JP3683767B2 - Branch terminal structure of flat circuit body - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a branch terminal structure of a flat circuit body such as a flexible flat cable (hereinafter referred to as FFC) and a flexible printed circuit (hereinafter referred to as FPC).
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, when a flat circuit body is used for electrical connection between circuits or a circuit is branched, a connector is attached to a terminal of the flat circuit body, and this connector is connected to a mating connector. As such a branch circuit structure of a flat circuit body, a technique according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-359875 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is known.
[0003]
In the conventional branch terminal structure, a connection terminal 1 as shown in FIG. 6 is used. This connection terminal 1 has a fitting portion 2 for connecting to a mating terminal at the front end portion, a bent connection piece 3 having a high height (H1) and a lower height (H2) at the rear end portion side. A curved connecting piece 4 is formed. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the terminal portions of the two flexible flat conductor cables 5, 6 are overlapped with a predetermined distance on the plurality of connection terminals 1 arranged in parallel, and the bent connection piece 3 is overlapped. The flexible flat conductor cables 5 and 6 and the connection terminal 1 are connected to each other by bending 4 through the flexible flat conductor cables 5 and 6 and bending them.
[0004]
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the lower flexible flat conductor cable 5 connected to the connection terminal 1 is connected and conducted by the bent connection piece 4 having a low height, so that the upper layer can be connected. The flexible flat conductor cable 6 is connected and electrically connected by a bent connecting piece 3 having a high height. In the flexible flat conductor cable 5, a plurality of conductors 7 arranged so as to be parallel are sandwiched between insulating coating layers 9 and 9, as shown in FIG. In the flexible flat conductor cable 6, a plurality of conductors 8 arranged in parallel are sandwiched between insulating coating layers 10 and 10.
[0005]
In manufacturing such a conventional branch terminal structure, the bent connection piece 4 of the connection terminal 1 is pierced into the terminal portion of the flexible flat conductor cable 5 (piercing), and then folded using a piercing jig. The bending connection piece 4 is processed so that the tip end side is bent and the tip contacts the conductor 7. Thereafter, the other flexible flat conductor cable 6 is overlapped with a predetermined distance from the end of the connected flexible flat conductor cable 5, and the bent connecting piece 3 is pierced as shown in FIG. The bending connecting piece 3 is bent again using the piercing jig 11 and processed so that the tip thereof contacts the conductor 8. In this way, the branch terminal structure as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is manufactured.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional branch terminal structure described above has a problem in that the piercing connection process is performed twice with the bent connection pieces 3 and 4, so that the number of manufacturing processes is large and tact is required. In addition, since stress is applied to the flexible flat conductor cables 5 and 6 when the wire harness is assembled, the bent connection pieces 3 and 4 that are electrically connected are likely to be deformed, and the contact resistance may be increased. .
[0007]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a flat circuit body branch terminal structure in which the number of manufacturing steps is small and assembly work can be easily performed.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 is a flat circuit body branch terminal structure in which a connection terminal is connected and fixed to each conductor of a flat circuit body in which a plurality of conductors are arranged at predetermined intervals and sandwiched between base films. Because
The connection terminal is provided with a terminal portion connected to the mating connection terminal on the front end side, and a connection substrate portion extends on the rear end side, and is connected to the conductor at an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the connection substrate portion. A connecting holding projection is formed, and bent holding pieces for holding the flat circuit body are formed in front and rear positions of the connecting projection of the connection board portion, respectively, and the flat circuit body is connected to the connecting projection. The bent holding piece is folded forward and rearward in front of the bent holding piece located on the front side, and the bent holding piece is squeezed through the plurality of layers of the base film, and is used for the connection. The protrusion is characterized by being caulked through the base film and the conductor of a plurality of layers.
[0009]
In the invention according to claim 1 having such a configuration, the base film and the conductor which are bent and stacked in a plurality of layers are electrically connected to the internal conductor by the caulking through the connection protrusion. Can do. Further, the bent holding pieces provided at the front and rear positions of the connection protrusions can be tightly squeezed through the plurality of flat circuit bodies so that the bent portions of the flat circuit bodies can be brought into close contact with the connection substrate portion. Therefore, there is an effect of preventing the bent portion of the flat circuit body from expanding due to the repulsive force. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the bent portion of the flat circuit body from interfering with the connector housing when the connection terminal connected so that the flat circuit body constitutes a branch circuit is inserted into the connector housing. Attached workability can be improved.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 2 is the branch terminal structure of the flat circuit body according to claim 1, wherein the flat circuit body is separated so that the conductors are separated at a portion overlapping the connecting board portion. It is characterized in that a slit is formed between the conductors.
[0011]
Therefore, in addition to the effect | action of invention of Claim 1, in invention of Claim 2, it has the effect | action which makes it easy to bend a flat circuit body by forming the slit between conductors.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the details of the branch terminal structure of the flat circuit body according to the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in FIGS. In the present embodiment, a flexible flat cable (FFC) is applied as the flat circuit body.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2, the branch terminal structure of the flat circuit body of the present embodiment includes an FFC 21 and a connection terminal 22 connected to the FFC 21.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 1, the FFC 21 has a plurality of conductors 23 made of, for example, rolled copper foil or the like arranged in parallel and sandwiched between base films 24 and 24 using an adhesive. In order to attach the connection terminal 22 to the intermediate portion of the FFC 21, slits 25 are formed between the conductors 23 of this portion, and notches 26 are formed on both sides in the width direction of the FFC 21. Such slits 25 and notches 26 are formed in the overlaid base films 24, 24, and do not reach the conductor 23.
[0015]
By forming the slits 25 and the notches 26 in this way, separation portions 27 each having one conductor 23 separated from each other are formed. The width dimension of the separation portion 27 is set to be slightly longer than the width dimension of the connection substrate portion 28 of the connection terminal 22 described later.
[0016]
Next, the configuration of the connection terminal 22 will be described. In the present embodiment, a female terminal is used as the connection terminal 22, and a terminal portion 29 into which a rectangular tube-shaped mating terminal is fitted is provided at the front end portion, and the connection substrate portion 28 extends to the rear side of the terminal portion 29. Be present. In this example, the connection side with the counterpart terminal is defined as the front end side, and the opposite side is defined as the rear end side.
[0017]
In addition, a pair of bent holding pieces 30 </ b> B and 30 </ b> B are erected on the rear end portion of the connection board portion 28 from both side edges of the connection board portion 28. Further, two pairs of connection projections (barrels) 31 are provided upright from both side edges at a substantially intermediate position of the connection board portion 28. A pair of bent holding pieces 30 </ b> F and 30 </ b> F are erected between the terminal portion 29 and the connection protrusion 31.
[0018]
It should be noted that the interval between the connection protrusions 31, 31 erected on both sides of the connection substrate portion 28 is set to be shorter than the width dimension of the conductor 23 of the FFC 21. Further, the connection protrusion 31 passes through the two FFCs 21 (the base films 24 and 24 and the conductor 23) placed thereon, and is set to a length that can be contacted with the upper conductor 23 again by bending the tip. Has been. On the other hand, the bending holding pieces 30 </ b> F and 30 </ b> B are set to be longer than the connection protrusion 31.
[0019]
Next, the configuration of the connector housing 20 will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 2, the connector housing 20 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is formed with a cavity portion 20 </ b> A as a terminal accommodating chamber in which the connection terminal 22 and the separation portion 27 connected thereto are accommodated in the front-rear direction. ing. In the connector housing 20, a plurality of cavity portions 20A are formed in parallel along the width direction. In addition, a clamp member 19 that holds the rear end of the terminal portion 29 of the connection terminal 22 is provided at the upper portion of the connector housing 20 while pressing the bent portion 27A of the FFC 21 accommodated in the cavity portion 20A. .
[0020]
As mentioned above, although each member of the branch terminal structure of the flat circuit body of this embodiment was demonstrated, the procedure which assembles these each member is demonstrated. First, from the state shown in FIG. 1, the separation part 27 of the FFC 21 is folded and overlapped, and the FFCs 21 and 21 overlapped on the connection board part 28 of the corresponding connection terminal 22 are pressed to form the respective parts formed on the connection board part 28. The pair of bent holding pieces 30F and 30B are pierced and penetrated through the portion of the base film 24 outside the conductor 23, and at the same time, both the base film 24 and the conductor 23 portion are pierced by the connection protrusion 31 to form two layers of FFC 21. The connection protrusion 31 is projected from the upper surface of the substrate.
[0021]
In such a state, the bending holding pieces 30F and 30B and the connection protrusion 31 are simultaneously tightened and narrowed using a piercing jig (not shown). Then, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bending holding pieces 30 </ b> F and 30 </ b> B and the connection protrusions 31 are respectively rounded and bent.
[0022]
Here, the bending holding pieces 30 </ b> F and 30 </ b> B perform a function of pressing the separation portion 27 of the FFC 21. In addition, the connection protrusion 31 functions to electrically connect the conductor 23 of the separation portion 27 and the connection terminal 22. The bent holding pieces 30F and 30B are bent to hold the upper surface of the upper FFC 21.
[0023]
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the connection protrusion 31 is bent so that the two-layered separating portion 27 penetrates through the conductor 23 to the upper surface of the upper separating portion 27 as described above. The tip of the connection protrusion 31 penetrates the base film 24 of the upper separation portion 27 from the upper surface and comes into contact with the conductor 23 again.
[0024]
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the connection terminals 22 assembled with the FFC 21 in this way are inserted and arranged in the respective cavity portions 20 </ b> A of the connector housing 20. Then, by inserting the clamp member 19 from the upper portion of the connector housing 20, the clamp member 19 is brought into contact with the rear end portion of the terminal portion 29 of the connection terminal 22 so that the connection terminal 22 does not come out of the connector housing 20. At the same time, the bent portion 27A of the FFC 21 is pressed from above. In this way, the branch terminal of the FFC 21 can be inserted and fixed to the connector housing 20.
[0025]
In the branch terminal structure of the flat circuit body according to the present embodiment, the separation portion 27 of the FFC 21 is held by the bending holding pieces 30B and 30B behind the connection protrusion 31 that electrically connects the connection terminal 22 and the FFC 21. In addition, since it is held by the bending holding pieces 30F and 30F in front of the connection projection 31, the upper FFC 21 is held by the both bending holding pieces 30F and 30B when stress is applied. This stress can be prevented from affecting the contact portion between the connection projection 31 and the conductor 23, which is an electrical connection portion. Further, since the vicinity of the bent portion 27A of the separating portion 27 is pressed by the bent holding pieces 30F and 30F, the bent portion 27A is inserted when the connection terminal 22 is inserted into the cavity portion 20A of the connector housing 20. Does not interfere with the connector housing 20, and the assembly workability can be improved.
[0026]
Moreover, in this embodiment, since the bending holding pieces 30F and 30B and the connection protrusions 31 and 31 can be bent at the same time, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced.
[0027]
Although the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications accompanying the gist of the configuration of the present invention are possible.
[0028]
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the FFC 21 is applied as the flat circuit body. However, it is of course possible to apply a flexible printed circuit (FPC).
[0029]
In the above-described embodiment, after the slit 25 is formed in the FFC 21, the connection terminal 22 is connected and fixed to each conductor 23 of the FFC 21, but the slit 25 may not be formed in the FFC 21 in advance.
[0030]
In the above-described embodiment, the FFC 21 is folded and laminated in two layers. However, the FFC 21 may be laminated in two or more layers.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of layers are provided at the front and rear positions of the connection projections that are bent and crimped through the base film and the conductor that are folded and stacked on the plurality of layers. Since the bent holding piece that can be squeezed through the flat circuit body is provided, the bent portion of the flat circuit body can be brought into close contact with the connection board portion, so that the bent portion of the flat circuit body is caused by the repulsive force. Inflating can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to prevent the bent portion of the flat circuit body from interfering with the connector housing when the connection terminal connected so that the flat circuit body forms a branch circuit is inserted into the connector housing. There is an effect to improve workability. Moreover, since the caulking work is only required once, the number of manufacturing processes can be reduced.
[0032]
According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, since the slit is formed between the conductors, the flat circuit body can be easily bent, and the flat circuit body is attached to the connection terminal. There is an effect to make it easier.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a branch terminal structure of a flat circuit body according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the branch terminal structure of the flat circuit body according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a branch terminal structure of the flat circuit body of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion held by a bent holding piece in the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing a state in which the connection protrusion is connected to the conductor in the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a connection terminal used in a branch terminal structure of a conventional flat circuit body.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a branch terminal structure of a conventional flat circuit body.
FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing a branch terminal structure of a conventional flat circuit body.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory side view showing a manufacturing process of a branch terminal structure of a conventional flat circuit body.
[Explanation of symbols]
20 Connector housing 21 Flexible flat cable (FFC)
22 Connection terminal 23 Conductor 24 Base film 25 Slit 27A Bending part 28 Connection board part 29 Terminal part 30F, 30B Bending holding piece 31 Protrusion for connection

Claims (2)

A flat circuit body branch terminal structure in which a plurality of conductors are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other and sandwiched by a base film, and each connection terminal is connected and fixed to each conductor of the flat circuit body,
The connection terminal is provided with a terminal portion connected to the mating connection terminal on the front end side, and a connection substrate portion extends on the rear end side, and is connected to the conductor at an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the connection substrate portion. The connecting protrusions are formed, and bending holding pieces for holding the flat circuit bodies are formed at the front and rear positions of the connecting protrusions of the connection substrate part,
The flat circuit body is folded backward and forward in front of the bent holding piece located on the front side of the connection projection, and the folded holding piece is formed of a plurality of layers of the base film. A flat circuit body branch terminal structure characterized in that the connection protrusions are squeezed through and squeezed through the base film and conductors of a plurality of layers. A branch terminal structure for a flat circuit body according to claim 1,
The flat circuit body is characterized in that a slit is formed between the conductors so that the conductors are separated from each other at a portion overlapping the connecting substrate portion.

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