JP2004178959A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector preventing the generation of connecting failure even if the FPC is inserted so as to reverse the top and bottom. <P>SOLUTION: This connector is fit to and released from the FPC, and equipped with the required number of contacts each having a contact part coming in contact with the FPC on both sides in the upper and lower direction; and a housing having a fitting port to which the contact is held/fixed and into which the FPC is inserted. When contacts with the contacts of the FPC are zigzag arranged, the contacts in the upper and lower direction of the contacts are zigzag arranged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector used for an electronic device or an electric device such as a mobile phone, a notebook computer, or a digital camera, and more particularly to an erroneous connection structure when a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter, referred to as “FPC”) is reversely inserted. It is.
[0002]
[Prior art]
[Patent Document 1]
For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-60983 discloses a zero insertion force structure. According to the summary of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 6-60983, an object thereof is to provide a connector for a printed circuit board with a slider used in a narrow space in an electronic device or a communication device. A U-shaped arm portion having a front side fixed as a guide for insertion into a housing into which the slider is inserted is formed, a convex portion is provided on the open end side of the U-shaped arm portion, and the U-shaped arm portion is provided. A notch is provided so that the open end of the arm can be seen from the insertion direction, and a protrusion having an inclined surface with which the protrusion of the slider engages is provided at both ends of the housing, and the slider is connected to the flexible printed circuit board. When the slider is inserted into the housing together with the terminal portion, the protrusion of the slider gets over the protrusion having the inclined surface of the housing, whereby U-shaped open end of the arm portion of the shape is expanded outwardly temporarily and connector open end upon completion of insertion was made to return to the normal position is disclosed.
[0003]
Instead of using a slider as described above, there are many structures in which an FPC is inserted into a fitting opening of the housing to make contact with a contact portion of the contact and to make connection. In this case, pressure is applied when the FPC is inserted instead of the above-mentioned zero insertion force.
When the FPC is brought into contact with the contact, the contact portion may be curved so as to be easily contacted, and the contact portion is provided at a symmetrical position so as to sandwich the FPC. Further, in order to reduce the size of the connector, the contacts are often arranged in a staggered manner.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the connector in which the contact portions of the contacts are provided at symmetrical positions so as to sandwich the FPC, when the contacts are arranged in a staggered manner in order to reduce the size of the connector, the pattern on the FPC is also staggered. Because of the arrangement, even if the upper and lower surfaces of the FPC are inserted into the fitting openings of the connector in reverse, the contact portions of the contacts come into contact with the pattern of the FPC, and a connection failure may occur.
Further, when a connection failure occurs, it is necessary to replace the connector itself or the board itself, which may lead to an increase in cost.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that does not cause a connection failure even when the upper and lower surfaces of the FPC are inserted upside down.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a connector 10 which is detachably fitted to an FPC, and has a required number of contacts 14, 141 having contact portions 22, 22 on both sides in the vertical direction, which are in contact with the FPC. In the connector 10 including the housing 12 having a fitting hole 18 into which the FPC is inserted while being fixed, when the contacts with the contacts 14 and 141 of the FPC are arranged in a staggered manner, This can be achieved by arranging the contact portions 22 in the vertical direction of 141 in a staggered manner.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An important feature of the present invention is that the vertical contact portions 22, 22 of the contacts 14, 141 are arranged in a staggered manner. There are three types that take advantage of this feature. The three types are the same in that they have a structure in which the FPC contacts the contacts, but differ in the manner in which the FPC contacts the contacts.
The connector 10 of the first structure mainly includes a housing 12, contacts 14, 141, and a slider 16. The connector 16 is of a type in which the slider 16 rotates and presses the FPC against the contacts 14, 141. This is a connector 10 of a type called a piano touch system. The position where the slider 16 is rotated may be on the fitting side or on the contact connection side (tail side). In the following embodiments, this type will be described in detail.
[0008]
The connector of the second structure mainly includes a housing, a contact, and a slider, similarly to the first, and is a type of pressing the FPC against the contact by inserting the slider into a fitting opening of the housing. There is a so-called ZIF structure (zero insertion force) type connector. That is, after the FPC is inserted from the fitting opening of the housing, the slider is inserted into the fitting opening, and the FPC is pressed against the contact.
The connector of the third structure mainly includes a housing and a contact, and is of a type in which the FPC is inserted into a fitting opening of the housing to contact (press) the FPC with the contact. This is a so-called NON ZIF type connector that does not use a connector. That is, the FPC is forcibly inserted between the contact contact portions or between the contact and the housing, which is smaller than the thickness of the FPC, and is brought into contact with (pressed on) the contact.
It goes without saying that the contact portions in the vertical direction of the contacts are arranged in a staggered manner in all of the three structures described above.
[0009]
【Example】
An embodiment of the connector of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an arrangement state of two contacts. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one contact, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the other contact.
The connector 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a housing 12, contacts 14 and 141, and a slider 16.
[0010]
The components of the connector 10 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, two types of contacts 14 and 141, which are points of the present invention, will be described. These two types of contacts 14 and 141 are made of metal, and are manufactured by a known press working. Since the material of the contacts 14 and 141 is required to have a spring property or conductivity, examples thereof include brass, beryllium copper, and phosphor bronze.
[0011]
The one contact 14 has an inverted H shape as shown in FIG. 3, and mainly includes a contact portion 22 that mainly contacts the FPC or the FFC, a connection portion 24 that connects to the board, and a fixing portion 42 that fixes the housing 12. An elastic portion 34 and a fulcrum portion 32 provided between the contact portion 22 and the connecting portion 24, and a pressing portion 20 and a fulcrum portion 32 extending from the elastic portion 34 at a position facing the connecting portion 24. And another contact portion 22 that comes into contact with the FPC or FFC in a direction extending from the FPC or FFC. The upper contact portion 22 (upper side in FIG. 2), the elastic portion 34, the fulcrum portion 32, and the connecting portion 24 are arranged in a substantially crank shape. The contact portion 22 is formed in a convex shape so as to be easily in contact with an FPC or FFC, and the connection portion 24 is a surface mount type (SMT) as shown in FIG. good. That is, two contact portions 22 are provided so as to sandwich the FPC or FFC. By providing the contact portions 22, 22 on both sides at right angles to the insertion direction of the FPC or FFC, the FPC or FFC is sandwiched between the two contact portions 22, 22, and the FPC or FFC is securely inserted. You can contact with
[0012]
The fulcrum portion 32, the elastic portion 34, and the pressing portion 20 are portions for performing the following operation when the FPC or FFC is inserted. When the pressing portion 36 of the slider 16 rotates between the connection portion 24 of the contact 14 and the pressing portion 20 after the FPC or FFC is inserted into the fitting opening 18 of the housing 12, the pressing When the portion 20 is pushed up by the pressing portion 36, the fulcrum 32 of the contact 14 is used as a fulcrum, and the elastic portion 34 of the contact 14 is inclined toward the contact portion 22, so that the contact portion 22 is on the FPC or FFC side. Is pressed. The size and shape of the fulcrum portion 32, the elastic portion 34, and the pressing portion 20 are appropriately designed to achieve such an operation. Further, a protrusion 26 is provided at the tip of the pressing portion 20 of the contact 14, and when the pressing portion 36 of the slider 16 is rotated between the pressing portion 20 of the contact 14 and the connection portion 24, By engaging with the locking hole 30, a strong repulsive force against the rotation of the slider 16 can be opposed, and the center of the slider 16 can be prevented from expanding in the direction of arrow "b" in FIG. desirable. The size of the protruding portion 26 may be any size as long as it can fulfill such a role, and is appropriately designed so that the pressing portion 36 of the slider 16 is caught.
[0013]
The other contact 141 will be described. Here, only differences from the above-described one contact 14 will be described. The other contact 141 also has a substantially H-shape as shown in FIG. 4, and mainly includes a contact portion 22 that mainly contacts the FPC or FFC, a connection portion 24 that connects to the board, and a fixing portion 42 that fixes the housing 12. The elastic portion 34 and the fulcrum portion 32 provided between the contact portion 22 and the connecting portion 24, the pressing portion 20 extending from the elastic portion 34 and the fulcrum portion 32 are also opposite to the connecting portion 24. The contact portion 22, the elastic portion 34, the fulcrum portion 32, and the connection portion 24 are arranged in a substantially U-shape. The connection part 24 is a surface mount type (SMT) like one contact, but may be a dip type.
[0014]
When the FPC or FFC is inserted, the pressing portion 36 of the slider 16 pushes the contact 141 against the fulcrum 32, the elastic portion 34, and the pressing portion 20. When rotating between the receiving portion 20 and the extension portion 44, the pressing portion 20 is pushed up by the pressing portion 36, so that the fulcrum 32 of the contact 141 is used as a fulcrum, and the elastic portion 34 of the contact 141 is By inclining toward the contact portion 22, the contact portion 22 is pressed toward the FPC or FFC. The size and shape of the fulcrum portion 32, the elastic portion 34, and the pressing portion 20 are appropriately designed to achieve such an operation. Also, a protrusion 26 is provided at the tip of the pressing portion 20 of the contact 141, and when the pressing portion 36 of the slider 16 is rotated, by engaging with the locking hole 30 of the slider 16, the turning of the slider 16 is performed. It is desirable to prevent the central portion of the slider 16 from bulging in the direction of arrow "b" in FIG. 1 against strong repulsive force against movement. However, the strength of the slider 16 due to the narrow pitch is taken into consideration. Then, it is sufficient to provide one of the two types of contacts 14 and 141. The size of the protruding portion 26 may be any size as long as it can fulfill such a role, and is appropriately designed so that the pressing portion 36 of the slider 16 is caught.
[0015]
The two contacts 14 and 141 described above have a substantially U-shaped portion into which the FPC is fitted, and have a structure in which the FPC is sandwiched between the contact portions 22 of the contacts 14 and 141. .
The contact portions 22, 22 are arranged in a staggered manner in the vertical direction of the contacts 14, 141 as shown in FIG. 2, corresponding to the fact that the contacts of the FPC with the contacts are arranged in a staggered manner. Further, in order to reduce the size of the connector, the two contacts 14, 141 are arranged in a staggered manner as shown in FIG. That is, one contact 14 is inserted from the connection side of the housing 12, and the other contact 141 is inserted from the fitting port 18 side of the housing 12.
[0016]
Next, the housing 12 will be described. This housing is an electrically insulating plastic and is manufactured by injection molding of a known technique. The material is appropriately selected in consideration of dimensional stability, workability, cost, and the like. Generally, polybutylene terephthalate (polybutylene terephthalate) is used. PBT), polyamide (66PA, 46PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC), and synthetic materials thereof.
The housing 12 is provided with an insertion groove 38 in which a required number of contacts 14 and 141 are mounted, and is fixed by press fitting, hooking (lance), welding, or the like.
[0017]
On both sides in the longitudinal direction of the housing 12, bearing portions are provided on which the shaft 28 of the slider 16 is rotatably mounted. The shape and size of this bearing portion may be any as long as the shaft 28 of the slider 16 is mounted so as to be rotatable. The bearing portion is appropriately designed in consideration of this role, the strength and size of the housing 12, and the like. Further, locking portions are provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction at positions corresponding to the locking portions of the slider 16.
[0018]
Finally, the slider 16 will be described. The slider 16 is an electrically insulating plastic and is manufactured by injection molding of a known technique. The material is appropriately selected in consideration of dimensional stability, workability, cost, and the like. Generally, the material is generally polybutylene terephthalate. (PBT), polyamide (66PA, 46PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC), and synthetic materials thereof. The slider 16 mainly engages with a shaft 28 portion rotatably mounted on the housing 12, a pressing portion 36 for pressing the pressing portion 20 of the contacts 14, 141, and a projecting portion 26 of the contacts 14, 141. And a locking hole 30. The shaft 28 is a fulcrum for rotating the slider 16, and the slider 16 is appropriately mounted rotatably on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the housing 12. Locking portions are provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction to engage with the housing 12 to prevent the slider 16 from being lifted in the height direction (upward in the drawing) when the pressing portion 20 of the contacts 14 and 141 is pressed. Is provided. The shape and size of the lock portion may be any as long as they can be engaged with the housing 12, and are appropriately designed in consideration of the above-described role, the size and strength of the connector, and the like.
[0019]
The pressing portion 36 is a portion that presses against the pressing portion 20 of the contacts 14 and 141. The pressing portion 36 preferably has an elongated shape, and has an elliptical shape in the present embodiment. By making the shape elliptical in this way, as shown in FIG. 1, the slider 16 is rotated in the direction of the arrow “A”, and is rotated between the pressing portion 20 of the contact 14 and the connecting portion 24, thereby forming the pressing portion. Due to the change in the size of 36, the pressing portion 20 of the contact 14 is lifted, and the FPC or FFC is pressed against the contact portion 22 of the contact 14. The shape of the pressing portion 36 can be any shape as long as it can rotate between the pressing portion 20 of the contact 14 and the connecting portion 24 and can push up the pressing portion 20 of the contact 14 due to a difference in size such as a long axis and a short axis. It may be something.
Further, when the slider 16 is rotated, the repulsive force against the rotation of the slider 16 is strong, and in order to prevent the central portion of the slider 16 from bulging in the direction of arrow “B” in FIG. Locking holes 30 with which the projecting portions 26 of the contacts 14 are engaged are provided separately and independently. By providing the locking holes 30 separately and independently, an increase in the strength of the slider 16 and a deformation at the time of rotation are prevented.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the connector 10 of the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained.
(1) When the contacts of the FPC with the contacts 14 and 141 are arranged in a staggered manner, the vertical contact portions 22 and 22 of the contacts 14 and 141 are arranged in a staggered manner. Even if it is inserted, no connection failure occurs.
(2) Even if the FPC is reversely inserted, the connection failure does not occur, so that the connector 10 and the board itself are not replaced, which does not lead to an increase in cost.
(3) Since the contact portions 22, 22 of the contacts 14, 141 are provided at positions corresponding to the contacts of the FPC, a stable connection can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an arrangement state of two contacts.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one contact.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another contact.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a slider.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector 12 Housing 14, 141 Contact 16 Slider 18 Fitting opening 20 Press receiving part 22 Contact part 24 Connection part 26 Projection part 28 Shaft 30 Lock hole 32 Support point part 34 Elastic part 36 Press part 38 Insertion groove 42 Fixed part 44 Extension Department

Claims (1)

A connector which is detachably fitted to a flexible printed circuit board (FPC), wherein a required number of contacts having contact portions on both sides in the vertical direction, which contact the flexible printed circuit board, are held and fixed, and the flexible A housing having a fitting port into which the printed circuit board is inserted,
A connector, wherein when the contacts with the contacts on the flexible printed circuit board are arranged in a staggered manner, the vertical contact portions of the contacts are arranged in a staggered manner.

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