Card edge connector

Abstract

[Problem] To reliably carry out, in a card edge connector, a conductive connection with a printed circuit board without increasing the size of a terminal member even if the board thickness tolerance of the printed circuit board is large. [Solution] The present invention is provided with: a connector housing 12 that has a front part opening 14 and that is provided with an edge insertion chamber 16 into which an edge section 110 of a printed circuit board 100 is, from the front part opening 14, inserted in a removable and insertable manner; a springy terminal member 20 that is attached to the connector housing 12 and that elastically comes into contact with a first surface 108 of the edge section 110 which is inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16; and a shell member 40 that is attached to the connector housing 12 and that includes a leaf spring part 42 which elastically comes into contact with a second surface 109 of the edge section 110, the second surface 109 being on the reverse side of the edge section 110 from the first surface 108.

Description

Card Edge Connectors

[0001] The present invention relates to a card edge connector.

[0002] A card edge connector is known that has a connector housing with an edge insertion chamber and a terminal member that is attached to the connector housing and has a spring portion that resiliently contacts a conductive portion formed on the surface of the edge portion of a printed circuit board that is inserted into the edge insertion chamber (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] Japanese Patent No. 6198365 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-145119

[0004] In a card edge connector for a printed circuit board having electrical circuits formed on only one side, the following problem arises: For convenience, it is assumed here that one side of the printed circuit board is the bottom side, and that the terminal members are located below the edge insertion chamber.

[0005] The printed circuit board inserted into the edge insertion chamber is elastically biased upward by contact with the terminal members, and its upper surface is pressed against the ceiling surface of the edge insertion chamber. Therefore, the contact pressure between the conductive parts of the printed circuit board and the terminal members is affected by errors in the thickness of the printed circuit board and the vertical dimensions of the terminal members.

[0006] The thickness tolerance of a printed circuit board can be extremely large compared to the manufacturing tolerance of a card edge connector. Regardless of this tolerance, in order to obtain the minimum necessary contact pressure, the vertical dimension of the spring portion of the terminal member must be increased. This results in an increase in the size of the terminal member.

[0007] In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide a card edge connector that reliably establishes a conductive connection with a printed circuit board without increasing the size of the terminal members, even if the board thickness tolerance of the printed circuit board is large.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention is a card edge connector (10) for a printed circuit board (100) having an electrical circuit formed on one of its surfaces, a first surface (108), comprising: a substantially rectangular parallelepiped connector housing (12) having a front opening (14) and an edge insertion chamber (16) into which an edge portion (110) of the printed circuit board is removably inserted through the front opening; a springy terminal member (20) attached to the connector housing and resiliently contacting the first surface of the edge portion inserted into the edge insertion chamber; and a shell member (40) attached to the connector housing and including a leaf spring portion (42) resiliently contacting a second surface (109) opposite the first surface of the edge portion.

[0009] According to this aspect, even if the board thickness tolerance of the printed circuit board is large, the conductive connection between the printed circuit board and the card edge connector is reliably achieved without increasing the size of the terminal member.

[0010] In the above aspect, the terminal member has a first contact portion (28) and a second contact portion (30) that resiliently contact the first surface of the edge portion at two locations spaced apart in the insertion / removal direction of the edge portion relative to the edge insertion chamber, and the leaf spring portion resiliently contacts the second surface of the edge portion at a position corresponding to the intermediate portion between the first contact portion and the second contact portion in the insertion / removal direction.

[0011] According to this aspect, it becomes easier to balance the spring force exerted by the terminal member against the edge portion with the spring force exerted by the leaf spring portion of the shell member against the edge portion, thereby stabilizing the posture of the printed circuit board in the edge insertion chamber and improving the reliability of the conductive connection between the printed circuit board and the card edge connector.

[0012] In the above aspect, the leaf spring portion may be a cantilever beam including a portion that enters the edge insertion chamber.

[0013] According to this aspect, the leaf spring portion can be easily formed by cutting and raising sheet metal processing.

[0014] In the above aspect, the connector housing may have a plurality of terminal members aligned in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction of the edge portion, and the shell member may have a plurality of leaf spring portions formed on it spaced apart from each other in the same direction as the arrangement direction of the terminal members.

[0015] According to this aspect, it is easier to achieve balance in the arrangement direction of the terminal members in the spring force of the edge portion by the leaf spring portion, and the stabilization of the posture of the printed circuit board in the edge insertion chamber improves the reliability of the conductive connection between the printed circuit board and the card edge connector.

[0016] In the above aspect, the shell member may have a latch piece (44) that engages with a latch recess (112) formed on the side edge of the edge portion.

[0017] According to this aspect, the printed circuit board is securely latched without the need for a separate member.

[0018] In the above aspect, the connector housing may be disposed on a connector mounting board (90), and the shell member may have a joint portion (48) that is joined to the connector mounting board.

[0019] According to this aspect, the mounting strength of the shell member is improved and the heat dissipation area is enlarged.

[0020] In the above aspect, the shell member may be made of metal, and the joint portion may be conductively connected to a ground potential portion (92) formed on the connector mounting board.

[0021] According to this aspect, the shell member acts as a noise shield member that suppresses the dispersion of electromagnetic noise to the outside.

[0022] In the above aspect, the connector housing has a lower portion (12A) that abuts against the connector mounting board, the shell member has portions (40A, 40B) that overlap the upper portion (12B) and both side portions (12C) of the connector housing, the leaf spring portion is formed in the portion (40A) that overlaps the upper portion of the connector housing, and the joint portion is formed at the lower end of at least one of the portions (40B) that overlap the both side portions of the connector housing.

[0023] According to this aspect, the shell member improves the apparent rigidity of the connector housing.

[0024] According to the above-described embodiment, even if the board thickness tolerance of the printed circuit board is large, the conductive connection with the printed circuit board is reliably established without increasing the size of the terminal member.

[0025] 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 7; and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 8.

[0026] An embodiment of a card edge connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 9. Note that the up / down, left / right, and front / rear directions in the following description are defined for the convenience of explanation, and are not limited to these directions depending on the arrangement posture of the card edge connector.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 to 9, the card edge connector 10 of this embodiment is fixed on a connector mounting board 90, which is a single printed circuit, that is, is mounted on the connector mounting board 90.

[0028] The card edge connector 10 is an electrical connector for a printed circuit board 100. As shown in Figures 5 and 8, the printed circuit board 100 has a base plate 102 made of a substantially rectangular thin metal plate, and a resin insulating layer 104 laminated on one surface of the base plate 102, which is the bottom surface in the figure. The printed circuit board 100 is a substantially rectangular single-sided circuit board in which a conductive layer 106 is formed only on the bottom surface of the insulating layer 104.

[0029] In this example, the lower surface of the conductive layer 106 is a first surface 108 that forms one surface of the printed circuit board 100 including an edge portion 110, which will be described later. The upper surface of the base plate 102, which is upside down to the first surface 108, is a second surface 109 that forms the other surface of the printed circuit board 100.

[0030] An electrical circuit (not shown) including one edge portion 110 of the printed circuit board 100 and a connection terminal portion 106A in the vicinity thereof for electrical connection with the card edge connector 10 is formed on the conductive layer 106 by etching or the like.

[0031] As shown in Figures 1 to 9, the card edge connector 10 has a resin connector housing 12 that is approximately rectangular. The connector housing 12 is disposed, i.e., mounted, on a connector mounting board 90. The connector housing 12 has a lower portion 12A (see Figure 5) that abuts against the connector mounting board 90. The connector housing 12 has a front opening 14 and is equipped with an edge insertion chamber 16 into which an edge portion 110 of a printed circuit board 100 is removably inserted through the front opening 14. The printed circuit board 100 is inserted and removed from the edge insertion chamber 16 in the front-to-rear direction of the connector housing 12.

[0032] The connector housing 12 has a plurality of terminal chambers 18 (see FIGS. 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9) at equal intervals in the left-right direction on the lower portion 12A side, which are formed by extending downward the lower side of the edge insertion chamber 16. Each terminal chamber 18 opens toward the lower surface 16A of the edge insertion chamber 16 and has a groove shape that is long in the front-to-rear direction. A terminal member 20 is provided in each terminal chamber 18. As a result, the plurality of terminal members 20 are attached to the connector housing 12 and aligned at equal intervals in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction of the edge portion 110.

[0033] Each terminal member 20 is made of metal and, as shown in FIG. 5 , has a generally rectangular bottom piece 22 that is elongated in the front-to-rear direction of the connector housing 12, and left and right side pieces 24 that are bent upward from the left and right edges of the bottom piece 22. The upper edges of the left and right side pieces 24 are located below the underside 16A of the edge insertion chamber 16. Each terminal member 20 also has a hairpin-shaped spring piece 26 that is bent upward from the front of the bottom piece 22. The spring piece 26 has a lower portion 26A that extends rearward and upward from the front end that is continuous with the bottom piece 22, and an upper portion 26B that is bent in a horizontal U-shape from the rear end of the lower portion 26A and extends forward, and has spring properties that allow it to elastically deform in a generally vertical direction.

[0034] Each terminal member 20 further has a conductive connecting portion 23 that extends from the rear of the bottom piece 22 to the outside of the connector housing 12 and is located at the bottom of the connector housing 12. The conductive connecting portion 23 is joined to an electric circuit portion (not shown) formed on the upper surface of the connector mounting board 90, and is electrically connected to the electric circuit portion. Note that each terminal member 20 may be of a type that connects an end of a conductive cable by a barrel.

[0035] The upper portion 26B of each terminal member 20 has a first contact portion 28 and a second contact portion 30 that protrude upward at two locations spaced apart in the direction of insertion and removal of the edge portion 110 into and from the edge insertion chamber 16, i.e., the front-to-rear direction. The second contact portion 30 is located closer to the front than the first contact portion 28 when viewed in the direction of inserting the edge portion 110 into the edge insertion chamber 16. In other words, the first contact portion 28 is located further back than the second contact portion 30 when viewed in the direction of inserting the edge portion 110 into the edge insertion chamber 16, i.e., on the rear side. The upward spring force of the spring piece portion 26 causes the first contact portion 28 and the second contact portion 30 to resiliently come into contact with the first surface 108 of the edge portion 110 inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16.

[0036] The spring piece 26 is in a free state when the edge portion 110 is not inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16. In this free state, the first contact portion 28 is located above the upper edge of the side piece 24 and above the lower surface 16A of the edge insertion chamber 16, as shown in Fig. 8. In this free state, the second contact portion 30, unlike the first contact portion 28, is located below the upper edge of the side piece 24 and below the lower surface 16A of the edge insertion chamber 16, as shown in Fig. 8.

[0037] The upper portion 26B has protruding pieces (not shown) that protrude outward on both the left and right sides from a central portion in the front-to-rear direction between the first contact portion 28 and the second contact portion 30 and engage with openings 32 formed in the side piece portions 24. Due to this engagement, the central portion in the front-to-rear direction between the first contact portion 28 and the second contact portion 30 of the upper portion 26B is rotatably supported by the left and right side piece portions 24.

[0038] A metal shell member 40 is attached to the outer surface of the connector housing 12. The shell member 40 is a press-formed product having an upper plate portion 40A that overlaps the upper portion 12B of the connector housing 12, and a pair of left and right side plate portions 40B that are bent downward from the left and right edges of the upper plate portion 40A and overlap the left and right side portions 12C of the connector housing 12. By overlapping with the connector housing 12, the shell member 40 acts as a reinforcing member that increases the apparent rigidity of the connector housing 12, for example, by making the connector housing 12 less susceptible to bending deformation.

[0039] A rear edge piece 40C is provided at the rear of the upper plate 40A of the shell member 40. The rear edge piece 40C is bent downward along the edge of the upper plate 40A. The rear edge piece 40C engages with a hook-shaped engaging portion 12G formed along the rear upper edge of the connector housing 12, thereby restricting forward displacement of the shell member 40 relative to the connector housing 12.

[0040] The upper plate portion 40A has a plurality of leaf spring portions 42 formed by cutting and raising sheet metal processing or the like toward the edge insertion chamber 16, and the leaf spring portions 42 are formed at equal intervals in the same direction as the arrangement direction of the terminal members 20. The number of leaf spring portions 42 is four, while the number of terminal members 20 is six.

[0041] The use of multiple leaf springs 42 spaced apart in the arrangement direction of the terminal members 20 makes it easier to achieve balance in the arrangement direction of the terminal members 20 with respect to the spring bias of the edge portions 110 by the leaf springs 42. This stabilizes the position of the printed circuit board 100 (edge ​​portions 110) in the edge insertion chamber 16, ensuring a reliable conductive connection between the printed circuit board 100 and the card edge connector 10.

[0042] The leaf spring 42 is a cantilever beam that extends forward from a base end 42A connected to the upper plate 40A and has a free end 42B on the front side. The cantilevered leaf spring 42 can be easily and reliably formed by cutting and raising sheet metal, and does not require any additional parts.

[0043] Each leaf spring portion 42 has a contact portion 42C on the free end 42B side that is bent downward, in other words, in a substantially V-shape so as to protrude toward the edge insertion chamber 16. The contact portion 42C passes through an opening 12D formed in the upper portion 12B of the connector housing 12 and enters the edge insertion chamber 16 from above.

[0044] The contact portion 42C resiliently contacts the second surface 109 of the printed circuit board 100 with a downward spring force at a position corresponding to the intermediate portion between the first contact portion 28 and the second contact portion 30 in the front-rear direction.

[0045] This makes it easy to balance the upward spring bias of the edge portion 110 of the terminal member 20 with the downward spring bias of the edge portion 110 of the leaf spring portion 42 of the shell member 40, stabilizing the posture of the edge portion 110 in the edge insertion chamber 16. This improves the reliability of the conductive connection between the printed circuit board 100 and the card edge connector 10.

[0046] The vertical distance between the lower surface 16A of the edge insertion chamber 16 and the contact portion 42C is set to be smaller than the vertical dimension (plate thickness) of the edge portion 110 in the free state shown in Figure 8, in which the edge portion 110 is not inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16, that is, in the state in which the spring piece portion 26 is not elastically deformed.

[0047] A latch piece 44 is formed on one side plate 40B of the shell member 40 (only the right side plate 40B) by cutting and bending the latch piece 44 toward the edge insertion chamber 16. As shown in FIG. 6 , the latch piece 44 is a springy cantilever beam that extends rearward from a base end 44A connected to the side plate 40B and has a free end 44B at the rear. The latch piece 44 has an engaging portion 44C at the free end 44B that is bent inward, in other words, toward the edge insertion chamber 16. The engaging portion 44C passes through a notched opening 12H formed in a side portion 12C of the connector housing 12 and enters the edge insertion chamber 16 from the right side. A latch recess 112 is notched and formed in one edge (right edge) of the edge portion 110, with which the engaging portion 44C can engage.

[0048] 6, when the edge portion 110 is inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16 until its tip abuts against the back wall surface of the edge insertion chamber 16 (the correct insertion position), the engaging portion 44C enters the latch recess 112 and prevents the edge portion 110 from slipping out of the edge insertion chamber 16. This ensures that the printed circuit board 100 is latched without the need for a separate member.

[0049] A protrusion 41 extending in the front-to-rear direction and projecting toward the edge insertion chamber 16 is formed on the other side plate 40B (only the left side plate 40B) of the shell member 40. A notch 114 with which the protrusion 41 can engage is formed on the tip side of the other edge (left edge) of the edge portion 110.

[0050] When inserting the edge portion 110 into the edge insertion chamber 16, if the notch 114 is on the side corresponding to the protrusion 41, the presence of the notch 114 prevents the tip of the edge portion 110 from colliding with the protrusion 41, and the edge portion 110 can be inserted to the correct insertion position in the edge insertion chamber 16. When inserting the edge portion 110 into the edge insertion chamber 16, if the notch 114 of the edge portion 110 is not on the side corresponding to the protrusion 41 due to inversion, the tip of the edge portion 110 will collide with the protrusion 41, and the edge portion 110 will not be inserted to the correct insertion position in the edge insertion chamber 16. This provides a tamper-proof effect that prevents erroneous insertion of the edge portion 110 into the edge insertion chamber 16.

[0051] When the edge portion 110 is inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16, the first contact portion 28 of the terminal member 20 first resiliently abuts against the first surface 108 of the edge portion 110 due to the spring force of the spring piece 26. As the edge portion 110 is inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16, the first contact portion 28 is pressed down. This pressing down causes the upper portion 26B of the spring piece 26 to rotate clockwise as viewed in Figures 5 and 8 around the engagement portion with the opening 32, and the second contact portion 30 of the terminal member 20 resiliently abuts against the first surface 108 of the edge portion 110 due to the spring force of the spring piece 26. This establishes a conductive connection between the connection terminal portion 106A formed on the conductive layer 106 of the printed circuit board 100 and the corresponding terminal member 20 of the card edge connector 10.

[0052] As the edge portion 110 is inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16, the leaf spring portion 42 of the shell member 40 elastically contacts the second surface 109 of the edge portion 110. The edge portion 110 advances through the edge insertion chamber 16 in the insertion direction while pushing up the leaf spring portion 42. The edge portion 110 is urged downward by the spring force of the leaf spring portion 42, and is inserted into the edge insertion chamber 16 in a state of abutting against the lower surface 16A of the edge insertion chamber 16, i.e., sliding over the lower surface 16A. As a result, the vertical position of the first surface 108 of the printed circuit board 100, including the edge portion 110, is uniquely determined by its abutment with the lower surface 16A of the edge insertion chamber 16, regardless of the thickness of the printed circuit board 100.

[0053] As a result, even if the thickness tolerance of the printed circuit board 100 is large, the conductive connection between the card edge connector 10 and the printed circuit board 100 is reliably established without increasing the size of the terminal member 20 .

[0054] Furthermore, when the upper edge of the side piece portion 24 of the terminal member 20 is positioned above the lower surface 16A of the edge insertion chamber 16, the vertical position of the first surface 108 of the printed circuit board 100, including the edge portion 110, is uniquely determined by contact with the upper edge of the side piece portion 24 of the terminal member 20, regardless of the thickness of the printed circuit board 100.

[0055] In this case, even if the thickness tolerance of the printed circuit board 100 is large, the terminal members 20 do not become large, and the conductive connection between the card edge connector 10 and the printed circuit board 100 is reliably established.

[0056] A protrusion 46 extending downward from the lower edge is formed on each of the left and right side plate portions 40B of the shell member 40. A guide recess 12F is provided on the outer surface of each of the left and right side portions 12C of the connector housing 12, into which the front and rear edges of the protrusion 46 can be inserted from above by a protrusion 12E formed on the side portion 12C.

[0057] By inserting the front and rear edges of the protrusions 46 into the guide recesses 12F, the side plate portions 40B of the shell member 40 are tightly fitted and locked to the corresponding side portions 12C of the connector housing 12. This effectively reinforces the connector housing 12 with the shell member 40.

[0058] A joint portion 48 is bent and formed at the lower end of the protruding piece 46 so as to face the upper surface of the connector mounting board 90. The joint portion 48 is joined in a conductive state to a ground potential portion 92 formed on the upper surface of the connector mounting board 90 by soldering or the like.

[0059] By joining the joint portion 48 to the ground potential portion 92 of the connector mounting board 90, the mounting strength of the shell member 40 is improved and the apparent rigidity of the shell member 40 itself is improved, thereby more effectively reinforcing the connector housing 12 with the shell member 40.

[0060] The metal shell member 40 also functions as a heat dissipation member that dissipates heat transferred from the connector housing 12. When heat-generating components are mounted on the printed circuit board 100, even if the heat is transferred to the connector housing 12, the heat dissipation by the shell member 40 prevents the connector housing 12 from becoming too hot.

[0061] Furthermore, by joining the shell member 40 and the connector mounting board 90 at the joint 48, heat from the shell member 40 is transferred to the connector mounting board 90, and the connector mounting board 90 also becomes a heat dissipation member. This expands the heat dissipation range and suppresses temperature increases in the printed circuit board 100 and the card edge connector 10.

[0062] Furthermore, since the joint 48 is electrically connected to the ground potential portion 92 of the connector mounting board 90, the entire shell member 40 is connected to earth. As a result, the shell member 40 also functions as a noise shielding member that suppresses the external dissipation of electromagnetic noise generated at the contact points of the card edge connector 10.

[0063] While the present invention has been described above in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to such embodiments and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the number of terminal members 20 and the number of leaf spring portions 42 are not limited to those in the above-described embodiments. The number of leaf spring portions 42 may be the same as or greater than the number of terminal members 20. Furthermore, the number of leaf spring portions 42 may be one. The joint portion 48 may be provided on only one side of the left or right side plate portion 40B.

[0064] Furthermore, not all of the components shown in the above embodiment are necessarily essential, and they can be selected as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present embodiment.

[0065] 10: Card edge connector 12: Connector housing 12A: Lower portion 12B: Upper portion 12C: Side portion 12D: Opening 12E: Protrusion 12F: Guide recess 12G: Engagement portion 12H: Opening 14: Front opening 16: Edge insertion chamber 16A: Lower surface 18: Terminal chamber 20: Terminal member 22: Bottom piece portion 23: Conductive connection portion 24: Side piece portion 26: Spring piece portion 26A: Lower portion 26B: Upper portion 28: First contact portion 30: Second contact portion 32: Opening 40: Shell member 40A: Upper plate portion 40B: Side plate portion 40C: Rear edge piece portion 41: Protrusion 42: Leaf spring portion 42A: Base end 42B: Free end 42C: Contact portion 44: Latch piece 44A: Base end 44B: Free end 44C: Engagement portion 46: Projection piece 48: Joint portion 90: Connector mounting board 92: Ground potential portion 100: Printed circuit board 102: Base plate 104: Insulating layer 106: Conductive layer 106A: Connection terminal portion 108: First surface 109: Second surface 110: Edge portion 112: Latch recess 114: Notch portion

Claims

1. A card edge connector for a printed circuit board having an electric circuit formed on one of its first surfaces, comprising: a substantially rectangular parallelepiped connector housing having a front opening and an edge insertion chamber into which an edge portion of the printed circuit board is removably inserted through the front opening; a springy terminal member attached to the connector housing and resiliently contacting the first surface of the edge portion inserted into the edge insertion chamber; and a shell member attached to the connector housing and including a leaf spring portion resiliently contacting a second surface opposite the first surface of the edge portion.

2. A card edge connector as described in claim 1, wherein the terminal member has a first contact portion and a second contact portion that resiliently contact the first surface of the edge portion at two locations spaced apart in the insertion / removal direction of the edge portion relative to the edge insertion chamber, and the leaf spring portion resiliently contacts the second surface of the edge portion at a position corresponding to the midpoint between the first contact portion and the second contact portion in the insertion / removal direction.

3. A card edge connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said leaf spring portion is a cantilever beam including a portion that enters said edge insertion chamber.

4. A card edge connector as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the connector housing has a plurality of terminal members aligned in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction of the edge portion, and the shell member has a plurality of leaf spring portions formed on it spaced apart from one another in the same direction as the arrangement of the terminal members.

5. A card edge connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said shell member has a latch piece that engages with a latch recess formed on a side edge of said edge portion.

6. A card edge connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connector housing is disposed on a connector mounting board, and the shell member has a joint portion that is joined to the connector mounting board.

7. A card edge connector according to claim 6, wherein the shell member is made of metal, and the joint is electrically connected to a ground potential portion formed on the connector mounting board.

8. A card edge connector as described in claim 7, wherein the connector housing has a lower portion that abuts against the connector mounting board, the shell member has portions that overlap the upper and both side portions of the connector housing, the leaf spring portion is formed in the portion of the connector housing that overlaps the upper portion, and the joint portion is formed at the lower end of at least one of the portions that overlap the both side portions of the connector housing.

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