Patent Publication Number: US-6699069-B2

Title: On-board type connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an on-board type connector which is adapted to be mounted on a circuit board. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, the on-board type connector is constructed in such a manner that its terminals are respectively provided with leg portions, and the leg portions are connected to and fixed on the circuit board by soldering or so. However, with such fixation of the connector only by means of soldering between the leg portions of the terminals and the circuit board, high connection reliability cannot be obtained, because an outer force exerted on the relevant connector will be transferred as it is, to the soldered parts (terminal connecting parts) and will cause a large overload in strength on the soldered parts. In view of the circumstances, it has been considered heretofore to decrease the overload in strength by fixing a reinforcing metal to a housing of the connector, and fixing this metal on the circuit board by soldering or so independently of the terminals. 
     One example of such a structure is shown in FIGS. 9 to  11 . A connector illustrated on the drawings is intended to electrically connect a flat wiring member  40  which is flat and flexible, to a circuit board C as shown in FIG.  10 . The connector includes a number of terminals  10 , a housing  20  for holding the terminals, and a slider  30  attached to this housing  20 . 
     Each of the terminals  10  is formed of conductive material such as metal, and integrally has a leg portion  12  in a substantially L-shape which is mounted on the circuit board C as shown in FIG. 10, an upper horizontal portion  14  horizontally extending from an upper end of the leg portion  12 , a lower horizontal portion  16  branched off downward from a base end of the upper horizontal portion  14  and extending in parallel to the upper horizontal portion  14 , and a conductor contacting portion  18  which is turned back from an end of the lower horizontal portion  16  at an acute angle. These terminals  10  are held by the housing  20  in such a manner that they are directed in a back and forth direction and arranged in a row in a lateral direction. 
     The housing  20  is integrally molded of synthetic resin in its entirety, and has a body part  21  which extends laterally, and a top wall part  22  which extends in parallel to the body part  21  above a backward half part of the body part  21 . These body part  21  and top wall part  22  are connected vertically at a back part, and left and right sides of the housing. The body part  21  is formed with terminal containing grooves  21   a  extending in a back and forth direction which are adapted to contain the lower horizontal portions  16  of the aforesaid terminals  10 , so that the conductor contacting portions  18  of the terminals  10  may project upward from the terminal containing grooves  21   a . There are formed, on a lower face of the top wall part  22 , terminal insertion grooves  22   a  into which the upper horizontal portions  14  of the terminals  10  are respectively inserted. 
     The slider  30  is also integrally formed of insulating material, and has a shape of extending in a lateral direction of the flat wiring member  40 . More specifically, the slider  30  integrally has a pair of left and right side walls  32  extending in a back and forth direction, and a laterally extending connecting part  34  which connects both the side walls  32 . A wiring member holding piece  35  extends backward from the connecting part  34 . There are further formed, on inner faces of both the side walls  32 , lockable portions  36  which project inwardly. 
     On the other hand, at an end of the flat wiring member  40  to be inserted into the housing  20 , an insulating layer on its lower face is peeled off to expose an inner conductor at its lower side, and a reinforcing plate  42  is fixed to an upper face of the end by means of boding or the like. 
     In a state where the slider  30  has been completely withdrawn forward from the housing  20 , the end of the flat wiring member  40  is inserted into a space between the upper horizontal portion  14  and the conductor contacting portion  18  of the terminal  10  in the housing  20 , from underneath of the connecting part  34  and the wiring member holding piece  35  of the slider  30 . Thereafter, the slider  30  is pushed into the housing  20  toward its backward end, and comes into a state where the wiring member holding piece  35  of the slider  30  has pressed the end of the flat wiring member  40  onto an upper side of the conductor contacting portion  18 , as shown in FIG.  10 . In this manner, the exposed portion of the conductor at the end of the flat wiring member is press contacted with the conductor contacting portion  18 , and both the members are electrically connected. When the slider  30  has been completely inserted, the lockable portions  36  come into engagement with the locking projections  28  provided on the side walls of the housing  20 , thereby to retain the slider  30  from dropping. 
     It is intended with this connector that a pair of left and right metal plates  50  for reinforcement as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B are fixed to this connector. Each of the reinforcing metal plates  50  is formed of a single metal plate by bending work, and integrally has a part  51  to be fixed on the circuit board C, and apart  52  to be fixed to the housing which is erected upward from a side of a backward end of the part  51  to be fixed on the board. There is formed a cut-out  52   a  at a middle position of a front edge of the part  52  to be fixed to the housing. 
     On the other hand, at both ends in a lateral direction of the housing  20 , there are formed backwardly opening slits  23  along an entire length of the housing  20  in a vertical direction. At a middle position of each of the slits  23 , there is formed a backwardly projecting projection  23   a.    
     By press fitting the parts  52  of the reinforcing metal plate  50  to be fixed to the housing into the slits  23  from the back side (in other words, by press fitting the projections  23   a  into the cut-outs  52   a ), the reinforcing metal plate  50  is fixed to the housing  20 . Then, by fixing the parts  51  to be fixed on the board in this reinforcing metal plate  50  to the circuit board C which is not shown in the drawing, by soldering or so, the overload in strength exerted on the connecting positions between the leg portions of the terminals  10  and the circuit board C can be reduced. 
     Recently, the above described connector, particularly the connector for an automobile has come to have multi-contacts, and accordingly, requires a larger force than ever for inserting and detaching the slider  30  as described above or a connector to be mated. In the conventional connector as described above, the parts  52  of the reinforcing metal plate  50  to be fixed to the housing are inserted into the slits  23  of the housing  20  from the back side. Accordingly, it is difficult to withstand a force of pulling the housing  20  forward, that is, a force exerted on the housing  20  (a leftward force in FIGS. 11A and 11B) when the slider  30  is extracted from the relevant connector (when the relevant connector is detached in case where the connector is to be mated), and there is a fear that the force may exert a large overload on the connecting positions between the leg portions of the terminals  10  and the circuit board C. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above described circumstances, it is an object of the invention to provide an on-board type connector which is simple in structure, and in which an overload in strength exerted on connecting positions between terminals and a circuit board can be effectively reduced, even when a slider or a connector to be mated is connected to or detached from a housing. 
     To solve the above described problems, there is provided according to the invention, an on-board type connector comprising a housing made of synthetic resin which holds a plurality of terminals to be connected to a circuit board in such a manner that the terminals are directed in a back and forth direction and laterally arranged, and two reinforcing metal plates fixed to both sides of the housing in a lateral direction, the reinforcing metal plates integrally having parts to be fixed to both sides of the housing made of synthetic resin in the lateral direction and parts to be fixed on the circuit board, characterized in that the housing is provided, at both sides thereof in the lateral direction, with insertion slits which open toward a bottom face of the housing, and into which the parts to be fixed to the housing are inserted from the bottom face and fixed, the insertion slits being so shaped that the parts to be fixed to the housing which have been inserted into the slits are restrained by the housing from both a front and a back sides. 
     According to this structure, the overload in strength exerted on the connecting positions between the relevant circuit board and the terminals can be reduced, by fixing the parts of the reinforcing metal plates to be fixed on the circuit board on the relevant circuit board in a state where the reinforcing metal plates are inserted into the insertion slits which are formed in the housing and fixed. Moreover, the insertion slits open toward the bottom face of the housing, and the parts to be fixed to the housing are inserted from the bottom face and fixed, to be restrained by the housing from both the front and the back sides. Therefore, an outer force applied to the terminals and the housing when the slider or the connector to be mated is inserted or detached can be sufficiently withstood, and the overload in strength exerted on the connecting positions between the terminals and the circuit board can be effectively reduced. 
     More specifically, it is preferable that the parts of the reinforcing metal plate to be fixed to the housing may be formed at both sides of the relevant reinforcing metal plate in a back and forth direction, while the insertion slits may be formed at both forward and backward sides of the housing, and a restraining part adapted to restrain the parts to be fixed to the housing from inside may be formed at an intermediate position between the insertion slits. 
     According to this structure, because the parts to be fixed to the housing are inserted at both sides of the housing in the back and forth direction, effective reinforcement can be attained along an entire area in the back and forth direction. Furthermore, the part of the housing (the restraining part) interposed between both the parts to be fixed to the housing can effectively restrain the parts to be fixed to the housing from both the back and the forth. 
     In addition, by constructing the two reinforcing metal plates so that they may have a shape identical to each other, mass production can be promoted, and the cost can be reduced. 
     Especially, provided that the two reinforcing metal plates have a symmetrical shape as seen in the lateral direction of the housing, common use of the two reinforcing metal plates can be realized while maintaining a balanced structure. 
     Although there are no specific means according to the invention for fixing the parts to be fixed to the housing to the relevant housing, the parts to be fixed to the housing may be provided on their surfaces with hooks which are adapted to be engaged with inner walls of the slits. By engaging the hooks in this manner, reliable fixation can be attained with a simple structure. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a housing of a connector in a first embodiment of the invention, as seen from a bottom face side of the housing. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional side view showing the housing and molds for forming the housing. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a reinforcing metal plate provided in the connector. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional side view showing the reinforcing metal plate in a fixed state to the housing. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the reinforcing metal plate in a fixed state to the housing as seen from the bottom face side of the housing. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the reinforcing metal plate in a second embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional side view showing the reinforcing metal plate of FIG. 6 in a fixed state to the housing. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the state of FIG. 7 as seen from the bottom face side of the housing. 
     FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of one example of conventional on-board type connectors. 
     FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of the connector as shown in FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 11A is a sectional view taken along a line A—A of FIG. 11B, and FIG. 11B is a plan view of a housing of the connector as shown in FIG. 9 and a reinforcing metal plate fixed to the housing. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     A first embodiment of the invention will be described referring to FIGS. 1 to  5 . This embodiment is substantially equal to the above described example as shown in FIGS. 9 to  11 , except the shape of the reinforcing metal plate  50  and the structure wherein the reinforcing metal plate  50  is fixed to the housing  20 , and so, the relevant explanation will be omitted here. 
     In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there are formed insertion slits  24  at both sides of the housing  20 . The slits  2  are open at their longitudinal ends. At an intermediate position in each of these insertion slits  24 , there are restraining members  25 . The restraining member  25  of each slit  2  divides the slit into two slit portions  24   a . At an upper end position (a root position) of each restraining member  25 , there are formed dented portions  25   a  which are dented toward a center of the restraining member  25 . The slits  24  can be formed in the housing  20  by employing molds  60 A and  60 B including parts  62 A,  62 B each having a shape of half of the slit  24 , as shown by phantom lines in FIG. 2, and by extracting the molds  60 A and  66 B in opposite directions. 
     On the other hand, the reinforcing metal plate  50  is formed of a single metal plate by bending work, and integrally has a circuit board fixing portion  54  to be fixed on the board and which extends along the entire length of the housing, and a pair of housing fixing portions  55  to be fixed to the housing an which extend upward from the circuit board fixing portion  54 . Each of the housing fixing portions  55  is capable of being inserted into a respective one of the slit portions  24   a . There is formed an inwardly projecting hook  55   a  at an upper end of an inner end face of each h using fixing portion  55 . 
     In such a structure, by fitting the terminals  10  in the respective terminal containing grooves  21   a  of the housing  20 , and at the same time, by inserting the housing fixing portions  55  of the reinforcing metal plates  50  into the respective slit portions  24   a , and by engaging the hooks  55   a  of the housing fixing portion  55  with the dented portions  25   a  of the restraining members  25 , the reinforcing metal plates  50  can be fixed to the housing  20  (refer to FIGS. 3 to  5 ). Thereafter, the leg portions  12  of the terminals  10  are connected to appropriate positions on the circuit board C by soldering or the like, and the circuit board fixing portions  54  of the reinforcing metal plates  50  are fixed to appropriate positions on the circuit board C by soldering or the like. In this manner, the overload in strength exerted on the connecting positions of the aforesaid leg portions  12  can be reduced. 
     Moreover, with this structure, different from the conventional structure as shown in FIGS. 9 to  11 , each housing fixing portion  55  is inserted into a respective one of the slit portions  24   a  of the housing  20  from a bottom face side of the housing, and is restrained by the restraining member  25  which is interposed between the housing fixing portions  55 . Consequently, an external force applied to the housing  20  when the slide  30  is inserted and detached can be sufficiently withstood, a d the connecting positions of the leg portions  12  can be effectively protected. 
     It is to be noted that the insertion slits  24  are not necessarily formed along the entire length of the housing  20 , but may be completely divided by the restraining members  25 . In this case too, the slit portions  24   a  had better be so shaped that they respectively open toward the front and rear of the housing  20  in the same manner as in the illustrated structure, so that the molds  60 A,  60 B can be extracted in opposite directions (that is, directions parallel to an insertion direction of the terminals) as s own in FIG.  2 . As a result, the structure has an advantage that installation of the molds will be simplified. 
     In addition, each of the reinforcing metal plates  50  may be shaped symmetrically as seen in a lateral direction of the housing, and two reinforcing metal plates  50  having the same shape can be employed, as shown in the drawings. Thus, mass production can be promoted, and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced. 
     A second embodiment is shown in FIGS. 6 to  8 . In this embodiment, an insertion slit  26  is formed at an intermediate position of the housing  20  in a back and forth direction. A part  56  to be fixed to the housing which is adapted to be inserted into the insertion slit  26  is erected upward from an intermediate position of the part  54  of the reinforcing metal plate  50  to be fixed on the board. The part  56  to be fixed to the housing is provided with hooks  56   a  projected from upper ends of both backward and forward end faces thereof. The part  56  to be fixed to the housing is so adapted to be fixed to the housing  20 , when the hooks  56   a  bite into inner walls of the insertion slit  26 . 
     Also in this embodiment, parts of the housing  20  located in the front and the back of the insertion slit  26  constitute restraining parts  27  which restrain the aforesaid part  56  to be fixed to the housing from the front and the back. Accordingly, an outer force applied to the housing  20  when the slide  30  is inserted and detached in the back and forth direction can be sufficiently withstood. 
     However, it is preferable that the aforesaid parts  55  to be fixed to the housing are constructed to be positioned at both sides of the housing in the back and forth direction, as shown in the first embodiment. If so constructed, the housing  20  can be reinforced at both the front and back sides, and therefore, a connector which is more favorable in strength can be realized. 
     Although in the above described embodiments, the connector of a type in which an end of the flat wiring member  40  is directly inserted into the housing  20  has been described, the on-board type connector according to the invention is not limited to this type, but can be applied to an ordinary connector in which a housing of a mating connector is engaged with the housing  20 . In this case too, an effect of withstanding an outer force in the back and forth direction exerted when the mating connector is inserted and detached can be obtained. 
     As described herein above, according to the invention, there are formed, at both sides of the housing in the lateral direction, the insertion slits which open toward the bottom face of the housing and into which the parts to be fixed to the housing are inserted and fixed. Each of the slits is so shaped that the part to be fixed to the housing which has been press inserted into the slit may be restrained by the housing from the front and the back. Therefore, it is possible to attain effective reinforcement against an outer force in the back and forth direction with a simple structure, and accordingly, it is advantageous that the overload in strength exerted on the connecting positions between the terminals and the circuit board when the slider and so on is connected to and detached from the housing can be effectively reduced.