JP3854834B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector in which an electrical connection location between both the counterpart connector and the electrical connector is wiped when connected to the counterpart connector.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-116575 discloses a headphone connector with a remote control. In this connector, a single-head plug projects from the plug housing, and the single plug is inserted into a single-head plug receptacle of the mating connector. In the mating connector used in combination with this type of connector, the contact piece that is long in the insertion direction of the single-head plug comes into contact with the single-head plug that has been inserted into the mating connector. Example).
[0003]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-74014 discloses an electrical connector in which the contact point of the contact piece is brought into contact with the electrode surface of the mating connector in an overlapping manner (second preceding example). In addition, this electrical connector has a wiping action in which the contact and the electrode surface slide relative to each other in the process of electrically connecting the contact on the electrical connector side to the electrode surface on the counterpart connector side in an overlapping manner. The self-cleaning is performed such that dust adhering to the contacts and the electrode surface is removed by the wiping action.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the connector of the first preceding example, since it is necessary to incorporate a contact piece long in the plug insertion direction in the mating connector, shortening the depth dimension (dimension in the plug insertion direction) of the mating connector in the depth direction. There are restrictions on narrowing the installation space.
[0005]
On the other hand, in the electrical connector of the preceding example 2, since the electrode surface of the mating connector can be disposed so as to overlap the end surface of the mating connector, the depth dimension of the mating connector is made shorter than that of the preceding example 1. It is possible to narrow the installation space in the depth direction. Further, there is an advantage that a good contact state between the contact and the electrode surface can be easily obtained by the self-cleaning by the wiping action.
[0006]
On the other hand, in the prior example 2, the wiping action is exhibited by the shape or structure of the contact piece described below. In other words, the contact piece is formed by a slender elastic body that is bent in a meandering manner, and the contact point is pressed against the electrode surface of the mating connector by devising the positional relationship between the fixed part of the contact piece with respect to the holding body and the contact point of the contact piece. When the contact is made, the contact is displaced with respect to the fixed part of the contact piece. In addition, the displacement width of the contact with respect to the electrode surface of the mating connector, that is, the width of the wiping width depends on the shape or structure of the contact piece, and when trying to increase the wiping width to enhance the self-cleaning effect, the depth of the contact piece It is necessary to increase the length and the vertical distance between the fixed part of the contact piece and the contact point of the contact piece. For this reason, when trying to perform effective self-cleaning by widening the wiping width, the depth dimension and thickness (height) dimension of the electrical connector provided with the contact piece must be lengthened. However, there is a problem that it becomes an obstacle to miniaturization or thinning of the electrical connector.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above situation and problems. An electrical connector as seen in the preceding example 2, that is, the contact of the contact piece in contact with the electrode surface of the counterpart connector is brought into contact with the counterpart. An electrical connector that can be electrically connected to the connector. An electrical connector that enables effective self-cleaning by widening the wiping width without hindering downsizing or thinning. The purpose is to provide.
[0008]
In addition, the present invention provides a good self-wiping function by wiping the contacts and the electrode surface of the mating connector only by performing a normal insertion operation of inserting the leading projection provided in the electrical connector into the recess of the mating connector. An object is to provide an electrical connector that is cleaned.
[0009]
Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that can be locked to the mating connector by utilizing the leading projection.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The electrical connector according to the present invention has a leading projection inserted into the recess of the mating connector, and an elastic having a contact point that contacts the electrode surface of the mating connector in an overlapping manner when the leading projection is inserted into the recess. A contact piece made of a body.
[0011]
The leading projection includes a sliding portion formed by an arc surface provided on an outer surface of an upper portion of the tip portion, a recessed portion provided in a lower portion of the base portion of the leading projection, and a front side of the recessed portion. An engaging portion formed of a stepped wall surface, and a groove-shaped locking portion provided on the outer surface of the lateral side of the leading end portion of the leading projection, and the recess is open to the opening from the rear side. An inclined surface formed at the upper part of the wall surface in the recess facing, a rising wall configured to block the lower part of the opening at the lower part of the opening of the recess, and a cover formed by an inner surface of the rising wall An engaging portion and a locked portion made of a spring plate protruding into the recess from the lateral direction on the rear side of the rising wall, and inserting the leading protrusion into the recess makes the contact point Is in contact with the electrode surface in an overlapping manner, and the sliding portion starts to move in the recess where it contacts the inclined surface. The sliding projection slides on the inclined surface by applying a pushing force in the insertion direction in which the leading projection is inserted into the recess. The leading projection moves forward from the moving start point along the inclined surface toward a location deviated in the crossing direction with respect to the insertion direction, and the sliding portion reaches near the lower end of the inclined surface. When the leading projection is further pushed downward, the engaging portion is located at a location deviated in the crossing direction with respect to the insertion direction from the movement starting point, the engaging portion faces the engaged portion from the inside of the recess, and the engagement a guide means for sliding and the electrode surface the contact by the stop unit is the leading protrusion moving end point in said recess to be engaged by the engaged portion is moved forward by the action of the guide means Above serial leading projection is locked by the engaging portion and the engaged portion that faces the inside of the recess in the engaged portion when it reaches the moving end point and forward from the moving start point Locking means for preventing the leading projection from being pulled out from the recess by the locking portion .
[0012]
According to the present invention, when the leading protrusion is inserted into the recess of the counterpart connector, the contacts are in contact with the electrode surface of the counterpart connector in an overlapping manner and are electrically connected. Further, only by performing an operation of inserting the leading protrusion into the recess, the leading protrusion moves forward from the movement start point in the recess toward the movement end point, and the contact slides with the electrode surface. As a result, the contact and the electrode surface are wiped, and the contact and the electrode surface are self-cleaned by the wiping. Therefore, the dust adhering to the contact and the electrode surface is removed, and a good connection state is obtained. Moreover, when the leading projection moves forward and reaches the movement end point, the leading projection is prevented from being pulled out from the recess by the action of the locking means, so that the electrical connector and the mating connector are inadvertently separated, and the contact and the electrode The situation that the connection state with the surface is damaged does not occur.
[0013]
Moreover, since the wiping is performed by the movement of the leading projection from the movement start point toward the movement end point, the depth of the contact piece can be increased to increase the wiping width and improve the self-cleaning effect. It is no longer necessary to increase the height (thickness) dimension, and as a result, it is easy to reduce the size and thickness of the electrical connector.
[0014]
In the present invention, the leading projections project from the laterally flat portions of the horizontally long flat surface, which is the front end surface of the body integrally formed with the leading projections and the synthetic resin, to the front side thereof. In this case, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the front end portion of the contact piece having the contact point protrudes forward from each of the openings opened at a plurality of positions on the horizontally long flat surface. Has a flexible portion bent in a meandering manner disposed in the space provided in the body, and a terminal portion connected to the lead wire connected to the rear end of the flexible portion, It is desirable that the top of the chevron formed at the tip of the flexible part is the contact.
[0015]
According to this, not only can a multipolar electrical connector be formed, but also the connection operation between the electrical connector and the mating connector is reliably performed by the guide action of the two leading projections. Further, since the contact piece is provided with the flexible portion bent in a meandering manner, the required elasticity can be easily given to the contact piece without increasing the depth dimension.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 is a front view of an electrical connector A according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken along arrow II in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view taken along arrow III-III in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of the mating connector B, and FIG. 6 is a rear view of the mating connector B. 7 to 9 are operation explanatory diagrams, and FIG. 10 is also an operation explanatory diagram.
[0017]
The electrical connector A is formed by holding the connector unit 1 on the resin mold 2.
[0018]
The connector unit 1 includes a horizontally long body 3 that is an integrally molded body of synthetic resin and a plurality (seven in the illustrated example) of contact pieces 5. The front end surface of the body 3 is formed as a horizontally long flat surface 31, and symmetrical leading projections 4, 4 projecting forward are integrally formed at two positions in the lateral direction (both left and right end portions). As can be seen from FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the leading protrusion 4 has an outer surface of the upper portion of the tip portion formed in an arc surface, and the arc surface forms a sliding portion 41. Further, a recessed portion 42 is provided in a lower portion of the base portion of the leading protrusion 4, and a stepped wall surface on the front side of the recessed portion 42 is formed as the engaging portion 43. Further, a groove-like locking portion 44 is provided at the tip of the leading projection 4.
[0019]
On the other hand, the body 3 has a plurality (seven in the illustrated example) of narrow spaces 32 (see FIG. 7B and FIG. 9B) arranged in the horizontal direction, and each of the narrow spaces 32 is As shown in FIG. 1, the body 3 is opened in a slit shape on the horizontally long flat surface 31, and the openings 33 are arranged at equal intervals at a plurality of locations (7 locations) between the left and right leading projections 4, 4. is doing.
[0020]
The contact piece 5 is accommodated in each of the narrow spaces 32. As shown in FIGS. 7B and 9B, the contact piece 5 is made of a metal elastic body in which a terminal portion 52 is connected to the rear end of the flexible portion 51 bent in a meandering manner. The apex of the chevron 53 formed at the tip of the flexible part 51 is a contact 54. The contact piece 5 is provided in the narrow space 32 with a meandering flexible portion 51 extending in the vertical direction, and a chevron 53 protrudes forward from the opening 33 and is further connected to the chevron 53. The provided locking piece 55 is locked to the front wall surface of the narrow space 32. In addition, adjacent narrow spaces 32 and 32 accommodate contact pieces 5 and 5 having the same shape in the upside down direction.
[0021]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the mating connector B has separate recesses 6 and 6 into which the left and right leading projections 4 and 4 of the electrical connector A described above are inserted. A flat electrode surface 81 corresponding to each contact 54 of the electrical connector A is provided between the recesses 6 and 6. As shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 9A, a part of the wall surface forming the recess 6 is an inclined surface 62 that descends rearward, and the inclined surface 62 is recessed at the upper part of the recess 6. It faces the opening 61 of the place 6 from behind. In addition, a rising wall 63 is provided at a lower portion of the opening 61 so as to close a substantially half of the opening 61 in the width direction, and an inner surface of the rising wall 63 is formed as an engaged portion 64. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, spring plates 9 and 9 are incorporated in the left and right ends of the mating connector B, and each of the spring plates 9 is formed of a mountain-shaped projection formed in a cut-and-raised shape. A locking portion 91 protrudes into the recess 6 from the lateral direction on the rear side of the rising wall 63.
[0022]
The operation when the contact 54 of the electrical connector A described above is electrically connected to the electrode surface 81 of the mating connector B will be described next with reference mainly to FIGS.
[0023]
When the left and right leading projections 4 of the electrical connector A are inserted into the left and right recesses 6 of the counterpart connector B separately from the state where the electrical connector A and the counterpart connector B face each other, as shown in FIG. The respective contacts 54 of the plurality of contact pieces 5 of the electrical connector A are in contact with the plurality of electrode surfaces 81 of the mating connector B in an overlapping manner, respectively, and the lead of the electrical connector A as shown in FIG. The sliding portion 41 of the protrusion 4 comes into contact with the inclined surface 62 of the mating connector B. The position of the leading projection 4 at this time is the movement start point in the recess 6.
[0024]
When a pushing force in the insertion direction is further applied to the leading projection 4, the sliding portion 41 slides on the inclined surface 62 and the leading projection 4 descends (moves forward) along the inclination of the inclined surface 62, and FIG. Thus, the sliding part 41 reaches the vicinity of the lower end of the inclined surface 62. For this reason, the sliding part 41 of the leading projection 4 directs the leading projection 4 from the movement start point in the recess to a location that is biased in the crossing direction with respect to the insertion direction through the operation of inserting the leading projection 4 into the recess 6. The guide means for moving forward is constituted.
[0025]
When the leading projection 4 is further pushed downward from the state of FIG. 8 and moved forward, the engaging portion 43 of the leading projection 4 is recessed into the engaged portion 64 of the rising wall 63 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the leading projection 4 gets over the mountain-shaped locked portion 91 of the spring plate 9 and the locking portion 44 of the leading projection 4 is engaged by the locked portion 91. Stopped. Thus, the position of the leading projection 4 when the engaging portion 43 faces the engaged portion 64 from the inside of the recess 6 and the locking portion 44 is locked by the locked portion 91 is the movement end point. .
[0026]
When the leading projection 4 moves from the movement start point to the movement end point in this way, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 9B, the contact 54 remains in contact with the electrode surface 81 and slides on the electrode surface 81. Wiping is performed by movement, and the contact 54 and the electrode surface 81 are self-cleaned by this wiping to remove dust and the like. Therefore, when the leading projection 4 has reached the movement end point, the contact 54 and the electrode surface 81 are in an electrically connected state. Moreover, when the leading projection 4 has reached the movement end point, the engaging portion 43 of the leading projection 4 faces the engaged portion 64 of the rising wall 63 from the inside of the recess 6, so that the leading projection 4 is recessed. When pulled in the pulling direction from the place 6, the engaging portion 43 engages with the engaged portion 64 to prevent the leading projection 4 from being pulled out, and when the leading projection 4 reaches the movement end point, Since the locking portion 44 of the leading projection 4 is locked by the locked portion 91 of the spring plate 9, the leading projection 4 is prevented from moving back toward the movement start point. Therefore, when the leading projection 4 moves forward from the movement start point and reaches the movement end point by the engaging portion 43 and the locking portion 44 provided on the leading projection 4, the leading projection 4 is extracted from the recess 6. Locking means for blocking is configured.
[0027]
When detaching the electrical connector A from the mating connector B, the electrical connector A is pulled up to disengage the locking portion 44 of the leading projection 4 from the locked portion 91 of the spring plate 9, thereby moving the leading projection 4 from the end point of movement. After pulling up to the movement start point described above and releasing the facing state between the engaging portion 43 and the engaged portion 64, the leading projection 4 is pulled out from the recess 6.
[0028]
In this embodiment, the wiping width when the contact 54 and the electrode surface 81 are wiped is a length corresponding to the forward movement distance from the movement start point to the movement end point of the leading protrusion 4 in the recess 6. The forward movement distance from the movement start point to the movement end point of the leading protrusion 4 is determined by the vertical width dimension of the recess 6 of the mating connector B, the height of the rising wall 63, the vertical dimension of the recessed portion 42 of the leading protrusion 4 and the like. It can be increased or decreased by changing. Therefore, it is easy to increase the wiping width to exert an effective and reliable self-cleaning action.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, in an electrical connector that can be electrically connected to a mating connector by bringing the contact of the contact piece into contact with the electrode surface of the mating connector in an overlapping manner, miniaturization or thinning is inhibited. Without this, it is possible to widen the wiping width and perform effective self-cleaning. Therefore, it is possible to provide a miniaturized or thinned electrical connector that can satisfactorily perform self-cleaning by wiping. In addition, according to the present invention, an electrical connector in which the contact surface and the electrode surface of the counterpart connector are wiped to perform good self-cleaning only by performing a normal insertion operation of inserting the leading protrusion into the recess of the counterpart connector. It becomes possible to provide. In addition, by utilizing the leading projection, it is possible to lock the mating connector, so there is no need to configure the lock mechanism as a separate part, and an inexpensive electrical connector with a reduced number of parts is provided. Is possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of an electrical connector according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view taken along arrow II in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrows III-III in FIG.
4 is an explanatory view corresponding to a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a front view of a mating connector.
FIG. 6 is a rear view of the mating connector.
7A is an operation explanatory diagram in a state where the leading projection is located at the movement start point, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a contact state between the contact point and the electrode surface when the leading projection is located at the movement start point. FIG.
FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram in a state in which a leading projection is located in the middle between a movement start point and a movement end point.
9A is an operation explanatory diagram in a state where the leading projection is located at the movement end point, and FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating a contact state between the contact point and the electrode surface when the leading projection is located at the movement end point. FIG.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged state of locking between the locking portion and the locked portion.
[Explanation of symbols]
A Electrical connector B Mating connector 3 Body 4 Leading protrusion 5 Contact piece 6 Recess 31 Horizontal flat surface 32 Narrow space (space)
33 Opening 41 Sliding part (guide means)
43 Engagement part (locking means)
44 Locking part (locking means)
51 Flexible portion 52 Terminal portion 53 Angle portion 54 Contact point 62 Inclined surface 64 Engaged portion 81 Electrode surface 91 Engaged portion

Claims (3)

A leading protrusion to be inserted into the recess of the mating connector, and a contact piece made of an elastic body having a contact point that comes into contact with the electrode surface of the mating connector when the leading projection is inserted into the recess. In the electrical connector provided,
The leading projection includes a sliding portion formed by an arc surface provided on the outer surface of the upper portion of the tip portion, a recessed portion provided in a lower portion of the base portion of the leading projection, and a step on the front side of the recessed portion. An engaging portion formed of a wall-like wall surface, and a groove-shaped locking portion provided on the outer surface of the side of the leading end of the leading projection, and the recess faces the opening from the rear side. A rearwardly inclined surface formed at the upper part of the wall surface in the recess, a rising wall configured to block the lower part of the opening at the lower part of the opening of the recess, and an engaged state formed by the inner surface of the rising wall And a locked portion made of a spring plate protruding into the recess from the lateral direction on the rear side of the rising wall,
By inserting the leading protrusion into the recess, the contact point comes into contact with the electrode surface in an overlapping manner, and the leading protrusion reaches the movement start point in the recess where the sliding portion comes into contact with the inclined surface. The sliding portion slides on the inclined surface by applying a pushing force in the insertion direction in which the leading projection is inserted into the recess to the leading projection that has reached the movement start point, and the leading projection is It moves forward from the moving start point along the inclined surface toward a position deviated in the crossing direction with respect to the insertion direction, and the sliding portion reaches near the lower end of the inclined surface. From this state, the leading protrusion is further lowered. By pushing down, the engaging portion is located at a position deviated in the crossing direction with respect to the insertion direction from the movement starting point, the engaging portion faces the engaged portion from the inside of the recess, and the locking portion is engaged. By stop A guide means for sliding and the electrode surface the contact by the leading protrusion moving end point in said recess to be locked to the forward movement, the leading protrusion moves forward from the moved start point by the action of the guide means When the movement end point is reached, the leading portion from the recess is engaged by the engaging portion facing the engaged portion from the inside of the recess and the locking portion locked by the locked portion. An electrical connector comprising: locking means for preventing the protrusion from being pulled out. The leading projection protrudes from the laterally flat surface of the laterally flat surface which is the front end surface of the body integrally molded with the leading projection to the front side, and the laterally flat between the leading projections. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein a tip end portion of the contact piece having the contact point is projected forward from each of openings opened at a plurality of positions on the surface. The contact piece includes a flexible portion bent in a meandering manner disposed in a space provided in the body, and a terminal portion connected to a lead wire connected to a rear end of the flexible portion. The electrical connector according to claim 2 , wherein a top portion of a chevron portion formed at a distal end portion of the flexible portion is the contact point.

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