JP3312481B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a socket-type electrical connector mounted on electronic equipment such as a personal computer, and more particularly, to a spring latch for locking a plug of a connection partner when the plug is mounted. For those with.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 5 and 6 show a socket type electrical connector provided with a spring latch for locking a plug to be connected when the plug is mounted. ing.

The electrical connector 1 shown in FIG. 5 is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 3100 in 1988 and has been disclosed in the art, and has a concave portion (not shown) formed in a housing of electronic equipment. The mold base 3 is provided with a connection port 3a to which a mating plug is mounted, and a screw 7 is provided so as to cover a portion of the mold base 3 other than the connection port 3a on the front surface. And a pair of latch support pieces 9 arranged on both sides (only one side in the figure) of the connection opening 3a in the mold base 3 and the front surface 4 of the shell 5 fixed by A substantially Ω-shaped spring latch 12 swingably supported by the latch support piece 9.
A plurality of contact pins 6 are juxtaposed in a predetermined manner inside the mold base 3.

The latch support piece 9 is formed by bending the end of the shell 5 and forms a pair of lower sides 12a of the spring latch 12 on the side of the electrical connector 1 where the lower side 12a is loosely inserted. A C-shaped support 9a extending in the end direction;
A stopper portion 9b which is bent inward from one side end of the C-shaped shaft support portion 9a so as to receive the spring latch 12 so as to regulate the outward swinging position of the spring latch 12; ing.

The spring latch 12 is provided with elasticity in a direction in which its lower opening is expanded, and is capable of swinging in the left-right direction with respect to the C-shaped shaft support 9a, and has the C-shaped. The electric connector 1 is supported by the shaft support 9a.
It is attached in a state of being biased toward the side end of.

Accordingly, in the electric connector 1 having such a configuration, when the plug of the connection partner is not mounted on the connection port 3a, the spring latch 12 causes the U-shaped portion 12b to move to the stopper portion 9b by the urging force. When the plug is set in the locked state and the plug is attached to the connection port 3a, the spring latch 12 is protruded against both sides of the plug (state in FIG. 5) against the urging force of the C-shaped shaft support 9a. The plug is pressed into the provided locking portion, so that the plug is not accidentally pulled out.

On the other hand, the electrical connector 2 shown in FIG.
The latch support piece 8 is formed separately from the shell 5. The latch support piece 8 has a pair of bent cylindrical portions 8 a into which the pair of lower sides 12 a of the spring latch 12 are loosely inserted. And, at the inner ends of the pair of bent cylindrical portions 8a, a C-shaped shaft support portion 8c spreading in the side end direction of the electrical connector 1 is provided.
And a stopper portion 8d in the shape of an inverted letter C are formed so as to form a “U” shape on both sides. The latch support piece portion 8 is placed on the upper surface of the shell 5 and both of them are It is fixed to the mold base 3.

The spring latch 12 is provided with elasticity in a direction in which its lower opening is widened, is capable of swinging in the left-right direction with respect to the bent cylindrical portion 8a, and has a C-shaped shaft. The electrical connector 1 is supported by the support 8c while being urged toward the side end of the electrical connector 1.

Therefore, even in the electric connector 2 having such a configuration, when the plug of the connection partner is not attached to the connection port 3a, the spring latch 12 causes the U-shaped portion 12b to move its U-shaped portion 12b by the urging force. When the plug is attached to the connection port 3a, the spring latch 12 is triggered to press the plug into the engaging portion protruding from both sides of the plug. To prevent the plug from being accidentally pulled out.

[0010]

In the conventional electric connector 1 shown in FIG. 5, the latch support piece 9 including the C-shaped shaft support 9a and the stopper 9b is formed integrally with the shell 5. Therefore, there is a problem that the mold for shell production becomes complicated and expensive, and the specification of the latch support piece 9 cannot be easily changed.

In the conventional electric connector 2 shown in FIG. 6, the latch support piece 8 having the C-shaped shaft support 8c and the stopper 8d is formed separately from the shell 5. By making a mold for the latch support piece 8 separately from the mold for the shell 5, the specification of the latch support piece 8 can be easily changed, but the latch support piece 8 is fixed to the shell 5. Therefore, some means such as screws and eyelets are required, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are increased. Also, in this case, since the C-shaped shaft support 8c and the stopper 8d are integrated, the mold for manufacturing the same is not only complicated and expensive, but also changes the dimensions and shape of the C-shaped shaft support 8c. In this case, the size and shape of the stopper portion 8d are always changed, and it takes time and effort to change the specifications of the latch support pieces.

In view of the above, the present invention makes it possible to manufacture a portion for supporting the spring latch separately from the shell and the stopper portion, to easily manufacture the portion and change the specifications, and to make the portion easily. An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that can be easily fixed without using special fixing means such as screws and eyelets.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electric connector according to the present invention has a connection in which a plug to be connected is mounted at the center of the front surface of a mold base on which a predetermined number of contact pins are arranged. A mouth is protruded, and a metal shell is attached so as to cover a part other than the connection port on the front surface part. A generally Ω-shaped spring latch is swingably supported, and a stopper is provided for regulating the outward swing position of the spring latch. Then, the bottom of the band-shaped plate member for swingably supporting the spring latch and its bottom
A shaft support piece bent from both sides in a C-shape and raised is manufactured separately from the shell, is sandwiched and fixed between the shell and the mold base, and the stopper is provided with the shell. It is characterized by being integrally formed.

[0014]

In the electric connector according to the present invention having the above-described structure, the shaft support for swingably supporting the spring latch is formed separately from the shell, and the shell and the mold base are connected to each other. Since it is sandwiched and fixed between,
It is possible to easily change the specification of a portion (shaft support piece) supporting the spring latch, and to easily fix the portion to the shell and the mold base without using a special fixing means such as a screw or an eyelet.

Further, since the stopper for regulating the outward swinging position of the spring latch is formed separately from the shaft support and integrally with the shell, the shaft support is extremely simple. Thus, the mold for the shaft support piece can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the electric connector according to the present invention. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, portions corresponding to the respective portions of the conventional electrical connector and the like shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are simplified. The following description focuses on the differences.

The illustrated electrical connector 10 is mounted in a recess (not shown) formed in a housing of electronic equipment, and has a connection port 3a to which a mating plug is mounted.
, A metal shell 5 covered and fixed with screws 7 so as to cover portions other than the connection port 3a on the front surface of the mold base 3, and the mold bases 3 and It comprises a shaft support 15 disposed on both sides of the connection port 3 a in the front surface 4 of the shell 5, and a substantially Ω-shaped spring latch 12 swingably supported by the shaft support 15. A plurality of contact pins 6 are juxtaposed in a predetermined manner inside the base 3.

The shaft support piece 15 is separate from the shell 5 and, as shown in FIG. 2, is bent from a bottom side 15b and both ends thereof and rises to form a pair of lower sides 12a of the spring latch 12. Insertion hole 15 into which is loosely inserted
The electrical connector 10 is provided with C-shaped shaft support portions 15a, 15a, which are provided in a side end direction of the electrical connector 10 and provided with the c. The shaft support piece 15 is formed by a pair of left and right windows 5a in which a bottom portion 15b is sandwiched between the shell 5 and the mold base 3 and the C-shaped support portions 15a, 15a are formed in the shell 5. When the shell 5 is protruded and fastened to the mold base 3 by the screw 7, it is fixed at the same time. In this case, a concave portion for absorbing the bottom portion 15b of the shaft support piece 15 is formed in the mold base 3, so that
There is no gap between the mold base 3 and the mold 5, which is more preferable.

The outer edge of the window 5a of the shell 5 is formed integrally with the shell 5 so as to regulate the outward swinging position of the spring latch 12, and is bent upward therefrom. A stopper 16 is formed to receive the spring latch 12.

The spring latch 12 is provided with elasticity in a direction in which the lower opening is expanded, and is capable of swinging in the left-right direction with respect to the C-shaped shaft support portion 15a.
Further, the electric connector 10 is supported in a state of being urged toward the side end of the electric connector 10 by the C-shaped shaft support portion 15a.

Therefore, in the electrical connector 10 having such a configuration, when the plug of the connection partner is not mounted on the connection port 3a, the spring latch 12 causes the U-shaped portion 12b to move to the stopper portion 16 by the urging force. When the plug is in the locked state and the plug is attached to the connection port 3a, the spring latch 12
(a state of FIG. 1)
The plug is press-fitted into locking portions protruding on both sides of the plug, so that the plug is not accidentally pulled out.

In the electric connector 10 of this embodiment having such a configuration, the shaft support piece 15 for swingably supporting the spring latch 12 is formed separately from the shell 5, and the shell 5 and the mold Since it is sandwiched between the base 3 and fixed, the specification of the portion (the shaft support piece 15) supporting the spring latch 12 can be easily changed, and the portion can be specially fixed with screws or eyelets. It can be easily fixed to the shell and the mold base without using any means.

A stopper 16 for restricting the outward swinging position of the spring latch 12 is provided with a shaft support 15.
Since the shaft support piece 15 is formed integrally with the shell 5 separately from the above, the shaft support piece 15 can have a very simple configuration,
A mold for the shaft support piece 15 can be easily and inexpensively manufactured. In this case, the structure of the shell 5 includes the stopper portion 16 but does not become so complicated, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, in the electric connector according to the present invention, the portion for supporting the spring latch is formed separately from the shell and the stopper portion.
The production and specification change of the part can be easily performed, and the part can be easily fixed without using a special fixing means such as a screw or an eyelet, so that the production cost of the mold can be reduced. This is an excellent advantage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of an electric connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a shaft support piece in the electric connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view for explaining an example of a conventional electrical connector.

FIG. 6 is a front view, FIG. 6B is a plan view, and FIG. 6C is a right side view for explaining another example of the conventional electric connector.

[Description of Signs] 3 Mold base 3a Connection port 5 Shell 6 Contact pin 10 Electrical connector 12 Spring latch 15 Shaft support 16 Stopper

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-36828 (JP, A) JP-A-1-227369 (JP, A) JP-A-1-159367 (JP, U) JP-A-1-15967 174878 (JP, U) Shokai 63-58473 (JP, U) Shoko 63-3100 (JP, Y1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/639 H01R 13 / 648

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A connection port for mounting a plug to be connected is protruded at the center of the front surface of a mold base on which a predetermined number of contact pins are disposed, and covers a portion of the front surface other than the connection port. A metal shell is attached to the shell. On both sides of the shell viewed in the left-right direction, a substantially Ω-shaped spring latch for locking the plug is supported swingably. An electrical connector provided with a stopper for restricting a swinging position to the outside of a base plate, and a bottom side of a band-shaped plate member for swingably supporting the spring latch and both sides thereof
A shaft support piece bent and raised from the above is formed separately from the shell, is sandwiched and fixed between the shell and the mold base, and the stopper is integrated with the shell. An electrical connector characterized by being formed in.