JP2018018605A - Terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact terminal capable of preventing plastic deformation of a spring piece.SOLUTION: A terminal 1 comprises: a substrate connection part 5; a spring piece 2 having a meander shape; a contact part 3; and a lateral wall 4 covering the lateral face of the spring piece 2 from four directions. Because the spring piece 2 has the meander shape, a long spring length can be ensured while reducing the size in the longer direction of the terminal 1. As a result, the terminal 1 can be downsized in its entirety while maintaining the softness of the spring piece. In addition, because the spring piece 2 is covered with the lateral wall 4, displacement exceeding the elastic limit of the spring piece 2 may be restricted even if the contact part 3 is obliquely pushed in. This prevents plastic deformation of the spring piece 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal mounted on a circuit board, and more particularly to a ground terminal.

  In recent years, along with miniaturization and high performance of electronic devices, miniaturization of components and high density mounting on circuit boards have been demanded.

  Under such circumstances, for example, a terminal mounted on a circuit board such as a ground terminal is required to be downsized, and various devices for reducing the size of the terminal have been made.

  As an example of such a contrivance, Patent Document 1 discloses a board part to be soldered to a circuit board, a spring piece that is bent in the horizontal direction alternately several times through a bent part, and extends upward from the board part, and the spring. A terminal having one side covered with two side walls is disclosed.

  In the terminal having such a spring piece, the area occupied in the horizontal direction of the spring piece is reduced, so that the area of the board portion required for fixing the spring piece to the circuit board can be reduced, and the increase in height is also caused by the spring. Since the piece is bent a plurality of times, it can be minimized, and the terminal can be downsized as a whole.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-250320, FIG.

  In the terminal described in Patent Document 1 described above, the displacement of the spring piece in the direction covered by the two side walls can be restricted, but the displacement of the spring piece in the direction not covered by the side wall. It is hard to say that it can be regulated sufficiently. Therefore, when the pressing contact force by the connection object acts from the oblique direction at the time of contact with the connection object, the spring piece may be deformed beyond the elastic limit and cannot be restored in the direction not covered by the side wall. That is, in the terminal (contact member 1), the protrusion 11 that restricts the elastic deformation of the contact piece 7 is engaged with the opening edge of the guide opening 5 of the side wall 4, so that the contact piece 7 and the spring in the direction where the side wall 4 is not present. Although the falling of the piece 6 is restricted, when the contact piece 7 falls, the projection 11 in the horizontal state rotates inside the guide opening 5 and the timing of locking to the opening edge is delayed. As a result, the contact piece 7 and the spring piece 6 may be tilted beyond the elastic limit.

  Moreover, although the spring piece of the terminal described in Patent Document 1 can be displaced in the vertical direction and the direction not covered by the side wall, it cannot be displaced in the direction covered by the side wall. For this reason, when the above-mentioned oblique push is performed by the object to be connected in the direction, the spring piece strongly hits the side wall, and the spring piece is caught by the side wall and the push is hardened. There is a possibility of causing plastic deformation by acting.

  The present invention has been made against the background of the prior art as described above. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal that is small and can prevent plastic deformation of a spring piece.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

  In the present invention, a board connecting portion, one end side is provided continuously to the board connecting portion, a meandering spring piece in which a bent portion and a flat portion are alternately continued, and the other end side of the spring piece are provided. It is a terminal provided with a contact part and a side wall provided continuously from the substrate connection part and covering a side surface of the spring piece from four directions.

  According to the terminal of the present invention, since the spring piece has a meandering shape in which the bent portion and the flat portion are alternately continued, the spring length can be increased by the meandering shape while shortening the longitudinal direction of the terminal. The entire terminal can be reduced in size while ensuring the softness of the piece. Since the entire terminal can be reduced in size, the mounting projection area on the circuit board can be saved.

  In addition, in the case of a one-time bent terminal having a contact part extending from the one end side of the board connecting part through the bent part to the upper side of the board connecting part, when the contact part is pushed obliquely from the side connected to the bent part, The contact part can be deformed to follow in the direction of the diagonal push, but when the contact part is pushed diagonally from the tip side of the contact part on the opposite side, the contact part is pushed in the direction of the diagonal push. It cannot be deformed following the fall. However, since the terminal of the present invention has a meandering shape in which the spring piece is bent in multiple stages, even if the contact portion is pushed obliquely from either side, it can follow and be deformed as if it swings in the direction of the oblique push similarly ( Diagonal push following deformation function).

  Since the side surface of the spring piece is covered by the side wall from four directions, the spring piece abuts against the side wall even if the connection object pushes the contact portion diagonally from any direction. Excessive deformation can be controlled (buckling prevention function).

  When the spring piece is pushed obliquely into contact with the side wall, elastic deformation in the compression direction of the spring piece can be guided by the side wall (guide function).

  And since a side wall covers the side surface of a spring piece from 4 directions, a spring piece can be protected from the effect | action of external force (protection function). Furthermore, the side wall has a height exceeding the upper end of the spring piece in the free state, in other words, the upper end of the side wall is located on the side of the contact portion, so that the spring piece in the free state where no load is applied is provided. It can protect more reliably from the action of external force.

  The present invention may include an upper wall protruding from the upper end of the side wall to the side surface of the contact portion. According to this, the pressing of the connection object can be received by the upper wall, and excessive compression deformation of the spring piece due to excessive pressing can be regulated.

  The upper wall of the present invention has a first upper wall and a second upper wall that are arranged on the sides of the contact portion. According to this, it is possible to reliably receive and support the pushing of the connection object on both sides of the contact portion. Furthermore, since the upper end opening of the side wall is closed by the contact portion, the first upper wall, and the second upper wall, it is possible to protect the spring pieces inside the side wall and to prevent foreign substances from entering.

  The side wall of the present invention is provided to be separated from the substrate connecting portion through a leg portion rising from the substrate connecting portion. According to this, when soldering a board | substrate connection part to a circuit board, a solder piece adheres to a side wall via a spring piece, and it can be made to be free from the malfunction that a spring piece and a side wall adhere. .

  The terminal of the present invention may have a movable gap between which the spring piece can be displaced between the side wall and the spring piece. According to this, the spring piece can be elastically deformed in the four directions toward the side wall inside the side wall that covers the spring piece from the four directions. Therefore, it can elastically deform following the pushing of the connection object from an oblique direction.

  According to the terminal of the present invention, it is possible to contribute to space saving of the circuit board by downsizing. Further, a stable conductive contact can be obtained even when the contact portion is pushed obliquely by the oblique push following deformation function. Furthermore, the spring piece can be protected from plastic deformation by the buckling prevention function. And the elastic deformation to the compression direction of a spring piece can be smoothly performed by the said guide function. Finally, the terminal can be protected by the protection function. Thus, the terminal of the present invention can realize downsizing of the electronic device and stable conductive connection with the connection object.

The front perspective view which shows the terminal of 1st Embodiment. The rear perspective view of the terminal of FIG. The right view of the terminal of FIG. The left view of the terminal of FIG. The top view of the terminal of FIG. The bottom view of the terminal of FIG. The front view of the terminal of FIG. The rear view of the terminal of FIG. FIG. 9 is an AA cross-sectional view of the terminal of FIG. 8. The right view which shows the state in which the terminal of FIG. 1 contacted the circuit board and the contact part was pushed in. Sectional drawing of the state of FIG. The right view which shows the state in which the contact part was further pushed in from the state of FIG. Sectional drawing of the state of FIG. The rear perspective view which shows the terminal of 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the terminal of FIG.

  Hereinafter, terminals according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the specification, claims, and drawings, the X direction of the terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1 is defined as the width direction / left / right direction, the Y direction is the front / rear direction, and the Z direction is the height direction / up / down direction. 3 is a front view, and the right side in the X direction is “right”, the left side is “left”, the plane in the Z direction is “up”, and the bottom is “down”. However, such left / right, front / rear, and top / bottom identification does not limit the mounting direction and usage direction of the terminal 1 of the present invention.

First Embodiment [FIGS. 1 to 13]

Terminal 1
The terminal 1 includes a spring piece 2, a contact portion 3 protruding from the spring piece 2, a side wall 4 that covers the spring piece 2 from four directions, front, rear, left, and right, and a board connection portion 5 that connects the spring piece 2 and the side wall 4. The upper wall 6 is bent from the upper end of the side wall 4 and protrudes toward the side of the contact portion 3. The terminal 1 is formed as an integral molded body formed by bending a conductive metal piece, and a predetermined portion of the surface is plated.

Spring piece 2
As shown in FIG. 9, the spring piece 2 includes a first bent portion 21a and a first flat portion 22a, a second bent portion 21b and a second flat portion 22b in this order from the substrate connecting portion 5 side which is one end side. It has the 3rd bending part 21c, the 3rd plane part 22c, the 4th bending part 21d, and the 4th plane part 22d, and is formed in the meandering shape as a whole. The first plane portion 22a to the fourth plane portion 22d are arranged in parallel while being spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction. Thereby, the spring piece 2 can be elastically deformed in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction.

  The spring piece 2 has a meandering shape in which a combination of a bent portion (first bent portion 21a) and a flat portion (first flat portion 22a) is formed in multiple stages in the Z direction. For this reason, while shortening the length of the terminal 1 in the longitudinal direction (X direction), the meandering shape extending in the Z direction can increase the spring length. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire terminal 1 while ensuring the softness of the spring piece 2, and as a result, it is possible to save the mounting projection area on the circuit board.

Contact part 3
The contact portion 3 is provided on the other end side of the spring piece 2. Specifically, it is formed in a bent shape protruding in the Z direction from the fourth flat surface portion 22d. The contact portion 3 is formed in an inverted U-shape as a whole, and is a contact portion comprising a protruding base portion 32 protruding in the Z direction and a curved protrusion protruding relative to the protruding base portion 32 along the bent surface of the protruding base portion 32. 31 is formed. The contact portion 31 is a portion that is brought into conductive contact upon receiving the pressing of the circuit board B2 (FIG. 10) as the “connection object”.

  Each of the side surface 31a of the contact portion 31 and the side surface 32a of the protruding base portion 32 has a rounded corner shape with a smooth upper end edge. If the upper end edges of the circuit board are sharply squared, the circuit pattern B2 may be damaged when the circuit board B2 is pushed obliquely, but such a problem is prevented. Further, the contact surface 31b of the contact portion 31 is formed as a curved plane, and even if the circuit board B is in contact with the circuit board B at an angle, the contact surface 31b can be in conductive contact within the range of the curved plane.

Side wall 4
The side wall 4 is provided continuously to the board connecting portion 5 and is formed as a wall that covers the side surface of the spring piece 2 from the four directions of the X direction (left-right direction) and the Y direction (front-back direction).

  The side wall 4 is composed of two parts, a first wall part 4A and a second wall part 4B. The first wall portion 4A and the second wall portion 4B are formed so as to continuously cover two adjacent surfaces of the spring piece 2, respectively. Therefore, a gap is formed between these end portions so that heat does not accumulate in the internal space of the side wall 4.

  In the first wall 4A, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and the like, a flat plate-like first leg portion 41 that rises perpendicularly from the longitudinal side on the front side along the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the board connecting portion 5; A flat plate-like first side wall 42 that is continuous with the first leg portion 41 and a second side wall 43 that extends by bending the right end side of the first side wall 42 rearward along the Y direction are formed. The first side wall 42 restricts excessive elastic deformation exceeding the elastic limit forward along the Y direction of the spring piece 2 and compresses the spring piece 2 forward when the spring piece 2 is pushed obliquely by the circuit board B2. It has a function to guide deformation. The second side wall 43 regulates excessive elastic deformation exceeding the elastic limit to the right along the X direction of the spring piece 2 and to the right side of the spring piece 2 when pushed obliquely by the circuit board B2. Has a function of guiding the compression deformation.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and the like, the second wall portion 4 </ b> B has a flat plate-like second leg portion 44 that rises vertically from the longitudinal side on the rear side along the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the substrate connecting portion 5. The plate-shaped third side wall 45 that is continuous with the second leg portion 44 and the fourth side wall 46 that bends and extends the left end side of the third side wall 45 forward along the Y direction. The third side wall 45 restricts excessive elastic deformation exceeding the elastic limit in the rearward direction along the Y direction of the spring piece 2 and also compresses the spring piece 2 in the rearward direction when the spring piece 2 is pushed obliquely by the circuit board B2. It has a function to guide deformation. The fourth side wall 46 restricts excessive elastic deformation exceeding the elastic limit to the left along the X direction of the spring piece 2 and to the left side of the spring piece 2 when pushed obliquely by the circuit board B2. Has a function of guiding the compression deformation.

  The side wall 4 is divided into a first wall portion 4A and a second wall portion 4B. For this reason, in the manufacturing process of the terminal 1, in order to form the 1st side wall 42, the 2nd side wall 43, the 3rd side wall 45, and the 4th side wall 46, the frequency | count of the bending process performed to each wall part 4A, 4B should be decreased. The side wall 4 can be formed relatively easily. In addition, when the first side wall 42 to the fourth side wall 46 are formed in a series of shapes, the efficiency of material removal in the manufacturing process is deteriorated, whereas the efficiency of material removal is divided by dividing the first wall portion 4A and the second wall portion 4B. Has improved.

  4A of 1st wall parts and the 2nd wall part 4B are following the board | substrate connection part 5 via the leg parts 41 and 44, respectively, and the lower end edge of the 1st side wall 42-the 4th side wall 46 is the board | substrate connection part 5. The distance is such that the first bent portion 21a can be exposed with respect to the first wall portion 4A. As a result, when the board connecting portion 5 is soldered to the circuit board B1, the solder adheres to the first side wall 42 and the second side wall 43 via the first bent portion 21a close to the board connecting portion 5. This prevents the portion 21a and the problem that they are fixed from occurring.

  A notch 47 is formed at the upper edge of the third side wall 45. Thus, the upper wall 6 can be bent so that the upper surface 61 of the upper wall 6 is at the same height as the upper ends 45 a and 46 a of the third side wall 45 and the fourth side wall 46. And by making the upper wall 6 and the upper ends 45a and 46a thereof have the same height, the circuit board B2 can be brought into contact in a horizontal and stable posture, and the circuit board B2 can be positioned in a correct posture. Yes.

  The side wall 4 has a height exceeding the upper end (fourth plane portion 22d) of the spring piece 2 in a free length where no load is applied and is not compressed and deformed, in other words, the upper ends 42a, 43a, 45a, 46a of the side wall 4 are The contact portion 3 is formed at a height located on the side of the intermediate position in the Z direction. When the upper end of the side wall 4 is, for example, a position where the fourth flat surface portion 22d is exposed or a position where the lower side surface of the fourth bent portion 21d is exposed, the operator points the fourth flat surface portion 22d and the fourth bent portion 21d. The spring piece 2 can be reliably protected from the action of an external force by setting it to the height described above. In particular, the spring piece 2 is soft because it has a meandering shape with multi-stage bending as described above, and since the contact portion is at the upper end, the position of the center of gravity is high and it tends to buckle, so that the height of the side wall 4 is increased as described above. In particular, the upper end side of the spring piece 2 can be reliably covered and protected.

Board connection part 5
As shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the board connecting portion 5 is a portion used for soldering with the circuit board B <b> 1.

Upper wall 6
The upper wall 6 is formed to bend horizontally to the side of the contact portion 3 continuously to the third side wall 45. As a result, the upper end of the fourth flat surface portion 22d of the uppermost stage of the spring piece 2 is concealed from the top of the tip portion opposite to the fourth bent portion 21. If there is no upper wall 6 and the leading end is exposed, the operator may accidentally hook the contact portion 3 or the leading end with a glove or the like and stretch it upward, making the terminal 1 unusable. On the other hand, by covering the front end portion with the upper wall 6, the front end portion can be prevented from being pulled accidentally. Even if the contact portion 3 is pulled upward by mistake, the tip portion comes into contact with the bottom surface 62 of the upper wall 6, so that plastic deformation can be prevented from occurring.

Description of Usage Method The terminal 1 is used to establish an electrical connection between the circuit board B1 and another circuit board B2, as shown in FIGS. That is, the terminal 1 is mounted on the circuit pattern of the circuit board B1 by the solder 8 with the board connecting portion 5 being mounted thereon. Then, when the circuit pattern of the circuit board B <b> 2 as the “connection object” is in conductive contact with the contact part 31 of the contact part 3, the electrical connection between the circuit board B <b> 1 and the circuit board B <b> 2 is established.

  The amount of displacement of the contact portion 3 in the Z direction (the amount of elastic displacement of the spring piece 2 in the compression direction) varies depending on the position of the circuit board B2. That is, when the circuit pattern of the circuit board B2 comes into contact with the contact portion 31 and further approaches the circuit board B1, the spring piece 2 is compressed and deformed as shown in FIGS. It is pushed into the internal space. When the circuit board B2 further approaches the circuit board B1, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the upper surface 61 of the upper wall 6 and the upper ends 45a and 46a of the third side wall 45 and the fourth side wall 46 become the circuit board B2. It comes into contact. This state is the maximum displacement amount of the contact portion 3 pushed in the Z direction, and cannot be pushed any further. This state becomes the maximum amount of deformation of the spring piece 2 that has undergone compression deformation, and further compression deformation is restricted. Since the contact part 3 can be displaced as described above, variations in the distance when the circuit board B1 and the circuit board B2 are assembled to the device can be absorbed within the range of the displacement amount. In addition, depending on the use environment of the device including the circuit board B1 and the circuit board B2, the distance between the circuit board B1 and the circuit board B2 may be changed due to vibration or the like. Due to the displacement of the contact portion 3, the conductive contact with the circuit pattern of the circuit board B2 can be maintained.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 9, 11, and 13, there are movable gaps d <b> 1 and d <b> 2 between the spring piece 2 and the first side wall 42, the second side wall 43, the third side wall 45, and the fourth side wall 46. , D3 are formed. Even if the circuit board B2 pushes the contact portion 3 diagonally, the spring piece 2 can be elastically deformed in four directions toward the side wall 4 inside the side wall 4 that covers the spring piece 2 from the four directions. Therefore, even if it is obliquely pressed by the circuit board B2, the spring piece 2 can be elastically deformed following it.

  With respect to such an oblique push following deformation function of the spring piece 2, it is more advantageous that the spring piece 2 has a meandering shape. For example, in a one-time bent terminal (conventional example) having a contact portion extending from the one end side of the substrate connection portion to the upper side of the substrate connection portion via the bending portion, the contact portion is inclined from the side connected to the bending portion. When pushing in, the contact portion can be deformed following the tilting direction so as to tilt down, but when the contact portion is pushed obliquely from the tip side of the contact portion on the opposite side, the contact portion is It is impossible to follow and deform so that it tilts in the direction of the diagonal push. However, since the terminal 1 has a meandering shape in which the spring piece 2 bends in multiple stages, the contact portion 3 is similarly deformed as if it is swung in the direction of oblique pushing even if the contact portion 3 is obliquely pushed in from any of the front, rear, left and right directions. can do. At this time, since the side surface of the spring piece 2 is covered by the side wall 4 from four directions, the spring piece 2 comes into contact with the inner surface of the side wall 4 regardless of the direction in which the circuit board B2 pushes the contact portion 3. Excessive deformation exceeding the elastic limit of the spring piece 2 can be restricted. Further, when the spring piece 2 comes into contact with the side wall 4 in such a manner, the elastic deformation of the spring piece 2 in the compression direction can be guided by the inner surface of the side wall 4. In this way, the terminal 1 can realize a reliable and stable conductive connection with the circuit board B2.

Second Embodiment [FIGS. 14 and 15]

  The terminal 1 'of the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that two upper walls, that is, a first upper wall 6A and a second upper wall 6B are provided. Since the rest of the configuration is the same as that of the terminal 1, the same reference numerals are given to the same members, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

  The terminal 1 ′ has a first upper wall 6 </ b> A formed by being bent horizontally to the side of the contact portion 3 continuously to the third side wall 45, and the opposite side of the contact portion 3 to the first side wall 42. And a second upper wall 6B that is formed by being bent horizontally. The first upper wall 6A is the same as the upper wall 6 of the first embodiment.

  The first upper wall 6A covers the upper end of the fourth flat portion 22d opposite to the fourth bent portion 21d side, and the second upper wall 6B is the fourth bent portion 21d of the fourth flat portion 22d. The upper part of the side is covered. A gap is formed between the first upper wall 6A and the second upper wall 6B, and the contact portion 3 protrudes from this gap. Therefore, the displacement of the contact portion 3 in the X direction at the time of contact with the circuit board B or the like is restricted within the range of the interval.

  The upper surface 6A1 of the first upper wall 6A and the upper surface 6B1 of the second upper wall 6B are equal in height, and the first side wall 42, the second side wall 43, the third side wall 45, and the upper ends 42a, 43a, 45a of the fourth side wall 46, It is higher than 46a. Therefore, the pressing of the contact portion 3 by the circuit board B is possible until the circuit board B comes into contact with the upper surfaces 6A1 and 6B1. Since the contact of the circuit board B is received by the flat surfaces of the upper surfaces 6A1 and 6B1 located on both sides of the contact portion 3, the circuit board B can be stably and horizontally supported in a larger area than the first embodiment. There are advantages you can do.

Modification of the embodiment

  In the embodiment, the example in which the first wall portion 4A and the second wall portion 4B each include two side walls has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first wall portion 4A includes a single side wall that covers one side surface of the spring piece 2, and the second wall portion 4B is continuous to cover the three side surfaces of the spring piece 2. The aspect provided with three side walls may be sufficient. Alternatively, either the first wall portion 4A or the second wall portion 4B may be omitted, and the other may include four side walls.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the spring portion 2 includes four bent portions from the first bent portion 21a to the fourth bent portion 21d and four flat portions from the first flat portion 22a to the fourth flat portion 22d is shown. However, any number can be used as long as the number of the bent portions and the number of the plane portions is two or more. In other words, as long as the number of steps of the combination of the bent portion and the flat portion forming the meandering shape is two or more, any number of steps may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1 'Terminal 2 Spring piece 3 Contact part 4 Side wall 4A 1st wall part 4B 2nd wall part 5 Board | substrate connection part 6 Upper wall 6A 1st upper wall 6A1 Upper surface 6A2 Lower surface 6B 2nd upper wall 6B1 Upper surface 6B2 Lower surface 8 Solder 21a First bent portion 21b Second bent portion 21c Third bent portion 21d Fourth bent portion 22a First flat portion 22b Second flat portion 22c Third flat portion 22d Fourth flat portion 31 Contact portion 31a Side surface 31b Contact surface 32 Projection Base 32a Side 41 First leg 42 First side wall 42a Upper end 43 Second side wall 43a Upper end 44 Second leg 45 Third side wall 45a Upper end 46 Fourth side wall 46a Upper end 47 Notch B1, B2 Circuit boards d1, d2, d3 Movable gap

Claims (5)

A board connection,
One end side is provided continuously with the substrate connecting portion, and the meandering spring piece in which the bent portion and the flat portion are alternately continuous, and
A contact portion provided on the other end side of the spring piece;
A terminal provided on the board connecting portion and provided with a side wall covering the side surface of the spring piece from four directions.
The terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an upper wall protruding from an upper end of the side wall toward a side surface of the contact portion.
The terminal according to claim 2, wherein the upper wall has a first upper wall and a second upper wall disposed on a side of the contact portion.
The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the side wall is provided apart from the substrate contact portion via a leg portion rising from the substrate connection portion.
The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a movable gap is provided between the side wall and the spring piece so that the spring piece can be displaced.

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