JP3479970B2 - Flat cable 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 flat cable connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-188047 discloses a flat cable connector. This involves accommodating multiple terminal fittings in parallel in the connector housing, inserting the flat cable, and then contacting each wire of the flat cable with the opening on the upper surface of the connector housing to the upper surface of the corresponding terminal fitting. ,further,
The structure is such that the wire holding plate is attached to the opening of the connector housing. The electric wire pressing plate presses the electric wire from above and presses the electric wire against the terminal fitting, whereby the electric wire is restricted from floating in the direction in which it dissociates from the terminal fitting.

[0003]

By the way, a flat cable connector is sometimes required to have a shield function, and in this case, the shield is provided so as to surround the connector housing in which the electric wire and the terminal fitting are connected. A structure is adopted in which a shell is attached and the shield shell is brought into contact with the shield layer of the flat cable, but the number of parts as a connector for the flat cable is increased by the shield shell. .

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned conventional flat cable connector, in addition to the connector housing as a means for connecting the electric wire and the terminal metal fitting, and the electric wire and the terminal metal fitting, a part called an electric wire pressing plate is provided as means for restricting the floating movement of the electric wire. It is necessary and the number of parts is increased accordingly. Providing a shield shell for such a flat cable connector further increases the number of parts as a whole.
The present invention was created in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the number of parts.

[0005]

According to the invention of claim 1, a connector housing to which a terminal of a flat cable formed by arranging a plurality of electric wires in parallel is attached, and a connector housing attached to the connector housing enables connection with the electric wires. A plurality of terminal fittings, an electric wire pressing means for restricting the looseness of the electric wire connected to the terminal fitting in a dissociation direction from the terminal fitting, and a flat cable of the flat cable that surrounds the connector housing. A flat cable connector comprising a shield shell connected to a shield layer, wherein the wire holding means is formed integrally with the shield shell.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the abutting portion of the wire holding means for contacting the electric wire is an arcuate surface. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a connecting portion of the terminal fitting with the electric wire projects into a wiring area of the electric wire, and the electric wire is connected to the connecting portion. The wires are connected in a form of extending to both sides, and the wire holding means holds down the wires at two positions on both sides of the connecting portion to restrict the movement.

The invention of claim 4 relates to claim 1 to claim 3.
In any one of the inventions described above, a connection portion between the electric wire and the terminal fitting in the connector housing is opened to an outer surface side, and the shield shell is divided into two shells, and one of the shells is formed. Is attached so as to close the open portion of the connector housing, and the electric wire holding means is formed on one of the shells.

[0008]

[Advantageous Effects of the Invention] [Invention 1] Since the wire holding means is formed integrally with the shield shell, the number of parts is smaller than that in the case where the wire holding means and the shield shell are separate parts. I'm done. [Invention of Claim 2] The shield shell on which the wire holding means is formed is made of metal, but since the abutting portion of the wire holding means against the wire is an arcuate surface, there is no risk of damaging the wire. .

[Invention of Claim 3] Since the electric wire is held at two positions on both sides of the connecting portion with the terminal fitting, the electric wire is reliably regulated in free movement. [Invention of Claim 4] Since the shield shell has a divided structure, it can be easily assembled to the connector housing. Further, one of the shells on which the electric wire pressing means is formed has both a function as a cover for covering the open connection portion of the electric wire and the terminal fitting and a function for restricting the electric wire from floating.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The flat cable connector C of the present embodiment includes a housing 10 to which a mating connector A is fitted and a flat cable F is connected, a plurality of terminal fittings 40,
And a shield shell 30. In the following description, the up-down direction is based on FIGS. 1 and 3 to 7, the left-right direction is based on FIG. 3, and the front-back direction is on the left side of FIG.

[Housing 10] The housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin, has a low height as a whole, has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the upper surface, and has a shallow recessed shape over substantially the entire area of the upper surface. In the front end wall portion 11 of the housing 10, a plurality of escape grooves 12 that are open to both the upper side and the front side are formed side by side at a constant pitch, and a pair of guides facing each other are provided at the lower end portions of the escape grooves 12. The groove 13 is formed. A plurality of wire receiving grooves 1 corresponding to the escape grooves 12 are formed in the first intermediate wall portion 14 located at a substantially intermediate position in the front-rear direction of the housing 10.
5 is formed so as to open upward and both front and rear. At the upper end portion of the wire receiving groove 15, a pair of inwardly projecting lifting control portions 16 are formed to project, and at the projecting edge of the lifting control portion 16, a guide slope 17 for guiding the conductor Fc is formed. Has been done.

A plurality of electric wire holding grooves 19 corresponding to the electric wire receiving grooves 15 are juxtaposed in the left-right direction in the second intermediate wall portion 18 slightly rearward of the first intermediate wall portion 14, and both upper and front and rear sides are arranged. It is formed open to. Further, a cable holding groove 21 corresponding to the electric wire receiving groove 15 and the electric wire holding groove 19 is formed in the rear end wall portion 20 of the housing 10 so as to be open upward and front and rear. Also, the front end wall 1
1 and the first intermediate wall 14 between the left and right inner wall surfaces of the housing 10, the front positioning recess 2 opened upward.
2 is formed, and a rear positioning recess 23 that is open upward is formed between the second intermediate wall portion 18 and the rear end wall portion 20. Further, the escape grooves 1 are provided between the front end wall portion 11 and the first intermediate wall portion 14 on the inner bottom surface of the housing 10.
A plurality of terminal fitting recesses 24 extending in the front-rear direction are formed in parallel between the wire 2 and the wire receiving groove 15.

[Shield shell 30] Shield shell 3
0 is formed by bending a metal plate material and has a divided structure of a lower shell 31 and an upper shell 32 (one shell which is a constituent of the present invention). The lower shell 31 is pre-assembled in the housing 10 in a state in which free movement in the up, down, left, and right directions is restricted by being provided along the entire lower surface, the entire left and right side surfaces, and only the left and right side edges of the upper surface. A plurality of folding pieces 3 are provided on the rear edge of the lower shell 31.
3 is formed, and each folded piece 33 is fitted in the cable holding groove 21 and is locked to the rear end edge of the housing 10, whereby the forward movement of the lower shell 31 with respect to the housing 10 is restricted. The lower shell 31 also has a function as a connecting means with the conductor Fg of the flat cable F. Further, the cut-and-raised locking piece 34 on the side wall of the lower shell 31 is locked in the recess 25 on the side surface of the housing 10, whereby the backward movement of the lower shell 31 with respect to the housing 10 is restricted.

When the lower shell 31 is assembled to the housing 10, a recess (conductor Fc) on the upper surface of the housing 10 is used.
The connection point between the terminal metal fitting 40 and the terminal metal fitting 40) remains open throughout, and the upper shell 32 is covered and assembled like a cover there. The upper shell 32 has a flat plate shape as a whole, and two front and rear mounting pieces 35 project downward from the left and right side edges of the upper shell 32. The mounting pieces 35 are fitted into the mounting holes 26 on the upper surface of the housing 10. The upper shell 32 is held in the housing 10 and the lower shell 3 by being locked by a locking means (not shown).
1 is assembled. Then, in the assembled state, the pair of left and right elastic contact pieces 36 formed by cutting and raising downward at the lower end portion of the upper shell 32 are elastically contacted with the upper surface of the conductor Fg of the flat cable F. .

In the upper shell 32, front and rear are positioned so as to be located on both front and rear sides with the electric wire receiving grooves 15 (connection points between the conductor Fc and the connection portion of the terminal fitting) of the first intermediate wall portion 14 interposed therebetween. A plurality of pairs of wire holding portions 37 (wire holding means which is a constituent of the present invention) are formed. The wire holding portion 37 is formed integrally with the upper shell 32 by partially raising the upper shell 32 downward. The electric wire pressing portion 37 on the front side has a shape in which the front end side of the cut-and-raised portion is bent downward, and the continuous portion with the upper shell 32 has a quarter arc shape, and the lower end portion has a flat shape extending straight in the vertical direction. I am doing it. On the other hand, the electric wire pressing portion 37 on the rear side is in a front-back pair with the electric wire pressing portion on the front side. When the flat cable F is attached to the housing 10 and the upper shell 32 is assembled to the housing 10, the wire pressing portion 37 presses the insulating layer Fd of the flat cable F from above,
Therefore, the upward movement of the conductor Fc (in the direction in which it is disengaged from the connection portion 46 of the terminal fitting 40) is restricted.

[Terminal Metal Fitting 40] The terminal metal fitting 40 is made by bending a metal plate material punched into a predetermined shape, and has a base end portion 41 whose plate thickness direction is oriented in the vertical direction and a plate thickness direction which is oriented in the vertical direction. And a pair of left and right arm portions 42 extending in a cantilever manner from the rear end edge of the base end portion 41 in a state of facing. The base end portion 41 is long in the front-rear direction, and a narrow connecting portion 43 is connected to the front end thereof.
A tab 44 having the same width as the base end portion 41 is connected to the front end of the. The tab 44 is positioned parallel to the base end portion 41 and above the base end portion 41 by bending the connecting portion 43. The tab 44 is connected to the mating terminal fitting T. Further, a triangle-shaped retaining projection 45 is formed on one side edge of the base end portion 41.

The pair of arm portions 42 are continuous with the base end portion 41 in a plane and have a constant width dimension over the entire length from the base end to the extended end (rear end). A connecting portion 46 that is bent upward (a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the arm portion 42) is formed at the extending end of the arm portion 42. Further, the inner side surfaces 42S of the arm portion 42 facing each other and the inner side surface 46S of the connection portion 46 are continuous in a flush shape (a straight line when viewed from above).
The distance between the inner side surfaces 42S of both arm portions 42 is
It is widest at the base end and is gradually narrowed toward the extension end, and at the inner side surface 46S of the connecting portion 46, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the outer corner edges 46A of the bend (the rearmost edges when viewed from above) are in contact with each other. When bending the connecting portion 46, the flesh of the inner portion of the bending protrudes to the left and right sides. However, the connecting portions 46 are in contact with each other (the arm portions 42 are closest to each other). State), the length of the arm portion 42 and the inner side surface 4 at the base end are adjusted so that the overhanging portions 46B do not interfere with each other.
An interval between 2S is set. A guide slope 46C for guiding the conductor Fc between the connecting portions 46 is formed on the upper end surface of the connecting portion 46.

[Manufacturing process of terminal fitting 40] Terminal fitting 40
In the manufacture of, first, the metal plate material is formed into a predetermined shape, that is, the pair of arm portions 42 are parallel to each other (the inner side surfaces 42S of the arm portions 42 maintain a constant dimension from the base end to the extended end). The metal plate material is punched out to form a connection portion 46 by bending the extended end of the arm portion 42 (see FIG. 9). Next, of the pair of arm portions 42, one arm portion 42 is elastically bent so as to escape in a direction (left-right direction) away from the other arm portion 42, and the other arm portion 42 is moved to the one arm portion 42. Is plastically deformed in the direction approaching (the direction in which one arm portion 42 is chased). At this time, the amount of displacement due to plastic deformation is not the position where the connecting portion 46 contacts the mating connecting portion 46 (the intermediate position in the left-right direction),
It deforms to a position further advanced to this side. That is, the plastic deformation amount is set to a large amount in anticipation of the springback of the plastically deformed arm portion 42. As a result, the plastically deformed arm portion 42 and the connecting portion 46 can be formed into a regular shape. After that, the other arm portion 42 is also plastically deformed. At this time as well, similarly to the above, the plastically deformed arm portion 42 is elastically deformed and plastically deformed by a large amount in anticipation of springback. As a result, both connecting portions 46 are surely brought into contact with each other. The contact pressure between the connecting portions 46 when the conductor Fc is not connected can be arbitrarily set by changing the amount of plastic deformation.

[Flat Cable F] In the flat cable F, the ends of a plurality of electric wires Fa are connected to a rectangular plate-shaped holding body Fb.
The electric wire Fa has a structure in which the outer circumference of the conductor Fc is covered with an insulating layer Fd, the outer circumference of the insulating layer Fd is covered with a shield layer Fe, and the shield layer Fe is covered with an outer coating Ff. ing. Each wire Fa is
The outer coating Ff and the shield layer Fe are sequentially arranged toward the terminal side.
Are removed, and a part of the insulating layer Fd is removed to expose the conductor Fc. The holding body Fb is fixed so as to surround the insulating layer Fd on the terminal side (front side) of the exposed portion of the conductor Fc. Further, a conductor Fg having a horizontally long plate shape is fixed to the exposed portion of the shield layer Fe so as to short-circuit between the shield layers Fe of the electric wires Fa.

[Assembling the Connector C and Connecting the Flat Cable F] When assembling the connector C, first, the terminal fitting 40 and the lower shell 31 are assembled to the housing 10. The terminal fitting 40 is assembled by press-fitting the terminal fitting 40 along the escape groove 12 and the guide groove 13 from the front of the housing 10 with the connecting portion 46 facing forward. Then, the connecting portion 46 is inserted into the electric wire receiving groove 15, and the rear end edge of the tab 44 is changed to the front end wall portion 11.
When the terminal fitting 40 comes into contact with, the terminal fitting 40 is brought into a proper assembled state, and the retaining projection 45 bites into the guide groove 13 to be retained and retained in the same state. The terminal fitting 40
Upward movement of the housing with respect to the housing
3 and the lifting control unit 16.
In this state, the wire receiving groove 15 is provided between the connecting portions 46.
Located below to stand by.

Next, the flat cable F is attached to the housing 1.
Set to 0 from the top. At this time, the holding body Fb is fitted between the front end wall portion 11 and the first intermediate wall portion 14, and the conductor Fg is fitted between the second intermediate wall portion 18 and the rear end wall portion 20, Each of the front side positioning recesses 22
By fitting the flat cable F into the rear positioning recess 23, the flat cable F is restricted from moving back and forth and left and right with respect to the housing 10. The exposed portion of the conductor Fc is located between the first intermediate wall portion 14 and the second intermediate wall portion 18, and the wire receiving groove 1
5 and is sandwiched between the connecting portions 46 of the terminal fitting 40 and the conductor F by the elasticity of the arm portion 42.
c and the terminal fitting 40 are in a state of being connected to each other with a predetermined contact pressure. The portion of the electric wire Fa behind the conductor Fg is fitted into the cable holding groove 21 so that the free movement in the left-right direction is restricted. Further, the lower surface of the conductor Fg is brought into contact with the folded portion 33 of the lower shell 31, whereby the shield layer Fe of the electric wire Fa is conducted to the lower shell 31 via the conductor Fg.

Thereafter, the upper shell 32 is attached to the housing 1
Assemble to 0. Assembling may be performed by inserting the mounting piece 35 into the mounting hole 26 from above and covering the upper surface of the housing 10. When the upper shell 32 is assembled, the elastic contact piece 36 makes elastic contact with the upper surface of the conductor Fg of the flat cable F, so that the upper shell 32 and the shield layer Fe can be electrically connected. In addition, the connecting portion 4 of the terminal fitting 40
The conductor Fc connected to 6 is pressed from above by the pair of front and rear wire holding portions 37 of the upper shell 32 at the closest positions on the front and rear sides thereof, so that the upward movement is restricted, and the conductor Fc and the terminal metal fitting 40. And maintain a stable connection. As described above, the assembly of the connector C and the connection with the flat cable F are completed.

[Effects of Embodiment] Since the wire holding portion 37 is formed integrally with the shield shell 30, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the wire holding means and the shield shell are separate parts. The connection part 46 of the terminal fitting 40 with the electric wire Fa is projected into the wiring region of the conductor Fc, the electric wire Fa is connected in a form of extending to the front and rear sides of the connection part 46, and the electric wire retainer 37 is connected. Since the electric wire Fa is pressed at two positions on both sides of the portion 46 to restrict the movement, the electric wire Fa is prevented from being obliquely lifted either in front of or behind the connecting portion 46.

Since the shield shell 30 has a divided structure consisting of the upper shell 32 and the lower shell 31, it can be easily assembled to the connector housing 10. The upper shell 32 in which the wire holding portion 37 is formed
Has both the function of a cover for covering the connection portion of the electric wire Fa and the terminal fitting 40 in the connector housing 10 and the function of restricting the electric wire Fa from floating, and compared with the case where the cover is provided as a separate component, The number of parts is small.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 12. In this embodiment, the wire holding portion 38 (the wire holding means that is a constituent of the present invention) has a different configuration from that of the first embodiment. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations, and the description of the structure, operation, and effect is omitted. The insulating layer Fd (the electric wire F) in the electric wire pressing portion 37 of the first embodiment.
The contact surface with respect to a) has a flat shape, whereas the contact surface with the insulating layer Fd in the wire holding portion 38 of the second embodiment is an arc surface 38R. In addition, the wire holding part 3
8 is a direction perpendicular to the plate surface of the upper shell 32 (assembly direction of the upper shell 32 to the connector housing 10)
Instead, it extends downward in a direction slightly inclined with respect to the vertical direction. That is, the electric wire pressing portion 38 on the front side is tilted backward, and the region extending from the lower end portion of the rear surface to the lower end surface is the arcuate surface 38R. Rear wire holding part 38
Is symmetrical with respect to the forwardly tilted wire holding portion 38 and is in the forwardly tilted posture, and the region extending from the lower end portion of the rear surface to the lower end surface is the arcuate surface 38R. further,
The electric wire pressing portion 38 can be elastically displaced in the front-back direction.

Since the wire holding portion 38 is inclined, the height of the lower end of the wire holding portion 38 and the insulating layer Fd due to dimensional tolerances and assembly tolerances when the upper shell 32 is assembled to the connector housing 10. Even if there is a deviation from the height of the upper surface of the wire, the wire pressing portion 38 elastically tilts and displaces the arc-shaped surface 38R along the insulating layer Fd while absorbing the deviation. . As a result, the wire pressing portion 38 excessively causes the insulating layer Fd (the wire F
Pressing a) is avoided.

Further, although the shield shell 30 on which the wire holding portion 38 is formed is made of metal, the contact portion of the wire holding portion 38 to the insulating layer Fd (electric wire Fa) is the arc surface 38R in the second embodiment. Therefore, even if the electric wire pressing portion 38 is displaced in the front-back direction (the wiring direction of the electric wire Fa),
There is no risk of damaging the insulating layer. [Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above embodiment, the wire holding portion is formed by cutting and raising a part of the shield shell.
According to the present invention, it may be formed by means such as tapping or bending instead of cutting and raising. (2) In the above embodiment, the shield shell has a divided structure composed of two parts, an upper shell and a lower shell, but according to the present invention, it may be an integrated part. (3) In the above-described embodiment, a pair of front and rear wire holding portions is provided for one electric wire, but according to the present invention, one wire holding portion may be loosely regulated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the housing.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the housing.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the connector is removed from the mating connector.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the mating connector is fitted to the mating connector.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the housing.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the terminal fitting.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the terminal fitting.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which the terminal fitting is being manufactured.

FIG. 10 (A) is a partially enlarged plan view of a connecting portion in a state where an electric wire is not connected. (B) is a partially enlarged plan view of a connecting portion in a state where an electric wire is connected.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the shape of a wire holding portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

C ... Flat cable connector F: Flat cable Fa ... electric wire Fe ... Shield layer 10 ... Connector housing 30 ... Shield shell 31 ... Lower shell 32 ... Upper shell (one shell) 37 ... Wire holding part (wire holding means) 40 ... Terminal fittings 46 ... Connection part 38 ... Electric wire holding part (electric wire holding means) 38R ... Arc surface

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 23/66 H01R 9/07

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector housing to which a terminal of a flat cable formed by arranging a plurality of electric wires in parallel is attached, a plurality of terminal fittings attached to the connector housing to enable connection with the electric wires, and the terminal. An electric wire pressing means for restricting the looseness of the electric wire connected to the metal fitting from the terminal metal fitting in a dissociation direction, and a shield shell surrounding the connector housing and connected to the shield layer of the flat cable. A connector for a flat cable, characterized in that the wire holding means is integrally formed with the shield shell. 2. The flat cable connector according to claim 1, wherein an abutting portion of the wire holding means to the wire is an arcuate surface. 3. A connecting portion of the terminal fitting with the electric wire is configured to project into a wiring area of the electric wire, and the electric wire is connected in a form of extending to both sides of the connecting portion. The flat cable connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the means has a structure in which the electric wire is restrained by pressing the electric wire at two positions on both sides of the connecting portion. 4. The connector housing has a structure in which a connection portion between the electric wire and the terminal fitting is opened to an outer surface side, the shield shell is divided into two shells, and one of the shells is formed into the shell. It is attached so as to close the open part of the connector housing,
The flat cable connector according to claim 1, wherein the wire holding means is formed on one of the shells.