Connector

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to a connector, more particularly to a connector which is reduced in depth dimension.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Conventionally, there has been proposed a connector which is provided with a plurality of L-shaped contacts and an insulator holding the contacts, and is mounted on a printed board (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-334748).

[0005] The insulator has a fitting portion for fitting to a mating connector. Each L-shaped contact has a contact portion, a held portion, and a terminal portion. The contact portion extends in a fitting direction in which the insulator is fitted to the mating connector. The contact portions are arranged in the fitting portion of the insulator in two rows one above the other in a contact arranging direction. The held portion is continuous with the contact portion, extends in a direction in which the connector is fitted, and is held in the insulator. The terminal portion is soldered to a through hole in the printed board.

[0006] In general, the held portion of the L-shaped contact is press-fitted in the insulator along the fitting direction of the connector.

[0007] In the connector having L-shaped contacts, the held portions of the contacts extending in the fitting direction of the connector are held by the insulator, and hence it is impossible to obtain a sufficient holding force for holding the held portions of the contacts, unless holding portions of the insulator which hold the held portions of the contacts have a length (in the fitting direction) not shorter than a predetermined length.

[0008] In the case of the above-described connector in which the contact portions of the L-shaped contacts are arranged in two rows one above the other, it is necessary to make the length of the held portions of contacts of the upper row longer than that of the held portions of contacts of the lower row, because if the length of the held portions of contacts of the upper row is equal to that of the held portions of contacts of the lower row, the terminal portions of the contacts of the upper row and those of the contracts of the lower row come into contact with each other. Further, the respective lengths of holding portions of the insulator for holding the held portions of the contacts are determined by setting the length of a holding portion of the insulator for holding the held portions of the contacts of the lower row to a reference length as a shortest required length, and hence the length of a holding portion of the insulator for holding the held portions of the contacts of the upper row becomes longer than the reference length. The lengths of holding portions of the insulator are thus determined because if the length of the holding portion of the insulator for holding the held portions of the contracts of the upper row is set to the reference length, the length of the holding portion for holding the held portions of the contacts of the lower row becomes too short to secure a sufficient holding force for holding the contacts.

[0009] Therefore, the conventional connector suffers from the problem that the holding portion of the insulator for holding the held portions of the contacts of the upper row becomes long, increasing the depth dimension in the direction of the depth of the connector.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector which is reduced in depth dimension.

[0011] To attain the above object, the present invention provides a connector comprising a housing that is capable of being fitted to a mating housing of a mating connector, and a plurality of L-shaped contacts that are held by the housing, the plurality of L-shaped contacts including first contacts and second contacts, wherein each of the first contacts and the second contacts has a contact portion which is capable of being brought into contact with a mating contact of the mating connector, a connection portion which is connected to an object to be connected, and a fixing portion which is fixed to the housing, wherein the contact portions of the first contacts are arranged in at least one row in a contact arranging direction which is orthogonal to a connector fitting direction, wherein the contact portions of the second contacts are arranged in at least one row in the contact arranging direction, wherein the row formed by the contact portions of the first contacts, and the row formed by the contact portions of the second contacts are parallel to each other, wherein the row formed by the contact portions of the first contacts is disposed upward in a direction of height of the housing which is orthogonal to both the connector fitting direction and the contact arranging direction, with respect to the row formed by the contact portions of the second contacts, wherein the connection portions of the first contacts are arranged in at least one row in the contact arranging direction, wherein the connection portions of the second contacts are arranged in at least one row in the contact arranging direction, wherein the row formed by the connection portions of the first contacts and the row formed by the connection portions of the second contacts are parallel to each other, wherein the row formed by the connection portions of the first contacts is disposed rearward in the connector fitting direction with respect to the row formed by the connection portions of the second contacts, and wherein the fixing portions of the second contacts are disposed between the contact portions of the first contacts and the connection portions of the first contacts in the connector fitting direction, and are press-fitted in the housing along the direction of height of the housing.

[0012] With the arrangement of the connector according to the present invention, the fixing portions of the second contacts are disposed between the contact portions of the first contacts and the connection portions of the first contacts in the connector fitting direction, and are press-fitted in the housing along the direction of height of the housing. This makes it possible to shorten the length of the second contacts in the connector fitting direction, and shorten the length of the first contacts in the connector fitting direction. As a result, the dimension in the direction of depth of the housing is reduced.

[0013] Preferably, the connection portions of the first contacts each have a planar shape of a surface-mounting type, and the connection portions of the second contacts each have a pin shape of a through hole insertion type.

[0014] More preferably, the connection portions of the first contacts each protrude out of the housing.

[0015] Preferably, the housing has recesses formed therein, and the second contacts have engaging portions formed for engagement with the recesses, respectively.

[0016] Preferably, the first contacts are contacts for high-speed transmission, and the second contacts are contacts for non-high-speed transmission.

[0017] More preferably, the contacts for high-speed transmission include pairs of signal contacts for high-speed transmission, and ground contracts for high-speed transmission, and the connection portions of the pairs of signal contacts for high-speed transmission are disposed between the connection portions of ones of the ground contacts for high-speed transmission which are adjacent in the contact arranging direction.

[0018] Further preferably, the connection portions of the contacts for non-high-speed transmission are in staggered arrangement in the contact arranging direction.

[0019] According to this invention, it is possible to reduce the dimension of the connector in the direction of the depth thereof

[0020] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0033] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing preferred embodiments thereof.

[0034] Referring to FIGS. 1A to 2B, a connector 1 is comprised of a housing 3, a plurality of contacts 5, and a shell 7.

[0035] The housing 3 is made of a resin having insulation properties. As shown in FIG. 2A, the housing 3 includes a bottom board 31, a rear wall portion 32, side wall portions 33, a holding portion 34, and a projecting portion 35. The bottom board 31 has a plate-like shape, and has a bottom surface formed with a pair of positioning bosses 36. The positioning bosses 36 are inserted in positioning holes 21d of a printed board 21 (object to be connected), shown in FIG. 6. The rear wall portion 32 is continuous with the rear of the bottom board 31. The rear wall portion 32 has a front-side surface (inner surface) thereof formed with a plurality of press-fitting grooves 32a, and a rear-side surface (outer surface) thereof formed with a plurality of press-fitting grooves 32b, at equally-spaced intervals, respectively. The press-fitting grooves 32a and 32b extend in a direction H of the height of the housing 3 (direction orthogonal to a contract arranging direction C and a fitting/removing direction A). Two side wall portions 33 are continuous with the opposite sides of the rear wall portion 32. The holding portion 34 has a plate-like shape, and is continuous with the rear wall portion 32. The holding portion 34 extends along the fitting/removing direction A (connector fitting direction) in which the housing 3 is fitted in and removed from a mating housing of a mating connector, not shown, and is parallel to the bottom board 31. The holding portion 34 has recesses 34a formed in a lower surface of a front end thereof (see FIG. 2B). The projecting portion 35 is continuous with the rear wall portion 32, both of the side wall portions 33, and the holding portion 34. The projecting portion 35 has a hole 35a formed therein for adjusting the impedance value.

[0036] The contact 5 includes contacts (first contacts) for high-speed transmission, and contacts (second contacts) 54, 54′ for non-high-speed transmission. The contacts for high-speed transmission includes first signal contacts (signal contacts for high-speed transmission) 51, second signal contacts (signal contacts for high-speed transmission) 52, and ground contacts (ground contacts for high-speed transmission) 53. These contacts 51, 52, and 53 are disposed at predetermined space intervals in the housing 3. The contacts 54 for non-high-speed transmission and the contacts 54′ for non-high-speed transmission are alternately arranged in the housing 3 at equally-spaced intervals. One first signal contact 51 and one second signal contact 52 form a pair of signal contacts for high-speed transmission. A pair of signal contacts 51, 52 for high-speed transmission, and one ground contact 53 form one contact group for differential signal transmission.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 2A, each first signal contact 51 has a contact portion 51a, a fixing portion 51b, a connecting portion 51c, and a terminal portion (connection portion) 51d, and is formed by blanking and bending a metal plate having elasticity. The contact portions 51a are brought into contact with mating contact portions of mating contacts, not shown. The contact portions 51a are disposed on the upper surface of the holding portion 34. The fixing portion 51b is embedded the housing 3 by a so-called mold-in method. The connecting portion 51c connects the fixing portion 51b and the terminal portion 51d. The terminal portion 51d is continuous with the connecting portion 51c. The terminal portion 51d has a planar shape of a surface-mounting type and is soldered to a pad 21a (see FIG. 6) on the printed board 21.

[0038] The second signal contact 52 has the same shape as the first signal contact 51, and hence reference numerals associated with the second signal contact 52 (52, 52a to 52d) are shown in parentheses beside reference numerals associated with the first signal contact 51 (51, 51a to 51d), and illustration of the second signal contacts 52 is omitted from FIG. 2A. Each second signal contact 52 has a contact portion 52a, a fixing portion 52b, a connecting portion 52c, and a terminal portion (connection portion) 52d, and is formed by blanking and bending a metal plate having elasticity. The contact portions 52a are brought into contact with the mating contact portions of the mating contacts. The contact portions 52a are disposed on the upper surface of the holding portion 34. The fixing portion 52b is embedded in the housing 3 by the so-called mold-in method. The connecting portion 52c connects the fixing portion 52b and the terminal portion 52d. The terminal portion 52d is continuous with the connecting portion 52c. The terminal portion 52d is soldered to the pad 21a (see FIG. 6) on the printed board 21.

[0039] The ground contact 53 has the same shape as the first signal contact 51, and hence reference numerals associated with the ground contact 53 (53, 53a to 53d) are shown in parentheses beside the reference numerals associated with the first signal contact 51 (51, 51a to 51d), and illustration of the ground contacts 53 is omitted from FIG. 2. Each ground contact 53 has a contact portion 53a, a fixing portion 53b, a connecting portion 53c, and a terminal portion (connection portion) 53d, and is formed by blanking and bending a metal plate having elasticity. The contact portions 53a are brought into contact with mating contact portions of mating contacts. The contact portions 53a are disposed on the upper surface of the holding portion 34. The fixing portion 53b is embedded in the housing 3 by the so-called mold-in method. The connecting portion 53c connects the fixing portion 53b and the terminal portion 53d. The terminal portion 53d is continuous with the connecting portion 53c. The terminal portion 53d is soldered to the pad 21a (see FIG. 6) on the printed board 21.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, each contact 54 for non-high-speed transmission has a contact portion 54a, a press-fitting portion (fixing portion) 54b, a connecting portion 54c, a terminal portion (connection portion) 54d, an position changing portion 54e, and a disconnection prevention portion (engaging portion) 54f. The contact portions 54a are brought into contact with mating contact portions of mating contacts. The contact portions 54a are disposed on the lower surface of the holding portion 34. The press-fitting portion 54b is press-fitted in a associated one of the press-fitting grooves 32a of the housing 3. The connecting portion 54c connects the contact portion 54a and the press-fitting portion 54b. The terminal portion 54d has a pin shape of a through hole insertion type, and is inserted into a through hole 21b (see FIG. 6) of the printed board 21, and is soldered thereto. The position changing portion 54e connects the press-fitting portion 54b and the terminal portion 54d. The position changing portion 54e is bend rearward, and changes the position (position in the fitting/removing direction A) of the terminal portion 54d with respect to the press-fitting portion 54b. The terminal portion 54d is located rearward of the press-fitting portion 54b. The disconnection prevention portion 54f is engaged with an associated one of the recesses 34a of the holding portion 34, and is fixed to the holding portion 34 e.g. by an adhesive (see FIG. 2B).

[0041] The contact 54′ for non-high-speed transmission has a similar configuration as the contact 54 except an position changing portion 54e′. The position changing portion 54e′ is folded forward to thereby cause a terminal portion 54d′ to be positioned forward of the press-fitting portion 54b. As a result, the terminal portions 54d and 54d′ are in staggered arrangement (see FIG. 4). Therefore, if the terminal portions 54d and 54d′ are connected by imaginary straight lines, one zigzag line is formed in which mountain-like shapes each in bilateral symmetry are connected in the contact arranging direction C. The terminal portions 54d, 54d′ are inserted into the respective associated through holes 21b of the printed board 21, and are soldered thereto. The through holes 21b in the printed circuit board 21 are in staggered arrangement matching the staggered arrangement of the terminal portions 54d, 54d′ (see FIG. 6).

[0042] As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the contacts 54 and 54′ are formed by blanking and bending a metal plate having elasticity. The lengths of the contacts 54 and 54′ in the developed state are equal to each other, which makes it easy to perform bending after blanking. The blanked contacts 54 and 54′ are continuous with a carrier 54g.

[0043] When performing bending, the position changing portion 54e of the contact 54 is bent in a predetermined direction, and the position changing portion 54e′ of the contact 54′ is bent in an opposite direction to the predetermined direction (see FIG. 5C). Even after bending, the contacts 54 and the contacts 54′ are continuous with the carrier 54g. This makes it possible to press-fit the contacts 54 and the contacts 54′ in the press-fitting groove 32a along the direction of the height H of the housing 3 at a time. After press-fitting the press-fitting portions 54b, 54b′ of the contacts 54, 54′ in the press-fitting groove 32a, the carrier 54g is cut off from the contacts 54 and 54′.

[0044] The shell 7 is made of a metal and, as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1D, has leg parts 7a, contact parts 7b, and locking pieces 7c. The leg parts 7a are soldered to through holes 21c of the printed board 21 (see FIG. 6), and are grounded. The contact parts 7b are brought into contact with a mating shell, not shown, of the mating connector via window holes 7d formed in side walls of the shell 7. The locking pieces 7c are disposed within holes 7e formed in the bottom of the shell 7. The locking pieces 7c are engaged with the mating shell of the mating connector, to thereby lock the mating shell to the shell 7.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3, the contact portions 51a and 52a of the first and second signal contacts 51 and 52, and the contact portions 53a of the ground contacts 53 are arranged in a row in the contact arranging direction C which is orthogonal to the fitting/removing direction A, respectively.

[0046] The contact portions 54a and 54a′ of the contacts 54 and 54′ are also arranged in a row in the contact arranging direction C.

[0047] The row formed by the contact portions 51a and 52a of the first and second signal contacts 51 and 52, and the contact portions 53a of the ground contacts 53, and the row formed by the contact portions 54a and 54a′ of the contacts 54 and 54′ are parallel to each other.

[0048] The contact portions 51a and 52a of each pair of first and second signal contacts 51 and 52 are disposed between the contact portions 53a of adjacent ones of the ground contacts 53 in the contact arranging direction C. A pitch of the first and second signal contacts 51 and 52 and the ground contacts 53 in the contact arranging direction C in their row and a pitch of the contacts 54 and 54′ in the contact arranging direction C in their row are different from each other.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal portions 51d and 52d of the first and second signal contacts 51 and 52, and the terminal portions 53d of the ground contacts 53 are arranged in a row in the contact arranging direction C.

[0050] The terminal portions 51d and 52d of each pair of first and second signal contacts 51 and 52 are disposed between adjacent ones of the terminal portions 53d of the ground contacts 53 in the contact arranging direction C.

[0051] The terminal portions 54d and 54d′ of the contacts 54 and 54′ are arranged in two rows in the contact arranging direction C. The row formed by the terminal portions 51d and 52d of the first and second signal contacts 51 and 52, and the terminal portions 53d of the ground contacts 53, and the two rows formed by the terminal portions 54d and 54d′ of the contacts 54 and 54′ are parallel to each other. The terminal portions 54d of the contacts 54 and the terminal portions 54d′ of the contacts 54′, which form the two rows, are arranged in a staggered manner in the contact arranging direction C. Therefore, if the terminal portions 54d and 54d′ are connected by imaginary straight lines, one zigzag line is formed in which mountain-like shapes each in bilateral symmetry are connected in the contact arranging direction C.

[0052] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the press-fitting portions 54b, 54b′ of the contacts 54, 54′ are disposed between the contact portions 51a, 52a, 53a and the terminal portions 51d, 52d, 53d of the contacts 51, 52, 53, and are press-fitted in the housing 3 along the direction of the height of the housing 3. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the length of the contacts 54, 54′ in the fitting/removing direction A, and shorten the length of the contacts 51, 52, 53 in the fitting/removing direction A. As a result, the depth dimension of the housing 3 is reduced, and hence the depth dimension of the connector is also reduced.

[0053] Further, the contact portions 51a and 52a of the first and second signal contacts 51 and 52 for high-speed transmission, and the contact portions 53a of the ground contacts 53 for high-speed transmission are arranged in a row in the contact arranging direction C, and the contact portions 51a and 52a of each pair of first and second signal contacts 51 and 52 are disposed between the contact portions 53a of the adjacent ground contacts 53 in the contact arranging direction C. This suppresses variation in transmission characteristics or crosstalk between each pair of first and second signal contacts and other pairs of first and second signal contacts, whereby it is possible to prevent degradation in transmission.

[0054] Furthermore, the terminal portions 51d and 52d of each pair of first and second signal contacts 51 and 52 are disposed between the terminal portions 53d of adjacent ones of the ground contacts 53 in the contact arranging direction C. This suppresses crosstalk between the terminal portions 51d and 52d of each pair of first and second signal contacts 51 and 52, and the terminal portions 51d and 52d of other pairs of first and second signal contacts 51 and 52 which are adjacent thereto, thereby preventing degradation in transmission.

[0055] Further, the row formed by the terminal portions 51d and 52d of the first and second signal contacts 51 and 52 and the terminal portions 53d of the ground contacts 53, and the two rows formed by the terminal portions 54d and 54d′ of the contacts 54 and 54′ are parallel to each other. This makes it possible to reduce the length of the housing 3 in the contact arranging direction C, and downsize the connector 1. Further, the terminal portions 54d of the contacts 54 and the terminal portions 54′ of the contacts 54′ are disposed in staggered arrangement in the contact arranging direction C. This makes it possible to shorten the dimension of part of the printed board 21 where the through holes 21b are provided, in the arrangement direction p.

[0056] Further, the terminal portions 51d, 52d, 53d, 54d, 54d′ of the contacts 51, 52, 53, 54, 54′ protrude out of the housing 3, and hence it possible to easily check the soldered states of the terminal portions 51d, 52d, 53d, 54d, 54d′, and easily perform repair of the connector 1.

[0057] Further, since the disconnection prevention portions 54f, 54f′ are secured to the respective associated recesses 34a of the holding portion 34 of the housing 3, it is possible to prevent the contact portions 54a, 54a′ from wobbling.

[0058] Although the contacts 51, 52, 53 for high-speed transmission are employed as the first contacts, and the contacts 54, 54′ for non-high-speed transmission are employed as the second contacts, the first contacts are not limited to the contacts for high-speed transmission, and similarly, the second contacts are not limited to the contacts 54, 54′ for non-high-speed transmission.

[0059] Further, although the fixing portions 51b, 52b, 53b of the contacts 51, 52, 53 are embedded in the housing 3 by the so-called mold-in method, the fixing portions 51b, 52b, 53b may be fixed to the housing 3 by press-fitting them into the housing 3.

[0060] Further, although the terminal portions 51d, 52d, 53d for SMT are employed as the connection portions of the contacts 51, 52, 53, the connecting portions of the first contacts may be terminal portions to be inserted into through holed.

[0061] Furthermore, although the terminal portions 54d, 54d′ to be inserted into through holed are employed as the connection portions of the contacts 54, 54′ for non-high-speed transmission, the connecting portions of the contacts 54, 54′ may be terminal portions for SMT.

[0062] It is further understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing are the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and that various changes and modification may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.