JP2007073296A - Alignment contact group and electrical connector for flexible board - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrical connector or the like for a flexible board, capable of mounting contacts in free removal and easily replacing a contact, even if failures occur, with a new one. <P>SOLUTION: The electrical connector is provided with a contact 1 having a jointing part 4, electrically connected with another board, a pair of contact parts 5a, 5b branched and extended from the joint part 4, and a bearing space 10 between these contact parts 5a, 5b, an alignment plate 2 for forming a contact group, by aligning a plurality of contacts 1 in a specified direction (Y direction), and a cam shaft 3 positioned and held in the bearing space 10 of the contact 1 that constitutes a contact group aligned on the alignment plate 2 in free turning, and having a long-axis part 11 and a short axis part 12 of large and small different dimensions, as compared with the interval W of the bearing space 10. The cam shaft 3 is freely insertable from the bearing space 10 of the contact 1, constituting the contact group in the axial direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, a flexible substrate such as FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) or FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF), and an electrode formed on the surface of the inserted flexible substrate is used. The present invention relates to an alignment contact group and an electrical connector for a flexible substrate that can be tightly connected to each other.

  In the conventional electrical connector for a flexible board, when a large insertion force is required when inserting the flexible board into the connector, the inserted board is flexible, so that the force cannot be sufficiently transmitted in the insertion direction. For this reason, the board cannot be inserted to the proper connection position in the slot due to a large bend, and as a result, good electrical connection is made between the electrode of the board and the contact portion of the contact arranged in the slot. Connection cannot be obtained. For this reason, it is desirable for such an electrical connector to have a structure that can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF).

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electrical connector having a structure that can be inserted with zero insertion force. In the electrical connector described in Patent Document 1, an actuator that can be displaced is disposed between the flexible arms of the contact, and the actuator is rotated to a predetermined position so that the flexible arm is opened and closed. In the former state, it is possible to fit and connect with zero insertion force (ZIF) by inserting the tip of another connector.
JP 2000-48905 A

  Incidentally, the electrical connector generally employs a configuration in which a plurality of contacts are mounted in a housing.

  On the other hand, an electrical connector used for the purpose of mounting a plurality of flexible boards needs to be arranged with high precision in order to securely fit the flexible board. Since the mounting area is widened, contacts that are partially inadequately fitted can be made, so that a plurality of contacts are arranged on the arrangement plate without using a housing. Although such an electrical connector has advantages such as the ability to reduce the contact interval and protect the flexible arm of the other connector from deformation due to external force, the cam shaft and the operating lever for rotating the cam shaft are aligned. Since it is mounted together with the contact group and cannot be removed after being mounted, there is a problem that the occupied area (space) at the mounting location (for example, another board) of the electrical connector is increased.

  An object of the present invention is to have a structure in which a flexible substrate such as FPC or FFC can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF), and contacts can be arranged on an array plate at an arbitrary array interval, and a contact group is formed. It is easy to confirm the solder joint state later. In particular, for contact groups and flexible boards, the contacts and camshafts can be optimized so that the contacts can be removably mounted, and even if the contacts fail, they can be easily replaced with new contacts. It is to provide an electrical connector.

  In order to achieve the above object, the alignment contact group according to the present invention includes a joint portion electrically connected to another substrate and a bifurcated portion extending from the joint portion, and the surface of the flexible substrate inserted at the tip portion thereof. A contact group having a pair of contact portions each provided with at least one electrical contact electrically connected to the electrode formed on the electrode and a plurality of the contacts are substantially aligned in a specific direction to form a contact group. Each contact that constitutes the contact group includes an array plate, and a rod-shaped cam shaft that can be inserted and removed in the axial direction is rotatable between the two contact portions and closer to the joint portion position than the electric contact position. And a bearing space for positioning and holding.

  It is preferable that the cam shaft has a major axis portion and a minor axis portion having two different sizes, which are larger and smaller than the interval of the bearing space.

  As a specific configuration of the alignment contact group, the contact is made of an elastic material having conductivity, and when a flexible substrate is inserted between both contact portions of the contact group, the cam shaft Is rotated in the bearing space, the long shaft portion of the cam shaft is held at a position facing the both contact portions, and both contact portions of the contacts constituting the contact group are pushed by the acting force of the cam shaft outer surface. By expanding and making the distance between the electrical contacts of the both contact portions wider than the thickness of the flexible substrate, the flexible substrate can be inserted with zero insertion force, and the electrodes of the inserted flexible substrate are connected to the contact group. When electrically connecting to the electrical contacts of the constituent contacts, the cam shaft is rotated in the bearing space and the short shaft portion of the cam shaft is brought into contact. The contact portions of the contacts constituting the contact group are elastically restored, and the distance between the contact points between the contact portions is made smaller than the thickness of the flexible substrate. It is preferable to electrically connect the electrode and the electrical contact of each contact.

  The alignment contact group may be provided with a detachable operating lever for rotating the cam shaft at one end of the cam shaft, and / or a direction in which the contact portion extends in a portion defining the bearing space. It is more preferable to provide a protrusion for preventing the movement of the cam shaft.

  The electrical connector according to the present invention is electrically connected to an electrode formed on the surface of a flexible board inserted into a joint part electrically connected to another board, and extending into the fork part from the joint part. A contact having a pair of contact portions each provided with at least one electrical contact, and having a bearing space between the contact portions and closer to the joint position than the electrical contact position, and the contact An alignment plate that substantially aligns the plurality of contacts in a specific direction to form a contact group, and is positioned and held rotatably in a bearing space of a contact that constitutes the contact group aligned on the alignment plate, A rod-shaped camshaft having a major axis portion and a minor axis portion having two different sizes in comparison with the space interval, and the camshaft constitutes the contact group That wherein the from the bearing space of the contact can be inserted into and removed from the axial direction.

  According to the present invention, a flexible substrate such as FPC or FFC can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF), contacts can be arranged on the arrangement plate at any arrangement interval, and a contact group is formed. It is easy to confirm the solder joint state later. In particular, for contact groups and flexible boards, the contacts and camshafts can be optimized so that the contacts can be removably mounted, and even if the contacts fail, they can be easily replaced with new contacts. It is now possible to provide electrical connectors.

  Further, by providing a detachable operating lever for rotating the cam shaft at one end of the cam shaft, there is an effect that the workability can be improved, the connector can be miniaturized, and the occupied area when mounting the board can be reduced.

  Furthermore, if a protrusion that prevents the movement of the cam shaft in the extending direction of the contact portion is provided in a portion that divides the bearing space of the contact, the cam shaft can be positioned more accurately in the bearing space of the contact. be able to.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 show one contact constituting a typical alignment contact group according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view and FIGS. 2 to 4 are plan views.

  The alignment contact group of the present invention includes a contact 1 and an array plate 2, and the electrical connector of the present invention further includes a cam shaft 3 in addition to these members 1 and 2.

  The contact 1 is made of an elastic material having high strength and good bendability and conductivity, such as phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, brass, and the like, and is composed of a joint portion 4 and a pair of contact portions 5a and 5b.

  The joint 4 is a part of the contact 1 that is joined to another substrate (not shown) by soldering or the like and electrically connected.

  The contact portions 5a and 5b extend in a bifurcated manner from the joint portion 4 and are at least electrically connected to their tip portions 6a and 6b with electrodes (not shown) formed on the surface of the inserted flexible substrate 7. One electrical contact is provided for each. In FIG. 1, two electrical contacts 8a, 8b are provided on one contact portion 5a, one electrical contact 8c is provided on the other contact portion 5b, and a total of three electrical contacts 8a, 8b, 8c are provided. Indicates.

  The contact 1 has a bearing space 10 between the contact parts 5a and 5b and closer to the joint part 4 than the electrical contact positions 8a, 8b and 8c to position and hold the camshaft 3 so as to be rotatable.

  The array plate 2 is made of an insulating material such as a printed circuit board and has a planar shape as shown in FIG. 5, and a plurality of contacts 1 are substantially aligned in a specific direction (Y direction in FIG. 5) to form a contact group. It is a member for forming. Here, it is assumed that the contacts are "substantially" aligned, as shown in FIG. 5, on the arrangement plate 2 and on the contact arrangement pattern 9 aligned with the width center virtual line L1 as the width center. This is to include the case where the contact 1 is provided in the contact arrangement pattern in which the center of the width of the contact arrangement pattern is alternately shifted with respect to the width center virtual line L1.

  The arrangement plate 2 shown in FIG. 5 has contact arrangement patterns 9 for substantially aligning the contacts 1 in the Y direction of FIG. 5 as many as the number of contacts 1 arranged. In the case where the array plate 2 of FIG. 5 is used, the flexible substrate 7 is mounted along the width center virtual line L1.

  FIG. 6 shows a state when the contacts 1 are mounted on the contact arrangement pattern 9 of the array plate 2 shown in FIG.

  The cam shaft 3 has a rod shape as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, and is attached to the bearing space 10 of the contact 1 constituting the contact group aligned on the arrangement plate 2 so that it can be inserted and removed in the axial direction. Compared with the interval W between the bearing spaces 10 of the two contact portions 5a and 5b, the major axis portion 11 and the minor axis portion 12 have two different sizes. The cross-sectional shape of the cam shaft 3 may be any shape as long as the cam shaft is rotatable and has a portion with different dimensions such as a major axis and a minor axis, and examples thereof include a rectangular shape and an elliptical shape.

  When the flexible substrate 7 is inserted between the contact portions 5a and 5b of the contacts 1 constituting the contact group, the electrical connector of the present invention is configured such that the cam shaft 3 is the bearing as shown in FIG. It is rotated in the space 10, and the long shaft portion 11 of the cam shaft 3 is held at a position facing both the contact portions 5a and 5b, and the both contact portions 5a and 5b of the contact 1 constituting the contact group are cammed. The flexible substrate 7 is made to have a zero insertion force by expanding by the acting force of the outer surface of the shaft 3 and making the distance 10 between the electrical contacts 8a to 8c of the contact portions 5a and 5b wider than the thickness t of the flexible substrate 7. Can be inserted.

  On the other hand, when the electrodes of the inserted flexible substrate 7 are electrically connected to the electrical contacts 8a to 8c of the contacts 1 constituting the contact group, the camshaft is connected to the bearing space 10 as shown in FIG. And the short shaft portion 12 of the cam shaft 3 is disposed at a position facing the contact portions 5a and 5b, and both contact portions 5a and 5b of the contacts 1 constituting the contact group are elastically restored, By making the electrical contact distance D between the contact portions 5a, 5b smaller than the thickness t of the flexible substrate 7, the electrodes of the flexible substrate 7 and the electrical contacts 8a to 8c of the contacts 1 are electrically connected. be able to. As shown in FIG. 2, the distance D between the electrical contacts is a line segment connecting two electrical contacts 8a and 8b located at one contact portion 5a, and an electrical contact 8c located at the other contact portion 5b. When the numerical value is negative (−), it means that the electrical contact 8c is closer to the one contact portion 5a than the line segment position connecting the two electrical contacts 8a, 8b.

  Further, in order to stabilize the rotation of the cam, a protrusion 13 for preventing the movement of the cam shaft 3 in the extending direction of the contact portions 5a and 5b is provided in a portion defining the bearing space 10 of the contact 1. preferable. In FIG. 1, in order to prevent the movement of the camshaft 3, one projection 13 is provided at each of the four corners that define the bearing space 10 of the contact 1. The position and the like are not limited to this configuration, and can be appropriately selected as necessary.

  In the present invention, in a state where the cam shaft 3 does not act between the contact portions 5a and 5b of the contact 1, the cam shaft 3 can be removed from the bearing space 10 of the contact 1 in the axial direction. As long as the camshaft 3 is removed from the bearing space 10 of the contacts 1 constituting the aligned contact group, there is an effect that the failed contact can be replaced.

  Further, in order to apply a rotational force to the camshaft 3, it is preferable to dispose an operating lever 14 as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) to (c) on one end side of the camshaft 3, and its shape is The shape is not particularly limited as long as the cam shaft 3 can be applied with a rotational force.

  In addition, in the present invention, if the actuating lever 14 is detachably mounted by, for example, the camshaft 3 and a gear-like engaging means, the workability is improved, the connector is downsized, and the occupied area is reduced when mounting the board. Is effective.

  The above description only shows an example of the embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, the contact 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 shows a case where both contact portions 5a and 5b open under the action of the camshaft 3, but the upper one of the four protrusions 13 in FIG. If the two protrusions are connected so as to have flexibility, the contact portions 5a and 5b can be opened oppositely under the action of the cam shaft 3.

  According to the present invention, a flexible board such as FPC or FFC can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF), and in particular, the contact and the camshaft are optimized so that the contact can be removed. Therefore, it is possible to provide an array contact group and an electric connector for a flexible substrate that can be easily replaced with a new contact even if a contact failure occurs.

  Further, by providing a detachable operating lever for rotating the cam shaft at one end of the cam shaft, there is an effect that the workability can be improved, the connector can be miniaturized, and the occupied area when mounting the board can be reduced.

  Furthermore, if a protrusion that prevents the movement of the cam shaft in the extending direction of the contact portion is provided in a portion that divides the bearing space of the contact, the cam shaft can be positioned more accurately in the bearing space of the contact. be able to.

It is a perspective view which shows one connector which comprises the electrical connector according to this invention. It is a top view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the state when inserting a flexible substrate in the electrical connector shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the state at the time of electrically connecting, after inserting a flexible substrate in the electrical connector shown in FIG. An example of the arrangement | positioning plate which comprises the electrical connector according to this invention is shown, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is a right view, (c) is a front view. It is an expansion perspective view which shows the state which mounts a contact on the arrangement | sequence pattern of an arrangement | sequence plate. FIGS. 2A and 2B show examples of the shape of a cam shaft and an operating lever, in which FIG. 1A is a front view, FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1A, and FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Contact 2 Array Plate 3 Cam Shaft 4 Joint
5a, 5b Contact area
6a, 6b Tip 7 Flexible substrate
8a, 8b, 8c Electrical contact 9 Contact arrangement pattern
10 Bearing space
11 Long axis
12 Short shaft part
13 Protrusion
14 Actuating lever

Claims (6)

Junction electrically connected to another substrate, and at least one electric connected to an electrode formed on the surface of the flexible substrate inserted at the tip of the joint and extending into the fork. A contact having a pair of contact portions each provided with a contact;
An array plate that substantially aligns a plurality of the contacts in a specific direction to form a contact group;
Each contact constituting the contact group is a bearing space that rotatably positions and holds a rod-shaped cam shaft that can be inserted and removed in the axial direction between both contact portions and closer to the joint portion position than the electric contact position. An alignment contact group comprising:   The aligned contact group according to claim 1, wherein the camshaft has a major axis portion and a minor axis portion having two different sizes, which are larger and smaller than an interval of the bearing space. The contact is made of an elastic material having conductivity,
When a flexible substrate is inserted between the contact portions of the contacts constituting the contact group, the cam shaft is rotated in the bearing space, and the long axis portion of the cam shaft is opposed to the contact portions. By holding and expanding both contact parts of the contacts constituting the contact group by the action force by the outer surface of the camshaft, by making the interval between the electrical contacts of the both contact parts wider than the thickness of the flexible substrate, Flexible substrate can be inserted with zero insertion force,
When the electrode of the inserted flexible board is electrically connected to the electrical contacts of the contacts constituting the contact group, the cam shaft is rotated in the bearing space, and the short shaft portion of the cam shaft is contacted with the contact portion. The contact portions of the contacts constituting the contact group are elastically restored, and the distance between the contact points between the contact portions is made smaller than the thickness of the flexible substrate. 3. The aligned contact group according to claim 1, wherein the electrode and the electrical contact of each contact are electrically connected.   4. The flexible board electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein a detachable operation lever for rotating the cam shaft is provided at one end of the cam shaft.   The flexible board electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a protrusion that prevents movement of the cam shaft in the extending direction of the contact portion is provided in a portion that divides the bearing space. Junction electrically connected to another substrate, and at least one electric connected to an electrode formed on the surface of the flexible substrate inserted at the tip of the joint and extending into the fork. A contact having a pair of contact portions each provided with a contact, and having a bearing space between the contact portions and on the joint position side of the electrical contact position;
An array plate that substantially aligns a plurality of the contacts in a specific direction to form a contact group;
A long shaft portion and a short shaft having two different sizes, which are larger and smaller than the distance between the bearing spaces of both contact portions, are positioned and held in the bearing space of the contacts constituting the contact group aligned on the arrangement plate. A rod-shaped camshaft having a portion,
The flexible board electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the cam shaft can be inserted and removed in an axial direction from a bearing space of the contacts constituting the contact group.

Images