Patent Publication Number: US-2016226184-A1

Title: Connector Assembly and Connector

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-016866, filed Jan. 30, 2015. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a connector assembly, and more particularly, to a connector assembly composed of a first connector and a second connector assembled to each other. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A connector connecting a flexible printed circuit (FPC) to a circuit board is required to have a minimal height. Further, for ease of use, the connector is also required to have a mechanism where the connector can be securely locked and can be easily unlocked if necessary. 
     JP 2010-177003A discloses a connector having a lock mechanism of a push-on type. This connector has a lock spring that is circular in cross section. In the case of this lock mechanism, locking and unlocking are performed by utilizing elastic deformations of the lock spring. However, the lock mechanism disclosed in JP 2010-177003A is unsuitable for a connector with a reduced height, such as a board mounting type connector. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of the invention, among others, is to provide a connector assembly that is suitable for a low-profile connector, and can be securely locked and easily unlocked as necessary. The disclosed connector assembly comprises a first connector having a housing and a lock portion, and a second connector having a catch portion. The lock portion includes a plurality of lock spring members each fixed to the housing at one end of the lock spring member. The catch portion interferes with the plurality of lock spring members in a first position, and is caught in the plurality of lock spring members in a second position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures of which: 
         FIG. 1(A)  is a perspective view showing a second connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1(B)  is a perspective view showing a first connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a state where the second connector has been locked to the first connector shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of one end portion of the first connector; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view showing a state where lock spring members at one end portion of the first connector have been fixed to a housing; 
         FIG. 5(A)  is cross-sectional view of a lock portion of the first connector and a catch portion of the second connector, in which the first connector and second connector are not in contact; 
         FIG. 5(B)  is a cross-sectional view of a lock portion of the first connector and a catch portion of the second connector, in which the first connector and second connector are in a connecting first position; 
         FIG. 5(C)  is a cross-sectional view of a lock portion of the first connector and a catch portion of the second connector, in which the first connector and second connector are in a fully connected second position; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of one end portion of a first connector of a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view showing a state where lock spring members at one end portion of the first connector of the second embodiment have been fixed to a housing; 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded perspective view of one end portion of a first connector of a third embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view showing a state where lock spring members at one end portion of the first connector of the third embodiment have been fixed to a housing; 
         FIG. 10(A)  is perspective view showing a second connector according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10(B)  is a perspective view showing a first connector according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a state where the second connector has been locked to the first connector shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  is an exploded perspective view of one end portion of the first connector of the fourth embodiment; and 
         FIG. 13  is an exploded perspective view showing a state where a lock spring member at one end portion of the first connector of the fourth embodiment has been fixed to a housing. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S) 
     The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to embodiments of a connector assembly. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and still fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
       FIG. 1  shows a first connector  1  and a second connector  2  constituting a connector assembly  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. Here, in relation to an orientation of fitting, a second connector  2  is shown in  FIG. 1(A) , while a first connector  1  is shown in  FIG. 1(B) . The major components of the invention will now be described in greater detail. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1(B) , the first connector  1  is provided with a housing  10  having an approximately rectangular parallelepiped and a plurality of contacts  20  supported by and attached to the housing  10  and arranged in two rows. Arrangement of the contacts  20  is not limited to two rows, but it may be in one row or three or more rows. The housing  10  has a mating face  11 . Each contact  20  has a board connecting portion  21  configured to be connected to a surface of a circuit board (not shown) by soldering. Further, the first connector  1  is provided with lock portions  30  at both ends of the housing  10 . 
     Lock portions  30  are provided at both end portions of the first connector  1 , respectively. As shown in  FIG. 3 , each lock portion  30  is provided with two lock spring members  40  and a reinforcement metal fitting  50 . The lock spring member  40  is a wire material formed of a piano wire, a stainless steel or the like. These lock spring members  40  are arranged in parallel with the mating face  11  of the housing  1  and in parallel with each other. End portions  41  of the respective lock spring members  40  are each clamped and fixed between an upstanding wall  12  of the housing  10 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , and a downwardly-extending portion  54  of the reinforcement metal fitting  50 . The end portions  41  may be press-fitted into grooves (not shown) of the housing  10 . 
     The reinforcement metal fitting  50  is a metal member covering the lock spring members  40  and clamping the lock spring members  40  with the housing  10 . However, even in such as state where the lock spring members  40  have been covered with the reinforcement metal fitting  50 , portions of the lock spring members  40  are exposed at notched portions  52  of the reinforcement metal fitting  50 . 
     The reinforcement metal fitting  50 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , is provided with board fixing portions  51  at a total of four portions thereof. The four board fixing portions  51  are configured to be soldered to the circuit board (not shown) together with the board connecting portions  21  of the contacts  20 . Further, three press-fitting portions  53  press-fitted into the housing  20  are provided on the reinforcement metal fitting  50 . Incidentally, bottom faces of two of the three press-fitting portions  53  form the board fixing portions  51 . By these board fixing portions  51  and press-fitting portions  53 , the first connector  1  is fixed to the circuit board, and the lock spring members  40  are retained by the housing  20 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1(A) , the second connector  2  is provided with a flexible printed circuit (hereinafter, called “FPC”)  60 . The second connector is not limited to one for the FPC  60 , and it may be a connector where contacts and catch portions have been fixed to a housing. A FFC (flexible flat cable) may be used instead of the FPC. Further, the second connector  2  is provided with a metal shell  70  fixed to one end of the FPC  60 . Here, the FPC  60  actually has a longitudinal size longer than one shown in this  FIG. 1(A) , and only one end of the FPC  60  provided with the metal shell  70  is shown here. Conductor pads (not shown) are provided on a lower face (a face facing toward the side of the first connector  1 ) of a portion of the FPC  60  covered with the metal shell  70 . The conductor pads are provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of contacts  20 , respectively. 
     Catch portions  71  are provided at both ends of the metal shell  70  of the second connector  2 . As shown in  FIG. 5(A) , the catch portion  71  of the metal shell  70  of the second connector  2  is provided with slopes  71   a , top portions  71   b , and catching recessed portions  71   c . The slopes  71   a  have a shape opened toward the first connector  1 . Further, the top portions  71   b  are projection portions continuing to the slopes  71   a . Further, the catch portions  71   c  are portions with a slightly recessed shape continuing to the top portions  71   b.    
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the second connector  2  is mated with the first connector  1  by causing the catch portions  71  to be caught in the lock portions  30  such that the second connector  2  is stacked on the first connector  1 . By this mating, the respective conductor pads (not shown) on the bottom face of the FPC  60  come in contact with the respective contacts  20  of the first connector  1 . Wirings on the FPC  60  are electrically connected via the conductor pads and the contacts  20  to a circuit provided on the circuit board (not shown) on which the first connector  1  is mounted. 
     In  FIG. 5 , cross-sectional views of the lock portion  30  of the first connector  1  and catch portion  71  of the metal shell  70  of the second connector  2  are shown during stages of connection. 
     In  FIG. 5(A) , a state where the lock spring members  40  have been clamped between the housing  10  and the reinforcement metal fitting  50  in the lock portion  30  is shown. However, as described above, the two lock spring members  40  are put in a partially exposed state from the notched portions  52  of the reinforcement metal fitting  50 . 
     As the second connector  2  contacts the first connector  1  in a connecting first position, shown in  FIG. 5(B) , the catch portions  71  enter the notched portions  52  of the reinforcement metal fitting  50  to interfere with the lock spring members  40 . The two lock spring members  40  are elastically deformed so as to come close to each other by abutting the slopes  71   a.    
     The second connector  2  is brought further closer to the first connector  1 , and as shown in  FIG. 5(C) , the top portions  71   b  of the catch portions  71  pass through the two lock spring members  40 . The two lock spring members  40  are restored from the elastic deformations to enter and abut the catching recessed portions  71   c  in the fully connected second position. 
     The lock portions  30  of the first connector  1  and the catch portions  71  of the second connector  2  are provided at both end portions of the first connector  1  and the second connector  2 , respectively. Therefore, the catching shown in  FIG. 5  is performed at both ends of the first connector  1  and the second connector  2 , and the second connector  2  is caught in the first connector  1 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5(C) , the lock mechanism is a lock mechanism suitable for height reduction where catching is performed within the same thickness as that of the first connector  1 . Further, when the second connector  2  must be detached from the first connector  1 , the second connector  2  is strongly pulled up. Thereby, catching of the second connector  2  on the first connector  1  is released. The lock spring members  40  are firmly fixed by the reinforcement metal fitting  50 . Therefore, the lock spring members  40  are prevented from being detached from the first connector  1  according to the lock releasing. Accordingly, it is possible to perform attachment and detachment of the second connector  2  to and from the first connector  1  repeatedly. 
     In the exemplary embodiment described above with reference to  FIG. 5 , the lock mechanism elastic deformation brings the two lock spring members  40  close to each other, however, as would be understood by one with ordinary skill in the art, the two lock spring members  40  could alternatively be elastically deformed so as to move away from each other. 
     In figures representing the following additional embodiments, the same reference signs as those used in the previous figures are used for ease of understanding. Further, only different points from the first embodiment will be described. 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  show a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the lock spring members  40  of the second embodiment have folded end portions  41  press-fitted into the housing  10 . The folded end portions  41  are press-fitted into grooves  13  formed in the housing  10 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . Thereby, the lock spring members  40  are additionally fixed in the housing  10  as compared with the first embodiment. 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  show a third embodiment of the present invention. A lock spring member  40  of the third embodiment is a member with the same bar shape as that of the lock spring member  40  of the second embodiment; that is, the lock spring member  40  of the third embodiment has a hook-shaped portion where an end portion  41  press-fitted into the housing  10  has been folded. In the third embodiment, however, the orientation of the lock spring member  40  is different from that of the second embodiment. The end portion  41  of the lock spring member  40  of the third embodiment is press-fitted into a hole  14  formed in the housing  10 . In this structure, the end portion  41  of the lock spring member  40  is also fixed to the housing  10  more firmly as compared with the first embodiment. 
       FIGS. 10-13  show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 10 , in relation to an orientation of mating, the second connector  2  is shown in  FIG. 10(A) , while the first connector  1  is shown in  FIG. 10(B)  in the same manner as the case shown in  FIG. 1 . The connector in the fourth embodiment is different from the connector assembly  100  in the above-described first embodiment regarding a shape of the reinforcement metal fitting  50  and a shape of the catch portion  71  of the metal shell  70 . The reinforcement metal fittings  50  provided at both end portions of the first connector  1  in the fourth embodiment are each formed with only one notched portion  52 . In addition, the notched portion  52  is directed toward the outside of the housing  10  in a longitudinal direction of the housing  10 , as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     Only one lock spring member  40  is provided, and the lock spring member  40  is also oriented in the longitudinal direction in the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIGS.  12  and  13 , the lock spring member is placed with an orientation traversing the housing  10 , and an end portion  41  thereof fixed to the housing  10  is folded to extend in the longitudinal direction of the housing  10 . The end portion  41  of the lock spring member  40  is press-fitted into a groove  15  of the housing  10 . The lock spring member  40  is exposed from the notched portion  52  of the reinforcement member  50 . 
     During mating of the connectors  1 ,  2 , the catch portions  71  at both end portions of the metal shell  70  in the longitudinal direction elastically deform the lock spring members  40  at the both end portions of the first connector  1  in the longitudinal direction so as to come close to each other. When fully connected, the elastic deformation is released to reach a state where the second connector  2  has been locked to the first connector  1 . The two lock spring members  40  are separated from each other by a length of the first connector  1  in the longitudinal direction. In the fourth embodiment, a single lock portion is formed by combination of the both end portions of the first connector  1 . In the case of the fourth embodiment, the number of lock spring members  40  is reduced to reduce the cost and number of required assembling steps. 
     In the exemplary embodiment described above with reference to the fourth embodiment, the lock mechanism elastic deformation brings the two lock spring members  40  close to each other, however, as would be understood by one with ordinary skill in the art, the notched portion of the reinforcement metal fitting could be directed inward and the lock spring members deformed so as to be move away from each other. 
     Advantageously, since the first connector  1  of the present invention is provided with two lock spring members  40  arranged in the above-described orientations, an attachable and detachable lock mechanism is realized for a low-profile connector. In a further advantage, the shape of the lock spring members  40  prevents tangling and improves assembly. Typically, many lock spring members  40  are stored collectively during shipping or automatic assembly. The lock spring members  40  of the connector assembly  100  of the first embodiment have round bar shapes or a simple folded shape. Consequently, when one lock spring member  40  is lifted up, a plurality of lock spring members  40  will not be tangled with each other, and assembly is easier.