JP2007115493A - Multi-layer connector for flat cable - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-layer connector for a flat cable capable of connecting a plurality of flat cables, without giving them excessive loads. <P>SOLUTION: The connector 1 is constituted of a housing 3 and retainers 4, a terminal part of the flat cable 2 and a terminal 6 thereof are inserted into insertion ports 5 formed on the housing 3 in five stages, respectively, and the movement of each terminal 6 is regulated by each retainer 4. In this embodiment, the connector 1 is constituted so as to have a clearance, allowing the flat cable 2 to move in a vertical direction in a plane, in a state where the flat cable 2 is inserted into the insertion port 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a flat cable multilayer connector capable of connecting two or more flat cables.

In addition to round wires, flat cables are often used in automobile wire harnesses. High flexibility for power supply to slide doors and hatchback doors used in one-box cars and wagon cars. A flat cable having

The flat cable connector has a structure in which one flat cable is inserted into an insertion port provided in the housing and is fixed by a retainer. That is, the connector was provided independently for every flat cable (refer patent document 1-patent document 3).

In addition, the number of electrical components is increasing as the performance of automobiles increases, and electrical components such as power window motors, switches, and speakers are also incorporated in the sliding doors and hatch back doors. For this reason, a plurality of flat cables are provided for supplying power to each electrical component.
JP 2002-270264 A JP 2002-270265 A JP 2002-270266 A

By the way, in the said conventional flat cable, since the connector was provided for every sheet, the number of connectors also increased with the increase in the flat cable. However, it is very difficult to secure a space for installing a connector as the number of electrical components increases. In addition, there is a strong need for weight reduction of the vehicle, but there is a problem that the weight increases due to an increase in connectors.

Therefore, a multilayer flat cable capable of connecting a plurality of flat cables to a single connector is desired, but has not been put into practical use due to the following problems.
That is, when a plurality of flat cables are connected to a single connector, there is a high possibility that an excessive load is applied between the flat cables. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to consider the extra length of the flat cable, but until now there has been no connector having an appropriate structure for realizing this.

In addition, the multilayer flat cable is susceptible to loads such as tilt and external force, but it is necessary to protect the terminal connection portion inside the connector from being affected by such a load. On the other hand, when the flat cable and the connecting part between the flat cable and the terminal are strongly pressed by the retainer to fix the flat cable, the resistance value at the connecting part between the flat cable and the terminal after receiving a load such as tilt or external force There is also a problem that increases.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a flat cable multilayer connector capable of connecting a plurality of flat cables without applying an excessive load to the flat cable.

According to a first aspect of the flat connector for a flat cable of the present invention, there is provided a housing having two or more insertion ports into which a flat cable having a terminal at a distal end is inserted, and a retainer having the same number as the insertion ports of the housing. It is characterized by providing.

The second aspect is characterized in that the housing has a fixing portion on a side surface for locking the retainer.

In a third aspect, the retainer is locked so as to restrict the movement of the rear end portion of the terminal inserted into the insertion port.

In a fourth aspect, the retainer is configured so that the influence of a load applied from the outside on the flat cable inserted into any of the insertion ports of the housing does not reach the terminal connection portion of the flat cable. It has the structure which controls the movement of a cable and the said terminal connection part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

In a fifth aspect, the distance between the bottom surface of the retainer and the bottom surface of the insertion port is set to have a clearance between the flat cable inserted into the insertion port, and the clearance is the flat cable. The flat cable has a value that allows the flat cable to move in the thickness direction so as to reduce the influence of a load applied from the outside of the cable.

In a sixth aspect, the retainer has a structure that is inserted into the insertion port individually.

In a seventh aspect, the retainer has a structure in which the same number of insertion portions as the insertion port of the housing are integrated.

An eighth aspect is characterized in that the housing has a connector fitting lever.

In a ninth aspect, the lever is in a first angular position substantially parallel to the insertion surface of the fitting destination connector in a state where the housing is fitted to the fitting destination connector, and the fitting destination Immediately before and after mating with the connector, the mating destination connector is at a second angular position having an angle with respect to the insertion surface of the mating destination connector and when not mating with the mating destination connector. It has a structure which exists in the 3rd angular position which has an angle further than the said 2nd angular position with respect to this insertion surface.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the end portion of the flat cable inserted into the housing is appropriately fixed by the retainer, the influence of an external load does not reach the terminal connection portion inside the housing. A connector for a multilayer flat cable having such a structure can be provided.

By using the multi-layer flat cable connector of the present invention, a plurality of flat cables can be accommodated in a single connector and connected together, thereby reducing the space required for mounting the connector and reducing the weight. is there.

In addition, when the retainer of the present invention in which a plurality of insertion portions are integrated is used, there is an effect that the work of fixing the plurality of flat cables inside the housing becomes easy.

In the multilayer flat cable connector according to the present invention, since the retainer is locked so as to restrict the movement of the terminal connecting portion inserted into the insertion port, the terminal depends on whether the retainer is fixed at a normal position. A function that can detect the half-insertion (incomplete insertion) of the terminal can be provided, the detection of the half-insertion of the terminal is facilitated and the quality can be improved, and the detection of the half-insertion of the terminal from the inspection item is simplified. This also has the effect of saving labor for inspection work.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, by providing the connector fitting lever on the housing, there is an effect that the connection / disconnection of the connector becomes easy.

A configuration of a multilayer flat cable connector in a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, about each structural part which has the same function, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and shown for simplification of illustration and description.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multi-layer flat cable connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a side view of the multilayer flat cable connector 1, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the multilayer flat cable connector 1.

In the present embodiment, an example of a connector 1 to which five flat cables 2 can be connected is shown. The connector 1 includes a housing 3 and a retainer 4. The flat cable 2 connected to the terminal 6 is inserted into each of the insertion ports 5 provided in the housing 3, and then the retainer 4 is inserted into the housing 3. The structure is configured by insertion.

Here, the flat cable 2 and the terminal 6 are connected in the terminal connection part 6a of the terminal part of the flat cable 2. FIG. The terminal 6 has a pierced shape at a location where it is connected to the flat cable 2, and after being pierced by the terminal connection portion 6 a, it is bent and crimped.

The housing 3 is provided with a fixing portion 7 for locking the retainer 4 on its side surface, and one retainer 4 is provided with a protrusion 8. After the flat cable 2 is inserted into any one of the insertion ports 5 of the housing 3, the retainer 4 is inserted into the same insertion port 5 so that the protrusion 8 is fitted into the fixed portion 7. Thereby, the retainer 4 is locked so as not to come out of the housing 3.

As described above, the flat cable 2 inserted into the insertion port 5 of the housing 3 is configured so that the movement of the terminal connection portion 6a and the rear end portion 6b of the terminal 6 is restricted by the retainer 4, so that the flat cable 2 Even when some load is applied from the outside, the influence of the load can be prevented from reaching the terminal connection portion 6a.

An example in which the flat cable 2 receives a load from the outside is shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a state in which five flat cables 2 connected to the connector 1 are bundled by a restraining portion 9 and the restraining portion 9 is placed on the top. In such a state, the flat cable connected to the upper side of the connector 1 (for example, the flat cables 2a and 2b shown in FIG. 2) receives an external force that is pushed into the connector 1, whereas the connector 1 The flat cable connected to the lower side (for example, the 2d and 2e flat cables shown in FIG. 2) receives an external force that is pulled out of the connector 1.

However, in the connector 1 of the present invention, the retainer 4 is used to restrict the movement of the terminal connecting portion 6a of each flat cable 2 and the rear end portion 6b of the terminal 6 by the retainer 4, so that it is shown in FIG. The external force due to the tilt is prevented from reaching the terminal connecting portion 6a inside the housing 3. Thereby, the connection of the flat cable 2 and the said terminal 6 in the terminal connection part 6a can be maintained in a healthy state.

On the other hand, if the flat cable 2 is pressed too strongly by the retainer 4, the resistance value of the flat cable 2 at the position pressed by the retainer 4 will increase. Therefore, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the flat cable 2 is inserted into the insertion port 5 so that the flat cable 2 has a predetermined range of play in the vertical direction of the plane. For example, the distance d between the bottom surface of the retainer 4 and the bottom surface of the insertion port 5 is set so as to have a clearance between the flat cable 2 inserted into the insertion port 5 and the clearance is applied to the load applied from the outside. The flat cable 2 is allowed to move in the direction perpendicular to the plane so as to suppress the influence of the above.

In FIG. 1A, the distance between the bottom surface of the retainer 4 and the bottom surface of the insertion port 5 when the retainer 4 is inserted into the insertion port 5 is d [mm]. At this time, in order to allow the flat cable 2 to move in the plane vertical direction 10, the distance d must be set larger than the thickness of the flat cable 2.

The thickness of the conductor part included in the flat cable 2 is about 35 μm to 200 μm (for example, 150 μm), and the thickness of the insulating cover covering the conductor part is about 200 μm on both sides. Thus, when the thickness of the flat cable 2 is 350 μm (0.35 mm) as an example, the relationship between the distance d and the increase in the resistance value of the flat cable 2 is as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, the resistance increase value after durability on the vertical axis indicates the resistance value of the flat cable 2 after a predetermined load is applied to the flat cable 2 a predetermined number of times in a state where the flat cable 2 is connected to the connector 1. Is a value obtained by measuring the amount of increase. From this figure, it can be seen that if the distance d is too small, the resistance increase value after durability increases due to the pressing from the retainer 4.

On the other hand, it can be seen that if the distance d is excessively increased, the backlash of the flat cable 2 becomes excessively large, so that the resistance increase value after durability also increases. FIG. 3 shows that when the distance d is set in the range of 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm, the resistance increase value after durability becomes the smallest.

Therefore, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, when the thickness of the flat cable 2 is 0.35 mm, the distance d is set in the range of 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm (the clearance is 0.15 mm to 0.65 mm). As a result, the influence of the load applied from the outside to the flat cable 2 can be suppressed.

In the connector 1 of this embodiment, the retainer 4 has a function capable of detecting half-insertion of a terminal. This function is realized by locking the retainer 4 so as to restrict the movement of the rear end portion 6b of the terminal 6 inserted into the insertion port 5 of the housing 3, and the retainer 4 is fixed at a normal position. Whether the terminal 6 is half inserted into the housing 3 (incomplete insertion) can be detected depending on whether or not the terminal 6 is present. As a result, the half-insertion of the terminal 6 can be easily detected and the quality can be improved, and the detection of the half-insertion of the terminal 6 in the inspection item can be simplified to save the inspection work.

Next, the structure of the retainer used in the multilayer flat cable connector of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
The multilayer flat cable connector of the present invention requires a retainer having a structure capable of pressing and fixing a plurality of flat cables. An example of a retainer used in the connector for a multilayer flat cable of the present invention is shown in FIG.

FIG. 4A is a view showing the retainer 13 having a structure that is inserted individually for each insertion port 12 provided in the housing 11. In the connector 1 shown in FIG. 1, the retainer 13 having the structure shown in FIG. 4A is used, and the housing 3 and the retainer 4 have the same structure as the housing 11 and the retainer 13 shown in FIG. Yes.

On the other hand, the retainer 16 shown in FIG. 4B has a structure in which the same number of retainers 13 as the number of flat cables connectable to the housing 14 are integrated. The retainer 16 includes an insertion portion 17 and a connection portion 18, and the insertion portion 17 is integrated with the connection portion 18. Further, the insertion port 15 provided in the housing 14 has a shape into which an integrated retainer 16 can be inserted.

In the connector of the present invention using the integrated retainer 16 shown in FIG. 4B, the effect of simplifying the work of connecting and fixing a plurality of flat cables can be obtained. In addition, the number of fixing portions and protrusions for locking the retainer 16 to the housing 14 can be reduced. In FIG. 4B, the fixing portion 19 provided on the housing 14 and the retainer 16 are provided. There is only one protrusion 20 each.

Next, another embodiment of the multi-layer flat cable connector of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a multi-layer flat cable connector according to another embodiment of the present invention. The connector 31 of this embodiment is provided with a lever 33 outside the housing 32. The lever 33 is structured to be able to rotate within a predetermined angle range around the fulcrum 34.

The lever 33 is used when the connector 31 is separated from the fitting destination terminal. When the connector 31 is connected to a predetermined fitting destination terminal (not shown), the lever 33 is in the position shown in FIG. When the connector 31 is disconnected from the fitting destination terminal, the protrusion 33 of the lever 33 pushes the fitting destination terminal and pulls out the connector 31 by rotating the lever 33 while pushing it upward.

Since the multilayer flat cable connector of the present invention has a structure that can be connected to a plurality of flat cables, a plurality of terminal plugs or receptors are also provided. Therefore, for example, a large force is required to separate the connector 31 of FIG. 5 from the fitting destination terminal. Therefore, the connector 31 of this embodiment is provided with the lever 33 so that the connector 31 can be easily attached and detached.

The lever 33 is in a first angular position substantially parallel to the insertion surface of the fitting destination connector when the housing 32 is fitted to a fitting destination connector (not shown), Immediately before and immediately after the fitting, the fitting destination connector is inserted at a second angular position having an angle with respect to the insertion surface of the fitting destination connector, and when the fitting destination connector is not fitted. The structure is such that the surface is at a third angular position that is more angled than the second angular position. That is, the housing 32 and the lever 33 are provided with a temporary locking portion (not shown) for temporarily locking the lever 33 to each angular position of the housing 32.

The lever 33 is provided with a groove-shaped guide 33a. The guide 33 a is engaged with a protrusion provided on a fitting destination connector (not shown), and guides the movement of the lever 33 so that the lever 33 is at the respective angular positions with respect to the housing 32.

In addition, the description in this Embodiment shows an example of the connector for multilayer flat cables which concerns on this invention, and is not limited to this. The detailed configuration and detailed operation of the connector 1 or 31 in the present embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a multi-layer flat cable connector 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a side view of the connector 1, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the connector 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which the flat cable 2 receives a tilt from the outside. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the clearance a and the resistance increase value after durability of the flat cable 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a retainer used in the multi-layer flat cable connector of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a view showing the retainer 13 having a structure that is individually inserted into the insertion port 12 of the housing 11. FIG. 4B shows the retainer 16 having a structure in which a plurality of insertion portions are integrated. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a multilayer flat cable connector 31 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 31 ... Connector 2 ... Flat cable 3, 11, 14, 32 ... Housing 4, 13, 16 ... Retainer 5, 12, 15 ... Insert 6 ... Terminal 6a ··· Terminal connecting portion 6b ··· Rear end portion 7 and 19 ··· Fixed portion 8 and 20 ··· Projection portion 9 ··· Restricting portion 10 ··· Vertical direction 17 ··· Inserting portion 18 ··· Connecting portion 33 ... lever 34 ... fulcrum 35 ... projecting portion

Claims (9)

A housing having two or more insertion ports into which a flat cable provided with a terminal at the tip is inserted;
A multi-layer connector for a flat cable, comprising the same number of retainers as the insertion port of the housing. The multi-layer connector for a flat cable according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a fixing portion for locking the retainer on a side surface. The flat cable multilayer connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the retainer is locked so as to restrict a movement of a rear end portion of the terminal inserted into the insertion port. The retainer includes the flat cable and the terminal connecting portion so that the influence of a load applied from the outside to the flat cable inserted into any of the insertion ports of the housing does not reach the terminal connecting portion of the flat cable. The multilayer connector for a flat cable according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flat cable has a structure that regulates movement of the flat cable. The distance between the bottom surface of the retainer and the bottom surface of the insertion port is set to have a clearance between the flat cable inserted into the insertion port, and the clearance is applied from the outside of the flat cable. The multilayer connector for a flat cable according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the flat cable has a value that allows the flat cable to move in the thickness direction so as to reduce the influence of a load. . The flat cable multilayer connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the retainer has a structure of being inserted into the insertion port individually. 6. The flat cable multilayer according to claim 1, wherein the retainer has a structure in which the same number of insertion portions as the insertion port of the housing are integrated. 7. connector. 8. The flat cable multilayer connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing includes a connector fitting lever. The lever is at a first angular position substantially parallel to the insertion surface of the fitting destination connector in a state where the housing is fitted to the fitting destination connector, and is just before fitting with the fitting destination connector. Immediately after mating, the second angular position having an angle with respect to the insertion surface of the mating destination connector, and when not mating with the mating destination connector, with respect to the insertion surface of the mating destination connector The multi-layer connector for a flat cable according to claim 8, wherein the multi-layer connector for a flat cable according to claim 8 has a structure such that it is located at a third angular position having an angle further than the second angular position.