Patent Publication Number: US-7581985-B2

Title: Connector

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   This invention relates to a connector which is adapted to be mounted on a surface of a board by soldering metal fixing members (secured respectively to opposite ends of a connector housing) to the board. 
     FIG. 5  shows a conventional surface mounting-type connector disclosed in Patent Literature 1. This surface mounting-type connector includes a connector housing  101  of a generally rectangular box-shape made of an insulative resin and adapted to be placed on a board  110 , and metal fixing members  103  which are press-fitted to mounting portions  102  (formed respectively on outer surfaces of side walls of the connector housing  101 ) from their upper side to be fixed respectively to the side walls of the connector housing  101 . 
   The fixing metal member  103  is formed by bending a strip-like metal plate (or sheet) into a generally L-shaped cross-section, and includes a board fixing portion  103   a  adapted to be soldered to the surface of the board  110 , and a housing mounting portion  103   b  extending in an upstanding condition relative to the board fixing portion  103   a  and adapted to be attached to the mounting portion  102  of the connector housing  101 . The surface mounting-type connector of  FIG. 5  can be mounted on the board  110  by soldering the board fixing portions  103   a  of the metal fixing members  103  to the board  110 . 
     FIGS. 6A and 6B  show another conventional surface mounting-type connector, and  FIG. 6A  is a top plan view, and  FIG. 6B  is a bottom view. In this surface mounting-type connector, metal fixing members  153  are press-fitted respectively to opposite side walls (or end walls) of a connector housing  151  (having terminals  152  mounted thereon) from the lower side. 
   [Patent Literature 1] JP-A-2006-31944 
   In the conventional connector of  FIG. 5  in which the metal fixing members  103  are press-fitted respectively to the side walls of the connector housing  101  from their upper side, there is encountered a problem that the overall outer size of the connector is increased since the mounting portions  102  are formed respectively on the outer surfaces of the side walls of the connector housing  101 . 
   In the conventional connector of  FIG. 6  in which the metal fixing members  153  are merely press-fitted to the respective side walls from the lower side of the connector housing  151 , there is encountered a problem that each fixing metal member  153  is liable to be withdrawn from the connector housing  151 , and a retaining force for retaining the fixing metal member  153  is low. 
   SUMMARY 
   This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the invention is to provide a connector in which an outer size of a connector housing is prevented from increasing, and also metal fixing members inserted into the connector housing from the lower side can be positively prevented from withdrawal. 
   In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a connector comprising: 
   a connector housing which has a pair of side walls, wherein slots are formed in the side walls respectively and extend upwardly from the lower side of the side walls; 
   a plurality of terminals which are accommodated in the connector housing; and 
   a pair of metal fixing members, each of which includes a board fixing portion mounted to a board and a housing mounting portion disposed in an upstanding condition relative to the board fixing portion, 
   wherein the housing mounting portion of each of the metal fixing members is inserted into the slot of each of the side walls from the lower side thereof to fix the metal fixing members to the connector housing; 
   wherein the slot of each of the side walls has an upper portion and a lower portion which serves as an inlet, the lower portion being smaller in width than the upper portion, and the slot of each of the side walls having a pair of retaining step portions formed at a width-changed portion thereof; 
   wherein the housing mounting portion of each of the metal fixing members has a pair of arms at a tipping end thereof so as to have a slit therebetween; 
   wherein hooks projecting outwardly are formed on upper end portions of the arms so that a dimension between outer edges of the arms is greater than the width of the lower portion of the slot, and when the housing mounting portion is inserted into the slot, the hooks are engaged respectively with the retaining step portions; and 
   wherein a convex portion is formed on an inner wall of the slot so as to prevent the arms from being resiliently deformed inwardly after the housing mounting portion is inserted into the slot. 
   Preferably, the pair of arms has resiliently. When the arms are inserted into the slot, the arms are resiliently deformed inwardly so as to allow the hooks to pass through the lower portion of the slot. After the hooks pass through the lower portion of the slot, the arms are restored from their inwardly-deformed condition, so that the hooks are brought into engagement with the retaining step portions, respectively. 
   Preferably, When the hooks of the pair of arms pass through the lower portion of the slot while the arms are resiliently deformed inwardly, the upper end portions of the arms slide onto a front end portion of the convex portion. When the arms are restored from their inwardly-deformed condition after the hooks pass through the lower portion of the slot, the slit of the arms is opened and the convex portion is fitted in the slit. 
   Here, it is preferable that when the hooks of the pair of arms pass through the lower portion of the slot while the arms are resiliently deformed inwardly, the upper end portions of the arms slide onto the front end portion of the convex portion while the upper end portions of the arms bend in a direction of a thickness of the arms. 
   In the connector of the above configurations, the fixing metal member can be fixed to the connector housing against withdrawal by inserting its housing mounting portion into the slot formed in the connector housing. Namely, when the housing mounting portion of the fixing metal member is inserted into the slot, first, the left and right arms are resiliently deformed inwardly, and the hooks pass through the inlet portion of the slot. At this time, the upper end portions of the inwardly-deformed arms are caused to slide onto the front end portion of the convex portion while the arms are resiliently bent in the direction of the thickness thereof or the side wall of the connector housing is resiliently bent by the convex portion formed on the inner wall of the slot. Then, when the arms are restored from the resiliently-deformed condition upon passage of the hooks through the inlet portion of the slot, the hooks are brought into engagement with the respective retaining step portions of the slot, and at the same time the convex portion is fitted into the fully-open slit in the housing mounting portion, and the convex portion prevents the arms from being resiliently deformed inwardly. 
   Thus, when the hooks are engaged respectively with the retaining step portions, the fixing metal member is prevented from being withdrawn from the housing, and the convex portion is fitted in the slit to prevent the arms from being resiliently deformed inwardly, and therefore the hooks are prevented from being disengaged form the respective retaining step portions, and the fixing metal member is retained in a double manner. As a result, even when a load tending to withdraw the fixing metal member acts thereon, the withdrawal of the fixing metal member can be positively prevented thanks to the provision of the convex portion. In this case, the slots are formed respectively in the opposite side walls of the connector housing which respectively form the opposite end surfaces of this connector housing, and the convex portion is formed on the inner wall of the slot, and therefore the outer size of the connector housing can be prevented from increasing. 
   In the connector of the above configurations, the arms are resiliently deformed inwardly during the passage of the hooks through the inlet portion of the slot, and the upper end portions of the thus deformed arms are also resiliently bent in the direction of their thickness (plate thickness), and are caused to slide onto the front end portion of the convex portion. Thus, the housing mounting portion (more specifically, the arms) can be bent in the direction of the thickness thereof, and therefore a compact design of the connector housing can be achieved, and besides the side walls of the connector housing do not need to be particularly elastic (that is, the rigidity of the side walls does not need to be lowered). 
   In the present invention, the outer size of the connector can be prevented from increasing, and besides the metal fixing members inserted into the side walls of the connector housing from the lower side can be positively prevented from withdrawal. 
   The present invention has been briefly described above. Details of the invention will become more manifest upon reading the following Section “Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention” with reference to the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a surface mounting-type connector according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention as seen from the lower side; 
       FIGS. 2A to 2C  show a first step of a process of inserting a fixing metal member into a slot in the connector, and  FIG. 2A  is a cross-sectional view through a plane disposed centrally of a width of the slot, and  FIG. 2B  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIb-IIb of  FIG. 2A , and  FIG. 2C  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIc-IIc of  FIG. 2A ; 
       FIGS. 3A to 3C  show a second step of the above inserting process, and  FIG. 3A  is a view similar to  FIG. 2A , and  FIG. 3B  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIIb-IIIb of  FIG. 3A , and  FIG. 3C  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIIc-IIIc of  FIG. 3A ; 
       FIGS. 4A to 4C  shown a final step of the above inserting process, and  FIG. 4A  is a view similar to  FIG. 2A , and  FIG. 4B  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IVb-IVb of  FIG. 4A , and  FIG. 4C  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IVc-IVc of  FIG. 4A ; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a conventional connector; and 
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  are a top plan view and a bottom view of another conventional connector, respectively. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
   A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
     FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one preferred embodiment of a connector of the invention as seen from the lower side.  FIGS. 2 to 4  sequentially show the steps of a process of inserting a fixing metal member into a slot.  FIG. 2A  is a cross-sectional view through a plane disposed centrally of a width of the slot, and  FIG. 2B  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIb-IIb of  FIG. 2A , and  FIG. 2C  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIc-IIc of  FIG. 2A .  FIG. 3A  is a view similar to  FIG. 2A , and  FIG. 3B  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIIb-IIIb of  FIG. 3A , and  FIG. 3C  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIIc-IIIc of  FIG. 3A .  FIG. 4A  is a view similar to  FIG. 2A , and  FIG. 4B  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IVb-IVb of  FIG. 4A , and  FIG. 4C  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IVc-IVc of  FIG. 4A . 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , the surface mounting-type connector of this embodiment includes a connector housing  1  molded of an insulative resin, a plurality of terminals  2  mounted on the connector housing  1 , a pair of metal fixing members  10  mounted respectively on opposite end portions of a lower surface of the connector housing  1 . The surface mounting-type connector can be mounted on a surface of a board by soldering the metal fixing members  10  to the board. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 2A to 2C , slots  21  are formed respectively in opposite side walls of the connector housing  1  provided respectively at the opposite ends thereof, each slot  21  extending upwardly from the lower surface of the connector housing  1  (which is to face the board (not shown)). The plurality of terminals  2  are mounted on that portion of the connector housing  1  lying between the opposite side walls of the connector housing  1 . 
   The fixing metal member  10  is formed by bending a strip-like metal plate (or sheet) into a generally L-shape cross-section, and includes a board fixing portion  11  adapted to be soldered to the surface of the board, and a housing mounting portion  12  extending from the board fixing portion  11  via a perpendicularly-bent portion in upstanding relation to the board fixing portion  11  and inserted into the slot  21  from the lower side to be fixed to the connector housing  1 . 
   The slot  21  has a lower inlet portion smaller in width than an upper portion thereof such that the slot  21  has retaining step portions  22  formed at a width-changed portion thereof. Namely, the inlet portion of the slit  21  is in the form of a rectangular hole defined by opposed inner and outer walls  21   a  and  21   b  of a larger width and left and right side walls  21   c , and a dimension between the left and right side walls  21   c  is slightly larger than the width of the housing mounting portion  12  of the fixing metal member  10 , and a width of the upper portion of the slot  21  above the inlet portion is larger than the width of this inlet portion. 
   A slit  14  is formed in a widthwise-central portion of the housing mounting portion  12  of the fixing metal member  10 , and extends from an upper edge (or upper end) of the housing mounting portion  12  toward the bent portion such that the housing mounting portion  12  is generally divided to form a pair of left and right arms  13  and  13 . Hooks  13  are formed on and project outwardly respectively from upper end portions of the two arms  13  such that a dimension between outer edges of the two arms  13  facing away from each other is larger than the width of the inlet portion of the slot  21 . When the housing mounting portion  12  is inserted into the slot  21 , the hooks  13   a  are engaged respectively with the retaining step portions  22 , thereby preventing the fixing metal member  10  from downward withdrawal. Chamfered portions  13   b  are formed respectively at outer corner portions of the upper edges of the arms  13  so as to facilitate the insertion of the arms  13  into the inlet portion of the slot  21 . 
   The pair of left and right arms  13 , when inserted into the slot  21 , are resiliently deformed inwardly (that is, toward each other) so as to allow the hooks  13   a  to pass through the inlet portion of the slot  21 , and after the hooks  13   a  pass through the inlet portion of the slot  21 , the two arms  13  are restored from their inwardly-deformed condition, so that the two hooks  13   a  are brought into engagement with the respective retaining step portions  22 . 
   A convex portion  23  is formed on the outwardly-disposed inner wall (extension wall of the wall  21   b ) of the slot  21 . When the pair of left and right arms  13 , while resiliently deformed inwardly so as to pass the hooks  13   a  through the inlet portion of the slot  21 , advance in the slot  21 , the convex portion  23  resiliently bends the arms  13  in the direction of the thickness (plate thickness) thereof so as to cause the upper end portions of the arms  13  to slide onto a front end portion of the convex portion  23  as shown in  FIGS. 3A to 3C . Subsequently, when the arms  13  are restored from their resiliently-deformed condition upon passage of the hooks  13   a  through the inlet portion of the slot  21 , the slit  14  is opened (that is, restored into its fully open condition), so that the convex portion  23  is fitted in this slit  14 , thereby preventing the arms  13  from being resiliently deformed inwardly, as shown in  FIGS. 4A to 4C . A lower end or edge  23   a  of the convex portion  23  is formed into an inclined surface for guiding the sliding movement of the arms  13  onto the convex portion  23 . Left and right side edges  23   b  serve as engagement surfaces for engagement respectively with the inner side edges of the arms  13 . A space  21   d  for allowing the arms  13  to be resiliently bent in the direction of the thickness thereof is secured at an inner end portion of the slot  21 . 
   Next, the operation will be described. In this surface mounting-type connector, each fixing metal member  10  can be fixed to the connector housing  1  against withdrawal by inserting the housing mounting portion  12  of the fixing metal member  10  into the slot  21  formed in the connector housing  1 . 
   Namely, when the housing mounting portion  12  of the fixing metal member  10  is inserted into the slot  21 , first, the left and right arms  13  are resiliently deformed inwardly as shown in  FIGS. 2A to 2C , and the hooks  13   a  pass through the inlet portion of the slot  21 . When the housing mounting portion  12  is further inserted, the upper end portions of the inwardly-deformed arms  13  slide onto the convex portion formed on the inner wall of the slot  21  as shown in  FIGS. 3A to 3C . Then, when the housing mounting portion  12  is further inserted, the hooks  13   a  pass through the inlet portion of the slot  21 , and the arms  13  are restored from the resiliently-deformed condition, and therefore the hooks  13   a  are brought into engagement with the respective retaining step portions  22  of the slot  21 , and at the same time the convex portion  23  on the connector housing  1  is fitted into the fully-open slit  14  in the housing mounting portion  12 , and the left and right side edges  23   b  of the convex portion  23  abut respectively against the inner edges of the arms  13 , thereby preventing the arms  13  from being resiliently deformed inwardly. 
   Thus, when the hooks  13   a  are engaged respectively with the retaining step portions  22 , the fixing metal member  10  is prevented from being withdrawn from the slot  21  in the connector housing  1 , and the convex portion  23  is fitted in the slit  14  to prevent the arms  13  from being resiliently deformed inwardly, and therefore the hooks  13   a  are prevented from being disengaged form the respective retaining step portions  22 , and the fixing metal member  10  is retained in a double manner. As a result, even when a load tending to withdraw the fixing metal member  10  acts thereon, the withdrawal of the fixing metal member  10  can be positively prevented thanks to the provision of the convex portion  23 . 
   Furthermore, in the surface mounting-type connector of this embodiment, each slot  21  is formed in the side wall of the connector housing  1 , and the convex portion  23  is formed on the inner wall (inner surface) of the slot  21 , and therefore the outer size of the connector housing  1  can be prevented from increasing. 
   Furthermore, in this surface mounting-type connector, the arms  13  are resiliently deformed inwardly during the passage of the hooks  13   a  through the inlet portion of the slot  21 , and the upper end portions of the thus deformed arms  13  are also resiliently bent in the direction of their thickness (plate thickness) by the convex portion  23  formed on the inner wall of the slot  21 , and are caused to slide onto the front end portion of the convex portion  23 . Thus, the housing mounting portion  12  (more specifically, the arms  13 ) can be bent in the direction of the thickness thereof, and therefore a compact design of the connector housing  1  can be achieved, and besides the side walls of the connector housing  1  do not need to be particularly elastic (that is, the rigidity of the side walls does not need to be lowered). 
   The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and suitable modifications, improvements, etc., can be made. Furthermore, the material, shape, dimensions, number, disposition, etc., of each of the constituent elements of the above embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited in so far as the invention can be achieved. 
   For example, in the above embodiment, when the pair of left and right arms  13 , while resiliently deformed inwardly so as to pass the hooks  13   a  through the inlet portion of the slot  21 , advance in the slot  21 , the convex portion  23  resiliently bends the arms  13  in the direction of the thickness (plate thickness) thereof so as to cause the upper end portions of the arms  13  to slide onto the front end portion of the convex portion  23 . However, instead of this construction, there can be adopted a construction in which when the pair of left and right arms  13 , while resiliently deformed inwardly so as to pass the hooks  13   a  through the inlet portion of the slot  21 , advance in the slot  21 , the convex portion  23  is pressed by the arms  13 , so that the outwardly-disposed inner wall of the slot  21  (which is the extension wall of the wall  21   b , and defines the side wall of the connector housing  1  forming the end surface thereof) is resiliently bent outwardly in the direction of the thickness thereof (plate thickness), thereby allowing the upper end portions of the arms  13  to slide onto the front end portion of the convex portion  23 . 
   Although the invention has been illustrated and described for the particular preferred embodiments, it is apparent to a person skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made on the basis of the teachings of the invention. It is apparent that such changes and modifications are within the spirit, scope, and intention of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
   The present application is based on Japan Patent Application No. 2007-288290 filed on Nov. 6, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein for reference.