JP2008091115A - Connector connecting structure and manufacturing method of connector connecting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent FFC connection end parts and terminal fittings from being damaged even when an external force is applied to them in a connector connecting structure in which the number of components is made less and the mounting work is simple. <P>SOLUTION: By exfoliating an insulating film on the terminal side of an FFC 10 covering both faces of belt-like conductors 11 with the insulating film to expose the conductors 11, connection end parts 11a are installed, and the terminal fittings 20 are mounted on the connection end parts 11a, while at a connector housing 30 of the connector, the upper wall on the conductor 11 insertion side is made to be continuous to the housing 30 main body as a retainer part 31 in a freely openable/closable manner via a hinge 30a, and a pressing projection 31a is installed at the tip of the retainer part 31, while a recessed part 32 is installed on the lower wall of the housing 30 main body opposed to the pressing projection 31a, and in a state that the retainer part 31 is closed, the pressing projection 31a presses down, bends, and fixes the FFC 10 of a part 10a covering the conductors 11 with the insulating film in the recessed part 32. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector connection structure and a method for manufacturing the connector connection structure. More specifically, even if a flexible flat cable (FFC) is subjected to an external force such as a pull or a twist, the transmission of the external force to the connector connection portion of the FFC terminal is suppressed. Is.

Conventionally, FFC is used for wiring of electrical components in a vehicle. Since FFC is lightweight and flat, it is preferably used when the arrangement space is narrow.
A connector is connected to the terminal of the FFC. When an external force such as a pull or twist is applied to the FFC, the external force affects the connector connecting portion of the FFC terminal. It is necessary to suppress the transmission of external force.

For this reason, the present applicant has conventionally provided JP-A-2004-220864 (Patent Document 1).
In the FFC terminal structure of Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of upper and lower retainer plates 2a and 2b are attached to the terminal side of the FFC 1 connected to the connector, and each conductor 3A of the FFC 1 is attached to the retainer plates 2a and 2b. Separated arm portions 4A to 4D are provided for each of the 3D paths.
By inserting the terminal fitting 5 attached to the FFC 1 into the connector cavity together with the arm portion 4, if an external force is applied to the FFC 1, the retainer plate 2 receives the external force instead of the terminal fitting 5 to prevent damage to the terminal fitting 5. I have to.

JP 2004-220864 A

  However, when the retainer plate of Patent Document 1 is used, there is room for improvement in that the connector and the retainer plate are separate parts and the number of parts is increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a connection structure in which an external force does not act on a connection portion between a terminal fitting in a connector and a conductor terminal of an FFC without using a separate part, and a method for manufacturing the same. Is an issue.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a connector connection structure of a flexible flat cable (FFC) in which both surfaces of a strip-shaped conductor are coated with an insulating film,
While peeling the insulating film on the terminal side of the FFC to expose the conductor and providing a connection end, while attaching a terminal fitting to the connection end,
The housing of the connector has an upper wall on the conductor insertion side as a retainer portion, and is continuously opened and closed to the housing body via a hinge. A presser protrusion is provided at the tip of the retainer portion, while facing the presser protrusion. Providing a recess in the lower wall of the housing body,
An FFC connector connection structure characterized in that, with the retainer portion closed, the pressing protrusion pushes down the FFC of the portion where the conductor is covered with the insulating film and is bent and fixed in the recess. providing.

According to the above configuration, when the retainer portion is closed, the FFC inserted into the housing is fixed by the pressing protrusion. Therefore, when the FFC receives an external force, the external force is not concentrated only on the terminal fitting, but the entire FFC. External force can be received and damage to the terminal fitting and FFC can be prevented.
Furthermore, since the retainer portion is continuously provided as an integral structure in the connector housing, the number of components can be reduced as compared with the case where the connector and the retainer portion are separate components.
In addition, since the FFC is fixed when the retainer portion is closed, the work of sandwiching the retainer portion between the FFC is unnecessary, and the number of work steps is reduced. Further, the retainer portion can reliably prevent the FFC from coming off the housing.

  The terminal fitting is provided in a crimping portion with the connection end portion of the FFC continuously to the electrical connection portion fitted to the mating terminal, and the crimping portion is composed of a pair of upper and lower holding pieces sandwiching the connection end portion. It is preferable that a contact claw bent downward is provided at an edge of the upper holding piece, and the upper holding piece is pressed down so that the contact claw is crimped to the connection end.

When the terminal fitting is configured as described above, the crimping portion sandwiches the FFC connection end between a pair of upper and lower holding pieces, and presses the upper holding piece down to crimp the FFC connection end. The metal fitting can be easily and reliably crimped.
Further, since the retainer portion is provided with the holding portion as described above, when the retainer portion is closed, the holding portion comes into contact with the upper holding piece and presses the upper holding piece, and the connecting end portion of the FFC from the crimping portion. Can be prevented from coming off, and the terminal fitting can be pressed against the housing and fixed.

As a second invention, a method for manufacturing an FFC connector connection structure according to claim 2 is provided.
In this method, a plurality of the strip-shaped conductors are wired in parallel to the FFC, the terminal fittings are respectively attached to the connection end portions of the respective conductors, and the connection end portions are formed by upper and lower holding pieces of the terminal fittings. In this state, the upper holding pieces of the plurality of terminal fittings are simultaneously pressed down by a press, and the plurality of terminal fittings are collectively crimped to the connection end portions of the conductors.

  The collective crimping by the press is inserted into the connector housing in a state in which terminal fittings are respectively attached to the connection end portions of the FFC, and after the terminal fittings are locked in the terminal receiving chambers in the connector housing, This is done with the retainer part open.

  According to the above method, the plurality of terminal fittings can be collectively pressed by the press in a state where the plurality of terminal fittings are locked and positioned in the housing, and work efficiency can be improved.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the retainer portion is continuously provided in the connector housing as an integrated structure, the number of components is reduced compared to the case where the connector and the retainer portion are separate components. can do.
Further, when the retainer portion is closed, the pressing protrusion is configured to fix the FFC inserted into the housing, so that the operation of sandwiching the retainer portion between the FFC is not required, and the work process can be reduced.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
A flexible flat cable (FFC) 10 is formed by arranging conductors 11 made of a plurality of strip-like copper foils arranged in parallel with a gap between them, and laminating the upper and lower surfaces of these conductors with an insulating film 12. .
The terminal on the connector connection side of the FFC 10 is provided with a connection end 11a by peeling the insulating film 12 to expose the conductor 11.

Terminal fittings 20 are attached to the connecting end portions 11a of the conductors 11, respectively.
The terminal fitting 20 includes a rectangular tube-shaped electrical connecting portion 21 that fits into the mating terminal, and a crimping portion 22 that is continuous with the electrical connecting portion 21. The crimping portion 22 is composed of a pair of upper and lower holding pieces 22a and 22b sandwiching the connection end portion 11a, and a contact claw 22c bent downward is provided at the edge of the upper holding piece 22a. As shown in FIG. 4B, the terminal fitting 20 presses the upper holding piece 22 a and presses the contact claw 22 c against the connection end 11 a of the FFC 10.

The housing 30 of the connector 15 is made of a resin molded product, and a retainer portion 31 is provided on the upper wall of the FFC 10 on the conductor 11 insertion side, and is continuously opened and closed to the housing 30 body via a hinge 30a. A retaining protrusion 31 a is provided at the tip of the retainer portion 31, while a recess 32 is disposed in the lower wall of the housing 30 body facing the retaining protrusion 31 a.
4B, with the retainer 31 closed, the pressing projection 31a pushes down the FFC 10 of the portion 10a where the conductor 11 is covered with the insulating film 12, and is bent and fixed in the recess 32. As shown in FIG. ing.

Further, a pressing portion 31b is provided between the hinge 30a of the retainer portion 31 and the pressing protrusion 31a and at a position facing the crimping portion 22 of the terminal fitting 20 of the FFC 10. The pressing portion 31 b presses the upper holding piece 22 a of the crimping portion 22 from the upper side with the retainer portion 31 closed, and fixes the terminal fitting 20 in the housing 30.
That is, in the housing 30, a lance portion (not shown) is provided in the terminal accommodating portion 33, and the lance portion is locked to a locking portion (not shown) formed on the electrical connection portion 21 of the terminal fitting 20. Then, the terminal fitting 20 is positioned and fixed, and is fixed from above by the pressing portion 31b, and the terminal fitting 20 is double-fixed.

  The bottom wall 30b of the terminal accommodating chamber 33 is provided with a support hole 34 for inserting a lower die of the press at a position corresponding to the crimping portion 22 of the terminal fitting 20.

Next, the manufacturing method of the connector connection structure of FFC10 is demonstrated.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the terminal fittings 20 are respectively attached to the connection end portions 11a of the conductor 11 of the FFC 10, and the connection end portions 11a are sandwiched between the upper and lower holding pieces 22a and 22b of the terminal fittings 20.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), the terminal fittings 20 are respectively attached to the connecting end portions 11a of the FFC 10 and inserted into the housing 30 of the connector, and the electrical connecting portions 21 of the terminal fittings 20 are inserted. Is locked to the terminal accommodating chamber 33 in the connector housing 30 with a lance, the crimping portion 22 is disposed above the support hole 34 of the bottom wall 30b.

Next, the crimping portions 22 of the plurality of terminal fittings 20 are collectively crimped with a press.
That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the upper die 40 of the press machine is disposed on the upper portion of the crimping portion 22 with the retainer portion 31 opened, and the support hole 34 on the lower wall of the housing 30 is inserted into the support hole 34. Insert the lower die 41 of the press machine. The upper clamping piece 22a is squeezed down automatically or manually by the press machine 40, and the terminal fittings 20 are collectively crimped to the connection end portions 11a of the respective conductors 11 to be electrically connected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the upper and lower molds 40 and 41 of the press machine are removed, and the retainer 31 is rotated and closed with the hinge 30a as a fulcrum.
When the retainer portion 31 is closed, the pressing protrusion 31 a of the retainer portion 31 pushes down the FFC 10 of the portion 10 a covering the conductor 11 with the insulating film 12, so that it is curved and pushed into the recess 32. Accordingly, the FFC 10 can be fixed to the housing 30, and the pressing portion 31 b presses the upper holding piece 22 a of the terminal fitting 20, and the terminal fitting 20 is fixed to the housing 30.

According to the FFC connector connection structure of the present invention having the above-described configuration, the retainer portion 31 is continuously provided as an integrated structure in the connector housing 30. Therefore, the number of parts is reduced, and the retainer portion 31 is provided. When closed, the pressing protrusion 31a fixes the FFC 10 inserted into the housing 30, so that the FFC 10 can be firmly fixed to the connector 15, and even if an external force such as pulling or twisting is applied to the FFC 10, a terminal in the connector 15 is provided. It is possible to reliably prevent the connection portion with the metal fitting 20 from being affected.
Furthermore, according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the work of sandwiching the retainer portion 31 between the FFCs 10 becomes unnecessary, and the number of work steps can be reduced.
In addition, although the electrical connection part 21 of the said terminal metal fitting 20 is a female type, even if it is a male type terminal metal fitting, it can apply similarly.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.
The clamping pieces 22a and 22b are provided as the crimping portions 22 of the terminal fitting 20. However, instead of the clamping pieces 22a and 22b, an elongated plate-like base 25 is provided, and the base 25 is raised upward from both sides in the width direction. A caulking piece 26 having a sharp tip is projected, and the caulking piece 26 is pierced through the insulating film from below the conductor 11, thereby electrically connecting the caulking piece 26 and the conductor 11. The tip of the stabbed caulking piece 26 is crushed by a press 40 and is crimped to the FFC conductor as a head.

Even if it is the said structure, since the pressing protrusion 31a will fix FFC10 inserted in the housing 30 when the retainer part 31 is closed, the operation | work which pinches the retainer part 31 in FFC10 becomes unnecessary, and an operation | work process will decrease.
In addition, since another structure and an effect are the same as that of 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

It is a perspective view which shows 1st Embodiment of the connector connection structure which is this invention. It is the perspective view which inserted FFC which attached the terminal metal fitting into the housing of the connector. The manufacturing process is shown, (A) is a cross-sectional view of the FFC with the terminal fitting attached, (B) is a cross-sectional view of the FFC inserted into the housing of the connector. The manufacturing process is shown, in which (A) is a cross-sectional view in which a terminal fitting and a connecting end are crimped by a press machine, and (B) is a cross-sectional view in which a retainer portion is closed. It is a figure which shows the modification of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

10 Flexible flat cable (FFC)
11 Conductor 11a Connection end 20 Terminal fitting 21 Electrical connection part 22 Crimping part 22a, 22b A pair of upper and lower clamping pieces 22c Contact claw 30 Housing 31 Retainer part 31a Pressing protrusion 31b Pressing part 32 Recess 33 Terminal receiving chamber 34 Support hole 40 Press Upper mold 41 Press machine lower mold

Claims (4)

A connector connection structure of a flexible flat cable (FFC) in which both surfaces of a strip-shaped conductor are coated with an insulating film,
While peeling the insulating film on the terminal side of the FFC to expose the conductor and providing a connection end, while attaching a terminal fitting to the connection end,
The housing of the connector has the upper wall on the conductor insertion side as a retainer portion, and is continuously openable and closable via a hinge via a hinge, and is provided with a pressing projection at the tip of the retainer portion, and facing the pressing projection Provide a recess in the bottom wall of the main body
An FFC connector connection structure, wherein the retainer portion is closed and the pressing protrusion pushes down the FFC in a portion where the conductor is covered with the insulating film to be bent and fixed in the recess.   The terminal fitting includes a crimping portion connected to the connecting end portion of the FFC in succession to an electrical connecting portion to be fitted with a mating terminal, and the crimping portion is composed of a pair of upper and lower holding pieces sandwiching the connecting end portion. 2. The FFC connector according to claim 1, wherein a contact claw bent downward is provided at an edge of the upper holding piece, and the upper holding piece is pressed down to crimp the contact claw to the connection end. Connection structure. It is a manufacturing method of the connector connection structure of FFC of Claim 2,
A plurality of the strip-shaped conductors are wired in parallel to the FFC, and the terminal fittings are respectively attached to the connection end portions of the respective conductors, and the connection end portions are sandwiched between upper and lower holding pieces of the terminal fittings,
In this state, a method of manufacturing an FFC connector connection structure in which the upper holding pieces of the plurality of terminal fittings are simultaneously pressed down by a press, and the plurality of terminal fittings are collectively crimped to the connection end portions of the conductors.   The collective crimping by the press is inserted into the connector housing in a state in which terminal fittings are respectively attached to the connection end portions of the FFC, and after the terminal fittings are locked in the terminal receiving chambers in the connector housing, The manufacturing method of the connector connection structure of FFC of Claim 3 which performs the crimping | compression-bonding by the said press with the retainer part opened.

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