JP2000023342A - Connection structure of flat cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture the terminal part of a flat cable easily, with a compact size and, furthermore with a less number of soldering processes. SOLUTION: Only an insulating material 10b on one side of a flat cable 10 is removed to expose only one side surfaces of 1st conductors 10a. While the soldering bumps 10d of the 1st conductors 10a are brought into contact with 2nd conductors 20, the heat and the pressure are applied to the 1st conductors 10a and the 2nd conductors 20 together to connect them electrically each other. Since it is necessary to remove only the insulating material on one side surfaces of the 1st conductors, the insulating material on the other surfaces reinforces the 1st conductors 10a, it becomes difficult to bent the terminal part and pitch disturbance can be avoided. Furthermore, in the flat cable manufacturing process, when insulating materials are laminated on both the side surfaces of the 1st conductors 10a, conventionally it is necessary to form removing holes in the insulating material on one side surfaces only but since it is not necessary to align the removing holes of the insulating materials on both the surfaces here, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat cable connection structure most suitable for a rotary connection device for a steering of an automobile, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, in an automobile, a steering wheel 3 of a steering shaft 2 rotatably supported on a body 1 side has an air bag 4, a horn switch and the like built therein. is there. In this case, the steering wheel 3
Since the side rotates, the wire harness 17 on the body 1 side
And the wire harness 18 such as the airbag 4 on the steering wheel 3 side are twisted with rotation, so that the electric wires of the respective wire harnesses 17 and 18 cannot be directly connected.

For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a rotor 7 which is non-rotatably mounted on a steering wheel 3 with a pin 7a and a case 9 which is non-rotatably mounted on a base case 8 on the body 1 side. A rotary connection device for steering, in which a flexible flat cable (FFC: flexible flat cable) 10 is interposed in a loop shape and interposed therebetween, and a rotor 7 and a case 9 are relatively rotatably connected by a C ring 11. 12 are provided.

A combination switch 15 having a direction indicating lever 13 and a wiper lever 14 is incorporated in the base case 8 on the body 1 side, and the direction indicating lever 13 is returned to the OFF position when the steering wheel 3 is turned back. Boss 16 is fixed to the steering wheel 3 by a pin portion 16a so as not to rotate.

The connector 7b of the wire harness 6 connected to the inner end of the conductor of the flexible flat cable 10 in the terminal member 6a is fitted to the connector 18a of the wire harness 18 such as the air bag 4 and the terminal. By fitting the connector 9b of the wire harness 5 connected to the outer end of the conductor of the flexible flat cable 10 into the connector 17a of the wire harness 17 on the body side in the member 5a, the winding of the flexible flat cable 10 is performed. The wire harness 18 such as the air bag 4 on the steering wheel 3 and the wire harness 17 on the body 1 are electrically connected by utilizing the tightness and the rewinding property.

When connecting the ends of the flexible flat cable 10 and the ends of the wire harnesses 5 and 6 in each of the terminal members 5a and 6a, FIG.
(A) As shown in (b), the insulating material on both sides of the flat cable 10 is peeled off to expose both sides of each conductive wire (first conductor) 10a, and substantially L disposed inside each terminal member 5a, 6a.
Each conductor 10 is connected to one end of a U-shaped bus bar (second conductor) 20.
a is soldered, and a lead wire (not shown) at the end of the wire harness 5, 6 is soldered b to the other end of the bus bar 20.

[0007]

However, since the bus bar 20 needs to be processed into a substantially L-shape, the processing die becomes expensive and a substantially L-shaped bent portion is required. As the dimension T1 becomes longer, the terminal portion becomes larger.

Further, since it is necessary to solder each conductor 10a of the flat cable 10 to each bus bar 20 at each point, the number of soldering steps is increased.

Furthermore, since it is necessary to peel off the insulating material on both sides of the conductor 10a of the flat cable 10, the exposed conductor 10a is bent by an external force (see a two-dot chain line) as shown in FIG. P1 is easily disturbed, and FIG. 4 (d)
As shown in FIG. 5, when the flat cable 10 is manufactured, the insulating material 10b is laminated on both surfaces of the conductive wire 10a using the roller 21 in order to peel the insulating material to expose the conductive wire 10a. Hole 10c for peeling part
Therefore, it was difficult to manufacture the same.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a flat cable connection structure which is compact, easy to manufacture, and requires less soldering steps. is there.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an insulating material on one side of a flat cable is peeled off to expose one side of a plurality of parallel first conductors.
Solder bumps are formed on the exposed surfaces of the respective conductors, and second conductors corresponding to the first conductors are respectively arranged. An object of the present invention is to provide a connection structure for a flat cable, in which a conductor and a second conductor are collectively heated and pressurized and electrically connected.

According to the first aspect, only the insulating material on one side of the flat cable is peeled off to expose only one side of the first conductor,
With the solder bumps of the first conductor in contact with the second conductor, the first conductor and the second conductor are collectively heated and pressed to be electrically connected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the insulating material on one side of the flat cable is peeled off to expose one side of the plurality of parallel first conductors, and a soldering bump is formed on the exposed surface of each conductor. Each of the first conductors is substantially L
Each of the second conductors is arranged so as to form a U-shape.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a flat cable connection structure in which a first conductor and a second conductor are collectively heated and pressurized and electrically connected in a state of being in contact with the conductor.

According to the second aspect, only the insulating material on one side of the flat cable is peeled off to expose only one side of the first conductor,
When the flat cable is folded in a substantially L-shape and the soldering bumps of the first conductor are brought into contact with the second conductor, the first conductor and the second conductor are collectively heated and pressurized for electrical connection. Connect to

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the flat cable is
A flexible flat cable which is interposed in a loop between a rotor and a case of a rotary connection device for steering of an automobile, wherein the second conductor is provided at the inner end or outside of the flexible flat cable. Most preferably, the terminal member in the terminal member connected to the first conductor at the end or the wire of the wire harness is used.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the same components and operations as those of the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment.
(A) As shown in (b), a flexible flat cable (FFC ... flexible flat cable) which is interposed between a rotor 7 and a case 9 of a rotary connection device for steering of an automobile in a loop shape. And FPC ... Flexible
The printed circuit 10 includes a plurality of (three in this example, for simplicity) parallel conductors (first conductor) by peeling off only the insulating material 10b on one surface (upper surface) of the inner end or outer end. ) 1
0a is exposed only on one side, and each exposed wire 10
Then, soldering bumps 10d are respectively formed on a.

In each of the terminal members 5a and 6a, there is a gap between each of the conductors 10a of the flat cable 10 and approximately L.
The rectangular (I-shaped) bus bars 20 are respectively arranged so as to form a letter shape.

Then, the flat cable 10 is folded in a substantially L-shape along a 45-degree valley fold line c shown in FIG. 1A, and each of the downwardly directed conductors is folded as shown in FIG. 1C. The bump 10d of 10a is brought into contact with each bus bar 20.

Thereafter, in this state, as shown in FIG. 2, a heat bar 23 is pressed against the respective conductors 10a of the flat cable 10 from above to heat and pressurize the respective conductors 10a and the respective bus bars 20 collectively. Bump 10d of conductor 10a
Is melted, so that each conductor 10a and each bus bar 20 are electrically connected by soldering a.

According to the configuration of the first embodiment, unlike the conventional case, the bus bar 20 does not need to be processed into a substantially L-shape, but is simply processed into a rectangular shape (I-shape). In addition, since it is inexpensive and does not require a bent portion as in the case of processing into a substantially L-shape, the protruding dimension T2 is shortened and the terminal portion becomes compact.

Also, since only the insulating material 10b on one side of the conductor 10a of the flat cable 10 needs to be peeled off, FIG.
As shown in (b), the insulating material 10b on the other surface is
a, it is difficult to bend by external force, and the conductor 10
The pitch of “a” is not disturbed.

Furthermore, when the flat cable 10 is manufactured, when the insulating material 10b is laminated on both surfaces of the conductor 10a, a hole 10c for a peeling portion is formed only on the insulating material 10b on one side (upper side in FIG. 4D). It is not necessary to make the holes 10c for the exfoliated portions of the insulating material 10b on both sides coincide with each other as in the related art, so that the manufacturing becomes easy.

Furthermore, each conductor 1 of the flat cable 10
0a is not required to be soldered to each bus bar 20 at each point as in the prior art.
Since soldering can be performed by applying pressure, the number of soldering steps is reduced.

In the first embodiment, the bus bar 20 is disposed in a substantially L-shape with respect to the conductor 10a of the flat cable 10,
Although the flat cable 10 is folded in a substantially L-shape, the bus bar 20 is linearly arranged on the flat cable 10 as in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
The flat cable 10 is turned upside down while being straight, and the bumps 10d of the respective downwardly directed wires 10a are brought into contact with the respective bus bars 20, and in this state, heat is applied to the respective wires 10a of the flat cable 10 from above in the same manner as in the first embodiment. By pressing the bar 23, the conductors 10a and the busbars 20 are collectively heated and heated.
By applying pressure, each conductive wire 10a and each bus bar 20 may be electrically connected by soldering a.

In each of the embodiments described above, the connection structure of the flexible flat cable of the rotary connection device for steering of an automobile is used. However, it is needless to say that the connection structure of the flat connection cable can be widely applied.

[0027]

As is clear from the above description, according to the flat cable connection structure of the first aspect of the present invention, only the insulating material on one side of the flat cable is peeled off to expose only one side of the first conductor. Since the first conductor and the second conductor are collectively heated and pressurized and electrically connected in a state where the soldering bump of the first conductor is in contact with the second conductor, the flat cable is Since only the insulating material on one surface of the first conductor needs to be peeled off, the insulating material on the other surface reinforces the first conductor, so that it is difficult to bend by an external force and the pitch is not disturbed. Also, when manufacturing the flat cable, when laminating the insulating material on both surfaces of the first conductor, it is only necessary to make a hole for the peeling portion on only one side of the insulating material. Since there is no need to match the holes, manufacturing becomes easier. Furthermore, since the first conductor and the second conductor can be collectively heated and pressed for soldering, the number of soldering steps is reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connection structure for a flat cable, wherein only the insulating material on one side of the flat cable is peeled off to expose only one side of the first conductor, and the flat cable is substantially L-shaped.
Folded in the shape of a letter, and soldered the solder bumps of the first conductor to the second
Since the first conductor and the second conductor are collectively heated and pressurized and electrically connected in a state of being in contact with the conductor,
In addition to the effect of claim 1, the second conductor does not need to be processed into a substantially L-shape, but is only processed into a rectangular shape, so that the processing die becomes inexpensive and is processed into a substantially L-shape. Since a bent portion as in the conventional case is not required, the protrusion size is shortened, and the terminal portion is made compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a connection structure of a flat cable according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a plan view of a flat cable before being folded, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a folded flat cable. It is a top view after superposition.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a batch connection process of flat cables.

3A and 3B show a connection structure of a flat cable according to a second embodiment, wherein FIG. 3A is a plan view and FIG. 3B is a side view of a collective connection step.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional flat cable connection structure,
(A) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, (c) is a side view of a flat cable, and (d) is a manufacturing process diagram of the flat cable.

FIG. 5 is an exploded front view of a steering unit having a rotary connection device.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front sectional view of the assembly in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the steering rotary connection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5a, 6a Terminal member 10 Flexible flat cable 10a Conductor (first conductor) 10b Insulating material 10d Soldering bump 20 Bus bar (second conductor) 23 Heat bar

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Minoru Yamada 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi F-term in Harness Research Institute, Ltd. 3D030 DB22 DB25 5G375 AA03 CA02 CA12

Claims (3)

[Claims] An insulating material on one side of a flat cable is peeled off to expose one side of a plurality of parallel first conductors, and soldering bumps are respectively formed on the exposed surfaces of the respective conductors.
The second conductors corresponding to the first conductors are respectively arranged,
A connection structure for a flat cable, wherein the first conductor and the second conductor are collectively heated and pressed to electrically connect the first conductor and the second conductor in a state where the bumps of the first conductor are in contact with the second conductor. 2. An insulating material on one side of a flat cable is peeled off to expose one side of a plurality of parallel first conductors, and soldering bumps are respectively formed on the exposed surfaces of the respective conductors.
A state in which the second conductors are arranged so as to be substantially L-shaped with respect to each of the first conductors, and the flat cable is folded substantially in an L-shape, and the bumps of the first conductor are brought into contact with the second conductor 3. The connection structure for a flat cable according to claim 1, wherein the first conductor and the second conductor are collectively heated and pressurized and electrically connected. 3. The flat cable is a flexible flat cable that is looped and interposed between a rotor and a case of a rotary connection device for steering of an automobile, and the second conductor is a flexible flat cable. 3. A terminal member in a terminal member or an electric wire of a wire harness connected to a first conductor at an inner end or an outer end of a flexible flat cable.
Connection structure of flat cable described in 4.