JP5738119B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to an electrical connector suitable for use in an environment where waterproofing is required and a manufacturing method thereof.

  Electronic devices such as mobile phones and personal computers are generally vulnerable to water, and it is desired to take waterproof measures. In conventional electronic devices, for example, waterproofing measures have been taken by, for example, closing an externally accessible opening with a silicon rubber lid.

  However, forgetting to attach the lid or attaching the lid in an incomplete state may cause water to enter the electronic device. In order to waterproof the connector itself assuming water intrusion, for example, it is conceivable to integrally form a contact constituting the connector and a shell enclosing the connector with a resin capable of forming a housing.

  By the way, at the time of integral molding, the contact is shaken due to the flow of the resin and is displaced, and therefore, it is necessary to take measures against the shake of the contact as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2004-362827.

  FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the electrical connector 110 disclosed in the above publication. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the fixing mold 131 used for manufacturing the electrical connector 110. The contacts 105 and 106 used for the electrical connector 110 are shown in FIG. In addition, it is shown in a perspective view.

  As shown in these drawings, the electrical connector 110 includes an insulator 101, a protrusion 103 protruding forward from the front surface 101b of the insulator 101, first and second contacts 105 and 106 supported by the insulator 101, It includes a shell 102 that surrounds it.

  When the electrical connector 110 is manufactured, the contact member 120 having the contacts 105 and 106 is overmolded with resin in a state where the contact member 120 is placed on the lower support base 132 of the fixing mold shown in FIG. As a result, two types of partial mold extraction holes 103a and 103a are formed in the protruding portion 103 of the insulator 101 by the partial mold portions 131a, 131b and 131c extending in the vertical direction.

JP 2004-362827 A

  However, in the manufacturing method disclosed in the above publication, the contacts 105 and 106 and the shell 102 are integrally formed with a resin in order to take measures against waterproofing of the electrical connector 110 even though it can take measures against contact deflection. I can't do it. If this is the case, in order to perform integral molding, it is necessary to place the shell 102 on the upper portion of the contact 105 in advance. However, in the configuration using the conventional electrical connector 110, the partial mold portions 131a, 131b, 131c extending in the vertical direction are provided. This is because it is necessary to extract from the insulator 101, and the shell 102 cannot be arranged in such an extraction direction. Therefore, in this conventional manufacturing method, the contacts 105 and 106 and the shell 102 cannot be integrally formed with the resin, even though it is possible to take measures against contact deflection.

  As a result, in this conventional electrical connector 110, in order to complete waterproofing measures, for example, an insulator 101 is formed with a mold shown in FIG. 12, and then a shell 102 is attached. Further, the shell 102 and the insulator are further attached. It will be necessary to perform resin molding to fill the gap formed between 101, that is, double molding. However, such double molding increases manufacturing costs and manufacturing labor.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems in the prior art, and provides an electrical connector that can be waterproofed at a lower cost and in a simple manner.

According to the present invention, a tubular shell which extends through through an opening provided on each side back and forth, with a portion which is positioned in the interior of the tubular shell through the opening, a plurality parallel along the pitch direction It is arranged contacts, and can be brought into contact with the mating contact of the mating connector inserted into the cylindrical shell through the front opening on one surface in the thickness direction of the contact in the insertion direction. An electrical connector comprising: the contacts disposed in the insertion direction; and an insulator integrally attached to the plurality of contacts and the cylindrical shell by batch molding. the electrical connector has the front of the outer periphery of the occluded and the tubular shell opening of the rear by the insulator covered by the insulator An electrical connector is provided, wherein a fitting protrusion that can be fitted to the mating connector formed using the plurality of contacts and the insulator is provided inside the cylindrical shell. Is done.

The said electrical connector WHEREIN: The said contact may be attached to the said insulator in parts other than the part which can contact the said other party contact.

Moreover, the said electrical connector WHEREIN: The said contact may be supported by the said insulator at least in the side surface in the said pitch direction .

In the electrical connector, the contact may be supported by the insulator on a surface opposite to the one surface .

  An inexpensive electrical connector with a shell suitable for use in an environment requiring waterproofing and a method for manufacturing the same are provided.

It is a front perspective view of the electrical connector by this invention. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1. It is a front view of the electrical connector of FIG. It is the sectional view on the aa line of FIG. It is the bb sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1 but showing a state where resin is removed. FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is the BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view of the conventional electrical connector. It is the perspective view which showed the metal mold | die for fixing used in order to manufacture the conventional connector of FIG. 11 with the contact.

  1 to 3 show the appearance of an electrical connector 1 according to the present invention. 1 is a front perspective view, FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view, FIG. 3 is a front view, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line aa in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line bb. is there. FIGS. 6 to 10 are diagrams corresponding to FIGS. 1 to 5, respectively. For convenience, the state in which the insulator 60 is removed from the state of FIG. 1 and the like is shown.

  The electrical connector 1 includes a plurality of contacts 40 arranged in parallel in the pitch direction, a shell 20 that shields the contacts 40, and an insulator 60 that is integrally formed with the contacts 40 and the shell 20.

  In actual use, it is assembled into a main body device (not shown) such as an electronic device with the fitting port 11 inside the shell 20 opened to the outside, and is fixed to the substrate by soldering or the like. The fitting port 11 is preferably closed with a lid made of recon rubber or the like. However, the electrical connector 1 of the present application has enhanced waterproofing measures, so even if the lid is forgotten or attached incompletely. Even if water enters the fitting space of the electrical connector 1 from the fitting port 11, the water does not enter the main unit.

  The contact 40 is formed by punching and bending a flat metal plate (plate-like body), for example. The contact 40 has a cantilever-like horizontal length portion 41 extending along the fitting direction (the direction of the arrow “A” in FIGS. 4 and 5), and a vertical portion partially embedded in the insulator 60. A portion 43 and a horizontal fixture 42 used for soldering to a substrate (not shown) are included.

  The plurality of length portions 41 are integrally formed with the insulator 60 in a state where a plurality of the length portions 41 are arranged in parallel in the pitch direction, and can form a substantially flat fitting protrusion 62. The fitting protrusion 62 is substantially entirely contained in the shell 20 when the electrical connector 1 is assembled. In the fitting protrusion 62, the side surface 50 in the pitch direction of the length portion 41 is covered by the insulator 60 only about half from the lower surface 48 to the upper surface 47 of the length portion 41 (reference number “ 65 "), and the remaining approximately half is exposed. The exposed lower surface 48 of the length portion 41 can be used as a contact surface with a mating contact (not shown) of a mating connector (not shown) inserted through the fitting port 11.

  A bent portion 45 is formed by bending the tip of the length portion 41 from the lower surface 48 toward the upper surface 47. Since the upper surface 46 of the bent portion 45 is in contact with a mold (not shown) when forming the insulator, it remains exposed to the outside even after the product is manufactured. This top end face 46 prevents the danger that the bent portion 45 collides with the mating connector when the mating connector is fitted, and the contact 40 is broken due to resin peeling or the like. In order to avoid contact, a step portion 66 is formed by being retracted below the upper surface 69 of the substantially flat fitting protrusion 62.

  Similarly to the contact 40, the shell 20 is formed by punching and bending a flat metal plate, for example. The edges of the bent metal plates are connected to each other at the center of the ceiling of the shell 20, and as a result, as shown in FIG. 3 or 8 as a whole, the long side 35 is parallel to the long side 35. An inverted trapezoidal substantially cylindrical shape including the short side 37 and the side 35 connecting the long side 35 and the short side 37 is formed. Therefore, the shell 20 can form the through-hole 33 in the center. From the through hole 33, in addition to the contact 40, a mold is inserted along the mating direction of the mating connector (the direction of arrow “A” in FIGS. 4 and 5). The mold also has a function of supporting the contact 40 at a predetermined position of the through hole 33. Since the resin is poured into the mold while supporting the contact 40, the contact 40 is not shaken or displaced due to the flow of the resin. By such a method, the contact 40 can be reliably fixed at a predetermined position of the shell 20. The seam 22 formed by joining the metal plates is generally soldered to the substrate for strength reinforcement (as indicated by reference numeral “102d” in FIG. 12). In order to increase this, this is provided on the opposite side of the substrate, that is, on the ceiling side of the shell 20, and the gap between the joints 22 is completely covered with the insulator 60.

  A notch is formed on the left and right side surfaces 50 of the shell 20 composed of the side edges 36 inclined to the bottom surface 38 side by projecting the central portion of the left and right side surfaces 50 vertically and toward the bottom surface 38 side. The part 24 and the board mounting part (tongue piece) 26 are formed adjacent to each other. These board mounting parts 26 can be used for soldering to the board, but the base part of the board mounting part 26 and the notch part 24 other than the part used for soldering are finally insulated. It will be covered by the body 60. Therefore, water does not enter from the hole 24.

  The insulator 60 includes a sheath 61 that covers the entire outer periphery of the shell 20 in a cylindrical shape, a fitting protrusion 62 that is formed by using the length portion 41 of the contact 40, and a through hole 33 of the shell 20. It includes a back surface portion 64 that closes the back surface.

  Particularly, the exterior 61 on the board installation side is only provided in a state of protruding 67 on the board installation side in the portion covering the front surface of the fitting port 11, and is provided in a portion other than the front surface of the fitting port 11. Not. By not providing the exterior 61 on the board installation side on the part other than the front surface of the fitting port 11, the exposed portion of the shell 20 for soldering can be formed on the board installation side. Therefore, the height of the electrical connector 1 can be reduced. Furthermore, by providing the exterior 61 on the board installation side in a state of projecting to the board installation side, the rear side surface 68 of the projection 67 is used as a regulating part, and the electrical connector 1 is connected to the edge of the board of the main unit. It is possible to arrange it in a state where it abuts against (not shown), and the gap that can be formed between the board and the electrical connector 1 can be reduced on the fitting port 11 side. Thereby, a waterproof effect can be heightened.

As described above, the bottom surface 38 side of the shell 20 forms an exposed portion for soldering. In order to increase the strength of the exposed portion or the like, a part of the back side of the shell 20 is vertically raised from the bottom surface 38 side including the short side 37 toward the top surface 39 side including the long side 35. It is good also as a structure which forms the tongue piece 25 and covers these tongue pieces 25 with the insulator 60. FIG. Further, the upper surface 39 of the shell 20 may be provided with a raised portion 31 to provide a lock hole 30 for locking a plug lock piece (not shown). In this case, a lock hole 70 corresponding to the lock hole 30 of the shell 22 is formed in the upper part of the exterior 61 of the insulator 60. These lock holes 30 and 70 are closed by a waterproof tape (not shown) or the like attached to the exterior 61 when the electrical connector 1 is actually used.
As described above, even when the notch hole 24, the tongue piece 25, and the upright portion 31 are provided in the shell 20, the notch hole 24 is filled with the insulator 60 when the insulator 60 is integrally formed with the shell 20. In addition, the tongue piece 25 and the upright portion 31 are covered with the insulator 60, whereby the connection between the insulator 60 and the shell 20 can be strengthened.

Next, a method for manufacturing the electrical connector 1 will be described.
First, the length portion 41 of the cantilever-shaped contact 40 is moved from the tip 45 to the through hole 33 of the shell 20 on one side, that is, the length portion 41 along the fitting direction with the mating connector. Insert from the rear end side. As a result, the contact 40 is installed inside the shell 20 in an unstable state like a cantilever.

  Next, the first mold is inserted into the through-hole 33 from the same side as the one side into which the length portion 41 is inserted. Separately, the second mold is inserted into the other side of the through-hole 33, That is, it inserts from the front end side of the length portion 41. Although the shapes of the first mold and the second mold are not particularly illustrated, these shapes can be easily imagined from the final shape of the electrical connector 1.

  By the inserted first and second molds, the upper surface 47 and the lower surface 48 of the length portion 41 are sandwiched from the upper and lower directions, and the side surface 50 in the pitch direction (horizontal direction) of the length portion 41 is It is sandwiched between the first molds in the pitch direction. As a result, the contact 40 is aligned in the shell 20. More specifically, the upper surface 47 of the length portion 41 is aligned by the first mold on one side of the through hole 33 and by the second mold on the other side of the through hole 33, respectively. On the other hand, the lower surface 48 of the length portion 41 is aligned by the second mold over one side and the other side of the through-hole 33 (in a portion connecting the one side and the other side). Further, at this time, the first mold covers the side surface 50 in the pitch direction of the length portion 41 so as to cover approximately half of the length portion 41 from the upper surface 47 to the lower surface 48, and the length portion is shelled. Align at 20. In addition, with respect to the upper surface 47 of the length portion 41 in particular, the first mold is not covered almost entirely, but only halfway. This is because the possibility of breakage when it is pulled out is increased and sufficient strength is given to the fitting protrusion. A configuration in which the contacts 40 are supported at a plurality of locations using a plurality of molds. In this example, the first and second molds are used to support the contacts 40 at three locations in the upper and lower directions, and the pitch. In the direction (horizontal direction), it is possible to accurately define the position of the contact with respect to the shell by supporting the first mold, and the positional deviation of the contact when the resin is poured into the mold. Can be prevented.

  After the molds are installed, a resin is poured into these molds, and the contacts 40 and the shell 20 are integrally molded with the insulator 60. Thereby, the electrical connector 1 is substantially entirely covered with the resin. In addition, since the contact 40 and the shell 20 are integrally molded integrally with the insulator 60, the manufacturing cost is lower than that of the double molding.

  Of course, the structure after molding corresponds to the shape of the mold. In other words, the upper surface 47 of the length portion 41 has a portion 71 on one side of the through-hole 33 with which the first mold is in contact with the other side of the through-hole 33 with which the second mold is in contact. Only the portion 72 is exposed from the insulator 60, while the lower surface 48 of the length portion 41 is substantially in contact with one side of the through-hole 33 with which the second mold is in contact. Only the portion 73 extending to the other side is exposed from the insulator 60. Furthermore, the side surface 50 in the pitch direction of the length portion 41 corresponds to the contact surface with the first mold, and is only about a half from the lower surface 48 of the length portion 41 toward the upper surface 47 by the insulator 60. It is formed in a covered state.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrical connector 11 Fitting port 20 Shell 22 Joint 33 Through-hole 35 Long side 36 Side side 37 Short side 38 Bottom surface 39 Top surface 40 Contact 41 Length part 45 Tip 46 Tip top surface 47 Top surface 48 Bottom surface 50 Side surface 60 Insulator 62 Fitting Protrusion 70 Lock hole

Claims (4)

A cylindrical shell penetrating through an opening provided on each of the front and rear sides ;
Having an internal position置付only be part of the tubular shell through the opening, a contact arranged in parallel a plurality along the pitch direction, through the front opening into the interior of the front Symbol cylindrical shell The contact disposed along the insertion direction so as to come into contact with the mating contact of the inserted mating connector on one surface in the thickness direction of the contact in the insertion direction;
An electrical connector comprising the plurality of contacts and an insulator integrally attached to the cylindrical shell by batch molding,
In the electrical connector, the opening on the rear side is closed by the insulator, and the outer periphery on the front side of the cylindrical shell is covered by the insulator, and the plurality of contacts and the insulator are used. An electrical connector, characterized in that a fitting protrusion that can be fitted with the mating connector formed in this manner is provided inside the cylindrical shell. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact is attached to the insulator at a portion other than a portion that can contact the counterpart contact.   The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein the contact is supported by the insulator at least on a side surface in the pitch direction.   The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein the contact is supported by the insulator on a surface opposite to the one surface.

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