Abstract:
A connector, which can mate with an opposing connector in a mating direction, is provided with a first alignment member, a second alignment member, a plurality of first contacts, a plurality of second contacts, a ground member, and a holding member. The first alignment member aligns the first contacts in a pitch direction, and the second alignment member aligns the second contacts in said pitch direction. The ground member has a main section, a locking spring section, and a connecting section. The locking spring section has a locking part that locks to a locking-target part on the opposing connector. The connecting section connects the main section to the locking spring section. The holding member holds the first alignment member, the second alignment member, and the ground member together such that the main section of the ground member is positioned between the first alignment member and the second alignment member.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to a connector comprising a lock portion which is to lock a locked portion of a mating connector. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Referring to  FIGS. 11 to 13 , a connector  900  of Patent Document 1 comprises a plurality of contacts  910 , a holding member  920  holding the contacts, a ground plate  930 , a shell  940  and lock members  950 . The contacts  910  are arranged in two rows. The ground plate  930  is positioned between the rows of the contacts  910 . The ground plate  930  is formed with spring portions  932 . The contacts  910  include ground contacts  912 . The spring portions  932  are connected to the ground contacts  912  in the holding member  920 , respectively. Each of the lock members  950  has a lock portion  952 . Each of the lock members  950  is held by the holding member  920  so that the lock portion  952  thereof is movable. The shell  940  is provided so as to cover the holding member  920 . The shell  940  is formed with openings  942 . The lock portions  952  pass through the openings  942 , respectively, and project outward of the shell  940 . 
     PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS 
     Patent Document(s) 
     Patent Document 1: WO2009/147791 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector having a structure which makes it easy to adjust a positional relation between a contact and a ground plate while suppressing increase in cost. 
     Solution to Problem 
     An aspect of the present invention provides a connector mateable with a mating connector along a mating direction. The connector comprises a first arrangement member, a second arrangement member, a plurality of first contacts, a plurality of second contacts, a ground member and a holding member. The first arrangement member arranges the first contacts in a pitch direction perpendicular to the mating direction and holds the first contacts. The second arrangement member arranges the second contacts in the pitch direction and holds the second contacts. The ground member has a flat plate-like body portion, a lock spring and a coupling portion. The lock spring has a lock portion which is to lock a locked portion of the mating connector. The coupling portion couples the body portion and the lock portion to each other. The holding member collectively holds the first arrangement member, the second arrangement member and the ground member so that the body portion of the ground member is positioned between the first arrangement member and the second arrangement member. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     The connector according to the present invention comprises three members, namely, the first arrangement member, the second arrangement member and the holding member, instead of the single holding member of Patent Document 1. However, the ground member according to the present invention integrates the body portion, which works as the ground plate of Patent Document 1, and the lock spring which works as the two lock members of Patent Document 1. Therefore, increase in number of components of the connector can be totally suppressed. As a result, extreme increase in cost can be suppressed. 
     Accordingly to the present invention, the first arrangement member arranges the first contacts, and the second arrangement member arranges the second contacts. Moreover, accordingly to the present invention, the holding member holds the ground member, the first arrangement member and the second arrangement member. This structure makes it easy to adjust a positional relation among the first contacts, the second contacts and the ground member. 
     An appreciation of the objectives of the present invention and a more complete understanding of its structure may be had by studying the following description of the preferred embodiment and by referring to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front, perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a rear, perspective view showing the connector of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded, perspective view showing the connector of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a front view showing the connector of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view showing the connector of  FIG. 4 , taken along line V-V. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view showing a structure included in the connector of  FIG. 1 , wherein this structure does not include a shell and a front protection member of the connector. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of  FIG. 6 , taken along line VII-VII. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of  FIG. 6 , taken along line VIII-VIII. 
         FIG. 9  is a partially cut-away, perspective view showing the structure of  FIG. 6 , taken along line IX-IX. 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded, perspective view showing the structure of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a connector of Patent Document 1. 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view showing the connector of  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 13  is an exploded, perspective view showing a structure included in the connector of  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , a connector  1  according to an embodiment of the present invention is to be connected to a cable (not shown) via a paddle board (object)  5 . Moreover, the connector  1  is to be mated with a mating connector (not shown) along the X-direction (mating direction). The illustrated connector  1  comprises a plurality of first contacts  10  each made of conductor, a first arrangement member  20  made of insulator, a plurality of second contacts  30  each made of conductor, a second arrangement member  40  made of insulator, a ground member  50 , a holding member  70  made of insulator, a shell  80  made of metal and a front protection member  90  made of insulator. The front protection member  90  is attached to an end, or the negative X-side end, of the shell  80  and protects the end of the shell  80 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , each of the first contacts  10  has a contact portion  12  and a terminal portion  14 . The contact portion  12  is a part which is to be brought into contact with a mating contact (not shown) of the mating connector (not shown). As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 , the terminal portion  14  is another part which is to be fixed and connected to the paddle board  5 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 8 , the first arrangement member  20  arranges the plurality of the first contacts  10  in the Y-direction (pitch direction) and holds the first contacts  10 . In particular, the first contacts  10  of the present embodiment are partially embedded within the first arrangement member  20  via insert-molding when the first arrangement member  20  is formed. As can be seen from  FIGS. 3 and 7 , the first arrangement member  20  of the present embodiment is formed with two projections  22  each of which projects in the Z-direction (predetermined direction). Each of the projections  22  has a rectangular column shape. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , each of the second contacts  30  has a contact portion  32  and a terminal portions  34 . The contact portion  32  is a part which is to be brought into contact with a mating contact (not shown) of the mating connector (not shown). As shown in  FIG. 5 , the terminal portions  34  is another part which is to be fixed and connected to the paddle board  5 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 8 , the second arrangement member  40  arranges the plurality of the second contacts  30  in the Y-direction and holds the second contacts  30 . In particular, the second contacts  30  of the present embodiment are partially embedded within the second arrangement member  40  via insert-molding when the second arrangement member  40  is formed. As shown in  FIGS. 3, 7, 9 and 10 , the second arrangement member  40  of the present embodiment is formed with two projections  42  each of which projects in the Z-direction. Each of the projections  42  has a rectangular column shape. 
     As can be seen from  FIG. 3 , in the present embodiment, the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40  have structures same as each other. Moreover, the first contact  10  and the second contact  30  have structures same as each other. 
     As can be seen from  FIG. 3 , the ground member  50  is formed by punching out a single metal plate. The ground member  50  of the present embodiment has a flat plate-like body portion  52 , two lock springs  54  and a coupling portion  56 . The illustrated ground member  50  is a member which integrates a so-called ground plate and lock springs. In particular, in the present embodiment, the body portion  52  and the lock springs  54  are positioned in the common XY-plane. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 9 , the body portion  52  is formed with a plurality of press-fit projections  60 . The press-fit projections  60  project outward in the Y-direction from opposite edges of the body portion  52  in the Y-direction, respectively. 
     Each of the lock springs  54  is resiliently deformable in the XY-plane. Each of the lock springs  54  has a lock portion  62  which is to lock a locked portion (not shown) of the mating connector (not shown). Each of the lock portions  62  is movable in the XY-plane with use of resilience of the lock spring  54  thereof. In the present embodiment, the lock portions  62  of the two lock springs  54  are arranged to face each other in the Y-direction. In other words, each of the lock portions  62  is positioned in the XY-plane and projects inward in the Y-direction. 
     The coupling portion  56  couples the body portion  52  and each of the lock springs  54  to each other so as to form a gap  58  between the body portion  52  and each of the lock springs  54  in the Y-direction. Each of the press-fit projections  60  is positioned in either of the gaps  58 . In other words, each of the press-fit projections  60  projects into either of the gaps  58 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the coupling portion  56  is formed with two ground terminal portions  64 . The ground terminal portions  64  are positioned in the vicinities of opposite edges of the coupling portion  56  in the Y-direction, respectively, and extend from the positive X-side end of the coupling portion  56  in the positive X-direction. As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 , the ground terminal portions  64  are to be fixed and connected on the paddle board  5  together with the terminal portions  14  of the first contacts  10 . As can be seen from this structure, the ground member  50  is grounded via the ground terminal portions  64 . Therefore, the ground member  50 , unlike the ground plate  930  of Patent Document 1 (see  FIG. 12 ), do not need to be in contact with a ground contact in the holding member  70 . According to the present embodiment, since the body portion  52  is not required to be formed with an opening, shielding effect thereof can be prevented from being degraded. Moreover, the lock portions  62  and the locked portions (not shown) may be arranged so as to maintain a contact state therebetween under a state where the lock portions  62  lock the locked portions (not shown) of the mating connector (not shown). Under such arrangement, the ground member  50  can be also connected with the ground of the mating connector (not shown). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 9 , the coupling portion  56  is formed with steps  66  which are positioned at the opposite edges thereof in the Y-direction, respectively. The steps  66  are positioned in the vicinities of the lock springs  54 , respectively. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5, 7 and 8 , the holding member  70  collectively holds the first arrangement member  20 , the second arrangement member  40  and the ground member  50 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the holding member  70  is formed with a first accommodation portion  72  accommodating the first arrangement member  20  and a second accommodation portion  74  accommodating the second arrangement member  40 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the first accommodation portion  72  accommodates and holds the first arrangement member  20 . The first accommodation portion  72  positions the thus-accommodated first arrangement member  20  in the Y-direction and the Z-direction. As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the second accommodation portion  74  accommodates and holds the second arrangement member  40 . The second accommodation portion  74  positions the thus-accommodated second arrangement member  40  in the Y-direction and the Z-direction. In other words, the first accommodation portion  72  works as a Y-directional positioner (pitch-directional positioner) which positions the first arrangement member  20  in the Y-direction and works as a Z-directional positioner (predetermined-directional positioner) which positions the first arrangement member  20  in the Z-direction. Similarly, the second accommodation portion  74  works as another Y-directional positioner (pitch-directional positioner) which positions the second arrangement member  40  in the Y-direction and works as another Z-directional positioner (predetermined-directional positioner) which positions the second arrangement member  40  in the Z-direction. 
     As can be seen from  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the first accommodation portion  72  and the second accommodation portion  74  are formed to be in rotational symmetry with respect to a line passing a middle point which is middle of the holding member  70  in the Y-direction and middle of the holding member  70  in the Z-direction. Therefore, as can be seen from  FIGS. 4, 7 and 8 , the first arrangement member  20  accommodated in the first accommodation portion  72  and the second arrangement member  40  accommodated in the second accommodation portion  74  are arranged in rotational symmetry with respect to the line passing a middle point which is positioned middle of the first arrangement member  20  in the Y-direction, positioned middle of the second arrangement member  40  in the Y-direction, and positioned middle between the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40  in the Z-direction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the first accommodation portion  72  and the second accommodation portion  74  are arranged to be apart from each other in the Z-direction. As a result, there is a space formed between the first accommodation portion  72  and the second accommodation portion  74 . This space works as a central accommodation portion  76  which accommodates the body portion  52  of the ground member  50 . Since the body portion  52  of the ground member  50  is accommodated in this central accommodation portion  76 , the ground member  50  is positioned between the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40  under a state where the first arrangement member  20 , the second arrangement member  40  and the ground member  50  are held by the holding member  70 . 
     As can be seen from  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the holding member  70  is provided with two positioning portions  78 . The positioning portions  78  are formed at opposite sides of the central accommodation portion  76  in the Y-direction, respectively. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the press-fit projections  60  bite inner surfaces of the positioning portions  78  in the Y-direction, respectively, so that the ground member  50  is held by the holding member  70 . In other words, the ground member  50  is press-fit into and fixed to the holding member  70 . 
     As can be seen from  FIGS. 7 and 9 , the projections  22  of the first arrangement member  20  and the projections  42  of the second arrangement member  40  are positioned in the gaps  58  of the ground member  50  under a state where the first arrangement member  20 , the second arrangement member  40  and the ground member  50  are held by the holding member  70 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , in each of the gaps  58 , the projection  22  and the projection  42  face each other in the Z-direction. 
     As can be seen from  FIG. 9 , in the Y-direction, a size (width) of the gap  58  is larger than each of a size (width) of the projection  22  and a size (width) of the projection  42 . Moreover, as can be seen from  FIGS. 7 and 9 , in the Y-direction, a distance between the press-fit projection  60  and the lock spring  54  is larger than each of the size of the projection  22  and the size of the projection  42 . In other words, each of the projection  22  and the projection  42  of the present embodiment has the size smaller than the distance between the press-fit projection  60  and the lock spring  54  in the Y-direction. Therefore, the ground member  50  can be press-fit into the holding member  70  from the positive X-side end portion of the holding member  70  toward the negative X-side after the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40  are inserted into the holding member  70  from the positive X-side end portion of the holding member  70  toward the negative X-side and accommodated in the first accommodation portion  72  and the second accommodation portion  74 , respectively. According to the present embodiment, since the size of the projection  22  and the size of the projection  42  are designed as described above, every one of the first arrangement member  20 , the second arrangement member  40  and the ground member  50  can be inserted into the holding member  70  along the negative X-direction. Thus, the structure of the present embodiment is suitable to automation in assembly of connector. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the first arrangement member  20 , the second arrangement member  40  and the ground member  50  may be integrally accommodated in the holding member  70  after the ground member  50  is sandwiched between the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40 . In this case, the size of each of the projection  22  and the projection  42  in the Y-direction may be larger than the size according to the present embodiment, provided that the projection  22  and the projection  42  can be accommodated in the gap  58 . 
     As can be seen from  FIG. 9 , the positioning portions  78  are positioned in the gaps  58  in the Y-direction, respectively, under the state where the first arrangement member  20 , the second arrangement member  40  and the ground member  50  are held by the holding member  70 . As can be seen from  FIGS. 7 and 9 , the projection  22  of the first arrangement member  20  and the projection  42  of the second arrangement member  40  are positioned between the positioning portion  78  and the coupling portion  56  in the X-direction. In particular, in the present embodiment, the projection  22  of the first arrangement member  20  and the projection  42  of the second arrangement member  40  are sandwiched by the positioning portion  78  and the coupling portion  56  in the X-direction. As a result, the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40  are positioned in the X-direction relative to the ground member  50 . 
     As can be seen from  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the shell  80  partially covers the holding member  70 . The shell  80  is formed with claw portions  82 . After the members including the holding member  70  are accommodated in the shell  80 , the claw portions  82  are bent inward in the Y-direction so that the shell  80  is fixed to the holding member  70 . At that time, as can be seen from  FIGS. 2 and 9 , ends of the claw portions  82  are positioned toward the positive X-sides of the steps  66 , respectively, and face the steps  66  in the X-direction, respectively. This arrangement prevents the holding member  70  and the ground member  50  from being removed from the shell  80 . 
     The present invention is not limited to the aforementioned specification bur can be variously modified as described below. 
     Although the first contacts  10  according to the aforementioned embodiment are embedded in the first arrangement member  20  via insert-molding, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the first contacts  10  may be held by the first arrangement member  20  via another method such as press-fitting. Similarly, the second contacts  30  may be held by the second arrangement member  40  via another method such as press-fitting. 
     Although each of the press-fit projections  60  according to the aforementioned embodiment is provided to the body portion  52  and projects into either of the gaps  58 , the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the press-fit projections  60  may be formed on the opposite edges of the coupling portion  56  in the Y-direction, respectively. However, a size of the holding member  70  according to this modification might become large. Therefore, each of the press-fit projections  60  is preferred to project into either of the gaps  58 . 
     Although the projection  22  and the projection  42  according to the aforementioned embodiment are formed on the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40 , respectively, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, only one of the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40  may be formed with a relatively long projection. In this modification, a remaining one of the first arrangement member  20  and the second arrangement member  40  may be formed with a hole which receives an end of this projection. 
     The present application is based on a Japanese patent application of JP2014-056055 filed before the Japan Patent Office on Mar. 19, 2014, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     While there has been described what is believed to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such embodiments that fall within the true scope of the invention. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
     
         
         
           
               1  connector 
               5  paddle board (object) 
               10  first contact 
               12  contact portion 
               14  terminal portion 
               20  first arrangement member 
               22  projection 
               30  second contact 
               32  contact portion 
               34  terminal portion 
               40  second arrangement member 
               42  projection 
               50  ground member 
               52  body portion 
               54  lock spring 
               56  coupling portion 
               58  gap 
               60  press-fit projection 
               62  lock portion 
               64  ground terminal portion 
               66  step 
               70  holding member 
               72  first accommodation portion (pitch-directional positioner, predetermined-directional positioner) 
               74  second accommodation portion (pitch-directional positioner, predetermined-directional positioner) 
               76  central accommodation portion 
               78  positioning portion 
               80  shell 
               82  claw portion 
               90  front protection member 
               900  connector 
               910  contact 
               912  ground contact 
               920  holding member 
               930  ground plate 
               932  spring portion 
               940  shell 
               942  opening 
               950  lock member 
               952  lock portion