JP2501893Y2 - Flat cable connection structure for electronic devices - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The flat cable connection structure in the electronic device of the present invention will be described in detail according to the following items.

A. Industrial fields of use B. Overview of the device C. Prior art [Fig. 8] a. General background b. Example of conventional flat cable connection structure [Fig. 8] D. Problems to be solved by the device [FIG. 8] E. Means for solving the problems F. Embodiment [FIGS. 1 to 7] a. Housing [FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7] b. Circuit board, flat Cable [Figs. 1 to 4 and 7] c. Cable holder [Figs. 1 to 4 and 7] d. Connector [Figs. 2 to 7] d-1. Main body d -2. Clamping body d-3. Mounting on main circuit board e. Flat cable length [Fig. 2] f. Connection between flat cable and connector [Fig. 2, 7]
Fig.] F-1. Holding of flat cable [Figs. 7 (A) and 7 (B)] f-2. Insertion and pinching of connection end into connector [Fig. 2,
FIG. 7 (B), FIG. 7 (C)] G. Effect of device (A. Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a flat cable connection structure for a new electronic device. Specifically, a flat cable connection structure in an electronic device, in which a main circuit board supported by a housing main portion and an auxiliary circuit board supported by a panel attached to the housing main portion are connected by a flat cable, particularly , One of the connection ends of the flat cable is attached to the auxiliary circuit board, and a connector having an insertion hole into which the other connection end of the flat cable is inserted is attached to the main circuit board, and the other connection is connected. The present invention relates to a flat cable connection structure in which a circuit on a main circuit board and a circuit on an auxiliary circuit board are connected by inserting an end portion into an insertion hole of a connector. Can be done without any special work to insert
In addition, the length of the flat cable is substantially the same as the length between the auxiliary circuit board and the connector in the state where the panel is attached to the main body of the housing, thereby significantly improving workability. It is intended to provide a flat cable connection structure in a novel electronic device that is capable of performing the above.

(B. Outline of the Invention) In the flat cable connection structure of the electronic device of the present invention, a member having a function of substantially fixing the position of at least the connection end side portion of the flat cable inserted into the connector with respect to the panel is attached to the panel or the panel. The connector is provided with a pinching means for pinching the connection end portion of the fixed cable that is inserted into the connector of the flat cable, and the panel is attached to the main part of the housing. With this, the connection end of the flat cable can be automatically connected to the connector, and the workability in this type of connection structure can be greatly improved.

(C. Prior art) [Fig. 8] (a. General background) Many of today's electronic devices have abundant functions for the size of their housings. The circuit is very complicated.

For this reason, in many electronic devices, in order to make assembly and maintenance as easy as possible, the housing is divided into a plurality of partial housings, and all the partial housings required for these partial housings are formed. After the mechanism is dispersed and supported separately, the partial casings are coupled to each other, and the required circuits are divided into a plurality of circuit boards, and the plurality of circuit boards are formed in the partial casings. The whole circuit is made to function by separately supporting and connecting the circuits on the plurality of circuit boards by appropriate connecting means.

By the way, there are various conventional connection means, but among them, a so-called flat cable and a connector are separately provided on two circuit boards, and two circuits are provided by connecting the connection end of the flat cable to the connector. One in which circuits on a board are connected to each other, or a pair of connector plugs and a connector socket that form a pin-jack type connector are separately provided on two circuit boards, and these connector plugs and connector sockets are combined. However, a relatively large number of circuits in which the circuits on the two circuit boards are connected to each other are used.

In the connecting means using the pin-jack type connector, since the shapes of the two members to be coupled with each other, that is, the connector plug and the connector socket are fixed, the two partial casings are coupled with each other. Accordingly, it is easy to connect the connector plug and the connector socket together, and therefore, there is an advantage that the labor for connecting the connecting means can be omitted. However, such a type of connector has a connection structure in which the terminal pin of the other terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion hole in which a part of the one terminal is arranged, so that a connector plug for the circuit board or If the mounting position of the connector socket is incorrect, or the mounting position of the circuit board with respect to the partial housing is incorrect, the position of the terminal pin and the position of the terminal insertion hole will be different when the partial housings are connected to each other. It is easy for the connector plug and the connector socket to not be connected because they do not match,
Further, if a twist occurs between the two partial casings due to external pressure, an unreasonable force is applied between the terminal pin and the terminal insertion hole to deform the terminal pin, or the electronic device vibrates for a long time. If added, fine sliding friction occurs between the terminal pin and the terminal piece in the terminal insertion hole, and metal powder is generated, which increases electrical resistance and causes circuit malfunction. is there.

In this regard, in the connecting means using the flat cable, since the strain and vibration generated in the housing are absorbed by the flexibility of the flat cable, the connection between the flat cable connecting end and the connector is prevented. There is no fear that unreasonable force will be applied or slight sliding friction will occur between them, and therefore there is an advantage that the connection state can be stably maintained.

(B. Example of conventional flat cable connection structure) [8th
FIG. 8 shows an example of a conventional flat cable connection structure.

In the figure, a is the main part of the required housing, that is,
A case main part (only a part is shown in the drawing), b is a front panel attached to the case main part a so as to cover the front surface thereof, and the case main part a is the entire upper surface thereof. The front panel b is in the shape of a box with a part of the front surface opened, and the front panel b is in the shape of a box with a small front-rear width with the rear surface opened.
Mounting pieces c, c are projected rearward from both left and right ends of the peripheral wall portion of the casing, and the mounting pieces c, c are fixed to the front end portions of the side walls d, d of the housing main portion a by screws e, e. As a result, the front panel b is attached to the housing main portion a. f is the main circuit board, g
Is an auxiliary circuit board, the main circuit board f is arranged on the inner bottom of the housing main portion a and fixed to the bottom plate h, and the auxiliary circuit board g is fixed to the front wall i of the front panel b. j is a flat cable on which a required wiring conductor (not shown) is formed, and one connection end k of the flat cable is soldered to the connection end of the circuit on the auxiliary circuit board g. Reference numeral 1 denotes an insulating sheet, which is attached to the back surface of the auxiliary circuit board g with screws m, m, ... Insulation with respect to a and members provided therein is ensured. Reference numeral n denotes a connector attached to the upper surface of the front end portion of the main circuit board f at a position corresponding to the position where the flat cable j of the auxiliary circuit board g is provided, and has a flat cable insertion opening on the front surface of the case o. Portions of the terminal pins q, q, ..., which have holes P and whose intermediate portions are supported in a manner embedded in the case o, are exposed inside the cable insertion hole p. ing.

Then, when the other connecting end portion r of the flat cable j is inserted into the cable insertion hole p of the connector n, a large number of wiring conductors (not shown) formed on the flat cable j and terminal pins q, q, ... Are individually contacted, whereby the circuit on the main circuit board f and the circuit on the auxiliary circuit board g are connected to each other via the flat cable j and the connector n.

The front panel b is attached to the main body a of the housing after inserting the connecting end r of the flat cable j into the connector n.

(D. Problem to be Solved by the Invention) [FIG. 8] As described above, according to such a connection structure using the flat cable j, the vibration or the like generated in the housing is flexible in the flat cable j. Since it is absorbed by the property, fine sliding friction or the like does not occur between the connection end portion r and the terminal pins q, q, ... Of the connector n.

However, while the flexibility of the flat cable j has the advantage of absorbing the above-mentioned vibration, the connection end r
However, there is a problem that the connection end portion r has to be manually inserted into the cable insertion hole p of the connector n. That is, as in the case of the connection structure using the pin jack type connector, it is not possible to connect the connecting means to each other by attaching the front panel f to the housing main portion a. , Special work is required to connect the connecting means.

Moreover, since the manual work is usually performed near the bottoms of the main body a and the front panel b, the content of the work is very troublesome, and in some cases it is necessary to turn the case over. Sometimes,
Therefore, there is a problem that connection work takes time.

Furthermore, when inserting the connection end r into the connector n, the main body a and the front panel b must be separated from each other by a distance such that a hand can be inserted between them. Therefore, such a length of the flat cable j is considerably excessive when the front panel b is attached to the main body a of the housing.
It will crawl on the inner bottom of the housing in a state of great slack. The flat cable j in such a state not only occupies the space inside the housing but also interferes with the operation by interfering with the members arranged in the periphery, or the circuit on the flat cable j is short-circuited. Because there is a fear
There is a problem in that it is necessary to separately provide an insulating means or to perform treatment so as not to cause slack, and thus a special work for such treatment is also required.

(E. Means for Solving the Problem) Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the flat cable connection structure in the electronic device of the present invention has an insertion hole into which the connection end of the flat cable is inserted and the insertion hole. A connector having a holding means for holding the connected connection end portion is attached to a main circuit board supported by a housing main portion, and a cable holding member through which a flat cable is inserted is provided in the panel or a member fixed thereto. The flat cable is provided at a position facing the connector, the flat cable is inserted into the cable holding member, the connecting end protruding from the cable holding member is inserted into the insertion hole of the connector, and the connecting end is held by the holding means. It is the one.

Therefore, according to the flat cable connection structure of the electronic device of the present invention, at least a portion of the flat cable having a certain length on the connection end side that is inserted into the connector is inserted into the cable holding member so that the position with respect to the panel is improved. Since they are substantially fixed, when the panel is opposed to the main body of the housing in the mounting direction, the connection end portion is opposed to the insertion hole of the connector, and from that state, the panel and the main body of the housing are separated. If they are butted, the connection end of the flat cable is inserted into the insertion hole of the connector, and is clamped by the clamping means provided in the connector. Then, the work for attaching the panel to the main part of the housing also becomes the work for inserting the connection end of the flat cable into the connector, so a special work for connecting the flat cable and the connector is performed. Is unnecessary and assembly is easy,
In addition, it can be performed quickly, and the length of the flat cable is about the same as the linear distance between the auxiliary circuit board and the connector when the panel is attached to the main body of the housing. Therefore, the processing for the flat cable after connection, which is required in the conventional connection structure of this type, is unnecessary.

(F. Embodiment) [FIGS. 1 to 7] The details of the flat cable connection structure in the electronic device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment.

In the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is applied to a disc player 1
It is applied to the flat cable connection structure in.

(A. Housing) [FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7] 2 is a housing of the disc player 1 (in the drawings, most of the internal mechanism is omitted). The body 2 is composed of a housing main portion 3 which is a main portion thereof, a front panel 4 and a top plate 5 which are attached so as to cover the front surface thereof.

The housing main part 3 is formed of a metal plate so as to form a relatively thin box shape having an open top surface, and the front wall 6 has a lateral edge (in a diagonally upper left direction in FIG. 1) on its upper edge. The left side is the direction facing the right side, and the right side is the direction facing diagonally downward to the right.) With a long large notch 6a, and a horizontally long trapezoidal insertion hole 6b is formed substantially at the center of the lower end.
Recesses 7a, 7a are formed by punching the front end portions in the middle of the outer surfaces of the left and right side walls 7, 7 in the height direction of the front end portions.
7b is formed.

The front panel 4 includes a front wall 8 having substantially the same outer shape as the front surface of the housing main portion 3, and a peripheral wall 9 having a narrow front-rear width and protruding rearward from the outer peripheral edge of the front wall 8 made of synthetic resin. It is formed integrally and has a mounting boss 10 on the front wall 8.
The tray outlets 11 are provided so as to project rearward and are elongated in the left-right direction, that is, the tray outlets through which the slide tray 12 (see FIG. 1) on which a recording medium disk is detachably mounted 11 and operating members 13, 13, ... (See FIG. 1) for operating member placement holes 14, 14 ,.
And a display hole 15 is formed, and the display hole 15 is a transparent plate 16.
Is covered by.

Reference numerals 17 and 17 denote connecting pieces projecting rearward at substantially the center of the rear ends of the left and right side portions of the peripheral wall 9, and the connecting pieces 17 and 17 are formed with insertion holes 17a and 17a.

.. are engagement holes formed at positions along the rear edge of the peripheral wall 9, and the engagement holes 18, 18, .. And has a small rectangular shape, and the positions on both the left and right sides of the peripheral wall 9 near the upper and lower ends,
It is formed at two positions near the left and right ends of the upper surface of the peripheral wall 9 and at the center of the bottom of the peripheral wall 9.

Then, the front panel 4 is attached to the housing main portion 3 as follows. That is, when the front panel 4 is opposed to the housing main portion 3 from the front and the front panel 4 and the housing main portion 3 are butted against each other, the coupling pieces 17, 17 are recessed 7a, 7a of the housing main portion 3. They are individually fitted inside, and the insertion holes 17a, 17a and the screw holes 7b, 7b are coaxially aligned. In this state, insert the screws 19 and 19 into the insertion holes 17a and 17a
Screw to 7b and 7b. Then, the coupling pieces 17, 17 are fixed to the side walls 7, 7 of the housing main portion 3, whereby the front panel 4 is attached to the housing main portion 3 so as to cover the front surface thereof.

The top plate 5 is attached to the housing main portion 3 so as to cover the top surface thereof at the final stage of assembly of the disc player 1.

(B. Circuit board, flat cable) [Figs. 1 to 4
FIG. 7, FIG. 7] 20 is a main circuit board (a wiring pattern and electronic components are omitted in the drawing), and most of the circuits necessary for the disc player 1 are formed. The housing 3 is arranged in a horizontal posture on the inner bottom of the portion 3 and is fixed to the housing main portion 3 by a fixing means (not shown). The front end of the portion 3 is located near the front end of the housing main portion 3, and the front end is substantially The central portion is exposed to the outside of the housing main portion 3 through the insertion hole 6b.

Reference numeral 21 denotes an auxiliary circuit board (also shown in the drawing with wiring patterns and electronic parts omitted), and a front surface other than the notch corresponding to the tray entrance 11 formed in the front wall 8. It is formed to be slightly smaller than the outer shape of 8 and has insertion holes 21a, 21a, ...
, Which are inserted from the rear side, are attached to the front panel 4 by being screwed into the screw holes 10a, 10a, ... Of the mounting bosses 10, 10 ,. As a result, the front panel 4 is disposed at a position closer to the front than the middle in the depth direction in a posture substantially parallel to the front wall 8.

A light emitting display device 23 is attached to the front surface of the sub circuit board 21.

Reference numeral 24 is a flat cable for connecting a circuit on the main circuit board 20 and a circuit on the auxiliary circuit board 21 in cooperation with a connector described later. Although not shown in detail in the drawings, the flat cable 24 has a base film having an insulating property and a large number of wiring conductors 25 formed on one surface of the base film so as to extend parallel to each other along the longitudinal direction thereof. , 25, ... (only a part of which is shown in FIG. 4) and an insulating overlay film or the like attached to the entire area of the one surface except both ends thereof.
.. are exposed on one surface of both end portions 24a, 24b (hereinafter, referred to as "connection end portions") of the flat cable 24. Reference numeral 24c is an engagement hole formed in a substantially central portion of the flat cable 24, and has a small circular shape.

The wiring conductors 25, 25, ... Are arranged in the central portion of the flat cable 24 so as to avoid the engagement hole 24c.

Reference numerals 26 and 26 are reinforcing tapes attached to the other surface of the connection end portions 24a and 24b, that is, the surface on which the wiring conductors 25, 25, ... Are not exposed.

In addition, in a substantially central portion of the lower end portion of the auxiliary circuit board 21 (this position is a position facing a connector attached to the main circuit board 20, which will be described later), which is a groove-shaped cable insertion extending in the left-right direction. A groove 27 is formed, and the cable insertion groove 27 has a length substantially the same as the width of the flat cable 24.

Then, the two connecting ends 24a, 2 of the flat cable 24
One side 24a of 4b is one side thereof, that is, the wiring conductors 25, 25,
... is inserted into the cable insertion groove 27 from the rear with the exposed surface facing downward, and the connection end
The ends of the wiring conductors 25, 25, ... Located at 24a are individually soldered to the connection ends of a large number of wiring patterns (not shown) formed on the front surface of the auxiliary circuit board 21.

Therefore, the flat cable 24 has one end
24a is connected and fixed to the auxiliary circuit board 21.

The length of the flat cable 24 will be described later.

(C. Cable holding part) [FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7] 28 is a casing of a conductive part provided on the back surface of the auxiliary circuit board 21, for example, a conductive part such as a wiring conductor or a lead part of an electronic component. It is an insulating plate for ensuring the insulating property with respect to the body main part 3 and a required mechanism supported by the body main part 3.

The insulating plate 28 has a flat plate shape having substantially the same outer shape as the inner method of the peripheral wall 9 of the front panel 4 except that a notch corresponding to the tray outlet 11 formed in the front wall 8 of the front panel 4 is formed. The main portion 29, the cable holding portion 30 provided so as to project rearward from the back surface of the main portion 29, and the engagement holes 18, 18 formed in the peripheral wall 9 of the outer edge of the main portion 29. .., engaging projections 31, 31, ...
Are integrally formed of synthetic resin, and the engaging protrusions 31, 31, ... Are engaged with the engaging holes 18, 18 ,.
.. is attached to the front panel 4, whereby the main portion 29 is arranged so as to face the auxiliary circuit board 21 in a substantially parallel manner with a slight distance from the rear.

The cable holding portion 30 is provided at a position facing the cable insertion groove 27 of the auxiliary circuit board 21 in a state where the insulating plate 28 is attached to the front panel 4, and is a flat tube having a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above. The hole 32 extends in the front-rear direction, has a width substantially the same as the width of the flat cable 24, and has a thickness of 2 to 3 times the thickness of the flat cable 24, and the front end is mainly The opening is on the front surface of the portion 29. Also, cut out the portion of the rear end of the cable holding portion 30 that corresponds to the hole 32.
33 are formed.

Reference numeral 34 denotes an elastic piece formed in a substantially central portion of an upper surface wall 35 of the cable holding portion 30, and the elastic piece 34 forms a substantially U-shaped cut groove 35a which is opened rearward in the upper surface wall 35. It is formed by this, and thereby has a bending elasticity in a substantially vertical direction. 36 is the bottom wall 37 of the cable holder 30
The hole 36 has a circular shape and is formed at a position corresponding to the front portion of the elastic piece 34. 38 is an elastic piece 34
Is an engaging projection protruding downward at the front end of the, and has a substantially circular shape when viewed from below, and its lower surface 38a is inclined forward and upward, and the lower end is located in the hole 36. are doing.

The flat cable 24 is inserted into the hole 32 of the cable holding portion 30 before the insulating plate 28 is attached to the front panel 4, whereby the flat cable 24 is held in a substantially horizontal posture and in the longitudinal direction. The position is almost fixed. These will be described in detail later.

(D. Connector) [Figs. 2 to 7] 39 is a connector to which the other connecting end portion 24b of the flat cable 24 is connected, and is composed of a main body and a sandwiching body slidably supported by the main body. Become.

(D-1. Main body) 40 is a main body of the connector 39, and is made of a synthetic resin case 41.
And a large number of terminal pins 42, 42, .... Case 41
Has a box shape with a relatively small height, which is slightly longer than the width of the flat cable 24 in the left-right direction, and has a front surface that is open, and the inner bottom surface of which is approximately half the height of the internal space 43 of the case 41. A large number of partition walls 44, 44, ...
Are erected so as to be arranged at a constant pitch in the left-right direction, whereby the substantially lower half portion of the internal space 43 has a large number of groove-shaped spaces 43a, 43a, ... (Hereinafter, referred to as “terminal arrangement groove”). In addition, guide grooves extending in the front-rear direction are formed on both left and right end surfaces of the case 41.
45, 45 are formed, and both ends of these guide grooves 45, 45 are cases.
41 front and back are reached. Then, the guide groove 45,
On the back side of the 45, there are retaining projections 45a, 45a on its front end,
Lock protrusions 45b, 45b are formed at positions from a position spaced apart rearward from the retaining protrusions 45a, 45a to a position near the rear end portion.

The terminal pins 42, 42, ... Have a substantially L-shape when viewed from the side, and the horizontal portions 42a, 42a ,.
, Are arranged separately in the terminal placement grooves 43a, 43a, ..., and the portion near the rear end is supported by the rear wall of the case 41 so as to be embedded therein, and from the rear ends of the horizontal portions 42a, 42a. Vertical portions 42b, 42b, ... Which extend downward are located outside the case 41.

The horizontal portions 42a, 42a, ... Are gently curved upward, and the substantially middle portion thereof is the terminal placement groove 43.
Projected upward from a, 43a, ....

The left and right width of the internal space 43 of the case 41 is made substantially the same as the width of the flat cable 24, and the depth thereof is substantially the same as the length of the connecting end portion 24b of the flat cable 24 along the longitudinal direction of the flat cable 24. And further above the internal space 43
43b (hereinafter referred to as "cable insertion hole"), that is, the height above the partition walls 44, 44, ... Is several times the thickness of the flat cable 24.

(D-2. Holding body) 46 is a holding body for the connector 39. The holding body 46 has a holding plate 47 that is a main part thereof and is long in the left-right direction, a short front wall 48, and two arms 49, 49 are integrally formed of synthetic resin. The case in the direction
The length of the inner space 43 of the inner space 43 is substantially equal to the length of the inner space 43 in the left-right direction, and is made slightly shorter than the depth of the inner space 43 in the front-rear direction.
It is slightly smaller than the height of the cable insertion hole 43b which is the upper part of 3, that is, smaller than the thickness of the flat cable 25 by a dimension slightly smaller than the thickness of the flat cable 25. The step surface between the first half portion 47a and the second half portion 47b is formed as a slope descending to the front.

The lower half of the front wall 48 is continuous with the front end of the sandwiching plate 47, and the left and right ends of the front wall 48 project laterally from the left and right ends of the sandwiching plate 47, and the arms 49 and 49 are rearward from this end. It is projected toward. These arms 49, 49 extend in parallel to the side end surface of the sandwiching plate 47 with a slight distance therebetween, and have some degree of bending elasticity in the left-right direction, and the rear end of the surface facing the sandwiching plate 47 side. Engaging protrusions 49a, 49a are formed on the portion.

The holding plate 47 is slidably inserted into the cable insertion hole 43b of the case 41, and the arms 49 and 49 are slidably engaged with the guide grooves 45 and 45 formed in the case 41, respectively. As a result, the holding body 46 is slidably supported by the case 41 in the front-rear direction. Further, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, the holding body 46 includes the retaining projections 45a, 45a and the locking projections 45 in which the engaging projections 49a, 49a of the arms 49, 49 are formed in the guide grooves 45, 45.
When it comes to a position between b and 45b (hereinafter referred to as "non-clamping position"), unless it is pressed with a strong force in the front-rear direction, these stopper protrusions 45a and 45a and the lock protrusions 45b, 45b prevent the engaging projections 49a, 49a from moving in the front-rear direction, thereby holding the engaging projections 49a, 49a in the non-clamping position, and further, as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, The position where the mating protrusions 49a, 49a are engaged with the lock protrusions 45b, 45b of the guide grooves 45, 45 from the rear side (hereinafter, referred to as the "holding position").
The front wall 48 comes into contact with the front surface of the upper end portion of the case 41 and is prevented from moving further backward, and the forward movement is prevented from moving unless it is pulled with a strong force to some extent. As a result, it is held at the clamping position.

It should be noted that when the holding body 46 is in the non-holding position, the
As shown in FIG. (B), the front half portion 47a of the holding plate 47 is located outside the inner space 43 of the case 41. Therefore, in this state, the thin rear portion 47a has the partition walls 44, 44, ...・ Because it opposes the upper edge of, the holding plate 47 and the partition walls 44, 4
A space having a thickness larger than the thickness of the flat cable 24 is formed between 4, ... Further, when the holding body 46 moves to the holding position, the thick front half portion 47a of the holding plate 47 is pressed.
Are opposed to the upper edges of the partition walls 44, 44, ... In this state, the thickness of the space between the sandwiching plate 47 and the partition walls 44, 44, ... Is smaller than the thickness of the flat cable 24. Be made smaller.

(D-3. Attachment to main circuit board) Then, the vertical portions 42b, 42b of the terminal pins 42, 42 ,.
The lower end portion of ... Is inserted from above into the lead insertion holes 50, 50, ... (Only two are shown in the drawing) formed in the substantially central portion of the front end portion of the main circuit board 20, and The lead insertion holes 50, 50, ... Are soldered to the land portion of the printed conductor (not shown) formed in the lower opening edge portion. As a result, the connector 39 is attached to the upper surface of the front end portion of the main circuit board 20 substantially at the center.

A large number of leg protrusions 51, 51, ... Arranged in the left-right direction are formed on the outer bottom surface of the case 41, and these leg protrusions 51, 51 ,. By being mounted on the upper surface, the position of the connector 39 in the height direction with respect to the main circuit board 20 is defined.

In addition, the cable insertion groove 27 formed on the auxiliary circuit board 21
The cable holding portion 30 of the insulating plate 28 and the connector 39 are arranged in the front-rear direction when the front panel 4 is attached to the housing main portion 3.

The holding body 46 is moved to the non-holding position at least when the front panel 4 is attached to the housing main portion 3.

(E. Flat cable length, etc.) [FIG. 2] The flat cable 24 has the following lengths.

That is, the length of the flat cable 24 is equal to the auxiliary circuit board 21.
From the linear distance between the auxiliary circuit board 21 and the rear surface of the cable insertion hole 43b of the connector 39 in a state where the front panel 4 having the main circuit board 20 attached thereto is attached to the housing main portion 3 having the main circuit board 20 attached. Has been long.

Further, the position of the engagement hole 24c formed in the flat cable 24 is such that the distance between one connection end 24a of the flat cable 24 and the center of the engagement hole 24c is attached to the front panel 4. The position is approximately the same as the distance between the center of the engagement protrusion 38 formed on the elastic piece 34 of the cable holding portion 30 of the insulating plate 28 and the auxiliary circuit board 21.

(F. Connection between flat cable and connector) [Fig. 2,
Fig. 7] (f-1. Holding flat cable) [Figs. 7 (A) and 7 (B)] Before attaching the insulating plate 28 to the front panel 4, attach the flat cable 24 to the cable holding portion. Insert through the holes 32 of 30.

This may be done as follows, for example. That is, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the insulating plate 28 is placed so that its lower end portion is located near the lower end portion of the auxiliary circuit board 21, and the insulating plate 28 is in a tilted posture after a pit, The flat cable 24 is inserted into the hole 32 of the cable holding portion 30 from the front opening of the hole 32.

At this time, the lower end of the engaging projection 38 of the cable holding portion 30 is pushed upward to bend the elastic piece 34 upward. Then, when the flat cable 24 is inserted into the cable holding portion 32, the edge on the side opposite to the auxiliary circuit board 21 comes into contact with the lower surface 38a of the engaging projection 38 and presses it substantially rearward and upward. Therefore, the elastic piece 34 is further bent, and as a result, the engaging projection 38 relatively rides on the flat cable 24 as shown in FIG. 7 (A). This state is maintained until the engagement hole 24c of the flat cable 24 comes to a position corresponding to the engagement protrusion 38.

Then, the end portion of the flat cable 24 protruding from the hole 32 is pulled so that the flat cable 24 is extended from the hole 32 as long as possible.

From this state, while bending the insulating plate 28, its engaging projection 31,
31, ... are engaging holes 18, 18, ... of the front panel 4.
To attach the insulating plate 28 to the front panel 4 and then pull the flat cable 24 rearward so that it is taut.

As a result, the flat cable 24 is fully inserted through the hole 32, and when the flat cable 24 is inserted through the hole 32 in this manner, the engaging hole 24c comes to a position where it coincides with the engaging protrusion 38, so that 7 As shown in FIG. 7B, the elastic piece
34 returns to its original shape, and the engaging projection 38 engages with the engaging hole 24c.

Most of the flat cable 24 is inserted into the hole 32 of the cable holding portion 30, so that the posture thereof is maintained substantially horizontal, and the engaging projection 38 is engaged with the engaging hole 24c. By doing so, the position in the front-back direction is defined.

(F-2. Insertion and pinching of connection end into connector) [Second
FIG. 7, FIG. 7 (B), FIG. 7 (C)] Then, when the front panel 4 is attached to the housing main portion 3, the other connecting end portion 24b of the flat cable 24 is connected to the cable insertion hole 43b of the connector 39. And the state is held by the holding body 46.

That is, when the front panel 4 and the housing main portion 3 are made to face each other as shown in FIG. 7B while aligning in the left-right direction and the height direction, the connection end portion 24b and the cable insertion hole 43b.
And are opposed to each other. From this state, front panel 4
When the housing main part 3 and the housing main part 3 are brought close to each other, immediately before the front panel 4 and the housing main part 3 are butted, as shown in FIG. It is inserted into the hole 43b and the connection end 24b is a cable insertion hole.
The rear end surfaces of the left and right end portions of the cable holding portion 30 come into contact with the left and right end portions of the front surface of the front wall 48 of the holding body 46 at substantially the same time as the rear end surface of the 43b is abutted. From here, when the front panel 4 is brought closer to the main body 3 of the housing, the cable holder 30 pushes the holding body 46 rearward, so that the holding body 46 is pressed.
Is moved from the non-holding position to the holding position, whereby the thick front half portion 47a of the holding plate 47 sandwiches the connecting end portion 24b of the flat cable 24, and the partition walls 44, 44, ... The holding body 46 reaches the holding position as shown in FIG. 2 almost at the same time as the front panel 4 and the housing main portion 3 are butted against each other while being pressed against the upper edge.

Then, as described above, the substantially intermediate portions of the horizontal portions 42a, 42a, ... Of the terminal pins 42, 42, ... Project upward from the terminal arrangement grooves 43a, 43a ,. Therefore, when the sandwiching plate 47 is pressed against the upper edges of the partition walls 44, 44, ... With the flat cable 24 sandwiched therebetween, the horizontal portion 42
The a, 42a, ... are to be deflected by being pushed to the position where the intermediate portion is located at the same height as the upper edge of the partition walls 44, 44 ,. As a result, the elastic force stored makes elastic contact with the connection end portion 24b.

As a result, the exposed portions of the connection ends 24b of the wiring conductors 25, 25, ... Formed on the flat cable 24 and the terminal pins 42, 42 ,.

Then, by attaching the front panel 4 and the housing main portion 3 to each other in the front-back direction in order to attach the front panel 4 to the housing main portion 3, the connecting end portion 24b of the flat cable 24 is automatically moved. While being inserted into the cable insertion hole 43b of the connector 39, the state is held by the holding body 46.

In this way, the flat cable 24 and the connector 39 are coupled, so that the circuit on the main circuit board 20 and the circuit on the auxiliary circuit board 21 are connected to each other by the flat cable 24 and the connector.
Connected via 39.

Although the flat cable 24 is held in a substantially horizontal position by the cable holding portion 30, its connection end portion
Since the position of 24b is not fixed in the vertical direction, the height of the connection end portion 24b and the cable insertion hole 43b of the connector 39 may be fixed when the front panel 4 and the housing main portion 3 face each other in some cases. There may be some deviation from the height of
The part where the lower surface of the sandwiching plate 47 and the front side surface of the front wall 48 are continuous is formed into a slope that faces substantially the front lower side, and the partition walls 44, 4
Since the portion where the upper edge and the front edge of 4, and so on are continuous is formed to have an arc shape when viewed from the side, the edge of the connecting end portion 24b is By contacting the inclined surface or the arc edge, this is guided in the moving direction and is smoothly inserted into the cable insertion hole 43b.

Further, the distance between the engaging projection 38 of the cable holding portion 30 and the inner surface of the cable insertion hole 43b at the time when the holding by the holding body 46 is completed is such that the insertion of the connection end portion 24b into the cable insertion hole 43b is completed. Since it is slightly shorter than the above distance at the time, the length becomes an extra length in the flat cable 24, but such an extra length of the flat cable 24 is the hole 32 of the cable holding portion 30. The portion between the rear end and the position clamped by the clamp body 46 is absorbed by being curved in the thickness direction as shown in FIG. 2, and the curved portion is formed in the cable holding portion 30. It is located in the notch 33. Note that such an extra length of the flat cable 24 is a slight length substantially equal to the distance between the non-sandwiching position and the sandwiching position of the sandwiching body 46, and therefore, the excess length at least greatly protrudes from the notch 33. Therefore, there is usually no need for special insulation treatment or the like for the extra length portion.

(G. Effect of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the flat cable connection structure in the electronic device of the present invention is attached to the main circuit board supported by the main body of the housing and the main body of the housing. A flat cable connection structure in an electronic device for connecting a flat cable between an auxiliary circuit board supported by a panel, wherein an insertion hole into which a connection end portion of the flat cable is inserted and a connection end inserted into the insertion hole A connector having a holding means for holding the portion is attached to the main circuit board, and a cable holding member through which the flat cable is inserted is provided in the panel or a member fixed to the panel at a position facing the connector. Through the cable holding member, insert the connection end protruding from the cable holding member into the insertion hole of the connector, and hold the connection end by the holding means. Characterized in that lifting the.

Therefore, according to the flat cable connection structure of the electronic device of the present invention, at least a portion of the flat cable having a certain length on the connection end side that is inserted into the connector is inserted into the cable holding member so that the position with respect to the panel is improved. Since they are substantially fixed, when the panel is opposed to the main body of the housing in the mounting direction, the connection end portion is opposed to the insertion hole of the connector, and from that state, the panel and the main body of the housing are separated. If they are butted, the connection end of the flat cable is inserted into the insertion hole of the connector, and is clamped by the clamping means provided in the connector. Then, the work for attaching the panel to the main part of the housing also becomes the work for inserting the connection end of the flat cable into the connector, so a special work for connecting the flat cable and the connector is performed. Is unnecessary and assembly is easy,
In addition, it can be performed quickly, and the length of the flat cable is about the same as the linear distance between the auxiliary circuit board and the connector when the panel is attached to the main body of the housing. Therefore, the processing for the flat cable after connection, which is required in the conventional connection structure of this type, is unnecessary.

Incidentally, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the insulating plate made of synthetic resin integrally formed with the cable holding member is attached to the panel so as to face the surface of the auxiliary circuit board facing the main body of the case, The insulating plate is attached to the panel by fitting the engaging projection formed on the insulating plate into the engaging hole formed in the panel. Since the insulating plate plays the role of the insulating means provided on the substrate, for example, the insulating sheet 1 shown in FIG. 8, the number of members does not increase, and the insulating plate is conventionally attached. Since the screws m, m, ... Required for the insulating means are unnecessary, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced accordingly.

However, it is not necessary that the cable holding member of the present invention is integrally formed with such an insulating plate. For example, the standing wall portion is formed at the bottom of the panel and the cable holding member is integrally formed on the standing wall portion. Alternatively, a cable holding member formed as an independent member may be attached to the standing wall portion.

Further, in the above embodiment, the holding means of the connector has a function of automatically holding the connecting end portion of the flat cable by moving the holding means of the connector by abutting the cable holding member on the holding means. The pinching means of the connector in the invention does not have to have such a function, and it may be a structure of manually pinching.

Besides, the shapes and functions of the respective parts shown in the above embodiments are merely examples for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is limited by these shapes and functions. Of course, this is not to be construed, and in particular, the type of panel is not limited to the front panel shown in the embodiment, but any type of panel can be attached to the main body of the housing. good.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 7 show an example in which the flat cable connection structure of the electronic device of the present invention is applied to the flat cable connection structure of a disc player, and FIG. 1 is a partially exploded disc player. Second perspective view of the whole
1 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing an exploded main portion of the disc player, and FIG. 4 is a main portion taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the connector, FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of the connector by cutting out, and FIG. 7 shows a part of the assembly procedure from (A) to (C). An enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part, which is shown in order.
FIG. 8 shows an example of a conventional flat cable connection structure in an electronic device. (A) is an exploded perspective view of a main part,
(B) is an enlarged side view showing a part of the cutout. Explanation of symbols 1 ... Electronic equipment, 3 ... Main body of housing, 4 ... Panel, 20 ...
… Main circuit board, 21 …… Auxiliary circuit board, 24 …… Flat cable, 24b …… Connection end, 28 …… Member fixed to panel, 30 …… Cable holding member, 39 …… Connector, 43b
…… Insertion hole, 46 …… Clamping means

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A flat cable connection structure in an electronic device for connecting a main circuit board supported by a housing main part and an auxiliary circuit board supported by a panel attached to the housing main part with a flat cable. A connector having an insertion hole into which the connection end of the flat cable is inserted and a holding means for holding the connection end inserted into the insertion hole is attached to the main circuit board, and the flat cable is inserted. A cable holding member is provided at a position facing the connector in the panel or a member fixed to the panel, the flat cable is inserted into the cable holding member, and the connection end protruding from the cable holding member is inserted into the insertion hole of the connector. A flat cable connection structure in an electronic device, characterized in that it is inserted and the connecting end is held by a holding means.