JP2002298959A - Connection terminal and connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connection terminal and a connector capable of facilitating joining of wiring of a flexible printed board with a connection terminal. SOLUTION: The connector 50 is constituted by a housing 51, a connection terminal 60 and a terminal part of FPC 20. The housing 51 comprises upper and lower housing divided bodies 52, 53 and a fitting hole 55 fitted with a contact projection 63 of the connection terminal 60 is formed on a wall surface 54b of a joint part accommodation hole 54 of the lower housing divided body 53. A joint end part 62 of the connection terminal 60 has the contact projection 63. The terminal part of the FPC 20 and the connection terminal 60 are placed on the joint part accommodation hole 54 such that the contact projection 63 is positioned at a position corresponding to the fitting hole 55. The connection terminal 60 and a wiring of the FPC 20 are press-contacted and the housing 51 is formed by assembling both housing divided bodies 52, 53.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connection terminal and a connector used for electrical connection of a flexible printed circuit board (FPC), and more particularly to a connection terminal and a connection terminal which can be easily joined to a terminal of an FPC. The present invention relates to a connector that accommodates the inside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of electric components of an automobile has increased, and the effect of increasing the weight of a wire harness in the automobile on fuel economy has become a problem. For this reason, by replacing at least a part of the wire harness with the FPC harness, the weight of the harness is reduced. In order to connect the FPC to another electric wire, usually, a terminal fitting attached to the end of the electric wire and the FPC are press-connected by an FPC connector (for example, see JP-A-10-12328). Alternatively, piercing, soldering, or the like is also used as another connection method between the FPC and the terminal fitting.

[0003]

However, in the method of simply connecting the FPC and the terminal fitting by pressure contact with a connector or the like, since the contact pressure is low and the contact area is small, for example, the resin is deformed by heat and the contact pressure is reduced. There is a problem that the electrical connection reliability is reduced due to a decrease over time. In addition, piercing is also unreliable, and the method of using solder often uses polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the base film of the FPC from the viewpoint of cost. It is possible. For this reason, when mass production is considered, the cost for joining the FPC and the terminal fittings increases.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
0, and the plate-shaped joint end of the male connection terminal (male connection terminal) 130, for example, are directly joined by resistance welding or the like, and the joint is sealed by the resin mold 141. Attempts to form a connector by stopping and inserting the terminal portion of the FPC 120 into the housing 150 have been made by the present inventors.

[0005]

However, such a resin-molded connector is very useful when used in a circuit having a relatively large current value, such as a power supply line circuit. When the circuit is used in a circuit that requires a very small current value and requires a fine pitch between the circuits, the connecting terminal and the wiring are joined by welding to form a joint. There is a problem that a high welding accuracy and a high level of welding equipment are required, so that the manufacturing operation becomes difficult and the manufacturing cost increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a connection terminal capable of simplifying a connection between a wiring of a flexible printed circuit board and a connection terminal and reducing manufacturing costs. And a connector.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a connection terminal having a plate-like joint end to be joined to the conductive pattern at a terminal portion of a flexible printed circuit board having a conductive pattern formed on an insulating film. A connection end made of metal having a contact protrusion having a sharpened tip penetrating the flexible printed circuit board in a film thickness direction on a surface directly contacting the conductive pattern. It is characterized by the following.

According to the connection terminal of the present invention, the contact surface at the joint end portion to be joined to the conductive pattern is provided with the contact projection having a sharpened tip penetrating the flexible printed circuit board in the film thickness direction. When the connection end of the connection terminal is pressed against the conductive pattern of the flexible printed circuit board on the press table, the connection end and the conductive pattern come into direct contact with each other, and the contact protrusion is formed between the conductive pattern of the flexible printed circuit board and the base material. Through
The tip is swaged and widened to form a joint between the joint end and the conductive pattern. For this reason, it is possible to easily form the joint by connecting the connection terminal to the terminal of the flexible printed circuit board on which the conductive pattern having the arrangement pitch is difficult to be formed by resistance welding or the like. Become. Also,
At the time of forming the joint, the tip of the contact protrusion at the joint end is swaged and widened, so that the connection terminal is not easily peeled off from the conductive pattern, so that the connection reliability can be improved.

[0009] The contact projection may have a slit formed from the distal end toward the proximal end. If the slit is formed, the tip of the contact projection penetrating the flexible printed circuit board can be further easily caulked when the joint is formed.

[0010] A first connector according to the present invention is a flexible printed circuit board having a conductive pattern formed on an insulating film, and a plate-shaped connector joined to the conductive pattern at a terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board. A connector having a metal connection terminal having a joint end, wherein the joint end of the connection terminal penetrates the flexible printed circuit board in a film thickness direction on a surface directly in contact with the conductive pattern. A contact projection with a sharpened tip is formed, and the joint end is pressed against the conductive pattern to crimp the tip of the contact projection that has penetrated the flexible printed board, thereby widening the flexible printed board. And a joint portion between the terminal portion and the joint end portion of the connection terminal is formed.

According to the first connector of the present invention, the connection end of the connection terminal having the contact projection having a sharpened tip penetrating the flexible printed circuit board in the film thickness direction on the surface directly contacting the conductive pattern. Is crimped on the conductive pattern and crimping the tip of the contact protrusion that has penetrated the flexible printed circuit board to widen the width,
A joining portion between the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the joining end of the connection terminal is formed. For this reason, the connection terminal can be joined to the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board without using resistance welding or the like, and the joint between the connection terminal and the conductive pattern can be easily formed. Thereby, the manufacturing cost of the connector can be reduced. In addition, since the distal end of the contact protrusion at the joining end portion is swaged after penetrating the flexible printed circuit board, the connection reliability with the conductive pattern of the connection terminal can be improved.

A second connector according to the present invention is a flexible printed circuit board having a conductive pattern formed on an insulating film, and a plate-shaped connector joined to the conductive pattern at a terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board. A connector comprising: a metal connection terminal having a joint end; and a housing accommodating the connection terminal therein, wherein the joint end of the connection terminal is provided on a surface directly contacting the conductive pattern. It has a contact projection with a sharpened tip penetrating the flexible printed circuit board in the film thickness direction, and a joint between a terminal end of the flexible printed circuit board and a joint end of the connection terminal is formed by joining the joint end. The housing is formed by crimping the tip of the contact protrusion that penetrates the flexible printed circuit board by pressing against the conductive pattern and expanding the width, and the housing includes a joint receiving hole that accommodates the joint. A housing portion, characterized by having a said connecting terminal terminal accommodating portion formed from the terminal accommodating hole for accommodating the.

[0013] According to the second connector of the present invention, the connection end of the connection terminal having a contact projection having a sharpened tip penetrating the flexible printed circuit board in the film thickness direction on the surface directly in contact with the conductive pattern. Is crimped on the conductive pattern and crimping the tip of the contact protrusion that has penetrated the flexible printed circuit board to widen the width,
Forming a joint between the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the joint end of the connection terminal, accommodating the joint in a joint accommodating hole of the joint accommodating portion formed in the housing, and connecting the connection terminal to the terminal. It is accommodated in the terminal accommodation hole of the accommodation part. For this reason, the connection terminal can be joined to the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board without using resistance welding or the like, the joint can be easily formed, and the joint and the connection terminal can be housed in the housing. Thereby, the manufacturing cost of the connector can be reduced. In this connector, the formed joint and the connection terminal are accommodated in the joint accommodation hole and the terminal accommodation hole in the housing. By mating
Electrical connection with other circuits or the like can be easily performed.

[0014] A third connector according to the present invention is a flexible printed circuit board having a conductive pattern formed on an insulating film, and a plate-shaped connector joined to the conductive pattern at a terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board. A connector comprising: a metal connection terminal having a joint end; and a housing accommodating the connection terminal therein, wherein the joint end of the connection terminal is provided on a surface directly contacting the conductive pattern. A contact projection penetrating the flexible printed circuit board in a film thickness direction, wherein the housing has a terminal accommodating portion formed from a terminal accommodating hole for accommodating the connection terminal; and the flexible printed circuit board. And a first housing detachable up and down, which divides the joint receiving portion and has a joint receiving portion formed of a joint receiving hole for accommodating a joint between the terminal portion and the joint end of the connection terminal. Minute A fitting hole for fitting the contact protrusion is formed in a wall of the one housing divided body, the fitting portion accommodating hole, and the joint is formed by the second housing divided body. By assembling the first and second housing divisions, the joint end portion is pressed against the conductive pattern by the wall of the joint portion accommodating hole, and the contact protrusion is made to penetrate the flexible printed circuit board. The contact projection is formed by fitting the contact projection into the fitting hole.

According to the third connector of the present invention, the terminal accommodating portion formed from the terminal accommodating hole accommodating the connection terminal, and the joint between the terminal of the flexible printed circuit board and the joint end of the connection terminal. A housing having a joint housing portion formed of a joint housing hole for housing the first housing split body and the second housing split body which is vertically detachable and divides the joint housing part. The wall forming the joint receiving hole of the housing divided body of the above has a pointed end that penetrates the flexible printed circuit board in the thickness direction formed on the surface that directly contacts the conductive pattern at the joint end of the connection terminal. A fitting hole is formed in which the contact protrusion is fitted. The joint between the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the joint end of the connection terminal is pressed into contact with the conductive pattern at the wall of the joint housing hole by assembling the first and second housing divisions. ,
The contact projection is formed by penetrating the flexible printed circuit board and fitting the penetrated contact projection into the fitting hole. Therefore, the connection terminal is joined to the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board without using resistance welding or the like, and the connection terminal joined to the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board is accommodated in the housing at the same time. be able to. This allows
The number of connector manufacturing operation steps can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0016] The housing may be one in which ends of the first and second housing divisions are connected by a hinge. By doing so, the number of parts constituting the connector can be reduced, and a reduction in management cost and the like can be expected.

[0017]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2
FIGS. 4A and 4B are a top view and a side view showing a state in which a connection terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is joined to a flexible printed circuit board. FIGS. The connection terminal (male connection terminal in this example) 10 is formed by punching a base material of a metal material such as Cu, for example, and is mainly fitted to the tip (not shown) of the female connection terminal. Tip 11 for direct connection for electrical connection
And the connection end portion 12 that is actually directly connected to the wiring 22 of the terminal portion of the FPC 20. In addition, the joining end 12
Are formed with a plurality of contact projections 13 each having a sharpened tip by punching or the like. On the other hand, the flexible printed circuit board (FPC) 20 is made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene naphthalate (PE).
N) or the like, and an insulating film 21 made of a synthetic resin such as N), and a wiring 22 made of a conductive material such as Cu and patterned on the insulating film 21 by a method such as etching.
And a cover lay 23 as a circuit protection member made of an electrically insulating synthetic resin or the like formed over the insulating film 21 and the wiring 22. In the terminal portion of the FPC 20, the cover lay 23 is not formed so that the wiring 22 is exposed.

The connection terminal 10 thus formed and the FP
The joining of C20 to the terminal is performed as follows. First, the terminal portion of the FPC 20 is placed on a separately prepared press table 25, and the connection terminal 10 is placed on the placed terminal portion.
Is placed so that the tip of the contact protrusion 13 contacts the wiring 22. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the joint end 12 of the connection terminal 10 placed on the work head (not shown) of the press device is pressed from above, and the joint end 12 is pressed.
Is pressed against the wiring 22. At this time, the contact protrusion 13 of the joining end portion 12 penetrates the wiring 22 and the insulating film 21 at the terminal portion of the FPC 20, and the tip of the contact protrusion 13 is widened by contacting the upper surface (work surface) of the press table 25. Caulked. It is to be noted that if a portion of the press table 25 that comes into contact with the contact protrusion 13 is slightly dug to form a concave portion, it is more easily caulked. By crimping the tip of the contact protrusion 13, the connection terminal 10 is prevented from coming off or being removed from the terminal portion of the FPC 20, and the joining end 12 and the wiring 22 are in direct contact with each other and do not come off. By joining the connection terminal 10 and the terminal portion of the FPC 20 in this manner, a stable joining state is ensured without having to reinforce the joining portion 24 between the joining end portion 12 and the wiring 22 by resin molding or the like. And high connection reliability can be obtained. As a result, it is possible to reduce working costs and material costs involved in joining.

FIG. 3 is a top view, a side view, and a sectional view showing a connection terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention. The connection terminal 30 is formed by punching or the like in the same manner as the connection terminal 10.
And 2. A plurality of contact projections 33 each having a sharpened tip are formed at the joining end portion 32, and a slit 34 is formed between the contact projections 33 so that the tips of adjacent contact projections match each other. It is stamped to form a pair. By forming the contact protrusion 33 of the joint end portion 32 with such a structure, when the connection terminal 30 and the terminal portion of the FPC 20 are joined, the FPC
Since the tip of the contact projection 33 penetrating the terminal portion of the press member 20 is easily brought into contact with the upper surface of the press table 25 and is caulked, more reliable connection reliability can be obtained. Note that, for example, F
When the connection terminal 10 is joined to the terminal portion of the PC 20 and the joined connection terminal 10 is accommodated in the housing, a state as shown in FIG. 4 is obtained.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. The connector 40 includes a housing 41 and a terminal portion of the FPC 20 to which the connection terminal 10 is joined. The housing 41 has a joint housing hole 42 for housing a joint 24 between the joint end 12 of the connection terminal 10 and the wiring 22 of the FPC 20, a terminal housing hole 43 for housing the connection terminal 10, A fitting portion 44 for fitting a housing (not shown) of the mating connector is formed.
Locking hole formed in connection terminal 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 2)
A locking lance 45 for engaging and locking the connection terminal 10 in the housing 41 is formed.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views showing a connector according to another embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the description which overlaps with the content already described is omitted. This connector 50
A housing 51 that can be divided into an upper housing division 52 and a lower housing division 53; a connection terminal 60 having a plurality of contact protrusions 63 formed thereon;
And a terminal unit. In this connector 50, joining the connection terminal 60 to the terminal of the FPC 20 and housing the connection terminal 60 joined to the terminal of the FPC 20 in the housing 51 can be performed simultaneously in the assembly process of the housing 51. First, a fitting hole 55 is formed in a wall surface 54b corresponding to the contact protrusion 63 of the connection terminal 60 of the joint housing hole 54 of the lower housing divided body 53 so that the tip of the contact protrusion 63 can be fitted. Next, the terminal portion of the FPC 20 is placed on the wall surface of the joint receiving hole 54 in which the fitting hole 55 is formed, and the joint end 62 of the connection terminal 60 is placed thereon. At this time, the contact protrusion 63 of the joint end 62 is positioned at a position corresponding to the fitting hole 55.
The connection terminal 60 is placed on the wiring 22 of C20. When the upper housing split body 52 and the lower housing split body 53 are assembled in this state, the wall surface 54a of the joint receiving hole 54 of the upper housing split body 52
0, the upper surface of the joint end 62 is pressed, the joint end 62 and the wiring 22 are pressed against each other, the contact protrusion 63 penetrates the wiring 22 and the insulating film 21, and the tip thereof fits into the fitting hole 55.
Fits. By fitting the tip of the contact protrusion 63 into the fitting hole 55, the connection terminal 60 and the terminal portion of the FPC 20 are locked and fixed in the joint receiving hole 54.
Therefore, as long as the upper and lower housing divided bodies 52 and 53 are not disassembled, a stable joint state between the connection terminal 60 and the terminal portion of the FPC 20 can be maintained, and connection reliability can be secured. Further, with the connector having such a structure, the step of joining the connection terminal 60 to the terminal portion of the FPC 20 and the step of housing the connection terminal 60 in the housing 51 can be performed at one time. It is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the housing 51 includes, for example, locking claws 55a and 55b formed at both ends of the outer wall of the upper housing division 52, and both ends of the outer wall of the lower housing division 53. Locking projection 56 formed on
a, 56b and the two housing split bodies 52, 53
May be assembled by locking them. As shown in FIG. 9, the housing 51 has, for example, a locking claw 55 a formed at one outer wall end of the upper housing split body 52 and an outer wall end corresponding to the outer wall end of the lower housing split body 53. It is also possible to form a locking projection 56a at the portion, and connect the other corresponding outer wall ends of the two housing split bodies 52, 53 to each other by a hinge mechanism 57.

[0023]

As described above, according to the connection terminal of the present invention, since the contact protrusion having the sharpened tip is provided on the contact surface of the joint end, for example, a flexible pattern having a fine-pitch conductive pattern is formed. The connection terminal can be easily joined to the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board. Therefore, there is an effect that the processing cost required for joining the connection terminals can be reduced.

Further, according to the first connector of the present invention, a joint portion between the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the joint end portion of the connection terminal is formed using the connection terminal. For this reason, joining can be performed without using resistance welding or the like, and a joint between the connection terminal and the conductive pattern can be easily formed. As a result, there is an effect that the manufacturing cost of the connector can be reduced.

According to the second connector of the present invention, a joint between the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the joint end of the connection terminal is formed using the connection terminal, and the joint is formed on the housing. The connection terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating hole of the terminal accommodating portion, while being accommodated in the joint accommodating hole of the joined joint accommodating portion. For this reason, the joint between the connection terminal and the conductive pattern can be easily formed, and the other housing housing the other connection terminal that fits into the housing is fitted to the other housing, so that other circuits and the like can be formed. Electrical connection with the device can be made easily. This produces an effect that the manufacturing cost of the connector having the housing can be reduced.

According to the third connector of the present invention, the housing is composed of the first housing divided body and the second housing divided body which can be freely attached and detached up and down, and the joint housing hole of one of the housing divided bodies is formed. A fitting hole in which the contact protrusion of the connection terminal fits is formed in the wall to be configured. At the joint between the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the joint end of the connection terminal, the joint end is pressed into contact with the conductive pattern at the wall of the joint accommodation hole by assembling the two housing split bodies, and contact projections are formed. It is formed by penetrating the flexible printed circuit board and fitting the penetrated contact projection into the fitting hole. Therefore, the connection terminal is joined to the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board without using resistance welding or the like, and the connection terminal joined to the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board is accommodated in the housing at the same time. be able to. As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of manufacturing steps of the connector and to reduce the manufacturing cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a top view and a side view showing a state in which a connection terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is joined to a flexible printed circuit board.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a top view and a side view showing how the connection terminal is joined to a flexible printed circuit board.

FIG. 3 is a top view, a side view, and a cross-sectional view illustrating a connection terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a connector according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the connector.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a housing of the connector.

FIG. 8 is a rear view showing a housing of the connector.

FIG. 9 is an exploded rear view showing a housing of a connector according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a part of a state in which a terminal portion of the FPC in which a resin mold portion is formed is inserted into a housing in a cross section.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 30, 60... Connection terminals, 11, 31,.
12, 32, 62 ... joining end, 13, 33, 63 ... contact protrusion, 14 ... locking hole, 20 ... FPC, 21 ... insulating film, 22 ... wiring, 23 ... cover lay, 24 ... joining part, 2
Reference numeral 5: press table, 34: slit, 40, 50: connector, 41, 51: housing, 42, 54: joint receiving hole, 43: terminal receiving hole, 44: fitting portion, 45: locking lance, 52 ... Upper housing split, 53 ... lower housing split.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5E012 AA22 AA37 5E023 AA04 BB23 FF13 GG03 HH17 HH28 5E077 BB32 DD08 DD11 FF08 JJ20

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A metal connection terminal having a plate-like joining end joined to the conductive pattern at a terminal portion of a flexible printed circuit board having a conductive pattern formed on an insulating film, wherein the connection is A connection terminal, wherein a connection end of the terminal has a contact projection having a sharpened tip penetrating the flexible printed circuit board in a film thickness direction on a surface directly in contact with the conductive pattern. 2. The connection terminal according to claim 1, wherein the contact projection has a slit formed from a front end side to a base end side. 3. A flexible printed circuit board having a conductive pattern formed on an insulating film, and a metal-made metal plate having a plate-shaped joining end joined to the conductive pattern at a terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board. A connector having a connection terminal, wherein a contact end of the connection terminal has a pointed end penetrating the flexible printed circuit board in a thickness direction on a surface directly contacting the conductive pattern. This joint end is pressed against the conductive pattern, the tip of the contact protrusion penetrating the flexible printed circuit board is swaged and the width is increased, and the terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the connection terminal are connected to each other. A connector characterized by forming a joint with a joint end. 4. A flexible printed circuit board having a conductive pattern formed on an insulating film, and a metal joint having a plate-shaped joint end joined to the conductive pattern at a terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board. A connector comprising: a connection terminal; and a housing accommodating the connection terminal therein, wherein a joint end of the connection terminal is formed by attaching the flexible printed circuit board to a surface in direct contact with the conductive pattern in a thickness direction. A contact projection having a sharpened tip that penetrates through, and a joint between a terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and a joint end of the connection terminal presses the joint end to the conductive pattern. The housing is formed by caulking and widening the tip of the contact protrusion that penetrates the flexible printed circuit board, and the housing accommodates a joint housing portion including a joint housing hole for housing the joint, and the connection terminal. Connector and having a terminal accommodating hole terminal accommodating portion formed from the. 5. A flexible printed circuit board having a conductive pattern formed on an insulating film, and a metal joint having a plate-shaped joining end joined to the conductive pattern at a terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board. A connector comprising: a connection terminal; and a housing accommodating the connection terminal therein, wherein a joint end of the connection terminal is formed by attaching the flexible printed circuit board to a surface in direct contact with the conductive pattern in a thickness direction. The housing has a contact projection having a sharpened tip, and the housing has a terminal accommodating portion formed from a terminal accommodating hole accommodating the connection terminal, and a terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the connection terminal. A first housing split body and a second housing split which are vertically detachable and have a joint housing portion formed of a joint housing hole for housing a joint portion with the joint end; Together consisting of,
A fitting hole into which the contact protrusion fits is formed on a wall of the one housing divided body that forms the joint receiving hole. The joint is formed by assembling the first and second housing divided bodies. The joint end is pressed against the conductive pattern on the wall of the joint receiving hole, and the contact protrusion penetrates the flexible printed circuit board, and the penetrated contact protrusion is fitted into the fitting hole. A connector characterized by being formed by: 6. The connector according to claim 5, wherein the housing is configured such that ends of the first and second housing divisions are connected by a hinge connection.