JP4651500B2 - Connector for cable connection - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cable connecting connector.

  Conventionally, FPC connectors, FFC connectors, and the like for connecting flat-type cables having flexible properties such as flexible printed circuit boards (FPC) and flexible flat cables (FFC). The cable connector is used (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a main part of a conventional cable connection connector.

  As shown in the drawing, the connector for cable connection includes a housing 301 made of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin, and a plurality of terminals 302 made of a conductive material such as metal and held by the housing 301. An actuator 303 made of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin is disposed in the opening of the housing 301. The actuator 303 is rotatably attached to the housing 301 and rotates between an open position as shown in the figure and a closed position (not shown). In this case, a flat cable (not shown) is inserted from the opening of the housing 301 with the actuator 303 in the open position. When the cable is inserted all the way, the actuator 303 is operated by the operator's fingers or the like to rotate to the closed position. As a result, the cable is pressurized from above by the actuator 303, and the connecting portion exposed on the lower surface of the cable comes into contact with the terminal 302 and becomes conductive.

In addition, guide pieces 304 are attached to both ends of the opening of the housing 301. The lower edge 305 of the guide piece 304 regulates the height of the upper surface of the cable and guides the upper surface of the cable so that the cable is properly inserted into the opening of the housing 301.
JP 2002-289283 A

  However, in the conventional connector for cable connection, since both ends of the cable are in contact with and guided by the side wall surface of the cable side end guide wall formed integrally with the housing 301, the cable The side wall surface of the side end guide wall was worn away and could not withstand long-term use. In general, an auxiliary plate made of a relatively hard material such as polyimide is attached to one surface of a flat cable, and both ends thereof are exposed at both ends of the cable. When the cable is inserted into the opening of the housing 301, both side ends of the auxiliary plate are in sliding contact with the side wall surface of the cable side end guide wall. Therefore, when the attachment / detachment of the cable to / from the cable connecting connector is repeated, the side wall surface of the cable side end guide wall made of synthetic resin having a relatively low hardness is worn out. As a result, the cable cannot be properly guided.

  In recent years, it has been required to reduce the lateral width of the housing 301 in order to reduce the size of the cable connector. However, in order to reduce the lateral width of the housing 301, the thickness of the cable side end guide wall should be reduced. Then, the moldability is lowered, and it becomes difficult to resin-mold the cable side end guide wall. Furthermore, the dimensional accuracy of the cable side end guide wall is lowered, or it is damaged due to insufficient strength, and the cable cannot be properly guided.

  The present invention eliminates the cable side end guide wall by solving the problems of the conventional cable connector and guiding the side end of the flat cable by the guide portion formed on the auxiliary connector fitting. A connector for cable connection that can easily form the housing, does not wear the housing, has high durability, has sufficient strength, and can accurately guide the flat cable. The purpose is to provide.

Therefore, in the connector for cable connection of the present invention, a housing having an insertion port for inserting a flat cable, and a terminal having a contact piece attached to the housing and electrically connected to a signal line of the flat cable. Between the first position where the flat cable can be inserted and the second position where the inserted flat cable is pressed against the contact piece. A pressing portion that presses the cable-shaped cable against the contact piece; and an actuator including a main body portion that is substantially parallel to the insertion direction of the flat cable at the second position; and a flat cable inserted into the insertion port. a guide portion for guiding the side edge, the cable connection having an auxiliary connector securing members attached to opposite sides of the housing The connector mounting auxiliary metal fitting includes a metal fitting main body including an engaging portion that engages with the housing, and a board attaching portion that is connected to the metal fitting main body and is attached to the surface of the board. The guide portion is connected to the metal fitting main body portion via a U-shaped connecting portion, and protrudes from the metal fitting main body portion toward the center in the width direction of the insertion port .

  In still another cable connection connector according to the present invention, the guide portion further includes a planar guide side surface facing the center in the width direction of the insertion port and in which the side end of the flat cable is in sliding contact.

  According to the present invention, the cable connecting connector guides the side end of the flat cable by the guide portion formed on the auxiliary connector fitting. As a result, the cable side end guide wall can be omitted, the housing can be easily molded, the housing is not worn out, is durable, has sufficient strength, and the flat cable is accurate. Can be guided to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a perspective view showing a cable connection connector in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the cable connection connector in an embodiment of the present invention, and is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the cable connecting connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which the auxiliary connector fitting is removed, and FIG. 4 is a connector mounting auxiliary bracket according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

  In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a cable connecting connector according to the present embodiment, which is mounted on a board such as a circuit board (not shown) to electrically connect a flat cable called a flexible circuit board or a flexible flat cable. Used for. The substrate may be of any material and type regardless of whether it is rigid or flexible. In the present embodiment, the expressions indicating the directions of upper, lower, left, right, front, rear, etc. used for explaining the configuration and operation of each part of the cable connecting connector 10 are absolute. The cable connection connector 10 is suitable when the cable connection connector 10 is in the posture shown in the figure. However, when the posture of the cable connection connector 10 is changed, the cable connection connector 10 is changed according to the change in posture. Should be interpreted.

  Here, the cable connecting connector 10 is integrally formed with a housing 31 as a connector body integrally formed of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin, and an insulating material such as a synthetic resin. And an actuator 11 as a cable fixing movable member attached so as to be capable of changing its posture. That is, the actuator 11 is attached to the housing 31 so that its posture changes to an open position as a first position and a closed position as a second position.

  The housing 31 is formed between the lower portion 32, the upper portion 35, the left and right side portions 36, and the lower portion 32, the upper portion 35 and the side portion 36, and will be described later from the front (lower left diagonal in FIG. 1). The insertion port 33 is an opening for inserting an end of the flat cable 61. The flat cable 61 is inserted obliquely upward and to the right in FIG. The housing 31 is formed with a plurality of terminal receiving grooves 34 into which metal terminals 41 are loaded. For example, about ten terminal receiving grooves 34 are formed at a pitch of about 0.5 mm, and one terminal 41 is loaded in each terminal receiving groove 34. Note that the pitch and number of the terminal receiving grooves 34 can be arbitrarily changed. Further, the terminals 41 do not necessarily have to be loaded in all the terminal receiving grooves 34, and the terminals 41 can be omitted as appropriate in accordance with the arrangement of signal lines provided in the flat cable 61.

  Further, on both sides of the lower portion 32 and adjacent to the side portion 36, a support step portion 37 that rotatably supports the first shaft portion 13 formed so as to protrude from both sides of the main body portion 15 of the actuator 11 is provided. Is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the support step portion 37 is a step portion extending in the insertion direction of the flat cable 61, and the upper surface thereof is at a position higher than the upper surface 32 a of the lower portion 32. Then, the first shaft portion 13 of the actuator 11 is placed on the upper surface of the support step portion 37. Further, the support step portion 37 is formed with a slit-shaped auxiliary metal fitting receiving recess 38 extending in the insertion direction of the flat cable 61, and the connector mounting auxiliary metal fitting 21, commonly referred to as a nail, is provided with the auxiliary metal fitting receiving recess. 38 is attached to the housing 31.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the connector mounting auxiliary metal fitting 21 is a member formed by integrally forming a metal plate member such as bending and cutting, and the auxiliary metal fitting An elongated plate-shaped metal fitting main body portion 22 inserted into the housing recess 38, a substrate mounting portion 23 connected so as to be orthogonal to the metal fitting main body portion 22, and a rear side of the housing 31 of the metal fitting main body portion 22 (right side in FIG. 1) (Slantly upper) An engagement portion 24 formed on the upper surface of the side end and formed with projections and depressions to engage with the housing 31, and a U-shaped connection portion 25 a at the front side end of the housing 31 of the metal fitting main body portion 22. The guide part 25 connected is provided.

  And the board | substrate attaching part 23 is fixed to the surface of a board | substrate by soldering etc., and the auxiliary metal fitting 21 for connector attachment exhibits the function to attach the connector 10 for cable connection to a board | substrate. The guide portion 25 is a flat surface facing the center in the width direction of the insertion port 33, and includes a guide side surface 25 b with which a side end of the flat plate cable 61 is slidably contacted. Guide 61. Here, the position of the front end of the housing portion 31 of the connecting portion 25a is substantially equal to the position of the front end of the housing 31 of the lower portion 32, and the guide side surface 25b is substantially flush with the side surface 37a of the support step portion 37. Further, a surface that enters the side portion 36 of the housing 31 rather than the side surface 37a may be formed. Note that a gap may exist between the lower surface of the guide portion 25 and the upper surface of the support step portion 37.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the actuator 11 moves the flat cable 61 inserted through the insertion port 33 downward, that is, on the lower surface of the main body portion 15 when the actuator 11 is in the closed position. A plurality of pressing portions 14 that press toward the lower arm beam 43 of the terminal 41 loaded in the terminal receiving groove 34 are provided. The pressing portion 14 enables the flat cable 61 to be inserted when the actuator 11 is in the open position. A plurality of receiving grooves 12 for receiving the upper arm beam 44 of the terminal 41 are formed between the pressing portions 14. The number and position of the receiving grooves 12 correspond to the terminal receiving grooves 34. The main body 15 is substantially parallel to the insertion direction of the flat cable 61 when the actuator 11 is in the closed position, and the insertion direction of the flat cable 61 when the actuator 11 is in the open position. The angle becomes 90 degrees or more.

  A second shaft portion 17 described later is formed in each housing groove 12 of the actuator 11. The first shaft portion 13 and the second shaft portion 17 are arranged on substantially the same straight line, but the axis of the first shaft portion 13 and the axis of the second shaft portion 17 are not necessarily coincident. It is not necessary to be present, and they may be shifted from each other within a predetermined range. Note that the upper arm beam 44 of the terminal 41 is positioned directly above the second shaft portion 17, and the upward movement of the second shaft portion 17 is restricted by the upper arm beam 44. Therefore, the actuator 11 is prevented from being detached from the housing 31 by the upper arm beam 44.

  Next, the operation of connecting the flat cable 61 to the cable connecting connector 10 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the flat cable is inserted into the cable connecting connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a state where the flat cable is inserted into the cable connecting connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing when the actuator is in the open position, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing when the actuator is in the closed position with the flat cable inserted into the cable connector in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a first cross-sectional view showing the inside of the connector for cable connection when the actuator in the embodiment of the present invention is in the closed position, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 7, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a second cross-sectional view showing the inside of the cable connection connector when the actuator in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the terminals 41 are formed by punching a metal plate, and are attached one by one in each terminal receiving groove 34 of the housing 31 of the cable connecting connector 10 as shown in FIG. Yes. 5 to 9 show a state in which the cable connecting connector 10 is mounted on a board (not shown), and the tail portion 42 of the terminal 41 is soldered to a wiring (not shown) formed on the surface of the board. The board mounting portion 23 of the connector mounting auxiliary fitting 21 is connected to a connection pad (not shown) formed on the surface of the board by soldering.

  The terminal 41 has a substantially U shape, and the upper arm beam 44 and the lower arm beam 43 extend in the terminal receiving groove 34 toward the front of the housing 31 (left side in FIG. 8). The terminal 41 is inserted into the terminal receiving groove 34 from the rear of the housing 31 (right side in FIG. 8), and the upper end and the lower end of the upper arm beam 44 are the floor of the terminal receiving groove 34 in the upper part 35 of the housing 31. The surface constituting the surface and the ceiling surface is sandwiched and fixed from above and below.

  Here, the lower arm beam 43 functions as a contact piece that is electrically connected to a signal line (not shown) of the flat cable 61, and a contact projecting upward near its tip (left end in FIG. 8). A portion 43a is formed. Note that some of the signal lines (not shown) may be used as ground lines. Further, the flat cable 61 includes a cable body 62 and an auxiliary plate 63 attached to one surface of the end portion in the length direction of the cable body 62. A signal line is exposed on the surface of the cable body 62 opposite to the auxiliary plate 63 at the end in the length direction. The auxiliary plate 63 is made of a material having relatively high hardness such as polyimide, spans a predetermined range in the length direction, and extends in the length direction of the cable body 62 over the entire range in the width direction. Covers one side of the edge. And it shall be inserted in the insertion port 33 of the housing 31 so that the exposed surface of the signal line faces downward.

  Further, a bearing portion 44 a that restricts the upward movement of the second shaft portion 17 of the actuator 11 is formed near the tip of the upper arm beam 44, and a lower surface thereof is disposed in the terminal receiving groove 34. It is in contact with the biaxial portion 17. The cross-sectional shape of the second shaft portion 17 is indefinite. Further, as described above, the first shaft portion 13 of the actuator 11 is supported from below by the step portion formed by the engaging portion 24 of the auxiliary fitting 21 for attaching the connector. The pressing portion 14 of the actuator 11 includes a first pressing surface 14 a and a second pressing surface 14 b, and functions as an eccentric cam in cooperation with the second shaft portion 17.

  When connecting the flat cable 61 to the cable connector 10, first, the end portion in the length direction of the flat cable 61 is inserted into the insertion port 33 of the housing 31. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the actuator 11 is in the open position in advance. Then, the operator tilts the flat cable 61 with respect to the upper surface 32 a of the lower portion 32 of the housing 31 and directs the end portion of the flat cable 61 in the length direction from the diagonally upper side of the housing 31 toward the insertion port 33. Move. Accordingly, the end portion of the flat cable 61 in the length direction can be easily inserted into the insertion port 33 rather than moving the flat cable 61 in a state parallel to the upper surface 32 a of the lower portion 32. Further, the flat cable 61 is moved such that the auxiliary plate 63 faces upward and the surface of the cable body 62 where the signal line is exposed faces downward.

  At this time, both side ends of the flat cable 61 are guided in the direction from the insertion port 33 toward the terminal 41 by the guide portions 25 of the auxiliary fitting 21 for connector attachment attached to both sides of the housing 31. That is, the both ends of the cable body 62 and the auxiliary plate 63 move from the insertion port 33 toward the terminal 41 while slidingly contacting the guide side surfaces 25b of the guide portions 25 on both sides. In addition, the space | interval of the guide side surfaces 25b of the guide part 25 of both sides is substantially the same as the dimension of the width direction of the flat cable 61. FIG. Therefore, the flat cable 61 is inserted into the insertion port 33 in a state where it is accurately positioned in the width direction, and the position of each signal line is the same as that of the lower arm beam 43 of the corresponding terminal 41 in the width direction of the flat cable 61. It becomes the corresponding position.

  The distal end of the flat cable 61 is inserted between the actuator 11 and the lower portion 32 of the housing 31. Here, when the actuator 11 is in the open position, the first pressing surface 14a faces downward and is substantially parallel to the insertion direction of the flat cable 61, but the first pressing surface 14a protrudes downward. The amount is relatively small. Therefore, since the space | interval of the 1st press surface 14a and the upper surface 32a of the lower part 32 is wide, even if the upper surface contact | abuts the 1st press surface 14a, the flat cable 61 inserted from the insertion port 33 is almost. Since it is not pushed down, it is inserted smoothly. And when the front-end | tip of the flat cable 61 reaches | attains the back end of the housing 31, it will be in the state which insertion of the flat cable 61 was completed as FIG. 6 shows.

  Subsequently, the operator changes the posture of the actuator 11 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6 so as to be in a closed position as shown in FIG. As a result, the pressing portion 14 rotates, and as shown in FIG. 8, the first pressing surface 14a faces obliquely upward. Instead, the second pressing surface 14b faces downward and is flat. It becomes a state substantially parallel to the insertion direction of the cable 61. In this case, the downward protrusion amount of the second pressing surface 14b is relatively large, and is larger than the downward protrusion amount of the first pressing surface 14a when the actuator 11 is in the open position. Therefore, the second pressing surface 14b abuts on the upper surface of the auxiliary plate 63 of the flat cable 61 to apply a downward force, and presses the cable body 62 against the lower arm beam 43 as a contact piece. As a result, the signal line exposed on the lower surface of the cable body 62 abuts on the contact part 43a to form an electrical connection part, and the signal line and the terminal 41 are electrically connected. Since the lower arm beam 43 has a spring property and is elastically deformed when the cable body 62 is pressed, the connection between the signal line and the contact portion 43a is maintained well.

  Further, the actuator 11 is in the closed position, and a downward force is applied by the second pressing surface 14b, whereby the entire flat cable 61 moves slightly downward. 7 and 9, the side ends of the cable body 62 and the auxiliary plate 63 are in contact with the side surface 37a of the support step portion 37 located below the guide side surface 25b of the guide portion 25. . As described above, since the guide side surface 25b of the guide portion 25 and the side surface 37a of the support step portion 37 are substantially flush with each other, the side ends of the cable body 62 and the auxiliary plate 63 abut against the side surface 37a of the support step portion 37. Thus, the flat cable 61 is maintained in a state where it is accurately positioned in the width direction.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the cable connection connector 10 includes the guide portions 25 that guide the side ends of the flat cable 61 inserted into the insertion port 33, and is a connector that is attached to both sides of the housing 31. An auxiliary mounting bracket 21 is provided. That is, the auxiliary connector 21 for attaching the connector, which is a member for fixing the cable connecting connector 10 to the board, also has a function for guiding the side end of the flat cable 61. Therefore, it is not necessary to form a cable side end guide wall in the housing 31 for guiding the side end of the flat cable 61. Therefore, it is not necessary to form the thin cable side end guide wall that is difficult to be molded integrally with the housing 31, the moldability of the housing 31 is improved, and the housing 31 can be easily molded with high accuracy. Further, since the side end of the flat cable 61 is guided by the auxiliary connector 21 for mounting the connector, part of the housing 31 is not worn by the side end of the flat cable 61, and the durability of the housing 31 is improved. To do. Further, the flat cable 61 can be accurately guided. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to form the cable side end guide wall, the dimension of the housing 31 in the width direction can be shortened.

  When the actuator 11 is in the closed position, the entire flat cable 61 moves slightly downward, and the side end of the flat cable 61 comes into contact with the side surface 37a of the support step portion 37. Since the side end of the flat cable 61 hardly contacts the side surface 37a of the support step portion 37, the side surface 37a of the support step portion 37 is not worn.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made based on the spirit of the present invention, and they are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

It is a perspective view which shows the connector for cable connection in embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part expansion perspective view of the connector for cable connection in embodiment of this invention, and is an enlarged view of the A section of FIG. It is a principal part expansion perspective view of the connector for cable connection in embodiment of this invention, and is a figure which shows the state which removed the auxiliary metal fitting for connector attachment. It is a perspective view which shows the auxiliary metal fitting for connector attachment in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which inserts a flat cable in the connector for cable connection in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows when an actuator exists in an open position in the state which inserted the flat cable in the connector for cable connection in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows when an actuator exists in a closed position in the state which inserted the flat cable in the connector for cable connection in embodiment of this invention. It is the 1st sectional view showing the inside of the connector for cable connection when the actuator in an embodiment of the invention exists in a closed position, and is a BB arrow sectional view of Drawing 7. FIG. 8 is a second cross-sectional view showing the inside of the cable connection connector when the actuator in the embodiment of the present invention is in the closed position, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 7. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the conventional cable connection connector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cable connection connector 11, 303 Actuator 12 Accommodating groove 13 1st shaft part 14 Press part 14a 1st press surface 14b 2nd press surface 15 Main body part 16 Contacting part 17 2nd shaft part 21 Auxiliary metal fitting 22 for connector attachment Main body portion 23 Substrate attachment portion 24 Engagement portion 25 Guide portion 25a Connection portion 25b Guide side surface 31, 301 Housing 32 Lower portion 32a Upper surface 33 Insertion port 34 Terminal receiving groove 35 Upper portion 36 Side portion 37 Support step portion 37a Side surface 38 Auxiliary metal fitting recess 41, 302 Terminal 42 Tail portion 43 Lower arm beam 43a Contact portion 44 Upper arm beam 44a Bearing portion 61 Flat cable 62 Cable body 63 Auxiliary plate 304 Guide piece 305 Lower edge

Claims (2)

(A) and Haujin grayed comprising an insertion opening for inserting a flat cable,
(B) attached to said Haujin grayed, the pin comprising a contact piece for connecting the signal line and electrically of the flat cable,
(C) between the flat cable which is inserted insertable first position the flat cable and a second position for pressing the contact piece a posture changeable, in the second position , the pressing portion for pressing the flat cable to the contact piece, and, in the second position, the actuator comprising a body portion which is substantially parallel to the insertion direction of the flat cable,
; (D) includes a guide portion for guiding the side edges of the flat cable to be inserted into the insertion opening, a connector for cable connection and a connector mounting subsidies tool attached to both sides of the Haujin grayed ,
(E) The connector mounting auxiliary metal fitting includes a metal fitting main body including an engaging portion that engages with the housing, and a board attaching portion that is connected to the metal fitting main body and is attached to the surface of the board.
(F) The cable connection characterized in that the guide portion is connected to the metal fitting main body portion via a U-shaped connecting portion, and protrudes from the metal fitting main body portion toward the center in the width direction of the insertion port. use connector. The guide portion, the insertion opening faces the center in the width direction of the cable connecting connector according to claim 1 in which the side end of the tabular cable comprises a planar guide side surface sliding contact.

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