JP2016096128A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector designed such that a flat conductor is easily unlocked even if mounting components are densely mounted around it.SOLUTION: A connector comprises: a terminal disposed in conduction contact with a flat conductor 3; a housing having fitting chamber in which the flat conductor 3 and the terminal are in conduction contact with each other; and a locking lover maintaining conduction connection between the terminal and the flat conductor 3 by locking to the flat conductor 3. In the connector, the lock lever comprises: a locking part 8a that locks to the flat conductor 3 in the fitting chamber; an operation part 8f that is able to be displaced in the direction of insertion of the flat conductor 3; and a curved part 8d that serves as a rotation fulcrum displaced in the direction in which the locking part 8a is separated from the flat conductor 3, by pressing the operation 8f along the direction in which the flat conductor 3 is inserted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector for conductively connecting a flat conductor and a substrate.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a connector used in an electronic device is mounted on a substrate and referred to as “flat conductor” (FPC), FFC (Flexible Flat Cable), or the like (in this specification and claims). ) And the substrate are used. These connectors are mounted on many electronic devices because they can connect in-device units such as computers and liquid crystal displays and boards in various forms.

  As such a connector, there is a connector provided with a lock lever having a locking portion that locks into a recess provided on a side edge of the flat conductor. In a state where the flat conductor and the terminal are conductively connected, the flat conductor is fixed to the connector by the locking portion engaging with the concave portion of the flat conductor. When pulling out the flat conductor from the connector, the locking lever is previously pressed to remove the locking portion from the recess, and in that state, the flat conductor is pulled from the connector. The mold conductor can be easily pulled out from the connector (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-59535 A

  The locking portion of the lock lever as described above is connected to the operation portion and is displaced in the same direction as the pressing direction of the operation portion. Therefore, in order to remove the locking portion from the concave portion of the flat conductor, it is necessary to press the operating portion and greatly displace the operating portion in a direction away from the flat conductor. Therefore, when a flat conductor is inserted into the connector in a direction orthogonal to the plate surface of the board, a wide space for displacing the operation portion around the connector is required. Further, when a flat conductor is inserted into the connector in a direction parallel to the plate surface of the board, a large space is required for the operation unit to be displaced in the height direction of the connector. However, such operation is difficult when other mounting parts are densely packed around the connector mounted on the board.

  The present invention is based on the background of the above-described conventional technology, and its purpose is a connector that can easily release the locking of the flat conductor by the lock lever even when there is no wide space around the connector. Is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

  The present invention includes a terminal that is in conductive contact with a flat conductor as an object to be connected, a housing having a fitting chamber in which the flat conductor and the terminal are in conductive contact, and a terminal that is engaged with the flat conductor. For a connector having a lock lever that maintains a conductive connection with the mold conductor, the lock lever is displaced in the insertion direction of the flat conductor, and a locking portion that locks with the flat conductor inside the fitting chamber. And a curved portion serving as a fulcrum for rotating the locking portion in a direction away from the flat conductor when the operating portion is pressed along the insertion direction of the flat conductor. A connector is provided.

  The present invention also includes a terminal that is in conductive contact with a flat conductor as a connection object, an insertion port for the flat conductor, a fitting chamber in which the flat conductor and the terminal are in conductive contact, and the fitting A connector comprising a housing having a side wall forming a chamber, and a lock lever that is engaged with a flat conductor fitted to the terminal and maintains a conductive connection between the terminal and the flat conductor. The lock lever includes a locking portion that locks and prevents the flat conductor that is in conductive contact with the terminal inside the fitting chamber, and a direction in which the locking portion approaches and separates from the flat conductor. An elastic piece part to be displaced; a flat plate part extending along the side wall part; and a connecting part extending in the direction away from the flat plate part and connected to the elastic piece part, and the flat plate part of the flat conductor By pressing along the insertion direction, the elastic piece is pushed in the direction in which the connecting portion separates. And, to provide a connector which is characterized by having said engaging portion is flat apart from the conductor is displaced in a direction to release the engagement with respect to flat conductor operating unit.

  Usually, in order to displace the locking portion in the direction away from the flat conductor, it is necessary to displace the operation portion in the direction away from the flat conductor. On the other hand, according to the present invention, by pressing the operation portion of the lock lever along the insertion direction of the flat conductor, the locking portion is displaced in the direction away from the flat conductor, and the locking to the flat conductor is performed. Can be released. In addition, the present invention can be provided with a curved portion serving as a pivot point for the locking portion to be displaced in a direction away from the flat conductor. Therefore, for example, even if there are densely mounted components around the connector and there is no space to press and displace the operating part in the direction away from the flat conductor, the locking to the flat conductor is easily released. can do.

  It has a base end part connected to the operation part of the present invention, and can have a stopper part which is displaced together with the operation part and stops the displacement of the operation part by contacting the side wall part.

  By excessively displacing the operation unit in the direction away from the flat conductor, the operation unit may be plastically deformed and cannot return to its original position. Such a situation may cause a situation in which the locking portion cannot be engaged and disengaged with respect to the flat conductor. Then, since it can be made difficult to displace an operation part excessively by having a stopper part connected to an operation part like this invention, generation | occurrence | production of the plastic deformation of an operation part can be suppressed.

  The side wall portion of the present invention may have a contact portion where the stopper portion abuts in the insertion direction of the flat conductor.

  If the stopper part hits the side wall part in a direction away from the flat conductor, a large space is required for the stopper part to be displaced. However, it is not necessary to provide such a wide space by abutting the stopper portion against the contact portion in the same direction as the pressing direction of the flat plate portion.

  Further, for example, when the plate edge of the side wall portion is used as a contact portion and the stopper portion abuts against the plate edge, the contact portion is thicker in the abutting direction than when the plate surface of the side wall portion is used as the contact portion. Thus, the rigidity of the contact portion is further increased. Accordingly, since the contact portion can be hardly deformed or damaged, the contact portion can reliably receive the force applied from the stopper portion, and the displacement of the operation portion can be stopped.

  The stopper part of the present invention may have an extending part that extends in a cantilevered manner from the operation part.

  Thereby, an operation part and an extension part can be elastically displaced mutually independently. Therefore, for example, the extension part is displaced along the side wall part while displacing the operation part in a direction inclined with respect to the side wall part, and the stopper part can reliably contact the side wall part.

  The stopper portion of the present invention may have a plate edge portion that comes into contact with the side wall portion.

  When the stopper portion comes into contact with the side wall portion on the plate surface, a reaction force is received from the side wall portion in the plate pressure direction of the stopper portion. On the other hand, when the stopper portion comes into contact with the side wall portion at the plate edge portion, the plate edge portion receives a reaction force in the plate surface direction of the stopper portion. In this case, compared with the case where the plate | board surface of a stopper part contact | abuts with respect to a side wall part, a stopper part becomes difficult to be damaged or deform | transformed by reaction force. Therefore, the stopper part can be reliably brought into contact with the side wall part, and the displacement of the operation part can be stopped.

  The said side wall part of this invention shall have a thick part which protrudes in the plate | board thickness direction of the said side wall part, and the said stopper part contact | abuts.

  By doing so, the rigidity of the side wall portion with respect to the force applied from the stopper portion can be increased, so that damage and deformation due to the contact of the stopper portion can be made difficult to occur.

  The housing of the present invention has a plurality of the thick portions, the operation portion is disposed between the thick portions, and the interval between the thick portions is larger than the plate width of the flat conductor. It can be narrow.

  By providing the operation part between the thick parts, the displacement of the operation part can be guided by the thick parts. Further, by making the interval between the thick portions narrower than the plate width of the flat conductor, it is possible to make it difficult for the operator to accidentally insert between the thick portions instead of the fitting chamber.

  The flat plate portion of the present invention is pressed so that the connecting portion is displaced so as to approach the elastic piece portion, and the side wall portion has a guide surface portion that induces displacement of the flat plate portion in a direction approaching the connecting portion. Can be.

  By doing so, even when the operation portion is displaced as a whole so that the connecting portion side of the operation portion approaches the side wall portion, it is difficult to cause a situation where the operation portion contacts the side wall portion and the displacement is inhibited. can do.

  The operation part of the present invention may have a pressing part connected to the flat plate part to receive the pressing, and the pressing part may be provided on the top surface side of the housing.

  By carrying out like this, an operator becomes easy to contact a press part and a press work can also be performed easily.

  The lock lever according to the present invention may include a housing fixing portion fixed to the housing, and a substrate fixing portion that is exposed from the side wall facing the side wall and fixed to the substrate. .

  In this way, even if the flat part of the lock lever is pressed along the insertion direction of the flat conductor on the side surface on one side of the housing, the board fixing part is against the board on the side surface on the opposite side of the housing. Therefore, the side surface of the one side of the housing can be prevented from falling toward the substrate.

  The said side wall part of this invention shall have a leg part which contacts a board | substrate and supports a housing.

  In this way, even if the flat plate portion of the lock lever is pressed along the insertion direction of the flat conductor, the leg portion supports the housing so that the housing contacts and stretches, so that the housing does not fall down. be able to.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the connector which can cancel | release easily the latching of the lock lever with respect to a flat type conductor can be provided. Thereby, for example, even if the connector is mounted at a position where the mounted parts are densely packed, the flat conductor can be easily released.

The external appearance perspective view of the connector by one Embodiment. The front view of the connector of FIG. The rear view of the connector of FIG. The top view of the connector of FIG. The bottom view of the connector of FIG. The right view of the connector of FIG. The external appearance perspective view of the reinforcement member with which the connector of FIG. 1 is provided. The external appearance perspective view of the lock lever with which the connector of FIG. 1 is provided. The top view of the flat type conductor which the connector of FIG. 1 carries out conductive contact. The explanatory view showing the state where the connector of Drawing 1 carries out conduction contact with a flat type conductor. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SA-SA in FIG. 10, wherein a partial view (a) is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the locking portion of the lock lever is locked to the flat conductor, and FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the state cancelled | released. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SB-SB of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the state which has faced the edge.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the connector of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A connector 1 shown in the following embodiment is mounted on a substrate 2 and electrically connects a flat conductor 3 such as FPC or FFC to a substrate circuit.

  In the present specification, the connector 1 will be described with the width direction (longitudinal direction) as the X direction, the front-rear direction (short direction) as the Y direction, and the height direction (vertical direction) of the connector 1 as the Z direction. The side where the lock lever 8 is provided in the front-rear direction Y of the connector 1 will be described as “front side” and the opposite side will be described as “rear side”. In the description, the board 2 side in the height direction Z is referred to as “lower side” and the connector 1 side is referred to as “upper side”. However, these do not limit the mounting method and usage method of the connector 1 on the board 2.

  Note that the left side view is left-right symmetrical with the right side view, and the description is omitted. Moreover, since the two reinforcing members 6 provided in the connector 1 are formed symmetrically with each other, the description of one external perspective view is omitted.

Embodiment [FIGS. 1 to 12]:
The connector 1 in the present embodiment is a connector that inserts the flat conductor 3 in a state of being fixed vertically with respect to the substrate 2 and electrically connects the substrate 2 and the flat conductor 3. The connector 1 is formed such that the length in the front-rear direction Y is shorter than the length in the height direction Z, and the flat conductor 3 has a height from the insertion port 4a provided on the upper side of the connector 1 into the fitting chamber 4b. Insert in the direction along the direction Z.

  The connector 1 is mounted on the board 2 and connects the flat conductor 3 and the board 2 in a conductive manner. 1 to 6, the connector 1 includes a housing 4, a terminal 5, a reinforcing member 6, a ground terminal 7, and a lock lever 8.

  First, the structure of the flat conductor 3 which is the connection target of the connector 1 in this embodiment is demonstrated.

[Flat conductor]
The flat conductor 3 includes a conductive wire 3a, an insulating layer 3b, a locking recess 3c, and a ground connection portion 3d.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the conductive wire 3 a is covered on both front and back surfaces by an insulating layer 3 b, and is exposed to the outside from the insulating layer 3 b on the insertion end side (tip side) to the housing 4. Conductive wire 3a is in electrical contact with terminal 5 of connector 1 at this exposed portion.

  The insulating layer 3b is made of an insulating coating and is formed by being laminated on both the front and back surfaces of the conductive wire 3a as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 9, one locking recess 3c is provided on the side of the tip 3A at the side edge portions 3e and 3e on both sides along the insertion direction of the flat conductor 3. The locking recess 3c is formed as a notch in which the side edge 3e of the flat conductor 3 is notched in a concave shape. The locking recess 3 c has an edge 3 c 1 that is a plate edge along the width direction X of the flat conductor 3. A locking portion 8a of the lock lever 8 described later is locked to the edge portion 3c1.

  Hereinafter, the structure of the connector 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated.

〔housing〕
The housing 4 is made of insulative resin and is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, and the length in the front-rear direction Y is shorter than the length in the height direction Z. The housing 4 includes an insertion port 4a for the flat conductor 3, a fitting chamber 4b, a terminal accommodating portion 4c, a leg portion 4f, and a front wall 4h as a “side wall portion”.

  The insertion port 4a is formed in the top wall 4d1 provided on the upper side of the housing 4 and communicates with the fitting chamber 4b.

  The fitting chamber 4b is provided inside the housing 4 and is formed surrounded by an inner wall 4b1 provided along the height direction Z.

  The terminal accommodating portions 4 c communicate with the fitting chamber 4 b and are arranged in parallel along the width direction X of the housing 4 on the rear side of the fitting chamber 4 b. The terminals 5 are accommodated one by one in the terminal accommodating portion 4c.

  The front wall 4h forms an inner wall 4b1 of the fitting chamber 4b on the front side of the flat conductor 3 in the fitted state. The front wall 4h is provided with a thick part 4i and a leg part 4f.

  The thick part 4i is provided on the upper side of the front wall 4h and on both end sides in the width direction X, and is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape protruding toward the front side. The thick part 4i has a through hole 4i2 along the height direction Z. The opening 4i3 of the through hole 4i2 is provided with an opening edge 4i3 as a “contact portion”. Between the two thick portions 4i, a pressing portion 8f2 described later is disposed.

  One leg portion 4f is provided at the lower end side of the front wall 4h and at both ends in the width direction X, and protrudes toward the front side. The lower end of the leg portion 4f comes into contact with the board surface in a state where the connector 1 is mounted on the board 2.

  In this way, the leg portion 4f protrudes from the front wall 4h to the front side, so that the lengthwise connector Y that is easy to fall forward and backward because the length in the front-rear direction Y is shorter than the length in the height direction Z, It is difficult to fall down toward the front side and can be reliably fixed to the substrate 2.

(Terminal)
The terminals 5 are formed by bending a conductive metal plate, and a plurality of terminals 5 are arranged in parallel along the width direction X of the housing 4 by being accommodated one by one in the terminal accommodating portion 4 c. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the terminal 5 includes a substrate connecting portion 5a, a fixing portion 5b, an elastic piece portion 5c, and a contact portion 5d.

  The board connecting portion 5 a is provided on one end side of the terminal 5 and protrudes toward the rear side of the housing 4. The terminal 5 is soldered to the substrate 2 by the substrate connecting portion 5a. Thereby, since the front-rear direction Y is short with respect to the height direction Z, the connector 1 that is likely to be unstable is less likely to fall down toward the rear side, and can be reliably fixed to the substrate 2.

  The fixing portion 5 b is connected to the substrate connecting portion 5 a and is fixed to the housing 4 by being press-fitted into a fixing hole (not shown) provided in the housing 4. The fixing portion 5b extends along the height direction Z and is connected to the substrate connecting portion 5a at the lower end. Further, the fixing portion 5 b passes through a back wall 4 b 2 provided on the lower side of the housing 4, and the terminal 5 is fixed to the housing 4 here. In the present embodiment, the terminal 5 and the housing 4 are formed by insert integral molding.

  The elastic piece portion 5c extends in a cantilever shape along the height direction Z from the upper end of the fixed portion 5b to the upper side. Further, the contact portion 5d is elastically supported on the distal end side of the elastic piece portion 5c. The elastic piece 5c is elastically deformed along the front-rear direction Y of the connector 1 with the connecting portion with the fixed portion 5b as a fulcrum inside the fitting chamber 4b.

  The contact portion 5d is bent in a mountain shape toward the contact direction with the flat conductor 3, and a contact portion 5d1 that is conductively connected to the flat conductor 3 is formed. The contact portion 5d1 is in conductive contact with the flat conductor 3 inside the fitting chamber 4b.

(Reinforcing member)
The reinforcing member 6 is formed of a conductive metal plate, and one reinforcing member 6 is provided on each end in the width direction X of the housing 4. The reinforcing member 6 is fixed to both end sides in the width direction X of the housing 4 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 and 7. The pair of reinforcing members 6 and 6 are formed symmetrically with each other and reinforce the wall 4g of the housing 4 forming the fitting chamber 4b.

  The reinforcing member 6 includes a fixing portion 6a for the housing 4, a ground connection portion 6b, and a reinforcing main body 6c.

  The fixing portion 6a has a plate surface along the height direction Z and is press-fitted into a press-fitting groove (not shown) provided on the lower side of the wall body 4g of the lateral side wall 4f. The reinforcing member 6 is fixed to the housing 4 by the fixing portion 6a.

  The ground connection portion 6b is connected to the lower side of the fixed portion 6a and has a plate surface that comes into contact with the substrate surface in a state where the connector 1 is mounted on the substrate 2. The ground connection portion 6b protrudes along the width direction X on the lower side of the housing 4 and is soldered to a ground connection pad (not shown) provided on the substrate 2.

  The reinforcing main body 6c is connected to the upper side of the fixed portion 6a, and includes a first reinforcing plate 6c1, a second reinforcing plate 6c2, and a third reinforcing plate 6c3.

  The first reinforcing plate 6 c 1 is provided along the lateral side wall 4 f on the end side in the width direction X of the housing 4. Further, the front end side of the first reinforcing plate 6c1 is bent to form the third reinforcing plate 6c3 along the plate surface of the front wall 4h.

  The second reinforcing plate 6c2 is connected to the rear end portion of the first reinforcing plate 6c1 and is provided along the rear side wall 4e2 facing the front wall 4h. Further, the second reinforcing plate 6c2 sandwiches the end side in the width direction X of the housing 4 with the third reinforcing plate 6c3. The second reinforcing plate 6c2 has a stepped portion 4f at the approximate center in the width direction X. The first reinforcing plate 6c1 side of the step 4f is exposed to the outside from the housing 4, and the opposite side is accommodated in the rear side wall 4e2 of the housing 4.

[Ground terminal]
The ground terminal 7 is formed of a conductive metal piece, and is provided integrally with the reinforcing member 6 as shown in FIG.

  The ground terminal 7 extends in a cantilever shape from the second reinforcing plate 6c2 of the reinforcing member 6 toward the upper side, bends toward the front side in the front-rear direction Y, and then turns back toward the lower side. It is formed in a shape. The distal end side of the ground terminal 7 enters the fitting chamber 4b, and the distal end side thereof is bent in a mountain shape toward the contact direction with the flat conductor 3 in the fitted state. A bent portion 7a that contacts the portion 3d is formed.

  By forming the ground terminal 7 integrally with the reinforcing member 6 in this way, the ground terminal 7 and the reinforcing member 6 can be attached to the housing 4 by one operation. Therefore, the work efficiency of assembly can be improved, and the number of parts can be reduced as compared with another member.

[Lock lever]
The lock lever 8 is provided by bending a metal plate. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, the substrate fixing portion 8h, the housing fixing portion 8e, the bending portion 8d, the elastic piece portion 8c, the connecting portion 8b, the locking portion 8a, and the operation portion 8f And a stopper portion 8g. The housing fixing part 8e, the bending part 8d, the elastic piece part 8c, the locking part 8a, and the stopper part 8g are provided two by two, but only one operation part 8f is provided.

  The substrate fixing portion 8h is a plate-like piece that is provided on each of both end sides in the width direction X of the lock lever 8 and has a plate surface along the YZ plane. The substrate fixing portion 8 h has a plate edge parallel to the substrate 2, and the lock lever 8 is fixed to the substrate 2 by soldering the substrate fixing portion 8 h to the substrate 2.

  The housing fixing portion 8e is a plate-like piece that is connected to the base end fixing portion 8h, extends upward along the height direction Z, and has a plate surface along the YZ plane. Further, a protrusion is provided on the upper side of the housing fixing portion 8e, and is fixed by being press-fitted into a fixing groove (not shown) provided in the wall body 4g of the lateral side wall 4e1 of the housing 4.

  In the present embodiment, the board fixing part 8h and the housing fixing part 8e are arranged one by one on both end sides in the width direction X of the terminal 5, and have a plate surface along the YZ plane as described above. By forming as a plate-shaped piece, it is possible to prevent an increase in size in the width direction X.

  The curved portions 8d are provided one by one connected to the upper side of the housing fixing portions 8e, 8e, and are formed in a substantially U shape protruding upward in the height direction Z. Further, the curved portion 8d is provided in the center of the first stage with respect to the housing fixing portion 8e in the width direction X. As a result, the housing fixing portion 8e is fixed inside the wall body 4g of the lateral side wall 4e1 of the housing 4, whereas the bending portion 8d is provided inside the wall body 4g and communicates with the fitting chamber 4b. It is accommodated in the space 4k and can be elastically deformed.

  The elastic piece portion 8c is a plate-like piece, is provided one by one connected to the curved portions 8d, 8d, and extends downward along the height direction Z. The elastic piece 8c is accommodated in a displacement space 4k provided in the wall body 4g, and can be elastically displaced inside the displacement space 4k.

  The connecting portion 8b is connected to the lower side of the elastic piece portion 8c, and is provided as a plate-like piece along the front-rear direction Y between the flat plate portion 8f1 described later. Moreover, it arrange | positions rather than the front-end | tip part 3A of the flat conductor 3 in a fitting state.

  The locking portion 8a is provided so as to protrude from the inner wall 4b1 of the fitting chamber 4b to the inside of the fitting chamber 4b, and is formed in a mountain shape that protrudes forward in the approximate center in the height direction Z of the elastic piece portion 8c. The Further, the locking portion 8a has a locking edge 8a1 along the height direction Z.

  The operating portion 8f is connected to one connecting portion 8b at both ends in the width direction X, and is provided between the two elastic piece portions 8c. The operation portion 8f is provided outside the housing 4 and includes a flat plate portion 8f1 and a pressing portion 8f2.

  The flat plate portion 8f1 is connected to the connecting portion 8b and is formed in a substantially flat plate shape that extends upward. On the upper end side of the flat plate portion 8f1, a pressing portion 8f2 that is bent forward and has a plate surface parallel to the substrate 2 is formed. The flat plate portion 8f1 has two protruding portions 8f3 along the width direction X at substantially the center in the height direction Z. Thereby, the rigidity of the flat plate portion 8f1 against the force applied when pressing the pressing portion 8f2 can be increased.

  The pressing portion 8 f 2 is provided so as to protrude forward from the front end of the thick portion 4 i of the housing 4. Further, the pressing portion 8f2 is disposed above the center in the height direction Z of the housing 4 and on the top wall 4d1 side. The front end portion of the pressing portion 8f2 is further bent toward the lower side and the rear side.

  One stopper portion 8g is provided at each end of the operation portion 8f in the width direction X. It has the extension part 8g1 extended in the shape of a cantilever from the operation part 8f to the upper side, and the contact part 8g2 provided on the tip side of the elastic piece part 8f1. The abutting portion 8g2 is formed in a substantially U shape in which the tip end side of the metal piece is folded downward, and the abutting edge portion 8g3 is provided on the downward plate edge provided at the tip end.

  The extending portion 8g1 is inserted through a through hole 4i2 provided in the thick portion 4i of the front wall 4h, and the base end portion 8g4 is disposed outside the through hole 4i2. Further, the contact portion 8g2 and the contact edge portion 8g3 are exposed to the outside from the opening 4i3 of the through hole 4i2.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the substrate fixing portion 8h is provided on one side with respect to the housing fixing portion 8e, and the curved portion 8d, the elastic piece portion 5c, the operation portion 8f, and the like are provided on the other side. Therefore, even if the pressing portion 8f2 is pressed to displace the operation portion 8f and a force is applied to the elastic piece portion 5c or the bending portion 8d, the force is received by the housing fixing portion 8e, thereby the substrate fixing portion 8h. It is a structure that is difficult to apply force. Therefore, even if the pressing portion 8f2 is pressed, the substrate fixing portion 8h is difficult to come off from the substrate 2.

[Description of flat conductor fitting method]
Next, a method for using the connector 1 will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7, the flat conductor 3 is inserted into the fitting chamber 4b from the insertion port 4a. The distal end portion 3A of the flat conductor 3 comes into contact with the locking portion 8a of the lock lever 8, and the curved portion 8d is elastically deformed so that the locking portion 8a is displaced rearward to get over the locking portion 8a. . At that time, the locking portion 8a is elastically displaced rearward. During this time, a restoring force is applied to the elastic piece portion 8c so that the locking portion 8a returns to the front side. Therefore, the flat conductor 3 is pressed to the front side by the locking portion 8a. In this state, the flat conductor 3 is inserted into the fitting chamber 4b of the connector 1 along the front inner wall 4b1 in the fitting chamber 4b. Is done.

  At this time, the housing 4 is pressed from the flat conductor 3 pressed by the locking portion 8a. However, since the reinforcing member 6 is fixed to the housing 4, the rigidity against the force applied from the inside to the outside of the fitting chamber 4b is enhanced. Therefore, even if the wall body 4g receives a force from the flat conductor 3 inserted into the fitting chamber 4b, the wall body 4g is hardly deformed.

  Thereafter, when the flat conductor 3 is further inserted toward the back side of the fitting chamber 4b in a state where the locking portion 8a of the lock lever 8 is elastically displaced, the tip 3A of the flat conductor 3 is in contact with the terminal 5. The portion 5d is contacted from above, and the contact portion 5d is elastically displaced rearward to get over the contact portion 5d1. In this state, the flat conductor 3 is sandwiched between the contact portion 5d1 and the front inner wall 4b1 in the fitting chamber 4b, and the flat conductor 3 and the terminal 5 are in conductive contact.

[Flat structure for flat conductors]
As described above, when the flat conductor 3 is inserted all the way into the fitting chamber 4b, the locking recess 3c of the flat conductor 3 eventually reaches the locking portion 8a of the lock lever 8 that is elastically displaced rearward. . And the latching | locking part 8a is displaced to the front side with a restoring force, and enters into the latching recessed part 3c from the back side. At this time, the locking edge 8a1 provided on the locking portion 8a of the lock lever 8 is in a state along the front-rear direction Y, that is, a state along the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the flat conductor 3. Then, the locking edge 8a1 contacts and locks the edge 3c1 of the locking recess 3c, thereby preventing the connector 1 from coming off (FIG. 11).

  When a force in the removal direction is applied to the flat conductor 3 in a state where the flat conductor 3 is secured to the connector 1 in this way, the engagement of the lock lever 8 to the edge 3c1 of the locking recess 3c of the flat conductor 3 is applied. The stop 8a comes into contact and is prevented from coming off. Thereby, the connection state of the connector 1 and the flat conductor 3 can be maintained.

  The lock lever 8 is fixed to the substrate 2 by soldering the substrate fixing portion 8 h to the substrate 2. The operation portion 8f of the lock lever 8 is provided on the front wall 4h side, whereas the substrate fixing portion 8h is exposed to the outside from the housing 4 and fixed to the substrate 2 on the rear side wall 4e2. Therefore, it is possible to make it difficult for the connector 1 to fall down toward the front side when the operation portion 8f is pressed downward.

  The terminal 5 is soldered to the substrate 2 on the lower side of the rear side wall 4e2 opposite to the side on which the operation portion 8f of the lock lever 8 is provided. Since the terminal 5 is also fixed to the housing 4 by the housing fixing portion 8e, when the operation portion 8f of the lock lever 8 is pressed downward like the above, the entire connector 1 faces the front side. It is possible to make it difficult to cause a situation of falling.

  As described above, according to the connector 1 of the present embodiment, the flat conductor 3 can be prevented from being detached without providing another member such as an actuator or a slider, so that the connector 1 can be reduced in size.

  Further, when the flat conductor 3 is inserted into the fitting chamber 4b, it is not arranged along a movable structure member that may cause backlash, such as an actuator or a slider, but instead of the fitting chamber 4b of the housing 4 itself. Since the fitting is performed along the surface of the inner wall 4b1, it is possible to maintain a reliable fitting state free from unstable elements such as play. Furthermore, since the above-described removal prevention can be achieved by only one operation of inserting the flat conductor 3 into the connector 1, the fitting operation is easy.

[How to remove a flat conductor]
In a vertically placed connector in which the flat conductor 3 is inserted in a direction orthogonal to the substrate 2, the length in the height direction Z may be longer and taller than the length in the front-rear direction Y. In such a vertically placed connector, the amount of protrusion from the board 2 is large, so that it tends to tilt with respect to the board 2. Therefore, when receiving a strong force in the front-rear direction Y, the connector may fall toward the opposite side. Further, when other mounting components are close to each other on the board 2, the pressing in the height direction Z is wider in the plate surface direction of the board 2 than the pressing in the front-rear direction Y of the lock lever 8. Is not necessary, and it is easy to perform the pressing work. Therefore, in the present embodiment, by pressing the pressing portion 8f2 in the height direction Z, the locking of the locking portion 8a with respect to the locking recess 3c of the flat conductor 3 can be released.

  When extracting the flat conductor, the pressing portion 8f2 is pressed so as to be pushed down from above as indicated by an arrow C. As a result, the bending portion 8d is elastically deformed as shown in FIG. 11B, and the operation portion 8f, the stopper portion 8g, and the elastic piece portion 8c rotate with the bending portion 8d as a fulcrum. Thereby, the flat plate part 8f1 of the operation part 8f and the stopper part 8g are inclined so that the lower side approaches the flat conductor 3 in the fitted state. And the connection part 8b is pressed by the operation part 8f, and is displaced toward the back side under the flat conductor 3 in a fitting state. Further, the elastic piece portion 8c is pressed by the connecting portion 8b and displaced so that the lower side is separated from the flat conductor 3 in the fitted state. The elastic piece portion 8c is connected to the curved portion 8d on the upper side, and only the lower side is displaced as described above. Therefore, the elastic piece portion 8c is inclined with respect to the flat conductor 3 in the fitted state as a whole. The locking portion 8 a protrudes from the elastic piece portion 8 c, and the locking portion 8 a is displaced so as to be separated from the flat conductor 3 when the elastic piece portion 8 c is inclined. Thus, the locking portion 8a comes out of the locking recess 3c, and the contact edge 8a1 of the locking portion 8a is separated from the edge 3c1 of the locking recess 3c to release the locking.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, by pressing the pressing portion 8f2 toward the lower side in the height direction Z, the operation portion 8f, the stopper portion 8g, and the elastic piece portion 8c become the curved portion 8d. Is used as a fulcrum, and the locking of the flat conductor 3 by the locking portion 8a can be released. Therefore, even if the mounting components are densely packed around the connector 1 mounted on the substrate 2 and it is difficult to displace the pressing portion 8f2 in the plate surface direction of the substrate 2, the locking portion 8a is used. The locking of the flat conductor 3 can be released.

  When the lower side of the operation portion 8f or the stopper portion 8g is inclined so as to approach the flat conductor 3 in the fitted state, the lower side of the operation portion 8f also approaches the front wall 4h. Therefore, a guide surface 4j that forms a space for the operation portion 8f to be displaced is formed below the front wall 4h so as not to interfere with the displacement by contacting the operation portion 8f. The guide surface 4j is provided by reducing the plate thickness of the front wall 4h as it goes down, and the operation portion 8f is sufficiently inclined to the extent that the locking portion 8a can come out of the locking recess 3c. be able to.

  Although the pressing portion 8f2 is disposed between the thick portions 4i and 4i as described above, the front end of the pressing portion 8f2 protrudes to the front side of the thick portions 4i and 4i. It is easy to contact and can be easily pressed against the pressing portion 8f2. In addition, if the upper surface of the pressing portion 8f2 is provided on the substrate 2 side and the bottom wall 4d2, it is difficult for the operator to visually recognize and touch the pressing portion 8f2. Therefore, it becomes difficult to press the pressing portion 8f2. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the upper surface of the pressing portion 8f2 is provided on the opposite side of the housing 4 from the substrate 2 and on the side of the top wall 4d1, so that it can be easily seen by an operator (not shown). It can be set as the press part 8f2 which is made to contact easily and is easy to press. Furthermore, since the thick portions 4i and 4i exhibit a guide function when the pressing portion 8f2 is displaced downward, the pressing portion 8f2 can be smoothly pushed down.

  The extension part 8g1 has its outer periphery covered with the inner wall of the through hole 4i2 provided in the thick part 4i, so that the displacement in the direction other than the height direction Z is limited. Further, the inner wall of the through hole 4i2 exhibits a guide function when the contact portion 8g2 of the stopper portion 8g is displaced along the height direction Z. Accordingly, the contact portion 8g2 can be smoothly displaced along the height direction Z.

  In addition, as described above, the connector 1 includes the operation portion 8f and the locking portion 8a as a single member, and is provided integrally. Therefore, when releasing the locking, the number of parts is reduced compared to the connector that releases the locking by pressing the locking portion 8a using another member to be separated from the locking recess 3c of the flat conductor 3. Can be reduced.

[Plastic deformation prevention structure of operation section]
When the pressing portion 8f2 is pressed, the pressing portion 8f2 is displaced downward in the height direction Z. At this time, if the pressing portion 8f2 is strongly pulled forward, the operation portion 8f may be plastically deformed and may not return to the original position. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a stopper portion 8g connected to the operation portion 8f is provided. When the pressing portion 8f2 is displaced downward in the height direction Z, the contact portion 8g2 of the stopper portion 8g is also displaced downward in the height direction Z and contacts the opening edge 4i3 of the front wall 4h. . As a result, the pressing portion 8f2 cannot be pressed further downward, so that it is difficult to cause excessive displacement of the operation portion 8f. Therefore, generation | occurrence | production of the above plastic deformation can be suppressed.

  However, even if the stopper portion 8g is provided as described above, even if the stopper portion 8g contacts the plate surface of the front wall 4h in the thickness direction of the wall, the front wall 4h is pressed by the stopper portion 8g. It cannot withstand the applied force and may be deformed or damaged.

  When a force is applied to the front wall 4h, the rigidity of the force increases as the length of the front wall 4h increases in the direction in which the force is applied. Therefore, if the length in the plate surface direction is longer than the length in the plate thickness direction of the front wall 4h, the same force is applied in the plate surface direction from the plate edge side than in the case where the same force is applied in the plate thickness direction from the plate surface side. When added, deformation and breakage are less likely to occur. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the contact edge 8g3 provided on the contact 8g2 of the stopper 8g abuts in the insertion direction of the flat conductor 3 against the opening edge 4i3 of the thick part 4i provided on the front wall 4h. I am doing so. In the present embodiment, in the front wall 4h, the length in the plate surface direction, that is, the insertion direction of the flat conductor 3, is longer than the length in the plate thickness direction. Therefore, as compared with the case where a force in the thickness direction is applied from the plate surface side of the front wall 4h, the front wall 4h can be hardly deformed or damaged. Thereby, the front wall 4h reliably receives the stopper portion 8g, and the occurrence of plastic deformation of the operation portion 8f can be suppressed.

  Further, when the through hole 4i2 and the opening edge 4i3 are provided in the wall body 4g of the front wall 4h, the opening edge 4i3 is further thinned and the rigidity is lowered. In this case, the force applied when the stopper 8g is in contact with the contact edge 8g3 may not be able to withstand and may be deformed or damaged. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the front wall 4h is provided with a thick portion 4i, and the through-hole 4i2 through which the stopper portion 8g is inserted into the thick portion 4i and the opening edge 4i3 where the contact edge 8g3 of the stopper portion 8g contacts Is provided. Therefore, since the opening edge 4i3 can be prevented from being thinned, the opening edge 4i3 having high rigidity and hardly causing deformation or breakage can be obtained.

  The extension portion 8g1 of the stopper portion 8g extends in a cantilever shape from the operation portion 8f, and can be elastically deformed independently of the flat plate portion 8f1. Therefore, for example, even if the operation portion 8f is pulled forward and pressed downward to tilt the flat plate portion 8f1, the stopper portion 8g is displaced downward along the height direction Z. It can be displaced in different directions. Therefore, the contact edge 8g3 can be displaced along the height direction Z, and can be reliably brought into contact with the opening edge 4i3 of the opening 4i3.

[Incorrect insertion prevention structure]
In the present embodiment, the distance L1 between the thick portions 4i, 4i of the front wall 4h is made larger than the plate width L2 of the flat conductor 3. Thereby, it can prevent that an operator accidentally inserts the flat conductor 3 in the gap | interval which arises between the thick parts 4i and 4i or between the operation part 8f and the front wall 4h.

  As described above, according to the connector 1 of the present embodiment, even when other mounting parts are densely arranged on the board 2, the locking with respect to the flat conductor 3 can be easily released. Therefore, since it can be mounted on the substrate 2 in the vicinity of other mounting components, a narrow space on the substrate 2 can be used effectively.

Variations:
In the present embodiment, the connector 1 is shown in which the front wall 4h is provided with the through hole 4i1 through which the stopper portion 8g is inserted and the thick portion 4i having the opening edge 4i3 as the “contact portion”. On the other hand, the stopper portion 8g is accommodated in the fitting chamber 4b, the contact edge portion 8g3 is exposed to the outside from the insertion port 4a, and the plate edge of the top wall 4d1 is used as the “contact portion”. The contact edge portion 8g3 of the portion 8g can be brought into contact. Thereby, since the part which protrudes outside can be reduced, it can be set as the compact connector 1 as a whole.

  In the present embodiment, the connector 1 is shown in which the flat conductor 3 is inserted vertically in the direction perpendicular to the substrate 2. On the other hand, it can be set as the connector 1 which is placed horizontally on the substrate 2 and the flat conductor 3 is inserted in a direction parallel to the substrate 2. By doing so, even if the operation portion 8f cannot be raised toward the upper side of the connector 1, that is, in the direction away from the board 2 due to space reasons, the insertion direction of the flat conductor 3, ie, the board. By pressing the pressing portion 8f2 in a direction parallel to the plate surface 2, the locking of the flat conductor 3 by the lock lever 8 can be released.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 2 Board | substrate 3 Flat conductor 3A Tip part 3a Conductive wire 3b Insulating layer 3c Locking recessed part 3c1 Edge part 3d Ground connection part 3e Side edge part 4 Housing 4a Insertion port 4b Fitting chamber 4b1 Inner wall 4b2 Back wall 4c Terminal accommodating part 4d1 Top wall 4d2 Bottom wall 4e1 Lateral side wall 4e2 Rear side wall 4f Leg 4g Wall body 4h Front wall 4i Thick part 4i1 Through hole 4i2 Opening 4i3 Opening edge 4j Guide surface 4k Displacement space 5 Terminal 5b Substrate connection part Part 5c Elastic piece part 5d Contact part 5d1 Contact part 6 Reinforcement member 6a Fixed part 6b Ground connection part 6c Reinforcement plate 6c1 First reinforcement plate 6c2 Second reinforcement plate 6c3 Third reinforcement plate 6d Step part 7 Ground terminal 7a Bending Part 8 Lock lever 8a Locking part 8a1 Locking edge 8b Linking part 8c Elastic piece part 8d Bending part 8e Housing fixing Fixed portion 8f Operating portion 8f1 Flat plate portion 8f2 Pressing portion 8f3 Protruding portion 8g Stopper portion 8g1 Extending portion 8g2 Abutting portion 8g3 Abutting edge portion 8g4 Base end portion 8h Substrate fixing portion L1 Spacing L2 Plate width of flat conductor

Claims (3)

A terminal in conductive contact with a flat conductor as a connection object;
A housing having a fitting chamber in which the flat conductor and the terminal are in conductive contact;
In a connector provided with a lock lever that locks with a flat conductor and maintains a conductive connection between the terminal and the flat conductor,
The lock lever is
A locking portion that locks with the flat conductor inside the fitting chamber;
An operation unit displaceable in the insertion direction of the flat conductor;
A connector comprising: a curved portion serving as a rotation fulcrum that displaces the locking portion in a direction away from the flat conductor when the operation portion is pressed along the insertion direction of the flat conductor.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever includes a stopper portion that stops the displacement of the operation portion by contacting the housing. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever has a plurality of the locking portions that are unlocked by an operation on the operation portion.

Images