JP2008034284A - Electric connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely carry out a temporary retaining action of a signal transmitting medium while maintaining a zero insertion force (ZIF) method regardless of difference and variations of the thickness of the signal transmitting media. <P>SOLUTION: At the time of inserting various kinds of signal transmitting media 3 of a flexible printed circuit (FPC) and a flexible flat cable (FFC) or the like in an insulating housing 1, the temporary retaining part 4a5 of a movable beam 4a3 is elastically displaced and contacted with the inserted signal transmitting media 3, and by a contact pressure of the temporary retaining part 4a5 based on elastic displacement of the movable beam 4a3 at that time, the temporary retaining action of the signal transmitting media 3 is obtained until a connecting and fixing operation of an actuator 2 is completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector configured such that a contact portion of a conductive terminal is pressed against a signal transmission medium inserted through a fitting port of an insulating housing by a connection fixing operation of an actuator.

  In general, various signal transmission media such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) and a flexible flat cable (FFC) used in various electrical devices are often connected to a wiring board via an electrical connector. In connecting the various signal transmission media to the electrical connector, in the electrical connector adopting a so-called no-insertion force (ZIF) method, after the various signal transmission media are inserted through the fitting opening of the insulating housing, the slider or the like The signal transmission medium inserted into the insulating housing as described above is elastically displaced at the contact portions of the conductive terminals (contacts) arranged in a multipolar manner in the insulating housing. It is made to be pressed to the side.

  However, in an electrical connector employing such a no-insertion force (ZIF) system, various signal transmission media such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) and a flexible flat cable (FFC) are still inserted immediately after being inserted into the insulating housing. Since the actuator is placed in a state where it can be freely moved without being held, it may move from the original mounting position until the above-described actuator connection and fixing operation is completed. There is a risk that misalignment will occur between the contact points and a connection failure will occur.

  In order to deal with such a problem, a provisional holding member for maintaining the signal transmission medium inserted into the insulating housing in an immobile state has been conventionally considered. Since the holding member has a structure that completely holds the signal transmission medium, the holding member is no longer in the no insertion force (ZIF) system. As a result, a part of the signal transmission medium is scraped by the temporary holding member, which may cause a connection failure such as an electrical short circuit phenomenon, and the temporary holding member is added. The number of parts increases, leading to a decrease in productivity.

  On the other hand, as in Patent Document 1 below, the front end portion of the signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC) inserted into the insulating housing is guided along the inclined portion provided in the insulating housing to temporarily fix the signal transmission medium. There has also been proposed an electrical connector adapted to perform the above. However, in this case, the gap between the contact (conductive terminal) and the linear portion connected to the slider or the inclined portion provided in the insulating housing is defined in relation to the thickness of the signal transmission medium. When the thickness of the transmission medium is different, it is necessary to newly design an electrical connector having a configuration corresponding to the thickness, and it is necessary to prepare various types of electrical connectors in advance. Furthermore, if there is an error in the thickness of the signal transmission medium, the signal transmission medium cannot be temporarily held, or the tip portion or the contact portion is scraped when the signal transmission medium is inserted. May cause problems such as

JP 2005-190914 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides an electrical connector that can perform temporary holding of a signal transmission medium while maintaining a no-insertion force (ZIF) system regardless of the thickness of the signal transmission medium. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the electrical connector according to the present invention, each of a plurality of conductive terminals arranged in multiple poles at an appropriate pitch interval along the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing is inserted through the fitting opening of the insulating housing. A movable beam that is elastically displaced so as to be in contact with and away from the signal transmission medium, and a contact portion provided on the movable beam is configured to be pressed against the signal transmission medium side by a connection fixing operation of an actuator. In the electrical connector, the movable beam in at least a part of the plurality of conductive terminals is in contact with the signal transmission medium inserted into the insulating housing while being elastically displaced, and at least the connection of the actuator is fixed. Until the operation is completed, a temporary holding unit is provided to maintain the signal transmission medium in a stationary state.

  According to the electrical connector of the present invention having such a configuration, when the signal transmission medium is inserted into the insulating housing, the temporary holding portion of the movable beam is elastically displaced with respect to the inserted signal transmission medium. The position of the signal transmission medium until the signal transmission medium is temporarily held by the contact pressing force of the temporary holding portion generated based on the elastic displacement of the movable beam and the connection fixing operation of the actuator is completed. Deviation is prevented. Since the temporary holding action of the movable beam by the temporary holding portion is performed based on the elastic displacement of the movable beam, the non-insertion force (ZIF) method is maintained well, and the thickness of the signal transmission medium is also reduced. Regardless of the difference or variation, the temporary holding of the signal transmission medium is surely performed.

  Further, in the electrical connector according to the present invention, since the temporary holding portion is provided on the back side with the insertion side of the signal transmission medium of the insulating housing in front, when the signal transmission medium is inserted into the insulation housing, The temporary holding portion is configured not to contact the contact portion of the signal transmission medium.

  As described above, when the electrical connector according to the present invention is inserted into the insulating housing, various signal transmission media such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) and a flexible flat cable (FFC) are inserted into the inserted signal transmission media. In contrast, the temporary holding part of the movable beam is brought into contact while being elastically displaced, and signal transmission is performed until the connection fixing operation of the actuator is completed by the contact pressure of the temporary holding part generated based on the elastic displacement of the movable beam at that time. By configuring so as to obtain a temporary holding action on the medium, the temporary holding action of the signal transmission medium can be surely performed regardless of the thickness difference or variation of the signal transmission medium while maintaining the no-insertion force (ZIF) method. Can do.

  Moreover, the electrical connector according to the present invention does not need to be additionally provided with a temporary holding member by providing both the contact portion and the temporary holding portion on the movable beam, and does not need to temporarily hold the conductive terminal. As described above, since the configuration is such that only one type is required instead of a plurality of types, the reliability of the electrical connector adopting the no-insertion force (ZIF) method can be greatly improved at low cost.

  Furthermore, in the electrical connector according to the present invention, the temporary holding portion is provided on the back side in the insulating housing with the insertion side of the signal transmission medium of the insulating housing in front, so that the signal transmission medium is inserted into the insulating housing. In this case, the temporary holding part does not cut the contact part of the signal transmission medium, and there is no possibility of causing an electrical short circuit phenomenon.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the electrical connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 includes a hollow insulating housing 1 extending so as to form an elongated plate, and the insulating housing. The slider 2 constituting the actuator is in contact with and away from the front end surface (left end surface in FIG. 5) of the insulating housing 1 at the front end edge portion (left end edge portion in FIG. 5) having a longitudinal width of 1. It is configured to reciprocate linearly.

  In the hollow interior of the insulating housing 1, there is provided an FPC fitting port 1a that opens in an elongated shape toward the front end side (left end side in FIG. 5) of the insulating housing 1, and the FPC fitting port 1a extends forward. In the slider 2 arranged so as to cover from the side (left side in FIG. 5), an elongated FPC insertion port 2 a is formed so as to correspond to the FPC fitting port 1 a of the insulating housing 1. A terminal portion of a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as FPC) 3 as a signal transmission medium is inserted into the FPC fitting port 1a of the insulating housing 1 through the insertion port 2a of the slider 2. .

  In addition, hold downs 1b made of a thin plate-like metal member are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing 1 (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5), and each hold down 1b is shown in the figure. By fixing to the ground conductive path on the printed wiring board, which is omitted, by soldering, the ground connection is performed and at the same time the entire electrical connector is held.

  A part of the hold down 1b has a configuration as a support member of the slider 2 as the actuator described above. That is, guide arm portions 2b extending substantially horizontally along both side walls of the insulating housing 1 are provided at both ends of the slider 2 in the longitudinal direction (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5). The upper surface concave portion of each guide arm portion 2b can reciprocate in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 5) along the lower surface side of the guide plate 1c provided so as to constitute the upper surface portion of the holddown 1b. 2 is mounted so as not to be detached from the insulating housing 1.

  On the other hand, in such a slider 2, a pressing portion 2 c that protrudes toward the inner side of the FPC fitting port 1 a is provided on the inner surface facing the front end surface (left end surface in FIG. 5) of the insulating housing 1. Yes. A tapered guide surface 2d is formed on the lower surface of the protruding end portion of the pressing portion 2c so as to rise in the shape of an inclined surface in the insertion insertion direction of the FPC 3 (the right direction in FIG. 6). The tapered guide surface 2d is linearly moved from the standby position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 to the operating position shown in FIG. 7 by the operator pressing the entire slider 2. In some cases, the contact (conductive terminal) 4 that protrudes toward the inner side of the FPC fitting port 1a and is disposed inside the insulating housing 1 is elastically displaced.

  That is, a plurality of contacts (conductive terminals) 4 are arranged at appropriate pitch intervals along the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing 1 (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5) inside the FPC fitting port 1a of the insulating housing 1 described above. It is a multipolar array. Each of these contacts 4 includes an upper beam 4a and a lower beam 4b arranged so as to sandwich the terminal portion of the FPC 3 described above from the vertical direction in FIG. Each of the upper beam 4a and the lower beam 4b is forward of each of the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the support base pillar 4c extending in the vertical direction in FIG. 5, that is, the insertion insertion direction of the FPC 3 described above (see FIG. 5). They are arranged so as to extend in the extraction direction (left direction in FIG. 5) opposite to the right direction.

  Of these two beams, the lower beam 4b constitutes a fixed beam that is held in a substantially stationary state with respect to the insulating housing 1, and extends along the bottom surface of the inner wall of the FPC fitting port 1a in the insulating housing 1 described above. It is attached to the front side (left side in FIG. 5) so as to extend in the shape of an elongated beam. A lower contact portion 4b1 is formed on the front end portion (left end portion in FIG. 5) of the lower beam 4b so as to have an upward convex shape, and the lower contact portion 4b1 is directed toward the inside of the insulating housing 1. The contact portion (not shown) on the side of the inserted FPC 3 is pressed from below. When the contact on the FPC 3 side is only the upper contact portion, the lower contact portion 4b1 is not necessarily required.

  Further, on the opposite side (right end side in FIG. 5) across the support base 4c with respect to the lower beam 4b, there is a solder connection portion 4d that protrudes toward the outside rear side (right side in FIG. 5). It is provided to be bent in a staircase shape. The front end portion of the solder connection portion 4d is soldered to a signal conductive path formed on a printed wiring board (not shown) so that the contact 4 is electrically connected. .

  On the other hand, the above-described upper beam 4a constitutes a movable beam that can be swung, and extends forward from the upper end portion of the support base column 4c along the inner wall ceiling surface of the insulating housing 1 (the left side in FIG. 5). A main body beam portion 4a1 extending in the shape of an elongated beam. The main body beam portion 4a1 itself is held in a substantially immobile state with respect to the insulating housing 1, but the extension end portion (the left end portion in FIG. 5) of the main body beam portion 4a1 is located in the insulating housing 1. An oscillating beam portion 4a3 is integrally connected through an elastic column beam portion 4a2 extending so as to be bent at a substantially right angle on the lower side in the figure toward the inserted FPC3.

  The oscillating beam portion 4a3 is formed in the shape of an elongated beam that extends and distributes in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 5) around the connecting portion with the elastic strut beam portion 4a2. It is configured to be capable of swinging so as to be elastically displaced in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (perpendicular to FIG. 5). The oscillation center of the oscillating beam portion 4a3 is located between the connecting portion between the oscillating beam portion 4a3 and the elastic strut beam portion 4a2 and the connecting portion between the elastic strut beam portion 4a2 and the main body beam portion 4a1. Will be.

  Further, the total length of the oscillating beam portion 4a3 extends so as to be slightly inclined with respect to the above-described insertion / insertion direction of the FPC 3 (left-right direction in FIG. 5), and the front side in the insertion / insertion direction of the FPC 3 ( The FPC 3 inserted into the insulating housing 1 described above is arranged so as to descend from the left side in FIG. 5 toward the back side in the insertion insertion direction of the FPC 3 (right side in FIG. 5). In addition, the rear end portion (right end portion in FIG. 5) of the rocking beam portion 4a3 is arranged close to the lower beam 4b.

  In the oscillating beam portion 4a3 thus arranged, an upper contact portion 4a4 is formed on the front front end portion (left end portion in FIG. 5) in the insertion insertion direction of the FPC 3 so as to form a downward convex shape. Yes. The upper contact portion 4a4 is disposed at a position spaced upward in the elastic displacement direction from a contact portion (not shown) on the FPC 3 side inserted into the insulating housing 1. Further, on the opposite side of the upper contact portion 4a4, that is, the rear end portion (the right end portion in FIG. 5) in the insertion insertion direction of the FPC 3 in the swing beam portion 4a3, a temporary downward convex shape is formed. A holding portion 4a5 is formed. The temporary holding portion 4a5 is disposed at a position where it can be elastically contacted with the end portion of the FPC 3 inserted into the FPC fitting port 1a of the insulating housing 1.

  Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, immediately after the end portion of the FPC 3 is inserted into the FPC fitting port 1a of the insulating housing 1, the oscillating beam portion 4a3 constituting the upper beam 4a described above. The upper contact portion 4a4 provided at the front end portion on the near side (left end portion in FIG. 6) is disposed at a position spaced upward from the FPC 3, whereas the swing beam portion 4a3 is arranged. The temporary holding portion 4a5 provided at the rear side rear end portion (right end portion in FIG. 6) is in contact with the above-described front end portion in the insertion direction of the FPC 3 (right end portion in FIG. 6) from above. The contact of the temporary holding portion 4a5 with the FPC 3 is performed in a state where the rocking beam portion 4a3 described above is elastically displaced, and the contact pressing of the temporary holding portion 4a5 generated based on the elastic displacement of the rocking beam portion 4a3. The entire FPC 3 is temporarily held so as not to be displaced due to the pressure.

  Further, in the example according to the present embodiment, the provisional holding portion 4a5 is provided at the rear side rear end portion (the right end portion in FIG. 6) of the swinging beam portion 4a3, whereby the FPC 3 is placed in the FPC fitting port 1a of the insulating housing 1. When the FPC 3 is inserted, the sliding distance from the contact of the temporary holding portion 4a5 to the terminal portion where the contact portion (not shown) of the FPC 3 is not provided until the insertion of the FPC 3 is completed can be shortened. The temporary holding portion 4a5 does not come into contact with the contact portion of the FPC 3, so that the contact portion is not cut and an electrical short circuit phenomenon is not caused.

  Then, when the FPC 3 is temporarily held and the slider 2 in the standby position is moved to the operating position as shown in FIG. 7, for example, when the connection fixing operation is performed, the slider 2 is pressed. The tapered guide surface 2d provided in the portion 2c comes into contact with the front-side front end portion of the rocking beam portion 4a3 of the upper beam 4a described above. As a result, the front-side front end portion of the oscillating beam portion 4a3 is pushed down, and the whole oscillates counterclockwise in FIG. 6, and the upper contact portion 4a4 of the oscillating beam portion 4a3 becomes the contact portion of the FPC 3 (illustrated). Is omitted from the upper side. Even during the connecting and fixing operation of the slider 2 performed in this way, the FPC 3 is not displaced due to the above-described temporary holding action of the FPC 3, and as a result, the FPC 3 is easily and accurately connected.

  In the present embodiment, the swinging beam portion 4a3 is swung counterclockwise in FIG. 5 so that the upper contact portion 4a4 of the upper beam 4a is pressed against the FPC 3 side. 4a5 is separated from the FPC 3 side upward.

  As described above, according to the electrical connector according to the present embodiment, when the FPC 3 as the signal transmission medium is inserted into the insulating housing 1, the swing beam portion of the upper beam 4 a (with respect to the inserted FPC 3 ( The temporary holding portion 4a5 provided on the movable beam 4a3 comes into contact with the upper side while being elastically displaced, and the FPC 3 is temporarily held by the contact pressure of the temporary holding portion 4a5 generated based on the elastic displacement of the swinging beam portion 4a3. And the displacement of the FPC 3 is prevented until the connection fixing operation of the slider 2 as the actuator is completed. Since the temporary holding action of the oscillating beam portion 4a3 on the FPC 3 by the temporary holding portion 4a5 is performed based on the elastic displacement of the oscillating beam portion 4a3, the thickness of the FPC 3 is maintained while maintaining the no insertion force (ZIF) method. Regardless of the difference or variation, it is surely done.

  On the other hand, in 2nd Embodiment concerning FIGS. 8-10 which attached | subjected the same code | symbol with respect to the structure concerning Embodiment mentioned above in FIGS. 1-7, it insulated from the upper end part of the support base pillar 4c. A main body beam portion 41a1 of the upper beam 41a extending forward (to the left in FIG. 8) along the upper ceiling wall surface of the housing 1 is formed so as to bend obliquely downward at an intermediate position in the extending direction. In the bent portion of the main body beam portion 41a1, the same elastic displacement as that of the elastic column beam portion 41a2 is performed.

  According to the second embodiment, the swinging beam portion 4a3 is swung so that the upper contact portion 4a4 of the upper beam 41a is pressed against the FPC 3 side by the connection fixing operation of the slider 2. FIG. As described above, since the elastic displacement similar to that of the elastic column beam portion 41a2 is performed in the bent portion of the main body beam portion 41a1, the temporary holding portion 4a5 is hardly separated from the FPC 3 side upward. It is like that. That is, even after the connection fixing operation of the slider 2 is completed, the temporary holding portion 4a5 is maintained in contact with the FPC 3, and as a result, both the upper contact portion 4a4 and the temporary holding portion 4a5 are pressed against the FPC 3. As a result, the holding action of the FPC 3 is performed extremely well.

  In the example according to the present embodiment, the upper contact portion 4a4 and the temporary holding portion 4a5 are in press contact with each other, so that the lower contact portion 4b1 of the lower beam 4b can be elastically displaced similarly to the upper contact portion 4a4. However, the lower beam 4b is a fixed beam that is held substantially immovable with respect to the insulating housing 1, and is positioned at a position facing the temporary holding portion 4a5 with the FPC 3 in the lower beam 4b (directly below the temporary holding portion). When the terminal portion of the FPC 3 receives the contact pressing force of the temporary holding portion 4a5, a convex portion serving as the receiving portion may be provided.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the embodiment described above, a slider that moves linearly is used as an actuator, but the present invention can be similarly applied to an electrical connector that includes an actuator that rotates in an arc.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the electrical connector for connecting the FPC (flexible printed circuit board) as in the above-described embodiment, but for the electrical connector for connecting various signal transmission media such as FFC (flexible flat cable). However, the same can be applied.

  In addition, the temporary holding portion according to the present invention may be provided for all contacts (conductive terminals) or may be provided for some contacts.

  As described above, the present invention can be widely applied to electrical connectors for connecting a wide variety of signal transmission media used in various electrical devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external appearance perspective explanatory view showing the whole structure of the electrical connector for FPC connection concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a plane explanatory view of the electrical connector for FPC connection shown in FIG. It is front explanatory drawing of the electrical connector for FPC connections shown by FIG. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the electrical connector for FPC connection shown by FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view taken along the line VV in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 5 showing a temporary holding state in which an FPC (flexible printed circuit board) is inserted into the FPC connection electrical connector shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram corresponding to FIG. 5, showing a state where the fixed connection operation is completed by pushing the slider from the state shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 5 in another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 8 showing a temporary holding state in which an FPC (flexible printed circuit board) is inserted into the FPC connection electrical connector shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 8 showing a state where the fixed connection operation is completed by pushing the slider from the state shown in FIG. 9.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Insulation housing 1a FPC fitting port 1b Hold down 1c Guide plate 2 Slider (actuator)
2a FPC insertion slot 2b guide arm part 2c pressing part 2d tapered guide surface 3 flexible printed circuit board (FPC; signal transmission medium)
4 Contact (conductive terminal)
4a Upper beam 4a1 Body beam part 4a2 Elastic support beam part 4a3 Oscillating beam part 4a4 Upper contact part 4a5 Temporary holding part 4b Lower beam 4b1 Lower contact part 4c Support base pillar 4d Solder connection part 41a Upper beam 41a1 Body beam part 41a2 Elastic support Beam part

Claims (7)

Elastic displacement so that each of a plurality of conductive terminals arranged in multiple poles at an appropriate pitch interval along the longitudinal direction of the insulating housing contacts and separates from the signal transmission medium inserted through the fitting opening of the insulating housing. A movable beam that
In the electrical connector configured such that the contact portion provided on the movable beam is pressed against the signal transmission medium side by the connection fixing operation of the actuator,
The movable beam in at least a part of the plurality of conductive terminals is in contact with the signal transmission medium inserted into the insulating housing while being elastically displaced, and at least until the connection fixing operation of the actuator is completed. A temporary holding part is provided for maintaining the signal transmission medium in a stationary state during the interval.   The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the signal transmission medium is a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC).   The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises a slider attached so as to linearly reciprocate with respect to the insulating housing. The movable beam is connected to a main body beam portion extending along an inner wall surface of the insulating housing so as to be swingable through an elastic support portion.
In the movable beam, the contact portion is provided on the near side in the insertion and insertion direction of the signal transmission medium, and the temporary holding portion is provided on the back side in the insertion and insertion direction of the signal transmission medium. The electrical connector according to claim 1.   The electrical connector according to claim 4, wherein the movable beam extends in a direction inclined with respect to the insertion direction of the signal transmission medium.   When the contact portion of the movable beam is pressed against the signal transmission medium side by the connection fixing operation of the actuator, the movable beam swings so that the temporary holding portion is separated from the signal transmission medium side, and the actuator 2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein after the connection fixing operation, only the contact portion of the movable beam is maintained in pressure contact with the signal transmission medium side. The movable beam swings so that the temporary holding portion is not separated from the signal transmission medium side when the contact portion of the movable beam is pressed against the signal transmission medium side by the connection fixing operation of the actuator, and the actuator 2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein both the contact portion and the temporary holding portion are maintained in pressure contact with the signal transmission medium after the connection fixing operation.

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