Patent Publication Number: US-7896699-B2

Title: Interface connector

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/064,996, filed on Apr. 8, 2008, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an interface connector used to connect between electronic devices such as AV (Audio Visual) equipment. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     It is known that some electronic devices such as portable AV equipment including digital cameras are connected with a personal computer through a cradle. To connect electronic devices through a cradle, the contacts of a plug connector for the cradle are connected with a receptacle connector of the electronic device body (hereinafter, “receptacle”) and are arranged to meet the terminals of the receptacle. 
     Both of the receptacle and the plug to be connected generally have shield cases that fit each other, and, when the receptacle and plug fit, the shield case of the plug fits into the shield case of the receptacle. 
     In the receptacle, a plurality of terminals in the shield case of the receptacle are aligned orthogonal to the fitting direction in the top and bottom surfaces on a flat housing disposed in the shield case. 
     On the other hand, the plug, which is an interface connector to be connected with the receptacle, has a slit formed in the center portion of the housing in the shield case, and the flat housing of the receptacle is inserted in this slit. In the opposing wall parts sandwiching this slit, a plurality of contacts are arranged in a direction (i.e. longitudinal direction) orthogonal to the direction in which the contacts fits with the receptacle. A plurality of contacts arranged in the opposing wall parts are arranged to face each other across the slit, and, when the plug is inserted in the receptacle, sandwich the housing of the receptacle in the slit and are connected with the terminals of the flat housing. 
     These plug-side contacts are disposed in the opposing wall parts of the housing to extend along the fitting direction from contact point portions seen in the slit toward the rear surface (i.e. the end surface on the fitting direction side), are guided from the rear surface to the outside and make end parts that are bent to extend in the direction apart from the opposing contacts across the slit lead parts to be connected with patterns in a substrate. 
     Recently, accompanying the miniaturization of equipment to be mounted, the plug itself is miniaturized in size and there is a demand to narrow the pitches (i.e. make pitches narrower) between contacts aligned in the longitudinal direction. 
     However, with the plug of the above configuration, if the pitches between the contacts arranged in the opposing surfaces sandwiching the slit in the plug housing are made narrower, the pitches between the lead parts bent to extend from the rear surface of the housing are made narrower as in the contact portions of the contacts. 
     That is, the pitches between the lead parts which are mounting portions of the plug narrow and the plug needs to be mounted on the substrate such that touch between adjacent lead parts is prevented, and, therefore, there is a problem that mounting the connector is difficult and laborious. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to make the pitches between contacts narrower and miniaturize a connector. 
     To achieve the above object, an interface connector according to the present invention that fits and electrically connects with an electronic component to be inserted from an open side, employs a configuration including: a shield case into which the electronic component to be inserted from a fitting slot fits; a housing which is covered by the shield case; a plurality of contacts which are arranged along an insertion direction in the housing and which are aligned in a row in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction, wherein: the plurality of contacts comprise: contact point parts which are connected with a plurality of terminals of the inserted electronic component; and lead parts which are formed continuing from the contact point parts and which project from an outer surface part of the housing on an insertion direction side to outside; and the lead parts of the contacts which are adjacent in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction project from the outer surface part alternately in directions orthogonal to the insertion direction and the direction in which the contacts are aligned in a row. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom view of the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is side back view of the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an A-A line cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  seen from the direction of an arrow; and 
         FIG. 6  is a B-B line cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  seen from the direction of an arrow. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 2  is a bottom view of the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further,  FIG. 3  is a front view of the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 4  is a rear view of the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     The connector shown in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4  is plug connector  100  that is connected when the receptacle connector is inserted. Further, the receptacle connector which is the target to connect with has a flat housing and a plurality of terminals aligned in at least one of the top and bottom surfaces of the housing in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which plug connector  100  is inserted, to be more specific, aligned in the width direction in one of the surfaces of the flat housing. Plug connector  100  will be explained here as a connector for a cradle. 
     Plug connector  100  has: shield case  110 ; housing  120  in which virtually flat projecting part  124  projecting from the front surface of virtually rectangular parallelepiped base part  122  is covered by shield case  110 ; and a plurality of contacts  140  disposed in housing  120  ( 140 A and  140 B shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 ). 
     In plug connector  100 , shield case  110  and projecting part  124  form fitting slot  101  that is open on the front surface side. To be more specific, in projecting part  124 , the front end part side is made hollow and a notch in a trench shape is made such that the lower surface side of front end part  124   a  (see  FIG. 5 ) is open downward. This notch part and the lower surface part of shield case  110  form fitting slot  101  and insertion space  103  communicating with fitting slot  101 . The flat portion of the housing of the receptacle, which is the target to connect with, is inserted in this insertion space  103  through fitting slot  101 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , contact point parts  141  aligned in a row in the horizontal direction (i.e. width direction) orthogonal to the fitting direction of the receptacle such that contacts  140  ( 140 A and  140 B) are seen in fitting slot  101 . Further, the positions of contact point parts  141  of these contacts  140  meet the positions of the terminals of the receptacle, which is the target to connect with. 
     These contacts  140  ( 140 A and  140 B) are aligned in a row along the longitudinal direction of fitting slot  101  in housing  120 , that is, along the horizontal direction of housing  120 , and contacts  140  ( 140 A and  140 B) extend in the fitting direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. Further, with contacts  140 A and  140 B of these contacts  140 , which are adjacent in the longitudinal direction, lead parts  144  and  145  project upward and downward, alternately, from housing  120  as shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 5  is an A-A line cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  seen from the direction of the arrow and  FIG. 6  is a B-B line cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  seen in the direction from the arrow. 
     To be more specific, as shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , in housing  120  in which contacts  140  are attached, contacts  140  are consisted of contacts  140 A and  140 B that direct the orientations of lead parts  144  and  145  to opposing directions which are virtually orthogonal to the fitting direction (i.e. the direction in which contacts  140  extend). 
     Contacts  140 A shown in  FIG. 5  are formed in a virtually L-shape by bending an electrically conductive linear member, and is formed in an L-shape which is linear from a plan view and which includes a predetermined width. Contact  140 A has: fixed thin flat part  143  that is fixed to base part  122  and that extends in the fitting direction; elastic arm part  142  (hereinafter, “arm part”) that extends from one end of fixed thin flat part  143  toward the fitting slot  101  side and that deforms elastically; contact point part  141  that is formed in the tip portion of arm part  142  and that is exposed in insertion space  103 ; and lead part  144  that continues from the other end of fixed thin flat part  143  and that is arranged along rear surface  104  of base part  122  to bend outside base part  122 . 
     With contact  140 A, contact point part  141 , arm part  142  and fixed thin flat part  143  are successively arranged straight along the fitting direction, and lead part  144  is connected with the other end of fixed strip part  143  to be orthogonal to contact point part  141 , arm part  142  and fixed thin flat part  143 . Contacts  140 A and contacts  140 B may be formed in any way as long as they are electrically conductive and are formed in a linear shape of a virtually L-shape. Here, contacts  140 A and contacts  140 B are formed in a thin flat material of an L-shape from a plan view by machining an electrically conductive metal plate, such that the plate-thickness direction of the metal plate matches the width direction of plug connector  100 . 
     Further, arm part  142  is arranged in shield case  110  to incline from one surface side (here, the upper surface side) that defines insertion space  103  to the other surface side (here, the bottom surface side) and extend toward the fitting slot  101  side. To be more specific, in shield case  110 , arm part  142  projects from the base part  122  side, passes base part  124   b  of projecting part  124  and places the front end side in tip end part  124   a  of projecting part  124 . Arm part  142  is arranged swingably in the vertical direction in projecting part  124  and positions the tip end side of arm part  142  in insertion slot  103 . 
     With this arm part  142 , convex part  147  is formed to project from the end part (i.e. lower side part) on the other surface side (here, the bottom surface) that defines insertion space  103 . When this convex part  147  is inserted in a fixed hole formed in base end part  124   b  of projecting part  124 , this convex part  147  abuts on the inner surface in the fixed hole and urges arm part  142  to be pressurized. Convex part  147  can displace the tip end part of arm part  142  in the direction opposite to the inclining direction by pressurizing arm part  142  in the opposite direction to the direction for urging arm part  142 , so that contact point part  141  provided at the tip end of arm part  142  is positioned in a predetermined position in shield case  110 . By this means, it is possible to position contact point part  141  in shield case  110  readily and prevent contacts from collapsing and touching adjacent contacts. 
     Further, contact point part  141  of contact  140  is provided at the tip end of arm part  142  extending from fixed thin flat part  143  fixed in based part  122  of housing  120  toward the fitting slot  101  side. Consequently, elastic arm part  142  is displaced, so that contact point part  141  is able to enter and leave insertion space  103  in shield case  110  from inside base end part  124   b  of projecting part  124 . Contact point part  141  is arranged in insertion space  103  in a state where the receptacle connector is not connected. 
     Contact  140 B shown in  FIG. 6  has the same basic configuration as in contact  140 A except that the orientation of lead part  145  is different. Therefore, the same reference numerals will be assigned and explanation thereof will be omitted. 
     With contact  140 B, convex part  127  formed as in contact  140 A positions contact point part  141  provided at the tip end of arm part  142  in a predetermined position in shield case  110 . By this means, contact point part  141  of contact  140 B and contact point part  141  of contact  140 A are aligned in a row in the horizontal direction at the same height level. 
     In this way, contact  140  is formed in a virtually L-shape by contact point part  141 , arm part  142  and lead part  144 , and disposes the base end side (fixed thin flat part  142 ) of the long thin flat portion including contact point part  141  and arm part  142 , along the fitting direction in base part  122  of housing  120 . Further, contact point part  141  at the tip end of the long thin flat portion is a free end projecting from projecting part  124  which projects from base part  122  in shield case  110 , and contact point parts  141  of connectors  140 A and  140 B are arranged such that the contact point positions in shield case  110  are at the same height level. 
     Further, contacts  140 A and  140 B in plug connector  100  are arranged one by one in turn in the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction, and lead parts  144  and  145  are provided alternately to extend in the thickness direction of the connector in the rear surface of base part  122 , that is, in rear surface  104  (see  FIG. 4 ) of plug connector  100 . In other words, contacts  140 A and  140 B extend lead parts  144  alternately in parting directions from each other that are orthogonal to the insertion direction (i.e. fitting direction) upon connection with the receptacle, which is the target to connect with. 
     That is, with plug connector  100 , a plurality of contacts  140  ( 140 A and  140 B) are aligned in a row in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction in projecting part that defines one inner surface in the longitudinal direction of fitting slot  101  in shield case  110 . By this means, contact point parts  141  of contacts  140  are seen in fitting slot  101  and are connected with terminals on a plane of a flat portion in the housing of the receptacle to be inserted in fitting slot  101 . Further, in a plurality of contacts  140  ( 140 A and  140 B), lead parts  144  and  145  of contacts  140 A and  140 B, which are adjacent in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction, project alternately from rear surface  104  in directions orthogonal to (both) the insertion direction and the direction in which the contacts are aligned in a row. 
     In other words, thanks to contacts  140 A and  140 B, plug connector  100  has a function of sandwiching target terminals to be connected in the liner portion when seen from the front view and electrically connecting with the terminals alternately in different directions in the liner portion. 
     By this means, when the pitches between contacts  140  aligned in the horizontal direction in fitting slot  101  are narrowed (made narrower), the pitches between lead parts  144  and  145  of adjacent contacts  140  in the horizontal direction, that is, the pitches between the members to be mounted, do not match the pitches between contact point parts  141  and do not narrow. 
     That is, as shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , with contacts  140 , the pitches between contact point parts  141  that are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction (i.e. horizontal direction) of fitting slot  101  in the fitting slot  101  plane and the pitches between lead parts  144  and  145  which are the mounting portions, are different, so that it is possible to make narrow the pitches between the contact point parts of contacts in the fitting slot plane without changing the pitches between lead parts  144  and  145 . Consequently, in a state where a scheme for aligning contacts in a row in the horizontal direction is used, even when the pitches between contacts each including the contact point are narrowed, the pitches between the leads of the contacts projecting alternately from the upper surface of housing  120 , from the front view, are not narrowed in the horizontal direction. Consequently, mounting connector  100  on the substrate through lead parts  144  and  145  does not make the mounting operation difficult and is possible at ease without labor. 
     Further, two types of contacts  140 A and  140 B to be connected with terminals in one surface side of the flat portion of the receptacle to be inserted, are aligned alternately in the horizontal direction in housing  120 , such that lead parts  144  and  145  are projected zig-zag from base part  122  of housing  120 . By this means, apart from the conventional configuration of the plug, the flat portion of the housing of the receptacle inserted in the slit needs not to be sandwiched between both surface sides, so that it is possible to make thinner the thickness of the fitting portion of the plug which corresponds to the thickness required to dispose contacts on one of sides sandwiching the slit. 
     Consequently, plug connector  100  makes it possible to miniaturize the plug connector in which the pitches between contacts  140  are made narrower. 
     Further, although the configuration of plug connector  100  according to the present embodiment is for a connector for the cradle, the present invention is not limited to this and is applicable to any connector as long as it is an interface connector. Further, the contacts of the receptacle connector may be arranged as in an arrangement of contacts  140  in plug connector  100 . That is, as long as an interface has contacts that align contact points which touch terminals of the connection target, the present invention is applicable to any interface and is also applicable to both a plug and receptacle.