JP2007311122A - Connector for flexible board - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector for a flexible board simply structured so that the flexible board can be surely prevented from slipping off, the connector is not damaged even if the flexible board is repeatedly inserted and pulled out, and the occupied mounting area of the connector does not increase. <P>SOLUTION: This connector for the flexible board is structured so that a lock member 50 having a locking part 54 on one long side part 311 of an opening part 31 formed in a housing 30 is provided, an a luring part 313 formed in a chamfered shape or R shape is provided on the other long side part 312, when the tip part 21 of the flexible board 20 is inserted in a board housing chamber 32 from the opening part 31 while avoiding interference with the locking part 54, one side of the tip part 21 abuts on the luring part 313 with the tip part 21 unbent, and the other side of the tip part 21 abuts on the locking part 54, and when the extreme end of the tip part 21 abuts on the inner surface 321 of the board housing chamber 32, the angle θ of the tip part 21 made to the inner surface 321 is 30° or less. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a non-ZIF type flexible board connector into which a so-called flexible board such as an FPC (flexible printed circuit) or FFC (flexible flat cable) is inserted and removed. The connector relates to the connector that can prevent disconnection.

  Non-ZIF type connectors have a structure in which a flexible board is inserted into the housing against the elastic force of the terminals implanted in the housing, so there is no need for rotating or sliding members in the ZIF type connectors. The structure is simple, and the board can be attached to the connector with one action (One-Action). However, since this connector holds the inserted flexible board only with the elastic force of the terminal, there is a drawback that the board is easily pulled out, and it is essential to provide a retaining mechanism as a countermeasure.

  As an invention related to this retaining mechanism, one described in Patent Document 1 is known. The present invention attaches a reinforcing plate to the tip of the flexible board, and forms protrusions that bend outwards by making cuts on both side edges thereof, so that when the flexible board is inserted into the connector, the protrusions Is elastically deformed in the connector and exerts a retaining function.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707 discloses a flexible substrate wound around an auxiliary member (reference numeral 10) and fitted to a connector. According to the present invention, a latch arm having hooks on both side ends of the auxiliary member is prepared. When the latch arm is fitted, the hook engages with a connector to exert a retaining function. By operating the free end to release the above-mentioned engagement, the flexible board and the auxiliary member can be smoothly pulled out from the connector.

JP-A-11-191326 JP-A-11-329621

  In the invention described in the above-mentioned document 1, in order to remove the flexible substrate, there is only a method of forcibly pulling out, and the protrusion is damaged and cannot be reused (reinserted). In addition, the width of the reinforcing plate is increased due to the notch formed in the reinforcing plate, and the connector into which the connector is inserted must be widened. As a result, the mounting area of the connector on the circuit board increases. Resulting in.

  Further, in the invention described in Document 2, an auxiliary member having an extremely complicated structure must be prepared, resulting in an increase in cost. Moreover, the flexible substrate must be wound around the auxiliary member in advance, and there is a problem that the insertion is not practically performed with one action.

  The object of the present invention, which was created in view of the above circumstances, is to ensure that a flexible board inserted with a simple structure can be reliably prevented from coming off, and even if it is repeatedly inserted and removed, it does not cause damage, and further It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector for a flexible board that does not increase the mounting area.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is formed in the inside of the housing connected to the opening, the opening having a pair of long sides prepared to insert and remove the tip of the flexible substrate in the housing, A non-ZIF type connector having a substrate housing chamber in which the tip portion is housed and a terminal that faces the substrate housing chamber and can be elastically contacted with the tip portion, and prevents the flexible substrate from being detached from the housing. Therefore, a locking member provided on the one long side and having a locking portion extending so as to protrude into the opening, and a guide portion formed in a chamfered shape or a round shape on the other long side. When the tip portion is inserted into the opening while avoiding interference with the locking portion, one surface of the tip portion abuts on the lead-in portion in a state where the tip portion does not bend, and the tip Other surface parts comes into contact with the engaging portion, when the tip of the tip portion is in contact with the inner surface of the board housing chamber, in which the angle of the tip relative to the inner surface becomes 30 degrees or less.

  The portion of the terminal that protrudes into the substrate housing chamber is disposed further on the back side in the same direction than the end of the lead-in portion in the flexible substrate insertion direction, and is inserted into the opening to insert the lead-in portion and the engagement portion. It is preferable to be provided at a position away from the tip portion that is in contact with the inner surface of the stopper and the substrate housing chamber without being bent.

  According to the connector for a flexible substrate according to the present invention, the flexible substrate inserted with a simple structure can be surely prevented from being removed, and even if the connector is repeatedly inserted and removed, the connector does not pose any damage, and the mounting area of the connector is further increased. The effect of not increasing can be exhibited.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In FIG. 1, 10 is a non-ZIF type connector, and 20 is a flexible board fitted therein. The connector 10 includes a housing 30 made of a synthetic resin such as PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), a plurality of metal terminals 40 such as phosphor bronze arranged in parallel inside the housing 30, and the same material as that incorporated in the upper portion of the housing 30. And a locking member 50 made of Reference numeral 60 denotes a mounting bracket attached to the housing 30 for fixing it to a circuit board (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 30 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the upper surface of the housing 30 is the same as the pair of long side portions 311, 312 in order to insert and remove the distal end portion 21 of the flexible substrate 20. An elongated opening 31 having short sides 315 and 316 (see FIG. 1) is formed. A substrate housing chamber 32 in which the tip portion 21 is housed is formed inside the housing 30 connected to the opening 31 (see FIG. 5). Further, the housing 30 has a press-fit groove 33 for press-fitting and fixing the terminal 40, a terminal groove 34 into which the terminal 40 is loosely fitted, and an abutting portion 35 that abuts the tip portion 21 to restrict its insertion depth. Further, a fitting groove 36 into which the fitting portion 51 of the lock member 50 is inserted, and a hook portion 37 to which the hook portion 52 of the lock member 50 is engaged are formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the terminal 40 is press-fitted into the press-fitting groove 33, and is extended upward from the press-fitting part 41 and then bent 180 degrees to form an inverted U-shape. From the contact portion 42 loosely fitted in the terminal groove 34, the contact portion 43 provided on the free end side of the contact portion 42 and capable of elastically contacting the conductor of the distal end portion 21 of the flexible substrate 20, and the lower end of the press-fit portion 41 A tail portion 44 is provided that extends laterally and is mounted on a circuit board (not shown). A plurality of the terminals 40 are arranged in parallel with the housing 30 at intervals. In particular, in this embodiment, the tail portions 44 of the adjacent terminals 40 are alternately arranged on the left and right of the housing 30 so-called staggered arrangement. Yes.

  The flexible substrate 20 includes a flexible substrate body 22 made of FPC, FFC, or the like, and a reinforcing plate 23 fixed to one surface of the front end portion of the substrate body 22. The substrate body 22 includes a conductor made of a plurality of copper wires or the like arranged at intervals in the width direction, and an insulating material such as polyester arranged so as to sandwich the conductor, and the front end of the tip portion 21 In the portion, the insulating material on the side opposite to the reinforcing plate 23 is removed, and the conductor is exposed. The reinforcing plate 23 is made of a flexible material such as polyethylene terephthalate and is attached to the substrate body 22. Further, the forefront and both side ends of the reinforcing plate 23 and the substrate body 22 are aligned and substantially flush with each other.

  The distal end portion 21 of such a flexible substrate 20 has a stiffening plate 23 laminated on the substrate body 22 to enhance the rigidity. Therefore, when inserting into the substrate insertion chamber 32 from the opening portion 31 of the housing 30, the terminal 40. Even if an insertion resistance for bending the contact portion 42 occurs, it can be smoothly inserted without buckling. When the distal end portion 21 is properly inserted into the substrate insertion chamber 32, the conductors exposed at the front end portion of the distal end portion 21 are in elastic contact with the contact portions 43 of the terminals 40, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lock member 50 is disposed at the center of one long side 311 of the opening 31 and extends in a direction away from the opening 31 (upward in the figure). The lock member main body 53, the locking member 54 extending from the upper part of the lock member main body 53 in the direction of the opening 31 (rightward in the drawing) like a ridge, and the lock member main body 53 extending downward. And a hook 52 that extends downward from the lock member main body 53 and engages with the hook portion 37 of the housing 30. The side surface 531 of the lock member main body 53 and the inner surface 321 of the substrate insertion chamber 32 are flush with each other. Moreover, the latching | locking part 54 has the latching surface 541 in the lower surface, and two pieces are formed in the longitudinal direction of the opening part 31 at intervals in this embodiment. The protruding length of the locking surface 541 toward the opening 31 is slightly larger than the thickness of the reinforcing plate 23.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the reinforcing plate 23 of the flexible substrate 20 is covered with the engagement portion 54 of the lock member 50 when the distal end portion 21 is properly inserted into the substrate insertion chamber 32. A window portion 231 is opened as a locking portion. Two window portions 231 are formed at intervals in the width direction of the reinforcing plate 23 so as to correspond to the locking portions 54. When the reinforcing plate 23 is attached to the substrate body 22, one of the openings is formed. It is blocked. When the distal end portion 21 is inserted into the substrate insertion chamber 32 and abuts against the abutting portion 35, the free end of the locking portion 54 is fitted into the window portion 231 and comes into contact with the surface of the substrate body 22. Thus, the lower frame portion 232 of the window portion 231 is locked to the locking surface 541 of the locking portion 54.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the long side portion 312 opposite to the long side portion 311 provided with the lock member 50 is formed in a round shape (may be chamfered) along its longitudinal direction. An invitation portion 313 is provided. The guiding portion 313 is much larger than the chamfering and the rounding that are usually provided in consideration of die cutting when the housing 30 and the lock member 50 are injection-molded, and the flexible substrate 20 is inserted into the substrate insertion chamber 32 as described later. It is provided in order to improve workability at the time of insertion / extraction.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, when the distal end portion 21 of the flexible substrate 20 is inserted obliquely into the opening 31 while avoiding interference with the locking portion 54, the distal end portion 21 is not bent. When the one surface abuts on the guiding portion 313, the other surface of the tip portion 21 abuts on the locking portion 54, and the tip of the tip portion 21 abuts on the inner surface 321 of the substrate housing chamber 32, The radius (the chamfering size) of the guiding portion 313 and the dimensions of each member (the lock member main body 53) so that the angle θ of the distal end portion 21 is 30 degrees or less (0 ° <θ ≦ 30 °). The height, the protruding length of the locking portion 54, etc.) are set.

  With this setting, when the flexible substrate 20 is inserted into the opening 31 obliquely, the force F applied to the tip 21 is divided into a horizontal component Fh (leftward component in FIG. 5) and a vertical component Fv (downward in FIG. 5). Component), Fv >> Fh, and even when the angle θ is 30 degrees, the vertical component Fv (Fv = Fcosθ) is as large as √3 times the horizontal component Fh (Fh = Fsinθ). it can. Therefore, when the tip 21 is inserted into the substrate housing chamber 32 through the opening 31, the locking portion 54 extends like a ridge above the opening 31 and must be inserted obliquely. Can be inserted easily and smoothly. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip 21 is slightly bent in the natural state, but may be linear in the natural state.

  When the insertion of the flexible board 20 into the board insertion chamber 32 is deepened from the state of FIG. 5, the surface of the reinforcing plate 23 is pressed rightward in the figure by the free end of the locking part 54 of the lock member 50, and its tip part. 21 is elastically deformed into a slightly bent shape from the natural state. Thereafter, the insertion of the flexible board 20 is further deepened, and as shown in FIG. 4, when the leading end 21 of the flexible substrate 20 is inserted to a position where it abuts against the abutting portion 35, the elastic contact between the reinforcing plate 23 and the locking portion 54 is achieved. When the state is released and the distal end portion 21 that has been elastically deformed is restored, the window portion 231 is fitted into the free end of the locking portion 54, and the lower frame portion 232 has a locking surface of the locking portion 54. 541 is locked.

  Further, at this time, the distal end portion 21 of the flexible substrate 20 is pressed against the inner surface 321 of the substrate insertion chamber 32 by the elastic force of the contact portion 42 of the elastically deformed terminal 40, so that the window portion 231 and the locking portion 54 are thereby moved. The locking will be firm. Therefore, the inserted flexible board 20 does not come out of the connector 10 unless a special external force is applied. In addition, in the state of FIG. 4, the space | interval of the latching surface 541 and the abutting part 35 so that the reinforcement board 23 between the latching surface 541 and the abutting part 35 may be bent or compressed slightly elastically. May be set, and the lower frame portion 232 of the window portion 231 may be pressed against the locking surface 541 of the locking portion 54 by the restoring force of the reinforcing plate 23.

  By the way, when the leading portion 313 having a large radius is provided in the opening 31, the tip 21 inserted obliquely into the substrate housing chamber 32 from the opening 31 is projected into the substrate housing chamber 32 of the terminal 40. The possibility of contact with a portion (a part of the contact portion 43 and the contact portion 42) is increased, and if this contact occurs, unexpected stress acts on the terminal 40, which is not preferable. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the portion of the terminal 40 that protrudes into the substrate housing chamber 32 is further back in the same direction than the end portion 313x of the guiding portion 313 on the back side in the flexible substrate insertion direction. It is disposed on the side, and is provided at a position away from the leading end portion 21 that is inserted into the opening portion 31 and is brought into contact with the inner surface 321 of the guiding portion 313, the locking portion 54, and the substrate housing chamber 32 without being bent. .

  As a result, when the tip 21 is inserted into the substrate housing chamber 32 through the opening 31 at an angle, the tip 21 comes into contact with the portion of the terminal 40 protruding into the substrate housing 32 in the state of FIG. 5, the insertion of the tip 21 proceeds further from the state shown in FIG. 5, and the tip 21 comes into contact with the terminal 40 only when the tip 21 is guided by the inner surface 321 of the substrate housing chamber 32 and moves straight forward. Become. Accordingly, the contact state of the distal end portion 21 with respect to the terminal 40 is the same as that of a normal Non-ZIF type connector in which the engaging portion 54 does not exist and the distal end portion 21 can be inserted along the inner surface 321. Unexpected stress does not occur in the terminal 40. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the adverse effects that may occur due to the provision of the large leading portion 313.

  On the other hand, when removing the flexible board 20 from the connector 10 with intention, the flexible board 20 protruding from the opening 31 of the connector 10 is picked and pulled to the right in FIG. Then, the flexible substrate 20 is bent along the round shape (or chamfered shape) of the guiding portion 313, the window portion 231 of the reinforcing plate 23 is detached from the engaging portion 54 of the lock member 50, and the lock is released. Therefore, after that, the flexible substrate 20 can be easily and smoothly removed from the connector 10 by pulling the flexible substrate 20 obliquely upward to the right. Since this removal operation and the above-described insertion operation utilize the flexibility of the flexible substrate body 22 and the reinforcing plate 23, neither the flexible substrate 20 nor the connector 10 is damaged by this operation. Therefore, the insertion / removal of the flexible substrate 20 with respect to the connector 10 can be repeated any number of times. Even when the flexible substrate 20 is pulled diagonally upward to the right (θ = 30 ° or more) from the beginning, the window portion 231 is detached from the locking portion 54 and can be removed.

  The flexible substrate 20 described above is inserted into and removed from the connector 10 by utilizing the flexibility of the flexible substrate 20, and since there is no mechanically movable part, the structure is simple and the cost is low. In addition, the reliability is high because it is not necessary to assume the damage of the mechanically movable portion even if the insertion and removal are repeated.

  In addition, since the lock member 50 is mounted on the upper surface of the housing 30 and the window portion 231 that engages with the locking portion 54 of the lock member 50 is formed on the reinforcing plate 23 of the flexible substrate 20, the area of the bottom portion of the housing 30, that is, The mounting occupation area of the connector 10 is not increased by providing the lock member 50 and the window portion 231.

  4 and the like, the end of the flexible substrate 20 opposite to the insertion side extends to the right in the drawing (the direction in which the window portion 231 separates from the locking portion 54). In order to prevent unlocking due to unexpected pulling, it may be extended to the left in the drawing (the direction in which the window portion 231 engages with the locking portion 54) opposite to this, and upward in the drawing. It may be extended.

It is a perspective view which shows a mode that the flexible substrate was inserted in the connector for flexible substrates which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the II-II sectional view perspective view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. It is an enlarged view of the cross-sectional part of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows a mode at the time of inserting a flexible substrate in the connector for flexible substrates of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Flexible board connector 20 Flexible board 21 Front-end | tip part 30 Housing 31 Opening part 311 One long side part 312 The other long side part 313 Guide part 313x End part of the flexible board insertion direction back side in the guide part 40 Terminal 42 Terminal board The part protruding into the containment chamber (contact part)
43 The part of the terminal protruding into the board housing chamber (contact part)
50 Locking member 54 Locking part θ Angle

Claims (2)

An opening having a pair of long sides prepared to insert and remove the distal end portion of the flexible substrate in the housing; and a substrate accommodating chamber formed in the housing and connected to the opening to accommodate the distal end portion. A non-ZIF type connector having a terminal facing the substrate housing chamber and capable of elastically contacting the tip portion,
A locking member provided on the one long side portion to prevent the flexible substrate from coming off from the housing and extending so as to protrude into the opening, and a chamfered shape or With a lead-in part formed in a round shape,
When the tip portion is inserted into the opening while avoiding interference with the locking portion, one surface of the tip portion comes into contact with the guide portion in a state where the tip portion is not bent, and the tip portion A flexible substrate characterized in that when the other surface is in contact with the locking portion and the tip of the tip is in contact with the inner surface of the substrate housing chamber, the angle of the tip with respect to the inner surface is 30 degrees or less. Connector. The portion of the terminal that protrudes into the substrate housing chamber is disposed further on the back side in the same direction than the end of the lead-in portion in the flexible substrate insertion direction, and is inserted into the opening to insert the lead-in portion and the engagement portion. The flexible board connector according to claim 1, wherein the flexible board connector is provided at a position apart from the tip portion that is in contact with the stopper and the inner surface of the substrate housing chamber without being bent.

Images