Receptacle connector

Abstract

To provide a technique for improving robustness against displacement fitting of a terminal of an auxiliary metal fitting without sacrificing spring property of the terminal.SOLUTION: The receptacle assistant fitting 7 includes a power supply terminal 32 disposed on the peripheral wall 12. The power supply terminal 32 forms a U-shape opening in the fitting direction of the plug connector 3 so as to straddle the peripheral wall 12, and thus includes an inner contact piece 40 extending along the fitting direction inside the peripheral wall 12, an outer piece 41 extending along the fitting direction outside the peripheral wall 12, and a coupling piece 42 coupling the inner contact piece 40 and the outer piece 41. A gap 40B is formed between the inner contact piece 40 and the peripheral wall 12. When the plug connector 3 is fitted to the receptacle connector 2, the inner contact piece 40 moves toward the peripheral wall 12 by contact with the plug connector 3, and the outer piece 41 moves away from the peripheral wall 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a receptacle connector 103 that includes a resin housing 100, and signal terminals 101 and auxiliary fittings 102 that are held in the housing 100, as shown in FIG.

[0003] Reinforcing metal fitting 102 reinforces housing 100 and is also used as a power terminal. Reinforcing metal fitting 102 has contact arms 106 that serve as power terminals and are raised from bottom 105. To prevent contact arms 106 from accidentally buckling when mating the plug connector with receptacle connector 103, tops 106A of contact arms 106 are designed to be lower than sidewall top surface reinforcing portions 107. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2024-056089 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above Patent Document 1, there is still room for improvement in terms of robustness against misaligned fitting.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for improving the robustness of the terminal of the auxiliary fitting against misaligned mating without sacrificing the spring properties of the terminal. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A receptacle connector is provided which can mate with a mating connector and includes a housing having a peripheral wall protruding from a bottom plate and an auxiliary fitting held by the housing, wherein the auxiliary fitting includes a terminal arranged on the peripheral wall, and the terminal forms a U-shape which opens in the mating direction of the mating connector so as to straddle the peripheral wall, and has an inner contact piece which extends in the mating direction inside the peripheral wall, an outer piece which extends in the mating direction outside the peripheral wall, and a connecting piece which connects the inner contact piece and the outer piece, wherein a gap is formed between the inner contact piece and the peripheral wall, and when the mating connector is mated with the receptacle connector, the inner contact piece moves toward the peripheral wall due to contact with the mating connector, and the outer piece moves away from the peripheral wall. The thickness of the peripheral wall may be greater than the thickness of the gap in the direction in which the inner contact piece and the outer piece face each other. The connecting piece may be in contact with the peripheral wall before the connectors are fitted together. The side surface of the terminal may not be in contact with the peripheral wall. The housing may have an island portion that protrudes from the bottom plate together with the peripheral wall inside the peripheral wall, and the reinforcing metal fitting may integrally include an island portion protector that protects the island portion and the terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the terminal is formed to straddle the peripheral wall, thereby improving robustness against misalignment of the terminal when mated. Furthermore, since the inner contact piece and the outer contact piece of the terminal move in the same direction relative to the peripheral wall when mated, the springiness of the inner contact piece is not sacrificed compared to when the outer contact piece is fixed relative to the peripheral wall. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a receptacle auxiliary fitting. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector before the connectors are mated. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector after the connectors are mated. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a receptacle connector. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential means for solving the problems. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0012] Figure 1 shows a connector assembly 1 that mechanically and electrically connects two parallel boards. The connector assembly 1 is composed of a receptacle connector 2 mounted on a receptacle-side board, which is one of the boards, and a plug connector 3 mounted on a plug-side board, which is the other of the boards.

[0013] FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the receptacle connector 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the receptacle connector 2 includes a plurality of receptacle contacts 4, a receptacle housing 5 that holds the plurality of receptacle contacts 4, and two receptacle support fittings 7 (hold-downs). Each receptacle contact 4 is a specific example of a contact. The receptacle housing 5 is a specific example of a housing. Each receptacle support fitting 7 is a specific example of a support fitting.

[0014] The receptacle contacts 4 are arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the receptacle connector 2.

[0015] Here, the terms "vertical direction," "pitch direction," and "width direction" are defined with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The vertical direction, pitch direction, and width direction are directions that are perpendicular to each other.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the up-down direction is the direction in which the plug connector 3 is inserted into and removed from the receptacle connector 2. Therefore, the up-down direction coincides with the height direction of the receptacle connector 2 and also coincides with the height direction of the plug connector 3. The up-down direction includes the upward (removal direction) and downward (mating direction). The upward direction is the direction in which the plug connector 3 is removed from the receptacle connector 2. The downward direction is the direction in which the plug connector 3 is mated with the receptacle connector 2. The terms upward and downward are used merely for convenience of explanation and do not specify the orientation of the connector assembly 1 during use.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the pitch direction is the direction in which the receptacle contacts 4 are arranged. When the receptacle contacts 4 are arranged in two parallel rows as in this embodiment, the pitch direction can be defined as the direction in which the receptacle contacts 4 belonging to one of the two rows are arranged. The pitch direction includes the inward pitch direction and the outward pitch direction. The inward pitch direction is the direction toward the center of the connector assembly 1 in the pitch direction. The outward pitch direction is the direction away from the center of the connector assembly 1 in the pitch direction.

[0018] The width direction is a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the pitch direction. The width direction includes the inward width direction and the outward width direction. The inward width direction is a direction approaching the center of the connector assembly 1 in the width direction. The outward width direction is a direction away from the center of the connector assembly 1 in the width direction.

[0019] (Receptacle connector 2) The receptacle connector 2 will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 2 to 7. As described above, the receptacle connector 2 includes a plurality of receptacle contacts 4, a receptacle housing 5 that holds the plurality of receptacle contacts 4, and two receptacle auxiliary fittings 7.

[0020] Like Fig. 2, Fig. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of receptacle connector 2. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, receptacle housing 5 is a rectangular plate made of insulating resin in a plan view, and is elongated in the pitch direction. Receptacle housing 5 includes a bottom plate 10, an island portion 11, and a peripheral wall 12. However, island portion 11 can be omitted.

[0021] The bottom plate 10 is a flat plate whose thickness direction is the up-down direction.

[0022] The island portion 11 protrudes upward from the center of the bottom plate 10 in the pitch direction and width direction, and extends elongatedly in the pitch direction. The island portion 11 includes an island main body 13 and two island end portions 14. The two island end portions 14 correspond to both ends of the island portion 11 in the pitch direction. The island main body 13 is the portion between the two island end portions 14. The two island end portions 14 are adjacent to the island main body 13 in the pitch direction.

[0023] The peripheral wall 12 is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the island portion 11 in a plan view, and protrudes upward from the bottom plate 10, similar to the island portion 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the peripheral wall 12 includes two contact retaining walls 15 that retain a plurality of receptacle contacts 4, and two auxiliary fitting retaining walls 16 that respectively retain two receptacle auxiliary fittings 7. For ease of explanation, only one of the two auxiliary fitting retaining walls 16 is shown in FIG. 3. The island portion 11 and the two contact retaining walls 15 are disposed between the two auxiliary fitting retaining walls 16 in the pitch direction.

[0024] Each contact holding wall 15 is disposed so as to face the island portion 11 in the width direction.

[0025] Each reinforcing fitting retaining wall 16 is disposed so as to face the island portion 11 in the pitch direction. Each reinforcing fitting retaining wall 16 forms a U-shape that opens inward in the pitch direction in plan view. That is, each reinforcing fitting retaining wall 16 includes a first retaining wall 18 that extends in the width direction and faces the island portion 11 in the pitch direction, and two second retaining walls 19 that extend in the pitch direction and face the island portion 11 in the width direction.

[0026] The peripheral wall 12 is formed in an annular shape at intervals in the pitch direction and width direction from the island portion 11 , so that an annular fitting recess 20 is formed between the island portion 11 and the peripheral wall 12 .

[0027] In this embodiment, each receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 primarily functions to protect the receptacle housing 5 when the connectors are mated, to secure the receptacle connector 2 to the receptacle-side board, and to function as a power terminal. FIG. 4 shows a partially cutaway perspective view of a receptacle auxiliary fitting 7. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 is typically formed by stamping and drawing a single metal plate. In this embodiment, each receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 is integrated with the auxiliary fitting retaining wall 16 of the receptacle housing 5 by insert molding. Since the two receptacle auxiliary fittings 7 have the same shape, only one receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 will be described, and the description of the other will be omitted. In addition, instead of integrating receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 with auxiliary fitting holding wall 16 of receptacle housing 5 by insert molding, receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 may be held by auxiliary fitting holding wall 16 of receptacle housing 5, typically by press-fitting receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 into auxiliary fitting holding wall 16 of receptacle housing 5.

[0028] Continuing to refer to FIGS. 3 and 4, receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 includes a cup portion 30, a flange portion 31, two power terminals 32, a first protective portion 33, and two second protective portions .

[0029] The cup portion 30 protects the island end portion 14 of the island portion 11 of the receptacle housing 5. Specifically, the cup portion 30 is formed in a cup shape that opens downward and inward in the pitch direction, and accommodates and protects the island end portion 14. The cup portion 30 is one specific example of an island portion protector.

[0030] The flange 31 interconnects the cup portion 30, the two power terminals 32, the first protective portion 33, and the two second protective portions 34. Specifically, the flange 31 extends so as to widen outward in the pitch direction and the width direction from the lower end of the cup portion 30. The thickness direction of the flange 31 coincides with the up-down direction.

[0031] The two power terminals 32 supply a power supply voltage to the plug connector 3 when the connectors are mated. Specifically, the two power terminals 32 are arranged to face each other in the width direction of the cup portion 30. Since the two power terminals 32 are symmetrical to each other, only one of the power terminals 32 will be described, and the description of the other will be omitted.

[0032] The power terminal 32 is a specific example of a terminal. The power terminal 32 is disposed on the second retaining wall 19 of the auxiliary fitting retaining wall 16 of the peripheral wall 12. FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector 2 before the connectors are mated. As shown in FIG. 5, the power terminal 32 forms a U-shape that opens downward and straddles the second retaining wall 19. That is, the power terminal 32 has an inner contact piece 40, an outer piece 41, and a connecting piece 42.

[0033] Here, the second holding wall 19 is configured to have a rectangular cross section, and has an inner surface 19A facing inward in the width direction, an outer surface 19B facing outward in the width direction, and an upper surface 19C facing upward.

[0034] The inner contact piece 40 faces the inner surface 19A of the second retaining wall 19 in the width direction. In other words, the inner contact piece 40 is positioned widthwise inward of the second retaining wall 19. The inner contact piece 40 extends in the up-down direction. The inner contact piece 40 extends so as to protrude upward from the flange portion 31. The inner contact piece 40 is formed with a contact protrusion 40A for stabilizing the contact position with the power terminal (not shown) of the plug connector 3. The contact protrusion 40A protrudes inward in the width direction. A gap 40B is formed between the inner contact piece 40 and the second retaining wall 19.

[0035] The outer piece 41 faces the outer surface 19B of the second retaining wall 19 in the width direction. In other words, the outer piece 41 is disposed outward in the width direction from the second retaining wall 19. The outer piece 41 extends in the up-down direction. Before the connectors are mated, the outer piece 41 is in close contact with the second retaining wall 19 by insert molding.

[0036] The connecting piece 42 faces the upper surface 19C of the second retaining wall 19 in the up-down direction. In other words, the connecting piece 42 is positioned higher than the second retaining wall 19. The connecting piece 42 extends in the width direction. Before the connectors are mated, the connecting piece 42 is in close contact with the second retaining wall 19 by insert molding. The connecting piece 42 connects the upper end of the inner contact piece 40 and the upper end of the outer piece 41 to each other.

[0037] 3 and 4, the first protective portion 33 protects the first retaining wall 18 of the reinforcing metal fitting retaining wall 16. Specifically, the first protective portion 33 forms a U-shape that opens downward, and by being exposed upward, protects the first retaining wall 18 when the connectors are mated.

[0038] The two second protective portions 34 respectively protect the two second retaining walls 19 of the reinforcing metal fitting retaining wall 16. Specifically, each second protective portion 34 forms a U-shape that opens downward, and by being exposed upward, protects each second retaining wall 19 when the connectors are mated.

[0039] With the above configuration, when the plug connector 3 is mated with the receptacle contact 4, the plug connector 3 is inserted into the mating recess 20 as shown in FIG. 5. At this time, the contact protrusions 40A of the inner contact pieces 40 of the power terminals 32 come into contact with the power terminals of the plug connector 3, and as a result, the contact protrusions 40A are pushed outward in the width direction. FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the connector assembly 1 after the connectors have been mated. As shown in FIG. 6, when the contact protrusions 40A are pushed outward in the width direction, the entire power terminals 32 move outward in the width direction.

[0040] Specifically, as the contact protrusion 40A moves outward in the width direction, the inner contact piece 40 tilts so as to fall outward in the width direction while its lower end remains restrained by the flange 31. In short, the inner contact piece 40 moves so as to approach the second retaining wall 19.

[0041] In addition, as the contact protrusion 40A moves outward in the width direction, the connecting piece 42 peels off from the upper surface 19C of the second retaining wall 19 and moves outward in the width direction while maintaining contact with the upper surface 19C of the second retaining wall 19.

[0042] Furthermore, as the contact protrusion 40A moves outward in the width direction, the outer piece 41 peels off from the outer surface 19B of the second retaining wall 19 and moves outward in the width direction, separating from the outer surface 19B of the second retaining wall 19. In other words, the outer piece 41 moves away from the second retaining wall 19.

[0043] In this manner, in this embodiment, when the contact protrusion 40A moves outward in the width direction, the entire power terminal 32 can move outward in the width direction. This makes it easier for the contact protrusion 40A to move outward in the width direction compared to, for example, a case where the outer piece 41 and the connecting piece 42 are fixed to the second retaining wall 19 so as not to move relative to the second retaining wall 19, thereby realizing a power terminal 32 with flexible spring properties.

[0044] 5 and 6, the power terminals 32 form a U-shape that opens downward and straddles the second retaining wall 19. Therefore, even if a downward load acts on the power terminals 32 when the plug connector 3 is pushed toward the receptacle contacts 4 while misaligned in the width direction relative to the receptacle contacts 4 during connector mating, the load is received by the second retaining wall 19, preventing buckling deformation of the power terminals 32 in the vertical direction. In short, it can be said that the power terminals 32 have excellent robustness against misaligned mating.

[0045] Furthermore, in this embodiment, before the connectors are mated, the connecting piece 42 is in contact with the upper surface 19C of the second retaining wall 19. Therefore, even if a downward load acts on the power terminal 32, the power terminal 32 does not elastically deform downward, and the load is immediately received by the second retaining wall 19. Therefore, compared to a case in which the connecting piece 42 is not in contact with the second retaining wall 19 before the connectors are mated, the robustness of the power terminal 32 against misalignment during mating can be further improved.

[0046] 5, the thickness 19T of the second retaining wall 19 in the width direction is greater than the thickness 40T of the gap 40B in the width direction. This allows the contact protrusion 40A to move outward in the width direction to some extent, while ensuring that the second retaining wall 19 has sufficient strength to withstand the load.

[0047] 6, in this embodiment, as the contact protrusion 40A of the inner contact piece 40 moves outward in the width direction, a portion 31X of the flange 31 between the cup portion 30 and the power terminal 32 in the width direction and a portion 30X of the cup portion 30 facing the inner contact piece 40 in the width direction are separated from the bottom plate 10 and the island portion 11, respectively, and slightly displaced outward in the width direction. In this way, as the contact protrusion 40A of the inner contact piece 40 moves outward in the width direction, the portion 31X of the flange 31 and the portion 30X of the cup portion 30 are separated from the receptacle housing 5 and displaced outward in the width direction, which makes it easier for the contact protrusion 40A to move outward in the width direction, and thus it can be said that the springiness of the power terminal 32 is further improved. However, it is not an essential feature that portion 31X of flange 31 and portion 30X of cup portion 30 peel off from receptacle housing 5 and displace outward in the width direction as contact protrusion 40A of inner contact piece 40 moves outward in the width direction. In other words, a configuration is also possible in which portion 31X of flange 31 and portion 30X of cup portion 30 do not peel off from receptacle housing 5 when contact protrusion 40A of inner contact piece 40 moves outward in the width direction.

[0048] Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of receptacle connector 2. As shown in Fig. 7, side surface 32A of each power terminal 32 is not in contact with the corresponding second retaining wall 19. This makes it easier for each power terminal 32 to move when the connectors are mated compared to when side surface 32A of each power terminal 32 is in close contact with second retaining wall 19 by insert molding, and therefore the springiness of each power terminal 32 can be sufficiently ensured.

[0049] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. The above embodiments have the following features.

[0050] The receptacle connector 2 includes a receptacle housing 5 (housing) having a peripheral wall 12 protruding from a bottom plate 10, and a receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 (auxiliary fitting) held by the receptacle housing 5. The receptacle connector 2 is matable with a plug connector 3 (mating connector). The receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 includes a power terminal 32 (terminal) disposed on the peripheral wall 12. The power terminal 32 is U-shaped and opens in the mating direction of the plug connector 3 so as to straddle the peripheral wall 12. The power terminal 32 has an inner contact piece 40 extending in the mating direction on the inside of the peripheral wall 12, an outer piece 41 extending in the mating direction on the outside of the peripheral wall 12, and a connecting piece 42 connecting the inner contact piece 40 and the outer piece 41. A gap 40B is formed between the inner contact piece 40 and the peripheral wall 12. When the plug connector 3 is mated with the receptacle connector 2, the inner contact piece 40 moves toward the peripheral wall 12 due to contact with the plug connector 3, and the outer piece 41 moves away from the peripheral wall 12. With the above configuration, the power terminal 32 is formed to straddle the peripheral wall 12, thereby improving robustness against misalignment of the power terminal 32 when mated. Furthermore, because the inner contact piece 40 and the outer piece 41 of the power terminal 32 move in the same direction relative to the peripheral wall 12 when the connectors are mated, the springiness of the inner contact piece 40 is not sacrificed compared to when the outer piece 41 is fixed relative to the peripheral wall 12.

[0051] Additionally, receptacle housing 5 has island portion 11 that protrudes from bottom plate 10 together with peripheral wall 12 on the inside of peripheral wall 12. Receptacle auxiliary fitting 7 integrally includes cup portion 30 (island portion protector) that protects island end portion 14 of island portion 11, and power terminal 32. The above configuration achieves receptacle connector 2 with a reduced number of parts. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1 Connector assembly 2 Receptacle Connector 3 Plug connector (mating connector) 4 receptacle contacts 5 Receptacle housing (housing) 7 Receptacle auxiliary fittings (auxiliary fittings) 10 Bottom plate 11 Island 12 Peripheral wall 13 Island body 14 Island end 15 Contact retaining wall 16 Auxiliary bracket retaining wall 18 1st retaining wall 19 Second retaining wall 19A Inner direction 19B Outside 19C Top 19T thickness 20. Fitting recess 30 Cup part (island protection body) 31 Tsuba 32 Power terminal (terminal) 32A side 33 1st Protection Department 34 2nd Protection Department 40 Inner contact piece 40A contact protrusion 40B Gap 40T thickness 41 Outer piece 42 Connecting piece

Claims

1. a housing having a peripheral wall protruding from a bottom plate; an auxiliary fitting held by the housing; Including, A receptacle connector that can be mated with a mating connector, the auxiliary fitting includes a terminal disposed on the peripheral wall, The terminal has a U-shape that opens in the mating direction of the mating connector so as to straddle the peripheral wall, and has an inner contact piece that extends along the mating direction on the inside of the peripheral wall, an outer piece that extends along the mating direction on the outside of the peripheral wall, and a connecting piece that connects the inner contact piece and the outer piece, A gap is formed between the inner contact piece and the peripheral wall, When the mating connector is mated with the receptacle connector, the inner contact piece moves toward the peripheral wall due to contact with the mating connector, and the outer piece moves away from the peripheral wall. Receptacle connector.

2. 2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, The thickness of the peripheral wall is greater than the thickness of the gap in a direction in which the inner contact piece and the outer piece face each other. Receptacle connector.

3. 2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, The connecting piece is in contact with the peripheral wall before the connectors are fitted together. Receptacle connector.

4. 2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, The side surface of the terminal is not in contact with the peripheral wall. Receptacle connector.

5. 2. The receptacle connector according to claim 1, the housing has an island portion that protrudes from the bottom plate together with the peripheral wall on the inner side of the peripheral wall, The auxiliary metal fitting integrally includes an island portion protector that protects the island portion and the terminal. Receptacle connector.

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