JP2008192934A - Connection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connection structure which is made thin and compact while maintaining connection reliability of a flexible printed wiring board etc. <P>SOLUTION: The connection structure includes: the flexible printed wiring board 10 (first wiring body); and a ridged printed wiring board (second wiring body) where a connector frame body 25 (pressing means) is disposed. A first engagement portion 13 having an uneven pattern 13a is provided on a top surface 11a of the first wiring board, and a first wiring 12 is formed on a reverse surface 11b. A holding member 30 has a flat plate 31 and a second engagement portion 33 having an uneven pattern 33a. The flat plate 31 of the holding member 30 is inserted into the connector frame body 25 in the state wherein the uneven patterns of the first and second engagement portions are engaged with each other to bring the first wirings 12 and 22 into contact with each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connection structure for connecting wires used in various electric devices such as a mobile phone, in particular, a flexible printed wiring board to another wiring board.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, film-shaped wiring bodies, so-called flexible printed wiring boards, are often arranged particularly in small and light electrical devices such as mobile phones. Since the flexible printed wiring board is extremely convenient for electrical connection in a device having an opening / closing mechanism and a rotating mechanism such as a mobile phone, the frequency of use has increased in recent years. The flexible printed wiring board is rich in flexibility, but unlike the rigid wiring board having a rigid structure, it is difficult to increase the insertion force when the flexible printed wiring board is inserted into the insertion port of the connector. Therefore, a non-insertion force connector (ZIF) is widely used as a connection structure (connector) for connecting a flexible printed wiring board to another wiring board (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  FIGS. 7A and 7B are a plan view and a side view showing the structure of a general ZIF connector. As shown in the figure, in a rigid printed wiring board, a ZIF connector 110 is disposed on a rigid substrate 100 having a rigid structure on which wirings 101 are formed. In the flexible printed wiring board, wiring 201 is formed on a flexible substrate 200. The ZIF connector 110 is provided with a plurality of metal wire-like contacts 103 each connected to the wiring 101. The contact 103 is provided in a U shape when viewed from the side, and an upper end portion of the contact 103 has a hook shape. When connecting, the flexible printed wiring board is inserted into the U-shaped opening of the contact 103 of the ZIF connector 110 with almost no insertion force. Then, in a state where the contact 103 and the wiring 201 are in contact with each other, the lock portion 105 is rotated around the shaft 106 to press the hook-shaped upper end portion of the contact 103 into the flexible substrate 200. This completes the connection between the wirings. The lock portion 105 is locked by both arm portions extending to the side of the ZIF connector 110 when the tip end portion moves to the lowest position.

  By the operation of the ZIF connector 110, the wiring 201 on the flexible substrate 200 and the wiring 101 on the rigid substrate 100 which is a mother board are electrically connected. Then, the flexible printed wiring board is held so that the connection state between the contact 103 and the wiring 201 on the flexible substrate 200 is maintained. Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose various structures of the lock portion 105 and the contact 103.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-65090 Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-24230

  However, as the recent trend toward miniaturization of various electric devices such as mobile phones, when the ZIF connector is required to be thinner and smaller, the reliability of electrical connection in the ZIF connector 110 is maintained. It has become difficult to do.

  That is, there is a limit to reducing the wire-like contactor 103 and the thickness and width dimension of the portion supporting the contactor 103 while maintaining the mechanical strength for keeping the shape in the set state.

  Further, if the thickness and width dimension of the ZIF connector 110 and the contact 103 are reduced, it is difficult to maintain the gripping force of the flexible printed wiring board by the contact 103 of the ZIF connector 110 sufficiently high. On the other hand, if this gripping force is maintained sufficiently high to ensure connection reliability, it is difficult to make the ZIF connector 100 thinner and smaller. For example, when the width of the wirings 101 and 201 is about 0.1 mm and the gap between the wirings is about 0.1 mm due to the narrow pitch, the width of the contact 103 needs to correspond to that, but in that case, The gripping force is weakened and the flexible printed wiring board is very likely to come off.

  The above-described problems occur not only in the connection between the flexible printed wiring board and the rigid printed wiring board but also in the connection between the flexible printed wiring boards, and may also occur in various flexible printed wiring boards.

  It is an object of the present invention to reduce the thickness and size of a connection structure for maintaining an electrical connection between a flexible printed wiring board and another wiring board, and to maintain connection reliability. It is to provide a possible connection structure.

  The connection structure of the present invention includes a first wiring body having a first engaging portion on a surface facing a surface on which wiring is formed, a second wiring body on which wiring is formed, and a first engagement. And a holding member having a second engaging portion that engages with the joint portion, and the second wiring body, the first wiring body, and the holding member are sequentially stacked and pressed in a coherent direction. The first engagement portion and the second engagement portion have an uneven pattern that engages with each other.

  Thereby, in the state which engaged the uneven | corrugated pattern of each engaging part of a 1st wiring body and a holding member, and electrically joined the wiring of the 1st, 2nd wiring bodies, and each wiring body and It becomes possible to connect the holding member. The engagement between the concavo-convex patterns makes it difficult for the first wiring body and the holding member to be disconnected, and the first wiring body is caused by the elastic force of at least one of the first and second engaging portions. Is pressed against the second wiring body, so that electrical connection between the two wirings is ensured. And the contact which consists of the number of metal wires corresponding to the number of wiring which existed in the conventional ZIF connector becomes unnecessary, and the part which supports a contact in a ZIF connector also becomes unnecessary. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the thickness and width of the entire connection structure, and it is possible to cope with the progress of thinning and miniaturization while maintaining high connection reliability.

  When at least one of the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion is an elastic body, the engagement state can be reliably maintained using the urging force of the elastic body.

  The concavo-convex pattern of the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion has a function of restricting the relative movement direction of the two in the length direction of the wiring to one direction, so that the connection is particularly difficult to come off. The state is realized.

  The connection structure of the present invention is particularly effective when at least one of the first wiring body and the second wiring body is a flexible printed wiring board.

  When the first wiring body is a flexible printed wiring board and the second wiring body is a rigid printed wiring board in which a second wiring is formed on a rigid board, the holding member is provided with a second engaging portion. Mechanical work at room temperature is provided by providing a pair of frames having plate-like portions inserted on both sides of the second wiring on the rigid substrate as pressing means on both sides of the second wiring as pressing means. Thus, a connection structure that can be easily attached and detached can be obtained.

  According to the connection structure of the present invention, since a wire-like contact like the conventional ZIF connector is made unnecessary by utilizing the engagement between the concavo-convex patterns, it corresponds to the progress of thinning and miniaturization. be able to.

(Embodiment 1)
1A, 1B, and 1C are a top view, a longitudinal cross-sectional view, and a bottom view of a flexible printed wiring board (abbreviated as FPC), which is a first wiring body according to Embodiment 1, in order. . The flexible printed wiring board 10 includes a flexible substrate 11 made of polyimide resin or the like, a first wiring 12 formed on the lower surface 11b of the flexible substrate 11, and a first wiring 12 provided on the upper surface 11a (back surface) of the flexible substrate 11. 1 engaging portion 13. The upper surface of the first engaging portion 13 has an uneven pattern 13a (saw blade pattern) composed of a vertical surface and a slope. As the flexible substrate 11, not only a polyimide film but also a polyester film (low temperature use), a glass epoxy plate (thin plate), or the like is used. The material of the first wiring 12 is generally a copper alloy, but is not limited to this. In the present embodiment, the first wiring 12 is formed by etching a copper alloy or the like. In the present embodiment, the first engagement portion 13 is made of an elastic body such as a porous resin such as porous PTFE, various elastic resins, and various rubbers, and is adhesive on the upper surface 11 a of the flexible substrate 11. Although being fixed, it may be integrally formed of the same material as the flexible substrate 11.

  FIGS. 2A and 2B are a top view and a longitudinal sectional view showing the structures of a rigid printed wiring board and a holding member, which are the second wiring bodies in the first embodiment, in order. The rigid printed wiring board 20 includes a rigid substrate 21 and a second wiring 22 formed on the upper surface of the rigid substrate 21. A pair of connector frame bodies 25 that are pressing means made of a rigid resin or the like are bonded to the upper surface of the rigid board 21 with the second wiring 22 interposed therebetween. The connector frame 25 has an insertion portion 25a having a U-shaped cross section, and is configured to insert the flat plate 31 of the holding member 30 into the insertion portion 25a and press the whole as will be described later. Yes.

  3A and 3B are a bottom view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of the holding member in the first embodiment. The holding member 30 includes a flat plate 31 that is a plate-shaped portion made of metal, and a second engagement portion 33 made of a resin that is installed at the center of the flat plate 31. On the surface of the second engaging portion 33, a concavo-convex pattern 33 a that can be engaged with the concavo-convex pattern of the first engaging portion 13 of the flexible printed wiring board 10 is formed. The concavo-convex pattern 33 a is a saw blade pattern composed of a vertical surface and a slope, and the slope of the slope of the concavo-convex pattern 33 a is the slope of the slope of the concavo-convex pattern 13 a of the first engagement portion 13 of the flexible printed wiring board 10. It is almost equal to. As the material of the flat plate 31, a resin having a relatively high rigidity may be used instead of a metal. In addition, the flat plate 31 (plate-like portion) and the second engaging portion 33 may be integrally formed of a common material such as metal or resin. Further, the flat plate 31 may be made of metal, and the second engaging member 33 may be made of particularly elastic resin. In that case, the first engaging portion 13 does not necessarily need to be an elastic body. That is, if at least one of the first engagement portion 13 or the second engagement portion 33 is an elastic body, it is possible to exert a pressing function by an elastic body described later. However, since the flat plate 31 of the holding member 30 can also function as a leaf spring, one of the first engagement portion 13 and the second engagement portion does not necessarily need to be an elastic body.

  4 (a) and 4 (b) are, in order, a perspective view illustrating a mounting method of the flexible printed wiring board, the rigid printed wiring board, and the holding member in Embodiment 1, and a side surface illustrating the mounted state (connection structure). FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, when mounting, the flexible printed wiring board 10 and the holding member 30 are stacked on the rigid printed wiring board 20, and as shown in FIG. The flat plate 31 of the holding member 30 is inserted into the insertion portion 25a of the (pressing means).

  At that time, as shown in FIG. 4B, the first wiring 12 and the second wiring 22 are in close contact with each other, and the uneven pattern 13 a of the first engaging portion 13 and the second engaging portion 33. 33a are engaged with each other. At this time, the inclination direction of the inclined surfaces of the concavo-convex patterns 13a and 33a is a direction that allows relative movement in the direction in which the flexible printed wiring board 10 and the holding member 30 are attached to each other. Relative movement in the direction in which the flexible printed wiring board 10 and the holding member 30 are detached is prevented by the vertical portions 13a and 33a. Therefore, the flexible printed wiring board 10 (first wiring body) and the holding member 30 are firmly connected to the rigid printed wiring board 20.

  That is, the movement in the direction in which the flexible printed wiring board 10 is inserted is allowed, but the movement in the direction in which the flexible printed wiring board 10 is pulled out is prevented. That is, the concavo-convex pattern of each of the engaging portions 13 and 33 has a function of limiting the relative moving direction of the flexible printed wiring board 10 and the holding member 30 in one direction in the wiring length direction. Then, the flexible printed wiring board 10 is caused by the urging force of the first engaging portion 13 or the second engaging portion 33 that is an elastic body (or the urging force of the flat plate 31 that is a leaf spring) by the connector frame 25. In addition, when the holding member 30 is pressed in the direction in which the holding member 30 is in close contact with the rigid printed wiring board 20, the electrical connection between the first wiring 12 and the second wiring 22 is ensured, and the connection structure is highly reliable and has a strong connection structure. Is obtained.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the widths of the first engaging portion 13 and the flexible printed wiring board 10 are equal to the distance between the two connector frame bodies 25, and the first wiring 12 and the second wiring The wires 22 are positioned so that the wires 22 and the wires 22 are surely in contact with each other. That is, high positional accuracy can be realized.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the combined thickness of the flexible substrate 11 and the first wiring 12 is, for example, 0.05 mm, the average thickness of the first engaging portion 13 is 0.2 mm, and the second engaging portion 33 Even if the average thickness is 0.15 mm, the thickness of the flat plate 31 is 0.2 mm, and the thickness of the ceiling portion of the connector frame 25 is about 0.2 mm, it is possible to maintain a strong connection structure. In that case, the total thickness of each member on the rigid substrate 20 is about 0.8 mm, so that a so-called low-profile structure can be realized, and a connection structure suitable for incorporation into a small device such as a mobile phone is realized. can do.

  Further, when mounting the connection structure according to the present embodiment, it can be mechanically mounted at room temperature, so that no special device for assembly is required. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is also low. And when releasing the connection of each member, both ends of the flat plate 31 of the holding member 30 are further pressed downward, that is, by bending the flat plate 30, the second engaging portion 23 is lifted upward, What is necessary is just to cancel | release the engagement state with the 1st engaging part 13. FIG. Therefore, the connection structure of the present embodiment has a detachable structure. However, the connection structure of the present invention does not necessarily need to be detachable as long as it can be attached.

  The flexible printed wiring board 10 may be inserted after the holding member 30 is inserted into the connector frame 25.

  According to the present embodiment, there is no need to use a contact made of a metal wire of a ZIF connector that has been conventionally employed, and the first engagement portion 13 of the flexible printed wiring board 10 (first wiring body); The flexible printed wiring board 10 and the rigid printed wiring board 20 (second wiring body) are utilized by utilizing the engagement between the concave and convex patterns 13a and 33a (saw blade patterns) with the second engaging portion 33 of the holding member 30. Are securely connected to each other, so that it can be easily reduced in thickness and size. In other words, the connector frame 25 does not require a portion for supporting the contact, and the dimensions such as the thickness of each member can be reduced while maintaining high strength.

  In order to limit the relative movement of the two wiring bodies in the length direction of the wiring in one direction, even if the surfaces on both sides of the uneven patterns 13a and 33a (saw blade pattern) are inclined surfaces, It suffices if the inclination angles are greatly different. Then, in the state shown in FIG. 4B, it is possible to allow movement of the flexible printed wiring board 10 in the insertion direction and limit movement in the reverse direction according to the magnitude of the pressing force. It is.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the concavo-convex patterns 13a and 33a of the engaging portions 13 and 33 have vertical surfaces and inclined surfaces, and the engaging portions 13 and 33 are in a state where the vertical portions are in contact with each other. Since they are engaged, it is possible to reliably prevent the engagement portions 13 and 33 from being released from each other and reliably exert a gripping force on the flexible printed wiring board 10.

(Embodiment 2)
In the above embodiment, an example in which the rigid printed wiring board 20 having the rigid substrate 21 is used as the second wiring body has been described. However, the first wiring body of the present invention is not limited to the rigid wiring board, and is flexible. It may be a printed wiring board. Hereinafter, Embodiment 2 in which the first wiring body and the second wiring body are both flexible printed wiring boards will be described.

  5A and 5B are cross-sectional views showing two examples of the connection structure according to Embodiment 2, respectively. In FIGS. 5A and 5B, the first and second engaging portions are not shown, and are drawn so as to be integrated with the flexible printed wiring board 10 and the holding member 30, respectively. However, as in the first embodiment, the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are provided separately from the flexible printed wiring board 10 and the holding member 30.

  In the connection structure shown in FIG. 5A, a flexible printed wiring board 40 having a flexible substrate 41 and a second wiring 42 is used as the second wiring body. The flexible printed wiring board 10 as the first wiring body and the flexible printed wiring board 40 holding member 30 as the second wiring body are overlapped with the holding member 30 and inserted into the connector frame 25. . At least one of the first and second engaging portions not shown is always made of an elastic body. The materials of the members of the flexible printed wiring boards 10 and 40 are as described in the first embodiment. However, in this example, the connector frame 25 is not a pair but a single one.

  Also in the connection structure shown in FIG. 5B, the flexible printed wiring board 40 having the flexible substrate 41 and the second wiring 42 is used as the second wiring body. And the flexible printed wiring board 10 which is a 1st wiring body is inserted in the connector frame 25 from the direction opposite to the flexible printed wiring board 40 which is a 2nd wiring body, and the holding member 30, and is connected. . At least one of the first and second engaging portions not shown is always made of an elastic body. The materials of the members of the flexible printed wiring boards 10 and 40 are as described in the first embodiment. However, in this example, the connector frame 25 is not a pair but a single one.

  In any of the cases shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, using the engagement of the concavo-convex patterns of the respective engaging portions, as in the first embodiment, the strong holding with respect to each wiring body. While maintaining the force, the connection structure can be made smaller and thinner.

(Other embodiments)
In the first embodiment, the concave / convex pattern of each engaging portion 13, 33 has a function of restricting relative movement between the first wiring body and the holding member in one direction in the length direction of the wiring in one direction. However, the concavo-convex pattern of each of the engaging portions 13 and 33 of the present invention does not necessarily have such a function.

(Modified example of uneven pattern)
6A and 6B are cross-sectional views showing two modified examples of the concavo-convex pattern. In the example shown in FIG. 6A, the uneven pattern of the first engagement portion 13 of the flexible printed wiring board 10 as the first wiring body and the second engagement portion 33 of the holding member 30 is a saw. Even in the case of a blade pattern, both sides are inclined and there is no vertical plane. In the example shown in FIG. 6B, the uneven pattern of the first and second engaging portions 131 and 33 is a wavy pattern and there is no vertical plane. That is, the concavo-convex pattern does not have a function of restricting the relative movement between the first wiring body and the holding member in the length direction of the wiring in one direction. Even in such a case, it is possible to provide a gripping force for preventing the engagement from being released and the wiring body coming off due to the pressing force of the pressing means. However, as in the first and second embodiments, in the case of having a function of limiting the relative movement between the first wiring body and the holding member in the length direction of the wiring in one direction, the pressing means Since the pressing force may be small, the structure is advantageous for further thinning.

  In the above embodiment, the first wiring 12 of the flexible printed wiring board 10 is directly connected to the second wiring 22 on the rigid board 20, but a small second having the second wiring in the connector frame. The wiring body may be provided and connected to the first wiring. In that case, the second wiring in the connector frame is connected to the wiring on the rigid board.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which a rigid printed wiring board or a flexible printed wiring board is used as the first wiring body and a flexible printed wiring board is used as the second wiring body has been described, but the first wiring of the present invention At least one of the body and the second wiring body may be a flexible flat cable (FFC) which is a kind of flexible printed wiring board.

  The structure of the embodiment of the present invention disclosed above is merely an example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope of these descriptions. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the description of the scope of claims, and further includes meanings equivalent to the description of the scope of claims and all modifications within the scope.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a connector that performs electrical connection between wiring between a flexible printed wiring board mounted on an electric device such as a mobile phone and another wiring board.

(A), (b), (c) is the top view, longitudinal cross-sectional view, and bottom view of the flexible printed wiring board (abbreviation FPC) which is a 1st wiring body which concerns on Embodiment 1 in order. (A), (b) is the top view and longitudinal cross-sectional view which show the structure of the rigid printed wiring board which is the 2nd wiring body in Embodiment 1, and a holding member in order. (A), (b) is the bottom view and sectional drawing of the holding member in Embodiment 1 in order. (A), (b) is the perspective view which shows the mounting method of the flexible printed wiring board in Embodiment 1, a rigid printed wiring board, and a holding member in order, and the side view which shows the mounted state (connection structure) in order. is there. (A), (b) is sectional drawing which respectively shows two examples of the connection structure which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. (A), (b) is sectional drawing which shows two modifications of an uneven | corrugated pattern. (A), (b) is the top view and side view which show the structure of the connector of a general ZIF structure.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Flexible printed wiring board 11 Flexible board 12 1st wiring 13 1st engaging part 13a Concavity and convexity pattern 20 Rigid printed wiring board 21 Rigid board 22 2nd wiring 25 Connector frame 25a Insertion part 30 Holding member 31 Flat plate 33 1st 2 engaging portion 33a Uneven pattern 40 Flexible printed wiring board 41 Flexible substrate 42 Second wiring

Claims (5)

A first wiring body in which a first wiring is formed on a first surface and a first engagement portion is formed on a second surface facing the first surface;
A second wiring body formed with a second wiring electrically connected to the first wiring;
A holding member provided with a second engagement portion that engages with the first engagement portion of the first wiring body;
In the state where the second wiring body, the first wiring body, and the holding member are sequentially stacked, a pressing means that presses in a direction in close contact with each other, and
The first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are connection structures having an uneven pattern that engages with each other. The connection structure according to claim 1,
At least one of the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion is a connection structure that is an elastic body. In the connection structure according to claim 1 or 2,
The concavo-convex pattern of the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion has a function of limiting the relative movement direction of both in the length direction of the wiring to one direction. In the connection structure in any one of Claims 1-3,
A connection structure, wherein at least one of the first wiring body and the second wiring body is a flexible printed wiring board. The connection structure according to claim 4, wherein
The first wiring body is a flexible printed wiring board,
The second wiring body is a rigid printed wiring board in which a second wiring is formed on a rigid substrate,
The holding member has plate-like portions extending on both sides of the second engaging portion,
The connection structure is a pair of frame bodies that are provided on both sides of the second wiring on the rigid substrate and that have a pair of frame-like insertion portions of the holding member.

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