JP5338261B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector configured to connect a plurality of connection paths to an electronic circuit.

  In general, an electrical connector configured to fit a pair of connectors is widely used in various electrical devices. An electrical connector usually has a configuration in which a plurality of signal lines and ground lines are arranged in a multipolar arrangement in an insulating housing, and signals are transmitted to the electronic circuit through the signal lines, and a ground line for shielding the transmission signals. Is configured to be connected to the ground circuit via an appropriate ground connection member such as a ground contact.

  In such an electrical connector, in order to improve workability in connecting the ground line to the ground circuit, for example, as in Patent Document 1 below, a plurality of grounds are used by using a long conductive member such as a ground bar. A configuration in which ground lines are commonly connected, such as connecting the lines together, is often employed. The plurality of common-connected ground lines are connected to the ground circuit from the above-described ground bar through a ground connection member, for example.

  On the other hand, when such an electrical connector is connected to an electronic circuit having a plurality of connection paths, a single connection path consisting of a signal path and a ground path is configured over a plurality of sets in one electrical connector. The plurality of sets of connection paths are connected to the electronic circuit at the same time. However, in the electrical connector for simultaneously connecting a plurality of sets of connection paths to an electronic circuit in this way, as described above, all of the plurality of ground lines are connected together or arbitrary ground lines are connected in common. If the configuration is adopted, the ground lines of different connection paths will be connected in common, and noise and disturbance generated from the signal line of one connection path will be connected to the other through the common connected ground line. There is a risk of affecting the signal line of the connection path.

  In particular, when high-frequency signals are transmitted along with the increase in the speed of electrical circuits as in recent years, there is a background such as delicate impedance adjustment depending on the arrangement relationship between signal lines and ground lines. As the frequency becomes higher, it becomes more susceptible to noise and disturbance on the ground line, and there is a possibility that the common connection (collective connection) of the ground line described above becomes a problem. If the common connection of the ground line is not performed at all, the problem of noise and disturbance can be solved. However, a plurality of ground lines must be individually connected to the ground connection member. As productivity decreases, it becomes expensive.

JP 2007-157594 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having a simple configuration and capable of satisfactorily preventing the influence of noise and disturbance through a ground line without impairing productivity.

In order to achieve the above object, in the electrical connector according to the present invention, a conductive shell is mounted on the insulating housing, and a signal path and a ground path are formed by a plurality of signal lines and ground lines arranged in a multipolar manner in the insulating housing. A set of connection paths consisting of a plurality of sets is configured, and the plurality of sets of connection paths are simultaneously connected to an electronic circuit, and the ground path in each connection path is connected to the ground line and the ground line. In an electrical connector comprising an appropriate ground connection member to be connected and a conductive shell electrically connected in contact with the ground connection member, one or more signal lines and grounds in each connection path So that the line and the signal line or ground line thereof are sandwiched from both sides in the multipolar arrangement direction. At least a pair of ground connecting member is location, and the conductive shell, the is configured as a set of units connected units separate for each connection path of the electronic circuit, a plurality of sets of the unit connection unit, the insulating housing One or a plurality of ground wires and the conductive shell disposed in any one of the plurality of sets of unit connection units, and attached to the conductive shell . One or a plurality of ground lines and the conductive shells arranged in another unit connection unit constitute a ground path of a different connection path in an electrically independent state.

  According to the electrical connector having such a configuration, the signal line and the ground line in one unit connection unit divided for each connection path of the electronic circuit are separated from the signal line and the ground line in the other unit connection unit.・ Because they are independent, even if the ground lines are connected in common in each unit connection unit, the influence of noise and disturbance through the ground line is not exerted on the signal lines of other connection paths.

  In the electrical connector according to the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of signal lines arranged in each unit connection unit are configured to perform differential transmission.

  According to the electrical connector having such a configuration, the transmission characteristics are improved particularly when high-frequency signals are transmitted, coupled with the noise canceling action by the differential transmission.

  In addition, the electrical connector according to the present invention can have various configurations. For example, the ground connection member in the electrical connector according to the present invention is configured by a ground contact integrally provided on a long ground bar that commonly connects one or a plurality of ground wires arranged in each unit connection unit. Can be done. Further, the ground connection member in the electrical connector according to the present invention can be provided so that a part of the conductive shell provided so as to cover each unit connection unit is in contact with the ground connection member. Furthermore, the signal line and the ground line in each unit connection unit in the electrical connector according to the present invention can be constituted by a coaxial cable. Furthermore, the electrical connector according to the present invention is mounted on a printed wiring board, and a hold-down soldered to the printed wiring board can be provided independently for each unit connection unit. is there.

As described above, the electrical connector according to the present invention includes a plurality of unit connection units configured by separating and independent the signal line , the ground line, and the conductive shell for each connection path of the electronic circuit, segmented single unit connection unit of the signal lines, the ground line and the conductive shell, the signal lines in the other units connected units, by separate and independent from the ground line and the conductive shell, each unit connection unit This configuration is designed to eliminate the influence of noise and disturbance through the ground line on the signal lines of other connection paths even when the ground lines are connected in common. The transmission characteristics can be easily improved with a simple configuration, and the productivity of the electrical connector is not impaired. It is possible to increase.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment relating to an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electrical connector for connecting a plurality of coaxial cables to the printed wiring board side will be described in detail based on the drawings.

[Overall structure of connector assembly]
First, an electrical connector assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a plurality of connection paths for appropriate electronic circuits (not shown) to which the electrical connector assembly is connected. And having a configuration that enables simultaneous connection to a plurality of connection paths of the electronic circuit. That is, the electrical connector assembly of the present embodiment has a plurality of sets of connection paths including a signal path and a ground path, and a plurality of connection paths connected to each of the plurality of sets of connection paths. This connector constitutes a vertical fitting type connector including a plug connector 10 to which a terminal portion of the coaxial cable SC is connected and a receptacle connector 20 mounted on a printed wiring board (not shown).

  The plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 20 constituting such an electrical connector assembly have a shape extending in an elongated shape along the arrangement direction of the coaxial cables SC, and are not shown. In a state where the plug connector 10 is disposed substantially parallel to the position directly above the receptacle connector 20 mounted on the substrate, the plug connector 10 is lowered toward the lower side in the figure substantially orthogonal to the printed wiring board, By inserting the fitting portion of the plug connector 10 into the fitting portion of the receptacle connector 20, the connectors 10 and 20 are fitted together as shown. Hereinafter, the fitting direction in which the plug connector 10 is inserted is defined as a downward direction, and the removal direction opposite to the fitting direction is defined as an upward direction.

[About plug connectors]
Here, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the plug connector 10 is a plug housing (insulating housing) made of an insulating member extending in an elongated shape along the arrangement direction of the coaxial cables SC described above. 11. A plurality of (two) plug-side unit connection units 12, 12 connected to the coaxial cable SC are attached to an upper surface portion of the plug housing 11 that extends in a long shape. Each of the plug-side unit connection units 12 is provided corresponding to each of a plurality of connection paths with respect to a connection destination electronic circuit, and the plug-side unit connection units 12 are electrically independent from each other. Arranged in a separated state.

  A plurality of (two) coaxial cables SC are connected to each plug-side unit connection unit 12 at this time, and the plurality (two) of coaxial cables SC receive a pair of signals having opposite phases. So as to perform so-called differential transmission, in which noises are canceled out. Hereinafter, in the plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 20 to which the plug connector 10 is fitted, the side to which the coaxial cable SC is connected is defined as the rear end side (right side in FIG. 2), and the opposite side is the front end side ( The left side of FIG.

  The plug housing (insulating housing) 11 is provided with a conductive shell 13 formed by bending a thin metal member into an appropriate shape, for example, by press fitting. The conductive shell 13 is provided separately for each of the plug-side unit connection units 12 and 12, and is mounted so as to cover a portion from the upper surface portion to the front end surface portion of the plug housing 11. Has been. As will be described later, the conductive shell 13 is attached to the plug connector 10 so as to form an independent ground path for each of the plug-side unit connection units 12 and 12, and a part of the conductive shell 13 is connected to the receptacle. It is configured to be in electrical contact with the hold-down 23b on the connector 20 side. In addition, external noise is also blocked by partially covering the plug connector 10, thereby taking a so-called EMI countermeasure.

[Plug unit connection unit]
Further, the plug-side unit connection unit 12 described above has a terminal portion of the coaxial cable SC as a signal transmission medium with respect to the rear end portion of the plug-side unit connection unit 12 as shown in FIG. Two plugs are connected to each of the plug-side unit connection units 12. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the terminal portion of each coaxial cable SC connected to the plug-side unit connection unit 12 is stripped of the covering material, so that the cable center conductor (signal line) ) SCa and cable outer conductor (ground line) SCb are exposed so as to be coaxial. The cable center conductor SCa disposed along the center axis of the coaxial cable SC is solder-connected to a signal transmission conductive contact (conductive terminal) 14 mounted inside the plug-side unit connection unit 12. Has been. As described above, the signal of each set of connection paths independent for each of the plug-side unit connection units 12 and 12 by the cable center conductor SCa as a signal line and the conductive contact 14 solder-connected to the cable center conductor SCa. A route is configured.

  The above-described conductive contact (conductive terminal) 14 for signal transmission is attached to the plug housing (insulating housing) 11 together with a grounding member to be described later by, for example, press fitting or insert molding. The conductive contacts 14 for signal transmission and ground are all formed to have the same shape, and a pair of ground contacts are arranged at both end positions in the longitudinal direction. A pair for transmission is arranged.

  Each conductive contact 14 extends from the connecting portion with the cable center conductor SCa toward the rear side (the right side in FIG. 4) and then is bent substantially perpendicularly downward, and is formed on the lower surface side of the plug housing 11. It is formed so as to extend in a substantially U-shaped cross section along the outer surface of the provided fitting convex portion 11a. A contact portion 14a that contacts the above-described receptacle connector 20 is provided in the middle of the portion of the conductive contact 14 having a substantially U-shaped cross section (see FIG. 2). When the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector 20 as described above, the contact portions 14a of the conductive contacts 14 come into contact with the contact portions on the receptacle connector 20 side described later to be electrically connected. Thereby, a signal circuit and a ground circuit are configured.

  Further, as described above, the cable outer conductor SCb arranged so as to surround the outer peripheral side of the cable center conductor SCa is arranged so as to be sandwiched vertically between the upper ground bar 15a and the lower ground bar 15b. The cable outer conductor SCb is connected between the upper ground bar 15a and the lower ground bar 15b by soldering, caulking, pressure welding, or the like. The ground bars 15a and 15b are formed of a plate-like member extending in an elongated shape along the longitudinal direction that is the multipolar arrangement direction of the coaxial cable SC, and an upper surface portion of the plug housing (insulating housing) 11 It is positioned by a plurality of mounting guide portions that are recessed. The cable external conductors SCb, which are ground wires arranged in the unit connection units 12, are electrically connected to each other through the ground bars 15a and 15b and are in a conductive state.

  In addition, a pair of ground contacts 15c and 15c projecting stepwise toward the front (left side in FIG. 4) are integrally provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the upper ground bar 15a. Each of the ground contacts 15c constitutes a ground connection member in the present invention, and has a step shape from the upper ground bar 15a to a position that is substantially the same height as the above-described cable center conductor (signal line) SCa. It forms so that it may fall. And the tip part of each ground contact 15c descending stepwise is soldered in a state where it contacts from above the conductive contact (conductive terminal) 14 for ground. Yes. Thus, the plug-side unit connection unit 12, the above-described plug-side unit connection unit 12, the cable external conductor SCb as the ground wire and the ground contact 15c as the ground connection member connected to the cable external conductor SCb via the upper ground bar 15a. A ground path of each set of connection paths that are independent every 12 is configured.

  As described above, in this embodiment, a plurality of sets of plug-side unit connection units 12 are provided in one electrical connector, and any one set of plug-side unit connection units 12 among the plurality of sets of plug-side unit connection units 12 is provided. One or more cable outer conductors (ground lines) SCb arranged in the unit connection unit 12 and one or more cable outer conductors (ground lines) SCb arranged in the other plug-side unit connection unit 12 Are connected to ground paths of different connection paths in an electrically independent state.

  The conductive contact (conductive terminal) 14 for the ground is formed of a part having the same shape as the conductive contact 14 for signal transmission described above, and the conductive contact 14 has a substantially U-shaped cross section. When the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector 20, the contact portion provided in the middle position comes into contact with a contact portion on the receptacle connector 20 side described later to be electrically connected. .

  Further, a part of the conductive shell 13 described above is in contact with the upper ground bar 15 a, and each set of independent connection for each of the plug-side unit connection units 12, 12 is connected via the conductive shell 13. A ground path of the path is configured. That is, the conductive shell 13 is attached to each plug-side unit connection unit 12 described above, and is separated from the conductive shells 13 of the other plug-side unit connection units 12.

  The conductive shell 13 is attached to the plug housing (insulating housing) 11 so as to cover the connecting portion with the terminal portion of the coaxial cable (signal transmission medium) SC described above from above. A plurality of shell fixing pieces 13 a protruding downward are provided on the outer peripheral edge of the conductive shell 13, and these shell fixing pieces 13 a are located above the plug housing (insulating housing) 11. The entire conductive shell 13 is fixed by being press-fitted so as to be inserted from the side.

  In addition, a ground connection spring piece 13b that is cut out to form a tongue piece is provided on the upper surface portion of the conductive shell 13 so as to extend obliquely downward. The extended end portion of the ground connection spring piece 13b is, for example, press-contacted or soldered to the above-described upper ground bar 15a from above, so that the plug-side unit connection units 12 and 12 are independent of each other. A part of the ground path of each set of connection paths is configured.

  Further, a medium pressing piece 13c that protrudes downward is provided on the rear edge (right end in FIG. 4) of the conductive shell 13 so as to form a long groove. The lower convex portion of the pressing piece 13c is in pressure contact with the outermost surface of the coaxial cable SC described above, so that the coaxial cable SC is securely held by the conductive shell 13.

[Receptacle connector]
On the other hand, the receptacle connector 20 as a mating connector into which the plug connector 10 having the above-described configuration is fitted is also an independent unit for each of a plurality of connection paths to the connection destination electronic circuit, similarly to the plug connector 10 described above. It has a configuration.

  That is, the receptacle connector 20 includes an elongate receptacle housing 21 corresponding to the plug housing (insulating housing) 11 described above, particularly as shown in FIGS. A fitting recess 21a having a groove shape along the longitudinal direction is formed in the rear side portion of the receptacle housing 21 in an elongated shape, and the plug connector 10 side described above is formed inside the fitting recess 21a. The fitting projections 11a are fitted so that the connectors 10 and 20 are fitted.

  In addition, in the front side portion of the receptacle housing (insulating housing) 21, two receptacle-side unit connection units 22 and 22 corresponding to the plug-side unit connection units 12 and 12 described above are separated and independent in the longitudinal direction. Is arranged in. For each of these receptacle-side unit connection units 22, a plurality (four) of conductive contacts (conductive terminals) 23 to 23 are attached along the longitudinal direction by, for example, press-fitting or insert molding.

  Each conductive contact (conductive terminal) 23 provided in each receptacle-side unit connection unit 22 is arranged corresponding to the conductive contact 14 provided in each plug-side unit connection unit 12 described above. A pair for grounding is disposed at both ends of the signal, and a pair for signal transmission is disposed on the inner side. The conductive contacts 22 for ground and signal transmission are all formed to have the same shape.

  In addition, the conductive contacts (conductive terminals) 23 for grounding and signal transmission are located substantially horizontally from the receptacle housing 21 toward the front (left side in FIG. 9) on the bottom surface of the receptacle housing 21. A solder connection portion 23a extending by a fixed amount is provided. The solder connection portion 22a is soldered to a conductive path on a printed wiring board (not shown) for mounting.

  The conductive contact (conductive terminal) 23 extends from the solder connection portion 23a to the inner side (rear side) of the receptacle housing 21, and is bent substantially upward at a right angle so as to have a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section. After extending so as to form the shape of the receptacle housing 21, it extends along the inner surface of the receptacle housing 21 in a substantially U-shaped cross section. A contact portion 23d that contacts the conductive contact 14 side of the plug connector 10 described above is provided at the distal end portion of the extending portion having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and as described above, the plug connector 10 Is engaged with the receptacle connector 20, the contact portion 23d of the conductive contact 23 comes into contact with the contact portion 14a on the plug connector 10 side, and an electrical connection is made. A signal path and a ground path are configured.

  Furthermore, each receptacle-side unit connection unit 22 is provided with a hold-down 23b that extends in a tongue-like shape toward the outer side in the longitudinal direction of the receptacle housing 21. Each hold down 23b is formed of a thin plate-like metal member provided independently for each receptacle-side unit connection unit 22. A fitting lock projection 23c projecting outward is provided on each standing wall portion of each holddown 23b. When the plug connector 10 is fitted to the receptacle connector 20, the plug lock projection 23c is plugged. The fitting lock convex portion 23c is configured to engage with and engage with a fitting lock concave portion 13d (see FIG. 5) provided in the conductive shell 13 on the connector 10 side, and the conductive property on the plug connector 10 side. The structure is electrically connected to the conductive shell 13. In addition, the hold down 23b is soldered to the conductive path on the printed wiring board described above, so that a ground circuit is formed and the entire receptacle connector 20 is firmly held.

  In the plug connector 10 according to the present embodiment having such a configuration, the signal line (cable center conductor SCa) and the ground line (cable) in one plug-side unit connection unit 12 divided for each connection path of the electronic circuit. Since the external conductor SCb) is separated and independent from the signal line and the ground line in the other plug-side unit connection unit 12, even if the ground lines in each plug-side unit connection unit 12 are connected in common, The influence of noise and disturbance through the line is not exerted on the signal lines of other connection paths.

  Further, in the plug connector 10 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of signal lines (cable center conductors SCa) arranged in each plug-side unit connection unit 12 are configured to perform differential transmission. Coupled with the noise canceling action of transmission, the transmission characteristics are improved particularly when high-frequency signals are transmitted.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, in the plug-side unit connection unit 12, two cable center conductors (signal lines) SCa and SCa are arranged between the ground contacts (ground connection members) 15c and 15c on both sides, and the noise is reduced. However, it is possible to arrange one or three or more signal lines.

  In addition, the coaxial cable used in the above-described embodiment constitutes a so-called single-core coaxial cable in which one central conductor is covered with an integral outer conductor. The present invention can be similarly applied to a so-called two-core coaxial cable covered with an outer conductor.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the ground wires (cable external conductors SCb) arranged in the plug-side unit connection unit 12 are electrically connected in common, but are arranged in the receptacle-side unit connection unit 22. The ground lines may be electrically connected in common.

  Furthermore, each of the embodiments described above applies the present embodiment to a vertical fitting type electrical connector, but can also be applied to a horizontal fitting type electrical connector.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the coaxial cable connector as in each of the above-described embodiments, but includes an insulated cable connector, a type of electrical connector in which a plurality of coaxial cables and insulated cables are mixed, and a flexible wiring board. The present invention can be similarly applied to an electrical connector to which the printed circuit boards are connected, a board-to-board connector for connecting printed boards and the like.

  As described above, the present embodiment can be widely applied to a wide variety of electrical connectors used in various electrical devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an external perspective view illustrating an entire connector assembly in which a plug connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is fitted to a receptacle connector, from the rear side. It is a cross-sectional explanatory drawing along the II-II line in FIG. FIG. 3 is an external perspective explanatory view showing a single plug connector constituting the connector assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 from the rear side. FIG. 4 is a cross sectional explanatory view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is an external perspective explanatory view showing the plug connector shown in FIG. 4 from the bottom surface side. FIG. 5 is an external perspective explanatory view showing a state in which a conductive shell is removed from the plug connector shown in FIG. 4 from the rear side. FIG. 7 is an external perspective explanatory view from the rear side showing an enlarged configuration of a cable connection portion in one plug-side unit connection unit provided in the plug connector shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 3 is an external perspective explanatory view showing a single receptacle connector constituting the connector assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 from the rear side. It is transverse cross-section explanatory drawing along the IX-IX line in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Plug connector 11 Plug housing (insulating housing)
11a fitting projection 12 plug side unit connection unit 13 conductive shell 13a shell fixing piece 13b ground connection spring piece 13c medium pressing piece 13d fitting lock recess 14 conductive contact (conductive terminal)
14a Contact portion 15a Upper ground bar 15b Lower ground bar 15c Ground contact (ground connection member)
20 Receptacle connector 21 Receptacle housing (insulating housing)
21a Fitting recess 22 Receptacle side unit connection unit 23 Conductive contact (conductive terminal)
23a Solder connection part 23b Hold down 23c Fitting lock convex part 23d Contact part SC Coaxial cable (signal transmission medium)
SCa Cable center conductor (signal line)
SCb Cable outer conductor (ground wire)

Claims (6)

A conductive shell is mounted on the insulating housing, and a plurality of signal lines and ground lines arranged in a multipolar manner in the insulating housing constitute a set of connection paths including a signal path and a ground path over a plurality of sets. These multiple sets of connection paths are connected to an electronic circuit simultaneously,
A ground path in each of the connection paths includes the ground line, an appropriate ground connection member connected to the ground line, and a conductive shell that is in contact with and electrically connected to the ground connection member. Electrical connector
A single or a plurality of signal lines and ground lines in each connection path, and at least a pair of ground connection members arranged so as to sandwich the single or plural signal lines and ground lines from both sides in the multipolar arrangement direction ; The conductive shell is configured as a set of unit connection units independent for each connection path of the electronic circuit, and a plurality of sets of the unit connection units are attached to the insulating housing in a state of being separated from each other. And
A single or a plurality of ground wires and the conductive shell arranged in any one of the plurality of sets of unit connection units, and a single arranged in another set of unit connection units or An electrical connector, wherein a plurality of ground wires and the conductive shell constitute ground paths having different connection paths in an electrically independent state.   The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of signal lines arranged in each unit connection unit are configured to perform differential transmission.   The ground connection member is constituted by a ground contact integrally provided on a long ground bar connecting one or a plurality of ground lines arranged in each unit connection unit. The electrical connector according to claim 1.   The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the ground connection member is provided so that a part of a conductive shell provided so as to cover the unit connection units is in contact with the ground connection member.   2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the signal line and the ground line in each unit connection unit are constituted by coaxial cables.   2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein a hold down which is mounted on a printed wiring board and is solder-connected to the printed wiring board is provided independently for each unit connection unit.

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