JP2775228B2 - Connector structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector structure connected to a flexible cable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the above-mentioned flexible cable can be applied to routing and moving parts in narrow places due to its structural characteristics. It is often used for connection between devices. In the case of a flexible cable, since the cable itself is flexible, it is necessary to convert the terminal into a rigid terminal when connecting with a connector. Therefore, the present applicant has already proposed a suitable connector structure applicable to a flexible cable in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 5-27142 (filing date: January 25, 1993).

As shown in FIG. 9, a connector structure according to this proposal includes a holder 51 for mounting a flexible cable 50 and a holder guide 52 mounted on the holder 51.
And a connector housing 54 for elastically connecting the flexible cable 50 to the elastic terminal 53 housed therein by integrating and fitting the flexible cable 50.

A flexible cable 50 is formed by covering a plurality of rectangular conductors 55 arranged in parallel with each other with an insulating resin 56, and surrounding the elastic portion with the elastic terminal 53 by the insulating resin 5.
6 is removed to expose the rectangular conductor 55. The holder 51 has an insulating body including a main body portion 57 having a width to which the flexible cable 50 is attached, and a comb-shaped protruding portion 58 protruding in one direction from the main body portion 57 and covering the rectangular conductor 55. It is an integrally molded product of the elastic member. The comb-shaped projecting portion 58 is formed by projecting a plurality of mounting pieces having the same width as the rectangular conductor 55,
One of the comb-shaped protrusions 58 has a flexible cable 5
One of the rectangular conductors 55 in 0 is turned from the lower side of the mounting piece to the upper side.

The holder guide 52 is an insulating member having a space into which the comb-shaped protrusion 58 is inserted. The holder guide 52 has a base 59 on the bottom of the space for mounting the lower surface of the comb-shaped protrusion 58. An upper plate portion 60 is provided on the upper portion of the base portion 59 and is in contact with the upper side surface of the comb-shaped protrusion 58.
Standing portion 6 located at the back side of the figure connecting the
1 is provided with a plurality of windows (not shown) through which the comb-shaped protrusions 58 are inserted.

[0006] The rectangular conductor 55 attached to the comb-shaped projection 58 is attached to a holder 51 disposed on a base 59.
Is inserted into the holder guide 52 while being sandwiched between the lower surface of the upper plate portion 60 and the upper surface of the pedestal portion 59. Next, the holder 51 is integrally fixed to the holder guide 52 by engaging the locking portion 63 of the holder guide 52 with the step portion 62. The holder guide 52 has arm-shaped lock members 64 on both side surfaces thereof.
It is designed to be locked when fitted to.

[0007] The connector housing 54 is a hollow housing having a plurality of terminal receiving chambers 65 formed inside a partition 66, and each terminal receiving chamber 65 communicates with an opening 67 on the front surface of the housing. I have. The elastic terminal 53 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 65 with the elastic contact piece 68 facing upward. As shown in FIG. 10, the elastic terminal 53 resiliently contacts the lower surface of the comb-shaped protrusion 58 inserted through the opening 67. Is electrically connected to the rectangular conductor 55 of the flexible cable 50. That is, by the connector structure proposed above, the end of the flexible cable 50 is formed in a rigid state, and a good connection with the elastic terminal 53 can be realized.

[0008]

However, as a result of further studies by the present inventors on the above connector structure, when the rectangular conductor 55 is attached to the comb-shaped projection 58, the comb-shaped connector 55 shown in FIG. A gap g is generated between the protruding portion 58 and the rectangular conductor 55, making it difficult to secure a stable contact pressure with the elastic terminal 53. It has been newly found that there is a possibility that the deterioration becomes large. Further, the rectangular conductor 55 attached to the holder 51 remains exposed from the comb-shaped projecting portion 58 as shown in FIG. 12, so that an external force is directly applied to the rectangular conductor 55 during transportation to damage the conductor. It was also found that there was a possibility that connectivity would be impaired. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector structure that prevents a gap from being formed between a rectangular conductor and a holder and protects the rectangular conductor at a connection portion. It is something to offer.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a connector structure according to the present invention is provided in which a plurality of conductors arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval from each other are insulated and formed substantially in a sheet shape. At the exposed end of the conductor of the
A holder having a plurality of comb-shaped protrusions is attached, a holder guide is further attached to the holder, the holder is fitted into the connector housing, and a plurality of elastic terminals housed in the connector housing are brought into surface contact with the elastic terminal. A connector structure for electrically conducting a conductor, wherein a clamping member is provided at both ends of each conductor on the holder when the holder is attached to the holder guide, and a clamping member for clamping and fixing the both ends is provided. Is what you do.

Further, in the connector structure according to the present invention, the holding member is a plurality of loop-shaped members which are located on the right and left sides of the holder guide in the holder insertion direction and which hold both ends of the comb-shaped protrusion of the holder. It is characterized by the following. Further, in the connector structure according to the present invention, the holding members may be located on the left and right sides of the holder guide in the holder insertion direction, and protrude from upper and lower surfaces of the comb-shaped protruding portion of the holder. A guide member which is provided in series and sandwiches the comb-shaped projecting portion from above and below may be used.

[0011]

[Operation] In the connector structure according to the above configuration, when the conductor exposed after stripping the insulating coating is mounted on the comb-shaped protrusion of the holder and attached to the holder guide, the holding members provided on the holder guide are connected to both ends of the conductor. Sandwich. as a result,
Since the conductor is in close contact with the comb-shaped protrusion without any gap, the contact pressure can be sufficiently ensured. Further, since the holding members protrude to the left and right of the conductor surface, it is possible to avoid direct action on the conductor due to external force and to prevent damage.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, one of the holder guides 1 is an open portion 2, and an upper plate portion 4 and a bottom plate portion 5 that sandwich a holder 3 described later from above and below are provided at upper and lower positions of the open portion 2.

The upper plate portion 4 is a flat plate made of an insulating member, and the bottom plate portion 5 is provided via a vertically standing portion 6 which is suspended at an end located at the far side in FIG.
It is connected with. On the upper surface of the bottom plate 5, a base 9 provided with the same width as the comb-shaped protrusion 7 of the holder 3 is defined by a groove 8. As shown in FIG. 2, the pedestal portion 9 is provided on the upright portion 6, which connects the upper plate portion 4 and the bottom plate portion 5 in an inverted U-shaped cross section.
And a plurality of square windows 10 having the upper side of the base 9 as the lower side are formed. The height of the window 10 is slightly larger than the thickness of the comb-shaped protrusion 7 of the holder 3.

The windows 10 are provided with holding members 11 projecting from four corners of the windows 10. The holding members 11 are inserted from the opening 2 and penetrate the windows 10, and Both ends of the comb-shaped protrusion 7 exposed from the window 10 are sandwiched. That is, the sandwiching member 11 is laid on the left and right sides of the window 10 in parallel from above and below, and the comb-shaped protrusion 7 is disposed on the inner wall surface thereof, and the tip of the comb-shaped protrusion 7 abuts. It has a shape connected to a semicircular shape as much as possible. Therefore, this holding member 11
Are provided on the left and right sides of each window portion 10 for each set, and are provided as a set of two so as to sandwich one comb-shaped protruding portion 7 from both left and right sides. A partition 24 formed in the connector housing 20 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) is provided between the sandwiching member 11 mounted as a pair and an adjacent one thereof.

The arm-shaped members protruding from both side ends of the holder guide 1 shown in FIG. 1 are lock members 1 when the holder guide 1 is mounted on the connector housing 20.
2. As shown in FIG. 3, the holder 3 inserted into the holder guide 1 has a main body 13 having a U-shaped cross section.
A plurality of comb-shaped protruding portions 7 protruding from the back side of the figure are provided in the middle of FIG. The comb-shaped protrusion 7 is formed of a flat plate having a predetermined thickness, the dimension in the width direction matches the conductor width of the flexible cable attached to the comb-shaped protrusion 7, and the adjacent comb-shaped protrusion 7 The width of the gap between the conductors corresponds to the width of the insulator between the conductors of the flexible cable.

A cutout 14 provided on the lower surface of the bottom plate 5 of the holder guide 1 shown in FIG.
Is provided with a locking projection 15 which engages with. The main unit 1
The notch 16 provided on the front side of the center of the holder 3 is a recess in which the locking portion 17 provided on the holder guide 1 is engaged when the holder 3 is mounted on the holder guide 1. The flexible cable 18 is attached to the holder 3 and the exposed conductor 19 of the flexible cable 18 is connected to the comb-shaped protrusion 7.
When the holder 3 is inserted into the holder guide 1 through the opening 2 of the holder guide 1 and the comb-shaped projection 7 is projected from the window 10 as shown in FIG. Each of the comb-shaped projecting portions 7 passes between upper and lower portions of a holding member 11 provided on both sides of the window 10, and the tip of the comb-shaped projecting portion 7 abuts on the tip of the holding member 11. And the holder 3 is provided with the notch 1
6 and is fixed integrally with the holder guide 1.

At this time, the pair of holding members 11 are provided so as to cover both ends of the comb-shaped protrusion 7, respectively, and are provided so as to hold both ends of the conductor 19 wound on the comb-shaped protrusion 7. Therefore, an undesired gap between the flexible cable 18 and the comb-shaped protrusion 7 as described in the conventional example is not formed. Even if the flexible cable 18 is bound and transported in this state, the holding member 11
Since it is provided so as to protrude above 9, even if an external force is applied, the external force acts on the holding member 11 and does not directly reach the conductor surface, so that the conductor surface can be sufficiently protected. By inserting the combination of the holder 3 and the holder guide 1 configured as described above into the connector housing 20, as shown in FIG. The piece 22 passes between the pair of holding members 11 and resiliently contacts the conductor 19 in a surface contact state to be electrically connected to the conductor 19.

The partition 24 of the housing 20 is inserted into the holder 3 and the holder guide 1 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7 and between the pair of holding members 11 and between the adjacent comb-shaped protruding portions 7 of the holder 3, they act as guide members for the holder guide 1 and the holder 3,
The insertability of the holder 3 and the holder guide 1 into the housing 20 is improved. In addition, if a projection 25 is provided on the upper surface side of the terminal accommodating chamber formed in the housing 20 so as to be suspended between the pair of holding members 11, the outer surface of the holding member 11 and the housing 20 can be connected. A minute gap δ can be formed therebetween, whereby the insertability of the holder 3 having the holding member 11 and the holder guide 1 can be further improved, and the variation in the contact pressure of the conductor can be reduced. The partition 2
Since 4 is positioned so as to partition adjacent conductors 19 from each other, generation of leakage current between conductors due to water droplets or the like can be prevented. As described above, in the connector structure of the present embodiment, the elastic contact piece 22 of the elastic terminal 21 elastically contacts the conductor 19 and the conductor 19 is sandwiched by the sandwiching member 11, so that the performance is deteriorated by an evaluation test or the like. We can deal with it enough.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, only the structure of the holding member in the previous embodiment is changed, and the other parts are provided in the same manner. The holder guide 40 has, on its standing portion 6, side walls 26 protruding along the left and right sides of the window 10 formed in accordance with the comb-shaped protruding portions 7 of the holder 3, and the upper and lower ends of the side walls 26. A holding member 11 </ b> A comprising an elongated guide member 27 having a quadrangular prism shape in cross section provided on the side surface is provided. The holding member 11 </ b> A includes a conductor 19 wound on the upper and lower surfaces of the comb-shaped protrusion 7 protruding from the window 10.
It is intended to be protected by the side wall 26 and the guide member 27. As a result, the mutually adjacent clamping members 11A
Since the slit portion 28 as an area for the partition 24 of the housing 20 to enter between the housing 3 and the housing 20 is clearly limited, the conductor edge is particularly inclined when the holder 3 and the holder guide 1 are inserted into the housing 20. Partition walls 24 caused by rowing and twisting
Protection from damage due to collisions.

[0020]

As described above, according to the connector structure of the present invention, the conductor surface that is wound and exposed on the holder is clamped by the clamping member. Adhesion is obtained and a stable contact pressure can be secured. Further, since the holding member protects the conductor surface, the flexible cable can be safely transported with the holder and the holder guide attached.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a holder guide according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the holder guide of FIG. 1 as viewed from the front side.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a holder attached to the holder guide of FIG. 1;

4 is a perspective view in which the holder of FIG. 3 is attached to the holder guide of FIG. 1;

5 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the holder and the holder guide of FIG. 4 are fitted into a housing.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a holder and a holder guide according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional connector.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a conventional connector.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of a conventional holder and a rectangular conductor.

12 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of an external force acting on the holder of FIG. 11 during transportation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 40 Holder guide 3 Holder 7 Comb-shaped protrusion 11, 11A Holding member 19 Conductor 20 Connector housing 21 Elastic terminal

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of comb-shaped protrusions are formed at an exposed end of a substantially sheet-shaped wire formed by insulatingly covering a plurality of conductors arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval from each other. Attach a holder having a portion, further attach a holder guide to the holder, fit into the connector housing, make a plurality of elastic terminals housed in the connector housing in surface contact, and electrically connect the elastic terminals and the conductor. A connector structure, comprising: a holding member that is located at both ends of each conductor on the holder when the holder is attached to the holder guide and that holds and fixes the both ends. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is a plurality of loop-shaped members on both sides of the holder guide in the holder insertion direction and holding both ends of the comb-shaped protrusion of the holder. The described connector structure. 3. A side wall protruding from upper and lower surfaces of a comb-shaped protruding portion of the holder, the holding member being on the left and right in the holder insertion direction of the holder guide, and the holding member being connected to upper and lower ends of the side wall. 2. The connector structure according to claim 1, further comprising a guide member for sandwiching the comb-shaped protrusion from above and below.