JP3977636B2 - Flat flexible cable connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes a flat flexible cable (including FPC, FFC, etc., hereinafter simply referred to as FPC) that is effective as a technique for connecting to other equipment such as a printed circuit board. The present invention relates to a cable connector.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, the following method is known as a method of connecting the FPC and the printed circuit board. A method in which a connecting connector of an FPC is connected to a plug connector, a receptacle connector is mounted on a printed circuit board, and the plug connector and the receptacle connector are fitted (connected) to each other. For example, see JP-A-8-203626.
[0003]
As another method, a method is known in which a connector is mounted on a printed circuit board, and a conductor exposed at a connection end portion of the FPC is electrically connected so as to be pressed against a contact of the connector on the printed circuit board. .
[0004]
The connection method using the plug connector and the receptacle connector requires a plug connector for connecting the FPC, which increases the manufacturing cost and makes it difficult to reduce the size of the receptacle connector mounted on the printed circuit board. There was a problem that there was a limit to making it smaller.
[0005]
Further, the method in which the conductive portion of the FPC is directly pressed against the contact of the connector mounted on the printed circuit board has the following problems. When the printed circuit board or the connector itself is warped, the connection end of the FPC is lifted from the contact, so that it is difficult to ensure a reliable connection at all the poles. This problem is particularly noticeable when the number of poles is large.
[0006]
In this regard, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-111401 proposes a connection technique devised so that the occupation area can be reduced on equipment such as a printed circuit board, the reliability of connection can be ensured, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. ing.
[0007]
This employs the following concept. By forming a slit in the connection end portion of the FPC, the exposed conductor portion of the FPC is bent to one side of the connection end portion to form a pair of connection pieces. A backup material (reinforcing material) is mounted between the two connection pieces to hold both connection pieces from the inside, and the backup material is fixed to the FPC with a tape to form a plug connector on the FPC side. Then, a receptacle connector having a fitting portion into which the connecting piece of the plug connector is inserted is provided on the printed circuit board side, so that both are electrically connected.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the improved existing connector also has a problem to be further solved in the following points.
[0009]
This is related to miniaturization and thinning (low profile) necessary to make the occupied area as small as possible. In particular, the distance between the connecting pieces held by the backup material is increased, and the thickness of the entire connector is increased. That is, since the backup material is mounted between the connection pieces, there is a restriction when the space is further reduced to reduce the size and thickness. Further, in the structure in which the backup material is fixed to the FPC with the adhesive tape, the overall thickness also increases.
[0010]
Since the backup material is mounted between the two connection pieces, it is difficult to further reduce the thickness of the receptacle connector. That is, since the opening between the two connection pieces of the FPC is closed by the backup material mounted between the two connection pieces, this opening cannot be effectively used as, for example, a terminal entry opening on the receptacle side. As a result, the effective fitting length of the terminal cannot be increased, and the spring length of the terminal cannot be increased. As a result, the contact reliability of the connector may be reduced.
[0011]
This relates to operability (insertion feeling) when the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector and coupled. That is, as the connector becomes thinner, it is necessary to take measures to shorten the length of the contact piece of the terminal or to increase the inclination of the raised portion provided on the contact piece. As a result, the contact resistance between the terminals increases, and the operability may be reduced.
[0012]
In addition, it is necessary to consider the manufacturability and the manufacturing cost. Since the backup material is a separate member from the FPC and requires box-shaped processing, the productivity is inferior. In particular, after the step of forming the connection piece on the FPC and the step of processing the backup material into a necessary shape, the operation of mounting the backup material on the FPC and further fixing the backup material to the FPC with an adhesive tape is required. As a result, the number of work steps increases, and the cost increases accordingly.
[0013]
The object of the present invention is to reduce the occupied area on equipment such as a printed circuit board as much as possible, and in particular, it is possible to easily reduce the overall height of the connector, and to improve contact reliability and operability. It is an object of the present invention to provide a flat flexible cable connector technology capable of achieving the above.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The connector according to the present invention includes a plug connector provided on a flat flexible cable, and a receptacle connector mounted on a circuit board or the like and coupled to the plug connector 10 . The plug connector is cut and raised so that the two connecting pieces facing each other formed by cutting and raising the bonded portion of the flat flexible cable and the shell plate and the plug connector 10 have an open structure without a ceiling. And an opening located between the two connection pieces . The receptacle connector includes a housing having a receiving portion for receiving both connection pieces, and a plurality of terminals attached to the housing and capable of entering into the opening . And the conductor exposed part which contacts a terminal is provided in the mutually opposing surface of both connection pieces.
[0015]
According to the present invention, in the flat flexible cable, the opening is formed between the connecting pieces by cutting and raising the connecting pieces, so that the plug connector has a so-called ceiling-free structure. This makes it easier to reduce the height of the connector. In other words, the effective fitting length of the terminal entering between the connecting pieces and the spring length of the terminal can be increased, and the contact reliability can be improved. This is because the terminal can be made longer (higher) by an amount corresponding to the thickness of both the shell plate and the flat flexible cable. In addition, the fact that the spring length of the terminal can be increased makes it easy to reduce the contact resistance by its own elasticity and to improve the operability at the time of connector connection.
[0016]
It is desirable that the two connection pieces are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the flat flexible cable, and a surface opposite to the opposing surface of both connection pieces is formed by a shell plate. In this way, if the surface opposite to the opposing surface of both connection pieces (outer surface) is formed by the shell plate, not only can the configuration in which the terminal on the receptacle side enters between both connection pieces be adopted, It can be set as the form which protects the conductor exposed part of the surface (inner side surface) which both connection pieces oppose.
[0017]
The connecting piece is cut and raised from the flat flexible cable, and the exposed piece in which the conductor exposed portion is formed on the opposite surface of both connecting pieces, and is cut and raised from the shell plate to support the surface opposite to the conductor exposed portion. It is desirable to have a structure provided with a supporting piece. By forming the support piece from the laminate material of the flat flexible cable and the shell plate, it is possible to make the structure easy to achieve overall downsizing and thinning while ensuring the necessary strength with the support piece made of metal in particular. it can.
[0018]
It is desirable that the terminal of the receptacle connector has a contact piece standing up in the receiving portion, and the free end of the contact piece is located near the mouth of the receiving portion. When the connecting piece enters the receiving part, the contact piece of the terminal arranged in the receiving part enters between the connecting pieces. Therefore, the height of the contact piece can be sufficiently secured by positioning the free end (upper end) of the contact piece in the vicinity of the mouth of the receiving portion (near the entrance). That is, the effective fitting length can be increased.
[0019]
It is desirable that the contact piece is provided with a raised portion that contacts the conductor exposed portion, and that the slope of the raised portion is set to be slow. The raised portion provided on the contact piece is effective for reliably bringing the contact piece into contact with the exposed conductor portion. By setting the slope of the raised portion to be slow, the contact resistance at the time of connector connection can be lowered. When the height of the connector is reduced, the contact piece itself is shortened and the raised portion is steeply inclined. However, in the present invention, since the effective fitting length can be secured long, the slope of the raised portion can be set slowly.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a plug connector provided on a flat flexible cable. 2 is a plan view of the receptacle connector, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the receptacle connector, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the flat flexible cable connector. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector showing the coupled state, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector. In this embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a connector for connecting an FPC and a printed circuit board is shown.
[0021]
In these figures, 1 is an FPC and 2 is a printed circuit board. A simple plug connector 10 is formed in the FPC 1. A receptacle connector 20 to which the plug connector 10 is connected is mounted on the printed circuit board 2. The plug connector 10 and the receptacle connector 20 constitute a flat flexible cable connector CN according to the present invention (see FIG. 4).
[0022]
The plug connector 10 includes a connection piece 11 formed by processing a portion where the FPC 1 and the metal shell plate 3 are bonded together (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The connection piece 11 is a portion inserted into the receiving portion 21 of the mating connector (receptacle connector) 20 and constitutes a connection terminal for electrical connection.
[0023]
The connection piece 11 is cut and raised from the FPC 1 and has an exposed piece 12 having a conductor exposed portion 12a formed on one side thereof, and a support piece 13 that is cut and raised from the shell plate 3 and supports a surface opposite to the one side of the exposed piece 11. It consists of and. The FPC 1 and the shell plate 3 are bonded together with an adhesive (not shown). Therefore, the exposed piece 12 and the support piece 13 are also bonded and integrated through the adhesive. In consideration of the heat resistance of the connector, for example, a thermosetting adhesive is used as the adhesive.
[0024]
Although the height of the connection piece 11 depends on the thickness and size of the FPC 1, it is set to about 1 mm in this embodiment. As can be understood from FIG. 4, the thickness of the FPC 1 is considerably thin and excellent in flexibility. Therefore, it is difficult to make it independent even if only the exposed piece 12 from the FPC 1 is cut and raised. For this purpose, the shell plate 3 is provided with a support piece 13 for supporting the exposed piece 12. Accordingly, the support piece 13 has a reinforcing function for giving rigidity to the FPC 1.
[0025]
Two connecting pieces 11 of the plug connector 10 are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the FPC 1. Therefore, the plug connector 10 includes two connection pieces 11 and 11 that face each other. And conductor exposed parts 12a and 12a are located in the surface where both connection pieces 11 and 11 oppose. As shown in FIG. 4, the conductor exposed portion 12a is obtained by removing a part of the insulating coating 1a covering one side of the FPC 1 to expose the conductor 1b. Of course, the conductor exposed portion 12a can be formed in advance when the FPC 1 is manufactured.
[0026]
On the surface of the support piece 13 to be bonded to the exposed piece 12, an inclined surface 13 b for forming the tapered surface 12 b by inclining the tip portion of the exposed piece 12 toward the support piece 13 is formed. Further, the protruding dimension of the support piece 13 is set to be longer than the protruding dimension of the exposed piece 12. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the inclined surface 13b is formed by a part of a V-shaped groove, and is formed so that the tip of the exposed piece 12 fits into the groove. Thus, the tip of the exposed piece 12 is designed not to protrude from the tip of the support piece 13.
[0027]
In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an extended region 1 c that is widened in the width direction is formed in the middle of the FPC 1 in the length direction (near the end). This is because the wiring density related to the number of conductors of the FPC 1 is high, so that the interval between the conductors 1b and the width of the conductor 1b itself can be increased. As a result, connection reliability and manufacturability are improved.
[0028]
The receptacle connector 20 mounted on the circuit board 2 includes a housing 22 in which a receiving portion 21 that receives the connection piece 11 is formed, a terminal 23 that is disposed in the receiving portion 21 and contacts the connection piece 11, and both ends of the housing 22. And a reinforcing metal fitting 24 for fixing the housing 22 to the circuit board 2. The reinforcing bracket 24 is provided with a lock piece 25 that engages with the connection piece 11 and maintains the contact state between the connection piece 11 and the terminal 23.
[0029]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 22 has a substantially rectangular plane and is formed with a height of about 1 mm. A partition 22a is provided at the central portion of the housing 22, and groove-shaped receiving portions 21 and 21 are formed on both sides of the partition 22a. A large number of terminals 23 are arranged (arranged in two rows) along the receiving portions 21 and 21, and contact pieces 23 b of the terminals 23 are arranged in an upright state in the receiving portions 21 and 21. .
[0030]
The fixing portion 23 c of each terminal 23 is fitted in the terminal mounting groove of the housing 22. Each terminal 23 is provided with a solder tail 23d extending downward from a portion of the fixing portion 23c, and is soldered to the circuit board 2.
[0031]
Grooves 21 a and 21 a for mounting the reinforcing metal fittings 24 with the lock pieces 25 are formed on both ends of the housing 22. The groove portions 21 a and 21 a form a single groove-like portion continuously with the receiving portions 21 and 21. Therefore, the groove-like portion as a whole is formed in a planar rectangular frame shape.
[0032]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the reinforcing bracket 24 has a main body 24 a that is curved in an inverted U shape. The main body 24a also serves as a positioning function of the plug connector 10 with respect to the receptacle connector 20. The positioning function of the main body 24a is set so as to mainly position the plug connector 10 in the length direction (corresponding to the width direction of the FPC 1).
[0033]
The lock piece 25 extends from one of the two opposing pieces 24b of the main body 24a, and the other piece 24c protrudes from the housing and is soldered to the circuit board 2. The other piece 24c is longer than the one piece 24b, and its end is formed as a solder tail 24d.
[0034]
The lock piece 25 is configured to be displaceable in the length direction of the FPC 1 by the elasticity of the lock piece 25 itself. In this way, by devising the displacement direction (movable direction) of the lock piece 25, consideration is given to prevent the risk of contact dropout and short-circuit between the electrodes due to positional shift at the time of locking (connector coupling). The length direction of the FPC 1 that is the displacement direction of the lock piece 25 corresponds to the direction orthogonal to the arrangement pitch direction of the terminals 23.
[0035]
By making the displacement direction of the lock piece 25 perpendicular to the arrangement pitch direction of the terminals 23, it is possible to prevent the contact state between the terminal 23 and the connection piece 11 from being affected when the lock piece 25 is operated. Because it can. Consider the case where the displacement direction of the lock piece 25 is the arrangement pitch direction of the terminals 23.
[0036]
When the lock piece 25 is actuated (displaced), a force acts to move the plug connector 10 in the width direction of the FPC 1. This is because the force is in the pitch direction of the terminals 23 and is a force that shifts the normal contact state between the terminals 23 and the connection pieces 11 in the direction of short-circuiting the electrodes.
[0037]
The connection piece 11 of the plug connector 10 is provided with a recess 13 h, and the lock piece 25 is provided with a projection 25 a that fits into the recess 13 h of the connection piece 11. Thereby, the lock mechanism of the connection piece 11 is comprised. Thus, it is set as the simple structure which exhibits a lock function by uneven | corrugated fitting.
[0038]
The recess 13 h is provided on the outer surface of the support piece 11. The concave portion 13h into which the convex portion 25a is fitted is provided in the support piece 13 made of metal so that durability against wear due to the concave-convex fitting can be exhibited.
[0039]
A receptacle connector 20 according to this embodiment includes a housing 22 having a receiving portion 21 for receiving both connection pieces 11, 11, and a plurality of terminals 23 attached to the housing 22 and capable of entering between the connection pieces 11, 11. And. And the conductor exposed part 12a which contacts the contact piece 23b of the terminal 23 is provided in the mutually opposing surface of both the support pieces 11 and 11. As shown in FIG. Each terminal 23 is arranged along both sides of the partition 22a. Therefore, at the time of connector connection, as shown in FIG. 5, all the contact pieces 23b of each terminal 23 enter between the support pieces 11 and 11 together with the partition 22a.
[0040]
Since the opening 30 is formed between the connection pieces 11 and 11 by cutting and raising the connection pieces 11 and 11 in the FPC 1, the plug connector 10 has an open structure without a so-called ceiling. This makes it easier to reduce the height of the connector CN. In other words, the effective fitting length of the terminal 23 entering between the connecting pieces 11 and 11 and the spring length of the terminal 23 can be increased, and the contact reliability can be improved. This is because, as shown in FIG. 4, the contact piece 23b of the terminal 23 can be made longer (higher) by an amount corresponding to the thickness T of both the shell plate 3 and the FPC 1.
[0041]
In addition, the fact that the spring length of the contact piece 23b can be increased can reduce the contact resistance (friction) between the contact piece 23b and the exposed piece 12 by its own elasticity, and improve the operability (smoothness) at the time of connector connection. Becomes easier.
[0042]
Both connection pieces 11, 11 are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the FPC 1, and a surface (outer surface) opposite to the opposing surface of both connection pieces 11, 11 is formed by the shell plate 3. In this way, by forming the surface (outer surface) opposite to the opposing surface of the connection pieces 11, 11 with the shell plate 3, the terminal 23 on the receptacle connector 20 side enters between the connection pieces 11, 11. In addition to adopting the configuration, the conductor exposed portions 12a on the opposing surfaces (inner side surfaces) of both the connecting pieces 11, 11 can be protected.
[0043]
The connection piece 11 is cut and raised from the FPC 1 and the exposed piece 12 in which the conductor exposed portion 12a is formed on the opposing surfaces of the connection pieces 11 and 11, and the shell strip 3 is cut and raised to the opposite side of the conductor exposed portion 12a. And a support piece 13 for supporting the surface. In this way, by forming the support piece 13 from the laminate material of the FPC 1 and the shell plate 3, it is possible to easily reduce the overall size and thickness while ensuring the necessary strength by the support piece 13 made of metal in particular. can do.
[0044]
The terminal 23 of the receptacle connector 20 has a contact piece 23 b that stands up in the receiving portion 21, and the free end of the contact piece 23 b is designed to be positioned near the mouth of the receiving portion 21. When the connecting piece 11 enters the receiving portion 21, the contact piece 23 b of the terminal 23 arranged in the receiving portion 21 enters between the connecting pieces 11 and 11. Accordingly, by positioning the free end (upper end) of the contact piece 23b in the vicinity of the mouth of the receiving portion 21 (near the entrance), the height of the contact piece 23b can be sufficiently secured. That is, the effective fitting length can be increased.
[0045]
The contact piece 23b is provided with a raised portion 23a that comes into contact with the conductor exposed portion 12a, and the inclination of the raised portion 23a is set to be slow. The raised portion 23a provided on the contact piece 23b is effective for reliably bringing the contact piece 23b into contact with the conductor exposed portion 12a. By setting the slope of the raised portion 23a to be slow, the contact resistance at the time of connector connection can be lowered. In order to reduce the height of the connector, the contact piece 23b itself is usually shortened and the raised portion 23a is steeply inclined as the height is lowered. However, since the effective fitting length can be secured long, the raised portion 23a can be inclined. Can be set slowly.
[0046]
The terminal 23 is provided with a raised portion 23a that contacts the conductor exposed portion 12a. The raised portion 23 a and the convex portion 25 a of the lock piece 25 are set at positions relatively displaced in the insertion direction of the connection piece 11 with respect to the receiving portion 21. By setting in this way, the positional relationship between the raised portion 23a and the convex portion 25a is shifted in the insertion direction of the connecting piece 11.
[0047]
Therefore, the timing at which the raised portion 23 a of the terminal 23 contacts the exposed piece 12 is shifted from the timing at which the convex portion 25 a contacts the support piece 13. As a result, it is possible to reduce the resistance when the connection piece 11 is inserted into the receiving portion 21 and the resistance when the connection piece 11 is pulled out. That is, it is possible to improve operability while exhibiting a reliable connection function and lock function.
[0048]
The connection piece 11 to the receptacle connector 20 is formed by processing a portion where the FPC 1 and the shell plate 3 are bonded together, and the exposed piece 12 and the support piece 13 are integrated via an adhesive. Therefore, the plug connector 10 is made of a so-called two-layer laminate material (FPC and shell plate 3). As a result, it is possible to achieve a reduction in size and thickness as compared with a conventional connector configured by assembling a plurality of separate parts.
[0049]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the occupied area on equipment such as a printed circuit board can be reduced as much as possible, and particularly, the overall height of the connector can be easily reduced, and the contact reliability is improved. It is possible to provide a flat flexible cable connector that can improve operability.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a plug connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the receptacle connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the flat flexible cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a coupled state of the flat flexible cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line ZZ in FIG. 2;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Flat flexible cable (FPC)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Insulation coating 1b Conductor 1c Expansion area 2 Printed circuit board 3 Shell plate 3a Compact part 10 Plug connector 11 Connection piece 12 Exposed piece 12a Conductor exposed part 12b Tapered surface 13 Support piece 13b Slope 20 Receptacle connector (mating side connector)
21 receiving portion 21a groove portion 22 housing 22a partition 23 terminal 23a raised portion 23b contact piece 23c fixing portion 23d solder tail 24 reinforcing bracket 24a main body portion 24b one piece 24c other piece 24d solder tail 25 lock piece 25a convex portion 30 opening CN flat Type flexible cable connector

Claims (5)

A plug connector provided on the flat flexible cable;
A receptacle connector mounted on a circuit board or the like and coupled to the plug connector ,
The plug connector includes two connecting pieces facing each other formed by cutting and raising the bonded portion of the flat flexible cable and the shell plate, and the cutting and raising so that the plug connector has an open structure without a ceiling. And an opening located between the two connecting pieces ,
The receptacle connector comprises a housing having a receiving portion for receiving the two connection pieces, is mounted on the housing, and a plurality of terminals capable of entering into the opening,
A flat flexible cable connector in which conductor exposed portions that come into contact with the terminals are provided on surfaces of the connecting pieces facing each other. The connecting pieces are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the flat flexible cable,
The flat flexible cable connector according to claim 1, wherein a surface opposite to the facing surface of both connection pieces is formed by the shell plate.  The connecting piece is cut and raised from the flat flexible cable, the exposed piece having the exposed conductor portion formed on the opposing surface of both connecting pieces, and the raised piece cut from the shell plate and opposite to the exposed conductor portion. The flat flexible cable connector according to claim 1, further comprising a support piece that supports the surface of the flat flexible cable.  The flat flexible terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the terminal has a contact piece standing in the receiving portion, and a free end of the contact piece is located near a mouth portion of the receiving portion. cable.  The flat flexible cable connector according to claim 4, wherein the contact piece is provided with a raised portion in contact with the conductor exposed portion, and the slope of the raised portion is set to be slow.

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