JP2003168515A - Connector for flat wiring material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to heighten freedom in conditions of use and alleviate restrictions on where to use or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The connector for the flat wiring material is composed of a board-side connector C1 having a housing 10 storing a terminal 14 and a wiring material-side connector C2 having a housing 30 holding a tail end part of a cable 1. The housing 30 is structured enabled to hold the cable 1 in either state where a conductor 2 is exposed upward against the housing 30 or where it is exposed downward. The housing 10, on the other hand, is structured to get insertion-coupled with the housing in a first posture where a bent piece for connecting 14a of the terminal 14 is located at an upper side of a holding part 14b when the cable 1 is held in the housing 30 in a state exposed upward, and in a second posture, up side down form the first posture, when the cable 1 is held in a state exposed downward. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat cable, a ribbon electric wire, an FPC (Flexible P) in which flat conductors are arranged in parallel.
The present invention relates to a flat wiring material connector for electrically connecting a flat wiring material such as a rinted circuit) to a circuit board or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a board connector having a plurality of terminals housed in a housing has been mounted on a circuit board.
By fitting the wiring material side connector in which the end portion of the flat wiring material such as a flat cable is held by the housing to the board connector, the end portion of the flat wiring material is brought into contact with the terminal and the flat wiring material is placed on the circuit board. A connector for a flat wiring material which is electrically connected to the flat wiring material is generally known.

[0003]

In this type of connector for flat wiring material, it is required to repeatedly insert and remove the flat wiring material due to maintenance or the like. In this case, when the connector is small or in a narrow space. There is a problem that the work becomes difficult when forced to work in. Therefore, the applicant of the present application, in order to solve this point,
A flat wiring material connector as shown in FIG. 8 (a) has been developed and filed (Patent 2001-11327).

This flat wiring material connector is a board-side connector C in which terminals 112 are housed in a housing 110.
1 and a wiring material side connector C2 in which the end portion (the portion where the conductor 2 is exposed) of the flat wiring material 1 is held by the housing 120.
Swing up and down (fold) on the rear side of the housing 120
A possible picking part 122 is provided. That is, FIG.
From the connector connection state shown in (b) to the wiring material side connector C
When pulling out 2, the knob portion 122 is raised (shown by the alternate long and short dash line in the same figure), and when the operator pulls the knob portion 122 to perform the operation, even a small connector or the like can be easily operated. .

By the way, according to this flat wiring material connector, while there is an advantage that the workability is improved as described above, there are the following adverse effects.

For example, as shown in FIG.
It is generally practiced to arrange Eb vertically and connect them with the flat wiring member 1. Here, each electric device E
When the board-side connector C1 is fixed to the lower surfaces of a and Eb to connect the devices to each other, in the above connector, the handle portion 122 projects downward in the wiring material-side connector C2, and therefore the posture during use is increased. Is restricted. That is, the wiring material connectors C1 and C2 cannot be used upside down on the lower side of the electric devices Ea and Eb, and as shown in the figure, use the upper and lower connectors C1 and C2 in the same direction. I have no choice.

In this case, however, the conductor 2 must be exposed upward at both ends of the flat wiring member 1 so that the conductor 2 can come into contact with the terminal 112. However, it is impossible to use the flat wiring member 1 in which the conductors 2 are exposed on the same surface side at both ends. Therefore, in this case, as shown in FIG. 10, a special conductor 2 exposed on the front and back sides is required, and as a result,
This leads to high costs. Therefore, in reality, in order to avoid the cost impact, it is unavoidable to use a flat wiring material connector of another type (shape) so that a widely used flat wiring material can be used. is there.

It is possible to use a general-purpose flat wiring material 1 by using the flat wiring material 1 in a twisted state between the upper and lower wiring material side connectors C2, but in this case, This is not desirable because there is a concern that the flat wiring material will be broken due to twisting.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned connector for flat wiring material having the knob portion, it is necessary to eliminate the above-mentioned adverse effects and reduce restrictions on places of use and the like. It should be noted that such a problem is not limited to the flat wiring material connector provided with the knob portion, and for example, for the reason that there is a protruding portion on the wiring material side connector for other reasons, it is easy to be restricted in the usage state. Can be said to be a common issue.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to reduce the restrictions on the place of use in a connector for a flat wiring material.

[0011]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a first connector having a first housing for accommodating terminals and a second housing for holding an end portion of a flat wiring member. A connector for a flat wiring material, which has two connectors and is configured to bring a conductor into contact with a terminal of a mating connector at the end portion of the flat wiring material by fitting the housings of both connectors to each other. The second housing and the like are configured as follows. That is, the second housing has either a first state in which the conductor is exposed from the housing in a predetermined direction or a second state in which the conductor is exposed in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction. The flat wiring material can be held even in this state. The first connector has a predetermined first posture when the flat wiring member is held in the first state, and has the first posture when the flat wiring member is held in the second state. The first housing is fitted in the second housing in a second posture inverted with respect to the above, and the terminal is in contact with the conductor.

According to this flat wiring material connector,
The flat wiring material can be held in either the first or second state with respect to the second housing, and if the first connector is used upside down accordingly, the flat wiring material and the terminals can be electrically connected. Can be contacted with. For this reason, it is possible to use the flat wiring member upside down while keeping the second connector in a particular posture, which has been impossible in the past. The degree of freedom can be increased.

In this case, the second housing comprises, for example, a holder for supporting the end portion of the flat wiring material with its conductor exposed on one side, and a housing body into which the holder is inserted. It is preferable that the holder can be inserted into and attached to the housing body in any of the state in which the conductor exposed surface is oriented in a predetermined direction and the state in which the conductor exposed surface is inverted.

According to the structure of the second housing, the flat wiring member can be held in the first state or the second state by a simple operation of changing the insertion state of the holder with respect to the housing body. Become.

In this case, the conductor is exposed on one side of the end portion of the flat wiring member, and a reinforcing plate for preventing bending is fixed on the surface opposite to the exposed side. It is preferable that the holder is configured to be superposed on the flat wiring member via the interposition.

That is, for example, when the conductor is exposed upward (first state) and the conductor is exposed downward (second state), the flat wiring member must be reinforced without any reinforcement. In the state of 2, the end portion of the flat wiring material may be bent (loosened), which may cause troubles during use. However, if the reinforcing plate is fixed to the flat wiring material as described above, Even when it is used in the state, it is possible to prevent the above-mentioned bending (loosening).

In the above structure, the second housing is provided with the knob portion, and the use position and the use position in which the second housing protrudes rearward from the rear end portion of the second housing. It is particularly useful for those configured to be displaceable from the position to the storage position swinging upward or downward.

That is, in such a flat wiring material connector, the presence of the knob portion tends to limit the place of use of the connector. Therefore, it is possible to reduce such a limitation by applying the above configuration.

Further, in the above-described connector for flat wiring material having the knob portion in the second housing, in order to improve workability at the time of pulling out the connector, the knob portion is moved from the storage position to the use position. There is one that incorporates a fitting release mechanism that releases the fitted state of both housings in accordance with a displacement operation. Specifically, a cam is provided in the knob portion of the second housing, while a cam follower is provided in the first housing, and when the knob portions are set in the storage position, the housings of both connectors are fitted together. When the cam comes into contact with the cam follower and the knob is displaced from this state to the use position, the knob swings around the contact position between the cam and cam follower as a fulcrum, and the two housings move in the relative disengagement direction. There is a mechanism in which a displacement mechanism is incorporated. In this case, the first connector and the second connector are configured so that the mating release function can be exerted regardless of the posture of the first connector and the second connector. It is preferable that the first housing is provided with a pair of cam followers that can contact the cams in the second posture.

[0020]

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

1 and 2 (a) show a flat wiring material connector according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view, and FIG. 2 (a) is a longitudinal sectional view, respectively. Is shown. As shown in this figure, the connector for flat wiring material includes a board-side connector C1 (first connector) having a housing 10 mounted on a circuit board and a housing for holding the end portion of the flat cable 1 (flat wiring material). Wiring material side connector C2 having 30 (second
Connector) and.

Board-side connector C1 (hereinafter connector C1
Said housing 10 is a flat cable 1
The housings are elongated in the width direction corresponding to (hereinafter, abbreviated as the cable 1), and are arranged in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 2A) inside the housings as shown in FIG. 2A. A large number of terminal storage chambers 12 are formed, and the terminals 14 are stored in the respective terminal storage chambers 12.

Each terminal 14 has a U-shaped connecting portion at the front end (the left end in FIG. 2A), which is composed of a connecting bending piece 14a which can be bent and displaced vertically and a supporting portion 14b below the connecting bending piece 14a. At the same time, the terminal is provided with a pair of upper and lower legs 14c on the rear side thereof, and is inserted into the terminal storage chamber 12 from the rear side of the housing 10 (right side in FIG. 2A) and stored. Then, the leg portion 14c is soldered to a fixing land or the like of the circuit board to form a circuit on the board (pattern).
It is designed to be electrically connected to.

In the housing 10, the terminal storage chamber 1
2, the insertion port 10a of the cable 1 is provided on the front side (the left side in FIG. 1), and a part of the housing 30 of the wiring material side connector C2 is provided on the front side of the insertion port 10a.
Specifically, a fitting recess 16 for fitting the body portion 32 of the housing body 30a described later is integrally provided.

A pair of vertically symmetrical cam followers 18a and 18b are provided on the front end surface of the housing 10 at the center (widthwise center) of the housing 10 with the fitting recess 16 interposed therebetween. These cam followers 18a, 18b
Each have a sliding surface 20, and a cam 46 of a wiring material side connector C2 described later comes into contact with this sliding surface 20 when the connector is connected.

The reference numeral 22 in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a) is
The housing fixing legs are attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the housing 10, and the housing 10 is fixed to the circuit board or the like by mounting the leg portions 22 on the circuit board or the like.

On the other hand, the wiring material side connector C2 (hereinafter referred to as the connector C2) has a housing 30. The housing 30 includes a housing body 30a and a holder 3
0b, the holder 30b is superposed on the cable 1, and the holder 30b is integrally inserted into the housing main body 30a to hold the end portion of the cable 1.

More specifically, the housing body 3
0a is a front-back direction for inserting the holder 30b and the like as shown in FIG. 3 (left-right direction in the figure; connector fitting direction).
It has a cylindrical body 32 having an insertion hole 31 penetrating therethrough. A locking hole 48 for locking the holder 30b is provided on the inner surface of the insertion hole 31. Also,
Inside the insertion hole 31 and at the front end portion (right end portion in the figure) of the body portion 32, a pair of upper and lower cable retainers 3 formed of protrusions extending in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface in the figure) 3
4, 36 are formed. These cable retainers 34,
The holders 30 are provided at both end portions in the width direction of the holder 36.
A pair of slits 35 and 37 for guiding b are formed.

A thin plate-like lock piece 40 also serving as a knob portion is provided on the upper rear end of the body portion 32 (upper left end in the figure) via a connecting piece 38.

The lock piece 40 is located on the rear side of the housing, that is, on the rear side in the connector fitting direction (left side in FIG. 3).
2 to the open position (the use position; the position shown in FIG. 3) to open the insertion hole 31 and the closed position (the storage position; FIG. 2) which extends below the housing and closes the insertion hole 31 from the rear side.
(Position shown in (a)) so that it can be swung (folded) in the vertical direction. A pair of leg portions 42 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the body portion 32. When the lock piece 40 is bent to the closed position and inserted between the leg portions 42, the hooks formed on the leg portions 42 respectively. 44 is a lock piece 4
0 to lock the locking piece 40 in the closed position.

The lock piece 40 has a cam 46 at its upper portion and in the center in the width direction. When the lock piece 40 is locked at the closed position, the cam 46 rises above the housing body 30a. Configured (see Figure 1). The dimension of the lock piece 40 from its swing fulcrum (the connecting portion of the connecting piece 38) to the lower end of the lock piece 40 is set to be slightly longer than the dimension from the swing fulcrum to the tip of the cam 46. .

On the other hand, the holder 30b is a plate-shaped member having a mating surface 50 on the upper part (front surface) as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and this mating surface 50 is the back surface of the cable 1 (that is,
The conductor 2 is superposed on the surface opposite to the exposed side). Front and rear projections 52 and 54 extending in the width direction for positioning the cable 1 in the front-rear direction are formed at both front and rear ends (left and right ends in FIG. 3) of the mating surface 50, respectively. Side protrusions 56 extending in the front-rear direction for positioning the cable 1 in the width direction are formed at both ends in the direction.

On the lower portion (back surface) of the holder 30b, lower protrusions 58 extending in the front-rear direction are formed just corresponding to the respective side protrusions 56. The lower protrusions 58 and the side protrusions 56 function as guides when inserting the holder 30b into the housing body 30a, and support for supporting the holder 30b inside the housing without rattling after the attachment. It is designed to function as a department.

A hook 60 for locking the connector C1 and a hook 62 for locking the housing body 30a are formed side by side in the front-rear direction on the side surface of the holder 30b.

As shown in FIG. 1, the end of the cable 1 is processed so that the conductors 2 are exposed. More specifically, by removing only the coating on the upper surface side of the cable 1, each conductor 2 is exposed on the upper surface side, and on the back surface (the surface opposite to the exposed portion of the conductor 2) of the cable end portion. A reinforcing plate 3 that regulates bending is laminated and fixed. The reinforcing plate 3 also serves as a positioning member for the cable 1 with respect to the holder 30b, and when the holder 30b is superposed on the back surface of the cable 1, the reinforcing plate 3 is moved forward, backward, leftward and rightward by the protrusions 52, 54 and 56. As a result, the exposed conductor portion of the cable 1 is positioned with respect to the holder 30b.

In order to hold the cable 1 by the housing 30 constructed as described above, first, as shown in FIG. 3, with the lock piece 40 of the housing 30a opened, the end portion of the cable 1 is attached to the body 32. The cable 1 is passed through the housing 30a by inserting it from the rear side (the left side in FIG. 3) into the insertion hole 31, and in this state, the holder 30b is superposed on the back surface of the cable 1.

Then, in this state, the holder 30b is inserted together with the cable 1 from the rear side (the rear end protrusion 54 side) into the insertion hole 31 of the housing 30a, and then the insertion hole 31 of the housing body 30a is closed. The lock piece 40 is bent, and the lock piece 40 is pushed between the leg portions 42 to be locked (that is, locked) to the hook 44. When the holder 30b is inserted into the housing body 30a, the side protrusions 56 and the lower protrusions 58 are connected to the slits 35 and 37 of the cable retainers 34 and 36, respectively.
Insert while guiding along.

In this way, the hook 62 formed on the side surface of the holder 30b is inserted into the locking hole 48 of the housing body 30a, and the holder 30b is irremovably locked with respect to the housing body 30a. At the same time, the cable 1 is pressed against the mating surface 50 by the upper cable presser 34 to fix the cable 1 to the holder 30b, and the conductor 2 of the cable 1 is exposed upward as shown in FIG. 2 (a). In this state, the end portion of the cable 1 is held by the housing 30.

In the housing 30, the legs 42 are located below the body 32 (basic posture; FIG. 2A).
The state in which the conductor 2 is exposed to the upper side (referred to as the state shown in FIG.
Is configured to be able to hold the cable 1 even when the cable is exposed downward (referred to as a downward state; a second state), and the connector C can be held in either the upward or downward state.
It is configured so that it can be fitted to the housing 10 of No. 1 and the conductor 2 of the cable 1 and the terminal 14 can contact each other.

That is, in the housing 30, the shape inside and outside the body portion of the housing body 30a has a center line C (see FIG. 2).
(See (a)), the holders 30b are formed symmetrically with respect to each other, and the holders 30b can be mounted on the housing main body 30a in a state of being turned upside down.
8 etc. are formed. As a result, when the cable 1 and the holder 30b are turned upside down (upside down with respect to the state of FIG. 3) and inserted into the housing body 30a, the posture of the housing body 30a is changed as shown in FIG. The cable 1 can be held while the conductor 2 is exposed downward as it is.

In addition, the holder 30b has the same dimension h from the center line C to the mating surface 50 (vertical dimension; see FIG. 2A), regardless of whether the cable 1 is held upward or downward. Is formed. As a result, when the cable 1 is held in the downward state, the mating connector C1 is turned upside down and used, as will be described later, so that the connectors C1 and C2 can be properly connected.

Next, a method of using the above flat wiring material connector will be described.

First, as a general method of use, a case will be described in which the cable 1 is held in the upward state by the housing 30 and the cable 1 is connected to the circuit board or the like.

In this case, as shown in FIG.
The housing 10 is mounted on a circuit board or the like for use in a state where the connecting bending piece 14a of the terminal 14 is positioned above the supporting portion 14b (first posture).

Then, in this state, the connector C2 is opposed to the connector C1 and the housing 30 of the connector C2 is inserted into the housing 10 (insertion port 10a) of the connector C1 from the tip side (the tip side of the holder 30b).

By doing so, as shown in FIG. 2B, the terminal portion of the cable 1, that is, the exposed portion of the conductor 2 is held together with the holder 30b in the terminal accommodating chamber 1 of the housing 10.
2 and the body portion 3 of the housing 20.
2 is fitted in the fitting recess 16 of the housing 10, and as a result, the connecting bending pieces 14a of the terminals 14 housed in the housing 10 are pressed against the conductors 2 of the cable 1 from the upper side thereof, and the cable 1 Is electrically connected to a circuit board or the like.

When the housings of both connectors C1 and C2 are completely fitted together, the cam 46 of the lock piece 40 of the connector C2 is moved to the cam follower 18a of the connector C1.
While contacting the (sliding surface 20), the housing 30
The hook 60 formed on the side surface of the (holder 30b) engages with a locking piece (not shown) in the housing 10, and this engagement locks the housings of both connectors C1 and C2 in a fitted state. .

When connecting the cable 1 to the circuit board or the like, for example, when the connector C2 is small or when space is limited, the lock piece 40 of the connector C2 is released (locked). Release the state)
The workability can be improved by performing the work. That is, by releasing the locked state of the lock piece 40 and performing the work with the lock piece 40 pinched with a fingertip or radio pliers or the like, the connector C2 can be easily grasped, and the work can be performed easily and quickly. Will be able to. In this case, even if the lock piece 40 is released, the holder 30b is locked to the housing body 30a by the hook 62, so that the holder 30b does not fall off the housing body 30a.

On the other hand, in order to separate the connected connectors C1 and C2, the lock piece 40 of the housing body 30a is unlocked in the connector connection state shown in FIG. 2 (b). Specifically, the lower end of the lock piece 40 is pulled up with a fingertip or the like to release the locked state by the hook 44. With this arrangement, as shown in FIG. 5, with the cam tip of the lock piece 40 in contact with the cam follower 18a, the lock piece 40 swings (rotates) around this position as a fulcrum, and the lock piece 40 is connected in association with this swing. A load in the pull-out direction (disengagement direction) is applied to the housing 30 via the piece 38. As a result, when the lock piece 14 is pulled up to a certain position, the housing 30 is in a semi-fitted state in which the housing 30 is almost pulled out from the housing 10. In this state, the lock piece 40 is pulled while being pinched with a fingertip or radio pliers or the like. As a result, the connector C2 can be easily removed from the connector C1.

Although not shown in detail, the hook 60 provided in the housing 30 of the connector C2 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape which is tapered from the base end portion to the tip end portion thereof, and therefore, both connectors C1. , C2 are in a so-called semi-locked state, and the lock state can be relatively easily released by applying a load in the pull-out direction to the connector C2 by the lock release operation of the lock piece 40 as described above. . In particular, in the housing 30 of the present embodiment, as described above, the dimension from the swing fulcrum of the lock piece 40 (the connecting portion of the connecting piece 38) to the lower end of the lock piece 40 is from the swing fulcrum to the tip of the cam 46. Since it is set longer than the size, when the lock piece 40 is swung, the locked state of both connectors C1 and C2 can be released with a small operation force by the action of a so-called lever.

Next, a case will be described in which the cable 1 is held downward by the housing 30 and the cable 1 is connected to the circuit board or the like.

In this case, as shown in FIG.
4 is mounted on a circuit board or the like in a state in which the connector C1 is turned upside down with respect to the first posture (referred to as a second posture) so that the connecting bending piece 14a of No. 4 is located below the supporting portion 14b. To use.

Other than this, the connector C2 is the same as above.
The housing 30 is inserted into the housing 10 (insertion port 10a) of the connector C1 from its tip side, and the end portion of the cable 1 is inserted into the terminal storage chamber 12 of the housing 10 together with the holder 30b. With this arrangement, since the connector C1 is in the second posture in which the connector C1 is turned upside down as shown in FIG.
The connecting bending piece 14a of 4 is pressed against the conductor 2 from the lower side, and as a result, the cable 1 is electrically connected to the circuit board or the like.

Since the housing 10 of the connector C1 is provided with a pair of vertically symmetrical cam followers 18a and 18b with the fitting recess 16 interposed therebetween as described above.
Also in this case, when both housings are fitted to each other, the connector C
The cam 46 of the lock piece 40 of No. 2 contacts the cam follower 18b (sliding surface 20) of the connector C1, and the housings of both connectors C1 and C2 are locked in this state. Therefore, when the cable 1 is detached from the circuit board or the like, the lock piece 40 is unlocked as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG.
The connector C1 can be easily detached from the connector C2 by pulling the lock piece 40 in a half-fitted state and then pulling the lock piece 40 with a fingertip or radio pliers.

According to the flat wiring member connector of the present invention described above, the housing 20 of the connector C2 is provided with the lock piece 24 also serving as a knob portion. Since it is easy to secure the allowance, when the connector C2 is inserted into or removed from the connector C1, it is possible to perform the work while pinching the connector C2 more reliably. Therefore, there is an effect that the workability of connecting or disconnecting the cable 1 to the circuit board or the like can be improved. Moreover, except when the connector C2 is inserted and removed, the lock piece 2
If you lock 4 in the closed position and store it, connector C2
Since it takes up less space, it does not interfere with other work.

In addition, the connector C2 is constructed so that the cable 1 can be held in both the state where the conductor 2 is exposed upward with respect to the housing 30 and the state where the conductor 2 is exposed downward. Correspondingly, since the connector C1 is configured so that the housing 30 can be fitted into the housing 10 by turning the housing 10 upside down, the connector C1 is kept in a use state that has been impossible in the past, that is, the basic posture of the connector C2 is maintained. It is possible to use it by changing the direction (up and down direction) of the cable 1 as it is.
Therefore, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom regarding the place of use of the flat wiring material, for example, the lock piece 40 (knob portion).
There is an effect that it is possible to effectively solve the adverse effect caused by providing the connector C2, that is, the problem described in the section of the problem to be solved.

That is, when the electric devices are arranged vertically and are electrically connected to each other with the flat wiring material on the lower surface thereof, for example, in the structure of the conventional connector for flat wiring material, the portion protruding vertically to the wiring material side connector. If there is (for example, the lock piece 40 described above), the use posture thereof is limited (see FIG. 9). Therefore, there is a problem in that it is impossible to use a widely used flat wiring material, and in reality, such a flat wiring material connector cannot be used. On the other hand, according to the flat wiring material connector of the above-described embodiment, when the electric devices Ea and Eb arranged vertically as shown in FIG. Although C2 (wiring material side connector) has a portion (locking piece 40) protruding in the vertical direction, a cable generally used as the cable 1, that is, the conductor 2 is exposed on the same surface side as shown in FIG. General purpose cables can be used. That is, with respect to the upper electric device Ea, the connector C1 is fixed to the lower surface in the first posture, and the end portion of the cable 1 on the side corresponding to the upper electric device Ea is directed upward to the housing 30 (connector C2). On the other hand, in the lower electric device Ea, the connector C1 is fixed to the lower surface of the lower electric device Ea in the second posture, and the end portion of the cable 1 on the side corresponding to the lower electric device Eb is connected to the housing 30 (connector). If it is held in the downward state by C2), it is possible to use a general-purpose cable in which the conductor 2 is exposed on the same surface side as the cable 1 as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily solve the conventional problem that the use of the cable is restricted due to the general-purpose cable.

In the flat wiring member connector of this embodiment, the cam 46 of the lock piece 40 of the connector C2 is provided, and when the lock piece 40 is unlocked when the connected connectors C1 and C2 are separated, Along with this, the two housings 10 and 30 are naturally configured to be in a half-fitted state, but as described above, the housing 10 of the connector C1 includes a pair of vertically symmetrical cam followers 18.
a, 18b are provided, and the housing 10 is the first,
Even when used in any of the second postures, the fitting releasing function as described above is exhibited well. Therefore, there is also an effect that the connector separating work can always be easily performed regardless of the use state.

By the way, in the flat wiring material connector of the embodiment described above, the housing 30 of the connector C2 is provided with the lock piece 40 (knob portion), but of course, such a lock piece 40 is provided. The invention of the present application can be applied to a flat wiring material connector which is not provided. However, in the case where the housing has a vertically protruding portion due to the provision of the lock piece 40 (knob portion) and the like, it is easy to be particularly restricted in the place of use, and therefore the flat wiring material connector of the present invention The configuration of 1 is useful when such a protruding portion is provided on the upper or lower portion of the housing.

In the above embodiment, the flat cable 1 is used as the flat wiring material. However, the flat wiring material is not limited to the flat cable, and ribbon wires, FPCs (Flexible Printed Circuits) and the like may be used. It may be a flat wiring material.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first connector having the first housing for accommodating the terminals and the second housing for holding the end portion of the flat wiring member are fitted to each other so as to be flat. In a flat wiring material connector in which a wiring material is brought into contact with the terminal, the flat wiring material is flat in both an upward state in which a conductor is exposed upward and a downward state in which a conductor is exposed downward with respect to the basic posture of the second housing. The second housing is configured to hold the wiring material, while the flat wiring material is held in the upward state in a predetermined first posture, and the flat wiring material is held in the downward state in the first posture. The first housing is fitted with the second housing in the second posture which is turned upside down with respect to the first posture, and the terminal is Since the first connector is configured so as to come into contact with the conductor of the flat wiring material, the orientation of the flat wiring material while maintaining the use state which has been impossible in the past, for example, the basic posture of the second connector ( It can be used by changing the orientation (up and down). Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to increase the degree of freedom regarding the place of use of the flat wiring material, as compared with the related art.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view showing a connector for flat wiring material according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a wiring material side connector and a board side connector when a flat wiring material is held in a normal posture ((a) shows an unconnected state, and (b) shows a connected state).

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a procedure for assembling a wiring material side connector when holding a flat wiring material in a normal posture.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a wiring material side connector in a state where a flat wiring material is held in an opposite posture.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the flat wiring member connector showing a state where the housing is half-fitted by the unlocking operation of the lock piece.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a connection state of a wiring material side connector and a board side connector when a flat wiring material is held in an opposite posture.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which electrical equipment is connected using the flat wiring material connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of a flat wiring material connector ((a) shows an unconnected state and (b) shows a connected state).

9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which an electric device is connected using the flat wiring member connector shown in FIG.

10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a flat cable (flat wiring member) used for connecting the electric device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

C1 Board side connector (first connector) C2 Wiring material side connector (2nd connector) 1 flat cable (flat wiring material) 2 conductors 3 Reinforcement plate 10 Housing (first housing) 14 terminals 14a Bending piece for connection 30 housing (second housing) 30a housing body 30b holder 40 Lock piece (picking part)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H01R 23/66 B (72) Inventor Noriyoshi Okamura 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Stock Company Auto Network Technology Laboratory (72) Inventor Hiroki Hirai 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City (72) Inventor Yoshito Sakai 1-7 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture No. 10 F-term in Auto Network Technology Laboratory Co., Ltd. (reference) 5E021 FA05 FA09 FB05 FB08 FC02 FC31 FC36 HC11 HC31 HC35 5E023 AA04 AA13 AA16 AA18 BB02 BB06 BB09 BB23 EE10 GG10 GG15 HH01 HH17 HH21

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first connector having a first housing for accommodating a terminal and a second connector having a second housing for holding an end portion of a flat wiring member, wherein the housings of both connectors are fitted to each other. In the flat wiring material connector configured to bring the conductor into contact with the terminal of the mating connector at the end portion of the flat wiring material, the second housing is configured such that the conductor is directed from the housing in a predetermined direction. The flat wiring member can be held in any of the exposed first state and the exposed second state of the conductor in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction. , When the flat wiring material is held in the first state, in a predetermined first posture, when the flat wiring material is held in the second state A flat wiring, characterized in that the first housing is fitted to the second housing in a second posture inverted from the first posture, and the terminal is in contact with a conductor. Material connector. 2. The connector for flat wiring material according to claim 1, wherein the second housing has a holder for supporting an end portion of the flat wiring material with its conductor exposed on one side, and the holder is inserted into the second housing. The holder has a housing body, and the holder can be attached to the housing body in any of a state in which the conductor exposed surface of the flat wiring member is oriented in a predetermined direction and a state in which the state is reversed. A flat wiring material connector characterized by being configured. 3. The connector for flat wiring material according to claim 2, wherein the conductor is exposed on one side of an end portion of the flat wiring material, and a reinforcing plate for preventing bending is provided on a surface opposite to the exposed side. Is fixed, and the holder is configured so as to overlap the flat wiring member via the reinforcing plate. 4. The flat wiring member connector according to claim 1, wherein the second housing has a knob portion, and the knob portion extends from a rear end portion of the second housing to the connector. A connector for a flat wiring member, which is configured to be displaceable between a use position in which it is projected rearward in the fitting direction and a storage position which is swung from this use position. 5. The connector for flat wiring material according to claim 4, wherein a fitting releasing mechanism that releases the fitted state of both housings in accordance with the swinging operation of the knob portion from the storage position to the use position is provided. This fitting disengagement mechanism comprises a cam provided in the knob portion of the second housing and a cam follower provided in the first housing, and is in a state where the knob portion is set at the storage position. When the housings of both connectors are fitted together, the cam contacts the cam follower,
When the knob portion is displaced from this state to the use position, the knob portion is swung about the contact position between the cam and the cam follower as a fulcrum so that both housings are relatively displaced in the fitting releasing direction. The first housing includes, as the cam followers, a pair of cam followers that can come into contact with the cams in the first and second postures, respectively.