Connector for substrate and device

Abstract

To provide a board connector which enables reduction of noise, and to provide a device.SOLUTION: A board connector 10 of the disclosure is attached to a circuit board 50. The board connector 10 includes: a housing 11 having a hood part 15 which is open to the front and having a rear wall 30 provided at the opposite side of a front end part 16 where the hood part 15 is open; an outer conductor 20 which penetrates through the rear wall 30 to be fixed to the housing 11; an insulative dielectric body 19 disposed within the outer conductor 20; an inner conductor 18 disposed within the dielectric body 19; and an earth spring 40 connected to the outer conductor 20. The hood part 15 has: a first wall 15A disposed at the opposite side of the circuit board 50; a second wall 15B disposed at the circuit board 50 side; and a third wall 15C connecting the first wall 15A with the second wall 15C. The earth spring 40 has: a first housing connection part disposed at the outer surface side of the first wall 15A; and a second housing connection part disposed at the outer surface side of the second wall 15B and the third wall 15C.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a connector for a substrate and a device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a connector attached to a circuit board, for example, the connector described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-207411 (Patent Document 1 below) is known. This connector includes a conductive signal terminal, an insulating housing that holds the signal terminal, a conductive shell that covers the housing, a conductive upper ground terminal disposed above the signal terminal and held by the housing, and a conductive lower ground terminal disposed below the signal terminal and held by the housing. The upper ground terminal has a contact portion that contacts the back side of the shell.

[0003] The shell is a member for blocking the signal terminals of the connector from external electrical noise and establishing a ground connection of the upper ground terminal. The shell has a box-shaped configuration with an open front and bottom surface. A part of the upper surface of the shell is cut and bent outward to form a shell-side ground connection portion that is connected to the ground terminal of the unit housing that houses the connector. The back surface of the shell has a contact surface that contacts the contact portion of the upper ground terminal.

[0004] The upper ground terminal functions as a ground terminal to be grounded by being connected to the female ground of the mating connector. The contact portion of the upper ground terminal contacts the contact surface of the shell, and the shell-side ground connection portion contacts the ground terminal of the unit housing. Thereby, a ground line is configured that reaches the ground terminal of the unit housing through the female ground, the upper ground terminal, the shell, and the shell-side ground connection portion of the shell.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0006] In the above connector, since the shell-side ground connection portion is provided only on the upper surface of the shell, in the case of high-speed communication, the communication performance deteriorates due to the influence of noise.

[0007] The technology disclosed in this specification has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a board connector and a device capable of reducing noise.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0008] The board connector of the present disclosure is a board connector attached to a circuit board, and includes a housing having a hood portion that opens forward and a rear wall provided on the side opposite to the front end portion where the hood portion opens, an outer conductor that penetrates the rear wall and is fixed to the housing, an insulating dielectric disposed inside the outer conductor, an inner conductor disposed inside the dielectric, and a ground spring connected to the outer conductor. The hood portion has a first wall disposed on the side opposite to the circuit board, a second wall disposed on the circuit board side, and a third wall connecting the first wall and the second wall. The ground spring has a first housing connection portion disposed on the outer surface side of the first wall and a second housing connection portion disposed on the outer surface side of both or either one of the second wall and the third wall.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a board connector and a device capable of reducing noise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. The board connector of the present disclosure is (1) A connector for a circuit board that is attached to a circuit board, having a hood portion that opens forward, a housing having a rear wall provided on the side opposite to the front end portion where the hood portion opens, an outer conductor fixed to the housing through the rear wall, an insulating dielectric disposed inside the outer conductor, an inner conductor disposed inside the dielectric, and an earth spring connected to the outer conductor, wherein the hood portion has a first wall disposed on the side opposite to the circuit board, a second wall disposed on the circuit board side, and a third wall connecting the first wall and the second wall, and the earth spring has a first housing connection portion disposed on the outer surface side of the first wall and a second housing connection portion disposed on the outer surface side of both or either one of the second wall and the third wall.

[0012] The device of the present disclosure includes a connector for a circuit board, a circuit board to which the connector for the circuit board is attached, and a metal housing that houses the circuit board therein and is electrically connected to the outer conductor through the earth spring. The housing has a first spring receiving portion connected to the first housing connection portion and a second spring receiving portion connected to the second housing connection portion.

[0013] Since the earth spring has a first housing connection portion and a second housing connection portion, it can be shield-connected to the housing at at least two locations, reducing noise. Also, since the outer conductor and the metal housing can be electrically connected through the earth spring, the connection state is stable and the shielding performance can be improved.

[0014] (2) Preferably, the earth spring includes a mounting main body portion disposed along the outer surface of the rear wall, the first housing connection portion has a plurality of first connection springs protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting main body portion, and the second housing connection portion has a plurality of second connection springs protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting main body portion. Since the earth spring has a plurality of first connection springs and a plurality of second connection springs, it can be shield-connected to the housing in a multi-contact state, further improving the shielding performance.

[0015] (3) The mounting body portion has a square tube shape and includes a first mounting wall corresponding to the first wall, a second mounting wall corresponding to the second wall, and a third mounting wall corresponding to the third wall. A pair of the third mounting walls are provided to face each other in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the first mounting wall and the second mounting wall face each other. It is preferable that the second housing connection portion is arranged on both the second mounting wall and the pair of the third mounting walls. Since the ground spring has one first housing connection portion and three second housing connection portions, shield connection can be made at at least four locations with respect to the housing, and noise can be further reduced.

[0016] (4) The outer conductor has a flange arranged along the rear wall of the housing. The first mounting wall preferably has a holding spring that elastically contacts the flange from behind. The pair of the third mounting walls preferably have a pair of clamping pieces that clamp the flange together with the holding spring. Since the flange can be clamped by the holding spring and the pair of clamping pieces, the connection state of the ground spring to the flange is stabilized.

[0017] (5) A pair of the second housing connection portions are provided on the pair of the third mounting walls. It is preferable that the holding spring is provided at the rear edge of the first mounting wall, and the pair of the clamping pieces are provided at the rear edges of the pair of the third mounting walls. Since the holding spring is provided at the rear edge of the first mounting wall, the holding spring and the first housing connection portion can be connected at the shortest distance. Also, since the pair of clamping pieces are provided at the rear edges of the pair of the third mounting walls, the pair of clamping pieces and the pair of the second housing connection portions can be connected at the shortest distance.

[0018] [Details of Embodiment 1 of the Present Disclosure] Specific examples of the substrate connector 10 and the device 60 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 1 to 10. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, and is intended to be indicated by the claims and to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0019] [Connector for Substrate and Overall Structure of Equipment] As shown in FIG. 10, the connector 10 for a substrate according to the present embodiment is attached to a circuit board 50 housed inside an equipment 60. In FIG. 10, the front-rear direction is defined such that the left side in the drawing is the front with reference to the left-right direction shown in the drawing, and the up-down direction is based on the up-down direction shown in the drawing. Also, for a plurality of identical members, only some of the members may be labeled, and the labels of other members may be omitted.

[0020] [Equipment] As shown in FIG. 2, the equipment 60 includes a lower case 61 that opens upward and forward, an upper case 62 that is assembled to the lower case 61 from above to close the upper opening of the lower case 61, and a front panel 63 that is assembled to the lower case 61 from the front to close the front opening of the lower case 61. The lower case 61, the upper case 62, and the front panel 63 are made of a conductive metal. The lower case 61, the upper case 62, and the front panel 63 are integrally assembled by a known method such as screwing or a locking structure, thereby forming a housing 64. The housing 64 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole.

[0021] The front panel 63 is provided with a connector insertion hole 65 through which a part of the connector 10 for a substrate is inserted. The front wall 66 constituting the connector insertion hole 65 is a wall for shield connection with which an earth spring 40 described later elastically contacts from the rear. The front wall 66 corresponds to the "spring receiving portion" described in the claims.

[0022] Inside the housing 64, a circuit board 50 is accommodated. The circuit board 50 is fixed to the housing 64 by a known method such as screwing. As shown in FIG. 2, on the circuit board 50, a signal conductive path 53 through which signals are transmitted and a ground conductive path 54 are formed by etching a copper foil by a known printed wiring technique. At a position near the front end of the circuit board 50, a plurality of (four in this embodiment) through holes 51 for outer conductors and a plurality of (two in this embodiment) lands 52 for inner conductors are formed. On the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 51 for outer conductors, a conductive path (not shown) formed by through hole copper plating or the like is formed.

[0023] The conductive path formed on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 51 for outer conductors is electrically connected to the ground conductive path 54. Also, the conductive path formed on the surface of the land 52 for inner conductors constitutes a part of the signal conductive path 53. Electronic components (not shown) are connected to the signal conductive path 53 and the ground conductive path 54 on the circuit board 50 by a known method such as soldering.

[0024] [Connector for Substrate] As shown in FIG. 10, the connector 10 for substrate includes a housing 11 attached to the circuit board 50, an outer conductor 20 attached to the housing 11, a dielectric 19 accommodated inside the outer conductor 20, an inner conductor 18 accommodated inside the dielectric 19, and a ground spring 40 connected to the outer conductor 20.

[0025] [Housing] The housing 11 is formed by injection molding an insulating synthetic resin. The housing 11 has a hood portion 15 that opens forward and into which the mating connector 70 is fitted, a front end portion (opening end portion) 16 where the hood portion 15 opens, and a rear wall 30 provided on the side opposite to the front end portion. At the front edge (opening end portion) of the inner wall of the hood portion 15, a locking portion 31 that protrudes downward is provided. The locking portion 31 holds the mating connector 70 in a fitted state inside the hood portion 15 by engaging with a locking arm (not shown) provided on the mating connector 70.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, the hood portion 15 has a first wall 15A arranged on the side opposite to the circuit board 50, a second wall 15B arranged on the circuit board 50 side, and a pair of third walls 15C connecting the first wall 15A and the second wall 15B. The pair of third walls 15C are arranged to face each other in a direction (left - right direction) orthogonal to the direction in which the first wall 15A and the second wall 15B face each other.

[0027] The rear wall 30 is located at the rear end portion of the housing 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the rear wall 30 is larger in the left - right direction than the first wall 15A and the second wall 15B of the hood portion 15, and is provided with the same size as the third wall 15C in the up - down direction. As shown in FIG. 10, at a position behind the lock portion 31 on the rear wall 30, a die - punching hole 32 for forming the lock portion 31 when the housing 11 is injection - molded is formed to penetrate in the front - rear direction. Below the die - punching hole 32 on the rear wall 30, an outer - conductor mounting hole 34 through which the outer conductor 20 is inserted is formed to penetrate in the front - rear direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the inner peripheral surface of the outer - conductor mounting hole 34 has a rectangular shape with rounded corners.

[0028] [Outer Conductor] As shown in FIG. 2, the outer conductor 20 is made of a conductive metal. As the metal constituting the outer conductor 20, any metal such as copper, copper alloy, zinc, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc. can be appropriately selected. The outer conductor 20 is formed by a known method such as casting, die - casting, cutting process, etc. The outer conductor 20 is in electrical contact with a mating outer conductor (not shown) housed in the mating connector 70.

[0029] The outer conductor 20 has a cylindrical portion 21 extending in the front - rear direction and having a cylindrical shape, a dielectric - surrounding portion 22 extending rearward from the rear - end edge of the cylindrical portion 21, and a flange 23 protruding in a direction intersecting the front - rear direction at the boundary portion between the cylindrical portion 21 and the dielectric - surrounding portion 22.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 6, at the boundary portion between the cylindrical portion 21 and the dielectric - surrounding portion 22, a dielectric - holding portion 22A for holding the dielectric 19 inside is provided to open in the front - rear direction.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 3, when viewed from the front, the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 21 has a rectangular shape with rounded corners. The outer peripheral shape of the cylindrical portion 21 is set to be approximately the same size as the inner peripheral shape of the outer conductor mounting hole 34 of the rear wall 30. Thereby, the cylindrical portion 21 can be press-fitted into the outer conductor mounting hole 34 from the rear. The housing 11 is fixed to the outer conductor 20 by press-fitting the cylindrical portion 21 into the outer conductor mounting hole 34.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 6, the dielectric surrounding portion 22 has a gate shape that opens downward. Inside the dielectric surrounding portion 22, the dielectric 19 is accommodated in a state of being surrounded by the dielectric surrounding portion 22 from above, left side, and right side.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of (four in the embodiment) substrate connection portions 24 having a cylindrical shape protruding downward are provided at the lower end portion of the dielectric surrounding portion 22. The substrate connection portions 24 are inserted into the outer conductor through-holes 51 of the circuit board 50 and are connected to the conduction paths formed on the inner surface of the outer conductor through-holes 51 by a known method such as soldering. Thereby, the outer conductor 20 is electrically connected to the ground conduction path 54 formed on the circuit board 50.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 6, in a state where the cylindrical portion 21 is press-fitted into the inner peripheral wall of the outer conductor mounting hole 34, the flange 23 comes into contact with the rear surface of the rear wall 30 from the rear. Thereby, the die-cutting hole 32 of the rear wall 30 is closed from the rear by the flange 23.

[0035] [Dielectric] As shown in FIG. 2, the dielectric 19 is formed by injection molding an insulating synthetic resin. The dielectric 19 is generally formed in an L-shaped cross section. As shown in FIG. 7, the dielectric 19 includes an inner conductor accommodation chamber 27 capable of accommodating the inner conductor 18 therein. The inner conductor accommodation chamber 27 penetrates the dielectric 19 in the front-rear direction and is also formed with an opening on the lower surface side.

[0036] [Inner Conductor] The inner conductor 18 is made of a conductive metal. As the metal constituting the inner conductor 18, any metal such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc. can be appropriately selected. The inner conductor 18 is formed by known methods such as press working and cutting. The inner conductor 18 is electrically connected to a mating inner conductor (not shown) housed in the mating connector 70.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 2, the inner conductor 18 is formed by bending a tab-shaped metal plate in the middle. The inner conductor 18 has a shape that is bent in a stepped manner as a whole by two bends. The inner conductor 18 includes a terminal connection portion 28 connected to a mating inner conductor (not shown) and a board connection portion 29 connected to the inner conductor land 52 of the circuit board 50.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal connection portion 28 has a shape extending in the front-rear direction and protrudes forward from the front end of the dielectric 19. On the other hand, the board connection portion 29 has a slightly inclined posture compared to the terminal connection portion 28 and has a shape that extends downward as it goes rearward. For this reason, the board connection portion 29 is surface-mounted on the inner conductor land 52 with solder and is electrically connected to the signal conductive path 53 of the circuit board 50.

[0039] [Ground spring] The ground spring 40 is composed of a sheet metal made of a conductive metal. As the metal constituting the ground spring 40, any metal such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc. can be appropriately selected. The ground spring 40 is formed by known methods such as press working and cutting. As shown in FIG. 5, the ground spring 40 is pre-attached to the outer conductor 20 in a state before the outer conductor 20 is attached to the housing 11 from the rear.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 2, the ground spring 40 includes a mounting body portion 41 having a U-shape, and a plurality of connecting springs 42 protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting body portion 41. The mounting body portion 41 has a square tube shape and includes a pair of side walls 44 arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the left-right direction, a ceiling wall 45 connecting the upper ends of the pair of side walls 44, and a bottom wall 47 extending from the lower end of the left side wall 44 to the lower end of the right side wall 44 in a front view.

[0041] The ceiling wall 45 corresponds to the "first mounting wall" described in the claims, the bottom wall 47 corresponds to the "second mounting wall" described in the claims, and the side walls 44 correspond to the "third mounting wall" described in the claims.

[0042] A plurality of (three in this embodiment) connecting springs 42 are provided on the outer surface side of the ceiling wall 45, the outer surface side of the pair of side walls 44, and the outer surface side of the bottom wall 47. The connecting springs 42 are configured to extend forward in a cantilever form from the front edge of the mounting body portion 41. The front end portion of the connecting spring 42 is bent at a right angle and is configured to be elastically contactable with the front wall 66 of the housing 64 described later from the rear.

[0043] Among the plurality of connecting springs 42, the three connecting springs 42 provided at the front edge of the ceiling wall 45 correspond to the "first housing connection portion" described in the claims, and among the plurality of connecting springs 42, the nine connecting springs 42 provided at the front edges of the pair of side walls 44 and the front edge of the bottom wall 47 correspond to the "second housing connection portion" described in the claims.

[0044] In addition, each connecting spring 42 arranged on the outer surface side of the first wall 15A corresponds to the "first connecting spring" described in the claims, and each connecting spring 42 arranged on the outer surface side of the second wall 15B and the outer surface sides of the pair of third walls 15C corresponds to the "second connecting spring" described in the claims.

[0045] At the trailing edges of the pair of side walls 44, a pair of clamping pieces 46 having a vertically long rectangular shape protrude inward. The clamping piece 46 on the left side in the front view protrudes toward the clamping piece 46 on the right side, and the clamping piece 46 on the right side in the front view protrudes toward the clamping piece 46 on the left side. The pair of clamping pieces 46 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. The clamping piece 46 has a dimension that is half or less of the vertical dimension of the side wall 44. The clamping piece 46 is provided at a position closer to the ceiling wall 45 in the side wall 44.

[0046] A holding spring 43 is provided at the trailing edge of the ceiling wall 45. The holding spring 43 extends downward from the central portion of the ceiling wall 45 and is formed in a mountain shape with the front side as the apex. The holding spring 43 has flexibility and elastically contacts the rear surface of the flange 23 from the rear in a state of being attached to the outer conductor 20.

[0047] A pair of displacement restraining portions 23A are provided on both the left and right sides of the holding spring 43 in the flange 23. By fitting the apex of the holding spring 43 between the pair of displacement restraining portions 23A and locking both side edges of the holding spring 43 to the pair of displacement restraining portions 23A from the side, the ground spring 40 can be held so as not to be displaced in the left-right direction with respect to the flange 23.

[0048] [Mounting Structure of Ground Spring] As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of mounting recesses 35 are provided on both the left and right sides on the rear surface of the rear wall 30 of the housing 11. The mounting recess 35 is formed in a form in which the rear surface of the rear wall 30 is recessed forward. As shown in FIG. 9, in a state where the housing 11 and the outer conductor 20 are assembled, a mounting groove 33 is formed by the mounting recess 35 and the flange 23. The mounting groove 33 is located between the rear wall 30 and the flange 23 and opens upward and laterally. The mounting groove 33 located on the left side in the front view opens upward and to the left, and the mounting groove 33 located on the right side in the front view opens upward and to the right.

[0049] The dimension of the attachment groove 33 in the front - rear direction is the same as or slightly larger than the plate thickness of the clamping piece 46. As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical dimension of the attachment groove 33 is about half of the vertical dimension of the rear wall 30, and it is formed from the upper end of the rear wall 30 to the vertical central part.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 6, when the ground spring 40 is attached to the flange 23, the holding spring 43 elastically contacts the flange 23 from the rear. And as shown in FIG. 9, the clamping piece 46 fits into the locking recess 26 from the front and elastically contacts the front surface of the locking recess 26. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the attachment main body part 41 is arranged along the outer surface of the rear wall 30. As shown in FIG. 8, when the pair of clamping pieces 46 fit into the pair of locking recesses 26, the upper edges of the pair of clamping pieces 46 are locked to the upper edges of the pair of locking recesses 26 from below, so that the ground spring 40 is held in a state where it is prevented from coming off upward.

[0051] [Connection structure between the ground spring and the front panel] As shown in FIG. 10, the holding spring 43 elastically contacts the rear surface of the flange 23, and the connection springs 42 on the upper and lower sides elastically contact the front wall 66 of the front panel 63. Also, as shown in FIG. 9, the pair of clamping pieces 46 elastically contact the front surfaces of the pair of locking recesses 26 of the flange 23, and the connection springs 42 on the left and right sides elastically contact the front wall 66 of the front panel 63. In this way, the electrical connection between the ground spring 40 and the housing 64 is made at four locations, up, down, left, and right, on the outer surface side of the hood part 15, so that noise can be reduced. Also, since the conductive path from the flange 23 to the front panel 63 is configured with the shortest distance, the shielding performance can be improved.

[0052] The part of the front wall 66 where the upper connection spring 42 contacts corresponds to the "first spring receiving part" described in the claims, and the parts of the front wall 66 where the lower and left - right connection springs 42 contact correspond to the "second spring receiving part" described in the claims.

[0053] The conductive path from the holding spring 43 of the ground spring 40 toward the front wall 66 of the front panel 63 branches into a plurality by a plurality of connection springs 42, and the conductive path from each clamping piece 46 toward the front wall 66 of the front panel 63 also branches into a plurality by a plurality of connection springs 42. Thus, since the ground spring 40 is connected to the front panel 63 at multiple contact points, the resistance at each contact point is reduced, and the shielding performance can be further improved.

[0054] [Connector for Substrate and Assembly Method of Equipment] Subsequently, an example of the assembly method of the connector 10 for substrate and the equipment 60 of the present embodiment will be described. The assembly method of the connector 10 for substrate and the equipment 60 is not limited to the following description.

[0055] Insert the inner conductor 18 into the inner conductor housing chamber 27 of the dielectric 19 from the rear. Subsequently, assemble the inner conductor 18 to the outer conductor 20 from the rear. Thereby, the portion of the dielectric 19 extending in the front-rear direction is press-fitted inside the dielectric holding portion 22A of the outer conductor 20, and the dielectric 19 is held in a state where it is prevented from coming off. In this state, the terminal connection portion 28 of the inner conductor 18 is accommodated inside the cylindrical portion 21 (see FIG. 7).

[0056] Subsequently, when the ground spring 40 is attached to the flange 23, the holding spring 43 elastically contacts the flange 23 from the rear, and the pair of clamping pieces 46 elastically contacts the pair of locking recesses 26 from the front. Thereby, the ground spring 40 is electrically connected to the outer conductor 20 at a plurality of locations (three locations in the embodiment).

[0057] Next, insert the cylindrical portion 21 of the outer conductor 20 into the outer conductor mounting hole 34 of the housing 11 from the rear, and press-fit the dielectric holding portion 22A into the outer conductor mounting hole 34. Thereby, the connector 10 for substrate is completed, and the flange 23 is arranged along the rear wall 30 of the housing 11.

[0058] Next, the board connector 10 is assembled to the circuit board 50 from above. The board connection portion 24 of the outer conductor 20 is inserted into the through-hole 51 for the outer conductor of the circuit board 50 from above, and the board connection portion 29 of the inner conductor 18 is placed on the land 52 for the inner conductor of the circuit board 50 from above, and soldering is performed to electrically connect them respectively.

[0059] Subsequently, the circuit board 50 is fixed to the lower case 61 by screwing or the like. The upper case 62 is assembled from above the lower case 61, and the front panel 63 is assembled from the front of the lower case 61, and the lower case 61, the upper case 62, and the front panel 63 are fixed by screwing or the like. Thereby, the housing 64 is configured, and the board connector 10 and the circuit board 50 are housed inside the housing 64 in a posture where the hood portion 15 penetrates the connector insertion hole 65.

[0060] At this time, the front end portions of the plurality of connection springs 42 are elastically contacted by being pressed against the front wall 66 of the front panel 63 from the rear. Thereby, the ground spring 40 is electrically connected to the housing 64 in a multi-contact state. Therefore, the outer conductor 20 is in a state of being shield-connected to the housing 64 via the ground spring 40. Separately from this, the outer conductor 20 is shield-connected to the housing 64 via the plurality of board connection portions 24 and the circuit board 50. However, the shield connection by the ground spring 40 requires a shorter distance to the housing 64 and elastically contacts the housing 64, so the connection state is stable and the shielding performance can be improved. That is, since the flange 23 is sandwiched by the holding spring 43 and the sandwiching piece 46, sufficient contact pressure can be ensured and stable shield connection is possible.

[0061] Next, the board connector 10 and the mating connector 70 are mated. When the mating connector 70 is mated into the hood portion 15 from the front, a lock arm (not shown) provided on the mating connector 70 locks to the locking portion 31. As a result, the mating connector 70 is held in the housing 11 in a state where it cannot come off. The inner conductor 18 of the board connector 10 is electrically connected to a mating inner conductor (not shown) of the mating connector 70. Also, the outer conductor 20 of the board connector 10 is electrically connected to a mating outer conductor (not shown) of the mating connector 70.

[0062] [Operational Effects of Embodiment 1] The board connector 10 of the present disclosure is a board connector 10 attached to a circuit board 50, and includes a housing 11 having a hood portion 15 that opens forward, a rear wall 30 provided on the side opposite to the front end portion 16 where the hood portion 15 opens, an outer conductor 20 that penetrates the rear wall 30 and is fixed to the housing 11, an insulating dielectric 19 disposed inside the outer conductor 20, an inner conductor 18 disposed inside the dielectric 19, and a ground spring 40 connected to the outer conductor 20. The hood portion 15 has a first wall 15A disposed on the side opposite to the circuit board 50, a second wall 15B disposed on the circuit board 50 side, and a third wall 15C that connects the first wall 15A and the second wall 15B. The ground spring 40 has a first housing connection portion disposed on the outer surface side of the first wall 15A and a second housing connection portion disposed on the outer surface sides of both the second wall 15B and the third wall 15C. The board connector 10 is as described above.

[0063] The device 60 of the present disclosure includes a board connector 10, a circuit board 50 to which the board connector 10 is attached, and a metal housing 64 that houses the circuit board 50 therein and is electrically connected to the outer conductor 20 via the ground spring 40. The housing 64 has a first spring receiving portion connected to the first housing connection portion and a second spring receiving portion connected to the second housing connection portion. The device 60 is as described above.

[0064] Since the ground spring 40 has a first housing connection part and a second housing connection part, it can be shield-connected to the housing 64 at at least two positions, and noise can be reduced. Further, since the outer conductor 20 and the metal housing 64 can be electrically connected via the ground spring 40, the connection state is stabilized and the shielding performance can be improved.

[0065] The ground spring 40 includes a mounting main body part 41 arranged along the outer surface of the rear wall 30. The first housing connection part has a plurality of first connection springs protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting main body part 41, and the second housing connection part has a plurality of second connection springs protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting main body part 41. Since the ground spring 40 has a plurality of first connection springs and a plurality of second connection springs, it can be shield-connected to the housing 64 in a multi-contact state, and the shielding performance can be further improved.

[0066] The mounting main body part 41 has a rectangular tube shape and includes a ceiling wall 45 corresponding to the first wall 15A, a bottom wall 47 corresponding to the second wall 15B, and side walls 44 corresponding to the third wall 15C. A pair of side walls 44 are provided to face each other in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the ceiling wall 45 and the bottom wall 47 face each other. The second housing connection part is arranged on both the bottom wall 47 and the pair of side walls 44. Since the ground spring has one first housing connection part and three second housing connection parts, it can be shield-connected to the housing at at least four positions, and noise can be further reduced.

[0067] The outer conductor 20 has a flange 23 arranged along the rear wall 30 of the housing 11. The ceiling wall 45 has a holding spring 43 that elastically contacts the flange 23 from the rear. The pair of side walls 44 have a pair of clamping pieces 46 that clamp the flange 23 together with the holding spring 43. Since the flange 23 can be clamped by the holding spring 43 and the pair of clamping pieces 46, the connection state of the ground spring 40 to the flange 23 is stabilized.

[0068] The second housing connection part is provided in a pair on the pair of side walls 44, the holding spring 43 is provided at the rear edge of the ceiling wall 45, and the pair of clamping pieces 46 are provided at the rear edges of the pair of side walls 44. Since the holding spring 43 is provided at the rear edge of the ceiling wall 45, the holding spring 43 and the first housing connection part can be connected at the shortest distance. Further, since the pair of clamping pieces 46 are provided at the rear edges of the pair of side walls 44, the pair of clamping pieces 46 and the pair of second housing connection parts can be connected at the shortest distance.

[0069] [Details of Embodiment 2 of the Present Disclosure] A specific example of the board connector 210 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings of FIG. 11. In the following description, the description of the same configuration as that of Embodiment 1 will be omitted, and for the configuration corresponding to Embodiment 1, reference numerals with 200 added to the numerical part of the reference numerals will be used.

[0070] [Overall Structure of Board Connector and Equipment] As shown in FIG. 11, the board connector 210 is different from the board connector 10 of Embodiment 1 in that the ground spring 240 can be retrofitted from above to the board connector 210 before the ground spring 240 is attached.

[0071] [Board Connector] The board connector 210 includes a housing 11 attached to a circuit board 50, an outer conductor 20 attached to the housing 11, a dielectric 19 housed inside the outer conductor 20, an inner conductor 18 housed inside the dielectric 19, and a ground spring 240 connected to the outer conductor 20.

[0072] [Ground Spring] The ground spring 240 is capable of being retrofitted to the outer conductor 20. Retrofit means that after the board connector 210 before the ground spring 240 is attached is mounted on the circuit board 50, the ground spring 240 can be attached to the outer conductor 20.

[0073] The ground spring 240 is configured to include a mounting body portion 241 having a portal shape, and a plurality of connection springs 242 protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting body portion 241. The mounting body portion 241 is configured to include a pair of side walls 244 arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the left-right direction, and a ceiling wall 245 connecting the upper ends of the pair of side walls 244. Different from the ground spring 40 of the first embodiment, the ground spring 240 of the present embodiment does not include a portion corresponding to the bottom wall 47 and is not a square tube shape.

[0074] A plurality of (three in the present embodiment) connection springs 242 are provided on each of the ceiling wall 245 and the pair of side walls 244.

[0075] A pair of clamping pieces 246 having a long rectangular shape in the vertical direction protrude inwardly at the rear edges of the pair of side walls 244. One clamping piece 246 protrudes toward the other clamping piece 246, and the other clamping piece 246 protrudes toward the one clamping piece 246. The pair of clamping pieces 246 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction.

[0076] A holding spring 243 is provided at the rear edge of the ceiling wall 245. The holding spring 243 extends downward (in the mounting direction to the board connector 210) from the central portion of the ceiling wall 245 and is formed in a mountain shape with the front side as the apex. The holding spring 243 has flexibility and elastically contacts the rear surface of the flange 23 from the rear in a state of being attached to the outer conductor 20.

[0077] [Mounting Structure of Ground Spring] When the ground spring 240 is assembled from above to the board connector 210 before the ground spring 240 is attached, a pair of clamping pieces 246 are respectively inserted into a pair of mounting grooves 33. When the ground spring 240 reaches the normal mounting position, the holding spring 243 elastically contacts the flange 23 from the rear, and the clamping pieces 246 elastically contact the locking recess 26. In a state where the apex of the holding spring 243 is fitted between a pair of displacement suppressing portions 23A, both side edges of the holding spring 243 are locked to the pair of displacement suppressing portions 23A from the side, so that the ground spring 240 is held so as not to be displaced in the left - right direction.

[0078] [Connection Structure between Ground Spring and Front Panel] The holding spring 243 elastically contacts the rear surface of the flange 23, and the upper and left - right connection springs 242 elastically contact the front wall 66 of the front panel 63. Therefore, since the conductive path from the flange 23 to the front panel 63 is configured with the shortest distance, the shielding performance can be improved.

[0079] The conductive paths from the holding spring 243 and each clamping piece 246 toward the front wall 66 of the front panel 63 branch into a plurality by a plurality of connection springs 242. Thus, since the ground spring 240 is connected to the front panel 63 with multiple contacts, the resistance at each contact point is reduced, and the shielding performance can be further improved.

[0080] [Mounting Method of Ground Spring] The ground spring 240 is attached to the board connector 210. The ground spring 240 is attached to the board connector 210 from the side, and a pair of clamping pieces 246 are inserted into a pair of mounting grooves 33 from above. When the ground spring 240 reaches the normal mounting position, the holding spring 243 elastically contacts the flange 23 from the rear, and a pair of clamping pieces 246 elastically contact the front surface of a pair of locking recesses 26 from the front. Thereby, the ground spring 240 is electrically connected to the outer conductor 20 at a plurality of locations (three locations in the embodiment).

[0081] Subsequently, the circuit board 50 is fixed to the lower case 61 by means such as screwing. The upper case 62 is assembled from above the lower case 61, and the front panel 63 is assembled from the front of the lower case 61, and the lower case 61, the upper case 62, and the front panel 63 are fixed by means such as screwing. Thereby, the housing 64 is formed, and the substrate connector 210 and the circuit board 50 are housed inside the housing 64 with the hood portion 15 penetrating through the connector insertion hole 65.

[0082] At this time, the front end portions of the plurality of connection springs 242 are elastically contacted by being pressed against the front wall 66 of the front panel 63 from the rear. Thereby, the ground spring 240 is electrically connected to the housing 64 in a multi-contact state. Therefore, the outer conductor 20 is in a state of being shield-connected to the housing 64 via the ground spring 240. Separately from this, the outer conductor 20 is shield-connected to the housing 64 via the plurality of board connection portions 24 and the circuit board 50. However, the shield connection by the ground spring 240 requires a shorter distance to the housing 64 and elastically contacts the housing 64, so that the connection state is stable and the shielding performance can be improved. That is, since the flange 23 is sandwiched by the holding spring 243 and the sandwiching piece 246, sufficient contact pressure can be ensured and stable shield connection is possible.

[0083] [Operation and Effect of Embodiment 2] According to the substrate connector 210 of Embodiment 2, since the ground spring 240 is in a U-shape, the ground spring 240 can be retrofitted to the outer conductor 20.

[0084] [Details of Embodiment 3 of the Present Disclosure] A specific example of the substrate connector 310 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings in FIG. 12. In the following description, the description of the same configuration as that of Embodiment 1 will be omitted, and for the configuration corresponding to that of Embodiment 1, reference numerals with 300 added to the numerical part of the reference numerals will be used.

[0085] [Substrate Connector] The connector 310 for a substrate includes a housing 11 attached to a circuit board 50, an outer conductor 20 attached to the housing 11, a dielectric 19 housed inside the outer conductor 20, an inner conductor 18 housed inside the dielectric 19, and a ground spring 340 connected to the outer conductor 20.

[0086] [Ground spring] The ground spring 340 includes a mounting body portion 341 having a U-shape, and a plurality of connection springs 342 protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting body portion 341. The mounting body portion 341 includes a ceiling wall 345 and a bottom wall 347 arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the vertical direction, and a side wall 344 connecting the right ends of these ceiling wall 345 and bottom wall 347. Different from the ground spring 40 of Embodiment 1, the ground spring 340 of the present embodiment does not include a portion corresponding to the left side wall 44 in a front view and is not a square tube shape.

[0087] [Other embodiments] (1) In Embodiments 1 to 3, the connection springs 42, 242, and 342 are provided at at least two or more locations out of the second wall 15B and the pair of third walls 15C as an example, but they may be provided at only one of the second wall 15B and the pair of third walls 15C. For example, the connection springs 42, 242, and 342 may be provided only on the first wall 15A and the second wall 15B, or may be provided only on the first wall 15A and one of the third walls 15C.

[0088] (2) In Embodiments 1 to 3, a pair of displacement suppressing portions 23A are provided on the rear surface of the flange 23. However, in addition to the pair of displacement suppressing portions 23A, an engaging recess may be provided on the rear surface of the flange so that the apex of the holding spring fits into the engaging recess. In this way, the holding spring is more difficult to come off from the flange.

[0089] (3) In Embodiments 1 to 3, three connection springs are provided at the front edge of each mounting wall, but the number of connection springs may be other than three, and may be only one.

[0090] (4) In Embodiments 1 to 3, the ground spring is integrally formed, but it may also be composed of a pair of split bodies.

[0091] (5) The inner conductor 18 may be one or three or more.

[0092] (6) The outer conductor may be formed by pressing a metal plate material.

[0093] (7) The housing and the outer conductor are fixed by press-fitting, but they may also be fixed by thermal caulking.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0094] 10: Connector for Substrate 11: Housing 15: Hood Portion 15A: First Wall 15B: Second Wall 15C: Third Wall 16: Front End Portion 18: Inner Conductor 19: Dielectric 20: Outer Conductor 21: Cylindrical Portion 22: Dielectric Enclosure Portion 22A: Dielectric Holding Portion 23: Flange 23A: Displacement Suppression Portion 24: Substrate Connection Portion 26: Locking Recess 27: Inner Conductor Accommodation Chamber 28: Terminal Connection Portion 29: Substrate Connection Portion 30: Rear Wall 31: Locking Portion 32: Die Punching Hole 33: Mounting Groove 34: Outer Conductor Mounting Hole 35: Mounting Recess 40: Ground Spring 41: Mounting Main Body Portion 42: Connection Spring (First Connection Spring, Second Connection Spring) 43: Holding Spring 44: Side Wall (Third Mounting Wall) 45: Ceiling Wall (First Mounting Wall) 46: Clamping Piece 47: Bottom Wall (Second Mounting Wall) 50: Circuit Board 51: Through Hole for Outer Conductor 52: Land for Inner Conductor 53: Signal Conductive Path 54: Ground Conductive Path 60: Equipment 61: Lower Case 62: Upper Case 63: Front Panel 64: Housing 65: Connector Insertion Hole 66: Front Wall (First Spring Receiving Portion, Second Spring Receiving Portion) 70: Mate Connector 210: Connector for Substrate 240: Ground spring 241: Mounting body part 242: Connection spring 243: Holding spring 244: Side wall (third mounting wall) 245: Ceiling wall (first mounting wall) 246: Clamping piece 310: Substrate connector 340: Ground spring 341: Mounting body part 342: Connection spring 343: Holding spring 344: Side wall (third mounting wall) 345: Ceiling wall (first mounting wall) 346: Clamping piece 347: Bottom wall (second mounting wall)

Claims

1. A connector for a circuit board that is attached to a circuit board, having a hood portion that opens forward, and a housing having a rear wall provided on the side opposite to the front end portion where the hood portion opens, an outer conductor fixed to the housing through the rear wall, an insulating dielectric disposed inside the outer conductor, an inner conductor disposed inside the dielectric, and an earth spring connected to the outer conductor, wherein the hood portion has a first wall disposed on the side opposite to the circuit board, a second wall disposed on the circuit board side, and a third wall connecting the first wall and the second wall, the earth spring has a first housing connection portion disposed on the outer surface side of the first wall, and a second housing connection portion disposed on the outer surface side of both or either one of the second wall and the third wall, the earth spring includes a mounting body portion disposed along the outer surface of the rear wall, the first housing connection portion has a plurality of first connection springs protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting body portion, and the second housing connection portion has a plurality of second connection springs protruding forward from the front edge of the mounting body portion, the mounting body portion has a square tube shape and includes a first mounting wall corresponding to the first wall, a second mounting wall corresponding to the second wall, and a third mounting wall corresponding to the third wall, the third mounting wall is provided in a pair facing in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the first mounting wall and the second mounting wall face each other, and the second housing connection portion is disposed on both the second mounting wall and the pair of third mounting walls, the outer conductor has a flange disposed along the rear wall of the housing, the first mounting wall has a holding spring that elastically contacts the flange from the rear, and the pair of third mounting walls have a pair of clamping pieces that clamp the flange together with the holding spring, a connector for a circuit board.

2. A pair of the second housing connection portions are provided on the pair of third mounting walls, the holding spring is provided at the rear edge of the first mounting wall, and the pair of clamping pieces are provided at the rear edges of the pair of third mounting walls, the connector for a circuit board according to Claim 1.

3. The connector for a circuit board according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, a circuit board to which the connector for a circuit board is attached, and a metal housing that houses the circuit board therein and is electrically connected to the outer conductor via the earth spring. The housing is a device having a first spring receiving portion connected to the first housing connection portion and a second spring receiving portion connected to the second housing connection portion.

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