Detachable connector and front-panel device including same

A detachable connector is provided in which a male connector unit mounted to a movable panel is attachable to and detachable from a female connector unit mounted to a main body. In a pair of first and second female terminals, the first female terminal which has a longer distance to an axis of rotation of the movable panel includes a sloped portion for being elastically in contact with a leading-end corner of a convex contact of the male connector unit from obliquely above, and the second female terminal includes a contact portion for being elastically in contact with the side surface of the convex contact from below. When the male connector unit is attached to the female connector unit, the sloped portion is in contact with the convex contact at a position that is more distant from the movable panel than the contact portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a detachable connector that is included in a front-panel device in which a front portion of a main body is openable/closable by a movable panel rotatably mounted to the main body and that is capable of attaching a male connector unit to a female connector unit and detaching the male connector unit from the female connector unit with the rotation of the movable panel.

2. Description of the Related Art

For a vehicle-mounted electronic apparatus, such as a mini disk (MD) player or compact disk (CD) player, in order to reduce the size and profile of the electronic apparatus and to ensure a required space for arranging a display screen of, for example, a liquid crystal display and various operating keys, a front-panel device is known in which a front portion of a main body of the apparatus is formed so as to be openable/closable by a rotatably mounted movable panel. In the front-panel device, the front portion of the main body includes a loading slot for receiving an inserted medium, such as a MD or CD, the display screen and various operating keys are disposed on the movable panel rotatably mounted to the main body, the movable panel normally stands vertical at a position in which the loading slot is covered, and the movable panel is rotated frontward only when the loading slot is required to be exposed.

Such a front-panel device with a movable panel detachable from a main body of an apparatus is known. Detaching the movable panel from the main body allows the vehicle-mounted electronic apparatus to appear as a semifinished product while a driver is not in a car, thus enhancing the effect of protecting the electronic apparatus from theft. In this case, an electrical connection between the movable panel and the main body is typically realized by means of a detachable connector including a male connector unit mounted in the movable panel and a female connector unit mounted in the main body.

A known detachable connector of this kind has a structure in which the female connector unit in the main body includes a plurality of sets each including a first female terminal and a second female terminal, the first and second female terminals being disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to a line, the male connector unit in the movable panel includes a plurality of convex contacts, and the convex contacts are capable of being inserted into the gaps between the corresponding first and second female terminals and being ejected from the gaps. Each of the first female terminals and each of the second female terminals are provided with corresponding elastic members disposed on opposite sides of an insertion path for allowing each of the corresponding convex contacts to pass therethrough so as to be opposed to each other and be capable of approaching and moving away from each other. When the male connector unit is attached to the female connector unit, each of the female terminals is obliquely in contact with each of the adjacent sections of the leading ends of the convex contacts in an elastic manner (see, for example, Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 2551493).

In such a known detachable connector having the schematic structure described above, when the movable panel is moved to the closed position in which the front portion of the main body is covered, the convex contact of the male connector unit mounted in the movable panel is inserted into the insertion path in the female connector unit, the gap between the first and second female terminals is expanded, and the convex contact is into contact with both the first and second female terminals in an elastic manner. As a result, an electrical connection between the movable panel and the main body is established. On the other hand, when the movable panel is moved from the closed position to the open position in which the front portion of the main body is exposed, the convex contact moves away from the first and second female terminals, and the convex contact is ejected from the insertion path. As a result, the electrical connection between the movable panel and the main body is released. In order to prevent the electrical connection between the movable panel and the main body from being inadvertently interrupted, the movable panel is engaged to the main body at the closed position by appropriate locking means.

As described above, the detachable connector in the known front-panel device is formed such that, in the process of attachment of the male connector unit in the movable panel to the female connector unit in the main body, the convex contact comes into contact with the first and second female terminals, which are disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to a line, in an elastic manner by pushing the convex contact into the gap between the corresponding first and second female terminals. At this time, when the first and second female terminals which are disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to a line are obliquely in contact with the convex contact in an elastic manner, a component force of a terminal contact pressure functions as a reaction force of pushing the convex contact in a direction in which the convex contact is ejected. Therefore, if the total sum of the reaction forces produced by a plurality of sets of first and second female terminals is large, the movable panel and locking means for locking the movable panel may be plastically deformed under high temperatures or other conditions. One approach to addressing the problem is to reduce the terminal contact pressures of the first and second female terminals with respect to the convex contacts. However, this approach reduces the reliability of the electrical connection between the male connector unit and the female connector unit.

Another approach to this problem is to make the first and second female terminals, which are disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to a line, be in contact with the sides of the convex contacts in an elastic manner so that no terminal contact pressure may function as reaction forces of pushing the convex contacts in the direction in which the convex contacts are ejected. However, according to this approach, in the process of separating the male connector unit from the female connector unit, elastically contacted members of female terminals that have a longer distance to the axis of rotation of the movable panel, in the first female terminals and second female terminals, than the others cannot smoothly escape the convex contacts rotating integrally with the movable panel. This increases the risk of pushing the convex contacts in an undesired direction. As a result, another problem arises in which the relevant female terminals are prone to be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a detachable connector capable of maintaining a required terminal contact pressure without causing an excessive reaction force to be applied on a male connector unit attached to a female connector unit and capable of avoiding damage to the female terminal in the process of separation of the male connector unit from the female connector unit and to provide a front-panel device including the detachable connector.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a detachable connector included in a front-panel device provided with a movable panel rotatable between a closed position in which a front portion of a main body of an apparatus is covered and an open position in which the front portion is exposed is provided. The detachable connector includes a male connector unit mounted to the movable panel and including a convex contact, and a female connector unit mounted to the main body and including a first female terminal and a second female terminal, the first and second female terminals being disposed on opposite sides of an insertion path for allowing the inserted convex contact to pass therethrough. The male connector unit is attachable to and detachable from the female connector unit with rotation of the movable panel. In the first and second female terminals, the first female terminal which has a longer distance to an axis of rotation of the movable panel includes a sloped portion for being obliquely in contact with the convex contact in an elastic manner, the second female terminal which has a shorter distance to the axis of rotation of the movable panel includes a contact portion for being in contact with a side of the convex contact in an elastic manner, and, when the male connector unit is attached to the female connector unit, a position where the sloped portion is in contact with the convex contact in an elastic manner is more distant from the movable panel in the main body than a position where the contact portion is in contact with the convex contact in an elastic manner.

As described above, when, in a pair of the female terminals in the female connector unit in the main body, the first female terminal that has a longer distance to the axis of rotation of the movable panel includes the sloped portion for being in contact with the convex contact from obliquely above in an elastic manner, the convex contact can smoothly escape in the process of separation of the male connector unit from the female connector unit. As a result, the detachable connector prevents the first female terminal from being damaged, thus increasing the longevity of the detachable connector. Additionally, when the second female terminal that has a shorter distance to the axis of rotation of the movable panel includes the contact portion for being in contact with the convex contact from a side in an elastic manner, if a position where the sloped portion is in contact with the convex contact in an elastic manner is more distant from the movable panel in the main body than a position where the contact portion is in contact with the convex contact in an elastic manner, a reaction force of pushing the convex contact in a direction in which the convex contact is ejected is reduced by a friction force produced by the contact portion. Therefore, a required terminal contact pressure can be maintained without causing an excessive reaction force to be applied on the male connector unit being attached to the female connector unit. As a result, the reliability of an electrical connection is assured, and the movable panel and the locking means for locking the movable panel are prevented from being plastically deformed.

In the structure described above, the sloped portion may be disposed adjacent to a free end of the first female terminal, and a leading-end corner of the convex contact inserted into the insertion path may slide on the sloped portion toward a section adjacent to the free end in the sloped portion. This is preferable because the sloped portion, which is in contact with the adjacent section of the leading end of the convex contact inserted into the insertion path in an elastic manner with reliability and which avoids the possibility of interfering with the operation of ejecting the convex contact, is easily created.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in first and second female terminals, a first female terminal which has a longer distance to an axis of rotation of a movable panel includes a sloped portion for being in contact with a convex contact of a male connector unit mounted to the movable panel in an elastic manner from obliquely above. This allows the convex contact to smoothly escape in the process of separating of the male connector unit. Additionally, the second female terminal which has a shorter distance to the axis of rotation of the movable panel includes a closed position for being in contact with the side surface of the convex contact in an elastic manner. This prevents the terminal contact pressure of the contact portion from functioning as a reaction force for pushing the convex contact in a direction in which the convex contact is ejected. Furthermore, a position where the sloped portion is in contact with the convex contact in an elastic manner is set so as to be more distant from the movable panel in the main body than a position where the contact portion is in contact with the convex contact in an elastic manner, and therefore, the reaction force of pushing the convex contact in a direction in which the convex contact is ejected is reduced by a friction force at the contact portion.

In a detachable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, a pair of female terminals is not substantially symmetrically disposed with respect to a line. A first female terminal includes a sloped portion for being obliquely in contact with a convex contact of a male connector unit mounted to a movable panel in an elastic manner so that the convex contact can smoothly escape. Additionally, a second female terminal includes a contact portion for being in contact with the convex contact from a side in an elastic manner so that the convex contact will not be excessively pushed in a direction in which the convex contact is ejected in the process of attachment of the male connector unit to the female connector unit. Therefore, a required terminal contact pressure is maintained without causing an excessive reaction force to be applied on the male connector unit being attached to the female connector unit. Therefore, the reliability of an electrical connection is assured, and the movable panel and the locking means for locking the movable panel are prevented from being damaged. At the same time, the female terminal is prevented from being plastically deformed in the process of separating of the male connector unit from the female connector unit, thus increasing the longevity of the detachable connector.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In a front-panel device in a vehicle-mounted electronic apparatus shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, a movable panel3is detachably and rotatably mounted on a supporting shaft2mounted on an arm1aof a main body1of the apparatus. The main body1includes a loading slot (not shown) for inserting and ejecting a medium (e.g., MD or CD) formed at a front portion4. At the movable panel3, a display screen (not shown) and various operating keys (not shown) are arranged. The main body1and movable panel3are electrically connected to each other with a detachable connector5disposed therebetween. The detachable connector5includes a female connector unit7connected to a circuit board6incorporated in the main body1and a male connector unit9connected to a circuit board8incorporated in the movable panel3.

As shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, the female connector unit7includes a synthetic-resin cover70having a window70a, first female terminals71each including a sloped portion71a, second female terminals72each including a contact portion72a, and legs73for being fit in locating holes formed in the circuit board6. The first female terminals71and the opposite second female terminals72are arranged in eight pairs in parallel. Each of the first female terminals71and second female terminals72is formed from a conductive metal plate subjected to bending. The sloped portion71aextends from a leading-end portion71cof the first female terminal71at a substantially right angle and has the shape of a strip facing the window70a. The contact portion72ais a bend nearest the sloped portion71ain the vicinity of a leading-end portion72c. For the first female terminal71and second female terminal72in each pair, the gap between the sloped portion71aand contact portion72aforms an insertion path74for allowing a corresponding convex contact90of the male connector unit9inserted with force to pass therethrough. Since a free end of the first female terminal71and that of the second female terminal72are prone to being elastically deformed, the sloped portion71aand the contact portion72aare capable of approaching and moving away from each other on opposite sides of the corresponding insertion path74. The leading-end portion71cof the first female terminal71obliquely extends in a direction away from the insertion path74relative to a section adjacent to a free end in the sloped portion71a. Similarly, the leading-end portion72cof the second female terminal72obliquely extends in a direction away from the insertion path74relative to the contact portion72a. Therefore, in the process of inserting the convex contact90of the male connector unit9into the insertion path74and separating the convex contact90from the insertion path74, the sloped portion71aand contact portion72aare not caught on the convex contact90. The first female terminal71includes substantially U-shaped curved portions71dand71econtinuously formed between the sloped portion71aand a base-end portion71b. Each of the curved portions71dand71ehas a U-shape with an open section in a direction (horizontal direction inFIG. 3) substantially perpendicular to a direction in which the convex contact90is inserted and separated with respect to the insertion path74(vertical direction inFIG. 3). The curved portions71dand71efunction to prevent a stress from being applied on the base-end portion71bwhen the sloped portion71ais pushed and bent. Similarly, the second female terminal72includes substantially U-shaped curved portions72dand72econtinuously formed between the sloped portion72aand a base-end portion72b. Each of the curved portions72dand72ehas a U-shape with an open section in a direction (vertical direction inFIG. 3) substantially parallel to the direction in which the convex contact90is inserted and separated with respect to the insertion path74. The curved portions72dand72efunction to prevent a stress from being applied on the base-end portion72bwhen the contact portion72ais pushed and bent. The base-end portion71bof the first female terminal71and the base-end portion72bof the second female terminal72extend in directions away from each other, protrude from the cover70, and are fixed to a land portion of the circuit board6by soldering. As is evident fromFIGS. 1 and 2, in a pair of the first female terminal71and second female terminal72, the distance from the upper first female terminal71to the axis of rotation (supporting shaft2) of the movable panel3is longer than the distance from the lower second female terminal72to the axis of rotation of the movable panel3.

As shown inFIGS. 5 and 6, the male connector unit9includes the convex contacts90each including first and second male terminals91and92which are symmetrically disposed with respect to a line, a synthetic-resin body93having a projection93awhose leading end is covered, and legs94for being fit in locating holes formed in the circuit board8. The eight convex contacts90are arranged in parallel in the direction of the length of the body93. Each of the first male terminals91and second male terminal92, which constitute the convex contact90, is formed from a conductive metal plate subjected to bending and is integrally formed with the body93by insert molding. The base-end portion91bof the first male terminal91and the base-end portion92bof the second male terminal92extend in directions away from each other, protrude from the body93, and are fixed to a land portion of the circuit board8by soldering.

The first female terminal71and second female terminal72in each pair may be disposed at positions other than at opposed positions on opposite sides of the insertion path74. For example, the first female terminals71may be slightly displaced in the direction (vertical direction inFIG. 4) in which the first female terminals71are arranged so as to be opposed to the corresponding gaps between the second female terminals72. In this case, the first male terminals91of the male connector unit9corresponding to the first female terminals71are similarly displaced in the direction in which they are arranged.

In the front-panel device according to the embodiment, the movable panel3is rotatable between the closed position (upright posture), as shown inFIG. 1, and the open position (horizontal posture), as shown inFIG. 2, about the supporting shaft2. Setting the movable panel3upright covers the front portion4of the main body1with the display screen and various operating keys, whereas setting the movable panel3horizontal exposes a loading slot for a CD, MD, or the like. In addition, since the movable panel3is detachable from the supporting shaft2, the vehicle-mounted electronic apparatus can be set to appear as a semifinished product when a driver is not in a car by removing the movable panel3from the main body1. This enhances the effect of protecting the electronic apparatus from theft.

The operation of the detachable connector5is described below. When the movable panel3is at the closed position, in which the front portion4of the main body1is covered, as shown inFIG. 1, the male connector unit9mounted to the movable panel3is attached to the female connector unit7mounted to the main body1. At this time, the convex contacts90are pushed into the corresponding insertion paths74between the first and second female terminals71and72in the female connector unit7, the free-end sections of the sloped portions71aare obliquely in contact with corresponding leading-end corners91aof the first male terminals91in an elastic manner, and the contact portions72aare in contact with the corresponding side surfaces of the second male terminals92at a substantially right angle in an elastic manner. This maintains an electrical connection between the female connector unit7and the male connector unit9, thus allowing transmission and reception of electrical signals between the main body1and the display screen and various operating keys arranged on the movable panel3. At this closed state, the movable panel3is engaged to the main body1by locking means (not shown).

When the CD loading slot or MD loading slot formed at the front portion4of the main body1is required to be exposed, the engagement performed by the locking means is released and the movable panel3is rotated frontward about the supporting shaft2to set the movable panel3at the horizontal position, as shown inFIG. 2. When the loading slot at front portion4, which was covered with movable panel3, is exposed, the insertion and ejection operations of a medium, such as a CD, MD, or the like, are allowed, and the electrical connection between the movable panel3and the main body1is released because the convex contact90of the male connector unit9moves away from the first and second female terminals71and72of the female connector unit7.

The operation of the detachable connector5is described in greater detail below with reference toFIGS. 7 to 10. In the process of rotation of the movable panel3toward the closed position, when the convex contact90of the male connector unit9enters the window70a, as shown inFIG. 7, the leading-end corner91aof the first male terminal91of the convex contact90comes into contact with a section adjacent to the base end in the sloped portion71a. Then, as the movable panel3is rotated further, the leading end portion of the convex contact90is inserted into the corresponding insertion path74between the first and second female terminals71and72, and at the same time, the leading-end corner91aof the first male terminal91slides on the sloped portion71awhile pushing the sloped portion71aobliquely upward. When the movable panel3is further rotated toward the closed position, the leading-end portion of the convex contact90is further inserted into the corresponding insertion path74, as shown inFIG. 9. Therefore, the leading-end corner91aslides on the sloped portion71atoward the free-end section of the sloped portion71a, and at the same time, the contact portion72acomes into contact with the side surface of the second male terminal92of the convex contact90from below in an elastic manner. In the process of insertion of the convex contact90into the insertion path74, the contact portion72ais not in contact with a leading-end corner92aof the second male terminal92(seeFIG. 8), thus resulting in reduced insertion resistance of the convex contact90.

As the movable panel3is further rotated, the second male terminal92enters the insertion path74while pushing the contact portion72aof the second female terminal72downward. When the movable panel3is moved to the closed position, as shown inFIG. 10, the free-end section of the sloped portion71ais in contact with the leading-end corner91aof the first male terminal91from obliquely above in an elastic manner, and at the same time, the second female terminal72is in contact with the side surface of the second male terminal92at a section near the central portion from below in an elastic manner. As a result, when the movable panel3is maintained at the closed position, the first and second male terminals91and92are in contact with the corresponding first and second female terminals71and72in an elastic manner, and the male connector unit9is maintained so as to be attached to the female connector unit7.

To separate the male connector unit9from the female connector unit7, the reverse procedure is followed, so that the state shifts fromFIG. 10toFIG. 7successively. In this case, since the leading-end corner91aof the convex contact90pushes the sloped portion71awhile moving obliquely upward, the free-end section of the sloped portion71ais not caught on the leading-end corner91aof the convex contact90and is not pushed in an undesired direction. Therefore, the convex contact90can smoothly escape.

As described above, in the detachable connector5according to the embodiment, the male connector unit9mounted to the movable panel3is attached to and detached from the female connector unit7mounted to the main body1. When the male connector unit9is attached to the female connector unit7, a first one (the first female terminal71) of the first and second female terminals71and72is in contact with the corresponding convex contact90of the male connector unit9from obliquely above in an elastic manner, and a second one (the second female terminal72) is in contact with the convex contact90from below in an elastic manner. In other words, the first and second female terminals71and72are not symmetrically disposed with respect to a line. The first female terminal71which has a longer distance to the axis of rotation of the movable panel3includes the sloped portion71afor being in contact with the leading-end corner91aof the convex contact90from obliquely above in an elastic manner, thus allowing the convex contact90to smoothly escape in the process of separation of the male connector unit9from the female connector unit7. As a result, the detachable connector5prevents the first female terminal71from being damaged in the process of separation of the male connector unit9from the female connector unit7, thus increasing the longevity of the detachable connector5.

Additionally, in the detachable connector5according to the embodiment, the second female terminal72which has a shorter distance to the axis of rotation of the movable panel3includes the contact portion72afor being in contact with the side surface of the convex contact90from below in an elastic manner. When the male connector unit9is attached to the female connector unit7, the terminal contact pressure of the contact portion72adoes not function as a reaction force of pushing the convex contact90in a direction in which the convex contact90is ejected (direction in which the convex contact90is removed from the female connector unit7), and at the same time, a position where the sloped portion71ais in contact with the convex contact90in an elastic manner is more distant from the movable panel3in the main body1than a position where the contact portion72ais in contact with the convex contact90in an elastic manner. In other words, in the detachable connector5, although a reaction force of pushing the convex contact90in a direction in which the convex contact90is ejected occurs as a component force of a terminal contact pressure at the sloped portion71a, the reaction force is reduced by a friction force at the contact portion72a. Therefore, a required terminal contact pressure can be maintained without causing an excessive reaction force to be applied on the male connector unit9attached to the female connector unit7in a direction in which the male connector unit9is ejected. The reliability of an electrical connection can be assured. The movable panel3and the locking means for locking the movable panel3can be prevented from being plastically deformed. The stress applied on the circuit board6and circuit board8can be reduced.