Connector

Abstract

To prevent breakage of a power supply terminal while suppressing an increase of a connector length and reduction in a strength of a housing.SOLUTION: A connector 100A comprises a pair of reinforcement fittings 80. The reinforcement fitting 80 includes a pair of second terminals consisting of a first extension part 861 extending from a position which is in a lower end of an outer side face of a second guide part 83 and opposed to a middle region of the second guide part 83 toward a mating second guide part 83 and a second extension part 862 extending from an end portion of the first extension part 861 toward a slit 69 and a notched part 85. The notched part 85 is provided at a position which is not interfered with a corner of a protective part 81 and a corner formed from a first guide part 82 and the second guide part 83, such that a lower end side of the corner of the protective part 81 and the corner formed from the first guide part 82 and the second guide part 83 is continued with a bottom plate part 84 without gaps.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a connector that is mounted on a board and used as, for example, a board-to-board connector. [Background technology]

[0002] FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1 as a conventional example of a connector. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a guide member of the receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1, with FIG. 13A being a perspective view seen from a first direction and FIG. 13B being a perspective view seen from a second direction. The receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1 includes an insulator 210 and guide members 250 connected to both sides of the insulator 210. The guide member 250 includes an upper surface 610 and first, second, and third inner surfaces 632, 634, and 636 extending from the upper surface 610 and bent toward the inside of the insulator 210. The bent portions between the upper surface and the first to third inner surfaces are formed continuously from an end portion 633 of the first inner surface bent toward the inside in the longitudinal direction of the insulator to an end portion 635 of the second inner surface bent toward the inside in the longitudinal direction of the insulator. The guide member 250 further includes contact portions 650 extending from the first outer surface 642 and the second outer surface 644 to contact electrical terminals of the plug connector 100. The contact portions 650 include a left contact portion 650a extending from the first outer surface 642 and a right contact portion 650b extending from the second outer surface 644, and the left contact portion 650a and the right contact portion 650b have the same shape. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0000684 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1, guide member 250 is connected to both sides of insulator 210, and contact portion 650 is provided closer to the center in the longitudinal direction of insulator 210 than terminal ends 633, 635. As a result, contact portion 650 is located at the end of guide member 250, making it susceptible to damage from external forces received when mating with or separating from a mating connector.

[0005] To avoid this, one possible solution is to add a guide portion that protects the contact portion 650, closer to the center of the insulator 210 in the longitudinal direction than the contact portion 650.

[0006] However, miniaturization is often required for board-to-board connectors, and providing an additional guide portion would cause the guide member 250 to extend in the longitudinal direction of the insulator 210, resulting in an increase in the length of the connector, which would be counter to the goal of miniaturization.

[0007] In view of this problem, the present disclosure aims to provide a connector that can prevent damage to power terminals while suppressing an increase in connector length and a decrease in connector strength. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The connector according to this embodiment includes a resin housing, a pair of reinforcing metal fittings respectively incorporated into both longitudinal ends of the housing, and a first terminal arranged and held in the housing between the pair of reinforcing metal fittings. The housing has an island-shaped portion extending in the longitudinal direction, a peripheral wall surrounding the island-shaped portion and consisting of a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls, and an accommodating recess formed between the peripheral wall and the island-shaped portion to accommodate a mating portion of a mating connector, and the first terminal is located in the accommodating recess along the longitudinal side surface of the island-shaped portion. The reinforcing metal fitting has a protective portion that covers a first region including two corners at the longitudinal end of the island-shaped portion; a first guide portion that covers the end wall; a pair of second guide portions that cover the side wall from both ends of the first guide portion to a position aligned with the protective portion toward the mating reinforcing metal fitting; a bottom plate portion that covers the accommodating recess and thereby integrally connects the protective portion, the first guide portion, and the pair of second guide portions; cutout portions that are provided in each intermediate region in the extension direction of the second guide portions and are cut out from a part of the outer side surface of the second guide portions to a position close to the bottom plate portion on the inner side surface so as to expose slits provided in the housing; a first extension portion that is at the lower end of the outer side surface of the second guide portion and extends from a position opposite the intermediate region toward the mating second guide portion to a position opposite the slit; and a pair of second terminals that extend from the extending end of the first extension portion toward the slit and cutout portion. The cutout portion is positioned so as not to interfere with the corners of the protective portion and the corners formed by the first guide portion and the second guide portion, so that the lower end sides of the corners of the protective portion and the corners formed by the first guide portion and the second guide portion are continuously connected to the bottom plate portion without any gaps. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the connector of the present disclosure, damage to the power terminals can be prevented while suppressing an increase in the connector length and a decrease in the connector strength. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a connector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the connector 100A with the middle portion thereof omitted. [Figure 3] 3A and 3B are enlarged views of one longitudinal end of connector 100A, with reinforcing metal fitting 80 not shown, with FIG. 3A being a plan view and FIG. 3B being a perspective view. [Figure 4] 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 2, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG in FIG. [Figure 5] 5A and 5B are longitudinal cross-sectional views of the connector 100A, where FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line HH in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line II in FIG. [Figure 6] 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of the connector 100A in the short direction, with FIG. 6A being a cross-sectional view taken along line JJ in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6B being a cross-sectional view taken along line KK in FIG. [Figure 7] 7A and 7B are diagrams showing a reinforcing metal fitting 80, with FIG. 7A being a perspective view and FIG. 7B being a plan view. [Figure 8] 8A, 8B, and 8C are views showing the reinforcing metal fitting 80, with FIG. 8A being a front view, FIG. 8B being a left side view, and FIG. 8C being a rear view. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a mating connector to be mated with connector 100A. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the mating state of the connector 100A and the mating connector 200A. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the portion where second terminal 86 of reinforcing metal fitting 80 of connector 100A is located when connector 100A and mating connector 200A are mated and connected. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1 as a conventional example of a connector. [Figure 13] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing a guide member of a receptacle connector described in Patent Document 1, where FIG. 13A is a perspective view seen from a first direction and FIG. 13B is a perspective view seen from a second direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] <<Connector>> Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one example of a connector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of connector 100A with the middle portion thereof omitted. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of one longitudinal end of connector 100A with reinforcing metal fittings 80 not shown, with Fig. 3A being a plan view and Fig. 3B being a perspective view. As shown in Fig. 1, connector 100A is composed of a resin housing 60, a number of metal first terminals 70, and a pair of reinforcing metal fittings 80.

[0013] <Housing 60> The housing 60 has a long, flat shape and includes an island-shaped portion 61 , a peripheral wall 62 , and a bottom plate portion 66 .

[0014] (Island 61) The island-shaped portion 61 has a long, approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the housing 60 (the x-axis direction in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 3, the island-shaped portion 61 has two corners 612 at each of its two end portions 611. In the present disclosure, the region including the two corners 612 at the end portion 611 (the region within the dotted line in FIG. 3) is referred to as a first region 610.

[0015] (peripheral wall 62) Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of connector 100A in the short direction, Fig. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE in Fig. 2, Fig. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of connector 100A in the long direction, Fig. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line HH in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line II in Fig. 2.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, the peripheral wall 62 consists of a pair of side walls 62a, 62b that are peripheral walls in the longitudinal direction, and a pair of end walls 62c, 62d that are peripheral walls in the short direction (the y-axis direction in Figure 1), and forms a rectangular frame shape that surrounds the island-shaped portion 61.

[0017] In this example, side walls 62a, 62b of peripheral wall 62 are formed by insert molding, with the inside of second guide portion 83 having an inverted U-shaped cross section and the outside of leg portion 831 filled with an insulator, as shown in Figures 4B and 4C, to form a substantially trapezoidal cross section. As leg portion 831 is positioned in side walls 62a, 62b, openings 62a1, 62a2 and openings 62b1, 62b2 are formed, as shown in Figure 3.

[0018] In this example, the end walls 62c, 62d of the peripheral wall 62 are formed by insert molding, and the inside of the first guide portion 82, which has an inverted U-shaped cross section, and the outside of the leg portions 821 are filled with an insulator, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the end walls 62c, 62d have a substantially trapezoidal cross section as shown in Fig. 5. As the leg portions 821 are positioned in the end walls 62c, an opening 62c1 is formed in the end wall 62c, as shown in Fig. 3. An opening 62d1 (not shown) is formed in the end wall 62d.

[0019] The side walls 62a, 62b are provided with slits 69 extending across a position adjacent to the opening 66a of the bottom plate portion 66, through which second terminals 86 (described later) can be inserted. The slits 69 are provided in positions facing notches 85 (described later) when the bottom plate portion 84 of the reinforcing metal fitting 80 is assembled to fit into the accommodating recess 63 of the housing 60. The side walls 62a, 62b are each formed with recesses 68 adjacent to the slits 69, which allow elastic deformation of the second terminals 86 when the reinforcing metal fitting 80 comes into contact with the mating connector 200A. The side walls 62a, 62b (FIG. 4A) in the areas where the slits 69 and recesses 68 are provided have smaller cross sections than the areas (FIGS. 4B and 4C) where they are not provided, and the thickness of the side walls 62a, 62b is formed to be partially thinner.

[0020] (Bottom plate part 66) The island-shaped portion 61 and the peripheral wall 62 are connected by a bottom plate portion 66. As a result, an accommodating recess 63 for accommodating a mating portion of a mating connector is formed between the island-shaped portion 61 and the peripheral wall 62. In this example, the bottom plate portion 66 has openings 66a (FIG. 3B) in a region surrounded by the end wall 62c (or end wall 62d), the side walls 62a and 62b, and the first region 610 at both ends of the bottom plate portion 66 in the longitudinal direction (the x-axis direction in FIG. 3).

[0021] <1st terminal 70> Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of connector 100A in the short direction, with Fig. 6A being a cross-sectional view taken along line JJ in Fig. 2 and Fig. 6B being a cross-sectional view taken along line KK in Fig. 2. First terminal 70 (Fig. 1) is a cantilever terminal used, for example, as a signal terminal. In this example, first terminal 70 is incorporated into housing 60 by insert molding. First terminals 70 are located in positions along side surfaces 61a, 61b in the longitudinal direction of island-shaped portion 61 in accommodating recess 63, and are arranged in the longitudinal direction of island-shaped portion 61 between two reinforcing metal fittings 80 and held in housing 60.

[0022] In this example, the first terminals 70 are arranged in a staggered pattern, and when the arrangement of the first terminals 70 is counted from left to right in Figure 2 as 1st row, 2nd row, ..., the cross section of the connector 100A at the portion where the odd-numbered rows of first terminals 70 are located and the cross section of the connector 100A at the portion where the even-numbered rows of first terminals 70 are located are as shown in Figures 6A and 6B, respectively.

[0023] 6A and 6B, the first terminal 70 itself has the same shape, and is composed of a connection portion 71 located on the bottom side of the housing 60 (the -z direction side in FIG. 6) and soldered to the board, a rising portion 72 rising from the connection portion 71, a first contact portion 73 bent back from the rising portion 72, a second contact portion 74 facing the first contact portion 73, and a connecting portion 75 connecting the lower ends of the first contact portion 73 and the second contact portion 74. The free end side of the second contact portion 74 is bent in a semicircular arc shape to approach the first contact portion 73, forming a bent portion 74a, and a protrusion 73a is formed on the first contact portion 73 facing the bent portion 74a.

[0024] Here, in the portion where the odd-numbered rows of first terminals 70 are located, recesses 64 and 65 are formed on the inner surfaces of the side surface 61a and side wall 62b of the island-shaped portion 61, respectively, and the second contact portions 74 of the first terminals 70 are allowed to elastically deform by these recesses 64 and 65. In the portion where the even-numbered rows of first terminals 70 are located, recesses 64 and 65 are formed on the inner surfaces of the side surface 61b and side wall 62a of the island-shaped portion 61, respectively, and the second contact portions 74 of the first terminals 70 are allowed to elastically deform by these recesses 64 and 65. In addition, in the bottom plate portion 66 of the housing 60 located on the bottom surface of the accommodating recess 63, slits 67 are formed in the portion where the connecting portions 75 of each first terminal 70 are located, as shown in FIG. 2, and the connecting portions 75 are located within the slits 67, thereby allowing the connecting portions 75 and the second contact portions 74 to elastically deform.

[0025] <Reinforcing bracket 80> Fig. 7 shows the reinforcing metal fitting 80, with Fig. 7A being a perspective view and Fig. 7B being a plan view. Fig. 8 shows the reinforcing metal fitting 80, with Fig. 8A being a front view, Fig. 8B being a left side view, and Fig. 8C being a rear view. The reinforcing metal fitting 80 is incorporated into both longitudinal ends of the housing 60. In this example, the reinforcing metal fitting 80 is incorporated into the housing 60 by insert molding. As shown in Fig. 7, the reinforcing metal fitting 80 includes a protective portion 81, a first guide portion 82, a pair of second guide portions 83, a bottom plate portion 84, and a pair of second terminals 86.

[0026] (Protection Department 81) The protective portion 81 covers a first region 610 (FIG. 3) including two corners 612 at an end 611 in the longitudinal direction of the island-shaped portion 61. The protective portion 81 protrudes upward (in the +z direction in FIG. 7) from a bottom plate portion 84 at an open portion of the U-shape formed by the first guide portion 82 and the pair of second guide portions 83, and is made up of an upper plate portion 81a, a pair of side plate portions 81b, and a back plate portion 81d (FIG. 8A) that are continuous with no gaps, and forms a box shape with open front side (the +x direction side in FIG. 7A) and bottom side (the -z direction side in FIG. 7A).

[0027] (First guide part 82) 5, the first guide portion 82 is composed of an outer leg portion 821, an upper plate portion 822, and an inner leg portion 823, and covers the end wall 62c or the end wall 63d. The first guide portion 82 and the pair of second guide portions 83 protrude upward (in the +z direction in FIG. 7) from the bottom plate portion 84, and each of the three sides forming the U-shape has an inverted U-shaped cross section.

[0028] A connecting portion 821a is provided at the lower end (the -z direction side in FIG. 8B) of the leg portion 821. The connecting portion 821a is located slightly below the bottom plate portion 84 (the -z direction side in FIG. 8A) and is bent outward in parallel with the bottom plate portion 84.

[0029] (Second guide part 83) 7 and 8, the pair of second guide portions 83 cover the side walls 62a, 62b from both ends of the first guide portion 82 toward the mating reinforcing metal fitting 80 to a position aligned with the protective portion 81. The second guide portion 83 is composed of an outer leg portion 831, an upper plate portion 832, and an inner leg portion 833, and covers the side wall 62a or 62b.

[0030] Contact portions 831a and 831b are provided at the lower end (the -z direction side in FIG. 8A) of leg portion 831. Connection portions 831a and 831b are each located slightly below bottom plate portion 84 (the -z direction side in FIG. 8A) and are bent outward in parallel with bottom plate portion 84.

[0031] (Bottom plate part 84) The bottom plate portion 84 covers predetermined regions at both ends of the bottom plate portion 66 in the longitudinal direction (the x-axis direction in FIG. 1), thereby integrally connecting the protection portion 81, the first guide portion 82, and the pair of second guide portions 83. The lower end sides (the -z direction sides in FIG. 7A ) of the leg portion 823, the pair of leg portions 833, the back plate portion 81d, and the pair of side plate portions 81b are integrally connected to the bottom plate portion 84.

[0032] As a result, the first guide portion 82 and the pair of second guide portions 83 form a U-shape in plan view as shown in FIG. 7B , and the protective portion 81 is located within the U-shape of the first guide portion 82 and the pair of second guide portions 83, which also form a U-shape in plan view. In this example, the first guide portion 82 and the pair of second guide portions 83 are formed by drawing. In this example, the protective portion 81 is also formed by drawing. That is, in this example, the first guide portion 82, the pair of second guide portions 83, and the protective portion 81 are formed by double drawing of sheet metal. By double drawing of sheet metal, the bottom plate portion 84 is formed so that there are no gaps between the first guide portion 82, the pair of second guide portions 83, and the protective portion 81, except for cutout portions 85, which will be described later.

[0033] (Notch 85) As shown in FIG. 7 , each of the pair of second guide portions 83 has a cutout portion 85 in a midway region in the extension direction (the +x direction in FIG. 7 ). In this example, the cutout portion 85 is provided so as to cut out the second guide portion 83 with a second width W2 from the upper plate portion 832 side of the leg portion 831, via the upper plate portion 832, to a position where the leg portion 833 slightly intrudes into the bottom plate portion 84. The size of the cutout portion 85 may be adjusted appropriately depending on the relationship with the second terminal 86. For example, the length of the cutout portion 85 may not reach the position where the leg portion 833 slightly intrudes into the bottom plate portion 84, but may extend to a position where the leg portion 833 is close to the bottom plate portion 84. The cutout portion 85 is provided in the second guide portion 83 so as to expose the slit 69 provided in the housing 60 when the reinforcing bracket 80 is installed in the housing 60.

[0034] By providing the cutout portion 85, the second guide portion 83 is composed of three regions: second guide portions 83A and 83B having an inverted U-shaped cross section, as shown in Figure 8B, and second guide portion 83C which connects these and forms part of the leg portion 831 of the second guide portion 83.

[0035] When the protective portion 81, the first guide portion 82, and the second guide portion 83 are formed by drawing, the reinforcing metal fitting 80 is formed from a single sheet of metal. When the reinforcing metal fitting 80 is formed from a single sheet of metal by drawing, the thickness of the metal fitting is often uneven, particularly in the drawn portions (bent portions). This uneven thickness tends to be thinnest, for example, at corners. For this reason, from the perspective of ensuring rigidity, it is preferable to position the notch 85 in a position that avoids, as much as possible, the corners formed by the first guide portion 82 and the second guide portion 83 and the corners formed by the protective portion 81.

[0036] By arranging the auxiliary notch 85 in the position described above, the second terminal 86 can be more reliably protected from damage and can also contribute to reducing the rigidity of the reinforcing metal fitting 80.

[0037] (2nd terminal 86) The second terminal 86 is a terminal used as, for example, a power terminal. The second terminal 86 has a first extending portion 861 and a second extending portion 862. The second terminal 86 acts as a cantilever with the first extending portion 861 side fixed.

[0038] The first extending portion 861 extends from a position facing the notch portion 85, which is a midway region on the extending side (the +x direction side in FIG. 7 ) of the second guide portion 83, on the lower end side of the leg portion 831 of the second guide portion 83, toward the mating second guide portion 83 to a position facing the slit 69. As shown in FIG. 7 , the first extending portion 861 has a width (third width W3) that is wider than the first width W1 (FIG. 2), which is the width of the first terminal 70, and narrower than the width (second width W2) of the notch portion 85. The first extending portion 861 is located within the slit 69. The housing 60 has the slit 69, so that the first extending portion 861 and the second extending portion 862 are allowed to elastically deform.

[0039] The second extending portion 862 extends upward (toward the slit 69 and the notch 85) from the extending end of the first extending portion 861. A bent portion 862c (FIG. 4A) that bends toward the leg portion 831 is formed at the tip of the second extending portion 862. At least a portion of the second extending portion 862 on the bent portion 862c side is located slightly toward the mating second terminal 86 from the area of ​​the notch 85 in the second guide portion 83. In other words, the second extending portions 862 of the two cantilevered second terminals 86 extend from the slit 69 and the notch 85 upward through the accommodating recess 63 of the housing 60 (toward the +z direction in FIG. 11) to reach the contact portion 131 of the mating connector 200A, and are located so as to sandwich the contact portion 131, with their tips located inside the lateral direction of the housing 60 (the y-axis direction in FIG. 11). The width (fourth width W4) of the second extending portion 862 is formed narrower than the third width W3 of the first extending portion 861. The recessed portion 68 of the housing 60 allows the second terminal 86 to come into contact with the contact portion 131 of the mating connector and to be elastically deformed.

[0040] By incorporating the reinforcing metal fittings 80 having the above-described shape into both longitudinal ends of the housing 60, a first region 610 including two corners 612 at a longitudinal end 611 of the island-shaped portion 61 of the housing 60 is covered by the protective portion 81, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . The end walls 62c, 62d of the peripheral wall 62 are covered by the first guide portion 82. The side walls 62a, 62b of the peripheral wall 62 are covered by the second guide portion 83 in a region of a predetermined length extending from both ends of the end wall 62c, 62d toward the opposing end walls 62d, 62c. In other words, with the bottom plate portion 84 fitted into both longitudinal ends of the installation recess 63 of the housing 60, the reinforcing metal fitting 80 is incorporated into the housing 60 in a position covering the end wall 62c (or end wall 62d), portions of the side walls 62a, 62b, and the first region 610.

[0041] <<Mating connector>> 9 is a perspective view showing a mating connector to be mated with connector 100 A. Mating connector 200 A shown in FIG.

[0042] Housing 110 has a long, narrow rectangular frame shape, with a pair of long sides holding and arranging a large number of terminals 120. Reinforcing metal fittings 130 are arranged at both ends of housing 110 in the longitudinal direction (x-axis direction in FIG. 9), and in this example, both terminals 120 and reinforcing metal fittings 130 are incorporated into housing 110 by insert molding.

[0043] <<Mating connector with mating connector>> Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the mating state of the connector 100A and the mating connector 200A. The boards on which the connector 100A and the mating connector 200A are mounted are not shown in Fig. 10. When the connector 100A and the mating connector 200A are mated, the mating connector 200A is fitted into and connected to the accommodating recess 63 of the connector 100A.

[0044] Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the portion where second terminals 86 of reinforcing metal fitting 80 of connector 100A are located when connector 100A and mating connector 200A are mated and connected. Fig. 11 also shows boards 300 and 400 on which connector 100A and mating connector 200A are mounted, respectively. As shown in Fig. 11, second extension portions 862 of two second terminals 86 provided on reinforcing metal fitting 80 of connector 100A come into contact with contact portions 131 provided on reinforcing metal fitting 130 of mating connector 200A.

[0045] The configuration of connector 100A as one embodiment of a connector according to the present disclosure has been described above. Also, the configuration of mating connector 200A and the mating state with mating connector 200A have been described. The configuration of connector 100A according to the present disclosure has the following advantages.

[0046] (1) Reinforcing metal fittings 80 incorporated into both ends of connector 100A include a protective portion 81 that covers first region 610, a first guide portion 82 that covers end wall 62c (or end wall 62d), and a pair of second guide portions 83 that cover side walls 62a, 62b. Reinforcing metal fittings 80 include cutouts 85. The cutouts 85 are provided in the middle of the second guide portions 83 in the extension direction, and are cut out to expose slits 69 provided in housing 60 from a portion of the outer side surface (leg portion 831) of second guide portion 83 to a position close to bottom plate portion 84 on the inner side surface (leg portion 833). Therefore, providing cutouts 85 reduces the rigidity of reinforcing metal fittings 80.

[0047] However, the reinforcing metal fitting 80 includes a bottom plate portion 84 that integrally connects the protective portion 81, the first guide portion 82, and the pair of second guide portions 83, which is not found in Patent Document 1. Here, although the second guide portion 83 has a notch portion 85, the lower end side of the notch portion 85 is connected. That is, the second guide portions 83A, 83B, 83B maintain a connected structure. In particular, a reinforcing metal fitting formed three-dimensionally from a single sheet metal by double drawing has an uneven thickness, with the corners being the thinnest. This reduces the strength of the corners of the protective portion 81 (a pair of corners C1 shown in FIG. 7A ) and the corners formed by the guide portion 82 and the pair of second guide portions 83 (a pair of corners C3 shown in FIG. 7A ), making them more susceptible to deformation and breakage. The cutout portions 85 of the present disclosure are provided at positions that do not interfere with the corners (corner portions C1) of the protective portion 81 and the corners (corner portions C3) formed between the guide portion 82 and the pair of second guide portions 83. Therefore, the lower end sides (pair of corner portions C2 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B) of the corner portions C1 of the protective portion 81 and the lower end sides (pair of corner portions C4 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B) of the corners C3 formed by the first guide portion 82 and the pair of second guide portions 83 are continuously connected to the bottom plate portion without any gaps, which has the effect of preventing deformation and damage to the protective portion 81, the guide portions 82, and the second guide portions 83.

[0048] Therefore, although the reinforcing bracket 80 has reduced rigidity compared to a structure that does not have the cutout portion 85 due to the limited position of the cutout portion 85, the protective portion 81, the first guide portion 82, and the pair of second guide portions 83 are integrally connected to the bottom plate portion 84, thereby ensuring high rigidity.

[0049] The reinforcing metal fitting 80 is provided with a pair of second terminals 86. The second terminals 86 are each composed of a first extension portion 861, which is the lower end of a leg portion 831 of the second guide portion 83 and extends from a position facing the midpoint of the extension direction of the second guide portion 83 toward the mating second guide portion 83 to a position facing the slit 69, and a second extension portion 862, which extends from the end of the extension side of the first extension portion 861 toward the slit 69 and the notch 85. That is, the second terminals 86 are not located at the end of the guide member, as is the contact portion 650 of the connector of Patent Document 1, but are located between the second guide portions 83A and 83B. Therefore, the second terminals 86 are structured to be protected from damage by the second guide portions 83A and 83B.

[0050] The reinforcing metal fitting 80 of the present disclosure does not employ a configuration in which the extension length of the second guide portion 83 is increased to add a guide portion in order to prevent damage to the second terminal 86. The reinforcing metal fitting 80 has a notch 85 in a region of the second guide portion 83 that corresponds to the second guide portion 83C, and the second terminal 86 is positioned between the second guide portion 83A and the second guide portion 83B. Therefore, while damage to the second terminal 86 is prevented, the overall length of the connector 100A does not increase.

[0051] Therefore, the housing 60 is protected and reinforced by the presence of extremely large metal portions integrally formed at both ends thereof, and the reinforcing metal fitting 80 itself is strong, resulting in a connector with excellent strength that is not damaged by external forces, for example, when mating with or separating from a mating connector. The second terminal 86 of the reinforcing metal fitting 80 is also protected by the second guide portions 83A, 83B from damage due to external forces, for example, when mating with or separating from a mating connector. Therefore, the connector of the present disclosure can prevent damage to the second terminal 86, which can be used as a power terminal, while minimizing an increase in connector length and a decrease in connector strength.

[0052] The above describes an embodiment of the present disclosure. While the reinforcing metal fitting 80 has been described as being formed by double drawing, the reinforcing metal fitting 80 of the present disclosure is not limited to this method, and other manufacturing methods may be used as long as the reinforcing metal fitting 80 can be formed using the same structure. While the connector 100A has been described as being obtained by insert molding, the connector 100A of the present disclosure is not limited to this method, and other manufacturing methods may be used as long as a similar connector can be obtained. Needless to say, the connector 100A described above can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 100A Connector 110 Housing 120 Terminal 130 Reinforcement metal fitting 131 Contact part 200A Mating connector 300,400 PCB 60 Housing 61 Island 61a, 61b Side 611 End 612 Corner 62 Peripheral wall 62a,62b Side wall 62a1,62a2,62b1,62b2 opening 62c, 62d End wall 63 Receiving recess 64,65 Recess 66 Bottom plate 66a Opening 67 Slit 68 recess 68 slit 70 First terminal 71 Connection part 72 Rising portion 73 First contact portion 73a Projection 74 Second contact part 74a Bending section 75 Connection section 80 Reinforcement metal fittings 81 Protective part 81a Upper plate portion 81b, 81c Side plate portion 81d Back plate portion 82 First guide portion 821,823 Leg 822 Upper plate 822 83 Second guide portion 831a, 831b Contact portion 831,833 Legs 832 Upper plate 84 Bottom plate part 821a Connection part 862c Bending section W1 First width W2 Second width W3 Third width W4 4th width C1,C2,C3,C4 corner

Claims

1. A connector comprising a resin housing, a pair of reinforcing metal fittings respectively incorporated into both longitudinal end portions of the housing, and first terminals arranged and held in the housing between the pair of reinforcing metal fittings, the housing has an island-shaped portion extending in the longitudinal direction, a peripheral wall surrounding the island-shaped portion, which is made up of a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls, and an accommodating recess formed between the peripheral wall and the island-shaped portion and accommodating a mating portion of a mating connector, the first terminal is located at a position along a side surface of the island-shaped portion in the longitudinal direction in the accommodating recess, The reinforcing metal fittings are a protective portion covering a first region including two corners at longitudinal ends of the island-shaped portion; a first guide portion covering the end wall; a pair of second guide portions covering the side walls from both ends of the first guide portion toward the mating reinforcing metal fitting to a position aligned with the protective portion; a bottom plate portion that covers the accommodation recess and thereby integrally connects the protection portion, the first guide portion, and the pair of second guide portions; a cutout portion provided in a middle region of each of the second guide portions in the extension direction, the cutout portion extending from a part of the outer side surface of the second guide portion to a position close to the bottom plate portion on the inner side surface of the second guide portion so as to expose a slit provided in the housing; a pair of second terminals each including a first extending portion that is a lower end of an outer side surface of the second guide portion and that extends from a position facing the intermediate region toward the mating second guide portion to a position facing the slit, and a second extending portion that extends from an end of the extending side of the first extending portion toward the slit and the notch, The notch is provided at a position where it does not interfere with the corner of the protection part and the corner formed by the first guide part and the second guide part, so that the corner of the protection part and the lower end side of the corner formed by the first guide part and the second guide part are continuously connected to the bottom plate part without any gap. connector.

2. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of a tip side of the second extending portion is located closer to the second terminal of the mating side than the region of the notch portion.

Images