Patent Publication Number: US-7722408-B2

Title: Connector and connector connecting body

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a connector in which paired connector connecting bodies are fitted and coupled to each other, thereby corresponding contacts are connected to each other, and the connecting bodies thereof. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional connector used for connection between substrates and the like, including a socket (one of connector connecting bodies) having a housing made of an insulator of synthetic resin or the like to which plural contacts are attached, and a header (the other connector connecting body) similarly having a housing made of an insulator to which plural contacts are attached is known (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-19144). In this connector, the socket and the header are fitted and coupled to each other, so that the corresponding contacts are made contact conductive. Consequently, conductive patterns of the circuit substrates to which the corresponding contacts are connected are electrically connected to each other. 
     In an example of such a connector, a fitting metal  30 P is embedded in a peripheral wall  13 P of a housing  11 P made of synthetic resin of a socket  10 P, as shown in  FIG. 1 . The fitting metal  30 P has attachment pieces  30   a P protruding beyond the housing  11 P. The attachment pieces  30   a P are fixed to a circuit substrate (not shown) by soldering or the like, so that coupling strength between the socket  10 P and the circuit substrate is increased. Terminals  12  TP of contacts  12 P are soldered to a conductive pattern of the circuit substrate. 
     In the conventional connector, however, because the fitting metal  30 P is embedded in the peripheral wall  13 P, the peripheral wall  13 P is divided by the fitting metal  30 P into inner and outer portions. 
     That is, the peripheral wall  13 P with a thickness t is divided by the fitting metal  30 P into an inner portion with a thickness tin and an outer portion with a thickness tout, resulting in the thinned portions. Particularly, the outer portion with the thickness tout is broken easily due to an external force or the like. 
     When the fitting metal  30 P is embedded in the housing  11 P by insert molding, there is a risk of molten resin not sufficiently spreading into the thinned portions during the molding (so-called misrun). Particularly when the misrun occurs in the outer portion with the thickness tout, the fitting metal may be partially exposed. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a connector connecting body and a connector that can eliminate a defect caused by embedding of the fitting metal into the housing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A connector connecting body according to the present invention includes a housing of an insulator to which plural contacts to be soldered to a conductive pattern of a circuit substrate, and a fitting metal for fixture to the circuit substrate are attached, in which the fitting metal includes a plate-like body that is exposed along an outer wall of the housing, an anchor that is formed by folding the body to bite into the housing, and an attachment piece that protrudes from the body to outside the housing to be fixed to the circuit substrate. 
     According to the present invention, the anchors are provided on opposed ends in a longitudinal direction of the body. 
     According to the present invention, a plurality of the anchors extending in different directions is provided. 
     A connector according the present invention includes paired connector connecting bodies, and at least one of the connector connecting bodies is the connector connecting body according to the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of an end of a socket used for a connector according to a related art. 
         FIG. 2  is an overall perspective view of a socket that is a connector connecting body according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross section taken along a line III-III in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  are perspective views of a socket contact included in the socket as the connector connecting body according to the embodiment, where  FIG. 4A  is a view seen from inside of the socket and  FIG. 4B  is a view seen from outside of the socket; 
         FIG. 5  is an overall perspective view of a header that is a counterpart of the socket as the connector connecting body according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross section taken along a line VI-VI in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are perspective views of a header contact included in the header, where  FIG. 7A  is a view seen from inside of the header and  FIG. 7B  is a view seen from outside of the header; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross section showing a state in which the socket and the header of a connector according to the embodiment are fitted; 
         FIGS. 9A ,  9 B; and  9 C are views showing a fitting metal included in the socket as the connector connecting body according to the embodiment, where  FIG. 9A  is a front view,  FIG. 9B  is a plan view, and  FIG. 9C  is a side view; 
         FIGS. 10A ,  10 B, and  10 C are views showing a state in which the fitting metal included in the socket as the connector connecting body is attached to a socket housing according to the embodiment, where  FIG. 10A  is a side view of the socket housing,  FIG. 10B  is a plan view of an end of the socket housing, and  FIG. 10C  is a bottom view of the end of the socket housing; and 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  FIG. 2  is an overall perspective view of a socket according to the present embodiment,  FIG. 3  is a cross section taken along a line in  FIG. 2 ,  FIGS. 4A and 4B  are perspective views of a socket contact, where  FIG. 4A  is a view seen from inside of the socket and  FIG. 4B  is a view seen from outside of the socket,  FIG. 5  is an overall perspective view of a header,  FIG. 6  is a cross section taken along a line VI-VI in  FIG. 5 , and  FIGS. 7A and 7B  are perspective views of a header contact, where  FIG. 7A  is a view seen from inside of the header and  FIG. 7B  is a view seen from outside of the header. 
     A connector C according to the present embodiment includes a socket  10  as shown in  FIG. 2 , which is one of connector connecting bodies, and a header  20  as shown in  FIG. 5 , which is the other connector connecting body. 
     The socket  10  includes a socket housing (housing)  11  that is molded of insulating synthetic resin generally in a rectangular shape in top plan, and plural socket contacts  12  that are attached along opposed long sides of the socket housing  11  at a predetermined pith p, as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The socket housing  11  includes a peripheral wall  13  that is formed continuously around the periphery of the housing in an approximately rectangular loop, and an approximately rectangular island  14  that is formed in the center of the housing with predetermined clearance from the peripheral wall  13 . A fitting groove  15  for fitting the header  20  is formed between the peripheral wall  13  and the island  14 . 
     The socket contact  12  is formed by molding of a band-like metallic material having a predetermined thickness in a curved shape, as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . An end bent upward from a first bend  12 B 1  is bent inward, thereby forming a second bend  12 B 2  on a distal end  12   a  of the socket contact  12 . A third bend  12 B 3  bent in an inverted-U shape is formed on a proximal end  12   b , and a flat connecting terminal  12 T is provided at a distal end of the third bend  12 B 3 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the socket contacts  12  are attached to the socket housing  11  so that the first bends  12 B 1  protrude into the fitting groove  15  in a state where the third bends  12 B 3  are fitted into recesses  13 H 1  formed inside the peripheral wall  13  and the second bends  12 B 2  are fitted into recesses  13 H 2  formed on a lower surface of the island  14 . 
     In this state, the connecting terminals  12 T of the socket contacts  12  protrude outward from a lower edge of the peripheral wall  13 . The connecting terminals  12 T are soldered to a conductive pattern (printed wiring pattern) of a first circuit substrate (not shown). 
     Meanwhile, the header  20  includes a header housing  21  that is formed like the socket housing  11  by molding of insulating synthetic resin generally in a rectangular shape approximately similar to the socket housing  11 , and plural header contacts  22  that are attached along opposed long sides of the header housing  21  at a pitch p equal to the pitch p of the socket contacts  12 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     The header housing  21  includes a peripheral wall  23  that is formed continuously around the periphery of the housing in an approximately rectangular loop. An approximately flat bottom wall  24  is formed inside the peripheral wall  23 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the header contact  22  is formed by bending a band-like metallic material having a predetermined thickness, like the socket contact  12 . An end rising from a fourth bend  22 B 1  is bent in an inverted-U shape in a retracting direction, thereby forming a fifth bend  22 B 2  on a distal end  22   a  of the header contact  22 . On a proximal end  22   b , an approximately flat connecting terminal  22 T is provided. 
     The header contacts  22  are attached to the header housing  21  so that the fifth bends  22 B 2  are fitted over the top of the peripheral wall  23  and the proximal ends  22   b  are passed through a lower portion of the peripheral wall  23 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     In this state, the connecting terminals  22 T of the header contacts  22  protrude outward from a lower edge of the peripheral wall  23 . The connecting terminals  22 T are soldered to a conductive pattern (printed wiring pattern) of a second circuit substrate (not shown). 
       FIG. 8  is a cross section showing a state in which the socket and the header are fitted. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the peripheral wall  23  of the header housing  21  is fitted into the fitting groove  15  of the socket housing  11 . At this time, an outer surface F 1  (see  FIGS. 4A and 4B ) of the third bend  12 B 3  of the socket contact  12  on the side of the distal end  12   a , and an outer surface F 2  (see  FIGS. 7A and 7B ) of the fifth bend  2282  of the header contact  22  on the distal end  22   a  are elastically contacted with each other. In addition, an outer surface F 3  (see  FIGS. 4A and 4B ) of the second bend  1282  of the socket contact  12  is elastically contacted with a flat outer surface F 4  (see  FIGS. 7A and 7B ) between the fourth bend  22 B 1  and the fifth bend  22 B 2  of the header contact  22 . Accordingly, the socket contact  12  and the header contact  22  are electrically connected to each other. Consequently, the conductive pattern of the first circuit substrate and the conductive pattern of the second circuit substrate are electrically connected to each other. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , fitting metals  30  are mounted on both ends of the socket housing  11  in the direction of the long sides. Attachment pieces  32   a  of the fitting metals  30  are soldered to the first circuit substrate, which tightly couples the socket  10  to the first circuit substrate, combined with the soldering of the connecting terminals  12 T of the socket contacts  12 . 
     The fitting metal  30  is shown by  FIG. 9A  as a front view,  FIG. 9B  as a plan view, and  FIG. 9C  as a side view. The fitting metal  30  is formed by press molding of a metal plate having a predetermined thickness. The main body of the fitting metal  30  is generally configured by a side plate (body)  31  extending in the direction of short sides of the socket housing  11 , and bottom plates (body)  32  that are formed by folding lower portions of the side plate  31  on both ends approximately at a right angle toward the center of the direction of the long sides of the socket housing  11 . The both ends of the bottom plates  32  are protruded from both sides of the socket housing  11  in the direction of the short sides, to form the attachment pieces  32   a  for the circuit substrate. 
       FIGS. 10A ,  10 B, and  10 C are explanatory diagrams showing a state where the fitting metals  30  are attached, where  FIG. 10A  is a side view of the socket housing  11 ,  FIG. 10B  is a plan view of an end of the socket housing  11 , and  FIG. 10C  is a bottom view of the end of the socket housing  11 . As shown in  FIGS. 10A ,  10 B, and  10 C, when the socket housing  11  is molded, the fitting metals  30  are insert-molded in the socket housing  11 . The fitting metals  30  are attached to the socket housing  11  in a state where the side plates  31  are exposed along outer walls ( 11 E 1  and  11 E 2 ) of the peripheral wall  13  of the socket housing  11 . 
     That is, as shown in  FIG. 10A , the side plates  31  are exposed along end surfaces (outer walls)  11 E 1  and  11 E 2  of the socket housing  11  in the direction of the long sides in a state of being approximately flush with the end surfaces  11 E 1  and  11 E 2 . In addition, as shown in  FIG. 10C , the bottom plates  32  are exposed on a bottom (outer wall)  11 B of the socket housing  11 . 
     The attachment pieces  32   a  to be soldered to the first circuit substrate protrude outward by a predetermined amount from opposed end surfaces  11 S 1  and  11 S 2  of the socket housing  11  in the width direction (shorter direction). 
     The fitting metal  30  includes anchors  31   a  and  32   b  that bite into the peripheral wall  13 . Specifically, as also shown in  FIG. 9C , the anchors  31   a  are formed by folding opposed ends of the side plate  31  in the longitudinal direction backward (toward the center of the direction of the long sides of the socket housing  11 ). The anchors  32   b  are formed by projecting the bottom plates  32  backward and folding the bottom plates  32  upward. The anchors  31   a  and  32   b  both bite and are buried into the socket housing  11  when the fitting metal  30  is simultaneously insert-molded in the socket housing  11 . The anchors  31   a  and  32   b  extend in the different directions. 
     As described above, according to the present embodiment, the side plates  31  of the fitting metals  30  are exposed along the end surfaces  11 E 1  and  11 E 2  of the socket housing  11 , and the bottom plates  32  are exposed along the bottom  11 B of the socket housing  11 . Therefore, the problem in that the peripheral wall  13  of the socket housing  11  is broadly divided by the fitting metal  30  into two portions is eliminated. Accordingly, rigidity and strength of the peripheral wall  13  can be increased. In addition, the thickness T of the socket housing  11  in the portions where the fitting metals  30  are provided can be easily set to a desired value. Thus, defective molding at the insert molding can be suppressed. 
     According to the present embodiment, the anchors  31   a  that bite into the socket housing  11  are provided on the opposed ends of the side plate  31  of the fitting metal  30  in the longitudinal direction. Accordingly, free end regions of the fitting metal  30  are decreased, so that the fitting metal  30  is not easily detached from the socket housing  11 . 
     Further, according to the present embodiment, because the plural anchors  31   a  and  32   b  extending in the different directions are provided, the coupling strength of the fitting metals  30  with respect to the socket housing  11  against external forces in plural directions is ensured. Thus, the fitting metals  30  are not easily detached from the socket housing  11 . 
     Because defects (such as defective molding or insufficient rigidity of the socket housing  11 ) due to the fitting metals  30  hardly occur on the socket  10 , defects (such as insufficient coupling strength or defective appearance) occurring on the connector C as an assembly of the socket  10  and the header  20  is suppressed consequently. 
     Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the descriptions have been given of a case that the connector connecting body according to the present invention is embodied as the socket. However, the connector connecting body can be of course embodied as a header. Specifications such as the shape, the size, and the material of the housing, the contact and the like of the connector connecting body can be properly changed.