Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector that can secure connection reliability of a terminal fitting for a circuit board.SOLUTION: A connector 10, 10A includes a terminal fitting 60, a housing 11, 11A for holding the terminal fitting 60, and an engagement part 24, 24A that engages the housing 11, 11A with a circuit board 80. The terminal fitting 60 includes a main body part 61 that is accommodated inside the housing 11, 11A, and a circuit connection part 63 that is disposed outside the housing 11, 11A behind the main body part 61 and connected to the circuit board 80. When viewed from a lateral direction intersecting with a front-rear direction, the engagement part 24, 24A is disposed at a position overlapping with the substrate connection part 63.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to connectors. [Background technology]

[0002] The connector includes a terminal fitting and a housing that holds the terminal fitting. The terminal fitting has a main body, a leg extending rearward from the main body, and a mounting part connected to the rear end of the leg. The main body is accommodated inside the housing. The mounting part is disposed outside the housing and is connected to a conductive part (mounting surface) of a circuit board (cable) by soldering.

[0003] A metal retainer is attached to the housing. The lower end of the metal retainer is soldered to the circuit board. The housing is fixed to the circuit board via the metal retainer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-192612 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above configuration, when an external force acts on the circuit board, the external force is directly transmitted to the connection position between the mounting portion and the circuit board, which may cause cracks or the like to occur in the solder part at the connection position, resulting in a problem that the connection reliability of the terminal fitting to the circuit board is impaired.

[0006] In view of the above, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a connector capable of ensuring the connection reliability of terminal fittings to a circuit board. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The connector of the present disclosure comprises a terminal fitting, a housing that holds the terminal fitting, and a locking portion that locks the housing to a circuit board, the terminal fitting having a main body portion that is accommodated inside the housing and a board connection portion that is positioned outside the housing rearward of the main body portion and connected to the circuit board, the locking portion being positioned in a position that overlaps with the board connection portion when viewed from a lateral direction that intersects the fore-and-aft direction. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector capable of ensuring the connection reliability of terminal fittings to a circuit board. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a side view of the connector of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the connector of the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the connector of the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a side view of the connector of the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] [Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure] First, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. The connector of the present disclosure comprises: (1) A terminal fitting, a housing for holding the terminal fitting, and a locking portion for locking the housing to a circuit board, the terminal fitting having a main body portion accommodated inside the housing and a board connection portion disposed outside the housing rearward of the main body portion and connected to the circuit board, the locking portion being disposed in a position overlapping with the board connection portion when viewed from a lateral direction intersecting the front-to-rear direction. The configuration of (1) above can prevent the external force from being transmitted to the connection position between the board connection part and the circuit board by the locking part that locks the housing to the circuit board when the external force acts on the circuit board, thereby maintaining the connection state between the board connection part and the circuit board and ensuring the connection reliability of the terminal fitting to the circuit board.

[0011] (2) In the connector described in (1) above, it is preferable that the housing has protective walls on both sides of the board connection portion in the lateral direction, covering the board connection portion from the lateral direction, and the locking portion is provided on the protective walls. The above configuration (2) allows the protective wall to have the functions of protecting the board connection portion from the lateral direction, fixing the housing to the circuit board, and suppressing the transmission of external forces to the board connection portion.

[0012] (3) In the connector described in (2) above, it is preferable that the locking portion is a fixing member attached to the protective wall and has a board fixing portion that is soldered and fixed to the circuit board. In the above configuration (3), the housing can be fixed to the circuit board using only the locking portion (fixing member), and there is no need to provide a dedicated fixing fixture in addition to the fixing member.

[0013] (4) In the connector described in any one of (1) to (3) above, it is preferable that the housing has a mating portion that is mated with a mating connector, and the locking portion is positioned rearward and away from the mating portion. The configuration of (4) above allows the shapes of the locking portion (fixing member) and the mating connector to be determined without being restricted by each other, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in the shapes of the locking portion and the mating connector.

[0014] (5) In the connector described in (2) above, a fixing bracket is attached to the housing and is soldered to the circuit board, the fixing bracket is positioned forward of the protective wall on the housing, and the locking portion may be integrally formed with the protective wall. The above configuration (5) enables the housing to be stably held to the circuit board by the locking portion and the fixing metal fitting separate from the locking portion.

[0015] [Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure] Specific examples of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0016] <Embodiment 1> As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 10 of the first embodiment is exemplified as a connector mounted on a circuit board 80 such as an FPC (Flexible printed circuits). The connector 10 includes a housing 11, a terminal fitting 60 held by the housing 11, and a fixing fitting 90 attached to the housing 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the connector 10 can be fitted to a mating connector 100. In the following description, the front-rear direction is defined as the fitting direction of the connector 10 with the mating connector 100. The front-rear direction is represented by the symbol X in the figure. The left-right direction is represented by the symbol Y in the figure, and the up-down direction is represented by the symbol Z in the figure. The left-right direction is synonymous with the width direction and the horizontal direction, and the up-down direction is synonymous with the height direction. The references for these directions are for convenience and do not necessarily coincide with the references for directions when the connector 10 is mounted on a vehicle or the like (not shown).

[0017] (Structure of connector 10) The housing 11 is made of synthetic resin, and has a housing main body 12 in the shape of a rectangular block that is long in the left-right direction, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. As shown in Figure 2, the housing main body 12 has a plurality of cavities 13 extending in the front-rear direction. The cavities 13 are arranged in two rows, one above the other, in the left-right direction in the housing main body 12. A terminal fitting 60 is inserted into each cavity 13 from the rear.

[0018] The terminal fitting 60 is integrally formed by bending a conductive metal plate. As shown in Fig. 2, the terminal fitting 60 has a cylindrical main body 61 and a band-shaped lead portion 62 (see Fig. 1) extending rearward from the main body 61. The main body 61 is accommodated in the cavity 13 of the housing body 12. A tab of a mating terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted inside the main body 61. The tab is connected to an elastic contact portion 64 that is arranged inside the main body 61 so as to be elastically deformable.

[0019] The lead portion 62 is pulled out rearward from the housing 11 and disposed outside the housing 11. A board connection portion 63 is formed at the tip of the lead portion 62 and disposed along the surface of the circuit board 80. As shown in FIG. 1, the board connection portion 63 is connected by soldering to a conductive portion 81 (pad) formed on the circuit board 80. The conductive portions 81 are disposed on the circuit board 80 in a zigzag pattern in the front-rear direction while being aligned in multiple rows in the left-right direction. The conductive portions 81 are formed on a flexible film-like insulating portion 82 on the surface of the circuit board 80. The insulating portion 82 is laminated on a hard reinforcing plate 83.

[0020] The housing 11 has a lock arm 14 that protrudes from the upper surface of the housing body 12. The lock arm 14 is elastically deformable and engages a mating housing 110 of the mating connector 100 to hold the connector 10 and the mating connector 100 in a mated state.

[0021] The fixing metal fittings 90 are press-fitted into the left and right side surfaces of the housing main body 12 and held therein. The fixing metal fittings 90 are metal plates and are arranged with their plate surfaces facing in the left-right direction. The lower end of the fixing metal fittings 90 penetrates the circuit board 80 and is fixed by soldering. The housing 11 is fixed to the circuit board 80 via the fixing metal fittings 90.

[0022] The housing 11 has a bridge portion 15 connected to the rear end of the lock arm 14. The bridge portion 15 is bridged above the rear end of the housing body 12 so as to extend in the left-right direction. As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the housing 11 also has a pair of protective walls 16 protruding rearward from both left and right ends of the housing body 12. Each protective wall 16 has a height dimension that covers the entire height of the housing body 12. Root portions 17 on both the left and right sides of the bridge portion 15 are connected to the upper end surfaces of the corresponding protective walls 16. The lead portions 62 of each terminal fitting 60 are covered and protected from both the left and right sides by the protective walls 16 behind the housing body 12.

[0023] At the rear of the housing 11, the spaces between the protective walls 16 and behind the rear surface of the housing body 12 are filled with a sealing material such as a potting material (not shown). By filling the spaces with the sealing material, it is possible to make the connector 10 waterproof and dustproof.

[0024] 1 and 4, the housing 11 has a cover member 18 that covers the rear surface of the housing main body 12. The cover member 18 covers the rear of the main body 61 of the terminal fittings 60 to prevent the inflow of the sealant into the main body 61. The cover member 18 is formed with through holes 19 through which the lead portions 62 of the terminal fittings 60 are inserted. A pair of cover lock portions 21 are formed to protrude from the left and right ends of the cover member 18. Each cover lock portion 21 is elastically deformable and engages with a cover lock receiving portion 22 formed on the corresponding protective wall 16 to prevent the cover member 18 from slipping out of the housing main body 12.

[0025] 1 and 4, each protective wall 16 has a protective main body portion 23 and a locking portion 24 that protrudes downward from the rear of the protective main body portion 23. The protective main body portion 23 is a portion that is installed on the surface of the circuit board 80. The cover lock receiving portion 22 is formed on the inner surface of the protective main body portion 23. The locking portion 24 has protrusions 25 that protrude downward from the left and right outer ends on the lower surface of the protective main body portion 23, and locking claws 26 that bend inwardly to the left and right from the lower ends of the protrusions 25.

[0026] 1 and 3, the protrusion 25 is fitted into a recess 84 of the circuit board 80. The recess 84 is a cutout portion formed in the end face on both the left and right sides of the circuit board 80. The locking claws 26 are arranged along the back surface of the reinforcing plate 83 of the circuit board 80. The locking claws 26 hold the circuit board 80 between the inner left and right ends of the lower face of the opposing protection main body 23 by sandwiching it in the thickness direction. The rear part of the housing 11 is engaged with and held by the circuit board 80 via the locking parts 24.

[0027] (Function of Connector 10) 1, both left and right ends of the rear portion of the housing 11 are fixed (locked) to the circuit board 80 via locking portions 24. And both left and right ends of the front portion of the housing 11 are fixed to the circuit board 80 via fixing brackets 90.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 1, each locking portion 24 is disposed adjacent to each conductive portion 81 on the left and right outer sides of each conductive portion 81 aligned in the left-right direction. In other words, each locking portion 24 is disposed adjacent to each board connection portion 63 on the left and right outer sides of the board connection portion 63 of each terminal fitting 60 aligned in the left-right direction. In short, each locking portion 24 is disposed at a position overlapping each conductive portion 81 and each board connection portion 63 when viewed from the left-right direction (horizontal direction). For convenience, only the terminal fitting 60 disposed on one left or right end side is shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

[0029] The circuit board 80 is disposed so as to extend rearward from the end where the housing 11 is installed. Even if an external force that elastically deforms the circuit board 80 acts on the extending portion of the circuit board 80, the locking structure of the locking portion 24 with respect to the circuit board 80 can suppress movement of the connection portion between the board connection portion 63 and the conductive portion 81. This can prevent cracks from occurring at the connection portion between the board connection portion 63 and the conductive portion 81, or prevent the board connection portion 63 from peeling off from the conductive portion 81.

[0030] As described above, the connector 10 of the first embodiment includes the terminal fittings 60, the housing 11 that holds the terminal fittings 60, and the locking portion 24 that locks the housing 11 to the circuit board 80. The terminal fittings 60 have a main body portion 61 that is accommodated inside the housing 11, and a board connecting portion 63 that is disposed outside the housing 11 behind the main body portion 61 and connected to the circuit board 80. The locking portion 24 is disposed at a position that overlaps with the board connecting portion 63 when viewed from a lateral direction (left-right direction) that intersects with the front-rear direction.

[0031] According to the above configuration, when an external force acts on the circuit board 80, the locking portion 24 that locks the housing 11 to the circuit board 80 can prevent the external force from being transmitted to the connection position between the board connection portion 63 and the circuit board 80. As a result, the connected state between the board connection portion 63 and the circuit board 80 can be maintained, and the connection reliability of the terminal fitting 60 to the circuit board 80 can be ensured.

[0032] Furthermore, the housing 11 has protective walls 16 on both lateral sides of the board connection portion 63, which laterally cover the board connection portion 63. The locking portion 24 is provided on the protective walls 16. With this configuration, the protective walls 16 can have the functions of protecting the board connection portion 63 from the lateral direction, fixing the housing 11 to the circuit board 80, and suppressing the transmission of external forces to the board connection portion 63.

[0033] Furthermore, a fixing bracket 90 is attached to the housing 11 and is fixed to the circuit board 80 by soldering. The fixing bracket 90 is disposed in front of the protective wall 16 of the housing 11, and the locking portion 24 is provided integrally with the protective wall 16. According to this configuration, the housing 11 can be stably held to the circuit board 80 by the locking portion 24 and the fixing bracket 90 which is separate from the locking portion 24.

[0034] <Embodiment 2> 5 and 6, connector 10A of embodiment 2 has a locking portion formed by a fixing member 24A separate from housing 11A, which differs from connector 10 of embodiment 1. Other than that, there are many parts in common with embodiment 1, and the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or corresponding parts to embodiment 1, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0035] No fixing bracket 90 is attached to the front of the housing 11A, and both left and right side surfaces of the housing body 12 are formed as smooth wall surfaces. As shown in Fig. 6, the portion of the housing 11A forward of the bridge portion 15 constitutes a fitted portion 27 that is fitted into the inside of the mating housing 110. The lock arm 14 is formed in the fitted portion 27. The front end of the circuit board 80 is located rearward of the fitted portion 27. Each protective wall 16A is formed with a mounting groove 28. The mounting groove 28 penetrates in the up-down direction within the wall thickness range of the protective wall 16A with the groove width directed in the front-rear direction.

[0036] The fixing member 24A is a metal plate material and is disposed with the plate surface facing the left-right direction. The fixing member 24A is pressed into the mounting groove 28 of each protective wall 16A from above and held therein. The fixing member 24A has the same shape as the fixing metal fitting 90. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the fixing member 24A has a housing fixing portion 31 that is engaged with and held by the groove surface of the mounting groove 28, and a board fixing portion 32 that protrudes downward from the housing fixing portion 31. The board fixing portion 32 has a plurality of legs 33 that extend in the up-down direction. The legs 33 are disposed at intervals in the front-rear direction at the lower end of the housing fixing portion 31. The legs 33 of the board fixing portion 32 are inserted into fixing holes 85 formed in the circuit board 80 and fixed to the circuit board 80 by soldering.

[0037] As in the first embodiment, the board connection portions 63 of the terminal fittings 60 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction on the surface of the circuit board 80. The fixing members 24A are arranged adjacent to each board connection portion 63 on both the left and right sides of each board connection portion 63. If an external force acts on the circuit board 80, the locking structure (fixing structure) of the fixing members 24A relative to the circuit board 80 prevents the external force from being transmitted to the connection portions between each board connection portion 63 and each conductive portion 81. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the connection state between each board connection portion 63 and each conductive portion 81 can be stably maintained.

[0038] Particularly in the case of the second embodiment, the locking portion is a fixing member 24A attached to the protective wall 16A. The fixing member 24A has a board fixing portion 32 that is fixed to the circuit board 80 by soldering. Therefore, the housing 11A can be fixed to the circuit board 80 only by the fixing member 24A, and there is no need to provide a dedicated fixing metal fitting.

[0039] Furthermore, the housing 11A has a mating portion 27 that is mated with the mating connector 100, and the fixing member 24A is disposed rearward and away from the mating portion 27. This allows the fixing member 24A and the mating connector 100 to be free from the constraints imposed by each other's shapes, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in the shapes of the fixing member 24A and the mating connector 100.

[0040] [Another embodiment of the present disclosure] The above-described first and second embodiments disclosed herein should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. In the case of the above-mentioned embodiments 1 and 2, a sealing material such as a potting material is filled in the rear of the housing 11, 11A, and a cover member 18 is disposed on the rear surface of the housing main body 12 to prevent the sealing material from flowing into the housing main body 12. In contrast to this, according to other embodiments, the housing may not be filled with a sealing material, and the cover member may be omitted from the connector. In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the circuit board 80 is configured as a flat flexible board such as an FPC, etc. In contrast to this, according to other embodiments, the circuit board may be configured as a board having rigidity. In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the locking portion 24, 24A is provided on the protective wall 16, 16A. In contrast, according to other embodiments, the locking portion may be provided separately from the protective wall as long as it is disposed at a position overlapping with the board connection portion when viewed from the left-right direction. In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the locking portions are arranged in pairs on both the left and right sides of the board connecting portion of each terminal fitting. In contrast, in other embodiments, the locking portions may be arranged on only one of the left and right sides of the board connecting portion of each terminal fitting. In the case of the above-mentioned embodiment 1, the protrusion 25 is fitted into the recess 84 of the circuit board 80, thereby positioning the housing 11 with respect to the circuit board 80. In contrast, according to another embodiment, a boss may be provided on the bottom surface of the housing, and the boss may be fitted into a positioning hole formed in the circuit board, thereby positioning the housing with respect to the circuit board. In the case of the above-mentioned embodiment 2, the board fixing portion 32 of the fixing member 24A had a plurality of legs 33 that were inserted into the fixing holes 85 of the circuit board 80. In contrast to this, according to other embodiments, the board fixing portion of the fixing member may be configured with a plate-like portion that intersects and continues to the housing fixing portion and is disposed along the surface of the circuit board. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 10,10A…connector 11,11A…Housing 12…Housing body 13…Cavity 14…Lock arm 15…Erection part 16,16A…protection wall 17…Base 18…Cover member 19...Through hole 21…Cover lock part 22…Cover lock receiving part 23…Protection body 24…Latching part 24A…Fixing member (locking part) 25...Protrusion 26…Latching claw 27…Fitting part 28…Mounting groove 31…Housing fixing part 32...Board fixing part 33…legs 60...Terminal fitting 61...Main body 62…Lead section 63...Board connection part 64...Elastic contact part 80…Circuit board 81...Conductive part 82…Insulation section 83…Reinforcement plate 84…Recess 85…Fixing hole 90…Fixing bracket 100…Mating connector 110…Mating housing

Claims

1. A terminal fitting, a housing for holding the terminal fittings; a locking portion that locks the housing to a circuit board, the terminal fitting has a main body portion accommodated in the housing, and a board connection portion disposed outside the housing rearward of the main body portion and connected to the circuit board, The connector, wherein the locking portion is positioned at a position overlapping the board connection portion when viewed from a lateral direction intersecting with the front-rear direction.

2. the housing has protective walls on both sides of the board connection portion in the lateral direction, the protective walls covering the board connection portion in the lateral direction, The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the locking portion is provided on the protective wall.

3. 3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the engaging portion is a fixing member attached to the protective wall, and has a board fixing portion that is soldered and fixed to the circuit board.

4. The housing has a mating portion that is mated with a mating connector, The connector according to claim 3 , wherein the locking portion is disposed rearward and spaced apart from the mating portion.

5. A fixing metal fitting is attached to the housing and is fixed to the circuit board by soldering, the fixing metal fitting is disposed forward of the protective wall on the housing, The connector according to claim 2 , wherein the locking portion is integrally provided on the protective wall.

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