JP2001155816A - Connector for flat cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector that can seal terminals of flat cable. SOLUTION: A press-mating portion 2 is exposed from an upper surface of connector housing 1. A waterproof member 8 to be attached is formed at terminals of a flat cable F in a form of hollow, and a fitting opening 11 is formed at one end of the flat cable. Since an opening K is passing through a central portion of the waterproof member 8, the flat cable F to the press- mating portion 2 is press mated to the state mounted with the waterproof member 8. Thereafter, if a cover 6 for pressing the waterproof member 8 is mounted, the flat cable F is connected to the connector 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat cable connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of connecting a flat cable to each terminal fitting housed in a connector housing, there is a method in which a pressure contact terminal is used as a terminal fitting and connection is made by pressure welding. One example is 4-1.
No. 33358. In this case, the terminal fittings are arranged side by side in a state where the pressure contact portions of the terminal fittings are exposed in the connector housing, and can be pressed against a flat cable. The press-contact portion is covered by a cover locked to the connector housing.

[0003]

The connection method described above is effective especially in places where waterproofness is not required.
In order to apply where waterproofing is required, some waterproof structure must be added. Such a waterproof structure must be able to reliably seal the entire periphery of the portion where the flat cable is introduced into the connector housing and the entire periphery between the cover and the connector housing. Then, there is a problem that two types of seal members are simply required, and the structure becomes complicated. The present invention has been developed to meet such a demand, and an object of the present invention is to provide a flat cable connector capable of achieving waterproofing with a simple seal structure.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flat cable in which a plurality of electric wires are arranged in parallel, and each of the electric wires cut into a covering of a terminal portion of the flat cable. A plurality of press-contact terminals having press-contact portions capable of contacting the same, a connector housing for exposing each press-contact portion of the press-contact terminals to the outer surface, and a connector housing capable of being mounted on the connector housing so as to cover the surface where the press-contact portions are exposed And a seal member compressed by the cover and sealing around the end portion of the flat cable in a watertight manner, wherein the seal member is provided at one edge thereof with the flat cable. A flat cable is formed in a hollow shape with an insertion opening for inserting a terminal portion of It is characterized in that the opening for makes it possible to press against the respective wires to expose a portion of is formed. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the opening portion of the waterproof member penetrates a side opposite to a surface on which the opening is provided, and is pressed against each of the pressing portions of the flat cable. A press contact confirmation window for exposing a portion to be pressed. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, a positioning wall is provided along a circumferential direction on an outer peripheral portion of a surface of the connector housing where the press contact portion is exposed, and the waterproofing is performed. The member is formed so as to be fitted inside the positioning wall.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal of the flat cable is inserted from the insertion port of the waterproof member. Thus, the end of the flat cable covered with the waterproof member is made to extend along the outer surface of the connector housing,
Further, the opening of the waterproof member is adapted to each pressure contact portion and is pressed against the connector housing. Thereby, each press contact part cuts into the covering of the flat cable and comes into contact with the core wire of each electric wire. Thereafter, when the cover is assembled to the connector housing, the waterproof member is compressed, and the waterproof property for the flat cable is secured. At this time, since the waterproof member has a hollow shape and covers the distal end portion of the flat cable, it is possible to easily prevent water from entering the terminal portion of the flat cable. According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to check the pressure contact state with respect to the flat cable through the pressure contact confirmation window before attaching the cover. According to the third aspect of the present invention, when performing the pressure welding operation on the flat cable, the waterproof member is fitted inside the positioning wall of the connector housing, so the positioning on the flat cable is automatically performed, and the pressure welding operation is smoothly performed. sell.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a connector housing made of a synthetic resin, the lower surface side of which is formed in a hood shape that opens downward, and a mating connector housing can be fitted inside thereof. In addition, a total of six terminal fittings are incorporated in the connector housing 1. One end of each terminal fitting is connectable to a terminal fitting incorporated in the mating connector housing, and the other end is formed with a press-contact portion 2 that can press-contact each wire of the flat cable F. As shown in FIG. 1, each press contact portion 2 is exposed on the upper surface of the connector housing 1 (hereinafter, referred to as a cable introduction surface 3), and is arranged in a staggered manner in accordance with the wire pitch of the flat cable F. I have.
Each of the press contact portions 2 has a U-shaped press contact groove 2A which opens upward in the drawing, and can be cut into the coating of the flat cable F so as to be in contact with each of the core wires 14 inside.

A positioning wall 4 is formed upright along the circumferential direction except for a part of the outer peripheral edge of the cable introduction surface 3. At the center of one of the sides, an introduction concave portion 5 is formed in a notch shape with an opening width substantially equal to the entire width of the flat cable F, so that the flat cable F can be guided into the cable introduction surface 3 from here. Has become. However, the depth of the introduction concave portion 5 is set so as to be slightly shallower than the thickness of the flat cable F. On the other hand, lock claws 7 for attaching a cover 6 for holding down the flat cable F are formed on both sides of the side surface of the connector housing 1 in a direction orthogonal to the introduction direction of the flat cable F.

[0008] The cover 6 is also integrally formed of a synthetic resin material. As will be described in detail later, the flat cable F introduced into the cable introduction surface 3 with the waterproof member 8 attached to the terminal portion is interposed between the connector housing 1 and the flat cable F. And hold it. The cover 6 is formed in a flat plate shape, and is sized so as to be placed in alignment with the upper edge of the positioning wall 4. A connecting arm 9 is provided along two corresponding sides of the side surface of the cover 6 so as to correspond to the lock claws 7 and hangs down from the side wall of the cover 6 so as to protrude further downward. A slit 9A is formed in both connecting arms 9 vertically.
When the cover 6 is set on the connector housing 1,
The lock claw 7 is locked at the lower end of the slit 9A, whereby the cover 6 can be locked. Further, a projection 13 that can be fitted in alignment with the introduction recess 5 is integrally formed at a position corresponding to the introduction recess 5 of the connector housing 1 on the lower surface of the cover 6.

The waterproof member 8 is integrally formed of a rubber material. The waterproof member 8 is formed so as to fit and fit inside the positioning wall 4 of the connector housing 1, and has a two-step lip edge 10 in the height direction except for one side corresponding to the introduction recess 5 on the side surface. Are formed continuously along the circumferential direction. Both lip edges 10 have a mountain-shaped cross section,
Along the inner wall of the positioning wall 4, it is in close contact with the positioning wall 4 in a slightly compressed state. The inside of the waterproof member 8 is hollow, and a flat cable F is provided on the side of the waterproof member 8 where the lip edge 10 is not provided.
The insertion port 11 for inserting the camera is open. As shown in FIG. 3, the insertion port 11 is formed so as to conform to the outline of the outer shape of the flat cable F so that a good contact state with the outer surface of the flat cable F can be obtained. Thus, the terminal portion of the flat cable F is inserted from the insertion port 11 and covered with the waterproof member 8, and the inside of the waterproof member 8 is closed on the side opposite to the insertion port 11. Intrusion of water from the end face of the front end of F (water intrusion from the gap between the end face of the coating and the end face of the core wire 14) can be prevented at the same time.

An opening K is formed in the center of the upper and lower surfaces of the waterproof member 8 so as to penetrate in a rectangular shape. The opening K has a width enough to expose the flat cable F over the entire width, and has a size enough to expose all the press-contact portions 2 on the connector housing 1 side.
This allows the flat cable F to pass through the opening K.
Pressing work is possible. In this embodiment, the opening K penetrates up and down. However, the opening K may be opened only on the lower surface side as long as only the pressing operation is possible. If the opening is also opened upward as in the present embodiment, the pressure contact state with the flat cable F can be confirmed through the opening on the upper surface side, so that the opening on the upper surface side functions as the pressure contact confirmation window portion 12. . Note that the inner peripheral surface of the opening K is continuously opened over the entire circumference with a uniform width smaller than the thickness of the flat cable F.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment configured as described above will be specifically described. Before attaching the flat cable F to the connector housing 1, first, the waterproof member 8
The terminal portion of the flat cable F is inserted through the insertion port 11 of the waterproof member 8 so as to reach a position where the distal end of the flat cable F substantially abuts the inner rear wall of the waterproof member 8 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the waterproof member 8 is fitted in the positioning wall 4, and at the same time, the flat cable F is also fitted in the introduction recess 5. In this state, when the flat cable F is strongly pressed against the connector housing 1 side, the coating of the flat cable F is cut by the press contact groove 2A of each press contact portion 2, and each core wire 14 comes into contact with the opposite edge of the press contact groove 2A. As a result, the flat cable F is connected to the terminal fittings on the connector housing 1 side.

Thereafter, the cover 6 is placed from above the waterproof member 8.
And lock the lock claws 7 on the connector housing 1 side with the lower ends of the slits 9A of both connecting arms 9. Thus, the waterproof member 8 is compressed by the back surface of the cover 6 attached to the connector housing 1. Thereby, the gap between the opening edge of the insertion port 11 and the flat cable F is sealed in a watertight state, and the lip edge 10 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the positioning wall 4. Therefore, the flat cable F is reliably sealed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the flat cable F connector of the press-contact type, the cover 6 is mounted with the waterproof member 8 covered on the terminal of the flat cable F. The waterproof structure can be surely achieved by the simple structure. Further, since the window 12 for confirming the pressure contact is opened on the upper surface of the waterproof member 8, it is possible to confirm the state of the pressure contact with the flat cable F before the cover 6 is attached.

The present invention can be modified in various ways.
The following modifications are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the cover 6 is shown as being separate from the connector housing 1, but may be opened and closed via a hinge or the like. The back surface of the cover 6 does not necessarily have to be flat, and a rib that cuts the upper surface of the waterproof member 8 along the entire circumference may be formed in a ring shape.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a flat cable is connected.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an insertion port side of the seal member.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a seal member.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a cover is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connector housing 2 ... Press-contact part 4 ... Positioning wall 6 ... Cover 8 ... Waterproof member 11 ... Insertion opening F ... Flat cable K ... Opening

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A flat cable formed by arranging a plurality of electric wires in parallel, a plurality of press-connecting terminals having a press-connecting portion cut into a coating of a terminal portion of the flat cable and capable of contacting each of the electric wires; A connector housing that exposes the press contact portion to the outer surface, a cover that can be attached to the connector housing so as to cover the surface where the press contact portion is exposed, and a watertight seal around the terminal portion of the flat cable that is compressed by the cover. And a seal member for sealing the flat cable, wherein the seal member is formed in a hollow shape having an opening for inserting a terminal portion of the flat cable at one edge portion. A part of the flat cable is exposed on a surface facing each of the press contact portions, thereby enabling press contact with the electric wires. Connector for a flat cable, wherein the opening of the eye is formed. 2. A press-contact confirmation window for penetrating a side of the waterproof member opposite to a surface on which the press-fit portion is provided and exposing portions of the flat cable to be pressed against the press-contact portions. The flat cable connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is a part. 3. A positioning wall rises along the circumferential direction on an outer peripheral portion of a surface of the connector housing where the press contact portion is exposed, and the waterproof member is formed so as to be fitted inside the positioning wall. The flat cable connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connector is provided.