Connector

Abstract

To suppress negative effects of heat shrinkage of resin of a housing formed by insert molding together with terminals.SOLUTION: A connector 1 includes a plurality of terminals 11, and a housing 12 formed by insert molding together with the plurality of terminals 11. The plurality of terminals 11 configures a plurality of terminal rows each having a predetermined number of terminals arranged in a predetermined array direction. The housing 12 has a fitting recess 14 and a lightened part 15, the fitting recess 14 provided to be recessed between adjacent terminal rows on one end side in a fitting direction perpendicular to the array direction, the mating connector 2 to be fitted into the fitting recess, a thinning part 15 provided to be recessed between the adjacent terminal rows at least on the other end side in the fitting direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector having a housing that is insert molded with a plurality of terminals. [Background technology]

[0002] A connector is connected to a mating connector by fitting the terminals of the connector and contacting the mating terminals of the mating connector. The connector has a plurality of terminals corresponding to the plurality of mating terminals of the mating connector, and is insert-molded into a housing made of resin or the like with the plurality of terminals arranged in two rows corresponding to the mating terminals arranged in at least two rows. When the mating connector has a mating protrusion between the mating terminals arranged in two rows, the connector has a mating recess between the terminals arranged in two rows into which the mating protrusion is fitted, and the mating recess is formed to have a depth corresponding to the height of the mating protrusion.

[0003] For example, in the following Patent Document 1, an electrical connector includes a housing molded from an insulating material and including a recess formed by opposing sidewalls having an inner surface, and a plurality of terminals attached to the housing, the insulating housing being molded from a plastic material, and the terminals being at least partially insert molded into the housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-164283 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In a connector in which multiple terminals are insert-molded into a housing as described above, when the resin is densely filled inside the housing, the difference in the expansion coefficient between the housing and the terminals causes only the resin to shrink inward after insert molding. This shrinkage of the resin causes the terminals to deform so that they are drawn inward. For example, two rows of terminals arranged opposite each other are deformed so that they are drawn to the opposite side due to the shrinkage of the resin filled between them. When the terminals deform in this way, the height of the tips (mounting parts) of the terminals that come into contact with the mating terminals becomes uneven, which may make it impossible to mount them. In addition, if the middle parts of the terminals deform so that they are drawn inward, causing the tips (mounting parts) of the terminals to deform so that they spread outward, this may cause poor contact between the terminals and the mating terminals, or poor fitting between the connector and the mating connector.

[0006] The present invention has been developed in consideration of problems such as those described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that can suppress the adverse effects of thermal shrinkage of the resin of the housing that is insert molded together with the terminals. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the connector of the present invention is a connector having a plurality of terminals and a housing that is insert molded together with the plurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals have a plurality of terminal rows in which a predetermined number of the terminals are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction, and the housing has a mating recess recessed between adjacent terminal rows at one end side in a mating direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction, into which a mating connector is mated, and a hollowed-out portion recessed between adjacent terminal rows at least at the other end side in the mating direction.

[0008] In the connector of the present invention, the housing may have a number of the lightening portions corresponding to the number of the terminals, and the lightening portions may be provided across a predetermined number of the terminals in the arrangement direction.

[0009] Furthermore, in the connector of the present invention, the housing may have, at one end side in the fitting direction, the hollowed-out portion that is further recessed from the fitting recess.

[0010] Furthermore, in the connector of the present invention, the hollowed-out portion may be formed so as to expand in diameter outward.

[0011] Furthermore, in the connector of the present invention, the terminals are formed elongated in the mating direction, the housing is formed to have a height corresponding to the length of the terminals in the mating direction, and the recessed portion is formed to a depth of 50 to 80% of the height of the housing in the mating direction. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the adverse effects of thermal contraction of the resin of the housing which is insert-molded together with the terminals. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view showing a mating connector that can be mated with the connector of the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention in a separated state from a mating connector. [Figure 4] 1 is an exploded view of a state in which a plurality of terminals and a housing of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention are separated from each other. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a top view showing the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a side view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 7 is a cross-sectional view of the connector as viewed in the direction of arrows VII-VII in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] 8 is a cross-sectional view of the connector as viewed in the direction of arrows VIII-VIII in FIG. 6. [Figure 9]7 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the connector as viewed in the direction of arrows VII-VII in FIG. 5. [Figure 10] 8 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the connector as viewed in the direction of arrows VIII-VIII in FIG. 6. [Figure 11] 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the connector as viewed in the direction of arrows III-III in FIG. 6. [Figure 12] 1 is a side view showing a terminal of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 1 is a perspective view showing a terminal of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In relation to the embodiment of the present invention, when describing the directions of up (U), down (D), front (F), rear (B), left (L) and right (R), for the sake of convenience, the arrows depicted in Figs. 1 to 13 will be used.

[0015] FIG. 1 shows a connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector 1, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mating connector 2 that can be mated with the connector 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the connector 1 and the mating connector 2 in a separated state, and the cross-sectional view of the connector 1 is taken along III-III of the connector 1 in FIG. 6. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a state in which a plurality of terminals 11 and a housing 12 of the connector 1 are separated. FIG. 5 is a top view of the connector 1, and FIG. 6 is a side view of the connector 1. FIG. 7 is a VII-VII cross-sectional view of the connector 1 in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is a VIII-VIII cross-sectional view of the connector 1 in FIG. 6. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional perspective view of VII-VII of FIG. 5, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional perspective view of VIII-VIII of FIG. 6, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional perspective view of III-III of FIG. 6. FIG. 12 is a side view of the terminal 11, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the terminal 11.

[0016] The connector 1 and the mating connector 2 are applied, for example, to connect one board to another board, or to connect a board to a flat conductor such as an FPC, etc. Specifically, the connector 1 is mounted on a predetermined board.

[0017] The mating connector 2 has a plurality of mating terminals 21, while the connector 1 has a plurality of terminals 11 corresponding to the plurality of mating terminals 21. When the mating connector 2 is fitted into the connector 1, the plurality of mating terminals 21 and the plurality of terminals 11 are brought into electrical contact with each other, thereby connecting the mating connector 2 to the connector 1. In Fig. 3, the mating direction between the mating connector 2 and the connector 1 is the up-down direction, and specifically, the mating connector 2 is fitted into the connector 1 from above.

[0018] 2 and 3, the mating connector 2 includes a plurality of mating terminals 21 arranged inside a mating housing 22. For example, the plurality of mating terminals 21 are configured to have a plurality of mating terminal rows (e.g., two rows) in which a predetermined number of mating terminals 21 are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction. In Fig. 2, the arrangement direction of the plurality of mating terminals 21 is the left-right direction, and the fitting direction (up-down direction) of the mating connector 2 and the connector 1 is perpendicular to the arrangement direction (left-right direction) of the plurality of mating terminals 21.

[0019] The mating housing 22 has walls 22a in front of the front row of mating terminals 21 and behind the rear row of mating terminals 21. A mating protrusion 23 for fitting the mating connector 2 to the connector 1 is provided in the lower part of the mating housing 22 between adjacent terminal rows, i.e., between the front row of mating terminals 21 and the rear row of mating terminals 21, and the mating protrusion 23 is formed to protrude downward between the front and rear walls 22a. An engagement recess 23a for further positioning the mating connector 2 with respect to the connector 1 is recessed in the tip surface (lower surface) of the mating protrusion 23.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 1 and Figs. 3 to 11, the connector 1 has a housing 12 that is insert molded together with a plurality of arranged terminals 11. In Fig. 1 and Figs. 3 to 11, the arrangement direction of the plurality of terminals 11 is the left-right direction. In a state in which the arranged plurality of terminals 11 are held by dies in four directions (front and rear, and upper and lower), resin is filled into the space surrounded by the dies, whereby the housing 12 is insert molded together with the plurality of terminals 11. The housing 12 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with the arrangement direction of the terminals 11 as the longitudinal direction.

[0021] For example, the multiple terminals 11 of the connector 1 are configured to have multiple rows (e.g., two rows) of terminals in which a predetermined number of terminals 11 are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction corresponding to the arrangement of the multiple mating terminals 21 of the mating connector 2 described above.

[0022] The multiple terminals 11 are formed to have the same shape, and the front row of terminals 11 and the rear row of terminals 11 are arranged symmetrically. Each terminal 11 is made of a conductive material such as metal, and is an elongated member extending in the vertical direction, as shown in Figures 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12, and 13.

[0023] Each terminal 11 has a base 11a embedded in the housing 12 by insert molding, and the base 11a is formed to extend linearly. Each terminal 11 is insert molded into the housing 12 with the base 11a extending in the vertical direction. A tip portion 11b (upper end portion) continuing from the base 11a at one end side of each terminal 11 is a contact portion that contacts each mating terminal 21 of the mating connector 2, and is curved in an inverted U shape toward the outside (front side or rear side), with the outer surface exposed from the housing 12. Furthermore, an outer corner portion 11c of the tip (upper end) of each terminal 11 is cut out in a tapered shape and engages with the housing 12, thereby preventing the tip (upper end) of each terminal 11 from protruding outward from the housing 12. The base end portion (lower end portion) continuing from the base portion 11a at the other end of each terminal 11 is the mounting portion 11d to be mounted on the board, and is bent outward (toward the front or rear) and protrudes from the housing 12.

[0024] Each mating terminal 21 of the mating connector 2 has a tip portion 21a (lower end portion) formed in two branches so as to contact the tip portion 11b of each terminal 11 of the connector 1 from the front or rear.

[0025] The front and rear dies for insert molding the housing 12 have holding protrusions (not shown) for holding the front row terminals 11 and the rear row terminals 11, respectively, and holding recesses 13 are formed on the front and rear faces of the housing 12 by the holding protrusions. The holding recesses 13 are formed over the arrangement area of ​​the multiple terminals 11 in the arrangement direction (left and right direction) of the terminals 11, and are formed with a larger diameter toward the outside (front or rear) in the direction in which the die is removed. In the holding recesses 13, the terminals 11 are held by the front and rear dies, so that a part of the terminals 11 is exposed. Furthermore, the front and rear dies can improve the positional accuracy of the multiple terminals 11 by holding the side surface of each terminal 11 (base 11a) during insert molding. At this time, the holding portion of the die that held the side surface of the base 11a is removed, and the first additional recesses 13a are also formed on the side of each terminal 11 (base 11a) in the holding recesses 13. In addition, the front and rear molds hold the side surfaces of the tip portions 11b of each terminal 11, thereby improving the positional accuracy of the tip portions 11b, which are free ends that tend to move during insert molding. At this time, by removing the holding portions of the molds that held the side surfaces of the tip portions 11b, second additional recesses 13b are formed in the holding recesses 13 on the sides of the tip portions 11b of each terminal 11 as well.

[0026] In the upper part of the housing 12, a mating recess 14 is provided between adjacent terminal rows, i.e., between the terminals 11 in the front row and the terminals 11 in the rear row, into which the mating protrusion 23 of the mating connector 2 is fitted. The mating recess 14 is formed by the upper mold. The mating recess 14 has a depth corresponding to the height of the mating protrusion 23, and is formed with a larger diameter on the left and right sides toward the outside (upper side), which is the direction in which the mold is removed. In addition, in the lower part of the housing 12, a lower recess 16 is provided near the mounting portion 11d of the terminal 11. The lower recess 16 is formed by the lower mold that holds the lower side of the terminal 11. For example, the housing 12 has a pair of side walls 12a extending in the arrangement direction (left-right direction) of the terminals 11, a pair of end walls 12b connecting the left-right ends of the pair of side walls 12a, and a bottom 12c connecting the pair of side walls 12a and the pair of end walls 12b in the horizontal direction at the top of the housing 12. The fitting recess 14 is formed in an area partitioned by the pair of side walls 12a, the pair of end walls 12b, and the bottom 12c. Each side wall 12a holds tip portions 11b of a predetermined number of terminals 11 arranged in one terminal row, and the surface of the side wall 12a and the surface of the tip portions 11b are flush with each other.

[0027] The tip portion 11b (upper end portion) of the terminal 11, which is insert molded into the housing 12, is exposed from the housing 12 on the front and rear inner wall surfaces of the mating recess 14, i.e., on the surfaces of the pair of end walls 12b. An engaging protrusion 14a that engages with the engaging recess 23a of the mating connector 2 is formed to protrude upward on the bottom surface of the mating recess 14, i.e., the bottom portion 12c. The outer corner of the tip (upper end) of the engaging protrusion 14a is cut out in a tapered shape.

[0028] Furthermore, the housing 12 has a lightening portion 15 recessed in the mating direction (up and down direction, longitudinal direction of the terminals 11) between adjacent terminal rows, i.e., between the terminals 11 in the front row and the terminals 11 in the rear row. The lightening portion 15 is provided separately from the mating recess 14 conforming to the standard of the mating connector 2 and the holding recess 13 used to hold the multiple terminals 11 by a mold. For example, the lightening portion 15 includes a lower lightening portion 15a recessed upward from the underside in the lower part of the housing 12, or an upper lightening portion 15b recessed further downward from the bottom surface of the mating recess 14 in the upper part of the housing 12.

[0029] The lightening portion 15 is formed as a space having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The lightening portion 15 has a width spanning a predetermined number of terminals 11 in the arrangement direction of the terminals 11. The lightening portion 15 is preferably recessed up to a position corresponding to a middle portion of the terminal 11 in the longitudinal direction of the terminal 11 in the housing 12. For example, the lightening portion 15 is preferably formed to a depth of 50 to 80% and more preferably 50 to 70% of the height of the housing 12 or the length of the terminal 11 in the vertical direction (fitting direction).

[0030] The cutouts 15 are formed so as to expand outwardly to the front and rear and to the left and right. Specifically, the lower cutout 15a expands in diameter downward, and the upper cutout 15b expands in diameter upward.

[0031] Specifically, the housing 12 has a mating recess 14 conforming to the standard of the mating connector 2 at its upper portion (the side facing the mating connector 2, which is one end side in the mating direction between the mating connector 2 and the connector 1), and therefore has a lightening portion 15 at least at its lower portion (the other end side in the mating direction opposite to the mating recess 14). Meanwhile, the housing 12 may have an upper lightening portion 15b in addition to the lower lightening portion 15a. The upper lightening portion 15b is located on the bottom surface of the mating recess 14 at a position different from the engaging protrusion 14a in the arrangement direction of the terminals 11.

[0032] Furthermore, the housing 12 has the number of cutout portions 15 corresponding to the number of the terminals 11 arranged in each row. For example, when the number of terminals is relatively large, a plurality of (e.g., two) lower cutout portions 15a are arranged in the lower part of the housing 12 at a predetermined interval in the arrangement direction of the terminals 11. When the number of terminals is even larger, in addition to the lower cutout portion 15a, an upper cutout portion 15b may be arranged in the upper part of the housing 12, and in this case, the upper cutout portion 15b is arranged in a different position from the lower cutout portion 15a in the arrangement direction of the terminals 11. When the number of terminals is relatively small, only one lower cutout portion 15a may be arranged in the lower part of the housing 12.

[0033] As described above, according to this embodiment, the connector 1 has a plurality of terminals 11 and a housing 12 that is insert molded together with the plurality of terminals 11. The plurality of terminals 11 have a plurality of terminal rows in which a predetermined number of terminals 11 are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction. The housing 12 has a mating recess 14 recessed between adjacent terminal rows at one end in the mating direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction and into which the mating connector 2 is mated, and a lightening portion 15 (lower lightening portion 15a) recessed between adjacent terminal rows at least at the other end (lower side) in the mating direction.

[0034] As a result, in the connector 1, by reducing the amount of resin filled in the center side of the housing 12 by insert molding, the amount of resin shrinkage toward the inside of the housing 12 after insert molding can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress deformation of the terminals 11 toward the inside of the housing 12 due to the shrinkage of the resin. Therefore, it is possible to make the heights of the multiple terminals 11 uniform, and also to suppress poor contact between the terminals 11 and the mating terminals 21 and poor fitting between the connector 1 and the mating connector 2. In this way, according to the connector 1 of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the adverse effects of thermal shrinkage of the resin of the housing 12 that is insert molded together with the terminals 11.

[0035] Furthermore, according to the connector 1 of this embodiment, the housing 12 has the number of lightening portions 15 corresponding to the number of the terminals 11, and the lightening portions 15 are provided across a predetermined number of terminals 11 in the arrangement direction. This allows an appropriate number of lightening portions 15 to be provided regardless of the number of terminals, thereby suppressing the adverse effects of thermal contraction of the resin of the housing 12.

[0036] Furthermore, according to the connector 1 of this embodiment, the housing 12 has, at one end side in the mating direction, a lightening portion 15 (upper lightening portion 15b) that is further recessed from the mating recess 14. This makes it possible to dispose the upper lightening portions 15b in a dispersed manner at one end side in the mating direction without disposing an excessive number of lower lightening portions 15a at the other end side in the mating direction, thereby suppressing a decrease in the strength of the housing 12.

[0037] Furthermore, according to the connector 1 of this embodiment, the hollowed-out portion 15 is formed with a diameter expanding outward. This allows the mold for forming the hollowed-out portion 15 to be easily removed from the housing 12, and the precision of the hollowed-out portion 15 can be improved.

[0038] Furthermore, in the connector 1 according to this embodiment, the terminals 11 are formed elongated in the fitting direction, the housing 12 is formed to have a height corresponding to the length of the terminals 11 in the fitting direction, and the hollowed-out portions 15 are formed to a depth of 50 to 80% of the height of the housing 12 in the fitting direction. Thus, by providing the hollowed-out portions 15 near the center of the terminals 11 in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to suppress deformation of the center of the terminals 11 toward the inside of the housing 12 due to shrinkage of the resin of the housing 12.

[0039] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which two lower cutouts 15a are provided at the lower part of the housing 12 (the other end side in the mating direction) and one upper cutout 15b is provided at the upper part of the housing 12 (one end side in the mating direction). However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the number of cutouts 15 may be determined according to the number of terminals of the multiple terminals 11 and the width of the housing 12 at the lower or upper part of the housing 12.

[0040] In addition, in this embodiment, an example has been described in which the mating connector 2 has two rows of mating terminals 21 and the connector 1 has two rows of terminals 11, but the present invention is not limited to this example, and the mating connector 2 may have one row or three or more rows of mating terminals 21, and the connector 1 may have one row or three or more rows of terminals 11.

[0041] Furthermore, the present invention can be modified as appropriate within the scope that does not contradict the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and connectors involving such modifications are also included in the technical concept of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 Connector 2 Mating Connector 11 Terminal 11a base 11b Tip part 11c Outer corner 11d Implementation part 12. Housing 12a side wall 12b End wall 12c bottom 13 Retaining recess 14 Fitting recess 14a Engagement protrusion 15, 15a, 15b Hollowed out section 16 Lower recess 21 Mating terminal 21a Tip part 22 Mating housing 22a Wall 23 Fitting protrusion 23a Engagement recess

Claims

1. A plurality of terminals; a housing that is insert molded together with the plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals include a plurality of terminal rows in which a predetermined number of the terminals are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction; the housing has a mating recess formed between adjacent terminal rows at one end in a mating direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction, and a mating connector is mated with the mating recess; a recessed portion recessed between adjacent rows of terminals at least on the other end side in the fitting direction.

2. the housing has the recessed portions, the number of which corresponds to the number of the terminals, The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the hollowed-out portion is provided across a predetermined number of the terminals in the arrangement direction.

3. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a recessed portion on one end side in the fitting direction, the recessed portion being recessed further from the fitting recess.

4. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the hollowed-out portion is formed so as to have a diameter enlarging outward.

5. The terminals are formed elongated in the fitting direction, The housing is formed to have a height corresponding to a length of the terminal in the fitting direction, 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the recessed portion is formed to a depth that is 50 to 80% of the height of the housing in the fitting direction.

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