Connector

Abstract

A connector (10, 10A) comprises: a terminal fitting (60); a housing (11, 11A) for holding the terminal fitting (60); and locking sections (24, 24A) for locking the housing (11, 11A) to a circuit board (80). The terminal fitting (60) has: a body section (61) that is accommodated inside the housing (11, 11A); and a substrate connection section (63) that is disposed behind the body section (61) and outside the housing (11, 11A) and that is connected to the circuit board (80). The locking sections (24, 24A) are disposed at positions overlapping the substrate connection section (63) when viewed from a lateral direction intersecting the front-rear direction.

Description

connector

[0001] The present disclosure relates to connectors.

[0002] The connector includes terminal fittings and a housing that holds the terminal fittings. The terminal fittings have a main body, legs that extend rearward from the main body, and mounting parts that connect to the rear ends of the legs. The main body is housed inside the housing. The mounting parts are located outside the housing and are connected by soldering to the conductive parts (mounting surface) of the circuit board (cable).

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

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-192612

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

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a connector that can ensure the connection reliability of terminal fittings to a circuit board.

[0007] The connector of the present disclosure comprises terminal fittings, a housing that holds the terminal fittings, and a locking portion that locks the housing to a circuit board, wherein the terminal fittings have a main body portion that is accommodated inside the housing, and a board connection portion that is located outside the housing behind the main body portion and connected to the circuit board, and the locking portion is located in a position that overlaps with the board connection portion when viewed from a lateral direction that intersects the front-to-rear direction.

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector that can ensure the connection reliability of terminal fittings to a circuit board.

[0009] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a connector of embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of embodiment 1. Fig. 3 is a side view of the connector of embodiment 1. Fig. 4 is a rear view of the connector of embodiment 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a connector of embodiment 2. Fig. 6 is a side view of the connector of embodiment 2.

[0010] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described. The connector of the present disclosure includes: (1) terminal fittings, a housing that holds the terminal fittings, and a locking portion that locks the housing to a circuit board. The terminal fittings have a main body portion accommodated inside the housing and a board connection portion that is disposed outside the housing and rearward of the main body portion and connected to the circuit board. The locking portion is positioned so as to overlap the board connection portion when viewed from the side, intersecting the front-to-rear direction. The configuration of (1) above prevents external force from being transmitted to the connection position between the board connection portion and the circuit board by the locking portion that locks the housing to the circuit board. As a result, the connection between the board connection portion and the circuit board can be maintained, ensuring reliable connection of the terminal fittings to the circuit board.

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

[0012] (3) In the connector described in (2) above, the locking portion is preferably a fixing member attached to the protective wall and has a board fixing portion that is soldered to the circuit board. The configuration of (3) above allows the housing to be fixed to the circuit board using only the locking portion (fixing member), eliminating the need for a dedicated fixing metal fitting in addition to the fixing member.

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

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

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

[0016] First Embodiment As shown in FIG. 1 , a connector 10 according to a first embodiment is exemplified as a connector mounted on a circuit board 80 such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit). The connector 10 includes a housing 11, terminal fittings 60 held by the housing 11, and fixtures 90 attached to the housing 11. As shown in FIG. 3 , the connector 10 is matable with a mating connector 100. In the following description, the forward direction is defined as the mating direction of the connector 10 with the mating connector 100. The forward direction is represented by the symbol X in the drawings. The left-right direction is represented by the symbol Y in the drawings, and the up-down direction is represented by the symbol Z in the drawings. The left-right direction is synonymous with the width direction and the lateral direction, and the up-down direction is synonymous with the height direction. These directional references are for convenience and do not necessarily coincide with the directional references when the connector 10 is mounted on a vehicle (not shown) or the like.

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

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

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

[0020] The housing 11 has a locking arm 14 that protrudes from the top surface of the housing body 12. The locking arm 14 is elastically deformable and engages with a mating housing 110 of the mating connector 100, thereby maintaining the connector 10 and the mating connector 100 in a mated state.

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

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

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

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

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

[0026] 1 and 3 , the protrusions 25 are fitted into recesses 84 of the circuit board 80. The recesses 84 are cutouts formed in the end faces on both the left and right sides of the circuit board 80. The locking claws 26 are arranged along the back surface of the reinforcing plate 83 of the circuit board 80. The locking claws 26 sandwich and hold the circuit board 80 in the thickness direction between the locking claws 26 and the inner left and right ends of the underside of the opposing protective main body 23. The rear of the housing 11 is locked and held by the circuit board 80 via the locking portions 24.

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

[0028] As shown in Fig. 1 , each locking portion 24 is disposed adjacent to each of the conductive portions 81 on the left and right outer sides of the conductive portions 81 arranged in the left-right direction. In other words, each locking portion 24 is disposed adjacent to each of the board connecting portions 63 on the left and right outer sides of the board connecting portions 63 of each of the terminal fittings 60 arranged in the left-right direction. In short, each locking portion 24 is disposed at a position overlapping each of the conductive portions 81 and each of the board connecting portions 63 when viewed in the left-right direction (horizontal direction). Note that, for convenience, Figs. 1 and 4 only show the terminal fittings 60 arranged at one left and right end.

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

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

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

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

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

[0034] 5 and 6, a connector 10A of the second embodiment has a locking portion formed by a fixing member 24A that is separate from a housing 11A, which is different from the connector 10 of the first embodiment. Other than that, many parts are common to the first embodiment, and parts that are the same as or correspond to those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0035] No fixing bracket 90 is attached to the front of the housing 11A, and both left and right side surfaces of the housing main body 12 are formed as smooth walls. As shown in Figure 6, the portion of the housing 11A forward of the bridge portion 15 as a whole constitutes a mating portion 27 that is mated with the interior of the mating housing 110. The locking arm 14 is formed in the mating portion 27. The front end of the circuit board 80 is located rearward of the mating portion 27. A mounting groove 28 is formed in each protective wall 16A. The mounting groove 28 extends elongatedly in the front-to-rear direction and penetrates vertically within the wall thickness range of the protective wall 16A.

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

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

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

[0039] Furthermore, the housing 11A has a mating portion 27 that is mated with the mating connector 100, and the fixing member 24A is disposed rearward and away from the mating portion 27. This eliminates the constraints imposed by the shapes of the fixing member 24A and the mating connector 100, allowing for greater freedom in the shapes of the fixing member 24A and the mating connector 100.

[0040] [Other Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] The above-described first and second embodiments disclosed herein should be considered illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. In the above-described first and second embodiments, a sealing material such as a potting material is filled in the rear portion of the housing 11, 11A, and a cover member 18 is disposed on the rear surface of the housing main body 12 to prevent the sealing material from flowing into the housing main body 12. In contrast, in other embodiments, the housing may not be filled with a sealing material, and the cover member may be omitted from the connector. In the above-described first and second embodiments, the circuit board 80 is formed of a flat, flexible board such as an FPC. In contrast, in other embodiments, the circuit board may be formed of a rigid board. In the above-described first and second embodiments, the locking portions 24, 24A are provided on the protective walls 16, 16A. In contrast, in other embodiments, the locking portions may be provided separately from the protective walls as long as they are positioned so as to overlap the board connection portions when viewed from the left and right. In the above-described first and second embodiments, the locking portions are disposed in pairs on both the left and right sides of the board connection portions of each terminal fitting. In contrast, in other embodiments, the locking portion may be located on only one of the left and right sides of the board connection portion of each terminal fitting. In the first embodiment, the protrusion 25 is fitted into the recess 84 of the circuit board 80 to position the housing 11 relative to the circuit board 80. In contrast, in other embodiments, a configuration may be adopted in which a boss is provided on the bottom surface of the housing and the boss is fitted into a positioning hole formed in the circuit board to position the housing relative to the circuit board. In the second embodiment, the board fixing portion 32 of the fixing member 24A has multiple legs 33 that are inserted into the fixing holes 85 of the circuit board 80. In contrast, in other embodiments, the board fixing portion of the fixing member may be configured as a plate-like portion that intersects with the housing fixing portion, is connected to the housing fixing portion, and is positioned along the surface of the circuit board.

[0041] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10A...Connector 11, 11A...Housing 12...Housing main body 13...Cavity 14...Lock arm 15...Bridge portion 16, 16A...Protective wall 17...Base portion 18...Cover member 19...Through hole 21...Cover lock portion 22...Cover lock receiving portion 23...Protective main body portion 24...Latching portion 24A...Fixing member (locking portion) 25...Protrusion 26...Latching claw 27...Mated portion 28...Mounting groove 31...Housing fixing portion 32...Board fixing portion 33...Leg portion 60...Terminal metal fitting 61...Main body portion 62...Lead portion 63...Board connecting portion 64...Resilient contact portion 80...Circuit board 81...Conductive portion 82...Insulating portion 83...Reinforcing plate 84...Recess 85...Fixing hole 90...Fixing metal fitting 100...Mating connector 110...Mating housing

Claims

1. A connector comprising: terminal fittings; a housing for holding the terminal fittings; and a locking portion for locking the housing to a circuit board, wherein the terminal fittings have a main body portion accommodated inside the housing and a board connection portion located outside the housing rearward of the main body portion and connected to the circuit board, and the locking portion is located in a position overlapping with the board connection portion when viewed from a lateral direction intersecting the front-to-rear direction.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing has protective walls on both lateral sides of the board connection portion that cover the board connection portion from the lateral direction, and the locking portion is provided on the protective walls.

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

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

5. A connector as described in claim 2, wherein a fixing metal fitting is attached to said housing and is fixed to said circuit board by soldering, said fixing metal fitting is disposed forward of said protective wall on said housing, and said engaging portion is provided integrally with said protective wall.

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