JP3110967B2 - connector - 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 for connecting a flexible flat cable by inclining a flexible flat cable at a predetermined angle in a plane.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connector of this type is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3-55665. That is, when connecting each lead wire of a flexible flat cable (hereinafter referred to as FFC) to a lead wire, first, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. The joint bar is integrally formed with a mold insulator. Then, the integrally formed joint bar is welded to each lead wire and lead wire of the FFC, and the whole of them is integrally formed with a secondary mold insulator. Further, for a connector in which the direction of the FCC is bent at a right angle, as shown in FIG. 2 in the above publication, after connecting each terminal on the connector side and each lead wire of the FFC with the joint bar, The whole is integrally molded.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned connector, it is necessary to insert various components of the connector and the end of the FFC into a mold and then fill the mold with resin. That is, insert molding must be performed, and it takes time and effort to insert various members and ends of the FFC into the mold, and there is a problem that the operation is troublesome.

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector which can be easily manufactured without performing insert molding.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a flexible flat cable (1).
3) A connector for changing the direction of the planar surface (13d) extending in a plane to a predetermined direction and connecting the holder, and a holder (18) provided at an end (13b) of the flexible flat cable (13). ) And the strip-shaped surface (13d) of the flexible flat cable (13) located on the holder (18).
d) a pressing member (19) having an edge (19a) obliquely crossing the flexible flat cable (13) along the edge (19a) of the pressing member (19). Cable (1
3) a cover (20) for pressing and fixing the holder (18), and the cover (20) and the holder (18).
And the flexible flat cable (1
3) a terminal (B) connected to each conductive wire (A) exposed from the end (13b).

The edge (19) of the pressing member (19)
a) may be formed in the shape of a cutting blade so that when an excessive external force acts on the flexible flat cable (13), the flexible flat cable (13) is cut.

Further, at least one of the holder (18) and the cover (20) is provided with an opening (18c) at a connection position between the conductor (A) and the terminal (B) of the flexible flat cable (13). May be configured.

[0008]

In the connector constructed as described above,
First, a holder (18) is provided at the end (13a) of the flexible flat cable (13), and this holder (1) is provided.
8) Flexible flat cable (13)
The holding member (19) is brought into contact with. Then, the edge (19a) of the holding member (19) crosses the belt-like surface (13d) of the flexible flat cable (13) obliquely. Therefore, a flexible flat cable (1
3) is bent along the edge (19a) of the holding member (19). As a result, the belt-like surface (13d) of the flexible flat cable (13) is turned in a predetermined direction. Then, the cover (20) is fixed to the holder (18) by pressing the bent flexible flat cable (13) against the holder (18).

[0009] The conductor (A) and the terminal (B) are connected by welding or the like. However, this conductor (A) and terminal (B)
Connection to the holder (18) at the end (13a) of the flexible flat cable (13), or to the holder (18) at the end (13a) of the flexible flat cable (13). It may be performed after providing. However, it is necessary to connect the cover (20) before fixing the cover (20) to the holder (18).

As described above, since it is possible to assemble without performing insert molding, each member constituting the connector and the end portion (13b) of the flexible flat cable (13) are troublesome to be put in a mold. Eliminates laborious work. Therefore, it can be easily manufactured.

The edge (19a) of the holding member (19)
Is formed in a cutting blade shape, the member for bending the flexible flat cable (13) also serves as a cutter for cutting the flexible flat cable (13), so that a cutting means such as a cutter is separately provided. The cost can be reduced as compared with the case.

Further, the holder (18) and the cover (2)
0), the flexible flat cable (13) and the terminal (B) are held by the holder (18) and the cover (20), and the opening (18c) is provided in at least one of the openings (18c). The conductor (A) and the terminal (B) can be welded from the portion (18c). Therefore, the connection between the conductor (A) and the terminal (B) can be made extremely easily.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, with reference to FIG. 13, a description will be given of a relay device 10 between relative rotating members using the connector of the present invention.
A rotating body 11 having an inner cylindrical portion 11a and having a flange portion 11b extending outward from the outer periphery of the lower end of the inner cylindrical portion 11a, and an outer cylindrical portion surrounding the inner cylindrical portion 11a of the rotating body 11 at a predetermined interval. A stationary body 1 having an annular bottom plate portion 12b having an inner bottom surface 12a and extending inward from the inner periphery of the lower end of the outer cylindrical portion 12a along the upper surface of the flange portion 11b.
2, is housed in an annular space K between the inner cylindrical portion 11a and the outer cylindrical portion 12a in a spirally wound state, and an inner peripheral end 13a is held by the inner cylindrical portion 11a; An outer peripheral end 13b is attached to the flexible flat cable (hereinafter, referred to as FFC) 13 held by the outer cylindrical part 12b and an upper end of the inner cylindrical part 11a, and the inner peripheral end 13a of the FFC 13 is pulled upward. An upper cover 14 is provided.

The rotating body 11 has an inner cylindrical portion 11a and a flange portion 11b as a center of rotation, and is connected to, for example, a steering wheel side (rotating member side) of a steering wheel portion of an automobile. The inner peripheral end 13a of the FFC 13 is provided on the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical portion 11a.
Is provided.

The fixed body 12 is connected via a bracket 12c to, for example, a steering column side (fixed member side) of a handle portion of an automobile.
The outer cylindrical portion 12a has an outer peripheral end 1 of the FFC 13.
A slit 12d is formed to hold the outer peripheral end 13b toward the fixed member while holding the outer peripheral end 13b. Further, the outer cylindrical portion 12a is provided with a fixed holder 12e for holding a fixed connector 17 described later.

The FFC 13 has an inner peripheral end 13a bent upward at a right angle, and the bent portion is held by the rotation-side holding portion 11c. The distal end of the inner peripheral end 13a is connected to the rotation-side connector 13c. Also, the outer peripheral end 13b
Is pulled out from a slit 12d formed in the fixed body 12 and has a fixed connector 17
Is connected. The fixed-side connector 17 is held by a fixed-side holder 12 e provided on the fixed body 12. The fixed-side connector 17 is fixed to the fixed-side holder 12d via a locking claw 17a.

The upper cover 14 has an inner cylindrical portion 11a.
And a through-hole 14 a coaxial with the inner cylindrical portion 11 a via a screw 15. The inner peripheral end portion 13 is provided in the portion of the through hole 14a.
a at the position corresponding to the rotation side holding portion 11c of FIG.
A notch 14b is formed to draw out the inner peripheral end 13a. Further, on the upper surface of the upper cover 14, a rotating holder 14c for holding the rotating connector 13c connected to the inner peripheral end 13a is provided. Furthermore, a label 16 on which a notice or the like is written is affixed to the upper surface of the upper cover 14.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the fixed-side connector 17 is configured to change the direction of the planarly extending band-like surface 13d of the FCC 13 to a substantially right-angle direction so as to establish connection with the outside. A holder (18) provided at an outer peripheral end (end) 13b of the FFC 13 and a band-shaped surface 13d of the FFC 13 located at the holder 18;
A pressing member 19 having an edge 19a obliquely crossing the belt-like surface 13d, and the FFC cable 13 being bent along the edge 19a of the pressing member 19, the FFC 13
And a terminal B that is held by the cover 20 and the holder 18 and that is connected to each conductor A exposed from the end 13 b of the FFC cable 13.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, the guide 18 has two guide ridges 18a for guiding the FFC 13 in parallel, and a guide groove 18b for guiding the conductor A and the terminal B. Is formed. This guide groove 18b
Is formed such that a connection portion between the conductor A and the terminal B and a portion on the tip end side of the terminal B are formed in parallel, and an intermediate portion thereof is formed obliquely. The terminal B is formed so as to coincide with the guide groove 18b.
It is designed to prevent the user from falling out. The holder 18 is provided with a rectangular opening 18c (see FIG. 5) at a position where the conductor A and the terminal B are connected, and the conductor A and the terminal B can be welded from the opening 18c. Has become. Further, the holder 18 is provided with a fixing claw 18d which is engaged with the pressing member 19 and fixes the pressing member 19 so as to be in contact with the belt-like surface 13d of the FFC 13.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, the holding member 19 is connected to the holder 18 via a hinge portion 21. When the holding member 19 is engaged with the fixing claw 18d, the holding member 19 abuts on the belt-like surface 13d of the FFC 13. The edge 19a is obliquely crossed at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the direction in which the belt-shaped surface 13d extends. Also, as shown in FIG.
It is formed in the shape of a cutting blade, and cuts the FFC 13 when the FFC 13 is pulled by an excessive force. This is because the FFC 13 is provided so as to connect the rotating body 11 and the fixed body 12. Therefore, even if the FFC 13 is caught, the FFC 13 is cut off, so that the relative position between the rotating body 11 and the fixed body 12 is reduced. This is to continue the rotation. However, the bent portion and the edge 1 of the FFC 13
It is preferable to leave a predetermined gap S between the FFC 13 and the FFC 13 under normal use conditions.

The cover 20 is, as shown in FIGS.
It is connected to the holder 18 via a hinge 21. Further, the cover 20 is provided with a fixing claw 20 a for fixing to the holder 18.

The conductor A is connected to the FFC 13 as shown in FIG.
And are exposed in parallel. As shown in FIG. 10, the terminal B is provided with a distal end connected by a tie bar B 1, and is inserted into each guide groove 18 b of the holder 18 with the tie bar B 1. And tie bar B1
Are detached when the assembly of the fixed connector 17 is completed.

In the relay device between relative rotating members 10 configured as described above, first, the rotating body 1 located at the bottom
1 is placed on an assembly work table, for example, and
Put. Thus, the annular bottom plate portion 12b of the fixed body 12 is mounted on the flange portion 11b of the rotating body 11, and an annular space K is formed by the inner cylindrical portion 11a and the outer cylindrical portion 12a. Then, the spirally wound F-shaped F
The FC 13 is housed in the space K between the inner cylindrical portion 11a and the outer cylindrical portion 12a.

Next, the portion bent at a right angle above the inner peripheral end 13a of the FFC 13 is attached to the rotating side holding portion 11c of the inner cylindrical portion 11a. Further, the outer peripheral end 13b of the FFC 13 is held by the slit 12d of the outer cylindrical portion 12a, and is pulled out from the slit 12d.
Then, the fixed connector 17 is attached to the fixed holder 12e. Next, while placing the upper cover 14 on the upper end of the inner cylindrical portion 11a, the inner peripheral end 1 of the FFC 13 is placed.
3a and the rotation side connector 13c are pulled out upward from the through hole 14a. Then, the upper cover 14 is fixed to the upper end of the inner cylindrical portion 11a with screws 15, and
3c is attached to the rotation side holder 14c. This allows
The inner peripheral end 13a of the FFC 13 is pulled upward from the upper cover 14, and the upper end of the outer cylindrical portion 12a is covered. And finally, the upper cover 1
The label 16 is stuck on the upper surface of the substrate 4.

The fixed connector 17 is assembled as follows. First, FF between the guide ridges 18a
The outer peripheral end 13b of C13 is inserted, and the pressing member 19 is pressed from above and fixed. And FF
C13 is bent along the edge 19a of the holding member 19. As a result, the FFC 13 has a flat surface.
It becomes bent at right angles. However, the edges 19a and F
A predetermined gap S is formed in the bent portion of the FC 13. Also, the terminal B having the tie bar B1 is inserted into the guide groove 18b. And FFC1 bent at right angle
The cover 20 is fixed to the holder 18 by pressing the cover 3 from above. Thereafter, the tie bar B1 is cut and removed, and the conductor A and the terminal B are welded through the opening 18c opened in the holder 18.

The fixed connector 1 configured as described above
According to 7, since assembly can be performed without performing insert molding, a troublesome and troublesome operation such as inserting a member serving as a connector or an end of an FFC into a mold is not required. Therefore, it can be easily manufactured,
Manufacturing efficiency can be improved. Moreover, since the FFC 13 can be cut by the pressing member 19, the cost can be reduced as compared with a case where a cutting means such as a cutter is separately provided.

Further, after holding the FFC 13 and the terminal B by the holder 18 and the cover 20, the opening 18c
Since the conductor A and the terminal B can be welded from each other, the conductor A and the terminal B can be easily connected without using a jig for fixing the conductor A and the terminal B to each other. Further, since the guide groove 18b is formed in a bent shape and the terminal B is also formed so as to coincide with the guide groove 18b, it is possible to prevent the terminal B from falling out of the guide groove 18b.

In the above embodiment, the holding member 19
Is formed in the shape of a cutting edge, but needless to say, it is not necessary to form the edge 19a in such a manner. However,
Since the FFC 13 needs to be cut as described above, the edge 19a is preferably formed in a cutting blade shape. Further, although the holder 18 is configured to have the opening 18c, it is needless to say that the opening 18c need not be provided. However, since welding of the conductor A and the terminal B becomes easy, the opening 18 is formed in the holder 18.
It is preferable to provide c. Also, this opening 18c
May be provided on the cover 20 side, or may be provided on both the holder 18 and the cover 20.

As shown in FIG. 11, a fixing claw 18e for fixing the cover 20 to the holder 18 may be provided at the hinge 21 side connecting the holder 18 and the cover 20. Thus, by providing the fixing claws 18e also on the hinge 21 side, the entire cover 20 can be firmly fixed to the holder 18. The fixing claw 18e may be provided on the cover 20 side.

Further, the holder 18 and the cover 20 include
As shown in FIG. 12, the projections 18 f and 20 b may be provided at positions corresponding to the strip-shaped surface 13 d of the FFC 13, respectively. In this case, each projection 18f, 20b
Thereby, the FFC 13 is in a state of being held firmly.

Further, in the above embodiment, the holding member 1
9 is configured so that the edge 19a crosses obliquely at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the direction in which the belt-shaped surface 13d extends.
The angle at which the edge 19a obliquely crosses the belt-like surface 13d is 4
Needless to say, it is not limited to five degrees. When this angle is set to an angle other than 45 degrees, the belt-shaped surface 13d of the FFC 13 is bent at various angles other than a right angle.

The terminal B is formed so as to protrude outward from the holder 18. The terminal B is located inside the holder 18, and the lead A of the FFC 13 and the lead of another cable inserted into the holder 18. May be configured to be connected.

[0033]

According to the present invention, it is possible to assemble without performing insert molding. Therefore, it is troublesome and troublesome to put each member constituting the connector and the end of the flexible flat cable into the mold. Such an operation becomes unnecessary. Therefore, it can be easily manufactured.

In the case where the edge of the holding member is formed in a cutting blade shape, the member for bending the flexible flat cable also serves as a cutter for cutting the flexible flat cable. The cost can be reduced as compared with the case where a separate is provided.

Further, in the case where at least one of the holder and the cover is provided with an opening, the flexible flat cable and the terminal are held by the holder and the cover, and then the conductor and the terminal are welded from the opening. it can. Therefore, the conductor and the terminal can be connected very easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fixed connector shown as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the flexible flat cable is fixed by a holding member in the fixed-side connector.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the fixed connector.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the fixed connector.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an opening provided in a holder of the fixed connector.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view showing a holder, a holding member, and a cover of the fixed connector.

FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view showing a holder, a pressing member, and a cover of the fixed connector.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a hinge of the fixed connector.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a flexible flat cable of the fixed connector.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing terminals of the fixed connector.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of the hinge portion of the fixed connector.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing another example of the holder and the cover of the fixed connector.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing a relay device between relative rotating members using the fixed-side connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Flexible flat cable (FFC) 13b Outer peripheral end (end) 13d Strip-shaped surface 17 Fixed side connector 18 Holder 18c Opening 19 Pressing member 19a Edge 20 Cover A Conductor B Terminal

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-204698 (JP, A) JP-A 50-32553 (JP, U) JP-A 57-164975 (JP, U) 55665 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 9/07 H01R 23/66

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector for connecting a flexible flat cable by changing the direction of a planar band extending in a plane to a predetermined direction, and connecting the flexible flat cable to a holder provided at an end of the flexible flat cable. A pressing member provided so as to be in contact with the band-shaped surface of the positioned flexible flat cable and having an edge crossing the band-shaped surface obliquely; bending the flexible flat cable along the edge of the pressing member; A cover that presses and fixes the flat cable to the holder; and a terminal that is held by the cover and the holder and that is connected to each conductive wire exposed from an end of the flexible flat cable. connector. 2. An edge portion of the holding member is formed in a cutting blade shape, and cuts off the flexible flat cable when an excessive external force acts on the flexible flat cable. The connector according to claim 1. 3. An opening is provided in at least one of the holder and the cover at a connection position between the conductor of the flexible flat cable and the terminal, and the conductor and the terminal can be connected through the opening. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is provided.