JP3807900B2 - Flat wire harness connection structure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connection structure for a flat wire harness that connects the flat wire harness to a counterpart connection conductor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, the structure for connecting the flat wire harness to the mating connection conductor has a connection structure in which the conductor of the flat wire harness exposed by locally removing the insulation coating is brought into direct contact with the mating connection conductor. Is adopted. In such a connection structure, in order to improve connection reliability, an elastic member for elastically contacting the conductor of the flat wire harness and the mating connection conductor is used.
[0003]
For example, the connector 1 shown in FIG. 9 disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-15283 includes a flat plate holder 9 that is joined to the back side of the terminal portion 7 of the flexible flat harness 5 having the conductor exposed portion 3, and a terminal on one side. A rectangular cylindrical housing 11 having an insertion port for the assembly of the portion 7 and the holder 9, an insertion port for the mating connector connected to the conductor exposed portion 3, and a locking member insertion port in the middle portion; And a locking member 15 that is inserted into the housing. The holder 9 is provided with a spring piece (elastic member) 17 facing the back side of the conductor exposed portion. Therefore, the conductor exposed portion 3 of the flexible flat harness 5 is pressed from the back side by the spring piece 17 attached to the holder 9 so as to be elastically contacted with a mating connection conductor (not shown), and a highly reliable electrical connection structure. Can be obtained.
[0004]
The connector structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-220828 is not shown, but an elastic terminal having an elastic contact piece (elastic member) is used, and an elastic terminal is applied to the exposed conductor pattern of the flexible printed circuit board. A highly reliable electrical connection structure is obtained by elastically contacting the elastic contact pieces (elastic members).
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described conventional flat wire harness connection structure requires an additional elastic member for elastically contacting the exposed conductor of the flat wire harness and the mating connection conductor. For this reason, there are problems that the number of parts increases, the structure becomes complicated, and the product cost increases.
Further, there is a flat wire harness connection structure in which flat wire harnesses are arranged in multiple layers (for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-249082). In the case of this type of connection structure, since the respective conductors are arranged so as to be shifted for each layer, the conductors exposed in the respective layers are not arranged on the same plane. Therefore, in order to connect such a multilayer flat wire harness, a relay terminal member that can be simultaneously connected to the conductor exposed in each layer is required.
The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and in a connection structure of a multilayer flat wire harness, an elastic member for elastically contacting the conductor of the flat wire harness and the mating connection conductor, and simultaneous connection to the conductors of each layer An object of the present invention is to provide a flat wire harness connection structure that eliminates the need for a relay terminal member to reduce the cost.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the flat wire harness connecting structure according to claim 1 of the present invention has an elastic flat wire harness in which a plurality of parallel conductors are insulated and a mating connecting conductor is exposed. A flat wire harness connection structure for electrically connecting a mating member to a mating member, wherein at least two flat wire harnesses, in which the insulating coating is locally removed and the conductors are exposed, are overlapped in parallel. And a pointed guide projection provided on the housing is sandwiched between the two flat wire harnesses so that the ends of the flat wire harnesses are spaced apart from each other and The end portions of the two flat wire harnesses are bent to the outside by engaging with the side members and exposed at the bent portions. Characterized in that the serial conductor is brought into contact with the mating connection conductor.
[0007]
In this flat wire harness connection structure, a guide protrusion is inserted between two flat wire harnesses, and each of the two flat wire harnesses is separated from the outside and held in the housing. Therefore, when the housing is locked to the mating member, each of the flat wire harnesses spaced outward is further curved outward. Thereby, the conductor exposed at the curved portion is brought into contact with the mating connection conductor. That is, in the connection structure of the multilayer flat wire harness, the conductor can be pressed and held on the mating connection conductor by the elastic restoring force of each flat wire harness. Furthermore, since the guide protrusion is provided on the housing and the end portion of the flat wire harness is separated and opened in advance, the end portion may curl inward and bend, and the conductor and the counterpart connection conductor may not be connected. Be prevented.
[0008]
The connection structure of the flat wire harness according to claim 2 electrically connects the flat wire harness having elasticity and having a plurality of parallel conductors insulated and the counterpart member from which the counterpart connection conductor is exposed. A flat wire harness connection structure, wherein at least two of the flat wire harnesses, in which the insulating coating is locally removed and the conductors are exposed, are held in parallel in a housing, and the housing is supported by a counterpart member The pointed guide projections that are locked to the mating member and are sandwiched between the two flat wire harnesses and the respective ends of the flat wire harnesses are bent outward. The conductor exposed at the portion is brought into contact with the mating connection conductor.
[0009]
In this flat wire harness connection structure, two flat wire harnesses are overlapped and held in a housing, and the housing is locked to the mating member so that two guide projections projecting from the mating member are provided. It is inserted between the flat wire harnesses, and each of the flat wire harnesses is curved outward. Thereby, the conductor exposed at the curved portion is brought into contact with the mating connection conductor. That is, in the connection structure of the multilayer flat wire harness, the conductor can be pressed and held on the mating connection conductor by the elastic restoring force of each flat wire harness. Furthermore, since the guide protrusion is provided on the counterpart member and the housing only needs to hold the two flat wire harnesses in a stacked manner, the housing can be miniaturized.
[0010]
The flat wire harness connecting structure according to claim 3 is a flat structure of the third and subsequent layers whose end protrudes longer than the inner flat wire harness outside the two flat wire harnesses of the first and second layers. The wire harnesses are sequentially laminated, and each end portion of the flat wire harness is bent outward so that the conductor exposed at the bending portion is brought into contact with the mating connection conductor.
[0011]
In this flat wire harness connection structure, the flat wire harness of the third and subsequent layers protruding from the end is sequentially laminated on the outside of the two flat wire harnesses of the first layer and the second layer, and the housing is a mating member. By being locked to the ends, the end portions of these flat wire harness groups are simultaneously brought into contact with the mating member. Thereby, the ends of all the flat wire harnesses are curved outward, and the conductors of the third and subsequent flat wire harnesses are sequentially arranged on the outer sides of the first layer and the second layer flat wire harnesses. The above flat wire harness can be connected.
[0012]
The flat wire harness connection structure according to claim 4 is characterized in that the counterpart connection conductor is a printed conductive pattern formed on a surface of the counterpart member.
[0013]
In this flat wire harness connection structure, a desired position, a desired number, and a desired shape of the counterpart connection conductor can be easily formed on the surface of the counterpart member with which the conductor of the flat wire harness contacts. In addition, the mating connection conductor is formed almost flush with the surface of the mating member, making it difficult for variations in the protruding thickness from the surface, so that all of the mating connection conductors can contact the flat wire harness at the same time. Thus, a good contact state can be obtained.
[0014]
The flat wire harness connection structure according to claim 5 is characterized in that the counterpart connection conductor is a metal terminal provided so as to protrude from the surface of the counterpart member.
[0015]
In this flat wire harness connection structure, since the mating connection conductor is made of a metal terminal, only the metal terminal protrudes from the surface of the mating member by a thickness. Therefore, the contact surface pressure between the flat wire harness and the mating member increases only at the contact portion between the conductor and the metal terminal, and a stable contact state can be obtained.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a flat wire harness connection structure according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is an external perspective view of a connection structure according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a housing in an uncoupled state with a mating member, FIG. 3 is a view taken along line AA in FIG. It is the principal part expanded sectional view of the connected structure.
[0017]
In the present embodiment, the mating member is made of the substrate 21 shown in FIG. On the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 21, a plurality of printed conductive patterns 23 which are counterpart connection conductors are formed.
[0018]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a housing 27 is attached to the ends of the two flat wire harnesses 25 that are stacked in parallel. The flat wire harness 25 is formed in a strip shape having a plurality of parallel conductors 29 that are insulated and covered with elasticity. In the flat wire harness 25, the insulation coating at the portion connected to the printed conductive pattern 23 is locally removed, and the conductor 29 is exposed.
[0019]
The housing 27 is divided into left and right 27a and 27b, and is coupled with the flat wire harness 25 sandwiched therebetween. This coupling is performed, for example, by locking the coupling claw 31 provided on one side 27a to the other side 27b. The housing 27 is combined in a gate shape in which upper ends of parallel vertical leg portions 33 are connected by a horizontal rod 35.
[0020]
A locking claw 37 is formed at the lower end of each leg portion 33, and the locking claw 37 penetrates and is locked in a locking hole 39 (see FIG. 1) formed in the substrate 21. . A stopper 41 protrudes above the locking claw 37 below the substrate 21, and the gap between the locking claw 37 and the stopper 41 is set to be substantially the same as the thickness of the substrate 21. That is, the leg portion 33 can fix the housing 27 to the substrate 21 by holding the substrate 21 in the thickness direction between the locking claw 37 and the stopper 41.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 3, a locking portion 43 is provided on one side 27 b of the housing 27, and the locking portion 43 penetrates and is locked by the two flat wire harnesses 25. Thereby, the relative movement of the flat wire harness 25 with the housing 27 is restricted. The flat wire harness 25 and the locking portion 43 are locked by, for example, engaging the locking portion 43 formed in a pointed or stepped pin shape with a locking hole formed at a predetermined position of the flat wire harness 25. Is done.
[0022]
The housing 27 is provided with a pointed guide protrusion 45 between the pair of legs 33. The guide protrusions 45 are formed in a bar shape parallel to the horizontal rod 35, and both ends are fixed to the left and right leg portions 33. The guide protrusions 45 are positioned between the two flat wire harnesses 25 so that the lower flat wire harnesses 25 sandwiched between the horizontal rods 35 are separated outward as shown in FIG.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate 21 has a trapezoidal anti-curve protrusion 47 having a trapezoidal cross section that comes into contact with the guide protrusion 45 when the housing 27 is coupled to the substrate 21. The curl prevention protrusions 47 have both side surfaces 47a formed as inclined surfaces or concave surfaces, and prevent the abutted end portions of the flat wire harness 25 from curling inward.
[0024]
Furthermore, an end abutting wall 49 having an inverted L-shaped cross section is provided on the substrate 21 with an anti-curl projection 47 interposed therebetween. The end contact wall 49 contacts the tip of the flat wire harness 25 when the end of the flat wire harness 25 is pressed outwardly by the substrate 21 and bent outward, so that the open leg at the end of the flat wire harness 25 is further extended. Work to stop. As a result, the conductor 29 is pressed against the printed conductive pattern 23 by an appropriate elastic force at the end of the flat wire harness 25.
[0025]
Next, the operation of the connection structure configured as described above will be described.
Two flat wire harnesses 25 where the conductors 29 are locally exposed are held in the housing 27 in a state where the ends are opened.
[0026]
When the housing 27 holding the flat wire harness 25 is pressed against the substrate 21 in this way, the end portion of the flat wire harness 25 is pressed against the surface of the substrate 21 and each is bent outward.
[0027]
Due to the bending, the end moved to the outside comes into contact with the end contact wall 49. When the housing 27 is further pressed from this state, the conductor 29 of the curved portion 51 is pressed against the printed conductive pattern 23 of the substrate 21. Thereby, the conductor 29 of the flat wire harness 25 and the printed conductive pattern 23 of the substrate 21 are connected.
[0028]
The housing 27 and the substrate 21 are coupled with each other with the latching claws 37 latched to the substrate 21 in a state where the conductor 29 is connected to the printed conductive pattern 23.
[0029]
In this flat wire harness connection structure, a guide protrusion 45 is inserted between two flat wire harnesses 25, and each of the two flat wire harnesses 25 is separated from the outside and held in a housing 27. Accordingly, when the housing 27 is locked to the substrate 21, each of the flat wire harnesses 25 that are spaced outward is further curved outward. As a result, the conductor 29 exposed at the curved portion 51 is brought into contact with the printed conductive pattern 23.
[0030]
That is, the conductor 29 can be pressed and held on the printed conductive pattern 23 by the elastic restoring force of each flat wire harness 25. Therefore, this flat wire harness connection structure eliminates the need for a dedicated elastic member.
[0031]
Further, since the guide protrusion 45 is provided on the housing 27 and the end portion of the flat wire harness 25 is opened with being separated in advance, the end portion is curled inward and curved, and the conductor 29 and the printed conductive pattern 23 cannot be connected. Is prevented. Further, by providing the substrate 21 with the anti-curl protrusion 47, the curling at the time of coupling is further reliably prevented.
[0032]
Next, a second embodiment of the connection structure according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the connection structure according to the present invention. In the following embodiments, the same members as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0033]
In the flat wire harness connection structure according to this embodiment, the above-described guide protrusion 45 is not provided in the housing 61. Instead of this, the guide protrusion 63 protrudes from the substrate 21. The guide protrusion 63 is disposed at a position where the tips coincide with the overlapping surfaces of the two flat wire harnesses 25 in a state where the housing 61 is coupled to the substrate 21. Further, the guide protrusion 63 is formed with substantially the same width dimension in the width direction of the flat wire harness 25, and a plurality of guide protrusions 63 may be arranged in parallel in the width direction.
[0034]
Therefore, in this flat wire harness connection structure, the two flat wire harnesses 25 are overlapped and held by the housing 61, and the guide protrusions provided on the substrate 21 are projected by the housing 61 being locked to the substrate 21. 63 is inserted | pinched between the two flat wire harnesses 25, and each of the flat wire harnesses 25 is curved outward.
[0035]
As a result, the conductor 29 exposed at the curved portion 51 is brought into contact with the printed conductive pattern 23. That is, in the connection structure of the multilayer flat wire harness, the conductor 29 can be pressed and held on the printed conductive pattern 23 by the elastic restoring force of each flat wire harness 25. Further, since the guide protrusion 63 is provided on the substrate 21 and the housing 61 only needs to hold the two flat wire harnesses 25 in a stacked manner, the housing 61 can be reduced in size.
[0036]
Next, a third embodiment of the connection structure according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a third embodiment of the connection structure according to the present invention.
[0037]
The connection structure of the flat wire harness according to this embodiment is the third layer in which the end protrudes longer than the flat wire harness 25 serving as the inner side, outside the two flat wire harnesses 25 serving as the first layer and the second layer. Subsequent flat wire harnesses (for example, the third layer, the fourth layer flat wire harness 25a) are sequentially laminated. In these flat wire harnesses 25a, the conductors 29 are exposed at the protruding end portions.
[0038]
According to the connection structure of the flat wire harness, the flat wire harness 25a of the third and subsequent layers protruding from the end is sequentially laminated on the outside of the two flat wire harnesses 25 that are the first layer and the second layer, and the housing When 27 is locked to the substrate 21, the ends of the flat wire harness groups 25 and 25 a are simultaneously brought into contact with the substrate 21.
[0039]
As a result, the ends of all the flat wire harnesses 25 and 25a are bent outward, and the conductors 29 of the third and subsequent flat wire harnesses 25a are sequentially placed outside the first and second flat wire harnesses 25. Arranged, it becomes possible to connect two or more flat wire harnesses. At this time, the flat wire harness 25a is brought into contact with the printed conductive pattern 23 provided in parallel with the substrate 21, and the printed conductive pattern 23 provided on the vertical wall of the end contact wall 49 as shown in FIG. It is good also as a structure made to contact.
[0040]
In each of the above embodiments, the case where the printed conductive pattern 23 is formed on the substrate 21 has been described as an example. However, the connection structure of the flat wire harness according to the present invention is as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Instead of the printed conductive pattern 23, a structure in which the metal terminal 65 is provided on the substrate 21 may be employed. For example, each of the metal terminals 65 is connected to the tip of the covered electric wire 67. In addition, the metal terminal 65 is fixed to the substrate 21 by locking means (not shown) provided on the end contact wall 49. In addition, the metal terminal 65 has an electrical contact portion 65a at the tip formed in a thin plate shape. In this way, the metal terminal 65 locked to the substrate 21 is arranged such that the electrical contact portion 65 a protrudes from the surface of the substrate 21.
[0041]
According to the flat wire harness connection structure, only the metal terminal 65 protrudes from the surface of the substrate 21 by a thickness. Accordingly, the contact surface pressure between the flat wire harness 25 and the substrate 21 is increased only at the contact portion between the conductor 29 and the metal terminal 65, and a stable contact state can be obtained.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the flat wire harness connection structure of the present invention, at least two flat wire harnesses with locally exposed conductors are stacked and held in the housing, and the housing or the counterpart member is attached. The provided guide projection is inserted between the two flat wire harnesses, the flat wire harnesses are separated from each other, the housing is locked to the mating member, and each of the two flat wire harnesses is curved outward. Since the conductor exposed at the curved portion is brought into contact with the mating connection conductor, the conductor is pressed and held by the mating connection conductor by the elastic restoring force of each flat wire harness in the connection structure of the multilayer flat wire harness. The number of parts can be reduced by eliminating the need for an elastic member for pressurization. Further, since each of the plurality of flat wire harnesses can be bent and brought into direct contact with the mating connection conductor, a relay terminal member for relaying the multilayer flat wire harness can be dispensed with.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a connection structure of a flat wire harness according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a housing that is not coupled to a counterpart member.
FIG. 3 is a view taken along arrow AA in FIG. 2;
4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the connection structure shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the connection structure according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a third embodiment of a connection structure according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a modification when the mating connecting conductor used in each embodiment is a metal terminal.
8 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a connection structure of a conventional flat wire harness.
[Explanation of symbols]
21 Substrate (mating member)
23 Printed conductive pattern (mating side connection conductor)
25 Flat wire harness 25a 3rd and subsequent flat wire harnesses 27, 61 Housing 29 Conductor 45, 63 Guide protrusion 51 Curved portion 65 Metal terminal (mating side connection conductor)

Claims (5)

A flat wire harness connecting structure that electrically connects a flat wire harness having elasticity and a plurality of parallel conductors covered with insulation, and a mating member from which the mating connecting conductor is exposed,
At least two of the flat wire harnesses, in which the insulating coating is locally removed and the conductors are exposed, are overlapped in parallel and held in the housing, and the pointed guide protrusions provided on the housing are Sandwiched between the flat wire harnesses to separate the ends of the flat wire harnesses outward,
The conductor exposed to the curved portion is brought into contact with the mating connecting conductor by locking the housing to the mating member and bending the respective ends of the two flat wire harnesses outward. Connecting structure of flat wire harness. A flat wire harness connecting structure that electrically connects a flat wire harness having elasticity and a plurality of parallel conductors covered with insulation, and a mating member from which the mating connecting conductor is exposed,
At least two of the flat wire harnesses, in which the insulating coating is locally removed and the conductors are exposed, are overlapped in parallel and held in a housing;
A pointed guide projection protruding from the mating member by locking the housing to the mating member is sandwiched between the two flat wire harnesses, and the respective ends of the flat wire harnesses are outward. A flat wire harness connection structure, wherein the conductor exposed at the bending portion is brought into contact with a mating connection conductor by bending. The first and second flat wire harnesses on the outer side of the first and second flat wire harnesses are sequentially laminated with the flat wire harnesses on and after the third layer whose end protrudes longer than the inner flat wire harness,
The flat wire harness according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the conductor exposed at the curved portion is brought into contact with the mating connection conductor by bending each end portion of the flat wire harness outward. Connection structure. The flat wire harness connection structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the counterpart connection conductor is a printed conductive pattern formed on a surface of the counterpart member. The flat wire harness connection structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the counterpart connection conductor is a metal terminal provided so as to protrude from a surface of the counterpart member.

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