, in the region of the aligning plate 41 opposed to the arrangement position of the mounting component P on the circuit board 1, the interference between the aligning plate 41 and the mounting component P can be prevented, and in regions other than the region opposed to the arrangement position of the mounting component P on the circuit board 1, the interference between the aligning plate 41 and the solder fillet sections F on the through holes 2 can be prevented while the height of the connector is suppressed.
Furthermore, since the positioning holes 61 are also formed in the side wall sections 53 for forming the convex-shaped section 51, the region for positioning the terminals 31 using the positioning holes 61 in the aligning plate 41 can be securely obtained as large as possible. Hence, the aligning plate 41 provided with the convex-shaped section 51 can be suppressed from being enlarged. In particular, even in the case that the through holes 2 are formed in the vicinity of the mounting component P mounted in the mounting space S between the concave section 55 of the convex-shaped section 51 and the circuit board 1, the interference between the mounting component P and the aligning plate 41 can be avoided, and the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 can be inserted into the through holes 2 formed in the vicinity of the mounting component P.
Moreover, since the convex-shaped section 51 is formed in the gap G between the terminal groups 32 in which the terminals 31 are not required to be positioned, the strength of the aligning plate 41 can be enhanced and the mounting density on the circuit board 1 can be improved while the space is utilized effectively.
Next, a connector according to a second embodiment will be described referring to
The connector according to the second embodiment differs from the connector according to the first embodiment mainly in the aligning plate. Hence, the aligning plate 41 of the connector according to the second embodiment will be mainly described below. For convenience of explanation, the face (first face) of the aligning plate 41 on the opposite side of the mounting side toward the circuit board 1 is referred to as an “upper face” and the face (the second face) of the aligning plate 41 on the mounting side toward the circuit board 1 is referred to as a “lower face” (the same applies to other embodiments to be described below).
As shown in
The thickness values of the portions respectively corresponding to the upper step face 71, the intermediate step face 72 and the lower step face 73 of the aligning plate 41 are almost equal. In other words, on the lower face of the aligning plate 41, a concave section 76 having a plurality of steps is formed so as to follow the convex shape having the plurality of steps on the upper face of the aligning plate 41. This concave section 76 can function as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1.
In this aligning plate 41, the positioning holes 61 are formed in the regions including all the faces, that is, the upper step face 71, the intermediate step faces 72 and the lower step faces 73. More specifically, the positioning holes 61 are formed only in the vicinity of both end sections of the upper step face 71 in the width direction and also formed in all the regions of the intermediate step faces 72 and the lower step faces 73.
A pair of engaging sections 77 to be engaged with the above-mentioned plate fixing faces 27 (refer to
With the aligning plate 41 according to the second embodiment, the aligning plate 41 having the plurality of positioning holes 61 and thereby being apt to be low in strength and to be warped during molding can be enhanced in strength by providing the step sections 74 and 75 along the depth direction on the upper face and can be suppressed from being warped during molding. Furthermore, the concave section 76 provided on the lower face thereof can be used to function as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1.
Moreover, the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41 are formed in the regions on the upper face including the plurality of faces (the upper step face 71, the intermediate step faces 72 and the lower step faces 73) being different in height. Hence, in a state in which the upper face of the aligning plate 41 is directed toward the terminals 31, when the terminals 31 are inserted into the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41, the terminals 31 are inserted sequentially, step by step, from the terminals 31 located at the position corresponding to the uppermost step (the upper step face 71) to the terminals 31 located at the position corresponding to the lowermost steps (the lower step faces 73). Hence, the number of the terminals 31 to be inserted at a time is less than the number in a configuration in which the upper face has no step (in other words, all the terminals are inserted into the positioning holes 61 at a time). What's more, when some of the terminals 31 have been inserted into the positioning holes 61, the remaining terminals 31 are apt to be disposed in the vicinity of the positions corresponding to the positioning holes 61 into which the terminals 31 are supposed to be inserted subsequently. For this reason, the insertion operation of the terminals 31 into the aligning plate 41 is made easy and the assembly time can be shortened.
Although the aligning plate 41 has the plurality of faces having three steps being different in height and parallel to one another in the second embodiment, the aligning plate 41 may have a plurality of faces being different in height in two or four or more steps and parallel to one another. In addition, the number of the terminals 31 to be inserted into the positioning holes 61 at a time can be changed arbitrarily for each step by changing the number of the positioning holes 61 provided for each step.
Next, a connector according to a third embodiment will be described referring to
As shown in
As understood referring to
On the upper face of this aligning plate 41, the positioning holes 61 are formed in the regions including all the faces, that is, the upper step face 81, the intermediate step face 82 and the lower step face 83. More specifically, the positioning holes 61 are formed in all the regions of the step faces except for their central sections in the width direction as viewed from above.
A pair of engaging sections 87 to be engaged with the above-mentioned plate fixing faces 27 (refer to
With the aligning plate 41 according to the third embodiment, the aligning plate 41 having the plurality of positioning holes 61 and thereby being apt to be low in strength and to be warped during molding can be enhanced in strength by providing the step sections 84 and 85 along the width direction on the upper face and can be suppressed from being warped during molding. Furthermore, the concave section 86 provided on the lower face thereof can be used to function as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1.
Moreover, the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41 are formed in the regions on the upper face including the plurality of faces (the upper step face 81, the intermediate step face 82 and the lower step face 83) being different in height. Hence, in a state in which the upper face of the aligning plate 41 is directed toward the terminals 31, when the terminals 31 are inserted into the positioning holes 61 of the aligning plate 41, the terminals 31 are inserted sequentially, step by step, from the terminals 31 located at the position corresponding to the uppermost step (the upper step face 81) to the terminals 31 located at the position corresponding to the lowermost step (the lower step face 83). Hence, the number of the terminals 31 to be inserted at a time is less than the number in a configuration in which the upper face has no step (in other words, all the terminals are inserted at a time). What's more, when some of the terminals 31 have been inserted into the positioning holes 61, the remaining terminals 31 are apt to be disposed in the vicinity of the positions corresponding to the positioning holes 61 into which the terminals 31 are supposed to be inserted subsequently. For this reason, the insertion operation of the terminals 31 into the aligning plate 41 is made easy and the assembly time can be shortened.
As shown in
Because of this difference, on the lower face of the aligning plate 41, a continuously concave section 86 is formed at the portions corresponding to the upper step face 81 and the intermediate step face 82 as viewed from above. In other words, the capacity of the concave section 86 is larger than that in the third embodiment. This concave section 86 can function as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1.
As shown in
In this aligning plate 41, the thickness value of the portion corresponding to the fourth face 88 is almost equal to that of the lower step face 83. As a result, on the lower face of the aligning plate 41, a continuously concave section 86 is formed at the portions corresponding to the upper step face 81, the intermediate step face 82 and the fourth face 88 as viewed from above. In other words, the capacity of the concave section 86 is larger than that in the first modification of the third embodiment. This concave section 86 can function as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1.
As shown in
In this aligning plate 41, the thickness value of the portion corresponding to the fourth face 88 is almost equal to that of the lower step face 83, and the thickness value of the portion corresponding to the fifth face 91 is almost equal to that of the intermediate step face 82. As a result, on the lower face of the aligning plate 41, a continuously concave section 86 is formed at the portions corresponding to the upper step face 81, the fourth face 88 and the fifth face 91 as viewed from above. In other words, the capacity of the concave section 86 is larger than that in the third embodiment. This concave section 86 can function as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1.
As shown in
Because of this difference, the lower face of the aligning plate 41 is flat over the whole region, and as a result, no concave section is formed. In other words, a portion capable of functioning as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1 does not exist.
In the third embodiment and the modifications thereof, although the aligning plate 41 has a plurality of faces having three steps being different in height and parallel to one another on the upper face, the aligning plate 41 may have a plurality of faces being different in height in two or four or more steps and parallel to one another. Furthermore, the number of the terminals 31 to be inserted into the positioning holes 61 at a time can be changed arbitrarily for each step by changing the number of the positioning holes 61 provided for each step.
Next, a connector according to a fourth embodiment will be described referring to
As shown in
The thickness value of the portion corresponding to the upper step face 94 is almost equal to that of the portion corresponding to the lower step face 93. As a result, on the lower face (the second face) of the aligning plate 41, a concave section 101 is formed at the portion corresponding to the upper step face 94 as viewed from above. This concave section 101 can function as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1.
This aligning plate 41 is provided with a plurality of positioning holes 61 at a plurality of respective positions (four positions in this embodiment) in the depth direction so as to be parallel in the width direction. Furthermore, on the upper face of the aligning plate 41, at the plurality of respective positions in the depth direction, wall sections 96 to 99, protruding upward continuously from the respective openings of the plurality of positioning holes 61 arranged in the width direction and extending in the width direction, are formed sequentially from the depth side to the front side in the depth direction. In other words, the positioning holes 61 are arranged along the wall sections 96 to 99 in the width direction of the aligning plate 41. Moreover, the protruding heights of the wall sections 96 to 99 are high in order of the wall sections 96, 97, 98 and 99.
A pair of engaging sections 102 to be engaged with the above-mentioned plate fixing faces 27 (refer to
With the aligning plate 41 according to the fourth embodiment, the aligning plate 41 having the plurality of positioning holes 61 and thereby being apt to be low in strength and to be warped during molding can be enhanced in strength by providing the step sections 95 along the depth direction on the upper face and can be suppressed from being warped during molding. Furthermore, the concave section 101 provided on the lower face thereof can be used to function as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1.
Furthermore, as shown in
More specifically, as shown in
This operation for holding the tip ends of the terminals 31 at each wall section is also performed by the wall sections 98 and 99 sequentially. When the operations for holding the tip ends of the terminals 31 at all the wall sections 96 to 99 are completed, all the terminals 31 are then inserted into the positioning holes 61 at a time while being slid toward the positioning holes 61 along the respective side faces of the wall sections 96 to 99. For this reason, the insertion operation of the terminals 31 into the aligning plate 41 is made easy and the assembly time can be shortened.
Because of this difference, the lower face of the aligning plate 41 is flat over the whole region, and as a result, no concave section is formed. In other words, a portion capable of functioning as a “relief section” for avoiding interference with the mounting component P on the circuit board 1 during mounting onto the circuit board 1 does not exist.
In the fourth embodiment, on the upper face of the aligning plate 41, the positioning holes 61 and the wall sections corresponding thereto are provided at respective three positions in the depth direction. However, the positioning holes 61 and the wall section may be provided at only one position in the depth direction, or the positioning holes 61 and the wall sections may be provided at respective four or more positions in the depth direction.
Next, a connector according to a fifth embodiment will be described referring to
In the engaging structure for fixing the circuit board 1, the housing 21 and the aligning plate 41, the through holes 41a to which the protruding sections 103 (detailed later) formed on the housing 21 are press-fitted are formed in the aligning plate 41 according to this embodiment. The positions and the number of the through holes 41a are not limited in particular and are determined in consideration of the shape of the housing 21, the layout of the circuit board 1 onto which the aligning plate 41 is mounted, the required strength of the fixing, etc.
For example, as shown in
The protruding section 103 (refer to
On the other hand, as shown in
Since the protruding section 103 passes through the corresponding through hole 41a of the aligning plate 41 as described above and is engaged with a corresponding mounting hole 1a (a through hole in this embodiment) formed in the circuit board 1, the aligning plate 41 and the circuit board 1 are fixed to the housing 21.
As shown in
The convex sections 104a of the first step section 104 are press-fitted into the through hole 41a of the aligning plate 41, and the convex sections 105a of the second step section 105 are press-fitted into the through hole 1a of the circuit board 1, whereby the aligning plate 41 and the circuit board 1 can be fixed firmly to the housing 21.
With the engaging structure according to the fifth embodiment, the aligning plate 41 and the circuit board 1 can be fixed to the housing 21 by using the engaging structure common to the aligning plate 41 and the circuit board 1. Hence, the connector can be made compact and the cost of the connector can be reduced in comparison with a configuration in which the aligning plate 41 and the circuit board 1 are fixed to the housing 21 using separated engaging structures. Furthermore, since assembling errors can be made small, the positional displacement between the through hole of the circuit board and the terminal can be reduced, and the work for mounting the connector is made easy.
Next, a connector according to a modification of the fifth embodiment will be described referring to
More specifically, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
With the engaging structure according to this modification, the single protruding section 103 is used to fix the plurality of members (the housing 21, the aligning plate 41, the circuit board 1 and the lower case 202). Hence, the assembling errors of the respective members are made small in comparison with the case in which the members are fixed using, for example, a plurality of (separated) engaging sections. As a result, the positional displacement between the through hole 2 of the circuit board and the terminal 31 can be made small, whereby the work for mounting the connector 11A on the circuit board 1 is made easy. Moreover, the number of the engaging sections can be reduced in comparison with the case in which the members are fixed using, for example, a plurality of engaging sections, whereby the connector 11A can be made more compact and the manufacturing cost of the connector 11A can be reduced.
As shown in
Even such an aligning plate 41 having no “relief section” as described above can also be applied to the engaging structures (more specifically, the engaging structure composed of the protruding section 103 provided on the housing 21, the through hole 41a provided in the aligning plate 41 and the mounting hole 1a provided in the circuit board 1; and the engaging structure having the mounting groove 202b of the case 200 additionally provided for the above-mentioned engaging structure) according to the fifth embodiment and the modification of the fifth embodiment.
Next, a connector according to a sixth embodiment will be described referring to
As shown in
As shown in
The shape of the positioning hole 61 will be described below. First, the opening area on the second side face 41c (the opening area of the opening section 61b) is smaller than the opening area on the first side face 41b (the opening area of the opening section 61a). Furthermore, the wall face 61c of the positioning hole 61 connects the opening edge on the first side face 41b (the opening edge of the opening section 61a) to the opening edge on the second side face 41c (the opening edge of the opening section 61b) and is inclined with respect to the mounting direction (the up-down direction in
On the other hand, as shown in
Conversely, the inclination angle θ (refer to
As shown in
The aligning plate 41 can be easily assembled with the terminals 31 (and eventually with the housing 21) by virtue of the above-mentioned reduction in friction force. As a result, assembling workability can be improved. In particular, this easiness of the assembling work contributes to the improvement in the workability more greatly as the number of the terminals 31 is larger (because the problem in which the total of the friction forces becomes excessive and the assembling work itself of the aligning plate 41 becomes impossible can be prevented).
Moreover, as understood from the above explanation, as in the example shown in
Next, a connector according to a fourth reference example will be described. The same components as those according to the first embodiment are designated by the same numerals and their descriptions are omitted.
As shown in
In the housing 21, slide grooves 28 extending in the up-down direction are formed on the sides of the inner faces opposed to the side plates 26 for covering both sides of the terminals 31.
As shown in
The aligning plate 41 is mounted on the housing 21 in a state in which the engaging protrusions 42 are engaged with the slide grooves 28 of the housing 21. Hence, the aligning plate 41 is supported so as to be movable in the up-down direction with respect to the housing 21. The aligning plate 41 is moved in the up-down direction between the terminal protection position disposed at the lower ends of the slide grooves 28 and the terminal mounting position disposed at the upper ends of the slide grooves 28. Furthermore, the housing 21 is provided with locking sections (not shown) such as pawls in the slide grooves 28. The locking sections are used to lock the aligning plate 41 having been moved to the terminal mounting position, thereby holding the aligning plate 41 at the terminal mounting position without causing rattling.
As shown in
As shown in
In the case that the connector 11B according to the fourth reference example is mounted on the circuit board 1, the connector 11B in which the aligning plate 41 is disposed at the terminal protection position is brought close to the connector mounting position on the circuit board 1 from above and is mounted thereon (refer to
Next, the housing 21 is pushed toward the circuit board 1 while the positions of the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are aligned with those of the through holes 2 of the circuit board 1. Then, as shown in
The mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 having been inserted into the through holes 2 are then soldered. Since the aligning plate 41 is disposed so as to have a space between the aligning plate and the circuit board 1 at this time, the aligning plate 41 does not interfere with the solder fillet sections F rising from the surface of the circuit board 1.
In the case of the connector 11B according to the fourth reference example described above, since the side wall sections 43 are provided at both ends so that the aligning plate 41 is formed into a convex shape, the strength of the aligning plate 41 can be raised easily, whereby the aligning plate 41 can be suppressed from being warped during molding. Furthermore, the mounting component P can be mounted onto the circuit board 1 so that the mounting component P is disposed in the mounting space S between the circuit board 1 and the concave section 44 on the mounting side of the aligning plate 41 toward the circuit board 1.
Moreover, since the aligning plate 41 is disposed at the terminal protection position, the peripheries of the tip end portions of the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 are enclosed and protected by the aligning plate 41, whereby external impact, for example, caused due to interference with other parts, etc. can be suppressed. What's more, since the housing 21 is brought close to the circuit board 1, the side wall sections 43 of the aligning plate 41 are made contact with the circuit board 1, and the aligning plate 41 is disposed at the terminal mounting position, the tip end portions of the mounting terminal sections 31b of the terminals 31 can be protruded beyond the concave section 44 to the mounting side of the aligning plate 41 toward the circuit board 1 and can be inserted into the through holes 2.
As a result, the aligning plate 41 can be smoothly mounted onto the circuit board 1 while damages such as deformation of the terminals 31 are prevented before the mounting of the aligning plate 41 onto the circuit board 1.
Also in the fourth reference example, as shown in
Still further, when the aligning plate 41 is mounted on the circuit board 1, the height of the mounting space S at the central portion of the aligning plate 41 in the longitudinal direction can be made larger, and the interference with the mounting component P disposed in the mounting space S can be avoided more securely.
However, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned respective embodiments, but various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be modified or improved as necessary. In addition, the materials, shapes, dimensions, quantities, arrangement positions, etc. of the respective components in the above-mentioned embodiments may be arbitrary and not limited, provided that the present invention can be achieved.
The characteristics of the connector according to the embodiments of the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed in the following items (1) to (8).
(1) There is provided a connector including: a housing (21), a plurality of terminals (31) installed in the housing, and an aligning plate (41) configured to be installed in the housing and having a plurality of positioning holes (61) into which the terminals are inserted, wherein the connector is configured to be mounted on a circuit board (1) so that the terminals inserted into the positioning holes are inserted into the through holes (2) of the circuit board; wherein the aligning plate has a first face and a second face on the opposite side of the first face, the second face being opposed to the circuit board during mounting onto the circuit board; wherein the aligning plate (41) has a stepped shape including a plurality of faces (51 and 61) being different in position in the mounting direction (the up-down direction in
(2) The connector described in the above-mentioned item (1), wherein the aligning plate (41) has a concave section (55) serving as the relief section and is provided on the second face (the lower face) at the position opposed to the mounting component; and wherein the aligning plate has a convex-shaped section (51) having the stepped shape and is provided on the first face (the upper face) at a position corresponding to the concave section.
(3) The connector described in the above-mentioned item (2), wherein during mounting onto the circuit board (1), the second face (the lower faces of 52) other than the concave section (55) in the aligning plate is positioned closer to the surface of the circuit board (1) than the upper face of the mounting component (P) and also positioned more away from the surface of the circuit board than solder fillet sections (F) formed around the through holes (2) of the circuit board; and wherein during mounting onto the circuit board (1), the concave section (55) of the second surface in the aligning plate is positioned more away from the circuit board (1) than the upper face of the mounting component (P).
(4) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (3), wherein the aligning plate (41) has a plate shape; wherein the stepped shape is a shape in which plural faces (71 to 73) being different in position in the mounting direction (the up-down direction in
(5) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (3), wherein the aligning plate (41) has a plate shape; wherein the stepped shape is a shape in which plural faces (81 to 83) being different in position in the mounting direction (the up-down direction in
(6) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (5), wherein the aligning plate (41) has a plate shape and also has wall sections (96 to 99) protruding from the first face (the upper face) along the mounting direction (the up-down direction in
(7) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (6), wherein the aligning plate (41) has a plate shape and also has one or more through holes (41a); wherein the housing (21) has one or more protruding sections (103) protruding along the mounting direction (the up-down direction in
(8) The connector described in any one of the above-mentioned items (1) to (7), wherein each of the positioning holes (61) has a shape in which an opening area on the second face (41c) is smaller than an opening area on the first face (41b) and in which a wall face (61c) connects an opening edge (the opening edge of 61a) on the first face to an opening edge (the opening edge of 61b) on the second face or to a wall face (61d) in the vicinity of the opening edge on the second face and which is inclined with respect to the mounting direction (the up-down direction in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2015-175851 | Sep 2015 | JP | national |
2016-079773 | Apr 2016 | JP | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20170069984 A1 | Mar 2017 | US |