CN103733435A - Multipole connector - Google Patents

Abstract

A terminal comprises a body portion received by a terminal receiving cavity of a housing, a solder tail connected to a lower end of the body portion and surface-mounted on a circuit board, a contact portion connected to an upper end of the body portion and contacting a counterpart terminal, and a held portion connected to both side edges of the body portion and held on holding side walls formed on both sides of the terminal receiving cavity; the held portion extends in a vertical direction and has a vertical dimension greater than the vertical dimension of the body portion; an anchor portion locking into a holding side wall is formed on the side edges of the upper part of the held portion; and a stabilizing portion that contacts the holding side walls is formed on the side edges of the lower part of said held portion.

Description

Multi-pole connector

Citation of related applications

This application claims priority from prior japanese patent application 2011-132146 entitled "multipolar connector" filed on 14 th 6/2011 to the japanese patent office. The contents of the aforementioned patent application are incorporated herein in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to a multi-pole connector.

Background

Conventionally, a multipolar connector, which is a pin grid array (pin grid) connector provided with a plurality of terminals, is used for connecting a plurality of semiconductor devices to a circuit board or for connecting a plurality of circuit boards to each other. An example of such a connector is disclosed in japanese patent application 2002-331965. The contents of the aforementioned patent application are incorporated herein in their entirety.

Fig. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of a terminal mounting portion in a prior art connector. In the figure, 811 denotes a connector housing which is a plate-like member made of an insulating material and has a plurality of through holes 813. A plurality of studs 815 are formed on the underside of the housing 811. The aforementioned studs 815 are provided with recesses 816 and these recesses communicate with the plurality of through holes 813. In addition, the stud 815 is surrounded by a conductive coating 871.

A terminal pin 861 is received in the corresponding through hole 813. After insertion, a tab portion 864 formed at the upper end of the terminal pin 861 protrudes from the upper face of the housing 811, and a contact portion 862 formed at the lower end of the terminal pin 861 enters the recess 816 of the stud 815 to contact the conductive coating 871.

After the solder 881 is attached around the posts 815 under the above conditions, the lower ends of the posts 815 contact and are soldered to the electrodes 951 formed on the surface of the printed circuit board 911. Thus, the solder 881 electrically and mechanically connects the electrodes 951 and the conductive coating 871 on the periphery of the posts 815, thereby establishing an electrical connection between the electrodes 951 and the terminal pins 861.

However, when the housing of the conventional multipolar connector thermally expands in the horizontal direction, the connection portion between the stud and the electrode of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is subjected to stress, which causes cracks to be generated in the solder. Further, when the vertical dimension of the terminal pin is shortened to lower the height, the distance from the contact portion to the stud 815 is reduced, so that a problem called "solder rising" or "flux rising" occurs. Furthermore, the reduction of the height of the contact pin impairs the stability of the contact pin within the through hole.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional multipolar connector and to provide a multipolar connector with high reliability, by increasing the vertical dimension of the portion of the terminals fixed by the housing, increasing the distance from the stabilizing portion formed on the fixing portion to the fastening portion even if the height of the connector as a whole is reduced, enabling the stability of the terminals to be maintained even when the housing is thermally expanded, realizing a multipolar structure, and facilitating the manufacture and mounting of the connector to a circuit board.

In view of the above, the multi-pole connector of the present application includes a housing integrally formed and a plurality of terminals mounted to the housing to form a plurality of pairs of columns. The terminal includes: a body portion disposed in a terminal receiving cavity of the housing; a solder tail portion connected to a lower end of the body portion and surface-mounted to a circuit board; a contact portion connected to an upper end of the body portion and adapted to contact a mating terminal; and fixing portions connected to both side ends of the body portion and fixed by fixing sidewalls formed at both sides of the terminal receiving cavity. The fixing portion extends in a vertical direction and has a vertical dimension larger than that of the body portion, a fastening portion locked into the fixing side wall is formed at a side edge of an upper portion of the fixing portion, and a stabilizing portion abutting against the fixing side wall is formed at a side edge of a lower portion of the fixing portion.

In another multipolar connector of the present application, the terminal receiving cavity includes: a narrow portion extending in a vertical direction; and a wide portion connected to a lower end of the narrow portion, wider than the narrow portion, and extending in a vertical direction. At least an upper portion of the contact portion is received by the narrow portion, and the body portion and the fixing portion are disposed in the wide portion. The rear surface of the body portion contacts a rear surface of the terminal receiving cavity in the wide portion. The fixing portion is fixed by a fixing sidewall of the terminal receiving cavity in the wide portion.

In still another multipolar connector of the present application, the solder tail portion includes: a stress relaxation part connected to the lower end of the body part; and a connection part connected to a lower end of the stress relaxing part, the connection part protruding downward from a lower end of the terminal receiving cavity and connected to a terminal connection pad on a surface of the circuit board. In another multipolar connector of the present application, the connecting portion has a circular shape and is located in front of the front surface of the body portion. Finally, in another multipolar connector of the present application, the stress relaxation portion has a width narrower than the body portion, extends forward substantially perpendicular to the body portion before bending, and has its tip directed in a rearward direction.

According to the present application, the vertical dimension of the terminal fixing portion to which the housing is fixed is increased. Therefore, it is possible to increase the distance between the stabilizing portion and the securing portion formed on the fixing portion even if the height of the connector as a whole is reduced, and to maintain the stability of the plurality of terminals even if the housing is thermally expanded. This results in a multipolar structure which simplifies the manufacture of the connector and facilitates the mounting of the connector on a circuit board, and increases reliability.

Drawings

The construction and manner of operation of the present application, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first connector according to the present application;

FIG. 2 is a first pair of views of the first connector of FIG. 1, wherein (a) is a top view and (b) is a first side view;

fig. 3 is a second pair of views of the first connector of fig. 1, wherein (a) is a second side view and (b) is a bottom view;

fig. 4 is a three-dimensional view of a first terminal according to the present application, wherein (a) is a front three-dimensional view from the top left, (b) is a rear three-dimensional view from the top right, (c) is a front three-dimensional view from the bottom left, and (d) is a rear three-dimensional view from the bottom right;

fig. 5 is a view showing the relationship between the first terminal and the first terminal receiving cavity of the present application, in which (a) is a front view of the first terminal receiving cavity, (b) is a side sectional view of the first terminal receiving cavity, (c) is a front view of the first terminal receiving cavity together with the first terminal received therein, and (d) is a side sectional view of the first terminal receiving cavity together with the first terminal received therein;

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional view of a second connector according to the present application;

FIG. 7 is a first pair of views of the second connector of FIG. 6, wherein (a) is a top view and (b) is a first side view;

fig. 8 is a second pair of views of the second connector of fig. 6, wherein (a) is a second side view and (b) is a bottom view;

fig. 9 is a three-dimensional view of a second terminal according to the present application, wherein (a) is a front three-dimensional view from the top left, (b) is a rear three-dimensional view from the top right, (c) is a front three-dimensional view from the bottom left, and (d) is a rear three-dimensional view from the bottom right;

fig. 10 shows the relationship between the second terminal and the second terminal receiving cavity of the present application, in which (a) is a front view of the second terminal receiving cavity, (b) is a side sectional view of the second terminal receiving cavity, (c) is a front view of the second terminal receiving cavity together with the second terminal received therein, and (d) is a side sectional view of the second terminal receiving cavity together with the second terminal received therein;

fig. 11 shows a mating action of the first and second connectors of the present application, in which (a) is a sectional view showing a state before mating of the first and second connectors, and (b) is a sectional view showing a state when the first and second connectors are in a mated state; and

fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a terminal-mounting portion of a prior art connector.

Detailed Description

While this application is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present description is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the application and is not intended to limit the application to that as illustrated herein.

Thus, references to a feature or aspect will be used to describe a feature or aspect of an embodiment of the present application and do not imply that every embodiment of the present application must have the described feature or aspect. Further, it should be noted that the description describes many features. Although some features may be combined to show a possible system design, these features may also be used in other combinations not explicitly described. Thus, the combinations illustrated are not intended to be limiting unless otherwise specified.

In the embodiments shown in the drawings, directional references (such as up, down, left, right, front, and rear) are used to explain the structure and movement of various elements of the present application not absolutely, but relatively. These indications are appropriate when the elements are in the positions shown in the figures. However, if the description of the positions of these elements changes, then these indications change accordingly.

Referring to the drawings, 10 denotes a first connector constituting one multipolar connector of a connector pair according to the illustrated embodiment, and is a surface mount type connector for mounting on the front side of a first circuit board (not shown). Thefirst connector 10 is mated with asecond connector 101 described below. Thesecond connector 101 is a second connector constituting a counterpart multipolar connector of the connector pair described in the present embodiment, and is a surface mount type connector for mounting on the front side of a second circuit board (not shown). The multipolar connector of the present embodiment in the present application includes the aforementionedfirst connector 10 andsecond connector 101, and electrically connects the first circuit board and second circuit board as a pair of circuit boards. The aforementioned first circuit board and second circuit board may be, for example, printed circuit boards used in electronic devices, Flexible Flat Cables (FFCs), flexible printed circuit boards (FPCs), or the like, but may be any other type of circuit board.

In the illustrated embodiment, thefirst connector 10 has afirst housing 11, and thefirst housing 11 is an integrally formed housing made of a material having insulating properties (e.g., a synthetic resin). As shown in fig. 1 to 3, thefirst housing 11 is a substantially rectangular thick-walled plate having a substantiallyrectangular recess 12 on the side (i.e., the upper side in the view of fig. 1) to which thesecond connector 101 is mated, the bottom surface of therecess 12 is defined by anupper face 16a of abottom plate portion 16, and the periphery of therecess 12 is surrounded by aside wall portion 14.

Typically, thefirst connector 10 is a multi-pole connector having a flat elongated shape and having more than 100 to more than 1000 poles. Therefore, for convenience of explanation, the central portion of the connector is cut in a direction connecting upper left to lower right in fig. 1, in a vertical direction in fig. 2 (a), and in a lateral direction in fig. 3 (b).

Theconcave portion 12 has a plurality ofconvex strip portions 13 formed integrally with thefirst housing 11. In the illustrated case, the plurality of raisedstrip portions 13 project upward from theupper face 16a of thebottom plate portion 16 and extend in the longitudinal direction of thefirst housing 11. As a result, a plurality of elongated (thin)longitudinal furrows 12a extending in the longitudinal direction of thehousing 11 are formed on both sides of theaforementioned ridge portion 13. In the example shown in the figures, five raisedstrips 13 are provided, but it is understood that this number may be any number from one to a plurality.

First terminal receivingcavities 15 are formed on both sides of theaforementioned ridge portion 13, the firstterminal receiving cavities 15 being cavities for receiving thefirst terminals 61 as terminals. A plurality of receivingcavities 15 spaced at a pitch (e.g., about 1 mm) are formed on both sides of the raisedstrip portion 13, and each such receivingcavity 15 receives a correspondingfirst terminal 61. The pitch and number of the plurality of first-terminal accommodation cavities 15 and the number of the plurality ofterminals 61 may be appropriately set.

Further, first protrudingportions 14a serving as first guide portions are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction of thehousing 11. These first projectingportions 14a are formed by projecting a part of theside wall portion 14 outward. In the illustrated example, oneprojection 14a is formed on one side of the housing in the longitudinal direction and twoprojections 14a are formed on the other side, but the number and position of thefirst projections 14a may be set as appropriate. When thefirst connector 10 is in a mated state with thesecond connector 101, the second projectingportion 14a (described below) of thesecond connector 101 is inserted into the first projectingportion 14 a.

Thehousing 11 hasfirst housing legs 17 projecting downward and formed at a plurality of positions on the periphery of alower side 16b of thebottom plate portion 16. The lower faces of thesefirst housing legs 17 contact the surface of the first circuit board, thereby functioning as spacer elements that maintain a predetermined distance between the surface of the first circuit board and thelower side 16b of thebottom plate portion 16.

The first-terminal accommodation cavities 15 are formed extending from the upper surface of the raisedstrip portion 13 to thelower surface 16b of thebottom plate portion 16, and thetail portions 62 of thefirst terminals 61 extend in the downward direction from thelower surface 16b of thebottom plate portion 16 as shown in fig. 2 to 3. Thetail portion 62 of eachfirst terminal 61 is a so-called "solder tail" and is connected by soldering to a terminal connection pad (which is connected to a conductive trace on the first circuit board).

As shown, thefirst terminal 61 has atail portion 62, abody portion 63, a fixingportion 64, and acontact portion 65, and thefirst terminal 61 is formed as one integral piece by punching, bending, or otherwise processing a conductive metal plate. Thebody portion 63 is a flat portion having a generally square shape. Thecontact portion 65 is a portion for contacting asecond terminal 161 constituting a mating terminal described below, has almost the same width as thebody portion 63, and includes abent portion 65a connected to the upper end of thebody portion 63, abase portion 65b connected to the upper end of thebent portion 65a, acontact arm 65d connected to the upper end of thebase portion 65b and divided into left and right portions by aseparation slit 65c, acontact protrusion 65e formed by bending the middle of thecontact arm 65d, and anend portion 65f constituting the upper end of thecontact arm 65d and located further toward the front end side than thecontact protrusion 65 e.

The aforementionedbent portion 65a has a side face formed in a gentle "S" shape and extending obliquely upward and forward at a gentle angle from thebody portion 63. Thebase portion 65b is a flat portion having a width slightly larger than that of thebent portion 65a, extends forward at a small angle upward with respect to thebody portion 63, is elastically deformable, and functions as an elastic portion. In addition, thecontact arm 65d also extends forward at a small angle with respect to thebody portion 63, is elastically deformable, and functions as an elastic portion. Thecontact arm 65d is an elongated thin plate-like portion having the same width as thebase portion 65b but divided into two parts by a separation slit 65 formed extending longitudinally from the front end. As a result, the left and right portions ofcontact arm 65d can be elastically deformed independently, and even if their positions relative tosecond terminal 161 vary, they can maintain reliable contact withcontact terminal 161. Since theend portion 65f extends obliquely upward rearward from the contactconvex portion 65e, the tip of theend portion 65f is further rearward than the contactconvex portion 65 e. Therefore, when thefirst connector 10 is mated with thesecond connector 101, thefirst terminals 61 can be brought into smooth contact with thesecond terminals 161.

Further, theaforementioned tail portion 62 includes: astress relaxation portion 62a connected to the lower end of thebody portion 63; and a connectingportion 62b connected to a lower end of thestress relaxing portion 62 a. Thestress relaxing portion 62a is a thin and elongated portion narrower than thebody portion 63. Thestress relaxing portion 62a has a substantially U-shape or J-shape in a side view, is bent from a connection position with the lower end of thebody portion 63, and extends forward substantially perpendicular to thebody portion 63 before being bent substantially 180 °, so that its tip end turns rearward (turning rearward). The connectingportion 62b is flat and circular in shape, is connected to the lower end portion (i.e., to the front end of thestress relaxation portion 62 a), and extends almost perpendicularly to thebody portion 63.

The connectingportion 62b is soldered to the aforementioned terminal connection pad with its lower face facing the upper face of the terminal connection pad on the first circuit board. Since the connectingportion 62b is circular in shape and thestress relaxing portion 62a is capable of elastic deformation, even if the positions of thebody portion 63 of thefirst terminal 61 and the terminal connection pad are changed relative to each other, it is possible to prevent concentration of stress within the solder, formation of cracks in the solder, and separation from the terminal connection pad. Further, since the distance from the connectingportion 62b to themain body portion 63 via thestress relaxing portion 62a becomes longer, it is possible to prevent occurrence of phenomena such as solder rising and flux rising.

The fixingportion 64 is a flat plate-like portion shaped to be coplanar with thebody portion 63 and extending outward in the width direction from the side edges of both sides of thebody portion 63. The fixingportion 64 has anupper extension 64a extending upward from an upper end thereof and alower extension 64b extending downward from a lower end thereof. The upper end of theupper extension 64a is higher than the upper end of thebody 63, and the lower end of thelower extension 64b is lower than the lower end of thebody 63. Thus, the distance from the upper end of the upper extendingportion 64a to the lower end of the lower extendingportion 64b (i.e., the vertical dimension of the fixing portion 64) is larger than the distance from the upper end to the lower end of the body portion 63 (i.e., the vertical dimension of the body portion 63).

Formed on the side edges of the fixingportion 64 are an outwardly projectingfastening portion 64c and a vertically extending smooth stabilizingportion 64 d. More specifically, thefastening portion 64c is formed at an upper portion of the side edge of the fixingportion 64, and the stabilizingportion 64d is formed at a lower portion of the side edge of the fixingportion 64. In the present embodiment, thefirst terminal 61 is inserted into and accommodated in the firstterminal accommodating chamber 15, thefastening portion 64c is a portion that is locked into a supportingsidewall 15d of the firstterminal accommodating chamber 15, and the stabilizingportion 64d contacts the supportingsidewall 15 d. In the present embodiment, since the fixingportion 64 has a large vertical dimension (at least larger than that of the body portion 63), the distance between thefastening portion 64c and the stabilizingportion 64d can be increased, thereby stabilizing the position of thefirst terminal 61 within the first-terminal accommodation cavity 15. Further, the positions of thefastening portions 64c and the stabilizingportions 64d may be changed as appropriate. For example, thefastening portion 64c may be formed high as shown in the drawing, and the stabilizingportion 64d may be formed low as shown in the drawing.

For convenience of explanation, only one first-terminal accommodation cavity 15 of thefirst housing 11 and a peripheral portion of theaccommodation cavity 15 are shown in the above figures. The illustration of the other parts is omitted.

The first-terminal accommodation cavity 15 includes: anarrow portion 15a which is a narrow trench-like space extending in the vertical direction; awide portion 15b which is a gutter-like space connected to the lower end of thenarrow portion 15a, extending in the vertical direction, and wider than thenarrow portion 15 a; and a bottomplate penetrating portion 15c having substantially the same width as thewide portion 15b and penetrating thebottom plate portion 16 from theupper surface 16a of thebottom plate portion 16 to therear surface 16b of thebottom plate portion 16. In addition, a concave portion is formed on the side wall of theconvex portion 13 at the upper side portion of thewide portion 15b and thenarrow portion 15a, and is formed to vertically penetrate thebottom plate portion 16 integrally with the bottomplate penetrating portion 15c and the lower side portion of thewide portion 15 b.

Thefirst terminals 61 are inserted into the first-terminal accommodation cavities 15 from the lower side of the first housing 11 (i.e., from thelower face 16b of the bottom plate portion 16). More specifically, as shown in fig. 5 (c) - (d), the back surface of the body portion 63 (i.e., the surface on the opposite side to the extending direction of the tail portion 62) is set to abut against theback surface 15e of the firstterminal receiving cavity 15, and thefirst terminals 61 are inserted into and received in the firstterminal receiving cavity 15. Since the distance between the front ends of the left andright fastening portions 64c of thefirst terminal 61 is set to be wider than the distance between the supportingsidewalls 15d formed on both sides of thefirst terminal 61 in this case, thefastening portions 64c are locked into the supportingsidewalls 15d and fixed. As a result, the fixed portion is fixed by thesupport side wall 15d of thewide portion 15b, and thefirst terminal 61 is received and fixed in the firstterminal receiving cavity 15.

Since the distance between the left andright stabilizers 64d is set to be almost the same as the distance between the two front ends of thefastening portion 64c, thestabilizers 64d contact and press against the support sidewalls 15 d. As a result, the fixingportion 64 is pressed and fixed by thesupport side wall 15d of thewide portion 15b over a wide range in the vertical direction, thefirst terminal 61 is reliably fixed in the firstterminal receiving cavity 15, and thefirst terminal 61 is prevented from falling out of the firstterminal receiving cavity 15. Further, since thefastening portion 64c is formed at the upper portion of the fixingportion 64 and the stabilizingportion 64d is formed at the lower portion of the fixingportion 64, the distance between thefastening portion 64c and the stabilizingportion 64d with respect to the vertical direction is increased, and thus the fixingportion 64 is fixed in a stable state by thesupport side wall 15d of thewide portion 15b over a very large range in the vertical direction. Thereby, as shown in fig. 5 (c), theregulation terminal 61 is inclined leftward or rightward with respect to the firstterminal accommodation cavity 15.

When thefirst terminal 61 is completely received by the first-terminal receiving cavity 15, thebase portion 65b and thecontact arm 65d of the contact portion 65 (i.e., at least the upper portion of the contact portion 65) are received by thenarrow portion 15a, and thebent portion 65a, thebody portion 63, and the fixingportion 64 of thecontact portion 65 are received by thewide portion 15 b. However, as described above, thecurved portion 65a and thebase portion 65b extend obliquely upward and forward at a small angle with respect to thebody portion 63 of the firstterminal receiving cavity 15, and they are separated from theback surface 15e of the firstterminal receiving cavity 15 and adjacent to the raisedstrip portion 13, as shown in the side view of fig. 5 (d). Further, since thecontact arm 65d extends obliquely upward and forwardly at a small angle relative to thebody portion 63 from the upper end of thebase portion 65b, the peripheral portion of thecontact projection 65e is separated from therear surface 15e and projects outwardly from thenarrow portion 15a (i.e., projects outwardly relative to the side wall of the raised strip portion 13). Further, the width of thebase portion 65b and thecontact arm 65d is smaller than the width of thenarrow portion 15 a. Therefore, when the first connector 1 is mated with thesecond connector 101, even if thenarrow portion 15a is in contact with and pressed against the second terminal 161b, thenarrow portion 15a is elastically displaced (shift), and the contact with thesecond terminal 161 is reliably maintained.

The tip of theend portion 65f is located closer to theback surface 15e than the contactconvex portion 65e, and is still within thenarrow portion 15a without protruding outside the side wall of theconvex strip portion 13. Therefore, when thefirst connector 10 is mated with thesecond connector 101, the material of thesecond connector 101 does not catch on the end of the (cathtupon) end 65 f. Furthermore, even if a widthwise force (e.g., a force acting in the lateral direction shown in fig. 5 (c)) caused by, for example, contact with a foreign object is applied to thecontact protrusion 65e, thecontact arm 65d will not be displaced in the widthwise direction and will contact thecontact arm 65d of the adjacent first terminal 61 or contact the adjacentsecond terminal 161 adjacent to the correspondingsecond terminal 161, causing a short circuit.

The connectingportion 62b of thetail portion 62 is located below the bottomplate penetrating portion 15c and protrudes downward from thelower surface 16b of thebottom plate portion 16. In other words, the connectingportion 62b protrudes downward from the lower end of the first-terminal accommodation cavity 15. Further, thestress relaxing portion 62a extends forward from the lower end of thebody portion 63. However, the front end of thestress relaxing portion 62a is located inside the through-substrate portion 15c and does not contact the surface of the through-substrate portion 15c opposite to therear surface 15 e. Further, since the width of thestress relaxing portion 62a is significantly smaller than the width of thewide portion 15b and the bottom plate through-portion 15c, thestress relaxing portion 62a does not contact the side surface of the bottom plate through-portion 15c or thewide portion 15 b. Therefore, even if the relative positions of thebody portion 63 of thefirst terminal 61 and the terminal connection pad on the first circuit board (to which theconnection portion 62b is connected by soldering) are changed, thestress relaxing portion 62a does not interfere with the surface of thewide portion 15b or the bottom plate throughportion 15 c; and since thestress relaxing portion 62a can be elastically deformed, no crack occurs in the solder or the solder is separated from the terminal connection pad.

6]

Thesecond connector 101 has asecond housing 111 integrally formed of an insulating material (e.g., a synthetic resin or the like). As shown in fig. 6 to 8, thesecond housing 111 has a generally rectangular thick plate-like shape and has a plurality ofconcave portions 113 on the side (upper side in fig. 6) to be mated with thefirst connector 10. In the illustrated example, the recessedstrip portion 113 penetrates downward from the upper face, has a bottom face defined by theupper face 116a of thebottom plate portion 116, and extends in the longitudinal direction of thesecond housing 111. Elongate (thin)longitudinal ridges 112 extending in the longitudinal direction of thesecond housing 111 are thus formed on both sides of the recessedstrip portion 113. Theridge 112 has a plurality ofrecesses 112a, however therecesses 112a may be omitted as appropriate. Although fiveconcave portions 113 are shown in the illustrated example, the number thereof may be any one from one to a plurality.

As with thefirst connector 10 described above, thesecond connector 101 is typically a multi-pole connector in the form of a flat elongate body that can have more than 100 to more than 1000 poles. Therefore, for convenience of explanation, in fig. 6 to 8, the center portion of theconnector 101 is cut out in a direction connecting the upper left to lower right in fig. 6, in a vertical direction in fig. 7 (a), and in a lateral direction in fig. 8 (b).

Second-terminal accommodation cavities 115 are formed on side walls formed on both sides of the concave strip portion 113 (i.e., on side walls of the ridge portion 112), and the second-terminal accommodation cavities 115 serve as terminal accommodation cavities for thesecond terminals 161. On each side wall of each concave portion 113 (i.e., each side wall of the ridge portion 112), a plurality of second-terminal accommodation cavities 115 are formed at a pitch (e.g., about 1 mm). Each second-terminal accommodation cavity 115 accommodates a correspondingsecond terminal 161. The pitch and number of the second-terminal accommodation cavities 115 and thesecond terminals 161 can be set appropriately.

Further,second protrusions 114a as a plurality of second insertion guide portions are formed on both sides of thesecond housing 111 in the longitudinal direction. These second protrudingportions 114a are formed by protruding a part of theside wall portion 114 outward. In the illustrated example, one such protrudingportion 114a is formed at one end portion in the longitudinal direction of thesecond housing 111, and two protrudingportions 114a are formed at the other side, but the number and position of the second protrudingportions 114a may be appropriately set. When thefirst connector 10 and thesecond connector 101 are in a mated state, thesecond projection 114a is inserted into thefirst projection 14a of thefirst connector 10.

Thesecond housing 111 has a plurality ofsecond housing legs 117 formed at a plurality of positions on the periphery of thelower face 116b of thebottom plate portion 116 to protrude downward. The lower faces of thesesecond housing legs 117 contact the front side of the second circuit board and function as spacer elements that provide a predetermined distance between the front side of the second circuit board and theback side 116b of thebottom plate portion 116.

Second-terminal accommodation cavity 115 is formed to extend from the side surface ofconcave portion 113 tolower surface 116b ofbottom plate portion 116, andtail portion 162 ofsecond terminal 161 protrudes downward fromlower surface 116b ofbottom plate portion 116 as shown in fig. 7 to 8.Tail portion 162 of eachsecond terminal 161 constitutes a so-called "solder tail" and is connected, by soldering or the like, to a terminal connection pad connected to a conductive trace on the second circuit board.

As shown,second terminal 161 has atail portion 162, abody portion 163, a fixingportion 164, and acontact portion 165.Second terminal 161 is formed in one integral piece by stamping, bending or otherwise processing a conductive metal plate. Thebody portion 163 is a flat portion of a substantially square shape. Further, thecontact portion 165 is a portion for contacting thefirst terminal 61. The contact portion has the same width as thebody portion 163 and includes abent portion 165a connected to the upper end of thebody portion 163 and acontact arm 165b wider than thebent portion 165a and connected to the upper end of thebent portion 165 a.

Thebent portion 165a has a crank or S-shaped side surface, is bent and connected to the upper end of thebody portion 163, and extends substantially perpendicular to thebody portion 163 before being bent and connected to the lower end of thecontact arm 165 b. Thecontact arm 165b is a plate-like portion of generally rectangular shape and extends vertically parallel to thebody portion 163.

Further, theaforementioned tail 162 includes: astress relaxation portion 162a connected to the lower end of thebody portion 163; and aconnection part 162b connected to a lower end of thestress relaxation part 162 a. Thetail portion 162 together with thestress relaxation portion 162a and theconnection portion 162b included in thetail portion 162 have the same structure as the above-describedtail portion 62 of thefirst terminal 61 together with thestress relaxation portion 62a and theconnection portion 62b included in thetail portion 62. And therefore, the description of these parts is omitted.

The fixingportion 164 is a flat plate-like portion shaped to be coplanar with thebody portion 163 and extending outward in the width direction from side edges of both sides of thebody portion 163. Each of the fixingportions 164 has anupper extension 164a extending upward from an upper end thereof and alower extension 164b extending downward from a lower end thereof. Fasteningportions 164c protruding outward and smooth stabilizingportions 164d extending in the vertical direction are formed on side edges of the fixingportion 164. The fixingportion 164 and the vertically extendingextended portion 164a, the lowerextended portion 164b, thefastening portion 164c, and the stabilizingportion 164d included in the fixingportion 164 have the same structure as the fixingportion 64 and the vertically extendingextended portion 64a, the lowerextended portion 64b, thefastening portion 64c, and the stabilizingportion 64d included in the fixingportion 64 of thefirst terminal 61. And thus their description is omitted.

For convenience of explanation, only one second-terminal accommodation cavity 115 of thesecond housing 111 and its vicinity are shown in the above figures. The illustration of the other parts is omitted.

As shown, the second-terminal accommodation cavity 115 includes: anarrow portion 115a which is a narrow channel-like space extending in the vertical direction; awide portion 115b which is a trench-shaped space connected to the lower end of thenarrow portion 115a, extends in the vertical direction, and is wider than thenarrow portion 115 a; and a bottomplate penetrating portion 115c having substantially the same width as thewide portion 115b and penetrating thebottom plate 116 from theupper surface 116a of thebottom plate 116 to therear surface 116b of thebottom plate 116. Thewide portion 115b and the upper portion of thenarrow portion 115a form a recess in the side wall of theridge portion 112, are formed integrally with the bottom plate through-hole 115c and a portion of the lower side of the wide portion, and extend vertically through thebottom plate portion 116.

The firstterminal receiving cavity 15 is formed to extend from thelower surface 16b of thebottom plate portion 16 to the upper surface of theridge portion 13, but the secondterminal receiving cavity 115 does not reach the upper surface of theridge portion 112. Therefore, the upper end of the second-terminal accommodation cavity 115 (i.e., the upper end of thenarrow portion 115 a) is defined by the side-wallupper end portion 112b of theridge portion 112. Further, although theback surface 15e of the first terminal receiving cavity is almost flat, theback surface 115e of the secondterminal receiving cavity 115 is tapered and divided into an upper back surface 115e1 forming the back surface of thenarrow portion 115a and a lower back surface 115e2 forming the back surface of thewide portion 115 b. The upper back surface 115e1 and the lower back surface 115e2 are parallel to each other, but since thenarrow portion 115a is shallower than thewide portion 115b, the upper back surface 115e1 (the left side in fig. 10 (b)) is positioned further forward, that is, closer to the side wall surface of theridge portion 112, than thelower back surface 115e 2.

Thesecond terminals 161 are inserted into the second-terminal accommodation cavities 115 from the lower side of the second housing 111 (i.e., from thelower face 116b of the bottom portion 116). More specifically, as shown in fig. 10 (c) -10 (d), thesecond terminal 161 is inserted and accommodated in the secondterminal accommodating chamber 115 so that the rear surface of the body portion 163 (i.e., the surface on the side opposite to the extending direction of the tail portion 162) contacts the lower side rear surface 115e2 of the secondterminal accommodating chamber 115. Since the distance between the front ends of the left andright fastening portions 164c of thesecond terminal 161 is set to be larger than the distance between thesupport sidewalls 115d formed at both sides of thesecond terminal 161, in this case, thefastening portions 164c are locked into and fixed to the support sidewalls 115 d. As a result, the fixed portion is fixed by thesupport side wall 115d of thebroad width portion 115b, and thesecond terminal 161 is received and fixed in the secondterminal receiving cavity 115.

Since the distance between the left andright stabilizers 164d is set to be almost the same as the distance between the front ends of thefastening portions 164c, the stabilizers contact and press against the support sidewalls 115 d. As a result, the fixingportion 164 is pressed and fixed by thesupport side wall 115d of thewide portion 115b over a wide range in the vertical direction, thesecond terminal 161 is reliably fixed in the secondterminal receiving cavity 115, and thesecond terminal 161 is prevented from falling out of the secondterminal receiving cavity 115. Further, since thefastening portion 164c is formed at the upper portion of the fixingportion 164 and the stabilizingportion 164d is formed at the lower portion of the fixingportion 164, the distance between thefastening portion 164c and the stabilizingportion 164d with respect to the vertical direction is increased, and thus the fixingportion 164 is fixed in a stable state by the supportingside wall 115d of thewide portion 115b over a very wide range in the vertical direction. Thereby, thesecond terminals 161 are restricted from tilting leftward or rightward with respect to the second-terminal accommodation cavities 115 as shown in fig. 10 (c).

Whensecond terminal 161 is completely received in secondterminal receiving cavity 115,contact arm 165b of contact portion 165 (i.e., at least the upper portion of contact portion 165) is received bynarrow portion 115a, andbent portion 165a,body portion 163, and fixedportion 164 ofcontact portion 165 are received bywide portion 115 b. Since thebent portion 165a extends forward from thebody portion 163, thebody portion 163 and thecontact arm 165b extending parallel to thebody portion 163 approach or contact the upper side back surface 115e1, as shown in fig. 10 (d). The front face of thecontact arm 165b is either nearly coplanar with the side wallupper end 112b of thespine 112 or is located slightly forward of the side wallupper end 112 b.

Therefore, when thefirst connector 10 and thesecond connector 101 are mated, thefirst terminals 61 will not be caught (catch) at the upper ends (i.e., the front ends) of thecontact arms 165 b. Even if in contact with and pressed by thefirst terminal 61, thecontact arm 165b is not displaced rearward, and thus the contact with the first terminal can be reliably maintained.

The connectingportion 162b of thetail portion 162 is located below the bottom plate throughportion 115c, and protrudes downward from thelower surface 116b of thebottom plate portion 116. In other words, theconnection portion 162b protrudes downward from the lower end of the secondterminal receiving cavity 115. Further, thestress relaxation portion 162a extends forward from the lower end of thebody portion 163. However, the front end of thestress relaxation portion 162a is positioned in the through-floor portion 115c and does not contact the surface of the through-floor portion 115c on the side facing thelower back surface 115e 2. Further, since the width of thestress relaxing portion 162a is much narrower than the width of thewide portion 115b and the through-floor portion 115c, thestress relaxing portion 162a does not contact the side surface of the through-floor portion 115c or thewide portion 115 b. Thus, even if the relative positions of thebody portion 163 of thesecond terminal 161 and the terminal connection pad on the second circuit board (to which theconnection portion 162b is connected by soldering) are changed, thestress relaxation portion 162a does not interfere with the surface of thebroad width portion 115b or the bottom plate through-portion 115 c; and since thestress relaxation portion 162a can be elastically deformed, no crack occurs in the solder or the solder is separated from the terminal connection pad.

In operation, thefirst connector 10 is surface mounted to a first circuit board (not shown) by connecting theconnection portions 62b of thetail portions 62 of thefirst terminals 61 to terminal connection pads connected to conductive traces on the first circuit board using soldering or the like. Similarly, thesecond connector 101 is surface-mounted to the second circuit board (not shown) by connecting theconnection portions 162b of thetail portions 162 of thesecond terminals 161 to terminal connection pads connected to conductive traces on the second circuit board by soldering or the like.

Next, as shown in fig. 11 (a), an operator places the mating side of thefirst connector 10 at a position facing the mating side of thesecond connector 101. After the positions of the plurality of raisedstrip portions 13 of thefirst connector 10 are aligned with the plurality of recessedstrip portions 113 of thesecond connector 101 and the plurality of raised strip portions are inserted into the plurality of recessed strip portions, the operation of position alignment of thefirst connector 10 and thesecond connector 101 is completed.

In this state, thefirst connector 10 and/or thesecond connector 101 are moved toward each other and the two connectors are mated as shown in fig. 11 (b). When thefirst connector 10 and thesecond connector 101 are in a mated state, each of the raisedstrip portions 13 of thefirst connector 10 is inserted into the corresponding recessedstrip portion 113 of thesecond connector 101, thecontact arm 65d of each of thefirst terminals 61 contacts the corresponding contact arm 165d of thesecond terminal 161, and each of thefirst terminals 61 is electrically connected to the correspondingsecond terminal 161.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, thefirst connector 10 and thesecond connector 101 constituting the pair of multipolar connectors respectively have the integratedfirst housing 11 and the integratedsecond housing 111, and the plurality offirst terminals 61 connected to thefirst housing 11 and the plurality ofsecond terminals 161 connected to thesecond housing 111. Thefirst terminal 61 and thesecond terminal 161 include: abody portion 63 and abody portion 163 which are accommodated in the firstterminal accommodation cavity 15 of thefirst housing 11 and the secondterminal accommodation cavity 115 of thesecond housing 111, respectively;tail portions 62 and 162 connected to the lower end of thebody portion 63 and the lower end of thebody portion 163, respectively, and surface-mounted to the first circuit board and the second circuit board; acontact portion 65 and acontact portion 165 connected to the upper end of thebody portion 63 and the upper end of thebody portion 163, respectively, and contacting the mating terminals; and a fixingportion 64 and a fixingportion 164 connected to both side edges of thebody portion 63 and both side edges of thebody portion 163, respectively, and fixed by fixingside walls 15d formed on both sides of the firstterminal receiving cavity 15 and fixingside walls 115d formed on both sides of the secondterminal receiving cavity 115, respectively. The fixingportions 64 and 164 extend in the vertical direction and have a vertical dimension greater than that of thebody portions 63 and 163; afastening portion 64c that is locked into the fixingside wall 15d and afastening portion 164c that is locked into the fixingside wall 115d are formed at the side edge of the upper portion of the fixingportion 64 and the side edge of the upper portion of the fixingportion 164, respectively; astabilizer 64d contacting the fixedsidewall 15d and astabilizer 164d contacting the fixedsidewall 115d are formed at the lower portion of the fixingportion 64 and the lower portion of the fixingportion 164, respectively.

The vertical dimensions of the fixingportions 64 and the fixingportions 164 can thus be increased, as well as the distances between thefastening portions 64c and the stabilizingportions 64d and between thefastening portions 164c and the stabilizingportions 164d, with the result that the stability of thefirst terminals 61 and thesecond terminals 161 can be maintained even if the heights of thefirst connector 10 and thesecond connector 101 are reduced as a whole. Therefore, even when the first andsecond housings 11 and 11 are thermally expanded (particularly, thermally expanded in the longitudinal direction) with respect to the first and second circuit boards, the positions of the first andsecond terminals 61 and 161 are maintained, and thetail portions 62 and 162 surface-mounted to the first and second circuit boards are subjected to forces. This makes it possible to obtain thefirst connector 10 and thesecond connector 101 which can have one multipolar structure and are easy to manufacture and mount to the first circuit board and the second circuit board with high reliability.

The first and secondterminal receiving cavities 15 and 115 include:narrow portions 15a and 115a extending in the vertical direction, respectively; and awide portion 15b and awide portion 115b connected to a lower end of thenarrow portion 15a and a lower end of thenarrow portion 115a extending in the vertical direction, respectively, and wider than thenarrow portion 15a and thenarrow portion 115 a.Narrow portions 15a and 115a receive at least an upper portion ofcontact portion 65 and at least an upper portion ofcontact portion 165; thebroad width portions 15b and 115b accommodate thebody portions 63 and 163 and the fixingportions 64 and 164; the rear surfaces of thebody portion 63 and thebody portion 163 contact therear surface 15e of the firstterminal receiving cavity 15 at thebroad width portion 15b and therear surface 115e of the secondterminal receiving cavity 115 at thebroad width portion 115 b; and the fixingportion 64 and the fixingportion 164 are fixed in thebroad width portion 15b by the supportingside wall 15d of the firstterminal receiving cavity 15 and fixed in thebroad width portion 115b by the supportingside wall 115d of the secondterminal receiving cavity 115.

It is therefore possible to increase the distance between the left andright fastening portions 64c and 164c and the distance between the stabilizingportions 64d and 164d, thereby further improving the stability of the first andsecond terminals 61 and 161.

Further, thetail portions 62 and 162 include: astress relaxation portion 62a and astress relaxation portion 162a connected to the lower end of thebody portion 63 and the lower end of thebody portion 163; and a connectingportion 62b and a connectingportion 162b connected to the lower end of thestress relaxing portion 62a and the lower end of thestress relaxing portion 162 a. And theconnection portions 62b and 162b protrude downward from the lower end of the firstterminal receiving cavity 15 and the lower end of the secondterminal receiving cavity 115, and are connected to terminal connection pads on the surface of the first circuit board and to terminal connection pads on the surface of the second circuit board. Theconnection portions 62b and 162b are able to flexibly displace positions, and even if the relative positions of thefirst terminals 61 and thesecond terminals 161 and the terminal connection pads on the surfaces of the first circuit board and the second circuit board are changed, the connection of theconnection portions 62b and 162b and the terminal connection pads is maintained.

The connectingportions 62b and 162b are circular and positioned forward of the front surfaces of thebody portions 63 and 163. Therefore, stress is not concentrated on the connection material (such as solder bonding theconnection portions 62b and 162b to the terminal connection pads), and cracks are not formed in the connection material.

Thestress relaxing portions 62a and 162a are narrower than themain portions 63 and 163, and extend forward substantially perpendicularly to themain portions 63 and 163 before bending so that their front ends turn rearward. Therefore, thestress relaxing portions 62a and 162a can be elastically deformed, and if the positions of thefirst terminals 61 and thesecond terminals 161 with respect to the terminal connection pads on the surfaces of the first circuit board and the second circuit board are changed, no force acts on thebody portions 63 and 163. Further, the distance from the connectingportion 62b and the connectingportion 162b to thebody portion 63 and thebody portion 163 along thestress relaxing portion 62a and thestress relaxing portion 162a increases, which prevents the solder rising or flux rising phenomenon from occurring.

While the preferred embodiments of the present application have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the foregoing description and the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A multi-pole connector, comprising:

an integrally formed housing; and

a plurality of terminals mounted to the housing to form a plurality of pairs of columns;

wherein,

the terminal includes: a body part accommodated by a terminal accommodating chamber of the housing; a solder tail portion connected to a lower end of the body portion and surface-mounted to a circuit board; a contact portion connected to an upper end of the body portion for contacting a mating terminal; and a plurality of fixing parts connected to both side edges of the body part and fixed by fixing side walls formed at both sides of the terminal accommodating chamber;

the fixing parts extend along a vertical direction and have a vertical dimension larger than that of the body part; and

a plurality of fastening portions that are locked into the fixing side walls are formed at a side edge of an upper portion of the plurality of fixing portions, and a plurality of stabilizing portions that contact the fixing side walls are formed at a side edge of a lower portion of the plurality of fixing portions.

2. The multipole connector according to claim 1, wherein the terminal receiving cavity includes a narrow portion extending in the vertical direction and a wide portion extending in the vertical direction, the wide portion being connected to a lower end of the narrow portion and being wider than the narrow portion.

3. The multipole connector according to claim 2, wherein at least an upper portion of the contact portion is received by the narrow portion and the body portion and fixation portion are received by the wide portion.

4. The multipole connector according to claim 3, wherein a rear surface of the body portion contacts a rear surface of the terminal receiving cavity in the broad width portion, and the securing portion is secured by the securing sidewall of the terminal receiving cavity in the broad width portion.

5. The multipole connector of claim 4, wherein said solder tail portion comprises: a stress relaxation part connected to the lower end of the body part, and a connection part connected to a lower end of the stress relaxation part.

6. The multipole connector according to claim 5, wherein the connection portion extends downwardly from a lower end of the terminal receiving cavity, and the connection portion is connected to a terminal connection pad on a surface of the circuit board.

7. The multipole connector according to claim 6, wherein the connection portion has a circular shape and the connection portion is located forward of a front surface of the body portion.

8. The multipole connector according to claim 7, wherein the stress relief is narrower than the body portion, extends forward generally perpendicular to the body portion before bending, and has a tip turned in a rearward direction.

9. The multipole connector according to claim 1, wherein the solder tail portion includes a stress relief portion connected to a lower end of the body portion, and a connection portion connected to a lower end of the stress relief portion.

10. The multipole connector according to claim 9, wherein said connecting portion extends downwardly from a lower end of said terminal receiving cavity and is connected to a terminal connection pad on a surface of said circuit board.

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