JP2000048886A - Electrical connector for fpc - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provided an electrical connector for a flat cable for FPC(flexible printed circuit), capable of reducing substantial mounting area to a printed circuit board and having no trouble in decreasing the height. SOLUTION: This FPC electric connector 1 is provided with an insulating housing 3, a plurality of terminals 4 arranged laterally in parallel on the insulating housing 3 at the specified pitches, and a rotational cover 2 having a pressing part for pressing an FPC toward contact parts 17c of the terminals 4. The rotational cover 2 is supported on the inserting port 5 side of the FPC rotatable relative to the insulating housing 3, and the side 6 inner from the support part is moved above the insulating housing 3 along a circular locus, and the rotational cover 2 can be rotated in the width range of the insulating housing 3 between the inserting port 5 side to the inner side 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an FPC, an FFC,
The present invention relates to an electrical connector for an FPC which can connect a flat flexible cable generally referred to as the like (in this specification, these are collectively referred to simply as “FPC”).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an FPC in which a connection end portion can be inserted with a zero insertion force (ZIF) when connecting the FPC.
The electrical connector includes an insulating housing, a plurality of terminals arranged side by side on the insulating housing at a predetermined pitch, and a rotating cover having a pressing portion for pressing the FPC toward a contact portion of the terminal. (For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-50968,
No. 3671).

[0003] By rotating the rotating cover to the non-pressing position, the insertion opening of the FPC formed in the insulating housing is opened, and the FPC is opened.
Insert the connection end of the PC to the vicinity of the contact portion of the terminal under zero insertion force, and then rotate the rotating cover to the pressing position, and press the rotating cover through the pressing portion provided on the rotating cover. FP
C is pressed toward the contact portion of the terminal.

[0004]

In the conventional electrical connector for an FPC having the above-described structure, the rotation area of the rotation cover extends over a wide area inside and outside the insulating housing. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a space for the rotation of the rotating cover outside the insulating housing. That is, when this type of FPC electrical connector is mounted on a printed circuit board, the side of the insulating housing should be left open without placing other electronic components and the like close to each other. The mounting area increases,
There were problems with effective use of the printed circuit board surface and high-density mounting. In particular, when trying to reduce the height of the insulating housing, the portion of the rotating cover that protrudes outside the insulating housing reaches near the surface of the printed circuit board, so it is difficult to reduce the height. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an FPC electrical connector having a structure in which a substantial mounting area on a printed circuit board can be reduced and the height of the FPC is not hindered. It is intended to be.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An electric connector for an FPC according to the present invention having the above-mentioned object has a pivot portion for pivoting a pivot cover disposed on an insertion port side of the FPC. The cover is configured such that the back side of the shaft support moves above the insulating housing.

In other words, the present invention provides a rotary housing having an insulating housing, a plurality of terminals arranged side by side at a predetermined pitch on the insulating housing, and a pressing portion for pressing the FPC toward a contact portion of the terminal. FP with cover
In the electrical connector for C, the rotating cover is an FPC.
Is rotatably supported on the insulating housing at the insertion opening side, and at the time of this rotation, a circular locus above the insulating housing is located on the back side of the shaft supporting portion as viewed from the insertion opening side of the FPC. The FPC electrical connector is characterized in that the rotating cover is rotatable within a width region of the insulating housing extending from the insertion port side to the back side.

In the FPC electrical connector of the present invention having the above-described structure, the rotation area of the rotation cover is limited to the FPC.
Is located in the width region of the insulating housing extending from the insertion port to the back side, so that the rotating cover does not protrude beyond the insertion port side of the insulating housing or outside of the back side during the rotation. Can be. Further, it is possible to reduce the height of the insulating housing without considering the rotation area of the rotation cover.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 3 are perspective views of an FPC electrical connector (hereinafter, also simply referred to as an “electric connector”) 1 of the embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a state in which an FPC (not shown) in which the rotating cover 2 has been rotated above the insulating housing 3 is inserted, and FIGS.
FPC in which the rotating cover 2 is rotated toward the insulating housing 3
This is the state at the time when the connection has been completed.

The electrical connector 1 includes an insulating housing 3 and
A plurality of terminals 4 are arranged side by side at a predetermined pitch on the insulating housing 3 and the rotating cover 2 rotatably provided on the insulating housing 3. The rotating cover 2 and the insulating housing 3 are formed of insulating plastics, and the terminals 4 are formed by punching a thin metal plate.

The insulating housing 3 has a left front side in FIGS. 1 and 2 as an insertion port 5 of an FPC to be connected, and a terminal fixing portion 7 is formed at the center of a rear side 6 behind the insertion port 5. is there. In this specification, the direction from the insertion port 5 to the back side 6 is defined as the width direction, and the direction orthogonal to the width direction is defined as the longitudinal direction.

On both sides of the insulating housing 3 in the longitudinal direction, cover supporting pieces 8 having a reverse L-shaped cross section are provided like cantilever arms toward the direction of the insertion opening 5 (ie, forward). The cover support piece 8 extends to near the tip of the bottom wall 9 that forms the bottom surface 3a of the insulating housing 3. A plurality of terminal mounting grooves 10 are formed on the bottom wall 9 at a predetermined pitch so as to be able to receive a contact piece or the like of the terminal 4 whose structure will be described below. Terminal receiving groove 1
0 is a terminal receiving groove 1 toward the terminal fixing portion 7.
An engagement groove 11 that communicates with 0 is formed. The insertion port 5 side from the terminal fixing portion 7 above the bottom wall 9 is a terminal receiving cavity 12, and the F to be connected to the terminal receiving cavity 12.
The connection end of the PC can be inserted from the insertion port 5 side.

The rotating cover 2 extends from the rectangular plate-shaped main body 13 sized to fit between the cover support pieces 8 to the side of the terminal fixing portion 7 toward the back side 6. The operation arm piece 14 has a shape provided in a square shape. Cylindrical bosses 15 protrude from both sides of the main body 13 on the side of the insertion opening 5, and the bosses 15 are circular holes (not shown) formed inside the cover supporting piece 8 on the side of the insertion opening 5. It is fitted in. The pivoting mechanism of the rotating cover 2 is configured by engagement between the cylindrical inner wall surface of the circular hole and the cylindrical outer wall surface of the boss 15, and the rotating cover 2 is formed by a pivoting mechanism configured near the insertion opening 5. It is rotatable around the shaft support. It is also possible to provide a configuration in which a circular hole is provided on the rotation cover 2 side and a columnar boss is provided on the cover support piece 8 side. Due to the rotation of the rotating cover 2, the back side 6 of the rotating cover 2 with respect to the shaft support mechanism,
It moves between the state shown in FIG. 1 and the state shown in FIG. 2 along a circular locus above the insulating housing 3.

The main body 13 constituting the rotating cover 2 includes:
A terminal receiving groove 16 is formed so as to match the position of the terminal mounting groove 10 formed on the bottom wall 9 of the insulating housing 3.

The shape of the terminal 4 is shown in FIGS. That is, a cantilevered contact piece 17 extending along the bottom surface 3a of the insulating housing 3 and a pressing support piece 19 extending cantilevered opposite the contact piece 17 with the FPC receiving portion 18 interposed therebetween. It has a portion formed in a shape. Further, an extension base piece 20 is formed on the extension of the contact piece 17, and an engagement piece 21 is provided upright on an upper intermediate portion of the extension base piece 20, and formed on the terminal fixing portion 7 of the insulating housing 3. The engagement groove 11 fits and engages. A solder tail 22 is formed below the end of the extension base piece 20.

The terminal 4 can be mounted in the terminal mounting groove 10 of the insulating housing 3 from the bottom surface 3a side. When the engagement piece 21 protruding from the extension base piece 20 is attached so as to be engaged with the engagement groove 11 of the terminal fixing part 7, the contact piece 17 and the pressing support piece 19 are arranged in the terminal receiving cavity 12. The FPC receiving portion 18 between the contact piece 17 and the pressing support piece 19 opens to the insertion port 5 of the insulating housing 3. Also, Solder Tail 22
Extends substantially flush with the bottom surface 3a of the insulating housing 3 and extends rearward. The contact piece 17 and the extension base piece 20 are arranged such that their lower edges float slightly above the bottom surface 3a.

A contact portion 17a is formed on the upper edge of the contact piece 17 so as to protrude. The distal end portion of the pressing support piece 19 is formed in a crank shape facing upward, and has a concave arcuate engagement formed of a substantially 1/4 arc so as to face the contact portion 17a at a bent portion thereof. A part 23 is formed. The pressing support piece 19 formed as described above is accommodated in the terminal receiving groove 16 formed in the rotating cover 2.

As shown best in FIG. 4, a pressing cam 24 adapted to engage with the concave arc-shaped engaging portion 23 in the terminal receiving groove 16 of the rotating cover 2 which has received the pressing supporting piece 19. Are provided coaxially with the boss 15, that is, on the center axis of the shaft support mechanism. The pressing cam 24 has a convex arcuate surface 25 having an outer surface having a circular cross section and a flat end surface 26 having a linear cross section.
And the direction of the flat surface 26 is set in a direction substantially orthogonal to the main body 13 of the rotating cover 2.

The FPC electrical connector 1 configured as described above is mounted on, for example, a printed circuit board (not shown), and the solder tail 22 of the terminal 4 is electrically connected to a circuit in the printed circuit board. Used by soldering to the pad. In FIGS. 1 to 3, the L-shaped members appearing on both sides of the insulating housing 3 on the side of the insertion opening 5 are metal reinforcing brackets 27.
It is. The reinforcing metal fitting 27 can also be soldered to a land formed on the surface of the printed circuit board, or fixed to the printed circuit board by an appropriate fixing means such as a screw to reinforce the mounting strength.

The connection of the FPC to the electric connector 1 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the rotating cover 2 is rotated outward so as to be substantially perpendicular to the insulating housing 3. This operation can be performed by pulling up the operation arm piece 14. When the rotating cover 2 is rotated in this manner, the pressing cam 24 also has the flat surface 26 on the contact piece 17.
It turns so that it may face.

The distance between the flat surface 26 of the pressing cam 24 and the contact portion 17a of the contact piece 17 is set substantially equal to the thickness of the FPC to be connected. Therefore, FPC
Can be inserted into the FPC receiving portion 18 between the contact piece 17 and the pressing support piece 19 through the insertion port 5 with zero insertion force. By inserting the connection end of the FPC, the conductive wire exposed on the lower surface of the connection end and the contact portion 17a face each other in a one-to-one relationship.

After the connection end of the FPC is inserted in this manner, the connection is completed by rotating the rotating cover 2 toward the insulating housing 3 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. can do. This operation can also be performed via the operation arm piece 14 of the rotating cover 2. When the rotating cover 2 is rotated toward the insulating housing 3, the pressing cam 24 is also rotated so that the flat surface 26 faces the insertion port 5 (see FIG. 4), and one side of the convex arc-shaped surface 25 is the contact piece 17. Contact part 1
It moves to a position facing 7a.

Convex arc-shaped surface 2 facing contact portion 17a
Since the distance between one side of the contact 5 and the contact portion 17a is smaller than the thickness of the connection end of the FPC, the pressing portion 28 can be formed on one side of the convex arc-shaped surface 25. That is, the pressing portion 28 presses the FPC toward the contact portion 17a, and the contact portion 17a and the conductor on the FPC side are electrically engaged. Therefore, the conductor of the FPC is connected to the circuit in the printed circuit board via the terminal 4.

In the connection state in which the rotating cover 2 is rotated toward the insulating housing 3, the contact piece 17 and the pressing support piece 19 are both formed in a cantilever shape, so that each can be elastically deformed. is there. Therefore, the engagement between the contact portion 17a and the conductor of the FPC is backed up by the elasticity of the contact piece 17 and the elasticity of the pressing support piece 19, and a highly reliable connection can be formed.

Also, the contact portions 17a in the parallel state
Even if the coplanarity of the FPC and the coplanarity of the exposed portion of the conductor of the FPC are insufficient, those defects can be absorbed by the elasticity of the contact piece 17 and the pressing support piece 19, and a highly reliable connection state can be ensured. Can be maintained. Further, even when vibrations or shocks are applied from the outside, vibrations and the like can be absorbed by the elasticity of the contact piece 17 and the pressing support piece 19, so that a highly reliable connection state can be maintained safely. Can be.

The rotation range of the rotation cover 2 is the range between the state shown in FIG. 1 and the state shown in FIG. That is, the insulating housing 3 extends from the insertion port 5 to the back side 6 of the insulating housing 3.
Is within the width region. Therefore, the rotation cover 2 does not protrude outside the insertion opening 5 of the insulating housing 3 or outside the back side 6 due to the rotation. This means that when the electrical connector 1 is mounted on a printed circuit board, there is no obstacle to the rotation of the rotating cover 2 even if other electronic components are arranged close to the electrical connector 1. .

As a result, an area approximately equal to the area of the bottom surface 3a of the insulating housing 3 may be ensured on the printed circuit board, the actual occupied area is reduced, the effective use of the printed circuit board surface, and high density are achieved. Enable implementation.

The fact that the rotating cover 2 does not protrude beyond the insertion opening 5 of the insulating housing 3 or the outside of the back side 6 due to the rotation can reduce the height of the insulating housing 3 and therefore the electrical connector 1. It can be done without obstacles in planning. This is because it is not necessary to consider a collision between the rotating cover and another electronic component or the like arranged adjacent to the electric connector 1.

[0029]

As described above, according to the FPC electrical connector of the present invention, the rotating cover does not protrude to the outside on the insertion opening side and the outside on the back side of the insulating housing during the rotation. With this configuration, the substantial area occupied by the printed circuit board can be made substantially equal to the bottom area of the insulating housing, and other electronic components and the like can be arranged close to each other. It can contribute to density mounting. Also, since the rotating cover does not protrude outside the insertion port side and the back side of the insulating housing,
The height can be easily reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the state of engagement between the conductive wire of the FPC and the contact portion formed on the contact piece is as follows.
Backup can be performed by the elasticity of the contact piece and the elasticity of the pressing support piece. Therefore, imperfect coplanarity of the plurality of conductors of the FPC and imperfect coplanarity of the plurality of contact portions can be absorbed, and external vibration and impact can be absorbed, so that high connection reliability can be secured.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the terminals are mounted from the bottom surface of the insulating housing, the moving stroke of the terminals for mounting can be shortened, and the production efficiency and the production yield can be improved. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector for an FPC according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a rotary cover is rotated upward to wait for connection of an FPC.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the FPC electrical connector.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an FPC is connected by rotating a rotating cover downward.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 and viewed from a bottom surface side.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the FPC electrical connector in the state of FIGS. 2 and 3;

5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the FPC electrical connector in the state of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 FPC electrical connector 2 Rotating cover 3 Insulating housing 3a Bottom surface of insulating housing 4 Terminal 5 Insertion port 6 Back side 10 Terminal mounting groove 17 Contact piece 17a Contact part 18 FPC receiving part 19 Press support piece 20 Extension base piece 21 Engagement Piece 22 solder tail 23 concave arc-shaped engagement surface 24 pressing cam 25 convex arc-shaped surface 28 pressing portion

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5E023 AA04 AA16 AA18 AA26 BB22 BB23 CC23 CC24 CC26 DD03 DD06 DD13 DD28 EE12 GG02 HH06 HH08 HH18 HH30 5E077 BB23 BB31 BB32 CC02 CC23 CC26 DD01 DD14 JJ30

Claims (3)

[Claims] An insulating housing, a plurality of terminals arranged side by side at a predetermined pitch on the insulating housing, and a pressing portion for pressing an FPC toward a contact portion of the terminal. In the electrical connector 1 for FPC provided with the rotating cover 2, the rotating cover 2 is rotatably supported on the insulating housing 3 on the insertion port 5 side of the FPC, When the moving cover is moved from the insertion port 5 side of the FPC, the rear side 6 of the shaft support moves along a circular path above the insulating housing 3. An electrical connector for an FPC, which is rotatable within a width region of the insulating housing 3 extending from a side to a back side 6. 2. The terminal 4 has contact pieces 17 each extending along the bottom surface 3a of the insulating housing 3.
The contact piece 17 has a portion formed in a substantially U-shape with a pressing support piece 19 extending opposite to the FPC receiving portion 18 with the FPC receiving part 18 interposed therebetween. FPC insertion hole 5 formed on one side
The rotating cover 2 is provided with a shaft supporting mechanism formed by engagement of a cylindrical inner wall surface and a cylindrical outer wall surface on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing 3 on the FPC insertion port 5 side. A pressing cam 24 is formed at a position corresponding to each of the terminals 4 on the center axis of the supporting mechanism, and a convex arc-shaped surface of the pressing cam 24. 25 is the pressing support piece 19
The convex portion 25 of the pressing cam 24 presses the FPC toward the contact piece 17 by the rotation of the rotating cover 2 by engaging with the concave engaging portion 23 formed inside the distal end of the pressing member 28. The FPC electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein 3. The terminal 4 has an extension base piece 20 on the extension of the contact piece 17, and an engagement piece 21 for engaging with the insulating housing 3 on an upper intermediate portion of the extension base piece 20. In addition, a solder tail 22 is provided below the end of the extension base piece 20, and the solder tail 22 is mounted in the terminal mounting groove 10 from the bottom surface 3 a side of the insulating housing 3, and the engaging piece 21 is engaged with the insulating housing 3. The FPC according to claim 2.
For electrical connectors.