Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector with improved retention of terminals to resin molding section.SOLUTION: A connector 1 electrically connected to through holes of a substrate, has at least one terminal 2 having a rectangular plate-shaped terminal body 20, and a resin molding section 10 in which the terminal body is buried, a terminal has a terminal body, a pair of electrical contact sections 3, 3, which is formed extending from both ends of the terminal body in a longitudinal direction X of the terminal body and electrically connected to the through holes, and a pair of ribs 5F, 5R continuous in a width direction Y of the terminal body and bent in a thickness direction Z of the terminal body, the pair of ribs is provided by shifting their positions from each other in the longitudinal direction, and a tip surface 5b on the thickness direction side in each rib is exposed and visible from the resin molding section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A double-ended press-fit connector having contacts that are electrically connected to through-holes in a printed circuit board is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The double-ended press-fit connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of press-fit contacts and an insulating housing provided in the center of the plurality of press-fit contacts.

[0004] Each press-fit contact is formed by punching a metal plate and includes a plate-shaped contact body and a pair of press-fit portions extending from both ends of the contact body in the longitudinal direction and press-fit into through-holes in a printed circuit board. The contact body is provided with a retaining means extending in the plate width direction and capable of engaging with the inner surface of a press-fit hole in an insulating housing.

[0005] The insulating housing has a pair of divided bodies, each of which has an insertion hole penetrating the divided body and into which a contact body of each press-fit contact is inserted.

[0006] When assembling such a double-ended press-fit connector, one of the pair of split bodies is inserted into one of the insertion holes approaching one end of the press-fit contact, and the other of the pair of split bodies is inserted into the other insertion hole approaching the other end of the press-fit contact, so that the anti-pullout means of each press-fit contact engages with the inner surface of the insertion hole and the pair of split bodies are maintained in contact with each other, thereby assembling the double-ended press-fit connector. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-53090 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, with conventional double-ended press-fit connectors, there was a concern that when each press-fit portion was pressed into a through-hole in the printed circuit board, the anti-pull-out means of each press-fit contact would disengage from the insertion hole in the insulating housing, causing the press-fit contact (terminal) to fall out of the insertion hole in the insulating housing (resin molded portion).

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a connector which improves the retention force of a terminal relative to a resin molded portion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problem and achieve the object, the invention described in claim 1 is a connector electrically connected to a through hole of a board, comprising at least one terminal having a rectangular plate-shaped terminal body, and a resin molded portion in which the terminal body is embedded, wherein the terminal has the terminal body, a pair of electrical contact portions formed extending from both ends of the terminal body in the longitudinal direction of the terminal body and electrically connected to the through hole, and a pair of ribs that are continuous in the width direction of the terminal body and are bent in the thickness direction of the terminal body, the pair of ribs are arranged at different positions from each other in the longitudinal direction, and the tip surface of each rib on the thickness direction side is exposed from the resin molded portion and configured to be visible. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the invention as recited in claim 1, the holding force of the terminal with respect to the resin molded portion can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector as viewed from above. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view showing a terminal constituting the connector shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector as viewed from below. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the connector as viewed from below. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a terminal block 1 (connector) according to an embodiment of the present invention, seen from above. The terminal block 1 according to this embodiment electrically connects a pair of substrates arranged to face each other.

[0014] 1, the terminal block 1 includes six (at least one) terminals 2 and a housing 10 (resin molded portion) in which a terminal body 20, which is a part of each terminal 2 and will be described later, is embedded and holds the six terminals 2. The terminal block 1 is a component formed by pouring molten resin into a mold. That is, the terminal block 1 of this embodiment is formed by injection molding.

[0015] 2 to 4, each terminal 2 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate, and includes a strip-shaped terminal body 20 extending linearly, a pair of electrical contact portions 3, 3 electrically connected to through-holes in the board, a pair of spacing portions 4, 4 provided between the terminal body 20 and each electrical contact portion 3, and a pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (ribs) provided on the terminal body 20. The terminal 2 is insert-molded into the housing 10.

[0016] In the following, the arrows X, Y, and Z are directions perpendicular to each other, and the longitudinal direction of the terminal body 20 may be referred to as the "front-rear direction X", the width direction of the terminal body 20 as the "left-right direction Y", and the thickness direction of the terminal body 20 as the "up-down direction Z". Furthermore, one side of the front-rear direction X may be referred to as the "front X1", the other side as the "rear X2", one side of the up-down direction Z as the "upper Z1", and the other side as the "lower Z2".

[0017] 2 to 4, a pair of electrical contact portions 3, 3 are provided contiguously on both ends of the terminal body 20 in the longitudinal direction X. Each electrical contact portion 3 includes an electrical contact portion main body 30 having a rectangular plate shape, and a press-fit portion 31 formed to sandwich the electrical contact portion main body 30 and extend in a direction away from the terminal body 20. The electrical contact portion main body 30 and the press-fit portion 31 are provided coaxially with the terminal body 20.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 3, the electrical contact body 30 is formed so that the dimension in the width direction Y is narrower (smaller) than that of the terminal body 20.

[0019] 3, the press-fit portion 31 is made of an elastic body having a hole 3a in the center, and is configured so that when it is pressed into a through-hole in the board, it elastically contacts the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole due to the restoring force of the elastic body. When the press-fit portion 31 is pressed into the through-hole, the terminal 2 is electrically connected to a circuit formed on the board.

[0020] 2 to 4, the pair of gaps 4, 4 are provided between the terminal body 20 and one of the pair of electrical contact portions 3, 3, and between the terminal body 20 and the other of the pair of electrical contact portions 3, 3, and are formed so that their dimensions in the width direction Y are wider (larger) than the terminal body 20. Each gap 4 is provided protruding from the terminal body 20 on both sides in the width direction Y.

[0021] 3, the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R are provided on both ends of the terminal body 20 in the width direction Y, and are provided at positions shifted in the longitudinal direction X of the terminal body 20. That is, one of the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a first terminal support rib 5F) is provided continuously with an end face 20L on one side of the terminal body 20 in the width direction Y, and the other of the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a second terminal support rib 5R) is provided continuously with an end face 20R on the other side of the terminal body 20 in the width direction Y.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 4, the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R are formed so as to be continuous with the end faces 20L, 20R of the terminal body 20 and to bend and extend downward Z2. The lower ends (tips, positions indicated by reference numeral 5b) of the terminal support ribs 5F, 5R are located at Z2 below the lower surface of the terminal body 20. The lower end portions 5S (shown in Fig. 4) including the lower end faces 5b (tips) of the terminal support ribs 5F, 5R are exposed from the housing body 11 and configured to be visible.

[0023] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the housing 10 comprises a rectangular parallelepiped housing main body 11, support portions 12 protruding from a front end face 11f and a rear end face 11r of the housing main body 11 and supporting each space 4 of each terminal 2, and a pair of positioning members 13, 13 protruding from the housing main body 11 toward the rear X2 and inserted into a predetermined position on a board to be positioned.

[0024] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, with each terminal 2 embedded in the housing 10, one of the pair of electrical contact portions 3, 3 and one of the pair of spaces 4, 4 of each terminal 2 are arranged to protrude from the front end face 11f of the housing main body 11, and the other of the pair of electrical contact portions 3, 3 and the other of the pair of spaces 4, 4 are arranged to protrude from the rear end face 11r of the housing main body 11.

[0025] 5, with the terminals 2 embedded in the housing 10, the lower end surfaces 5b of the terminal support ribs 5F, 5R are located at a position Z1 above the lower surface 11b of the housing main body 11. That is, the lower end surfaces 5b (tip surfaces) of the terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (ribs) are provided at positions recessed with respect to the lower surface 11b (surface) of the housing 10 (resin molded portion).

[0026] 5, the housing body 11 is configured such that the periphery of each terminal support rib 5F, 5R in the housing body 11 is cut out so as to expose the lower end portion 5S of each terminal support rib 5F, 5R provided on each terminal 2. Hereinafter, the portion of the housing body 11 that is around each terminal support rib 5F, 5R and exposes the lower end portion 5S of each terminal support rib 5F, 5R may be referred to as a "terminal exposing portion 14." By providing such terminal exposing portion 14, the lower end portion 5S of each terminal support rib 5F, 5R is exposed from the housing body 11 and configured to be visible.

[0027] When manufacturing such a terminal block 1, the lower end faces 5b of a pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R provided on each terminal 2 are placed close to each pair of placement stands provided inside the mold. This process is repeated six times to complete the setting of each terminal 2 in the mold.

[0028] In this state, the molten resin is discharged from the gate into the inside of the mold, and the molten resin is injected into the inside of the mold. The injection proceeds and the injection of the molten resin into the inside of the mold is completed. After this, the molten resin is hardened in the mold. This completes the terminal block 1 in which the terminal body 20 of each terminal 2 is embedded in the housing 10. The completed terminal block 1 has a terminal exposure portion 14 that exposes the lower end portion 5S of each terminal support rib 5F, 5R, and the terminal exposure portion 14 exposes the lower end portion 5S of each terminal support rib 5F, 5R from the housing body 11 and is configured to be visible. In addition, in the terminal block 1, the lower end surface 5b of each terminal support rib 5F, 5R is located above the lower surface 11b of the housing body 11 at Z1.

[0029] According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the terminal 2 has a pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (ribs), the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R are arranged at positions offset from each other in the longitudinal direction X, and the lower end surface 5b (tip surface) of each terminal support rib 5F, 5R is exposed from the housing 10 (resin molded part) and configured to be visible. According to this, when each electrical contact portion 3 of the terminal 2 is press-fitted into the through hole, each terminal support rib 5F, 5R is formed extending in a direction (thickness direction Z) perpendicular to the press-fitting direction (front-rear direction X), so that the terminal support ribs 5F, 5R receive the load. This suppresses the terminal 2 from falling off the housing 10, and thus improves the holding force of the terminal 2 to the housing 10.

[0030] In addition, normally, the condition of the portion of the terminal 2 that is embedded in the housing 10 (plastic molded portion) is checked using a transparency device or by cutting the product, but the terminal block 1 of this embodiment is configured so that the lower end portion 5S, including the lower end surfaces 5b of each of a pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (ribs), is exposed from the housing 10 (plastic molded portion) and is visible, so that by visually checking the pair of lower end surfaces 5b, the condition of the terminal 2 can be checked without using a transparency device or cutting the product.

[0031] Further, the first terminal support rib 5F (one of the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R) is provided continuously with the end face 20L on one side of the terminal body 20 in the width direction Y, and the second terminal support rib 5R (the other of the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R) is provided continuously with the end face 20R on the other side of the terminal body 20 in the width direction Y. Since the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R are provided on both sides of the terminal body 20 in the width direction Y in this manner, each terminal 2 is stably installed in the mold. As a result, the terminal body 20 of each terminal 2 is held in position in the mold and is embedded in a predetermined position in the housing 10. This further improves the holding force of the terminal 2 to the housing 10.

[0032] Furthermore, the lower end faces 5b (tip faces) of the terminal support ribs 5F, 5R are recessed from the surface of the housing 10 (resin molded portion). This makes it possible to prevent the lower end faces 5b of the terminal support ribs 5F, 5R from coming into contact with other components even if the lower end faces 5b of the terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (ribs) are exposed from the housing 10 and visible.

[0033] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes other configurations that can achieve the object of the present invention, and the following modifications are also included in the present invention.

[0034] In the above embodiment, the lower end portion 5S including the lower end surface 5b of each of the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (ribs) is configured to be exposed and visible from the housing 10 (resin molded portion), but the present invention is not limited to this. Only the lower end surface 5b of each of the pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (ribs) may be exposed and visible from the housing 10 (resin molded portion).

[0035] In the above embodiment, the terminal 2 has a pair of terminal support ribs 5F, 5R (ribs), but the present invention is not limited to this. The terminal may be configured to have three or more ribs depending on the length (total length) of the terminal.

[0036] In addition, the best configurations and methods for implementing the present invention are disclosed in the above description, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the present invention has been mainly illustrated and described with reference to specific embodiments, but those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the above-described embodiments in terms of shape, material, quantity, and other detailed configurations without departing from the scope of the technical idea and purpose of the present invention. Therefore, the descriptions limiting the shapes, materials, etc. disclosed above are illustrative descriptions for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention, and therefore descriptions of the names of components that are free of some or all of the limitations on the shapes, materials, etc. are included in the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1 Terminal block (connector) 2 Terminal 20 Terminal body 20L End face on one side of the terminal body in the width direction 20R End face on the other side of the terminal body in the width direction 3, 3 Pair of Electrical Contacts 5F First terminal support rib (one of a pair of ribs) 5R Second terminal support rib (the other of the pair of ribs) 5b Lower end surface (tip surface) 10 Housing (plastic molded part) X Front-rear direction (longitudinal direction of terminal body) Y Left / right direction (width direction of terminal body) Z Up and down direction (thickness direction of terminal body)

Claims

1. A connector electrically connected to a through hole of a substrate, At least one terminal having a rectangular plate-shaped terminal body and a resin molded portion in which the terminal body is embedded, The terminal has the terminal body, a pair of electrical contact portions formed to extend from both ends of the terminal body in the longitudinal direction of the terminal body and electrically connected to the through holes, and a pair of ribs formed to be continuous in the width direction of the terminal body and bent in the thickness direction of the terminal body, The pair of ribs are offset from each other in the longitudinal direction, A connector characterized in that a tip surface of each of the ribs on the thickness direction side is exposed from the resin molded portion and is configured to be visible.

2. The connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that one of the pair of ribs is provided continuously with an end face on one side of the width direction of the terminal body, and the other of the pair of ribs is provided continuously with an end face on the other side of the width direction of the terminal body.

3. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the tip surface of the rib is recessed relative to a surface of the resin molded portion.

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