JP2003109695A - Fpc connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an FPC connector improved in FPC inserting and removing for the FPC connector in which contact parts of terminals are arranged on the front side and inner side. SOLUTION: In this FPC connector 1, the contact part 12 of one terminal is arranged on the front side of an FPC receiving cavity 7, and the contact part 19 of the other terminal 5 is arranged on the inner side of the FPC receiving cavity 7. A movable beam 16 is provided to face the contact part 19 arranged on the inner side of the FPC receiving cavity 7, and a facing space between the contact part 19 and an engaging protrusion 28 formed at the movable beam 16 is set to a space almost equal to or slightly narrower than the thickness of the FPC 8. When an actuator 3 performs abutting engagement between the contact of the FPC 8 and the contact parts 12, 19 of the terminals 4, 5 by rotation, a cam part 22 provided at the actuator 3 elastically deforms the movable beam 16 and presses the FPC 8 toward the contact part 19 arranged on the inner side, through the engaging protrusion 28.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention connects the ends of an FPC (in this specification, a flat flexible cable generally called FPC, FFC, etc., simply referred to as "FPC"). The present invention relates to an FPC connector that is made possible.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of terminals are mounted side by side at a predetermined pitch in an insulating housing having an FPC receiving cavity, and the contact of the FPC inserted in the FPC receiving cavity and the contact portion of the terminal are brought into contact with each other. There is known an FPC connector adapted to be mated. The contact engagement between the FPC and the terminal is
It is a pressing part of the actuator that is rotatably provided.
A structure in which a contact piece of C or a terminal is pressed (for example, Japanese Patent No. 2914313, JP 2000-113A).
No. 933) or a structure in which a slide member is inserted into an insulating housing in the insertion direction of the FPC to press the contact pieces of the FPC and the terminal (for example, the actual flat plate 5-179).
No. 68, see Jitsukaihei 2-67582).

The plurality of terminals are mounted at a narrow pitch (fine pitch) for the purpose of increasing the number of poles, but in order to increase the number of poles in the FPC receiving cavity, an FP is provided.
A structure has been proposed in which the contact portions of the terminals are aligned in substantially horizontal rows (pitch direction) on the front side and the back side as viewed in the insertion direction of C. As described above, in the conventional FPC connector in which the contact portions of the terminals are arranged on the front side and the rear side of the FPC receiving cavity, the contact portion on the back side can be simply inserted by inserting the FPC. The contact portions of the contact parts are brought into contact with each other with the contact pressure necessary for electrical connection. Therefore, a relatively large insertion force is required when inserting the FPC, and the so-called NON-ZIF
(Insertion force) structure.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional FPC connector in which the contact portions of the terminals are arranged on the front side and the back side of the FPC receiving cavity, the contact portion on the back side is NON-ZIF. Since it has a structure, when a multi-pole structure (60 poles or more, for example, 70 to 80 poles) is used, a considerable insertion force is required to insert the FPC at the time of connection, and the workability of insertion is poor. was there. A considerable amount of pulling force is required to remove the FPC when disconnecting,
Similarly, there is a problem that the workability is impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is an FPC connector in which the contact portions of terminals are arranged on the front side and the back side, and which has improved workability for inserting and removing the FPC. Is intended to provide.

[0006]

According to the present invention, which has been made based on the above-mentioned object, a movable beam is provided so as to face a contact portion arranged on the inner side of an FPC receiving cavity, and the movable beam is formed. The facing distance between the engaging protrusion and the contact portion is set to FP
The FPC can be inserted into the contact portion on the inner side with a substantially zero insertion force while receiving a slight insertion resistance, with the interval being approximately equal to or slightly narrower than the thickness of C.

That is, according to the present invention, an insulating housing defining an FPC receiving cavity, a plurality of terminals mounted in the insulating housing in a side-by-side arrangement with a predetermined pitch, contacts of the FPC inserted in the FPC receiving cavity, and The contact portion 12 of one of the terminals 4 of the terminals is provided on the front side of the FPC receiving cavity 7 for contacting and engaging the contact portion of the terminal.
In the FPC connector in which the contact portion 19 of the other terminal 5 is arranged on the back side of the FPC receiving cavity 7,
A movable beam is provided so as to face the contact portion disposed on the back side of the C receiving cavity, and the facing distance between the engaging protrusion and the contact portion formed on the movable beam is substantially equal to the thickness of the FPC. Or it is set to a slightly narrower interval,
When the actuator rotates to bring the contact of the FPC into contact with the contact of the terminal, the cam portion provided on the actuator elastically displaces the movable beam, and the FPC is moved to the rear side through the engaging protrusion. The FPC connector is characterized in that it is pressed toward the arranged contact portion.

[0008]

According to the FPC connector of the present invention configured as described above, the movable beam is provided so as to face the contact portion arranged on the inner side of the FPC receiving cavity, and the connector formed on the movable beam is provided. Since the facing distance between the mating protrusion and the contact portion of the terminal is set to be substantially equal to or slightly narrower than the thickness of the FPC, it becomes possible to insert the FPC under substantially zero insertion force. The workability of insertion and removal can be improved. Also, rotate the actuator to move the FPC
When the contact point of the contact and the contact portion of the terminal are brought into contact with each other, the cam portion of the actuator elastically displaces the movable beam and presses the FPC toward the contact portion.
An electrically necessary contact pressure can be applied between the contact of C and the contact of the terminal. The displacement amount of the movable beam may be small because the engaging projection is already in contact with the FPC. Therefore, the resistance against the rotation of the actuator can be reduced, and the workability of connection can be improved.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The FPC connector 1 of the embodiment has an appearance as shown in FIG. Each is provided with an insulating housing 2 and a rotatable actuator 3, which are formed by molding insulating plastic. A plurality of two types of terminals 4 and 5 described below are mounted in the insulating housing 2 in a side-by-side arrangement with a predetermined pitch. On the front end side of the insulating housing 2, from the insertion port 6 to the inside FPC receiving cavity 7,
The FPC 8 and the terminals 4 and 5 can be connected by inserting the PC 8 and then closing the actuator 3.

The two types of terminals 4 and 5 mounted on the insulating housing 2 have the shapes shown in FIGS. In each case, a thin metal plate is punched and molded. One terminal 4 is mounted from the front end side of the insulating housing 2, and the other terminal 5 is mounted from the rear end side of the insulating housing 2.

The terminal 4 mounted from the front end side has a shape having an upper contact piece 9 and a lower mounting piece 10 in a bifurcated shape. The mounting piece 10 is fixed by being fitted and locked in the first mounting hole 11 of the insulating housing 2. The contact piece 9 of the terminal 4 extends in a cantilever manner up to the middle portion of the FPC receiving cavity 7, and the contact portion 1 formed at the upper edge of the tip portion.
2 is arranged on the front side of the FPC receiving cavity 7 (the insertion port 6 side). A solder tail 13 is provided on the mounting piece 10 so as to project from the front end of the insulating housing 2.

The terminal 5 mounted from the rear end side has an upper bearing beam 14 and a lower contact piece 15 in a bifurcated shape, and further has a movable beam 16 between them. The mounting portion 17 is formed on the base of the bearing beam 14,
The bearing beam 14 is inserted into the second mounting hole 18 of the insulating housing 2, and the portion of the mounting portion 17 is locked by being fixed to the second mounting hole 18.

The contact piece 15 of each terminal 5 extends in a cantilever manner up to the middle portion of the FPC receiving cavity 7 and faces the contact piece 9 of the terminal 4 on the front end side. The tip end of the contact piece 15 is formed in a horizontal V shape, and the uppermost edge of the contact piece forms the contact portion 19. The contact portion 19 is arranged on the inner side of the FPC receiving cavity 7.
Contact part 12 of terminal 4 and contact part 1 of terminal 5
9 has almost the same level, and the FPC receiving cavity 7
On the front side and the back side of the contact portions 12 of the terminals 4 and 5,
19 are aligned in a horizontal row. The contacts formed on the lower surface of the FPC 8 and the contact portions 12, 19 are in a one-to-one relationship.
Are opposed to each other so that they can be brought into abutting engagement with each other.

Bearing beam 14 having mounting portion 17 formed on the base
Is for rotatably supporting the actuator 3, and has a length that extends along the lower surface of the upper wall 2a of the insulating housing 2 and projects into the FPC receiving cavity 7. F
The tip portion 20 projecting into the PC receiving cavity 7 enters into the engagement window 21 on the actuator 3 side and is engaged therewith.

The movable beam 16 located below the bearing beam 14 also has substantially the same length as the bearing beam 14, and extends in a cantilever manner in the FPC receiving cavity 7.

The actuator 3 rotatably supported by the bearing beam 14 defines a cam portion 22 so as to define an engagement window 21.
The cam portion 22 is sandwiched between the tip portion 20 of the bearing beam 14 and the tip portion 33 of the movable beam 16. The cam portion 22 has an arcuate cam surface 23 and an engagement surface 25 in which a recess 24 is formed. The cam surface 23 is brought into contact with the upper edge of the tip portion 33 of the movable beam 16, and the hook portion 26 formed on the tip portion 20 of the bearing beam 14 is locked in the recessed portion 24 of the engagement surface 25. The actuator 3 can maintain the open state shown in FIGS.

In order to obtain the action of the cam surface 23, the cam portion 22 has a stop surface 27 adjacent to the engagement surface 25 at a substantially right angle with respect to the length L1 of the engagement surface 25 (see FIG. 6). Length L
2 has been shortened. Therefore, when the actuator 3 is rotated toward the closed position, the cam surface 23 elastically displaces the movable beam 16 toward the lower contact piece 15 side.

The movable beam 1 elastically displaced by the action of the cam portion 22.
6 has an engaging projection 28 at the lower edge of the middle portion thereof so as to face the contact portion 19 of the contact piece 15. The facing distance between the engagement protrusion 28 and the contact portion 19 is substantially equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of the FPC 8 in the open state of the actuator 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, that is, before the movable beam 16 is elastically displaced. It is set to a narrow interval.
In other words, when connecting the FPC8, the FP
The C8 can be inserted under a substantially zero insertion force while receiving a slight insertion resistance.

A solder tail 29 is also provided on the terminal 5 mounted from the rear end side of the insulating housing 2. The solder tail 29 projects from the rear end of the insulating housing 2, and the solder tails 29 of the terminals 5 are arranged in a line.

2 to 4 show the F constructed as described above.
The figure shows how the FPC 8 is connected to the PC connector 1. 2 shows the FPC 8 with the actuator 3 opened.
Is inserted into the FPC receiving cavity 7 through the insertion port 6. The FPC 8 is inserted in the contact portion 19 of the terminal 5.
It is possible to insert under a substantially zero insertion force by only receiving a slight insertion resistance when passing through the facing interval between the engaging projection 28 and the engaging projection 28. Further, the inserted FPC 8 is sandwiched between the contact piece 15 and the movable beam 16 and temporarily held, so that the FP
Even if C8 is not supported by hand, it can be held in a fixed inserted position. As a result, the workability of inserting the FPC 8 is improved. Even if the FPC 8 is pulled out when the connection is released, a large pulling force is not required, so that the workability of disconnecting can be similarly improved.

After inserting the FPC 8, the connection can be completed by rotating the actuator 3 in the closing direction as shown by the arrow 30 in FIG. 3 to the closed state in FIG. The actuator 3 includes the recessed portion 24 of the cam portion 22 and the bearing beam 1.
4 starts to rotate around the engaging portion of the hook portion 26, and in the latter half of the rotation, the corner portion where the engaging surface 25 and the stop surface 27 of the cam portion 22 are continuous and the engaging portion of the hook portion 26 are centered. Rotate as. When the actuator 3 is closed as shown in FIG. 4,
The stop surface 27 of the cam portion 22 fits into the stop concave portion 31 formed at the lower edge of the tip portion 20 of the bearing beam 14, and stops.

When the actuator 3 is thus rotated to the closed position, the pressing portion 32 provided on the lower surface of the actuator 3 presses the FPC 8, and the cam surface 23 of the cam portion 22 causes the movable beam 16 to contact the contact piece 15. Elastically displace to the side. As shown in the drawing, the pressing portion 32 of the actuator 3 has a positional relationship facing the contact portion 12 formed on the contact piece 9 of the terminal 4 (front end side), and is located on the front side of the FPC receiving cavity 7. And the contacts provided on the lower surface of the FPC 8 are brought into abutting engagement with each other at an appropriate pressure to establish an electrically connected state.

On the other hand, the movable beam 16 which receives the elastic displacement presses the FPC 8 toward the contact piece 15 at the engaging projection 28. As a result, the contact portion 19 of the contact piece 15 aligned on the inner side of the FPC receiving cavity 7 is also brought into contact with the contact provided on the lower surface of the FPC 8 with a proper pressure to be electrically connected. Become.

In order to obtain a necessary contact pressure of the FPC 8 against the contact portion 19 of the contact piece 15, the movable beam 1
The displacement amount for elastically displacing 6 is not so large since the engaging projection 28 is already in contact with the upper surface of the FPC 8 and is small. Therefore, the difference between the lengths of L1 and L2 of the cam portion 22 of the actuator 3 can be reduced, and the resistance of rotation caused by the cam portion 22 can be reduced.

The acting portion of the cam portion 22 is the movable beam 16
Since the action portion of the engaging projection 28 is the base portion side of the movable beam 16, there is a lever action, and the engaging projection 2
Sufficient force can be applied to the FPC 8 via the FPC 8. Therefore, in addition to the contact portion 12 arranged on the front side of the FPC receiving cavity 7, the contact portion 19 is arranged on the inner side of the FPC receiving cavity 7, and as a result, the force required to rotate the actuator 3 increases. Need not be so large, and the reliability of electrical connection can be ensured. As a result, the workability of the connection performed by rotating the actuator 3 is improved.

In the embodiment described here, the terminal 4 mounted from the front end side of the insulating housing 2 and the terminal 5 mounted from the rear end side are at the same position in the terminal pitch direction (parallel direction). However, the mounting positions of the terminals 4 and 5 may be shifted from each other by a half pitch so that the contact portions 12 and 19 of the terminals 4 and 5 are arranged in a staggered manner in the FPC receiving cavities 7.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the movable beam is provided so as to face the contact portion of the terminal arranged on the far side of the FPC receiving cavity, and the movable beam is formed. Since the facing distance between the mating protrusion and the contact portion is set to be approximately equal to or slightly narrower than the thickness of the FPC, the FPC is subjected to a slight insertion resistance in the contact portion on the inner side with a substantially zero insertion force. It is possible to provide an FPC connector that can be inserted and has improved workability in inserting and removing the FPC.
In addition, the elastic displacement of the movable beam can be made small because the engaging protrusion formed on the movable beam is already in contact with the FPC.
Resistance to rotation of the actuator can be reduced, and workability of connection can be improved.

According to the invention of claim 2, since the movable beam is provided on the terminal, it is possible to avoid an increase in the number of parts due to the movable beam, and at the same time to install the movable beam by mounting the terminal, thereby assembling the connector. Do not complicate.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the bearing beam is also provided in one terminal together with the movable beam, it is possible to avoid an increase in the number of parts and a complicated connector assembly as in the above case. Then, the cam portion of the actuator acts on the tip portion of the movable beam and elastically displaces it, so that the engaging protrusion formed on the movable beam acts as a lever to move the FPC to the contact portion side of the terminal with a large force. Can be pressed. Therefore, the contact of the FPC and the contact portion can be engaged with each other with a sufficient contact pressure, and highly reliable electrical connection can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 4, since all the configurations of claims 1 to 3 are provided, the above-mentioned various effects can be achieved at the same time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an FPC connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the FPC connector of the same embodiment, showing a state in which the FPC is inserted into the FPC receiving cavity.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the FPC connector of the embodiment, which is a view in the middle of rotating the actuator in the closing direction.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the FPC connector of the same embodiment, showing the actuator in a completely closed state.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the FPC connector of the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a cam portion provided on the actuator of the FPC connector of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 FPC connector 2 Insulation housing 3 actuators 4, 5 terminals 7 FPC receiving cavity 8 FPC 9 contact pieces 12 Contact section 14 bearing beams 15 contact pieces 16 movable beams 19 Contact part 20 Tip 22 Cam section 28 Engagement protrusion

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Norio Hayashi             1-5-4 Fukami Higashi, Yamato City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Inside Molex Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideki Iijima             1-5-4 Fukami Higashi, Yamato City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Inside Molex Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5E023 AA16 BB06 BB23 CC16 CC23                       DD09 DD12 DD13 EE10 EE29                       FF07 GG09 HH17

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An insulating housing 2 in which an FPC receiving cavity 7 is defined, a plurality of terminals 4 and 5 mounted in the insulating housing 2 side by side at a predetermined pitch, and an FPC 8 inserted in the FPC receiving cavity 7. Of the terminals 4 and 5, and the contact portion 12 and 19 of the terminals 4 and 5 are brought into contact with each other. Contact part 1
In the FPC connector 1 in which 2 is arranged on the front side of the FPC receiving cavity 7 and the contact portion 19 of the other terminal 5 is arranged on the inner side of the FPC receiving cavity 7, the terminal arranged on the inner side of the FPC receiving cavity 7 The movable beam 16 is provided so as to face the contact portion 19 of No. 5, and the engaging projection 28 formed on the movable beam 16 and the contact portion 1
The facing interval of 9 is set to be substantially equal to or slightly narrower than the thickness of the FPC 8, and the actuator 3 rotates to bring the contact of the FPC 8 into contact with the contact portions 12 and 19 of the terminals 4 and 5. When engaging, the cam portion 22 provided on the actuator 3 elastically displaces the movable beam 16, and the FP is moved through the engaging protrusion 28.
An FPC connector characterized in that C8 is pressed toward the contact portion 19 arranged on the back side. 2. The FPC connector according to claim 1, wherein the movable beam 16 is provided in a cantilevered manner on the terminal 5 having the contact portions 19 facing each other. 3. The terminal 5 provided with a movable beam 16 further has a bearing beam 14 for rotatably supporting the actuator 3, and the cam portion 22 of the actuator 3 has a bearing beam 14.
3. The cam portion 22 is sandwiched between the tip portion 20 of the movable beam 16 and the tip portion 33 of the movable beam 16, and the cam portion 22 acts on the tip portion 33 of the movable beam 16 to elastically displace when the actuator 3 rotates. FPC connector. 4. An insulating housing 2 in which an FPC receiving cavity 7 is defined, a plurality of terminals 4 and 5 mounted in the insulating housing 2 in a side-by-side arrangement with a predetermined pitch, and an FPC 8 inserted in the FPC receiving cavity 7. Is provided with a rotatably provided actuator 3 for abuttingly engaging the contact portions 12, 19 of the terminals 4, 5 with the contact portions 12, 19 of the terminals 4, 5 In the FPC connector 1 which is arranged in line in each of the front side and the back side of the FPC receiving cavity 7, it is movable so as to face the contact portion 19 of the terminal 5 arranged on the back side of the FPC receiving cavity 7. The beam 16 is provided, and the engagement protrusion 28 and the contact portion 1 formed on the movable beam 16 are provided.
The facing interval of 9 is set to be substantially equal to or slightly narrower than the thickness of the FPC 8, and the actuator 3 rotates to bring the contact of the FPC 8 into contact with the contact portions 12 and 19 of the terminals 4 and 5. When engaging, the cam portion 22 provided on the actuator 3 elastically displaces the movable beam 16, and the FP is moved through the engaging protrusion 28.
C8 is pressed toward the contact portion 19 arranged on the back side, and the movable beam 16 is cantilevered on the terminal 5 having the contact portion 19 facing each other. Further, it has a bearing beam 14 for rotatably supporting the actuator 3, and the cam portion 22 of the actuator 3 is sandwiched between the tip portion 20 of the bearing beam 14 and the tip portion 33 of the movable beam 16 to form an actuator. An FPC connector, wherein the cam portion (22) acts on the tip portion (33) of the movable beam (16) to elastically displace it when the rotating portion (3) rotates.