Connector, and contact and housing for the connector

Abstract

To provide a connector that can provide contact whose contact part smoothly moves up and down along a longitudinal direction even when a part where a preload of the contact to a housing is provided exists at one place on an opening edge side of the housing.SOLUTION: A connector includes a contact and a housing 20 including a penetrating internal space that can house the contact. The contact includes a contact part 11 that can be in contact with an electronic base material of a counterpart, and a spring part 12 that continues to the contact part and has a meandering mode. The spring part 12 of the contact in a pre-loaded state and an inside formation surface 27 forming the internal space of the housing can be in contact with each other in at least two contact parts at different height levels in a longitudinal direction of the contact. At a cross-sectional view, a first contact part is a contact part with the maximum height level, and a second contact part is at the height level lower than the first contact part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to connectors, and contacts and housings for connectors. [Background technology]

[0002] A connector has been known for electrically connecting electronic substrates to each other. The connector includes contacts and a housing. The contacts may include a contact portion that can contact a mating electronic substrate and a meandering spring portion. The housing may include an inner space that houses the contacts and has an open end through which the contacts can move up and down along a longitudinal direction.

[0003] Patent documents 1 and 2 show an embodiment in which an extension portion is formed from each of both side ends of the contact portion so as to be capable of contacting an inner forming surface that forms an inner space located on the opening end side of the housing, and both extension portions are at the same height level in the longitudinal direction of the contact. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 10-510947 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-162592 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Here, the inventors of the present application have newly found that there are matters to be improved in the following cases. Specifically, depending on the application of the counterpart electronic substrate, there may be cases where the shape of the contact and the housing are restricted. Specifically, there may be cases where the height of the contact and the size of the opening end of the housing are restricted. Accordingly, there may be cases where it is necessary to dispose an extension portion that can contact the inner forming surface located near the opening end of the housing only from one end, not from both ends of the contact portion located on the tip side of the contact.

[0006] In this case, the contact and the inner surface of the housing are in contact with each other, and the housing receives the preload of the contact by the spring part at one location on the open end side of the housing. Therefore, the stress distribution generated in the spring part of the contact is unlikely to be balanced between one side and the other side of the spring part in a cross-sectional view, and the contact part of the contact may be inclined to one side. As a result, when the contact part of the contact is pressed into contact with a pad or the like of the mating electronic substrate, the contact part may rub against the inner surface of the housing when the contact part moves downward in the longitudinal direction due to compression of the spring part and moves upward due to expansion of the spring part. Therefore, it may be difficult to provide a contact that allows the contact part to move smoothly up and down along the longitudinal direction.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a connector, as well as a contact and a housing for a connector, that can provide a contact whose contact portion moves smoothly up and down along the longitudinal direction even when the contact is preloaded against the housing at only one location on the open end side of the housing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, A connector comprising a housing having a contact and an internal space through which the contact can be received, the contact includes a contact portion protruding from an open end of the housing to the outside and capable of contacting a mating electronic substrate, and a spring portion continuing from the contact portion and forming a serpentine shape, and is provided in the inner space of the housing in a preloaded state; The spring portion of the contact in the preloaded state and an inner forming surface that forms the inner space of the housing can come into contact with each other at at least two contact portions that are at different height levels in the longitudinal direction of the contact, the contact portion is a preload receiving portion at which the housing receives the preload from the spring portion, and the at least two contact portions include a first contact portion and a second contact portion; A connector is provided, in which, in a cross-sectional view, the first contact portion is a contact portion at the highest height level and the second contact portion is at a lower height level than the first contact portion.

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, A contact for a connector, comprising: It can be housed in a housing with a through inner space, The spring portion includes a contact portion capable of contacting a mating electronic substrate and a meandering spring portion continuous with the contact portion, and is provided in the inner space in a preloaded state; The spring portion of the contact in the preloaded state is capable of contacting an inner forming surface that defines the inner space of the housing in at least two local areas that are different in height level from each other in the longitudinal direction, the at least two local regions include a first local region and a second local region; A contact is provided in which, in a cross-sectional view, the first localized area is capable of contacting the inner forming surface of the housing at a highest elevation level and the second localized area is at a lower elevation level than the first localized area.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, 1. A housing for a connector, comprising: A housing is provided which has a through inner space capable of accommodating a contact, an inner forming surface which defines the inner space is capable of contacting the contact in a preloaded state at at least two points, and the thickness dimensions of the housing at the at least two contact portions are different from each other. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, even when the preload of the contact against the housing is applied at one location on the open end side of the housing, it is possible to provide a contact whose contact portion moves smoothly up and down along the longitudinal axis. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of a connector of the present disclosure as viewed from above. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the connector of the present disclosure as viewed from the bottom side. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the connector of the present disclosure, in which the internal cross-sectional structure is partially visible. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view that illustrates a schematic diagram of the connector of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view that illustrates a contact portion between a contact and a housing of the connector of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the insertion of the contact into the internal space of the housing over time. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the contact before preload. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the contact after the preload is completed. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic diagram of the connector of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] The connector, contacts, and housing for the connector of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. Various elements in the drawings are merely shown as schematic and illustrative examples for the purpose of understanding the present disclosure, and the appearance, dimensional ratio, and the like may differ from the actual ones.

[0014] [Overall configuration of the connector] First, the overall configuration of the connector of the present disclosure will be described, followed by a description of the characteristic parts of the connector of the present disclosure.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a connector according to the present disclosure as viewed from the top side. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a connector according to the present disclosure as viewed from the bottom side. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a connector according to the present disclosure in which a part of the internal cross-sectional structure is visible. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector according to the present disclosure.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a connector 100 of the present disclosure comprises contacts 10 and a housing 20 that are integrally combined.

[0017] The housing 20 has a through inner space 23 capable of accommodating the contact 10 in a cross-sectional view (see FIG. 4). "Able to accommodate" here refers to a state in which all of the spring and block parts, which are components of the contact 10, and at least a part of the contact part are accommodated before and after a pad or the like of a mating electronic substrate is pressed into contact with the contact part of the contact 10 described below. The "through inner space" here refers to a spatial region having two opposing openings at both ends, and refers to a space configured so that the contact part located on one side of the contact described below and the connection part located on the other side can protrude from the two openings.

[0018] The inner space 23 is defined by an inner forming surface 27. The inner forming surface 27 may have a substantially linear shape parallel to the longitudinal axis direction A of the contact 10 (or the direction of the center line L or L1 along the longitudinal axis direction A of the contact 10) (see Figs. 4, 5 and 9) in a cross-sectional view. The housing 20 may have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as an entire structure (see Fig. 1).

[0019] In this case, the length and width of the upper surface 21 can be, for example, 5 mm to 100 mm, preferably 10 mm to 50 mm, for example 15 mm. The thickness can be, for example, 2 mm to 20 mm, preferably 3 mm to 10 mm, for example 5 mm. The length and width do not need to be the same.

[0020] The housing 20 of the present disclosure may include a resin material having insulating properties. Although not particularly limited, the housing 20 may include at least one thermosetting resin material selected from the group consisting of a phenolic resin, an epoxy resin, a silicone resin, and an unsaturated polyester resin.

[0021] The contact 10 of the present disclosure includes a contact portion 11, a spring portion 12, a block portion 13, and a connection portion 14. Although not particularly limited, the contact 10 may include a metal material, such as a copper-based material, and may include phosphor bronze as an example. As will be described later, the contact 10 is insertable into an inner space 23 of the housing 20 so as to be integrally combined with the housing 20 (see FIG. 6).

[0022] Of these, the contact portion 11 and the connection portion 14 are positioned at one end side and the other end side of the contact 10, respectively, and are positioned in the same row along the longitudinal direction of the contact 10. On the other hand, the spring portion 12 and the block portion 13 can both be positioned within the inner space 23 of the housing.

[0023] (Contact part) The contact portion 11 is positioned at one tip side of the contact 10. The cross-sectional shape of the contact portion 11 is preferably tapered at least at the tip side from the viewpoint of reducing the pressing force of the counterpart electronic substrate against the contact portion 11 per contact area with the counterpart electronic substrate. The contact portion 11 protrudes to the outside from an opening end 26 formed on the upper surface 21 of the housing 20 by the spring portion 12 and can contact the counterpart electronic substrate. Although not particularly limited, as an example, a mode in which three contact portions 11 are arranged in a row at a predetermined interval along the direction of the arrow X in FIG. 1 and two contact portions 11 are arranged in a row at a constant interval are alternately arranged at a predetermined interval along the direction of the arrow Y (direction perpendicular to the X direction) can be adopted.

[0024] As an example of the predetermined interval, the interval between adjacent contact portions 11 can be 0.3 mm to 10 mm, preferably 0.5 mm to 5 mm, for example 1 mm. The height of the contact portion 11 itself protruding from the upper surface 21 of the housing 20 can be 0.3 mm to 10 mm, preferably 0.5 mm to 5 mm, for example 1 mm. The longitudinal width of the contact portion 11 itself protruding from the upper surface 21 of the housing 20 can be 0.3 mm to 10 mm, preferably 0.5 mm to 5 mm, for example 1 mm. The lateral width of the contact portion 11 itself protruding from the upper surface 21 of the housing 20 can be 0.05 mm to 5 mm, preferably 0.1 mm to 3 mm, for example 0.2 mm.

[0025] (Spring part) The spring portion 12 has a serpentine shape, one side of which is continuous with the contact portion 11 and the other side of which is continuous with the block portion 13. When an external force is applied to the spring portion 12, it becomes compressed, and thereafter, due to its elasticity, it can be deformed to its original expanded state.

[0026] The above-mentioned properties of the spring portion 12 allow it to be compressed and expanded, so that the contact portion 11 connected to the spring portion 12 can move up and down in the longitudinal direction of the contact 10 through the open end 26 of the housing 20. Specifically, when a pad or the like of the mating electronic substrate is pressed against and comes into contact with the contact portion 11 of the contact 10, the spring portion 12 is compressed accordingly, allowing the contact portion 11 to move downward in the longitudinal direction.

[0027] Thereafter, the spring portion 12, which was once compressed, expands due to its elasticity, allowing the contact portion 11 to move upward in the longitudinal direction. This upward movement allows the contact portion 11 to protrude to the outside from the opening end 26 formed on the upper surface 21 of the housing 20, and to come into contact with the opposing electronic substrate.

[0028] From the viewpoint of smooth compression and expansion of the spring portion 12, the spring portion 12 does not contact the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20 in the longitudinal direction of the contact in a cross-sectional view (see FIG. 4). That is, in the longitudinal direction of the contact, clearances are provided between the curved portions 12X, 12Y, 12Z of the spring portion 12 and the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20, and the two are separated from each other.

[0029] In addition, the curved portions 12X and 12Y are positioned on the same plane in a cross-sectional view. On the other hand, in order to ensure a space in which the locking portions 13a and 13b described later can be locked to the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20, the curved portion 12Z is ​​positioned on the inside of the curved portions 12X and 12Y (see FIG. 4).

[0030] Also, the contact 10 is configured so that the preload (which may also be referred to as the preload force) is maximized when the insertion of the contact 10 into the inner space 23 of the housing 20 is completed. As a result, the contact 10 including the spring portion in a preloaded state can also be in a maximum preloaded state in the inner space 23 when the insertion is completed. By placing the contact 10 including the spring portion 12 in a preloaded state, the spring portion 12 of the contact 10 is partially compressed in advance.

[0031] Therefore, when a pad or the like of the counterpart electronic substrate is pressed against contact portion 11 for contact, the normal force on the expanding side for a given amount of displacement of contact portion 11 can be relatively small compared to when preloading is not performed. As a result, the force acting from contact 10 to the counterpart electronic substrate is smaller compared to when preloading is not performed, so the quality of the counterpart electronic substrate can be continuously ensured.

[0032] The maximum preload state of the spring portion can be achieved when the insertion of the contact 10 is complete, by completing the pressing-in of the block portion 13 described below, and by a localized region of the spring portion 12 being pressed into contact with the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20, as described below.

[0033] This allows the spring portion 12 to be in a partially compressed state when the insertion of the contact 10 is complete, compared to the expanded spring portion before insertion. As a result, the preload state of the spring portion can be maximized before the pad of the mating electronic substrate is pressed against the contact portion 11 of the contact 10.

[0034] (Block section) One side of the block portion 13 is continuous with the spring portion 12, and the other side is continuous with the connection portion 14. When the contact 10 is inserted into the inner space 23 of the housing 20, the block portion 13 can be press-fitted into the inner space 23 while contacting the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20.

[0035] Moreover, the block portion 13 has locking portions 13a, 13b at both ends thereof in a cross-sectional view that can be locked to the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20. The presence of such locking portions 13a, 13b locks the contacts 10 to the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20, so that after the contacts 10 have been inserted into the inner space 23 of the housing 20, the contacts 10 can be prevented from completely slipping out of the inner space 23 to the outside.

[0036] Although not particularly limited, in order to prevent cracks from occurring on the housing 20 side during press-fitting, the height levels of the locking portions 13a, 13b may not be the same but may have a slight difference in height. The definition of the term "height level" will be described later.

[0037] (Connection) The connecting portion 14 is located on the other tip side of the contact 10. The connecting portion 14 is continuous with the block portion 13, protrudes to the outside from an opening end 28 formed on the bottom surface 22 of the housing 20 when the insertion of the contact 10 is complete, and is capable of being soldered to a predetermined electronic substrate.

[0038] [Characteristics of the present disclosure] The following describes the characteristic parts of the connector 100 of the present disclosure. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view that typically shows the contact part between the contact and the housing of the connector of the present disclosure.

[0039] The present inventors have earnestly studied improvements for providing a contact 10 in which the contact portion 11 moves smoothly up and down along the longitudinal direction, even when the portion where the preload of the spring portion 12 against the housing 20 is applied is one portion on the open end 26 side of the housing 20. As a result, the present inventors have come up with the present disclosure based on the following idea.

[0040] Specifically, the present disclosure is based on the idea of ​​providing at least two contact portions 30 that "contact the spring portion 12 of the contact 10 in a preloaded state and the inner forming surface 27 that forms the inner space 23 of the housing 20, and are at different height levels from each other in the longitudinal direction of the contact 10."

[0041] Based on this idea, in the present disclosure, as shown in Fig. 5, a configuration is adopted in which, in a cross-sectional view, a first contact portion 31 of at least two components of the contact portion 30 is the contact portion with the highest height level, and a second contact portion 32 of the other component is the contact portion with a lower height level than the first contact portion 31. Note that when a specific contact portion such as the first contact portion 31 and the second contact portion 32 is not indicated, 30 is used as the reference symbol for the contact portion.

[0042] From another viewpoint, the features of the present disclosure can be described according to the difference in distance from a predetermined position. Specifically, in the present disclosure, based on the position of the open end 26 of the housing 20, the first contact portion 31 can be located proximal to the open end 26, while the second contact portion 32 can be located distal to the open end 26 (see FIG. 5).

[0043] In this disclosure, "height level" refers to the relative coordinate position when the long axis direction A of the contact is the coordinate axis or coordinate line, and "different height levels" refers to different positions on the coordinate axis in the long axis direction A and / or a relationship in magnitude between the coordinate values ​​on the coordinate axis in the long axis direction A.

[0044] 5, for example, the "contact portion at the highest height" in the present disclosure refers to the portion located closest to the opening end 26 of the housing 20 in the long axis direction A, with the position of the opening end 26 as a reference. From another perspective, the "contact portion at the highest height" in the present disclosure refers to the portion where the extension start region, where the meandering spring portion 12 starts to extend from one side of the contact portion 11, comes into contact with the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20.

[0045] In the present disclosure, the "extension start region of spring portion 12" refers to a substantially horizontal region located between the boundary between contact portion 11 and spring portion 12 and the first curved portion of the meandering spring portion. In the present disclosure, the "substantially horizontal region of spring portion 12" refers to a region extending in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of contact 10, for example, in a direction perpendicular thereto.

[0046] According to this configuration, at least two contact portions 30 can be provided as shown in Fig. 5. Since the spring portion 12 has a serpentine shape, a total of two or more contact portions 30 can be positioned on both sides of a center line L along the longitudinal direction of the contact. In other words, the first contact portion 31 and the second contact portion 32 are not positioned biased to one side with respect to the center line L.

[0047] As described above, the contact portion 30 is the portion where the housing 20 receives the preload of the spring portion 12. That is, the contact portion 30 is the preload receiving portion (which may also be called the preload load receiving portion, preload receiving portion, or preload force receiving portion). Therefore, the portions where the housing 20 receives the preload force of the spring portion 12 are two or more in total, and can be positioned on both sides of the center line L.

[0048] As a result, even if the preload of the contact 10 against the housing 20 is applied at one location on the opening end side of the housing 20, the stress distribution generated in the spring portion 12 can be balanced between one side and the other side of the spring portion 12 when viewed in cross section.

[0049] As a result, it is possible to prevent the contact portion 11 of the contact from tilting to one side, and therefore it is possible to prevent the contact portion 11 from rubbing against the inner forming surface 27 of the housing when the contact portion 11 moves downward in the longitudinal direction due to compression of the spring portion 12 when a pad or the like of a mating electronic substrate is pressed into contact with the contact portion 11 of the contact and when the contact portion 11 moves upward due to expansion of the spring portion 12.

[0050] From the above, even if the portion where the preload of the contact 10 relative to the housing 20 is applied is located at one point on the opening end side of the housing 20, it is possible to provide a contact 10 that allows the contact portion 11 to move smoothly up and down along the longitudinal direction as a whole.

[0051] In addition to the above technical effects, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the following technical effects can also be achieved.

[0052] As described above, when the contact portion 11 moves up and down along the longitudinal direction, it is possible to prevent the contact portion 11 from rubbing against the inner surface 27 of the housing. Therefore, the movement trajectory of the contact portion 11 during the downward movement and the movement trajectory of the contact portion 11 during the upward movement can be made to be substantially the same line. In other words, the movement trajectory of the contact portion 11 of the contact 10 can be kept constant.

[0053] As a result, the pads or the like of the opposing electronic substrate can be repeatedly and stably pressed against the contact portions 11 located at predetermined positions with high accuracy. Therefore, the pads or the like can be pressed against a given contact portion 11 several tens of times, for example 30 times, without replacing the contact portion 11.

[0054] For these reasons, stable connection between the contact portion 11 and the mating electronic substrate is possible, thereby improving the reliability of the electrical connection between the connector 100 and the mating electronic substrate. Furthermore, since the movement trajectory of the contact portion 11 of the contact 10 can be kept constant, it is also advantageous in that the management accuracy of the amount of displacement of the vertical movement of the contact portion 11 of the contact 10 can be improved.

[0055] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the housing 20 receives the preload of the spring portion 12 at a total of two or more locations. Therefore, in terms of the physical force that may be applied to the housing 20, it is possible to prevent the preload of the spring portion 12 applied to the housing 20 from concentrating at one location. In other words, it is possible to disperse the preload of the spring portion 12 applied to the housing 20 compared to the case where the preload is concentrated at one location.

[0056] In terms of the thermal load that may be applied to the housing 20, when a specific electronic substrate and the contact 10 are soldered together via the connection portion 14 of the contact 10, heat may be generated during the connection. As described above, the contact 10 is made of metal and has thermal conductivity. Therefore, the housing 20 in contact with the spring portion 12 of the housing 20 may also be subjected to a thermal load.

[0057] In this regard, the housing 20 receives the preload of the spring portion 12 at a total of two or more locations. That is, the housing 20 and the spring portion 12 contact each other at a total of two or more locations. This makes it possible to prevent the heat load on the housing 20 from concentrating at one location. In other words, the heat load on the housing 20 can be dispersed compared to the case where the heat load is concentrated at one location.

[0058] For the above reasons, it is possible to disperse both the physical force (corresponding to preload) (or may also be called preload force) and the thermal load that may be applied to the housing 20. As a result, it is possible to suppress deformation of the housing and reduce the amount of deformation of the housing that accompanies the deformation.

[0059] In order to provide at least two first contact parts 31 and second contact parts 32 having different height levels, it is necessary that the thickness dimensions of the housing 20 with which the spring part 12 can partially contact at the contact parts are different from each other. In contrast, in conventional connectors, the two extension parts, which are components of the contact and extend from both side ends of the contact parts, were at the same height level in the longitudinal direction of the contact. For the above reasons, the thickness dimensions of the housing at the parts where the extension parts contact the inner forming surface of the housing are the same. In this respect, the housing 20, which is a component of the connector 100, is also unique in configuration compared to conventional connectors.

[0060] Specifically, the housing 20 for the connector has a through inner space 23 capable of accommodating the contact 10, and the inner forming surface 27 that defines the inner space 23 is capable of contacting the contact 10 in a preloaded state at at least two points, and the thickness dimensions of the housing 20 at the two or more contact portions are different from each other.

[0061] According to this configuration, since there are portions of the housing 20 where the thickness dimensions are different from each other compared to conventional housings, it is possible to relatively increase the thickness dimension of the contact portion, i.e., the portion where the housing 20 receives the preload of the contact 10. As a result, it is possible to improve the strength of the housing 20 itself as a whole.

[0062] According to this configuration, since a housing having different thickness dimensions is used for two or more contact portions, the two contact portions can be at different height levels. To realize the contact 10 in a preloaded state, a spring portion or a meandering spring portion can be used. As a result, a total of two or more contact portions can be positioned on both sides of a center line along the longitudinal direction of the contact. This allows the stress distribution generated in the spring portion to be balanced between one side and the other side of the spring portion in a cross-sectional view, and prevents the contact portion of the contact from tilting to one side.

[0063] Furthermore, in order to preferably provide at least two first contact portions 31 and second contact portions 32 having different height levels from each other, in correspondence with the above-mentioned characteristics of the connector 100 itself, the contacts 10, which are its components, can also have the following characteristics.

[0064] Specifically, the spring portion 12 of the contact 10 in a preloaded state can come into contact with the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20 in at least two local regions having different height levels in the longitudinal direction. The at least two contact regions include a first local region 12a and a second local region 12b. Furthermore, in a cross-sectional view, the first local region 12a can come into contact with the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20 at the highest height level, and the second local region 12b is at a lower height level than the first local region 12a.

[0065] In this regard, in the past, even if there were multiple localized regions of the spring portion of the contact, each contacted the housing at the same height level. In contrast, in the contact of the present disclosure, the localized regions 12a, 12b of the spring portion 12, which is a component of the contact, contact the housing at different height levels. In other words, the contact points of the contact with the housing are not the same. In this respect, the above-mentioned contact 10 has a unique configuration compared to previous contacts.

[0066] (Preloaded contacts) Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the insertion of the contact into the inner space of the housing over time. The left side view of Fig. 6 shows the stage of starting the insertion of the contact 10α into the inner space 23. The center view of Fig. 6 shows the stage of continuing the insertion of the contact 10β into the inner space 23. The right side view of Fig. 6 shows the stage of completing the insertion of the contact 10γ into the inner space 23. Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the contact before preload. Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the contact after preload is completed.

[0067] As described above, the contacts can be inserted into the inner space 23 of the housing 20 so that they can be combined integrally with the housing 20. Specifically, first, as shown in the left side view of Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, the insertion of the contacts 10α into the inner space 23 begins. At this stage, since no external force is applied to the contacts 10α, the contacts 10α are in an extended state.

[0068] Next, as shown in the center diagram of Fig. 6, the insertion of the contact 10α into the inner space 23 continues. Specifically, the insertion of the contact 10α into the inner space 23 continues so that the contact portion 11 of the contact passes through the open end 26 of the housing 20 and the block portion 13 starts to be pressed into the inner space 23 while contacting the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20. By starting the press-fitting in this way, the spring portion 12β can be in a compressed state compared to the spring portion 12α at the stage shown in the left diagram of Fig. 6.

[0069] Next, the insertion of the contact 10α into the inner space 23 is continued until the entire block portion 13 is contained within the inner space 23, and the insertion of the contact 10 into the inner space 23 is completed as shown in the right-hand view of Fig. 6 and Fig. 8. At this stage of completion of insertion, the press-fitting of the block portion 13 is completed.

[0070] Specifically, as shown in the right-hand view of FIG. 6, at this stage, an extension start region 12γa where the spring portion 12γ starts to extend from one side of the contact portion 11 is in pressing contact with the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20. In addition, a substantially horizontal region 12γb adjacent to the second curved portion is also in pressing contact with the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20. From the above, when the press-fitting of the block portion 13 is completed, both the extension start region 12γa and the substantially horizontal region 12γb of ​​the spring portion 12γ are in pressing contact with the inner forming surface 27, so that the preload of the spring portion 12γ can be maximized. That is, the preload of the contact including the spring portion 12γ can be maximized as a whole.

[0071] In one embodiment, the present disclosure preferably employs the following aspect.

[0072] First, it is preferable that at least the first contact portion 31 is located outside the contour line 26a of the open end 26 of the housing 20 (see FIG. 5).

[0073] As described above, the first contact portion 31 is a portion where the extension start region where the meandering spring portion 12 starts to extend from one side of the contact portion 11 comes into contact with the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20. In this regard, even if a protruding extension portion is partially present from the other side opposite to the one side of the contact portion 11 in a cross-sectional view, the first contact portion 31 is always outside the contour line 26a, so that it is possible to suitably avoid contact between the extension portion and the contact portion 11 and the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20. As a result, the contact portion 11 can move up and down more smoothly along the longitudinal direction.

[0074] Secondly, it is preferable that, in a cross-sectional view, the spring portion 12 is continuous with only one side of the contact portion 11, and the other side of the contact portion 11 and the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20 are spaced apart.

[0075] According to this embodiment, the meandering spring portion 12 extends only from one side of the contact portion 11, and there is no extension from the other side opposite to the one side of the contact portion 11, and the other side and the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20 are separated from each other. This makes it possible to ensure a clearance, for example a minute clearance, between the other side of the contact portion 11 and the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20. This makes it possible to preferably avoid contact between the contact portion 11 and the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20. As a result, the contact portion 11 can move up and down more smoothly along the longitudinal direction. In addition, from the viewpoint of more preferably avoiding contact with the inner forming surface 27 of the housing 20 in a cross-sectional view, the lower corner portion 11b of the other side 11a of the contact portion 11 can be partially cut out (see FIG. 5).

[0076] Third, it is preferable that the second contact portion is a contact portion at the next lower height level than the first contact portion.

[0077] As described above, in order to prevent the contact portion 11 of the contact from tilting to one side, it is effective to make the stress distribution generated in the spring portion 12 balanced between one side and the other side of the spring portion 12 when viewed in cross section.

[0078] In this regard, for example, when the housing 20 is integrally formed by joining two parts, a protrusion can be provided at any position on the inner surface of one of the housing parts. For example, the protrusion can be inserted and disposed on a substantially horizontal area close to the curved portion of the spring portion 12 located relatively lower than the second contact portion 32 shown in FIG.

[0079] In this case, both the first contact portion and the second contact portion may be positioned biased to one side with respect to the center line L. In view of this, and from the viewpoint of appropriately positioning the first contact portion and the second contact portion on both sides with respect to the center line L, it is preferable that the second contact portion be at the next (next immediately) lower height level than the first contact portion.

[0080] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the present disclosure more preferably adopts the following aspect.

[0081] Specifically, it is more preferable that three or more contact parts 30A are provided between the inner forming surface 27A of the housing and the spring part 12A (see FIG. 9). Note that, depending on the number of curved parts of the spring part 12A, the upper limit of the number of contact parts 30A can be, for example, 20 or less, preferably 10 or less, for example, 5 as shown in FIG.

[0082] The embodiment regarding the three or more contact portions 30A described above can be realized by, for example, configuring the housing 20A and the contacts 10A as follows.

[0083] As an example, a contact 10A may be used that is configured such that, in a cross-sectional view, the width dimension of the meandering spring portion 12A gradually increases as the height level of the contact portion 30A decreases. In other words, as shown in Fig. 9, a contact 10A may be used that includes a contact portion 11A and a spring portion 12A that is continuous with the contact portion 11A and has an outer edge that is generally pyramidal in shape.

[0084] In this case, it is preferable that the housing 20A is configured to follow the shape of the spring portion 12A. As an example, the housing 20A can be configured so that the inner forming surface 27A of the housing 20A has a stepped structure, that is, a structure with multiple continuous steps, in a cross-sectional view.

[0085] Without being limited to this, even if the inner forming surface of the housing has a substantially linear shape parallel to the long axis direction of the contact when viewed in cross section (see Figure 4), the above-mentioned aspects relating to three or more contact portions 30A can be realized by adopting the following configuration.

[0086] As an example, when two or more parts are joined together to form an integral housing, a protrusion arranged so as to be in contact with the spring portion 12A is provided at an arbitrary location on the inner surface of each housing part, and this protrusion is inserted and arranged on a substantially horizontal area of ​​the spring portion 12A at a predetermined location. This allows an embodiment with three or more contact portions 30A to be realized.

[0087] As an example, five contact portions 30A may be provided as shown in Fig. 9. Specifically, the five contact portions 30A are composed of a first contact portion 31A, a second contact portion 32A, a third contact portion 33A, a fourth contact portion 34A, and a fifth contact portion 35A.

[0088] In a cross-sectional view, the first contact portion 31A is the contact portion with the highest height level. The second contact portion 32A is the contact portion with the next lowest height level after the first contact portion 31A. The third contact portion 33A is the contact portion with the next lowest height level after the second contact portion 32A. The fourth contact portion 34A is the contact portion with the next lowest height level after the third contact portion 33A. The fifth contact portion 35A is the contact portion with the next lowest height level after the fourth contact portion 34A.

[0089] Here, because the spring portion 12A has a serpentine shape in a cross-sectional view, the contact portions 30A can be positioned alternately on both sides of a center line L1 along the longitudinal direction of the contact 10A. Specifically, the first contact portion 31A, the second contact portion 32A, the third contact portion 33A, the fourth contact portion 34A, and the fifth contact portion 35A can be positioned alternately on both sides of the center line L1.

[0090] Each contact portion 30A is a portion where the housing 20A receives the preload of the spring portion 12A. Therefore, the portion where the housing 20A receives the preload of the spring portion 12A can be positioned alternately on both sides of the center line L1. This makes it possible to make the stress distribution generated in the spring portion 12A more balanced between one side and the other side of the spring portion 12A in a cross-sectional view, compared to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, which has two contact portions. As a result, it is possible to more effectively prevent the contact portion 11A of the contact from tilting to one side.

[0091] Furthermore, the housing 20A receives the preload of the spring portion 12A at a total of three or more locations, and in the embodiment shown in Fig. 9 as an example, there are a total of five locations. Therefore, compared to the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the preload of the spring portion 12A acting on the housing 20A can be more dispersed.

[0092] Furthermore, the housing 20A receives the preload of the spring portion 12A at three or more points, which means that the housing 20A and the spring portion 12A contact each other at three or more points. Therefore, the thermal load on the housing 20A can be more effectively distributed than in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 (number of contact points: two).

[0093] For these reasons, both the physical force (preload force) and the thermal load that may be applied to the housing 20A can be more dispersed than in the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 (number of contact parts: two). As a result, it is possible to further suppress deformation of the housing and reduce the amount of deformation of the housing.

[0094] The present disclosure is not limited to the exemplified embodiments, and various improvements and design changes are possible without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0095] The connectors of the present disclosure, as well as contacts and housings therefor, can be used to make electrical connections with selected electronic substrates. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 100, 100A Connector 10, 10A Contact 10α Contact before preload 10β Preload contact 10γ Contact after preload (preload completion stage) 11, 11A, 11α, 11β, 11γ Contact area 11a The other side of the contact 11b Lower corner of the other side of the contact portion 12, 12A, 12α, 12β, 12γ Spring part 12a: First local region of spring portion 12b Second local region of spring portion 12γa Spring part extension start region 12γb Near horizontal region of spring part 13, 13A, 13α, 13β, 13γ block section 14, 14α, 14β, 14γ connection 20, 20A Housing 21 Housing top surface 22 Bottom of housing 23 Inner space of housing 26 Open end of housing 26a Contour line of opening end 27, 27A Inner forming surface of housing 30, 30A contact part 31, 31A First contact part 32, 32A Second contact part 33A Third Contact Part 34A Fourth Contact Part 35A 5th contact A Contact long axis direction L, L1: Center line along the long axis of the contact X: The direction in which the contacts are arranged in a row at a specified interval Direction perpendicular to the YX direction (direction in which the contact parts are arranged in a row at a specified interval)

Claims

1. A connector comprising a housing having a contact and an internal space through which the contact can be received, the contact includes a contact portion protruding from an open end of the housing to the outside and capable of contacting a mating electronic substrate, and a spring portion continuing from the contact portion and forming a serpentine shape, and is provided in the inner space of the housing in a preloaded state; The spring portion of the contact in the preloaded state and an inner forming surface that defines the inner space of the housing can come into contact with each other at at least two contact portions that are at different height levels in the longitudinal direction of the contact, the contact portion is a preload receiving portion at which the housing receives the preload from the spring portion, and the at least two contact portions include a first contact portion and a second contact portion, When viewed in cross section, the first contact portion is a contact portion at the highest height level, and the second contact portion is a contact portion at a height level next to the first contact portion; the contact portion having the highest height level is a portion where an extension start region where the meandering spring portion starts to extend from one side of the contact portion of the contact comes into contact with the inner forming surface of the housing, the extension start region is a region located between a boundary portion between the contact portion and the spring portion and a first curved portion of the meandering spring portion, the second contact portion is a portion where a region adjacent to a second curved portion of the spring portion, which is continuous with the first curved portion, contacts the inner forming surface of the housing; A connector, wherein the second curved portion of the spring portion is located lower than the second contact portion.

2. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the first contact portion and the second contact portion are positioned on either side of a center line along the longitudinal direction of the contact.

3. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least the first contact portion is located outside a contour line of the opening end.

4. A connector as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, in a cross-sectional view, the spring portion continues from only one side of the contact portion, and the other side of the contact portion is spaced apart from the inner forming surface of the housing.

5. 5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein thickness dimensions of said housing at said at least two contact portions are different from each other.

6. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein three or more of the contact portions are provided as the preload receiving portion.

7. The connector according to claim 6 dependent on claim 2, wherein the three or more contact portions are positioned alternately on both sides of a center line along the longitudinal axis of the contact.

8. 8. The connector according to claim 6, wherein, in a cross-sectional view, a width dimension of the meandering spring portion gradually increases as the height level of the contact portion decreases.

9. The connector according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the inner forming surface of the housing has a stepped structure in a cross-sectional view.

10. A contact for a connector, comprising: It can be housed in a housing with a through inner space, The spring portion includes a contact portion capable of contacting a mating electronic substrate and a meandering spring portion continuous with the contact portion, and is provided in the inner space in a preloaded state; The spring portion of the contact in the preloaded state is capable of contacting an inner forming surface that defines the inner space of the housing in at least two local areas that are different in height level from each other in the longitudinal direction, the at least two local regions include a first local region and a second local region; When viewed in cross section, the first local area is capable of contacting the inner forming surface of the housing at a highest height level, and the second local area is a local area at a height level next to the first local area, the highest height level is a portion where an extension start region where the meandering spring portion starts to extend from one side of the contact portion of the contact comes into contact with the inner forming surface of the housing, the extension start region is a region located between a boundary portion between the contact portion and the spring portion and a first curved portion of the spring portion in the meandering form, the second local region is a region adjacent to a second curved portion of the spring portion that is continuous with the first curved portion of the spring portion and that contacts the inner forming surface of the housing; A contact, wherein the second curved portion of the spring portion is located below the second localized region.

11. 11. The contact of claim 10, wherein, in a cross-sectional view, a width dimension of the meandering spring portion gradually increases as the height level of the localized area contactable with the inner forming surface of the housing decreases.

12. 1. A housing for a connector, comprising: a housing having a through inner space capable of accommodating a contact having a meandering spring portion, an inner forming surface defining the inner space being capable of contacting the spring portion of the contact in a preloaded state at at least two points, and thickness dimensions of the housing at the at least two contact portions are different from each other; the at least two contact portions include a first contact portion and a second contact portion; the contact includes a contact portion that is continuous with the meandering spring portion, protruding from an open end of the housing to the outside and capable of contacting a mating electronic substrate; the inner forming surface has the first contact portion with a first local region of the spring portion of the contact located closest to the opening end in a longitudinal direction based on a position of the opening end of the housing, and the second contact portion with a second local region of the spring portion located next to the first contact portion with respect to the opening end, the first local region of the spring portion is a region located between a boundary portion between the contact portion and the spring portion and a first curved portion of the spring portion in the meandering shape, the second local region of the spring portion is a region adjacent to a second curved portion subsequent to the first curved portion, The second curved portion of the spring portion is located below the second localized region.

13. The housing of claim 12 , wherein the inner forming surface has a stepped structure when viewed in cross section.

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