JP4873886B2 - Flexible board connector - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, the tip of a flexible substrate such as FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) or FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) can be inserted into a slot formed in the housing with zero insertion force (ZIF). The present invention relates to a connector having a contact that enables close electrical connection to an electrode formed on the surface of the tip portion of the flexible substrate.

  In the conventional connector for flexible boards, when a flexible board is inserted into the connector, if a large insertion force is required, the board to be inserted is flexible, so that the force cannot be sufficiently transmitted in the insertion direction. The board cannot be inserted to the proper connection position in the slot by bending greatly, and as a result, good electrical connection between the electrode of the board and the contact portion of the contact arranged in the slot Connection cannot be obtained. For this reason, it is desirable for such a connector to have a structure that can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF).

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a connector having a structure that can be inserted with zero insertion force. In the connector described in Patent Document 1, an actuator that can be displaced is disposed between the flexible arms of the contact, and the actuator is rotated to a predetermined position so that the flexible arm is opened and closed. In the former state, by inserting the tip of another connector, it is possible to fit and connect with zero insertion force (ZIF).
JP 2000-48905 A

  By the way, a connector generally has a structure in which a plurality of contacts are mounted in a slot formed in the housing using mounting means such as press-fitting means, and the contacts once mounted usually have a structure that cannot be removed from the housing. The same applies to the connector described in Patent Document 1.

  However, a large load force is applied to the contact portion when the contact is mounted on the housing or the connector is assembled, or a large load force is applied to the contact portion protruding outward from the housing when the connector is transported or operated. Some contacts may be damaged or plastically deformed due to reasons such as failure.In such a case, if the contact cannot be removed from the housing, the contact where the failure occurred As a result of not being able to replace the contacts with new ones, the entire connector must be replaced even if the remaining contacts attached are healthy, which is problematic in terms of cost.

  In addition, the connector is usually used in a state in which the end portion of the contact is solder-bonded to another substrate, and in such a case, the contact state is maintained from the contact in a state of being bonded to the other substrate. If only the housing can be removed, it is convenient to remove only the contact that has failed after the housing has been removed by melting the solder at the joint, and then installing a new contact to the housing. However, the connector configured in this way is not found at present.

  An object of the present invention is to have a structure in which a flexible board such as an FPC or FFC can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF). In particular, the contacts arranged in the slots of the housing are optimized and the contacts are accommodated in the housing. To provide a connector for a flexible board that can be easily replaced with a new contact even if the contact mounted in the slot of the housing is broken by being detachably mounted.

In order to achieve the above object, a connector according to the present invention is electrically connected to a housing in which a slot into which a front end portion of a flexible board is inserted and an electrode formed on the surface of the front end portion of the inserted flexible board. A pair of contact portions, an intermediate connection portion for connecting the contact portions, and a pair of end portions extending from the position of the intermediate connection portion of the contact portion, and either one of the end portions has another substrate. A plurality of contacts in which the contact portion, the intermediate connecting portion, and the end portion are integrated as a whole, and are inserted from the contact portion side toward the slot in the housing. It is attached to the housing by light press-fitting with a pressure input of 0.441 to 0.539N, and the contact part can move in the housing in a direction away from the slot. To, among the plurality of contacts, and contacts that can be detached failed contacts from the housing, extends through the sides walls of the street housing between end portions of the contacts, is rotatably supported, contact a cam shaft of the rod-shaped short diameter portion and a long diameter portion between the distal portion is positioned, it is mounted on one end of the cam shaft, comprising an actuating lever for imparting a rotational force to the cam shaft, the distal end of the contact The camshaft is provided with a holding projection for preventing movement of the axial center position of the camshaft, and the camshaft extends from the housing in the axial direction of the camshaft in a state in which no acting force is applied in the direction of increasing the distance between the end portions of the contacts. It is a connector for a flexible substrate characterized in that it can be removed .

  Further, the connector has an operating lever so that when the slot of the tip of the flexible board is inserted, the short diameter portion of the cam shaft having an outer diameter dimension equal to or less than the distance between the end portions is positioned between the end portions of the contacts. The result is that the distance between the contact parts of the contact can be maintained larger than the insertion thickness of the flexible board by not positioning the camshaft and expanding the distance between the contact end parts. As described above, the distal end portion of the flexible substrate can be inserted into the slot with zero insertion force, and when the contact portion is electrically connected to the electrode after the insertion, between the end portions of the contacts, The camshaft is positioned by rotating it with the operating lever so that the major axis of the camshaft with an outer diameter larger than the gap is positioned. By applying an acting force in the direction that widens the gap between them, the intermediate connecting part is elastically deformed, and the contact parts of the contact are forcibly moved in a direction that narrows the distance between the contact parts. However, it is preferable that the electrode of the flexible substrate is pressed and the contact portion of the contact is electrically connected to the electrode of the flexible substrate.

Further, (1) the intermediate connecting portion is formed in a curved shape, (2) the contact is attached to the housing by light press-fitting, and (3) the camshaft exerts the acting force between the end portions of the contact. The camshaft can be removed from the housing in the axial direction without load, (4) the actuating lever can be removed from the camshaft, and / or (5) the contact is at its end. (6) In the longitudinal cross section of the contact, the pair of contact portions have a tapered shape toward the tip of the contact portion. Is preferred.

  The connector of the present invention has a structure in which a flexible board such as FPC or FFC can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF), and in particular, the contacts arranged in the slots of the housing are optimized and the contacts are accommodated in the housing. As a result, it is possible to provide a connector for a flexible board that can be easily replaced with a new contact even if the contact mounted in the slot of the housing fails. .

  In addition, by forming the intermediate connecting portion in a curved shape, the camshaft is forced to move in a direction that narrows the distance between the contact portions of the contact when an acting force is applied in a direction that widens the distance between the contact end portions. Can be performed smoothly with a smaller force.

  Furthermore, the contact can be easily removed from the housing by attaching the contact to the housing by light press fitting.

  If the camshaft is configured to allow the camshaft to be removed in the axial direction of the camshaft without applying the acting force between the end portions of the contacts, there is an effect that the failed contact can be replaced. .

  In addition, by configuring the actuating lever to be removable from the camshaft, it is possible to improve workability, reduce the size of the connector, and reduce the occupied area when mounting the board.

  Further, if the contact has a protrusion at its end portion that prevents movement of the axial center position of the cam shaft, the cam shaft can be positioned more accurately at a predetermined position between the end portions of the contact. it can.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 8 show typical connectors according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view, FIG. 1B is a right side view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. ) Is a left side view, FIG. 3B is a bottom view, FIG. 4 is a rear view, FIG. 5 is a perspective view when viewed from the front side, FIG. 6 is a perspective view when viewed from the rear side, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 1 (a state before insertion of the flexible substrate), and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the flexible substrate is inserted and connected to the contact.

  The connector 1 shown in the figure is used for connection with a flexible substrate 2 such as an FPC or FFC, and mainly includes a housing 3, a contact 4, a cam shaft 5, and an operating lever 6.

The housing 3 is an electrically insulating plastic, and is manufactured by, for example, a known technique of injection molding. This material is appropriately selected in consideration of dimensional stability, workability, cost, etc. Mention may be made of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyamide (66PA, 46PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP) and polycarbonate (PC) and their synthetic materials.
The housing 3 has a slot 7 into which the distal end portion of the flexible substrate 2 is inserted. The slot 7 is preferably formed so that the opening width w becomes narrow in the insertion direction in order to facilitate the insertion of the substrate 2.

  In the housing 3, a plurality of contacts 4 are arranged at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction 8 of the slot 7, and each contact 4 is detachably attached to the housing 3.

  As a means for detachably attaching the contact 4 to the housing 3, as shown in FIG. 7, engaging portions 9 and 10 are provided in the contact 4 and the housing 3, respectively. It is preferable to mount by lightly press-fitting into the engaging portion 10. FIG. 7 shows a case where the engaging portion 9 of the contact is a concave portion, the engaging portion 10 of the housing portion 3 is a convex portion, and this convex portion is lightly press-fitted into the concave portion. The configuration is not limited and may be reversed. Note that the “light press-fitting” here means a case where the pressure is applied to the housing with a pressure input of 0.441 to 0.539 N (45 to 55 gf) per contact when mounting to the housing. In this case, the contact press-fitting allowance is preferably in the range of 2/100 to 6/100. For example, FIG. 7 shows a configuration when the protruding amount of the contact to be press-fitted is 0.5 mm and the press-fitting allowance is 0.02 mm.

  The means for detachably attaching the contact 4 to the housing 3 is not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, a spring piece is used as a press-fitted portion of the contact and is fixed by being hooked into a slot of the housing. An example is a lance structure.

The contact 4 is made of a metal material having springiness or conductivity, and is manufactured by, for example, a known press working, and examples of the material include brass, beryllium copper, and phosphor bronze.
The contact 4 is mainly composed of a pair of contact portions 11a and 11b, an intermediate connecting portion 12, and a pair of end portions 13a and 13b.

  The contact portions 11a and 11b of the contact 4 are portions that are electrically connected to electrodes (not shown) formed on the surface of the distal end portion of the inserted flexible substrate 2, and the contact portions 11a and 11b include In order to obtain stable (point) contact with the electrode, contact protrusions 14a and 14b are provided.

  The intermediate connecting portion 12 of the contact 4 is a portion for connecting the contact portions 11a and 11b, and when the camshaft 5 applies an acting force in a direction to widen the interval between the end portions 13a and 13b of the contact 4, The contact 4 is elastically deformed to allow forcible movement in the direction of narrowing the distance between the contact portions 11a and 11b of the contact 4. If the intermediate connecting portion 12 is elastically deformed as described above, the intermediate connecting portion 12 may be formed in a curved shape as shown in FIG. Also good.

  The end portions 13a and 13b of the contact 4 respectively extend from the position of the intermediate connecting portion 12 of the contact portions 11a and 11b, and one end portion 13a of the end portions 13a and 13b is joined to another substrate. FIG. 1 shows the case where flat joint portions 15 and 16 are provided on the bottom surface portion and the back surface portion, respectively, but when the attachment state of the contact 4 to another substrate is determined, either It may be provided only on one side.

  Further, the contact 4 is configured such that the contact portions 11a and 11b, the intermediate connecting portion 12 and the end portions 13a and 13b are integrated as a whole.

  The camshaft 5 has different outer diameter dimension portions, in FIG. 1, a rectangular cross section with four corners chamfered, and two of the short diameter portion 17 and the long diameter portion 18 have opinion dimension portions. It extends between the side walls 19 and 20 of the housing 3 through the portions 13a and 13b, and is rotatably supported.

  The cross-sectional shape of the cam shaft 5 may be any shape as long as the cam shaft is rotatable and has a portion with different dimensions such as a major axis and a minor axis, and examples thereof include a rectangular shape and an elliptical shape.

Further, as a means for rotatably supporting the camshaft 5, for example, if both side walls 19 and 20 of the housing 3 are provided with round hole-shaped through holes having the same size as the outer diameter of the camshaft 5, these can be used. What is necessary is just to support rotatably by the through-hole of this. Further, the through hole 21 may be any shape as long as the cam shaft passes therethrough, and may be U-shaped in addition to the round hole shape. In FIG. 1, three holding projections 22 a to 22 c are provided at the end portions 13 a and 13 b of the contact 4 to prevent the movement of the axial center position of the cam shaft. However, the projections 22 a to 22 c are provided as necessary. Can be provided.

  Further, in the present invention, the cam shaft 5 can be detached from the housing 3 in the axial direction in a state where the acting force is not applied between the end portions 13a and 13b of the contact 4, and by this configuration, There is an effect that the failed contact can be replaced.

  The actuating lever 6 is mounted on one end side of the cam shaft 5 and is arranged to apply a rotational force to the cam shaft 5, and the shape thereof is a shape that can apply the rotational force to the cam shaft 5. There is no particular limitation as long as it is sufficient.

  In addition, in the present invention, if the actuating lever 6 is detachably mounted by, for example, the camshaft 5 and a gear-like engagement means, the workability is improved, the connector is downsized, and the occupied area is reduced when the board is mounted. Is effective.

  When the connector 1 of the present invention is inserted into the slot 7 at the tip of the flexible substrate 2, the outer diameter dimension between the end portions 13a and 13b of the contact 4 is equal to or less than the distance between the end portions 13a and 13b. By rotating the actuator lever 6 so that the short-diameter portion 17 of the camshaft 5 is positioned, the camshaft 5 does not apply an acting force in the direction of increasing the distance between the end portions 13a and 13b of the contact 4. As a result that the distance L1 between the contact protrusions 14a and 14b of the contact portions 11a and 11b of the contact 4 can be maintained larger than the insertion thickness t of the flexible substrate 2, the tip of the flexible substrate has zero insertion force (ZIF). It can be inserted into the slot (FIG. 7).

  In addition, when the contact protrusions 14a and 14b of the contact portions 11a and 11b are electrically connected to the electrodes of the substrate 2 after the insertion, the distance between the end portions 13a and 13b is determined between the end portions 13a and 13b of the contact 4. The camshaft 5 is positioned by rotating with the actuating lever 6 so that the long diameter portion 18 of the camshaft 5 having a larger outer diameter is positioned, and the camshaft 5 exerts an acting force in a direction that widens the distance between the end portions 13a and 13b of the contact 4. And the intermediate connecting portion 12 is elastically deformed, and the contact portions 11a and 11b of the contact 4 are forcibly moved in a direction of narrowing the interval L1 between the contact protrusions 14a and 14b of the contact portions 11a and 11b. As a result, the contact protrusions 14a and 14b of the contact portions 11a and 11b of the contact 4 press the electrodes of the flexible substrate 2, and the contact protrusions 14a and 14b of the contact portions 11a and 11b of the contact 4 and the electrodes of the flexible substrate 2 are cams. Stable electrical connection is achieved under the force of the shaft 5 (FIG. 8).

  FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the connector. In particular, the intermediate connecting portion 12 is formed in a curved shape. With this configuration, the camshaft increases the distance between the end portions of the contacts. When an acting force is applied in the direction, the forcible movement can be smoothly performed with a smaller force in the direction of narrowing the interval between the contact portions of the contacts, and in addition, the effective fitting length of the substrate 2 is increased. As a result, the effect that contact stability improves can be produced.

  The above description only shows an example of the embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

  The connector of the present invention has a structure in which a flexible board such as FPC or FFC can be inserted with zero insertion force (ZIF), and in particular, the contacts arranged in the slots of the housing are optimized and the contacts are accommodated in the housing. Therefore, it is possible to provide a connector for a flexible board that can be easily replaced with a new contact even if a failure occurs in the contact mounted in the slot of the housing.

  In addition, by forming the intermediate connecting portion in a curved shape, the camshaft is forced to move in a direction that narrows the distance between the contact portions of the contact when an acting force is applied in a direction that widens the distance between the contact end portions. Can be performed smoothly with a smaller force.

  Furthermore, the contact can be easily removed from the housing by attaching the contact to the housing by light press fitting.

  If the camshaft is configured to allow the camshaft to be removed in the axial direction of the camshaft without applying the acting force between the end portions of the contacts, there is an effect that the failed contact can be replaced. .

  In addition, if the actuating lever is configured to be removable from the cam shaft, it is possible to improve workability, reduce the size of the connector, and reduce the occupied area when mounting the board.

  Further, if the contact has a protrusion at its end portion that prevents movement of the axial center position of the cam shaft, the cam shaft can be positioned more accurately at a predetermined position between the end portions of the contact. it can.

1A and 1B show a typical connector according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a right side view. It is a front view of the connector shown in FIG. (A) And (b) is the left view and bottom view of the connector shown in FIG. 1, respectively. It is a rear view of the connector shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. It is II sectional drawing of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which inserted the flexible substrate in the connector shown in FIG. 1, and connected with the contact. It is sectional drawing which shows other embodiment of a connector.

Explanation of symbols

1 Connector 2 Flexible Board 3 Housing 4 Contact 5 Cam Shaft 6 Actuation Lever 7 Slot 8 Slot Longitudinal Direction 9 Contact Engagement Section
10 Housing engagement
11a, 11b Contact area
12 Intermediate connection
13a, 13b End
14a, 14b Contact protrusion
15,16 Joint
17 Short axis of camshaft
18 Long diameter part of camshaft
19,20 Housing side wall
21 Through hole
22a, 22b, 22c Holding projection

Claims (3)

A housing formed with a slot into which the tip of the flexible substrate is inserted;
A pair of contact portions that are electrically connected to the electrodes formed on the surface of the tip portion of the inserted flexible substrate, an intermediate connection portion that connects these contact portions, and an intermediate connection portion position of the contact portion, respectively. A plurality of contacts having a pair of end portions, one of the end portions being provided with a joint portion with another substrate, and the contact portion, the intermediate connecting portion and the end portion being integrated as a whole; Inserted from the contact portion side toward the slot in the housing, attached to the housing by light press-fitting with a pressure input of 0.441 to 0.539 N per contact, and the contact portion in a direction away from the slot. Allowing movement within the housing,
Of the plurality of contacts, a contact capable of removing a failed contact from the housing;
Extends through both sides walls of the street housing between end portions of the contacts, is rotatably supported, and the camshaft of the bar-like short diameter portion and a long diameter portion between the distal end of the contact is positioned,
An operating lever attached to one end of the camshaft, for applying a rotational force to the camshaft ;
A holding projection for preventing movement of the axial center position of the cam shaft is provided at the end of the contact,
The cam shaft can be removed from the housing in the axial direction of the cam shaft in a state in which an acting force is not applied in a direction that widens the distance between the end portions of the contacts . connector. The connector is
When inserting the slot at the tip of the flexible board, rotate the actuator lever to position so that the short axis part of the cam shaft with an outer diameter dimension equal to or less than the distance between the terminal parts is located between the terminal parts of the contacts. As a result, the cam shaft does not apply an acting force in the direction of widening the distance between the end portions of the contacts, so that the distance between the contact portions of the contacts can be maintained larger than the insertion thickness of the flexible substrate. The part can be inserted into the slot with zero insertion force, and
When the contact portion is electrically connected to the electrode after the insertion, an operating lever is used so that a long diameter portion of the cam shaft having an outer diameter larger than the distance between the end portions is positioned between the end portions of the contacts. Rotating and positioning, the camshaft applies an acting force in the direction that widens the distance between the terminal ends of the contacts, elastically deforms the intermediate connecting part, and the contact parts of the contact narrow each other The contact portion of the contact is configured to press the electrode of the flexible substrate so that the contact portion of the contact is electrically connected to the electrode of the flexible substrate. Flexible board connector.   The connector for a flexible substrate according to claim 1, wherein the pair of contact portions have a tapered shape toward a tip of the contact portion in a longitudinal section of the contact.

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