JP2012194207A - Connector and electric substrate with connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector which has high versatility and is easy to use.SOLUTION: A connector 1 comprises: a connector housing 2 having a first insertion part 31 into which a strip-like optical waveguide 20 is inserted, and a second insertion part 32 into which flexible and linear electric wiring 704 is inserted; a terminal 501 mounted on the connector housing 2, and electrically connected with the electric wiring 704; and an optical element 50 for emitting light toward the optical waveguide 20 or receiving light which has passed through the optical waveguide 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector and an electric board with a connector.

  In recent years, optical communications that transport data using optical frequency carriers have become increasingly important. In such optical communication, there is an optical waveguide as a means for guiding signal propagation light from one point to another point.

  This optical waveguide has a core layer provided between a pair of clad layers, for example. The core layer has a linear core portion and a clad portion, which are alternately arranged. A plurality of core portions generally exist in the core layer, but there may be one core portion. The core portion is made of a material that is substantially transparent to light of an optical frequency carrier wave, and the cladding layer and the cladding portion are made of a material having a lower refractive index than the core portion.

  And such an optical waveguide may be laminated | stacked on the electric circuit board | substrate which has an electric circuit, for example. In this case, the optical waveguide has a portion protruding at one end, and a connector housing is attached to the end of the protruding portion to function as a connector (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, in the case of the connector having the connector described in Patent Document 1, the size of the optical waveguide protruding from the electric circuit board in a band shape is increased, for example, and the usability is poor. Also, depending on the installation location and the other party to be connected, it becomes unusable and lacks versatility.

JP 2008-96669 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a connector and an electric board with a connector that are highly versatile and easy to use.

Such an object is achieved by the present inventions (1) to (11) below.
(1) a connector housing having a first insertion part into which the optical waveguide is inserted and a second insertion part into which the electric wiring is inserted;
An optical element mounted on the connector housing, having a terminal electrically connected to the electrical wiring, and emitting light toward the optical waveguide or receiving light passing through the optical waveguide; A connector characterized by that.

(2) The connector housing is composed of a block body having a pair of surfaces facing in opposite directions,
The connector according to (1), wherein the first insertion portion is formed to open on one surface of the pair of surfaces, and the second insertion portion is formed to open on the other surface. .

  (3) The connector according to (2), wherein the connector housing has a recess formed in a portion different from the pair of surfaces, and the optical element is mounted in the recess.

(4) The terminal is formed to protrude,
The connector according to (3), wherein the terminal is inserted into the bottom of the recess and a communication hole is formed to communicate with the second insertion portion.

  (5) The connector according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein a depth of the first insertion portion is deeper than a depth of the second insertion portion.

  (6) The connector according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the connector housing has a lid that covers the optical element.

  (7) The connector according to any one of (1) to (6), further including an optical waveguide inserted into the first insertion portion.

  (8) The connector according to (7), wherein the entirety of the optical waveguide is inserted into the first insertion portion.

(9) The connector according to any one of (1) to (8) above,
An electrical board with a connector, comprising: an electrical wiring inserted into the second insertion portion.

(10) The electrical wiring can be divided into a land portion electrically connected to the terminal of the optical element and a lead portion that is the other portion, and the width of the land portion is w ₁ , The electrical board with connector according to (9), wherein 50 <(w ₂ / w ₁ ) × 100 <200 is satisfied when the width of the lead portion is w ₂ .

  (11) The electrical wiring with connectors according to (9) or (10), wherein a plurality of the electrical wirings are prepared, and are appropriately selected from the plurality of electrical wirings and inserted into the second insertion portion. .

  According to the present invention, since optical elements, optical waveguides, and electrical wiring can be concentrated in the connector housing, the connector and the electrical board with the connector having the connector are easy to use. In addition, depending on the type of connector housing, the optical element, optical waveguide, and electrical wiring installed in the connector housing can be selected as appropriate. Therefore, the versatility of the connector and the electrical board with the connector having the connector is improved. It will be expensive.

It is a longitudinal section showing a 1st embodiment of an electric board with a connector provided with a connector of the present invention. It is a decomposition | disassembly longitudinal cross-sectional view of the electric board with a connector shown in FIG. It is the figure seen from the arrow A direction in FIG. It is the figure seen from the arrow B direction in FIG. It is a longitudinal section showing a 2nd embodiment of an electric board with a connector provided with a connector of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the connector of the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
<First Embodiment>
1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of an electrical board with a connector provided with the connector of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of the electrical board with a connector shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a view seen from the direction of arrow A, and FIG. 4 is a view seen from the direction of arrow B in FIG. In the following, for convenience of explanation, the upper side in FIGS. 1 to 3 is referred to as “upper” or “upper”, and the lower side is referred to as “lower” or “lower”. Further, the left side in FIGS. 1 and 2 is referred to as “left”, and the right side is referred to as “right”.

  1 and 2 includes a connector housing (hereinafter simply referred to as “housing”) 2, an optical element 50, and an optical waveguide 20, and converts light into electricity or converts electricity into light. The photoelectric conversion connector. Further, the connector 1 can be connected to an optical cable 90 which is a counterpart to which the connector 1 is connected. In addition, an electrical board 70 is connected to the connector 1. This connected one becomes the electric board 10 with a connector. Hereinafter, the configuration of each unit will be described.

  The housing 2 includes a housing body 3 and a lid body 4. The housing body 3 includes a first insertion portion 31, a second insertion portion 32, and an optical element mounting portion 33. The optical waveguide 20 is inserted into the first insertion portion 31, the electric wiring 703 of the electric substrate 70 is inserted into the second insertion portion 32, and the optical element 50 is inserted into the optical element mounting portion 33. Installed.

  The optical waveguide 20 has a strip shape as a whole. The optical waveguide 20 has a linear core portion 21 and a cylindrical clad portion 22 provided so as to surround the periphery of the core portion 21, and allows light incident on one end of the core portion 21. It can be totally reflected at the interface between the core portion 21 and the clad portion 22 and propagate to the other end.

  The cross-sectional shape of the optical waveguide 20 is preferably a square such as a square or a rectangle (rectangle). In addition, it is preferable that the thickness of the optical waveguide 20 is about 15-200 micrometers, and it is more preferable that it is about 30-100 micrometers. Further, the width and height of the core portion 21 are not particularly limited, but are preferably about 1 to 200 μm, more preferably about 5 to 100 μm, and still more preferably about 10 to 60 μm. The thickness of the core portion 21 is preferably about 5 to 100 μm, and more preferably about 25 to 80 μm. On the other hand, the thickness of the cladding part 22 is preferably about 3 to 50 μm, and more preferably about 5 to 30 μm.

  The core portion 21 and the clad portion 22 have different light refractive indexes, and the difference in refractive index is preferably 0.5% or more, and more preferably 0.8% or more.

  Each constituent material of the core part 21 and the clad part 22 is not particularly limited as long as it is a material that causes a difference in refractive index. For example, “core region” or “core region” described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-090328 is used. Constituent materials for the “cladding region” and constituent materials for the “core layer (core portion, clad portion)”, “first clad layer”, and “second clad layer” described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-189458 are used. Can do.

  Further, the optical waveguide 20 is formed with a mirror 23 inclined (for example, inclined by 60 degrees) in the middle of the optical path. The mirror 23 converts the optical path passing through the core portion 21 of the optical waveguide 20 to a right angle by converting the direction of the optical path upward, or reflects light incident from above the optical waveguide 20 toward the core portion 21. It is responsible for optical path conversion that converts the optical path to a right angle.

  Such a mirror 23 is formed by subjecting the optical waveguide 20 to laser processing, grinding processing, or the like. A reflective film may be formed on the surface of the mirror 23 (mirror surface) as necessary. As the reflective film, a metal film such as Au, Ag, or Al is preferably used.

  The electric board 70 includes a rigid board 701 having an electric circuit (not shown), a drive element 702 mounted on the rigid board 701, a plurality of electric wirings 703 bonded to the lower surface of the rigid board 701, and an electric circuit. And a flexible substrate 704 that collectively supports the wiring 703.

  The rigid substrate 701 is a member having a long plate shape, and an electric circuit made of a metal material having conductivity is formed on the upper surface thereof. This electric circuit is formed by etching a metal foil laminated on the entire upper surface of a rigid substrate 701 into a predetermined pattern. The drive element 702 is electrically connected to such an electric circuit, and the optical element 50 can be driven.

  The rigid substrate 701 is made of a material having higher rigidity than the flexible substrate 10 and also having an insulating property. Examples of such a material include base materials such as paper, glass cloth, and resin films. , Phenol resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin, cyanate resin, polyimide resin, fluorine resin and the like.

  On the rigid substrate 701, a plurality of electric wires 703 made of a conductive material such as copper are bundled and arranged. Each electric wiring 703 has a left end electrically connected to the electric circuit and a right end inserted into the second insertion portion 32 of the housing 2. The electrical wiring 703 and the second insertion portion 32 into which the electrical wiring 703 is inserted are applicable as a so-called “ZIF (Zero Insertion Force socket) connector”. Thereby, the connector 1 and the electric board with connector 10 having the connector 1 have versatility.

As shown in FIG. 4, each electric wiring 703 is connected to a terminal portion (land portion) 705 that is electrically connected to the terminal 501 of the optical element 50 and a lead portion 706 that is the other portion. Can be divided. Then, the ratio _w 2 / _{w 1} of the width _{w 2} of width _{w 1} and the lead portion 706 of the terminal unit 705, 50 _<(w 2 / _{w 1)} is preferable to satisfy × 100 <200, 80 <( It is more preferable to satisfy w ₂ / w ₁ ) × 100 <110, and it is even more preferable to satisfy 95 <(w ₂ / w ₁ ) × 100 <105.

  Further, the clearance between the adjacent electrical wirings 703 is preferably 1 to 150 μm, more preferably 5 to 100 μm, and further preferably 10 to 80 μm.

  By satisfying such a numerical range, the transmission loss can be minimized and the connector 1 can be miniaturized.

  The flexible substrate 704 is a belt-like support substrate that is supported from the lower side of the plurality of electric wires 703. The flexible substrate 704 is made of a flexible and insulating material. Examples of the material include various resin materials such as a polyester resin such as a polyimide resin, an epoxy resin, and a polyethylene terephthalate resin. Among them, those mainly composed of a polyimide resin are preferably used.

  The optical element 50 is optically connected to the waveguide 20 and has a light emitting part that emits light toward the optical waveguide 20 or has a light receiving part that receives light that has passed through the optical waveguide 20. . In the former case, the optical element 50 is constituted by a light emitting element such as a surface emitting laser (VCSEL), and in the latter case, it is constituted by a light receiving element such as a photodiode (PD, APD).

  The optical element 50 has a block shape or a plate shape, and a terminal 501 protrudes from the lower surface thereof. The terminal 501 is a solder ball, for example, and is electrically connected to the electric wiring 730 (see FIG. 1). With this connection, power from the drive element 702 is supplied to the optical element 50, and the optical element 50 is activated.

As described above, the housing 2 includes the housing main body 3 and the lid body 4.
The housing body 3 is a block body, that is, a member whose outer shape is a hexahedron. As shown in FIG. 2, a first insertion portion 31 is formed in the right side surface 34 of the housing body 3 so as to open, and a second insertion portion 32 is formed in the left side surface 35 so as to be opened. The upper surface 36 is formed with an optical element mounting portion 33 opened.

  The first insertion portion 31 is configured by a recess that defines a strip-shaped space corresponding to the outer shape of the optical waveguide 20, that is, the size enough to insert the entire optical waveguide 20. The optical waveguide 20 is restricted from protruding from the outer shape of the housing body 3 when inserted into the first insertion portion 31. Thereby, before connecting the connector 1 to the optical cable 90, it is ensured that the optical waveguide 20 exposed from the opening of the first insertion portion 31 collides with, for example, an obstacle (another connector) and is damaged. Can be prevented. Further, since the protrusion is restricted, the size can be reduced, and the connector 1 and the electric board with connector 10 having the connector 1 can be easily used.

  The optical waveguide 20 is fixed to the housing main body 3 with an adhesive, for example, in the first insertion portion 31.

  The second insertion portion 32 is configured by a recess into which the end of the electrical wiring 704 opposite to the rigid substrate 701 side is inserted. A plurality of electrical wirings 703 are prepared as described above. As shown in FIG. 4, the electrical wiring 703 </ b> A to be used is appropriately selected from among the plurality of electrical wirings 703 and inserted into the second insertion portion 32. Can do. As a result, the number of electric wires 703 can be selected depending on the intended use of the electric board with connector 10 (connector 1), and thus the electric board with connector 10 has high versatility. Note that the unused electrical wiring 703B can be removed, for example, can be left as it is, or can be left as it is after being bent.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the 2nd insertion part 32 is comprised so that the said electrical wiring 704 may be detachably fixed when the electrical wiring 704 is inserted.

  Moreover, since the 1st insertion part 31 and the 2nd insertion part 32 have faced the mutually opposite direction, from the electric board 70 to the optical cable 90 can be arrange | positioned on a straight line (refer FIG. 1). Thereby, for example, the components from the electric board 70 to the optical cable 90 can be arranged in parallel, so that wiring of a device to be installed (for example, a short / medium distance harness such as a router / automobile / small PC, mobile phone internal wiring) ( Cabling is easy.

  In addition, the depth of the first insertion portion 31 is deeper than the depth of the second insertion portion 32. Thereby, the transmission loss in the electrical connection terminal portion can thereby be minimized.

  The optical element mounting portion 33 is configured by a concave portion that defines a block-shaped or plate-shaped space corresponding to the outer shape of the optical element 50, that is, the size to which the entire optical element 50 is inserted.

  A first communication hole 331 that communicates with the first insertion portion 31 is formed at the bottom of the optical element mounting portion 33. The first communication hole 331 is located immediately above the mirror 23 of the optical waveguide 20 and functions as an optical path of light. Thereby, for example, when the optical element 50 is a light receiving element, after the light has propagated through the optical waveguide 20, the light is reflected upward by the mirror 23 and can reach the optical element 50 before it diverges widely. Therefore, optical loss in optical communication can be suppressed, and the S / N ratio of optical communication can be increased. Further, when the optical element 50 is a light emitting element, it can reach the mirror 23 before the emitted light is diffused, so that the S / N ratio of the optical communication can be similarly increased.

  A second communication hole 332 that communicates with the second insertion portion 32 is formed at the bottom of the optical element mounting portion 33. The terminal 501 of the optical element 50 is inserted into the second communication hole 332. As a result, the terminal 501 protrudes into the second insertion portion 32. The electric wiring 703 can be brought into contact with the terminal 501 of the optical element 50 by a simple operation of inserting the electric wiring 703 of the electric substrate 70 into the second insertion portion 32. Is done.

  The lid 4 is a plate-like member that covers the optical element 50 mounted on the optical element mounting portion 33. The optical element 50 can be protected by the lid 4.

  The lid body 4 is fixed to the upper surface 36 of the housing body 3. The fixing method is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method using adhesion (adhesion using an adhesive or a solvent), a method using fusion (thermal fusion, high frequency fusion, ultrasonic fusion, etc.), and the like.

  The constituent material of the housing body 3 and the lid body 4 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a resin material filled with an inorganic filler. Examples of the resin material include thermosetting epoxy resin, PPS (polyphenylene). Sulfide) is used. Moreover, as an inorganic filler, granular silica, a glass filler, an alumina, white carbon, bentonite etc. are used, for example. By using such a resin material, the housing body 3 and the lid body 4 can be easily molded using, for example, a mold.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the optical cable 90 is optically connected to the optical waveguide 20 of the connector 1. Similar to the optical waveguide 20, the optical cable 90 includes an optical waveguide 20 ′ having a core portion 21 and a cladding portion 22, and a connector housing (hereinafter simply referred to as “housing”) attached to the left end portion of the optical waveguide 20 ′. 901 and two guide pins 902 fixed to the connector housing 901.

  In the connected state in which the optical cable 90 and the connector 1 are connected, optical communication can be performed between the optical waveguide 20 ′ of the optical cable 90 and the optical waveguide 20 of the connector 1.

  The housing 901 is formed of a cylindrical body, and the left end portion of the optical waveguide 20 ′ can be fixed inside the housing 901.

  Each guide pin 902 protrudes from the left end surface of the housing 901 and is inserted into a guide hole 37 formed in the right side surface 34 of the housing body 3 of the connector 1 in a connected state (see FIG. 3). Thereby, the optical waveguides 20 and 20 ′ are positioned with each other, so that optical communication can be performed smoothly and reliably. Each guide pin 203 is a columnar member made of a metal material such as stainless steel.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 5: is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the electrical board with a connector provided with the connector of this invention.

Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the connector and the electric board with connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to this figure. However, the description will focus on differences from the above-described embodiment, and the description of the same matters will be omitted. .
This embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the configuration of the connector is different.

  In the connector 1 shown in FIG. 5, a connection portion (internally connected) between the terminal h501 of the optical element 50 and the electric wiring 703 of the electric substrate 70 is connected to the second communication hole 332 of the connector housing 2. Lead) 5 is provided. Thereby, compared with the case where it contacts directly, position alignment becomes easy and connection reliability becomes high.

  As described above, the connector and the electric board with the connector of the present invention have been described with respect to the illustrated embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each part constituting the connector and the electric board with the connector has the same function. It can be replaced with any configuration that can be exhibited. Moreover, arbitrary components may be added.

10 Electrical board with connectors 1 Connector 2 Connector housing (housing)
3 housing body 31 first insertion portion 32 second insertion portion 33 optical element mounting portion 331 first communication hole 332 second communication hole 34 right side surface 35 left side surface 36 upper surface 37 guide hole 4 lid 5 connection portion ( Internal lead)
20, 20 ′ Optical waveguide 21 Core portion 22 Clad portion 23 Mirror 50 Optical element 501 Terminal 70 Electric substrate 701 Rigid substrate 702 Drive element 703, 703A, 703B Electric wiring 704 Flexible substrate 705 Terminal portion (land portion)
706 Lead portion 90 Optical cable 901 Connector housing (housing)
902 Guide pin w ₁ , w ₂ width

Claims (11)

A connector housing having a first insertion portion into which the optical waveguide is inserted, and a second insertion portion into which the electrical wiring is inserted;
An optical element mounted on the connector housing, having a terminal electrically connected to the electrical wiring, and emitting light toward the optical waveguide or receiving light passing through the optical waveguide; A connector characterized by that. The connector housing is composed of a block body having a pair of surfaces facing in opposite directions,
2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the first insertion portion is formed to open on one surface of the pair of surfaces, and the second insertion portion is formed to open on the other surface.   The connector according to claim 2, wherein a recess is formed in the connector housing at a portion different from the pair of surfaces, and the optical element is mounted in the recess. The terminal is formed to protrude,
The connector according to claim 3, wherein a communication hole is formed in the bottom portion of the concave portion so that the terminal is inserted and communicated with the second insertion portion.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein a depth of the first insertion portion is deeper than a depth of the second insertion portion.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector housing has a lid that covers the optical element.   The connector according to claim 1, further comprising an optical waveguide inserted into the first insertion portion.   The connector according to claim 7, wherein the entire optical waveguide is inserted into the first insertion portion. A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An electrical board with a connector, comprising: an electrical wiring inserted into the second insertion portion. The electrical wiring can be divided into a land portion that is electrically connected to the terminal of the optical element and a lead portion that is other than that, and the width of the land portion is w ₁ , The electrical board with connector according to claim 9, wherein 50 <(w ₂ / w ₁ ) × 100 <200 is satisfied when the width is w ₂ .   The electrical board with a connector according to claim 9 or 10, wherein a plurality of the electrical wirings are prepared, and the electrical wiring is appropriately selected from the plurality of electrical wirings and inserted into the second insertion portion.

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