Patent Publication Number: US-11038301-B2

Title: Connector assembly with a plurality of circuit boards

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-20317, filed on Feb. 7, 2019, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-210110, filed on Nov. 21, 2019. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a connector assembly and, more particularly, to a connector assembly with a plurality of circuit boards. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Some connectors are referred to as a floating type and mate with a mating connector while correcting a misalignment therewith. For example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-115582A, a connector has a housing and a plurality of terminals, each of which has a base portion, a solder tail portion, and a displacement absorbing portion having springiness between the base portion and the solder tail portion. The displacement absorbing portion absorbs a misalignment occurring during mating with the mating connector. In JP 2007-115582A, however, because each terminal has the displacement absorbing portion bulging in a horizontal direction, the connector has an increased size. 
     SUMMARY 
     A connector assembly includes a plurality of circuit boards and a bracket retaining the plurality of circuit boards. The circuit boards each have a plugging portion to be plugged into a mating connector and each have a first main face facing a second main face of an adjacent circuit board of the plurality of circuit boards. The bracket retains the plurality of circuit boards with the plugging portions facing downward and with each of the circuit boards capable of making a predetermined amount of independent movement in a pair of directions in a horizontal plane. 
    
    
     
       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  is an exploded perspective view of a connector assembly according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the connector assembly and a plurality of mating connectors before mating; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the connector assembly and the mating connectors in a mated state; 
         FIG. 4A  is a top view of the connector assembly; 
         FIG. 4B  is a bottom view of the connector assembly; 
         FIG. 5A  is a sectional side view of a plugging portion of a circuit board and the mating connector in a first state of mating, taken along line Z-Z of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5B  is a sectional side view of the plugging portion and the mating connector in a second state of mating; 
         FIG. 5C  is a sectional side view of the plugging portion and the mating connector in a third state of mating; 
         FIG. 5D  is a sectional side view of the plugging portion and the mating connector in a completely mated state; 
         FIG. 6A  is a perspective view of an upper bracket of a connector assembly according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 6B  is a perspective view of a plurality of circuit boards of the connector assembly of  FIG. 6A ; 
         FIG. 6C  is a perspective view of a lower bracket of the connector assembly of  FIG. 6A ; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the connector assembly of  FIG. 6A ; and 
         FIG. 8  is a rear view of the connector assembly of  FIG. 6A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S) 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a connector assembly  10 A according to an embodiment has a bracket  20  and a subassembly  30  accommodated in the bracket  20 . 
     The bracket  20 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , has an upper bracket  20 A and a lower bracket  20 B formed by cutting and forming a sheet metal. The lower bracket  20 B is attached to the upper bracket  20 A such that a plurality of individual connectors  50  of the subassembly  30  are held between the upper bracket  20 A and the lower bracket  20 B from above and below. The lower bracket  20 B is assembled with the upper bracket  20 A by inserting a lanced tab  21  provided in the upper bracket  20 A into a catch hole  22  provided in the lower bracket  20 B. 
     The subassembly  30 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , has a plurality of circuit boards  40  and a plurality of individual connectors  50  connected to the respective circuit boards  40 . In the shown embodiment, the subassembly  30  has four circuit boards  40  and four individual connectors  50 . The circuit board  40  and the individual connector  50  corresponding to each other are integrated. 
     Each of the four circuit boards  40 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , has a plugging portion  41  to be plugged into a mating opening  71  of a mating connector  70  shown in  FIG. 2 . The plugging portion  41  and the individual connector  50  are electrically connected via printed wiring on the circuit board  40 . The circuit boards  40  are arranged in such an attitude as to have a first main face  45  facing a second main face  46  of an adjacent circuit board, and accommodated in the bracket  20 . The individual connector  50  is retained by the bracket  20  such that a mating portion  51  faces sideward when the plugging portion  41  faces downward. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-3, 4A, and 4B  the bracket  20  has an upper plate portion  23  that becomes an upper face of the connector assembly  10 A when the plugging portion  41  faces downward. In order to mate the connector assembly  10 A and the mating connector  70  with each other, the plugging portion  41  is placed over the mating opening  71  of the mating connector  70  and then the upper plate portion  23  is pressed. Thereby, the plugging portion  41  is plugged into the mating connector  70 . 
     The description will be continued below on the assumption that the circuit board  40  is in such an attitude as to have its plugging portion  41  facing downward, unless otherwise stated. The bracket  20  retains the four circuit boards  40  such that each circuit board  40  can make a predetermined amount of independent movement in both two directions (an X direction and a Y direction) within a horizontal plane. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in the upper bracket  20 A, a slit  24  extending in the X direction that corresponds to each circuit board  40  is formed. Within each slit  24 , a cantilever-like butting tab  25  extends rearward from a front in the X direction. The circuit board  40  has a low height portion  44  formed one step lower by a step  43  in a front in the X direction of its upper end face  42 . The height of the step  43  corresponds to the wall thickness of the bracket  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , in the connector assembly  10 A in an assembled state, a portion behind the step  43  in the X direction of the upper end face  42  of the circuit board  40  is located in the slit  24 , and is substantially flush with the upper face portion  23  of the bracket  20 . The butting tab  25  extends toward the step  43  over the low height portion  44  of the upper end face  42  of the circuit board  40 . A gap is provided between a rear end  25   a  of the butting tab  25  and the step  43 , and each circuit board  40  can move in the X direction independently by the amount of this gap. Also, in both right and left (Y direction) sides of an upper face  52  and a lower face  53  of the individual connector  50 , a recessed portion  54  is formed as shown in  FIG. 1 . In the upper bracket  20 A and the lower bracket  20 B, lanced tabs  27  that move into these recessed portions  54  are formed. The lanced tab  27  gets into the recessed portion  54  having a larger dimension in the X direction than the wall thickness of the lanced tab  27 , and thereby a predetermined amount of longitudinal (X direction) movement of the circuit board is allowed, and simultaneously the movement is restricted. 
     In this manner, regarding the X direction, the butting tab  25 , the recessed portion  54 , and the lanced tab  27  enable each circuit board  40  to move independently by the predetermined amount. It should be noted that, because the circuit board  40  and the individual connector  50  are integrated in each pair as the subassembly  30 , the movement of each pair will be described below as movement of the circuit board  40 , and the individual connector  50  will be omitted. 
     In the case of the connector assembly  10 A shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the longitudinal (X direction) movement is restricted at multiple locations: the butting tab  25  and the recessed portion  54  and the lanced tab  27 . The lanced tabs  27  are separated from a wall face facing widthwise (Y direction) of the recessed portion  54  when they are located in the recessed portions  54 . Each circuit board  40  is allowed to move widthwise (Y direction) by the amount of this separation. 
     In the upper bracket  20 A and the lower bracket  20 B, as shown in  FIGS. 1-3, 4A, and 4B , a bulging tab  28  bulging inward is provided. The bulging tabs  28 , in the assembled state of the connector assembly  10 A, is slightly separated from a side face  55  of the individual connector  50 , and arranged in a position facing the side face  55 . The circuit board  40  is also enabled by these bulging portions  28  to move widthwise (Y direction) by the amount of this separation. 
     In the connector assembly  10 A, the widthwise (Y direction) movement is restricted at two locations: the lanced tab  27  and the bulging portion  28 . 
     The four circuit boards  40  constituting the connector assembly  10 A are retained by the bracket  20  such that they are movable individually independently by the respective predetermined amounts in both the X direction and the Y direction. Also, because each circuit board  40  is movable in both the X direction and the Y direction, an inclination in an X-Y plane (inclination in a rotational directions denoted by an arrow R in  FIG. 2 ) is also allowed. 
     In  FIG. 2 , four mating connectors  70  are shown that are soldered on a circuit board  60  and that mate with the connector assembly  10 A. These mating connectors  70  are arranged on the circuit board  60  at the same space as the arrangement space of the circuit boards  40  constituting the connector assembly  10 A. When these mating connectors  70  are soldered to the circuit board  60 , they are sometimes fixed in a position misaligned in the X direction and/or the Y direction from a reference position. When these mating connectors  70  are soldered to the circuit board  60 , they are sometimes fixed in an attitude slightly inclined in the direction of the arrow R. The connector assembly  10 A is accommodated in the bracket  20  such that each circuit board  40  is provided with a necessary clearance for floating, so as to be capable of mating with the mating connectors  70  even when the mating connector  70  is misaligned and/or inclined. 
     A process of plugging the plugging portion  41  into the mating opening  71  of the mating connector  70  is shown in  FIGS. 5A-5D . 
     In the mating opening  71  of the mating connector  70 , a slope  71   a  widening its entrance is formed. In  FIG. 5A , the plugging portion  41  is shown approaching the mating opening  71  in a state of being slightly misaligned from the center of the mating opening  71 , and being in contact with the slope  71   a . The circuit board  40  is accommodated in the bracket  20  with a necessary clearance for floating. Here, with the plugging portion  41  left touching the slope  71   a , the upper face portion  23  of the bracket  20  is pressed down. Thereupon, the plugging portion  41  is correctly plugged into the mating opening  71 , as shown in  FIGS. 5B and 5C , while the position thereof is being adjusted, and a completely-mated state shown in  FIG. 5D  is achieved. 
     In  FIGS. 5A-5D , a cross section in the Y direction is shown. In the mating connector  70 , a slope  71   b , shown in  FIG. 2 , similar to the slope  71   a  shown in  FIGS. 5A-5D  is formed at both ends in the X direction of the mating opening  71 . Thereby, even when there is a misalignment in the X direction, the plugging portion  41  is plugged into the mating opening  71  with the position thereof corrected. 
     The connector assembly  10 A, in a state of being mated with the mating connectors  70 , is screwed to the circuit board  60  at its right and left with two screws  80 , one of which is visible in  FIG. 3 . It should be noted that the misalignment and/or inclination of the mating connector  70  is also reflected on the individual connector  50 . However, one connector is individually plugged into each individual connector  50 , a slight misalignment or the like of the individual connector  50  does not cause a problem. 
     According to the connector assembly  10 A, even when there is a misalignment or the like of the mating connector  70 , the plugging portions  41  of the four circuit boards  40  can be simultaneously easily plugged into the four mating connectors  70 . Though the connector assembly  10 A having four circuit boards  40  has been described here, the present invention is applicable to a connector assembly  10 A having two or more circuit boards. 
     The connector  50  can include a planar circuit having a conductor insert-molded, or an ordinary printed circuit board. 
     A connector assembly  10 B according to another embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 6A-8 . Like reference numbers refer to like elements, and only the differences from the connector assembly  10 A shown in  FIGS. 1-5D  will be described in detail herein. 
     In the upper bracket  20 A of a connector assembly  10 B, as shown in  FIGS. 6A-6C, 7, and 8 , a first pressing portion  29   a  and a second pressing portion  29   b  are provided. The first pressing portion  29   a  extends like a cantilever and elastically presses the first main face  45  of the circuit board  40  on a free end side. The second pressing portion  29   b  extends like a cantilever and elastically presses the second main face  46  of the circuit board  40  on a free end side. 
     The first pressing portion  29   a  and second pressing portion  29   b  press the circuit board  40  in mutually opposite directions and with the same spring force. The circuit board  40  is elastically retained in a substantially central position within backlash in the Y direction in a state of being unmated with the mating connector  70 . In the unmated state, jarring is suppressed. Also, because the circuit board  40  is pressed from both sides, jarring in the X direction is also suppressed. At the time of mating to the mating connector  70 , if the plugging portion  41  is misaligned with the mating connector  70 , the position thereof is corrected, and the plug portion  41  is plugged into the mating opening  71  of the mating connector  70 . 
     The first pressing portion  29   a  and the second pressing portion  29   b  of the connector assembly  10 B have a fixed end at a lower portion, and extend upward to form the free end at an upper portion. Accordingly, in order to cover the circuit board  40  with the upper bracket  20 A, the circuit board  40  is inserted between the first pressing portion  29   a  and the second pressing portion  29   b  from the fixed end side. That is, the circuit board  40  can be smoothly covered with the upper bracket  20 A without being caught on the first pressing portion  29   a  and/or the second pressing portion  29   b.