JP2009117273A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of surely contacting a terminal fitting with a conductor of a flat circuit body. <P>SOLUTION: The connector 1 is equipped with a housing 11, the terminal fitting 12, and a holder 13. The terminal fitting 12 is arranged with a spacing from the bottom face 24 of the housing 11, and has an elastically deformable elastic piece 31 in a direction contacting with and separating from the bottom face 24. The holder 13 is mounted on a terminal of an FFC 9, inserted between the elastic piece 31 and the bottom face 24, and makes a conductor 32 of the FFC 9 contact with the elastic piece 31. A taper face 35 is installed at the tip of the holder 13. Moreover, an interfering part 36 which is arranged toward the holder 13 than the elastic piece 31 and which positions the holder 13 between the bottom face 24 is integrally installed at the housing 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector for supplying power to, for example, a bulb that is attached to a roof trim or the like of an automobile as a vehicle and illuminates a passenger compartment of the automobile.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an automobile as a vehicle has an indoor lighting device provided with a lighting bulb on the ceiling of the passenger compartment. For this reason, a connector for supplying power from a power source to the bulb of the indoor lighting device is attached to the ceiling of the automobile.

  As the connector described above, a connector (for example, see Patent Document 1) including a housing, a terminal fitting attached to the housing, and a holder to which a terminal of a flat circuit body to which the valve is attached is attached. May be.

  The housing is made of an insulating synthetic resin. The terminal fitting is obtained by bending a conductive sheet metal or the like, and integrally includes a first connection portion to which an electric wire connected to a power source is attached and a second connection portion to be connected to the conductor of the flat circuit body. Yes. The second connecting portion includes an elastic piece that comes into contact with the conductor of the flat circuit body by elastic deformation.

  The holder is made of insulating synthetic resin and is formed in a flat plate shape. The holder is attached to the end of the flat circuit body, inserted between the elastic piece and the housing, and attached to the housing. At this time, the holder is moved along the longitudinal direction of the flat circuit body and is inserted between these elastic pieces and the housing. The flat circuit body is provided with a switch that is turned on / off to supply electric power to the valve or stop supplying electric power to the valve.

In the connector described above, when the switch is turned on / off, the power supplied via the electric wire is supplied to the valve via the flat circuit body, or the supply of power to the valve is stopped to Turn on or off.
JP 2002-367695 A

  However, in the conventional connector described above, when the holder is inserted between the elastic piece and the housing in an inclined state, the elastic piece is elastically deformed more than necessary, and in the worst case, the elastic piece is plastic. It sometimes deformed. If it is plastically deformed, the elastic piece will weaken the elastic restoring force that presses the conductor, weakens the electrical resistance between the terminal fitting and the flat circuit body, or in the worst case, the elastic piece is flat. There was a case where power could not be supplied to the valve without contacting the circuit body.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of reliably bringing a terminal fitting into contact with a conductor of a flat circuit body.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the connector of the present invention described in claim 1 is attached to the housing, and is disposed at a distance from the bottom surface of the housing. A terminal fitting having an elastic piece that is elastically deformable in a direction contacting and separating from the bottom surface, and attached to a terminal of the flat circuit body, and inserted between the elastic piece and the bottom surface of the flat circuit body. A connector including a holder for bringing a conductor into contact with the elastic piece is characterized in that a tapered surface is provided on the tip of the holder so that the holder is gradually thinned toward the tip of the holder.

  The connector of the present invention described in claim 2 is arranged closer to the holder before being inserted between the elastic piece and the bottom surface than the elastic piece in the connector described in claim 1. And the interference part which positions the said holder between the said bottom surfaces is provided, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  A connector according to a third aspect of the present invention is the connector according to the second aspect, wherein the interference portion is provided in the housing.

  According to the connector of the present invention described in claim 1, since the tapered surface is provided on the holder, the holder is placed between the elastic piece and the bottom surface in an inclined state by bringing the tapered surface into contact with the bottom surface. Even if is inserted, the displacement in the direction away from the bottom surface of the elastic piece can be suppressed.

  According to the connector of the present invention as set forth in claim 2, since the interference portion for positioning the holder between the bottom surface is provided closer to the holder than the terminal fitting, the distance from the bottom surface of the interference portion is appropriately adjusted. Thus, the allowable inclination of the holder can be suppressed, and the displacement in the direction away from the bottom surface of the elastic piece can be reliably suppressed.

  According to the connector of the present invention described in claim 3, since the interference portion is provided in the housing, an increase in the number of parts can be prevented.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the displacement in the direction away from the bottom surface of the elastic piece can be suppressed, the elastic piece can be prevented from being plastically deformed, and the elastic piece can be reliably in contact with the conductor of the flat circuit body. Thus, they can be reliably connected electrically.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the displacement in the direction away from the bottom surface of the elastic piece can be reliably suppressed, the elastic piece can be reliably prevented from being plastically deformed, and the elastic piece can be used as a conductor of the flat circuit body. Thus, they can be more reliably brought into contact with each other and more reliably electrically connected.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the interference portion is provided in the housing, it is possible to prevent an increase in the number of parts and prevent an increase in the cost of the connector itself.

  Hereinafter, a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an assembly of the connector shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the principal part inside.

  The connector 1 in this embodiment constitutes an interior lighting device 2 that is attached to a roof trim that is exposed and arranged in a passenger compartment of an automobile as a vehicle. The indoor lighting device 2 includes a design part (not shown), two lighting units 4, and two connectors 1.

  The design portion is made of a transparent or translucent synthetic resin and is formed in a flat plate shape. It is exposed in the passenger compartment and can be attached to the roof trim.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the illumination unit 4 includes a housing 5 formed of an insulating synthetic resin, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 6 as a light source, a lens 7, and a heat sink 8. Yes.

  The housing 5 is attached on the inner surface of the passenger compartment at one end of the FFC 9 described later. The LED 6 is mounted on the surface on the passenger compartment side at one end of the FFC 9. The LED 6 is supplied with power via the FFC 9.

  The lens 7 is made of a transparent or translucent synthetic resin. The lens 7 is formed in a rotating object shape. The lens 7 is attached to the housing 5 so as to protrude toward the inside of the passenger compartment and cover the LED 6. The heat sink 8 is configured by die casting or the like, and is attached to the outer surface of the passenger compartment of the FFC 9 via a sheet-like heat conductive double-sided tape 10. The heat sink 8 radiates heat generated by the LED 6 to the outside.

  The illumination unit 4 illuminates the passenger compartment by irradiating light toward the passenger compartment when power is supplied to the LED 6 via the FFC 9.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 1 is formed of a housing 11 formed of an insulating synthetic resin, a terminal fitting 12, a holder 13 (shown in FIG. 2), and an insulating synthetic resin. Cover member 14.

  The housing 11 is formed in a flat plate shape. As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 11 includes a terminal fixing portion 15, an electric wire holding portion 16, and a circuit body holding portion 17 provided at the center thereof. The housing 11 is provided with a terminal fixing portion 15 between the electric wire holding portion 16 and the circuit body holding portion 17 in the plan view.

  The electric wire holding portion 16 includes a plurality of electric wire receiving grooves 18 that are recessed from the surface of the housing 11 and extend linearly. In the illustrated example, the wire holding portion 16 is provided with three wire receiving grooves 18. The electric wire holding part 16 accommodates the central part of the electric wire 19 to which power from a power source such as a battery mounted on the vehicle body described above is supplied, and the central part is routed (attached). In addition, the electric wire 19 mentioned above is provided with the electroconductive core wire and the insulating coating | coated part which coat | covered the said core wire, and is a cross-section covering electric wire.

  The terminal fixing portion 15 includes a bottom plate portion 20, a side plate portion 21 erected from both edges in the width direction of the bottom plate portion 20 (longitudinal direction of the wire receiving groove 18 described above), and a side plate erected from the bottom plate portion 20. And a connecting portion 22 that connects the portions 21 to each other. The connecting portion 22 is provided with a terminal fixing groove 23 for fixing the terminal fitting 12 by positioning the terminal fitting 12 inward from the surface.

  The circuit body holding portion 17 is erected from both the bottom surface 24 that has a flat surface and is connected to the bottom plate portion 20, and both edges in the width direction of the bottom surface 24 (longitudinal direction of the wire receiving groove 18 described above). And a side plate 25. The circuit body holding portion 17 positions the other end portion of the FFC 9 attached to the holder 13 on the bottom surface 24 and routes the FFC 9.

  The terminal fitting 12 is obtained by bending a conductive sheet metal or the like, and includes an electric wire connecting portion 26, a circuit body fixing portion 27, and a connecting portion 28 that connects the connecting portion 26 and the fixing portion 27 to each other. Is integrated. The electric wire connecting portion 26 includes a press contact blade 29 that cuts into the covering portion of the electric wire 19 and contacts the core wire of the electric wire 19.

  The circuit body fixing portion 27 includes a fixing piece 30 and an elastic piece 31 that is spaced apart from the fixing piece 30 and elastically deformable. The fixed piece 30 and the elastic piece 31 have the bottom surface 24 positioned between them. The circuit body fixing portion 27 is fixed to the bottom surface 24, that is, the housing 11, with the fixing piece 30 engaged with the bottom surface 24.

  The elastic piece 31 is formed in a curved band shape that is convex toward the fixed piece 30. The elastic piece 31 is arranged at a distance from the bottom surface 24 to which the fixed piece 30 is fixed. The elastic piece 31 is elastically deformable in a direction in contact with and away from the bottom surface 24.

  The connecting portion 28 is press-fitted into the terminal fixing groove 23 and fixed to the housing 11. The terminal fitting 12 is such that the wire connecting portion 26 is housed in the wire housing groove 18, the circuit body fixing portion 27 is fixed to the circuit body holding portion 17, and the connecting portion 28 is press-fitted into the terminal fixing groove 23. It is fixed to the housing 11 by being fixed.

  The holder 13 is made of an insulating synthetic resin and is formed in a thick flat plate shape. The holder 13 is attached to the FFC 9 so as to overlap the outer surface of the passenger compartment at the other end of an FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) 9 as a flat circuit body.

  The FFC 9 includes a plurality of conductors 32 (shown in FIG. 3) that extend in a straight line and are arranged in parallel to each other, and a film 33 that covers these conductors 32, and is formed in a band shape as a whole. ing. Further, at the other end described above, the film 33 inside the passenger compartment is removed, and the conductor 32 is exposed.

  In addition, the FFC 9 is provided with a switch 34 that is turned on / off to supply power to the LED 6 or stop supplying power to the LED 6.

  The holder 13 is brought close to the terminal fitting 12 along the longitudinal direction of the FFC 9, inserted between the bottom surface 24 and the elastic piece 31, and attached to the housing 11. Then, the holder 13 brings the conductor 32 of the FFC 9 into contact with the elastic piece 31. At the tip of the holder 13 near the terminal fitting 12, a tapered surface 35 is provided to form the holder 13 gradually thinner toward the tip of the holder 13.

  The cover member 14 is formed in a flat plate shape and is detachable from the housing 11. When the cover member 14 is attached to the housing 11, the terminal fitting 12 attached to the terminal fixing part 15 between the housing 11, the holder 13 attached to the circuit body holding part 17, and the terminal at the other end of the FFC 9. Cover. Further, the cover member 14 sandwiches the holder 13 between the housing 11 and prevents the holder 13 from falling off the housing 11.

  Further, the connector 1 described above includes an interference portion 36. The interference part 36 is formed in a rod shape, and both ends thereof are connected to the side plate part 21. That is, the interference part 36 is provided integrally with the housing 11. The interference portion 36 is disposed closer to the holder 13 before being inserted between the elastic piece 31 and the bottom surface 24 than the elastic piece 31 of the terminal fitting 12 attached to the terminal fixing portion 15. That is, the interference part 36 is arranged behind the elastic piece 31 in the insertion direction of the holder 13. Further, the interference unit 36 is arranged with a space from the bottom surface 24, and positions the holder 13 between the bottom surface 24.

  The connector 1 described above is assembled as follows. After the terminal fitting 12 is attached to the terminal fixing portion 15 of the housing 11, the holder 13 is attached to the other end portion of the FFC 9 to which the illumination unit 4 is attached at one end portion, and then the holder 13 is attached to the bottom surface 24 and the elastic piece 31. Inserted between. At this time, even if the holder 13 is inserted in a state inclined with respect to the bottom surface 24, the tapered surface 35 contacts the bottom surface 24 and the holder 13 contacts the interference portion 36 as shown in FIG. 3. When the holder 13 overlaps the bottom surface 24 and the holder 13 is sandwiched between the bottom surface 24 and the elastic piece 31, the elastic piece 31 is separated in a direction away from the bottom surface 24 rather than the neutral state where the elastic piece 31 is not elastically deformed. Thus, an elastic restoring force that presses the FFC 9, that is, the holder 13 toward the bottom surface 24 is generated. Then, of course, the elastic piece 31 contacts the conductor 32 of the FFC 9 and the terminal fitting 12 and the conductor 32 of the FFC 9 are electrically connected to each other.

  Further, the electric wire 19 is press-fitted into the electric wire receiving groove 18, and the press-contact blade 29 cuts in the covering portion of the electric wire 19 to come into contact with the core wire, so that the electric wire 19 and the terminal fitting 12 are electrically connected to each other. Thereafter, the cover member 14 is attached to the housing 11, and the connector 1 described above is assembled. Then, of course, the electric wire 19 and the LED 6 are electrically connected to each other via the terminal fitting 12 and the conductor 32 of the FFC 9. As described above, the assembled connector 1 is attached to the design portion together with the lighting unit 4 and then attached to the roof trim to constitute the indoor lighting device 2 described above.

  According to this embodiment, since the holder 13 is provided with the tapered surface 35, the holder 13 is placed between the elastic piece 31 and the bottom surface 24 in an inclined state by bringing the tapered surface 35 into contact with the bottom surface 24. Even if inserted, for example, the displacement in the direction away from the bottom surface 24 of the elastic piece 31 can be suppressed as compared with the case of using the conventional holder 13 (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 3) in which the tapered surface 35 is not provided. it can. Therefore, the elastic piece 31 can be prevented from being plastically deformed, and the elastic piece 31 can be reliably brought into contact with the conductor 32 of the FFC 9 so that they can be reliably electrically connected.

  In addition, since the interference portion 36 for positioning the holder 13 between the bottom surface 24 and the terminal fitting 12 is provided closer to the holder 13, the distance from the bottom surface 24 of the interference portion 36 can be adjusted appropriately to allow the holder 13 to be allowed. The tilt of the holder 13 can be reduced, and the displacement in the direction away from the bottom surface 24 of the elastic piece 31 can be reliably suppressed. Therefore, the elastic piece 31 can be reliably prevented from being plastically deformed, and the elastic piece 31 can be reliably brought into contact with the conductor 32 of the FFC 9 so that they can be electrically connected more reliably.

  Furthermore, since the interference part 36 is provided in the housing 11, the number of parts of the connector 1 can be prevented from increasing. Therefore, an increase in the cost of the connector 1 itself can be prevented.

  In the above-described embodiment, the interior lighting device 2 attached to the ceiling of the automobile is configured to supply power to the bulb. However, the connector 1 of the present invention may be used for various machines and applications. good. That is, the connector 1 of the present invention is not limited to the design portion and may be attached to various attached members.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above only showed the typical form of this invention, and this invention is not limited to embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a perspective view of the connector concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the connector shown by FIG. It is sectional drawing of the principal part in the assembly of the connector shown by FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Connector 9 FFC (Flat Circuit Body)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Housing 12 Terminal metal fitting 13 Holder 24 Bottom surface 31 Elastic piece 32 Conductor 35 Tapered surface 36 Interference part

Claims (3)

A housing;
A terminal fitting having an elastic piece attached to the housing and spaced apart from the bottom surface of the housing and elastically deformable in a direction contacting and separating from the bottom surface;
In a connector comprising: a holder attached to a terminal of a flat circuit body, and inserted between the elastic piece and the bottom surface so that a conductor of the flat circuit body contacts the elastic piece.
A connector characterized in that a taper surface is formed on the tip of the holder so that the holder is gradually thinned toward the tip of the holder.   The interfering portion that is disposed closer to the holder before being inserted between the elastic piece and the bottom surface than the elastic piece, and that positions the holder between the bottom surface. The connector according to 1.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the interference portion is provided in the housing.

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